Chapter 23 - Hoarfrost Hollow

With powerful and carefully casted magic, Evie opens the lock to Lethita's room. She takes a second to appreciate her excellent piece of work and wonders if she might have walked on a path of thievery in another lifetime.

She looks around the empty room to discover absolutely nothing and eventually plops on top of the bed. Upon seeing Fiona soon entering as well, she sighs in defeat.

Evie: "I can't find him anywhere. It's like he disappeared or something!"

Fiona: "...Nothing over here, either..."

Evie: "Argh! Where did he go? We're leaving in an hour!"

Offering no solutions, Fiona stays silent as usual.

Evie ponders for a moment and gives up with an exasperated sigh.

Evie: "We will just have to find him next time. Let's go Fiona!"

Evie leaves the room right away while Fiona is fixated on the broken blade lying by Lethita's storage chest. Evie pokes her head though the doorway when she realized Fiona was still in the room.

Evie: "Are you coming Fiona?"

Fiona breaks her gaze away from her object of interest and follows after Evie.

Fiona: "Yeah..."

I never imagined there are also Fomors in Hoarfrost Hollows. I expected the cave to be empty and hollow, as the name suggests but...

I encountered a few kobolds moments ago. Their pointed ears, triangular face, small body, short limbs, and a hunched figure made it easy to distinguish them. Their small sizes are further complemented by a rigid stone axe crudely attached onto a wooden stick by a string of rope that fit nicely in their hands.

They moved in tiny hops which were easy to predict. All I had to do is to swing in their direction and they would be crushed against my heavy blows.

Their pathetic movements made killing much easier than the gnolls in Perilous Ruins. I almost feel bad for removing these pests.

Almost.

The other part of me felt excitement. The way they fall after just one blow feels extremely satisfying.

I enter an area in the cavern with a large open ceiling. Two kobolds are seen roasting a meat stick over a campfire. Upon seeing me, they quickly rise to grab their stone axes lying on the side.

I kick one of them into the air immediately as they scramble to prepare for my rush. I force the other one against the wall and slam my foot into it. My kick smashes through its ribcage and punctures into the kobold. The icy wall gives away from the tremendous pressure with a loud rumble.

While I stand there to appreciate my latest piece of work, the entire cave begins to shake. The brief quake causes me to lose balance and fall. A terrifying roar soon follows. The kobold I kicked away suddenly looks up and drops to its fours in fear to crawl away. I follow suit to find a gigantic polar bear peeking through the open cavern ceiling. Its piercing red golden eyes zones in on us and sniffs in a condescending manner. Another rumbling occurs and the polar bear moves down from the vantage point.

That had to be the biggest monster I've seen yet.

Calmly, I pick up my fallen weaponry and walk over to the crawling kobold to stab my sword through its exposed back.

You should never expose your back to an enemy.

This is one of the basic rules in combat.

Seeing how the polar bear left the area peacefully, I don't have any fear to continue onwards. I navigate through a series of turns and twists. I discovered many contraptions the kobolds set up in preparation for an attack. They has pitfalls disguised under a pile of straws, spike falls from lever activation, and barricades with watch towers.

I'm honestly impressed with their defences. It is a shame that I broke through these easily. A mere hand bomb blasted away their mobs and traps. Thankfully I packed utilities for my travel. At the moment I have 4 bottles of potions, 5 hand bombs, provisions that last another day or so, 4 whetstones, and a flint and steel to start a fire.

Not that much I know. I will need to finish this up quickly. Hopefully I'm lucky enough to encounter the right monster.

With that said, I press onwards.