Ferny's Frozen Hell had covered a large area in ice. Even the players standing within were turned into ice statues. This included the caster herself. Turned into an ice sculpture amidst the swirling cold, appearing quite eye catching. At this moment everyone could freely attack these ice sculptures, dealing damage to their heart's content.
Of course, Cold2theBone knew of the skill's drawbacks. No one would use such a skill without preparing a way out. An invisible pulse spread and not only did the ice encasing the central statue crack, but even the other mages managed to break free. As soon the caster regained her movement, she looked around with sparkling eyes, searching the frozen figure of Liam. However, she was bound to be disappointed.
"How?! Sis, look! Mirage is over there!"
A male mage standing next to Cold2theBone pulled on her sleeves. He pointed towards Liam hovering in the air, his voice betraying obvious disappointment. He played as a dark elf and was quite confident to take out Bleary Mirage with the help of his sister. But now…
Standing not far from the frozen landscape, Radiant Shield sighed in relief. Luckily, he hadn't been within the skill's range. He had no skill to defend himself against the fate of being frozen. This was quite scary. Perhaps he should keep his eyes open at the auction house.
However, the threat wouldn't have been too big anyway as Balm hovered in the air, almost yawning. With the strength of those chaos faction players, they would take forever to kill Radiant Shield, who had the support of Balm. The enemies recognized this fact as well. This was why they planned to deal with Bleary Mirage, whom they were able to deal at least some damage to. Yet the difficulty was still immense as long as Hotpot's dedicated healer was around.
Thus, there was not much surprise left. Liam respected his enemies, fighting in a hit-and-run strategy, taking full advantage of having a flying mount. Martial honour? A fair fight? I am a higher level than you, I have unlocked flying mounts. Why would I limit myself?
The chaos faction players were frustrated but there was not much they could do. After a while one of the tanks found some of their skills coming off cooldown. He used a targeted skill to attract Liam's aggro. Finally, Liam had to stop attacking the mages and was forced to engage the tank.
Unfortunately, it was already too late. Reinforcements soon arrived. There were almost 50 players, mostly belonging to one guild. The chaos faction players didn't dare to stay. Yet fleeing wasn't easy. Although Liam and his friends really didn't care enough to hunt them down, the rest of the players were more than eager.
"Hotpot! So great to meet you! My name is Balduk, I am the guild leader of The Big Circle!"
"Ah, hello…"
The friends smiled politely as a small group of players stayed back. Their leader, a young-looking dwarf immediately hit up a conversation. Balduk had quite the decerning eye. He realized that Hotpot was busy. Thus, he kept the conversation short, only introducing his guild The Big Circle, which was specialized in trading. His silver tongue server to earn him some goodwill and when the two groups separated Balduk had managed to secure a place in Sun's Knight's friend list.
"That guy was quite astute."
"Yeah, he might be successful in the future."
Liam and his friends conversed leisurely as they landed their flying mounts in front of the city gates and jumped off. A few lazy guards eyed them before retreating inside, avoiding the chilly rain. Despite the battle outside they had no sense of alertness.
Liam and his friends entered the city and looked around. The City of a Thousand Gales stretched over a vast area, with broad streets and much empty space. However, most it was not well taken care of. It was obvious that the duchy was not rich. Most of its wealth was put into defending against the chaos faction, which was the Gale Army's job. For this purpose, they even received subsidies from the order faction.
However, while this made the Gale Army a powerful entity it also became a coveted piece of meat. Subsequent rulers have always tried to gain more control over the army, which led to much unrest. As the friends rushed along the street they didn't see many people. It even seemed like there were more players than NPCs.
Soon, they reached a large marketplace. This was the location indicated by their quest. The friends were supposed to question the NPCs here about any traces of Cantar Jourtale, the fugitive mage.
There was no reason to hesitate. The friends split up and asked their questions. Fortunately, the marketplace was not entirely deserted. The market stands offered shelter from the rain, prompting the NPCs to stand in small groups, caught in casual conversation.
