Quinn

Aldric, Vincent, and Theo became a pill-popping trio for the next seven days during lunch breaks, and I couldn't help but smile in amusement at the sight. During this time, we traveled through the Northern Alps, and when people warned that it was dangerous, they meant it. We were accosted at least twice a day by hordes of monsters—goblins, hobgoblins, wolves, orcs, trolls, ogres, and even some giant spiders, too.

I, the useless being that I was, kept myself shut inside the safety of the carriage while Aldric, Vincent, Theo, and even Liam fought. Of course, it never took them long, and after a few days, it became more of a hassle for them. Hence, Aldric would disappear off by himself to dispatch them to the netherworld before they had the chance to annoy us and delay our journey.

I noticed, too, that as the days passed, Aldric's fighting style had become more powerful and lethal, and the time it took for him to annihilate a horde got even shorter, too. The last one took him a mere five minutes, and it was with at least one hundred orcs. I put that down to my healing him and the pills, and I was damn proud of it.

The Alps, full of valleys and steep, rugged mountain ranges, were breathtakingly beautiful. When we weren't bothered by monsters threatening to murder us, I'd admire the view. I thought that if the roads were safer and in better condition, and by that I meant the clean, smooth asphalt type back on Earth, traveling through here would be a trip in and of itself. The sight was simply amazing. Even better yet, if there was a hotel built right among the mountains with the façade facing the valley and the river, it'd be a vacation destination.

Theo, seeing me gazing off into the distance and grinning like an idiot while we waited for Aldric to finish another horde of monsters, said, "Those are volcanos. There are many of them across the Alps."

I wondered if these volcanoes were something like the ring of fire back on Earth where earthquakes and eruptions were common.

"Are they active?" I was curious.

"What do you mean by active?" Theo asked.

"As in have they erupted," I said. "You know, fire coming out and lava flowing recently?"

He shook his head. "They haven't been awake for over five hundred years, so I've heard. Though smoke does rise along its veins."

I frowned. They used the word awake when the volcano erupted. And smoke rising along its vein. I wondered if he meant underground water being heated by magma, which led steam to rise through cracks, or fault lines. Then I wondered about hot springs, and I got a little excited and asked, "Are there hot springs, Theo?"

Maria, sitting beside me in the carriage and reading a middle-grade novel, asked, "What's a hot spring?"

I said, "It's a pool of water that's naturally hot, or warm. It's usually close to a volcano."

"Ah, if you mean a smoke pool, then yes, we have those in Norsewood, though none would go near it as it is passed down that it's dangerous. Some of them smell like rotten eggs."

Rotten eggs, eh? Must be the sulfate. And yes, some hot springs were dangerous, especially when the temperature was too high or had harmful chemicals. I would have to check them out later. Who knows, Norsewood might one day became a hot spring resort destination.

Aldric returned, walking his graceful, sexy walk when he finished sending monsters off to the netherworld, and we resumed our journey.

We left the Northern Alps behind seven days after we entered it, and now we were traveling through a gentler land as the first snow of winter started to fall. Sitting in front of Aldric on the stallion, I shivered. Aldric tightened his arm around me and asked, "Cold?"

I nodded. "Mm-hmm." I opened my magic storage and brought out a thick, winter fur coat with a hood. I said, "Excuse me," as I shuffled myself and put it on. Then I asked, "Would you like one, Aldric? A coat?"

"I'm fine for now," he said.

"I guess you're used to the cold, eh?"

He nodded.

As we descended farther down the mountain, I finally noticed something oddly familiar. The land here was different from the ones we had passed through before entering the Northern Alps. Those lands were flat with gentle rolling hills. They were obviously designed for growing wheat and animals grazing. Here, however, there were fields built into steep hillsides that cascaded down like a terrace. Each field was depressed and the earth looked muddy and soft. To me, these fields looked like rice paddies. But could they even grow rice here? Since cultivating it required an enormous labor and, indeed, a lot of water.

I turned to look behind me. No, scratch that. The snow across the mountains of the Northern Alps that'd melt during the warmer seasons, would flow down through the river and flood those fields.

Rice paddies. Rice! If they really did have rice here...

I felt myself smiling with excitement. Then again, my thrill died down just as quickly when I realized I had not seen rice sold anywhere in the markets of the towns and villages we had passed through. And I hadn't seen anyone eating rice as part of their diet either.

