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Chapter Sixty (TIBK)
🕑 Added 2025-08-15 11:55:06 +0000 UTCFocus intent. Physical proximity to resource. Command absorption.
His gaze fell on a stack of broken wooden beams salvaged from a collapsed storeroom. Useful fuel, already hauled in by his freezing people. Worth a try. He approached the pile, maybe the height of a man. Good seasoned pine.
He placed his hand on a thick beam.
Absorb.
The beam under his hand dissolved. It shimmered into a shower of faint, blue-white particles that streamed towards his chest and vanished. Gone. Utterly.
[MANA FRAGMENTS +10]
[MANA FRAGMENTS: 10/10,000]
Ten fragment. Eirik stared at the spot where the heavy beam had been. Ten. He reached out and touched another, smaller plank nearby.
Absorb.
[MANA FRAGMENTS +7]
[MANA FRAGMENTS: 9/10,000]
Again. The pattern was clear. One standard piece of wood, depending on size or type, equaled about ten Mana Fragments. His initial elation curdled into sharp frustration.
That’s… inefficient. Brutally inefficient.
He mentally calculated. That stack of beams represented crucial firewood for his people in the shelters. If he absorbed the entire pile, maybe ten beams… he’d get one hundred fragments. Enough to power a single Ice shelter for a few days? Worse, it robbed his people of vital warmth.
Using Resource Absorption on gathered wood inside the fortress is madness. I’d be burning down the house to get a single spark.
He needed untouched resources. Outside. Beyond the walls. Things his people hadn’t yet gathered, hadn’t needed yet.
Ignoring the confused glance from a passing Talon who’d seen the beam vanish, Eirik strode towards the massive ice gate. With a mental nudge, reinforced by a flicker of Frost Mana, the heavy ice barrier groaned open just enough for him to slip through.
The biting wind hit him like a physical blow. Snow swirled, stinging his exposed skin. He pushed past the cluster of new refugees huddled miserably just inside the gate’s protection, their eyes wide with awe and exhaustion. Yorick was already moving among them with his ledger, Leif organizing Talons to herd them towards the overflowing shelters.
Eirik ignored them all.
He walked fifty paces beyond the gate, turning to look towards the slopes north of Abercrombie. He could feel them now – stands of ancient, snow-laden pines dotting the rocky hillside. Like muted green beacons against the white.
Untouched wood.
He trudged through knee-deep snow towards the nearest stand of trees. It was slow going. He picked a sturdy pine, easily three feet thick at the base. Its branches groaned under their icy burden. This should yield hundreds of fragments, right? It’s huge! He placed his hand firmly against the rough, frozen bark.
The Core hummed. Blue-white motes shimmered around the base of the massive tree.
Yes! Eirik thought. This will be better!
The motes intensified… and then vanished. The tree remained utterly, solidly present. He frowned, concentrating harder. Absorb!
[RESOURCE ABSORPTION FAILED: HOSTILE PRESENCE DETECTED WITHIN RESOURCE AREA]
Hostile presence? Eirik scanned the tree’s branches. Nothing. Then he heard it – a low, guttural growl, vibrating through the frozen air. It came from behind the next pine.
He stepped cautiously around the massive trunk. Four pairs of pale, glowing blue eyes stared back at him from the gloom beneath the snow-laden branches.
Ice wolves. They were larger than normal wolves, their coats thick and white, almost invisible against the snow except for those piercing eyes and the faint blue mist that seemed to curl from their muzzles. The largest one, easily the size of a small pony, took a slow, deliberate step forward, another growl rumbling in its chest.
Ah. That’s the ‘hostile presence’.
The System wouldn't let him absorb resources if a threat lurked nearby. Smart, in a way. Getting eaten mid-absorption wouldn't be productive.
Fine.
He focused his will, drawing deeply on his Frost Mana reserves. His right hand snapped forward. FROST SPIKE!
[MANA EXPENDED: 8]
[MANA: 29/50]
A jagged spear of ice, thicker than his arm and nearly five feet long, erupted from the snowy ground just in front of the lead wolf.
THOOM!
The ice spike slammed upwards between the lead wolf and the pack. The huge wolf yelped and scrambled backwards. The others snarled, momentarily confused.
It bought Eirik seconds. He used them. He pivoted, bringing his left hand up. FRACTURE.
[MANA EXPENDED: 5]
[MANA: 24/50]
He willed the packed snow and frozen earth to shatter locally, collapsing inward. CRUNCH-SHFFF! A six-foot-wide patch of ground where two wolves stood suddenly gave way, plunging them into a shallow sinkhole. They howled, scrabbling frantically at the crumbling edges.
