"Once we found items that would keep us from freezing to death on the snowy plains, we left the temple to find a way out of the area. When we reached the hills, we divided our party. The weaker ones and the demigod from the church waited in place with three of the artifacts, while the rest of us took the iron statue and went down the mountain to search for clues. We were careful about how we divided the items, hoping to prevent the groups from splitting up any further."
This explained why Jenkins had found the tracks splitting off before he encountered the old herb gatherer.
"Later, an old herb gatherer ca walking toward us..."
"Oh?"
"He wanted to kill us and use our blood to water so strange blue grass. So we knocked him unconscious, dragged him behind a large rock, and fled."
"Why didn't you kill him?"
"There was a warning in the temple: under no circumstances could warm blood stain the snow."
"...You could read the script in the temple?"
Jenkins glanced up at the three of them. Including King Sarsi II, all three had abnormal auras. It was likely an effect of the ritual dagger, but it also ant Jenkins couldn't use his sight to determine which of them was the real problem.
"Soone in our group could read it. He translated... who was it that gave us the interpretation?"
The Enchanter turned to the royal guard, but the guard's mory was as blank as his own. Jenkins then looked to Sarsi II, who just shook his head in confusion.
"I think it was... damn it, who was it again?"
"And another thing—how did you know the old man wanted to use your blood on that blue grass?"
Jenkins himself had only been able to communicate with the man because he happened to speak Elvish.
"I think... soone translated for us. Who was it?"
The Enchanter, the believer of the Traveler, glanced at the royal guard again, only to be t with the sa blank stare.
"Did the old man act like he was about to attack you?"
"...I don't think so. He was just walking toward us."
"So, you're saying you trusted a translation from an unknown source and knocked out an old man who showed no signs of aggression?"
"Please, don't put it that way... but, yes, I suppose that's what happened."
Still, that didn't prove who was in the right. The old herb gatherer hadn't ntioned being knocked unconscious to Jenkins, either.
"Alright, keep going."
After leaving the old man, an inexplicable panic gripped the thirteen of them as they fled. Though nothing was behind them, they felt pursued by sothing terrifying. The psychological pressure beca so imnse that they decided to split up.
Seven people remained in King Sarsi II's group, not including the demigod. The demigod's team had taken the bronze bell; their mission was to draw away the invisible pursuer.
That was the reason for the second split.
"And after that, you encountered a middle-aged woman?"
"Yes. She wanted to eat us. Cook us into a al."
"Let guess, soone translated that for you, too?"
"...I think so, yes."
At this point, all three n began to realize just how unsettlingly convenient that 'translator' had been.
"The demigod wasn't with us this ti, so we didn't fight her. We just ran for our lives. Overco with panic again, we decided to split up once more. One group took the silver candlestick and went one way, while the three of us pressed on..."
"And that's when you t the young girl?"
The three n nodded, their expressions grim.
"Another translation? What did it claim this ti?"
"The voice said the girl wanted to sacrifice us to resurrect her dead mother and grandfather. We used the terrain to our advantage, causing an avalanche from the cliff top to bury her. Then we ran as fast as we could. And after that... we found you."
"I see... If the 'translator' was still present when only three of you remained, doesn't that suggest one of you is the source?"
The mont the words left his lips, the Enchanter, the royal guard, and the king all took a synchronized step back, putting distance between themselves. They now ford the three points of a triangle, with Jenkins standing squarely in the middle.
"Of course," Jenkins added, "it's also possible that the golden dagger is the one doing the talking. Let have a look at it."
"Not gold-colored," Sarsi II corrected, "solid gold."
King Sarsi II retrieved a bundle tightly wrapped in burlap from inside his coat and handed it over. Jenkins unwrapped it and found a dagger of solid gold, just as the king had described. It, too, radiated a dense black aura, though not as intense as a Cursed Item. That was likely why the king could carry it without suffering any imdiate fatal effects.
He studied the dagger, but saw no signs of a soul within it. *Still, an item doesn't need a soul to be able to translate,* he mused. He wrapped the dagger back up and handed it to Sarsi II.
"Regardless, I need to verify your identities first. You all recognize each other, correct?"
"Yes," they all agreed.
"Alright then. Your Majesty, answer a question: what gift did Jenkins Williams give your daughter, Dolores, for her tenth birthday?"
"How should I know what he—wait a minute," the king retorted. "Did Dolores even know that boy when she was ten?"
He shot Jenkins a suspicious look. Jenkins simply nodded.
