Chapter 1
Francis bit his lip, keeping from letting out a curse as the tall woman pulled back the curtain made of pelts that was the entrance and exit to the room he had appeared in. A freezing wind blew in, penetrating the metal armor and his thin layer of clothing, immediately causing his skin to break out in goosebumps.
I swear I’m going to punch Stenson the next time I see him.
A chuckle came from his escort as she studied him, her blue eyes seemingly happy with his inability to hold back the shudder he had just released.
“You look angry. I like that,” she said, grinning as she pulled a fur-covered hood from behind her head. “Why they sent you like that… I can only imagine either you upset them or it’s a lesson.”
“Perhaps both,” Francis replied, fighting against his jaw that wanted to bounce up and down. “Any chance I can get something to help with my… outfit?” He motioned to the metal covering which was absorbing the cold by the second.
“Let me take you to the warchief first,” she replied. “If you survive the trek, then you’ll be worthy of meeting him and earning a new outfit. Even our young must prove they are able to withstand the snow.”
She turned and began moving through a well-worn path of brown snow. Most of the snow Francis had seen as a child had been white, occasionally marked with a section of yellow he had learned to avoid. Here, every bit of the snow was tinged with muted brown. Gone was the luster and clean color he had been expecting.
His nose was assaulted by the stench of pine sap and wood burning as smoke from large fires rose up to the sky. Before him were frames held together by fur, some with walls of ice and others that appeared to be half globes of ice with entrances like the one he had just exited.
How do they not freeze in all this?
The sound of metal being hammered carried above the hum of a section of land, filled with an army he had no idea the number of. His eyes swept to both sides, where jagged peaks of ice flanked the army’s camp on both sides. There were clusters of trees, every one of them black. The few that were close had ice crystals frozen on their branches.
A strong wind swept against his face and the taste of copper and something else reminded him that there was death nearby. Even though there wasn’t a cloud of birds hovering over corpses, Francis knew there had to be a place where the snow wasn’t brown, but instead red.
“Who’s the child?” Someone called out as they walked along the frozen path between buildings
“Are we that desperate that we are requesting help from others?” another cried out.
Francis studied the men and women around him, seeing that each was wrapped in furs from head to toe. Like his escort, they all were taller than he, and a few appeared to be easily twice his weight.
It’s like… how are they all this big? Could they all have reached the Advanced rank in their Endurance?
He knew he was closing in on that rank in three of his stats and hoped to have them sooner rather than later.
[ Status ]
Francis Lancaster
Age 17
Strength: 47
Endurance: 49
Agility: 48
Wisdom: 28
Perception: 37
Magic: 10
Skills
Swordsmanship (Common) - 71 Elite
Shield Use (Common) - 58 Advanced
Tracking (Uncommon) - 11 Novice
Stealth (Uncommon) - 11 Novice
Traps (Uncommon) - 3 Basic
Rock Throwing (Common) - 7 Basic
Mental Resist (Uncommon) - 45 Advanced
Blood of the Undying (Unknown)- 100+ Sage
Fast Learner (Epic) - 1 Basic (Locked)
Mace (Common)- 11 Novice
Horseback Riding (Common)- 11 Novice
Horseback Handling (Uncommon) - 6 Basic
Pain Resistance (Uncommon) - 58 Advanced
Poison Resistance (Rare) - 45 Advanced
Power Strike (Rare) - 54 Advanced
Brawling (Uncommon) - 38 Proficient
Strong Bones (Rare) - 56 Advanced
Magic Resistance (Rare) 53 - Advanced
Magic Feedback (Legendary) - 21 Novice
Quick Attack (Uncommon) - 44 Advanced
Guarded Stance (Uncommon) - 31 Proficient
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Riposte (Rare) - 36 Proficient
Thick Skin (Rare) - 27 Proficient
Night Vision (Epic) - 38 Proficient
Iron Wall (Rare) - 26 Proficient
Dual Wield (Rare) - 42 Advanced
Flurry (Rare) - 22 Novice
Battle Sense (Epic*) - 15 Novice
Warrior’s Resolve (Legendary) 5 Basic
Maybe I’ll figure out what makes them so much bigger without having to die a thousand times.
Unable to help it, Francis let out a laugh, his clenched jaw betraying him and clattering a few times in the cold.
“There it is!” his escort shouted. “I wondered when you’d give in. Still, I am impressed. Many of your kind don’t make it this far without succumbing to the cold.”
“My kind?” Francis asked, having to keep a quicker pace to match her stride. “What does that mean?”
She stopped immediately, the sound of snow crunching under her fur-wrapped boots and turned toward him. “You… think we’re the same?”
Francis could see the way her eyes narrowed, not from the cold wind but from the apparent lack of disbelief at his statement. She was clenching her jaw, waiting for his answer.
He then noticed that the sound of whatever had been going on had stopped, as the barbarians from the north who were nearby had all stopped. Scanning the space around him, over thirty men and women were watching.
“I was going to say yes, but that suddenly doesn’t seem like the right answer,” Francis said.
