The Castle in the middle of nowhere.

The cohort was returning to Avalon, and Sebastian was observing the people they had rescued. The three of them, two Wolfkin women and one male Elf, acted normally, given they were still blind to who actually saved them. But the other male Elf and the third Wolfkin woman were strange. At first, Sebastian wanted to let them go, but they fearfully refused; being captured by the snow beasts once, they didn't want to repeat that. After adding his observations of the people rescued, he sent a messenger eagle to Avalon with an extensive report about Gorn and the snow beasts.

•••

"... Two of the five rescued people are behaving strangely. They are apathetic, passive, and they don't talk at all." I read Sebastian's report, which I poured into the paper. I love my Intent and Purpose skill.

"That's not normal, Theon..." Irene was concerned.

"Normally, I would say they are sick..." I looked at Irene, uncertain. "Do people even get sick in this world?"

"Of course we get sick! There are plenty of diseases and common illnesses." Irene rolled her eyes.

"So they probably have some viral infection... Maybe some sort of influenza?" I rubbed my chin and sighed.

"Viral infection? What's that, Theon?" Irene looked at me strangely.

Instead of even trying to explain, I summoned one of the later tomes of Irene's favourite book and opened it to the corresponding chapter. She took it and started reading it, with amusement on her face that changed quickly into a fearful focus. Of course... Why explain viruses for something mundane like influenza? The book had to use the Ebola virus. Irene skimmed the important part of the chapter and cleared her throat.

"This is... *ekhem* disturbing. But now it makes sense why normal healing never worked on various diseases."

"You don't have to tell me... When I was young, a great pandemic engulfed the entire world..." I exhaled and scratched my head. Funny, I didn't remember much from that time, probably because I had spent my time with my family, and those memories had been stolen in the first place. "Anyway... I will prepare a quarantine zone for them. I don't want them to spread any contagion over Avalon."

"Where do you want to place them?" Amber asked and looked at the map of the Castle. "I don't think anywhere is good."

"That is actually an excellent question... I hadn't planned to build it anytime soon, but the hospital would probably be a good thing to have now." I rubbed my eyes and leaned back in the armchair.

"Honey... Building an entire hospital for just five people, when you have the Saintess and probably every single truly skilled healer… and I'm not afraid to say it- in the world, is rather wasteful." Amber frowned at my idea, and Irene quickly nodded in agreement.

"Theon, the third level of caves is off-limits right now. Maybe you can place those isolation rooms there?" Luna studied the map of Avalon carefully.

"That's... That's not a bad idea at all. I'll relocate all nodes from that level for now or... Oh! I have something better!" Inspired by Luna's idea, I stood up and went closer to the model map. "Let's say...in zone two, I will build a... Pffff... The lower part of the tower will lead to the isolation rooms placed underground."

"That is a good idea. What about costs? You recently started building again." Amber looked at me, concerned.

"Don't worry. I have enough mana because of the Guild in Everlight and the recent raids. Also, Sebastian ordered that all the corpses of people killed by winter beasts in Gorn gathered together. So after we bury them in the Cemetery, I will have enough mana to build that structure." I pointed to a map where the new structure started to show up. I used enchanted stones for it because I had experimented with creating them recently. I smiled at Luna. "Thank you, my little Foxie." I looked at them and sighed. "The next part of the report is about the battle and extermination of winter beasts in Gorn. I will have to analyze it with Galahad and Arani."

"In that case, have fun. We will go to our lessons with Stella, Theon." Amber nodded her head with a warm smile.

Luna and Irene waved at me, and they left for their training, leaving me alone. Well... Alone, if you did not count Galahad and Arani, who entered the war room just after my Ladies went out. Despite my light tone, I was concerned about the combat capabilities of the winter beasts. I gave Sebastian command over the entire cohort- four hundred and eighty soldiers. Also, there were other things that were highly disturbing.

"My Lord?"

"I believe you are aware of Sebastian's report, Galahad." It was more of a statement than a question, at which my skeleton scion just nodded. "And you, Arani?"

"Yes, my Lord. I don't understand why winter bests keep their full potential hidden."

"We can only guess, but if I were to command such monsters, I would certainly order them to keep a low profile," Galahad responded.

I looked in surprise at my scions. It was certainly interesting to see them grow and progress on their own. They had shown much more individualised traits lately.

"What motivation could they have?" I asked with a smirk. Let's see what conclusion they would make.

"They are chaos spawns, my King. I don't think they need any motivation; they will just do what their gods have ordered them to do." Galahad started thinking about something, allowing Arani to voice his opinion.

"I think you are wrong, brother. Their motivations are connected to the fear they cause amongst the people of this land. It may be their purpose as well. When you look at Everlight and its people and compare them to the inhabitants of Cridia, you will see a big contrast. The people of Everlight just close the drawbridge and first castle gates, while people living in the capital are afraid to even leave their homes in the winter." Arani pointed to the map. "However, we can see they camped here in Gorn... Which is a topic of its own."

"What do you mean?" I asked with curiosity.

"It's hard for me to form this thought, my King. But you once told us that our location makes no sense. We are in an open field without natural advantages like rivers or mountains. Even the hill upon which the Palace was built is artificial..." Arani nervously fixed his back feathers. I knew he didn't like theorising, but I thought I knew where this was going.

"You think that location of that village makes no sense?" I helped him.

"Yes! Other villages are confined to particular roles, mostly agriculture, with a few lumberjack villages that produce low-quality timber." Arani pointed at the map with his claw. "Gorn has no function at all. It's in the perfect location for a lumberjack village, but the local authorities did not order it to produce anything. It is also located closest to the former Blood Dungeon, and I believe its previous inhabitants might indicate the reason."

