"Does it seem colder to you?" Kylie asked as they walked down the stone passageway. 

"Not for me. I'm always at a perfect temperature. That is one spell I always keep running," Keevan said smugly. 

"That's actually really useful. May I?" Groll asked.

"May you what?" Keevan replied. 

"May I benefit from your arcane knowledge by way of you casting that same spell on my behalf?" Groll said, sounding remarkably sincere.

"Oh. Uh. It's a personal spell. Gotta cast it yourself. And I don't have the spellbook where I learned it, or I would let you take a look," Keevan replied. 

"It is colder," Helen said, "I can feel it. Look! I can see my breath!"

Helen demonstrated, blowing out a puff of air. A tiny cloud of moisture appeared in front of her face, proving her point. And, as inevitable a force as any in the world, the "monkey-see-monkey-do energy", or MSMDE for short, made all of the adventurers test the visibility of their own breaths.

"We must be deeper than I thought," Brody said, concerned.

"Hey, quiet. I think I see a light up ahead," Kylie said from the front of the line. 

Brody gently pushed past her to take point, sword and shield at the ready. They crept forward silently, still on edge after their run-in with the crabs just hours before. Eventually, it became clear that the light source was an opening to another cavern. This one, however, was much different than the others. 

Sunlight streamed down from an impossible sky onto a blanket of snow. In the middle of Summer. Rolling hills and sparse trees stretched out as far as they could see. A light dusting of snow was falling down around the group as they entered and fanned out around the entrance of the cavern. 

They were all mesmerized by the sight of a sky that should not be there that they didn't spot the squat figure moving toward them. It was a small, slightly deformed snowman with two sticks for arms and a carrot for a nose. 

As the snowman got close, they heard it saying, "I love warm h-"

An enormous axe passed through where its neck would have been, cutting off its sentence and its head in a shower of powder. 

Groll stood over the lifeless mound of snow and shouldered his axe. At the shocked looks on everyone's faces, he blushed and straightened the cuffs on his shirt. 

"With what we've just been through, I'm not taking my chances with a possessed snowman," the big orc said. 

The others shrugged or nodded at his wisdom and continued to look around. All except Keevan, who was busy spitting snow out of his mouth.

"So… we must be out of the caves, right?" Kylie asked.

"Nah. And I don't think it's an illusion, either. Not if you can feel the cold. You can't do that with illusions. I don't think so, at least," Keevan said.

"Well, I don't think we can go back the way we came," Brody said. "So I guess we press forward?"

The group all pulled out their warmest coats to combat the chill in the air. All except Keevan, of course, who was perfectly at ease in his robes. Brody just ineffectually wrapped a scarf around his neck, as a coat wouldn’t fit well over his plate armor. They trudged on, climbing the nearest hill to get a good look at their surroundings.

Far off in the distance, there was some sort of building built out of a mountain. Potentially some sort of palace or castle, but it was too far to see. 

"It looks like we'll be camping out in the snow tonight. If this place has a night, that is," Brody said. 

"Doesn't sound too bad. Seems like an ice place. Hah!" Kylie said, slapping her knee and chuckling. 

Groll groaned. "Your insistence on making these terrible puns is baffling," he said.

"I'd feel a lot warmer inside the walls of a building like that one over yonder, don'tcha know. What do you say we start making our way over there, hm?" Helen said, hiking her pack on her shoulders and starting off toward the distant palace. 

The rest of the adventurers followed the dwarf woman down the hill. They didn't make it even halfway to the castle before the sun, or whatever was pretending to be the sun in whatever was pretending to be the sky, went down. Brody stopped them at the top of one of the many hills.

"It's not a good idea to travel in darkness in unfamiliar terrain. We'll set up camp here. Normal watch shifts," Brody said. 

"Am I allowed to set up my tent, or does my ineptitude offend you, Kylie?" Keevan said, annoyed. 

"Let it go, princess," Kylie retorted.

"Oh, it's fine. I'll just sleep outside. The cold never bothered me, anyway," Keevan said, still in just his robes while the rest were all bundled up.

