Chapter 17: Arc 2.06

-Break-

Φ I have been in this cell for almost six months. The only contact with people I have had is the guards who bring me my food, and the doctor who comes to treat and check on the progress of my frostbite. Still, I do not know why I am still here. If I were an issue, I would be executed if I weren’t, I would be let go, but I was much more likely to be completed.

My reasons being, that these people were highly hostile towards outsiders when we first came, they immediately tried to dispose of Orb and me, and if you add in that most of them look at me as if I am some monster, as well as their primitive clothing I can only guess they are an isolationist village that doesn’t let people come in.

But how long have they been like this, people have been adventuring the bottom half of Fimbulwinter for centuries, and there have never been any reports of civilisation here, and from the brief look I had around the village, they seem well adapted? They must have been living here for quite some time. This also explains how they have learned to deal with frostbite this severe. I would have undoubtedly died if I were anywhere else in the world, but that doctor was able to get the frostbite to subside.

So, the only way they could have kept anyone from finding out about this place for so long, is to get rid of anyone who finds out about it. When I realised this, I started to worry for Orb, but there was no ill intent in the words the chief said, so all I could do was have patience. Though I would say, patience is the hardest part, I would rather not be locked in a cell with my own thoughts, because all I can do is think and reflect about myself.

“HELLO CHIEF,” is what I hear the two guys shout, and soon after, I see the chief walk-in front of the cell.

“You guys don’t have to shout so loudly.”

“Sorry, chief. But what brings you here today.”

“I have come here to talk to the prisoner; would you open the door for me”

So, following his instructions, the guards open the door for the chief. He walks in with a stern look and says to me, “Hello Cole, would you like to go for a walk with me?”

“Huh.”

-Break-

“You look a bit stiff; is everything all right.”

“Yeah, everything is fine,” my only issue is that I am fairly sure this will be the last time I walk outside.

“You couldn’t move your legs much in that cell, must have been horrible.

“Well, it will take me some time to get used to walking again.” His overly friendly attitude is throwing me off; I should try and see his intentions.

“Especially because of all the muscle relaxer in the food,” how will you respond to this provocation.

“I see, so you knew it was in there.”

“Well, I wasn’t getting any stronger day by day, and as far as I could tell no one was doing anything to me as I was asleep, so the only place it could have been in was my food.”

“You noticed that but kept eating.”

“If we ignore the fact that I would starve without it, I had to keep eating because it was too delicious to stop.”

Letting out a laugh, the chief says, “Pine would be happy to hear that, but I don’t plan on apologising for messing with your food, your quite strong so it was my way of keeping the guards safe.”

He is worried about keeping the guards safe, not about how I could escape “Well, I guess that is the job of the village leader.”

“I see that your frostbite has gotten much better.”

“The doctor that you guys sent to me knows his way around this.”

“That’s only to be expected since Oren’s family has been doing this since this village was founded, so they have gotten quite good at it.”

“I can’t even imagine how many centuries of work it took to get this level of skill at dealing with frostbite.”

“Centuries, you say. What would make you think our village has been around for that long.”

“From how well adapted you are, I would have to have at least to say you’ve been here for at least over a century. I have had lots of time to think while I was locked away.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that anymore,” the chief says with a grin.

That could mean I am dying today, or he is letting me go. While I wonder whether my life will end today or not, I hear someone scream.

“I will never apologise, you shitty old man.”

Then when I look to find the source of the voice, I see a little girl hanging upside down from a pole with fire beneath her.

I turn my face to the chief and say, “What are you doing to that little girl.” I then try to run up even though my body no longer can move fast, but the chief stops me.

“Don’t worry; I am just punishing my daughter.”

“Isn’t this a bit extreme.”

“What you allow will increase, if I don’t stamp out her bad behaviour now it will only become a problem later, so I must resort to such measures, and if you think she is in danger, we can go up to check on her.”

So, we go up to her, and the chief says, “Are you feeling sorry yet.”

“Not even a little bit, you walking pile of garbage.”

“You shouldn’t talk to your parents like that.”

“Hey, I saved your life, and now I am being punished because of that.”

“Thank you very much for that, and in my opinion, you did the right thing by prioritising life, but regardless of that, there is a certain respect your parents are due even if they are stupid and misguided.”

“Oh, I see.” So, Maple, while upside down, says to the chief behind me, “Dear father, I will not apologise since everything that leaves your mouth is nonsense.”

The chief lowered the rope closer to the fire and walked off with me.

“I won’t ever apologise, you idiot dad.”

She has just forgotten what I taught her, and the chief has a terrifying expression on his face. This must be what he looks like when he is legitimately mad.

But as we continue walking through town, the chief talks about the village.

