Frostbound [LitRPG Apocalypse]-Chapter 236 - Tidings and Rumors

"You wouldn't think they were awesome if you had to fight them." Hal threw out.

Austin scoffed, "What do you mean? I'm the embodiment of their natural weakness." To illustrate his point, his skin began to glow and the snow around his feet began to steam and melt.

Gabriel, on one of the rare times he took his eyes off his present, shot down that idea, "That's assuming what we know about Vampires is true. Just because our folklore says they're weak to the sun doesn't mean they actually are."

Austin doubled down, "Even if that's true, I still don't see the issue. We've fought all kinds of random things, what's one more?"

"They're an unknown." Abigail cut it, "The only thing we know is from fiction, or what used to be fiction. What if they have mind powers? What if they can compel people? There's too much we don't know that supporting this idea is ludicrous."

She directed the last sentence toward me but I only shook my head. She knew my stance on that and it wasn't going to change.

"Just because I refuse to interfere doesn't mean I support it. It doesn't have to be one or the other." I said. When she made to rebut, I added, "I'm not getting into this with you again. We both know where the other stands."

Thankfully, she didn't push further even though I knew she wanted to.

"Connor," I said dragging the conversation back, "You say this Alchemist would be able to do it?"

Connor nodded, "If anyone can, it would be him." He then hesitated and thought momentarily, "You know, he's not that well-liked over at the Fort..."

"I wonder why," Abigail snorted.

Connor's insinuation was clear.

Shaking my head, I responded, "I may not actively go against what the man's doing, but inviting it into our home is another matter."

"He's a great Alchemist though! I'm not sure if the man's naturally gifted or just has the right kind of crazy, but he'd be a great asset. Gabriel isn't the only one who could gain a Bloodline like this. Just think of the possibilities." Connor advocated.

While he made a good point, I wasn't sure it was enough to offset what the man was trying to accomplish. It was one thing to make Vampires far enough away that the problem was a non-issue. It was another entirely to have it inside my city.

Seeing I wasn't convinced, "You'd be able to keep a closer eye on it and shut it down if things go bad." Connor insisted.

I wasn't swayed, but Abigail brought up a good point, "While I won't get into the... ethics of what he's doing, having him do it here is out of the question. Think about if he succeeds." She paused, "If he actually makes Vampires, our city will be forever known as the birthplace of their race. That kind of stigma isn't something I want attached to my home."

"Bah, who gives a fuck what everyone else thinks. It'd be cool to be known for that." Austin said.

"It's more than just what they think. It could impact everything related to foreign relations. What if people don't want to trade with a city of Vampires? What if they attack strictly because of them? Additionally, if we're known as being closely associated with them like that, everything they do will reflect on us. If one goes off on a killing spree, the blame with be put on us as well as them." Abigail said.

Austin kicked the snow, "Calling us a City of Vampires is a bit much."

"That's what will happen."

"Fine. We won't bring the crazy scientist man here." Austin gave up, "Even if it sounds fun."

"Alright, enough about this." I said, "As much fun as it is talking in the snow with all of yous, I'm in need of a shower and a nap. So, Connor, if you could reach out and facilitate a deal, that would be appreciated. See how much this is going to cost us as well. Other than that, I have some materials that need to be stored and a trophy to put up."

Abigail's eye twitched at the antlers but declined to say anything.

"We'll catch up after I get some rest."

My following nap took much longer than a few hours and turned into over 12 hours of sleep, but I felt amazing after the long rest.

The food also helped, as eating poorly grilled meats of animals that weren't that tasty to begin with wasn't the most appetizing. Most of the things I fought were predators and they didn't have the most appetizing of meat.

The best thing I ate was an Elk I came across but that hadn't lasted me very long. The environment made it so the meat kept for a ridiculously long time, but I was a voracious eater.

It was hard to get full with all the energy I expended.

Especially back in the Castle. Most of the food pulled in was of the lower leveled variety, which made me have to eat even more to sustain myself. Not to mention it didn't taste as good.

With food and sleep, it was almost nice to walk into the living room for our long chat. The fire was roaring and the soft furs tickled my bare feet. It was no surprise I was the only one barefoot.

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"Did you have to hang them there," Abigail said.

"I think they look good there. Right over the fireplace." The antlers were huge, which made anywhere I put them seem gaudy, but the living room was the biggest room in the castle, made big enough to accommodate the whole family, which didn't make them stand out as much.

They still did, but anywhere else would be worse.

Its tall ceiling also helped.

If I'd tried to hang them in the Council Meeting room they would've taken up the whole room.

"While you slept, I looked through the materials you brought and stored them away, all I need to know is what you plan to use personally versus what's up for grabs." Abigail started off.

"Uhhh," My mind struggled to remember everything I brought back. "The best furs and pelts I plan on turning into clothes. The horns and fangs can go to whoever wants them, I don't have much use for them. Vincent wants one of the mana cores to try making a staff, but other than that, I don't want much else."

"I took a gander at your basket of goodies and I have a question for you," Austin said taking out a medium-sized horn, "Why did you kill a bison?"

I laughed remembering the fight, "Well, I didn't set out to kill one. I didn't set out to kill anything really. Everything I killed was because it attacked me. The bison was an accident.