"I don't know what's gotten into you two, but behave. Go on, now. Or I'll have you do what I had my boys do when they couldn't get along. Chop chop!" Helen said, clapping her hands at the end for emphasis. 

Keevan sneered at Kylie and she stuck her tongue out at him but they both began getting ready for the night.

Scene shifts to reveal Helen seated with a snowy backdrop.

"I don't know what's gotten into Keevan. He normally weathers the Kylie storm a lot better than that. Kylie is like my youngest boy, Carl. He always felt like he was lacking in Hogan's, his big brother, shadow and acted out to compensate. And cocky as can be, you betcha.

"It always seemed like Kylie was Carl and Keevan was Hogan, to me. But neither Keevan nor Hogan ever snapped like that out of the blue. I wonder what changed…" Helen said, trailing off in thought.

The scene shifts back to the adventurer camp on top of the hill, the "sun" dipping below the horizon.

A glow came from Groll's tent, but the chair outside his tent was devoid of his usual book-absorbed presence this evening. Brody was outside his tent, practicing with his sword and doing his usual exercises. Keevan was waving off Helen's help, oddly determined to set up his own tent for once. Kylie was staring at him with no discernible expression on her face. 

"Hah!" He shouted, triumphant.

His tent still wasn't up, but a little blue crab about half the size of his palm was clutched between two fingers. Without warning, he threw it to the ground, summoned a sharpened icicle in the air, and speared it through the middle. 

"That'll teach you to hitch a ride on me!" He shouted, bent over the lifeless corpse.

Brody stopped his sword practice and stared at the elf, concerned. Helen and Kylie were likewise taken aback by the outburst. Not only the outburst, but Keevan had killed it with ice magic. His go-to combat spell was to incinerate something with a fireball. Sure, the crabs fed on fire, but Keevan never remembered stuff like that. 

"Uff da. You alright, dear?" Helen asked.

"I'm fine," Keevan said, dismissive.

"Okie dokie," Helen said, giving Kylie a warning look before heading into her own tent. 

Brody definitely did not take Helen's lead and decided to head to bed entirely on his own, just like a leader would. Kylie watched Keevan finish putting up his tent in the darkness - something he had never managed in the past - before eventually going into her own. She looked disturbed.

The scene shifts to reveal Kylie seated with a snowy backdrop.

"We've worked together for almost eight months, now. And, as adventurers, we're basically together all day every day. I've never seen him like that before. It was… disturbing. We kill monsters, sure. And I would even kill one of those crabs right now - Clawdia tried to kill us, she's dead to me - but the post-kill gloating with that gleam in his eye just felt like… cruelty. He may not be the smartest or most polite person in the group, but he's never been cold. I uh… I hope it's not my fault," Kylie finished, her usual bravado missing.

The scene shifts to reveal the "sun" cresting the horizon, Brody the only adventurer outside of a tent. 

Brody continued practicing with his sword and shield, going through increasingly elaborate sequences. He was last on watch and decided to spend his time working through some combat practice, as usual, to wake up. Groll joined him a bit later, practicing with his axe in imitation of his team captain. His practice didn't consist of elaborate sequences of moves like Brodys, but just a series of repeated strikes. 

“Remember to practice both ‘OM’s, offensive maneuvers, and ‘DM’s, defensive maneuvers. You can’t always be pure offense,” Brody said as Groll practiced.

Keevan was next to exit his tent, though he normally needed some prodding from Helen before he finally emerged.

"I'm going to scout ahead. Take your time getting ready, no need to rush," Keevan said as he passed Groll and Brody. 

The two paused their exercise and shared a look of confusion and disbelief. By the time Helen emerged, he was well beyond earshot. The dwarf stood there, dumbfounded at the inexplicable actions of her companion.

Kylie emerged a few moments later and caught sight of the elf in the distance. 

"Where is he off to?" She asked.

"Scouting ahead. A tactically sound decision, since he doesn't feel the cold. He will wear out slower than the rest of us," Brody said. 

