18. Finally here…. it’s cold

Frosthaven, the first town they reached within the city resembled an ice sculpture, with half-frozen buildings and houses. Residents, clad in sweaters and hoods, shivered as they navigated the icy streets.

While the snowstorm in the city wasn't as severe as earlier, Harvey observed his surroundings, and Erra peeked through the window. Torches were scattered throughout the city, their flames persisting despite the intense cold. "Must be mana-induced," Harvey remarked.

The carriage continued for about seven more minutes before coming to a stop. The driver peered through the small window behind him, and Erra glanced at him, startling him backward. "This is your stop."

"Oh." Harvey looked at Erra, and they both disembarked from the carriage, Erra carrying both her and Harvey's bags. "I can hold my own bags," Harvey muttered, but Erra shook her head, walking ahead.

Harvey paid off the driver before joining Erra. While he had enough money to cover the fare as well as all their other expenses, their next steps posed a challenge. Unlike Falusha, which before his intervention lay in ruins due to faction conflicts, Winterglaides appeared relatively normal. "Eavesdropping it is then," Harvey muttered as he headed towards a nearby bar.

Pushing open the tightly closed doors of the bar, the entire room fell silent as they walked towards two vacant seats near the wall. All eyes turned to them, scrutinizing their presence as they took their seats. Erra surveyed each face in the bar, utilizing her enhanced sight and senses to examine each individual. Although Harvey being there was enough to ensure their safety, she hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Gradually, the room resumed its chatter, and the torches on the walls danced to the wind's blow. Harvey raised his hand, prompting a server with an empty tray to approach. "What would you like, Sir?"

"Water," Harvey replied, turning to Erra, who was still surveying the surroundings. "And something sweet if possible."

"Milk?" The server suggested, and Harvey nodded in agreement, guiding her to walk away.

Surveying the surroundings, Harvey let out a sigh. The bar was of moderate size, larger than a classroom yet notably smaller than a church hall. Its decor exuded an olden and medieval charm, with knightly paraphernalia adorning every corner and a large dragon head mounted behind the bartender's desk. "Did you hear about the beast that showed up in the Fledplains?" A voice muttered, catching Harvey's interest.

"The one the residents complained to the guild about?" Another man responded, taking a sip from his cup before continuing. "That's got to be a myth. No way what they described actually exists."

"But what if it does, Imagine the amount the materials would fetch."

"A beast the size of a tower, with blue scales that produce lightning, two large blades in its mouth and it's capable of speech?" The man laughed and so did his other comrades. "You gotta be kidding me."

"Maybe, but hey, with these kinds of things, you never really know for sure." The first man stood up, dropping a few coins on his table before stumbling toward Harvey. "Hey, what do we have here?"

Harvey glanced at the man and his team as they stumbled toward them, each one of them had a name above their head. "Drunk players?" Harvey thought to himself.

The man glanced at their bags before sitting down on Harvey's table, "I don't think y'all are from around here, so where are you from?" The man glanced at Erra who had brandished her fangs at him in anger. "A man and his Fenrir," He laughed.

"Zachary, it's probably his sex toy, we should let him go don't wanna ruin his night." The second one spoke.

"I don't like the way she's looking at me," As Zachary rose from his chair and directed a punch at Erra, Harvey swiftly intervened, restraining his arm halfway.

"You're intoxicated, I would appreciate it if you all go home. I and my partner would love nothing more." Harvey told them and Zachary glanced back at his partners, all of them bursting into laughter.

Zachary forcefully turned around, tearing his arm from Harvey's grip. Erra also rose from her chair, but Harvey signaled her to sit back down. She preferred to handle conflicts, just like with the bandits on their journey. "You're the one covering their medical expenses, after all."

Zachary attempted a punch at Harvey, but it was skillfully parried and countered with a punch that shattered four of his teeth. Crying in pain, Zachary collapsed to the ground, while his remaining three comrades rushed at Harvey.