The lead wolf, recovered from the spike, lunged. Its powerful legs launched it through the air straight at Eirik’s throat. He ducked and rolled, the hot stink of the beast’s breath washing over him. He came up behind it as it landed, spinning. The Skarl saber hissed from its sheath.
He didn’t aim for the thick fur. He focused on the exposed back leg tendon. A precise, slashing cut.
Ssshhk!
The saber bit deep. The wolf screamed, collapsing sideways as its leg buckled. Dark, steaming blood splashed the snow.
Eirik whirled. The fourth wolf, smaller and swifter, was trying to circle towards his flank. He thrust his empty left hand towards it.
FROST SHARD!
[MANA EXPENDED: 2]
[MANA: 22/50]
Three razor-sharp shards of ice, each the size of a dagger, shot from his palm. THWACK-THWACK-THWICK! One slammed into the wolf’s shoulder, another embedded in its flank, the third missed. The wolf yelped, staggering.
He charged before it could recover. The saber, fueled by desperation and raw power, came down in a brutal arc. CHUNK. It cleaved deep into the wolf’s neck, severing spine. It dropped instantly.
The two wolves trapped in the sinkhole were still struggling. Eirik approached, breathing hard. Two quick, efficient thrusts of the saber finished them. The first wolf he’d hamstrung was trying to drag itself away. He ended its suffering with a final, merciful stab to the heart.
Silence descended, broken only by Eirik’s ragged breaths and the dying gurgle of the hamstrung wolf. Blood stained the snow crimson in several widening pools. Four Ice Wolves lay dead.
Now, back to business.
He ignored the carnage for a moment and turned back to the large pine tree he’d originally targeted. He placed his hand firmly on its frozen bark.
Absorb.
The Core hummed. The blue-white motes shimmered intensely this time. They flowed over the massive trunk like spectral flames, intensifying until the entire tree became a pillar of shimmering blue light. Then… it winked out. Completely gone. Not even a stump remained. Only a perfectly circular patch of disturbed snow marked where its roots had been.
[RESOURCE ABSORPTION SUCCESSFUL: MATURE PINE TREE]
[MANA FRAGMENTS +20]
[MANA FRAGMENTS: 37/10,000]
Twenty. Eirik stared at the empty space where the massive tree had stood. A tree that could have heated a shelter for a week… gone. For just twenty fragments. It felt like a terrible joke. This can’t be sustainable. He’d need to deforest a mountain just to rebuild the fortress. And that leaves my people no wood for fires, tools, repairs…
He turned away, frustrated, and his gaze fell on the four dead Ice Wolves. They were corpses. Resources? Fisk might harvest fangs or claws, but the meat was supposedly foul-tasting and tough. Worth a try. He approached the nearest carcass, the one he’d hamstrung. He placed a hand on its cold, stiff flank.
Focus. Absorb.
[RESOURCE ABSORPTION SUCCESSFUL: ICE WOLF CARCASS]
[MANA FRAGMENTS +50]
[MANA FRAGMENTS: 87/10,000]
Fifty! Eirik’s eyes widened. Fifty fragments for a single wolf carcass? That’s almost three times the yield of a giant tree! The absurdity hit him – defeating a threat yielded more "resource" than harvesting the land itself. Does the Core value combat… or just the raw potential energy in a defeated foe?
He moved quickly to the next wolf. Absorb.
[+50 MF]
The third. Absorb.
[+50 MF]
The fourth. Absorb.
[+50 MF]
[MANA FRAGMENTS: 237/10,000]
Two hundred fragments from four wolves. That was substantial. Equivalent to seven trees he didn't have to cut down. Hunting would be a good option in the future, but... if carcasses would work, then he'd got to try those.
He trudged back towards Abercrombie.
His enhanced perception swept the area again, automatically cataloging potential resources within the two-mile radius. Stone was abundant – veins of granite and slate ran deep beneath the fortress. He could feel them. But absorbing rock directly? That might yield more, but I need that stone for actual construction later. Absorbing bedrock leaves holes… unstable ground. Bad idea.
Then his perception brushed against something closer. The bodies.
The unburied Skarl dead. They’d piled them in a shallow depression against the south wall, away from the living areas. The bitter cold was preserving them, preventing rot and stench, but they were a grim reminder, a logistical headache he hadn't had time to solve. Pyres required wood they couldn't spare. Digging mass graves in frozen earth was back-breaking labor for weakened men.
They’re corpses. Resources? The thought was clinical. Detached. Why not? The wolves were resources.
