Chapter 34 – Frigid Frays and Follies

Qrow laid with his eyes firmly shut. Inside, he was undisturbed and unvisited by even a dream. What was going on? Although he was out cold, his body was trembling: fighting something even without the help of Qrow's own instincts. Overtime the trembling became more violent, until his own body shook him awake: albeit barely aware of anything at all and with his eyes still shut. He groaned and reached behind his back with his right hand to grab his flask, but was instead greeted by something that was the complete opposite of comforting. He pulled his hand back and clenched it tightly against his chest with his other hand.

He had stuck it in something cold, very cold. Now Qrow was almost fully aware of himself and that he was shivering. He opened his eyes and sat up, using his hands to support him, once again putting them firmly in the cold.

Snow. He had been laying in it and sank low enough to create a mould of himself. With some difficulty because of how much he was shaking and also how much he ached, he studied his new environment. Snow, nothing but snow all around. Snow in mounds. Snow atop hills and consuming rocks. Snow everywhere
The sun was low but mostly concealed behind thick, white clouds. Where the hell was he? What had happened prior to waking up in this tundra?

'Argh!' Qrow clutched his head. He felt like he was having a brain freeze by simply thinking. Still, he managed to gather a distinct recollection. He had been aboard Ironwood's ship, accompanying him, the students, Ryze and Shen to Runeterra. When they had almost reached their destination, a dragon had shown up and blown the ship apart. After that, he remembered flying through the air, followed by this. How long had he been unconscious?

Considering the sun's position and how gelid this place was, he had possibly been there for quite a few hours, but most likely no more than that, and certainly not overnight. Qrow was positive that he would have froze to death if had been out there for that long. But what was he to do now? Or perhaps more importantly, where should he go?

Qrow had not even taken one step, and already things were looking hopeless. There was no trail he could follow; no apparent way of getting food and water; and no signs of any settlement. What was he to do?
'Well… I guess it's better to go somewhere, than nowhere at all. I don't know if I'll run into any dangers, but I know for certain I ain't gonna survive if I just stand here.' Qrow thought to himself.

Qrow lifted his right foot out of the snow and took his first step. It sank straight back in.

'Yang?! Ruby?! James?! Ryze?! Anyone?!' he suddenly called out.

Nothing. Not even his own voiced echoed in the open wasteland. 'Great, all on my own…' Qrow reached for his flask, and this time pulled it out of his pocket successfully. He unscrewed the lid and put it to his lips. Both the metal and the contents inside were extremely chilled. Ironically it was almost perfect to have alcohol at that temperature. He finished drinking, leaving half of it for later, and put the flask away. Qrow then breathed on his hands and rubbed them together. He looked around again, scrutinising the distance to see if anything at all gave him a reason to move in any direction over another.

'Ugh. Looks like the sun's my only indicator.' he muttered to himself, trying to stop his teeth from chattering as well. 'Let's see. I'll assume that I'm not in Ionia. In that case, if we went west to get to Ionia, which is apparently on the east side of Runeterra, then I have to be further inland right now. And the sun's really low too. That must be why this place is so damn cold. I guess, logically then I'm either in the north or the south. Still though, that doesn't give me any way of saying which direction I should be heading in… Agh, screw it, I'll just walk towards the sun. Perhaps it'll get me somewhere that's a bit warmer.'

Qrow finally began to make his move. Thankfully he did not have to squint his eyes due to the sun being obscured mostly by clouds, otherwise it would be very tricky to make anything out. Undoubtedly the most difficult thing was going to be simply moving. Even just lifting his feet out of the snow with every step he took was tiresome. He could not afford to expend much energy, but in the harsh climate he was in, this was much easier said than done.

Soon, a light but jaggedly cold wind blew through the plain, bringing in more snowflakes. Qrow looked behind him to his starting point. It was difficult to tell where it had been, because his tracks were being covered up by the fresh layer of snow.

It was not helpful to think about it, but Qrow could not get over how unbelievably freezing it was. He had been to Solitas on numerous occasions, as well as Northern Anima, and it had always been bitingly cold. But those paled in comparison to where he was now. Never before had he wanted to see a fireplace so bad.

It was no good. Although unwise, Qrow could not tolerate walking slowly: he had to keeping moving and warm up. He entered a jog, clumsily lifting his feet out of the snow again and again.