"I was running North and wasn't paying that much attention and nearly ran face first into its back end before I realized it was there. It was alone, away from its herd, and took my speedy charge as a threat. Not one to back down from a challenge, we fought.

"I won.

"I started searching ahead to stop running into fights I didn't want after that."

Austin smirked, "Not one to back down from a challenge but you said yesterday that you ran from polar bears."

I had given brief snippets of my travels and the extremely threatening bears were mentioned.

"That wasn't a challenge. That was certain death." I said.

"What's that...?" He put a finger to his ear, "Is that a wuss I hear?"

"I'd like to see you try. You wouldn't last two seconds against it."

"How would you know, you ran before you could see it."

"Alright, you two, we have more important things to talk about than your dick-measuring contest." Abigail snapped, annoyed that her serious conversation got taken off the rails so quickly. "Starting with, how far along are you with the melding?"

I'd allowed everyone a read through the technique so they knew the process, "Far enough that I'm not at risk. The main arteries are done, but I still need to do quite a few of the smaller ones."

I split my time coming back between working on my Bloodline and finishing the process. Both were dull work that got bland quick which was why I altered between them.

My heart was already strong enough to handle it, as the upgrade to it would hold even with the added pressure of mana. The arteries coming out of it were the first I worked on, if one of them blew, it would be a quick death from blood loss.

"Where would you put your fighting ability?"

"About 80%" I answered, "If I over-stress my mana, it would cause some internal damage but it wouldn't be life-threatening."

"How much longer until you're finished?"

"A month maybe? It depends on how much time I dedicate to doing it. If it's all I do, a week?"

"How do you feel? I know it's not the same as my core, but it should be similar."

"Wonderful," I said, "My mana feels endless and much more reactive than before. Skills come much easier and the charge-up time for my bigger ones is a lot shorter. Does your core feel the same?"

"It's similar to what you described except for one thing. My mana doesn't feel easier to use. It actually feels harder, since there's so much more of it along with it being thicker. The same amount of mana holds more power now which makes using skills efficiently difficult." Abigail described.

"Is it the same for everyone who forged one?" I asked.

"Of the people who succeeded, yes."

I already knew who succeeded and who didn't. Of those who went, only two came back with a core. Abigail and Alice. Most of Alice's skills were ice-related but she still had Water as her affinity.

A few failed, but that wasn't the end of the world. They would be able to try again.

While only two of our family managed to forge one, other people went along to try. Some of Elliot's and Hal's Guards went as well.

Part of the condition of their signing up was that they had free access to all of our techniques. Those with the Water affinity who wanted to forge one were a part of the group who left.

All told, nearly half a dozen people stepped down a new Path of Power, which greatly boosted our strength as a city.

Our chat continued and we went over everything that happened while we were gone. It was a lot to get through and it was hours later before all the stories were told.

Austin's was especially long.

"Now, as fun as that was, I hear we're in for a fight!" Austin said and jumped up, "When are we doing this thing? You can't believe how boring it is here."

What he was referring to was the pylon upgrade. With everyone's new advancements, we planned to go for it when everyone returned. It was half the reason Austin was still here at all. He didn't want to miss out on the fight and he was here anyway.

I half expected him to stay strictly to make fun of me for becoming a noble in a terrible English accent.

"Cool your jets, Austin." Abigail said, "I have one more thing before we all leave."

Her face was oddly serious.

"Before we left, some... rumors were going around in the city. We aren't sure if any of it is true, but Marcus came up to us and relayed what he was hearing." She started, "Supposedly, something was found in the South. No one knows what it is, or how it got there, but they say it has a countdown.

"When it hits zero will be exactly two years since we returned."

There was a stunned silence as everyone worked to process the information.

"That's in four months," I said.

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"I know."

"I'm not sure about anyone else, but that's obviously a sign. A big, glowing, blinking sign. We were looking for when our 'test' would start and it seems we now know." Austin said.

"I didn't think it would be so soon," Hal said softly.

"It could've happened sooner. Two years is pretty long." Abigail answered.

"Is that everything? Is there anything else you know?" I asked.

"All Marcus told us was that something was found in the South and it had a timer. He didn't know much more than that." Abigail said.

"How far South? How did he even hear about it anyway? It's not like someone picked up a phone to call him." My mother asked.

"He said it was from a messenger. Someone was purposely spreading the word."

"What does it mean, though? Will we have to travel South? Depending on how far South we may have to leave now." Gabriel chimed in.

"I don't know," Abigail said. "But it would be smart to be prepared to do just that."

"How long does that give us," I said slightly annoyed. I only just got back. Leaving again wasn't on my to-do list, especially so soon.

"Well, we still aren't sure of the exact location, but we shouldn't delay too long. I've been in contact with Marcus and we should know as soon as he does, but it will be a long trip no matter what." Abigail said.

"Delay what?" Hal played devil's advocate, "All we know is something down South has a timer. It could be anything."

"The odds are against that."

Things got a little more heated as ideas were thrown out, but we wouldn't know for sure until we knew more.

"We'll prepare but wait. Until we know something more concrete, we continue with our plans here. Speaking of, we should plan the pylon upgrade for next week. That should give everyone enough time to settle in after time spent away."

It would also give me enough time to finish melding. If our 'test' was on the horizon, I couldn't delay.