The north awaited but Kaden did not. He stepped through the FarPortal and into a fist of cold in his gut. The sweat on his skin iced over, his breath came out in a plume, and his eyes burned as he blinked.
You have entered the [Kavan Destruction Zone].
You are exposed to extreme cold.
You agility and endurance are greatly reduced. Seek shelter or flee!
The walls were blocks of ice, clear blocks and high above, a cold yellow sun shone. Bitter wind whistled outside an arched ice doorway.
“Here, quickly,” a woman said. “Let the [Letidyr] hug you, or you will freeze.”
Something like a deeply furry blanket wrapped itself around him, then stretched out, enveloping his arms and then legs. Warmth coursed through his limbs, and Kaden’s stiffness melted away as he studied the beast. It clung to his back , resting a flat, bearded head on the side of Kaden’s shoulder, and flinched away as Burny caught fire in an effort to fend off the cold.
[Letidyr]
The Letidyr was once a fearsome monster, but thousands of years of manipulation by [Vivomancers] turned an armored warrior into a lover, not a fighter. Unable to generate their own body heat, they have become adapted at retaining other’s. They are not immune to the cold, but work with other living creatures to survive it.
Skills: Surround, Absorb Heat
Talents: Malleable
Kaden looked more like he’d grown long brown fur than like a beast was wrapped around him. Small hook-like claws kept the fur clinging around his arms and legs. It took Kaden zero time to bind the beast, which immediately relaxed, sagging onto him much more comfortably.
Behind him, a shriek of pain accompanied Trella arriving on the Far Portal, while Sara stepped off to the side, glancing around. “Help her,” she said to a [Beserker] woman wearing a tan letidyr. “The Horror is immune to cold. I’m not completely but this is simply brisk.”
Before Kaden could help, the beserker lifted a Letydir from a squirming mound and drapped it over Trella. The Beast’s arms wrapped down hers, enfolding her, and Trella stopped gasping. “So cold.”
No time to wait, Kaden had already lifed a Letidyr from the mound and as Ashi arrived, he wrapped it around her. Her hands and face took on a white-blue tint as she absorbed Ice mana. “Off to the side so we can help Eve.”
Eve arrived wearing her Alpha robes and shrugged off the Letidyr. “I’m already wearing the hide of one beast and immune to cold.”
Now Kaden could focus on their helper.
[Drokor Skan - Beserker]
Drokor Skan was once a mighty warrior among beserkers, as close to a Centurion as any ever get. Her quest to avoid losing control to her rage led to the destruction of her skills and surrender of her class. Now she lives in quiet, welcoming the few visitors who come to this domain and searching for an answer to a problem her people cannot fix.
Level: 79
HP:???
Mana:???
“Good afternoon,” Sara said. “According to my Quest, you should be aware of my party and our goals.”
Drokor bowed slightly. “I am. You’re the last to arrive. All the Factions have clans they support and we’ve seen parties arrive all week. What short straw did you pull to wind up with my clan?”
Kaden’s [Detect Lie] and [Read Emotion] skills said Drokor believed what she was telling them, that they’d gotten the worst tribe to support. “We’re here to make it easier to attack someone else, and I promise you, we can do that. That’s our primary goal.” His other goals could wait until Kaden knew who to trust, preferrably after this whole mess was sorted.
“We’re very exposed,” Trella said. “And not to complain but I’m a [Shadow Blade] in a place that’s almost nothing but white. Is there an underground—or stone—or stick—building where we can discuss? I like being able to see enemies coming, but this is extreme.”
“There are no enemies coming. There is no honor to be had in defeating the Resyr We are traders and merchants. We embrace strangers where they tolerate them when necessary. We have little voice at the council of clans.” Drokor turned in a circle. “We have the only FarPortal. We have [Makur] for milk and meat and hide. The harbor is not ten miles south east, and normally we would have medicine, potions, salves. But there are no shipments.”
Sara cleared her throat. “I can fix that. Were you part of the agreement to take down the pirates?”
“We promised both of our warriors and were paid as much. Your [Ledidyr] is worth more than we received,” Drokor said, her voice bitter as the wind. “One is dead and awaiting a [Priest], the other so injured it would have been more merciful to kill him.”
Sara closed her eyes a moment. “Then your debt to the Mercari is paid. In fifteen days, perhaps less, our trading ships will arrive. And the Resyr clan will once more have power. We want peace. We want you to drive your deals for peace.”
“I can help with your warriors,” Eve said. “Bring your dead, your wounded, your ill or those with Status conditions. There is always a price for healing, but that price need not be paid by you. I will extract it from any who come.”
Trella’s hand found Kaden’s. *I think Eve’s scarier since she made peace with her Class.*
Kaden agreed. “If enemies aren’t coming to us, we should be coming to them to let them know we’re here. If there are other Adventurers, they won’t want to tangle with a fully staffed party.”
