“Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Lord Gabriel,” Lord Icefall said. “Please, take a seat.”
I nodded at him, before doing as he asked. Lord Icefall and I were in his office within Icefall Manor. It reminded me a lot of my father’s office back at Sturm Manor. Dark and somber colors, wooden furniture, and plush rugs. A large window overlooked the front yard of Icefall Manor.
It was the kind of office I would expect a cold and stern man like Lord Icefall to have. The only thing that clashed with this image was the vase filled with bright yellow daisies sitting on his desk. It added a splash of color into an otherwise dreary room.
“My daughter gathered those for me,” Lord Icefall said when he caught me looking at the daisies.
If nothing else, that spoke about his love and affection for Lady Calla. Instead of taking the daisies and putting them somewhere else, or even throwing them away, he placed them right at his desk, where he would be able to see them as he worked.
In addition to the vase, there was a rolled up piece of parchment on the desk.
We weren’t the only ones in the office. Guildmaster Sinclair was there as well. Leroy and my disciples waited just outside.
It was the day after my talk with Aurora and Corie. Earlier that morning, just after our morning training sessions, a messenger from House Icefall arrived. Lord Icefall requested my presence. He also asked that I bring along Lorelei and Corie. Curious, I decided to accept.
We took the House Sturm carriage into Icefall City, and arrived at Icefall Manor by late morning. A servant greeted us, and led us to Lord Icefall’s office. We passed by Lady Icefall on the way there. She gave me a polite and civil, but cold, greeting. She was much warmer with Lorelei and Corie.
When we arrived at the office, Lord Icefall asked me to come inside, while everyone else waited outside. Corie complained about being excluded, but quieted down under the combined glares of myself and Guildmaster Sinclair. Still, my disciple had a point. What was the point of asking me to bring them along if they weren’t going to participate in the meeting?
“I am curious as to what this is about, Lord Icefall,” I said.
“It’s simple,” he said. “The Black Wolf Gang managed to open the package you delivered, releasing the spell inside.”
He gave me a wolfish grin as he said this, and I saw the predatory anticipation in his eyes. I understood that feeling. After everything that the Black Wolf Gang had done to his House and the people of the Icefall Region, he now had the opportunity to strike back at them where it hurt. In his shoes, I would feel the same.
Lord Icefall unrolled the piece of parchment. It showed a map of the Icefall Region. However, there were a number of white glowing dots on the map. A large group of them were concentrated around a specific area of the Icefall Region, while smaller groups were scattered in places near that area. The white dots moved around.
“Are these white dots the members of the Black Wolf Gang?” I guessed.
Lord Icefall and Guildmaster Sinclair nodded.
“All the members that were at their base when they opened the Nullicite box, yes,” Lord Icefall said. “The spell tagged everyone within a several mile radius of the box when it opened, but it would be dangerous to assume that it tagged all the members of the Black Wolf Gang. Still, it looks like it caught most of them. The spell is also undetectable to anyone below the Fifth Circle, so they don’t know that they’ve been discovered. It cost me a lot to have the spell made this way, but I wanted to keep the element of surprise.”
I looked at the largest grouping of white dots.
“Where is that?” I asked.
It wasn’t an area of the Icefall Region that I was familiar with. It was far to the south west of Icefall City.
“Iron Crag Hills,” Guildmaster Sinclair said. “It’s an area of the Icefall Region with large steep cliffs. The hills are riddled with iron and other metals. However, no one has been able to mine them because the area is also infested with magic beasts of the First and Second Circles.”
“Until recently, no one has had the manpower to clear out the magic beasts,” Lord Icefall said. “I would have done so, but recent events prevented me.”
Recent events being the Black Wolf Gang attacks.
“The Iron Crag Hills are also home to an extensive cave system,” Guildmaster Sinclair explained. “Some of these caves extend beyond the Iron Crag Hills, surfacing outside the territory of the various magic beasts that call that place home. These caves, plus the presence of the magic beasts, make it the perfect place for the Black Wolf Gang to set up a base.”
