Round 36: Feeding

As the early onset of severe cold in the North grew increasingly unstoppable, a once-in-many-years heavy snowfall covered the entire City of Deep Flow, submerging this “crown of the North” in endless whiteness. Streets and houses were all covered in thick snow—City of Deep Flow’s municipal systems sprang into full operation, at least to prevent too many people from dying from the freezing cold and resulting chaos. The City of Deep Flow was a bustling place where everyone could showcase their talents, but it was not a utopia where everyone had enough to eat and wear. Poor neighborhoods such as the ports and city outskirts were the hardest hit by the snowstorm; many of the poor people’s makeshift homes collapsed under the weight of the snow on their roofs. Under the seemingly endless snowfall, their basic survival was severely threatened. All the benevolent sects in the City of Deep Flow were doing their best to open their temples for the homeless, providing food and warmth… But soon they too faced a grave dilemma: due to the early arrival of winter and its unprecedented severity, this year’s harvest in the North was dismal compared to previous years. Most city-states chose to harvest and stockpile food as early as possible. Even those willing to fulfill orders struggled due to the harsh weather and the sudden increase in bandits and monsters along the trade routes. The City of Deep Flow faced a shortage of all kinds of goods, even basic necessities.

Crystal Tower, the fifth morning with heavy snowfall.
The swirling snow hardly touched this magnificent mage tower; instead, reflected by the snow-covered ground, the tower appeared even more dazzling, like an ice peak piercing the sky amidst the snowfields. Glove-sized lighting orbs floated in the four corners of a large living room inside the tower, filling the room with warm, gentle light. Those inside felt dry and comfortable, as if in a completely different world from the outside—through the magic crystal windows that covered an entire wall, one could see a vast, majestic winter landscape covered in snow.

But the three women inside the room didn’t have the leisure to appreciate such beauty.
“The City of Deep Flow’s ports are frozen? The sea routes are also blocked? This hasn’t happened in years…” Xinbu sat on the sofa, holding a steaming drink. She had been staying at her sister’s place these past few days and had finally managed to look presentable, though it was likely more because of someone taking care of her.
Layla sat across from her sister, the complete opposite of Xinbu—she always maintained the dignified grace befitting a noblewoman: “Yes. The severe winter has frozen everything on the sea surface. According to Dailuo and the captains, the scale of the storms at sea has reached an unprecedented level… Under these circumstances, the southern routes to the City of Deep Flow have been completely cut off. No one dares to take risks in such conditions. Sister, do you have any solution?”

“If I join forces with Archmage Dalero, perhaps we can temporarily stop the blizzards in the Northlands…” Xinbu stood up and walked to the window; her eyes reflected in the flawless crystal glass like two burning flames. “But this is merely a temporary solution—nothing more than a band-aid. If such weather persists throughout the winter, no individual’s power will be enough to address it.”
“Archmage Xinbu is right.”
Dalero entered the living room, looking even more exhausted from the past few days of hard work. “Last night, the food caravan from the ‘Gem Shield’ guild returning to Deepflow City was attacked by orc raiders with unprecedented ferocity… Among the plunderers were even mountain trolls and sub-species giants!”
“That was practically a war.” Dalero took the hot drink from Laila and smiled at his wife in thanks. “Fortunately, the caravan guards managed to repel the attack. A few of my students are now accompanying the caravan on its journey. Deepflow City has also offered a reward to recruit adventurers to ensure the caravan’s safety on its route to the East… This food caravan is likely the only supply convoy Deepflow City will have for some time; we can’t afford to lose it.”
“We must thank Mr. Freys.”
Jen, the Silver-Eyed Paladin who had been listening silently, spoke up. “Milia has told me that without his strong intervention, ‘Gem Shield’ would never have taken such a huge risk to support Deepflow City. Mr. Freys has saved many lives and will save many more. Master Dalero, might it be too slow to recruit adventurers? Do we need the Dawn Knights? We’ll do everything in our power to escort the caravan safely along the way.”
“No, Miss Jen. The Dawn Knights already have enough to deal with.” Dalero waved his hand. “There have been several incidents in the city where monsters from the underground tunnels emerged to attack residents—I suspect this is also related to the abnormal weather. The League of Lords must maintain stability in the city and prevent such situations from spreading. The Knights are already the main force protecting Deepflow City and the villages outside it from attacks, so we can’t spare any more men… Besides, the caravan’s protective forces are much stronger than I thought.”
The archmage gently stroked his beard. “When I heard the news, I was worried we were already too late… But it seems Mr. Freys received a special gift from the Red Robe Mage.”
“That special construct golem?” Xinbu guessed what Dalero meant. The one in the laboratory hadn’t yielded any meaningful results yet, and the mysterious figure in the port area seemed to have vanished, buried under the snow just like the rest of the world—nothing to be happy about.

