Frostbound [LitRPG Apocalypse]

Chris

Frostheim

As much fun as it would have been to stay with the Seed, I had to come home eventually. We had already lined up a few trustworthy guards to watch it while I was gone.

After handing it off to them, I then made my return trip.

A lot had changed in such a short time. I was having a good ole time relaxing as everyone else continued on. I knew Abigail and Jon were both close to evolving, but I hadn't thought they would do it without me.

I didn't need to be there, and my presence didn't change anything one way or another, but I still felt a bit miffed. Overall, it wasn't that big of a deal, but it was still a slight sore spot. Especially when I could have been there, it wasn't like I had something pressing drawing me away.

Austin also left, but that much was expected. The note he left was par for the course with him. He was missing out on the festivities, though. He first claimed he would return for them but a follow up letter said he wouldn't be able to. The putz.

Not more than a few days after being back in the City did things start ramping up. Abigail had planned for a huge celebration for the Solstice, and things exploded from there.

With the Mayor and City planner heading things, the work quickly got done, and the news spread like wildfire.

We had our usual Harvest Festival near the end of September, but it felt like this one was going to be even bigger. People were buying gifts, bringing the somewhat return of Christmas, but in a different form.

Everyone was getting into it, and the preparations were huge. I didn't even want to know the budget set aside for it. I could already guess, but I tried not to think about it too hard.

I knew it was 'good for the people' and everything else Abigail claimed, but the costs still hurt to think about.

With Miles and Gabriel getting electricity up and running, along with Phillip installing it throughout the city, there were lights up and down storefronts. Everywhere felt lit up and festive. It reminded me of Before. The cold, the lights, the festive air.

It felt like, just for a moment, nothing had happened. The world didn't end, monsters weren't a thing, and things had continued as they should have. The moment was fleeting and never lasted very long, but it was there.

One of the biggest differences that shattered that illusion was how invigorated I felt. Sure, I liked Winter most of all seasons, but this was different. It was like a continuous line of caffeine running straight into my veins.

The mana, the cold, the frigid winds, all of it felt better than even the greatest spa. I felt powerful, and that feeling was hard to ignore for the picture of what could have been, had things not happened the way they had.

Today was the shortest day and the longest night. The beginning of Winter, and it was fitting that we were kicking it off with a grand festival.

It was humbling to watch it all come together. People whom I'd come to know over the years all coming together. Efforts I helped push forward showing their worth. Or those I was wrong about proving me wrong. Like the elderberry wine. I had thought it wouldn't be that big of a thing, and boy was I wrong. It had quickly become a drink of choice, and most bars and taverns had it for sale along with our local ale and meads.

I had never been much of a wine drinker, much preferring beer, but I had to admit where I was wrong. The drink carried a lasting chill paired with a fruity taste that wasn't lost during the fermentation. The color could use some work, as the dark red, nearly black was unpleasing, but that had nothing to do with the taste.

I had reserved a small amount of wine and a moderate amount of ale for the feast at the Castle. Well, a moderate amount if there were a hundred of me doing the drinking, but I could afford it.

The Castle itself felt completely different with all the decorations set up and the additions set out. Fir trees coated in lights and color, banners, and wreaths like from Before. Abigail had done most of it, but a not-so-small portion was done by our assistants.

When people started arriving, they streamed in without end. More and more of those we invited streamed into the Great Hall, and it put things into perspective for me. There had never been so many people inside the Castle, let alone all in one Hall.

The sheer number of them. The number of lives we had changed. Altered from their original course. The number we had behind us, who followed us. Even though I already knew the Class I was going to pick, this reassured me in that decision.

Leadership wasn't something I could put off again.

The Great Hall that was usually dominated by my family was crowded as people filed in. My family was still in attendance, though. My mother and Gabriel. Abigail, Jon, and the kids. Aunt Sam. Ashley and her daughter Lilly. Vincent and his wife Lucy. Uncle Brayden and Hal. Aunt Carrie and Conner. My Grandmother, as well. It was sometimes easy to forget about her, as bad as that sounded.

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Even Rachel had come back to participate. The only one missing was Austin.

We weren't even close to the majority.

The Hall was filled with people we had met and bonded with along the way.

Elliot, a Captain of one of our Orders. Phillip, the Head Builder of our entire City. Grace and Sophia, two women whom I couldn't live without now. Sarah and her young brother. Miles and Lucille, two additions who took up major roles in our growing Faction. Artificer and Curator.

That didn't even get into the regular Order members. All of them were invited, and some brought their families as well. Hundreds of them filled the Hall.

It was one thing to know, and quite another to put everyone in one room together. To see everyone in one place.

Everyone had a seat at what I had once said was a comically large table, but now it didn't feel like enough. Order members looked toward their Captains, Hal and Elliot, who both looked at me. Others matched their gaze, and it was all directed at me.

It was... sobering to look out over a table filled to the brim with food while everyone turned to you to begin. To be looked upon by hundreds while seated at the head of the table... felt a certain way.

It was with pride that I kicked the feast off.