I nodded as I studied the map. As long as the Black Wolf Gang was careful when entering and exiting their base, they would have no trouble from the magic beasts. In fact, the magic beasts would act as a deterrent, preventing anyone from investigating the Iron Crag Hills too deeply.
However, this only worked if no one knew they were there. Now that House Icefall, and the Icefall Adventurers Guild, knew where their base was, it was just a matter of time before they were dealt with. Hell, House Icefall didn’t need to do much in order to deal with them. They could just block off the caves that extended beyond the Iron Crag Hills and trap the Black Wolf Gang inside. If they wanted to escape, they would have to fight their way through the magic beasts that infested the area.
“Since you called me here,” I said. “I assume you want my help in dealing with them.” I glanced at Guildmaster Sinclair. “Is this going to be another special gig? What sort of loopholes will we have to abuse in order to make it happen?”
Guildmaster Sinclair grinned at me, before shaking her head.
“No, not this time,” she said. “I’m just here as a representative of the Adventurers Guild, since we have a stake in this. The real business is between you and Theobald here.”
I raised an eyebrow at her, before looking at Lord Icefall.
“I don’t want your help,” he said. “Rather, I don’t want just your help, Lord Gabriel. I want House Sturm’s help. I want an alliance between House Icefall and House Sturm.”
Both of my eyebrows rose at this.
“I feel the need to point out that I can’t speak for House Sturm here as a whole at the moment, only myself,” I said. “More to the point, I doubt that my father would agree to an alliance with House Icefall. There would be no benefit to us.”
My House was in dire straits, but we weren’t so desperate that we needed to ally ourselves with a minor House situated at the furthest reaches of the Solarian Empire. Even if I had the authority to agree to such an alliance, I wouldn’t. It would bring us more trouble than it was worth. While I sympathized with House Icefall, I had to look after my House’s interest first and foremost in this situation.
Lord Icefall had to know this, or I hoped he did. If that was the case, then he must believe that he had something that would entice House Sturm into this alliance. The question was, what?
“You may not be able to speak for House Sturm,” Lord Icefall said. “But you can speak with your father and help convince him to agree to this alliance.”
“But why would I?” I asked. “As I said earlier, it would bring no benefit to us.”
Lord Icefall shared a look with Guildmaster Sinclair. She nodded, and he let out a resigned sigh.
“I was initially against this idea when my cousin proposed it,” Lord Icefall said. “However, after giving it some thought, I realized that she was right. Your presence here in the Icefall Region represents an opportunity that I can’t afford to pass up, Lord Gabriel.”
“Lord Icefall,” I said. “I think it’s best if you get to the point.”
“Mythril,” he said in a blunt voice. “That is the cause of the conflict between my House and the Black Wolf Gang, or rather, the people who hired them.”
I blinked at him. Okay, I had not expected that.
Mythril was a superior-grade material, which was the second highest rating. The highest rating was ultimate-grade. Mythril was one of the strongest and toughest metals in existence. It was also one of the lightest. That alone would make it valuable. However, it was also used in the creation of powerful magical items.
Creating magic items at the Fourth Circle or higher was difficult. The more powerful the magic item, the more powerful the materials needed to create it. Rare metals, the body parts of strong magic beasts, etc. Mythril was one of those rare materials.
Given its lightness and durability, mythril was used to create all kinds of magical items, including weapons and armor. It was also perfect for the creation of airships, flying ships that were similar to immortal boats from Spirit Earth.
“Some months back, some of my people found a large deposit of mythril,” Lord Icefall said. “While I did my best to keep things quiet, the information must have leaked, because the Black Wolf Gang arrived not long after. I believe, and my cousin concurs, that they were hired by someone looking to steal this mythril deposit from us. Making a move themselves would attract too much attention, so they want the Black Wolf Gang to find the deposit first. After this, they will claim it for themselves. It’s all just speculation on my part, but it fits given what we know. We’ll know more after we deal with the Black Wolf Gang and capture their leader.”
That made sense to me. The chaos created by the Black Wolf Gang’s actions were just a smokescreen to disguise their true purpose here in the Icefall Region; searching for this mythril deposit. The people who hired them didn’t want anyone else to find out about the mythril, so they hired intermediaries disguised as bandits.