Perhaps there was no rice in this world after all. It looked like I'd have to magically create it when I felt the craving for rice dishes.

"We're in Norsewood land," Aldric said.

"Really?" I said, looking around, noting even more paddy-like fields now that we were on the flats. Not to mention the snow was falling harder, too.

"Will we see Norsewood town soon?" I asked.

"Mm-hmm," he responded.

And we did when the view of the town's wall—shattered and scorched black as though it had been attacked by something powerful and deadly—greeted me. I gasped, shocked and confused, at the horrendous sight.

Was this the result of that dungeon break Aldric had told me about? How many lives had been lost? Oh, God, the devastation.

As we entered and trailed through the ruined town, I drifted my gaze across here and there, noting more wreckage. Most of the cottages were destroyed while larger buildings used for businesses were damaged beyond repair. This was a war zone, and I felt my heart aching.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Aldric," I said, my voice quivering.

"It was four years ago," he said, his tone hard, and I could tell he was doing his utter best to keep his emotions under control. I guessed one never got used to seeing the destruction and desolation, especially when it was your own hometown.

After we left the town, we rode for another ten minutes in silence, and suddenly, I felt Aldric tense up behind me. He uttered, his voice filled with raw emotions, "No!"

I felt the stallion galloping at a neck-breaking pace, and as Aldric urged it to go even faster, I knew something was amiss. I lifted my gaze to the horizon and saw, to my astonishment, a manor looming on the hill, half torn to pieces and smoke rising.

Holy shit! What had happened? Was that supposed to be Norsewood Manor? Aldric's home?

I involuntarily wrapped my arms around his mighty arm, to comfort him, even though I knew he didn't feel it since he was focused on what was ahead.

Behind us, Vincent, Theo, and Liam, too, urged their horses to go faster, and we soon reached a village. There were cottages—burned and destroyed—scattered close to the manor. I suspected this was the village Aldric and his men had built for the Norsewood's citizens after the dungeon break.

I felt Aldric go rigid, and I could do naught as he growled out his emotions—anger, shock, fear, sadness—close to my ear.

It's all right, Aldric, I wanted to say to him, but found myself choking on the words.

Close to the manor, I saw people come running out, wearing what could only be called rags, calling out, "My lord! My lord!" Their thin, frail arms waving in the air, their hollow-looking faces grinning as tears flowed out of their eyes. A few, in more decent clothes though they looked worn and in need of a good cleaning, called, "Aldric! Aldric!" and I assumed they were his family.

Aldric got down from the stallion and rushed to his people. Instantly, they surrounded him, patting his shoulders and calling out his name. Others came over to me, calling me, "My lady! My lady!" while others yet ran over to Vincent and Theo, welcoming them back.

Up ahead, I saw Aldric hugging a woman who looked so much like him. His sister? Then he hugged a man, who also looked like him. His brother?

As Aldric went ahead with his family up to the half-destroyed manor, an elderly man came to take the reins of the stallion. He said, "My lady."

I nodded at him, wondering who he was. A stableman?

He guided me and the stallion through the small crowd, and at the base of the manor, I got down, my gaze on the wrecked building that'd be my new home.

Maria and Elizabeth rushed over to me, looking very concerned and confused.

"What happened to this place?" Maria asked.

"I don't know," I said.

We entered what appeared to be the only place of the manor that hadn't been touched severely with destruction. The roof and walls were still intact, though the thin glass windows had been shattered. There were fireplaces across the vast room, giving some warmth, but the heat kept escaping. I suspected this was the great hall for gatherings, but now it acted as a campsite for the displaced.

Weak, sick, starving people, or rather refugees, congregated here and undoubtedly, they slept here, too. There were elderlies lying on the floor, looking ready for death, groups of families looking desolated with eyes filled with hopelessness, and teens and children gazing into the void, their eyes with that one-thousand-yard stare about them. There were young parents with newborns, too, and the newborns were crying, the mothers offering their breasts for the starving infants, but it appeared there was no milk.

Despair was all around, and I felt my heart breaking, tears brewing in my eyes.

It was an hour later, with me still very dazed from the shock, and Aldric undoubtedly still riled with a lot of emotions, that I was introduced to the Templeton family.

