There were different kinds of snow. Admittedly, I had no idea which one to use for the blocks. My magic seemed to have spoiled me again.
Predslava pushed the last pile of snow into place. “Is this enough, Katarina?”
We converted the palace grounds into a snow lab. Curious Snoutlings gathered around us. If we failed, they would go back to digging at my walls, I was sure.
“That’s enough.” I nodded. “Let’s try.”
Predslava jumped from pile to pile, flattening them under her butt, then hopped off. “Done.”
An ice spear crystallized in my hand as I snapped my fingers.
Amused, the Snoutling crowd clapped.
I played along, bowing to the audience, then went to poke the first pile. This one was powdery.
My spear sank soundlessly as if pushing into fine flour.
“This won’t hold as a brick.” I moved to the next one.
The slushy pile let out a flatulent noise when I probed it. The spear got stuck as I tried pulling it back.
I blushed as the Snoutlings laughed at me.
Predslava came over, and together, we yanked it loose. But the pile deformed as we did, wet snow dripping down the spear.
“Terrible.”
We moved on.
The aged snow felt good and firm at first, but as I went deeper, it wasn’t a single texture. A slightly softer layer waited underneath, then a firmer one again. The layers continued, like a story of past weather events stacked on top of each other.
I retrieved the spear. “It’s too irregular. The bricks will come out all different.”
“I like it!” Predslava bobbed. “We can call it Crazy Bricks!”
I shook my head and stepped in front of the last pile.
The fresh, wind-packed snow didn’t look much different from the powdery snow at first glance. My hopes were low.
If this doesn’t work…
I held my breath and slowly slid the spear into it. It didn’t budge; the top layer was noticeably tougher than the rest.
“Oh…”
I pressed harder, feeling a crunch along the spear shaft as the crystal bonds broke. It stayed consistent all the way down.
“That’s it.” I stepped back. “We have a brick.”
The Snoutlings gathered around the snow pile and poked it.
Grommo nodded. “I can use that.”
“This block mine. I saw first.”
“Whatchu say?! I chieftain!”
They brawled over it.
“Yeah! Get him!” Predslava cheered from a nearby pile. “Right hook, jab, uppercut!”
I sighed.
We needed more, and we needed it fast.
Fresh, wind-packed snow was mostly found near rocks and ridges, but thankfully, we sat right on top of a massive snowy hill.
I glanced over the edge. “Predslava.”
“Huh?”
“Break that fight and fetch my staff, please.”
“Aw…”
The Snoutlings waited behind me as I faced the hillside, staff in hand.
“I’m going to give you a head start.” I aimed the staff and uttered the magic words under my breath.
The hill rumbled, snow shaking.
Perfect blocks popped out. A few broke as they hit the ground, but I could see at least a hundred good ones for them to play with.
The Snoutlings rushed to grab them.
“Wait right there!” I snapped my fingers and made a few ice saws for them. “This was a one-time thing. You better learn how to cut them yourselves.”
They scratched their noses, but ran off to make more as they realized the saws were vastly superior to their stone tools.
“I believe my job here is done.” I wiped my hands and walked back to the palace.
A week passed, during which I dedicated myself solely to my new craft. Once I had a good inventory of decent-ish sculptures, we left for Bjornhavn, following the frozen river east. It was the only port this far in the north.
After four days of riding through the wastelands, with no road whatsoever, mountains came into view. Travelers on foot and small caravans funneled in and out of the pass ahead, not all of them human.
“I don’t like being a donkey, Katarina. It’s a bit demoralizing…” Predslava’s ears slumped beneath me.
“I’m sorry.” I patted her head. “But I can’t show up on a bear, can I?”
“Why not? You’re a witch.”
“Not here, though. Here I’m just Katarina the peddler. We don’t need the extra attention.”
Beyond the pass, timber buildings—houses, shops, warehouses—clustered around a fjord. The harbor was dotted with longships as the warm sea current kept it navigable year-round.
Though human-owned, Bjornhavn was quite cosmopolitan, as the established tribes in the north gathered here to sell their goods. Frost goblins, harpies, and even werewolf peddlers side-eyed us suspiciously as we entered the town. My disguise was clearly not perfect.
“Should I wave?” Predslava asked.
“Please don’t…”
The loud open-air market by the harbor lay packed with colorful stalls. Ivory, amber, and furs changed hands constantly; the sellers mostly took other southern goods as payment, but hard coin flowed as well.
I searched among the stalls until I found the only art dealer in town.
The man sat among exquisitely carved stone and wood sculptures, some even encrusted with gems.
I pulled my best non-Chloe artwork from the bag.
Sweat ran down my forehead as he twirled his mustache pensively.
“No offense, but the work is a bit amateurish,” he said.
I lowered the sculpture, deflated. “I see…”
“Keep it up. Perhaps in a year or two you’ll come up with something worthwhile.”
“Thank you…” I put the sculpture back in the bag and set us moving again. “I guess we wasted our time coming here.”
“Bleh! The guy knows nothing about art,” Predslava said. “I’ve never seen anything more beautiful than that standing elephant you showed him.”
I sighed. “It’s a telescope… you know, from the Observatory.”
