"There's another for ya!" A hefty man tosses a giant log off his shoulder onto a large wooden Raft.
The log lands on top a stack of logs wrapped in rope. Another hefty man slides the log into place next to the others that are finely lined up.
"Alright Klieg that's full pad," The man was so muscular he effortlessly began to pull the logs tight and began tying the ends.
"Hey Russo, reckon today they'd give us a break," Klieg joked in his thick Irish accent.
"Break legs, Bones, Limbs, yeah they'd give us a break alright," Russo chuckled wiping snow from his long dark brown beard.
"Sounds grand honestly can't toss without yer legs now can we?"
"I guess your right," Russo laughed reaching out helping Klieg onto the raft.
Klieg was a lot colder than he had realized; while getting onto the raft his leg seized up and he dipped into the freezing cold river. Russo quickly gripped kliegs arms and pulled him onto the raft.
"Feck colds paralyzed me," Klieg sat down and began beating on his leg to bring it back to life.
"Ultril has to let us come in earlier you see how the frost of effecting you won't be long until we both seize then who's bringing in the morning wood." Russo said.
"Yer royal lowness won't let anyone or anything in earlier till he can get back to how he was Yer know that."
"Hmph well I don't think killing us in the process helps anything," Russo throws klieg an ore.
The men began to row through a thick river almost frosted over. A vast frozen forest lay off to the side of the men with some oddly lush trees for how cold it was.
"Gettin' harder to break through by the day," Klieg grunted slicing through a thick layer of ice with his ore.
"Your telling me," Russo replied sticking his ore into the thick ice.
After another moment of rowing the ice seemed to only get thicker and klieg couldn't penetrate it anymore. After his last failed attempt he looked over to Russo with a determined look on his face.
"What you see something..." Russo began looking out in front of klieg.
Klieg squinted his eyes and trained them on Russo. "Imma call em," Klieg said walking toward the front of the raft.
"What," Russo yelled dropping his ore into the boat, "no klieg we don't need to call anybody we can do this," Russo began trying to slice his ore into the ice but the ore didn't even make a dent.
"Yep calling em," Klieg assured himself.
"No we can do this I just need to try to-
"BORN OF THE OCEAN, MAN OF THE SEA, KING OF THE WAVES!" Klieg yelled with his hands cupped over his mouth.
The men stood looking around for a moment and nothing happened. Klieg turned around to see Russo smiling as wide as he could.
"Mmm guess he's asleep," Russo cooed and stabbed his ore into the ice finally, "Oh and look at that she stabbed through...see we can do this I don't see why we need him to help us at all I mean look at us-
While Russo was ranting klieg peered over the raft to see the ice beginning to crack all around them and in some far parts of the river unfreeze.
-we are the heaviest of the log-men if anyone could do this it's us not-
A loud crack in the ice grabbed russos attention and his mood diminished as all confidence left his body.
-Levi..."
In the distance a red fin pierced the ice. It looked much like a fish fin but it was sharp enough to slice the ice like butter. The fin began to speed towards the men and burst upward sending chunks of ice into the air. Russo and Klieg shielded their faces as the ice fell around them. At the tip of one of the logs stood Levi The King of the seas.
Not much was known about Levi the fish boy except he appeared about 3 weeks ago and despite his grand entrances he always asks to be kept a secret. His wet stubby brown hair stuck to his shoulders that were riddled with bioluminescent scales which made him all the more pleasing to look at. All over his soft milky brown skin the scales were present almost as if they were providing some sort of protection. If there was one thing to be known about the fish boy at all it would be he refuses to be called the H word....human.
"Brrrr it's s-so cold," Levis shivered as his skin turned as blue as the morning sky.
Klieg walked over to Levi clenching his stomach while bellowing out with his hardy laugh.
"Oh no klieg the ice it's so cold let me check my temperature," Levi grabbed kliegs hand pulled a finger out and dramatically bit down on it, "How I'm looking sir doctor."
Klieg looked down at his finger mocking a thermostat and then locked a concerned gaze onto Levi. "Oh no boyo it seems you are.....cold!"
Klieg and Levi fell over laughing at their joke while Russo stood in the back holding his ore with an unpleased expression tattooed on his face.
"You two can't even be serious for 10 seconds we have logs to get back to ultril or he will for sure have our heads so if you two comedians don't mind I'd like to get a move on will ya!"
Russo yelled at the top of his lungs stretching out his arms to add emphasis to his seriousness. Levi and klieg looked at each other expressionless and then back at Russo.
"Look at his face!" Levi yelled cracking up with laughter.
Klieg and Levi rolled back over laughing and holding their stomachs. Klieg slapped his knee and Levi rolled into the water laughing.
"KLIEG!" Russo had finally had enough of the twos childish banter.
Klieg stood up finally controlling his laughter, "Oh I'm sorry boyo but the ice joke gets me every time."
"Yes I know all 5 million times he's said it."
"Oh don't be so uptight Russo the boy is going to help us get back to the shore with our pad and then you can take the day to yerself in front of a nice long fire with the misses."
"The misses is out of town for several moons actually," Russo tried not to sound as sad as he actually was that he wouldn't be seeing his wife for several nights.
"Oh I'm sorry there boyo if you need some company the misses and I always have room in front of the heart." Klieg said placing his hand on russos shoulder.
"Thanks but I'll be busy myself." Russo said taking kliegs hand off his shoulder.
"Oh is that so doin what?"
"Ultril has asked me to go along with the royal men to investigate some strange thievery going on in the slum," Russo placed his hands on his sides with excitement.
"There's always strange thievery going on in the slum."
"Yes but this time it's different," Russo rebutted.
"How different can stealing be?"
"ENOUGH QUESTIONS YOURE JUST JELOUS THAT I GET TO WORK FOR ULTRIL AND YOU DONT!" Russo pointed his almost frozen finger so close to klieg it almost touched his nose.
Klieg moved russos hand with a giant smile across his face, "Yer right boyo maybe I'm just a wee bit jealous that the king chose you for his suicide mission instead of me."
Russo perked up after hearing the words suicide echo through his ears over and over again. "S- suicide mission?"
"Oh yeah you haven't heard the guards talking about it possed to be a terrible mission filled with devils and monsters."
"OH SHUT IT YOUR JUST TRYING TO SCARE ME!"
"Did I mention the demons?"
"Demons...." Russo began to freeze just like Levi did.
"I'm kidding boyo I'm proud of ya just don't forget me when you become a kings man eh." Klieg turned and sat on the edge of the raft watching the ice refreeze.
"W-wow I mean klieg that means so much to me and to see you be serious for once is insane but for you to be serious and say you're proud of me just means so much."
"Boyo I can be serious okay Yer just don't know me well enough."
Through an unfrozen part of the water close to the boat a water bubble began slowly rising up. Klieg looked over and stretched his arm toward the bubble about to pop it.
"DONT YOU DARE!" Russo yelled with his eyebrows so high they were basically above his head.
Klieg popped the bubble and Levi's loud voice was inside.
"COLD!"
Klieg rolled over laughing and holding his stomach as Levi resurfaced laughing just as hard.
"Can we go back now," Russo shrugged in defeat.