She lifted a gloved finger and tapped his chest firmly, the metal armor cracking, ice having formed in the links already. “Who are you? What kind of fool did they send us if you don’t even know an answer to that question?”
Francis’ cheeks felt warm and he held back the frustration that he felt.
Something I obviously didn’t learn at the Academy or in life.
Part of him wished he had done a few more loops there, but Stenson and he had changed direction after acquiring his Magic Resist ability and Magic Feedback.
“I’m the one who’s going to help your side win,” Francis replied, matching her gaze. “Now, unless you’re having fun keeping an emissary from the King and his General waiting, I’d suggest you take me where I’m supposed to be.”
She snorted and shook her head, about to reply when a deep voice called out, “Kerhi! Do you need me to babysit that one for you?”
His newly named escort, Kerhi, turned around, and Francis saw a mountain of muscle moving toward them. Unlike many, this one wore no fur over his muscular top half. Scars and tattoos covered most of his skin which seemed unaffected by the cold wind. A pair of handles rose over his shoulders and Francis could make out axe blades jutting out past his sides.
“Dravik Frostbane, you owe me honor! He did not know my name!” Kerhi shouted. “He had not earned it and now you have gone and shared it.”
A frown appeared upon the man’s face, a pair of brown eyes no longer focused upon Francis but on the woman he was with. “Forgive me, Kerhi. I did not realize. I didn’t–”
“Think!” she snapped. “Fetch this one a cloak and some armor as payment! You shall cover the trade cost.”
A puff of white air came from the man’s nostrils as he huffed once but said nothing, simply nodding before immediately turning around.
“Look for something in the children’s tent!” Kerhi called out as Dravik walked off, prompting those still watching to laugh.
Before Francis could say anything, she turned and leveled a finger at him. “Do not think to use my name lightly. You have not earned it and until you do, you may only call me Gifted One .”
“Gifted one?” Francis asked, using a freezing finger to wipe the cold from his eyes. “What does–”
“No time for that right now,” she said. Kerhi began walking down the path they were on, not waiting for him to follow.
Francis moved beside her, keeping quiet and studying the camp. He was certain he was in a better section of it because the structures they passed looked well-built enough to keep out the cold. Many of them had small trails of smoke exiting from the roof or side, adding to the scent of burning pine that he always smelt. A few of the buildings had what had to be guards outside.
Kerhi led him down one path, a section of blacksmiths working in the open, whose buildings had walls that blocked the wind on three sides. Men and women pounded hammers against metal, and each was rippling with muscle. He could feel a little bit of heat as they moved past one. A loud hiss came as one blacksmith plunged a thick axe blade into a bucket, the steam blinding the area for a moment.
“Oy! Does that one need a dagger?” a woman called out from inside. “I might have something my baby has outgrown!”
Kerhi and those nearby laughed, each of them seemingly unconcerned by how Francis felt at the constant heckling that was aimed at him.
Further ahead, a pair of buildings were set with a few barbarians sitting outside, their limbs and torsos wrapped with bandages. None of them wore much more than what would be considered underwear, only a fur-lined cloak to help keep the cold at bay.
“What you looking at?” one man asked, half his face and an eye covered with bandages.
“Don’t reply,” Kerhi said, her voice the quietest it had ever been. “We don’t have time for this.”
“I’m talking to you!” the man called out, earning laughter from the others as Francis kept pace with his escort.
“Who was that and why did you tell me not to reply?” Francis asked when they were far enough away not to be heard.
She grunted and shook her head, barely giving him a sideways glance. “A berserker, and a rabid one at that. He’s itching for a fight and has been whining like a baby off its mother’s teat for days. You did notice the mark on his shoulder, didn’t you?”
When he didn’t reply, having missed whatever Kerhi was talking about, she sighed. “You need to learn what the tattoos mean. They will tell you who is safe to talk with and who will rip your head off because you spat too close to them.”
“I understand,” Francis replied. “And thank you.”
Kerhi snorted, shaking her head. “You are too kind. I do not have time to feed you like an infant. What kind of child are you that they send here with letters? Has the kingdom of Reevotort become that soft?”
Francis walked faster, getting ahead of her, and stopped, holding out his hand, palm up. “I don’t know your ways, nor do I know much about your people,” he growled, already sensing that weakness was measured by how one presented and held themselves. “If you dishonor me again, I will challenge you to a fight and ensure that everyone here knows I have done so. Then, when I am done kicking your ass, you’ll know better than to mock me again.”
Her blue eyes twinkled, almost like a star in the sky on a clear night, and Francis felt the threads of magic starting to form inside her.
Shit…
“It’s a challenge!” a loud man’s voice called out from the left. “Someone has challenged Kerhi!”
Before Francis could even hope to change the direction of the path he had just gone down, roars and shouts of men and women cheering began to come from every direction as someone echoed the original man’s shout.
“You, little child, have stumbled into the badger’s den,” Kerhi said, grinning. “And those who find themselves in one of those, never leave with all of their appendages still intact.”
She lay back her head and let out a howl that sounded primal. Threads of magic went with it, causing the sound to make the air reverberate with power.
Dammit Stenson! I’m not even going to get a day before I die because of you…
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