"When do you think this struggle will end?"
"Isn't it obvious? The new duchess won't stop before she captured all the criminals."
"Who knows if this every happens. Duchess Essenour hasn't even consolidated her power yet. The guards don't follow her orders, lazing around. How could they capture criminals?"
"Shh! Are you mad? Don't say stuff like this."
Liam had just reached one of the market stands when he perked up, witnessing an interesting conversation. He immediately went over to the gossiping NPCs.
"Hello. Sorry to interrupt you. I couldn't help but hear your words just now. I haven't been to the duchy in a while. Say, has Duke Remmy abdicated?"
The NPCs, common townsfolk, didn't suspect anything from Liam's question. Living close to the Southern Wasteland these citizens had a rather good impression of adventurers, who fought against the chaos faction. Thus, they didn't hold back.
"Abdicated? As if! Duke Remmy has been found guilty of colluding with the chaos faction! Lady Essenour personally presented the evidence, inviting the guardian of the Great Banmer Kingdom to bring justice. Duke Remmy, even his sons… didn't survive."
"Ha! Justice well served, I say! I have heard Lady Essenour's father witnessed the duke's shady dealings. That's why the duke got rid of him!"
"Yes. Duke Remmy, so cold-blooded. Killing his second-degree cousin just like that."
"Hmh. But with the previous duke's family all dead, Lady Essenour succeeded him. Quite ironic."
The NPCs all had shining eyes. In this chaotic duchy gossiping about the struggles among nobles was one of their favourite means to pass the time. And Liam listened gladly. Lady Essenour, the person said to be close with Cantar, suddenly becoming the duchess instantly made him suspicious. He asked carefully:
"The duchy prefers male heirs, doesn't it? Does Duchess Essenour not have a husband? How did she take the throne?"
"No, she doesn't. The old Lord Essenour always tried to marry his daughter, but the lady rebelliously refused. And before the old lord could run out of patience he sadly passed away. Thus, the lady never married."
"Although I heard that she does have a special relationship with her new advisor."
"Damn!"
"Shut up!"
"Are you suicidal?!"
Suddenly the mood turned drastically. As soon one of the NPCs mentioned the new advisor, the others showed obvious fear. They rebuked the NPC, nervously observed their surroundings, and hastily scurried away. Even the NPC realized they made a mistake and hurriedly escaped.
Liam watched them thoughtfully. He would bet his left eye that said advisor was Canter Jourtale. Perhaps everything was his doing. Getting the old duke executed and his lover in power, controlling the duchy from behind the scenes. If it wasn't like this, why would the citizens be afraid of even mentioning him?
Pondering the state of the duchy, Liam observed the quest progress. He noticed that his friends also finished their conversations. Similar to what Liam experienced, the other NPCs also left hurriedly as soon as the mysterious advisor was mentioned.
[Bleary Mirage: Let's meet up.]
The friends gathered under the roof of the largest market stand. The smell of fresh cheese reached their noses, and they couldn't help but snack a few bites while exchanging information.
It turned out that everyone's experiences were similar. Right after the War on the Void, Lady Essenour accused Duke Remmy of colluding with the chaos faction. A few very close friends of the duke turned out to be demons in disguise. This wasn't overly surprising. A place like the duchy had long been infiltrated by the chaos faction. It was actually a testament of the Gale Army's deterrence that the chaos faction didn't attack directly but only dared to use subterfuge.
Anyways, the duke was executed although the evidence was somewhat weak, and Lady Essenour took the duke's place. During that process there was no appearance of Canter Jourtale. Only after Lady Essenour took the throne did a mysterious mage appear by her side from time to time. Apparently, he was rather powerful, serving as a deterrent force for everyone having ideas about the new duchess.
And gossip on the streets suggested that the way the duchess looked at her advisor was quite peculiar and meaningful.
However, afterwards such gossip soon died down as anyone speaking about the advisor received a visit from the guards.