Arcane Innovator

I scowled as I reluctantly took the scroll from Theo's outstretched hand and unrolled it carefully. The parchment felt delicate; its edges were frayed with age. The script the text was written in was the very same flowing script I had so much trouble learning the previous year.

I quickly scanned the text, and my eyes widened as the ingredient Theo spoke of was a flower called Frost Blossom, a seemingly very rare ingredient said to bloom only in the harshest of winters in the frozen foothills of the Northern mountains. 'Is he serious?' I gave him an incredulous look.

"How much does it cost? Couldn't I just buy one for you in the market as a gift?" I smiled at him hopefully, which resulted in another burst of laughter.

"Hahaha! If this was something that could be obtained simply with coins, do you really believe I would ask you for it?"

"Hmm, I suppose not, but still, it was worth a try." I returned his smile.

"Don't worry; I wouldn't send you there if it was too dangerous. During the winter, most of the monsters in the woods are asleep in their nests, so you shouldn't stumble upon any of them out there." Theo explained

'Yeah, with my rotten luck, I have a feeling that I'm going to fall into a nest or two...' I thought dejectedly as I rolled back the scroll and said my farewells to Theo.

As I stepped out of the inn, the winter chill embraced me once again. The snowflakes drifted lazily from the sky, a somber reminder of what would await me out there in the wilderness...

***

"Hmm..." I furrowed my brows as I followed the rough lines with my finger. I was standing in a dimly lit room, leaning over a small table, looking at a map of the surrounding area.

I found out recently that the Merchant's Guild, among other things, also provided its members with information about various goods and, more importantly, maps of the trade routes going in and out of the city.

It was only a very crude map with little to no detail, but it still provided me with valuable insights as I had never been as far as the Northern Mountains before. It will take me at least two to three days to get there and several more to find what I'm looking for, so I need to prepare carefully for a long journey.

With this knowledge, I went to a general store to purchase a big travel bag, which I then filled with plenty of dried meat and a special kind of bread similar to hardtacks that local hunters are using as rations on long expeditions.

'This will give me enough food for at least two weeks...' I thought happily. I actually don't need so much food, but based on my previous experiences, it is better to be prepared for anything.

The good news is that I don't need to worry about water as I can just melt the snow along the way. I also bought some camping supplies, along with a warm blanket, If I needed to spend the night somewhere in the wilderness.

With my preparations complete, all that was left to do was wait for the weather to improve. I wasn't too bothered by the cold, as I could manipulate the air around me to create a small bubble of warm air, blocking the harsh winds and the snow from tormenting me.

However, I couldn't do anything about the visibility itself. Getting lost in a blizzard, stumbling in an endless expanse of white while slowly freezing to death, was not something I was keen to experience.

Thus I continued with my daily routine, carefully observing the heavy clouds hanging in the sky every day, and finally, after about a week, I was woken up by a rare sight: rays of sunlight slowly creeping into my humble room. When I hurriedly rubbed my sleepy eyes and looked out the window, I couldn't help but smile as I saw nothing but a cloudless sky stretching as far as the eye could see.

'Perfect...' I thought excitedly as I quickly gathered all my stuff, getting ready to head out of the city and at last start my quest for the Frost Blossom. Before I left, I also grabbed from the table the two messages I had prepared in advance, one for Isadora and the second for Sam, informing them I would be out of the city for a few days.

The snow-covered streets of Ereneth welcomed me, silent and still as if holding their breath in the icy grip of winter. I walked through them while the wind whispered to me through the narrow alleyways, carrying the faint scent of smoke and the distant promise of adventure.

My footsteps left a trail of fresh imprints on the pristine white canvas, marking my journey into the unknown. After sending my messages, I ventured beyond the familiar sights of the city, following the winding road that led to the outskirts, where the wilderness awaited.

As I was making my way through the massive frame of the city's gates out of the city, the guards standing watch threw me incredulous looks. It was a rare sight to see someone venture out in the middle of winter. Not to mention a lone child traveling on foot. But nobody tried to stop me, as it was not their problem what I did with my life.

I walked west along the main highway. It was kind of a detour compared to traveling straight north through the City's forest, but it promised a much more pleasant and safer journey.

After a whole day of nothing but walking, I finally arrived in a small village with a travel inn, used mainly by merchants to spend the night. I tiredly shuffled the last few steps, not being used to such long trips after several years of comfortable city life.

I hurriedly opened the doors, and a whiff of warm air embraced me, conjuring a small smile on my weary face. I walked into the inn's hall, finding it almost empty.

The innkeeper was surprised to see me, as they don't receive many visitors this time of year. Still, the inn remained open for the locals and the occasional traveler who needed a place to lay their head after a day of exhausting travel.

