Diaman's DnD Diary

Chapter 6: Ice Lands' Tragedy Forgotten in Snow part II

The travel up North felt like an eternity. The weather grew colder and colder, there were no maps for me to use, so I had to rely solely on the directions of local people who, strangely enough, were always happy to let me stay over and feed me at the cost of only a few interesting stories.

I soon found out that what I'd thought to be "sufficient wear" was not sufficient at all and the blankets and furrs I'd been forced to keep buying kept on accumulating. The travelling itself became harder as I had to drag my feet through the deep snow and every mile I managed to cross felt like 10. It was surprising how much effort it took to even get up and comparing the distance I'd crossed in no-snow covered places with Ice Lands was devastating, both mentaly and physically.

Nevertheless, during those few moments I'd forced my mind to actually enjoy the view for a few minutes, trying to forget the cold, I was stunned by how much beauty all this untouched paleness can radiate.

On the 40th day (counting since leaving Narradia's borders), I finally arrived in my final destination. Seeing the village smoke, I'd certainly hoped that it's the right one. Followed by my Bear that I'd kept summoning almost everyday during the last week or two to keep me company because the stillness and unchanging terrain had started to slowly creep on my brain, threatening to alter my sensing of the reality.

About 200 meters from the village, I was stopped by two hunters, asking about my bussiness in their territory.

From under a horde of layers of clothing I tried to explain with shaky teeth about my research and being a Shaman but they'd soon decided to bring me to their Chieftain to decide what the hell am I even babbling about. One thing I'd noticed were their glances towards my Bear but they'd said nothing about him and I called him in becore entering the village anyway.

The village itself wasn't big. It was built close to the sea in the West and the East was covered by forrests of coniferous trees. I arrived from South-West by crossing a literal ice land. A place of no life but also no living danger... Yes, I almost froze to death several times... The huts in the village were small in height but sturdy, holding strong against the howling wind storms and inside they continued about 2 feet to the dept to compensate the lack of space. Two feet was about the maximum to dig out in these conditions, even for the strongest of people.

The fire was mostly stationed in the middle of the dwellings, providing heat for cooking, melting ice into drinkable water and cosy warmth that hit you as soon as you've entered. There were also two long houses with two or three fire places inside to provide for the whole space. One of them was a sort of tavern, a meeting place for people during lunch and evening to engage in festive activities and the other mostly served for official purposes, whenever the Chieftain had a statement to voice, if there were a need for a trial or a simple wedding. But mostly, it was used as a school for kids during the day. They learnt how to read and write and almost everyone here was taught basic Shaman magic from a young age.

There was also a small marina for the fishing boats and one general goods store, founded by a traveler three years ago. The traveler went on his way, the store stayed, providing local people with various not-food-based neccessities. Otherwise, if the fishers came with fish, you went to them, buying a fish or trading it for something else other than money, if hunters came with venison, you went to buy that. And if those who lived as mercenary Shamans came back from their quests and travels in the South, there was a chance for fruits or vegetables to bless the household. Mostly reheated after freezing along the way to the village. My arrival happened to be in the early afternoon and I remember, the kids just left the other long house, staring at me in disbelief. To be true, I was definitely more covered than any of the people around me who apparently treated -35 °C as a mid-autumn weather.