The Gate Traveler-Chapter 33B5 - : Another Winter, Another Lake

On the way to the Gate, we revisited the hot springs, indulging in a few more days of quiet relaxation. Thankfully, there were no splashing and screaming teenagers to ruin the peace this time. After that, a quick hop brought us back to the Gate, bypassing Hobbiton entirely.

Before crossing, I hesitated, glancing at the others. “Do we want to write a World Info?”

Al raised an eyebrow, pausing mid-step. “Do you have something valuable to impart?”

“Maybe warn about the pushy girls?”

Mahya let out a snicker. “Most male Travelers would probably welcome the easy pickings,” she teased, her grin wide and mischievous.

“Right, because everyone just loves unsolicited attention,” I said, rolling my eyes. Then, with a wave of my hand, I added, “Let’s just go.”

Zindor greeted us with doom and gloom, like always. The next Gate was at least a month away, maybe longer. The good news was that it was part of a three-Gate cluster, with only a couple of days between them. From what I’d seen on Earth, Gates in clusters usually led to the same world. Still, three more Gates toward the next level.

The bad news? Winter was almost here. The sharp chill in the air wasn’t subtle anymore, and the dark clouds overhead didn’t look friendly. Flying the balloon through hailstorms was a bad idea.

Mahya and Al glanced up at the sky, their expressions as sour as the heavy clouds looming above. Then their eyes swept around us, taking in the dense forest that seemed to close in like a wall of gnarled trees.

“The Jeep is a no-go,” Mahya said, crossing her arms as she leaned against a tree. “It won’t make it through this kind of terrain.”

“Motorcycles in a hailstorm are not a good idea either,” Al said.

Mahya tilted her head, her brow furrowing. “Do we even know if there are hailstorms on this side of the mountains?”

Al and I exchanged a quick look, both of us shrugging in unison. “I have no idea,” I said, spreading my hands.

“We should find another dungeon cluster for the winter,” Mahya said. She opened the Map and pushed mana into it. The Map popped into existence, visible to all of us.

Rue wandered off, sniffing the surroundings.

The Map showed a few cities, but they were all in the opposite direction of the next Gates. There was just one city on the route to the Gates—a month’s travel away. Whether it was alive or ruined, I couldn’t tell. It sat close to one Gate, maybe a day away.

Mahya’s finger hovered over two cities positioned relatively close to each other. “This looks promising. One of them might be a ruin.”

Al crossed his arms and leaned in to study the Map. “Why don’t we find an inhabited city to spend the winter?”

“No way,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m not ready for a severe depression.”

He pointed at the Map. “We can look at the cities from the balloon and decide. If they follow the pattern of the others, we keep going. If they look better, we can winter there.”

“Did you, by any chance, check the time skip between Zindor and Liliatas?” I asked, glancing between Mahya and Al.

Mahya shook her head, her focus still on the Map.

“No," Al said.

“Maybe we should,” I suggested. “We could find a pleasant spot there—not necessarily a city or town—and skip winter in Zindor altogether.”

They both looked thoughtful, their gazes lingering on the Map. After a moment, Al nodded and said, “I second this idea.”

“Yeah, okay,” Mahya said and closed the Map. “You stay here. I’ll cross the Gate and spend the night there. If the skip isn’t too bad, we’ll go for it. But if it’s like Lumis, no way. We’re not staying there for years.”

Mahya disappeared through the Gate, and I pulled out the core, preparing to open the house. Just as I started, a ripple of urgency hit me—I could feel Rue rushing toward us, fast. A second later, his voice exploded in my mind, “Bad dogs are chasing Rue!”

“Get ready to fight,” I told Al urgently.

“I heard,” he said, calm and collected as ever.

Rue burst through the trees, his paws pounding the ground as he rushed toward us. Right on his heels came a pack of the strange dogs with the creepy smiles they had here. Rue skidded to a halt, spun around, and planted himself between Al and me, his stance defiant.

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I raised my hand and fired lightning at the dogs. Four of them froze mid-charge, their muscles twitching violently, but they didn’t fall. The sight was unnerving. Then, with a burst of movement, three more dogs leaped over their frozen packmates, barreling toward us. I shot them too. Now, all of them stood trembling, their bodies vibrating as if caught in some terrible seizure.

A low, guttural howl tore through the air, freezing the moment. From the shadows of the trees, a massive dog emerged. It was as big as Rue, its presence towering and menacing. Its eyes locked onto mine, filled with such seething hatred that I could feel it—an invisible film of malice crawling over my skin.

Al charged at the dogs, his movements fluid as he effortlessly decapitated two of them. I fired at the Alpha, but it darted behind the pack, evading most of the attack. Only a tiny arc struck it, not enough to freeze it.

“Coward,” I muttered, glaring at it.

The rest of the dogs unfroze.

“Al, get back!” I shouted.