“This would make us sleep easier. Go west, across the frozen river, the Skan are our closest allies during times of peace. People of the bow, they build ships and sail. They are sailors, not warriors of land. They will have guards posted, but if you only wish to talk, they do not desire blood.” Drokor pointed west. “Do not stay out past dark. The spawns here are not what you know. [Ulfen] come for our [Makur], but they would accept your flesh. When dusk approaches, look for the beacons.”
Kaden pointed to the [Letidyr]. “Sara, don’t take a chance on the cold getting worse, or a storm.”
“That won’t work. The Horror occasionally wonders what I taste like. Wrapping myself in a living beast will absolutely end badly. And I need to be with you to present clans the chance to make good on their debt.” Sara stepped out of the door—and back in. “This is going to be a problem.”
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
Trella was already at work, using the [Inkblades] on a hapless [Letidyr]. “Eve, heal it enough to stop the blood but not enough to close the wounds. We’ll repeat until we have an opening for the Horror.”
The world was spinning, and Kaden was moments away from passing out. “Don’t do that. They’re hurting.”
“Not for long. Hold the wound open or the healing will close it” Eve invoked [Life Endowment]. “How is that?”
With Kaden’s help, she wrestled the Horror through, then sighed as the [Letidyr] wrapped around her. “No! I said No!” Sara shouted at her horrors. “You’ll do as I say or I’ll dismiss you. You won’t eat as much as a snow-flake. Test me on this.”
The Horror opened all of its jaws and gurgled, then ground its teeth in way that made Kaden’s skin crawl. [Beast Soul] rarely detected thoughts from the Horror. Sarah claimed once it knew he could sense them, it vowed not to think in his presence, but now, it sensed an emotion-thought. It had seen stars born, grow, die, and be diced up into jiggly salads of star-bits that were so very tasty. It could wait for star-salad, which would include these beasts.
For now it backed off.
“That feels fantastic,” Sara said. “I may not be damaged by cold but it doesn’t mean I enjoy it.”
Kaden looked to Ashi. “Is it safe for you out there?”
“I do not wish to abandon you, but whether I help or hinder I cannot say. Let me stay and adapt.” Ashi looked to Eve. “I can heal. I have mana stones.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Kaden headed out with Sara at his side, letting his gut be his guide as he surveyed. Stone mounds led underground, and bare white bone fences made a coral with high sides. [Mages] had made thin walls of ice so the structures shielded the constant arctic wind, and everywhere, [Beserkers] worked, butchering beasts and cleaning the hides. They stared as Kaden passed—then he spotted a young man leading a mound of snow and fur.
[Makur]
The Makur have existed for so long in the cold they are not only immune, they grow stronger in it. Feeding on the Ice Mana crystals that grow beneath the snow, they thrive in a realm where most die. This one is tame from birth and eager to receive more crystals without digging through drifts. *Happy*.
Skills: Bull Rush, Gore
Talents: Ice Born.
Kaden bound it and selected the [Ice Born] talent.
[Ice Born] there is no such thing as cold, for you. Where others find cold you find strength. The colder it becomes for others, the stronger you are. Your stamina is greatly increased as temperature decreases.
This talent conflicts with [Fire Proof].
Neither talent will function while both are active.
Kaden deactivated the one he got from Burney. Bull Rush was a Beast version of [Shield Charge] and wouldn’t be any better, so Kaden skipped that.
Now it was easy to head west, over low hills and down to a river so frozen Kaden couldn’t sense fish underneath. Sara tested the ice, though it probably would have supported a [Quillophant].
“We have competing goals,” Sara said, as they climbed up on the opposing side of the river. “I need to at least ask for repayment. We get a bonus just for asking.”
“I don’t need to make an example of them. In fact, I’d rather not. When we’re in the guild, do Adventurers rush up and attack? No. Because it doesn’t benefit anyone. I need them to go back and say ‘let’s not be hasty.’” Kaden paused. Something had moved in the blur of blinding white. He’d made an intentional decision not to use [Stealth Aura] because appearing in the middle of someone’s encampment would be interpreted as an attack. And of course, it was how he’d attack if it came to that.
*Slow down. We’re being watched.* Kaden sent the message by [Thought Speech]. [Stealth Aura] wouldn’t activate now, and that was all the proof he needed.
Sara’s psuedopods perked up, scanning, then reached out.
[Split Second] activated, and Kaden triggered [Moment of Speed] to catch an arrow that whistled by his head. He held it, waiting for more. “My name is Kaden Birch, I’ve got a Quest to guard the Resyr. I just want to talk.”
Another arrow whistled in, striking the Horror, which accepted the offering, swallowing the arrow caught in its maw. The other pseudopod waved frantically, asking if it, too, could have an arrow to swallow.
*If they wanted to hit us, they would have,* Sara sent.