"Sure. But… There's no way that Keevan is doing that. Volunteering for extra work? Skipping breakfast? Did he get replaced with a doppelganger while we weren't looking?" Kylie asked, only half-joking.

"Uff da. And he didn't make us a cookfire!" Helen exclaimed.

Rather than try to make themselves a hot breakfast, the group packed up their things and ate the cold rations. In packing up, they realized Keevan had left his tent and supplies there, so they packed it up for him and Groll took on the extra burden.

"Sorry, Groll. You know it's not like old times," Brody said.

Groll nodded stoically.

The scene shifts to Groll seated in front of a snowy backdrop.

"In my old team - the one where I met Brody - I was often treated as… a pack animal. They were not good times," the orc said, his eyes looking dangerous for the first time.

The scene shifts back to the adventurers following the tracks that Keevan left behind. 

When they got to the top of the next hill, they saw something very odd. It was like a ramp with vertical sides to keep things in but made entirely out of ice. And it led straight down the hill to the bottom. The adventurers shared a look.

"This must be how he is going so quickly," Brody said. 

"So… are we going to do it?" Kylie said, a gleam in her eye. 

"I'll test its safety and go first," Brody replied. 

"No way! You'll scratch it up with your armor. Dibs!" Kylie shouted, leaping onto the slide.

The rogue rocketed down the slope much faster than she expected. 

A rapidly receding "WHAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" could be heard as she plummeted down the slope. When she got to the bottom, she crashed into the snow and rolled for a few feet before finally standing up. 

She jumped into the air and gave a "whoop!" That the others could hear. 

Helen picked up her skirts and said, "Sorry boys, ladies first," and followed after the half-elf.

Groll followed after the dwarf and Brody took up the rear. By the time Brody made it down, they were all still smiling and laughing about the experience.

"Chute, that was fun!" Kylie said, laughing.

Groll just grinned, an unusual sight on the massive orc who was normally apprehensive about showing his teeth. Helen was still in the snow, holding her stomach and giggling like a much younger version of herself.

Brody's face was stern when he arrived and surveyed the area. He hadn't gone sprawling like the others, but instead landed on his feet and transitioned into a set of defensive maneuvers before realizing that his team was in no danger at all.

The scene shifts to reveal Brody seated in front of a snowy backdrop.

"When sliding into DMs, be sure not to do so prematurely," Brody said.

The scene shifts back to reveal the group at the base of the ice slide.

"An effective means of travel in this terrain. And for use in an escape. An excellent innovation," the human said.

"I was initially mad at Keevan for taking off and leaving us with his stuff. But I think I'll let it slide," Kylie said with a wink at Groll.

The orc forwent his usual groan but stopped grinning at the reminder that they were trying to catch up with their companion.

"If he did this for every hill, we'll need to make up time on the climb," Brody said. 

The group all nodded and picked up the pace as they climbed the next hill. At each summit, even Groll's lungs were burning with how quick they were traveling. The plunge downward was barely a respite because of how quickly it went by. 

They eventually caught sight of Keevan on one of the hills closest to the palace. They had forgotten about the giant castle in the distance and it had gotten much closer, looming over the landscape. From their vantage, it was clear that the building was made entirely of ice. 

"Did anyone else notice that we haven't encountered anything alive since that snowman at the entrance? There haven't even been any birds or insects," Groll said.

"Huh. Well, isn't it too cold for them?" Kylie said.

"I don't think there is any place truly devoid of life. The living have an unquenchable need to further their existence and the existence of their progeny. In many cases, that requires expansion and spreading to new environments. Besides, I know of some orc tribes that live in harsher climes than this," Groll replied. 

"You never talk about the tribes. What are they really like? I only ever hear about… you know. Raiding parties and stuff like that. Knowing you, you must have come from some librarian tribe, right?" Kylie asked, curious.

Groll hesitated. "Maybe some other time," he responded.

"Let's catch up to Keevan. Something is telling me he is going to try and enter that castle without us," Helen said.

The group continued on, following Keevan's footsteps and closing the distance. By the time they caught up to him, he was only about sixty feet from a set of enormous castle gates made of ice.

