Chapter 91 - High Cold Event

The next few days pass uneventfully. The only thing of note was the rapidly decreasing temperatures.

*Warning: High Cold Event beginning soon. Please find shelter.*

As World Knowledge gives me that warning, I notice the presence of hundreds of snow-white butterflies. They look like a scaled up snowflake that's split down the middle to form two pairs of wings. They're fluttering about all over the grove.

It seems that with each flap of their wings, the temperature goes down a little more. Dark clouds form overhead, and a piercingly cold wind begins to blow.

I give a signal, and my Servants along with Delpha and grandma head into my cave. Sensing the approaching cold, I took the liberty of draping the entrance with my silk. Having reached Master in Trapmaking, I'm able to now imbue my thread with special properties.

There are two properties related to Heat and Cold imbued thread: Emit and Insulate. Emit makes my silk release its stored Heat or Cold Element, inflicting those in contact with it either with Overheat or Hypothermia. Insulate prevents ambient Heat or Cold from moving past the silk.

There's two layers to this silk entrance; the outer layer insulates against Cold, barring it from entering the cave, and the inner layer insulates against Heat, keeping heat from escaping the cave.

Within the cave itself I've set up some Heat Crystals. Implementing a planned flaw in them allows them to leak small amounts of Heat Element over time, causing the temperature in the cave to rise. I'm not too worried about it getting too hot, since only the entrance is draped in the Heat silk, excess heat would still dissipate through the soil and rock.

I secure the 'door' I've made to let us enter the cave, and turn to face the gathering of monsters and two humans. "Well, I hope it won't last too long..." I mumble as I glance back towards the wall of silk. It used to be slightly translucent, but now it's beginning to become a solid white as snow batters the outside.

"I hope the Dragons are okay..." Delpha pets Ame and Mabe. The Bidra seems to have gone quite sluggish in the cold, but they begin to perk back up once they get exposed to the heat in the cave.

"They should be. Unlike us, they don't have a set nest, and they also don't need to stay where they are." I reply, walking up to them. "Besides, I have it on good authority that the tropical and desert areas of the Domain will be protected from this Event."

"I suppose you're right. But it's strange, there was a High Heat Event this summer, and now there's a High Cold Event..." Delpha looks troubled. It's no wonder. From what I've learned by now, High Element Events happen perhaps once every three or so years, and it's almost always a different Element.

Having two High Element Events in the same year is incredibly rare.

*High Element Events are caused by the presence of Elemental Crown Butterflies. In order to protect and feed their larvae, the adults release large amounts of built up Magic into the surroundings before dying. These Insectoid monsters spend up to twenty years stockpiling their respective Element before they mate, lay eggs and release their pent up Magic as they die.*

Ah, I see. They are like... very aggressive cicadas. I'm guessing something in the environment caused them to go early?

*Calculating... It is highly probable that a combination of the events in the World at large has increased the total volume of ambient Magic available. With more available ambient Magic, the quicker the Elemental Crown Butterfly species would reach their target amount of stored Magic to begin spawning.*

So, other than my own influence, I'm guessing the moves of the Malice and the Summoning of the Hero might have played a part... I just hope that we don't get inundated with High Element Events because of this.

I sigh, there's nothing to be done about this. It's the way of these monsters, so to prevent this would require the eradication of all species of Elemental Crown Butterflies. And that's just unrealistic.

The Temple construction will also be delayed because of this. No sane humanoid would even think of going outside in this weather. They'd freeze solid within the hour.

Just as I'm about to settle down with the Gyger, who are setting up their looms to have something to tide them over, many small shadows appear at the entrance of the cave. Seems someone is using Light, or they're wielding torches. Nevertheless, the distinct silhouettes of numerous small monsters soon play onto the silk.

I get up to check. I can sense twenty or so Goblins, as well as an assortment of other low-star monsters. As I undo the silk securing the door, I'm charged by all of them, all desperately fleeing the biting cold outside. Seems at least the Goblins knew where we were, and probably sensed the heat within, the other monsters just followed them.

As the last monster throws itself past the entrance, I once again secure the door. I glance at the stunned newcomers and then at my Servants. We're all equally impressed with their ability to traverse the storm without perishing.

Actually, judging by the sad look of the Goblin Shaman, they lost some. The young or weak, unable to endure the SP drain of Hypothermia. I decide to look all of the newcomers over. There's twenty Goblins, five Quartz Deer and a pair of Sanguine Foxes. I've not seen the Sanguine Fox before, seems they're mostly nocturnal.

*Sanguine Fox

A nocturnal Mammaloid in the Vulpes sub-class. Its blood-red fur actually contains light-sensitive pigments that causes their coloration to change depending on the light level. In the dark, the color is a deep crimson, reminiscent of a pool of fresh blood. In the day, the fur darkens further and turns a dull reddish brown, akin to a spot of dried blood. The reason for this color-changing is still not known.

Uses stealth to avoid predators and to hunt prey, but actually prefers eating fruit and berries. It shouldn't be underestimated though, as it specializes in the Curse and Withering Spells.

Its fur is sought after to make eye-catching fur linings. An oddity with the fur is that it stays the color it was when the Sanguine Fox died, as such, hunting is best done on moonless nights when its colour is the deepest red. Its fangs and eyes also confer slight defense against Dark.*

*Rank: 2 Stars*

How peculiar. They're all in good shape despite their recent escape from the cold. Myan curiously sniffs the newly arrived Sanguine Foxes before seeming to invite them over to Vir'ava. The foxes eagerly curl up next to her. Seems she has some affinity for Dark aligned monsters.

