Well, I have to admit that I was thinking that it is supposed to hurt more than it is hurting right now. I mean, my injuries are not particularly serious. Still, I had expected it to hurt more than it is hurting right now. I guess that I should be thankful for that. The reason that I lost consciousness was due to a poison.
Well, it turns out that my assassins have coated their weapons in some kind of poison. It is supposed to be the kind of poison that prevents the clotting of blood. It is also supposed to paralyze you when taken in large quantities. Other than this, I have no idea as to what kind of poison it could be. I did not even manage to find its name.
The thing is that the snowwinders are not going to tell me anything. They are very careful in making sure we learn nothing about their poisons. It is something of a trade secret, and they aim to keep it a secret even from us. (Especially from us.)
Regardless, I guess I should talk about my assassination attempt. Well, there is some bad news. We don't know who our assassins are. They could be anybody for all we know.
The only thing that I have managed to find about them is a name. Even that I have heard in a state of half-consciousness when I was being brought in. My medics were discussing a name. "The listmuns".
I think that they are supposed to be a family. I haven't even bothered to ask the people about the name. They have been very careful in not mentioning these "listmuns" to me.
Well, leave the "listmuns", they weren't even ready to admit that I was poisoned. I am paralysed in my bed right now. Mere injuries are not enough to explain my present state.
The only reason I even learned about the poison was due to Eric's distress. Otherwise, my medics had planned to tell me that my present state was due to blood loss. Eric had begun to argue with the medics, who essentially screamed this at the man.
Right now, the man is in a bad position. He has taken the disappearance of Emily very badly. The man is standing guard at my gate, though it is clear it is the last thing that he wants to do right now.
He did abandon his post once, though Jacob Starfall came back, dragging him in a matter of an hour. Then he proceeded to rip into the kid for the next half hour, all in my earshot. He did this mainly to placate the commander. After all, a representative of the black mountain was attacked. Stuff like this can ruin alliances, you know.
Regardless, the reason that I have started a record right now is to record what is about to happen here. They are saying that the commander will be making his way here now at any moment. I don't know what exactly is about to happen here, but I think that it is going to be interesting.
Well, talking to the man is going to be an annoying task if I am going to be honest about it. If I were a bit stronger or the commander was a bit weaker, this would have put me in a pretty strong position. After all, they are the offending party. With the power difference that exists between the two of us, it would be wise not to provoke the man.
As I am recording this, the commander is already entering my room. He appears in my room just like the first time we met. This time, though, I have trained my mana sense to look for the man. I still could not catch him moving.
The very first thought that I have looking at the man is about just how tired the man looks. It looks like he has been spending the last couple of weeks without sleep. Knowing his cultivation, though, I am sure that number would be much larger.
"You have certainly left me in a fine mess, young captain." Speaks the commander. "Your little shopping spree might just end up pushing us into a civil war."
"Well, I wouldn't say it was a shopping spree.", I reply. "I did not get anything that I needed. Anyway, I would rather say it was an assassination attempt on me. One that you people were supposed to protect me from."
"Whatever might have been the case. Right now, we are in a pretty dangerous position due to you.", he replies. "This has to happen at the onset of winter at that."
"Well, I have done nothing to provoke either group, Commander. I have no idea why I have been implicated in the first place.", I reply. I word myself carefully. After all, I have no idea which side the man supports. I am not mentioning the seven temples at all. "If anything, I am equally suffering in the crossfires as you are, Commander. Right now, I am the person who is stuck, injured in bed."
"I know, kid", he replies. "Well, you people are the master analyzers. Explain the situation to me."
"You are stuck in the middle of a fight between the noble factions.", I reply. "One side is the Starfalls, whose leader has sworn my protection based on what I can tell. The other side is the other nobles. The Starfalls are working with you somehow, and that has made them targets somehow."
"Well, I don't work with the Starfalls. I think that it would be more accurate to say I work with Jacob Starfall. The man has been helping me in keeping the nobles of this place under control." The commander speaks. "Failing in your protection could cause him to lose his status as a noble. I would not be surprised if they destroyed his cultivation, too. The Starfalls are pretty traditional in that regard."
"Still, who else would benefit from such an action?" I ask
"Well, it could be any of the other families. It might not give them any direct benefit. These families are more than happy to cut the benefits of one of their own." The commander replies. "I have to think it is one of the youngsters based on the way this plan is so short-sighted."
"Just how many factions even exist here?". I ask the man. It is a bit direct, but what can I even do? "It shouldn't be too many, right? The way that the Starfall holds a hegemony on the nobles here. I would say that it should not be more than ten to twelve major families."
