Thirty Eight
Umbra and Marin, Rumble Mountain Southern pass
It was early morning at the Low Slope Inn when Marin and Umbra departed with Silvermane in tow.
The blizzard had passed leaving large snowdrifts around the trail.
Marin smiled genuinely as she held Umbra's hand and Silvermane's reins, departing into the snowy mountains.
She was truly happy in a way she thought never possible again. Over the years she had just accepted she would never be in love again, but Umbra was back in her life now.
The frigid wind whipped past them, stirring their fur over-cloaks that by now were already frosted.
Despite a blizzard passing only a few hours ago Umbra was surprised to see a few grayish reindeer trudging past the trail, a calf trailing behind them, skipping through the deep snow.
The alpine trees either side of the track rustled in the breeze.
Marin could see Frost Chickadees, whistling to each other between the frozen branches.
The serenity was interrupted by a frightening howl of Amorok wolves in the distance.
"Let's not linger long. Those wolves don't sound friendly," Umbra implored withdrawing his hands to blow on them, his breath visible in the winter air.
Marin nodded. "Are you ready girl?" she asked Silvermane softly.
Silvermane neighed and the two heroes climbed on her saddle.
They galloped unimpeded for quite a while until they reached a fork in the road, obscured by snow.
Umbra dismounted and approached the sign, dusting off the snow with his coat.
'Southern Pass' in one direction and 'Caution: Mountain Overpass' on the other.
Umbra mused. "Which way, Marin?"
"Southern Pass definitely, let's avoid scaling the peaks. We aren't equipped for such extreme temperatures," Marin confirmed.
The Southern Pass was the most-travelled but was far from being safe.
After an hour of a moderate paced gait, they reached a cave underpass. The maw of a cavernous mouth was thick with toothy icicles.
"This doesn't look inviting," Umbra murmured as he noticed a warning sign had been dismantled nearby, leaving only the post.
Meanwhile...
Atop the cliff face directly above them and concealed by white wolf furs crouched the Crimson Hunter.
The Slayer Robyn was peering through an old spyglass, she had been tracking Umbra and Marin's movements for hours now.
Her patience had paid off, the two sorcerers had taken the most predictable route.
Nearby, at a safe distance of course, a dozen or so barrels marked 'TNT' were dotted above the cave mouth.
Her carefully laid charges would cause a chain reaction to collapse the cavemouth.
Robyn raised a crossbow, lighting the end of it with oil and flint.
She closed one eye and aimed carefully as Marin and Umbra chatted below.
With perfect precision she fired her shot, igniting the first barrel.
One-by-one like firecrackers they exploded setting off a chain of explosions.
The mighty ice sheet cracked and snow began to tumble down, gathering speed as it plummeted towards the two sorcerers like a frozen wave of death.
Below...
The massive explosion above was definitely from gunpowder, Marin knew the volatile power of black powder.
A massive landslide of rock and ice tumbled from above, plummeting towards them.
"Silvermane, go!" Marin clipped her reins while Umbra clung tightly.
Silvermane took off at full speed into the underpass as snow and ice rained down on them, just narrowly reaching the safety of the cave interior.
"Damm it!" a familiar voice boomed nearby, when the sorcerers had outrun the trap.
Later...
Umbra and Marin, Frost Underpass, Rumble Mountains.
The two heroes narrowly outpaced the falling snow following Robyn's explosive charges. Now they were safely in the underpass but turning back would be impossible now.
Only that lunatic would cause an avalanche just to trap us. Umbra thought
"Robyn," Marin concluded as she dismounted.
She checked the collapsed cavemouth, it was sealed shut now, tons of ice and debris lay before her.
"Then we press on, this changes nothing," Umbra insisted from atop Silvermane's saddle.
A narrow-crystallized ridge of stone was the only thing keeping them from plummeting into the icy caverns below.
Marin kicked a pebble over the edge, it was a full minute before she heard it crash below.
But Umbra was focused on an alarming signpost ahead at a fork.
'Deadman's overpass' on one side and 'Southern Road' on the other.
"Well, that's a no-brainer," he scoffed as they trotted towards the obvious option.
Silvermane's trots echoed through the icy cave in the still, ominous expanse.
The travelers were expecting to see a light at the end of the tunnel as they neared the exit of the cave.
Eventually they realized they had been trapped when they noticed another collapse at the exit.
Deadman's Overpass was their only way forward now.