The Price of Knowledge

The path from Rivervale to Ravenloft was lying through the safe areas of the forest, despite being close to the border. Order seemed to extend their influence to these areas, warding away any possible bandits, so the journey promised to be uneventful. Sirius have fallen asleep on one of the carriages, while Gregor was riding a raven horse alongside. Suddenly everyone stopped, horses disturbed by something to the side of the road. Merchants drew their weapons. Sirius was woken up by the jolt of stopping carriage and sat upright. Gregor and merchants were looking to the sides, trying to pinpoint the disturbance that stopped the caravan. Then Sirius and Gregor felt the mana shifting to the right and instantly looked that way.

A dozen of meters in front of them a mist was crawling along the ground, spreading towards the front row of carriages and scaring a horse. Seth peeked from the backpack, also drawn by the mana movement. Small snake looked conflicted, unsure of the predator-prey dynamic. Finally, an animal appeared from the woods.

The noble stag pridefully walked out of the woods, without a care for puny little humans. His head was adorned by cyan glassy-looking antlers, exuding the coldest temperatures anyone in the caravan has ever felt. Its hooves were of the same material, freezing the grass with its every step. The mist from the antlers and hooves followed it, highlighting its magnificent stride. Whenever the stag saw the plant that did not freeze, it slowly plucked it and went on its way.

Everyone was fascinated by this rare encounter, apart from Seth, who decided to hide deeper in the backpack. Magical animals were not uncommon, but to meet them in the wild was a rare sight. To Sirius though, this animal was also interesting for a variety of reasons. First of all, this stag actively froze the ground around it, and Sirius was somehow sure it could direct his intention wherever it wanted. Second, it fed on the harebell, blue dandelions and blackleaf flowers, all of them interacted with mana by lowering its temperature. Sirius felt a strong link between his observations and he wanted to know more. Unfortunately, such in-depth information was not easily available.

While Sirius was lamenting his limited access to books, the stag crossed the road and walked away, as slowly as it appeared. Every merchant let out a sigh, the encounter with a wild animal could destroy their wares and carts, inevitably delaying their travels.

"I thought the damn icehorn was about to end us all." One merchant from the front row exhaled.

"Well, we were lucky our horses didn't provoke him."

"Is it strong?" Sirius inquired.

"But of course!" A merchant from the cart behind them answered. "Every year a couple salesmen get frostbite after meeting the icehorn. If someone is rash enough to scare it, then the caravan might acquire a freshly made meat popsicle."

"Are there any other magical animals that you have met on your way?" Sirius asked again.

"Hmm, I personally did not. Marcus, what magical critter wiped James' caravan?"

"Ironbear I think."

"No, it leaves metal spikes lying around. I believe it was just the pack of direwolves, nothing more." Some other trader joined the discussion.

"You are saying 'just' as if you see jet black wolves the size of a horse every single day!"

"At least they are not casting magic. The southern guild is complaining about salamanders burning the carriages."

"Sure, but animals are no bandits, they are much more predictable than humans. Simply don't provoke some of them or scare away using suitable magic."

"Are you a priest, Marcus?"

"Yeah, I got initiated in the church and then changed jobs after working for them. Joining the Order was not something I wanted in my life, not enough adventure for my liking."

At this point they continued the journey, still talking about gossips from the guild and other rumours roaming around. Sirius listened for a little, but fell asleep, still tired from the lack of rest last night. When he was woken up, they were already arriving into Ravenloft.