"There are a bit less than a thousand families here. Most are barely better than commoners, but that would be the rough count." the commander replies. "As for how Jacob holds control of them all. The answer would be barely and masterfully. Nobody else would manage what he has done. He sows so much discord among the nobles that they are more than busy fighting each other. The man's absence will make things very hard for me if I am honest."
"How would that be?" I ask.
"Well, in the frozen peak, the commoners are the stronger force, kid.", he says. "Normally, in the empire proper, we would never be allowed to have as much power as they allow us here. The nobles that come here don't seem to realize that, though. I would like to kill all of these nobles and just get the damn thing done already, but we are at the advent of winter. I can't afford any kind of infighting right now."
I don't reply to this. I am surprised that the man was even willing to share this little bit with me. Even now, I feel like the man is speaking through me, rather than to me.
"So what shall happen now? Will I be restricted to the guest house again?" I ask after a bit.
"Well, you will take control of temporary fort number 3 and work on building a formation there.", he replies. "If you feel like it, you can take your troop with you. I will have to warn you that I won't be able to spare any more soldiers to guard your scholars then."
"Temporary fort?"I ask.
"Well, it is a little something that the construction corps has managed to build.", he replies. "All you need to know beyond that is that the place is about the safest that you shall be from the nobles now."
"Well, it might be the safest, but I have my charges. It is not like I can abandon the scholars just because I might be attacked." I reply. "I have to escort them to the Magical ruin at the very least."
"Well, the magical ruin shall be en route to the fort. The fortress is about a day's journey from the magical ruin. Maintaining the fortress is the best way to ensure your scholar's safety." He replies.
As he speaks, I realize that this is not a request.
"Why can't I just remain here?" I reply. "It is not like I will be leaving the guest room if it means I will be attacked like this."
"Well, you do not seem to understand just how many people will be trying to assassinate you. It is the nature of nobles to copy each other. I wouldn't be surprised if there are daily attacks from now on.", the commander replies. "My soldiers will be more than able to protect you, but can you imagine just how much chaos your actions will cause? I cannot afford such a bloodbath before the winter. Especially if those damn poisoners are getting involved."
"Regardless, if I do this mission of yours, I would have to consider it under the hexmountain treaty. It is nothing personal, but that is the only way that I will be made to leave the protection of my charges.", I reply. I am left wondering if the man will tell me who these poisoners are if I were to ask him about it. "Also, I will need materials to make the formation. I will also need a troop of soldiers at the very minimum to protect me. Without this, I will not be able to achieve much. This is especially the case if all the claims I have heard about the snowlords are true."
"You can consider all of these conditions met, then.", he replies. "The materials for your formation have already been acquired. I can't claim much knowledge of the material other than the fact that it is a class 8 material called copper bark. As for your troop, they are already present at the temporary fort. All of them are soldiers whom I have picked personally. They should have no problem with your protection. Nothing short of an attack from a snowlord will be able to harm you. That is, if you have not boasted about your skills."
"I do not have a problem doing this, Commander. I have to warn you, as a professional, that building formations in the middle of a battlefield is not an easy task." I speak. "If the enemy were to sense the fluctuations of a formation inscription. The very first thing that they are going to do is attack me. This might lead to some catastrophic losses if the enemy manages to attack at the right time. The ensuing explosion could destroy this fort of yours."
"Well, do you think I would be one to care if the building were destroyed? If the building is razed to the ground, we will have a new fort standing there in a week.", the commander replies. "As for the materials for the formation, well, I am sure that such a loss is manageable. Just make sure that my soldiers manage to survive this fight, young man, and I will be more than happy."
"My lord, you ask a lot.", is my reply.
You must realize what the man is asking me to do is crazy. Creating a formation for him would mean that I have to leave a formation to the man. While the formation itself doesn't mean much. The issue is that its design will allow the mayfires to make more such formations. We have to consider our allies down south as well. We can't lose them in the process of placating the snowwind empire.
"You don't need to worry too much about your supervisor's k." He replies. "My original plan with the hexmountain treaty was to have you design a blueprint. This is specifically meant for this fort chain idea of yours. Compared to that, making a formation for us is anyway the better choice."
"Well, you might have asked me to design a fort chain, but that is something that is at the level of my master's expertise. I would not have been able to achieve it.", I reply, almost on an impulse. "I would have tried my best, but I would not have been able to achieve it."
"Aah, no wonder you spoke about the fort chain so readily." He replies. "Well, so be it. Looks like this formation is the silver lining in this cloud for us as well, then."
Saying so, the commander takes his leave, disappearing as suddenly as he popped up in here.