The cold of the mountains became almost unbearable. Delta sitting atop a volcano was experiencing a sudden winter, but the Chimeras traveling in the mountain were hit by an ice age.

One could still not tell whether this was a good or a bad thing. While the troops of Minas Mar wore thick coats to not freeze to death, the same was not true for the beasts that constantly invaded.

Even Pardo, the orc-headed chimera, was wearing a thick coat on top of his fur and armor. He followed a map drawn by Seth as he and his men trudged through a snowstorm. The snow easily reached up to the 2,5m tall chimera's hips.

Had the blacksmith known about the change in weather conditions after his departure, he would have paused their mission. When they reported to Monique about their current status, they were already closer to their destination, and it was safer to push through than to try and return.

Their destination was the place where Seth and the others had once met Nas'Korn, after an unfortunate run-in with a blood-thirsty demon. There were two reasons the blacksmith had given them the map.

The town was close to the planned trade route. Close enough to consider making it a waypoint, if the residents and Nas'korn agreed.

The second reason was for an emergency like this. If the chimeras were to get stranded in the mountains because something happened, the town could have been a safe haven to stay and regroup.

Another reason it made a good waypoint. That was, of course, only if the settlement still existed. Seth always meant to send back a messenger, but things kept coming up. He didn't have the people or was too busy. Ultimately, he had procrastinated getting in contact with Nas'Korn and forgot at some point.

He only remembered when thinking about making this trade route. It could bring Nas'korn and the mountain city a lot of advantages.

And because of this, the chimeras were currently stuck in a snowstorm. Their camp had been ripped away by the weather and they could only make a dash to cross the rest of the way. It was hard to see through the flurry of snow, but a dim light was visible even from a distance.

Wet heavy snow tried to sap away their stamina as they got closer to the glow on the mountain. They could finally recognize what the light was, a great barrier that was covering a whole mountain top. It shone in a warm golden hue, giving a sharp contrast to the desolate ice desert surrounding it.

Nearing the shining wall, they could make out a figure approaching them from inside. It was a tall man, with a wide chest. He held a spear in his right hand and held the reign of the wooly rhino he was riding in his left.

"I am the chosen of Nas'Korn. Travelers, what is your goal in coming here?" h asked in a clear voice, ignoring the cold winds ripping at his clothes.

"Primarily a place to warm up and maybe a cup of tea?" Pardo answered, trembling from the cold.

"I see, are any of you wounded, or sick?"

"No, just freezing."

Finally, a small smile could be seen on the man's face.

"Then come in and warm up. We can talk over a hot cup of tea."

-----------------Beta-----------------------

"What do you mean we don't have enough troops? Get more from Theta!" He needed to catch the people fleeing across the mountains in the northeast but constantly lacked the people to do so.

"My Prince, there are none left." the advisor answered worriedly.

"What do you mean?" the crown prince asked disgruntled.

"You have already funneled all forces from Pataloosia Minor to Pataloosia Magna, after prince Mur's departure." the troubled merman explained.

"Then where are they?" the prince barked.

"I- I have no explanation, my lord. None of the companies we sent north returned. Great parts of our army are bound by Adam's insurgence in the west. Overall, people just keep disappearing..."

"Then what am I supposed to do? We can't just let the population run."

"I beseech ye to support the construction of the teleport gate as quickly as possible. Once we can get reinforcements, we can chase the refugees."

"Fine! Do it. Get me more troops! Find out what is going on in the North. Now, et out of my sight!"

Goddamnit! the crown prince was having a hard time. The elders had given him plenty of troops and authority to pacify the place called Beta, by the natives.

His soldiers went missing, the population was mostly gone, and some stupid mutation was leading a rebellion, wrestling away control. How were these easy achievements? It was a tremendous headache!

He might even fall out of favor for this...

"My Prince! You have to flee!" the advisor suddenly charged into the temporary office. He was covered in blood and missing an arm.

"What is going on!? Where are the guards?" the crown prince jumped up from his seat.

"We have no time, Sir! They are after your life!"

"Who?!"

"Me!" the advisor's eyes suddenly glowed red. He had used the injury to get closer, now he stabbed a dagger in the crown prince's gut.

"Wha-you? No. Who is controlling one of mine?" the princes growled in rage as he grabbed the head of the attacker and forced his mental energy into his mind.

"Who are you?"

The advisor only grinned in a crazed manner as his eyes widened, almost popping from their sockets.

