Chapter 1715: A Fireball’s Chance in Ice Hell - Hurricroak

[Hang on a minute. Sluggie, you’ve been here longer than us, yes?]

[I have Lady Hurricroak,] Slug-at-Arms agreed. [Why do you ask?]

[Okay, I recall from a previous message from y’all that y’all said you were investigating a place where the Fros-er-thr Storm Singer’s ancestral axe was last spotted.]

[We did, yes.]

[Okay, so why did that crazy girl say that you guys weren’t able to retrieve it? We’re kaijin, stealing shit from dead people is like...half of our activities.]

[Oh, yeah, that’s because the axe has some kind of super lock in place.]

[Super...lock?]

[Lady Zhen Xun Tian couldn’t pull it out despite using all six of her arms, and neither me nor Terra were able to use Chaos to break whatever sealing ability kept it embedded in the ground,] Slug-at-Arms explained. [Wait...it might’ve been the skull of the Ice Blood Mammoth now that I think about it.]

[Huh...]

[That...sounds...important...]

...Enough talk, important discussion time...

Are you out of your mind?! We can’t attack the Collectrix; it’s suicide! • an elderly warrior complained.Better a swift and honorable death than this slow march into extinction! • Hakon shouted back.

[Oof! So much drama,] I commented while keeping an eye on the people, making sure no one made any stupid movements. [And I thought the Zhen Clan family politics were bad back when we rolled into Roaring Tide.]

[This is actually about as bad as when our Lord revealed himself to not be dead and he exposed the butler as being a traitor. Honestly, it could be worse.]

The traitor’s trial at breakfast had left a bad taste in the mouths of the Storm Singers, but it had also stirred them into wanting to take action...mostly.

Since it was revealed that their movements were tracked and that the cause had been muted by yours truly, many of the older members of the tribe wanted to take this opportunity to leave the Echoing Valley behind and go somewhere far away from here.

It was a cowardly plan, but one that made them live long enough to see another sunset.

The younger warriors, though, those filled with moxie and spunk, didn’t want to leave.

They wanted to fight, and they wanted to take it directly to the heart of the enemy.

If we leave, we are abandoning our brothers and sisters to the whims of fate and slavers! • Hakon said in order to justify his anger. •I got lucky, but I had seen what happened to those who were sold off to those who never recognized us as being human. It’s not a good fate.•In dark fairness, young master Hakon, you were by yourself and injured when you were captured. • a member of the Storm Singers pointed out.And we also thought you had died! • Another added.We know that our kin have been captured, and we are now together! If we leave the valley, we have a chance of being able to find them and free them away from this place, together. •BY THAT SAME LOGIC, WE COULD JUST BAND TOGETHER AND FREE THEM WHILE WE FIGHT OUR OPPRESSOR HERE!• Hakon roared in frustration.

While this debate was happening, Chief Heindril and his wife Tantra remained silent.

It wasn’t that they didn’t have their own opinions on the matter, but they were the overall leaders.

The moment they said their piece, the debate would simply end right there and then.

And to be completely honest, they felt it was a good thing that Hakon was defending his point with such passion.

If he was to be chief in the future, then he needed to show the qualities of leadership while he was alive in the here and now.

The arguing kept going for quite some time, much to the chagrin of the Zhen Clan warriors present.

They were guests and allies, so they didn’t really have any say in the matters happening before them. However, they couldn’t help but feel a little prickled over the parallels between their own past issues and the one playing out before their very eyes. Well, that, and they were also sharing conspiratorial whispers about a certain axe that Slug-at-arms mentioned earlier.

"You know...if we had just secured that axe, I feel like the tone of this conversation would be very different," Zhen Hai whispered to his father and grandfather.

"You’re not wrong," Zhen Shi whispered back, "but we already failed and not even the matriarch could make it budge."

