They all quickly filed inside and the old woman slammed the door, locked it, and showed a surprising amount of strength by pushing a large wooden table in front of it immediately after.

“Thank you,” said Michael.

“Who in the divine are you, and what are you doing here?” she asked.

“We’re deserters from Stent on our way to Swandia for Mercenary work,” said Marcus without hesitation. Francesca had already had her hood drawn tightly to protect from the cold, and drew it even tighter to hide her tattoos. She still had a fair amount of dirt covering it, but it was better safe than sorry.

“Hrmm, can’t blame you. Stent’s a shithole.”

Lance frowned a bit at that, but said nothing.

“So, what’s the situation here?” asked Michael, buckling his sword hilt back in.

“It’s fucking cold and there’s monsters out there.”

“Holy shit, I had no idea,” replied Ollie, looking at Davi, “Had you noticed anything like that?”

“No, and I’ve always considered myself very observant,” responded Davi with a dry affect.

The woman snorted.

“Is there anything else you can tell us?” asked Michael, patiently.

“It started a few weeks ago. A cold wind blowing from the east. It built up more and more, and soon snow was coming through as well… then those hairy fucks started showing up.”

“And you’ve been trapped inside since then?” asked Michael.

“Fuck no. We drove them off a half dozen times. Took out pitchforks, made spears from knives, clubbed some of the fucks to death. They’re tough bastards, but once we killed one or two they would usually run off. We even managed to make it all the way to where they were coming from, a big fucking rift. The problem is that we don’t have any local diviners and they just keep coming. Eventually we lost a few people, and had too many injuries. Now we only try to drive them off when we need to exchange supplies. We got a few of our boys on the road north to Visan to see if they’ll send some troops to help. No clue if they made it though.”

Michael nodded along as she spoke.

“I pledge in Seras’s name that I will drive these beasts off and seal the rift for you people,” said Michael.

“Who?” asked the woman.

“It’s the name of one of the divine before they lost their names.”

“Suuure. Listen, I’m happy to have a lunatic go out there and freeze to death taking some of the heat off the village, but we aren’t wealthy. We wouldn’t be able to pay you for your work.”

“It’s also not our job to solve problems in every village we come across,” said Marcus, looking at Michael with a frown.

“We should help them,” said Lance, prompting a surprised look from Michael.

“It’s the duty of the strong to protect the weak,” he said.

“I could kick your ass up, down, left, and right kid,” said the chief looking him over. “As I said to the other pretty boy, I don’t expect any help from you. Besides, only diviners can close rifts.”

Michael smiled. “I am a diviner, and I’m going to help you. I already made my pledge.”

She snorted again. “Fine. I won’t check a gift sheep for ticks.” She pointed to an empty table. “Make yourself comfortable over there. I’m going to go signal to the others that the village is clear for now. We need to take advantage of this time in case you all die and we’re stuck here longer.”

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Michael nodded gratefully and moved over to the table, carefully placing his pack on the ground next to him and unbuckling his helmet to clip onto his waist.

“I don’t like this,” said Marcus.

“The altruism, or the lack of payment?” asked Michael.

“The attention,” replied Marcus. “The snowstorm is a boon for us, and a rift right on the path between Tusinia and Swandia is a major distraction in our favor. Svict will eventually be able to clear up the problem for themselves. We just have to leave things as they are.”

“And how many people will die before then?” asked Michael. “Or get injured beyond repair?”

“These people are tough and clever, clearly,” said Francesca. “Besides, what if some of you die or are injured beyond what your healing can fix?” her eyes flicked to Davi. “I don’t want to be left alone here. As dangerous as it was to be a woman alone back on Earth, being a woman alone here is even worse.”

“Not everything is our responsibility,” said Marcus as if punctuating Francesca’s point.

Michael sighed “People in trouble are my responsibility. Helping people is the only goal I have now. The payment to the world for this body I inhabit. Besides that, I don’t think this is a coincidence,” said Michael.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean a rift that just happens to be in our path? I have to believe we were on this path to help these people.”

“We’re on this path because we’re trying to get to Swandia and this is the way to get there.”

Michael laughed. “That’s true too. Though, more than one reason for something can exist at once.”

“Great, Mikey’s losing it. Soon he’ll start wearing robes and growing out his facial hair,” said Ollie.

“You don’t think I’d look good with a beard?” asked Michael.

“Unfortunately for all of us, in that body you’d look good no matter what you do. Fucking prince charming.”

There was light laughter around the table.

Michael sighed. “Marcus, I’m sorry that I volunteered to help without discussing it with you first. That was wrong of me.”

Marcus mirrored Michael’s sigh. “But you’re already dedicated to helping these people.”

He nodded.

“Fine. I’m with you. The Chief lady said that they wouldn’t be able to pay us, but maybe we can at least get some food out of this. I saw a smithy in the village too, maybe they can give our armor and weapons a look too if we’re lucky.” He paused for a few moments. “I’m not an asshole, you know, I just think we need to be looking after ourselves too.”

“I know, and I appreciate that.”

“It’s good to have someone we can rely on to be a piece of shit for our benefit,” said Ollie with a wide smile toward Marcus.

“Almost as good as having someone who regularly makes a fool of himself in such a way that makes the rest of us look better,” said Pyotr with a wide grin.

Michael looked to Francesca. “I don’t want you to think I’m taking your concerns lightly either. I think one or two of us should stay behind with you. It’s not fair to leave you in such a precarious position.”

She nodded. “Thank you, but…” she paused for a moment. “Let me see who's left in the village. If it’s all old ladies and the like then I should be able to take care of myself. Half of our problems so far are my fault, I don’t want to put you in more danger.”

“Thank you,” said Davi, beating Michael to it.

The old chief returned from signaling the other nearby homes and made her way back to the door, shooing away Lance when he tried to help her with the furniture she was moving.

“The village is all going to gather to talk and trade supplies.” She gestured for them to follow her. “They’ll all get a kick out of your suicide, so come on now.”

They all bundled back up and stepped out onto the snowy paths in the center of the village. There were maybe forty people in the village, many of the women and young men were covered in bandages, walking on crutches, or had arms in slings, but still held makeshift spears and other weapons at the ready.

The old woman spoke, her voice carrying easily over the crowd and more loudly than the wind, likely amplified by a spell of some sort.

“These idiots killed the last group of monsters. They say they want to help us close the rift. Help them if you want, or don’t, I’m not your mother,” she paused to point at a middle-aged man with a dark black mustache, “well, I’m your mother, but you can do whatever you want, eh?”

That drew a chuckle from the group.

“With that settled, who needs what supplies? Let’s figure it out for in case these fools die.”

With that, the crowd dispersed. Michael gathered that they weren’t the most formal of people, he had the same impression in the other Svict village, though at least there was a bit more of a hierarchy there. Marcus went over to talk to a man who was holding a heavy blacksmithing hammer to negotiate some of his services. Pyotr approached a man who was holding a large dented metal tankard and brandishing it like a club. Francesca and Davi went back inside to warm up. Ollie summoned more heat orbs and had them float around the largest groups of people to warm them, and Lance went to examine the dead yeti more closely. Michael approached the nearest of the injured, with everyone else busy, he was eager to help in whatever way he could as well.