"Next, we're going deep into the mountains."
Caleb's voice was low.
He said this not only because the two of them were about to head deeper into the Freljord.
It was also because what they encountered next would involve stronger forces and social structures far more unexpected than anything before.
So before they set out, Caleb gave Kai'Sa and Yuumi a few reminders in advance.
Although neither of them feared this level of cold very much, and that included Caleb himself.
But since they were entering someone else's land, there were certain taboos they could not violate.
"Among the tribes of the Freljord, people are divided into Iceborn and non-Iceborn. The former are also called Iceborn, while the latter are called Hearthbound or warmbloods."
"Hearthbound means ordinary mortals who need a hearth fire to survive."
"In terms of inheritance, magical talent is generally passed down through the mother. That's why the Freljord is different from other regions. It is a full matriarchal society."
"The True Ice weapons here are the combat style the Iceborn take the most pride in. Whatever you do, do not touch them. The consequences would be serious."
Seeing Caleb speak so solemnly, Kai'Sa and Yuumi nodded again and again.
Caleb tossed Yuumi a dried fish, but in just the short time it spent in the air, the dried fish had already frozen solid.
Yuumi had no choice but to hold it in her mouth and wait for it to thaw.
"The leader of a tribe is called a Warmother. At the same time, many Freljordians choose to worship a particular god."
"No matter how strange their faith sounds, don't question it."
Caleb was saying this mainly to prevent Kai'Sa and Yuumi from accidentally offending someone in daily life because they did not understand these things.
That was not the kind of common sense a wandering Ionian swordsman and a Vastayashai'rei should lack.
Since they were temporarily pretending to be people from Ionia, they had to commit to the act completely.
Caleb did not plan to follow the caravan into the market.
As for food and daily necessities, he had plenty.
Even when it came to daily life, Caleb could make sure the bowl in his hands was always hot.
There was only one problem.
Which way to go.
Right now, there was no doubt that Caleb wanted to get in touch with the Avarosan tribe first.
With the fair-skinned, beautiful Ashe holding a longbow there, Caleb definitely felt that was better than facing a blind Lissandra or someone riding a boar.
Not to mention, Serylda's Grudge should be able to serve as his token of sincerity.
But the problem was that the Avarosan tribe was basically migrating every day.
If Caleb merely tried to follow their footsteps, the prerequisite was that he first had to find a campsite they had rested at before.
That was a matter of luck.
Was there any way to guarantee they could find a major tribe like that?
Caleb was starting to miss Ezreal a little.
If he had known earlier, he would not have gotten jealous over Ezreal and Kai'Sa fighting side by side against the Void in a Shuriman tomb.
If that blond guy were here, linking up with some tribe would probably only be a matter of time.
But if they just wandered blindly, Caleb and Kai'Sa, who had no experience here, would only lose their sense of direction more and more.
After all, they were not locals. They did not know where suitable places to settle would appear.
Besides, in the Freljord, the climate was already close to shifting into winter.
When the time came, the boundless cold would devour life after life.
In order to survive, the people of the tribes would once again begin endless fighting.
"First, we need to find a major tribe! At least one of the two largest tribes in the Freljord!"
Caleb made his decision.
If they could not make contact with Freljordians, then Caleb could only try his luck and see if he could find Anivia.
Ornn was holed up on the mountaintop hammering away in solitude, so he definitely would not be willing to receive guests, especially not mere mortals.
As for Volibear… better not mention him.
If he found out Caleb clearly did not worship him, yet had used lightning again and again, power that belonged to him…
Then that primal Relentless Storm would probably come crashing down on Caleb's body.
They pitched the tent and lit the stove. In the bitter wind and on top of snow that never melted year-round, there was finally a hint of human warmth.
"What are we eating today?"
Yuumi quietly poked her little head over.
Kai'Sa also looked at Caleb.
And Caleb said a word neither of them expected.
Blue cheese mac and cheese!
"Whoa… this smells way too strong…"
Kai'Sa pinched her nose as she looked at the huge pot of pasta warming in Caleb's hands.
But instead of giving off the fragrance of food, it released a stench she had never smelled before.
"Just try it. People say it smells awful but tastes amazing."
Caleb was completely unconcerned. He went outside, snapped off a couple of branches, and used Youmuu's Ghostblade to shave out a few rough wooden forks.
This blade, which would trail cherry blossoms whenever swung at high speed, had probably never imagined it would one day be used to make forks.
"All right. But I'm saying this first. I'm only trying one bite…"
Kai'Sa hesitantly held the small wooden fork, something Caleb had called a fork, and still decided to take a bite.
After all, what had she not seen in the Void? How could she shrink back because of a little difficulty like this?
Thirty seconds later.
"Come on, Kai'Sa, let me try a bite. Let me try one bite!"
Yuumi tried her hardest to push toward the bowl, but Kai'Sa blocked her with one hand.
A cat's tongue was afraid of heat, so Yuumi wanted Kai'Sa to take a little pasta out, blow it cool, and let her taste it.
In the end, Kai'Sa had been conquered by the strange, wonderful flavor of the blue cheese mac and cheese, and had already started eating without caring about anything else.
Caleb was still cooking the second bowl, but who it would ultimately belong to remained unknown.
The sky quickly darkened. In the Freljord, winter was long and extremely cold. For people, especially the Hearthbound, it was an unbearably difficult season.
Caleb took out two blankets instead of sleeping bags.
With body heat and the fire-making magic Caleb himself controlled, the inside of the tent had already become very warm.
As long as they covered themselves with the blankets, the cold wind howling outside had nothing to do with the inside of the tent.
In truth, Caleb had considered setting up two tents.
But Kai'Sa felt that she did not need to clean her skin for the time being, so there was no need for Caleb to run back and forth to manage the fire.
The sky above the Freljord was covered in heavy clouds all year round, so even on the rare clear day, only a few stars could be seen.
Under the firelight, Caleb and Kai'Sa lay facing one another. Between them was Yuumi, curled up into a ball as she warmed herself on top of the old book.
Caleb looked at Kai'Sa's face.
Honestly, this was the first time in his life, from childhood to adulthood, that he had ever lain face-to-face with a girl with light shining between them. Caleb was genuinely a little nervous.
But looking at Kai'Sa's long lashes trembling slightly, and at the corner of her mouth that had lifted for an instant before she forcefully pressed it back down…
Caleb suddenly felt that coming to this world had been absolutely the right choice.
The Winter's Claw camp.
"Warmother, winter is almost here."
The white-haired woman wore a helmet with one broken horn and walked forward with a grave expression.
Seeing that she did not say much, the subordinate beside her continued.
"Our food is nowhere near enough. If we don't think of something soon, I'm afraid…"
"How many?" Sejuani's eyes were as cold as the endless snowstorm of the Freljord.
"Sixty percent of our people won't make it to spring."
"I knew we were short on food, but how could the shortage become this bad…"
Sejuani lifted her gaze toward the distant mountains and fell into thought.
As a terrifying fighting force, the Winter's Claw had a fierce reputation.
But the rise of a tribe called the Avarosans had somehow made the food they plundered fall short again and again.
This infuriated Sejuani.
Next spring, or perhaps even this winter, she would declare war on that tribe's Warmother, her former friend, Ashe.
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