It had to be another House. Only a House would have the gall to try something like this. And only a House would be able to get away with it. If a House could take something and keep a hold of it, it was theirs. That was how things worked in the Solarian Empire.
There were limits to this, of course. The law prevented the Houses from outright stealing from mortals, but other Houses were fair game. So long as this mystery House could find this mythril deposit and prevent House Icefall from taking it back, it was theirs. They would have to declare a House war first, but the law would be on their side.
Of course, the inverse was true as well. This was why alliances and connections were so important. A House without friends or allies was vulnerable. One of the reasons why the other Houses had left House Icefall and the Icefall Region alone was because the Icefall Region wasn’t worth the effort. There were quite literally greener pastures to fight over.
Typically, more powerful Houses didn’t steal from anyone too weak from them, since it made them look bad. However, if the prize was great enough, then a tarnished reputation was worth it.
“How big is this mythril deposit?” I asked.
It had to be substantial if everyone was making that big a deal of it. Mythril deposits tended to be small, so I didn’t expect anything too crazy.
Lord Icefall hesitated, before answering with a pained expression on his face.
“Roughly ten miles wide, twelve miles long, and one mile deep,” he said.
I stared at him in shock, unable to believe what I just heard.
“It’s all pure mythril too,” Guildmaster Sinclair piped up. “I checked it out myself.”
I barely registered her words. The numbers didn’t seem like much, until one made some calculations and realized that they totaled up to one hundred and twenty cubic miles of pure mythril. That was an unheard of amount. The largest deposit I knew about was maybe a tenth of that, or even less. A typical mythril deposit was even smaller.
It wasn’t that deep either. Mining it all would be simple, especially with the help of Earth and Metal wizards.
This was the sort of wealth that could secure a House’s future for centuries, if not millennia.
It would also lead to the destruction of House Icefall.
“You won’t be able to hold onto it,” I said, feeling a little numb. “Not with that much mythril. Once people find out about it, and they will find out, even the Great Houses will come after you to get their hands on this deposit. This isn’t a blessing. It’s a curse. Even if you stand by and do nothing, House Icefall will be destroyed as the other Houses battle to claim the mythril for themselves. Some might even try to take over the Icefall Region entirely, just to secure their position. Allying with House Sturm wouldn’t help at all.”
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
My family was more powerful than House Icefall, but against the horde that would swarm the Icefall Region, we would be nothing more than a sand castle fighting against the tide. We would hold out for a time, but eventually we would fall.
It would be a bloodbath. Thousands of people would die.
“I realized this as well,” Lord Icefall said with a grimace. “That is why I won’t even try to hold onto the mythril deposit myself. Instead, I will gift it to House Solaria.”
I received my second shock of the day. Among the Great Houses, House Solaria stood at the top. The reason for this was simple: it was the House that the Sun Emperor himself founded. No one dared challenge them. He was their Patriarch, and this afforded them special privileges.
For example, each member bore the title of Prince or Princess rather than Lord or Lady. They were also one of the few people that could meet with the Sun Emperor, though this was a rarity even for them. The House as a whole was also protected by the Sun Emperor’s personal army, the Sun Guard.
Lord Icefall’s idea was a brilliant one. By giving the mythril deposit to House Solaria, he would circumvent any potential war that would result from its discovery. Attempting to steal from House Solaria was tantamount to attempting to steal from the Sun Emperor himself. There were faster and less painful ways to commit suicide.
Of course, House Icefall wouldn’t benefit as much from the mythril deposit by giving it away, but it was better than being exterminated. What made this idea even better was that House Solaria would be honor bound to reciprocate the gift. As one of the pillars of the Solarian Empire, they had to set an example for the rest of us.
To do otherwise would invite the wrath of their Patriarch.
“Some months back, I sent one of my people to Sunheart as my representative,” Lord Icefall continued. “While it took him some time to meet with a representative from House Solaria, and inform them of my intention to give them the mythril deposit, things moved quickly after that.”
Lord Icefall pulled out a letter from his desk and held it up.