The stretch soon began to ascend, and he found himself running up a small incline, and then back down. Was it working? Qrow's mind could not keep up with his body. He did not know how long he had been running, but it couldn't have been far. Already he felt exhausted. It was no good; without proper winter clothing, his endurance out there was very limited. He gradually slowed down until he was only taking one step every three seconds. His vision was blurry. He had been aiming to run mostly in a straight line, but even that was hard to be sure of.

He stopped to see where he was now, but everything looked the same. What if this place was completely uninhabited? Considering the environment, that was definitely probable. Would anyone willingly choose to live out here?

Qrow plodded forward, up a hill. He was almost ready to resign himself to fate: freezing to death. He reached the top and sank to his knees. 'Gods… have mercy on me…' he murmured. If it wasn't for the inescapable cold, he could have easily fallen asleep right where he was, but he allowed himself half a minute to close his eyes.

When he opened them again, he looked forward, and finally saw something different.

'Trees. Coniferous ones.' and a lot of them, all at the bottom of the hill and for metres around. It would be a stretch to call it a forest, but at least it was more to see than just snow. Beyond the trees stood a shallow, but rather wide mountain, iced with a layer of snow on its peak. Surrounding that were even more mountains, but on a smaller scale. Qrow had to admit that it was a beautiful view. After he finished admiring it, he gently sat and let himself slide down the hill. Once he stopped, he got up again and wiped the snow off his back. He looked up at the trees. They were remarkably tall: not extremely tall but certainly more than just "average height". The snow underneath the tree crowns was thinner. Qrow kicked some of it away out of curiosity and saw that grass was sleeping beneath it. 'Interesting. I wonder how much of it has never seen the sun. Maybe it doesn't snow all year-round?'

Qrow cleared away the snow at the base of the nearest tree and sat down, leaning against the trunk. He took another swig from his flask. He frowned: it was almost empty. If there was one thing that this mission had not provided, for Qrow personally, it was definitely good beverages. Water had been aboard the ship, amongst the supplies, but now Qrow did not even have the luxury of that. He was half tempted to eat the snow, but his survival training reminded him that the process of heating it up in his body would cause further dehydration.

'Maybe I could start a fire.' said Qrow, taking another look up at the trees. They all had branches, but was the wood suitable for burning? It was possible, but the chances weren't particularly high, especially in that temperature and so much snow, which would just melt. That, and he did not have the proper tools to be able to carve a stick into a kindler.

Qrow took deep breaths. 'Okay, okay. Don't panic.' he told himself. 'Gotta keep it together.' It still wasn't evening, but it wouldn't be long before the sun and its warmth left him alone in the dark. 'Perhaps there's some wildlife amongst these trees.' Qrow wondered. 'Seriously, anything will do at this point. I guess I'll just turn int- wait, how the hell did I forget that?!' Qrow snapped at himself.

He transformed and flapped his wings so that he was on the same level as the top of the trees, flew across to the ones which were closer to the mountains, and perched himself on a branch. He caught something in the distance in his left eye. Instantly interested, he returned to his human form so that he could focus on it with both of his eyes.

It was flying through the air, from the left, towards the top of the mountain. A ginormous blue bird that looked like it was made up of ice. It was hard to make out from where he lurked, but it was comparable in size to a Nevermore. Unlike Nevermores however, this bird had a majesty about it, which captivated Qrow. It stretched out its talons and landed on top of the biggest mountain and relaxed its wings at its side. Most likely, it was just resting. Qrow watched it just doing nothing for a few minutes without realising how much time was going by. Only when a particularly strong wind blew at him and the tree, did he remember what he was meant to be doing. He longed to know more about this bird, however there was no telling how dangerous it was. It did answer one question on Qrow's mind though: there was at least some sort of life out there.

He flew back down and took another look at the trees. 'Hmm, I'd rather not tamper with the nature here, but I could probably cut off some of these branches and make some sort of shelter.' Hesitantly, he reached for Harbinger. It was going to be a lot of work to get them all down and then arrange them into a tunnel. 'The sooner I do it, the sooner it'll be over with.' He put his right hand around the handle… but paused.

Something small was scurrying through the snow towards him. It was a round, white, fluffy creature with short horns out of the front of its head, and stubby feet on its underside. Qrow adopted a defensive stance. It stopped less than two metres in front of him and let its tongue fall out of its mouth.
He was still being cautious, but Qrow let some of his defence slacken: it was adorably cute. He crouched down and smiled at it. 'Hey there, little fella.' he said to it as though it was a domestic cat.

