Central Region, Northern Border Village.
While the southern region was still preparing for war, a small party of travellers were moving through the Blackstone Mountain Range and heading north.
This group of five consisted of three mages and two guards.
The first two mages were Dorthy Quella and Albert Amberwind. These two mages were top students of the southern regions Royal Magic Academy, as well as good friends. The third mage was a 'Tower Teacher' sent by the Sea Tower to help Dorthy with her studies. Finally, the two 'guards' were warriors sent by the Lonton Castle to protect Dorothy. To put it in a better way, they were here to make sure that the Lonton Castles property didn't run away.
Do note that this was nonnegotiable.
Dorothy was wearing a thick white robe. Her black glasses fogged up with each breath. Her dark brown hair was tied back into a low set twin bun, preventing it from whipping around in the wind. Her large bag was overflowing with reading materials, and her long staff was tied to her back.
Shortly before the eastern region cast the Great Storm Summoning Spell, Dorthy excused herself and left the eastern region to travel north. She claimed that she wanted to help the northern region with the excuse that they lacked a Chosen Hero.
On there travels, the group was passing through an abandoned village on their way through the Blackstone Mountain range.
Albert waved his wand and crushed the final corpse with a rockfall. "I can't believe how many of these things there are," Albert complained, grumbling for the nth time today.
Dorothy tightened her collar, her body freezing. She couldn't help but agree. "These Ice Demons are just an abomination. They rise from the dead, they feed on the dead, and they grow from the dead. Just what kind of spell could cause this?"
"Ice demons are an ancient legend. Their origins are closer to a curse than an actual race. The high elves passed down information about them and how they should be dealt with." The mage from the Storm Tower, Fell Junun, added.
Albert hummed. "There was a period where Ice Demons ran rampant. Back then, the Cross Continent should have had the four seasons."
Dorthy looked over in confusion. "The Cross Continent use to have a seasonal cycle?"
Teacher Fell nodded. "We believe that they created a Great Artifact that controlled the four seasons. After they disappeared, they left the continent in an unending summer." Teacher Fell recorded something in a small notebook and slid it in his bag. "There was a theory by a Black Tower Mage that the Green Tide was caused by this kind of artifact. His speculation went against the current beliefs of the tower, so those kind gentleman from out west sent him in personally to go check."
Albert grimaced. "You mean that they sent him in alone!? Wait, I think I've heard of that, wasn't that the guy who created the X-Ray spell, the one that can see through…?"
Teacher Fell did not answer, he just looked over and smirked.
Dorthy was interested in something else. "You mean that they took it with them, the artifact?"
Fell shrugged. "Who knows, it might still be there, it's all just speculation."
"It's not like anyone's crazy enough to look for it anyways." Albert grumbled.
"Then how do you know it exists?" Dorthy asked.
Teacher Fell shook his head. "We don't know. The tower specializes in studying atmospheric magic, so we've found some clues, but even the tower elders can't be sure."
Albert complained. "The high elves passed down so many things to help us, its too bad that they couldn't help us fix this stupid weather."
An idler from the Lonton Castle sighed. "What would we do without the high elves' help. Facing the first calamity is already so difficult. I can't imagine what the next one will be like."
Teacher Fell paused. The suspicion that the high elves were behind the calamities wasn't public knowledge. Although it contradicted their actions of passing down ways to fight the calamities, this suspicion was still not without reason.
Dorthy walked through the abandoned village road.
The Ice Demons were like a pack of vicious predators. When they found 'food', they hunted together, but when they couldn't, they would eat each other.
Ice demons didn't need to assimilate a corpse to feed. Hunger was still hunger, and 'growing' didn't mean the same thing as 'feasting'.
Dorthy had no idea how big an Ice demon could get, but she was worried that if this cursed winter went on too long, then a few monstrously sized ones would appear.
Dorthy frowned.
No, there was another problem...
She just thought of something.
Dorthy suddenly asked. "Will the western region be alright?"
Teacher Fell pursed his lips.
Albert asked in confusion, "What's wrong with the western region? Isn't it just a little bit more snow?"
Dorthy shook her head. "At first, that was true, but now..."
Teacher Fell continued in her place. "There is a small place in the western region called the Corpse Sea. This is a poisonous swamp filled with corpses from an ancient battle. If they all turn into ice demons, no, even if one of them turns into an ice demon, then will it piece together a body using thousands of corpses?"
Albert's eyes widened. "You mean that they won't be able to stop that?"
The tower teacher shook his head, "It's unlikely." He looked away. "Let's get going. We only need a few more days to reach the north."
He paused, looking slightly more serious.
"We're running out of time."
* * *
Northern Region, Sevensen.
A few days later, the party arrived in Sevensen.