Swiftly, Harvey evaded one attacker, incapacitating the second with a blow to the neck before sending a chair crashing into the third with such force that it broke upon impact. The final assailant threw a clumsy punch at Harvey who poked his leg out, effortlessly tripping him over.

As the server approached, Harvey thanked her, handing over two coins. The onlookers in the bar were astonished as a lone outsider dispatched four members of one of the city's strongest guilds. "Four broken teeth, a dislodged jaw, a fractured neck, and two broken ribs. Well, at least the last guy got off lightly," Erra observed as she sipped her milk.

"They brought it upon themselves."

"You should've let me handle it though, actually. Let me handle it from now on." Erra commented, watching the men crawl out of the bar, with the one hit by the chair crying as Zachary assisted him. "I feel sorry for them."

"Don't." Harvey got up. "We still have a lot to do in this city, finding the Azure as well as my target. Something tells me it won't be as easy as I hope." Harvey began walking away and Erra rushed toward him, grabbing both bags before he had the chance to.

They departed from the bar in search of an inn, the night was approaching, and the cold seemed to intensify. Despite applying a heat spell on both himself and Erra, Harvey still shivered.

They had two options for gathering information: either through the official channels of communication, such as entering a guild, or by asking around. However, in this frigid town, the latter option didn't seem very promising.

Erra snored softly as she cozied up in bed, more accustomed to the cold than Harvey, who gazed out the window while she slept. Finally in the town where the faction was, even though he hadn't overheard any conversations about them, he had an unexplainable sense that they were present.

Shaking his head, Harvey approached the door. He wasn't going to sleep, and despite his aversion to the cold, merely staring out the window was becoming irksome. Descending the stairs, he stepped outside into the snow-covered streets of the town, putting his hands to his mouth to blow warm air as he strolled through the snowy pathways.

"The Azure is attacking Beastmen villages, and while their elimination might align with Erra's goals, am I doing the right thing? I'm putting her down the same path I'm heading. A path of sadness and anger." Harvey looked down at the snow, confused.

"It's him." A familiar voice rang out, and when Harvey turned around, he saw the men from the bar.

"I don't assume you're ready for round two gentlemen?" Harvey mocked them.

"We're sorry." Zachary apologized firmly. "We were out of line and I'm thankful, if you didn't take us down as you did. Our reputation would've been further damaged by our own acts."

"Oh." Harvey rubbed the back of his head, puzzled by the situation, but nonetheless relieved that he didn't have to fight in the snow. "Good for you then."

"Who are you?" Zachary gazed at Harvey, unable to see his name due to the mask. "How did you become so powerful?"

The only person who had seen Harvey without his mask so far was Erra, he didn't conceal his face from her. Yet, when venturing outside, he chose to hide it, avoiding any potential danger that might endanger her, as he had experienced in the past. "Does it really matter?"

"You're right, perhaps it doesn't." Zachary agreed.

"Well, if we're done here. I'll be on my way." Harvey turned away from them, stepping through the snow as he returned to the inn.

"Can you join our party!" Zachary's scream echoed, drawing Harvey's attention.

The memories of the last party he joined lingered in Harvey's mind, it was the reason he couldn't sleep, the reason he was here. He hesitated, wary of aligning himself with other people for the third time. "No, thanks."

Desperation colored Zachary's plea. "We'll give you anything—money, information, everything! Just help us take down the Grey Stalker."

The mention of the Grey Stalker intrigued Harvey. Erra had shared some information about Winterglaides during their time in Falusha, hinting at the beast's lethal nature. Perhaps it was as deadly as him. "Information," Harvey contemplated.

"Anything! We need your help with this quest before anyone else attempts it. With you on our team, I'm sure we can succeed."

"Please!" The second squad member chimed in.

While joining a team seemed foolish, Harvey saw an opportunity to extract information about the Azure and the Faction. After dealing with the Grey Stalker, he could part ways without getting too entangled. "What do you know about the Azure?" Harvey inquired.