He changed direction, heading towards the grim mound near the south wall. The bodies were stacked haphazardly – warriors killed in the pit trap and the final courtyard slaughter, mixed with a few women and elderly who’d died in the chaos. A single Talon stood guard nearby, stamping his feet and blowing into his hands, his face grey with cold and disgust.
Eirik walked past the guard without a word.
The man saluted, his eyes wide as Eirik stopped before the grisly pile. He picked the nearest corpse. A Skarl warrior killed instantly by a blow to the skull. Rigor mortis had set in, making the body stiff and awkward. Eirik placed his gloved hand on the dead man’s frozen chest.
Focus. Absorb this… resource.
The Core hummed. The blue-white motes shimmered around the corpse, intensifying just like with the wolves. The guard gasped audibly.
“Commander? Wh-what are you—?”
The corpse dissolved.
The guard stumbled back a step, his face draining of what little color it had. “F-Frost Mother’s mercy!” he choked out, crossing himself clumsily. “It… it just… vanished!”
[RESOURCE ABSORPTION SUCCESSFUL: SKARL WARRIOR CORPSE]
[MANA FRAGMENTS +100]
[MANA FRAGMENTS: 337/10,000]
One hundred fragments! Eirik felt a surge of pure, cold triumph. One warrior equals two wolves! This was viable. Efficient. He ignored the guard’s terrified stare. Catering to his horror wouldn't build walls against the next attack.
He moved quickly to the next warrior corpse. Absorb.
[+100 MF]
Another. Absorb.
[+100 MF]
He worked methodically. Warrior after warrior vanished under his touch. The pile shrank visibly. The guard watched, rooted in horrified fascination, muttering prayers under his breath with each disappearance. The numbers climbed steadily.
337... 537... 837... 1537... 1837...
He absorbed seventeen warrior corpses. A huge leap.
[MANA FRAGMENTS: 1837/10,000]
He paused. Only two warriors remained in this section. But there were other bodies. Women. Elders. Were they worth less? He touched the corpse of a Skarl woman who’d died clutching a child. Absorb.
[RESOURCE ABSORPTION SUCCESSFUL: SKARL NON-COMBATANT]
[MANA FRAGMENTS +20]
[MANA FRAGMENTS: 1857/10,000]
Twenty. Significantly less than a warrior. He absorbed an elderly Skarl man nearby.
[+15 MF]
[MANA FRAGMENTS: 1872/10,000]
Even less. The Core values combat potential. Or perhaps the inherent ‘energy’ tied to their role. He continued, coldly pragmatic. Every fragment counted. He absorbed five more non-combatants – women who’d died of wounds or exposure after the battle.
[+20 MF]
[+15 MF]
[+20 MF]
[+20 MF]
[+15 MF]
[MANA FRAGMENTS: 1962/10,000]
He stopped. The pile had diminished by more than half. Only the smaller bodies, children, remained untouched. He hesitated. They were… small. Undeniably non-combatants. Logically, they might yield very few fragments. But something buried deep clenched hard in his gut.
He couldn’t bring himself to touch them.
He turned away from the pit, leaving the child-sized lumps in the snow. The guard flinched as Eirik walked past him again. Eirik didn’t acknowledge him.
Grakk’Thor. The Skarl Chieftain’s body. If a warrior yielded 100 fragments… what would a Warchief yield? The body had been left impaled on the ice spike where it fell, as a stark warning. He walked towards the spot near the gateway where the sinkhole trap had ended the chieftain’s defiance. Leif had taken the head, but the body remained, grotesquely twisted, half-buried in windblown snow.
Eirik knelt beside it. He ignored the frozen blood, the shattered bone protruding through torn leather. He placed his hand on Grakk’Thor’s chest plate.
Absorb.
[RESOURCE ABSORPTION FAILED: KEY COMPONENT MISSING]
Missing? Eirik frowned. What key component? His gaze snapped to the chieftain’s shoulders. The head. Leif had severed Grakk’Thor’s head after Eirik’s trap finished him. The head was currently hanging from a spike on a makeshift post near the main keep’s entrance – a message to any who doubted the Talons’ strength.
He needed the head for the psychological impact on friend and foe alike. Turning it into motes of light would undermine that.
Best leave it for now.
He headed towards the northern gate. This was the most damaged section by the Skarl occupation. The northern walls and gate had suffered the most during Skarl attacks. And they would be the most crucial defensive structures facing the next Skarl attack.
Large chunks of the original stone facing had been pried loose. He’d patched it hastily with Basic Ice, but it was unstable. He needed Reinforced Ice Wall – a Level 2 construct.