He jumped back, and for a moment, I couldn’t help but be impressed with his progress in the Jump skill. Shaking my head to clear the errant thought, I fired at the dogs again. The Alpha was still hiding. Once they froze, Al wasted no time, going to town on them.

I rose into the air and aimed at the Alpha from above. Now the nasty bugger had nowhere to hide. The lightning struck it head-on, and it froze in place.

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Reaching for my crossbow, I prepared to finish it, but Rue’s voice shouted in my mind, “Rue take the big bad dog!” A moment later, he dove at the Alpha from above. The Alpha didn’t stand a chance. Rue clamped onto its neck, shaking his head violently from side to side. A loud crack echoed as its neck snapped.

Rue raised his head and let out a triumphant howl. That was new.

The last dog tried to run, but Al was faster, cutting it down before it got far. We stood there, surveying the carnage. The whole thing had taken maybe a minute, and the pack was no more.

Rue strutted around with his head held high, licking the blood from his chops. “Rue very dangerous,” he declared, sending a wave of satisfaction and smugness so strong it almost made me laugh.

“You did need our help,” Al pointed out.

Rue shot him a withering glare. “Rue one, pack big.”

I chuckled, curious to see how the argument might unfold, but Al let it go. Instead, he gathered the carcasses and carried them deeper into the forest. They didn’t seem to have any usable materials, so there wasn’t much point in looting them.

Finally, I opened the house, and we settled in. The hours passed uneventfully until Mahya returned in the evening of the second day, stepping through the Gate.

“How much time passed on this side?” she asked as she approached us.

“Two days, one night,” Al replied, leaning casually against the doorframe, his arms crossed.

Her expression turned thoughtful as she tapped her chin. “When I crossed, it was noon. I spent the night there. That’s good. Time passes slower on the other side.”

“Do you know how many hours?” I asked.

“The days are shorter there, so I’d say about fifteen hours,” she replied, her brow furrowing as she worked out the math.

“So we need to spend about a month and a half there,” I said, glancing between Al and Mahya. “Sounds reasonable, no?”

“More like two months,” Mahya said. “The days are shorter over there, and the winter here is about four months.”

I did a quick calculation. “Yeah, you’re right. So. What do you say? Brave the hail or take a break?”

“I am good either way,” Al said.

Mahya sighed, rubbing her forehead. “I would have preferred a dungeon cluster.”

“Yeah, I know,” I said, nodding. “But we’ll find more dungeons later. This plan saves us from being bombarded with hail.”

We crossed back to Liliatas and I opened the Map. About two days’ flight from the hot springs, deep in the wilderness, was a lake with some mountains near it, with no cities or towns nearby. I pushed mana into the Map, its glowing lines springing to life, and pointed to the spot. “What do you think?”

Mahya leaned over, studying the Map. “I wish we knew if it’s spring or summer now,” she said, her tone laced with frustration. “Why can’t worlds use clearer names?”

“Season of Bounty sounds more like spring,” Al offered, his arms folded as he looked thoughtfully at the glowing display.

“Does it really matter?” I asked, waving a hand dismissively. “Either way, we’re here for about two months. Winter won’t reach us.”

“Yeah, looks good,” Mahya said.

Once we decided, we backtracked without a second thought. Of course, we had to stop at the hot springs on the way—it would’ve been criminal to skip them. Five blissful days soaking in those warm, mineral-rich waters were a pure bliss. After that, we floated lazily in the balloon for three days (so much for my earlier estimate) before finally reaching the lake.

And wow, it was something else. The turquoise water looked almost unreal, perfectly reflecting the snowy peaks towering in the distance. The sunset splashed the sky with soft pink and orange streaks, and the whole scene felt like a painting come to life. Dark evergreens framed the edges, and the shore was sprinkled with smooth rocks and patches of vibrant green grass. It had this untouched, peaceful look, like we were the first to see it in years.

Totally worth the extra day in the air.

I opened the house, and we settled in for the "winter." Al, unsurprisingly, barricaded himself in his lab most of the time. With the bounty we’d gathered from the Alchemy Sage, he had plenty of materials, books, and scrolls to keep him busy. Rue spent his days either zipping around the lake on his jet ski or investigating the surrounding area. I suspected he was hoping to meet a friend, like the badger in Lumis, but no such luck this time. Still, he stayed in high spirits and had a lot of fun.

Mahya dove straight into converting the next Jeep to Magitech but often ended up in bouts of frustration while trying to decipher the drives from Zindor. She wasn’t having much luck with those, and whenever she worked on that project, it put her in a bad mood for days. Luckily, we had the flying sword. We’d send her off to fly and cool off whenever she started snapping at us.

As for me, I experimented with new dishes using the meats from the mana occurrence and the unique ingredients from Liliatas. I also dug into the books from Liliatas, but they were a letdown. No Jules Verne equivalents—just medieval societies without magic. Boring. I spent the rest of the time playing tag in the air with Rue, fishing with Al, helping Mahya with the Jeep, and messing around with water. It turned out to be a good winter.