This was bad.
The train had stopped half a day’s journey short of their destination and the conductor refused to move any further. The plan had been to ride the train through the mountain range that separates the Northern Barony from the south and walk to the capital city from there.
The only problem was that even though it was barely 3 in the afternoon, the clouds had completely darkened the sky and a freezing wind was blowing outside. The train’s conductor ushered them into the lead car where he pointed at the tracks around the bend. They’d completely frozen over, far beyond what the train was capable of driving through.
“Can we clear the ice?” Willow asked hopefully.
The conductor shook his head.
“There’s no point. The tracks beyond are just as bad, if not worse,” he replied. “It’d be faster to walk in from here.”
None of the party were interested in that. The mountain passes were treacherous at best and impassable in multiple areas.
The conductor read their minds and spoke before the others could.
“If I try to drive the train through that, we’ll likely derail. Attempting to clear the ice would take months. I’ll be here to take you back, but this is as far as I can go, I’m afraid.”
The northern regions had been trouble for any parties that had traveled this way. There was a reason the Society required permits and approval processes for anyone who sought to go north.
Hana sighed.
“Everyone gear up, we head out in five.”
***
The party split the gear up evenly. Each person received a winter jacket and boots. And while Willow equipped the Blessed Gloves of Cold Resistance, she received two Fire Stones while the others had three each. Jinyoung buried one deep inside the jacket while the other two went to each of two pockets.
Still, when the car doors opened, the severity of the cold nearly knocked the wind out of him. The air was like needles and while the Fire Stones were certainly keeping his legs and chest warm, he could easily feel the cold creeping in along his arms and hands.
The party walked for an hour, barely making it two miles but it felt like so much longer. The mountain terrain was rocks over slick and frozen mud. The expectation was that the northlands would be covered in snow, but snow requires precipitation. Instead, the dry arid north was simply frozen. The biting cold made it impossible to talk and the party had to pause occasionally to tighten their jackets to keep the cold from getting in.
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Jinyoung tried to shout against the wind, but he couldn’t even hear his own voice much less hope that anyone else would hear it. Thinking better of a second attempt, he flicked on his clan chat.
What’s the plan, Hana?
Up ahead, he could see Hana scanning their surroundings looking for something that was beyond Jinyoung’s imagination. Eventually, she found something and pointed at a formation of rocks in the distance.
Up there. Follow me.
Behind him, he could see Willow struggling against the wind. Under normal circumstances, he would’ve turned back to help, but he was having trouble walking enough as it was. Slowly, the party made their way towards the rocks which turned out not to be rocks at all. Rather, they were the ruins of a structure that had long since bowed to nature.
“What is this place?” Jinyoung asked once they were out of the wind.
The structure was built out of concrete and led straight into the earth itself. It was hard to tell whether it was a haphazardly built tunnel or simply adapted from a natural cave formation. A mix of concrete steps and flattened rocks led underground.
“Old war bunkers from before the Break,” Hana explained. “They’re everywhere along the border.”
Hana peered ahead where the steps flattened out and followed the natural terrain of the cave.
“These tunnels aren’t too deep, but they’ll keep us out of the wind.”
Hana was right. The tunnels were maybe ten to fifteen feet below ground at most. Jinyoung could still hear the howling wind above their heads, but at least they could talk without getting a faceful of freezing cold air.
Clink.
The sound was barely above a whisper, but against the dull roar of the wind outside, it was deafening. Three heads turned to look back the way they had come and saw a man standing… no, walking. Slowly towards them.
Willow waved at the stranger. “Are you part of the survey team?”
“That’d be some luck,” Hana said. “But even if he’s with the barons, he should be able to help us find our bearings once we get back above ground.”
“And then we can find your husband, right?” Jinyoung asked.
Hana took two steps forward before looking back at Jinyoung.
“I don’t regret marrying Seunghyo, I just wish that things hadn’t ended the way they did and-” “What the hell?” Willow interjected.
The last bit wasn’t aimed at anything Jinyoung said, rather it was the stranger who had finally walked close enough that Willow could actually see him. It was his gait that raised her eyebrow first. He was limping which wasn’t strange, but the crooked shoulder was unnatural. The man was obviously a player judging by the padded armor he wore, but his skin was beyond pale. It was blue. The pallor of something long-since frozen and dead.
Almost unconsciously Jinyoung [scanned] the stranger.
“Holy shit,” he whispered.
[SCAN+]
Monster: PLAYER (Frost Bitten)
Recommended Level: 12
Health: 100%
Attributes: FROST BITE
Weaknesses: FIRE, HOLY, SIN