Dil looked up at the snow-covered slope rolling straight down onto the caravan.
'We've got about two minutes before it blows away.'
At that moment he noticed black specks floating in the snow stream.
The formidable knight frowned and looked inside the wagon.
Leah was sitting on her knees crying, and the little slave girl was lying on the bunk, looking back at him nervously.
Her sun-colored eyes narrowed to the size of a pin and watched him with obvious concern.
The swordsman sighed and took a quick look around the rest of the caravan.
Guards were running from side to side in panic and slaves were trying to break free of their chains.
'Oh goddesses... help these people survive.'
The man was well aware that he couldn't save everyone. However, it was in his power to keep himself and his two companions alive.
Dil jumped into the wagon, which swayed with his weight.
He grabbed the sorceress by the arm and lifted her into the air.
Leah looked up at him with frightened eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"I don't understand what's been happening to you since yesterday, but now is not the time. You have twenty seconds to gather the essentials."
Saying that, he looked at the blonde-haired girl before adding.
"Call off the scarabs."
Leah seemed to come to her senses, after which she looked around confusedly.
She snapped her fingers and the scarabs dissolved in ink colors, then flew into the enchantress' hand, becoming a tattoo.
Dil lowered her to the ground and she began to quickly put things into a sack that seemed to hold more than it should.
Meanwhile, the swordsman walked over to Morvian and quickly bandaged his leg.
The golden-haired girl wrinkled her nose, for the wound was not yet fully healed.
Finished, Dil picked the girl up in his arms and told her to climb onto his back.
'This feels wrong somehow...'
Thought Morvian, settling himself on his broad back.
He barely got his arms around his neck to keep from falling off.
'Damn... this body is so uncomfortable and weak! Also, this chest is getting in the way a lot!'
Morvian was annoyed, but he was still assessing the situation.
The avalanche had already gotten close enough to be able to see the monsters floating in it.
Dil jumped out of the wagon and pulled his dagger out of its sheath. After which he looked at the slave wagons.
The whistle of the flying dagger cut the air and flew through the wagons, shattering the chains.
The slaves immediately jumped off the wagons and started running, stumbling and pushing each other.
The whistle of a flying dagger cut the air and flew through the wagons, shattering the chains.
The slaves jumped off the wagons at once and started running, stumbling and shoving each other.
Morvian looked on with a kind of contempt and admiration at the same time.
Still, the swordsman's skill was impressive.
Morvian caught sight of a bundle on one of the wagon's shelves and grabbed it. Then he opened it.
A cold wind blew and almost snatched the paper from his slender hands, but he managed to hold on to it.
He looked at the contents and realized that at least he was lucky in some way today.
After all, he had picked up a map that could help them survive.
'There are passages to caves here. And one of them is right next to us! Damn... we'll have to jump down the slope though...'
Morvian looked at the map for a moment longer, but in the meantime, the enchantress finished gathering her things and jumped on Dil's back, nearly throwing the slave girl off.
Morvian gave the sorceress an annoyed look, but remained silent. Instead showing the map to the swordsman and pointing to the nearest cave.
"This is our only chance. We have to make it in time or we'll be buried alive in here."
The girl's voice was muffled by the rumble of the approaching avalanche, but the swordsman seemed to understand what she meant.
Dil nodded briefly, then dashed to the cliff and jumped down.
Morvian's heart sank into his heels and an unpleasant tickling sensation appeared on his feet.
His golden but messy hair stirred and his eyes narrowed.
The enchantress screamed at the top of her voice and grabbed onto the man harder than before.
Only Dil was completely calm as they all flew downward. But soon he snatched another dagger from its sheath, which glowed with a blue glow, and plunged it into the stone wall.
A scraping sound filled the trio's minds and blue sparks flew in different directions as the blade cut through the stone. Their speed slowed, however, until they stopped altogether, hanging over the abyss.
Morvian and the enchantress breathed a sigh of relief, but the next second a wave of snow swept over them, trying to throw them down.
Morvian hooked his arms around Dil's neck and tried to hold on as tons of snow fell on them from above.
However, the weak slave's body couldn't handle it and he flew down, choking on the snow.
'Fuck!'
Morvian started to fly down, but his leg was grabbed by a large hand and squeezed hard enough to almost crush him. He couldn't complain about that now, however.
The cold of the snow burned his skin and Morvian squeezed his eyes shut to avoid hurting his eyes.
This went on for a while, until the rumble of the avalanche died down and the snow stopped pouring from the sky.
Morvian opened his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief, then lifted his head up with an effort.
Dil was holding his leg and dagger to keep him from falling into the abyss. For some reason, however, he was staring at the stone wall.
Leah, on the other hand, clung to the man's back, still shaking with fear.
Morvian quickly assessed their condition and realizing that they had no serious wounds, decided to look where the swordsman was looking and was stunned.
The blood froze in his veins and a strange heat swept over his body.
Dozens of slaves were hanging on the stone wall like garlands.
The chains on their arms miraculously snagged the ledges in the rock and their bodies were left hanging over the abyss.
However, some were less sturdy and a few stumps of their chained hands could be seen, while the rest of their bodies could not be seen.
But that wasn't the worst of it.
There was a strong wind in the gorge and it made the bodies sway, making noise with the chains.
Black creatures were crawling on the wall and eating such unfortunate ones.
Some, realizing their fate, tried to senselessly persuade the beast not to do so.
However, their screams quickly ceased and all that was left was the howling of the wind.
Dil watched the scene with dead lavender-colored eyes.
Leah, on the other hand, covered her mouth with her hand in horror and tear drops froze at the tips of her eyes.
Eventually the swordsman silently pulled Morvian up and settled back on his back.
The creatures feasted for a long time, and the three watched in silence, each absorbed in his own thoughts.
Morvian realized that none of these people were in fact real.
They were only fragments of the past that had come to life for the duration of the test. However, they would disappear without a trace once it was over.
Therefore, their deaths shouldn't have bothered him, which was the case. However, it was still uneasy on his soul.
He glanced at the trembling enchantress who was keeping her eyes on the scene.
'What on earth is she thinking. The one who in fact killed all those people?'
They hung like that for a couple hours before all the creatures dispersed.
After making sure the area around them was clear, Dil started crawling along the wall to the cave entrance.
A few minutes of searching and they were finally able to step onto a solid surface.
Everyone was breathing heavily and just lay on the ground.
The wind howled outside and occasional flakes of snow flew in.
The first to regain consciousness was the swordsman and began to look around before saying.
"We should get going. After all, we're still in mortal danger."