The fluffball made a squeaking sound, which seemed to be a sign of affection and shuffled closer to Qrow. It opened its mouth wider, making an "ah, ah" sound.

'Hmm, sorry pal, I don't have anything for ya. I got nothing to eat myself either, I'm afraid.' Qrow looked away at the mountain. An idea crossed his mind. 'I wonder how nutritious that thing is.' He faced the creature again, and instantly felt something biting him viciously at his conscience. The fluffball was giving him a pouting look of sadness. He was hungry, and he had only thought about it for a few seconds, but he was angry at himself. How could he be so monstrous to even consider that?!
Still though, Qrow tried not to show it to the creature. It came even closer to him and curled up around his feet. Gingerly, Qrow stroked it with his right hand, and it purred. His pragmatic thinking as a Huntsmen knew that this was not a good use of his time, but his heartfelt side gave him the treat of momentarily putting aside that responsibility. To think that this thing existed in the same world as Aatrox.

Qrow looked up at the mountains again. He could only see part of it from where he was positioned, but the bird was still there. Perhaps it was asleep.

He turned his attention to the direction in which the fluffball had come from and saw, emerging from the snowy wind, another thing scampering towards him. Qrow examined it as it came into focus. The creature was bigger than the white fluffball, but certainly not big. It looked to be some sort of rodent, with orange fur and a tail with a blue tip. Its limbs were long enough to allow it to run on all fours with more ease than the white fluffball, and it had small claws on its toes and fingers. It had a little red nose, rather big black eyes, two small fangs in its mouth and a large pair of wide ears on the side of its head. Most strangely of all though was the birdlike skull that it wore on its head, and the curved bone that it carried in its right paw like a toy. Although it was cute, there was something unsettling about this creature. Nothing evidenced this more than the fluffball, which was now cowering behind the back of Qrow's feet.

The creature began to shake its curved bone and make a chanting sound that was reminiscent of a toddler having fun. Qrow intuitively knew that this was not an animal to be tamed, but he was admittedly fascinated by the wildlife he had seen so far. He decided to stay motionless and not make any sudden movements that might have alarmed the creature.

After about fifteen seconds of continuous chanting, it stopped and looked directly at Qrow's face. 'Ganaloo mo.' It articulated, and pointed at the fluffball with its free hand.

Qrow said nothing, but continued to look back at it.

'Hursh, rao.' it said in a slightly louder voice, and pointed at the fluffball again.

'Is it ordering me to give it this fluffy thing?' Qrow pondered. 'Maybe it's more intelligent than it looks. Still though, there's no way I'm doing that. It's just too precious.' 'No.' he simply responded.

The animal sniffed and held the bone above its head. 'Shubbanuffa.'

'Look pal, you ain't getting it. Run along and find something else.'

'Vimaga.' The creature began to growl. It bared its fangs and its fur began to turn dark red.

Qrow picked up the fluffball, slowly got up and backed away without taking his eyes off the creature. He subliminally knew that he was putting himself in danger by defending the fluffball – perhaps this was its natural predator – but he would not be able to forgive himself if he let it get eaten. Besides, this animal was still rather small. Even if it was vicious, it would be no match for Qrow and Harbinger, regardless of how cold he felt.

'Grrrr.' The creature moved towards him. Its fur was becoming darker every second, and its eyes were turning white.

Qrow moved backwards even quicker, putting more distance between him and this creature. He put the fluffball on the ground and urged it to leave. 'Run away, while you can!' he hissed.

Suddenly, Qrow heard a thundering roar. He turned around to see three trees on his right being knocked over with tremendous force. The small, orange rodent was gone. In its place was a towering beast, with enormous fangs on its nasty face and arms with huge muscles. It still wore the crown of the smaller orange creature, but all semblance of cuteness had vanished in a heartbeat.
It slammed the ground with its left paw and returned to all fours.

The impact was so strong that Qrow felt his own legs wobble. He deployed Harbinger into its sword form and held it protectively in front of him.

The beast advanced on him and growled continuously, its eyes never averting from Qrow's head. It did not even look hungry: only anger was being emitted.

Qrow was now amongst the trees. He was hoping that they would be an obstacle for the beast: that its size would put it at a disadvantage, whilst Qrow could easily dash between the trees, even though there was still enough space for it to dart around them.

It plodded around the tree at the perimeter. It was definitely not going to give up.

Qrow would have made a run for it but he wasn't sure how fast or strong it was: it had already smashed three trees.