“I just received word from him yesterday. House Icefall will manage and mine the mythril deposit for House Solaria. In exchange, we will receive twenty percent of the mythril deposit’s monthly output. Not only that, but House Solaria will station a contingent of the Sun Guard in the Icefall Region to protect the mythril deposit, Icefall City, and the House Solaria caravans that will come to pick up the mythril.”
In short, House Icefall would make a lot of money and have one of the Solarian Empire’s most powerful military forces protect their home city. Not only that, but if they have their own caravans traveling with the caravans from House Solaria, their trade routes would be secured.
“Lord Icefall,” I said. “I fail to see why you would want an alliance with my House. With House Solaria’s support, you don’t need us.”
Lord Icefall shook his head.
“I won’t have their support,” he said. “The Sun Guard will protect the mythril deposit and Icefall City, but that’s it. They won’t help my House beyond that.” His expression grew hard. “I don’t intend huddle behind Icefall City’s walls. My goal is to bring the entire Icefall Region under House Icefall’s control. However, we’re too weak to accomplish that on our own. Even with Charity’s help, it would be impossible. And I don’t want to wait a few decades to build up enough power accomplish this. By that point, it will be too late.”
He had a point. The Icefall Region was about to experience an economic boon. The discovery of the mythril deposit, the Sun Guard’s presence, and the caravans from House Solaria all but guaranteed it. There were also other natural resources that could be utilized, such as the metals within the Iron Crag Hills. People would flock to the Icefall Region in the thousands.
The Icefall Region would go from a relatively unsettled and uninteresting region, to an enticing piece of territory. The Houses in the surrounding regions would want to claim their own piece of this particular pie. While the Sun Guard would protect Icefall City, the same could not be said for the rest of the region.
An alliance with House Sturm would help secure House Icefall’s position, and allow them to exert more control over the Icefall Region.
“House Sturm also has contacts and connections that my House doesn’t,” Lord Icefall continued. “We’re a new House with almost no presence beyond the Icefall Region. Having a bunch of mythril will do us no good if we can’t sell it. While we have some trade partners, none of them will be able to help us move the mythril.”
Okay, he had another good point. Despite my House’s waning influence, we still had a lot of ties with the other Houses. By leveraging those ties, we would be able to help House Icefall sell the mythril and prevent them from being taken advantage of.
“I see where you’re coming from, Lord Icefall,” I said. “However, what does House Sturm get out of it? So far, you’ve only mentioned how this alliance would benefit your House. How would it benefit mine?”
I mean, given the context, I could take a guess, but I wanted him to say it aloud.
“Seven percent of the mythril deposit’s monthly output,” Lord Icefall said. “This will be taken from my House’s share, so there won’t be an issue with House Solaria.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. Seven percent of the mythril deposit’s monthly output was a lot, especially for a mythril deposit of that size. It would be enough to help my House to recover its fortunes.
This could be the start of our turnaround.
And yet, something didn’t feel right. Seven percent was a lot. In fact, it was almost too much. It was worth far more than any benefit House Icefall would gain from allying with House Sturm. With seven percent, they could ally themselves with another, more powerful House.
“Why us?” I asked. “If you’re willing to hand more than a quarter of your share from the mythril deposit, why ally yourself with House Sturm? Why not ally yourself with another House? For that much mythril, there are a number of other Houses who would trip over themselves to befriend you; Houses that are more powerful and more connected than House Sturm.”
I could think of several off the top of my head, including House Corwin, as much as it pained me to admit it. That was the reason why my family wanted me to marry Elizabeth Corwin, so we could use their power and connections for ourselves.
Lord Icefall took a moment before responding.
“Part of it is because of you, Lord Gabriel,” he said. “Charity vouches for you, and I trust my cousin’s judgment. If you’re any indication, allying with House Sturm would be better for my House in the long run. While there are more powerful and better connected Houses out there, I wouldn’t be able to trust them as much. They would be as likely to take advantage of my House as they would be to help us.”
I thought that this statement was funny coming from a man who used to be so hostile towards me. Then again, we did agree to start anew.
“I didn’t think that Guildmaster Sinclair thought so highly of my character,” I said in a dry voice, glancing at the woman herself.
