The cold wind reverberates through the narrow valley, playing melodious hymns belonging to the Quaids and the ice fields. The dim light leaked through the gray clouds, shrouded in white and smooth snow like shredded veils, making the valley look like a picture scroll drawn by the goddess of art, Muse, with the most beautiful fingers in the world.

It's a sight that can captivate even the most famous artists of the Santa Marta dynasty, but it has little extra value on the ice field. The calm valley soon turned noisy.

Accompanied by the crisp chirping of unknown birds, two tall figures appeared in the valley. They wore mottled shadows cast from the cracks in the trees on their shoulders, and thick, broad cloaks obscured their entire bodies.

Even though they both wore hoods that covered their faces, the special outfit proved the identity of the two strangers. They were the best warriors of the young tribes of Riga and Monica, Spaine and Sopa.

"Passing through this valley, you will see the hunting grounds belonging to the Spayin tribe. The female warrior who slowed down her pace rubbed her hands together a few times, and said with a white breath in her mouth. The cold gave his delicate face an unhealthy bluish color, but she insisted on leading Riga to the borders of the tribe.

"Thank you, Monica. You don't really need to send me here at all. Seeing that this slender stunner with a sense of surname was shivering a little because of herself, Riga immediately thanked her.

"You've thanked you a dozen times on the way!" the warrior rolled her eyes a little depressed, but the movement seemed to Riga more graceful than the dance of the Muse.

"You have to raise it well. Then, Monica pulled a silvery white ball of hair out of her tightly covered cloak. Immediately after coming into contact with the cold air, the hair ball shook and stretched out its body, revealing its small head and limbs, which turned out to be the little snow bear.

At the first sight of the little snow bear, the female warrior fell in love with the cub. But when Rriga wants to give her the bear, Monica refuses.

"I won't take it, it will be your most powerful helper. The female warrior's face looked very serious and serious in Riga's eyes, and the concern that flowed from those large blue eyes made the hunter feel dizzy with excitement.

In a somewhat dull conversation, the two Quaids walked forward for a while. When the familiar pine forest came into view of the hunter, Riga knew the time had come. With a strange and unspeakable emotion brewing inside, the hunter turned his head to say goodbye to Monica, only to find that the female warrior had turned away.

The baby snow bear was wrapped in a piece of fur and placed on the ground, and it burrowed into it like a mole, trying to get more warmth.

"Goodbye, Monica. Seeing the figure of the female warrior getting farther and farther away, a simple goodbye immediately rushed out of Riga's throat and passed to Monica's ears, which was speeding forward. And she just paused, and then waved her hand without looking back, as if this was the goodbye of the two.

Picking up the fur wrapped in the snow bear from the ground, Riga took a deep look at the slender figure that kept moving away, and finally turned and walked towards the tribe alone. The hunter had been away from the tribe for three days, and he was now terribly worried about Daddy Thorne, who was living alone in the camp. It was feared that the one who really wanted to take the snow ape's fur would be detrimental to the old warrior.

Increasingly anxious, the warrior sped into the forest, his legs running through the snow like spinning wheels.

The hunting ground wasn't very far from the tribal camp, so when the scorching sun moved five hours through the sky. The perimeter of the camp towered like a beast in ambush, and the hunter saw it.

Because it was daytime, there were only two sentries standing guard at the wall. As they saw Riga approaching, one of them immediately stepped down and opened a small door.

"Riga?" The sentry had also participated in the last raid, so when he saw Riga's face, the sentry immediately whispered in surprise. After receiving an affirmative answer, he continued: "When you went out hunting three days ago, I watched Carell and Reas walk out with you, but I didn't expect you to come back safely. ”

"How's Daddy Thorne?" asked Riga eagerly as he grabbed the collar of his cloak with both hands, not caring for the surprise coming from the sentry's mouth.

"Daddy Thorne?" the sentry was visibly confused, and then he asked rhetorically, "what will happen to him?" There has only been one major incident in the tribe in the past few days, and that is when the chief went out with a few dozen men to attack the Terran mercenaries. At this, the sentry said in an extremely envious and complaining tone, "It's a pity that I didn't have my share in this battle, otherwise I would have let the damned Terrans taste the sharpness of my battle axe." ”

A few more messages came out of the sentry's mouth, and Riga immediately walked through the fence and quickly walked towards the residence.

