Frostbound
Chapter 313 - Spirits in the Air

Vulwin

The work to build up the local chapter of the Emporium was done swiftly and efficiently like no other. His grouping of guards, some of the best they had available for the trip, proved its worth.

The instructions to 'not make it ugly' and 'don't use any weird colors' were rather humorous. The Emporium used the same layout and materials in every store they built, the only difference in the quality.

Higher-tier building materials on high-tier, important planets and lower-tier, cheaper materials on less important planets.

That schema didn't really work here, though, as being a foothold in the newly integrated planets would set it firmly in the important pile, but with the restrictions, there wasn't a way to get the materials needed to make the masterpiece Emporium that fit its designation.

Even if they somehow got the materials, they didn't have a Builder good enough to use them.

So it was with only a small amount of disappointment that Vulwin gazed over his new domain, made of high E-rank stone and ice. It was worse than the stores he was used to, but the fact it was his more than made up for it.

His eyes roved up and down the street looking over all the nearby shops and the like. The architecture here was unlike anything he'd ever seen. Not that he hadn't seen stone and wooden buildings before, but not in the exact style and certainly not in such quantity.

Frost Elves never used so much stone in their settlements. The cities of his home world matched what many other Elf races created. More grown, than constructed, from the forest they called home.

Vulwin smiled at the memory of the Boreal Forest of his home in remembrance. It was decades ago he'd last visited, but he still remembered it clearly. None of the cities of his home, which was so dominated by elves, matched what he was seeing now in Frostheim.

Both Jekas and Rangrick felt similar to him. Dwarves rarely, if ever, built above ground and Gnomes wouldn't have created something so... rustic. Or as large. Vulwin's guards were the most at home, but even they claimed it was different from what they were used to.

Comparing it strictly to other Human styles Vulwin knew didn't match either, as it was far from the tent camps Arctic Barbarians so liked. Where they called domes of fur home. He'd never been to a solely Human city before and only had the Barbarian Tribes he'd seen before to compare.

Vulwin had never been to a Frost Giant settlement, either, so he couldn't compare to them.

The Emporiums seat of power was Dirvenguard's Capital City, Arkfast, which was one of the only places Vulwin could claim to have seen similar styles. Nowhere else had the right mix of rugged, rustic, stout, and strong.

People were out and about, too, going in and out of shops or going about their day. Not many frequented his store, but that would change. The stuff they had was something no other store here could sell, it was just on the expensive side.

Those with the money to spare had already come to spend it when they first opened and the flood of people had quickly become a trickle as people saved up once again.

Satisfied, Vulwin walked back into his store and found his way to the basement. Rangrick preferred it to the upper floors, his Dwarven nature shining through.

Vulwin found both Jekas and Rangrick huddled over a workbench inspecting something. From the glimpse he could see through their shuffling bodies, Vulwin could guess what it was they were appraising.

Checking out the local wares I see.

The two sensed Vulwin walk up and wordlessly adjusted to allow him a spot around the workbench, allowing him to clearly see he was correct. There were two weapons laid out on the surface, one axe and one sword.

There were maker's marks on both, and Vulwin had a suspicion he knew who the marks belonged to. One was a flaming hammer motif, similar enough to what he'd seen other Smiths choose.

The axe had a snowflake pressed onto the face of an upside-down hammer. What a hammer would look like if it were planted into the ground, rather than in the action of swinging, like the other one.

The sword was the obvious better of the two, Vulwin didn't even need to use his appraising skills for that, but the axe called to him more, as it was forged in cold, rather than heat, like the sword.

Both were enchanted and had Runes running their length, if one had the eyes to see them.

"What do you think, Rangrick?" Vulwin posed. While he had great appraising abilities, the Dwarf was much better with forged works. His Race aided the skills he had in addition to the knowledge he already had. It was hard to grow up in a Dwarven city and not learn a thing or two about smithing.

"Better than I first assumed," Rangrick said, "This one," the sword, "is decent work. Consistent hammer strikes and a steady hand while shaping. No defects I can find and is quality work. Not a masterpiece, but above average I'd say.

"Work of a Journeyman edging on Adept Blacksmith." He concluded.

"Fire Blacksmith," Jekas added.

Rangrick nodded, "Fire, through and through, with a mix of Metal."

"The axe?" Vulwin asked after hearing the sword's appraisal.