“Oh…”
Goblins entered a sort of depot nearby with pelt bundles on their backs.
“I think I’d like to take a look inside the shop,” I said.
“I didn’t know you were interested in that sort of stuff.”
“It’s not for me.” I brought us to a nearby alley and dismounted. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
“But I wanna go too!”
I scratched my head. “You’re… big, though.”
She shrank into her ball form. “Not anymore!”
“Alright...” I pulled her inside my tunic. “Don’t make a sound, please.”
She giggled.
A broad northerner leaned behind a counter inside.
“Pretty lady, how can I…” His eyes flickered down to my bulging belly. “Oh! How many months?”
“Plenty...” I smiled awkwardly.
“I can see that... so, what can I do for you?”
“What kinds of leather do you buy here?”
“All sorts. Ox, reindeer, even bear!”
Predslava squirmed wildly in my belly. “Wha—”
I squeezed her. “Sorry.”
His eyebrows arched. “That’s quite a kicker you got there. Are you alright?”
“Yeah… she’s a handful.”
He nodded. “Do you have some pelts to sell?”
“No, I’m just asking for… a neighbor. By the way—” I pulled my bag over the table and laid out the sculptures in front of him. “How much would I get for these?”
“Sorry, but we don’t buy art here.”
My head dropped.
He clicked his tongue. “You know what? I’ll buy them myself. I think the mistress will appreciate them.”
“R-really?”
“Yeah. How much do you want?”
I have no idea… this is so exciting. My first sale.
“Anything you think is fair.”
“Alright, let’s see…” He reached under the counter, then poured a generous handful of coppers into my palms. “Here. And tell your neighbor to hop by. We’re paying extra for good pelts these days.”
“Will do. Thanks again.” I dropped the coins in my bag and left the shop with a big smile.
We were about to leave the town when a harpy with beautiful blue feathers barged in front of us.
“Excuse me,” I said.
She didn’t move. “Why the hurry, partner?”
“Can I help you…?”
A smile spread across her face. “It seems Haakon gave you some money. Congratulations.”
What? How does she even…
“T-thanks. It was just a little sale, though…”
Predslava shifted as more harpies surrounded us.
“No, that’s good; money is money. But there’s a fee to sell things here, you see.” She showed me her palm, sharp claws gleaming.
“A fee…? I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” I gave her one-third of my coins. “Is this enough?”
She glanced down at them and said nothing.
“No?” I scratched my head. “How much is the fee?”
“How about everything?”
My heart sank.
“Everything…?”
Predslava squirmed, glaring at her. I pressed my heel against her ribs to make her stop.
“Hurry up, sweetheart. I don’t have all day.”
I gave her the rest of the coins. “Here. That’s everything I have, I swear.”
She filled her purse and waved me away. “Now scram.”
We kicked off toward the mountain pass as the harpies cackled.
“Why didn’t you let me kick her butt?!” Predslava said. “She was extorting you!”
“I know, but it doesn’t matter. We don’t need the money. Maybe they’re hungry, who knows?”
“You’re too soft sometimes…”
“Sorry. I just don’t want to get into pointless fights when things are just starting to work out.”
She grumbled but didn’t bring it up again for the rest of the journey.
I was back to work. This time, it was an actual standing elephant, since my artistic instincts leaned that way no matter what I tried.
My head tilted. “Why elephants, though?”
Hopefully, some art collector somewhere would be especially fond of elephants.
The Snoutlings decided to raise their home at the base of my hill. I didn’t mind, but the noises were getting hard to ignore.
“Let’s take a break.” I threw the tools on my worktable and left the palace to take a peek at their project.
Grommo waited for me at the gates with a decapitated reindeer head in his hands.
“W-what is this?” I asked.
He held it up. “Gift to make wife.”
My jaw dropped.
He’s confident; I’ll give him that…
“I’m old enough to be your venerable ancestor,” I said. “The answer is no.”
“Aw…”
Their snow houses below made me pause—perfectly round with tear-shaped roofs, smoke rising from a hole. They even had a warehouse.
“Is everyone here an artist but me…?”
I stepped back as a dark wave of Snoutlings emerged on the horizon and crossed the frozen river.
“Grommo… what is this?”
Thousands of them at least, too many to count. Adults, cubs, belongings, and even some tamed reindeer, all coming this way.
“Other tribes. Two-legged wolfs got to them, maybe.”
“What? Werewolves?”
“Ye’. Couldn’t steal our stuff, then picked them. Wolfs big thought like witch.”
“We can’t accommodate them here, even if I wanted to.”
Grommo shrugged. “Is life.”
I sighed. “Not my life, though. I’m retired.”
“What’s that?”
“Never mind…”
Retirement was such a preposterous notion to a subsistence society like this that they didn’t have anything remotely close to the word. The most likely explanation would’ve been: doing nothing because I think I deserve it, get thought?
I didn’t have the guts to say it, though.
“Grommo.”
He looked up. “Ye?”
“Can you gather those chieftains for me? I’ll have a word with them.”
Grommo adjusted his feathered headdress. “I try.”
I closed my eyes and waited. “What am I doing?”