"Quickly, bring him to the shelter! The mask is still on, hopefully we aren't too late." Carrying in the upper half of a man nearly frozen, the scholar and the cleric placed him on a makeshift cot beside a fire pit inside a shack created by four stone walls and roofing lashed together with thick vines. A strange ceremonial mask was over the patient's face as the herbalist quickly began taking off the man's soaked clothes. Removing the boots and clothes to check for frostbite was her first priority, and she also inspected his vital signs. Removal of the boots showed the signs of frost damage already affecting the toes, and the two went to work on restoring the man to health. Wrapping a blanket around him, she looked at the rest of the beds with other survivors recovering from the blizzard. 

The weather outside was as severe as what she'd expect from Itjivut or the Baltil Mountains, not Horae. Even the Glaciem portion was never this terrible. Their outpost was set up near the docks on the island where ships normally came and went, but with the snow flurries and freezing temperatures they wouldn't be expecting anyone any time soon. Most of the people she and Cymbel had pulled out from the snowstorms were local residents and the occasional unlucky visitor. A few of them had to be put to sleep, as they tried to leave the shelter desperate to search for their children. It hurt to see them like this, but this was all she could do. Periodically, Shiloh would open a portal allowing them to bring people directly to designated safe locations where she had mobilized care centers to tend to the injured. Even the Clephsydra wouldn't be useful in such bad weather conditions, and landing them here was only thanks to Shiloh being on board.

It was a tough job for two healers to carry out, but the Rosenite pushed herself to continue. People's lives were depending on them, and time was the determining factor between one more being saved or another corpse to be given a burial. When they arrived, they were provided with as much supplies as the ship could unload. Food and medicine was not an issue, taking off some of the pressure of their mission. Looking at a timepiece the deity had fashioned for them, Nerine saw it was time to leave for another search again. "Let's go; we still don't know how many are out there." She said to the fey.

When they arrived at the docks at Horae, the normally temperate Terra region was awash in ice and snow. Stinging blizzards brought to mind the time he had visited the ice island and Canelux was suffering from Glaciem's chill. The extreme discomfort, his legs and arms feeling almost numb, and a cold that went deep to the bones were familiar memories. Shiloh had asked him to help her save as many people as possible from the torture of the Circles brought to the mortal world. He couldn't have imagined a worse event which brought an entire continent under such a heavy yoke of suffering; even the terrors of a dead city brought back to life weren't as far reaching and intense. Cymbel was more than willing to do what he could to assist his friend, and he knew that she was feeling conflicted over sending him to a dangerous task. And so, when Shiloh sent her newly hired addition to her staff he didn't object.

He was thankful that she had sent Nerine along with him; if he had been on his own he wouldn't have been able to accomplish half of what they had completed together. The Rosenite was a talented practitioner of elemental magic, and with some ingenuity she had built a makeshift base of operations for them both. Shiloh had left them with plenty of supplies, and they quickly started a fire to warm the place up. Once the fire was going, they ventured out together to search for any people trapped and lost in the fierce snowstorms. As soon as they found someone, they would be dug out and carried back to rest and recuperate at the shelter. They covered each other, working in shifts to care for the injured and the stone-walled building warm. After the tenth search, he had lost track of time–not knowing if it was night or day. They soon developed a routine. They would search for a specific amount of time. If they didn't find someone within the window of time, they would return to the shelter to rest and recover from the cold before either checking on the resting patients' conditions or going out to conduct another search.

As time passed, the number of times they returned with a survivor dwindled and they were forced to travel farther out. In time, it would take more than twice the amount of time going back and forth. Every time they left the shelter they put themselves at risk from suffering the same fate as the rescued folk. Sooner or later they had change their approach. Before the airship had left, Shiloh had provided him with a pair of special goggles which would grant the ability to see clearly even in conditions with poor visibility. Using them he could see if there were any people in need of rescue nearby while Nerine protected them from freezing to death using magic. After yet another search that turned up empty, they were drying themselves off by the fire back at the shelter.

