Mikayla

Velmara

The Viscountess stood and watched the snow continue to fall while the courtyard filled up with wagons, provisions, people, and warriors. The group was sluggish due to the weather, but they were making good enough time, all things considered.

"This fucking snow..." she cursed.

It's almost like they have nature on their side.

The thought was asinine, for nature was hers. It had been ever since she'd been transported and gifted with magic. The thought that it was siding against them was just that, a fanciful thought.

"Do you think this could be the work of that Ice Lord or whatever he calls himself?" Mikayla asked, still staring at the white flakes falling from the sky.

Even though she wasn't looking, she noticed Sylvia shake her head, "I doubt that very much. Even he couldn't control this much from so far away. Even more, what would be the point?"

"What about you, Alaric?" Mikayla turned toward the man who was trying to hide himself in the corner. The Merchant oozed nervous energy from being around her. It didn't help that she wasn't as controlled with her aura as she usually was.

She so hated the cold, and it was one of the few ways to ward it off easily.

"No, my Lady." He said swiftly.

"Well, what can you tell me about this Ice Lord? You're the only one in the room who's met him." Mikayla asked, which was the only reason the man was in the room in the first place. There were others in the Heartlands who'd met him, but only Alaric had conversed with the man for longer than a brief greeting.

It was always a possibility that Marcus would get help from his northern friends, but she'd hoped that wouldn't be the case. Hearing that he'd marched a contingent of over 3,000 into the city and parked it there had forced their plans to change.

A change Mikayla didn't appreciate all that much, but it what was done was done.

"I feel that I should first point out that he does not call himself anything. Any titles or monikers used were created by people other than himself, and he doesn't care for them." Alaric started hesitantly, worried about angering her.

It was an understandable worry when facing someone so much stronger than yourself, but an unhelpful one. She wasn't going to snap and kill the man. That was foolish. Not only was he the one who knew their new foe the best, but he was also a prominent Merchant for their Faction.

Not to mention killing someone for something so minuscule wasn't something she did.

"Go on..." Mikayla waved, finally turning away from the accursed snow.

"Most in Frostheim just refer to him as Lord Zalenski or just the Lord, and he doesn't even like that. I –"

She interrupted, "Enough about the titles. I want to know his strengths. I'm told you've seen him fight, yes?"

The man nodded, "Yes, I was there when they went through the Viscount upgrade."

"And what can you tell me?"

Alaric fidgeted, "Not much, I'm afraid. It all happened so fast, and so much was happening–"

"What can you tell me?" Mikayla repeated.

"Um, like what you've most likely heard, he fights with a large hammer while covered in ice. What you might not know is that he has armor on underneath. Chipping away the outer layer of ice only reveals the metal below it. You'd have to get through both to do any damage."

She knew that already, but nodded encouragingly to keep going.

"His body is almost like a third layer of armor by itself. I saw him take a direct hit from the boss and remain unscathed. I don't know for certain, but I'd wager his Body is at least Stone, with not an insignificant focus on Fortitude." He continued.

Good to know. A tank. Difficult to kill but easy to outmaneuver.

"But his real power comes from his Strength. It's like nothing I'd ever seen before. The speed with which he swings the hammer is... mind-boggling. You'd think, based on its size, that swinging it would be slow and cumbersome, but that is far from the truth."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Mikayla kept her face passive so as not to give away her emotions. What Alaric was describing wasn't a tank, and it wasn't someone to take lightly. Taking a hit from the Viscount wave boss was already something, but that being his second-best quality?

"And his skills? What can you tell me about those?"

"Little, I'm afraid. I'm not very experienced with the warfare side of things, and my Perception is not nearly high enough to compensate for my unfamiliarity." He said, "I know he has a skill to create and control ice, a weapon skill of some kind, and that's about it. I couldn't make out any other than that. He fights in a whirlwind of wind and ice that makes it nearly impossible to see anything from the outside."

Two? That's it?

Sylvia cleared her throat, "I managed to gather some information about him while in Norfolk. It's out of date, but it should give us something to go off of."

"And? What did they manage to gather?"

"He has two Laws. Ice and Wind. He also already has an Anchor and a Mana Heart. It's suspected that he has at least 6 Steps, possibly 7. The main thing to worry about is his boosting skills. It was reported that during the test, instead of getting weaker as the fight went on, he got stronger."

Troublesome.

"And the rest of his Faction?" Mikayla asked, almost fearing what the answer would be. They had expected to crush Marcus, and now it was turning into something completely different.