It made its first direct move. It happened unbelievably fast that Qrow did not see it through the leaves. The creature uprooted the nearest tree on its left and tossed it easily as if it was a javelin straight at Qrow.

Only his quick reflexes enabled him to dive out of the way in time. Branches and twigs broke off and went flying everywhere as they crashed against the surrounding trees.

Qrow rolled onto his back and rubbed his head. The cold was putting a hindering strain on him. He saw the beast charge through the trees. Now, only one flimsy tree stood between them. Qrow also heard a squealing and saw that the fluffball was beside him, burying its face into his shirt.

The beast stood upright, grabbed the tree with both of its paws, and thrust it down with all its might onto Qrow.

'No!' cried out a voice.

Qrow clenched his teeth, scrunched his eyes tightly, and held his sword in front of him, hoping that he could withstand some of the force.

SMASH!

He stayed where he was, assuming that he had been flattened, but to his surprise, he felt fine. He slowly opened his eyes and saw someone standing above his feet, with his back facing him. It was a large man, who was carrying what appeared to be a large door in front of him, and he was pushing it against the tree and the beast. 'Run!' he yelled over his shoulder.

Once Qrow had comprehended what was going on, he jumped to his feet, turned Harbinger into a scythe and manoeuvred left so that he could thrust it into the beast. The tip penetrated its chest. It roared and was stunned long enough for the man wielding the door to punch it in the face and then push the tree down on top of it.
Qrow raised the scythe and brought it down, aiming for the beast's neck. But he missed.

It shrunk in less than a second. The beast was gone, and the little orange creature was back. It made a shrieking sound and sprinted away as fast as it could, disappearing into the trees.

Qrow panted as he watched the creature flee. He then deactivated Harbinger, put it on his back and turned his attention to the man who had saved him by the skin of his teeth.

The man was tall, muscular and very well-built. He was bald but had an impressively thick moustache. Shockingly, he was completely shirtless, but wore dark trousers, held up by a belt with a large crest of a ram on his chest, a pair of winter boots, fauld armour around his hips, vambraces around his wrists, a single, coated pauldron on his right shoulder, and a pretty necklace with a blue gem. The door that he was carrying was worn, but sturdy looking. It had the same ram on his crest carved on its face, but one of the horns had broken off. 'Are you alright?' he asked concernedly.

Qrow nodded. 'Yeah, just about. Thanks for the save. I appreciate it.'

'It was no trouble at all.' The man smiled. 'Good thing that I came just in time, though. You have the Poro to thank for that.'

'The "Poro"?' Qrow repeated.

'Please, excuse me for a moment.' said the man. He put the door against a tree to his right, walked up to the fluffball and knelt in the snow. 'Little Poro, you had me so worried. Please do not run off like that again. I had to search far for you.' He pulled out some sort of cake from his belt and fed it to the Poro. It devoured the cake in one bite and made a joyful sound. The man then picked up the Poro and rested it on his right shoulder before he returned to Qrow. 'Mother always said to me that big things come in small packages. That is what Poros are to me.' the man grinned.

'It is really cute.' Qrow agreed.

'Pardon me for asking, but what land are you from? Your hair, your clothes and your weapon… we do not see such things in the Freljord.'

'"Freljord.", huh? At least I've got the name of this place.' 'Umm… somewhere far away.' said Qrow. Did this man know what events had transpired a week ago, and would he believe him if he didn't?

'A faraway land, you say. Interesting.'

'It doesn't really matter. Anyway, since you're here, I wonder if you can help me.'

'Help is here. What do you ask for?'

'You see, I don't know how, but I somehow ended up stranded out here. I've been wondering around in the snow for hours and I haven't had anything to eat or drink. I'm actually so glad to have met another person out here. Do you by any chance know where I can get a good meal?'

'I see. In that case, I know just the place for you. Follow me, and I'll show you the way.'

'Thanks, pal.'

'Ahh, but you must be cold and tired, especially after fighting angry Yordle. Allow me to carry you.'

'Hey, thanks, but that's not necessary. I can walk.' Qrow replied.

'It is long way and it is also important to take time to rest.' the man insisted. 'You are safe with me. I promise.'

Qrow was somewhat reluctant. He imagined that it would be embarrassing to be seen being carried like a child, but he definitely had a point. Qrow was exhausted and could not push himself any longer. If this man was demonstrating this much kindness, it would be impolite to refuse. 'Alright, I'll do it. Take me away.' he complied, holding out both his arms in a joking manner.

