Chapter 72: Snow Day

In the end, it was almost two hours before the healer finally let me out of the tub, by which point the pain and swelling was gone, at the cost of looking and feeling like a prune. Pumpkin got to leave before me, the lucky sod, and took great pleasure in curling up under the magical ball of light to soak up the rays, staring smugly at me the entire time. I’d tried my best to splash him for it, but my attempts regrettably fell short, as not even my proficiency with throwing weapons could hold a handful of water together for the distance required.

[Water (1 oz) stored.]

At least drying off was easy, taking just a second to store the droplets clinging to my body; the little extra added to my reserves was just the cherry on top.

“What now?” I asked the healer as I got dressed, already feeling more like a human again, rather than a living popsicle.

The healer promptly vanished, confirming his identity as one of Harvey’s summons with a stunning display of rudeness.

“Was it something you said?” Pumpkin joked, his smug grin growing even wider in defiance of the laws of physics.

[Apple withdrawn.]

I threw an apple at his head, which didn’t make him less smug, but at least he couldn’t mock me with his mouth full. With the gluttonous feline now occupied, I was free to step past him to take in the state of the caravan. It was feeding time for the horses, but there was nowhere for them to graze nor even any room to let them off the harness. The drivers made do, placing thick bales of hay in front of each horse; I wasn’t sure from where, since I was pretty sure none of it had been stored in the carriages, but I could only chalk it off to more System shenanigans, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary.

Harvey, meanwhile, was at the very back of the caravan, only his lower body visible half the time as he pulled crates out of the hindmost carriage, setting them down haphazardly on the floor next to him. As I approached, the reason for his actions became obvious; whilst the body of the carriage was still largely intact, unlike the one sacrificed during the battle, it had still taken its fair share of damage. The back wheels were almost entirely gone, frozen through and shattered such that I could spot a dozen pieces of each on the floor. Unless the convoy happened to carry spares, which I thought unlikely due to their size and bulk, the entire carriage was just dead weight.

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“Need some help?” I offered, because I never did like sitting around without nothing to do, which seemed to be the order of the day.

“Eh?” Harvey turned to me, a faint flicker of surprise on his face that was quickly suppressed. “You’re already awake? I felt the healer dismiss himself, but I’d thought he was content to let you sleep.”

“Is that a bad thing?” I retorted, raising an eyebrow at his uncharacteristic concern. “I feel like I’ve been out for a while already.”

“Just a few hours, barely anything in the grand scheme of things. You must have a really sturdy soul, either that, or the devil’s own luck. The first time seeing the Storm is always the hardest, when I was in your shoes, I slept for almost three days afterwards!”

“Could be worse,” I demurred. “At one point, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever wake up again.”

I had a few theories as to why I got off lightly, but I had no intentions of sharing the story of my reincarnation with Harvey or anyone else for that matter. He’d proven relatively trustworthy thus far, but some secrets needed to stay secret.

“That was a possibility. Not a very likely one, not for The Living Storm, which has been one of the most active and therefore well-studied of his kind. One in five who see him will sleep forever, according to the records of the sentinels who track his movements. A worthwhile risk, considering the boons a glimpse of him can grant.”

“It turned out well enough,” I agreed, tapping the magical necklace I’d gotten out of the ordeal. “But what if it hadn’t? You’ve put in a fair bit of investment, getting me here, weren’t you worried it might have all gone to waste?”

I wasn’t truly angry at him, since I’d vowed to pursue a high risk, high reward strategy in this life, but the question still had to be asked, for appearance’s sake if nothing else.

“I’m a Thief of Souls,” Harvey laughed, his tome reappearing in his hands. “It would have been a slight setback, in terms of our long-term goals, but I’d still have gotten my money’s worth out of you.”

How comforting, I thought, rolling my eyes.

“Moving on,” I declared, because the alternative was a prolonged awkward silence that nobody would enjoy. “Looks like the carriage is dead; is it normal to lose a third of the convoy in the first leg of the journey?”

“Not at all,” Harvey shrugged, exasperated. “There’s always an element of danger on these trips, that’s part and parcel of the smuggler’s lifestyle, but usually the trouble comes further North. Attempted breaches of the Wall, unrest in the garrisons or deserters turned to banditry, that sort of thing. What we’ve had to deal with these past two weeks makes me wonder if I’ve offended the Gods lately, more than usual anyway.”

“Lovely,” I grunted, pinching my nose and letting out a deep breath, an old calming exercise taught to me by an old chiropractor who looked like he predated World War One.

“As for the merchandise, we’ll load what we can into the other cars and personal storage, but anything extra will have to be left behind, so don’t hold back on my account.”