Diya and Jax at the Spine of the World

seawalker13

Diya and Jax had been tracking the huge Ursa Blanca for days. There were so few of the huge white bears left in the realm after the fire primordial had been released and melted ice and snow from everything but the highest of mountains in the Spine of the World, and this mother had not one but two cubs. This mother needed all the help we could give her. Food was so scarce and the ice caps melting so fast in this god-forsaken place. The bears' habitat was disappearing faster than we could fix it. Attaching a tracer collar to the mother was crucial for both her survival and the cubs.

"Jax," Diya whispered, "can you get a good shot at her flank without hitting the cubs?"

"Sure" he grinned, and wiped a gloved hand over the ice crystals on his blond mustache as he readied the trank rifle for a shot.

"Y'know, some day you should shave that off before it freezes your lips together" she hissed.

"But the ladies like my lip hair" he chuckled, blue eyes sparkling as he lined up the scope.

"You're an insufferable prig", she whispered, and readied her dual capture loops for the cubs to secure them while they worked on their mother. "Just because the Elk Clan females wanted to keep you for breeding stock."

He laughed softly. "Jealous?" He readied a dose large enough to down the big white bear long enough for them to do a quick check of her vitals and inject the necessary vitamins without doing too much damage to her vital systems.

"Seriously? I'd leave you to them. The other rangers already think we're crazed for even venturing up this far to check on the big Ursas. We two silly humans are the only ones dumb enough to care about the white bears. What did the drow ranger say? "I'm too busy with my own problems, you do what you want. Some ranger he is."

Jax fixed her with a wry smile. "He didn't say that exactly. You know Drizzt. He tackles the 'big' issues. Small things like keeping a species alive isn't his problem. He's all for 'saving the world.' Little things like this are kinda beneath him."

Diya shrugged. "Just keep an eye out for the lyons. Since the seas boiled they've been ranging up the mountains looking for food, and those two little cubs would be tasty morsels for them."

"Right." Sighting the scope, he looked to her. "Windage?"

"One quarter, from the southwest. You've a clear shot."

To be continued

seawalker13

She felt snow crystals drifting in front of her face. Startled, Diya rolled over and gasped, at the sight of two very large ice-frosted blue feet. Mouth open, she gazed up, following the feet to two very large blue legs, and up, and up..

Frost Giant!

"MOVE!" she screamed, shoving her left arm into her tower shield and raising it to cover them, simulaneously kicking at Jax with both feet, kicking him away from her as the Frost Giant slammed one icy fist into her shield, crumpling it and breaking her left arm.

She bit into her right gauntlet to keep from screaming from the pain and wriggled her limp useless left arm out of the crumpled shield, staggering upright and drawing her longsword barely in time to deflect the opposite hammer-strike from the giant's fist.

Jax rolled, growling at her kick, startled, then he saw the giant.

"Well, aren't you a big one," drawing his heavy flail and his morningstar he stood up between Diya and the giant.

"Surprise", Diya gasped weakly. "I figured his kind was cleared out of this part of the Spine."

"So did I", Jax responded calmly. "You", he pointed his morningstar at the giant. "You speak Common?"

"Yesss" the giant hissed. "You and your kind will all die soon. The drow seek to awaken the fires of the Ghost Dwarves. The Fire God. You will all die" it leaned down to smile at them with wicked sharp icy teeth.

Diya raised her sword and readied to strike.

The giant laughed. "My kind move to the highest mountain tops, where the Ice Goddess reigns supreme. You puny warm-bloods will die when the Fire God awakens again, the ground will shake, your cities will fall, and all will fall with it. My kind, we will remain."

"So go. To your mountaintop", Jax gestured with the morningstar in his right hand. "Don't bother yourself with two puny humans."

The giant smiled again, with his wicked sharp icy teeth, and moved up the mountain. Diya gasped, not just one, but many Frost Giants followed in procession, not bothering to glance at the puny humans.

Jax fell back to Diya's side. "How's the arm, love?"

"Pretty much shattered, I can't feel it. What did it mean, 'we puny warm-bloods will die' and all that?"

Jax frowned. "Sounds pretty dire, perhaps we should get you back to base camp, get that arm set and send some messengers out."

"What about the bear cubs?" she asked plaintively, weak from shock and gray-faced.

"We'll have to worry about the bears later, love. C'mon, we've work to do."

Diya wrapped herself up in her cloak and numbly let Jax lead her down the long trail to the base of the Spine of the World.

