Reincarnate as Prince: Change Magical World with Industry

51 Cold

The wind howled stronger than ever. It raged across the landscape and carried a biting chill that clawed and lingered on exposed skin, forming icicles along its path. The snow was thick, thicker than the previous day. It piled up higher and higher with seemingly no end in sight. Every step was made with great effort, demanding a heave of breath. For anyone who dared venture outside, it was a struggle.

Much of the trees that were around -- the ones that were not chopped of for housing or firewood -- had now shed their leaves. Their branches scattered like veins trying to reach the sky in a desperate cry for help.

The mountain loomed high above the Prince as he walked, an indifferent Titan looking down on a lowly subject. The mountain looked as ghostly white as his surroundings were, and it blended seamlessly with the grey clouds that swirled around it.

Janus bowed his head in respect, subjecting himself to the land's whims. It was an old dwarven tradition, introduced to him by Elder Nanafell on one of her visits, and practiced by every dwarf whenever they passed by. "Pay respect to the mountain." She says "And it might show you mercy."

It was still in the early morning, but it was so dark that it felt like the evening had already passed. The days blended one after another and time felt monotonous. Still, he trudged on. He fought every urge to stay in bed, to keep warm in his feathered bed and its thick fur blankets. It was almost a miracle how he was able to wake up at the same time every day. In his old world, his mother could have never hoped to wake him up after a snowstorm like this. This time though, he had a lot of responsibilities, stacks of documents to check. Lots of people to meet. Lives to look out for. He had work to do, plans upon plans to implement and it kept him going.

Work was during this season for every other villager. The roads -- however crude they as still were, were empty save for the occasional guard patrol or wagons carrying supplies and provisions. Just a few weeks ago these areas were bustling with people, all busy scuttling about with their daily chores. Carrying building materials, moving animals, and delivering food.

Now, most of the people of Wayward Home stayed indoors. Work had nearly ground to a halt. No more reclamation efforts, no more building work, the same for hunting and gathering. Only the dwarves kept themselves busy, relying on the fires of the forge to keep them warm.

He passed by a pair of guards who were on patrol. A female Mairobian together with a male dwarf, both dressed up in thick furs and carrying a lantern. Underneath, their garb would be totally different, coming from a different make of race and tradition. But they both wore the Mystic Flames insignia embroidered in their left chest.

They saluted as he passed by, one was carrying a lantern while the other was smoking a pipe.

"Good morning guards, anything interesting happened during your watch?" Janus asked.

"Aye, hello there yer highness. Well ,no weird encounters last night. The incidents of villagers getting lost are getting fewer by the day. The flags and signs we've been erecting seemed to have work, thanks to your idea sire. But none have also dared to go out in the thick storm. We've not seen any creatures or monster attacks either, save for the rare snowy owls hooting in the trees. Startling my partner here at every turn."

"That's interesting Nido" said his partner. "As I recall, you were the one insisting that I should carry a lantern to check every tree branch and be on the lookout for the ones you called the 'stinking pale harpies'."

Janus laughed. "Is that true?"

"Well that's true, I must admit," Nido said, pointing at his bare head. "Those stinking bastards took every hat my wife has ever made. Bloody harpies must mistake it for a mink or something. They have taken around four from me so far, and now she wouldn't make me anything new. The top of my head's been freezing all night. I tell ye what, ye may need to carry that lantern closer to me head Useena."

"That's not necessary. I can spare you one of mine." Janus reached around his pockets and handed a leather hat to the stout dwarf. Everyone had been giving him stuff lately. Minted coins with his visage from the Blunthammer dwarves, quilted scarfs and hats from the village handmaidens, dried fish, and seaweed dishes from the I'reen. Janus was very thankful for it, but his chambers were overflowing with the stuff.

"Aye! Thank ye, milord, none of those damned owls will mistake me hats for food now. I told her to not include the tails in her design, but ye know how it is. It was her ma's tradition and everything."

Janus laughed and greeted them once again for a job well done. The guards greeted him back and they went on their separate ways.

Janus circled by the edge of the lake, hoping to see something interesting, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. The lake had frozen, and the I'reen fishermen were not up yet. Later today they would appear on the banks in their thick winter coats for sessions of ice fishing. From this vantage point, he could see the smoke coming from the chimneys acres away and the fires burning on top of the watchtowers. No irregular signals or signs -- that means no more attacks from monsters had occurred during the start of winter(except if you count Nido's fur hats), it seems like the only enemy they had was the biting cold.

It was good that Preeni's predictions for the weather were accurate. Not everyone had been given their land yet, there was no way to distribute it to their ever-growing population in just a month. So the building operations were given full priority. The earliest settlers of Wayward Home -- the manor folk along with the goblins -- already had brick houses built for each family, along with a large warehouse for production and storage facilities as well as halls for village leaders. The later arrivals would have to gather up in similar gathering halls to serve as makeshift dormitories.

Each one was installed with a fireplace that was fueled by coal extracted from the goblin mines or firewood. No one in the village would suffer from the cold for the remainder of the season. That much they made sure of before the first night of snowfall.

A few minutes more and Janus arrived at his library. He could see lantern lights glowing inside from the windows. Work may have halted for most of the villagers, but not for him. Every day was business as usual. He had another set of plans, slowing down was fine but stopping wasn't an option.

#

When Janus entered, the first workers in the library all stood from their desks and bowed. The I'reen scribe and Roban's daughter were first to arrive, as usual, they had scrolls of parchment and inks already laid out on the table. They were the ones closest in terms of the settlement -- well Janus lived even closer but he had been reading all through the night.

"You know you don't have to stand whenever I come in." Janus said as he took off his white coat and hung it up by the fireplace.

"Tis a custom of ours young prince." Said Pazua, the I'reen scribe who had been tasked in tallying food stores and researching recipes. I'reen may be nomadic, but we hold our elders to a higher degree of respect whenever we convened. Chieftess Kyassa specifically told us to extend this courtesy to you." Pazua bowed again, and so did the girl beside her.

"How about you Dessa? Does your culture adhere to the same traditions?" Janus asked.

The girl is flustered. Janus' estimated her to be two years younger than him, but in equal or even better skill at calculations and logic. She wore spectacles and had long hair held in a ponytail behind her with bangs touching the tips of her eyebrows. Robin said that she had a knack for letters and numbers ever since she was a child, and is one of the most talented among the family in doing sums and balancing books -- save for himself and his wife of course.

"No your highness, but it never hurts to be polite. Especially to the ruler of the village." She said, before blushing.

"I'm not exactly a ruler or anything." He replied. "I'm just a governor if you will, the council still has a hand in every decision."

"Still, your knowledge and expertise in leadership is an astounding young prince." Said the cat person. "Anyone would be impressed to see how we are thriving in the current state of winter. Our tribes would usually move to our burrows and caves in the coastal areas just to survive. But now we are living at the base of the mountains and near the lake, with plenty of provisions and heat to keep us warm."

"Why thank you both. I appreciate all the confidence you have in me. But none of this could be accomplished without work you've been doing lately. If not for you I would still be doing this all by myself. Who knows? I would have burned out by now. Any way you can get back to your work now. Thank you for preparing the tea, by the way, just the perfect way to start work."

Dessa nodded in agreement before both of them sat down and continued on with their work.