Dungeon of Niflheim

Sam walked in behind her a moment later, his face showed a gentle smile before he joined in, hugging his kids and wife from behind, feeling rejuvenated in his heart. ‘How could we ever leave this,’ was the thought that screamed within their hearts. This hug sealed the deal, no more adventuring.

The three kids giggled with red faces and their excitement overflowed. Frost entered a moment later to see this beautiful sight, his heart warmed, and a smile adorned his face. The mayor who was about to criticize his grandkids for their lack of care towards his book and frail body was tongue tied, unable to show anything but a loving smile. He placed the story book by his bedside and slowly got off his bed. A pained looked occasionally flashed through his eyes and his brow imperceptibly frowned as jolts of pain shot through his body but he kept that loving expression, never letting those he cared about see his pain.

The illness that plagued the mayor of Kranor was called [icicle veins] a common illness found in places of extreme cold like the glacial mountains. When one’s immune system is weakened for whatever reason, overwork, old age, stress, or another disease it becomes harder for people to resist the constant cold and ice aspected mana. Eventually it seeps into the body, permanently chilling it. The ice aspected mana grows within the body like a foreign chakra slowly encasing the victim in ice until eventually all bodily functions stop and their body turns into an ice statue. This is a real issue for those living within the cold aspected climates such as the glacial mountains, especially so within the inner regions where the temperature and mana are even more abundant. There however they have more means in preventing it, but it’s still one of the greatest killers among the older population.

There is two types of medicine that can cure such a disease, one of course is fire based. The medicine would burn out the ice chakra pervading the patient’s body. With the extent of the illness within the mayor’s body only D-rank ingredients would be required for such a medication but they live within the glacial mountains on the Yangmir continent. Getting hold of such fire aspected materials was a thousand times harder thus the second method is what is normally used. A strong medicine of the ice element that can absorb and diffuse the ice chakra within the body while at the same time improving the patient’s ice resistance. It requires higher level ingredients making it more dangerous to procure but with much higher availability. Those within the inner regions can much more easily hunt high level monsters that are present all around them. Kranor however lacking the trade connections, the willingness to hire outside help and their strongest adventurer’s being only C-rank made this a much more difficult issue to resolve, thankfully however they got lucky.

While Sam and Lola engaged in their loving reunion with their little angels, the mayor or rather Yarrow noticed Frost standing behind his daughter and son in law with a gentle smile. He didn’t recognise the young elf but since he came in with his daughter he must be trustworthy.

“Lola my darling welcome home.” Yarrow grabbed his walking cane and sauntered over. His gentle smile radiating a peaceful and warm atmosphere yet Frost with his affinity to ice could tell that Yarrow was incredibly cold. Partially hidden by his robes large patches of his skin was ice blue instead of a healthy pink.

Lola raised her tear strained face up from her children’s cheeks and looked at her strong and stubborn father. Her tears only fell harder as she abruptly stood up and ran into his arms like she used to do as a child. Wrapping her father up in big hug to warm up his cold body, she would no longer need to say goodbye to him thanks to this illness. Yarrow was initially shocked and caught unawares, his daughter wasn’t a child anymore, a full grown adult packs a serious amount of force. The poor old man winced in pain as his legs endured, refusing to be knocked down.

“Haaaaaaaaa how old are you Lola? you’re not a child anymore and I’m not a young father, withstanding such physical treatment is a bit much for my old bones. Did all your brain’s nutrients get syphoned to that fat butt of yours?” Yarrow admonished his daughter with a chiding tone, yet he still stroked her hair and held her close to his chest, enjoying her presence. He also understood from her action that she and Sam were successful. ‘Looks like I’ll get to watch my grandkids grow up after all.’ A relieved and hopeful look filled his eyes but that was soon to change.

.....

The warm and soft woman that was in his arms, crying her eyes out into his chest suddenly trembled and emitted a cold piercing aura. The room suddenly got a few degrees colder.

‘Shit!’ Yarrow cursed internally as his hands trembled slightly in fear. Sam looked at his father in law with pity as though he was an idiot. Tulip and Jasmine looked at him with a little scorn, also rather incensed by his words. Whereas Ren tilted his head while looking at his mother’s butt, thinking that what his grandfather said was accurate but even he knew that using the f-word was asking for death.

With a frigid glare Lola looked up at her father, her words like a freezing cold dagger stabbing into his body. “What did you say father?” Even though her father was ill and suffering there was some things that one can’t say, calling a woman as beautiful as her ‘fat’ was a big no no. It was her trigger word as well as her mother’s.

“Fat is when one let themselves go, it’s flabby, loose and all over the place. I father am THICC, my body is smooth, firm, toned and tight very different from FAT!” Lola gestured towards her thin arms and delicate shoulders before slapping her hips to show how toned she was. She was not fat and hated being called it since there was a major difference between fat and thicc.

Yarrow was visibly sweating as he backed off slightly from his daughter’s vicious glare. She reminded him so much of his wife, they had the same body shape and temperament as well as reverse scale. He must have become muddled headed from illness to use such a hateful word.

Jasmine and Tulip nodded their heads at their mother’s words. The two of them were clearly following in their mother’s and grandmother’s footsteps. Already showing signs of a rather pear like shape. It seems that in future they too would have the word fat as their reverse scale.

Sam shook his head while gesturing for his youngest child Ren to watch and learn from his grandfather’s mistakes. Poor Yarrow was left all alone to suffer his daughter’s forceful explanation.

“No no you misheard I didn’t say fat, never in a million years would I use such a horrible word no. What is said was fabulous yes fabulous.” Yarrow grasped at straws as the pressure grew, claiming that his daughter misheard him. This of course was a weak excuse that no one would believe but it proved that Lola got her point across.

“Hmmmm fabulous that’s what you said, is that right?” She questioned with a deadly glare, bringing her face closer to her father, her hand tightening around his robes in threat. The poor old man rapidly nodded his head in agreement, his lips twitching in fear. He Yarrow was once a powerful C-rank adventurer on the cusp of B-rank back in his prime and feared very little, the women in his family however were not included in that list. He’d rather face off against a dragon that suffer the wrath of his wife, daughter or even his granddaughters at this rate. He and Sam had strong outward personalities but when it came to internal matters it was their wives that ruled, sometimes with an iron fist. Sam wished for Ren to learn this lesson as soon as he could since he had two older sisters that both took after their mother and grandmother. He couldn’t be shy and cute forever so he’d have to learn how to deal with such strong women in his life otherwise his future would be nothing but tragic.

Lola continued her glare for a few more seconds, watching her father squirm before immediately doing a 180. Her expression was now bright and smiling, she even tidied up her father’s robes and patted his shoulder as though embarrassed.

“Yes yes, fabulous is a good word, I must have misheard you hahaha.” She laughed joyfully, Tulip and Jasmine joined in with their mother but for the men in the room including Frost a dangerous chill went down their spines. Frost was reminded of the time he struggled to accept Maya as a fenrir, stating that she didn’t looks like one, even laughing as he pictured it. That was the last time he ever did that. The situation before him was very similar even though Lola wasn’t nearly as strong as Maya she gave off a similar sense of danger, hell even Jasmine and Tulip did.

‘Damn woman are scary creatures,’ he audibly gulped as goosebumps grew on his arms.