The five Quartz Deer hesitantly inspect those present before deciding to huddle together at the far end of the cave. They sought the warmth of this place in a desperate bid for survival, but now that they've realized there's a lot of predators here, they're visibly nervous.

Same with the Goblins. They've been getting braver and braver, inching closer and closer to the grove, but always running away the moment they got spotted. Once the High Cold Event started, the Shaman realized their only chance for survival would be to seek shelter with me.

Nevertheless, they're all nervously looking at the Jotun and Gyger, displaying submissive behaviour as they do so. Lowering their ears and keeping their hands folded in front of them are all typical behaviours of a Goblin wanting to submit to another Goblin.

I'm unsure if this behaviour translates to the Jotun and Gyger, but I decide to ease the situation by activating my Serene Presence. The effect is immediate, and the Goblins as well as the Quartz Deer calm down.

As I settle down with the others, I wonder how the village is faring. I didn't see any Elemental Crown Butterflies during the High Heat Event, so I'm fairly sure the area of effect on this mass suicide is quite big. Perhaps even the Parshuran Capital feels the bite of this cold.

Sern'in Village

As witnessed by the Divine

Myra Drakefang winces against the bitter cold wind currently buffeting her body as she fights her way across the village, towards the Guild Hall. It's the largest structure in the village, and is able to hold the entire village population should the situation call for it. The building itself is specially reinforced to withstand all sorts of High Element Events.

She's just finished her final sweep of the village, to make sure no-one would be foolish enough to try weathering the blizzard in their own homes. They'd not have enough firewood nor stockpiled food to last the predicted two weeks that this Event will take.

Now that everyone's gathered in the Hall, it's been converted into a mass shelter. The tables and chairs that would normally fill the ground floor have been replaced with countless bedrolls divided up by simple paper screens. It's cramped and noisy, but it's the safest place to be at the moment.

The hubbub is silenced as Myra throws open the double doors leading outside. Three hunters rush over to aid her in closing them before the howling winds rip them from their hinges. Once the doors are securely closed, and Myra has caught her breath, she announces:

"All are accounted for. A job well done, people." Cheers erupt from the crowd before everyone goes back to what they were doing. Some are perusing the Guild Library, others are playing board games with each other. There is nothing to be done about the cold outside, they can only entertain themselves until it subsides.

"Who'd thought we'd get another Elemental Event this year? It's just luck that we got the Hall done before winter came, otherwise I think we'd be in trouble now." A Clerc comments as she hands Myra a mug of hot Scatheberry juice. It's a popular cold-weather drink, and it's even able to prevent and treat frostbite.

Only issue is its taste. A sweet, chocolatey taste at first, but then the hot heat of chilli peppers. Only, chilli peppers don't exist in this World, so the taste is just that; Scatheberry. Myra grimaces as she sips the hot beverage. If it wasn't for its medicinal properties, she'd have refused the drink, but she's the leader of this village, if something happened to her because she caught frostbite...

She pushes the thought to the back of her mind as she battles the flavor of the drink. "We hadn't stockpiled enough firewood or food to last even a week without going outside. There was no need, we'd already had a High Element Event when the Shimmer Crown Butterflies spawned this summer." Myra sighs as she blows the hot juice to cool it some more.

"Who'd have thought the Frost Crowns would spawn as well? Not me." The Clerc tries to give Myra an encouraging smile, but it's little use. Myra is upset with herself. She's an experienced leader, she should have been ready, even for the completely unexpected like two High Element Events in the same year.

"How's the Grand Priestess doing? Other than pining for her love, I mean?" Myra asks the Clerk. It's not even a rumor at this point that the Priestess is infatuated with the Great Monarch. Of course, they're also aware that the poor Priestess is suffering from the Eros Delusion, otherwise they'd have to question the integrity of the Church since it elected a monsterphile to its highest position.

The average monster is not considered sapient, nor capable of expressing consent. The Dragons and the Monarch are obvious exceptions, but overall, someone who has romantic or sexual relations with a monster is seen as a repugnant deviant.

"She's doing well. We've allocated a separate room for her, and she's been a great help in treating those who got Hypothermia during the move." Myra nods at this. Bravely finishing off her drink, she winces at the taste before getting to work sorting through the logistics of rationing food.

Somewhere in Illomen Forest

???s POV

C-Curse this cold! It was bad enough with the heat in the summer, I barely survived that... But now incessant cold as well?

My Vessel whimpers as they try to drag themselves away from the opening to the cave. I oblige, and we retreat further in, all the way to the innermost chamber. The temperature here's tolerable, but I worry about the little ones.

If the Malice is exposed to extreme temperatures, it might react negatively, causing this batch to fail. Then we'd be forced to await the now delayed arrival of the Aurelliums.

I cast a glance around. Leicher is still out. Good, may he freeze out there. I'm even half tempted to seal off the cave to keep the warmth in and him out. I won't, of course. If he discovered what I did, our 'cooperation' would be over, and my Vessel dead.

I might have miscalculated by allying with Leicher. The effect of the Malice on his mind is... much more severe than mine. I'm even getting better at controlling it and myself, but Leicher seems to slip further and further into some demented power fantasy.

Utterly convinced that he's invincible, he's planning something big, well before his followers are ready. He is certain that only he will be needed in taking on the closest village. Once that is taken, we can use the villagers to supplement our ranks.

At least, that's his plan.

I shrug to myself as I decide to stop caring about what Leicher does. As long as he doesn't attack me, then everything between now and the time when my own agenda is fulfilled shouldn't matter. After that... Well... He is sure to get what he also wants, if he hasn't forgotten his original goal...