Mafia 103. Ice and Ash

***

Flavius trudged slowly through the snow-covered coniferous forest. Knee-deep in snow, dressed in light clothing and completely alone, he seemed to be in no hurry, simply strolling along.
- Beautiful, - the mage whispered, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes.
When he opened them, he saw a silhouette flicker between the trees ahead. A few seconds later, the silhouette appeared again, and Flavius heard a woman's laughter.
- A girl, - he said to himself with a smirk.
The mage quickened his pace, intending to catch up with the mysterious stranger.
- Catch me! - the girl shouted to Flavius and continued to lead him on.
Accepting the challenge, Flavius ran. The snow beneath his feet vanished, and the traveler soon caught up with the stranger. Grabbing her hand, Flavius turned the girl to face him. Tall and pale, with long hair as white as snow, she was completely naked. But this did not surprise Flavius at all.
- Kiss me, - she said.
- Wow, just like that! Well, alright.
Flavius's warm lips touched the stranger's cold lips, and the mage immediately felt a searing cold in his chest. He tried to push the girl away but realized he couldn't move a finger. Warmth slowly drained from the mage's body, and there was nothing he could do about it.
The chime of a ship's bell woke Flavius. Upon waking, he saw that the porthole in his cabin was open and a very cold wind was blowing through it. Shivering from the cold, the mage jumped out of bed and closed it, then dressed more warmly and went up to the deck. It was early morning; the Snow Raven was not moving. It was locked in ice on all sides. Walking forward, Flavius saw Frytjof, who stood at the very bow, gazing thoughtfully into the distance.
- On foot from here? – asked the mage as he approached.
- By sled. And if we have to eat the bears, we'll go by skis.
- I hope it doesn't come to that. I've already started having nightmares. Although, it was the best of all the nightmares I've ever had.
- Nightmares in sleep aren't so scary. You can always wake up. Nightmares while awake are much worse.

Southerners have no place here

...In a place like this, nutrition plays a very important role. But when someone eats for two, the others don't appreciate it very much...

...Nobody likes inspections. And they like inspectors even less, those who poke their noses where they belong and where they don't...

...RiMpel2 was nowhere to be seen all day. What he was doing in his cabin all this time is unknown...

...Today Ment felt warmer and cozier than ever...

No one knows what WishmasteR did, but they decided to chain him to the bear cage...

...Zlobny Yashchur was found dead by Nephela's cabin. Apparently, he froze to death. And this was very strange, because it isn't that cold inside the ship. In Yashchur's luggage, they found a book letter denouncing Cathar heresy...