Leaning on a pole at Traipus port, Anna can't help but stare at the Timbergrove. She finds the vessel impeccably odd. The ship is an Armored frigate with cannons that look like they belong on a cruiser and a Ballista. It's such an odd vessel- like someone wanted to see how dangerous of a frigate they could create.

"Are they ready yet?"

Anna turns her head to find Gunnar approaching. The [Lord] is wearing a runed blizzard bear brigandine covered in white frost-wyvern scales. At his hips are his new axes built for a man of his stature and strength. The axes seem to create a small fog of mana around them that's noticeable enough to attract the eyes.

"Soon." She says. "Are the axes to your liking?"

Gunnar grins. He taps the axes at his hips. "Yeah, Alvar has really outdone himself. I can't wait to test them out."

Anna raises a finger to the Timbergrove. "Seems you won't have to wait long."

Exiting the ship is a large number of people, all wearing either the warm armor of Traipus or insulating their own armor with proper padding. Gunnar can't help but grin when he sees Boriss in black wyvern scale armor. It would ruin Gunnar's pride if the man he'd competed against yesterday were to look inferior.

As he stares, he can't help but raise a surprised eyebrow.

"Is that an insectoid?" He asks. What he sees is a large six-legged monstrosity mixed between a human, a spider, and a mantis. The monster is covered in what looks like thick white armor.

Anna twists her ring. "That's a Phytonid [Druid]." She explains. She continues twisting her ring as more of the group exits the ship until she stops, surprised.

"Auranta?"

"Who?" Gunnar asks.

"An insectoid [Wind Mage]." Anna frowns. "What is she doing here?"

"You know her?"

Anna nods. "She was my underclassmen during my studies. She's… odd."

"Is she strong?"

"She's one of the most gifted [Mages] I've ever tutored." Anna says. "But I doubt her level has reached expert yet."

"What about the others?"

"They're all low-level advanced except for the wolven. He's clearly a [Samurai]."

Gunnar stretches his arms left and right. "So we've got three experts and a bunch of advanced classes. Dangerous, but nothing we can't handle if we play it safe."

"Agreed." Anna nods. She extends her hand, "Shall we go and meet up with them?"

"Let's do that. My axes need to sing." Gunnar rushes eagerly towards the ship.

__________________________________________________

The moment we leave Traipus, the ambient temperature takes a nosedive. So much so that nearly everyone moves to cover their faces. The exceptions being Boriss, Gunnar, and Nepenthes. Generally, Phytonids cannot survive in cold environments for any long period of time, but Nepenthes differs from her species. She'd transformed her bark-skin armor to a white variant exceptionally adapted to subzero temperatures. Other than me in my cat-form, she looks completely unbothered by the weather.

Gunnar turns around, his expression serious. "Since we've just had a major storm, the weather should be warmer than usual. This means we can cover more ground, but it also means we will encounter more dangers. Always keep vigilant and have your weapon at the ready. Any questions?"

"How long until we reach the tower?" Gino is the first to ask.

"Generally three days, but I'll have us there in two." He replies. "Any more questions?"

"What threats are we likely to experience?"

"Mostly Frostwolves and maybe a Permafrost wyvern or two. Once we enter the cave system, Crystal golems become more common alongside Blizzard Bears. I recommend allowing me and Anna to deal with the bears as they are expert level threats." He explains. He glances again at the group, stopping momentarily on me as perch on Boriss's shoulder. "Any more questions?"

I look down at his hips and the frost forming and falling from his blades.

Name

Skadi, Echo of Niflheim

Rarity

Legendary - 38 Runes.

1(8- Frostbound: Hel) 1(10 - Rime-edge Metal) 1(12 - Bound Frost-step) 1(8 - Bound Recall)

Description

This axe is bound to Hel. The edge of this axe rapidly cools anything it gets into contact with. At will, you can cast Bound Frost-step to teleport to Hel while leaving an explosive ice-clone. At will, you can teleport Hel to you.

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Sustain

1.1% Mana Regeneration Per Minute

Bound Frost-step: 17 Mana to activate

Bound Recall: 6 Mana to activate

Name

Hel, Echo of Thrymheim

Rarity

Legendary - 38 Runes.

1(8- Frostbound: Skadi) 1(10 - Rime-edge Metal) 1(12 - Bound Frost-step) 1(8 - Bound Recall)

Description

This axe is bound to Skadi. The edge of this axe rapidly cools anything it gets into contact with. At will, you can cast Bound Frost-step to teleport to Skadi while leaving an explosive ice-clone. At will, you can teleport Hel to you.

Sustain

1.1% Mana Regeneration Per Minute

Bound Frost-step: 17 Mana to activate

Bound Recall: 6 Mana to activate

"Are you happy with those axes and do you think Alvar could make me a pair?" I ask, already expecting the answer.

Gunnar chuckles at my question. "Not unless you've got another gold core, several rare metals, and the willingness to wait months for another storm."

Well, I have the core thing covered.

"Point taken."

"Any more questions?" He asked.

Nobody answers.

"Then we head out."

_____________________________________________________________

A cored brigantine leaves the slipstream from the side, the arcane barrier coming into existence to protect the crew on the deck. As soon as the danger is gone, the captain diverts mana from the barrier and pushes it to the ship's runes. The hull of the vessel glows for a moment, then they activate. As the runes power on, the wind near the ship swerves, parts, and finally pushes into the vessel's many sails, accelerating the ship to nearly thirty knots.