Raising a glass and sporting a smile I couldn't help but express, I shouted for all to hear, "Eat, drink, and be merry!"

I couldn't help but think back on the day before the Change. When the table was shorter and the faces around it were different. When my Grandfather and Father were here with us, along with the rest of those we had lost. When it was them kicking off the meal, rather than me.

The table was longer and the faces were different, but I couldn't help but feel it was similar. It had been a long, long time since I'd felt so... content.

It was... fun to let go. The year hadn't been a bad one. Not like some of the others had been. Demons and Orcs stayed away, and we managed to make it another revolution around the sun without going to War with another Faction.

A good year, all things considered.

A year worthy of celebrating.

Enough so I felt a warm buzz filling my head. A faint haziness I hadn't felt in a long, long time. It took a lot to even begin feeling it, but feel it I did. The beer was a basic Ale that didn't have the best in terms of flavor profile, but it was a sight for sore eyes, having been without for so long. The Brewers had caught up, if only just. The years had done them well.

Cask after cask went down, but there was always another available to pull out.

Hal had gone out and gotten a massive Elk for the occasion, and it was cooked to perfection. It was paired with a few other dishes, venison and the like, but it alone could have fed most of the Hall. As the drinks were flowing, he ended up telling the story of how he took it down, mistakes and all.

It reminded me of my own fight with a Moose. They were deceptively strong animals and didn't get frightened by us at all.

Hal's cheeks were rosy, and I could tell he was feeling it too. He stood from his chair and loudly proclaimed, "Next year, I'll get a bear for the occasion!"

I only laughed at his optimism. A bear would be a tricky foe to take down alone for him. Especially if they kept growing like I expected.

The good mood was infectious, and everyone took the chance to unwind. Anna and Josh ran around with all the other young children, and it was nice to see her having fun.

So much of our time together had gone from me being the fun Uncle messing about, to harsh trainer trying to prepare her. It was nice to revert back to how it felt before, if only for a day.

The beer flowed, and it felt like everyone gathered was filling my cup. I didn't even have to ask most of the time, and a full tankard was dropped off in front of me.

The buzzing got louder.

"Ah, where's your famous hammer, my lord?" Elliot was in his cups and thought the address of 'my lord' was hilarious, slurred as it was, "I bet I can lift it now."

"Is that a bet?" I squinted so his form would stop drifting.

Somewhere in the distance, I heard a voice. Abigail's voice. "No! Do not bring that thing out here!"

I ignored that voice.

"Aye!" Elliot pounded his chest boisterously.

"Then let's see, shall we?!" I grinned and ran off into the Castle like an excited child. It didn't take me long to reach my forge, stumbling as I was, and it was with certain giddiness that I came running back into the hall with the weapon on my shoulder.

The entire hall went from roaring chatter to nothing in mere moments when they saw me walking in, weapon in hand. All eyes turned in my direction.

I confidently strode over to where Elliot sat and planted the weapon at his feet. "Let's see it then, metal boy."

At this point, the people realized it was a contest and hurriedly gathered around for the entertainment. The sound came rushing back as well.

His hands pointedly avoided the head and stayed firmly on the shaft as he got up and readied himself.

"I'll show you. Hmpph–" His body tensed, muscles bulged, and his face turned even more red. Despite the strain, the hammer left the ground. It rose slowly into the air until Elliot proudly held it aloft over his head.

Seeing him accomplish it, and in such a strained fashion, I couldn't hold in my laughter. "Hahaha! The extra levels have done you well, my friend!"

Strength wasn't his focus, not nearly as much as Fortitude and Endurance. Elliot also had a much closer ratio of Strength to Agility. Much closer to even than I sported.

"See!" Elliot shouted breathlessly. "I told you I could do it!"

Whether it was the drinks, the elation, or just plain forgetfulness, but instead of setting the weapon down gracefully, he dropped it like it was a lifting bar and he just got done with a power clean.

The chair behind him shattered into splinters as the hammer came crashing down. Even the stone floor was dented.

Abigail grabbed her face and sighed, but I burst out laughing.

"Who's next!"

A drunken boast had quickly turned into a contest, as they were oft to do. Order members of all Classes came up to try. People who had only ever seen my hammer at a distance didn't miss the chance to get closer and touch it, even if they utterly failed to lift it.

Even children, who most had been whisked off to bed by now, but the lucky few whose parents allowed them to stay, gave it a shot under a watchful eye to not touch the ice.

It was uproariously funny to watch people struggle, and it was all in good fun.

The buzzing got louder.

An idea appeared. My mind was hazy, and very much didn't like to work through such a haze, but the idea appeared nonetheless. A song, a Christmas song, got stuck and I couldn't let it go.

I had power now, and what good was magic if I didn't use it? Was it responsible? No. Was it funny? Yes. Was that all that mattered? Also yes.

I gathered mana, sloppily and inefficiently, but it didn't matter. I gathered it and sent it up into the tall ceiling with only one intention.

"Let it snow!"

I had the power to make it snow. What did it matter that we were indoors?

"Christopher Taylor Zalenski!"

Oh, maybe it wasn't the best idea.