Frostbound [LitRPG Apocalypse]-Chapter 237 - Martha’s Tavern

Miles

"Wouldn't be that bad", his ass.

Miles remembered his first introduction to the city, and everyone kept saying the Winter, 'Wouldn't be that bad.' All of them were liars.

It was that bad. He couldn't see how anyone could admit otherwise, yet multiple people had. The giant furs helped, but it still wasn't enough to ward away the cold for long.

Being out in it for as long as he was didn't help matters, but there was nothing he could do to help it. It was what his job required and he'd already blown through his savings that he brought with him.

Scraping together what he could from the few Dungeon runs he signed up for had held him afloat, but that wasn't sustainable anymore. The wait between runs was longer than he could live off of what he made from one.

If Miles was stronger, and could go deeper than only the sixth floor, he wouldn't have that issue, but he wasn't.

Especially alone.

There was no one he trusted enough to go in with him. He was trying to get over his trust issues but it was hard after remembering where he came from.

People backstabbed and betrayed for the mere thought of getting something out of it. Let alone if he pulled something rare out of a Dungeon drop.

No, he'd continue alone, even if he would get further in a team.

His new job wasn't related to his Profession which didn't net him any essence or levels for it, but it paid enough to keep him fed and clothed. His wardrobe saw a massive overhaul since his first day in the city.

"Oi, Miles, are you listening to me!" Fredrick yelled and shook his shoulder.

"What?" A clear indication that Miles wasn't.

"That load over there, I need you to take it to the West District. Phillip's waiting on it."

At least the sled is already packed.

He led the horses toward the drop-off for empty sleds and walked them over to his new one with practiced ease. It had taken a while to get used to the animals, and them used to him, but they were in sync now.

It was trivial to direct them and he barely needed to use the reins most of the time.

Miles wasn't sure how he ended up being a delivery driver, or how he got sucked into being out in the cold all day, but the pay was some of the best in the city for a person who was working outside their Profession.

The Western District was where all the newest construction was taking place and his newest load would be his fifth trip there of the day.

At least after this one, he would be finished.

The one good thing about the Winter was the workday was short. The sun was already setting and if work continued past sunset, it would get dangerously cold.

Not even the incentive of hazard pay motivated people enough to work in the dark and the cold.

The newly bustling streets were annoying to navigate through but he arrived soon enough. The site had people all over the place swinging hammers or working saws to cut lumber to size.

It was still mind-blowing to see just how much could get done in such a short time. A job that would've taken months to complete could get done in a week if the right people were on the job.

Phillip caught sight of him and the load he was hauling and broke out into a smile. The man was an odd one and got much too excited at the sight of building materials.

"Merci, Miles, if you could drop it over there, s’il vous plaît." Phillip said before turning back to overseeing construction.

The mixed French and English was annoying but Phillip was nice enough about it. At least he said most of the words in English, rather than some of the others who were assholes about it.

Growing up near enough to the province made his French passible, but nowhere near good enough for a conversation.

Following the French-Canadian's direction, he was off on his return journey not long after. The trip back through the City was quicker since fewer people were out and about, which was a good thing, else he would be late. Miles wouldn't say he had many 'friends', but he had branched out of his comfort zone a while back and it had proven not as bad as he feared.

He wasn't a loner, at least he didn't think of himself as one, but starting over in a city where he didn't know anybody was hard. Nathan had been his first acquaintance, the chatty cart driver who introduced him to the city, but Miles had found a few others like him to hang out with.

Miles was set to meet up with Louis and Gavin at the tavern and it would be rude to be late. Even if Gavin was never on time and it would be him and Louis waiting on him, that wasn't an excuse to be late himself.

As he predicted, after a quick wash and change of clothes, Louis was already sitting at their usual table while Gavin was nowhere in sight.

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"It's lively in here tonight," Miles said after sitting down across from the man.

The taverns were one of the first things built after the houses, warehouses, and workshops were finished. From what Miles heard, since he wasn't here at the time, after the Outer Walls's completion, there was a frenzy of activity that saw streets of houses constructed in record time.

That frenzy died off into something more sustainable since, but there were still stories about how quickly things were put together. Their notorious Mayor had everything ready for when construction began.

"It's little surprise. Martha's husband bagged an Elk and word got out. I wouldn't be surprised if every seat gets filled tonight." Louis laughed.

His mouth watered just thinking about it, "Gavin'll be pissed if he misses it. Have you already ordered?"

Louis looked insulted and Miles took that as his answer. His drink already being on the table should've been his clue. While part of him craved a beer, it wasn't yet to be. At least not yet. Word was production would start soon.

While food wasn't scarce like he was used to, fresh food was a rare thing to have. Most meals through the Winter were from stored grains and frozen meat, which weren't bad, and they were certainly better than nothing, but nothing beat a fresh meal.

As Louis and he waited on their third wayward friend, he noticed that the conversation was a lot more lively in the tavern than usual. While Martha's cooking and the prize of fresh meat were exciting, it felt like it was something more than that.

Miles also noticed it during his deliveries. He wasn't able to stop and ask, nor would he have given the chance, but it was enough to make him bring it up.