I settled into my room after a hearty dinner. 'Yeah, this is more like it... Who in their right mind would bother with traversing a snow-covered wilderness if you can travel comfortably like this?' I thought pleasantly as I drifted off into sleep's embrace.

The next day I woke up early, even before dawn, as I was painfully aware that I had a long journey ahead of me. I did my homework in the Guild's map room, and I remembered every road in the vicinity together with all the inns one could use to spend the night, as I didn't like the idea of sleeping outside in the cold.

So I continued walking west for several more kilometers before finally turning north, following a narrow path that would take me all the way to the foothills of the Northern Mountains. The further north I walked, the fewer signs of civilization I stumbled upon. I passed through several villages on my way whose main source of income seemed to be grazing cattle on the surrounding hillsides.

It was already the night before I arrived at the small village at the end of the road. Well, it looked more like a hamlet than a village, with only a few houses scattered here and there. A lonely inn stood in front of me. It looked old and not well-maintained, and It took me a while to locate it in the dark.

When I came closer and observed the dilapidated building, it didn't look very welcoming at all. Still, I loudly knocked on the worn-out doors, as I knew this was my last chance to sleep in a proper bed until I came back from the mountains.

It took a long time before anyone answered. But In the end, a middle-aged woman slowly opened the doors with a wary look on her face. When she saw that I was just a child, she released a sigh and loosened her expression.

"What do you want, boy?" She said, annoyed.

'I guess I must have woken her up...' I thought briefly before putting on a smile. "I'm sorry for the intrusion, madam. Could I get a room for the night?"

"You got money? I won't bother with freeloaders..." She replied, eyeing me warily.

"Sure, here, keep the change for your troubles..." I said as I took a silver penny out of my pocket with a smile.

She took the coin and moved it closer to the flickering torch to take a look at it. When she saw the unmistakable glint of silver, she widened her eyes and immediately changed her angry demeanor.

"Thank you, good sir! Please come inside; I will prepare a room for you right away!"

I walked into the dimly lit hall. It seems this inn is mainly for the hunters who hunt in the mountains, given the many trophies hung up on the walls. 'It makes sense; who else would travel so far up north?' I thought as I waited for the innkeeper to come back.

"Your room is ready." The woman said as she came back after a while. "But I'm afraid I can't serve you dinner as I didn't expect any guests tonight..."

"Oh, don't worry about it; a warm bed is fine," I replied with a smile, not particularly bothered by it as I still had my full bag of supplies with me.

"If you need anything, I will be in the back..." She added as we parted ways for the night.

I entered my room, which was very small but surprisingly clean. It felt pretty cold in there, but the innkeeper had already lit up the fireplace, so it should get warm soon. I quickly dove into bed, as I wanted to get plenty of rest before I headed up into the mountains tomorrow.

After I woke up the next day, I took a few pieces of jerky out of my bag as a quick breakfast before I resumed my journey. I looked up, and the Northern mountains loomed in the distance, their jagged peaks disappearing in the cloudy sky.

It was somewhere there, amidst the frozen wastelands and treacherous terrain, that the Frost Blossom was said to bloom, and I was determined to find it.

I tightened the straps of my bag and adjusted my cloak, ready to face the challenges that lay ahead. The village slowly faded behind me as I ventured deeper into the wilderness. I took out the scroll that Theo had given me and read the flower's description once again so that I didn't miss any clues about her possible whereabouts.

The path became steeper as I ascended toward the foothills. The air grew crisper, biting at my cheeks and causing my breath to form small clouds in front of me. I decided it was time to start manipulating the air around me with magic as I was now truly alone, which will make the rest of my journey much more comfortable.

As I climbed higher, the terrain became increasingly treacherous. The narrow path twisted and turned, flanked by sheer cliffs on one side and an abyss on the other. Loose rocks and patches of ice made each step dangerous.

After many hours, I found myself at the edge of a steep valley with a frozen lake in the middle. I looked around, trying to discern any signs of danger. 'Theo was right. I didn't stumble on a single monster this whole time...' I thought happily as I descended into the valley.

But as soon as I found myself standing once again on even ground, the wind seemed to pick up rapidly. I didn't feel it as I was still using magic to block it, but I could see the snow-laden trees around me swaying wildly.

And when I warily looked up, all I could see was an endless mass of dark gray clouds starting to quickly descend into the valley from behind the towering peaks of the mountains—another blizzard.

'Oh, crap...' All I could feel at that moment was a growing sense of trepidation, as, by the looks of it, this one promised to be even worse than all the previous ones I went through back in the safe confines of the city.