Chapter 29 : Snowblind

"What use is magic if I can't do something about this?" Oz grumbled.

"Hey Source?" She whispered. "Question. Is it possible for me to use my magic to move us a long distance? To the Capital? Like some sort of fast travel?"

Years of playing video games in the quiet of her room came back to her. Hours spent playing on some handheld console with her back to the door to keep her annoying cousins out.

There had to be a reason so many locations on the map had already been found, most maps had fast travel of some sort.

In the whispers of the dungeons, she heard rumors of some hunters having that ability. Quick travel or teleportation across entire cities. Instant transmission or something, everyone kept hush hush about their own unique talents.

Even Oz kept her own constitution boosts under wraps. The guilds couldn't be trusted to misuse people's natural gifts. She kept her interest in Alchemy a close secret, only trading what little healing pots she made for other valuable skills.

[Warp travel of current party : Cost of 500 Mana]

Oz fumbled with her phone, flipping her mitten up enough to use the touch screen. 

'First thing I'm buying is touch sensitive gloves!' She thought. The app on the phone brought up the map from before.

As she tucked her phone close from the blistering winds, she fumbled to find the right place.

[Any White Warp Point May be used.]

She sneezed from a cold breeze before reaching out. Her chilled fingers grabbed Nahern's cape, enough he grunted in complaint.

"What Saint?" he muttered around the thick scarf around his face. His eyes narrowed, Oz couldn't help but stand a touch closer.

Even through the furs and cold, the elf was a furnace. She could feel the heat coming off him, well insulated under all those layers. For a moment, she merely stood there. basking in the heat off him. 

After a moment she gasped and held up her phone, "What's the name of the Capital."

"Alluna. But why…"

"I can warp us there." Her teeth were chattering badly from the cold.

Nahern's gray eyes went wide at that, "How?"

"Just trust me okay? Bring everyone together, close as possible. Big huddle!"

Nahern glared over the scarf, his eyes questioning. Still he held up his red-tufted spear to the sky, visible through the cold air. He spun around the tip, motioning to the others to bring everyone in.

Oz in the center as she fumbled with the map, thankfully the fast travel to Alluna was unlocked. They would render in just a mile away to the south, far better than fighting the growing blizzard.

The cold was biting, and Nahern could feel his fingers and toes starting to numb. He had to know that if they didn't find shelter soon, they would be in serious trouble. Such cold was unnatural this time of the year, like the land itself was in protest of their actions. 

The wind howled around them, and the snow fell heavily. Nahern could barely see in front of him as he led the march.

Oz was only human. She was clearly was struggling, but they couldn't stop now. They had to keep going.

His people were naturally immune to the cold, but she was just a human. A very small, delicate human who needed him. Each step she took reminded him of a small child, barely able to keep up with their parents in a snow storm.

If it weren't for her pride, he scoop her right up and onto his back. She was too fair, to small for this harsh world.

'Why did the Gods send someone like you here, Oz?' Nahern thought, shivering despite his natural immunity to cold.

He worried for the human, his long frozen heart aching at the need to protect her. If it wasn't for his banishment, perhaps then he could give her the life she deserved.

Covered in beautiful furs and leathers, living in one of the castles where she could walk in silken gowns.

For now he had to get his people and his saint to safety.

"Everyone, lay a hand on your neighbor, we need to make a chain with the Saint. Whoever has a sled close by, keep your foot on it. Everyone needs to be connected." Nahern called out, everyone grabbing one another's cloak or guiding rope.

Once everyone was connected, Oz looped her arm through Nahern's. He flushed at the warmth of her small fingers brushing what little skin he had exposed

"Here we go." Oz breathed through her teeth, tapping the instant warp point.

[Fast Travel to Capital City Alluna. 3…2…1….]

Everything went blurry.

It felt like everything was sucked into a tiny black hole barely the size of a walnut, then a car, the spiraling darkness surrounding them all in matters of seconds.