Everyone rested in the cave for the morning as they listened to the reports from the main lines, which were becoming even more dire by the minute. The Frost Giants were not just waiting at their lines, they were working together to launch ice magic, and enchanted boulders at the defenders.
While it was crude, with the strength of Giants operating the mechanisms, the Frost Giant Catapults were proving to be incredibly effective. The ice boulders exploded on impact, causing every bit as much damage as any artillery round, even against armoured targets.
The main lines sounded like they were in the midst of a disaster, and at one point Karl was reasonably certain that he heard Jodi’s voice announcing a unit retreat for heavy casualties.
The line was moving back again, and sometime around mid-afternoon, High Priest George and the remainder of his team were rescued by scouts after being attacked by a Frost Giant patrol. The Cleric was heavily injured, and both teams were airlifted out with unstated casualties in an emergency rescue that couldn’t have been easy that far behind the main line.
Hawk still hadn’t seen anything coming up the road toward them, and the whole region appeared to be deserted.
Rae thought the same thing. There was simply nothing left here, and the temperature was dropping fast. Whatever the Frost Giants were doing, it was turning what should have been a tropical area into a frozen wasteland, where none of the native creatures could survive.
[It’s too cold to fly, even with Flames. We need to leave this place.] Hawk informed them not long after.
[It’s almost dark. Should we move out immediately, or will you return to the cave, and we will leave in the morning?] Karl asked.
It took a moment for Hawk to answer, but his decision was firm.
[There is a ridgeline behind these clouds, and the wind is even colder there. I think that we should move this afternoon and go further east. If we keep staying here, we’re going to freeze.]
Surprisingly, Remi was with him on that decision. She poked her head out of her space to see what was going on, then promptly returned to her swamp.
[There is strong shaman magic coming.] She announced.
Well, that was something. If she could sense the magic, then they had their answer to why everything was freezing, just not where the effect was coming from, other than somewhere deeper into the Frost Giant nation.
“Everyone, pack up, we need to move. There is a wave of ice magic coming our way, and it’s not suitable for any living creature, according to Hawk. That could explain why they’re not sending anyone to look for the missing animals. They don’t expect anything to remain alive after that wave of cold passes over us.” Karl explained.
“Where are we headed?” Lotus asked.
“The nearest edge of the wave is southeast of here, so we’re going to head that way and hope that we can properly outrun it. If we can’t, we will have to find a cave or make a strong fort to hole up in until it has passed, and the temperature is back to just cold.” Karl explained.
They were getting very well practised with loading their packs, and only the hammocks and sleeping bags had come out, other than the cooking utensils. Within minutes, they were loaded up, and Karl called Thor and Rae to give everyone a ride, while Hawk came down to land on his backpack and warm up.
[The temperature up high is so cold that the Ice Magic is wearing down my flames.] Hawk explained.
[I will report it to the others.]
{Urgent Message for the Command Group and all Mobile Units. This is Team 95988. There is a wave of Ice Magic behind the incoming storm, powerful enough to snuff out fire magic barriers.
We are relocating outside the designated zone to escape the path of the magic, and I recommend that all units unable to reach a secured camp seek immediate shelter, as the storm will be at the main lines within the next two hours.}
The already chaotic messages over the radio intensified as the Front Line Command Group realized that there was more going on than just a minor cold snap. They began issuing orders and getting troops moved, which Karl was immediately grateful for.
They could have second guessed him or delayed, but they chose to believe his report and act on it immediately, which should save some lives when the Ice Magic reached the battle.
The Frost Giants would predictably charge when the cold front moved through, forcing the humans to fight in the magical cold, but at least they wouldn’t be trapped out alone in it.
Well, most of them wouldn’t. There were still some scouts too far out to reach the lines, and they were reporting their moves to caverns, which they intended to barricade and hide in until the storm had passed.
The one great downside to Ice Magic was its lack of penetration. Unlike Fire Magic, which would try to burn through a solid surface, Ice Magic would coat it and freeze it. So, if you could seal your shelter well enough, the magic would naturally seal it, and you could heat the inside while the surface froze.
That’s why the Frost Giants would attack during the cold snap. With the humans frozen into their shelters by a wall of ice, they were sitting targets, and could be easily smashed along with their tents and houses.
Ophelia had to transform into Werebear form to withstand the cold even now, and the others had their cloaks pulled tight around themselves as the beasts began to run through the snow, getting as far away from the incoming wave of magic as possible.
Fortunately, they were already near the edge of the storm, and as they ran, the temperature began to return to the abnormal, but nonmagical cold that they had experienced the first time that they were in the region.
By the time that it started getting near sunset, they were well away from the storm front, which had already long since passed them, and the temperature was close to freezing again. But they were so far from the front line that they had been deployed to that the radio signal was fading.
Karl checked the map, and found that there was no repeater listed in the encoded radio station guide. So, he just put the radio on scan, looking for a closer signal.
It stopped on the first rotation through the channel, and a clear voice came through the speaker, giving instructions for a counterattack. The incoming signal level was so strong that they had to be close to the source, but the number of unit movement orders that were being given made it sound like they had come across another section of the line.
Karl was sure they hadn’t come that far, the next portion should be more than a hundred kilometres from their deployment point, but once he mentally calculated their movement, he realized they might only be thirty kilometres from them now.
He took a moment to place himself on the map, and then sent in a report to this new Commander.
{Zone 17, this is team 95988. We have relocated to avoid a magical cold front, placing us in your zone. Be aware, we have tamed beasts with our team.} Karl reported, along with the map code for their location.
{Wonderful timing 95988. Are you a Commander led team? We have a fire mission that has evaded our scouts near your position. I can offer additional mission rewards if you can eliminate them before dark.} The confident voice replied, along with a map location code.
Karl checked the map. It would be close, but they were much faster moving than most teams.
{Understood, we are on it now.}
He altered their direction toward a mountain, which was the logical spot to spend the night anyhow, as it had larger trees, as well as a chance of caves. As soon as he did, Ophelia gave him a concerned look.
“You’re not going to ask what we’re up against?” She asked.
“They can’t see it, so they couldn’t tell us for certain anyhow. But if they are willing to send one Commander led team, it’s most likely a Special Forces team.” Karl replied.
Hawk took to the sky, looking for their target and revelling in the somewhat warmer air that didn’t make him strain to keep his flames warm.
[I’ve got them. Twenty Frost Giants, four Commanders that I can see, and ten catapults hidden behind a ridgeline. I can see the army lines too, I think the Giants are firing blind into our troops.] Hawk reported.
