Frostbound [LitRPG Apocalypse]-Chapter 180 - City Abuzz

Carson

After he was led away from the meeting room, he and his group were made to wait in a sparsely populated room with little decor. They could have done with a bit more seating but they were all used to the wilds at this point. After a few weeks of sleeping on the ground, a lack of comfortable chairs wasn't a big deal.

After the meeting concluded, Carson assumed the leader would talk it over with whoever he had as advisors or someone similar. The man didn't strike Carson as the type to rule alone.

He didn't have the controlling personality or need to be in power that would indicate ruling with an iron fist. While they had only just met, that was the sense he got anyway.

They were left to twiddle their thumbs for a few hours but someone eventually came to speak with them. The person who came through the door wasn't the City Owner, it was someone new they hadn't met before.

Not that being new meant anything, from what they could tell, hundreds of people lived here and they had only met a handful. Which was a good thing if they thought about it. With the settlement being this far North they had assumed it would be sparse with people but it wasn't that bad. A far cry from the dozen or so Noah guessed there was.

Not even half the number Fort Hope had, but enough to make a difference if they decided to send aid. Which Carson hoped they did.

The person who came to meet them this time was a woman instead of a man but there was a resemblance to the City Owner that was unmistakable. Her hair was brown, darker than the man's blonde, but they had a similar facial structure denoting a familial connection.

She didn't match the City Owner in hair color or eye color, making it hard to tell how close of family they were, but it was obvious they were at least family of some sort.

Her hair was tied up in a professional bun with little ornamentation and her appearance made him picture glasses on her face but there were none. Instead, her deep blue eyes were free of containment and reminded him of looking into the ocean.

She entered swiftly and stood before them without fear, "We have discussed the information and have agreed to send help. We believe this threat to be big enough that we should put it down now before it's allowed to grow."

Her words were measured and diplomatic, but that didn't matter to Carson. They were getting help and a small weight lifted from his shoulders.

"After asking for volunteers from our populous, around 400 have chosen to stand and fight, including our strongest. With a day or two to prepare, they will be ready to leave Wednesday morning."

Saying what she prepared, she turned and left leaving them alone again.

Hearing that only 400 would be going made him wince slightly but 400 was better than nothing. Plus they were sending their strongest which was something.

Carson wasn't able to get an exact level of how much help they were getting without knowing the levels and power of everyone coming but he hoped it would be enough. Without this pylon, they were on their own.

After hearing they needed a few days to prepare, he did the math in his head for how long it would take to get back. His group was desperate and made better time getting here than he expected they would return at, lengthening the timeline.

If they left in the morning three days from now, they would get back in about 4 and a half weeks.

He wasn't sure when or if the Demons would attack Fort Hope in that time but he could only hope they would make it. He would have to be impolite and rush them if it came to it but that was fine with him.

After being informed of their answer, Carson's group was permitted to enter the town proper. All they had seen so far was the two rooms of the Castle and those were both sparse. It was odd that the people lived a distance away in his opinion, but not all that unnatural.

It wasn't far, but enough to show it was built first and the stone castle came second. The lodges and buildings they saw were all made of sturdy wood and were arrayed sensibly, but he could tell it wasn't meant to be permanent.

The people were abuzz as they all worked on various things and there was more of them than he pictured. When he heard 400 agreed to fight he expected there to be 3 times that number to stay behind, but it was more like an even split.

A line of people queued up at the communal smithy and hammer blows sounded out throughout the night it was so busy. The frequency of clangs made him think all of the smiths in the city were going without sleep during this time.

Other than the crafters working throughout the night, people lined the streets as materials moved to where they needed to go and he saw streams of people coming back with a random assortment of it.

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It was obvious they had just come from a dungeon but it was different than how Fort Hope did things. The dungeon they had was strictly regulated and only people with permission could go inside, let alone walk out with the material in hand.

They were in a trying time and they needed all they could get, but the people here were freely selling their goods with little regulation. Well, mostly trading, but it was the same sentiment. The amount of coins people had was another oddity. The average person here had way more than back at Fort Hope.

Despite the differences, it was similar to Fort Hope in one sense. The air had the same budding tension as people prepared for a fight. Weapons and armor were being made at tremendous speed and the forges devoured all the metal available. The city worked to make sure everyone had at least the bare minimum before they were sent off.

As they walked around, Victoria and another scout they had were able to get an idea of everyone's levels and they were much higher than anticipated. They expected the same average level as their own city, but they were wrong.