“That is Oak. He is the best chef in the village. Over there is Hazel. She just gave birth to her fifth child, and even Ewen, whose family has overseen all construction in the village for years.”

As we walk, the villagers are waving at the chief and me. This is strange, aren’t they being too friendly to me? I thought my presence was an issue for them, but they happily waved to me. Is this some send-off I really must be getting executed today?

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“There he is.”

I look to see whom the chief is talking about, Orb. Then after I catch him with my eyes, he seems and runs over to us.

“Hey Cole, I see they have finally let you out.”

“Well, I am going on a walk with the chief.”

Orb then turns to the chief and says, “Sequoia, so you guys are not going to kill him? Is this because of what we talked about.”

The chief then lets out a big laugh and says,“Well, that played a part.”

“What did you two talk about.”

“Orb, we aren’t finished over here.”

“I’m coming, sir. Sorry Cole, we will talk later, especially since I have lots to tell you. See you later.”

“See you later; Orb” Orb then runs off back to the villagers.

“You surprised.”

“I thought you guys either let Orb go or execute him, so I didn’t expect Orb to be so well adjusted to the village.”

“He been working awfully hard while he has been here, and since then, he has been helping around the village, playing with the kids, and hunting with the warriors. Everyone at the start was afraid of him, but fear is something that can fade rather quickly and be replaced with intrigue, and most people have crossed that line.

Though some people still would rather have Orb disappear along with you, because of said people you have been in the cell and were probably going to be executed, but someone went out of his way to stop that from happening.

So, I am not dying today. At least I am ok on that front, “Thank you.”

“Why are you giving me thanks.”

“Well, since you’re the chief, you must be the only one capable of putting off my execution.”

“That is correct, but the person you should be thanking is Orb.”

Confused, I ask him, “Why Orb.”

“Orb has been singing your praises to all the people around the village, telling them you’re a great person and that you would never hurt a fly. All his efforts made it so that people weren’t as against your release.”

Why would he do that? “We don’t even know each other, he just found me on Fimbulwinter. We have only really talked once.”

“Oh, I am well aware of that, and so is Orb. He just would rather you not be killed, and thus has made an effort to ensure that wouldn’t happen.”

“As the village chief, where do you stand on the issue of my execution.”

“Unlike Orb, you have a life and connections outside of this village, so the chances you could cause us trouble is much higher, especially with me not knowing what you do and do not know about the village, so I was rather on the fence about this matter, but Orb happens to tell me something that has inspired my actions today.”

Then I hear someone shout, “THEY HAVE RETURNED.”

“Cole, it seems the main event of the day has started. Let’s head over.”

So, I and the chief walk over to where the so-called event is taking place, and I see the villagers carrying men, women and children whose bodies are frozen over. They are dead. Taking a second to look at their clothes, I can tell they are not from the village—their outsiders.

“Chief, what is going on here, and why do you have those bodies.”

“It’s the burial ceremony people, and animals which climb the mountain have their bodies sent down to were our hunting grounds are.”

“What do you mean sent down, who is bringing them to you.”

“We have no idea. Best guess, it is the snow bringing the bodies down, but after we find bodies, we usually bury them immediately and hold a ceremony for them, so would you join us for that today.”

So, the ceremony commences and ends as quickly as it started. It was put together well and flowed fast, and when it was over, the chief asked me to come with him to the graves.

“It’s nice that your village does this”

“Is that strange? I thought it was normal to bury the dead.”

“Well, for some, but there are many who don’t get that treatment, so it’s nice that you guys put in so much work and did this.”

“I would say the person who put in the most work was Orb.”

“How so.”

“He went up to each body and tried to figure out where they were from, so he figured out which burial customs we should use for each body. It took him lots of time, but he was persistent about saying they can’t even be buried in their own countries, so let us try to recreate what that would be like.”

“He went that far for them.”

“It’s amazing. He not only went that far for them but also you. What he said to me yesterday is the reason I am here.”

“Would you elaborate on that.”

“Yeah, I guess I should no more beating around the bush. Yesterday Orb told me the only reason people walk up Fimbulwinter is they want to die. After hearing that, all I could think of were all the bodies we had buried. Does that mean all the kids and adults, parents, and children we have buried have all given up on life?

The thought of it was too sad for me, so I decided to talk to you today. I will not ask what brought you here or anything related to that. All I wanted to do was tell you something. It is that this village was founded so all its inhabitants could find happiness in a world that was seen as doomed, and in my time staying here, I have had countless moments of joy, so I would like to extend that to you.”

“Are you offering me to stay here.”

“Under my personal supervision.”

“Well, I don’t have many other options, but I would love to take you up on that offer.”

And as both men shook hands, the day ended with one more village member.

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