The Ice Fields
You step through the door in the meadow portal and look around. You are standing in a blasted landscape. A freezing wind picks up snow and blasts it into the mountain behind you. Shivering you turn around, the door you just came through has disappeared You are totally freezing, the clothes you are wearing are fine for just about anything, except arctic exploring. You fear that your curiosity has gotten you into a lot of trouble. Maybe even more then you can get out off.
Realizing that you have to find some shelter you stumble off. Finding a place out of the wind between two boulders you curl up, trying to keep what body heat you have from being wasted. You wait out the storm, slowly growing colder. Your mind begins to play tricks on you. A piece of ice a small ways away from you moved. You watch it as it moves again, sneaking towards you. It uncurls and you see it is some type of flit steps towards you. It looks at you then chirps and then disappears back into the storm. You yell,"Come BACK!" It reappears, chirps twice at you then disappears again. You curl up into a ball and start muttering, knowing in some sub-concise part of you that the cold has snapped your mind.
You are now getting very sleepy. Remembering from movies that to fall asleep is death you struggle to stay awake. Eventually you loose the fight and fall asleep. You wake up in a warm cave with a equine head hovering above your face. "AHHHHHHHHHHH!!", the scream you make echo's around the cave, making the strange equine wince. "Would you mind not doing that again?" It asks,"If we wanted to hurt you, you wouldn't be here!" You stare at it, and ask ,"We?" The equine nods,"Myself and Ver ' tska. She's the one that found you." You know see the flit curled around the equines neck.
You stare."What's your name?", You ask the equine. It looks thoughtful,"Oh, yes, I am Ice'Storm." You stare at him."Ice'Storm.?" He nods,"Yes, My name is Ice'Storm. and the Dragonet is Ver'tska." You look at her,"Dragonet?" Ice'Storm. answers,"Yes, Dragonet. Bonded by Sirah, from the City Of Shar." You ask another question,"Why, if she's bonded to Sirah is she living here?" Ice answers your question,"She was given this job by Sirah, it's very important. You're not the only wanderer that's gone through that door, we get a regular stream of people through here. We work together because she can't carry people, and I can't stand the cold as well as she can. It's her responsibility to find the lost Wanderers, my job is to bring them in and keep the cave clean and warm." You stare at him wondering where the light is coming from, you find yourself staring at a fire in a hearth on the other side of the cave. "How did you manage that?" You ask Ice'Storm. He smiles slightly,"Oh, just a little bit of magic, it's about the only thing I can do though."
You look wildly around, now wondering how you got in here. Ice answers your question without being asked," I said before, I dragged you in here and put you on the bed. These horns on my head come in very handy some times." He smiles a bit seeing if you get the pun. Shrugging he continues," Mostly we are both here just to make sure you wanderers don't wanderer into the arctic never to be seen again." You stare at him. "It's true. You were very close to being a 'hume popsicle!" You yawn, and he tells you to get some rest, then you can head back the entrance or the meadow portal. You smile and fall asleep before your head hits the pillow.
When you wake up after your nap Ice shows you the portal in the back of the cave. You say good-bye and thank them for saving you then step through............
