The snow was soft yet his steps did not dig into it, he walked upon it softly.

The armored plates of his robes clicking softly in a much too familiar rhythm.

His piercing blue eyes scanned his surroundings looking for any sign of danger.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted his all too familiar ambush predator the snow ganter,

A big white cat, its pure white pelt camouflaging it quite well within the frozen environment.

But not well enough to escape his trained eyes.

He continues walking forward as if he didn’t notice.

And as soon as he was in range of the cat's ambush it jumped at him with feline grace, yet quicker than its eyes could perceive its life was reaped by a cold iron rapier through the eye.

Adrian pulled his sword out of the skull of the cat and flecked it clean of blood and calmly resheathed it 

20 years have passed since Adrian was sent to the top of this hellish mountain.

The biting cold stained his being a dead blue, seeping into his soul.

His embers have died within the first 20 levels of the great frozen realm of Zianforz.

And here he finally was at the bottom of it. He still remembers the childish thought that got him into this mess.

‘Oh?! Being transported into another world??! Oh, this is going to be sick! I want to be an ageless war machine!’

How foolish was he, to think that power is so easily given.

In essence, his wish was granted. Now he is but a husk stained by Primordial ice, the perfect weapon.

But now it is time to change that. He is at the bottom of the mountain. And he could kill for a bowl of hot stew.

He continued his unending marsh down the last leg of the mountain.

He felt the winds cress his now ice blue hair, he enjoyed the cold, now it was refreshing.

He saw the sky starting to darken but did not stop to rest no not when he was finally this close.

It was only a week later that he finally saw a bastion of civilization.

From atop of an icy cliff he saw the town beyond the high walls. The street lanterns fought back the darkness of the night. Some people still walked the streets even at this dark hour.

His eyes drifted as he took in the decidedly European building style. 

Finally, after 20 years, I can see humans once again.

 As a single ember of happiness rose from within, it was quickly frozen to nothingness only to be replaced by a cold frustration

This coldness that is now thoroughly part of my being is caused by a curse that is the only reason I survived for so long 

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

It strengthens your physicality and fixes all your mana to the ice element.

It removes the need for sleep or physical rest.

It removes the need for air, water, and food.

But it also dulls all of my enjoyable emotions, making life quite dull.

But I will work to change that, after all, there is a town in front of me. And I am feeling more than ready.

With a calm stride, he walked towards the closest gate. 

“You! Halt!” yelled an old guardsman. He stood tall with a long beard and a well-built body.

He moved towards me, his eyes scanning me head to toe and eyeing my various weapons

A small mirth buckler shield strapped to my left arm, a rapier on the left side of my hip, a dagger on my lower back, a magical gauntlet covering my right fist, a small bag of holding on the right side of my hip, And a spear strapped across my back. All of that excluding the armor of blessed ice I wore.

tools of survival.

He stands a distance away and shouts at me “ Identify yourself!”

And I oblige “my name is Adrian.I have been lost for a long time and I wish for nothing more than a warm stew” I say so while taking off my helmet, I can only hope that this is enough to lessen his suspicion.

He stares me in the eyes seemingly coming to a decision “alright young chap, come into the guard’s station and we will take care of that stew problem of yours”

Splendid.

He turns around and starts walking towards the gates and I calmly follow him.

The gates are made in a two-layered design where the first gate is the guard station.

And past the second one is the town.

We enter a solid metal door on the side.

Inside is a table with two chairs. An old man sits and before him a stack of paper he is working on.

As soon as we enter he visibly relaxes.

“Ah thank goddess it went fine Liam.” he spoke with a smile.

“Yea just a false alarm Marten no snow giants past the wall, just a lost cold soul.” The guardsman spoke with a grin.

They seemed close, like old friends.

“Now sit down young man, I will be the one to handle your identification.” he said to me warmly.

I sit in front of Marten who pulls out a crystal and places it in between us while pushing aside the papers. He points to it “now put your hand on the lie detector, and answer my questions truthfully.” 

I nod and place my right hand on top of the clear crystal.

“Now, what is your name.” he asked while pulling out a sheet of paper

“My name is Adrian Jonson.” I answered him and the crystal lit with a pale green light.

Marten started filling the page into a foram with expert movements.

“Age?” he asked 

“41” the crystal lit green again

“Surprising, I thought you were younger.” he said with amusement.

“Many more will be making that mistake I believe” I answered politely.

The old man chuckled.

“Affiliations?” he asked writing more onto the paper.

“Non” I answered 

“Do you wish to, in any shape or form, harm the people within the walls of Eceilnda?” he asked while looking me in the eyes 

 “No” I answered truthfully.

“Good, that is a weight off my shoulders.” he said with a soft smile.

“What is your reason for coming here.” he asked while again focusing on the paper

“To rest and seek where the world takes me” I answered once more. And he cracked a smile at that.

“What is your profession.” he asked in a far more relaxed tone 

“I only have my sword to earn meat, other than that I can do accounting” I answered calmly.

“That is fine. You will find many jobs this season, mostly escort jobs.”

“Oh, and why is that?” I asked with keen interest. After all, who can say No To Even More Work

“You truly are not from around here huh, the annual tournaments will start next month in the capital, so if you leave a dependable impression at the guilds you might be hired as an escort to one of the noble’s children,” answers me with a wide smile.

The guards are surprisingly nice. Not what I expected honestly. 

“Alright your papers are now complete, the fee for your card and first-time entry will be 1 silver coin,” he says as he stamps the papers with an insignia of a crowned wolf.

“I have no coin with me, but I do have furs from mountain animals. Would it suffice?” I asked hopefully while taking the fur of a wolf from my small bag of holding

“Goodness, is this the fur of a dire wolf?!”  he exclaims while looking shocked at the fur within my hands.

Why is he surprised? I only took out the fur of the weakest wolf I slew out there?

“No sir Jonson this is worth far more than a mere silver coin! Please reconsider!” he pleads looking very troubled.

“Sir I regretfully inform you that this is the fur of the weakest monster I have, can you sell it and send me the rest?” please take it and let me go get some hot stew.

He calms down and nods “alright alright, I will take care of it myself when the sun rises, here you go keep this paper on you at all times.” he says and gives me a slip of paper he tore off the paper he filled about me. Thanking him I got up and out of the room and began to move past the gates the guards did not stop me.

And soon I am lost in the dark streets. I could use magic to guide my path, but what is the fun in that?