Liberi Reader

Do we have news on Lazal and the other men who disappeared?

Yeah, we can stop searching.

Demons have been through here.

The ice there has Arts damage. It was a hard fight.

They are all roots of the Frost Maple and respected warriors, but not even their bodies remained?

Bad weather is known to befall the icefield.

But this kind of weather has been happening far too often of late.

Hadn't Sami long since warned us through Eikthyrnir?

Come, we must reinforce the fortifications and keep a close eye on every mountain pass.

(Logs in notebook) 'We've entered the Fjal Vetrtonn. The current temperature is... 31 degrees below zero.'

'So far, I have yet to find any comms stations within Sami borders... and haven't been able to make contact with Director Maryam's expedition team.'

*sigh*... If Professor Mary isn't around, who am I even going to send these notes to? Every time he reads my reports, he points out all the phenomena I should've paid closer attention to...

'We've passed through the local settlement mentioned in previous expedition records: at the foot of the Fjal Vetrtonn, near the edge of the forest.'

*huff*... Even though I only lost a single glove, it feels so cold.

Need a hand, Magallan?

Oh, it's alright, Simone. I'm almost done with this report! I'll be ready to leave the shelter and brave the blizzard soon!

Now where was I? Right...

'The settlement had vanished.'

'I asked Simone—'

(Quickly erases)

'I asked an accompanying Sami about this, and it seems that Sami tribes are known to move around.'

Why did they move?

I tried looking into it, but couldn't figure anything out.

Simone told me that it was Sami herself. She told them that danger was drawing near and that they had to leave.

But the climate data we've collected so far aren't all that different from the historical record, and there don't seem to be any changes in long term trends either. So what kind of danger is Sami facing?

Looks like... the Scientific Investigation Section's data... needs to be updated.

Right, Sami is still a blind spot in our knowledge.

But it seems the Sami really don't like being disturbed.

Professor Mary, you've always wanted to work with them, but haven't been able to.

It takes so much effort to get our applications processed in Ursus. If we could just find a new path into the icefield through Sami and build more research stations, our expeditions would be so much easier.

Unfortunately... the Sami don't want anyone in the icefield...

Right...

Eh?

Was I just... talking to Professor Mary?

Simone. Simone!

What's the matter?

I just—

—Do you see a group of people over there? There's too much snow; I can't quite...

Mag...allan...

I-Is it really Professor Mary?!

Simone, I need to head over there for a look!

Magallan.

(Ah! It's really you! Thank goodness, I found you guys! I knew you'd be safe!)

......

(Weird... How come I can't speak?)

(*huff*... *huff*... My heart's beating too fast... A-Am I trembling? Why?)

(No, no, no! I need to stop the Professor and take them back!)

Professor—

—Mmf, mrrmrmff!

Shh.

Don't listen. Don't look. Don't speak.

I don't blame you, Simone. It's been a long time since your last visit. It's no wonder you didn't sense it.

Haha... I see, so now I'm a visitor here?

Not as much as her, but still a visitor. The route you two took hasn't been used for a long time.

*sigh* You're lucky I take this detour every time.

So the warriors still haven't accepted you, even now? But the land herself clearly regards you as a beloved child.

...In any case, thank you for your help, Typhon.

Mhm. No need to pay me back.

The food I hid around here is more than enough to last me a few months.

So you said you were heading to the icefield to look for missing southerners?

Yes.

Then let me come with you. The missing men must have run into trouble. I'll help you protect them.

Uh—Um—Eh, I can talk now...? Is it okay if I talk?

Listen—

Don't move.

...Why are you raising your hands?

Uh... Because I heard the Sami are very fierce? And they don't like it when others enter the icefield?

I-I'm really not plotting anything bad!

Hm? Well, the warriors here are indeed fierce, but I'm no warrior.

Anyway, I woke you up just now with my Arts, but you can still hear the voices, right?

Mm... Yeah, I can.

It's okay. I've realized it's a hallucination by now. I'm not stupid enough to keep talking to it.

Right, I should jot this down in my notes, too.

So do you know what causes these hallucinations? Exhaustion due to the extreme weather? Maybe something in the water that paralyzes the central nervous system?

*sigh*... Come here. Your ear.

(Whispers) Okay, go ahead and tell me.

Alright, now the other side.