'Excellent. Hop on then.' the man instructed. He squatted, allowing Qrow to sit on the man's left shoulder. They were so broad that he had quite a lot of sitting room. Qrow also put his right arm around the back of the man's neck to keep himself steady.
Once he was in position, the man picked up the door by putting his right arms through the two handles on the back. 'Before we go, I must ask: what is your name?'

Qrow was usually hesitant to give his name to complete strangers, but this man's compassion did not call for secrecy: only honesty. 'Name's Qrow. How about you?'

'Qrow, my friend, you can call me Braum.' he replied. 'Oh, and one last thing. Do you have any more questions before we set off?'

Many things about Braum intrigued Qrow. His rather thick yet soothing accent, his outstanding physique, the Poro, the door and the purpose it served (presumably some sort of shield), but instead Qrow asked the one which he was dying to know the most. 'Yeah, I got one: how the hell are you not freezing?'

Braum chuckled. 'Hehe, in the Freljord, we get used to the cold.'

'I'll take your word for it…' Qrow returned in disbelief.

'Now, let's get going.' said Braum. Normally he would have jogged, but was conscious of not making Qrow queasy, so he walked gently.

Qrow looked behind him, back at the mountains. The bird had taken off and was flying away, beyond the mountains. In the frantic struggle with the beast, he had forgot that it was there and wanted to ask about it, but his eyelids began to feel heavy. Perhaps it was better to save his other questions for another time.


'Qrow, wake up. We are here.'

'Huh.' Qrow murmured and then slowly opened his eyes. He had managed to stay on Braum's shoulder by keeping his arm around the back of his neck and leaning forward. He had not clue how long they had been travelling, but it was now approaching dusk. How Qrow had managed to get any sleep was astonishing.

Braum crouched down to let Qrow jump off.

Now that he was on his own feet again, he took the time to look around. They were definitely in some sort of settlement which was enclosed by a wall of trees. There were houses and buildings on both sides of the wide walkway that they were going through. Each house was standardised with the same materials: white bricks serving as the base, with an extra layer of wood for insulation on each side to form a triangle-shaped structure. Windows had been made by cutting out holes through the bricks and wood, and muntin was used for additional support.

People were walking by as well, wearing fur clothes that only partially covered their bodies. Qrow wondered if this was a cultural fashion choice or a result of limited resources. Some of them were also carrying boxes or pulling sledges with goods on top.

As they went by, some of them waved at Braum. 'Yo, good to see ya, Braum!' called out a middle-aged man with a long goatee.

'Hello again, Irnst!' Braum waved back.

'Aye, it's our hero, Braum! Haven't seen you in a while!' a short woman cried out from three houses away.

'Hello, Adaira!' Braum shouted back.

Qrow looked surprised. 'Say, you seem to be really popular around here.' he remarked.

'It's nothing really.' Braum said modestly. 'Good times in past have brought good friend and allies. Ah, here we are.' They stopped in front of a building, which was longer, wider and taller than the rest in the vicinity. 'This is a, how you say, public house.'

Qrow's eyes widened. 'Really?!'

'Yes. Food and drink will be here. I hope it is okay.'

'No kidding, this should be perfect.'

'Let us go inside then.' Braum pushed the front doors open, and they were greeted with relieving warm air that came from a fireplace on the left side of the room. At last!

The place was held up by beams of wood on the ceiling and four pillars on each corner. A dozen tables with chairs were laid out evenly across the space, but all of them were empty, save for one near the counter, which was surrounded by eight men, who were all roaring with excitement and chanting: "Chug! Chug! Chug!".

'They seem to be having fun.' Qrow commented.

'It is usually so in here.' Braum replied. 'Life is good, no?'

'Depends how you look at it, but I can't say no to a good drink.'

'Maybe we could join in then. They are all so friendly.'
The two of them walked towards the gathering. Braum placed his shield down and cleared his throat loudly.

Everyone turned around, and they were instantly blanketed in cheers and welcomes.

'Braum! Where ya been all this time?! Feel like it's been ursine years since I last seen ya!'

'If it ain't the buffest man in the Freljord! Welcome back!'

'Hello, everyone!' Braum said merrily.

'Braum! You're just in time! Graggy's going for his biggest one yet!'

'Really?! How much has he had so far?'

