Frostbound [LitRPG Apocalypse]

Chris

Frostheim

You can't fight life, nor the changes it brings. As much as I wanted to, it was a futile endeavor. It was time to buck up and hop to, not keep running away, uselessly hoping the problems would somehow go away.

List of To-dos
- Meet with Sophia, Grace, and Abigail to discuss Frostheim's future growth as a faction and city.
- Appoint/See if any volunteers wish to go South on the Admiral's invitation.
- Evolve finally.

There was one last thing on the to-do list, but I didn't bother adding it to my mental tally. It was best done sooner rather than later, and with Austin and Alaric both still in front of me, there wasn't a reason to wait.

"Headmaster Alaric," I intoned with a touch more grace after being gifted such information, "Why don't we go to the Castle for further discussion?"

"That would be wonderful, to be considered a guest of enough stature to see the inside is worth the trip alone," the Merchant mused happily, but his words weren't lost on me.

I'd heard whispers in the city and in Lakeshore about my... peculiarities. People thought my Honor was twisted, or my Code not chivalrous enough for them. I mostly paid them no heed, as they were useless to me. It did not matter what anyone else said about it, as it was entirely subjective, but, there were a few things that I had gleaned, and others had as well, that made the rumors... useful.

People thought me old-fashioned. Allowing trials by combat, issuing -what they considered- barbaric penalties for crime, and all around my demeanor and personality. They thought I followed the Old ways, so to speak.

The Merchant's words were chosen, specifically, to include the word guest, and to imply he was considered one. Alaric was questing for Guest Rights.

As of current, no such laws or protections were in place, but I could see their worth. It was even better if it was inherently assumed, like Alaric had. The question was if it was worth it to employ, and my current thought process thought they were.

It would also, as Austin would soon point out, 'fit with the theme'.

"Yes," I said, leaning into it, "A guest indeed."

Austin was confused, but that fit just fine. He'd badger me about it later. Before he could slip away, I called out to him as well, "Austin, if you could join us as well?"

He hid a frown, his dislike of diplomatic events clear, but he didn't deny me, "Sure. I got nothing else to do." That was almost certainly a lie, but I didn't call him on it.

There were two others I hoped to include in this. Abigail, for one, as she was the main brain behind much of the city's workings, and Jonathan, as getting a potential trade partner could be useful. Working the message stone in my pocket sent both of them my request.

Dealing with an independent Merchant wasn't our normal route of contracting agreements with the City Lord, but I could see this going just as beneficially.

Both Austin and Alaric followed behind me as I led the way toward the Castle. After its reconstruction, it had turned into a sight to behold. The stone used to build it dominated the small peninsula that the cliff naturally created, and there was significant work done behind the scenes to keep it from collapsing.

Phillip led most of the reinforcing effort, but Jonathan was indispensable for the work. His Earth mana, Law, and Spirit were all of great use to keep the ground under us sturdy.

I need to focus on Earth Formations soon. With the walls rebuilt and reinforced, knocking the ground out from under us might be the easiest method of attack.

The Castle, though, was much the same as the previous one, if only bigger, taller, and even more imposing. I hadn't had the time or the opportunity to saturate every block in my Spirit, but enough had been injected to make it an imposing view.

The Inner Wall was a match, as the massive stone blocks used to build it were pristine and unblemished. They were also expensive, bought from Mountainside itself. The grade of the granite we mined wasn't as high as what Mountainside could provide.

The Earth Mana and essence of the Mountains created much better material to work with.

After what I'd done to Lakeshore, I had some ideas on how to improve the Wards, but that would be a long-term project. Seeing how their Wards dispersed my blows gave me ideas, along with the Ward structure itself.

Alaric looked on with a respectable amount of awe at what we had built, and it filled me with pride to see such an emotion. It was so easy to get used to it, living and experiencing it every day, but seeing the faces of people seeing it for the first time would never get old.

"You must have an impressive team of Masons and Builders." Alaric pointed out.

"That we do," I said proudly. "Most were trained up ourselves, from the beginning, back when the city was log cabins and tents."

"Logs and tents." The Merchant muttered, "It's hard to imagine with such a sight before me."

I turned forward and smiled. Our path was unhindered, as the Inner Gate opened at my presence. The Castle Gates, too, but for a different reason. My message to Abigail had been received, and she was standing there to receive us.

"This is my sister, Abigail, she is the Mayor of our great City and handles most of the day-to-day," I explained, "Her husband will also be joining us, he presides as the Head Merchant for our Faction."

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Alaric's eyebrows rose at the mention of the Head Merchant title, but he otherwise smiled and greeted Abigail gracefully.

After passing through the doors, she fell in behind us, leaving me to lead the way as I had been doing. My path was direct and straight towards a well-furnished Meeting room. The one we used for foreign delegates. I felt it was sufficiently fancy enough.

Abigail was probably displeased, but I didn't meander through the halls or go sightseeing. All the tapestries, trophies, and other decor around the Castle were left unexplored. I didn't have the patience for such pomp and circumstance.

If Abigail had led, she would have probably found the most efficient path to show off every item of worth or intent, but I didn't bother.

"Here we are," I pushed open the door and allowed everyone through. "Please have a seat."

The room had a large enough table to fit 10 people, so that was of no worry. The walls were decorated with the few artworks we had of any worth. The Arts had taken a hit after the Change, but the industry was coming back around.

A few ice sculptures were placed around the room of various beasts, and tapestries hung on the wall.

One was of our Faction's heraldry. A decision Abigail had hounded me on for weeks before I finally came to a decision on what it would be.

The banner was a rich, deep blue, and on it was a field of unblemished white snow. Flakes of white dotted it to create not only a field of snow, but also to depict an actual snowstorm.

