Havardr pushed himself as the weather intensified, doing all he could to prevent the intruder from getting ahead of him even for a moment. They were neck and neck for a short while, and the climb melted away as they cleared the second way-stone. The weather eased for a moment, the calm before the storm, as the King pressed his advantage as far as he could to take the lead once more.

The going would get tougher now as endurance was tested and then surpassed, forcing the challengers to pull out every reserve they had before the end. Havardr had made this climb many a time before, the question was if the challenger could force him to use a speed of which he had never been required to utilise before.

The shaking intensified as they passed the second way-stone, the rumble of something devastating approaching the duo. Havardr would have smiled.