Chapter 12: Into Frostveil

Frostveil! A name that even terrifies the bravest of adventurers. It was not a place where the faint of heart or the weak could enter willy-nilly. And I might be both of those.

Regardless, how brave a façade I present, I could not help but shriek and jump at the slightest rustle of leaves or whispers of the winds in the Frostveil Range. It was not my cowardice nor my cautious nature, but rather the ferociousness of the place conveyed by the tales of those who were lucky enough to survive to tell the tale.

Master on the other hand had no trouble with making her way through the mountains and was purposefully making her way towards the deeper parts of the range.

We did not climb the hills, instead we traversed the valleys and maintained course at the foothills. There was something like a path guiding us. It was a trail left behind by the few braves who walked these paths.

I couldn't help but continue to grow more curious by the minute about who the man was and why my master knew of him or why she was looking for him.

Unable to contain my curiosity I asked her a few times but each time she gave me the same response, "You'll find out soon." Her responses eventually went from 'You'll find out soon' to 'Just shut up and follow.'

It took us half a day to enter the actual Frostveil Range. So far we were a little outside the outer perimeter of Frostveil. The absence of sunlight and a gray sky accompanied with strong chilling winds and frozen trees and rocks covered with a combination of ice and snow marked the entrance of Frostveil. And believe it or not, that was the best that Frostveil had to offer.

Master suddenly stopped after entering the Range and waited while looking around. She was being considerate of me. I was huffing and puffing and struggling to keep up. I had used up all my stamina and had not properly recovered from the recent events.

As we were waiting, a shadow in a distance caught our attention. At first, I was alarmed but master remained calm and did not react much to it. So, I assumed that it must have been a silhouette of a tree or a statue or something. I observed it a bit more but the silhouette did not move, so there was nothing to be concerned about.

I might have grown a little wary and sensitive of shadows after interacting with the shadows in Aether. I still have no idea of what they were. But the uncomfortable feeling did not go away. Like an annoying prickling feeling ticking the back of my brain, my senses continued getting drawn to the shadow.

"Master, that thing there," I finally said, pointing towards the silhouette in the distance.

Master took a glance in the shadow's direction and with a soft smirk she started walking slowly towards the shadow in the distance. I hurriedly followed her making sure I stay close to her. I had kept my guard up, ready for any surprise attacks.

The moment we started walking forward, thin mist veiled our surroundings. The mist not only covered out vision but also our other senses. The mist was full of mana from the nature around us and it blocked our senses a little, making it difficult to concentrate or focus.

A few moments later, I started to feel sleepy. The mana from the mist made me feel warm from the inside and the cold from the surrounding bit my skin and extremities. The difference in temperature coupled with my reduced stamina made me feel sleepy and heavy for some reason. The heat welling up inside me began overwhelming my senses.

"-ke up. Wa- up. WAKE UP!" Master slapped me awake again.

I had dozed off after having contacted the mana in the mist. Even though master woke me up, I was still lightheaded and dizzy. I could barely keep my eyes open and passed out again. Each time I woke up, I dozed immediately after waking up.

"Wake up, you idiot. Get a grip" I could hear master trying to wake me up. But I couldn't gather any strength to do anything. Sorry, master! No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get up or wake up.

"He wouldn't survive at this rate," I heard another voice say. The voice was deep and elegant and right beside me.

I couldn't open my eyes to see who it was. Moments later, I felt my muscles get weaker. Even when I tried to lift my arm, my muscles wouldn't respond. My body felt like it was melting away and a comforting and relaxing feeling continued to set ins lowly.

I did not hate the feeling of slowly falling deeper into the comfortable lull while my body became less and less responsive. Gradually the sensation from my nerves started shutting down, starting from the farthest part of my body, which were my fingers and my toes.

I had passed out in the cold of Frostveil, inflicted with mana deficiency and my physical body beginning to freeze.

Master had picked me up and was carrying me on her back while grumbling curses at me. There was another figure beside her walking in synchronized silent strides. He conversed with master while she carried me to the next location.

Master was as kind as ever.