96. Hunters in the North

“I was looking forward to a little rest,” Clay moaned as they loaded up the throne ship. “Now they want to send us chasing after wargs? Why did I, of all people, get dragged into being a knight.”

“Quit whining,” Erin said, pushing past him and dropping a crate of supplies on the ship. “You came out here to be an acolyte, didn’t you? At least we’re getting somewhere.”

“Ha, the little girl has more balls than the skinny kid,” Radic mocked as he placed two crates stacked atop one another in the ship. 

“Come on, you guys, hurry it up. We gotta get a move on,” Callum said, passing them to the cockpit.

“Damn, you piss me off. Get lucky by being in the right place at the right time, and now you think you have the right to boss us around,” Radic huffed.

“I do have the right to boss you around,” Callum countered, stopping before the cockpit. “King Atlas made me the captain of this little mission, don’t you remember?”

“I thought you two were like buddies or something now,” Erin said.

“Buddies—with him?” Radic scoffed. “Yeah, right. I got standards.”

“Look, the kids are bickering already,” one of the scouts said, and the group of scouts following him broke into laughter.

“Great image you’re setting for us,” Callum sighed and turned back to the cockpit.

“Image?” Radic growled but held his tongue. He knew as well as the rest of them that many still mocked them behind their backs. 

Although the order of knights undoubtedly improved its image, many still saw it as just a place where Mark placed his loyal followers to elevate them.

Once the ship was loaded, Callum pulled it into a shaky ascent as powerful winds shook it and frosted over its metal shell.

One of the scouts stood by Callum’s side, hanging onto a leather strap bolted to the wall. Holding a map, the scout directed Callum’s flight.

They had lost the tracks of the trolls and retreating wargs some days ago, but the scouts were veterans picked from the best hunters around and had a good idea of which direction they had gone. Not that it was hard to figure out. Their flight led directly to the Daggers.

Fabled to be the greatest mountains in the world, the icy tips of the Daggers stabbed high into the air, disappearing behind a shroud of white clouds.

As deadly as the tales of the Daggers were and the beasts that came down from them, it was said that the frozen wastes that stretched to the edge of the world beyond the Daggers were even worse.   

This was not a place humans visited. In fact, their ship was likely to be the first humans to touchdown on the Daggers in hundreds of years.

The battle was the only reason Mark had even trusted his knights and scouts to head to the Daggers without getting themselves killed. Regardless of how many wargs had made it back to their ancestral home, there was no way they would have reorganized by now. Not only that, but he had a sneaking suspicion that a power struggle had arisen among their ranks.

Not only that but while Mark was cautiously considering that the trolls might have betrayed him, he didn’t actually believe they had. With any luck, the defeat of the wargs had tipped the power balance in the Daggers, putting the trolls on top.

The trolls themselves were a deadly foe and made for a more powerful warrior on average. But their numbers were slim, and so far, he had no reason to believe that they even wanted to rule the entire Frontier, unlike the wargs.

However, they still needed to be cautious. Callum made several flyovers as he scoped for a safe landing spot. 

He finally found a snow-covered platform on the edge of a lower section of the mountain that looked almost like a natural foothold for a giant to climb up the impressive mountain that towered above.

The Daggers weren’t just huge mountains, though. What really made them stand out as impressive natural structures was the labyrinthian tunnels and caverns that cut through them. While their inhabitants had extended some of the caves and caverns, most were natural.

From above, Callum had spotted one such cave entrance near the platform he decided to land on and monitored the area for a while, hovering above it before landing.

Of course, he could only see a cave entrance, not where it led. However, since these were the Dagger Mountains, he knew that it was highly likely to lead to more caves and caverns or even external ledges that ran around the mountains and were used for navigation.

“Okay, here we are,” Callum said, easing back in his seat. He kept a vigilant eye on the cave entrance and feeds around his cockpit, half expecting to be attacked. “Open the hatch.”

“You’re staying here?” The scout leader said.

“Yeah, it’s probably wise I do.”

“Lucky you. Alright, boys,” he added, turning for the hatch. “Suit up. We’ve got some tracks to find.”

Thumping the hatch button, the scout leader grimaced against the cold winds and pushed outside. It was even colder here, but volcanic seams ran throughout the mountains, and many of the caves were heated because of them.

“So, you knights coming or what?” One of the scouts glared at the three as they got up from their seats.

‘Dunno, ask the captain,” Radic shot back.