She wasn’t wrong, but Kaden didn’t like being a target. Trinity would die in short order exposed to cold like this. Skully would be perfect but he wasn’t functioning. Kaden summoned the [Falcrow]. “I need to know who is watching us and where they are.”
It faded out of existence.
A moment later, Kaden almost flinched as it dove at a snow mound on the far right, then sailed in an arch before diving again. Two guards. “You may as well both come talk. Or if it makes you feel better, you, on the left, cover us, while the other one leaves the snow drift.”
The wind carried moments of a coarse conversation spoke in barked orders. The snow itself rose up as someone stood, carrying a bow they kept drawn, aimed at Kaden. The man was a [Beserker] but he carried some form of elemental stealth, perhaps a stealth that functioned better in snow. “Do not come closer.”
Kaden held out his arrow. “You want it back? I don’t need it, I have [Mana Quiver] and my arrows always do poison damage. This isn’t useful to me.”
“Why are you here?” The Beserker asked.
“My party is late and the Resyr said you were allies. I just wanted you to know, if someone’s attacking you and you can’t handle them, just drive them our way.” Kaden offered the man a smile.
“Resyr. If we had not believed their lies, we would still stand proud. They spoke of trade and agreements, of battles we would fight for coin. We are shipwrights! We are fishermen! Our only part was to ferry the Fen and Tun to the pirates.” The man swore under his breath. “What good is gold when the clans hold knives to each other’s necks?”
“I see.” Sara looked to Kaden. “I want to meet with your leaders. This isn’t an attack. If we were attacking, you’d never have seen us. The Resyr will have medicine, potions, and tools within the month, and they don’t want to fight.”
“What kind of potions? [Chill-Ban?] We’ve got—we’ll buy it and any [Fire Soul] potions you have.” The man’s voice held a tremble.
Kaden summoned the [Falcrow] and dispatched it to Trella. He had no idea what either of those were but she spoke potions the way he spoke beasts. And if nothing else, she’d be able to buy them. “My best friend is an [Alchemist]. I’ll check with her.” “The Resyr have access to a FarPortal. They could bring in almost any type of potion you require,” Sara said. “Why don’t you trade with them?”
“Because we don’t have anything they need!” the guard spat—then fell quiet. “You should talk to the leaders. Hildur & Almur will hear your words. Do not think to attack them. Just because we are weak does not mean we will kneel.”
Kaden and Sara followed the guard. The west side of the river became more hilly, which worked to block the wind, but after nearly an hour the cold air carried the smell of salt, and distant cries of seabirds.
*There’s water that way,* Sara sent.
Low trees dotted the hills, and if this was what passed for lumber, Kaden could trade them Fangwood and improve their ship building. Skan [Beserkers] hung fish up to freeze and dried them over low heatstones.
*There’s easily three for every one of the Resyr,* Kaden sent. And many bore the look of warriors, hardened stares that locked on Kaden and didn’t shy away. Like the Resyr, their homes appeared to be mostly underground, but the structures here were larger, twenty feet around, ten feet wide, covered in snow and ice.
“Stay.” The guard said. “Your own kind will watch you.”
Kaden didn’t mind. He loved almost everything about this place. They wore beasts like robes. The cold could be managed with a little talent swapping, and if some of the snow were stained crimson to teach people manners, new snow would fall.
A few moments later, a commotion brought a group sprinting toward Kaden. A [Shield], a [Swordsman], a [Ranger], [Assassin], [Mage] and a [Priest] of Elkor. All of them level thirty, all of them looking like they’d been napping and their reverie smashed.
The [Mage] approached slowly, as clouds of darkness wirled around him. “What are you doing here? Don’t you know, you’re not supposed to attack? You’re supposed to deter attacks. Samuel’s orders. Civilization doesn’t exist here yet.”
Sara dipped her head. “That’s exactly what we’re doing. You’ll think twice before attacking now. Good to meet all of you, we’re one tribe over, if you need anything, let us know, we have access to a FarPortal.”
The [Assassin] wore white with red trim and the heavy chainmail, and clinked as he strode forward to offer Sara a handshake. “Know this. If it comes to conflict, Samuel has already decided, no final-death.”
“Excellent!” Sara gave a cheerful laugh Kaden had almost never heard. “You know, I wasn’t sure about this Quest. Months in the north, bitter cold. There’s little to do and only gold to earn.”
[Read Emotions] told Kaden most of the other party found this humorous, and they struggled to hold it in. Kaden waved. “Hi, I’m Kaden Birch, [Beast Master]. What’s to do around here?”
“Rest,” said the [Shield], a lanky, thin man who carried a shield so thin even its owner couldn’t hide behind it. “You’re going to need it when—”
“It’s good to rest and recover,” said the [Priest]. “Life is fast paced, this job pays you to wait and do nothing. Get some sleep, it’ll do you good.”
Their guard emerged from an underground doorway. “Come. You’ve got five minutes with the speakers. Make it count, you won’t be coming back unless we ask you back.”