Fort Hope's average was between 20 and 30, the line between G-rank and F-rank, but here, the average was closer to between 30 and 40. The levels themselves weren't that different but the ranks were.

There was a stark difference between the ranks that levels didn't indicate.

They also had more people in the E-rank than expected. Not more than they had but more than their population would indicate.

As they grew familiar with their surroundings and investigated various things the days passed quickly. As they waited nervously to depart they didn't see any from the city leadership again until the morning they were slated to leave. They were left free to do whatever they wanted without even a minder to watch them.

It showed a level of trust Carson thought was gone after the world changed but he wasn't going to say anything. He did hear whispers of them being guests but that was it.

The biggest surprise inside the camp wasn't actually the people though.

It was the horses.

There were no Tamers or Beastmasters in Fort Hope which made seeing the beasts inside the city unexpected. It was a good thing, but still unexpected.

Depending on how they used them their trip could be cut down a decent amount.

The shock didn't stop there though, other than everyone gearing up with armor and weapons, wagons of supplies were packed and readied at great speed. It seemed they were taking this seriously and preparing for a long journey based on the amount of food packed away.

The entire preparation was seamless enough to indicate experience and that experience translated to a lot more getting done in the two days than expected. He wouldn't describe it as a whirlwind as it was too orderly for that, but much got done.

By the time the sun rose on the third day, it felt like they were packed for a year-long journey rather than the month-long it would be.

It was then that he saw the city leadership again. As the living center and the castle were separated, they didn't get a chance to see many of them.

The same man that they met came out ready for war. His armor was a snug fit like it was endlessly tinkered with to hang perfectly on his form along with a weapon strapped to his back.

The very same weapon Carson saw during the meeting.

The hammer was fitted to his back in a fashion he couldn't discern, but it was obvious that it was the same one he saw leaning in the corner. He doubted they kept two enormous war hammers made of ice.

Instead of the decorative piece he remembered seeing before, he saw it in a new light now. Even the man seemed different. As if a completely new person stood in front of him.

The civilian clothes and bearing were gone completely. The person he was eyeing now was one experienced in battle.

There was a... comfortableness as he moved in the armor, a familiar walk that spoke of it not being his first time wearing it. Same with the hammer. It was like it belonged there and the decorative nature before was only a figment of his imagination.

Lastly, Carson could feel a pressure bearing down on him that was new. It put a chill down his spine but it didn't seem hostile or cruel. It wasn't comforting, nor did it oppose him, just settled on his shoulders.

Others in a similar state of battle readiness surrounded the man and enough of them had similar features for Carson to understand. A family ran this pylon.

It wasn't run by one man alone like theirs was.

After the man appeared, everyone seemed to quiet down naturally, like it was expected of them to do so. A subtle deference washed over the people and the cacophony of so many people in one place dampened as the man made to speak without him having to do anything.

"The time has come. We all knew this world would test us. That there would be threats we would have to stand against and this is just one of them. Do not be afraid of what we face for it is just the first in a long line of many that we will overcome.

"You all know of the tests that will come later and I implore you to think of this as one. A test run before the real thing comes in a few years. Also, I would like to applaud those willing to stand and face it." He stopped and looked out over the faces for a moment.

"Know that I appreciate your willingness to fight for this city and your eagerness to put your lives at risk to do so. Know that in doing this, you have an honor most do not. An honor to go into battle where your survival isn't guaranteed.

"If any are to fall during this time, rest assured, I will personally make sure any you leave behind are well taken care of.

"Of that, you have my word."

As the last word rang out, it hit him with force. He wasn't sure what it was but it felt like it was backed by a will not his own.

It was dead silent for a beat as everyone soaked in what was said along with the odd feeling that accompanied them. He hadn't expected the leadership to be so open and forthright with the chance of death they faced but it didn't cause a panic like he thought it would.

It was almost like they expected it and were happy to go forth. It wasn't until Carson caught hold of someone before he learned the reason. The answer was silly enough that if it wasn't said in such earnestness, he would've thought it were a joke.

"He gave his word our families would be taken care of."

He had to dig a bit deeper to understand why people were so willing to take the man at his word and he didn't know whether to be happy or appalled with what he found out.

What kind of barbaric society was this man building here?

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Cutting off people's hands was disallowed centuries ago yet this man used it as a punishment for thieves.

Just who was he bringing back to his city?