He mentally pulled up the Construction Interface.
[CONSTRUCT REINFORCED ICE WALL (D Grade)?]
[Length: 30 feet]
[Height: 15 feet]
[Thickness: 4 feet]
[Cost: 1000 Mana Fragments]
[Construction Time: Instant]
[Maintenance Required: 100 MF/day]
[Features: Enhanced structural integrity, slower degradation, resistant to moderate impacts]
One thousand. A significant chunk of his new hoard, but absolutely necessary for stability. He confirmed the construction.
The Core thrummed. Raw power surged. Before him, the damaged section shimmered. The old stone rubble and the weaker ice patch… dissolved. In their place, new ice erupted. This wasn't the simple, hazy blue of the Basic Wall. This ice was denser, layered with complex, almost crystalline internal structures that shone with a deep, internal sapphire light. It rose seamlessly, block by perfect, interlocking block, filling the gap in the ancient stone wall.
[REINFORCED ICE WALL CONSTRUCTED]
[MANA FRAGMENTS: 962/10,000]
Eirik exhaled, a plume of satisfaction misting the air. Progress. Tangible, defensive progress. He could feel the difference in the structure’s solidity through the Core. This section wouldn't need constant babysitting.
He looked around the bustling, freezing, overcrowded fortress. The problems Leif, Olaf, and Yorick had brought him hadn't vanished. Food scarcity. Prisoner unrest. Refugees demanding shelter. But he had tools now. Real, powerful tools.
He turned his senses inward again, checking the Kingdom Management tab. He frowned. There was another notification blinking quietly:
[DAILY ABSORPTION CAP ALMOST REACHED: 1962/2000 MF]
[Further resource absorption will reset after 18 hours]
Cap? He checked the logs mentally. Another constraint to work around. He’d used today’s allowance. Time for other methods.
He needed to see Fisk. And he needed to talk to Olaf about the prisoners. And then he needs to think about a solution for food. And then he needs to find a job and some sort of recreation for his people. People = Population. Population = Settlement Requirement.
Eirik strode past the shivering refugees huddled near the gate, ignoring their hopeful whispers and awestruck stares. Beyond the ice walls, the wind howled its protest. He walked a quarter-mile north, stopping near a dense cluster of pines Yorick’s nascent map and the Core’s resonance had highlighted.
Deep snow blanketed everything.
Time to build a sawmill.
Right. A basic processing facility. Needs a stable platform. Cover. Cutting mechanism.
He focused the Kingdom Core. The Construction Interface flared in his mind.
[CONSTRUCT ICE SAWMILL PLATFORM (F-Grade)?]
[Size: 40ft x 30ft]
[Cost: 800 Mana Fragments]
[Maintenance: 80 MF/day]
[Features: Level foundation, integrated log rollers, basic overhead ice-beam frame]
Eight hundred. Ouch. He confirmed.
[MANA FRAGMENTS: 962 - 800 = 162/10,000]
The ground beneath the chosen spot shimmered violently. Snow instantly sublimated, vanishing into mist. The frozen earth groaned and smoothed, rising slightly to form a perfectly level, polished ice platform, unnaturally resistant to slippage. Grooves etched themselves across its surface – rollers for logs. Overhead, thick beams of reinforced ice, like frozen girders, formed a crude frame.
Now, the saw. He needed a continuous, powerful cutting edge. An enchanted ice-blade.
He focused again, visualizing a massive, circular blade, its teeth razor-sharp. He poured Frost Mana into the visualization, willing the ice to form with impossible hardness and edge retention.
[ABILITY: FROST SHAPER - Complex Object: ICE CIRCULAR SAW BLADE]
[MANA EXPENDED: 15]
[MANA: 7/50]
A disc of deep blue ice, six feet in diameter and a foot thick, materialized suspended within the overhead frame. Its edge gleamed with a faint, deadly frost-light.
[CONSTRUCT ICE SAW DRIVE MECHANISM (F-Grade)?]
[Cost: 200 Mana Fragments]
[Features: Basic geared wheel, ice-crank handle assembly (Requires manual operation)]
Manual operation. Eirik grimaced. He needed beast-power, water-power, or magic he didn't have yet. But beggars couldn't be choosers. He confirmed.
[MANA FRAGMENTS: 162 - 200 = ERROR! INSUFFICIENT FRAGMENTS!]
Frostbite. He was thirty-eight fragments short. The massive blade hung uselessly in its frame.
Comments
JW Saxby
This is so intriguing 😁 Tyftc 🍻
