The Calling of Wrath - Book 2 - Chapter 41 - Intel Gathering
Added 2023-03-03 01:17:56 +0000 UTC Cassandra
Year 820 | Month 3 | Day 23
“Did ya get everything?” the prince asks, sounding slightly impatient as he taps his foot in the snow on the pathway to the store. He’s wearing full leather armor surprisingly – not like the usual style that Aultans wear. And he has a bow strapped over his shoulder.
Didn’t know one of the princes was an archer.
Although I can’t tell which of the twin princes this is.
Wait. I use my aura on him without the man noticing before faintly smiling beneath my mask as I walk up the path.
It’s Thrainn.
Whoever the large man is that he’s talking to, he pauses right before he starts to say something as he notices me. He then frowns, unsure of who I am until I take off my mask and his eyes grow wide.
“Wrath,” he says with a hint of respect and admiration in his tone, making the prince turn around to look at me with surprise visible on his face. But his surprise doesn’t last long, and he too greets me, “Wrath.”
I barely keep myself from frowning at their greeting.
At this point I might as well get used to it. Being called by a title that you’ve earned in Aulta instead of one you were born with or got in a different continent is seen as a sign of respect. So getting annoyed at them for respecting me is just rude.
“Prince Thrainn,” I respond with a tip of my head, surprising him again with my ability to recognize which prince he is. “Who’s your friend?”
Prince Thrainn seems to grow a bit less stiff as he says, “He’s a member of my hunter party. Bjorn Ironside.”
Oh? So one of the princes is in a hunters party…
“You seem to be in a rush. Any reason?” I ask, honestly curious. After all, the negotiations just finished. And he clearly isn’t doing anything for political reasons if he is with his party member.
The prince opens his mouth to answer, only for Bjorn to beat him to it as he says, “His Majesty has renegotiated part of tha agreement with tha inva- I mean tha visitors ta let them hire us as long as they teach our smiths somethin about their craftin methods! Fer pay, of course.”
My eyebrows rise slightly in surprise.
Interesting.
Makes me wonder if I might be able to get the other part of the armor I’m wearing? Because that would be a very nice benefit.
Although, I’m not sure if these visitors will be able to make the invaders gear, considering that their own armor looks quite a bit different.
Wait. Won’t that make Aulta further ahead in crafting than Liathtria?!
Shit. That could be an issue.
Or… would it?
I stare at the two hunters as they talk to each other, clearly excited about the jobs they’re being hired for.
In the end, each of the three continents have their own specialization. Liathtria specializes in agriculture since it’s the only continent with a nice climate. Aulta focuses on their smithing, and Ardene their production – mostly of goods, but also their manpower for everything else that their slave trade gives them. Even if Ardene has the worst climate of the three continents and can barely grow food to sustain itself. In fact, it’s not really sustaining itself since most of their food comes from Liathtria.
“Well good luck on your trip,” I tell the two of them, getting a round of appreciation in response before I ask, “You wouldn’t happen to know much about the Arctic Glaciers, would you?”
My question once again surprises the two, and Bjorn actually looks downright afraid at the mention of the place.
“You planning on going there?” Prince Thrainn asks with a frown, shifting out his accent. And once I nod my head, he lets out a sigh and says, “Alright. I’ll tell you a bit more about it that you wouldn’t likely find elsewhere.”
I smile at that, crossing my arms as I wait.
The prince looks at his hunter friend, who quickly realizes that this conversation is private before walking away. Thrainn then turns back to me and says, “The Arctic Glaciers house Aulta’s World Tree Vein.” He pauses as he sees my face, likely not showing much surprise or reaction at all. “Looks like you already know what that means, so the monsters tend to gather around it in droves, fighting for the chance to drink from the vein.”
“What is the terrain like there? And where exactly is the vein in the glaciers?” I ask, frowning slightly as I remember the vein back in the Dark Forest.
“The glaciers have a bit of a tunnel system going through them, where you will find the vein at the center. But be warned that the tunnels are filled with monsters, and they’re also not the only way to reach the vein as you could also climb the glaciers and head straight towards the middle from there, since the area the vein is at doesn’t have a ceiling,” he explains with a frown of his own. “The monsters closer to the vein tend to be yetis, which are basically giant, white bears whose claws seem to give whatever they touch frostbite, Ice Wraiths, which are part ghost and can go in and out of an ethereal form with a dangerous frost breath, and frost wyverns. I don’t think I need to explain those.”
I nod at that. Frost wyverns, or rather, any wyvern is incredibly dangerous. And quite fickle. They’re able to shoot a burst of their element out through their mouths, span the size of several direwolves in length, and even have scales capable of stopping steel.
Which in the end means that I should avoid them like the plague.
“Generally the wyverns take up half of the ichor leaks unattested, since none of the other monsters stack up to them, so that leaves the other half open for the rest of the monsters to fight over,” he finishes before glancing at his hunter pal again and then at me as he adds, “Please don’t die. We would rather not get in trouble with your family because you went and got yourself killed on Aulta.” The man then leaves, walking over to his hunter friend without another word.
I raise an eyebrow before shrugging and walking away myself.
Time to check out the glaciers!
I’ve never actually seen one before, so this’ll be nice. Even if it’s one infested with monsters.
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