"What's got people acting weird?" Miles asked, "Is there some event I don't know about."

Being thrust into a festive atmosphere only a few days after arriving had been jarring. He'd gone from nearly starving to death, to five weeks of dull travel, to a giant Harvest Festival taking place.

Having experienced being out of the loop once already, he wasn't keen to do it again.

Louis just looked at him oddly, "You didn't hear?"

Miles shook his head, "What?"

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"The City Lord's back!" Louis said happily, "And so is the Mayor! Everyone's been talking about it all day. How have you not heard?"

"I've been busy." Miles waved off. It certainly wasn't because he didn't like small talk during his deliveries. It slowed him down and caused him to take longer. Miles only had to hold in a few of his choice insults about the man but he was getting better.

Louis noticed his face and knew what he wanted to say, "You really shouldn't curse him like you do."

"I'm hardly cursing the man," Miles defended, "More like voicing my frustrations."

"Well, you shouldn't do that either."

"How would you feel?" Miles asked, "I put in all the paperwork and applications only for the man to disappear for months!"

He was only slightly bitter about it. He'd tried not to, but he got his hopes up after hearing about the Assistant position only for it to go unfilled for months. Every time he asked about it, the lady would say they still hadn't made any decisions and the next thing he knew, the City Lord was off on a trip with no date for when he would return.

He'd found other work, but it was still annoying.

"You don't know how scary he can be," Louis said before realizing something, "You've never seen him fight, have you?"

Miles scoffed, "I've never even seen him, let alone seen him fight."

"If you had, you wouldn't be saying such things," Louis said and sipped his drink.

It was at that moment that Gavin finally arrived at their table, only slightly late compared to his usual.

"What're you guys talking about? Is Miles cursing the City Lord again?" Gavin asked louder than Miles cared for.

"I wasn't cursing the man." Miles hissed.

"Oh sorry, was Miles voicing his frustrations again" Gavin mocked impersonating his voice.

"I was just saying he wouldn't do that if he'd ever seen the man fight," Louis informed.

Gavin whistled as he kicked back his seat, teetering on two legs, "I still remember seeing it for the first time. It's a sight to behold."

"What's so special about it?" Miles couldn't help but ask. He'd seen plenty of people fight, some much higher level than him, and none were talked about in such a manner.

Even the deadly fights he witnessed back home weren't that special.

"It's like watching a force of nature," Louis said wistfully eyes distant recalling the first time he saw it.

"He swings that hammer 'round like it's his God-given right," Gavin added with a chuckle.

Without anything for him to add, Miles remained silent.

"Speaking of," Gavin plopped his chair down on all four legs and smiled, "You'll get the opportunity to see it next week."

"What do you mean?" Both Louis and Miles asked.

"Word came down from above they're doing the next upgrade in a week. People are already signing up." Gavin's excitement was obvious.

"Why are you so excited?" Louis cut in, "Didn't you nearly die last time?"

Gavin choked in offense, "I didn't nearly die! It was only a scratch. I would've been fine!"

"Wait, they just let people sign up to fight?" Miles asked. "I thought that was what the Guards were for."

Gavin shook his head, "Anyone can join if they want to. You have to follow basic orders and not do anything stupid, but even you could participate."

That was the exact opposite of how the Fort handled things. Miles wasn't there long, but he had been there to see a Wave attack. No one was allowed to fight unless they were a part of the Guards.

They claimed it was for safety, but Miles knew what it was really for.

If they couldn't fight, they wouldn't level. If they kept the population's level controlled, they would always be stronger and remain in power.

It was the same with the Dungeons. The Fort strictly controlled who had access to the Dungeon while that wasn't really a thing here. There was a waitlist, sure, but there weren't any restrictions.

"How did you almost die, Gavin? I thought you were with the Trackers?" Miles asked. The fancy wolf pin the man wore was all he could talk about when he first received it.

Louis laughed while Gavin looked slightly ashamed, "Well, you see, I may, or may not have, gotten ahead of myself and done something stupid."

"What he actually means is that he got arrogant and joined the Warriors like an idiot." Louis pointed out.

"I wanted to work on my short sword skills. I don't get to use them very often." Gavin exclaimed.

"And how did that work out for you?"

Gavin moped, "I don't want to talk about it."

The other two laughed.

"Now that he's back, are you still gonna try for the assistant position? I can put in a good word if you want?" Gavin said, trying to change the subject.

"I might as well, I've jumped through all the hoops already, may as well see it to the end," Miles answered. "And put in a good word with who? You've met the man what? Once?"

"Twice, thank you very much. But I know people." His eyebrows wiggled and Miles fought the sigh he felt.

"Yeah, and I know a dog who's more talented than you. Now we both can feel good about ourselves." Miles remarked.

"Hey! We promised never to speak of that!"

"Then you shouldn't complain so much about it."

Their night continued jovially and the food was as good as imagined, but Miles couldn't get the thought out of his head. What Gavin had brought up stuck with him.

You could learn a lot about a person by the way they fought and he wanted to see what everyone was so impressed by.

Maybe he would sign up after all.