The hut was still the same, with no signs of a fight or anything else. But as the hunter lifted the fur that stood in the wayway, a cold, familiar shout came from the darkness of the cabin. "Who is it?"

"Garr, it's me. Riga immediately stepped back and shouted at the same time. He didn't want to be hit hard because he didn't say anything.

"Riga?" Gal with long brown hair immediately emerged from the room, and in surprise thrust the bronze sword back into the leather sheath hanging from his waist.

He spread his arms hard and hugged the hunter hard, slapping his rough, broad palms against Riga's broad shoulders. "Get in, brother. I thought I was going to lose you forever. ”

When Riga enters the cabin with his head down, he realizes that Gar's father, Gus, is inside. "Be quiet, Riga. Your father needs a break. The old soldier with long gray hair shook his long beard and said. He pulled the beard out of his lips as he stared at the hunter's face with sad eyes.

A strong smell of herbs wafted through the room, coming from a clay pot hanging from the fire.

"Daddy Thorne, what's wrong with him?" the hunter keenly felt the smell of death wafting through the cabin. He chattered his teeth and spat out a few words, and then saw the old soldier lying on the bed through the gap that the old soldier Gus had let go.

Thorne's white beard was withered on the bed, his cheeks sunken. The rough skin with deep, lengthy wrinkles made the old warrior look so thin and fragile. His eyes were closed, and only his chest was still rising slightly, proving that the god of madness had not yet brought him into the temple.

"What's going on?" Rega looked at Daddy Thorne's face, and Riga's eyes were immediately wrapped in a burst of heat. He clenched his upper and lower jaws hard, causing his cheekbones to bulge high. "The sentry on the fence said nothing had happened to Daddy. ”

"Let's take a break. Gus comforted the hunter by patting him on the shoulder, making him sit down on the ground. "Thorne has been doing well, but since yesterday, rumors have popped up in the tribe that you were killed by Karel and Reas during a hunt. Originally, Gal was still hiding this, but when the old man went out to fetch water, he accidentally got the news. When he returned, he fell ill. ”

"Who is spreading these rumors?" said Riga with a suppressed breath, her shoulders fluttering with rage. He was like a lurking beast, his eyes fixed on the ground, and only then would Gar and Gus not see the frantically flickering blood.

"I don't know. This time it was Gal who replied, "I went and asked a lot of people, and they all said they heard it in the tavern. ”

"Have you met Carell and Reas?" Gus cautiously asked what he was most concerned about, "They really followed you out." ”

"Killed. Riga replied succinctly, as he suppressed the heat that was surging wildly and destroying through his body and lifted his head.

"You did it?" Gus asked.

"It's not. The hunter replied again.

Immediately from Gus's mouth, he gasped for hot air, and then he muttered, "Since you're okay, I'll go find the wizard." Maybe he can get Thorne back. ”

"I'll go personally. Having received a glimmer of hope, Riga immediately jerked off the ground, but the frantically surging heat vibrated violently with his movements, and the hunter's eyes went black and he collapsed on the fur-covered ground.

"Riga, Riga, wake up. Remembering only the shadow of the fall, Riga watched as the two figures approached him quickly, but could not move at all. Like a pig tied to a fire, he can only wait quietly for death.

"Death?" As the word came to mind, Riga immediately felt the shocking memories flood into his blank brain. "I don't want to die! I'm going to get Daddy Thorne back. ”

"Daddy!" slumped up from the ground, Riga screamed violently. But then a pair of warm hands pressed his shoulders, "Riga, are you awake?"

After three or four more breaths, the hunter recognized who was in front of him. "Where's the wizard, Gal, and how is Daddy Thorne?"

"Ahem. At this time, two low coughs came from the bed on one side, and a weak but spirited voice said, "The gods still think that I have not endured the suffering of the world. ”

"Daddy?!" Riga immediately screamed in surprise and turned her head, only to see the figure standing at the head of the bed first.

The black, sharp-eyed right hand held a bone staff, dressed in a shabby black coat, and his gloveless hands were receiving several herbs from the assistant behind him. Mash them and mix them in an earthy clay pot while chanting an ancient, strange-sounding incantation in your mouth. He was a wizard, the most mysterious person in the tribe.