Fredrich wasn't happy. In a series of negotiations that he had apparently been excluded from, the researchers and Yetis had decided to join together in one massive group and go to Leithanien.

What's more, they were using the Spymaster's Arts! He had detected the specks of energy flitting between the massive group, if their collective silence didn't make it obvious enough.

It wasn't his place to question the Spymaster's decisions, however. And he was certain it was the Spymaster in that crystal – the deluge of memories he received couldn't have been faked.

However, he was questioning this plan now that so many more people had been added into the equation.

A blast of chilly air came from behind him, and he turned to see Frostnova beckoning him over.

"We need to go, Fredrich." She spoke with no small amount of derision.

Fredrich gave up a grunt of acknowledgement, walking up beside her – or at least as close as he could get without being frozen solid by her Arts. "I don't think we can get to Leithanien with this many people, Frostnova."

"Why?" She asked.

"We don't have enough money to pay off the smugglers."

"Do the smugglers have enough transports to carry all of us?"

"Yes." Fredrich responded, confused. Why did it matter if they didn't have the money?

"Then I'll handle it."

"How?" Fredrich asked.

"You'll see once we find them." Frostnova turned and left, seemingly deciding that this conversation was over. That girl was really easy to anger, huh…

By some miracle, the subsequent day and night passed without much trouble. Ben didn't make good on his vote to execute Fredrich, fortunately.

Levina considered reprimanding Fredrich herself, but decided not to. That wouldn't do much, and would probably piss him off.

Fredrich would no doubt return to his real group after this was all over. If Levina could remain in contact with him somehow, his group would make for a valuable asset for Rim Billiton – it wasn't as if the company shied away from employing less-than-legal means to acquire contracts.

Hell, all the contracts in Empire of Ursus she had heard of were the result of some bribery, if not worse.

As she was thinking, Anne called from ahead of her. "I can see the town!"

And sure enough, there was a speck of brown houses and firelight in the distance, standing out from the snow.

Levina raised her eyebrows. The place sure didn't look like a transport hub; it looked like your usual well-to-do village in Ursus. Warehouses everywhere – food, most likely – and some other basic buildings, but nothing special.

As they approached, her eyes narrowed at the sight of the armed men patrolling around the village's border.

Ah. Smugglers. That explained how Fredrich was planning to get them into Leithanien. Well, fair enough. It wasn't as if she hadn't used their systems in the past; in fact, she was well acquainted with this side of Terra's society.

"Can you give me my dagger now?" Levina asked Petrova.

Petrova handed over the weapon without resistance, having apparently kept it on his person. "Sure. We might need it, and I trust you enough."

"Mhm." Levina returned the weapon to its position, sheathing and unsheathing it a few times. It was as sharp as she remembered.

Now, to pay off these smugglers…

It didn't take long for them to be accosted by a group of armed men.

"Got business with us?" The muscular man in front of the group asked.

Well, he didn't seem that hostile. Good. Andrey relaxed somewhat.

"We're here to arrange transport." Fredrich walked forward, stopping at arm's distance from the man.

"With that many people? You sure you've got the money?"

"We'll arrange something." Fredrich replied, handing over a wad of LMD. "In advance."

"Sure, if there's more of that where it came from." The man turned away from Fredrich, and began leading them to a small office in the center of the town.

"We don't have enough, do we?" Andrey asked.

"That's enough to feed all of us for a good few days." Frostnova dejectedly said. "He doesn't have enough."

"Well, there's always brute force." Andrey pointed out.

"Mercenaries aren't as easy to deal with as you think." Frostnova replied. "If the smugglers have this much money, they're paying for the best they can get. That makes it worse."

"Can you still deal with them?"

"Not without risking casualties. I can't release all of my Arts, with so many people around."

They were soon led in front of the quaint little office they had seen before. It was a small, blocky building, walls whitewashed as bright as the snow – and without any windows. Ominous.

"I'd like to ask you to part with your weapons." The mercenary extended a hand.

Fredrich casually walked over to him and handed over his wand, before walking into the office. Frostnova followed – before a hand stopped her.

"Weapons."

"I don't have any." Frostnova replied.

"Then what's with the aura?"

"I'm an Infected." Frostnova took a step forward. "Let me in."

The man raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. After a short period of deliberation, he stepped to the side and let her pass.

"I'm surprised that worked." Andrey commented once they were in the room.

"Being a 'filthy Infected' tends to explain many things." Frostnova snarked.

A thick wall of metal took up one side of the building, splitting it into half. The little floor space left on their side was taken up by a pair of uncomfortable-looking metal chairs.

Frostnova simply sat down and waited, and soon Fredrich did the same.

"I assume you're here to buy passage?" The man on the other side intoned. Andrey inspected the wall for a moment; a small speaker was embedded within it, allowing sound to pass through.

"The wall's protecting him from us." Andrey noted.

"I know."

"Yes." Fredrich quickly replied.

"Are you ready to pay, then? 10000 LMD per person, no exceptions."

Fredrich sighed, and fell silent. Andrey knew what that meant.

They were doing this the hard way.

Quickly, he sent a message to the rest of the group. "We don't have enough LMD. We're coercing them."

Then, he sent out a pulse of Arts, mapping the nearby area.