His spirits were low, and he was worried that they had been just a few meters away from a potential survivor. "Empty-handed again…" The cleric sighed while holding his hands before the fire. "We're doing the best we can Cymbel, don't beat yourself down. After all, it's possible that we've found all the survivors in this region." Nerine reassured him, adding more bundles of kindling the fire pit. "Yes, I know. But in our first excursions, we would find at least one person every trip we made outside. I'm worried that there might be someone just out of sight who wouldn't have lasted much longer." Hanging his head, he interlocked his fingers and squeezed his hands together.

From what she knew from the diagram Shiloh made of the island before sending them off, the island was divided up by natural barriers: mountains in the center, a jungle on the Terra side, harsh deserts in Ignius, and the unforgiving cold of Glaciem. There was a volcano in the island's center, though it would be impossible to see now. The fey healer's concern for the well-being of those trapped and caught unaware by the sudden rise of Purgatory was well-founded. Horae under normal circumstances was a dangerous place without proper knowledge. With Glaciem overtaking the other three regions those who had lived in Venti, Ignius, and Terra were completely unprepared. Nerine had been noticing the drop in survivors they had been finding with each rescue attempt too. Although their shelter could withstand whatever the blizzards threw at them, it would soon be impossible to bring back anyone from the other regions safely. The most obvious solution was to create other shelters in the three remaining parts of the island an use them as starting points.

"As much success we have been having thanks to our current shelter, we'll need to move further inland to establish more of these. Thankfully with Glaciem running rampant, most dangerous beasts in the other regions won't be able to attack us and the typical hazards have been overtaken by snowstorms. Although, we'll have to start all over again." There was no telling when the Clephsydra would return, but they would have to do this without Shiloh's help. Seeing Cymbel downcast, she put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. "We've done this before, haven't we? If we could succeed the first time, I am certain that we'll succeed again." Both of them simply had to have faith in themselves and the Steward's judgment.

Hearing the howling winds die down a little, Nerine was readying bundles of firewood and supplies to move in once the second shelter was established. She instructed a few of the patients who were in better shape to keep the place warm while they were out, and to help care for the others on the beds. Moving quickly, she and Cymbel were back outside. "Let's make our next shelter in the Ignius section. I've compared the paths to Glaciem and Ignius; heading through the rainforest to Ignius will be much safer than making a trek up Glaciem's edge. The jungle canopy will help block the brunt of the snow flurries, and once we have everything set up we can then move on towards Venti." 

He led the way as they picked through the frostbitten jungle. The humidity in the air prior to the sudden cold snap had coated everything in a thin layer of hoarfrost, turning the verdant growth into an eerie white. Most of the animals were in hiding, and larger creatures like crocodiles were asleep. One positive effect of the intense cold was that the swift-running rivers were frozen solid. "There are rose hydras when we come close to the edge of the great tree in the island. I've heard that these are also present around Sularia. Even though the temperatures have fallen so, do you think they will still be active?" Walking through the rainforest had brought back old memories of his first visit with a new friend. It had been a wild experience, with more mishaps and near-misses than he'd like to recount. Back when he was still new to the world outside of Feeorin, everything was strange and unfamiliar.

Not far behind, Nerine was keeping the air around them from becoming too cold. "With such low temperatures, I doubt they will move much. As long as we don't accidentally walk right into one, we should be alright." He let out a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear. In a way, the blizzards have made traveling a bit easier. The Ignius region will be much, much cooler." Cymbel wasn't fond of extreme temperatures, however he did handle heat worse than the cold. As long as he kept moving, he could withstand it a little at a time. Breaking through the line of trees marking the end of Terra, a blast of frigid air smacked into his face nearly knocking him over. With few structures or trees as shelter, the icy gales were in full force on the once blistering plains. Even the volcano was white, a snowy peak in the far distance. "Everything is so…quiet. Why don't we set up a shelter here? That way we can return to our first camp with the cover of the jungle." He suggested while the Rosenite helped him to his feet.

