Book 2 Ch 12: Warm Breeze

Michael was barely managing to stay on his feet as the rift was sealed, but he forced himself to stay standing, even resisting the last burst of icy wind that blew from it. The forcefield that Ollie had created for him was gone and he moved forward to cut down several more of the yeti before they could rally. Lifting his heavy sword that now felt as if it was just a cinderblock on the end of a stick. Several gunshots from nearby told him that Marcus had the same idea, and Ollie followed those up with several small bursts of lightning. Lance was still surrounded by them, one of his arms hanging limp at his side, but Pyotr and Davi fought their way to him. The truth was, even with the rift closed, the yeti could still kill them if they were able to rally. This was their only chance to break them.

Michael moved toward the others, extending his healing even as he forced himself to cut down at a few yeti that managed to bring themselves to their feet.

There was some whooping and hollering from them for a few moments, and Michael steeled himself, but luckily it seemed that their sounds were the preface of a retreat rather than an attack. The remaining yeti all began running for the nearby hills where the snow was at its thickest. Michael kept himself standing for a few moments, making sure that the yeti were fully committed to their retreat, when his legs gave out beneath him. He dismissed smite from his blade and stopped healing the others. His hands pressed deep into the snow and his right that held his blessings was actually causing it to hiss and steam a bit.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Ollie behind him.

“You alright, mate?”

Michael nodded and forced himself to sit back, which quickly became laying down on his back.

“Fine. Just making snow angels.”

“Ah… well you’re doing a shit job.”

Michael chuckled, but was too worn down to think of a good retort.

“How’s everyone else doing?” he asked.

Ollie looked around at the others, Michael could hear them walking toward him, the snow crunching beneath their boots.

“They seem alright, thanks to my spellwork and your healing keeping them alive. They’d be dead without us though.”

“So no different from usual then?” asked Michael with a smile.

“I’m honestly not sure how they even manage to shit without our help,” replied Ollie, making sure he was loud enough that the others could hear him.

“We can’t. I haven’t properly wiped my ass in days,” replied Pyotr. “Luckily, my own odor keeps me from having to smell you.”

Michael laughed and slowly pushed himself back up. He could see Marcus walking down from the large hill he’d been on, he seemed unharmed. He looked at Lance, who was looking over the battlefield. It was a sea of white broken up with splashes of bright red.

“You fought well,” said Michael walking over and patting him on the back. “Though you took some heavy risks.”

He shook his head. “I’m not used to being this weak. It’s been very hard to adjust.”

Michael nodded.

“This… this was a good fight though. It was nice to have a good reason to raise my sword again. Even if it wasn’t for Stent.”

“This world’s bigger than Stent. You’ve barely seen any of it.”

He nodded, but didn’t answer, just looking over at the dead yeti.

“That fucking sucked,” said Marcus as he closed in, five rifles tucked under his arm.

“Says the guy who wasn’t anywhere close to the rest of us,” said Davi.

“You try hitting a bunch of moving targets that all look alike and are the same color as the ground around them while also making sure they don’t see you.”

“Easier than having to fight them while you’re close enough to smell their breath.”

Marcus looked at Michael. “You satisfied now? Your hero quota filled enough for your gods?”

“Well, I’ll still have to help any cats in trees we find on the way back to the village, but I’m probably good for a day or two.”

“I know we’re joking around, but I swear to your fucking gods if that actually happens I’m shooting the cat.”

Michael laughed and after a few moments of making sure they had all their things together they started to make their way back to the village again. Everyone was tired, but the cold was quickly fading and that put a lot of pep in their step. The snow was already starting to melt after the first mile, and instead of a blasting cold wind, Michael could feel a warm breeze coming from the East. It wasn’t long before he was sweating in his armor, cloak, and new woolen clothes, but he found that he welcomed the sensation after having to deal with the bitter cold for so long.

“What do you think will happen to the yeti that survived?” asked Pyotr.

“Hopefully the heat will kill them,” said Davi. “Otherwise they’ll probably be a problem here for a long time.”

Michael considered that for a moment, wondering how many of the creatures in this new world had arrived this way. It was certainly preferable to how he’d arrived, though he had to wonder how a world’s ecology could hold up to that much change. Maybe he’d meet some kind of taker biologist that could explain it to him. He imagined that most creatures that arrived died though, and that was probably what was best.

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By the time they reached the village it was full of activity and they received a number of cheers and praises as they made their way to the village square. Ollie threw up some fireworks for the fun of it, and Francesca had to stop herself from running to Davi, though he didn’t stop at all to run over and scoop her up before twirling her around.

The ombudswoman walked up to Michael with her hands behind her back.