"Man, I never get to ride in these magic carts," Silva said, his ashy hair becoming more unkempt from the fast winds. "Must be nice to have money."
The cart, driven by Brax, was identical to the one they had previously and was given to them to reach the Northern borders as fast as possible. They'd already split apart from the others, and the ones who remained on the dangerous mission to invade the Northland king's territory were Brax, Kofi, Musique, and the newly recruited Silva.
"Ain't you a guild master?" Brax asked. "Shouldn't you have some kinda winnings from the games each year?"
"Fourth doesn't get you anything," Silva sighed. "It all just goes to the casino slots, anyway. And then I get scolded by my underlings."
For a moment, Brax remembered his past, and a stinging sensation hit his side. He used to be a gambler himself, and when he thought about all the coins he had lost, he couldn't help but empathize. He wondered if his life would have turned out better if he hadn't taken so many risks back then. Then again, if he didn't end up at the bottom, he never would have met Xinyu and embarked on the journey of a lifetime. In that sense, he was grateful.
"Hey, we're supposed to meet with this Sako person, right?" Musique asked. "If there's no way to contact her directly, how are we supposed to find her?"
"Hm? You don't know?" Silva asked. "You guys came in all high and mighty like you had a plan, yet now you're telling me you don't even know where the princess is? I guess we'll have to make some noise and hope she finds us."
"Should we really go out of our way to find this woman?" Kofi asked. "I have no doubt she is strong, but as we increase our numbers, so do our chances of being found. If our goal is to infiltrate the North and confront the king, then we should remain as inconspicuous as possible. Besides, the more time we waste looking for her, the lower our chances of success get."
"You insane?" Silva asked. "There's no way we're getting through the North unscathed without her. Who's going to protect us from the assassins, or hell, the Jotnar?"
"Isn't that why you tagged along? Cause you were strong?" Brax asked.
"No, I tagged along because I heard Sako would be with us," Silva said. "Gotta stick around the strongest, you know?"
"Um, Silva, sir. Can I ask you a question?" Musique asked.
"As long as it's not a hassle to answer," Silva said, yawning.
"Why are you acting like you're weak?" Musique asked. "I watched you many times in the guild games, and out of everyone, I could tell you were the strongest one there."
"Say, I've been meaning to ask this of you but…" Silva started. "Are you a guy or a girl? I honestly can't tell."
Musique's face went immediately red, unsure of how to react. "I-I'm a boy!"
"I suspected as much!" Silva laughed. "Anyway, I may be strong, but I'm not a miracle weaver. There are things Sako can do that no one else can."
"Is there really no way we can contact her?" Brax asked.
"Don't worry about it," Silva sighed. "Sako is attentive in watching the Northern territory. I'm sure word of our arrival will quickly bring her to us."
"I hope so," Brax muttered.
…
The party arrived at a village made of dark pine wood and stone. It wasn't too small, but it wasn't large either. There were about four outposts in the whole town and a single base from which the Westland soldiers from Arthur's Guard operated. Of course, with word that the Northlands had already begun their attack, the town was on high alert and had more soldiers patrolling the streets than usual.
Unlike the milder temperatures Brax was used to, it was cold. Fall hadn't even arrived, yet it felt like winter was just around the corner. He might've grown up in Zenith, a city of the region, but that had been many decades prior. Since then, he'd forgotten how harsh the chills of the North could be, even in summer.
After parking their cart near the base, the group made their way to the only lodge in town and huddled around the furnace at the center of the lobby, which was responsible for heating the building. Its flames crackled with fleeting warmth, taken by stiff fingers and burned pretty much perpetually. Since the place also served as a restaurant, there were many long tables lined on both sides of the establishment, though it was far from crowded in the middle of the day.
"How can it be so cold? Isn't it summer?" Musique asked. "It feels like the top of a mountain here."
"Weren't you born on top of a mountain or something'?" Brax asked.
"The peak of Kitsune Mountain is heated by her magic," Musique said. "I don't think I've experienced heat as intense as the Southlands or temperatures as cold as here before."
"If you think this is cold, you're in for a rude awakening, kid," Silva mused. "You really don't know anything about the snowy regions?"