"You know who I am," he whispered before the advisor's eyes turned white and he stopped breathing.

The crown prince cursed and threw away the lifeless body. With an unsheathed sword and clad in armor, he charged out of his office. He found his guards killed with the missing arm of the advisor among the corpses.

The sounds of battle distracted him. Looking out of one of the many windows the native humans were so fond of, showed him his personal guard fighting among each other with groups of foot soldiers mixed into the battle.

It was pure chaos outside. Could this really be the work of a simple insurgent? Could some foreign mutation really infiltrate and control his army on such a scale? The Crown prince couldn't help but suspect someone helping from the inside.

The stab wound in his gut stung and he found that it kept bleeding. He did drink a health potion and an antidote; however, the wound showed no signs of healing. What kind of poison did they use?

For now, he could do nothing but to deal with the current chaos...

-----------------Lambda-------------------

Somewhere in Lambda District rows of data kept coming in.

---0233. 20:33--

Lambda Exploration Drone 23

Coordinates: XXXX XXXX NE

Encounter Report:

--19:39: Humanoid showing signs of deformation sighted-- [Image]

(Image shows a humanoid with tumorous growths standing on a snowy plain)

--19:39: Following Protocol: Attempt of Communication. --[Video File] (Video of the humanoid and a choppy voice trying to communicate with it "hello, fellow human-")

--19:42: Attempt of Communication: Failed. --

--19:42: Subject shows signs of aggression. --

--19.43: Subject attacked Drone 23. -- [Video File]

(Video of the humanoid suddenly charging at the camera with huge aggression)

--19:44: Following Protocol: Self-defense Enacted. --

--19:44: Self-defense: Successful. --

--19:45: Status: Minor Injuries to biological Components. -- [Image]

(Picture of a human arm with several mechanical implants and a few scrapes and bruises)

Error Report:

--20:05: Biological Interface Error--

--20:05: Start Error Analysis--

--20:06: Error Analysis concluded. --

--20:06: Biological Contamination detected. --

--20:06: Following Protocol: Purge of Biological Contamination initiated. --

--20:07: Purge Failed.

--20:07: Biological Interface failing--

--20:08: Start Error Analysis--

--20:09: Error Analysis concluded. --

--20:09: Biological Contamination detected. --

--20:10: Following Protocol: Purge of Biological Contamination initiated. --

--20:11: Purge Failed. --

...

--20:15: Following Protocol: Purge of Biological Contamination initiated. --

--20:16: Purge Failed. --

...

--20: &-: Following Protocol: PUrGe of BiOloOicAl Cont4min4tion 1n1t14t3d. --

--20: **: Purge Failed. --

...

-- Purge Failed.

...

--ZN:DZ: Following Protocol: Decommission of Biological Components--

--ZN:DZ: Send Error Report

-- Lambda Exploration Drone 23 has lost connection --

Lambda Exploration Drone 24

Coordinates: XXXX XXXX E

Error Report:

--20:25: Biological Interface Error--

--20:25: Start Error Analysis--

--20:26: Error Analysis concluded. --

--20:26: Status Effect: Freezing detected. --

--20:26: Following Protocol: Heat protection is initiated. --

--20:27: Status Effect Freezing: Averted. --

Error Report:

--20:29: Biological Interface Error--

--20:29: Start Error Analysis--

--20:30: Error Analysis concluded. --

--20:30: Vision Impaired by Weather conditions [Image]

(image shows a dense snowstorm)

--20:31: Following Protocol: Change to Heat Vision and Lidar orientation. [Image]

(Image shows a monochrome depiction of a rocky ground and a black void past 20m. )

Encounter Report:

--20:31: Massive biological creature detected. [Image]

(Error: Data of the image is incomplete)

-- Lambda Exploration Drone 24 has lost connection --

Lambda Exploration Drone 22

Coordinates: XXXX XXXX W

Encounter Report:

--20:15: Alien species sighted. [Image]

(Image shows a humanoid with pale blue skin and fins at different parts of its body.)

--20:15: Alien species shows signs of hostility.

--20:16: Following Protocol: Self-defense Enacted. --

--20:18: Self-defense: Successful. -- [Image]

(Image shows the previous humanoid, now badly beaten and profusely bleeding on the ground. )

--20:18: Following Protocol: Material Retrieval. --

--Lambda Exploration Drone 22 is returning to base. --

Hundreds of reports kept flowing into Lambda, feeding the knowledge of the district.