Unlike its open reputation, Sevensen had entered a state of martial law, where the gates were closed and the city hid behind its walls.
The city had been sealed, so a large elevator had been temporarily built to help enter the city.
The walls were filled with soldiers and magic weapons.
Entry and exit to the city were strictly enforced.
Dorthy approached from the southern gate, unlike the northern gate that Petra had come from. Because the southern gate faced the central region, many of its martial arrangements had been lessened, but they were by no means lacking.
Dorthy met with the guard who was stationed at the base of the wall.
This man was in charge of entry and exit through the elevator.
Although she was the eastern regions heaven's chosen, that didn't mean that she was recognised by everybody.
Teacher Fell had to show his Storm Tower emblem to receive entry.
When the guard learned of Dorothy's identity, he was overjoyed.
He welcomed the party onto the lift with grace.
Dorthy and the others entered the makeshift basket made from wood and metal. The small space could fit about ten people, rising shortly after.
When they reached the top of the wall, Dorthy was greeted with the full view of Sevensen.
Through the reduced vision of the ice and snow, Dorthy saw the sprawling city in slumber. The lively streets were deserted, and a strange tension hung in the air.
She frowned, asking the guardsmen.
As they were led down the wall via the inner stairs, the guard began to explain the current situation of the city.
Sevensen currently suffers from two things. First was the problem with dwindling supplies. With the hordes of ice demons lurking in the forest, it was difficult for small teams to retrieve firewood and food. The second problem, and perhaps the biggest one, was the sudden and inexplicable outbreaks of Ice Demons throughout the city. These were not caused by infiltrations. Instead, it was believed that unrecorded or undiscovered bodies were the problem.
When the guardsmen explained this, Dorthy wondered just how many bodies were secretly hidden beneath Sevensen.
One must remember that Sevensen was a city that had an 'Open Black Market'. Although it was said to behave, that didn't mean that there weren't countless agreements made in secret that supported the city silently from behind.
The guard continued, slowly leading Dorthy to the City Lords' residence.
When they arrived, they found a manor untouched by the ice and snow. Countless complex and unreadable runes overlapped to create a barrier, likely a remnant of the old city.
They walked through the luxurious mansion and eventually reached a small conference room.
Within this room, the City Lord waited patiently. Beside him were two people, one was a middle-aged man with black hair and a beard. He had a rough face with vicious eyes. If Petra saw him, she would find him very similar to the young man who she had killed on her return journey from Sevensen. The other woman had long black hair that twisted together in a strange web. Her crafty eyes flickered between Dorothy and her party, giving off a cold and serpentine feel. The man, Bouer Blacklion, and the woman, Wana Celchain were the branch leaders of the Black Lion and the Black Chain respectively. (Black Market, Underground Auction)
The city lord was an older man who wore luxurious clothes. His messy black hair failed to hide that shrewd look that leaked from his deep and experienced gaze. He carried a decorative sword to his side and wore a kind expression. His smile was both real and fake. Dorthy almost felt like she was looking at a man with multiple layers of skin, delivering her an uncanny and uncomfortable feeling.
Dorthy immediately felt like these three were not good people.
She even regretted visiting, instead, she should have just acted alone.
The eyes behind her black rimmed glasses drifted over to the woman.
She felt like she knew this woman from a piece of information given to her a long time ago. What was it? Dorthy racked her brains before coming up with something. This woman, seemed to be a big shot from the Mercenary Alliance...
No, the other man was too...
Dorthy hummed to herself.
Her original suspicions, after hearing about the outbreak of Ice demons, seemed to be true.
It seemed like Sevensen had a very serious problem.
Dorthy threw this to the back of her mind for now.
She cut the pleasantries and began her discussion with the City Lord, asking about where she could help and what she could do. The city lord gave an explanation on the current situation.
-
Dorthy rented an inn for the party.
After her discussion with the City Lord, she had a better understanding of the problems surrounding the outer city. It wasn't just 'sudden outbreaks', the problem arose from places with poor public security or low sanitation, poverty-stricken areas like the slums and the trash yards.
"Where do you want to start?" Albert asked, pulling out a large map of the city.
This map was given to them by the City Lord. It highlighted the problematic areas across the city.
Dorthy pointed to a large red area on the map. "Let's start here. But first..." She paused, thinking about the city lords. "I want to take a stroll around town. The city lord gives me a strange feeling."
Teacher Fell nodded. "That's a good idea. The two people with the city lord today were the leaders of the underground auction house and the black market. Since they can stand beside the city lord, there influence in Sevensen must be huge. The problems plaguing this place won't be small." He looked at the map. He felt like they were trying to shoo away a beggar. He continued. "And they definitely won't be constrained to just these areas."
Dorthy nodded, feeling the same.
* * *