Frostbound

Chapter 264 - People of Importance

Displaying a portion of your status screen was easily done after knowing it was possible. During the tutorial, my family would show the whole thing but it didn't take long to figure out that omitting sections or only showing a partial version was possible.

It took longer to realize showing other people was possible than it was to find out that you could show portions.

To display your status, all you had to do was think about doing it. Most things revolving around the System were like that. Intent played a major part in how you used it.

The total amount of people gathered near the obelisk was well above how many Nobles I estimated. I thought the absolute maximum would be around two dozen and there were well over 50 standing in the clearing.

We didn't even make it to showing the title before a voice spoke up. "Who put you in charge?"

I didn't catch who said it as it came from a cluster of people on the other side from where I stood. Even so, I doubted the man who spoke was the only one thinking it.

The military man didn't seem surprised at the question, "No one. I'm just trying to establish a clear and concise gathering so that we can face what's coming to the best of our ability."

"And being a Noble is required for that!" This time I did catch who said it. The man wore a mix of plate and leather armor and didn't even try to disguise it otherwise.

Marcus and I both forwent showing up wearing obvious armor but some gathered didn't care and wore what they were comfortable in, armor being a popular choice.

"Yes," the Admiral said, "If we allowed anyone with an opinion in we wouldn't get anything done. We have just over 72 hours to come up with a plan of action and we all know the consequences if we fail."

"Do we though?" A man who felt like fire said, "This can't be the only obelisk in the world. If we fail other areas could still pass."

It wasn't the Admiral who answered this time, it was someone else. "Are you willing to leave that in the hands of someone else?" The man's hat gave him away as a Southerner. Well, that and the accent. "We pass here, we pass everywhere."

A woman who felt a lot like Abigail spoke up next, "That's assuming it only requires one group to pass. What if it takes the majority to pass?"

Clapping tore through and ceased the igniting conversation before it could go too far and attention was brought back to the Admiral. "Speculating on that won't get us anywhere. We needed to set a requirement to attend the meeting and being a Noble is the best one. It shows not only personal power but the backing of a strong fighting force. Both will be required for what is to come. Whatever it may be."

"Just cause we weren't suicidal enough to go for that upgrade we're barred from having a say?" Another man said to a chorus of nods and some audible 'yeahs'.

"Look," The Admiral said, "Do you see how many people are out there? We can't allow everyone to be a part of this or nothing will get done. The cutoff has to be somewhere and being a Noble was the logical choice."

"Why not allow pylon Owners? Why make it only Nobles?"

"Why not make it a level requirement?"

"Why not..."

I sighed internally. I could've guessed that it would turn out like this but seeing it play out in action was somehow worse. There were three days before everyone here would fight for their lives and the 'leaders' were spending it bickering.

I liked it better when things were so much easier. When the only thing I had to worry about was coordinating between one other pylon to fight, not hundreds. More people always made things more difficult.

"Enough!" Oh, there was some heat behind that one. It seemed like everyone had gotten used to keeping their auras contained for the past two years, or at least partially contained, but that was said with some backing.

The Admiral wasn't just a paper tiger either. There was genuine power behind his self-perceived level of importance.

"Fine!" He ground out, "We'll continue with those currently here. That should be more productive than forcing some people to leave."

His concession was the only logical choice in my opinion. There was no way he was going to be able to force the people who weren't Nobles to leave without force and doing so would start the entire test off in a wonky position.

Those who were arguing against him had smug smiles while everyone else just looked on with blank expressions uncaring. If I'd known that, I would've brought Abigail. We didn't both need to be here, but it would make it easier on me.

"I guess we should start with introductions." the Admiral said, "You may call me The Admiral or just Admiral, either is fine. I run New Norfolk on the Eastern Coast."

Hit introduction didn't tell me anything I didn't know already. Well, the name of his City was new but it wasn't that hard to guess. A bit unoriginal but I suspected there were hundreds of pylons named New 'old city name.' His Faction was also on the nose as he called it the American Faction.

The next to go was another man I already knew. "I'm the Stormbringer." I stifled a laugh, "Chicago and most of the Midwest fall under my banner and I lead the Stormlands."

Not only was his own title pretentious, but the name of his faction was too.

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The introductions continued but I certainly wasn't going to remember everyone's name. There were over 50 people and I'd be lucky to remember half of them.

Instead, I focused on the important ones. Determining importance was rather easy. It was how strong someone felt. There was a strong suspicion in my head that it correlated to those with Noble titles but I had no way to confirm that.

Some could just be strong but hadn't elected to do the pylon upgrade yet.

The next person with a level of strength above the rest was a woman. She had fiery red hair and reminded me a lot of Rachel. Not in looks, but in how... explosive she felt. There was also a staff in her hand which marked her as a Mage, but that could be forgiven, "I'm Vanessa from Eternal Flame Falls."

Her introduction was short and succinct. I liked it. No stupid titles or subtle brags about how much land she owned.

I wasn't sure where Eternal Flame Falls was but it shouldn't be hard to find out. We had our map packed away with us and with a name like that, it should be easy enough to find. There were a few more that didn't matter before another person of importance came up.

A man who looked older, it was hard to tell with stats, but the wrinkles betrayed his age. "I am Patrick Staffords, from Harbordeep and Leader of the Great Lakes Alliance." On either side hooked to his belt, two magnificent axes rested. The craftsmanship was on par with something Vincent could do. There weren't any Runes decorating them which was a shame, but they were pretty otherwise.

