I have heard a lot about the snowwinders. They are supposed to be genius builders who have built works of art that can last for millennia. (Granted, this is one of the few things that the black mountain is not good at.) They are so disciplined on the battlefield that people like to compare them to the undead. Heck, even the legion considers them to be one of the most disciplined forces on the continent.
Granted, my predecessors were treating this as more of a vacation than an actual job. Not to badmouth my people, but there is a reason that our present ties with the snowwinders are this frayed. Things would not have gotten this bad if they had placated the snowwinders at the correct time.
My point is, I have heard a great deal about the snowwinders. Every single description that I have heard has certainly not prepared me for the scene in front of me.
In front of me are two soldiers who are completely naked except for their undergarments. Just looking at it leaves me on the verge of bleeding from my eyes.
Well, I remember the beginning of this particular tavern brawl. It had all begun with Shamon opening a reserve of some kind of alcoholic drink. (that I would never be able to pronounce. For now, let's call it ale.)
Once properly drunk, a friendly contest of arm wrestling has devolved into this. Based on what I have understood of this, both soldiers will stand in front of each other and begin stripping. This will happen until one person gives up or until their jewels shine in their full glory to the world. (Their words, not mine.)
The fun part, they have to do all of this in the snow. Right now, it is cold enough that even I would be wary to move in that cold. It would take a unique kind of balls to do that. (Fuck, these guys are ruining me.) If these soldiers end up dying to the chill, I will resurrect them and kill them personally.
That is how we are presently stuck in this situation. Both people are convincing the other to step back and admit defeat. While all the people around them are convincing them both to complete the final step. I was certainly not thinking of chants of "off with the underwear" when I thought of the Snowwind soldiers. Overall, it has been a loud, quite tasteless mess. Somehow, I have not been able to keep my head away from this particular direction for some time now.
Normally, I guess that I should be one of the people who are joining the bunch downstairs. Well, I am not going to break my rules so easily this time. (Especially after the embarrassing debacle of last week.) I have to admit it was quite tempting until the stripping began. I think such a situation can only be found funny when you are quite drunk.
Also, even these soldiers know that their victory is now dependent more on me than on them. They would not be able to enjoy things as much if I were to try and party with them. They have already done a good job. Let them have their moment of peace.
Anyway, if I were in their place, I would be sick with worry. Not much to stop you from thinking when you don't keep yourself busy. Regardless, my work is pretty important. After all, if the enemy were to suddenly reveal an unknown legion hiding, I would like to be ready. Granted, a single legion does not have the strength to challenge us anymore. I will just have to shoot their troop leader with the ballista, and the grunts will be forced to disperse.
The presence of the ballista should be enough to keep the snowlords from sending any more troops. They might not know of the strength of the ballista, but they will learn soon enough.
The ballista is back in its rightful position at the watch tower. (Thankfully, I was not forced to manifest it. It nearly emptied most of my Earth mana to create it the first time. Well, I am sure that it broke the backs of the four warriors carrying it to the watch tower.)
Anyway, I can see that I am not the only person among this bunch who seems to have skipped the drink today. Even now, he is making his way towards me.
"Well, Captain, I would have expected you to be among this rowdy bunch already." he says, his voice taking an amused tone. "It is a great time for you to become familiar with the soldiers, and it will boost their morale."
"I will be honest, I was tempted, but there are rules to follow." I say.
"Well, it is for the best. The soldiers would not have felt comfortable with you there. After all, to them you are just a noble in a different uniform.", he begins, sitting next to me. "Still, I would have thought that would not have been much of an issue with your people. After all, isn't that how your people blew up the temple in the south? Became wasted and tested certain formations without thinking."
"Well, that is a different case. The scholars make use of a certain set of drugs to boost the performance of their minds. Sadly, a few of the side effects do look like they are drunk." I reply to him, wondering if I should be recording this. It is technically the truth, though. "I can see how you people might have gotten confused."
"Well, I am not one to question the hobbies of other kids, but it is nice to see that I have company among this bunch. You would be surprised how boring this all gets when you have seen it a hundred times." he says, pointing at the soldiers. "I am not sure if those two idiots will even be able to wake up tomorrow without a cold. It is fine as long as it is not the chill. Most of these guys will go on to make the army of tomorrow. I shudder to think how we shall be protected."
"Somehow, I find that hard to believe that with this bunch.", I say to him,
Even when I speak, my vision goes to one of the naked ones trying some kind of rude gesture to provoke the other. What it would do to help him, I do not know. It must have made quite a bit of sense in their drunken mind as this guy is doing it with a child-like enthusiasm.
"Well, you would be surprised. Regardless, you are free and I am free right now. Let's talk business.", Shamon begins, a serious edge creeping into his voice.