“That’s right,” said Dailuo. “Only after seeing it with my own eyes was I convinced that it’s indeed more powerful and astonishing than ordinary constructs. I can assert that no adventuring group in Deep Flow City has a chance of winning against this thing. It’s a destructive machine created for more efficient slaughter. And the key question is: has the Red Robe Mage now fully mastered its creation technique, just like with ordinary constructs?”
Jen shook her head. “I don’t think so. If this new type of construct is indeed a new product the Red Robe Mage decided to bring to market… then other cities shouldn’t be unaware of it at all. And if it’s their secret technology, then it’s understandable that it appeared once, but it’s strange that Mr. Frees is allowed to use it openly like this.”
Though Jen appeared as cold as the icy weather outside, her reasoning was sound.
“So it still remains a secret held by that girl named Moriel. I can’t believe the Red Robe Mage would just ignore such a genius…” Laila mused.
“That girl managed to drive the Shirek Church in Deep Flow City to this state. Even if the Red Robe Mage wanted to intervene, they’d have to think carefully first,” Himb snorted.
Dailuo raised her head. “Archmage Himb, there’s one thing I hope you can help with.”
“What?” Himb glanced at her brother-in-law. To be honest, Dailuo seemed more like the father of the sisters.
“I’ve been keeping an eye on that Red Robe female mage… There isn’t much information, but all the data shows she had little to do with the Shirek Church before.”
The archmage brought the cup to her lips and took a sip. “As for why she’s fighting against the Shirek Church… At first, I thought it was because an enemy of hers from the Agus Empire joined the Shirek Church after the empire fell into chaos. But I received some information recently that changed my mind.”
“After leaving the Agus Empire, Moriel went to a small town in the Eastern Marshes called Rain City. That must be her. The information says she returned to Rain City to visit a friend, a girl named Kayro.”
“A girl?” Himb raised her beautiful eyebrows.
“That’s right. She’s lived in Rain City all along, running a tiny magic shop. She seems to have some sorcerer bloodline and has hardly ever left the town… Nothing suspicious about her,” Dailuo mused. “But Moriel couldn’t find her… No one knows where she went. And more importantly, the Shirek Church is also searching for that girl. I confirmed this with my friends on the Pearl Islands.”
“So the focus of the conflict is actually on this girl named Kayro?” Himb leaned back on the sofa. “It seems I should pay attention—since both the Shirek Church and the Red Robe are interested in her, there must be something notable about her.”
“I’m counting on you, Archmage Himb.” Dailuo nodded. “I hope you’ll keep an eye on their conflict and intervene if it gets out of control… Deep Flow City can’t afford another upheaval.”
A magic servant dressed in a gray hooded robe floated in.

It raised its translucent face, shimmering with a faint light and composed of countless tiny symbols, and reported in fluent, emotionless Common Tongue: “Master Dailuo, Captain Tig of the Ice Wind Knights has an urgent matter that requires your attention.” Then it turned to Jane; although the female paladin couldn’t see it, it might not really be able to see her either: “Paladin Jane Fonda, your colleagues are waiting outside the mage tower. Please return to the Glorious Church at once.” In the small square of the Red Robe Mage’s commercial base, Moriel and Forty-Seven stood on the steps, watching the snowfall. “They even sent that multi-clawed monster… I didn’t expect you to be so kind to that fat merchant.” Moriel glanced at the workers and servants who had been trying to clear the snow from the square these past few days, all rushing as fast as they could at her gaze, which she found rather boring. “But don’t expect me to help you with those weird things anymore, and don’t even think about taking materials from the base’s structures.” Moriel crossed the square toward the side building. “It seems the Shirek Church has completely disappeared now… All we’ve found are worthless minor figures. This isn’t a good sign.” “Has that captured guy still not confessed?” Forty-Seven followed behind her with his hands behind his back. “Have you tried pepper water and the tiger bench?” Moriel dismissed these seemingly primitive physical punishments proposed by Forty-Seven. “With the right spells, there are no secrets before a prophet mage. The cunning one is O’Sullivan. Even that viscount doesn’t know the new contact methods or meeting places, and his last instruction was to stay hidden, so he’s actually just waiting for O’Sullivan to come for him… Now that we’ve thrown out the bait, all we can do is wait for the fish to bite. I mean, you fish every day on the ship—shouldn’t you have some patience?” “Moriel, it’s you who needs patience the most right now.” Forty-Seven changed to walking beside the female mage, and his words surprised her greatly. “Me? Do I look impatient right now?” “Of course. Otherwise, why would you have helped me create constructs without strong objection?” “Hey, don’t go overboard… Is it because your little cat is returning to the Glorious Church today and can’t be around you, so you’re bored?” “Oh, I thought Wonder Woman had distracted you recently, and following her around would make you feel better…” Kani interrupted their argument from the balcony on the second floor—the balcony of the Red Robe Mage’s base also resembled a grotesque, half-open beast’s mouth: “Moriel! There’s news!” In Moriel’s eyes, Viscount Ferdinand, who appeared in the telepathy array, was just a disgusting creature dressed in fancy clothes. In such voluntary soul connections, all his disguises and lies were exposed—which is why mages loved using this method to communicate with important servants or subordinates, enjoying the thrill of controlling everything and deciding life and death. “Good morning, master.” The shapeshifter bent slightly, his pale, oily face flickering occasionally, his voice sounding like the hiss of a snake slithering across grass, filled with an indescribable strangeness and disgust.

