Four knights huddled around a fire in the naked countryside, eating rabbit and drinking from their water bags. They were on a quest to slay any evil in the kingdom’s farthest reaches and find the source of some strange lights and going-ons in the area as of late.

Apparently, many castle guards had observed strange lights around the farthest edges of the woods, and the King sent his favorite knights to cure the fear of the people. It had been 4 weeks of travel, and they were deep within the forest that surrounded the valley the castle occupied.

Buckonir, the leader, was a large man in height and had long, blonde hair that reached his waist when unbound. His feminine features and slim build belied his horrible strength. Next to him was Smitson, simply called Raven, for his love of black clothing and his short, but heavy build. Beside him were the Gutenstein cousins, Dog and Marc, both of average build with long, brown hair and savage faces.

The men were not in a joking mood tonight, as fear crept into them. “So were the first to explore these woods, aye?” said Raven, looking at the filled mouth of Buckonir. “Yes, who knows what be in this cursed forest ... trolls, ogres, orcs ... but they are no match for our blade’s bite.” He said calmly. “The sun will rise soon, so let’s sleep well tonight.” At this, the group removed their armor and weapons and laid on the ground still chewing on their straw beds, closing their eyes.

“Ye know, from behind you look like a maiden, Buckonir,” Dog cooed, and the group roared in laughter. “How long has it been since you have laid with a woman? Oh, you never have,” smiled Buckonir. At that, Dog pretended to laugh and go to sleep, never mind the insult.

The group was already moving through the woods at first light, heading north, towards the area of the lights. The forest had been dark, alien, and mysterious for all the days they had moved through. The air was far colder up here, and frost coated the pines in the immediate area. The oxygen was thin, dragging on the men’s endurance since they had been steadily climbing uphill through a mountain forest. The streams were chucked with ice, and the ground was white with snow.

After 2 hours of nonstop trudging, they stopped to make camp and rest for around an hour or 3. “I’ll get wood, Dog, and Marc will get meat, and you get some water, Raven.”

They all split into separate groups immediately. Raven carried skin bags and small pails with him near a stream, collecting ice to melt. He noticed the smell of fresh water and decided to follow it, too tired to care what might be around. He found a little, flowing stream. As he gathered water from the stream, he looked up further to see a wide lake. He moved up to one of the most beautiful icy lakes he had ever seen, but suddenly a large splash moved him to drop his equipment and unsheathe his sword.

Tense and tight, his eyes darted quickly around the lake surface. What made him drop his guard in disbelief was when a naked woman rose out of the water, her long, curly black hair raining ice water and freezing droplets sliding down her breasts. Her light, muscular build was lightly tan. It made no sense ay all.

“Hey! MAIDEN!” he yelled, but the woman only turned slightly, smiled, and lazily walked through the trees.

Raven could not believe his eyes. He ran furiously back to the camp to find Bucknir stoking a fire. “BUCKNIR!! I found PEOPLE!! UP here!” he gasped.

“People?! What kind of people?!” He alarmingly uttered.

“I don’t know ... I saw a woman in the ice lake; she was not scared. I’m sure we can track her!” Raven gasped. Bucknir yelled for Marc and Dog, who came running, blades at the ready. “We found people here, or someTHING, but we gonna find it, aye?!” Bucknir pronounced.

The men quickly found the tracks near the lake and traced them through the icy forest, eventually happening upon what seemed like a tiny village. The homes were made with wood and mud, but large and in the distance stood what seemed to be a stone temple unlike anything they had seen. Bucknir placed his hand on the sword handle and slowly walked in, yelling, “We come in peace, please speak to us, we come from the southern Kingdom of the Valley!”

Immediately they were surrounded by dozens of women! The women were dressed in fur and walked around them confusingly, women of all ages, yet no older than 40 but no younger than 17. They touched the knight’s faces and slowly began to smile and giggle.

“I like this place,” said Dog.

Then horns blew and the women pulled out large scimitar blades from under their four, aimed at the knight’s throats. Raven was about to fight back when a large red-haired woman about 6ft 4 and muscular as a man walked towards them. “I am Kala, and these are my people! Why are you here, knights of the south! Drop your blades or die, we have archers all aimed at your heads!”