For the fifth, or perhaps sixth morning in a row, I cracked my eyes open to find frost forming on my beard. Had to remember to find a fix for that some time. Some tolerable weather would be the easiest surely!

  I laughed at the joke made to myself. Peering around the clearing, I quickly spotted Selene. She had taken a form not dissimilar to an albino red fox. It would be a good disguise if not for the piercing red eyes identifying her as a youkai, as well as the identically colored patterns on her fur she had kept from her more humanoid body.

  “Ya mind making yourself a little less obvious? We’re barely a few hours from Winterbridge, and I can’t imagine they take kindly to youkai.”

  In response, she changed once more into the form of a young human woman, likely in her early 20s. She once more retained the red eyes, but now had pale skin and pure white hair reaching down to her back.

  Unfortunately, she was exactly as naked as she was before. All I could do was sigh, perhaps my little experiment would be more hassle than it was worth. I removed my coat from my pack. It would have to do for now, and more permanent clothing could be purchased in Winterbridge.

  “Take this, keep it wrapped around you, the church around these parts only takes to nudists slightly better than they take to youkai. Keep the hood up too.”

  She heeded the instructions. I turned away and continued packing. The town would be busy, and with the war up north, we weren’t even likely to make it through the border crossing today. That wasn’t entirely a negative fact though, I would appreciate at least one more day of only chilly weather before braving the constant blizzards of the north. No wonder they were near-constantly warring, I couldn’t think of hardly a single thing else to do up there.

  With everything packed, I clipped my axe to my belt and gestured to Selene that we were to begin moving. She followed without so much as a word. Still annoyed about last night’s fight, I assumed. I was lucky she was hardly a C-rank at best. Wouldn’t be the smartest plan to injure myself fighting anyone right before what awaited me up north, especially without El or any of the ol’ party. Perhaps Selene could be of use in that respect though.

  “You’re a mage, yes?”

  “Yes.”

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  “Specialities?”

  “Illusions. Body reinforcement and wards too, but mostly illusions.”

  “Any healing?” She only laughed in response. It was a strange sound, more animal than human in nature. It did serve as an answer to my question though. It seems I’d have to be a little creative if I wanted her assistance to be of any value then, if I could even convince her to help in the first place.

  We reached the peak of a hill shortly after that conversation reached a close. Winterbridge was within view. The city was built into a cliffside, and surrounded on all other sides by lake. Unfortunately, it seemed I was earlier than expected. The lake hadn’t frozen over, we would have to hire a ferryman.

  Another hour passed, and we reached the base of the lake. I was greeted by one of the ferrymen almost immediately. A middle-aged man with a beard. It didn’t have anything on mine, of course, but it was quite impressive for a human.

  “Malnik Greataxe? Surprised to see you back here! Who’s the tagalong?”

  “You’ve identified me right! She’s just headed in the same direction as me, so we decided to stick together. Enough about me though, who are you?”

  “You don’t recognize me? Truly I’m wounded. I’m Arnor Olafson. My father ferried you across only a few short decades ago!”

  “You’re that damn kid! Have you learned to read the room any since then?”

  “Maybe some, you’ll have to see! Hop in, the ride is on me this time.”

  “Appreciate the gesture, Arnor, but I’ve plenty of gold to spare.”

  “If you insist!”

  I gestured to Selene to climb inside. She probably weighed a tenth what I and all my gear did, so it’d be foolish for me to sit anywhere but the center.

  Arnor climbed in last, and pushed the boat off with a rather creative application of water magic. He held a paddle, so I assumed he likely still needed that to take us across.

  “Where’d you learn that? I don’t remember Olaf being a mage.”

  “Picked it up over a few years. It’s a useful skill to have round these parts. For most of the year at least.”

  “Don’t doubt it, impressive stuff to learn magic through self study though. Tried that myself, didn’t turn out too well. My axe is more than enough for me, it turns out.”

  “Are you going to be in town long? I’d be honored to teach you a thing or two” I let out a chuckle. Now we’re out on the lake, the air is far more frigid. It’s a wonder the lake hasn’t frozen yet. I dip a single finger into the water. It’s cold, for sure, but far less so than it should be at this time of year. Odd, and certainly worth investigating further.

  “Really depends how locked down the border is. I’m hoping to cross as soon as I can.”

  “A shame, but understandable. Last I checked, the wait was a day or two. Hardly enough time, even if I had you all to myself.”

  Without another word, we crossed the lake. The stone brick pillars that made up the dock supports were as imposing as I remembered. Stretching from the surface of the water to several dozen meters into the air. Arnor pulled the boat into an empty pier.

  “Well, this is as far as I can take you by boat, I still appreciate what you did for us, for Winterbridge. If you ever need anything, you know where to find me.”

  “Don’t forget this, I hope it covers the ride.” I handed him a pair of silver coins. I didn’t carry any smaller denominations.

  “More than. Good luck.”

  With that, we had arrived in Winterbridge. The toughest part of my travels were upcoming, but I could at least take solace that I wouldn’t be here long.