image [https://i.imgur.com/yFu9mOD.png]

IX

Castle Frost

Castle Frost adhered to the colour theme like anything else part of the Frostguards. Tiles a particular shade of blue formed neat walls that connected twelve bastions—two on each corner and two for the entrance and back wall. With the snowfall shrouding it, the castle was less than a shade. But the blood, like liquid fire, was clearly visible. It littered the road towards the castle, and underneath red humps of snow could be seen a digit or two…or more. Both human and orcish in origin.

‘We cleared the way as quick as we could, Warden,’ Jaeger said.

I turned away from the limbs hidden in the snow. ‘You did as well as could be expected. How large was the attacking force?’

‘Around eighty, Warden. They came through a portal right into the heart of the castle.’

I suppressed a wince. ‘Losses?’

‘We’re still counting,’ he said, voice terse.

Still counting after an entire day had passed…I allowed silence and diverted to another subject. ‘Were any of the soldiers taken?’

He shook his head, perhaps freeing his thoughts. ‘None that we are aware of.’

I nodded. The attack on the castle had likely been a diversion.

We rallied our horses and made our way into the fort. Though the frost had made the moat less relevant, we still had to pass over a chained, wooden bridge. I looked down. Some half-buried corpses that must’ve fallen down from the walls.

‘Stupid beasts,’ Drake spit.

Jaeger shot him a look and the man quieted immediately. The ruling had been that Drake couldn’t say another word until dinner time this evening.

‘Hail the Frost Warden, the Lady of Vrost!’ A boy at the side of the gate screamed as we entered.

Soldiers dropped what they were doing and saluted. Not all of them, though.

Beside me, Jaeger swallowed nervously.

‘The men are trained well for the cold,’ I said.

Even in this weather, they were hard at work piling the bodies on a funeral pyre, mending cracks in the defences, and sharpening their gear. Some of the silhouettes on the pyres were too large to be human, I noticed.

‘It’s because we take our duty seriously.’

The statement came from a man wearing a black, woollen cloak, who stood in the centre of the courtyard like he’d been waiting for a while.

This must be Lord Blackwater.

I dismounted, handing the reins of my horse to a frostguard that came to relieve me. My steps carried me forwards. ‘Lord Blackwater, it’s a pleasure to see you whole.’ I gripped his hand. He was of middling height and quite old, but his grip was firm.

‘You as well, Lady of Vrost. I heard the heroic tale of your victory. You saved the entire town.’

From the corner of my eye, I spotted men pausing their tasks to sneak a glance our way. They watched for a reaction. I kept my frown off my face. Slapping the Lord of the castle after a heavy battle wasn’t a good idea. Moreover, he’d used one of my official designations, so he wasn’t technically in the wrong. But that he forewent the use my other title told me enough.

That could be why he decided to burn the corpses before I got here. He wasn’t denying a command if I’d never given it.

‘My triumph was mostly luck,’ I said. ‘The result could’ve been different on another day. Let us speak inside.’

‘How reserved.’ He didn’t do anything as obvious as hum in surprise, but his features smoothed ever so slightly. His arm swung out to the side. ‘Let us.’

And the courtyard continued.

image [https://i.imgur.com/z6G5s0x.png]

The office on the second floor of the keep was small but cosy. Two armour displays stood in the back corners of the room, and a large map was fastened to the side wall, showing the Duchy and the Wall in its entirety.

Lord Blackwater sagged into the chair behind his desk. ‘Some of my scouts are still assembling reports, but even the onset looks grim, I’m afraid.’

Snow didn’t obstruct the sight inside, allowing me to see the chain fastened underneath the Lord’s full beard. The pendant depicted a woman standing in the centre of a snake, coiled so it ate its own tail. Could be that that was Ruelle, though it was too early to say. Malakai knew, maybe. But he was outside the room, guarding the entrance.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

I accepted the cup of tea Jaeger offered me.

‘Hopefully his presence doesn’t offend, milady,’ Lord Blackwater said, blowing on his own cup. ‘Jaeger is my steward. He needs experience speaking to those in command.’

‘Jaeger is a great candidate,’ I said. I used a flash of my power to cool down the cup, drawing the watchful eye of both the Castellan and his steward. I regarded the marked locations on the map. ‘Other towns were assaulted?’

Lord Blackwater nodded at his charge, whose finger traced the names on the map. ‘Snowpeak, Coldmarsh. There’s rumour of Hailstone being hit on the other side of Iceridge. Of the many villages in our domain we have no news but we sent a runner to each and every one.’

‘We fear the worst,’ the Lord added.

I peered. Iceridge was a mountain range west of the Weeping Lake and below Giantswood.

‘So every town and village north-west of the Duchy,’ I said.

‘That looks to be the case, Warden,’ Jaeger said.

I leaned back in my chair and sipped of my tea. This was no longer a frostguard issue but a national one. The entirety of the populace would soon know about the attacks, and the first figure they would look to desecrate and question would be myself.

‘For this to happen the first month you’re in office, I don’t envy you, Lady of Vrost.’

To his credit, the Lord seemed genuinely compassionate and apologetic.

I put down my cup. ‘Spare me your pity, Lord Blackwater. What I need are answers. How did the orcs find stones capable of creating portals, and why are they abducting our people?’

‘Wish I had an answer for you, milady.’

‘I didn’t expect you to have them. But I do expect your full cooperation in uncovering them.’

‘That you have.’

I huffed. ‘Do I now?’

Lord Blackwater raised an eyebrow. ‘I beg your pardon?’

My gaze found the window behind him, where the ash and smoke of the burning pyres clouded the sky. ‘Offering the frostguards their rest is one thing. But who told you to offer the orcs the same respect?’