'Lost track. C'mon, join us! And I say, you've brought a friend with ya!'

'Hi.' said Qrow awkwardly.

'Pleasure to meet ya! I'm Arge!'

'Qrow.'

'Let's make room for them! And I say, bartender, get these two a cup of ale!'

They all spread out, letting Braum and Qrow squeeze in. Qrow's jaw dropped instantly at the sight on the opposite end of the table.

A man – an incredibly big and fat, yet very muscular man – was standing on the other side of the table. Like Braum he was shirtless, and only wore a very ragged and skimpy blue cloth around his waist and groin, and several rings of rope around each of his arms. He had a large pink nose and an awfully long, thick red beard and moustache, which he kept tied together by three silver rings. He had just finished drinking, wiped his lips with his right arm and let off a disgustingly loud burp.

The crowd cheered. When Qrow saw that Braum was also clapping and the Poro was jumping up and down ecstatically, he decided to join in too.

The man looked over the table and noticed that Braum was there. 'Braum, long time so see!' he shouted, slurring his words.

'Indeed, it has, Gragas!' Braum returned. 'I say though, you are still at it? Surely this is enough.'

'It ain't ever enough! Not 'till I find the perfect pint! For now, I'll keep drinking until there's no ale left in all of Freljord!'

The men on the left side of the circle began to pass around two cups to the new arrivals. Qrow examined the cup. It was very thick and wooden. He had at first expected an actual glass, but realised that was not likely to be the case in a place this freezing. He was eager to drink, but his Huntsman intuition reminded him of an important question: was alcohol, or any food and drink on Runeterra for that matter, safe for him to consume. This was an alien world, after all. He sniffed the contents. It was definitely some kind of beer., and Arge had referred to it as "ale". 'I guess there's only one way to find out.' He was about to bring the cup to his mouth, but then heard he Gragas speak again, in his direction.

'Hey, there's a new face here! Who's that?!' he pointed at Qrow.

'This is Qrow. He has come here from a faraway land.' Braum explained. 'And apparently he likes a good drink too.'

'Oh really?! Is that so?!' said Gragas interrogatively.

'Yep. Drinking's one of the many things I'm good at.' Qrow said proudly.

Gragas laughed loudly. 'In that case Qrow, I challenge you to a drinking competition!'

All eyes turned to Qrow, along with "Ooohs", and suddenly, everyone around the table was bellowing their enthusiasm.

'Go on! Do it, Qrow!'

'Ya can't back down from a challenge! Especially not a drinking competition!'

'Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! DO IT! DO IT!'

Subconsciously, he reckoned that Gragas was not a man to be trifled with, but there was no way he could decline. Peer pressure was impossible to fight. Besides, drinking was one thing in particular he could feel zealous about. 'Alright! I'll do it!' he said loudly.

They all applauded deafeningly, with Arge giving him a firm pat on the back.

'Fetch him a cask!' Gragas ordered.

Half a minute later, two men from the right side of the circle came back with a barrel and placed it down next to Qrow. Everyone else, except Gragas, moved back from the table. It was now their arena.

'Ya might want to take lid off. Then you can scoop it up with the cup.' The man next to Braum advised.

Qrow did so and placed the lip flat on the floor. It sure was a lot of liquid inside, and it appeared very dark in such a huge quantity against the wood. He had to admit that he was anxious, but also electrified and was looking forward to it. He picked up his cup, which he still hadn't drank from, whilst Gragas lifted the cask that was next to him off the floor and raised it to his mouth.

'Wait, what is he doing?' Qrow thought, noticing that Gragas did not have an actual cup.

Braum was leaning against the wall, with his shield to the right of him and his arms folded. He was also excited, but far more apprehensive than everyone else. If he was being honest, he knew that Qrow was embarking on a fool's errand. They had come to get Qrow fed and hydrated. If he was in charge, the beverage would be goat's milk: something nowhere near as hazardous. 'Good thing you are not doing this, little Poro.' he said, stroking its chin.

The men began the countdown. 'Three, two, one, go!'

Without hesitation, Qrow wolfed down his first cup of ale. He had already decided on his strategy: he would not look at what Gragas was doing, and would just focus on his own game. It was rather strong, but had a pleasant taste that was unlike anything he had drank in Remnant before. Hopefully it would not overwhelm him too soon. He scooped up his first shot from the cask and downed it. This second shot tasted even better than the first, but he did not have time to savour the flavour. He went on to the third and it went down his oesophagus within three seconds.