All of that was to set the scene for what lay in the center. Or, more accurately, what was planted at the center.

A warhammer. One with a striking resemblance to my own, stood planted head down into the snow. It sat at a small angle to the right, so as not to send the shaft of the weapon straight up.

It was impressive. It was a sight I would never get old of, even if that was a bit egotistical.

There was one addition it didn't have, but that was just vanity talking, mostly. I had, jokingly, asked if the Northern Lights could be depicted in the sky. The Weavers, none even in D-rank, had found the task impossible.

They claimed they would strive to make it so, and their seriousness frightened me.

It made the other fanciful ideas I had spewed seem like they hadn't been taken as jokes. I sometimes forgot that some people did not know me well enough to understand that I hadn't been serious. No, they wouldn't think I wanted the snow to actually fall, let alone have the lights dance.

I hoped.

I pushed those thoughts away and observed our guest take everything in. He seemed pleased with all the pomp, which was fine. Not everyone would be like me.

Jonathan had joined us not long after we entered, and now everyone I wanted was here and seated.

"Why don't we start with how the Black Rose Merchant Company came about?" I began, in an effort not to jump straight into matters. I shot Abigail a smug look as I refrained from doing just like she thought I would.

Alaric cleared his throat, "Ah, it's not much of a grand tale, but I shall tell it all the same. The idea came from the new Merchant Companies. I, and many others, took note of their lead and sought to do the same. Nothing was barring us from it, and I don't doubt that some had put similar things in motion before their arrival, just not with the same depth or seasoned approach."

Seeing that no one was going to interrupt, he continued, "The contracts, specifically, opened a lot of our eyes to what is now possible through the System. One of the main things making establishing ourselves difficult was the ease with which we could... regulate how much we pay in taxes."

"Ah, yes." I nodded, "That has continued to be a problem. I can see how any pylon Leader would be hesitant to allow such a thing without severe oversight."

It was a problem we would have to tackle sooner or later, as the taxes we were losing out on were only going up. Vendor Contracts? Track the flow of money from the vendor side? I focused back on what the Merchant was saying.

"Exactly, but with a firm contract in place, such things can be eased." Alaric explained, "Now, finding a willing City to set down roots is not nearly as difficult. The ones whose Cities missed out on having a connection to the wider universe were much more amenable."

"And where is it you call home?" I asked.

"That would be Velmara, the northernmost city the Heartlands Alliance controls. It's a week's travel south of the Twins."

Based on his description, Velmara sat in what used to be North Iowa, or South Minnesota. With the border gone and terraforming, it was impossible to tell.

"Not their Capital, Verdant Falls?"

"No, they have the Grass Sea Trading Group based there. Instead of starting with fierce competition, I have chosen to settle in Velmara instead. It's close enough to the Stormlands, the Twins, and the Reservation that trade has been good."

"We're a far way from your usual routes, then." I said, "What made you come all the way up here?"

"As I said before, Austin here managed to convince me the trip was worth it, and I have to say, from what I've seen so far, he wasn't wrong," Alaric stated happily.

I turned to Austin, "Have you been to this Velmara?"

He shook his head, "Not personally, no, but I've heard of it. It's run by a Nature Mage of decent renown, Sylvia Woodwright. She fought in the test personally, under Mikayla's banner."

Mikayla Stuart, Baron and Faction Leader of the Heartlands Alliance. I remembered her from the Gathering. I also noted that Velmara was the closest city to Marcus.

Alaric didn't seem surprised, "With Storm City, the Twins, Sioux City, and Verdant Falls all close by, it often gets overlooked. But that makes it a prime candidate for my Company. Lady Woodwright is also in the hopes to forge it into a great city. She plans to become a Baroness soon, in order to attend the Assembly."

Woah. He just offered up a lot of information. It made me question his goals. Sure, he seemed friendly enough, and Austin seemed to like him, but it was leaning towards becoming too much.

Usually, when people, Merchants doubly so, started giving up information freely, they wanted something. The obvious was he wanted to forge good relations with me and my Faction, but was that all it was?

He seemed excited about the opportunities here and had said as much.

"And what is it you aim to accomplish or acquire here?" Jonathan queried. I was glad I didn't have to be the one to press the man.

Seeing how the conversation was turning more mercantile and business-oriented, Alaric faced Jonathan with a hint of competitiveness. "I could not help but notice the steeds you use. The horses seem to glide along the snow, turning a trip that would be a slog into a breeze."

The Blizzard horses. He wants the horses?

"Yes, I can see how that could be of aid to you, but I doubt it was all you came up here for. You lost precious time making the detour for an opportunity you weren't certain of." Jonathan countered.

"Visiting, not to mention being invited, to a Noble City is not one I would pass up so easily," Alaric began, "But I admit, it wasn't only that. From what I've been able to track, this city is the source of some of the finest metalworks I've been able to [Appraise]. A Mercenary Captain I know swears by the craftsmanship and will seek out any blades with the Hammer and Flame Maker's Mark."

Vincent.

"There's also the fact that ice-affinity materials, beast parts, and Bloodlines are hard to come by in the Southlands. That is not the case here." Alaric finished.

Conner.

It seemed like those of lesser renown among the family were finally getting their recognition. Not that I had looked at them any differently before. Sarah's beast handling efforts, Vincent's metalworks, and Conner's ability to distill Bloodlines were something that had greatly changed Frostheim, and now, it seemed, other places wanted a piece.

"Well, why don't we get down to the details?" Jonathan grinned, "I can see this becoming a lucrative deal for the both of us."

Oh bother. I'm stuck in here with the lawyers. Here's to hoping this goes quickly.

Austin glared at me, blaming me for dragging him into this.

I smiled at him. If I have to be here, so do you.