Beyond the Bloodlands were the Boulder Plains, upon which lay the long expanse of the Grey Lake. In the summer, those journeying north typically took a ferry across the lake, and in the winter they traveled over the frozen waters when the ice was thick enough. The Grey Lake was so vast that journeying around it could cost a rider on horseback a week of travel. Furlus was concerned the ice would not yet hold them, and so when they reached the shore, they camped for three uneventful days while the snow fell and the temperature dropped. Fresh meat was abundant, and some of the Rangers even dared venture onto the ice to fish.
At last Furlus deemed the ice safe enough to cross, and the army continued on. Small groups were sent, spaced far apart to reduce the stress on the ice. The first group to go consisted of the Rangers, who were the most qualified to discover weak spots in the ice. Behind them followed some of the Red Knights, to guide the Divine Shield that came next.
When the Rangers were about halfway across, they began to shout back warnings. Lannon could barely see them up ahead through the swirling snow, their horses moving about frantically. Using the Eye of Divinity, Lannon glimpsed boulders and chunks of ice raining down on the Rangers. One of the men had been knocked off his horse and lay bleeding in the snow.
Furlus, who rode alongside Lannon, shouted for the Rangers to retreat to the rear and for the Red Knights to hold position. They lifted the injured man onto horseback, but a large boulder crashed down on another Ranger and her horse, driving them down through the ice. The other Rangers tried to rescue her but quickly realized both she and the horse had met a sad end. Furlus again shouted for them to retreat. They left her and galloped past, as more rocks and ice chunks rained down on the spot where they had been.
"Our foes have a catapult!" Furlus bellowed. "They intend to smash us into the cold waters and be done with us!"
"We should strike back with our own catapults!" said Thrake, his eyes blazing.
"Let the Red Knights handle it," said Furlus. "We need to end this quickly." He ordered them to charge, and the Red Knights sped forward, their heavy lances burning with the fires of sorcery.
"Master Furlus," said Shennen, "we should fall back to protect the Squires. I believe we're in range of their attack."
But Furlus wasn't listening. He continued to shout orders at the Red Knights as they charged through the snow, even as rocks and ice started to rain down amongst them. A large rock descended straight for Jerret. Lannon only had an instant to react, but he managed to seize the boulder with his power and shove it away from Jerret. The rock nearly touched the top of Jerret's head before crashing down through the ice and throwing freezing water all over the shocked Squire and his horse. But Jerret rode on a Greywind, and the horse had nerves of steel. The animal reared up only slightly before regaining its composure.
Lannon was amazed at what he'd done on pure instinct. He wouldn't have thought the Eye was powerful enough to deflect a falling boulder. It was almost as if the Eye had locked onto the boulder by its own will.
"Retreat!" Furlus roared, his eyes wide.
The Divine Shield turned and charged away from the falling boulders. However, a chunk of ice struck Jace on the shoulder and knocked him off his horse. As Jace fell, his horse lost its balance and toppled over with him. The impact of the ice chunk, the huge horse, and the heavy rider caused the frozen lake surface to give way, and Jace was gone in a splash. The Greywind managed to half leap and half scramble to safety, and the horse immediately went to the hole and lowered its head in an effort to save Jace. But when Jace failed to emerge, another falling ice chunk caused the horse to gallop after the Divine Shield.
Aldreya cried out in despair. "Jace has fallen!" She slowed her horse, but Furlus ordered her onward until the falling objects could no longer reach them.
Furlus commanded everyone to halt, and they turned, anxiously watching the sky. They could hear the Red Knights shouting in the distance and catch glimpses of flame and spark through the snowflakes. Finally, a pillar of black smoke rose into the sky and Furlus grinned.
"I think their catapult will soon be ash," said the Grey Dwarf.
"Jace went under," said Aldreya, tears in her eyes.
Furlus nodded. "I saw it. When, and if, it's safe to cross, I promise you we'll search for him, and the Ranger that went down as well. At least, I would like to retrieve their bodies for a proper funeral."
Lannon and Jerret exchanged stunned glances. Lannon couldn't believe that Jace was gone so quickly and easily. Jace seemed so flamboyant-almost invincible, considering how long he'd lived. Suddenly, the world seemed far colder. Lannon realized how much he'd depended on Jace's guidance. As strange as the giant had been, he'd seemed to know things that even the wisest Knights did not.
Vannas bowed his head. "Jace was good man."
"Don't give up on him yet," said Furlus. "Jace is a powerful sorcerer and sorcerers are very hard to kill. Taris has proven that. But yes, it doesn't look good for him, my young friends. Stay strong."
At last one of the Red Knights rode back and informed them that the siege engine was destroyed, and the Goblins that had been controlling it were dead. The way ahead was clear.
However, reports from the rear were not so promising. Two of their own large catapults had broken partially through the ice, and the Knights were struggling fiercely to keep them from sinking. One of the heavily laden wagons had also broken through and would have to be emptied and abandoned.
As Furlus had promised, they searched for Jace and the fallen Ranger. The Ranger's body and that of her horse were pulled from the water, but Jace was not found. Lannon even probed the water with the Eye of Divinity. But when no sign of Jace turned up, Furlus concluded he'd been swept away under the ice and was dead. They held a quick funeral for the two, while the Squires and some of the Knights looked on in dismay, and then resumed their journey.
They came to the charred remains of a large catapult that was half sunken through the ice and the bodies of two Goblin Lords and three Ogres. The Ogres were chained to the siege engine, and it had taken several lance strikes to bring them down. One of the Red Knights who'd charged the catapult had been crushed by an Ogre's fist. Using some of the remaining wood from the catapult, the Knights built a funeral pyre for the dead-which became blazing hot even in the swirling snow thanks to Knightly sorcery.
After that, with heavy hearts they continued on across the Grey Lake and encountered no further ambushes. Also, thanks to a more watchful eye and focused effort, they were able to keep the siege engines and remaining wagons from breaking through the ice. The snow fell harder toward evening, as they set up camp. Soon a village of large tents was erected upon the frozen lake, with snow drifting up amidst the camp. The horses were given feedbags.
However, the snow was piling up so deep that both the siege engines and the wagons were becoming very difficult to pull, even for the powerful Greywind horses. They decided they would have to abandon the siege engines on the lakeshore and concentrate their energy on the wagons, which were lighter and specially modified for winter travel. It was a serious blow to their war plans, and Furlus was enraged over the fact that it had taken so long for the army to form and leave Dremlock. Now winter had struck early and with terrible force, and Dremlock's mighty siege engines would have to be left behind.