"There's not really much to watch around here. Not when the main city's so interesting," Musique said, shivering and putting his numb hands as close as he could to the fire without cooking them. "I had no idea the northern part of the West was so cold."
"It's simple, the closer north you get, the colder it is," Silva said. "Doesn't matter if it's spring, summer, or fall, the temperatures around here are always chilly. The Northlands are worse. It's so cold up there that it's always covered in snow that never melts. Also, we won't be able to use that magic cart anymore either. Westland tech doesn't fare so well in the snow."
"Now you tell us," Brax said. "How are we supposed to travel then?"
"Wow, you guys really weren't prepared," Silva said, laughing. "It's unfortunate Cynus wasn't the one leading this mission. He would have been much more diligent."
"If I'm not mistaken, were you not the one leading us?" Kofi asked.
"No, I'm not," Silva said. "What makes you think that?"
"Well, you're the strongest one here, so doesn't that responsibility fall onto you?" Musique asked.
"Beating people doesn't equate to leadership skill," Silva said. "Just ask my lackeys, they'll tell you I'm a horrible master. I don't pay them on time, I sleep until noon, I'm also-"
"A pain in the ass," a voice said as someone walked through the inn's door. The woman had an aviator jacket from the city, and was quite tall. She was almost as tall as Kofi, though she was much less muscular and had pale skin.
"I take it you're the bunch I'm supposed to meet with?" she asked.
"Who's asking?" Silva asked.
"You can call me Red," she said. "Also known as Sako's appointed slave."
"Her slave? Wasn't that abolished with the new kingdom?" Brax asked.
"I see jokes don't miss you, huh?" Red said sarcastically.
"Well, when ya say it with such a deadpan face and serious tone…" Brax muttered.
"Tell me, why is Silva from that no-good do-anything guild here?" Red asked. "Lancelot didn't say anything about you over the communication orb."
"I kind of just tagged along," Silva said as he laughed. "I'm flattered you know my name."
"I've heard it in passing a few times," Red said. "Nothing good, though."
"I'll bet. So, where's Sako?" Silva asked.
"She's over there," Red said, pointing to a table across the room where a person dressed head-to-toe in all white was dozing off. "I figured this was one of the towns you'd resupply in based on geography, and decided to meet you here. Of course, since the princess is also a pain in the ass, she went ahead of me to scout you guys out."
"If she was here all along, then why didn't she say anything?" Musique asked.
"She's shy," Red said.
"Shy's an understatement," Silva said, crossing her arms. "She can't speak. It's a well-known fact in the West, though, I suppose you're not from around here. She's also notoriously short… Hey, looks like you two are the same height."
"Eh? Short? I'm not-" Musique started.
"Yes, you are," Silva said, reaching into his pocket for something. He turned to Red. "You finding us makes things a whole hell of a lot easier. Red, was it? Can you call her over? Got something she'll be interested in."
Red threw a rock she picked up from outside at Sako, which hit her head and jolted her awake. Noticing her companion and the group huddling around the furnace, she got up and silently walked over. Without a word, Silva awkwardly handed her the letter, which she took, then whipped her body the other way.
The princess pressed her finger to the seal and opened it, staring intently at the black print. She recognized the barely cohesive handwriting as her father's and scanned it up and down with her indifferent eyes, making sure to engrain each word in her memory.
When she finished, she crumbled up the paper and threw it in the fire.
"Uh, shouldn't you have hung onto that?" Silva asked, watching the paper ball crumple to nothing in the flames. "I don't know what it said, but wasn't it an important letter from big dad himself?"
"The letter itself isn't important, just the contents," Red said. "Whatever it was, it was for Sako's eyes only. We can't risk leaving it around for the enemy to take."
"You know damn well no one's taking that from Sako," Silva said.
"That may be true, but there are other means of revealing its secrets," Red said. "If Sako believes it's better off destroyed, then I assure you, it is better off destroyed."
Sako yawned and walked up the stairs of the inn toward her room.
"She hasn't slept in a while. She's been waiting for you all this time," Red said.
"What do you mean? She was literally just sleeping," Musique asked.
"If that's what you think, then you're sorely mistaken," Red said. She handed Silva a hefty little pouch. "Here. Buy yourself some clothes. If you try to go North dressed as you are, you'll all freeze to death. We'll wait here for you."
