"Adrian is a smart fella" Rage said to Jimmy as they were sat on opposite beds getting ready to sleep.
"I never thought he'd have the same idea as us" Jimmy replied.
"Huh, am I missing something?" Hunter asked from under his blanket before sitting up on his bed.
"Well, one of the most important features in Swordmasters was territories, usually spending authority points after finishing guild missions back in the game would allow you to own a portion of the territory you finished the mission in, but that's not the case here, that's why we have been helping Cedric develop Oakbrook so we can eventually have it as a part of our territory, after all we can't build a clan house unless we have a territory" Jimmy answered as he lied down on his bed, "Frostholm, huh? sounds like an interesting place, i wonder what his plans are with the Azure Knights" He continued.
"Well, we'll just have to pay him a visit soon then, that is if he doesn't visit us first" Rage chuckled.
"I wonder what noble role he played, I'm pretty sure he'd call himself a king with the number of players in his guild" Jimmy scoffed.
"Remember the Sunfire Citadel's fight? when he challenged us for the Nethraxis raid, Madeen did them so dirty with that sand trap" Sensei chuckled from the back, "They were stupid enough to not use mana detection to sense that the ground beneath them was fake"
"I remember the kill feed with Madeen instantly getting 40 kills, the forums went insane" They all laughed as they prepared themselves to sleep.
"I'm kinda worried about Phoenix" Hunter said with a concerned voice.
"He's a tough one, and his vitals are okay, he got into a fight recently but judging that he's alive he definitely won that one" Rage replied.
"He's out of EXP range so we can't share EXP with him and he can't share EXP with us" Jimmy said, "But he's been steadily leveling up so that's good"
"We have a big day tomorrow so just get some rest everyone" Rage called out as they all pulled their blankets and went to bed.
The following morning, the clan members alongside the elite guards were all gathered in front of the inn, with the players and locals watching intently from a distance.
"Sylvora, Varon, Jimmy, Hunter and Madeen, you'll stay here in the town and make sure that everthing is under control, me and Sensei will continue with the investigation, you all know what to do, Varon and Sylvora, you will be tasked with training the garrison today, Varon will fill you in Sylvie" Rage looked at Sylvie who nodded in understanding, "Everyone else you know your roles, let's move out"
Rage seemed to want the people to see what he was doing as he was speaking clearly in a crowded area, rumors started to spread that Highthorn took the town under their own authority judging by how Rage was giving orders regarding the town's security and something about investigations.
"Are you sure about this?" Sensei asked Rage as they strolled through the forest towards the mine.
"It's the only way we will obtain more clues, just me and you buddy" Rage replied.
"Well I'm pretty sure that the players are already spreading that Oakbrook is now our territory, aren't you afraid something might happen while we're away? we dunno how long we'll be gone for" Sensei crossed his arms.
"Come on, with Varon and the others there? I doubt it" Rage replied, "But going straight to Ironpeak is the only way I'm sure, I just wanted to get things done while we're away, that's why we spread that rumor right before we left" He continued.
"I mean, Oakbrook will definitely gain way more player population now, but can the town even handle all of this?" Sensei asked.
"Well, if the population increases so will business, I'm sure merchants would want to set up shop where there are more customers, after all we need to get Oakbrook's economy up and running, you heard Cedric, the taxes to the capital are going to increase by a lot, we can't keep spending our money on the town forever, it was the only option" Rage replied as they approached the mine.
"Well, I wish Madeen was here, we could've saved a lot of money" Sensei said.
"Come on, we were going to need mounts sooner or later" Rage said before he summoned a midnight-blue horse that glowed with velvet aura, markings and runes drawn all over its body.
Shadowmare: The perfect mount for night strolls.
Price: 19,500 Gold coins.
Sensei let out a sigh, "You know I had other plans for my money" He said in an annoyed tone before he summoned his own horse.
"It's a very underrated mount you know?" Rage said before he was met with a loud yell.
"I KNOW!" Sensei yelled before he let out a long sigh, "That prestige shop is definitely handy" He murmured looking the other way.
"I couldn't ask Cedric for a map of the place since I don't want him to know where we're going, so we'll have to follow the tunnel" Rage said.
"Well these horses are hella handy" Sensei replied before his entire body turned into a shadow aura alongside the horse as they passed through the floor and into the tunnel.
Shadowstep: allows you to turn your body into an elemental shadow provided that you are engulfed by total darkness.
"Maan, I can't believe Hunter has this skill now without having to get this horse" Sensei huffed, his tone filled with jealousy.
Both horses galloped through the tunnel, avoiding the rubble and debris on the ground thanks to the mount's special ability.
After around 8 hours of non-stop galloping, they could finally see the end of the tunnel.
As they went outside it was already nighttime, they found themselves in front of rugged snowy mountains with barely any trees in their vicinity, on the horizon, a small fort stood atop of a hill, overlooking a cliff on one side.
Rage used his detection skill to try and determine how many dwarves were there, but to his surprise, he didn't sense any presence coming from inside the fort.
"I can't pick up anything from inside, this is fishy" Rage said to Sensei who was directly behind him, "Stay on your guard"
After 15 minutes they reached the fort's entrance, they both stood still for a moment scanning the gate, Rage tried to use his detection skill again, but once more he couldn't detect any presence.
As they pushed in, the massive iron gates of Ironpeak Fort groaned open with a creak; the interior filled with an eerie silence, broken only by the distant echoes of their footsteps. The courtyard laid still and hauntingly empty.
Rage, relying on his instincts, led the way through the courtyard, his eyes darting around for any clues or signs of Thaddeus. The unnaturally cold weather and total silence broken only by the sound of strong wind made the atmosphere even more unsettling.