"Well, my ears are open. I wish my eyes were not. I am not about to drop unconscious any time soon. About as much of the best time it can be.", I reply, as he plops down next to me.
"Why are the snowlords so interested in you, Captain." he speaks, his voice suddenly taking a measured tone. This one is experienced with nobles, it looks like. "I have led quite many troops against the icebeasts. The only time I have seen them this serious is during our attempt to create the second frozen peak."
"Well, the reason could be that they knew about my identity as one of the legi...", I reply.
"That is not it. They have been targeting you from before their ambush attempt.", he says. "The last time that they pulled an ambush like they did with you was during the construction of the frozen peak. No, there is some other reason for they have targeted you."
"Well, there could be any number of reasons, but I think only one of these two is possible. The first is that they managed to track the emissions of my formation base. They did grow quite substantial before they attacked us.", I begin. "It is one of the disadvantages of using elemental nodes. A mage skilled at mana detection is usually able to tell about the existence of the formation."
"That is pretty unlikely. The snowlords are not skilled at mana detection. If they were hunting them would be impossible. They would have been able to run circles around the commander." Shamon speaks, a hint of bitterness in his voice. "It would become deadly enough that those damn nobles would not have sent their kids on it. What is the second reason?"
"Well, somebody leaked my identity to the snowlords.", I reply. "Maybe not my identity as one of the legion, but my identity as a formation mage of the black mountain. That would certainly explain their behavior."
"Why would they do that?" the man asks, his tone clear that he didn't need the answer to it.
"Well, it could be any number of reasons, but I have two main sources that might have resulted in this leak." I speak, bringing to mind something that I have been thinking about for quite a while. "One case could be that your commander is a sadist, and he is the bastard who leaked my identity. It would help out his relation with nobles, and none of the Snowwinders will get implicated in my death this way."
"Somehow I don't think that manages to describe the commander. He is not one to play those kinds of tricks." Shamon speaks. "That is how he ended up in the north, some say."
"Well, then it is the alternative. There is a mole in the frozen peak.", I speak."Maybe one of the soldiers. They don't even need to know that I am a formation mage. Just that I am a man of importance. It would be enough to let the enemy find us."
"Well, it is unlikely but I can't completely rule it out." He speaks, a sadness in his eyes. "I just wonder if so much death is worth the formation you are building. I don't know what the commander was thinking about sending you here."
"Well, I take a lot longer to build formations, Shamon.", I say, suddenly feeling defensive about it. "I take weeks to properly inscribe class 9 formations. Here I have inscribed each spell of my formation in a matter of a week. Honestly, I am not sure how I have managed it, but I have been trying my best here."
"Well, all I honestly care about that formation is if it was worth the death of so many soldiers. ", the soldier speaks with anger in his voice. "I honestly don't care if it was easy to make or it was hard to make."
"Well, I can't assure you that your soldiers won't die anymore.", I reply. "All I can assure you is I will save everybody that I can save."
"Well, that is better than nothing. Still, I would like to let the surviving kids return to their actual posts.", Shamon speaks.
"I assumed you and your troops were of the frozen peaks.", I asked, a bit confused.
"Well, the commander borrows soldiers from other areas when he believes that it is worth it. I come from the south. The soldiers are still newbies, so they come from the east." he says. "There is no such thing as a dedicated frozen peak troop. We are all sent here based on which noble the commander managed to convince to redirect a few of their troops here. Well, it is about time I put this stupid game of theirs to an end."
Hearing that, I take a look at the two strippers who had finally completed their goal at the same time. The look of surprise on either face us enough to clue me in that either had not managed to take the final step. Somebody in the crowd had done that for them. Well, the crowd seemed to have realized that at the same time as me. The result is a howl that would have scared any hidden troop from their hiding spots.
(After a few minutes.)
I am alone now, maintaining my patrol. I have been thinking about Shamon and his words. The loss of his soldiers had affected the man. You want me to be honest, I don't feel anything about it. Maybe if I were there on the battlefield with them, I would feel more. If they fell under my command, I would be as emotional about it as Shamon is right now.
Well, as a formation mage, I already participate in enough what-ifs. No need to add another to it. Regardless, it is the way that these soldiers are partying that made me restart the log.
In the Iron Legion, we have a complicated set of rituals and procedures to remember our lost ones. It is a serious occasion. We are expected to remember each ritual and procedure to perfection. No person would do these rituals wrongly. I think the reason for that is that death is so uncommon in the legion.
Here, death is more familiar, so much so that no amount of tears will suffice. Instead, they celebrate with as much passion as they can in the limited time that they have. Every person knows that death is standing behind them. I feel like laughing. Look at me trying to understand why two people are stripping in the cold. Philosophy can be so stupid sometimes.
Well, I am not one to claim that I have too much knowledge. I think I understand why the scholars do what they do, though. It's fascinating to figure out how people think.