The Snow Elementals
I drew my sword and handed the hilt to King Nidhogg of the Dwarves, offering **Pain** to him.
Nidhogg received the sword and examined it closely.
“Pain can cut through almost anything except its twin brother. That’s why it often brings misfortune on its users. It attacks opponents beyond its power too often. How long has it been with you?”
“About six months.”
“You won’t be able to keep it long without proper training.”
“Yes. I will remember.”
Nidhogg returned the sword to me.
“Word from the witch?”
“Yes. The seal on the Demon of Greed is failing, so I must seal it again, and she asked me to help.”
“The witch, eh…”
Nidhogg thought for a moment, then looked at his seneschal Osmon.
“I heard I met the real witch fifty years ago. Is that right? Seneschal.”
“Yes. It seems so. She rarely appears.”
“Right. When something goes wrong in the world, the witch shows up to teach a lesson. Everyone else suffers.”
Nidhogg and Osmon both knew a lot about witches. They didn’t seem to like them much.
“Still, guiding is important.”
“Pointing somewhere and saying go there isn’t proper guidance…”
While Osmon spoke, Nidhogg frowned and looked at me.
“I saw the witch once before. Don’t worry about it.”
“No. I think the same.”
“Well, witches are all alike.”
“I didn’t know them before, so I find Your Highness’s words fascinating.”
Nidhogg chuckled and continued.
“Witches are like priestesses who convey the will of mana. But humans see them as monsters who cast magic. The legends about witches are so exaggerated that people hardly understand them anymore.”
“You seem well versed in the topic.”
“I had a brief encounter with them once.”
I had never thought of witches as priestesses delivering mana.
Witches spoke of walking in a forest and seeking the forest’s permission, like a moving hut.
The concept of witches or magic seemed a bit different from what I had imagined.
Watching me lost in thought, Nidhogg answered about the seal.
“I don’t know much about the seal that imprisoned the demon.”
“Excuse me? If Your Highness doesn’t know, who does?”
“The former king knows.”
“The former king?”
Nidhogg looked younger than his seneschal Osmon, though I couldn’t say exactly why.
If he had lived long, the title of former king made sense. How old could the former king be?
“Where is your father?”
“He should be in the garden.”
Nidhogg rose from the throne and stepped down.
Walking briskly, he called to me.
“Come with me. Follow.”
“Yes.”
Nidhogg led the way, Osmon followed beside him, and I trailed behind with Lotte.
I saw other dwarves in the castle. They all carried axes or hammers, as warriors or smiths.
Nidhogg and Osmon carried axes on their backs as well.
Yet among the passersby, one dwarf had no beard, which surprised me.
I wanted to ask if he was young or female, but he had passed too quickly.
The castle walls, ceiling, windows, and doors were ornate and luxurious. The castle itself was an artwork I couldn’t appreciate slowly enough.
Passing through corridors lit by natural light, we emerged into a garden of green grass, trees, and flowers.
The garden was warm, unlike the cold north.
“Father!”
Nidhogg shouted toward one side of the garden.
I looked up and saw two dwarves. One had white hair and a shiny scalp from forehead to crown.
The no-bearded dwarf from earlier was surprising, but the bald dwarf now was even stranger.
The dwarf elder Nidhogg had mentioned as the former king showed the most wrinkles and was the thinnest of all dwarves I had seen.
Dwarves usually had thick bodies and broad shoulders, so even short ones looked sturdy. This elder looked small from malnutrition.
An elderly dwarf and a younger dwarf were together. The younger one roasted meat on skewers over a fire, while the elder squatted and ate.
“Father!”
Nidhogg kept calling, but the elder never stopped tearing at the meat.
From behind, Osmon introduced the elder to me.
“This is the former king, Vidar Yuripa. This friend is the warrior Piske.”
I greeted the elder Vidar.
“Ion Rise, the wandering knight of Bardfelt.”
The warrior Piske gave a slight bow and accepted my greeting, but Vidar said nothing and simply continued eating meat.
Though his hair was sparse, it looked sturdy.
