Andrey watched as Fredrich stood up within his tent, shaking his head. Undoubtedly, the spy had a massive headache now, given the influx of Arts Andrey had poured into him.
Well, no use waiting. He had a role to play.
"Is my identity clear?" Applying some pressure with his Arts, Andrey intruded into Fredrich's mind.
"Of course, Spymaster."
"Very good. Return to your task." Andrey watched Fredrich start slowly cleaning up the mess he had made the previous night, before turning his focus back to Frostnova.
"He's awake. Any plans?" Andrey reported.
"Can take your crystal to where I am?"
"Yes. Planning to escape?"
"Today night. Contact him." Frostnova urged.
"I'll have to play the spymaster, then."
"No problem."
"Got it." Andrey stretched out his Arts and linked the three of them together.
"Sir?" Fredrich had felt the Arts.
"I escape tonight." Again, that same pressure in his Arts; Andrey hoped Frostnova wasn't too unnerved by it.
"With whom, sir?"
"With me." Frostnova replied before Andrey could.
"You are the Cautus girl, yes? What is your name?"
"Frostnova."
"A codename? Rather over-the-top, isn't it?"
Andrey decided to cut this argument off before it could properly form. "Quit bickering, you two. Fredrich, if you have something to say, go ahead."
A short silence followed, before Fredrich spoke up again. "Sir… you must go to Leithanien."
"Explain. I have no interest in handing myself to the new regime on a silver platter." Quite the threatening tone, if Andrey did say so himself.
"It is the only way to get your body back, sir."
"My body?"
"…Your body is being preserved in the Witch King's Mausoleum, sir."
"Preserved?"
"It was interred in a stasis field when they found you in your chamber, sir."
Was Fredrich saying… Andrey could get his body back?
"Stop escape plans. I must decide a new plan." Andrey cut off his Arts as he said those words; he needed some time to think.
His head felt dizzy, and his Arts slowly slipped from his grasp…
"Spymaster?" The connection had been cut… concerning. Fredrich sighed, turning to the crystal now kept securely in a box beside him. Carefully, he opened the lid, studying the Originium kept within.
It barely glowed anymore, seemingly transforming back to the inert piece of black rock it once was.
Fine, he'd have to do this the old-fashioned way. That crystal couldn't hold complex Arts for long… he quickly casted a pulse of Arts on it.
It was slowly regaining energy… good.
He walked out of his tent, walking towards where that girl, "Frostnova," was kept.
Levina turned towards him as he walked towards the other three researchers, her gaze shifting to the box in his hands.
"The crystal?" She questioned.
"Yes. She may need proof, if we are to negotiate with her."
"Won't she just take it?"
"Not before I destroy the crystal. She cannot risk it." Nor could he. While the Spymaster was just an echo of a dead era, he was nonetheless still a valuable asset.
Not that the girl – Frostnova, he reminded himself – was willing to risk it either.
He parted the flaps of the tent, meeting the look she sent his way.
"Can your Arts provide us privacy?" He questioned.
Frostnova held up a hand and sealed the flaps with ice. "You're Fredrich?"
"Yes. The Spymaster's Arts failed, did they not?"
"This has not happened before."
Fredrich raised an eyebrow. "A consequence of the crystal, then?"
"Let me see it."
Fredrich opened the box, taking out the crystal. Frostnova studied it for a moment, before sighing. "It's dimmer than before. Does that mean anything?"
Fredrich resisted the urge to laugh. That question was like it came from a defect, not a proper caster like her. "Of course it means something. The energy in the Originium is being used too rapidly."
"He's fading?"
"That's a crude description, but indeed."
"How long?"
"A few months, maybe. He needs to be returned to Leithanien."
A long pause, Frostnova turning away from him, before she spoke again. "I have other people I need to take care of."
"Duty over attachment. Do you want him to die?"
"No." She replied almost immediately.
"Then we leave tonight. I will prepare supplies."
Frostnova exhaled a breath of chilly air, shattering the ice that she had formed around the door. "Sure."
Fredrich walked out the tent, giving the trio still waiting there a quick nod. "She's convinced that we have the crystal. She should make a decision within two days."
"Good job, Fredrich." Ben said as Fredrich turned back towards his tent.
"Thanks." Fredrich sighed.
Taking stock of the supplies around his tent, Fredrich smiled ever so slightly. Plenty of supplies for two people, at least for a two-week trek.
After that, while he would not enjoy paying the smugglers an exorbitant fee to send them back to Leithanien, but it would be worth it.
Night fell, and it finally came to be Fredrich's turn at "guarding" Frostnova. He doubted any of them could stop her if it came to open combat, but it was a convenient opportunity to escape.
Once Levina retreated to her tent, he lifted up the other travel bag he had prepared and dragged it into the tent; keeping the crystal safe in his coat pocket.
Frostnova stood there waiting for him, raising her eyebrows as she saw the travel bag. "That little?"
