The cold nature hit Ryker like a wall the moment he stepped out of the Warp Gate.

His breath turned to frost in the air. The sky above was painted a dull gray with heavy clouds blocking the little remaining sunlight. Below that canvas stretched a land blanketed in thick, white snow. Pine trees glazed in frost, icicles hanging from rocky cliffs and a wind that whistled like it was mocking every poor soul who dared wander this far north.

Ryker pulled his cloak tighter, his teeth already starting to chatter.

"Sweet heavens," he muttered as he rubbed his arms. "No warning at all?"

He turned to Eleanor, who stepped through the Warp Gate as if the cold didn't even exist. She looked utterly unfazed. Her hair flowing gently with the breeze, her long coat fluttering behind her like a black flag. She didn't even flinch.

"You could have told me we were coming here?" Ryker said, shivering as he stamped his boots in the snow.

Eleanor gave him a look from the corner of her eye, "Ah," she said tilting her head slightly as if trying to remember something that didn't really matter "I forgot."

Ryker stared at her, "You… forgot?"

"Mhm." She kept walking forward, her voice sounded a little too innocent to be real.

"You did that on purpose."

"I might have," she said, her tone was casual almost like a melody. "Or maybe you are just not that memorable."

Ryker sighed dramatically. "Lovely. Absolutely lovely. I can already feel my bones freezing. Do corpses even get Squire pay?"

Eleanor didn't reply. She just kept walking.

Ryker jogged a bit to catch up, the snow crunching beneath his boots.

"So, what is the mission, Miss Eleanor?" he asked, brushing snow from his shoulders.

"Monster hunting," she said simply.

Ryker blinked. "That's it?"

"That's it."

"That's all you are giving me?"

"That's all that matters."

"…Charming," Ryker mumbled.

Despite the cold biting into his skin, he followed closely behind her. The trail ahead was winding with sharp rocks jutting out from the snowbanks. Eleanor's boots left clean prints in the snow. Ryker tried to match her pace but she moved fast with elegance and confidence. It was like someone who had done this a thousand times before.

Still, Ryker wasn't one to let silence win so easily.

"So…" he began, his voice was light. "This place… it's the Northern Region, right? I have only read about it in textbooks. Didn't know it was this cold. Or this empty."

Eleanor gave a short nod.

"Do people even live here?"

"Yes."

"…You don't like talking much, do you?"

"No."

Ryker chuckled, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Right. Noted."

They walked in silence for a few minutes more. The landscape stretched around them like a frozen dream. It was vast, still and eerily beautiful. In the distance, snow covered peaks loomed like sleeping titans.

"So," Ryker tried again. "Where are we headed exactly?"

Eleanor stopped walking and pointed ahead. "There is a village at the base of that mountain."

Ryker looked up. His jaw dropped.

The mountain was massive. Its peak is lost in the clouds, slopes covered in jagged ice and stone.

"You have got to be kidding me," he muttered.

Eleanor actually smiled, just a little hearing Ryker's frustration. "If we don't pick up the pace, we won't reach the village before sunset."

Ryker groaned. "Of course. Mountain climbing. Why not?"

"Would you rather I carried you?"

"I mean, if you are offering…"

"No."

He sighed. "Didn't think so."

They kept walking through the snow covered land. The snow was crunching beneath their boots. The slope began to rise and Ryker felt the cold cutting through his cloak like blades.

Eleanor glanced at him from the side, and saw the way he was shivering. She didn't say anything but with a flick of her wrist, she pulled something out from her dimensional pocket. A thick, black parka and tossed it over her shoulder to him.

Ryker caught it mid air, blinking in surprise.

"Where did you…?"

"Don't be smart," she cut in.

He grinned and slipped into the parka. The warmth was immediate. "Ahh, this is heaven," he sighed. "Soft, thick, and warm. And… is this perfume?"

He sniffed the collar. Sweet, floral and a little bit like… vanilla?

"Don't tell me this smell is you," he said, glancing at her with a smirk. "Because that would explain the angels singing in my head right now."

Eleanor stopped hearing him and turned towards Ryker and with a blank stare said, "Pervert."

"What? I am complimenting your choice in laundry soap"

"I gave a coat to a pervert." She sighed. "Maybe I should kill you."

Ryker raised both hands. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. I am not a pervert. I am just… direct. If I like something, I say it."

"Then say it with your mouth closed," she replied with a deadpanned face.

He laughed. "In my defense, no man would refuse a warm coat from a beautiful woman."

She squinted. "Should I take it back?"

Ryker clutched the coat. "Nevermind. I will behave."

"Good."

They climbed in silence again for a while. The wind howled around them, picking up speed. Snowflakes clung to their lashes. Ryker kept stealing glances at Eleanor's back. Not for any real reason. She just… held herself differently. Like she was always fighting something invisible. Like the silence wasn't quiet for her.

After a while, Eleanor suddenly stopped.

She didn't turn around.

But her voice was sharp. "You have been staring at me for fifteen minutes. What do you want?"

Ryker froze. "Nothing! Just… enjoying the view."

"…You are going to drive me insane."

She turned around and finally faced him. Her red eyes narrowed.

"What do you want, Ryker?" Her tone wasn't angry. Just tired.

Ryker looked at her, serious now. "I want to talk. To know you. But you are giving me the cold shoulder, literally and emotionally."

Eleanor raised an eyebrow.

He stepped closer, his face softening. "I get it. You don't trust people. Most people don't try to know you. But I am not like most people."

"You are definitely not," she muttered.

He gave her his best puppy eyes, getting comically close to her face. "Come on. One real conversation. That's all I am asking."

Eleanor stared into his eyes those strange, bright yellow and violet irises that never seemed to stop glowing.

She sighed and looked away. "Fine. You win."

Ryker grinned. "That wasn't so hard."

"You are incredibly annoying."

"I have heard worse."

They walked side by side now.

The slope got steeper but Ryker felt lighter. The air between them had shifted just a little. Not warm, but… less frozen.

"So," he said. "What's the deal with this village?"

"It's old. Isolated. Still believes in old magic over tech. They use ancient tools. Handmade weapons. No mana crystals or weather towers."

Ryker blinked. "Seriously? Like… Amish but in armor?"

"More or less."

"Why would they reject technology in this era?"

Eleanor shrugged. "Faith. Fear. Trauma. The usual."

Ryker nodded slowly. "So they won't even accept a healing potion?"

"Nope."

"Damn."

The sky grew darker as they reached the upper ridge. The wind howled louder now, snow dancing in spirals around them. Visibility dropped.

"Are you sure this is the way?" Ryker asked, squinting through the flurry.

Eleanor raised her hand and pointed forward. "There. That's the village."

Through the snowstorm, faint orange lights glowed in the distance. The warm dots in a sea of cold.

Ryker shielded his eyes. "That's it?"

Eleanor nodded.

He sighed. "Only halfway there, huh?"

She gave a rare smile. "Try to keep up, Squire."

Ryker chuckled and followed.

They had a long way to go but for the first time, the silence between them didn't feel empty.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.