Into The Frozen Forest (Part 8)

Chase followed Dragon behind the tavern, and leaned against one of the wooden support beams.

"Sorry, I feel as if my head is not in its right place..."

Onyx shook his head.

"No worries, but I have pinpointed the traitor..."

Chase felt his heart begin racing.

"Who?"

"First I'd like to suggest that we wait and use this to our opportunity, but I must also say that Sazir knows all of our movements..."

"I know this already, who is the damn traitor?"

"Talon of House Terror is one of Sazir's followers, and carries much wrath within his being, we have to be careful when he is alone with the team."

Chase shook his head.

"He will not attack them as of now, he will meet a terrible end in the warmth of that tavern if he chose to do so..."

Putting a hand over his eyes, he sighed.

"Don't worry, I have already suspected as much, my Hellhound is resting inside of Summer's catalyst as we speak, if he were to act, he would meet only the ferocious bite force of my canine companion..."

Dragon nodded.

"Good, then I think that one of us should stay with Gabriel, and lessen the load of the group. Do you have someone in mind?"

Chase shook his head.

"No, I didn't think far into this, as it would be both an honor and a disrespect to be pardoned from this quest, after all of the things that my team did to get here."

Dragon was going to say something, but was quickly cut off by Chase.

"Although... It would do one better if they were to stay with our injured ally then to fight a one sided war in the cold."

Dragon raised an eyebrow.

"One sided?"

Chase chuckled.

"Do not act as if we aren't hopelessly outnumbered and outmatched, they know our every move, we know their basic schedules on a normal day. These are not normal days..."

Dragon shook his head.

"You carry the bloo-"

"Blood of the Phoenix? And what good does that do if it burns my own catalyst as well as my enemies? It is suicide to continue using, and yet I use it anyway... I will sit on no throne if my own corpse is charred from my own flames..."

Dragon sighed, and just nodded.

"Then we must move swiftly."

Chase nodded.

The two returned to the small tavern room, and Chase quickly walked over to Gemini of House Ironclad.

Whispering in his ear, he said.

"I need you to stay with Gabriel, as we venture Northwest, should his condition improve swiftly, I need you to head Northeast, there will be the allied barrack located there, you guys can stay there until the fighting is over, or even return on the frontlines, but it would be in your best interest if you returned home with haste..."

Gemini nodded...

Chase could tell that he was intimidating the poor boy with his unusually dread-filled voice, which Chase also knew did not suit him well.

It was all too much, so many factors playing into all of this, as if Leander had thrown them into the lion's den on a small whim that he could force the evolution of this group, turning them into something great.

But there was nothing great in what they have had to endure, in fact it was all terrible, Chase could still hear his own dagger ripping into a boy's throat, a boy who had probably been put into this war by own family, or even had no family to begin with and just needed to make a living.

Chase was a murderer now, and he had to think like one, or that same situation would happen again.

And he would not be caught off guard by the man he was here to kill...

...

And so the group left, and ventured Northwest, there was little talk, but many of his teammates had checked in to see if Chase was alright.

He had nodded, but in truth he was not alright, and far from it.

Did he even have the right to be as afraid as he was? He didn't think so, so the answer did not matter.

After all, he had spent a good portion of his life chasing this revenge, just to be greeted harshly with the reality of their world.

He had no power, and had zero authority over even his own teammates, he gazed darkly at the traitor, who looked as if he did not have a care in the world.

"Stop thinking so much..."

Summer said quietly, catching him off guard.

"Why? Do you not feel it? The air growing colder the farther we get..."

She frowned.

"There is no point to survival if you kill yourself within your own thoughts..."

Then she took a deep breath, not realizing that those words had struck hard within Chase's chest.

He had indeed once attempted such a thing, when he carelessly jumped from tallest mountain within The Dark Forest.

In fact it was only now when he realized just how much his current situation paralleled that of The Dark Forest.

His childhood...

He had actually become strangely thankful for the monsters that had once kept him awake, he had grown quite strong compared to the once frail boy that feared the dark...

"You are human..."

Summer said quietly, as she shut her eyes.

Chase heard it as well, the flowing of a river within these frozen lands.

"Impossible..."

Then everyone else heard it, and their spirits were lifted as far ahead a large mountain appeared from the mist of The Frozen Forest.

And at its base rested a vine covered cavern entrance.

"No way..."

The place that Leander had made sound like folklore had truly been real...

They had found the Oasis...