"That's not a bad idea. It'll make the journey back easier." Surveying the area, she found a flat, wide area not too far from the treeline and focused her magic. Pointing with her index and middle fingers, in a sweeping motion a wall of earth was raised up from the ground. She repeated the action a few more times, forming the basic walls of the new shelter. He began unpacking the supplies they had brought, and she lashed together fallen branches of the jungle trees into a sturdy roof. Using more earth and vines, the gaps between the branches were filled. The pre-built door they had used as a makeshift sled to carry the supplies was fitted and held in place by more vines and roots. Although the plants were battered by the ice snow, they formed a strong netting akin to ropes. They rushed inside the completed structure and began starting up a fire pit and cots for incoming patients. The warmth of the earthen lodge relaxed his stiff limbs as he slowly stopped shivering. 

They had done it–another shelter for those to be rescued and brought back from the snowstorms howling outside. Checking the time-telling device they brought along, he found that half a day had passed already. Starting a kettle of water over the fire, he finally sat down to rest. He was tired, and his arms were aching. Even though it wasn't very comfortable in the building, just being warm was enough.  

Drying off her clothes from the melted frost and snow, Nerine went to work setting up the cots. She was tired, but this wasn't nearly as exhausting compared to her first time climbing up a canyon wall. They both had been working nearly nonstop for hours now, and they needed to rest or they would wear themselves out. Unwrapping dried fruit and travel rations in paper tied with twine, she saved the wrappings as a fire starter in case their kindling became too wet to catch fire. A calming herbal tea was what they needed now, something to relax their stressed and tired nerves. She added a little chamomile powder into the warming water to help them sleep more soundly. Cymbel was already looking like he needed to rest badly, having taken the lead through the jungle from Terra.

The stiffness in her fingers was easing up as the shelter's temperature rose. While waiting for the tea, she checked her own feet to make sure she hadn't gotten frostbite. It was quiet save for the winds howling outside and the occasional rattle of the roofing. Since the shelter was rudimentary, there were no windows. It wouldn't even have a door if the Steward hadn't provided them with a few. In this sheer cold, they couldn't afford to have more holes for the heat to escape through. The floral fragrance of the herbs woke her up a while later. Rubbing her eyes, she looked up at the time-telling device. How long had she dozed off? Taking the whistling kettle off the fire, she poured two cups and let the rest cool. The cleric had also fallen asleep, and she went over towards him. Gently shaking him awake, she let him know that the tea was ready and handed him some of the dried food.

Taking her cup of hot tea, she swirled the air around it to help wick away the excess heat. Then, she took a sip. A warm drink was exactly what she had needed after working for hours on end. The ginger helped shake off any coldness that had seeped into her body, and the sweet fragrance of dried wolfberry with cinnamon was comforting. The chamomile was only a pinch, so it didn't overpower and mask the other flavors. Nerine hadn't realized just how tired she really was until she finished eating and her second cup of tea was done. Wrapping herself in a blanket, she closed her eyes thinking of waking after a few more hours…

The warm teacup was wonderful; after taking it he carefully held it in his hands letting the heat seep in. He was almost reluctant to drink it–as soon as he did the warmth from the cup would be gone. His body didn't feel so cold now, especially his legs. When it was cooler he was tempted to press the warm cup against his face, but didn't want to spill the contents. Cymbel took his time drinking the herbal tea Nerine had made while he had been setting up the cots. He could feel his worries and stress ebb away with each sip. It was a good thing he drank the tea first too, as the food they had brought in their supplies were quite dry to make carrying it easier.