Okay... Huh? Weren't you going to whisper something?

Did you just rub something on my ears? It felt kinda cold.

Now put this under your tongue and press down on it.

M-Moss and a ball of mud?

I know that explorers sometimes boil leather when they're completely out of food, but I've never considered eating moss in an emergency...

Alright, Magallan, be brave and give it a shot!

Stop being so suspicious of everything. Just put it in your mouth.

Now you'll only hear your own voice and won't be bothered by those strange noises.

Really? You're so helpful!

...Wait, but won't I be deaf to any environmental dangers, too? It'll also affect my balance when I climb. It's too risky.

Don't be afraid. Just trust Typhon.

We'll take you somewhere where the snow's not contaminated.

Yeah. We'll give you a hand signal when you can spit the mud out.

Until then, don't talk too loud. You don't want it to hear you.

Hmm, alright...

......

Yeah, I can't hear anything now.

Stop.

Ehh?

There's musbeast fur scattered in the snow. It's a kind of detection Arts.

Good thing you held Magallan back.

We couldn't escape the warriors' eyes, but at the very least our visit seems a little more respectful this way.

Should we have her spit out the mudball? You can fill her in on the situation.

If her plan was to enter the icefield this way, then she probably knows nothing about the northern front.

No need. Leave the negotiations to me. Most of these warriors would chase us off with their hammers the moment they hear Columbian or the common tongue.

Ah... see?

*sigh* It's the Legion. They aren't going to talk to us.

You, daughter of the Santalla Tree.

Greetings, warriors of Treescar.

You're with an outlander.

And... the hunter with the black bow.

Indeed.

But please don't be so quick to attack. This outlander asks nothing of Sami.

We simply seek to enter the endless icefield.

...I understand. It's against the rules. No one should enter the icefield rashly. You built these high walls not only to keep the icefield's disasters at bay, but also to stop the Sami and wild beasts.

But her dear mentor has disappeared in the icefield. She is earnestly trying to rescue someone who is practically family to her, and I hope you can make an exception.

...Please trust us. We will take care of the southerner and prevent her from acting rashly against Sami. She won't become lost, and absolutely won't become your enemy.

We are accompanying her in order to take care of any worst case scenarios that might happen to her or the missing men.

...Trust that black bow, too?

You want us to trust the daughter of a crazed Cyclops?

That black bow means nothing. She fights the same enemy as you.

Her mind may be clear, but that doesn't mean her weapon won't bring misfortune.

There was a time when we brought back the belongings of every last fallen warrior, until we realized that the enemy could find us through their contaminated relics.

I'm sure you know this well.

—Simone from under the Santalla Tree.

......

I am a shaman no longer, but if that identity will make you reconsider, then I am more than happy to use it.

There are still many among us who remember the warrior who almost became a Snowpriest. But she ran from her duties, so we do not intend to bring up her past.

Her power can still take care of those around her.

The team that went missing amounts to more than a dozen men. The northern warriors I know would never turn a blind eye with so many lives on the line.

No.

You must bear the harshness of fate, daughter of the Santalla Tree. Endure it. Do not run away.

...Those are Eikthyrnir's words.

Did he... learn something from his divination? About the whole northern realm?

I have no answers for outsiders.

But Eikthyrnir has already led many a warrior south, to inform each tribe of Sami's whispers.

I understand.

If Sami has made her prophecy, I shan't insist on entering the icefield.

But now that it's come to this, we lack the supplies to head back down the mountain and take the long way around.

Even though the demons' contamination spreads without end, we have no choice but to continue our journey through the mountains, and through the pass guarded by your warriors.

Supplies? You only have the southerners' shortcomings to blame. They claim the land a barren wilderness, which is why they find themselves unable to survive in nature.

I'm simply asking that you—

*sigh* Let's go, Simone.

You don't owe them an explanation.

Wait, that hand signal... Are you for real?

Yeah, trust me.

—Just hold on a moment!

Ugh... So bitter... *cough*... Let me explain!

I'm not a bad guy, I'm just an explorer! The only thing in these crates are reserve drones. I can open them up if you want a look!

I'm not trying to sneak into the icefield, either. I just didn't know how to get in touch with the Sami government to submit an application!

Er, wait, does Sami have a government? I haven't actually seen anything resembling one, but...