Osmon whispered quietly.
“The former king has a slightly dull hearing because he is so old.”
I nodded.
That was common with age.
Dwarves were said to live about two hundred years, and this one seemed much older.
And I understood why Nidhogg kept shouting.
“Father!”
After several calls, Vidar turned his head.
“Hm?”
“Who has come?”
Nidhogg pointed at me, and Vidar looked at me.
Like the other dwarves, he first noticed my armor, then the **Pain** at my waist, and finally Lotte beside me.
Vidar saw Lotte and waved a hand, calling out.
“Woof! Come here and eat!”
Vidar called Lotte and pointed to the roasted meat and bones still attached.
Lotte drooled, then hesitated and looked at me.
I nodded and smiled.
“Go on. Eat, but don’t overdo it.”
Lotte wagged her tail happily and trotted over to sit beside Vidar, tail wagging like she might fly away.
Vidar squatted nearby and blew on the meat Piske had roasted until it cooled. Then he gave Lotte one piece and himself one, and they ate together.
Nidhogg, Osmon, and I waited while Vidar and Lotte finished their meat.
—Crunch.
Having eaten his fill, Vidar lay down on Lotte’s belly and fell asleep. Piske covered him with a wool cloak.
This happened often.
Nidhogg and I sat on tree-vine chairs placed in the garden, and Osmon and Piske stood guard on either side.
Nidhogg looked at Vidar and spoke quietly.
“Father… how many years has it been since the former king became like this? He’s been overeating and sleeping more than before.”
“I see.”
Dwarves only knew they lived long. Learning that old age brought such a disease made me feel strange. It was logical, yet unfamiliar.
Nidhogg continued, watching Vidar sleeping on Lotte’s belly.
“After I inherited the throne, he told me important matters that had to be passed on by word, not writing. But since he became like this, he can’t convey them properly anymore.”
“So the information about the seal… is still…”
“Right. He said there was something very important left. It must be about the seal.”
Nidhogg nodded with a bitter smile.
Only Vidar’s mind held the knowledge of the seal.
If Vidar’s condition continued like this, we might never be able to restore the seal.
“Perhaps…”
Nidhogg shook his head lightly and smiled.
“He will recover fully after sleeping. Just wait a little longer.”
“I understand.”
That was fortunate. At least he wasn’t always strange.
As tension left me, I picked at dried fruit to pass the time.
After a while.
“Hmm…”
Vidar’s eyes opened.
His gaze was clearer than before.
He sat up, looked around, glanced at Lotte where he had been resting, then noticed Nidhogg and me seated in the chairs.
It seemed he was gathering his memories. When he saw me, he asked.
“Is this the wandering knight Ion?”
“Yes. It is. Former King Vidar Yuripa.”
Vidar nodded and stroked Lotte.
“Yes. What is the name of this red wolf?”
“Her name is Lotte.”
“I see.”
Vidar turned to Nidhogg.
“Why have you brought Ion?”
“The seal on the Demon of Greed is failing, Father.”
“Demon’s seal!”
Vidar’s eyes widened.
A sigh escaped him.
“From my era… it was supposed to be broken?”
“Yes, Father. How do we seal it again?”
“…It would be difficult to explain in words. I think I should ask Nidhogg to do it.”
“What request?”
Vidar answered with a solemn expression, and Nidhogg sighed.
“I must go myself.”
“Father, you have health concerns. Must you really?”
“I’m sorry. This must be done with my own body.”
“I understand. What should I prepare?”
“I need my hammer and mace. And we must cross the first Ice Wall to reach the second one.”
Nidhogg nodded gravely.
“We’re heading to the old castle?”
“Yes.”
“I understand. I will prepare.”
As Nidhogg stood, Vidar called to me.
“Ion, let’s talk for a moment.”
“Yes. Of course.”
Nidhogg and Osmon said their farewells and left. Piske continued guarding from the side.
Vidar kept stroking Lotte and looked at the sword sheath on my waist.
“Pain?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“Good. A knight who uses Pain would be strong, right?”
