Frostbound

Chapter 262 - Line for Nobles

Chris

"Well, that was close." Austin whistled as our boats ran ashore. The last three days had people plugging holes, shoveling water, or otherwise spreading themselves thin trying to keep the things afloat.

The ease of the first day of travel lulled us into a false sense of security.

What followed was the harrowing task of trying to defend the boats from sinking and we were not without failure.

We lost three along the journey.

The saved the supplies and they, along with the people, were spread out over the remaining vessels but it was still rather uncomfortable to be packed in so tightly. I delegated a considerable amount of manpower to keep the two boats filled with bison alive.

Not only because Sarah was on one of them, but because there was no way I was going to be packed in with the enormous beasts.

The smell of damp fur, musk, and otherwise unmentionables... yeah, no way in hell.

That being the case, along with the fact it was one of the heaviest boats that hauled the most in terms of cargo, everyone was in agreement to shift forces to defend it.

The three of us up front did our best to head off anything too strong, but that was easier said than done. The River was a lot bigger than it used to be. Both in depth and width.

I wasn't sure of the dimensions of the River from Before, but it was a monster now. Miles upon miles wide in some places and so deep my aura couldn't reach the bottom.

It was difficult to parse through rushing water with it but still, I'd covered nearly an entire town with it before, to not even reach the bottom?

Our main foe wasn't even fish. It was snakes, lizards, insects, or other amphibians that inhabited the various places we passed through.

The assault was nearly endless in some places and I hadn't slept for days by the time we arrived. No one had, as it was all hands on deck. Literally.

The good part, even if it didn't feel like it, was there were a lot more settlements along the river than first thought.

There were numerous cities along it before, as it was one of the major waterways in the country, but we weren't sure how many of them survived the Change.

It was relieving to see. Both for civilization's sake and for humanity's sake. It would've been awfully depressing to go through all of the old cities along the river and only seen ruins.

The additional places to resupply also helped. We had loads of food and enough to last us but it was always nice to get something fresh. Dried meats and hardtack were... unpleasant.

We still hunted and most of our meals involved fish caught from the river or things we killed assaulting the boats, but the fresh fruits and vegetables were a nice touch.

Jonathan was gushing about future trade opportunities and how the river would be a goldmine in terms of merchants and whatnot, but that was still far off in the future.

Land-based caravans and traders were only just beginning to surface, I doubted river travel, let alone ocean travel, would come anytime soon if what we experienced was anything to base it off of.

Most of our trade was still done through our pylon where everything cost an arm and a leg. The stones we bought to finish up our Walls nearly beggared us.

And it wasn't like they were D-grade Granite or anything. They were normal, if a bit stronger, stone.

"Gather everyone up. We need to find a place to settle down for the next few days and find a place to rest." I said tiredly, "I didn't expect so many people."

What an understatement that was. I expected a large group but not this many. Everywhere I looked there were people. Some groups even had banners or flags! I knew that Faction unity would drive people to group together, similar to how the Orders liked to stand out with their badges, but this was something else.

Some were even all wearing the same color like an organized army!

It had been two years, nearly on the dot with the timer and all, but still, this was... unexpected. The breakdown of nationalism was a forgone conclusion, but I expected it to take a little longer.

Eh, maybe not. When was the last time I thought like that?

Seeing ruins and overgrown infrastructure made it feel like a lot more time had passed.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Sophia, coordinate with Marcus and find out what he plans to do," I said and watched her run off to where his boat parked.

There was no point in anchoring them and we just ran them into land.

Austin walked up with a face of mischief. One I'd seen often before. I held back a heavy sigh. It was funny to think this same man lectured me on how to behave at this little gathering.

"I'm gonna go exploring." He said mischievously.

More like sleuthing.

"Tell me if you find anything useful," I said and didn't stop him.

With so many people around, it would be easy enough to blend in and gather whatever intelligence he could. I couldn't, as other things needed my attention and a much needed rest was in order, but he and a few others had orders to gather what they could.

I had no doubt Marcus was doing the same.

Neither of us wanted to come in hot and throw our weight around. We knew far too little for that.

I was strong, and I knew he was too, but for all we knew there could be hundreds just like us. Some could already be at D-rank. Unlikely, but within the realm of possibility.

Finding a spot along the River was easy enough as our entrance seemed to dislodge the people near it. For whatever reason, the sight of nearly a dozen boats ramming ashore had people moving out of the way.

