When morning came, Theodor noticed that the unbearable cold—cold so intense it could freeze a person solid—had drastically lessened. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one experiencing this strange phenomenon. Everyone in the settlement was going through the same thing.
From time to time, they would find villagers who had frozen to death, unable to withstand the relentless chill.
Even so, the people of the settlement were tough. Their resilience had allowed them to preserve what little remained of their population. But deep down, they all knew it couldn't last much longer. The affliction was only growing worse with each passing day.
"Well then, kid, I think I'm feeling a lot better. Let's head out—I'll show you around the settlement," he said.
"Um, of course!" Aaron replied, eager to see this new way of life, which already felt more promising than the one he had left behind on Earth.
Theodor took Aaron on a tour of the village, where people were already bustling with activity—some preparing for the day's hunt, others setting up their market stalls.
"See that house over there by the hill? If you ever get sick or injured, you can go there. An old healer lives in that house. She may not be as skilled as the ones in the big cities, but her presence has been a huge help to us."
"That larger building in the center of the village is where we hold our discussions. It also doubles as a training area for beginners. A lot of kids your age train there," Theodor explained, pointing toward a big structure.
"If you want to learn to use weapons, you can go there. With a body as strong as yours, you could become a formidable sword or shield user," he added.
"And over there—"
"Theodor! Theodor!"
Aaron's tour was suddenly interrupted by someone calling Theodor's name urgently.
"What is it?" Theodor asked, sensing that something unpleasant was about to unfold.
The man rushed over and explained everything in detail. Aaron stood quietly nearby, taking in the gravity of the situation, gradually learning about the challenges faced by the village.
"Damn it!" Theodor suddenly roared, his face flushing red and his fists trembling in fury.
"How dare he! He has no more Fire Mushrooms to exchange for the village's fairy, yet now he's resorting to this? He's trying to force us to hand over our fairy!"
Reacting to Theodor's outrage, the man replied, "We've stayed silent too long while they've taken advantage of us. Maybe it's time we fight back! Who's to say we'd even lose if we stood up to them?"
"It's not that simple. I need you to gather all the decision-makers in the village and meet at the hall—immediately!" Theodor ordered.
"Yes, sir!"
After the man left, Theodor turned to Aaron. "Sorry, kid. Looks like we'll have to continue this tour another time. You can explore on your own if you'd like—or, you can come with me. It might be a good chance to meet some of the key people here."
"Sorry for the trouble, sir, but I think I'd better come with you," Aaron said, after a moment of thought.
They headed toward the meeting hall, which wasn't far from where they were. When they arrived, the place was already crowded.
Many of the people there appeared to be in their fifties, some even looked to be in their eighties.
"Theodor! As the leader of this village, you should know better than to bring an outsider into this meeting!" said one elder, who still looked strong despite his white hair and beard.
"Lord Borg, this is Aaron. Yes, he's an outsider, but he'll be living in our settlement. And besides, the issue we're dealing with now is bound to reach everyone's ears eventually. I don't think bringing in one more outsider-or—or even several—will change the outcome. Things are already bad enough."
Lord Borg sighed heavily before responding, "Do what you want. I don't expect your outsider to improve anything—but I hope he doesn't bring even more trouble."
After that particularly warm welcome from Lord Borg, the meeting officially began, led by Theodor himself.
"I believe I know why he attacked our people who were out gathering herbs... and why he took them hostage."
Theodor's opening statement sent a wave of shock through the room. One of the elders couldn't contain his frustration.
"What did you just say? If you knew, why didn't you tell us earlier? Do you even realize that one of the people taken hostage was the old healer? If she doesn't return soon, it's over for all of us!"
Although the old healer couldn't cure those infected by the rare poison, she could at least make herbal medicine to ease the symptoms. Her efforts helped people endure the worsening effects of the poison, buying them more time, and with time, maybe even a miracle.
The room grew tense and heated. Many blamed Theodor for not sharing the information earlier—perhaps they could've prevented the healer's capture.
Finding another healer was possible, but most lived in cities and charged outrageous fees. For a poor village like theirs, that was simply unattainable.
"Everyone, please calm down! Let's hear Theodor out first. Nothing good will come from blaming each other," said an elderly man, hunched and leaning on a staff.
His words brought some peace to the room. Even Lord Borg sat down quietly, choosing to remain silent.
"It's not that I didn't want to tell you..." Theodor began, before recounting their entire journey: how they heard the roar of the forest king, how they found Aaron unconscious beside the gorilla's corpse, how they met Frank and made a deal, only to be ambushed by a powerful stranger who took the Fire Mushroom.
"So it's not that I was hiding anything. It just didn't matter anymore. Frank no longer has the Fire Mushroom. There's no reason for us to hand over our village's fairy to him," Theodor concluded.
"What Theodor said is true," Fred chimed in suddenly. "Frank ran out of ways to get our fairy, so now he's provoking us directly."