Luckily, I didn't die of shivering. My body was having a bad time as we entered the woods.
Oliver looked as pale as I was. Lily, though dying with cold, had a little confident look. Sounge and our hermit didn't look much affected by the cold. Maybe hermits were born with cold resistance. For an instant, I wished to be one of them.
"So, how much further?" Oliver asked. It had only been five minutes into the woods but his question seemed valid considering the weather. Scanning the map, Lily replied, "The map doesn't show the position of the Temple. Now that we have entered Verix Woods, I cannot predict the time we may take to find the Temple." That was disappointing for us.
The mountain still progressed up with piles of snow on either side. The hermits were now having half of their legs inside the snow. They were having a bit of a hard time, lifting their legs and fixing it to make another hole to walk.
Our progress and going to minimum. Just when we thought it couldn't get worse, snowfall started. The snow touching my cheeks sent goose bumps through my body. I put on my jacket's hoodie, almost making it impossible to see my face. My eyes were somehow managing to look ahead. Behind, I heard Oliver murmuring, "I don't wanna die in this crazy area. Get me out of here." His voice seemed to dissipate as he talked.
"We need to talk, Oliver! Keep talking." I ordered, knowing that it was the only way to be alive. Lily rode Sounge closer to us and joined in the conversation. "So, how's life?" She enquired. I almost laughed. "It sucks, believe me." Oliver replied.
"Ok, look. Once this King Jalaar crap is done, I want to pay attention to the Variaries clan and try improving it. I cannot forget Master Polwern." Lily admitted. Oliver and I nodded. Unknown of her parents, she used to think of Master Polwern and the Variaries clan as her family. Now she even had the DELTAs added in this group.
"I would like to doze off on a luxurious bed, maybe in the Headquarters, without any tension. Not a bad dream, right?" I said. No one argued which I took as not a bad dream, Blaze! Interesting.
We waited for Oliver to speak up. Coming to a conclusion that it was his turn, Oliver confessed, "All I need is some break from this journey. I need to train with Tortunem."
Talking was really helpful because we hadn't frozen to our deaths by now. We talked a bit more as we continued our journey up. "I swear if there is nothing up there, I'll burn that whole library." Lily said, getting impatient. "I hope Xavier is building the warship as we talk."
Oliver said. I assured though I had no idea, "He will be. He is a hardworking guy."
The cold was too intense and my mouth felt heavy. I wasn't able to talk as much. As we talked, a sound was heard. It was a terrifying noise and was a living creature.
"Oh boy! Here come the Skrops." Oliver whispered casually as if it was normal. (It was actually normal in this region) We had reached the mountain top and just needed to continue forward. But of course, that's when these monsters had to show up. We got off our hermits and Lily sent them off back home and they happily agreed. We slowly tip-toed to the snowbushes, trying to make no noise which wasn't possible which the thick snow on the ground.
We hid behind the bushes as we watched the Skrops for the first time. They almost looked like zombies, dead, though they were alive. They were sitting in a circle, in the middle was a fire lit for warmth. Some Skrops brought meat with them as they cooked it with fire. Great! They were having a campfire party. And here we were, to ruin everything.
The more astonishing part was the structure ahead. "The Temple of Past." Lily whispered as we watched the huge monument made of hard stone standing ahead, maybe a five minutes' walk. But obviously, we couldn't hide for too long. A Skrop sensed us, turned around and screamed.