"Two weeks of dehydrated travel rations, a deployable tent, and enough heaters to melt ice for water."
"That's two weeks of supplies?"
Fredrich was again impressed by her ignorance. "Yes."
"Then let's go." She picked up the backpack and put it on, before walking out the tent. Fredrich followed, as she began walking a brisk pace forwards.
Fredrich was surprised she could still walk, much less at this pace.
As they left, he took one last look at the camp, and the three oblivious researchers that he left behind.
The blizzard had long since faded, leaving behind ankle-deep snow for Frostnova to tread through. She'd dealt with worse, but the still-present pains in her body made it all the more difficult.
As they left the bright confines of the camp, Fredrich lit a torch of some sort, its bright white glow reflecting off the snow around her.
That was unnecessary; best to save those torches for when they were really needed, such as during a blizzard. Walking in the dark here was perfectly fine.
She doubted he would be happy, though. Obviously, he had gone through "proper" training in the past; she could sense his derision whenever she talked about Arts.
It reminded her of an Ursus caster they had interrogated a while back. His condescending tone had been quickly solved by a few kicks to the gut.
"You have the crystal?" She asked Fredrich as they crested a hill.
"Of course."
"Good."
That was the extent of their communication, the two of them silently moving through the snow; the small circle of light Fredrich's torch cast slowly shifting away from the camp, and then moving out of sight entirely.
Once the two were far enough away, Frostnova stopped, gesturing to a nearby hill.
"We can camp there."
"Mhm." Fredrich didn't deign to give her a proper response, simply turning to walk towards that hill. They ascended it rapidly, soon reaching the top; Fredrich detaching the "deployable tent" from the side of his bag. Frostnova imitated his actions, unrolling the fabric and hammering in the struts.
Nonetheless, the tent stubbornly refused to stand up properly.
Finished, Fredrich took a look at her handiwork, and laughed.
"Haven't made a tent before?"
"Not this form." Frostnova glared at him, to no avail.
"Fine, I'll do it for you." He slowly shifted over to the tarp.
Frostnova grumbled, freezing his feet as he tried to take a step – resulting in Fredrich falling to the ground with a groan of pain.
Raising two thin pillars of ice, Frostnova propped up the tent, before unfreezing Fredrich and slipping into the tent.
Andrey woke up on the familiar stone floor of the cave. He felt… tired.
He was surrounded by a solid darkness, as if the rest of the cave had been denied to him by a black fog. Walking over to the darkness, he pushed at it, feeling more resistance the further he went.
The fog was fading, bit by bit, seemingly taking his tiredness with it. Andrey paced around his slowly-expanding cave, watching for anything out of the ordinary.
This was… strange, as was falling unconscious without warning. Everything was strange these days, however; how was this any different?
In the meantime, he quickly reviewed the current situation. Frostnova was currently kept within the researchers' tent; he had her loyalty, as well as Fredrich's. It was probably best to simply return to the Yetis, given there was nothing else abnormal that risked either him or Frostnova.
Well, except for this fog, which stubbornly refused to dissipate at anything more than a snail's pace.
The researchers were interesting people, but Andrey had to let them return to their lives. Then again, they most likely would not let Andrey and Frostnova just leave.
No matter: brute force could solve that problem. It wouldn't be pleasant, but it would work.
The fog was still slowly dissipating… Andrey tried to use his Arts, only finding a faint spark in return.
Great, he was still stuck in this place. Not unlike when he first met Frostnova, except this time all he could do was wait.
Walking over to a stray piece of Originium, he kicked it toward the fog. The piece flew straight back him, causing him to instinctively flinch. The piece flew past him, fortunately not striking him.
Not that that it would have mattered. He was still invincible in this place.
He was finally feeling some hint of his Arts; he quickly cast them out, only to have them suddenly cut off – and the fog quickly shrunk back around him.
"Alright, no Arts." He noted, sitting down to silently wait.
Finally, after what felt like hours – well, it probably was – the fog disappeared entirely, allowing Andrey to again use his Arts to feel the outside world.
Huh. Levina, Ben and Anne were gone. All he could sense was Fredrich and Frostnova. Activating his Arts, he looked through Frostnova's eyes, noticing her vision fading to black around the edges. Another effect of this fog, no doubt.
She was facing the open tundra, only endless snow and hills as far as the eye could see. The other tents within the camp seemed to have disappeared from sight, only two tents still present.
"Frostnova, where are we?"
AN: This chapter's a bit on the shorter side (something like 1800 words, I think). Anyways, Fredrich and Frostnova decide to simply hightail it out of there. They don't particularly like each other, however; I had a lot of fun writing their interactions in this chapter, mostly because of their contrasting backgrounds.
Of course, the researchers aren't going to be happy with the sudden disappearance of one of their members, and neither are the Yetis.
And as for why Fredrich just decided to abandon his longtime colleagues… well, he has a more important job to do. It's a bit of a stretch, but I think it makes sense.