“I think it’s serviceable.”
Vidar laughed and nodded.
“Nidhogg and I must focus on the seal. That’s why we can’t look after our bodies. You will protect us from the side then.”
“Yes. I will.”
“Right. I understand…”
Vidar nodded with a smile, yet his strength seemed gone.
His eyes grew cloudy again. He let out a big yawn, leaned against Lotte, and lay down once more.
“Piske!”
Piske rushed over from his post.
“You called, Your Highness?”
“I want meat today! Roast some meat!”
“Yes, sir!”
Piske replied and headed to the fire to start it.
When answering, Piske raised his voice.
When Vidar’s hearing recovered, he would be normal again.
Vidar lay on Lotte’s belly and looked at me.
“You! Who are you?”
“Yes! I am the wandering knight Ion!”
“Knight?”
Vidar tilted his head for a moment, then smiled.
“I got it! You’re the owner of this woof!”
“Ah, yes. That’s right!”
“Hahaha! Good! No bad people among those who love woofs! Humans must be the same! You want meat too!”
“Yes. Of course.”
Vidar had become a slightly confused old man again, and I played along.
He seemed to like animals.
He lay on Lotte’s belly and tickled her side, and the now calm Lotte accepted the play without growling.
Still, she gave me a pleading look with her eyes, but I turned away and stood.
I walked over to Piske by the fire and helped roast the meat on the skewers.
We set out earlier than expected, yet preparation took longer than I thought.
Not for other reasons, but because we couldn’t simply put Vidar on a frost yak saddle.
We made a saddle he could lean on or lie on.
Humans could use a hollow log tied with ropes, but dwarves did it differently.
Of course they used wood since it was heavy.
But instead of weaving thin branches, they cut large trees into small pieces, then assembled and adjusted them to fit Vidar’s body. They added armrests and backrests.
The saddle could be used seated or lying down.
It was surprisingly light because they hollowed out the thick middle.
They shaped it smoothly with curves and no straight lines.
It looked like a masterpiece, yet it was too good for a saddle. Nidhogg, a few other dwarves, and I had worked on it.
The artisans proudly claimed they had made it in a week, so I worked hard to praise them properly.
After all preparations, we set out: Nidhogg the Dwarf King, Vidar the former king, Osmon the seneschal, Piske the warrior, and I.
Leaving the castle, we crossed a bridge that took ten days.
Unlike Niel, which I had crossed with fear, this bridge was not something I couldn’t cross at all. We made it safely.
The other frost yaks were used to the crossing.
As soon as we crossed, we followed the coast and climbed upward for three days until we reached the Ice Wall.
“I will lead the way.”
Osmon led the frost yak forward.
The Ice Wall rose endlessly into the sky, and I wondered how we would pass it. The method wasn’t difficult.
At the coast, the wall had split into many sharp canyons. Osmon guided us through the gaps using a map.
We crossed the Ice Wall one day at a time.
The next day we set out again.
Vidar, now with hazy eyes, loved meat excessively but was still a cheerful old man.
Whenever we rested, he would throw fistfuls of snow at Lotte and play with her.
I watched the piled snow when a yellow dot suddenly appeared on the map.
“Enemy appeared!”
The dwarves sitting to rest jumped up and grabbed their axes.
Nidhogg quickly drew his axe and charged forward. Osmon, Piske, and Lotte protected Vidar.
“Where? Where are the enemies?”
Nidhogg asked, axe raised beside me.
I drew my sword and pointed seriously at the front.
Nidhogg’s eyes only saw white snow, so he tilted his head.
“I don’t see anything…”
The yellow dot on my map turned red. From the snow-covered field, round snowballs rose.
They grew larger and became spherical snow people.
They really looked like snow people with arms.
I hadn’t seen them, only heard about the Snow Elementals.
Over a dozen Snow Elementals rose and began hurling snowballs at me and the others.
Splat! Splat! Splat!
**Snow Elementals**
**A magical construct made of snow that regenerates indefinitely unless its core is destroyed.**
(Attacked Bolda and the second ice wall.)