The Horseman of Calamity

Chapter 13 - Cold Truths

"Yep, so then after Hung and I traveled across the Cocao desert we ran into Nacara at the one village... I forgot its name. Anyway, we had to run away in the middle of the night and we ended up exploring a cave by accident, then we got attacked and nearly eaten by a humongous wyrm!" Delly listened to Mahmoud's recounting of their journey like how a passionate child would to a teacher teaching their favorite subject.

"You know, the reason why I partially recognized you guys when I first ran into you all, it was because of the Continental Issue, I recognized Hung and Nacara immediately because of it!" Delly spoke using a lot of hand motions.

"Wha- what about me?" Mahmoud asked, sounding rather disappointed.

"If I remember correctly, it said something about a mysterious crimson-haired woman and an average-looking young man who had strange clothes and a shiny sword. There was no mention of you at all now that I think about it."

"Oh damn! I want to be in the news!" Mahmoud pouted.

"Hey, what is that Continental Issue thing that you mentioned, Delly?" Hung asked with a puzzled look.

Everyone else gave Hung a look of surprise or shock.

"Well, I guess we can't blame you... but given the prevalence of their papers it's a surprise that even you don't know about it." Delly said.

"Yeah, well, I'm sure those Hasten bastards kept a lot of secrets and basic information away from me when I was with them." Hung waved dismissively at Delly

"Anyway, the Continental Issue is the main continent's biggest news provider, their main headquarters is in the Norden's Republic but they have outlets and offices in nearly every country. Normally most countries wouldn't want outside information reaching their civilians, but their owner is super wealthy so they usually bribe their way in." Nacara added in.

"Yeah! I loved being able to read their papers, though I could only read it once every two months whenever my father and I ventured into the city." Mahmoud said.

The group of four were currently camped out further up on the northern plains, they were nearing the foothills of the Dagger Mountains. Their wounds from the fight with the orcs had healed up nicely and had no long-lasting complications. Nacara explained to everyone that they had to pass through a treacherous and freezing valley between two of the mountains to get through the other side, from there they then had to track down a man named Skoldo: a friend of Nacara's who supposedly could offer some insights into how Hung could return home. They had been traveling for a little over two weeks now since their newest friend and member, Delly, had joined them. Now, they were nearing the foothills and the tall grasses of the Futted plains began to give way to boreal forests. Soon enough, after a few more days of travel, they reached a large cabin out in the woods, the building practically looked like a ski resort, just a bit more run down and rustic. There was one large central building that stood out from the rest surrounded by smaller but still considerably large cabins.

"Where are we exactly? There are people this far up north?" Hung asks.

"Yea, these people have lived here before the orcs moved in so we made a deal with them, there are even more humans living in the north beyond the mountains," Delly explained.

"Wow! I wanna sleep in one of those cozy-looking wooden buildings!" Mahmoud yelled with enthusiasm that could melt the snow away.

The group of four approached the main large building, anyone who was outside gave the group hefty stares, a group of four composed of wildly different individuals. However, they were stars of curiosity not disgust, they did not get visitors often aside from the orcs who usually avoided them if possible.