Now much more comfortable, he was ready to fall asleep at any moment. His eyelids were heavy, and he bundled himself up after pulling his knees to his chest so he would be completely covered. Hours later, he woke to the sound of howling outside the shelter. The fire had died down, and was only smoldering. The dimness of the building and sudden sound from outside startled him and he nearly panicked until he saw Nerine was still asleep. Was he hearing things? Holding his breath, he waited. Confused by the silence that followed, he cautiously crept towards the door. He didn't dare go outside to check; what if there were beasts waiting for him? Anxiously he began moving things to blockade the door to prevent anything from breaking in. As he did so, he tried to be quiet so Nerine wouldn't be disturbed. When he had come to Horae for the first time, he never saw the Ignius or Glaciem sections personally. Thus, it was completely unfamiliar to him, and he had no knowledge of what kind of creatures resided here.

Stacking bags of their supplies in front of the door, once he felt it was secure he returned to rekindle the fire. A bit of dry firewood to the pile was added and he fanned it to encourage the embers to start up. Slowly, it began to grow brighter as the new wood fueled it. With the fire's light stronger than before, he felt less afraid. He was about to fall back asleep when another piercing howl jarred him more awake then ever. Cymbel froze. He could hear his heartbeat, pounding through his veins and in his ears. It was a loud howl, much louder than the first. He wasn't mistaken, something was out there. "Nerine…" He whispered loudly, unsure if she heard. Picking up himself off the ground he tiptoed over to where she was and tapped her shoulder. "Nerine!" The Rosenite frowned briefly, and slowly opened her eyes. "…Hm? What is it?" Lowering his voice as if he was afraid he would be overheard, he whispered. "Did you hear that? Just now I heard something howling…it sounds close." 

"What howling–" Her question was answered immediately when the tell-tale beastly wail came again. "It's probably the wild dogs that live on the plains here in Ignius." She told him, but at the back of her mind there was the nagging doubt that it might be something else. There weren't any lycanthorpes on Horae…were there? Getting up she saw that the cleric had blockaded the door earlier. "What time is it now?" Inspecting the time-telling device she deduced that it was still in the dark hours of the night. Animals that hunted often were more active then. If there were beasts about she wasn't too concerned, but it would be best to wait until morning.

Ready to return to sleep, they both then stopped dead in their tracks when they heard a scratching noise. Cymbel looked at her with wide eyes, and she turned her head as her ears followed the sound. It was coming from the other side of the door. The walls were stone. Even if they attacked they wouldn't be able to break in. She could just create another stone wall to block off–BAM BAM BAM! Something or someone was pounding on the door. With her heartbeat all the way up in her ears, Nerine crept towards it slowly and raised a hand preparing a spell. The fey was shaking his head mouthing words to her, his face pleading for her not to unblock the door. She was scared too, but they couldn't just stay holed up inside here while some unknown entity terrorized them from the outside. Moving away the hastily hobbled together barricade, she placed one hand on the door. Taking in a deep breath she would open it on the count of three. One…two…three! With a spell ready to retaliate, she swung the door open and prepared to blast the nearest thing with a fireball.

To her shock and surprise, she was met with the face of a middle-aged man dressed in furs and leather. A hunter's bow was strapped on his back, and there was a large hound wrapped up around the legs shivering next to him. "Sir…how may I help you?" The scholar stammered, confused. The hunter had the skin of a bear draped over his head. Covered in frost it was hard to see where his beard started and the furs began. "Do you have room to take us in?" A deep voice spoke. "Y-yes, of course. Come inside, quickly." She replied, moving aside to allow the man entry. He gave a short bow of the head, and put a bone-carved piece to his mouth blowing a whistle. Then, from behind a small train of several other people dressed similarly to the first emerged and began filing in. The scholar was left speechless as at least twenty men, women, and children came into the shelter with that they had. They all were very quiet and said little, though she was coming to the conclusion that they belonged to the same community.

Once everyone was inside, she shut the door and used a bit of magic to heat up the fire faster. While she had been talking with the nomad, Cymbel had been busily adding more firewood and preparing water to boil. There was an awkward silence as the place was more full than before, but not as noisy. She went around and courteously asked the people if they needed anything, whether it be medical treatment or food but they politely denied. Now that they were settled in, she noticed that most of the nomads were dressed in layers of clothes that were too light for the bitter cold. The furs some wore must have been a rarity, and the sudden change in weather had taken the entire group by surprise.