They reached the entrance to the main keep, the heart of the fort.
Just as they were about to enter, a mysterious voice echoed through the air, reverberating off the stone walls. "Took you long enough"
Rage's eyes narrowed, and Sensei tightened his grip on his weapon. "Who's there?" Rage demanded.
A figure descended from the ramparts, approaching them with a firm stride, "I'm offended you don't recognize the voice" The figure said as he approached closer, his armor and face showing beneath the moonlight.
"Holy shi-" Rage's eyes widened, recognizing the very familiar features and blonde hair, "Don't tell me this is Frostholm".
"God forbid!" Adrian laughed, putting a hand over Rage's shoulder, "I heard you dealt with Rivershade, thank god i didn't have to deal with him myself, now are you ready for our next duel?"
"Oh, for the love of god, give me a break, is the only thing you think about is duels?" Rage groaned as Adrian let out another laugh.
"Well, we were just speaking about you today, looks like you had the same idea as us" Sensei said.
"But it wasn't that easy for me, let's just go back to Frostholm, I'll fill you in over a hot drink" Adrian said before he whistled, after a moment, tens of players emerged from the shadows, coming into view.
"I feel embarrassed" Rage facepalmed, "Erik Braun?"
A young druid emerged from between the players, wearing a light blue robe and holding a long wooden staff, "I'm honored you remember me" The druid bowed sarcastically before Rage smacked him on the head, "Owie!" He held his head with a muffled chuckle.
"How did you know we were coming?" Rage asked as they all made their way out of the fort.
"We didn't, I'll explain everything once we arrive"
Adrian summoned his unique mount "Stormheart", it was the only named mount in the whole of Swordmasters and it explains how he still retained it even after what happened, after all he earned it by winning the third international tournament as a solo, it was impressive judging that even scarlet had to team up with someone for that tournament.
"Still sticking with the Shadowmares?" He asked Rage not waiting for an answer.
"Old habits die hard I guess"
After a short while, they arrived at a town that looked similar to Oakbrook, with tall wooden walls, they passed a bridge that overlooked a frozen river before arriving at the gatehouse.
"The lord came back, open the gates!" One of the guards called out from above the gatehouse as an iron gate ascended opening the way for Adrian and the rest.
"The lord? have you taken over the town?" Rage asked Adrian as they made their way towards a unique looking building, decorated with a frozen garden that was full of beautiful white and blue flowers and an ice sculpture in front of the town hall's entrance.
"Yes, but not in the way you think" Adrian replied as they dismissed their horses and went inside.
"When I entered the gate, we arrived into this harsh snow mountains region, we didn't find any plants or even a single tree in a large radius before someone spotted a dungeon, we managed to finally clear the dungeon after around a month of exploring inside, giving us a ton of money, EXP and gear" Adrian started to explain as he was preparing three cups of tea.
"What? and how come we didn't see a notification about it?" Rage asked.
"Because the notifications and announcements here are local to the region, that's why we also didn't see an announcement when you killed a world boss" Adrian replied.
"Wait but how did you know then?" Rage questioned as Adrian handed him a cup of tea.
"Word of mouth, players travel here and there, and we met some players from Oakbrook who told us what you were doing with the city, i figured you'd look for a territory right away, but you were progressing quicker than I expected" Adrian took a sip of his tea.
"And how did you become the lord of this town?" Sensei asked.
"Well, when we arrived here, the town was ran by a tyrannical dwarven commander called Durgrim Blackbeard, he was hiring bandits and mercenaries to help him with his slavery side gig, at first it was just rumors we heard from the locals who advised us to leave the town, but after staying in here for a couple of weeks, Durgrim's goons started trying to kidnap some of the players, when we found out, we launched a rebillion with the help of the locals here in Frostholm, we couldn't catch Durgrim, but we managed to kill all the dwarves in Ironpeak fort and that's where we found the Oakbrook elder" Adrian answered.
"Wait, Thaddeus is here?" Rage jumped from his seat.
"No, unfortunately he isn't a couple of days earlier he was kidnapped again, we don't know who did it but we did launch an investigation, but we have been busy lately clearing out the slavers' hideouts here in this region" Adrian looked to the ground apologetically.
"Hmm, so the people considered you a national hero and elected you to be the town's elder?" Sensei asked again.
"Well that's not how it works, since this town is a part of the empire, I hold no standing or noble title to be able to become the elder, so they elected a lower noble who was a good enough person to lead the town, however I was appointed lord commander of the town's garrison, frankly speaking, I hold an authority equal to that of the elder's" Adrian took another sip of his tea.
"Wait, then what did you introduce yourself as to the townspeople from the beginning?" Rage asked.
"The first knight of the western empire, Marquis Adrian von Frankfurt" Adrian chuckled to himself, "Isn't that right, your majesty?" He bowed sarcastically.
"Oh god damn it, I knew someone told him" Rage sighed.
"I'm not judging, but the situation in both Frostholm and Oakbrook is still dangerous as long as Durgrim roams free" Adrian said setting down his cup on the desk.
"Also I'm curious how you knew we were coming" Rage asked with a cheeky smile.
"Well i knew they were using the tunnel to transport slaves from different regions and judging that the elder was here i knew it led to Oakbrook, so I appointed someone to watch the tunnel and inform me if anyone comes through, as soon as you came out he saw you and sent a raven for me, by the time you were done using your detection skill a couple of times I arrived to the fort using a secret entrance through the back, we didn't know it was you so that's why we snuck in and asked Erik to put down a barrier to prevent whoever is coming from detecting our presence" Adrian replied rubbing his head.
"Well, we'll be here for a week so let's try to clear the slavers' hideouts as soon as possible then"