Chapter 271:
The Past Repeats Itself
While Druid was sending his fax, I walked around the guild to hear the news. I wandered close to groups of adventurers and listened in to see if they were saying anything important. I used this method out in town, too, but since the guild was a place where adventurers gathered, I was nervous about it. I felt at first like I was doing something wrong. But gathering intelligence was vital for your survival if you were a traveler, so I’d gotten over it. Now that Druid was with me, I could always ask the adventurers directly if they had any news, but I still found myself using my old methods anyway.
I stopped near a group of five adventurers. Naturally, I kept alert and made sure nobody noticed me.
“So, it’s not just me, right? This rain isn’t normal.”
“Yeah, it should be snowing right now.”
“Right, it gives me the creeps.”
“Me, too.”
They were saying the same things Druid had said earlier, so apparently the rain wasn’t normal. The village I came from only had about a week of snow in the winter, so I hadn’t really noticed.
“Y’know, my granny was saying somethin’ like this happened a long time ago.”
“That so?”
“Yeah, she was really worried that a lot of people would die. That’s what happened the other time.”
“Yeah, my gramps said the same thing. I wonder what’s goin’ on?”
So something like this happened long ago. Maybe I should ask other villagers if that’s correct. When I sensed Druid’s aura approaching, I left the group of adventurers.
“Sorry it took so long.”
“It’s okay. I’ve got something I want to talk about, Mr. Druid.”
“What is it?”
“Can we talk outside?”
“Sure…”
I had to be careful since the adventurers might get angry if they found out I had been eavesdropping. I needed to change the way I got my news before I got any older. But dang, talking to adventurers is so intimidating!
When we left the guild, the clouds were blanketing the sky again. It looked like the rain might be coming back.
“Some young adventurers were talking about how unusual the rain was. They said it should be snowing right now.”
“Aha.”
“They also said something like this happened in the past.”
“What?” Druid gasped.
I nodded and answered, “Their grandpas and grandmas experienced it a long time ago. They said the elders were worried that a lot of people would die because that’s what happened last time.”
Druid pondered over what I’d just said. He was probably thinking we needed somebody to confirm this and give us more information. “It has to be Rose. She’s the oldest and most knowledgeable person we know here. Salifa and Dola don’t look any older than me.”
“Well, we’re about to go see Rose now. Should we ask her?”
“Yeah, we’d better.”
Now that we had another reason to be there besides the magic stones, we hurried on even faster feet to Rose’s shop. Would she still be in? Once we arrived, Druid pounded on the door.
“Hello? It’s Druid.”
There was no answer. I guess she’s out after all?
“What’s this? Why, it’s Druid and Ivy.”
We spun around to find Delos, holding a bag.
“Excuse me, but is Rose in?”
“I think she’s home. Hold on a sec.” Delos unlocked the door and let us inside. We thanked him and entered the shop.
“Rose! Are you in here?”
“Nng… What is it, hon? Ya don’t usually holler at me right after I get home,” Rose grumbled as she stuck her head out. “Hm?! What’s wrong, you two?” she asked, suddenly looking worried at the sight of us.
“Sorry to bother you, but we’ve got some more regenerated magic stones for you,” Druid explained. “Also, we wanted to ask you something about the past.”
Rose looked relieved for a second, then confused the next. “Magic stones? But didn’t ya already give me some this morning?”
“Yes, but Flame regenerated a bunch more at the dump, so we brought them here for you.”
Rose looked surprised to hear that, and she immediately asked if Flame was okay.
“Flame is fine. Regenerating magic stones actually seems to put more life into it.”
“Is that so, hon? Well, the world is full of mysteries, isn’t it?”
She was quite right, so I vaguely laughed it off. I couldn’t help that there were things I wasn’t able to explain to her.
“So, what didja want to ask me about the past?”
“Rose, why don’t we talk over a nice hot cup of tea?” Delos suggested.
Rose gasped and hastily offered us some chairs. “Sorry I’m so scatterbrained.”
“It’s all right,” Delos told her. “You go ahead and hear what they have to say, Rose. I’ll go make the tea.”
“Thanks, dear.”
Delos went to prepare the tea while Rose sat across from us.
“So, what do you make of the way winter’s going this year, Rose?”
“The way it’s goin’? Ah, you mean how there’s no snow?”
“Yes.”
Rose sighed loudly. Then she said, “Yeah, it ain’t normal.”
“We don’t know how long ago it happened, but we heard there was a winter like this many years ago. Do you know about it?”
“Hm? A winter like this one?” Rose made a strange face and thought. Maybe our information was wrong? “Oh! Now that ya mention it, you’re right, Druid. The way winter is this year, it’s definitely similar.”
Oh, good. So we’re on the right track after all.
A troubled look formed on Rose’s face as she thought back to the past. “It really is a lot like that winter… Actually, it’s exactly like that winter. The winter fifty years ago.”
Just then, Delos returned to the room with our tea. I took a sip and felt its warmth tingle through my body.
“You remember it, too, don’tcha, Delos?”
“Hm? Fifty years ago?” Delos was a little startled by the sudden change of subject, but he thought for a little bit and nodded gravely. “You’re right, come to think of it. The abnormal cold, the snow blooms, and now the rain…”
So the rain and the snow blooms were just like that winter fifty years ago. “Did something happen fifty years ago to make the winter that way, sir?”
“Not really. It just rained when it was unusually cold.” Delos’s eyes clouded over with sadness. “But we weren’t prepared for that winter like we are for this one…so more than half of the villagers froze to death.”
More than half! That’s horrible. “Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that, sir. What are winters usually like in Hatow?”
“I’ve spent winters in other villages, and this one is no different. It gets cold and it snows for about a month, then spring comes. Nothing special. That winter fifty years ago was an outlier.”
So the winter fifty years ago was different from the others…and so was this winter. I wonder if there were any other abnormal winters before that?
“That winter fifty years ago…did people say it reminded them of a winter they’d lived through in the past?”
“I’m not sure. Delos, do you remember?”
“Well, I was only six years old at the time.”
“That’s right. I was eleven, so I recall a lot more than you. But I don’t remember hearin’ anything like that from anybody.”
Which meant this abnormal winter wasn’t a recurring thing.
“Looks like rain out there.”
The four of us looked out the window. Hatow was much darker than before.
“We should head back before it starts,” Druid said.
“Okay. Thank you, sir and ma’am.”
When we walked out of Rose’s shop, the icy winds made me shiver even harder than before.
“Let’s hurry. It’s too cold.”
“Yeah.”
Druid took my hand and began to run, half dragging me behind him. When we arrived at the inn, Dola and Salifa were very worried about us. Both guilds had sent a notice that there would be a curfew tonight. Good thing we made it back in time.
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