Guildmaster Sinclair shrugged.
“You’re an asshole,” she stated. “But you’ve proven yourself honorable and trustworthy, despite a few hiccups here and there.”
“You said that I was part of the reason,” I said, looking back at Lord Icefall. “What is the other part, or parts as the case may be?”
Lord Icefall grimaced.
“House Sturm has something that my House sorely lacks,” he said. “Legitimacy.”
Oh, so that was what he was after.
“You don’t just want an alliance,” I said. “You want a marriage between House Sturm and House Icefall.”
“Yes.”
The Houses put great stock in pedigree and lineage. The older and purer one’s bloodline was, the more respect one was afforded. As one of the founding Houses of the Solarian Empire, there were few Houses that could match House Sturm’s pedigree. Our magic had weakened, our wealth was lacking, and our influence was waning. However, we had one of the purest bloodlines in the Solarian Empire.
Our lineage was on par with most of the Great Houses, and greater than a few of them. Only House Solaria could claim to have a purer pedigree, and that was because they were descendants of the Sun Emperor himself.
This was one of the reasons why we were better off than we should have been, given the current state of our House. We might be weak and poor, but we still had our bloodline. That counted for something in the Solarian Empire.
It was the sort of thing that couldn’t be bought with money, at least not directly. It could only be paid for through the passage of years, or through marriage. That was what Lord Icefall wanted. He wanted the legitimacy that came from having an ancient bloodline.
While a part of me wanted to be offended that he would dare suggest such a thing, it would be hypocritical of me. After all, that was the same reason why House Corwin wanted Elizabeth to marry into my family. Our House was much older than theirs, but they were more powerful and had more wealth. No one said it out loud, but that was what happened. Lord Icefall wanted the same thing, though he was being more direct about it. Honestly, I preferred it this way. It made things a little simpler.
“I can’t agree to something like that,” I said. “I simply don’t have the authority. You would have to discuss that with my father. Thankfully, you’ll have the opportunity soon. My parents are due to arrive any day now.”
Lord Icefall and Guildmaster Sinclair nodded.
“My contacts down south told me about that,” Guildmaster Sinclair said. “From what I heard, your parents were quite…agitated when they left.”
I winced at that.
“They aren’t going to be happy with me,” I said. “As a rule, the Houses look down on adventurers.”
“The feeling is mutual,” Guildmaster Sinclair said with a smile. “Barring a few exceptions.”
I snorted, before turning back to Lord Icefall.
“So while I can’t agree to a marriage,” I said to him. “I can negotiate the terms for a provisional alliance.”
This worked out for me, since this was better than the defensive mutual aid pact I had originally wanted to form with House Icefall and the Icefall Adventurers Guild.
“Didn’t you say that you couldn’t speak for your House as a whole?” Lord Icefall asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
“That’s why I said provisional alliance,” I said. “I can provide some aid in the meantime, but nothing will be set in stone until my parents arrive. When they do, you can discuss with them the potential of a marriage between our two Houses.”
I’m not sure how well that would turn out for Lord Icefall. Either his son, Lord Brody would have to be engaged to my sister, Kaylee, or my brother, Roland, would have to be engaged to his daughter, Lady Calla. The latter would be better for House Icefall, since Lady Calla was Lord Icefall’s heir and her descendants would have House Sturm’s blood in their veins.
The age difference, in either case, was a bit weird. I mean, both boys were children under the age of five, while my sister and Lady Calla were both in their teens. Still, a decade age difference wasn’t that big of a deal, especially since wizards tended to live longer than regular mortals. By the time both boys became adults, no one would look askance at them for having wives that were a decade older than them.
The part of me that was Brandon Norwood still thought it was icky. Immortal Celestial Thunder didn’t see the problem with it, since significant age differences were common among cultivator couples. Lord Gabriel simply saw it as the price one paid for being born into a House.
The Houses enjoyed significant privileges, but paid for these privileges with an equal amount of responsibility. Our lives were not completely our own.
