"What is your name?" Roland asked the halfling. It looked like he wouldn't receive an answer, but Judah pushed the prisoner deeper into the snow.
"Roy! My name is Roy!"
"Roy, will you tell me what the Void's plans are? If you are truly not a slave, you are not bound to obey. Prove to me you serve willingly. The way I understand it, those under its slavery cannot speak freely about it." Roland tried to recall what the Council had learned from the freed halflings before they had dispersed into the world to live their own lives.
"You could not stop them even if you knew them." Roy did not exactly smile, but his gaze held a defiance that edged into anticipation of Roland's demise.
"Then tell me." Roland baited.
"I am not such a fool as to be drawn into a discussion such as this. Kill me or let me go; the Void will not be stopped either way."
The Rhone prince hesitated. Even knowing that Roy was a fully-grown adult, it bothered his heart to see what appeared to be a bleeding child under the foot of a great beast. If killing him would truly make no difference, he would like to leave him alive.
"How long can you survive in the cold?" Roland asked.
"You will leave me here?" Roy seemed skeptical.
"I haven't decided." The prince admitted. "I would rather not kill, if it can be avoided. If I can persuade you to help me, there would be reason to let you live…"
Roland closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them to look at Roy once again.
"You have learned, I trust, that you won't be able to run and escape." He said, glancing meaningfully at Judah, who yawned as if the pursuit were barely any effort.
"I do believe I have." Roy glared up from his place in the snow. He looked pale, either from the blood loss or the cold, and Roland's pity was aroused.
"Let him up please Judah." He directed.
The large cat looked wary of the command, and sat on his mighty haunches. Slowly, reluctantly, he lifted his paw.
The halfling stumbled to his feet with an angry look at the animal before glancing down at his wounds.
"I'm going to bleed to death thanks to your stupid pet." He complained. Roland sighed. He knew it was not in the nature of halflings to be particularly kind or happy, but he felt pity all the same.
"I'm trained as a doctor, I will–"
"Die with me!" Roy had drawn a dagger from somewhere in his coat and lunged towards Roland.
He leapt backward, but the halfling was alarmingly quick. Before Roland's surprise even rose to his throat in a startled cry, the point of the blade had touched his chest, aimed directly at his heart.
It did not reach its destination, falling to the ground.
Roland stared in shock as the small man disappeared down Judah's throat in two enormous bites.
It was all over so quickly, that there was no reaction to be had at all.
Roy was dead. And eaten. Judah belched and licked his lips.
If Roland had ever doubted the giant creature's prowess and might as a predator, that was now dispelled. That had been a terrifying sight.
And yet, The large cat now tilted his head as if curious as to why Roland was staring at him.
"Thank you for saving my life," The man said, a little uncomfortably. He didn't want to dwell too long on the manner in which he was saved, so he picked up the dagger and added it to his pack. Such a tool might come in handy later, even though he still had the Cetoan machete from the jungle trek.
Judah chirped uneasily beside him.
"What is it? Do you not like the cold?" Roland asked the large beast. A fluffing out of fur was the only response. It would have been comical if he hadn't seen a living, intelligent, being disappear down the cat's throat only moments before.
"I see. I'm not quite sure where we are. I'm afraid I don't exactly know how to get home. I was rather hoping that you would be able to help out with that."
Speaking aloud helped him think, as he processed their situation. "I imagine we're much further North than I've ever been. Klain is on the Southwest side of an impassable mountain range… I fear we might be on the other side of it. I've never seen a wasteland quite like that."
He glanced back behind. He hadn't made a huge amount of progress since beginning his trek. If the weather were clear, the tundra would likely still be visible behind him. A strange sort of howling pierced the air and Roland breathed into his fingers for warmth.
"I know a horse cannot… but you are better than a horse, aren't you? Do you think you can get us on the other side of the mountains?" Roland asked hopefully. "I cannot say how far it is. Perhaps your nose can find the nearest humans?"
Judah chirped and shook himself from head to toe, shooting what had to be an annoyed glance at the sky and the snow falling from it. As Judah snapped a snowflake out of the air with his powerful jaws, Roland could swear the creature looked contemplative, and then disappointed, at the result.
"Shall we?" Roland asked, approaching the cat. Judah huffed and obligingly leaned one shoulder down to make it easier for the man to climb on his back. "Annoyed at the cold, or at carrying me? I did ask you to volunteer, but I think it's rather obvious I can't force you to do anything… of course, I have no idea how to get you home. We'd need to find Jimmy for that and hope he's in a good mood."
Roland settled into Judah's fur, which was soft and warm, a relief from the biting cold which was cutting through Roland's layers of clothing. Judah sniffed in derision and took off at a breakneck pace.
Agile and strong, he had little trouble bounding up and over the mountainous terrain. Roland closed his eyes against the icy flakes that pelted his face at the breakneck speed. He had no idea how far they were going, only that it was a much faster journey than he'd taken in his life.
He wondered if this was what it was like moving with the Fae, as Finn had once told him.
"Help us get home, Gwen… if it's not a disruption to everything." He whispered with eyes slitted towards the horizon ahead.
One of Judah's ears twitched towards him, and Roland studied Judah's new, lighter coloring. It was a startling transformation, and a beautiful one.
It seemed Judah could camouflage into his surroundings at will… but how did a thing change the color of its fur? It was an intriguing mystery, and one he considered as they went.
He held on as they continued, impressed by the cat's stamina. It ran for hours, up and down steep slopes, at such angles that Roland often feared he would tumble from Judah's back down to his death.
The journey was arduous, even though he was not doing the bulk of the work. His arms and legs grew sore from his efforts to keep his seat, but blessedly, the snow had stopped.
Breathing became difficult at times, and Roland wondered how high they were. People could not survive above certain elevations.
Eventually, Judah's breathing also became labored, and his pace slowed. Roland had no idea just how far they must have come, when Judah leapt up an incline so steep that Roland's legs all but dangled behind them, and he wrapped his arms tightly around Judah's neck to keep from falling.
Reaching the top, Judah heaved a mighty sigh, and shook himself lightly. Taking the hint that rest was required, Roland slipped off the cat's back and down onto the snow. Instantly, he was colder. Without the warmth of the running animal's body heat against him, the chill seemed more bitter than ever.
"Thank you, Friend. You've brought us much farther than I would ever have been able to come alone, and you deserve a rest."
Judah chirped in response and trotted forward. Roland realized they were on a wide plateau. It was strange after so many angled and jagged mountain peaks to see a flat place, but if one needed a rest, a flat area was better than a narrow ledge.
Nightfall was on its way, he realized, as he peered across the area. Ahead was a large mound of snow, irregular in shape. Roland walked towards it, following Judah's lead.
The cat began digging into the mound until he reached an oddly hollow place. A snow cave?
No… there was something other than snow holding up the roof of this little shelter. This cave was made of bone.