Adapted to the heat and sun, Glaciem's chill was worse than any beast or threat they likely had experienced. She had read a few papers from those who had ventured to Horae to study it's flora and fauna. These nomadic peoples kept to themselves and lived off the land, preferring not to interact with outsiders. For a group that preferred to live on their own to seek shelter from strangers, that meant they were in dire straits. With the water boiling, she prepared a warming tea of cinnamon and red dates and took out a few packaged trail rations. She set the dried food aside where they could see it, to let them know that they could take it if they felt they needed it. Outside the winds picked up again, and she thought that they couldn't have arrived at a better time. Dressed so lightly, they might not have been able to last another blizzard.

As Nerine answered the door, peering from behind her he saw several people standing outside. They donned leather and furs as vestments, however they weren't warm enough for Glaciem. At first he was apprehensive, worried that they might have ill-intentions. But to his relief, they only wished to find warmth out of the freezing winds. Families with children and adults entered, all with a thin layer of frost on their clothes. While Nerine handled the visitors, he added more kindling to the fire and set up the cots. The huntsmen and their families made use of them after Nerine convinced them to do so, and the elders and children were given priority. There was a notable stiff silence between them and those taking refuge from the blizzards, even after Nerine did her best to show their hospitality. Perhaps they weren't used to interacting with outsiders?

But in the end, the people took their kindness with quiet gratitude. He saw weariness in the women and men's faces as the children slept, and they partook of the dried food the scholar had offered. They ate carefully, as if wanting to make sure it would last a bit longer. Before he and Nerine had arrived, how did these people manage to survive up until now? Hours passed and periodically he and Nerine took turns keeping the fire kindled. His arms were still a bit sore, likely from those days of frenzied work without much rest. An entire day passed as they tended to the nomads while recuperating from their long trek up through the frost-glazed jungle. The people had brought their hunting dogs with them, and while he was wary of them the hunters had trained them well. The dogs were well-behaved, occasionally giving a whine to their masters when they saw food. Soon it was time for the two of them to venture outside and search for survivors again, and Nerine informed the nomads of where they were going.

To their surprise, one of the older hunters stood and said he wished to accompany them. He would also bring along his hunting dogs, as they would aid the search for any separated kin. When preparations were complete, the three of them set out back into the snowstorm. They let the hunter take the lead, as he knew the land better than them both. Even with the use of the special goggles, Cymbel didn't have faith that he wouldn't get lost. As Nerine kept warm, swirling air about them he held a small glass bottle filled with starlight. The light from within cast a protective circle around their search party, ready to keep danger at bay. With the ice and snow poured out onto the landscape, everything looked the same. Yet, the hunter seemed to know where they were in spite of it. They trudged through the slush for a long time, when suddenly the man called for them to halt. Unsure of the reason why, the fey stopped as told. The hunter's hound was dancing on the edge of a sheet of ice, and the man gave a whistle for it to come back.

The man then pointed to the ice informing them that this was once a river. When the chilling winds hit the region, they had made the terrible mistake of crossing, and lost someone to the icy waters when the ice gave out. The sheet rapidly began to fracture and they had no way to pull the person out before the cold froze them. The hunter was a man of few words, but Cymbel could hear the regret beneath them. It must have been terrible, watching one of your loved ones succumb to watery grave while you could do nothing to save them. The moment did not last long, as the hunter beckoned them to follow again. Following the edge of the river they scoured the area for any who were lost and still alive. Unfortunately at the end, they had to turn back before they ran out of daylight. The plains were wide, with little cover. There were mountains to the south, but anyone in the northeastern areas might not have survived the sudden freeze. Their spirits were low again, but Nerine said that they might have better luck searching south. They would go in that direction tomorrow if the weather improved, she told him.