“Of course,” I said, giving Lord Icefall a wide smile. “All of this is contingent on one thing: that House Icefall is the one who presents the mythril deposit to the representative from House Solaria.”
Lord Icefall frowned at this. Guildmaster Sinclair covered her mouth and turned her head away. She let out a cough that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. My smile widened.
“From the way you worded it earlier, Lord Icefall,” I said. “You made it seem like the agreement between House Icefall and House Solaria was a done deal. I know that this isn’t the case. There is no way that House Solaria would believe the word of a representative from a minor House that few people have heard of. Not without proof at least. Even if your representative brought a piece of mythril to show that he was telling the truth, House Solaria would want to verify things for themselves.”
As I spoke, Lord Icefall’s frown deepened.
I nodded to the letter that was still in his hand.
“Let me guess, according to that letter, a representative from House Solaria is on their way up here to see the mythril deposit for themselves? And only after that, will they agree to the terms you mentioned earlier?”
Lord Icefall didn’t respond right away.
“Yes,” he said with great reluctance.
“I thought as much,” I said, my smile growing so wide that my cheeks started to hurt. “However, House Solaria doesn’t care who mines the mythril for them, as long as they get their due. If someone else were to take control of the mythril deposit, say the people who hired the Black Wolf Gang or…” I paused. “…House Sturm, they would be the ones to negotiate terms with House Solaria.”
At this, Lord Icefall’s expression darkened. His aura exploded out of him, and the temperature in the room grew colder. He opened his mouth to say something, but I held up a hand to forestall him.
“I’m not saying that my House would do such a thing to you, Lord Icefall,” I said. “You came to me with open and, mostly, honest intentions, so I will do the same for you.” I glanced at Guildmaster Sinclair. “I won’t make a liar out of your cousin by trying to threaten or coerce you. However, I want you to remember that we could have taken the mythril deposit from you but didn’t.”
Lord Icefall narrowed his eyes at me.
“You don’t know where the deposit is,” he said. “You can’t steal what you can’t find.”
“Lord Icefall,” I said in a soft voice. “When faced with the extinction of your House and the death of your family, or losing the mythril deposit, which would you pick? Either of my parents are powerful enough to take on House Icefall and win. Against both of them at the same time? You stand no chance.”
I saw the fight go out of Lord Icefall when I said this.
“Again, I’m not saying this to threaten you,” I said. “During your negotiation with my parents, I want you to remember the moment when we chose friendship and cooperation over violence and theft.”
Lord Icefall sighed.
“I understand, Lord Gabriel.” He gave Guildmaster Sinclair a wry look and tossed a coin her way. “Here. You win.”
Guildmaster Sinclair caught the coin and pocketed it.
“I told you not to underestimate him,” she said. “He isn’t an idiot.”
Lord Icefall waved her words off. It amused me to see that they had made a bet on whether or not I would pick up on the situation with House Solaria.
“Since none of us want the Black Wolf Gang to find the mythril deposit and get their hands on it,” I said. “We should come up with a plan to deal with them as soon as possible to eliminate the risk they pose.”
While the chances of them finding the mythril deposit were low, given how large the Icefall Region was, they weren’t zero. It was better to get rid of them now, so we wouldn’t have to worry about that. After all, if the Black Wolf Gang managed to seize the deposit and keep it, neither of our Houses would benefit.
“The plan is simple,” Lord Icefall said. “Eliminate the Black Wolf Gang’s scouting groups, and besiege their base at the Iron Crag Hills. As long as we can keep them contained long enough for the representative from House Solaria to arrive, we win.”
That wasn’t as satisfying as attacking the Black Wolf Gang and wiping them out, it made sense. Fighting in dark and cramped caves sounded like a nightmare, especially since the Black Wolf Gang likely set up traps and other defenses. Why go through all that when we could just keep them contained within the cave system underneath the Iron Crag Hills? Even if they tried to sneak out, we had a map pinpointing the location of most of their members.
“It’ll take a day or two to get our forces ready to move out,” Lord Icefall said. “I assume you want to participate, Lord Gabriel?”
I gave him a sharp smile.
“Of course,” I said. “However, before that, let us discuss the terms of our provisional alliance.”