Great Lakes? If he was somewhere near the Lakes then he was close to us. Depending on where, it would be another possible trade partner.

The next person's accent threw me for a loop before I placed where he was from. It was... nearly incomprehensible.

"Name's Vernon," he drawled. His voice was nice but the words were hard, "From Orleans and Leader of the French Quarter." It was hard to tell his age just from looking. Dark skin tended to hide things like that better. He was also wearing an outfit with swirls of white and black which played well with his skin. Without a visible weapon, I wasn't sure what type of Class he was.

Vernon was way too far away to consider trade. Not unless some kind of River access opened up quickly and Marcus could make it the length of the Mississippi River. Seeing how we were nearly scuttled without even going halfway, I doubted it would be soon.

Next up was a group of three that stood together. Two men and a woman. The first man to speak felt like a dormant volcano. He had strikingly black hair that looked meticulously taken care of and a well-trimmed beard. "Travis Michaels. Owner of Yellowstone and leader of the Yellowstone Faction."

The next man felt like the complete opposite of a volcano. It was like the airy and lightheaded feeling of being too high up in the air combined with a forceful ripping wind. An odd combination. "Devin from Mile High, or what used to be Denver. And... uh... leader of the Faction with the same name."

Not one for public speaking it seemed.

At least he gave where his City was from. Some didn't even give so much as a hint. How the hell was I supposed to know where Harbordeep was on a map? Sure, I could guestimate near where the Lakes were, but knowing where Denver was made it a lot easier.

The last of the group stepped up. She was the one who felt most strongly of Earth but it went more than that. Jonathan felt like the Earth but this went deeper. More fundamental.

She had rich brown hair tied back and out of her face and she wore what appeared to be a normal shirt and pants. I couldn't tell the craftsmanship from so far away.

"Jayla Somerfield from Mountainside." Ah, she's the leader. About as far away from a Dwarf as you can get. She wasn't short by any means, taller than average for a woman, 5'8 or 5'9, but it felt like she was taller for some reason. Something about her aura made it feel like she was standing higher than she was.

She was my only Canadian compatriot. Ashton didn't come to the meeting as he wasn't a Baron and I didn't see anyone else I knew. There was word of settlements near Ottawa and more further East but we didn't have any confirmation on that.

The last we heard from Ashton was getting through the Forests was impossible and no word had come back from their capital.

There were a few others that stood out and I made sure to note down their names but they were far enough away that I wasn't that interested in getting to know them. Whether through trade or War, we wouldn't be seeing them anytime soon.

The next name I perked up for was one from The Heartlands Alliance. Marcus speculated that they had a Baron somewhere in their midst, but wasn't able to put a name to his speculation.

"Mikayla Stuart from Verdant Falls." The woman was similar to Patrick in that she was on the older side. The levels and stats did a lot to remove the obvious aging but some things were still noticeable. The hints of Crows feet around the eyes. The not yet smoothed out wrinkles around the mouth. The woman was devoid of any other indicator of age, her hair was lush and vibrant and she stood straight and unbothered.

If there was a Baron inside The Heartlands Alliance, she seemed like the prime candidate to me.

The Reservation didn't send anyone to the meeting but everyone was talking about their War Party camped nearby. Besides the Heartlands Alliance, it seemed the Great Lakes Alliance was the next closest we had to worry about.

There were two from New England that stood out. A man from Boston and a Woman from New York City.

"Liam McConnell, Leader and Pylon Owner of New Boston." The man's accent was heavy and he was the only one to say explicitly they were the Pylon Owner. Everyone else just said Leader. He wore mainly street clothes, unlike most of the others in some kind of armor but he wore a weapon openly. A large great sword rested comfortably on his back and he seemed skilled in its use.

The other lady was of clear African-American decent but she had freckles upon her face that lit up like stars in the night sky. It was unique and hard not to stare at as the woman introduced herself, "Zuri Adeoye, leader of Empire City, formerly New York."

There were a few more scattered about as well. Far enough South it would take nearly a year to get there.

It wasn't long before it came to our portion of the circle. Marcus went first. "Marcus Shieldwell from Twin City. What used to be Minneapolis and St. Paul."

He didn't elaborate on his Faction or anything besides his name and the name of his City.

Now it was my turn. "Christopher Zalenski, owner of Frostheim. North of Winnipeg."

I kept it short. Saying we were North of Winnipeg was a bit of an understatement but it was the closest landmark to go off of. We were pretty far North and I didn't feel like explaining that.

I also used the word owner for a reason. Only some chose to use it while others didn't. Some said Leader, others just said they were from somewhere, but I felt owner was the best fit.

Building the City and running the City was all firmly something me and my family did so it felt right. I knew some who claimed ownership of a City did it because that was how they saw themselves and didn't spend the effort to build it.

If others thought I used owner for the same reason as they had that wasn't my fault.

Trying to remember the names of everyone and their Cities was remarkably difficult. I wanted to be able to mark them down on the map we had but there were some that didn't give any clues which made it difficult.

There being over 50 also didn't help.

The bickering in the beginning and the introductions ended up taking quite a bit of time. It didn't help the meeting already started in the late morning, by the time everyone was through introducing themselves and their factions, it was nearly noon.

I caught the moment the timer ticked down from four days remaining to three and change.

And with it came a notification.

Seeing how I hadn't killed anything and there were only a few other times I'd gotten a notification chime for any other reason, I had a good guess for what it could be for.

Opening it only confirmed my suspicion.