“Less nonsense. You’d better have news that interests me.” Moriel stood stiffly in front of the magical image, never having any fondness for creatures like shapeshifters—whether strong or weak, foolish or weak, they all took pleasure in human suffering. Right now, they were merely bound by the red-robed mage in ways they could never resist. From another perspective, Moriel herself, who had the shapeshifter under her control, might not be seen as anything but a detestable abomination in its eyes.

“I just received a message from the Church of Xyrik…” The shapeshifter bowed humbly. “The person you’re looking for—O’Sullivan told me to meet him tonight at Skullport, beneath Deepstream City.”

Skullport? Moriel frowned. She had heard of this place—the intersection of the Dark Regions seas and the labyrinthine dungeons of the Deepstream City mountains, a twin city hidden deep beneath the darkness. Although, during her recent efforts to ally with or coerce the Deepstream City guilds to help her fight against the Church of the Dark Sun, Moriel’s agents had managed to penetrate Skullport a bit—yet, due to lack of time and resources, they hadn’t achieved much.

“Skullport isn’t much smaller than the port district. Exactly where is it?” Moriel asked.

“I’m sorry, master. He didn’t tell me… only that he’d inform me later that night.” The shapeshifter nervously rubbed his hands, its long, jointed fingers entwining together. “And by then, I might not be able to contact you anymore… The viscount’s memories tell me that high-ranking church members always detect magic in advance.”

“I’ll figure that out. No need for you to worry,” Moriel said, frowning. “You weren’t detected by the Church of Xyrik, were you?”

“How could that be?” The shapeshifter once again showed its cunning smile. “With your help, I’ve almost mastered the memories of this body… Not even the viscount’s family noticed anything unusual. Oh, master, I didn’t touch them, but deceiving those guys is a piece of cake.”

Moriel raised a finger to stop the shapeshifter’s flattering explanations. “That’s enough. If the location of your meeting changes by nightfall, let me know.”

After ending the communication, Kani smiled triumphantly. “Don’t worry, Moriel. It can’t possibly deceive us. At any time, if we want to, crushing it is as simple as drinking a glass of wine… The people you’re looking for really have nowhere to go. Our agents are everywhere in Deepstream City now. What else can they do but hide in those dirty, dark dungeons?”

“Though…” The dwarf woman thought for a moment. “It’s not easy to get into a place like Skullport. I’ve only been there once, disguised. As soon as an outsider appears in Skullport, word spreads immediately. If we can’t locate the exact spot to use high-level teleportation, it’s almost impossible to catch them, and they’re likely to have barriers preventing spatial movement… Of course, sending a shapeshifter to take the risk isn’t out of the question…”

Kani looked up at Moriel, smiling like an innocent little neighbor girl: “I went through a lot of trouble to get this shapeshifter… It’s not a big loss to sacrifice it to help you, but… could you also make an Agus Empire technology construct for me?”
“Isn’t Nancy competent enough?” Moriel glanced at Forty-Seven, somewhat satisfied that he hadn’t rashly agreed to take her place: “I’ll consider it after this is done.”
A few minutes later, Moriel told Nancy, “Bring in Viper, the leader of the Rattlesnake Guild.”