Frostbound [LitRPG Apocalypse]

Hendricks

New Norfolk

The day was going even worse than he expected it to. Surprisingly, it was the waiting that was killing him at the moment, not dealing with egotistical assholes. Luckily, the biggest one had stayed away, deciding that the Assembly was beneath him.

The Stormbringer sent back a very sharp message after receiving the Admiral's invitation that basically equated to, 'I'm not at your beck and call.'

It was a good thing, in his mind, that Nick stayed away. He couldn't think of anything the man would constructively contribute to what were supposed to be peace talks. Well, not entirely peace talks, but talks to smooth out any ruffled feathers and prevent all-out war.

It was only after that business was settled that plans for the future would be proposed.

At least that was according to the itinerary, but Hendricks guessed that as soon as a room full of people used to being in charge sat down, that would go out the window quickly.

For all the Admiral had instilled order and had done what he could to restore what was lost, Hendricks didn't see this day going anything other than two ways. Extremely poorly, or barely good enough to warrant all the effort put into it.

Gonzalez huffed from behind him, and Hendricks had to hold in his own sigh. His team, one of the strongest the Admiral had, was relegated to doormen. They were to greet arriving guests and show them to where they were to stay.

While his presence was mainly to curtail any potential issues, he was effectively a doorman. A very strong and D-rank doorman, but a doorman all the same.

We should be taming the Haunted Forest. Those nightmares need to be put down or they'll just keep growing. Hendricks had never gotten over being pulled away from the forest.

Of his team, only Gonzalez was with him, as the rest were doing other jobs to prepare for the Assembly later today. It wasn't like he needed all of them for the task he was assigned.

He and Gonzalez were enough. The giant bear of a man only got larger and furrier after his evolution, growing closer to a half-man, half-grizzly bear hybrid. By his next, if he continued the way he was, he'd be more bear than man.

Well, that wasn't exactly true, but it sure as hell felt that way. Looking at the giant, it was hard not to feel inadequate.

"Who else do we have today? I thought we were done after the Marcus fella." Gonzalez complained.

"Two more are slated to arrive. We have one while Pricilla has the other. The contingent from Frostheim and the Fire Witch herself." Hendricks listed off. He was honestly surprised the Northerners were coming at all. The distance between them wasn't small.

The letter they answered with never said who was coming, though, so a seed of unease had been with him all day. The Admiral had made it clear that showing a Noble Title was mandatory for entry, and if the people sent didn't have one...

He didn't even want to think about the annoyance that would cause. He was under strict orders from the Admiral himself to let in only those who had a title and their group, no one else.

Thankfully, they hadn't had to turn anyone away yet, but he was still fearful of it happening. The headache alone wouldn't be worth it.

Before he had the chance to lament the potential shitstorm any further, a row of carriages rattled into view. They were a stark difference compared to the cars filling the streets, and stood out like a sore thumb.

New Norfolk hadn't used carriages in years. The outdated mode of travel was easy to spot and they were well-made carriages, all things considered, but they weren't cars.

Pulling the carriages was a fleet of some of the finest horses Hendricks had ever seen. Their coats were a glossy white that gleamed in the sun, not to mention the subtle waves of power they gave off as they trotted down the road.

Those beasts are D-rank.

Only one other Faction had steeds like the ones he was looking at, and they were known for breeding them.

"Those look even more impressive than the ones The Reservation came riding in on," Gonzalez remarked, waking up from the lull now that their guests had arrived. Hendricks had to agree with the man. The mounts were impressive.

He could guess which of the two Factions it was, but the banner raised above the leading carriage only cemented it further. A hammer of ice on a field of snow.

Frostheim.

The blue colorings only became more pronounced as they grew closer. The coloring was nearly the exact opposite of what he expected the Flame Witch to arrive in. White on blue compared to red on black.

"I don't feel any mountain of power from them. Or the nip of winter he supposedly brings with him." Gonzalez grumbled.

He's right. It was said that the man took down a War Leader mainly by his lonesome, not that Hendricks believed that, but it was still a rumor going around. Even if it were only half true, there should at least be something emanating from the carriages.

That, and the cold he was supposed to bring with him everywhere he went, was missing. If anything, it was a touch hotter than it had been a moment before.

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"I don't know, I guess we'll see in a moment," Hendricks said. He motioned for Gonzalez to get up and be presentable.

"The group from Frostheim is incoming." He sent through the Message Stone. The invention was a million times better than being drained dry by that cursed Formation.

The horses pulled up parallel to where he was standing, and around a dozen individuals exited from them. The brief glimpse he caught of the inside made him want to nod in appreciation. They were much more nicely filled out than he expected.

The group all formed up with a woman in the lead, further confirming that the Baron of the North wasn't here.

"Welcome to New Norfolk, and thank you for coming. My name is Jacob Henricks, but you can just call me Hendricks. I'll show you to your accommodations for the duration of your stay." He tried to make it sound like he hadn't said this half a dozen times by now. "If you would display your title, we can get you squared away swiftly." He continued, dreading it would become something he didn't have the power to deal with.

Instead of posturing or complaining, the woman stepped forward confidently with a hint of a smirk. In the air in front of her, a portion of her status hung in the air.

~~
Name: Rachel Zalenski
Title: Baroness
~~

"I believe this is sufficient, yes?" She said.