"Their second and third strongest weren't reported to be among those in Gemini City. The sister, who is a powerful Water Mage, and the aunt, who is a powerful Fire Mage, both administer the two cities Frostheim has and have been seen there recently."

"Both the second and third strongest stayed behind?" She couldn't help but ask.

"Yes," Sylvia nodded. "But don't underestimate the rest. There are three 'Orders' that are built like armies, and each is headed by someone at a Baron level. There's also a Commander at the head of all three at that level as well. A Wind Archer, a Metal Warrior, an Ice Mage, and a Stone Warrior."

"Yes, the brother, the brother-in-law, the cousin, and... what was the last one?" Mikayla recalled.

"Not related," Sylvia answered.

"Ha, I almost expected an uncle or second brother or something. This family..." Mikayla muttered. "Their levels?"

"D-rank, but under 120."

Similar to my own.

Mikayla looked back over the new information she was given and fell into thought. While Frostheim's arrival had thrown a wrench into her plans, it was still salvageable. It would be harder and their losses would be higher, but it was still doable.

"Thank you, Alaric, that will be all," She dismissed the merchant as he was no longer needed.

After he left, she turned to Sylvia, "What do you think of all this?"

"I wonder if this is still worth it. Facing Marcus was one thing. Facing both is another," she answered, "I understand that the treasure is valuable, but we could be shooting ourselves in the foot here."

"It's not just the treasure," Mikayla said, "It's the dungeons too. He has three of them around his city. Three! If he grows all of them to D-rank, he'll be able to grow at a rate to match us, while we have triple the amount of land and pylons he has."

"I know, Mikayla, but he doesn't present a threat. He's been content to be left alone. The Stormbringer, on the other hand, will attack us eventually. You know this as well as I do." A plant seed floated into Sylvia's hand, and it started to grow as she poured mana into it.

Less growth than normal, as the cold and suffocating Ice mana hindered it.

"We're disadvantaged in this weather, while they will be advantaged. I understand Tasunka will be fine, but that doesn't solve our problem and presents another. What happens if we get weakened more than him? What happens if, at the end of all the fighting and blood, he thinks sharing the treasure isn't enough?"

"He knows better than that. We have him outnumbered. His main threat is his maneuverability, and a siege removes that. It won't matter how far and fast his cavalry can range if the target is stationary." Mikayla answered, "He also gets too much from us to betray us."

"Yes, I understand that and you understand that, but he's not always shown the most capable reasoning skills." Sylvia pointed out, "He's impulsive, rash, and vain. If he sees a way to take the treasure for himself, he will."

"That would be suicide. He won't be able to hold it." She said the words even though she knew her defense was weak. Tasunka was similar to the Stormbringer in a way. It didn't matter if he couldn't hold the treasure in the long run; he'd try anyway.

The worst part was that Water wasn't even his affinity. He'd do it for a treasure he couldn't even personally use. Mikayla was in the same boat, as she also didn't have a Water affinity, but she was doing it for her Faction and wasn't planning on throwing everything away if things went south.

If this ended in a draw where Marcus had to give up some concessions, that would be fine with her, too. She didn't think Tasunka was the same. He was out for blood.

Mikayla sighed. All of this was more difficult than it had to be. If only Frostheim had agreed to her letter.

"And what of Travis? Has he responded yet?" She asked. The Yellowstone Lord wasn't her best idea, but it wasn't the worst either. Getting a third in their little 'coalition' would make things easier, and they'd maybe be able to end this even without a fight.

"He did." Sylvia grimaced.

"What did he say?"

" 'You want me to travel weeks to fight in a battle I don't care for, for a treasure I don't care for, for a reward I don't care for. I think not, thank you very much, and there's nothing you can give me that will change my mind.' "The woman recited, "There were some curse words in there as well, but the sentiment was clear."

She expected as much, but it didn't hurt to try. The man wasn't very interested in most things other than gaining personal strength and chasing skirts, if what she heard was true. If it didn't involve either of those things, he wasn't very interested.

He was the only other person she was willing to call on. Mikayla would rather fail than ask the Storm prick, and there was no one else to ask. St. Louis and Three Rivers were dealing with their own war, and there wasn't anyone else nearby.

A bell rang, signaling that it was time.

She looked back out the window and saw that things were much more organized than before. Wagons were lined up, and the crowd of people was split into rows.

They were ready to move.

"Let's go, Sylvia, we can plan on the way."

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