People still lined both sides with either lines in the water or traps set, but those were easy enough to work around.

Now the only thing to do was wait for word to come back.

I hoped things weren't too complicated, but with so many people around, I somehow doubted that.

"Over a hundred thousand people, over a hundred different pylons, and dozens of Factions?" I repeated to make sure I heard correctly.

"Yes, sir." A member of the Scouts responded. Sir was pushing it but I couldn't get them to go any less. It was still better than my Lord, so I sucked it up.

"You should see them all, Chris. From all over the continent." Austin said excitedly, "Well, the Eastern portion of it at least." he added like an afterthought.

"Do any of them have a better idea of what's going on?" I asked the most pressing question first.

That was the highest priority of those sent out. Finding out what we were up against was critical.

"No, sir. No one knows. Speculation is running wild and it's only getting worse as the clock ticks down." The scout said.

"Austin?" I swung over to him with hope.

"Nada." He said, "Some of the ideas are funny though. Some people are crazy."

"Then what's with all the construction? If we don't know what we're up against how are they preparing for it?" It was hard to miss the large construction project going on.

It wasn't taking place everywhere, but a large portion of the people had something to do with it. The Wall being built was mainly earth-reinforced with wooden beams but it was still a Wall.

"That's courtesy of someone they call The Admiral." Austin said, "Word is the dude's actually an Admiral. Or used to be, as I doubt the government survived."

The scout took over after Austin finished, "His Faction's based along the East Coast and most of the forces under his command are former military. He holds the largest army gathered but most are low E-rank. A small few are higher than that and any descriptions of the man's powers are strictly guarded secrets. We don't even know if he's a mage or a warrior."

The scout almost seemed angry that they couldn't figure it out.

"I gathered he had the largest army when nearly half of those gathered are helping him with construction," I remarked.

"Not all involved fall under his banner." The scout corrected, "Smaller pylons or those without a strong backing are following his command. The reasons vary but we believe it's due to his former rank along with the numbers at his back. Also because they think falling under him will deter other... less tact Factions from bullying them around."

"Is he in charge then?" I questioned.

"No." Both Austin and the Scout answered that question.

"While he has the most people behind him, he's not solely in charge." Austin said, "Some of the other leaders are less than inclined to follow someone else. Them being willful and all."

"As he said, most don't want to follow someone else. There have been meetings between the various leaders but information on those is scarce. Not many were allowed to participate. Only the highest leveled were and that's a point of contention among other pylon owners." The scout said.

"What, do they feel left out?" I grumbled.

"Yes."

I knew this gathering wouldn't be the most coordinated but it was shaping up to be better than I feared. Squabbling children in place of pylon owners that I pictured was still a possibility, but it didn't seem like the case right now.

"Was there anything else you figured out?" I asked.

"There's to be a meeting tomorrow. It was set long before we arrived for three days before the 'test' starts. We gather that it's to coordinate and discuss how to proceed." The scout said.

That was... good news? Depending on if it was as portrayed. They could say the meeting was for anything they wanted. It was still up in the air if it would be useful.

"Do they expect any more to arrive or are we the last?"

"No one knows for certain. The only way to tell is to figure out a place where no one is from." The scout said, "That being said, no representatives of Florida have arrived and the South West is awfully light. Anything farther than Arkansas or Eastern Texas is missing."

We did come from quite far away, I thought, they could still be on their way. Still, not many coming from Texas was strange. They had millions of people and was a heavily populated state Before? One whose population I doubted would cower from a fight. Was there another obelisk to the South they went to instead?

It was highly improbable that this was the only one in the world. If the test we faced relied solely on us, a small portion of the world, to complete it, that would hardly be fair.

Furthering that line of thought, would everyone need to pass? Majority? Or was it fine if only one did?

So many unknowns were frustrating.

"How do we get ourselves an invite to this discussion? Does Marcus have any ins? He has more knowledge of what goes on in the South than we do." I asked.

Austin chuckled, "Not that much more. He's never been this far South and I doubt he's even heard of most of the Factions here. The Reservation and The Heartlands Alliance sure, since they border him, but the rest?" He shrugged leaving the thought unanswered.

"Okay, how else do we get a slice of the pie?" I questioned.

"We're still working on that." The scout said, "We have an idea of what is required but want to confirm it before moving forward."

"Oh?" I asked, "And what might that requirement be."

"You have to be a Noble."

Oh.

So the segregation begins.