But I do have the documents I was going to hand over to Ursus. My ID, exploration permit, and the abandoned route plans... They all prove that I'm just an explorer, nothing more.

Anyway, Simone and Typhon have both been so nice to me. Please don't blame them! If it's me that you're suspicious of, I'll explain everything!

Also...

Huh?

Run, you birdbrain!

You brought an omen of disaster right into the group!

This way!

Is this the path you mentioned?

That's right.

Ah—That was close! The arrow hit the rock!

Thanks, rock! Thanks, Fjal Vetrtonn!

They probably mistook it for one of us, in this thick snowfall.

Your Arts come in handy, Simone. I knew I could trust you to keep us hidden.

Okay, now this way.

It's gotten quieter.

Mm... Let me check. Yeah, I don't see them anymore.

Good! We shook them off!

Or perhaps... they stopped giving chase.

Whatever the case, we should be safe now, right?

Phew... Hah...

All of a sudden... I'm outta breath...

Give me your hand. I'll help you.

Th-Thanks... The expedition equipment and my protective gear are all just too heavy. When they designed this extreme north exploration gear, they probably didn't think we'd need to run in the mountains...

No, wait... I need to apologize!

I couldn't hear anything earlier, but it looked like you were bickering because of me. And then I got ahead of myself and started shouting.

The Director always tells me to think before I act, but... Maybe it's because I have no idea what's so scary about these hallucinations, but I didn't really think that through, did I?

No need to apologize.

Nature doesn't debate right and wrong. All that matters is closeness. The same goes for those northern warriors just now.

Uh... closeness...?

They're just like, mm... like a chain of mountains. No matter what you say to them, you will never become part of the mountains. All you can do is try your hardest to surmount them.

Of course, you also can't tell the mountains that they're wrong and should be flat ground instead.

Ehh?

Why are they so unwilling to talk it out?

Let's set aside whether they could even understand you. Those warriors normally have no need for words.

See, if you and I lived together all day, every day, and everything we did was the same daily routine: patrolling, hunting, fighting... We wouldn't have much reason to talk.

Hm, because we'd be too used to everything?

No. Because communication is only needed when we think different thoughts.

That's why I called them a chain of mountains.

Besides, they have to deal with the Ursus, too.

To them, they must be wary of any outlanders whose intentions they cannot discern at a single glance.

It may seem a little cruel, but it's how they have to live... (In Sami) 'One must accept fate, no matter what form it takes.'

(In Sami) Fate... hm.

What's done is done. The signal I gave back there was for Simone to run. When you're dealing with those warriors, most of the time you're going to have to back down. You can't count on them giving way.

That said, now we can't reach the icefield to find your teacher.

*sigh* Yeah...

So what are you going to do now?

I guess... I'll go to Čappat to request help.

That's the southernmost city in Sami, isn't it?

Yeah, it's where a lot of Columbian companies have their only branch offices in Sami.

Now that the Ursus route is sealed off, it's the only place the Exploration Society can mount a rescue from.

I'll rendezvous with them and try my best to collect information on the route. After all, nobody's really all that familiar with Sami.

I'll keep escorting you, then.

I don't need payment. I have no use for most of the trinkets southerners offer. I just happen to have a client waiting for me in Čappat.

Whoa, thanks!

What about you, Simone?

I promised I'd stay with you, didn't I?

Ehehe.

But Typhon, where does this path lead?

I find it hard to imagine that there are still paths in this mountain that the scouts haven't discovered.

That's because this takes us to where Arges lives.

...A Cyclops's cave.

Yeah, I guess it's my home, too. At least, I grew up there.

I may have used Sarkaz Arts to cover our tracks, but any veteran shaman is bound to figure it out in an instant. But I doubt they'd want to disturb a Cyclops.

Heh, no one likes hearing the prophesized tragedies doomed to befall them, after all.

If they'd kept chase, I'd have to count on Arges being home to help us out. Luckily they weren't so patient.

This is making me feel uneasy, though.

They gave up far too easily. Almost as if they abandoned us in the snow.

There's nothing to fear; I'm watching our surroundings.

Oh right... The disaster you two mentioned earlier... What's that all about?

If we're able to find the source of the auditory hallucinations and bring back samples to Rhine for analysis, maybe we could find a more long-term remedy!

What a strange question. Do you people think that Catastrophes, the cold, or the fangs of a mangler will just up and disappear one day?

