Chapter 1711: Victory Rundown - Frosttusk

<<Awww!>> Zhen Xun Tian exclaimed as she floated down to meet with us and her kin. <<And here I was hoping that the big guy would put up more of a fight.>>

With the battle now over, and the defeated Tremorscales either dead or captured, it was time for a proper reunion, time to loot everyone for their shit...and a rundown on both casualties and the situation leading up until now.

We had learned from Slug-at-Arms’ letter that they needed assistance, but they hadn’t exactly detailed how bad the situation had gotten for my descendants.

Evidently, it wasn’t good.

At least, judging by the look on Hakon’s face.

When he first reunited with his family, he was as happy as a bear with a jar of honeyed salmon.

But now, as the Storm Singers had time to lick their wounds and recover from this entire ordeal, Hakon’s expression became troubled.

•Is...is this really everybody•Hakon asked his father, the tribe’s chief, in his native tongue.•I don’t see a lot of faces I thought would still be here...•

•A lot has changed since you’ve been captured, my son,•Chief Hendril explained in a sad voice. •Many of our kin had been captured or killed since you had disappeared from our lives. And as fucked up as it sounds, thankfully, most had been captured.•

•So at least there is hope that we can find them again,• the chief’s wife and Hakon’s mother, Tantra I think was her name, added before wrapping an arm around the young man. •And if we’re lucky enough, they won’t be sold off to another continent like you were.•

•Hopefully...•

Sensing that this part was going to be sensitive, I suggested to Hurricroak and Nepherage that we focused on cleaning up the battlefield.

It was at this moment, that I was once again grateful for my ability to communicate with just my mind...or whatever it was that I now had that made my brain function.

[Agreed,] Nepherage subtly nodded. [I’ll call up some zakos to help.]

[Rhythm and Blues got it,] Hurricroak added. [That said, I think you should probably stick around here though.]

[Why?]

[Because the chief’s wife has been eyeballing you. And not in a sexy way,] Hurricroak explained. [It’s more...mournful.]

[Ah.]

Heeding my words, Nepherage and Hurricroak went to go and sweep the field while also taking whatever valuables we could take off of the defeated Tremorscales. They didn’t touch any of the corpses belonging to the Storm Singers, since they were our allies...and technically my kin, but they did have additional zakos help to move those bodies for a proper burial.

As soon as they were out of earshot, physically at least, the chieftain’s wife rubbed Hakon’s shoulder in comfort for a few moments before releasing him so that he may have time to reunite with what remained of his friends alongside his father.

As she walked over, I took that moment to look at her and study her features with a more discerning eye.

When I first met Hakon, I had clocked the young warrior as being a possible descendant of mine. He had features that I once had, as well as features that I had seen in my...in my...

They were features that belonged to people I cared about.

I didn’t see these features in his father, the current chief of the Storm Singers. However, I did see that his mother had eyes that looked...similar to those memories.

Eyes that would usually look at me with love or admiration.

But right now, those eyes were looking at me like I was a stranger.

It felt wrong...not that I could show it.

•Are you...are you the one that the others called Frosttusk?• Tantra asked me with a voice dripping with trepidation.

•I am,• I answered back in perfect Mist Talk.

The surprise in her eyes was obvious as her involuntary action to step back once she heard that I could speak the same language as her.

I could understand why she had flinched, I was taller than most mortals and I was technically part mammoth and machine. And yet...I couldn’t help but feel a stinging sensation in my chest over the thought of scaring this woman.

This sensation didn’t make sense, as I didn’t know them on any personal level, hell, I was only tangentially related at best...but it was a feeling I couldn’t seem to shake off.

I remained silent as I waited for Tantra to find her nerves.

•I...thank you, for saving my son,• Tantra quickly said as she bowed her head towards me. •Mister Zhen Shi explained how you were the one to buy his freedom from the slavers and what exactly you, your friends, and who your true master is. We don’t have much, but I can assure you that we will do everything in our power to repay him and you for your kind—•

•There is no need to repay me or minn Jarl,• I interjected. •I saved him on a whim. Nothing more.•

I figured my gruff demeanor would’ve been enough to discourage any further talks, but instead, it prompted Tantra to lift her head up and direct an odd smile in my direction.

For a brief moment, I thought I saw her being overlayed with the visage of another woman, but that vision faded away just as quickly as it appeared.

•Master Zhen Hai mentioned that you would say something like that,• Tantra commented with a smile. •It’s good to hear that you and the other kaijin are as every bit as kind as they said you were.•

•Kind?• I repeated, in an attempt to sound intimidating. •What makes you think we’re the least bit kind? We’re literally looting the battlefield while you’re trying to treat your wounded.•

•And you’re also helping to move our dead for our burial rites,• Tantra pointed out.

She wasn’t wrong, but I did feel a little called out over the fact.

•Its just...something the jarl orders us to do, nothing more.•

•Of course...• Tantra nodded in a manner that caused my memories to stir.

She used to nod like that too, whenever I tried to talk big.

•Your words are outweighed by your actions,• Tantra eventually declared. •But if you wish to say otherwise, who am I to judge? Either way, I still thank you for saving my precious baby boy.•

[Hmph...]

It felt good being thanked like this...but I still felt a little annoyed.

Wait...why was I being annoyed by being teased like this?

And why did it feel so familiar?

Before this interaction could go any further, through, Hurricroak came to save me from the conversation.

Well, it’s more like I contacted her to do so, but still.

The frog-woman simply hopped over to where we were and tapped on my shoulder.

[Oi, big man, we need your help over here.]

[I’ll be right there.]

Using this as an opportunity to escape, I turned towards Tantra and said my good bye.

•It was nice meeting you, Tantra, but I have to go now. Hakon told me your name.•

•It was nice meeting you too.•

As Hurricroak and I walked away, we did actually talk about the battlefield situation...to a point.

[Did we get anything good from the defeated?]

[Just some weapons, crappy armor, a few low tiered aether medicines and like...maybe two Bronze-grade aether treasures. Nothing major,] Hurricroak answered. [I think the most valuable thing were those explosive spheres and you rendered them inert with your big ass ice blast.]

[Seriously?]

[I mean, we still have that Citrine-Horn Lindwurm corpse. That ought be useful for something.]

[Fair enough...wait, what about their ancestor? He was an Aether Emperor.]

[I believe Matriarch Zhen Xun Tian had declared dibs,] Nepherage answered. [And I do not want to argue with her over that stuff.]

[That’s...fair...oh...]

[Finally slowing down, big guy?] Hurricroak asked me.

[Yeah...finally...running out...of steam...]

[So...would now be a good time why you were acting weird in front of Hakon’s mother?]

[...]

[What?]

I was thinking slower than normal, but I still had enough brainpower to provide a real answer.

[She...might...be...my... descendant...]

[...oh.]

As soon as I answered that awfully loaded question, Hurricroak and Nepherage both went quiet.

...POV change...

"..."

Tantra watched in silence as Frosttusk and Hurricroak walked away towards the ruined battlefield, although, her attention were locked on the back of the former.

Tantra had actually come to thank Frosttusk for saving her son, but the longer she talked with him, the more she couldn’t help but to notice some details about the monster that seemed to suggest that he was much more than he was letting on.

The dialect she was speaking wasn’t normal Mist Speech, it was a dialect that was known only to the Storm Singers, and the way he knew how they treated their dead was something that was only passed down through oral tradition.

It was possible that Hakon shared these details with them, but it was... unlikely.

On top of that, she couldn’t help but to notice that Frosttusk’s silhouette seemed so... familiar.