Snow swept down from the Waning Glacier, draping the autumn redwood forest in white.
It was noon, yet a thin, frosty mist still hung over the harbor. Warm currents from the south met cold air from the northern mountains at Snowforest Harbor. Rain and snow were common in the mornings and afternoons.
The damp climate left the flagstone roads and buildings covered in moss.
Winter had yet to arrive, but Snowforest Harbor was already bitterly cold.
The temperature might not have been as low as one would imagine, but the damp air made the chill feel all the more biting.
Rowan pulled his coat tighter and hunched his head into his shoulders as he walked toward the harbor.
Jaina thoughtfully cast Thermal Stabilization on Rowan to keep his body temperature steady.
A soldier from the harbor garrison escorted Rowan and Jaina to the command room in the Harbor Fortress. When Lucille heard that guests had arrived at the harbor, she hurried over at once.
From the soldier's description, Lucille confirmed that the visitors were Rowan and Jaina.
With that in mind, Lucille went to her father's room and fetched a coat.
A roaring fire warmed the spacious command hall. Inside and outside felt like two entirely different worlds.
The thermal spell maintained Rowan's normal body temperature, but the damp chill still made him miserable.
Rowan was not being fussy. It really was freezing, and a northerner could hardly stand the south's damp cold.
As a fellow member of the Family Council, Lord Arthur did not slight Rowan in matters of etiquette simply because he was young.
Hot tea, sweets, and a furry cloak-everything had been provided.
Although the fighting out in the open sea was giving Lord Arthur a terrible headache, Rowan and Jaina were visiting Drustvar. Whatever their purpose,