To be continued

seawalker13

"That dwarf armorer sold me a defective shield", Diya sighed, and willed her feet to move, left, right, left, and onward, down the mountain, slogging through the snow, at times going knee-deep and yanking her knees up high. So exhausting.

Jax smiled at her, right arm wrapped tightly around her to keep her upright and moving. "You shouldn't have tried to trade your breastplate for that shield, you lost vital protection, you know that."

She smiled. "I know, but it was so pretty, all silvery-like. I.." she missed a step, tumbled out of his steadying arm and slid down the slope. Sliding down, flat on her back against the snow, she gazed up at the star-lit sky. "I'm always a sucker for shinies".

He side-stepped and floundered down the slope to where she lay. "Maybe we should stop for a bit. There's an overhang there by those rocks, it'd be better than trying to get you down the mountain with a busted wing."

Diya sighed and shook her head. "That's the last time I trade all my healing potions for a sword."

To be continued

seawalker13

"Here," Jax said, gently but firmly binding her left arm between two stout sticks he'd found, using ripped strips from his cloak. "How's that, not too tight?"

"Can't feel it anyways," she murmured, tipping her head back to rest it against a rock beneath the cave that sheltered them. "You think they care about us?"

"Who, love?" Jax became concerned at her fuzzy remark and gripped her chin with his hand, shaking her face, noting the ashen color.

"The gods, whoever they are", she smeared her right glove against her side and raised her palm to him, showing him the blood. The shield hadn't saved her from the full impact of the Frost Giant's fist. Her leathers had soaked up most of the flow, but now it shown bright red in the firelight.

"Sing to me" she smiled into his eyes. "You have the most lovely baritone voice I've ever heard."

"Sing what?" he said, alarmed, and holding her close.

"Anything", she murmered, slipping away from him, and into Valhalla, where the brave live forever.

He buried her body beneath a cairn of rocks.

Fin.

sominator

Nice work!

jezathforum

wow nice! your a good writer seawalker

seawalker13

Thanks, glad y'all enjoyed the read.

seawalker13

And, since I've been reading RA Salvatore's latest book, a surprise of sorts. Seems that death can be merely a gateway to a new beginning in Faerun. A continuation.

She sighed deeply and roused, turning over and planting her nose into a bunch of clover. Sneezing and rubbing her hand over her nose she flailed her arms and pushed herself over on her back.

What the hell?

Gazing up into a sunlit green forest of tall trees with rays of soft light shafting down around her, warmth, no snow, no cold, she drew her knees up and realized that her armor was gone, no shield, no sword. Blinking in the unfamiliar bright sunlight, she shielded her eyes with her left arm, and saw that she was clothed in a simple gown of white.

"Great," she muttered. "No armor, no weapons, all dressed up like a fussy noblewoman. What next?"

Diya sighed and rubbed her forehead, pushing long strands of hair away. What happened to her short warrior's haircut? All of this fussy hair. She angrily ran her fingers through her hair trying to push all this long hair out of her face.

She looked up. "If this is Valhalla, I'd at least like a hair tie to get this messy hair out of my face!"

Grumbling, she looked around and found a small piece of vine pliable enough to tie her hair back.

She stood up. This unfamiliar gown, her weapons gone, this wild hair unsuitable for a warrior, she looked around the peaceful sunlight forest, and yelled "What the hell is This??"

seawalker13

A gentle voice that seemed to fill her ears from all around said, "you have passed into the haven of Mielikki, you who protect life."

"Me who?" She turned around, trying to find the source of the voice. This was annoying, no weapons, no armor, nothing but her bare hands. She scowled, "What of my companion Jax, is he here too?"

"No", the gentle voice said. "He still lives in the mortal plane, and mourns your passing, little one."

"I'm.. tired", Diya said, sighing and sinking to her knees. "What is happening to me?" she said, lifting her head.

"All will be revealed in time", the gentle voice said. "For now, all you need is rest for the trials to come. For you will be tested."

"How?" Diya whispered, exhausted from the passing from the realm of the living to the... netherworld, is all she could think of calling it.

The gentle voice said gravely "The Sundering is coming, and soon all realms will be in chaos. And you will have to fight with all your strength and will if you would see the mortal realm prevail. Your friends, your family, all will fall in the great struggle if you are not prepared."

"Do you trust me?", the gentle voice whispered.

"I do", she said.

"Very well, we have little time to prepare. You must free your mind and give up your will, for I will prepare you as best I can, Diyamia."

"Yes my Goddess, I will be your weapon."