The disaster is relatively less common, but if it comes knocking on your door, you cannot defeat it.

Hm, just like now.

—

A-Am I hallucinating again, or is...

...is it snowing upwards?

No, your eyes aren't deceiving you.

The snow is floating midair, above our heads.

I... I need to gather samples!

Give me a minute to activate the drones!

A snowflake that's still floating upward...

Hah, got it! Next, snow that's accumulated midair...

—Watch out!

The snow crumbles downward.

And from what I can barely make out given the visibility, there seems to be a lot more accumulated in the sky up ahead.

If we keep going, it's enough to bury all three of us once it comes crumbling down.

This phenomenon must've been around for a while. They already knew about it, so they stopped giving chase. They knew we were prey driven into a dead end.

Not even a Snowpriest's Arts can do anything about this... and nor can I. Any snow I summon will only float upward and break free from my control.

—Wait, Magallan! Stay close to us! It's dangerous to go alone!

It's okay. I just need to get a little farther away to collect samples!

If the drones lose their balance while gathering and knock down the midair snow, only I'll be buried!

—Whoa, that was close!

......

Do you feel it? The snow is trembling.

Each step we take awakens it.

But a girl like her won't stop here.

Give me your hand.

Hmm?

Most people don't like doing this, but given the circumstances, we should give it a shot.

Right, to make sure the blood flows onto the arrowhead, I'll need to cut a little deeper. But you don't need me to worry about you, right?

Do what you must, Typhon. Just don't cut too deep because our hands are numbed by the cold.

The snow's coming down more quickly.

Yeah. The black seeds buried in the soil know my bow and arrows. This is exactly why people always misunderstand me.

Okay, it's just Magallan left—

—Magallan?! What's your status?

Oh, I'm fine! It's just the snow fell down and blocked the path...

Let me switch to the snow clearing module.

Okay! You two can come on over now!

Give me your hand first. Take off your glove.

Er, gimme a bit of time to steel myself first.

—Okay, here!

That'll do it.

...Sarkaz witchcraft.

The snow up to there won't fall anymore. I'll keep an eye out for the next place that looks dangerous and deal with it ahead of time in the same way.

Let's keep going.

I found a few more dead hornbeasts close to the spring water.

We've followed the Samivilinn, the will of the land, and moved our entire tribe from the foot of the mountain all the way through the tundra.

So why aren't we free of the disaster's corrosion yet?!

We should try the divination one more time.... Just one more time, to see when the land will finally grant us peace.

...Or do you mean the Cyclops that traveled with us back then was telling the truth? That there would come a day when desolation would befall our tribe?

Didn't you say that... somebody lived here?

Yeah. And that I used to live here, too.

*sigh* She's not here, as usual.

But... Th-Th-This is a cave...

Ah, too bad Simone had to leave because something came up... If she were here, she could tell me if this is normal or not...

Hmm?

Uh, nothing! Just wondering how I should describe this place in my notes.

Whatever works for you.

Here, jerky and salt. Arges isn't stingy. You can take whatever you want.

Now we should have enough supplies to make it to the bottom of the mountain.

Thanks, Typhon, but hold on!

I don't know this Arges you're talking about. Seems a bit rude...

Hm, she herself said, and I quote: (in Sarkaz) 'Anything with its curtain pulled open can be shared.'

You can take that to mean she doesn't care.

Heh, well, don't mind if I do.

Also... is it okay if I make a detailed record of the cave in its current state?

I want to take a few pictures, too! I promise I won't make a mess!

Why even ask? When you're done, come by the fire and rest.

Gotcha!

Right, and can I look at these notes, too?

Go ahead. Only she can understand what's in there anyway.

Okay... Huh?

......

Right, Typhon, there's something I've been meaning to ask.

Logically speaking, when you hallucinate, you shouldn't hear any words you don't know, or any concepts you've never heard of, right?

Hm, I'm not sure I follow your 'logic.' But what about it?

Anyway, take a look at this page.

'When the box is opened, Andskotarnir will realize.'

That's the last thing I heard the Director say, before you helped me cut off the noise from my surroundings.

This Ursus communicator... It's getting a signal.

The question is... how long ago was it sent?

...Reporting... to army... border guards...

With... the help of Liebafowl... Black Mark... in Sami...