Ezekiel pointed towards a large object in the mist As one the group circled it and approach Only when within 10 meters was it obvious that it wasn’t a stone but instead a large block of ice And only when you were right up next to it did it become obvious that there was a shadowy figure frozen in the middle of it Laurel raised her hand conjuring a mage light to reveal a strange ape creature suspended in the ice
It’s eyes were narrowed in concentration and the veins at its temple were throbbing with palpable anger It was obvious that it had been frozen almost instantly before the reality of its situation could occur to the creature Strangely its body seemed almost plantlike with vines running naturally across its arms and merging into the thing’s chest
Everyone paused wondering silently what had occurred here leaving this monster stuck in this ice But the sounds of the excavation were even louder now so very soon the group tore themselves away from it and walked closer
“Careful this ain’t our neck of the woods any longer ” Hank said quietly He gave Ezekiel a long look “Best behavior ya hear me “
Ezekiel smirked but Hank could only frown Now was not the time to get into a spat with this quirky man
Chapter 514
Hank’s group was walking on ground that was slowly sloping downward and then came to a lip of a wide gorge or ravine the details masked by the fog But what they could see were that there were about 50 men and women below working with picks to crack off pieces of ice that covered the ground Above them and only a few meters below the lip on which they stood about a dozen men with huge paper fans were sweeping their objects back and forth knocking the mist rising from the ice out of the bowl and into the surrounding area LIkely these fan users were the reason the mist had been displaced and oozed into the surrounding area as much as it did
What was most perplexing for Hank was that these people were truly mining ice like it was a precious material He watched as a woman knocked off a small chuck the size of a ping pong ball grinned and then made it disappear They were also rugged wild people wearing leathers and furs to a greater degree even than the previous group they had encountered in the borderlands lead by that Dinesh fellow
“Do these people not have refrigeration Why are they mining ice ” Ezekiel asked not even bothering to keep his voice quiet Some of the fanners turned to glance behind them noticing Hank and his group but they eventually ignored them focusing on their task at hand
“This is not normal ice ” Laurel said quietly “Look do you see any water It is not melting Even if all it does as a substance is produce this mist would not Ghost still harvest the lot of it to perform experiments “
Ezekiel had nothing to say to that And apparently their presence had caused enough of a stir to merit a response although Hank couldn’t have indicated which of the people below caused it Two parties came out of the crowd towards them one of a single person and the other of a duo It quickly became apparent that these two groups were in fact from different sources and as soon as Hank thought that it became obvious The one group’s uniforms were largely uniform with black leather and seemingly extraneous straps and buckles along their arms and legs It was certainly a strange fashion statement
The other group had more heterogeneous clothing with various furs leathers and metal armors But each of these had a number emblazoned on their armor at some point A quick scan of the groups indicated that there were three numbers among the people scattered here II III and 29 There didn’t seem to be any discernible difference amongst the buckle people
Walking quickly the solo person arrived first It was a teenage boy his arms almost unhealthily slim
“Who the fuck are you “
About par for the course for a teenager Hank supposed Unfortunately their group also had an individual whose maturity level was suspect
“Did you practice that line in the mirror You sound like a minor villain in a Shakespearean play ” Ezekiel said dismissively with a snort
“The day Shakespeare says fuck is the day your balls drop far enough to take me in a fight ” The teenager declared
Ezekiel turned to Laurel “Did he seriously just say that to me “
Laurel remained unconcerned with Ezekiel simply shaking her head The teenager stalked forward his eyes burning At his waist a dozen or so small pouched hung He quickly reached into one and removed something that looked like smoked meat “Say that again “
The duo arrived One man was an overly muscled man with a shaved head On his chest was the number II The man next to him had his dark hair up in a ponytail with half a dozen knives strapped to his sides On his chest was an III
“Oh a duel ” The burly man said Rubbing his hands together his face split into a grin “I suppose I call the winner “
“Then I’ll fight you when you lose ” The knife man replied
Chuckling the burly man thumped his chest “Why so you can lose to me again You’re truly are a glutton for punishment “
“You cheated ” The knifeman replied “I would say you slept your way to the top but I think it’s more likely you didn’t sleep your way to the top When talking about sexual prowess Sam on your team “
“Hurry ” The teen interrupted waving his hand airily “Get your men to set up an arena “
“Don’t we have the one outside of the icemist ” The burly man said scratching his chin
The other two nodded Then almost as one they turned and stalked off through the ice mist The knifeman whistled the burly man clapped his hands and the teenager burped The workers instantly turned on their heels and began walking in this direction while chit chatting with each other Some of the men did arm circles as though they were warming up for an extreme amount of exertion
Laurel turned to Ezekiel and patted him on the back “This seems like a you problem I’m going to go look at the ice “
After a second of consideration Affina went to join Ezekiel who was stomping after these strange Zone 32 ers His mouth was in that thin line he got when he was about to do something dumb
Hank flexed his hands the corner of his mouth creeping upwards Although he wanted to engage in a more peaceful meeting with the people from this new Zone Ever since they had encountered these abnormal people Hank had wondered where he stood compared to them
A duel seemed the perfect way to lay that to rest
After several hours of work Randidly gave Foreman Davey 200 bars of his Erickson Steel and received 1000 in exchange When he traded it in there was some wariness in the man’s eyes as if he expected trouble Based on the fact the man was probably aware that Randidly had gone to Ricky Stain’s party he couldn’t hold it against him
Sure it was likely true that Randidly could have pushed for a higher price but so what Although he didn’t want to waste his time here he wasn’t necessarily in a hurry After speaking with Sonya and Gregory at the party Randidly had gained 5 Levels in Refine and Extract as he used the information he had gleaned about steel to enhance his images Besides although Foreman Davey made a significant profit on Randidly that was how businesses worked As Randidly couldn’t access the exchange he paid to use FOreman Davey for that privilege
Perhaps more importantly a quiet discussion with Griffith on their way to the bar had revealed that Foreman Davey also was a Tier II citizen Every bar of Randidly’s steel that Foreman Davey sold was essentially Foreman Davey certifying the quality Although that had no current value Randidly was happy to take less immediate gain so he would have his foot in the door later
Apparently the fact that Randidly didn’t push meant something to Foreman Davey as well because when Randidly asked about the spatial watches he simply laughed and gave him one
“Usually you’d get one when you gain citizenship ” Foreman Davey said a smile on his face But we have a working relationship you and I and I can understand how not having a wristlet would make things difficult This was the one that I obtained when I became a Tier I Citizen it should be more than enough for your needs eh