Gray tightened the straps on his battered gear. The chest plate still bore a jagged line from the spider's claws, and the shoulder guard sagged slightly from a broken clasp. It was not perfect, but it would have to do.
When he turned, Lira was already waiting by the doorway, her arms folded and her expression unreadable. She didn't speak, only gave him a faint nod, the kind that meant hurry up.
Gray glanced to his right. Korr was slumped over in a chair by the wall, head tilted back, breathing slow. One eye cracked open as if sensing Gray's stare.
"Where… where am I?" Korr mumbled. His voice was gravelly, the words still soaked in sleep.
"You were drinking," Gray replied, adjusting the gauntlet on his wrist. "The Kaan is calling for us."
Korr groaned, rubbing his face. "That explains the headache." He swung his legs forward and pushed himself upright, wincing slightly. Gray's eyes caught the movement, Korr's leg, the one that had been torn up before, was mended enough for him to walk, though each step still carried a stiffness.
Orrin appeared in the doorway. "We should move. He's waiting."
"Before that," Renn interjected, "we should stop by the blacksmith. Gray needs a new weapon… and a new suit."
There was no argument. They left the building and stepped into the open air.
The cold hit Gray first, crisp and cutting. Yet, compared to the endless damp chill of the tunnels, it felt strangely… gentle. The mountain air was sharp, yes, but there was space here, an openness that wrapped around him rather than pressing down.
"Feels calmer out here," Gray said quietly.
Lira's eyes softened a fraction. "I agree."
Ahead, Renn was already at the blacksmith's stall, where a broad-shouldered man with a thick beard was speaking rapidly in Jskander. The words carried the unmistakable weight of scolding.
Renn lifted his hands in protest, though he clearly had no idea what was being said. "I get it, I get it, you're mad he broke another one!"
The blacksmith's expression did not soften, but a moment later, he thrust a new katana into Renn's hands. Renn grinned, bowed awkwardly, and jogged back to the group.
The blacksmith shouted after him in hard tone.
"Suit will take a few hours to fix," Lira said softly.
Gray nodded and stepped forward, unclasping the straps of his own suit. The metal was scratched, cracked, and dented in several places. He handed it to the blacksmith, who took it without a word. The man's large hand gestured vaguely toward the side of the stall, and Gray understood, come back later.
He returned to the group in only a dark shirt and trousers. Lira's gaze lingered on him. "You will be fine in this weather?"
"Yeah." He inhaled, letting his breath frost in the air.
He closed his eyes for a second.
'Frozen Veins.'
A cold ripple passed through his limbs, settling like frost beneath his skin. The sting of the wind faded rapidly.
They made their way to the Kaan's dwelling, a towering structure of carved wood and stone that rose above the other buildings. The translator met them at the entrance, bowing slightly.
"Thank you for defeating the monsters," she quickly said.
They climbed to the upper level, where guards in thick furs stood watch by a pair of great double doors. The translator stopped before them. "He is waiting inside."
"You're not coming?" Gray asked.
She shook her head. "No."
That gave them pause. Without her, how would they speak with him? But the guards pushed the doors open, and the question was swallowed by what lay beyond.
A long table stretched through the center of a wide, fire-lit hall. Dishes gleamed in the flicker of the flames, thick stews, loaves of dark bread, roasted meats, bowls of berries preserved in syrup, platters of root vegetables, steaming and glazed with butter. It was the kind of food meant for surviving the cold: dense, rich, and filling.
At the far end, the Kaan sat waiting. He looked up as they entered.
"Welcome," he said in perfect English. "Please. Sit. Eat."
The words froze them in place.
They had assumed he did not know their language. Lira recovered first, stepping forward cautiously and replying in Jskander. "You can speak English?"
The Kaan took a slow bite of roasted meat, chewed, and swallowed before answering in Jskander as well. "I could always speak it. But when strangers arrive at your gates, it is wiser to listen first and speak later."
He glanced at her with curiosity. "Who taught you Jskander?"
"My mother," Lira said plainly.
"Then she taught you well." He gestured toward the table. "But the food will grow cold. Sit."
They obeyed, still wary. Gray and Lira sat opposite each other, closest to the Kaan. The others spread out down the table.
The first bite caught Gray off guard. The stew was thick, the meat melting against his tongue, infused with herbs he could not name. The bread was warm, dense enough to anchor the body, yet soft in the middle. Even the preserved berries had a sweetness that cut through the heaviness of the other dishes.
Orrin was the first to speak between mouthfuls. "How did you even manage to build a village out here?"
The Kaan set down his cup. "This village was once part of another. Perhaps you have seen it."
They all paused. Gray remembered the abandoned settlement from earlier in their journey.
"Why so far apart?" Orrin asked.
"An earthquake split us," the Kaan said. "Though truthfully, they were already divided. One half refused to abandon the old traditions, this half. The other embraced them. When the land split, so did they. They were near death until luck found them a new cavern system beneath the ice. They broke apart what remained of their homes and rebuilt underground."
Gray quietly caught onto his words.
'Doesn't he consider himself as one of them?'
"And the other half?" Lira asked breaking him out of his thoughts.
He paused.
"They clung to their rituals. Worshipped the ice giants and the moon, as if those creatures had ever been friends to our kind."
Gray frowned. "Our kind?"
The Kaan's eyes held a glint. "You think Nyxterra was born when it appeared on Earth? No. There were people here long before."
He continued, his tone sharpening. "The ritual was a trap. A lie fed to them by one of their own elders. It called monsters to them. The village was destroyed."
Silence stretched until the Kaan broke it. "Now my question. How did you kill a C rank monster?"
The words hit them like a blow.
Gray's thoughts caught on two things at once, how did the Kaan know their ranking system? And C rank? The ranking system was only created recently. During the second generation. And how did he know of earth?
No one spoke until Korr leaned forward. "Are you… strained? Like us?"
The Kaan smiled. "Yes."
The room's air seemed to change.
"That explains the blacksmith and language..." Orrin muttered.
Gray turned to him slightly.
'He's...right. How would they know how to fix our gear when they've never seen such technology.'
"My name," the Kaan said slowly, "is Varik. I was sent into Glacierfang twenty-three years ago. Kidnapped. This village saved me from the Pale Maw… but the Maw killed my group, killed them all. I was thrown into the spider tunnels as a death sentence. I killed the beast, or thought I did. It lived long enough to breed, and you met its children."
Korr raised an eyebrow." You were... kidnapped?"
The Kaan sat back quietly." Yes, I was taken from my home of Grimspire,they said they had a job for me..."
Gray's thoughts resonated with him. The more he heard about him. The more he felt like him.
Orrin leaned forward slightly. "Why stay here then?"
Varik's smile thinned. "My truck broke. I had no directions. I was alone. So I stayed. I built a place where others could survive. This village is older than all of you. Its split happened long before your world and mine met."
Renn swallowed. "You've been using parts of your old truck to repair ours, haven't you?"
Varik nodded. "Without me, this village would not last. I owe you for killing the beast but repairs will take time. A few days at least."
Lira offered, "You could always come with us."
Varik shook his head. "No, i must stay here. With them. How could a leader abandon his people."
The fire popped in the silence that followed. Then he leaned forward again, fixing his gaze on Gray and Lira.
"Now. Tell me how you killed it, I'm impressed. But more curious."
No one answered.
Gray looked at Lira and she looked back. Just as she was about to speak Gray interrupted her.
"I awakened my affinity."