"Okay, but that was before Hakon and the other kaijin came," Zhen Hai whispered. "And didn’t you once say that you touched on a memory of Frosttusk’s that made this entire place feel incredibly familiar? Maybe that means—"

"Enough" Heindril suddenly declared with an aether-enhanced voice, in a language that everyone could understand.

Evidently, Heindril was done listening to the debate to the old guard and the next generation, so he decided that now was a good time to say his piece.

The fact that he had chosen to do this suggested that he wanted both us and the Zhen Clan to hear what he had to say next.

"Hakon, neither you nor the elder is wrong in what you think is best for the tribe. If we leave the valley, we can escape the Collectrix and our increasing number of enemy tribes. We can get a new beginning elsewhere. However, if we don’t at least rescue our kinsmen now, then it’s very possible that we’ll lose them forever. As such, this is what I decree."

Heindril directed his gaze at his son, the one who had been lost but now returned, with an oddly serious expression.

"You may not be aware of this, but since you have been missing, we have managed to locate the tribe’s lost heirloom."

Hakon’s eyes went wide, and I could practically hear his heart pounding at a million miles a minute.

"You mean—?!"

"With that axe in hand, you will have the authority of the tribe, and you will gain the power necessary to be able to attack or even defeat the Collectrix. Alternatively, you could trade it with her for safe passage out of the valley. Either way, if you want the Storm Singers to follow your lead, you have to reclaim the axe for yourself," Heindril explained. "You are free to go by yourself or see if anyone here would be willing to help."

His announcement did not go over the rest of the tribe quietly. If anything, it riled them up even more than the events from this morning.

"Are you serious, Chief Heindril?! This would’ve made sense if Hakon had arrived earlier, but doing so now...it’s suicide!"

"We just had the revelation that Mathera had been sending information back to the Collectrix and her forces. How do we know that she isn’t already making a break for the axe as we speak?!"

"We are doomed..."

The Zhen Clan exchanged looks after hearing this condition come from Heindril’s mouth, as they hadn’t expected this happening either.

However, us kaijin were expecting something like this was bound to happen.

After all, if the Maestro is a karmic void, it would make sense that it would extend to us, the ones who are an extension of will.

That, and I couldn’t help but to notice the inflection of how Heindril said that his son was free to ask anyone "here" to help.

Hakon was silent as the arguing erupted all around him, but I could hear his heartbeat steadily take on a more quiet rhythm. It wasn’t until I heard a breath of resolution that I knew what Hakon’s decision was.

"ENOUGH!" Hakon said after enhancing his voice with not just aether but a little touch of [Chaos] as well. "If acquiring the axe means a better future for us all, whatever form it takes, then so be it. I shall retrieve our lost axe."

Hakon turned his attention towards his parents, who were a bit surprised at Hakon’s usage of [Chaos] but were also proud at the display. Evidently, they had gotten a touch jealous of this mysterious power wielded by us and the Zhen Clan and were just happy to know someone who could wield it amongst themselves.

Well. one that they were certain they were related to, anyway.

"Father, Mother," Hakon addressed his parents, using formal titles that he had picked up from his time with the Zhen Clan. "I know it’s only been a short time since I have returned, but I will be gone again. And when I return, it shall be in triumph."

After making this statement, several of the tribesmen present assumed that Hakon was going to ask one of them for assistance.

Some of them were eager for it; others were ready to refuse, but they were all going to be disappointed.

Because the young master, just like our own Maestro, realized we were going to be his best bet at securing the axe and dealing with whatever problem may arise in the process.

[I know that this might be asking too much,] Hakon said in [Chaos] speech. [But can you help me with this?]

I was about to speak up to confirm, but surprisingly, Frosttusk beat me to the punch.

And he did so in a manner that caused the eyes of everyone present to go wide.

•We...shall...young...singer,• Frosttusk said. •We...will...help...reclaim...the...Storm...Axe...•

•Did he just...•

The Storm Singers were absolutely certain that they hadn’t given us the name of the axe they were about to risk life and limb for.