"Go on..." I nodded with a proud smile. He had never added information about the local authorities to set specific production in the villages. That was important information.

"I think they were robbed of their winter supplies on purpose, my King. No other village in the region suffered a similar requisition of supplies. Also, the people of Gorn are different from other villagers in the area. They are defiant, resourceful, and act selflessly, my Lord. They also mentioned on some occasions that 'they were sent to Gorn from their Villages.'" Arani exhaled. "I also sent a request to our spies in the capital. I wanted them to check what actual records the Cridians have about that place, and I think I might find validation of what I suspect. Gorn has changed its name about thirty times since Josla was crowned. It looks like this place was systematically raided by the Blood Dungeon each winter, and with spring, it was populated with new inhabitants."

"Hmmm... Interesting theory. A sacrificial village that was full of inconvenient people..." I rubbed my chin. That looked like an excellent deduction.

"Yes, my King, inconvenient people with tendencies to have rebellious thoughts or actions."

"I'm not even slightly shocked at this point, Arani." I sighed. Why bother with prosecution or even false accusations when you can just get rid of such people by feeding them to the bloodthirsty dungeon indirectly? "Your deduction is on point, Arani. Prepare a report with your observations about the local administration and how they govern the area. I don't care how much it is filled with conjecture, but I want an overall picture of this matter. Excellent work."

"As you wish, my Lord." Arani proudly flapped his wings.

"There was no point for those beasts to gather so many corpses, my Lord." Galahad took his turn and pointed at the map of Gorn. "We found plenty of supplies in a different shack. I assume they needed those corpses for some other reason."

"Ideas?" I asked quickly.

"No." Arani shook his head in denial.

"The lich..." Galahad looked at me, suddenly alarmed. "The lich used the bodies of his victims for something. We still don't know what he wanted to accomplish because he never wrote about that, but he mentioned some dark ritual."

"Hmm..." I nodded seriously. "We know nothing about dark magic, so that might be the case... Which brings us to the last point. They use magic, and a very potent one, to be precise."

"Yes, my Lord. Sebastian couldn't predict that..."

"Whether Sebastian could predict that or not is not important. The simple fact they use potent magic makes them very dangerous enemies. Also, the fact that they most likely faked their levels and capabilities is very alarming," I interrupted him. "Their battle tactic is negligible, but we can't dismiss the idea that they are capable of fighting in formations, Galahad. The best indicator will be the way they approached Gorn Village. They moved in some strange formation that now makes sense. They are capable of using magic, so their formation could engage any enemy."

"I see... I will include cavalry in the next skirmish against the winter beasts."

"Hmmm... I can allow that because I no longer plan to fight them this winter." I agreed after a thoughtful moment. "Galahad, I’m changing my previous orders. Prepare three or even four Legions to be ready for spring, not two. I have a bad feeling about these winter monsters."

"As you wish, my Lord."

"Arani, how do other settlements fare?"

"We are checking on them regularly, my Lord. There has been no issue so far; however, in one case, the villagers seem to be arguing with each other about moving here. They asked us to check on them in two days."

"Very well..." I looked through the window, thinking about the future...

•••

Glenn tried to call for gods, but they did not reply.

"They never reply..." Glenn sighed, disappointed that even now, no god replied to his pleas.

"Other gods..." Lanka waved her hand dismissively. "Call Eriar for his help, Glenn. But know if he responds to you, it will be the first and the last time you hear him."

Glenn looked at the incredibly beautiful and mysterious Archbishop. She disregarded other gods without any fear... However, Glenn felt she was much more powerful than he ever would be. He nodded his head, glad to hear about this new god and ready to try him. He closed his eyes and focused on this new deity.

"I can feel it..." A white light shone upon the coffins, and Glenn felt incredible happiness as if his brother wanted to say goodbye for the last time.

•••

The people of Everlight gathered in the town cemetery. They had not known them but felt the need to be here today. Curiosity, sadness, and simple compassion made them gather in this place. Ulvar Knys had asked for help and, with ten more guildmates, had prepared two graves near each other. King Theon and Queens Amber, Irene, and Luna stood silently nearby, watching the funeral procession reach the graves. It was symbolic and reassuring that the King and Queens had decided to be here with them.

The coffins were lowered into the ground, and a bright and soft touch of the sun shone upon them for the last time. The people offered the last prayers, and even the Saintess gave her blessings. Glenn stood there, feeling both emptiness and the warm touch of Fania, who hugged him, preventing his grief and sadness from taking over.

•••

The next day, I was standing on the Palace balcony, gazing at the distant mountains, when Twirll and Lance suddenly landed in front of me.

"Twitrrriiilll!"

"Excuse me, what?!" I looked at him, astonished.

"Bzzzzym," Lance confirmed.

"That was fast..." I looked at them, and I shrugged. "You may proceed. Just be careful with it."

After a brief confirmation, they flew away. Who would have thought that those two would become friends that quickly? Anyway, they had a plan and could execute the raid anytime. I inhaled the chill air, wondering what I should do next.

Vernon and Beryl were exploring the cave system, and they had given me positive feedback so far. Beryl had a skill called Blueprint, which was very similar to my skill that allowed me to produce books or pour my knowledge straight onto paper instantly. She had volunteered to redesign the cave system and the fourth level if necessary. After some thinking, I asked her to design an excluded part of the caves that would be accessible only to the residents. I would move gemstones and precious metal nodes there to use the public caves for encounters and regular nodes. When my Dwarves finished the inspection, I would open caves to the public. It looked good so far.

It was almost a shame that spring, instead of bringing fresh green grass and returning birds, would bring me war...