“You three make a perimeter around the ship,” Callum called from the cockpit. “We’ll leave the experts to find evidence of the tracks for now. There’s a good chance we’re in the completely wrong spot and will have to move the ship again. And the last thing I want is to have to go searching for people because you’re missing.”

“You heard him,” Radic said.

“Pity. You children might’ve learned something,” the scout flashed a dirty smile.

Radic’s expression bent into a scowl, but he held his tongue.

“Forget about it, Radic,” Erin said. “You need to grow a harder shell. Do you have any idea how people treated me when I was exiled?”

“You mean after you shot me in the leg?”

“Yeah, that,” Erin awkwardly grimaced.

**King**

“Not again,” Mark groaned and rubbed at his head. The world was spinning, and he felt awful.

“You’re finally awake. Here, have something to eat,” Yelinda said, placing a bowl by his bedside.

“Y-Yelinda,” Mark swallowed. “What are you doing here?”

“Someone had to take care of you in the state you were in. And I figured it best not done by servants with loose lips. That reminds me. You’re a king now; you should really consider creating some kind of king’s servants. People that you know you can trust. The last thing you need is the people spreading rumors about you.”

“Huh?” Mark groaned and pushed himself up to sit. He had just woken up and was in a state. Yelinda’s words were coming too fast.

“Servants. You know, people that look after you. On your way back to the cabin, you emptied your stomach on the snow and then attempted to pee—resulting in you falling over and soaking yourself.”

“What, really?” Mark paled.

“It’s fine. I had the attendants leave you with me and dealt with it myself. If rumors spread that the mighty Vanquisher can’t handle his liquor and pees on himself, that wouldn’t be great for your image.”

Mark looked down and grimaced, realizing his underclothing was dry and clean. 

“Got a problem?” Yelinda raised her brows.

“It’s just that…”

“Sorry, I didn’t realize you were such a prude.”

“I’m not, I swear,” Mark stammered. “It’s we haven’t talked much… at least not casually. It’s not exactly a great impression to leave. Nor the kind of thing you want to make a near stranger deal with.”

“I’m not sure what kind of impression you have of me, Mr. King, but I assure you, it’s wrong,” Yelinda said, placing a spoon in his bowl. “Eat up. It’s a heart stew we eat in the West whenever somebody is a little worse for wear. It’ll bring your strength back.”

“Thank you,” Mark said, gingerly taking the bowl and shoveling it into his mouth. He hadn’t felt hungry before, but the moment it touched his lips, his stomach growled, and he lapped it up.

“Our little clan and temple might hold an influential place in the Western lands, but we’re no kingdom, and I wasn’t raised like some princess. Everyone chips in and helps out. There were no jobs above me because I was the heir to the matriarch growing up. And even when I became the matriarch, I did many jobs that would be unspeakable for someone in my position elsewhere. Trust me, cleaning you up was not a big deal.”

“Still kind of gross, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it was,” Yelinda playfully smiled. “You got it everywhere. Honestly, you should smell your clothing. It was aw–”

“Yeah, okay. I got the picture.”

“Don’t worry so much. I wouldn’t have chosen to help make you a king if a little pee and vomit was all it took for me to lose my respect for you. Unfortunately, the common folk can be a little fickle, especially when you have a legendary story backing you up. And while it might seem like a silly ruse at times, it's a small price to pay for unity. Your image is as important as ever, and it will only become increasingly important as we develop this little outpost into a real kingdom worthy of the name.”

“Yeah, I had a feeling that would be the case,” Mark sighed. “It’s what comes with being king, I suppose.”

“Don’t look so glum. We’ve already achieved the impossible.”

“And yet the road to victory has never looked so long.”

“To you, maybe,” Yelinda countered. “In my eyes, we’ve achieved something that only ever existed in legends. Being from the Imperium, I don’t think you truly appreciate everything that’s happened. I grew up with stories of this land uniting under a legendary king who brings all the clans together and raises us to our rightful place. But that’s just it; they were legends. Stories and dreams that felt more and more childish as I grew up. Then you came along, and I saw something. It reignited those dreams I had as a child. Honestly, it’s quite surreal looking back on it all.”

Mark’s expression softened. He had never seen her this candid. She looked hopeful as if her dreams had come true, and from the sounds of it, they had. Mark realized that he had been so goal-oriented that he hadn’t spent much time considering how the kingdom's formation had affected the people. 

Many of these people had no doubt been dreaming of something more. And by bringing the clans together, he had achieved it. It was a good feeling, but the weight already pressing down against him felt heavier than ever.

The legend they had created around him felt so much more real at that moment, and he realized it was his responsibility to maintain it. His people depended upon it.

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