From up close, the palace seemed more like a fortress. There were arrow slits, crenellations, towers, walls, and an enormous gate. All made of solid ice. But it wasn't all uniform. There were different colors of white, blue, and purple. There were also varying levels of transparency throughout the construction. 

"Beautiful, isn't it? A more perfect construction does not exist," Keevan said when they got close, musing. 

"Yeah, but think about the location. It's a bit… ice-o-lated," Kylie said with a grin, albeit forced. 

The scene shifts to reveal Kylie seated in front of a snowy backdrop.

"I was really just trying to break the ice, you know?" She said with a smile. "Bring back the old status quo."

The scene shifts back to the recently reunited Undefilers.

"Your jokes are terrible," Keevan said, walking away from the group toward the building. 

"What has gotten into him?" Kylie asked, looking to Helen for guidance.

"I'm not sure, dear. This… this must be something magical. That's the only thing that makes sense," the dwarf replied.

"Can you dispel it?" Brody asked.

"I can try, but the miracles I have a hand in are typically the healing kind," Helen replied. 

The group took off after Keevan, jogging to reach him before he could make it to the gates. When they caught up, Helen reached up to put a hand on his back. 

"Dear, are you-" Helen began, her hand taking on a white glow. But she cut off as she was thrown back almost ten feet by a solid wall of ice that seemed to materialize from Keevan's very body.

The rest stood, slack-jawed, as the robes on Keevan's body shifted and were engulfed by ice. They changed to a light blue color and still moved about him as he kept walking, but seemed to form into some sort of armor or physical protection.

"Teammates never attack each other. Unless they are possessed or otherwise mind-controlled," Brody said, "and Helen was not mind-controlled. I'm starting to think you might be. Keevan, stop. I don't want to do this."

Keevan didn't bother turning around, even as the rasp of steel on steel indicated Brody had drawn his sword. Groll uneasily freed his axe. Kylie pulled out a dagger uncertainly, looking over to the dazed Helen in the snow. 

"Try to restrain him. Non-lethal," Brody said softly, then charged in at the elf full-speed.

While Groll easily kept pace with the human, he didn't react nearly as quickly. Keevan whirled around and two sharpened icicles formed in the air around him, launching themselves at high speeds toward both Brody and Groll. Brody managed to raise his shield in time to block the projectile, but Groll took one in the shoulder.

"GRAAAHHH!" The orc screamed and faltered a few steps but still ran at the elf, an icicle protruding from his body.

Brody closed the distance, bringing his shield close to his body for a swing at Keevan, trying to slam the mage into the ground. A wall of ice just like the one that had thrown Helen shot toward the warrior. Brody seemed to expect the tactic and had already begun an impossible, twisting, diving leap over the moving barrier. His trajectory carried him above the ice and into the surprised face of Keevan - shield first.

The blow didn't ring or even thud, but it certainly had the desired effect. Keevan was out cold, sprawled out in the snow beneath Brody. By the time Groll got there, it was all over. Kylie still hadn't moved from her position, but decided now was a good time to check on Helen and headed over that way.

The scene shifts to reveal Brody seated in front of a snowy backdrop.

"It wasn't the first time I've had to attack a teammate. It's never something I want to happen. But it's something I prepare for," Brody said solemnly.

The scene shifts back to the adventurers standing around the unconscious form of Keevan a few feet from the gates of the fortress.

"What do we do with him?" Groll asked.

"Maybe he'll be better when he wakes up?" Kylie said.

"I can try to intervene again," Helen offered.

"He is unconscious now. I doubt he could prevent it. Maybe you should heal Groll before attempting, though. Just in case," Brody said.

"Oh dear! I completely forgot! You poor thing! Come here, come here!" Helen said, rushing over to Groll.

She motioned for him to bend down and he did, showing her the icicle sticking out of his shoulder. The dwarf gripped the icicle tightly with one hand and pressed against his shoulder with the other. She grunted and heaved, pulling the icicle free. Groll winced and let out a bit of a growl, but didn't scream this time. Helen's hand glowed softly as it pressed against his shoulder. The skin knitted together, leaving no sign of a wound except the hole in his coat, shirt, and vest.