Already there was so much shouting and cheering. It did not help much for the purposes of concentration, but it certainly amplified the mood.

Qrow took his fourth shot. The second part of his strategy was to focus on a consistent rhythm of scooping up the ale and drinking it. He had his fifth shot, his sixth, and then his seventh. Very potent, but nothing that Qrow could not handle. His eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh shot all went down cleanly.
All of a sudden he noticed everyone calling out his name.

'C'mon Qrow, faster! Gragas is powering his way through!'

Although he had told himself not to do it, Qrow looked at Gragas and saw that he was indeed drinking straight from the cask nonstop by holding it firmly in his hands so that it would run straight from the pouring hole into his mouth. 'How?!' He was inhuman; undoubtedly, he had drunk so much more. He stopped only for a moment, just to look at Qrow tauntingly and say: 'I'll drink you under the table, scrub!'

Enraged, Qrow put his cup back into the barrel for his twelfth cupful, submerging his whole hand this time, and hastily brought it back to his lips. He spilt about a quarter of its contents onto his shirt. Qrow was in a panic now, knowing that Gragas was guzzling it all down quicker than what was physically possible for himself. But Qrow's self-control was now almost entirely overridden by the alcohol and his competitive tenacity. He had to keep going. Twenty-five shots, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight. 'How the hell does he do that?!'

The commotion from the crowd kept going on and on. They all knew that it was over: that Gragas was inevitably going to win from the very start, but the foreknowledge did not take away from the intensity of the competition and seeing how committed the two of them were.

Miraculously, Qrow had made it to his thirty-fifth shot, albeit he was only consuming approximately half of the cup each time. He had spilt so much. His balance was now going haywire and he had to sit down to stop himself from falling over. He could barely see straight and had a hard time even putting his cup into the cask. Despite all of this and the impossible odds, he still had some fight left in him. He managed thirty-six, thirty-seven, and thirty-eight shots. Qrow had lost count much earlier on. All subsequent drinks were a blur and from his perspective, he could have reached a hundred, based on how he felt. Every shot made his body more dysfunctional, but simultaneously made his mind more determined.

Never-ending shouting and clapping: the noise rang explosively in his head. He wanted it to stop, but had no idea how to make it do so. Thirty-nine lots of ale, but most of it dribbled out of his mouth. With one last-ditch effort, he scooped up his fortieth cup, and with his hand and arm shaking, slowly moved it to his mouth, and somehow drank it whole.

Qrow clutched his face with his free hand. He had reached his limit. The alcoholic dam burst; Qrow felt it coming up. He opened his mouth and vomited, covering his half of the table in puke. The crowd finally stopped cheering, and gasped in shock. Gragas also stopped drinking and looked over at Qrow in smug satisfaction.
Qrow then leaned over the table and regurgitated even more ale onto the floor, making loud retching noises. It still had not all come back out, but he was done. The fight was over. Qrow fell off his chair and landed on his right side, in his own puddle of vomit. A few seconds later, he knew no more.


'Ughhhh.' Unending throbbing and head spinning. Uncontrollable gag reflexes. What had happened? Qrow tossed and turned around. He was unaware of anything, but from somewhere he heard something.

'It's good to see you too Braum, but can you explain who he is and why you've brought him here?'

'It all started this morning. Poro runs away, and so I chased it. Then I found it being protected by this man from a vicious Yordle. He and Poro almost got flattened, but I jumped in with my shield to save him. He then attacks the Yordle with his weapon, and it runs away. After that, we talked and I learn that he is from a distant land, in need of rest. So, I take him back to village southwest of Quchar. There, we went to the pub, and Gragas challenges him to drinking competition...'

'I see. Let me guess: he got carried away and had too much?'

'Well, as you can see, he is in a great mess. He fell in his own sick. So, after that, I took him here on my back, in hopes that he may be able to recover. I also hope that I have not made a bad decision by troubling you with him.'

'I've taken away his weapon for now, just in case he does anything with it, but as you know Braum, we are accepting of anyone who wishes to become a part of our tribe. It does no harm to us if he only wants to stay here so long as he can get better. We'll keep a close eye on him though, just in case.'

'Phew, I am relieved that my journey here was not for nothing.'

'Well it's already dark, Braum. Things have been rather dishevelled ever since the days became longer and that second shattered moon appeared. You should stay with us tonight. Maybe you can keep him company.'

'I suppose you are right. That would be good, for me and my Poro.'