"Could be better. The Smith wasn't as skilled as the Fire one and relied heavily on a high Strength stat. There are small defects, but nothing catastrophic. Average I'd say, but there is one thing that sets it apart from the sword.

"There was a lot more mana used in its creation. It flows better than the sword as the pathways are stronger." Rangrick summarized.

Jekas added, "Journeyman work."

Vulwin nodded, "And the enchantments?"

"Both done by the same person. The one who forged the axe enchanted both from the signature." Rangrick said, "A Runesmith if I had to guess."

"I suspect the City Lord is the Runesmith you're seeing," Vulwin said, "The Wards have his touch on them too."

Rangrick nodded, "The Runes are good for what they are. Tier 1's aren't that difficult to engrave though. There are some pathway issues along the string and lacking fundamentals, but that's to be expected."

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Overall?" Vulwin asked.

"It's promising."

And this is only one city. I wonder what other nuggets are out there?

Before Vulwin could dive too deep into the fantasy, the bell notifying him of a customer chimed. Peeling away from the two men, he walked upstairs to see a man browsing.

A man they were just talking about.

"City Lord Christopher, it's nice to see you." Vulwin intoned. He still wasn't sure how to address the man as this was only ever their second time meeting formally. The land and the store went through the Head Merchant Jonathan.

"Vulwin," Christopher greeted, "How are you settling into my City? I don't know how it compares to the others you've been to, but I'm quite proud of what we've accomplished."

"It's quite... rugged, but that is to be expected. I see you are striving to change that, so I applaud you," Vulwin struggled on whether to be honest, but he'd heard the man appreciated it. "What can I do for you, sir?"

"I've come for a few reasons, but I should first ask if everything is square? I'm told Jonathan handled everything but I figured I'd check now that you have everything up and running." Christopher asked

"Yes, yes, everything and more." Vulwin said happily, "As you can see, the Terminals are linked and we've gotten a steady stream of customers so far."

"I'm glad to hear that. You've been a great help so far for us as well. You don't know how annoying it is to be left in the dark about so much stuff." He said ruefully.

"You're right, I can't imagine." Vulwin said thinking about how frustrating it would be, "I grew up with it and can't even fathom exploring it for the first time. But that's for another time. What can I do for you? Have you come for Knowledge, Skills, or Treasure?"

"A bit of all three, really." Christopher said, "All our attempts to enchant the Spatial Enlargement Rune have failed, and I've come to see if you know a reason for why?"

Space Magic? How did they get their hands on that? Not that Spatial Enlargement is particularly Rare, but it wasn't particularly easy.

"Ah, Space Magic is very finicky and very dangerous. I assume you're starting with a bag or pouch." Vulwin asked, and he nodded, "In that case, can I ask what type of leather you're using?"

"Nothing's worked so far, so we're still using scraps to practice. Once we get it right, we'll probably use the strongest we have available. Somehow, having the leather break seems like a bad idea." Christopher said.

"A bad idea indeed, but there's your problem. You're trying to enchant a leather unsuited for Spatial magic, nor is it suited to containing it. While I don't know how close you've come, if you don't use the right leather, it will always fail." Vulwin informed.

It was surprising how much they didn't know. It came up rarely, but there were times common knowledge Vulwin assumed they knew, they just didn't.

"Unfortunate," the man mumbled, "Do you have any for sale?"

"That I do!" Vulwin said excitedly, "Spatial Rings, too, if you ever earn enough to purchase one." Which won't be for a while yet. He also had expanded pouches for sale, but he doubted the man would buy one. Not when he was trying to create his own.

Vulwin flexed a few of his Skills and connected to the Terminal remotely to pull up a screen for the man to view. It listed a few of the different suitable leathers Vulwin had available that would hold a Spatial Rune.

He saw the man wince.

"Yes, it's rather expensive, but that's to be expected. Everyone wants a Spatially expanded pack, and there are not infinite beasts to create them. Over half the price of the packs is just because of the leather involved." Vulwin added context to the price.

"You wouldn't happen to have anything cheaper, would you?" He asked.

"As I said before, there are two options for what you are aiming for. Using a leather that is favorable for Spatial Magic, or using a leather strong enough to contain it instead. The second option won't result in as big a space, as the leather doesn't have an inherent affinity for the magic involved, and it's much harder to successfully enchant, but it's still an option." Vulwin informed.