"Okay," Helen said, panting. "I'm ready for the skinny one."

She moved toward the prone elf, but Kylie screamed in alarm. She was pointing at a shape forming from the dark blue walls of the castle, light pulsing from deep within the fortress. The figure was small, about knee height on all but Helen, and had small limbs and an oversized head. It wobbled as it walked, seemingly new to the movement. 

"It's an ice… ice baby?" Kylie said, suddenly unsure whether to be afraid of it or cuddle it.

Then dozens more started to form out of the walls. When the nearest of the ice babies opened its mouth to reveal inch-long needle-like teeth, she made up her mind and yelped.

"Groll, cover right,” Brody said, commanding. “I'll cover left. Kylie, watch for flanks and make sure Helen can help Keevan. If they keep coming, he may be our only chance at stopping them.”

Helen broke out of her stupefaction and bustled over to Keevan, laying hands on his forehead and chest. Brody and Groll were laying about them with their weapons, knocking aside the ice babies left and right. Groll, axe repeatedly swinging down, looked to be playing the world's most horrifying game of golf.

Helen's hands glowed and sweat broke out on her forehead despite the cold. The ice babies seemed to redouble their efforts, not even bothering attacking Brody and Groll anymore, just running straight at Helen. Kylie's daggers weren't very effective against the solid ice, but she could kick the ones who got through and send them back to the heavy hitters.

Keevan's hands reached up and his fingers tightened around Helen's wrists, eyes still closed. Helen struggled to maintain contact, grunting and mumbling under her breath.

"You skinny, stubborn boy," she said between clenched teeth.

Suddenly, a shockwave of white energy exploded in a ring around Keevan and Helen. The ice babies collapsed, motionless, as the shockwave passed through them. Brody, Groll, and Kylie stood panting. They looked back and saw Helen give a thumbs up as Keevan opened his eyes. 

"Um. Hi, Helen. Can I help you?" He said, clearly confused.

"You sure can, dear. Help us find a way out of here, will you?" The dwarf said, smiling.

"Um. Okay?" Keevan said, looking around as he got up. 

"What are those things?" He said, pointing to the ice baby bodies.

"They're some sort of magical ice constructs," Groll said. 

"No, that's just regular old vanilla ice. Nothing magical about it," Keevan said. "But they're creepy."

"Hey Keevan," Kylie said. "You think you could… I dunno… fireball this whole castle thing until it melts?"

"Um. That's a lot of ice. Fireball would not be effective. But I guess I could. Why, exactly?" Keevan replied. 

"Oh, just a hunch," Kylie said, "I think it will help us… ice-scape."

Kylie smiled, but looked anxious as she waited for Keevan's reaction to the joke. 

"Sure? I guess," Keevan said.

The elf raised his hands and began muttering some incantation as Brody and Groll looked on, still apprehensive. An enormous, glowing yellow-orange ball formed above the gates of the ice fortress. Heat radiated from the orb like a second sun, causing the adventurers to hastily shed their winter coats. 

The ice of the castle began to melt and water ran across the ground in rivulets toward the base of the hill on which the fortress sat. Brody, Groll, and Helen stared on in wonder and fascination at the sheer power that their bumbling companion could bring to bear. 

"That should do it. While we wait, can we cook some food? I'm starving," Keevan said. 

Helen chuckled and started fishing through her pack for lunch.

The scene shifts to reveal Kylie seated in front of a snowy backdrop.

"I'm glad he's back. He's not perfect, but he's ours," the half-elf said fondly.

The scene shifts back to reveal the adventurers eating lunch in front of a mostly-melted ice fortress.

A rocky mountain began to appear behind the rapidly-disappearing ice walls, revealing what appeared to be another tunnel into the rock of the cave system they were in before.

"Hah! I knew we were still in the caves!" Kylie said, triumphant.

Groll rolled his eyes good-naturedly. The group finished up their food and headed into the passageway, leaving behind the winter wonderland. Once safely away from the snow, they made camp in the tunnel and got some much-needed rest.