"Roughly a dozen mercenaries." He reported to Frostnova. "Can you take on that many?"

"Yes. The mercenary that led us should be the strongest; killing him will create an opening."

"Hey, what's with the silence? Something wrong?" The man on the other side pressed.

Andrey quickly looked through the man's sight for a moment. As he watched, the negotiator looked down at the series of cables wound around his wrist, watching what looked like… a number of some sort?

"They have… some form of monitor on them. Most likely, if someone kills them or knocks them unconscious, the entire camp will know." Andrey reported back.

"That's not good." Frostnova idly commented, eyes fixed on the wall in front of them – as if expecting it to burst apart at any moment.

"No, it certainly isn't."

"Alright, that's it." The negotiator threatened. "You have a minute. Then I call the mercs on you."

Andrey sighed. "Whatever. Knocking those two out in five... four… three… two… one…"

"Go!"

The faint sound of two bodies falling to the ground came from behind the wall, and a crude red dot suddenly appeared in her vision.

"Guard outside." Andrey said.

"Mhm." Frostnova fired an ice spike towards the mercenary, rushing out the door as the ice pierced through the wall and the man standing beside it.

She didn't spare a glance towards the other Yetis and researchers; instead sprinting towards the next building.

"Three mercs; nobody important." Another three red dots appeared.

"Mhm." Frostnova gathered her Arts and fired through the wall, splintering the thick wood and striking down the mercenaries.

"Wood walls… convenient." Andrey remarked. "Two behind you."

Frostnova spun to see two more mercenaries rushing towards her. Presumably they thought she would panic in a melee; they would be sorely disappointed.

A few seconds later, Frostnova walked away from two newly formed icicles. "Alright. Who's next?"

"They're organizing a group of crossbowmen. Group of six." A group of red dots appeared to her right. "Your element of surprise is gone. Petrova is leading the Yetis in stopping the reinforcements; the researchers are busy searching for booby-traps."

Frostnova smiled, erecting an ice shield and running towards the crossbowmen. A volley of bolts answered her. The shield stopped those and she raised her palm, firing off another volley of ice bolts.

"Father wouldn't let me use my Arts without the wand, but I'm better without it." Frostnova idly commented, studying the results of her work. The ice bolts had easily pierced through what armor the crossbowmen had. "Next?"

"I've dealt with it." Andrey replied, marking another dot in her vision.

Frostnova cautiously approached, spotting the wreckage of what looked to be an armored vehicle lodged in a building.

"You made it crash?" She guessed.

"Yes."

"Good job. Where's their leader?"

Andrey paused, seemingly searching for something. "…Here."

The dot pointed toward the brick building in the distance – the headquarters, no doubt.

Frostnova sprinted up towards the building, scanning the landscape around her. The camp suddenly felt quite war-torn; locked doors everywhere, the occasional body littering the street.

She counted themselves lucky that they hadn't lost anyone yet.

Soon, they reached the smugglers' headquarters, a massive, windowless brick cube. Frostnova studied the building for a moment, before settling her eyes upon the heavy steel door in front.

"The door's bolted shut, and the building is reinforced." Andrey said as they approached. "Or at least, that's what that bodyguard is assuring their leader."

"Mhm." Frostnova nodded, studying the walls. "I can't punch through."

"No need." Andrey replied. Activating his Arts, he easily broke through the mental barrier of the bodyguard – surprisingly weak, all things considered – and forcibly wrested control of the bodyguard's body away from its owner.

The bodyguard's eyes began subtly glowing as he stiffly walked over to the door and slid open the various bolts on the door.

"What are you doing?" The scrawny smuggler behind him shrieked.

Andrey, of course, didn't respond. Soon, all the defenses were disabled, and the bodyguard opened the door – before stabbing himself in the heart and slumping to the ground.

His job was done; Andrey returned to his crystal.

"Your Arts?" Frostnova asked. "I thought I told you to avoid mind control."

"…Yes." Andrey admitted. "Though we didn't have other options."

"I could have frozen the building." Frostnova argued, walking through the now-open door.

"That would have been dangerous to you." Andrey replied.

"Hey!" The smuggler yelled. "You don't just waltz in here, kill my guys, and steal this place I spent years building!"

"I could have dealt with it. And you should've asked me first, regardless." Frostnova defended, absentmindedly raising a hand and shackling the smuggler in ice – his yells soon muffled by the sheet of ice covering his face.

"You would have just refused." Andrey sighed. "Either way, the Yetis have cleaned up the rest of the camp. Let's go."

"Mhm. We'll talk about this later."

"Alright, they agreed." Andrey reported to Frostnova the next day. She was studying the massive vehicle in front of them, inspecting the haphazard mess of steel plates that formed it's armor. "On the guarantee that they won't come to any harm."

"I wasn't planning to kill them." Frostnova idly said. "It's simply that their prices are ridiculous."

"Should we give them some of the money anyway once we're done here?" Andrey asked.

"No, that's a pointless waste." Frostnova replied. "Let's go."

Ensuring that Andrey's crystal was still tucked safely in a bag on her waist, she boarded their convoy to Leithanien.

AN: Yes, Andrey has learned wallhacks. Sorry for the late upload; I was planning to write over the weekend, but some stuff came up.

Either way, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!