Mysterious Conversation

Seven in the morning, the party left with all their readied supplies.

They got on a bus which which drives to an area of ski resorts on a daily basis.

These ski resorts are the farthest away from Mountainview Springs. The roads end here. Civilization does not go beyond this point.

The drive took two hours on a wavy back road which went through the valleys and up the side of a few mountains several times. The wavy road made everyone except George too queasy to talk. The forest also began to turn into a pine forest.

The road eventually settled down at a flat grassy area located between several tall mountains. The elevation had only increased a few hundred feet, so there was barely a temperature drop. Although fall is beginning soon, there is really not a whole of snow anywhere except at the peaks.

All of the snow has had to be transported and sprayed on the mountainside so people can actually ski/sled or do whatever.

At the foot of the mountain in the flat grassy area where several tightly packed buildings alongside a large parking lot. Several ski gondolas ran from the top of the mountains down to those buildings, transporting people up and down.

The place was active with people everywhere and the faint views of trails being made as people skied down the mountain for sport. A tourist atmosphere made the area lively.

The road ended at the parking lot where a small bus stop could be seen.

The bus came to a stop at the half-full parking lot at the stop and the doors opened. People wearing winter clothing with ski gear and outfits happily came out ready for fun.

The party came out as well and waited as the people from the bus went in the direction of the buildings. Everyone looked at George as if asking, "Where to?"

George naturally noticed this and pointed in the northern direction between two mountains and pine forested area.

"Is everyone ready?"

The party looked at each other and nodded.

"Let's get started then."

Thus, the group began a long journey into the last uninhabited place on the continent.

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[The task failed?]

"Yes, the assassin was killed. His soul mark was destroyed."

In a dark room, a conversation was happening between a figure in the darkness and someone on the other side of a phone the figure was holding.

[Do you know who killed the assassin?]

"I can only presume it was a party member from what I could gather of the assassin's last words. The member attempted to interrogate him and used some kind of hypnosis to make him speak. No information was leaked since the assassin told the member that his soul is engraved with the curse. After that, he was killed by something horrific enough to let out a blood-curdling scream."

[Which party member is it?]

"I checked each of their files carefully. Hester is a spoiled C-ranked kid who has little experience in the world, so there's no way for him to kill that B-ranked assassin. They hired a guide by the name of George Foster, but he's an E-ranked adventurer with no skills to speak of. The only guy left in the party is Abe Reinhard who is a B-ranked adventurer."

[What went wrong then?]

"*sigh* I don't know. I carefully listened to the assassin's words and everything was perfect. He said a strange thing like, 'where am I?' so I can only presume Abe had an item which produces hallucinations."

[Can you raise his danger level?]

"Losing an assassin like that is like losing a bunch of invested resources. Of course I'm gonna raise his danger level." The figure said in an upset tone.

[Can I pay you extra to send a more powerful assassin right now? Like an A-rank?]

"It's likely they're entering the mountains by now and have gone off the road. It'll be impossible to find their tracks by the time our closest assassin arrives at Mountainview Springs."

[Is there anything you can do?]

"If we had a trace of their hair or scent, a few dogs could be trained to track them down. We have neither of those unfortunately." The figure sighed again as if feeling sad.

[...]

"Well, they'll probably be stuck in there for a year and three months according to walking speed and the distance to Frozen Lake 52. It'll likely be longer since the mountains are treacherous. Who knows? Perhaps they'll be killed by frost apes or a natural disaster?"

[That best be the case. Sorry for the loss.]

"That's why we ask for security deposits from our customers in case of events like this." The figure chuckled and hung up the phone.

With a light-hearted tone, he said:

"Time for my lunchbreak."