"Don't mind if I-" Silva started.
"On second thought, you take it," Red said, pulling her hand back and instead throwing the coin pouch to Brax. "You look reliable enough. Hold on to that and make sure Silva doesn't do anything stupid with it."
"What would you know? We've never met before," Silva huffed.
"The whole kingdom knows about your addiction," Red said. She glared at Brax. "Anyway, commoner, I doubt you're used to having that much coin on hand, so try to keep it safe."
"Uh, sure," Brax said, stuffing the pouch in his pocket. Actually, it wasn't the first time he'd been given that much coin in a pouch to hang onto, the first time being when he and Xinyu arrived in Wunderdum. He also kept quiet about the fact that he used to be quite the gambler himself in his younger years.
Red began walking upstairs to join Sako, but the door flung open, and several soldiers with stricken faces marched into the building. Unlike the steel armor the traditional Westland soldier donned, these men and women were dressed for the cold. This meant that they were bundled up in reinforced cloth, masks, and hats. While it wasn't enough to protect them from blades or arrows, it was the only way they could fight in such a harshly freezing environment. The captain leading the others pulled down his mask and walked up to Red.
"You… you're Sako's knight, right?" the captain asked. "Is Sako here? Reports indicate that she landed in this town late last night."
"Yeah, but she's resting now," Red said. "What is it?"
"We've just received word from Zenith city," he said. "Early this morning, the Northlands began their attack. The city is currently under siege."
"What's the scale of the attack?" Red asked.
"Right now, it's only regular soldiers bombarding the walls from a distance, but scouts have seen camps of Jotnar and Northland soldiers gathering in the distance," the captain said. "It's only a matter of time before they begin the true offensive. Once their attack begins, the city won't last more than a few days."
"Unfortunately, that wrecked city is a lost cause," Red said. "You can't expect any help from inland as it's too busy fighting itself."
"We understand that, which is why we need your command," he said. "Should we begin evacuating citizens? Or do we begin withdrawing troops and reinforce the next city down?"
Before Red could answer, Sako walked down the stairs, dressed in her white cloth and her one-of-a-kind rifle on her back. Her eyes had begun to form bags beneath them, and her face was clouded from exhaustion from numerous nights without sleep. Even so, she marched forward, pulling her mask dutifully over her lips and nose.
When she was upon the doorframe, a hand landed upon her shoulder and tugged her back.
"Where do you think you're going, o'mighty princess?" Red asked.
Sako pointed west, where Zenith lay.
"It'll take you almost a full day by snoedoe to get there," Red said. "And once you arrive, what do you plan to do? Fight with them until they give up or succeed in taking the city? We've got a different mission to fulfill now, and we need you to finish it."
Sako put four fingers up.
"If you think you can stave off an entire army in less than four days, you're insane," Red said. "I don't care how strong you are; this is a war. You'll just end up getting swept up in the scale of things if you fight as a soldier. There's a surefire way to make a difference, and that's to head North immediately. Arthur gave you the means of negotiating with him, didn't he? I don't know what it is, but Lancelot said it's only something you can do."
Sako raised her four fingers once again. She then pointed to Red and the others and shifted her finger towards the Northlands, telling them to go ahead without her. She patted Red's shoulder twice, then strolled out the door into the cold world.
Red sighed, watching her disappear into the distance.
"We've been ordered by the princess to head north without her," Red said. "She's going to stop the invasion in Zenith and reconvene with us before we reach the city."
"And how will she find us?" Silva asked.
"There's a hidden base we have embedded into Northland territories not far from the border," Red said. "It's used for reconnaissance, espionage, intel gathering, and a multitude of other purposes. Our team there is skilled and well-versed in traversing the North. They'll help us develop a plan of action while we wait for Sako to meet us there."
"Quite the bold move. I never knew the princess was so reckless," Silva said.
"You have no idea," Red said under her breath. "For now, do as I said and go buy some heavy clothes, preferably white, since snow warfare is a big part of our plan. Stick together, don't stand out, and return here immediately. Don't think you're safe just because you're in Westland territory. We're heading out first thing in the morning."
"Hm, well, I guess that makes her in charge," Silva said. "You heard her; let's move out."