It took a moment for him to come around; he was so caught off guard.

I thought Christopher Zalenski was the Baron, not this Rachel... Did he die and pass on his title? No, that doesn't make any sense. The last we heard, the man decimated Lakeshore, but that was over a year ago.

We would have heard if he died...

That means...

"Yes, that's sufficient. Please follow me right this way." He recovered quickly.

He can appoint another Baron. The man's a Viscount.

The Admiral

He stared out of his office window and watched the interaction between Hendricks and the contingent from Frostheim take place. He had seen them ride up, not needing the message from Hendricks that they had arrived.

Similarly, he could also see the Fire Witch in the distance doing the same. It was curious that the two had arrived so closely together. More curious was the woman sent to represent Frostheim had the unmistakable affinity for fire.

They traveled together. He was reasonably certain of the assumption, but he'd set a few people on their tracks to make sure. Not that it affected anything in the grand scheme of things, but it was best to know who associated with whom.

It was already noted that the same Faction had arrived together with Marcus Shieldwell when they all gathered three years ago. Now, they were arriving with another Faction.

So he's a Viscount, like me.

It was easy to conclude, and not all that surprising. The dossier on him already put him at an Extremely High threat level. This only further confirmed what they already knew. It was also a statement that his Faction was able to reach such heights as well.

The Admiral had experienced the Viscount challenge and knew what it entailed. While the man was rumored to be strong, there was no way he could have done it alone.

The door opened, drawing him away from the window to see Robert shuffling in. His friend was a great help, and even though he was against taking the reins, he was essential in the planning to make sure this day went well.

"The last two are here. How many does that make it?" He said, flopping on the couch without a hint of propriety. He'd been wrangling the guests mainly and was all out of caring for such details.

"The Fire Witch makes fifteen." The Admiral replied. "Fourteen if you count the two the Heartlands sent as one." 15 Nobles showed up representing 14 different factions. It was more than he had estimated.

"Fifteen? That's good. How many didn't come?"

"Six that I know of. Four, if you don't count the people who sent someone in their stead." Both Frostheim and the Stormlands had sent a Baron to represent them, instead of the Faction Leader making the trip themselves. The other four had just chosen not to come.

Coincidentally, they were also the four furthest away, so distance had a hand in it. Mountainside, Yellowstone, Skypeak -which was Old Denver-, and Orleans all sent back letters politely declining the invitation to his Assembly.

Honestly, the Admiral was a little glad at the last one. He wasn't sure how some of his people would react to the Necromancer setting foot in the city.

"Three out of four? That ain't so bad. Better than I expected, if I'm being honest." Robert said, surprised. Of just over 20 nobles, 15 had come.

The Admiral grunted, "Probably more like half, counting the Nobles we don't know about. I doubt Nashville, Velmara, and Willowreach are the only ones to make the jump."

If he were to wager a guess, he'd put the number of those with the title at nearly 30. Going further, he'd put the number of those capable of getting the title at over 50. There were those who didn't care to be pylon leaders or to build up a Faction.

They were too nomadic or considered themselves wanderers to settle down. Or, they simply didn't care.

"Half is still good. Better than none." Robert said helpfully.

"Yes, better than none." The Admiral said, "But it also presents problems of its own. Rhett and Nick were just recently fighting it out on the battlefield not that long ago, so I doubt the group from Nashville and the Stormlands will get along all that well.

"Tasunka and Mikayla have been seen meeting together, planning what could only be a joint assault against Marcus for his treasure they both so covet. Zuri and Vanessa have both been getting more and more aggressive with each other, and, from what little we've heard, Frostheim literally wiped a City off the map not that long ago."

"Ah, yes... that. Reminds me why I retired." His friend quipped. "You've made it clear that there is to be no fighting in the city, so if that's what you're worried about, I don't think it will come to that."

"You would think, yes, but it's still a possibility. It's not like I can force them to behave." Fitzwallace sighed. "I can't even claim to be the only Viscount, either, like we hoped. Mikayla, Nick, and Chris can all claim the same, and one of them is even here."

"With the army you have stationed in the city, you still hold the biggest stick. Unless one of the other two Viscounts comes a-knockin', you have a bid for being the strongest here." Robert tried to help.

"Not if they team up. The Heartlands Alliance has two representatives here, with Mikayla being a Viscount and the other a Baron. Frostheim alone has good relations with both Vanessa and Marcus. The woman they sent is already a powerful Fire Mage, if she gets help from the two others, I don't know if I could beat them alone. They are all Barons, after all." He said.

Robert laughed, glad it wasn't his circus to lead, "Just be glad that pretentious 'Stormbringer' didn't show up. The dossier on him is colorful enough as it is. I don't even want to imagine him in the room for this."

Well, yes, there was that.

Of those they invited, they predicted Nicolas Castillo to be the most troublesome, and he wasn't here. What they knew of his representative said that she was much more reasonable, even going to great lengths to smooth out misunderstandings.

She also had a power base that liked her. The area had come together to make Willowreach into a noble city and raised Tracy to lead it.

"And I've got your back if you need it," Robert added. He said it with a smile that stated he hoped it would.

With noon arriving, and the Flame Witch the last to arrive, it was time to get things going.

The next few days were going to be interesting, one way or another.