Monster of the Mountain II

They continued pushing through the undulating snowfall, listening to the hiss of the unyielding wind wrapping around the bend in the path and then over the cliff some twenty feet away. They had not gone very far when they heard another sound from up ahead, which made them all stop simultaneously. Although the shrill sound of the gales dominated their ears, it was the frequency of the other sound, the feel of it, that had caught their attention. It was a deep, rumbling sound, guttural in nature. Then they heard it again, but it was louder, clearer, and more sustained this time. It was the unmistakable sound of an animal of some sort, but not something they could recognize.

Alarmed by this peculiar presence, Shoruk turned quickly to his men. "Bare your edges," he said in a hushed but definitive tone, 'edge' being the group's slang word for a sword. Forged by the great Baalien Roe, the men swiftly drew out their swords and stared tensely in the direction the animalistic sound had come from.

Further up the path through the haze of blustering snowdrift, what appeared to be a large, snow-covered boulder suddenly moved. Rising slightly, the mysterious shape cast a broad silhouette. The men continued staring, but now a sense of dread was quickly descending upon them. The silhouette gave off a loud snort that forced a cloud of steam into the cold air before it. When the cloud of steam cleared, a large pair of burning green eyes appeared and were piercing through the now darkening twilight air.

The men, fixated with astonishment, were completely motionless. It was as though the wind had finally gained mastery over them and had turned them to ice, the six of them frozen where they stood. The wind abated momentarily to reveal the very reason why Shoruk had intended on avoiding this route. Crouching before them was a hulking, humanoid creature covered in thick white fur with an expression of deep, unreserved rage. They had come face to face with the infamous dreaded snow monster of Haeylon. They had come face to face with Ogandor the great!

The huge beast gave another primal snort while squinting its eyes before standing completely upright, towering ominously over them to its full height of ten feet. Then, with the wind seemingly going quiet in that very moment, the white monster arched forward and let out an earth-shattering roar of deafening proportions that seemed to penetrate through every ounce of the troupe's being. To try and flee would have been futile. There was but one thing they could do now.

"As one!" hollered Shoruk, drawing his sword from its sheath. The men raced forward. As the great beast lunged towards them, three of the men swung back their swords to slash down upon their opponent, but despite its gargantuan build, the beast was much quicker than they had anticipated and smote them off the edge of the cliff with a heavily muscled arm.

Shoruk hacked the thigh of Ogandor, causing the beast to spin in his direction. Once again, it lunged forward, but Shoruk predicted the swinging arm that shaved over the top of his head as he rolled out of the way. Nosk dashed forward and sliced the huge monster but was caught off guard as Ogandor pivoted, causing the warrior to stumble momentarily.

Attempting to dive out of the way, Nosk spun around, but Ogandor was fast, and his claw swiped the fleeing warrior in the back, ripping through his flesh and projecting him forward through the air before unceremoniously hitting the ground...