Aldric had three children from his previous marriage—Jonah aged ten and the twins Abigail and Alexander both aged four—and all three were simply adorable, despite their grimy clothing and face and hair. As for siblings, Aldric had two brothers and two sisters.

Mark was two years younger than Aldric at thirty years of age. He was married to Frances, and they had two children—Leo at age ten and Ruby at age eight. Eden, the older sister at age twenty-seven was married to Miles and they had Nick at age seven and Michael at age five. Sara, the younger sister at age twenty-five, was married to Caine, and they had Claire at age six and Tomas at age four. There was the youngest in family as well, Juan at age twenty-three, who was single. It was mentioned that he had left Norsewood with ten other men to appeal for aid from lords of the neighboring regions. As for parents, Aldric had lost them ten years ago, which explained why he, as the eldest of the brothers, had inherited Norsewood's title and land.

At this point, I still hadn't a clue yet what was going on and tried to piece together the story as I sat there in the cold that was a conference room and listened.

"We were ambushed," Mark said. "They came in the night a month ago and set ablaze the villagers' cottages and our storeroom and blasted the manor with their fire magic. Everything is gone, Aldric. We have little left to survive. Our people are starving. The vulnerable are dying."

"They meant to make us suffer," a middle-aged man said. I think his name was Allan Wakefield, Theo's brother, and he was the head of finance of Norsewood, or something along that line.

"Do we know who they are?" Theo asked.

"At this point, no," Mark said. "But we are doing whatever we can to investigate."

A mighty fist slammed on the table, causing me to jolt. If I remembered correctly, he was Aldric's uncle, Colt Templeton.

"They meant to destroy us," he said. "They know we've suffered greatly from the dungeon break four years ago, and now, they meant to make sure we crumble with naught power nor will to live."

"This winter will be harsh, and there are still families out there starving," the man with gray hair and blue eyes said. I believe his name was Jacob Morton, one of the elders of Norsewood.

"What should we do about them?" Mark asked Aldric.

Aldric said, "We'll bring them in. We won't let them starve."

"That'll take days going home by home," Mr. Morton said. "And we don't have enough of what we salvaged to last until next month. What are we going to feed them?"

"Even if it takes days or weeks," Aldric said, "and even if we don't have enough to feed everyone, we're not leaving anyone behind. We'll start going home to home tomorrow. The sooner we begin, the sooner we're done before the full winter sets in."

A Mr. Elio Carter said, "There's another problem that needs your attention, Aldric."

"What's that?" Aldric asked.

"To the northern border, there have been raids from the orcs and trolls," Mr. Carter said. "We have some seventy men there patrolling the border, and at the latest report, most have been severely injured and the monsters are already occupying our land. The few soldiers still able are doing what they can to prevent the monsters from coming in any farther."

Aldric's face was hard when he said, "Then I'll head out and deal with them. I'll need a few men to come with me."

Vincent said, "I'll come along."

"Me, too," Theo said.

The discussion continued after a few more men volunteered, and all the while, I thought about the refugees down below.

There seemed to be one unfortunate event after another affecting Norsewood, and it wasn't surprising that most were exhausted from it all. First, the dungeon break with monsters attacking, and they hadn't even recovered yet and now this, a strike from an unknown enemy.

Though I knew Aldric could solve the problem of hunger with the chests of gold coins he had received from King Henry as reward, unfortunately it couldn't be done during the winter season, especially when Norsewood was so isolated. Traveling just to recover the stock lost would take at least a month to the closest town, and that was if that town had enough or were willing to sell their goods. Now that it was winter, however, traveling was impossible, and the enemy knew that. They meant to cripple Norsewood by using the changing season to their advantage. What cunning, ruthless bastards.

What could I do? I thought. I couldn't help rebuild what was already lost, and these people had lost everything—their homes, some their loved ones, and now, their will to go on.

But maybe, just maybe, I could help them by giving them hope. To do that, they'd need to smile again. To smile, one needed to feel content, and nothing could be more contented than a belly filled with warm food.

I got up and quietly moved from the table where the heated discussion was still taking place. I caught Eden's, Sara's, and Frances's eyes and worded, "Can you please come with me."

They silently stood and then followed me out the door.