Vulwin shifted the listing to show the cheaper leather as well. He watched the main pick over the list and finally select leather made from the hide of a D-rank Mammoth. A good choice. Strong and sturdy.

"Anything else?" Vulwin asked hopefully, already using his Skills to bring the Leather out of his [Inventory].

"Not today, but maybe later." The man grabbed the leather and said his goodbyes. It was clear he wanted to get back to testing as soon as possible.

Vulwin didn't mind and watched the man go.

Maybe a stroll around the City is in order? There are still places I haven't been and I feel a snowstorm on the horizon.

Winter was truly fascinating to live through. All the seasons were for that matter. It wasn't something that he was used to, being from a Planet without them.

Summer was... not the most pleasant, but it had its own charm. Even if he had yet to find it.

Fall was breathtakingly beautiful if you were in the right spot to appreciate it. The gradual shift of the leaves and the wash of reds and oranges wasn't something he'd seen before. He was used to Blue and White.

Spring, oh, Spring. He had friends who would have loved Spring here. Not his fellow Frost Elves, no, they would only appreciate Winter, but there were others he knew outside his own race.

Wood Elves, they were called by many, but they didn't appreciate that name. They thought of themselves more as Forest Elves than Wood Elves, but they hardly got a choice of what they were called by outsiders.

They and their Dryads would love Spring. Vulwin knew that the Everwood Market Hall was somewhere on the Planet and they usually had Wood Elves in their employ. It was a coin toss to know if any were sent to the continent he was on. Maybe the Western portion. There seemed to be a large forest in the Northwest.

But most wonderful of all was Winter. Hardly a surprise given his disposition. Jekas and Rangrick both agreed with him, as well as the guards.

It was coming up on a year already. One full year would come soon, but he'd experienced a full cycle already. His first Summer was mainly spent in the muggy Southlands, but he was told it didn't get nearly as hot up here during the same time of year.

While the seasons were novel and would continue to be a source of entertainment to watch them go by, there was something else that he was looking forward to and it was coming much, much faster than he first assumed.

While lately, he'd had the chance to witness the Racial Trait of Humans firsthand, his own Trait was flaring and hinting at what was to come.

Elves were known for their great eyesight and affinity for magic, but that wasn't all their Race was given. They were much closer to Spirits than people first assumed.

Spirits of all kinds, but most strongly with those that matched them. Wood Elves with Dryads, Dark Elves with Shadows, and Frost Elves with Spirits of Ice and Snow.

Vulwin still remembered the Boreal Forest of his Homeworld. It dominated nearly half the Planet he grew up on and was filled with Boreal Dryads. He missed them dearly, and it had been too long since he'd been back.

Dirvenguard didn't have Spirits. The Planet's magic wasn't aligned with them, which was a shame.

Here, though, was ripe with the possibility. He hadn't seen any on his way North. No Wind Sprites, no Snow Spirits or Earth Sprites. Not even any infant Dryads among the forests or Naiads among the rivers.

He'd looked and looked, but none were around.

It made sense that they weren't, but he couldn't help but search anyway. He was desperate for that connection once again. To feel that spark he'd long forgotten while living and working on Dirvenguard.

It was so easy to forget that this Planet had only just started producing Essence and Mana. It was so thick in the air that Vulwin imagined it being around forever, even though that was far from the truth.

Three years. That was how long Magic had touched this world. Three short years.

His search was bound to be empty as even the lowliest sprite took years to first form. Once they were around, though, they would reproduce like rabbits, but it was that first creation that took time.

The magic had to gather just right, the spark had to happen at the right time, and a Sprite would be born. Its very presence would cascade into more following suit.

There were already a few places he was watching. Unfortunately, Earth and Water Sprites would come first. It was their nature. The Wind was too erratic to have everything go just right. With the Ice and Snow melting seasonally, it would be a while before any of those formed. At least not here. One could form in the North, where the snow didn't melt.

Water evaporated and moved through its cycle, but Lakes and Rivers were more consistent than the Wind ever would be.

The Earth would be first, as it was nine times out of ten. It hardly moved and it was the definition of consistent. If a spark were to happen, an Earth Sprite was most likely.

After Sprites would come Spirits. After them would come a host of different possibilities. Dryads, Naiads, Nymphs, and Elementals.

It would take time, but he could feel it in the air. It was charged and ready for the first Spirits to form.