Jaeger shifted uneasily as the Lord’s eyes darkened.

‘Who told me? Preservation is what did. Leaving the dead to rot would be inviting disease.’

I drew of my tea, letting the silence stretch. Then, I tilted my head. ‘Do you think me a fool, Lord Blackwater?’

He frowned.

I continued. ‘The cold would’ve slowed disease. Had you acted in the Duchy’s best interest, you would’ve waited. Instead, you burned them before I arrived, denying their use in protecting our realm. I wonder why.’

His tone sharpened. ‘Are you accusing me of breaching my duty?’

‘I am.’

His hand slammed on his desk. ‘What I did had the Duchy’s best interest in mind, girl!’

‘Oh?’ I said calmly. ‘All I see is your own moral concerns being served.’

‘What?’

I crossed my legs, laid my hands on top of my knees, and went out on a limb. ‘My brother shares your beliefs, Lord Blackwater. “Raising the dead is Evil,” and all that.’ My gaze pierced him. ‘I’ll repeat myself one more time: by burning the bodies, you didn’t serve the Duchy. You served your faith.’

He glared me down as my words echoed. A second passed. Another second went by. Then something clicked in his head, and he fell back in his chair with a bitter laugh. ‘Ah, I see. You’re as shortsighted as you are young.’

‘I hope an ad hominem isn’t your excuse.’

The Lord turned to his steward with renewed bravado. ‘Jaeger, what do they call her in the barracks?’

The man in question, who’d remained still as a statue the entire time, coughed. ‘Uhm, milord, I don’t think—’

‘Say it!’

Jaeger coughed again, looking at a spot in front of his feet. ‘They—they call you a witch, Warden…they say you cursed your own father so you could assume his place, raise your army of undead, and take over the Duchy.’

I paused. ‘I’m the Warden. There’s no need for me to usurp the Duchy.’

‘You’re the acting-Warden,’ Lord Blackwater starkly corrected. ‘Until your father returns. Even if he doesn’t, your older brother has more claim to the title than you, should he come back.’

…

That realisation hadn’t crossed my mind yet.

The Lord’s laugh returned. ‘Your situation finally caught up to you, huh? If you continue to raise an undead army, soon, the entirety of the North will believe you’re plotting mutiny against your family. So, yes, what I did was in the Duchy’s best interest. No Frostguard will support a traitor, Lady of Vrost.’

My gaze narrowed as I tapped my leg. This complicated things. A lot.

Darius wouldn’t return from what I understood. He chose to become a commander in the army because he didn’t care for being a Warden. But that didn’t matter. Not to the people. The Faith of Ruelle, which had many believers in the North, would cling onto my brother being their saviour should I try to build and unleash my “undead plague”.

It was a seriously sticky situation. How—

Three rapid knocks boomed, keeping me from thinking on matters further.

The frostguard stepped inside before Lord Blackwater had given his assent. ‘Warden, Lord!’ He yelled. He was out of breath. ‘A runner from our station near Coldmarsh reports that a group of orcs fled the town on foot. They were headed for the larch wood nearby.’

I turned to the map. Coldmarsh was half a day on horseback removed from Castle Frost.

‘How large is the group?’ Lord Blackwater asked, the wind of his previous rage still visible in the redness of his cheeks.

‘At least a dozen, Lord.’

‘Our station doesn’t have the manpower to combat that many orcs,’ Jaeger commented. ‘Our reinforcements also left the town already.’

‘The bigger problem,’ Lord Blackwater said, ‘is that they escaped into the woods.’

‘How so?’ I asked.

The Castellan snorted. ‘You are asking me? Though you’re a whelp, you’re still a Vrost. You should know the reputation of those woods better than I.’

He turned to the scout hovering in the doorway. ‘Do they have captives?’

‘The report didn’t say, Lord.’

‘Did the first intel on Coldmarsh mention portals being used to escape?’ I asked Jaeger, mind still stuck on the reputation I was supposed to know but didn’t.

Jaeger thought, then said: ‘I’m not certain, Warden.’

I got out of my seat. ‘Perhaps their magic malfunctioned. They could be stranded.’

‘Is the Lady planning on searching the woods?’ Lord Blackwater said. Despite his tone being serious, the mockery in his posture was defined.

‘We cannot leave a group of orcs to run amok in our lands,’ I said. ‘The damage they can inflict is horrendous.’ I regarded the scout. ‘Did they have any shamans?’

‘The report—’

‘—doesn’t say,’ I finished and clicked my tongue. ‘I will take a small strike steam with me. Can you spare around ten men, Lord Blackwater?’

‘Within the hour.’

‘Good.’ I strode out the exit and patted Malakai on the shoulder. ‘We’re leaving.’

‘After having dinner, I hope?’

His words called to attention the groping of my stomach. I still hadn’t gotten used to the need for food and forgot about it quite often.

‘We’ll make it quick,’ I said.

I loosened my neck muscles as we left the Castellan’s office behind us. Though I let the Lord’s derogatory comments pass, I would need to deal with his disrespect eventually. Everything in due time, I thought. Better to let him think I was a meek, newborn babe out of her element until I was in a position to strike.

I turned to Malakai, levelling my voice so a stray guard in the hallway didn’t overhear. ‘Are you aware of a larch wood near Coldmarsh? Any rumours?’

If he wasn’t, I would need to ask Levi. But luckily my captain had something for me.

‘Nothing but old wives’s tales, Warden.’

‘What do those tales say?’

He hesitated slightly but said: ‘That the spirit of an ancient magus haunts the woods.’

And wasn’t that interesting.