Portal to Snowbell

Iris and Bard got up early in the morning to pack their things and check out of the Inn. 

"I'm sure going to miss this place, it's so cozy!" Lulu exclaimed as she hid inside Bard's vest as he nodded in agreement. 

As Iris signed paperwork at the entrance, Bard went out to the back to get Fern from the stables. As he hopped on him, the little girl from the Inn came around and thanked him for his stay.

Bard smiled at the little girl and signaled Fern to walk on to the front and wait for Iris. 

At the front desk, the lady bows to Iris after she finishes signing, "Thank you for staying at Lilly's Inn. Safe travels Miss Iris."

Iris bowed as well in gratitude for their hospitality and stepped out with Bard. As they walked toward the edge of town, Bard was about to speak up, but Iris interrupted him by enchanting, "Drezzos!" with her index finger up. 

His clothes glowed and it formed a heavy brown coat, a warm pair of pants, and snow boots. Even Fern got the treatment of having a blanket under the saddle. 

Lulu squeezes through Bard's jacket and twirls around in the air revealing her tiny fur coat. 

"Thank you, Iris!"

Iris had a black coat with a hood over it as she nodded. 

As the trio arrived at the oak tree with the rest of the wizards, Bard noticed they were also geared up for the snow.

"Um..I get that we're going north and all, but it'll be a long trip before the temperature changes."

The grand wizards all looked at Bard unfazed at the obvious and said in unison, "We know."

The stare was a bit unbearable as he managed to weakly respond, "ok..." 

Ryner speaks up and pats Bard on the back, "Going on foot is going to take a long time, you'll be using a transportation spell!"

"Oh I see- Wait hold on a moment, what do you mean I'll be doing the spell?"

"You see Bard, none of us have been to Snowbell before except you. To perform a transportation spell, you have to first visit the place before."

Just as Bard was about to retort, Iris grips onto his shoulders and straight into his eyes, surprising him.

"Don't say that you can't Bard...Just take a deep breath and listen very carefully..."

The rest of the group began to close their eyes and mumble a spell as they started to glow a faint blue. 

"We're doing half of the work as we channel our concentration with the image of Snowbell, but now you have to chant the other half of the spell with a mental picture of the town for us to see it. Listen to your inner voice..."

Iris began to chant as she closed her eyes, but Bard was in full panic mode as he desperately kept asking her for help on what to chant. He felt that his heart was about to explode, squinting his eyes aggressively.

I-I can't do spells! What am I supposed to do?!

Bard...

I don't know! I don't know anythi-

Bard! Listen to me!

Iris?! You can read minds too!

Not exactly, it's a telepathic spell. Look, you need to relax and calm down. You're doing well so far considering that you can hear me.

Ok...Ok......I'm breathing.

Good, good. Alright, repeat after me... It-

Iter Grupos

Who was that just now-

Without thinking that there was a third person in the telepathic conversation, Bard yelled out with a mental picture of Snowbell in mind, "ITER GRUPOS!"

The group vanished in a flash and when they reappeared, they felt the harsh wind up in their faces as they bashed into the snow and everyone groaned in pain. 

"Ugh...next time try to command it more calmly to avoid injuries, Bard..."

Bard stood up from the snow apologetic about the situation and checked Fern who was lying on the snow. As everyone else stood up, shoving off the snow from their clothes, Ryner congratulated Bard on his first spell.

Landing in the middle, the group looks around seeing all the empty cabins, and they observe the burnt one that had two tombstones with names written on it. 

Ryner ordered a few of the wizards to inspect the area and as they scattered the grand wizards and Bard walked towards Kurt's cabin.

Lulu gripped Bard's shoulder timidly at how eerie the place felt. As they stepped inside, a man was on the floor his upper body was slouched over the bed, coughing violently. 

As Ryner and Cedric run over to aid the man, Bard is frozen as Iris asks why he is so shocked.

"No way...That's Kurt Snowbell. It was said that he died.....in the fire. He's alive!"

Iris ran out of the cabin to get another wizard to assist Kurt who was badly injured and extremely cold. The men carry him out and take him to another sheltered cabin as Iris prepares to heat the place by bringing in firewood. 

Cedric along with another wizard, undresses Kurt into dry clothes and gently lays him down with a blanket. His coughing had stopped and the visible wounds on Kurt's body were treated and bandaged properly as well. Feeling so weak, he now sleeps soundly in the warmth of the cabin as the rest of the crew sits around the table. 

Ryner looks over at Bard who is still shaken up and everyone listens as he speaks, "That's Kurt Snowbell, the man the town was named after. No one knew how Kurt's home got burned, but I saw with my own eyes that Charles Shay was hung dead and everyone assumed Kurt just burned up." 

Did he flee the scene because he killed Charles?

One of the wizards came into the cabin to report that the area was clear and no signs of witches or other residents.

Iris walks over to Kurt as she looks down on him, "I guess we'll just have to wait until he wakes up to ask questions..."