For many, Itjivut seemed far from what one would call a paradise. Its harsh climate combined with the seemingly void state would make many a person mad. Luckily for Paige, that wasn’t much of the case as she had instead found a sanctuary up north of the isle, where the temperature was much warmer and the sight of a frozen wasteland was instead replaced with the scenery of forest and the ocean within a decent walking distance. It seemed more than perfect for her to live and thrive without having to worry about being crowded by the masses. Not many who came to visit the isle traveled this far; most would go to Hiadref for their wares and whatnot. The nordic tribes would every once in a while, come to her cottage and the parties would barter with one another. Aside from that, she was content with her living arrangements as she practiced her arts in solitude.

The sea air came through the open window, filling the room as Paige was in the midst of writing down her findings while her potion was still brewing in the cauldron. The bubbling sound coming from the large black pot occupied her as she continued with the task that had her up since the wee hours of the morning. While she was used to brewing potions for vitality and restoring mana, what she was attempting to do next was only sought out by a stoke of curiosity through reading one of the older books she had received on a recent trade. It had mentioned a potion that she hadn’t heard of before- one that would make the user speak nothing but the truth. The idea itself was unfathomable but it did intrigue her greatly and in the past few months, she had sent word for various ingredients after she collected the ones she could obtain in Itjivut. Before long, she would be caught in a whirlwind of experiments in trying to create the potion due to the recipe, not fulling being completed. So far, she had many failures yet no fruitful results. Every time would end with either a messy explosion or it would fail to perform as she had hoped.

Frustration grew more evident in her as the days and weeks went by, but her stubbornness wouldn’t let her quit. She just had to figure out this puzzle.

Even now, she could hear the pace of the bubbling increase, not a good sign for her as she wrote down the mistakes made in the last case. In truth, she was merely waiting for it to fail as well and to get ready to clean up the house once more.

It would be fine, she said. The cold isn't that bad, she said. An annoyed woman practically wrapped up in coats trenched her way through the snowy land, keeping her eyes alert for materials to gather. Caroline had sent her on a hunting trip for potion ingredients and rare items to add to the collection. On Leita's back was a pack filled with resources and even had a pickaxe attached to the outside. The pack weighed her down but she needed everything in it. There were blankets, trading items, herbs, a medicine kit, food, water, etc. Caroline wanted to make that she got out there and brought something useful back.

It was days like these that Leita wondered if she was an assistant or just a pack mule. She stopped walking when she spotted a patch of black in the white snow and ice. Dropping her pack onto the ground, she grabbed her pickaxe and brushed off the snow from the patch. It was obsidian. She began to swing her pickaxe and hit the rock. She mined around the obsidian at first then hit the center of the stone. The obsidian shattered easily and she began to gather the shards. As she worked, she began to sing one of the work songs she'd heard on her way to the island. 

"When the day is over
Will you have a drink with me?
And I couldn't feel lower
Will you have a drink with me?

My bones are tired
Will you have a drink with me?
I'm gonna get fired
Will you have a drink with me?

When our work is done
Lets go out and have some fun
You're my friend, my number one
We'll party past the rising sun." 

She wasn't much of a party person but the song was extremely catchy. After collecting all of the shards, she picked up her stuff and continued walking. She eventually spotted a cottage in the distance, among all the snow and decided to see who was there. If she was lucky, the person living there might let her stay or at least trade her for some of their items so she wouldn't have to keep looking for natural ingredients. She arrived at the cottage and lightly tapped on the door. 

It all seemed for the naught, the more she thought it over. By now, she was wrapping up finishing her notes and turned her raven locked head to watch the cauldron as it started to settle down. With a heavy sigh, Paige got up and put out the fire beneath it. It would have to cool down before she would dispose of it and start anew. It was disappointing but it wasn’t like she wasn’t prepared for it. Something was still off and for the life of her, she couldn’t come up with what it was. Was she missing an extra ingredient? Did she have the right measurements? The gods knew just how to torture those who thirst for knowledge couldn’t be sated easily

She would have gone back to her research at the desk or perhaps go and hunt for some food but a not too familiar sound hit her ears. One that left her brows narrowing in confusion before she realized what it was. Someone was…knocking at the door. She stood there for what seemed like moments to her, but in actuality, it was about twenty seconds. She hardly knew anyone here and those that knew her best didn’t know what she resided. Perhaps a stranger?

Icy blue eyes kept a focus on the door as she slowly made her way over and cracked it enough to see who it was. It was a young woman and she had alot of things on her person. “Hello? Can I help you?” She was still questioning the situation but she knew it was rude to keep someone in the freezing cold, and would at least offer some time of warmth. The door fully opened and she gestured for her to come inside. “Sorry, I don’t mean to let you stand out here in the cold, miss.” The room would feel nice and toasty thanks to the fireplace, which would be leagues different from what her company would have dealt with outside just now. “Are you traveling alone? I don’t find many visitors making it this far up.” She would let her warm-up while she prepared some of the tea leaves and spices she had and blended them together. From there, she placed them into cup and poured some hot water into it to settle it into tea. After a few minutes, she offered it up to her. “May I be so bold to ask what lead you here?”

Leita hoped the home wasn't abandoned. Suddenly the door opened and a woman was standing there, questioning who she was. Before Leita was able to answer, she opened the door further and let her inside.  The room was warm and cozy, a stark contrast to the freezing winds outside. The color returned to Leita's face as she stood in the room, letting herself warm up. Then she realized she was probably being really rude. 

"Oh sorry! I'm Leita." She introduced herself, "I was sent to gather some obsidian shards and some other stuff. Miss Einsecc wanted them to study their potential magical properties. If you have any shard or nevermelting icicles or other natural ingredients of this area, I'd like to trade for them." 

The other reason she came was because she wanted to warm up and relax instead of freezing in a cave next to a fire. However, that was unprofessional and technically was slacking off. Leita ran her hand through her hair, trying to shake the tiny icicles out of them. Her legs itched after being in the cold snow for so long but she did her best to ignore it. She realized she hadn't even thanked the stranger for letting her in. 

"Thank you for letting me in." Leita said, "It's pretty cold out, even with all these layers. I am traveling alone. I'm the only assistant in the manor and my teacher needed to work so I had to go alone." 

Leita didn't mind traveling alone too much. She just wished that the places she traveled to were a bit nicer. The only nice place she'd been to was that temple of light but otherwise it had been a swamp or a desert and now she was on a frozen island. She swung her pack off her back and opened it to show the stranger what she had to trade. The items she pulled out were mostly small or in little drawstring bags with labels. 

"I have some herbs, dragon scales, powdered bone, two quatl feathers, an abalone shell, a conch shell, some leather, and a mana potion." Leita listed, "Any of these interest you?"