Ruul's ZRP Party: Thread 6.2

"You fire types are the best equipped to take out the monster," Ruul explained. "Some sort of ice bird-thing."

"Well that helps. At least I know what to look for now." Kairo said as he followed Ruul's footprints in the snow. "You do know that I'm not too good with my fire magic, right?" he said suddenly remembering that he had little control of his powers. "I'm mostly a close combat type."

"That's true, but then again, ice against ice isn't all that great. 'Sides, explosions might be useful!" He grinned.

Kairo smiled nervously. He wasn't sure Ruul understood quite how bad he was with his fire power.

"How long til we get there do you think?" he asked.

The town fell behind them, the close walls sloping away to reveal a snow-covered bridge over a precipice. "I dunno, I've never been here before." He peered through the morning mist at the silhouette of the narrow peak ahead. "I think that's it there, though I couldn't say how close that is."

Kairo let Ruul walk in front of him as they started crossing the thin path to the mountain. Looking over the edge he took a deep breath. It wasn't that he was scared of heights, or even falling. It was more the sudden stop at the end of the fall he had a problem with.

"Why did this place have to be so far out of the way," he mumbled to himself as he stepped in Ruul's footprints.

"Mh." Was all Ruul had to say to that.

Kairo sighed. Maybe the cold made Ruul quiet. He hadn't known the man long enough yet to know.

"So where are we headed after we've slain the big beasty and got the mask?" he asked, trying to keep the conversation flowing so he didn't think so much about the cold.

"Back to Clock Town, to meet up with the others. After that, we do whatever we want. Three masks is enough to foil Fenrir's plans. Though I get the impression some of us want a piece of him!"

"Are you one of those people?" Kairo asked.

"If he still tries to pull something, then yes. If not, I don't think it'll be necessary."

"Do you know anything about his fighting style?" Kairo asked.

"No, I only saw him use Wolfos to fight for him. Though I think he said something about being a Wind Mage."

"Wind," Kairo said as he folded his arms behind his head. "Great."

"It shouldn't be just us three when we run into him, though, so no worries."

As they approached the yawning mouth of the dungeon, Ruul's eyes narrowed. "There's bound to be Wolfos up ahead." His hand went to his axe.

Kairo puled his knives out of his pocket and prepared himself. Wolfos were not generally a problem for him but if Fenrir used them regularly then it would be worth getting some practice in.

Ruul's expectations seemed to be founded, though not completely accurate as a single wolfos rose from the snow and growled at them as they approached.

"I'll never get used to those eyes," Ruul muttered as he drew his axe from his belt. "What do you know about Wolfos?"

The creature warily circled the group, looking for an opening as well as signs of attack.

"I know that my knives aren't that much use unless I can get close," Kairo said as he watched the wolfos. "And I know that getting close isn't usually a good idea. Their backs are their weak points, a good solid blow between the shoulders usually finishes them off quite quickly."

"Precisely. The question is, will it actually stand against three opponents?"

Ruul took a step forward and the Wolfos took one back. It stared at the group for a moment before turning around and running off.

"It'll probably be back with more, so I don't see any reason to linger."

Leighi nodded.

"Let's go," Kairo said as he made his way to the front of the group. After a few more steps through the deep snow, he stopped. "Where exactly do we go now?" he asked Ruul, slightly sheepishly.

Ruul peered through the snow at the wall of ice ahead. "There's a break in the wall there, I think that's the entrance."

With that, he started kicking his way through the snow.

Kairo followed Ruul towards the wall of ice and shivered at the thought of heading into a cavern made of ice. While it was likely to be drier than outside in the snow, it was also likely to be just as cold if not colder.

The crevice twisted out of sight. The group followed it for a few short minutes before it widened into a cavern of stone.

The air is ever so slightly warmer, probably partially due to the lack of wind..

"The mountain's a volcano, I've heard. There's probably lava in here keeping it warm."

He was about to take a step when an icy stalagmite suddenly spewed a blast of cold air a few paces ahead of him.

He jumped and brandished his axe, "What-!"

"I think I know what that is," Kairo said as he stepped forward. "I thought they were just stories though. It;s a Freezard. I could probably deal with it with my fire but you may want to step back in case something goes wrong."

"A freezard..." It felt really strange for Kairo to know something about ice that he himself didn't.

"Sure..."

Leighi stepped forward. "I could do it too, if you think it would be safer."