Once the ship is comfortably cruising, the [Captain] removes his hand off the core and lays it on the raven cutlass on his hip. The man then looks up at a distant spec. "Finally, I can end this chase."

Another man with long red hair steps forward, head tilted upwards. "Do you think the thieves still have it or it's already been sold?" The man asks.

"They have it, Kirin." The man rubs the crow handle. "I'd have sensed the connection strengthen the moment the band was removed. It has yet to be taken off."

"And sold," Kirin adds. "Whoever is wearing it has a level as much or higher than yours if they're blocking your abilities so well. Want me to tell Rowan to prepare the troops?"

"Yes. Wake up Brand too and tell him he will be needed."

Kirin raises an eyebrow, but nods at the order. "Yes, [Captain]."

Once the [Subcaptain] leaves, the man returns his attention to the distant island of ice and snow. It's a large island with presumably many places to hide. But he knows that's not true. The island is generally inhospitable outside of Traipus. There are actually very few places that the thief can hide.

_______________________________________________________________

"Girl, you can't just add runes on scales like that! You need to even the temperature, otherwise you risk microcracks. I thought you were a [Runesmiths] daughter!"

Emma flushes at the old human smith. "I've only ever worked on metal- and so did my father."

"I can see that," Alvar says. The muscular bulky man stands up off his chair. He walks next to her and grabs a set of pliers.

Using them, he grasps a black scale and then puts it into the burning forge.

"Unlike metal, parts from monsters all have different ways to be worked on. Wyvern scales are generally very resistant to cutting and stabbing. "They are extremely hard, but are generally lacking in Toughness."

He removes the scale and lifts it up to his face. "If you try to add runes using molten metal without heating the scale adequately, then you risk internal fractures that you couldn't tell are there until it fully cools."

He lowers the scale back into the furnace. "You'll need to do this with every individual scale if that awful drawing is what you've planned."

The Gemma flushes at his words. "It's good enough for me."

"It's shit. If I wasn't a [Runesmith], I'd think you're trying to make scale leggings instead of gauntlets."

Before she can answer, the sound of sizzling has Arvan removing the scale from the forge. The man stares at the smoking and cracked black scale.

"Odd," he says slowly. "Wyvern scales generally have high resistance to heat." He flips it over to find an even larger crack.

"Is something wrong?" Emma asks hesitantly.

"How fresh are these scales?" He asks after a moment.

"Um," She pauses, unsure if she should answer, but decides it's important. They were picked several hours ago. "My captain said fresh scales are better for runeing."

"Several hours ago? Did you butcher a wyvern on your ship or something?"

Emma blushes at the question. "Not me, it was our [Chief Physician]."

The man sighs and shakes his head. "Damn. You're going to need my help then." He throws the cracked scale into an empty bin and then grabs another fresh one. "The thing about fresh scales is that they still have plenty of mana in them, which means the runes don't have to be that thick to function, allowing more advanced runes to be applied. The downside is that you have to work with a razors edge both on temperature and rune thickness. Too hot and the scale cracks, too cold and you risk microcracks when applying the rune. Understand."

Emma nods.

"Good." He takes several scales of varying sizes and puts them into the furnace. "It's a good thing you have a lot of scales to waste."

He leans forward and stares into the forge. "We want to remove the scales moments before they start cracking. What that time is depends on the species of wyvern, size of the scale, and its thickness. If you place several varying types in a forge and record their time, you can get a good idea of where that limit is."

Emma nods to the human man and then follows his direction. The scales start burning one by one, with the larger ones taking more time to crack than the shorter. Once all of the scales have burned, Alvar throws them away. "Did you get a feel for it?"

Emma nods.

He hands her the pliers. "Show me."

She takes one of the scales and puts it into the forge. She then waits for a time before removing them.

Alvar raises an eyebrow. "Maybe you are a [Runesmiths] daughter." He points to the table, "Start working on the scale and remember to use better runes, less mana, and less metal." He grabs another set of pliers. "While you do that, I'll get the scales heated for you."

"You're helping?"

"Yes, I don't want to spend all day here at the forge." He answers. He grasps a scale. "Now get to runeing and do it quickly. Fresh scales lose all their mana after six hours."

"Y-yes." Emma says with a grin. She sits down, grabs her stylus and starts working on the scale.

While she works with her back to him, Alvar can't help but offer a smile. He knows that Gemma are generally skilled craftsmen, but their skill is based on logic and calculations. Because of this, they lack the ability to adequately work outside of metal. It is also for this reason most Legendary items are crafted by other species. They are too safe and generally avoidant of risks.

If he'd asked any of them to do what he'd asked Emma to do, they'd fail if not outright refuse.

Emma not only didn't refuse, she succeeded perfectly on her first try. That's grudgingly a level of skill common in Expert classes by people twice her age.

Honestly, he'd probably be rather jealous of her if he didn't just get two levels and a new skill yesterday.

He glances at his fingers. They're no longer blue, but they're still completely numb. Hopefully the cat isn't lying about fixing his finger. Granted, even if it were, he'd still rather not get on its bad side.

After all, sovereigns tend to have a very long and very vengeful memory.

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