"Very good. Now, you," he said, turning to the royal guard. "I don't know you, so how can you prove your identity?"
"I..."
The guard looked down at himself, flustered. He fumbled through his pockets but ca up empty.
"Take your ti," Jenkins said to the guard, then addressed the last man. "Sir, since you're a follower of the Traveler, you must know the Traveler's Ten Commandnts. Would you recite them for ?"
"Of course. That's easy," the man replied. "The first commandnt: Thou shalt not..."
"No," Jenkins interrupted. "Please begin with the invocation: 'May the Traveler watch over . I offer this prayer in piety, for we shall surely follow the Traveler's Ten Commandnts.'"
"Alright, simple enough."
He gave Jenkins a smile and slid a hand into his pocket.
"May..."
His hand shot out of his pocket, gripping the sharp, solid-gold dagger as he lunged for Jenkins's chest. But Jenkins's cat was nestled right there; there was no way he'd let the blow land. He twisted aside, and his right hand, wreathed in fla, lashed out at the attacker.
But his flaming palm struck nothing but air. The attacker shattered into a spray of ice shards, leaving only the dagger clattering to the ground. The man himself was gone.
"But... don't I have the dagger?"
Sarsi II hastily unwrapped his bundle, only to find it empty.
"This thing was probably created by that Blizzard Wraith," Jenkins muttered, picking up the dagger from the snow. "But we can't afford to be without it now."
"What's a Blizzard Wraith?"
"You don't need to know."
He wrapped the dagger again, but this ti, he kept it.
"It's best if you don't touch this. Co on, follow ."
With that, he stopped looking for the escaped wraith and led the other two back the way they had co. Before long, they saw the young girl again, still standing near the snowdrift by the cliff face.
"Have you found your mother and grandfather?"
Jenkins called out, giving a wave.
"I haven't found them," she replied. "I was going to wait here for a while. They'll co looking for ."
The young girl smiled as she spoke. Jenkins nodded and walked toward her.
"In that case, why don't you co with us? I'll help you find them."
"But..."
The young girl hesitated, looking down at herself.
"Can I really leave this place?"
"Yes. Co with ."
His palm shimred with a faint golden light, barely perceptible. He rested his hand on the young girl's shoulder. Her body jolted, her eyes clouded with confusion for a mont, and then she smiled and nodded.
"Okay."
"What was that about?"
Sarsi II whispered from behind him.
"You'll find out soon enough."
The four of them continued following the tracks until, a short ti later, they ca upon the middle-aged woman. She was standing under a tree, basket in hand. She stared at them in confusion for a few seconds before approaching.
"Sir, I followed the path you showed , but I couldn't find..."
"Look who we found."
He gestured to the girl. The woman stared at her for several long seconds before recognition dawned.
"Oh! What are you doing here?"
The two embraced. Jenkins patted the woman's shoulder as well, then gave a slight shake of his head to his companions.
"Let's keep moving."
At the foot of the mountain, behind the large rock, they found the old man, just as expected. He was still smoking, looking utterly content. He didn't seem to recognize King Sarsi II or the royal guard, and acted as if the young girl and the woman weren't even there. He did, however, rember Jenkins.
"Looks like you found your companions," he remarked.
He offered Jenkins a smoke again.
"I did," Jenkins replied. "And I found yours, too. Take a look."
The old man looked at the two won. After a mont of confusion, he opened his arms and embraced them. His next words answered the question that had been weighing on the king and his guard.
"How did you two die as well?"
Jenkins didn't know the exact rules of death in this realm, but he had a pretty good idea of what was going on. The three of them must have died recently, right around the ti the snowfields had overlapped with the material world. As a result, their souls were trapped, unable to move on, forced to repeat the last monts of their lives indefinitely.
The old man had died earliest, so he likely understood his situation. The two won, however, had died closer to the ti the worlds rged, leaving them with no mory of their final monts.
"How did they die?"
Sarsi II inquired softly from behind him.
"How would I know?"
Jenkins hissed through his teeth, then turned back to the spirits.
"You can understand us?" he asked the old man.
"You just switched to the common tongue, didn't you?" the old man replied.
"I did?" Jenkins muttered, surprised.
"We all froze to death," the middle-aged woman, her eyes still wet with tears, told Jenkins. Jenkins and the two n behind him winced. It was a brutal way to die.
"Are your bodies still intact?"
If their souls hadn't departed and their bodies were preserved, Jenkins might actually be able to bring them back. For the man he was now, such a feat was no longer impossible.
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