We did not go hunting the next day. Hans convinced us to wait a bit longer, so the trip could be properly organised. It also gave us some time to see the city. Then, three days later, we actually travelled to a border fort.

It was only half a day's ride. We arrived in the late afternoon and would start our hunting tomorrow. The fort itself was a square with stone walls. They even had some towers. But there was no keep inside. That was why they called it a fort and not a castle, Helena explained.

"This fort holds about 150 people. 100 are our soldiers and 50 are part of the royal army. We own the fort but we rent a part of it to the kingdom." Helena said.

"Huh. Why is that?" I wondered.

"The royal army is responsible for defending the border. But any noble who owns territory at the border can use their own troops to help secure it. It reduces the tax you pay and in our case it allows us to sell some monster parts." Helena explained.

"I suspect the royal army still has a large force somewhere?" Skadi said.

Helena nodded. "There is a larger base with their main force. Those forts are mostly here to keep an eye on the mountains and organise patrols. We are not defending against a nation here, just monsters."

We were travelling with some guards and a small wagon. Getting inside the fort was easy since they recognised Helena. And I suspect Hans had sent a message. It seemed that they had been expecting us.

We had a pleasant evening, talking with some of the officers, but went to bed early. The next day our hunt began!

We wore chainmail underneath thick jackets and carried arming swords. Additionally Helena brought a spear and Skadi an axe. Hatsumi ditched her maid outfit and used armor as well. It was odd, I had really gotten used to seeing her as a maid. Frank was with us too, as were Nyx, Ivy, Yoru and Chariot.

But we had even more support. Four guards, a tracker and a mule. The tracker was very helpful. He was a grizzled old dwarf called Bernd. Despite his age his body was still strong.

"These mountains are treacherous. But we won't go anywhere near the peaks. Once you are high enough that trees no longer grow the true horrors begin." He explained.

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"True horrors?" I asked.

"Aye. Monsters. Undead. It's a place hostile to life. Wind that tears your flesh, cold that freezes your breath… No one goes up there. The lower parts are dangerous too, but manageable. Those mountains have several plateaus with small forests. We are going up one of the paths to a reasonable hunting area." He explained.

I looked at the mountains. The peaks were impressive. The tallest part was covered by clouds. The whole mountain range looked enormous.

Cassie shivered, likely because she imagined the cold. Skadi put her arm around her.

Bernd caught me staring at the peaks. "Don't get any ideas, lassie. Necromancer or not, those mountains are no joke. They are filled with the bones of young overconfident adventurers."

"Those bones would make great undead!" Helena said.

Bernd sighed. "Young lady, please do not encourage your friend to do something foolish."

"What are we going to hunt?" Skadi asked.

"Well, Count Frost says you are capable. And you certainly brought some interesting undead…" He looked at the cats. Nyx started licking her paw. "So I figure we go after some snow lynx first. Their pelt fetches a nice amount and they are usually alone. Beware of their frost breath. And don't let them bite you, it freezes your blood."

"Maybe we can find a herd of white ibex!" Helena suggested.

"You mad? You want to fight a herd?" He asked, with wide eyes.

"What are white ibex?" I asked.

"Imagine a white angry deer with horns. Males have four, females have three. They can pierces solid steel. Their heads are armoured with bone. Thankfully they can't do anything at range but close? You are in trouble. A herd is about twenty. They will trample you. Those fuckers are fast. And they can jump…" Bernd explained.

"Did I bring enough explosives?" Cassie wondered.

"I wonder what their blood tastes like." Hatsumi mused.

Nyx licked her lips when she heard about the armoured bone heads.

Bernd shook his head. "You are all mad."

"Bernd, are you a mage?" I asked.

"No. But don't let that magic cloud your judgement. I saw plenty of mages get eaten. I am still here. Also, don't expect me to fight. I am just your guide." Bernd said.

The old dwarf looked experienced so I took his warning to heart. Nevertheless I was confident in our powers.

"Time to armour up." Helena said, then she started covering herself in ice.

Ice armour was great because you could cast it before combat. Helena did not use a sustained spell, instead she just filled each part with a certain amount of mana. That mana would deplete with each hit until the armour broke. Warm weather would continuously weaken the armour, but here? It was perfect.

"Koyuki, I am good enough to armour you too." She announced.

"Sure. We could do a joint casting, so I can provide some mana." I offered. Thankfully I knew the runes enough to support her. I just lacked the actual finesse and experience to form a proper armour myself.

Helena took my hand and started. Essentially she formed something like plate armour, made of ice. Soon I was protected as well.

Skadi declined, she preferred her earth and blood magic as defense. Cassie argued she would freeze to death and rejected being covered in ice.

Bernd seemed mildly impressed by our preparations. He nodded approvingly, then he led us into the mountains.

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