'Then it's settled. Now let's check on our guest and give him this. What's his name, by the way?'

'It is Qrow.'

'Qrow, huh. How nice.'

It was all noise to Qrow. He had no idea what any of it meant. All he knew was that he felt absolutely terrible. He had been like this plenty of times before, but it had never been this extreme. It's potency, the amount he had drunk in a short space of time, and the fact that he had done that all on an empty stomach was definitely the reason for it. He somehow found the willpower to open his eyes. For the third time that day, he had woken up to find himself in a new environment. This time, he was in a triangular-prism tent made of grey canvas and held up by a wooden frame. He was lying on top of a soft mat and underneath a blue blanket, in the bottom left side of the tent. At his feet were a pile of a few more blankets. To his right was a small wooden table with a dim lantern on top. He could do without its light, but the warmth was just what he needed.

The tent flap was lifted, and in stepped two people. The person at the back was Braum, who had to duck low, but Qrow did not recognise the person in front. She was a rather beautiful woman, with long, white-silvery hair, large breasts and well-defined legs. Her outfit was also quite revealed. She wore a short dark skirt, and only a pair of leggings that did not even cover her thighs. A long cape flowed behind her, which was attached to a hood that she currently had down. In her gloved hands, she was carrying a steaming bowl. Without even realising it, Qrow was examining her all over: his eyes darting from up, to midway, to down. It hurt his eyes to move them too much, but he did not care in this instance.

Braum and the woman sat down on the rug that was laid out on the floor, with the woman directly in front of his face, and Braum to her right, by Qrow's legs.

'Hello. How are you feeling?' the woman asked.

It took Qrow several seconds to register that she had spoken. 'Woah, uh, you talking to me?' Qrow replied in a stupor.

'Yes.' she confirmed. 'My name's Ashe. I heard that yours is Qrow?'

'It probably is.' Qrow giggled.

'Do you remember what has happened within the last few hours?'

'Umm, maybe. Ugh, my head.' He paused, trying to recall everything that had transpired. 'So, I meet Braum over there. Something happened with a furry animal, then he took me somewhere, and then… I just drank. Don't know exactly when I stopped, but I certainly don't know how I got here.'

'No surprises there. Braum, you might want to give him a reminder.'

'Yes, we were at the public house, and Gragas challenged you to a drinking competition. You had forty drinks! That is a lot. Then you were sick and went out cold, so I have taken you further north to Ashe and her tribe. You will be safe here and have time to get better.'

'Really? No wonder I smell so bad. Well, thanks.' Qrow slurred. 'Probably shouldn't've had that much ale, but it tasted good at least.'

'Anyway, you need to eat. I've had this stew cooked for you, so see if you can handle it.' Ashe put the bowl down right next to Qrow.

Qrow sat up, wincing as he moved his head, and gently picked up the bowl, which was made of stone and had a metal spoon dipped in the stew. He looked at it so that he could see what it was comprised of. The ingredients were all vegetables. Carrots, cabbage, wild mushrooms, celery and thinly sliced onions: all foods that were easily accessible in Remnant. He picked up the spoon and placed in his mouth. All the vegetables were very soft, and the broth was slightly buttery and lightly salted. Overall it was an unusual composition for Remnant's standards, but definitely better than he had expected. 'Nice.' he simply said after two spoonfuls.

'I'm glad you like it.' said Ashe. 'Now, I'm going to leave you here with Braum. Don't go anywhere until I come and see you in the morning again. There are cups of water just outside this tent, which Braum can fetch. Lastly, I've taken your weapon away from you, because you are still a stranger here, and we don't want to take the risk of it being used against us. Is that all clear?'

'Yeah, sure. It's all up here.' Qrow replied, pointing to his head.

'Good. I think that's everything I need to say. Do you have any questions that you want to ask me before I go?'

'Questions. Just like before Braum and I went to that place.' 'Hmm, yeah I gotta few. Like, does everyone in this place not wear winter clothes?'

Ashe chuckled under her breath. She had not expected that sort of question, but it was a topic that amused her. 'It's just how it is here, since getting hold of winter clothing is a bit difficult. "Yay Freljord" is what I always say.'

'You see, like I said: we just get used to it.' Braum laughed.

'Yeah, gotcha.' said Qrow, still in disbelief. 'Just one more thing I wanna know.'

'What is it?' Ashe asked.

'Heh, are you, umm… seeing anyone?'