To Hell in a Blizzard

The wind wailed around him. It moaned so loudly in his ears that Basileus was deaf to all else. The heavy gusts seemed to assail him from all sides and the giant was unable to resist its forceful shoves. He was battered and beaten, and nearly shoved off his paws with every bellow. Not one to feel fear easily, Basileus was absolutely terrified. He saw himself dying at every turn; saw himself freezing to death, falling into a hidden chasm to never been seen again or succumbing to any number of icy graves. The blizzard raged on. He was blind. He was deaf. And he was most certainly going to die.

Or not. His stinging, wind-whipped eyes landed on what looked like a shadow up ahead. Seizing onto this ray of hope Basileus struggled towards it. He fought with the wind and the snow; every step a challenge. The brute stumbled and sank to his belly more than once only to rise sharply and press on. This would not be the end of him. It simply couldn't be.

Suddenly the wind shifted and out of the whirlwind of snow loomed a sheer cliff face. A bit frantic now, Basileus pressed on. With much effort he made it to the rock and with no other hope to cling to, pressed against it. Careful to maintain contact with the wall the brute slowly made his way along it in the hopes of finding some kind of nook to squeeze himself into. Long forgotten was his task; survival the only thought on his mind. If he was to live another day he needed to escape the storm that currently threatened him.

After finding the entrance of the mine Basileus wasted no time in flinging himself inside. He didn't care if he had to share the space with a family of bears; he was not going back out into that blizzard. The brute, his eyes still stinging, stumbled further into the cave to get out of the wind that constantly whistled in. As he'd done outside Basileus pressed his side against one of the walls and let it lead him in. His ears still rang and his eyes watered fiercely; effectively dulling those two senses for the time being. He was chilled to the bone, seemingly deaf and blind, but he was alive. There was little else he could ask for.