The Frosted Void

The Northern Fortress II

The buildings stood tall at least more so than what they had ever seen—

street hawkers, wore layers hawking the goods to potential customers—

those in construction wore their overalls, hitting hammers—mixing

concrete and pushing wheelbarrows—those in the higher echelons of

society walked into the city from the station as they knocked off, Orenia

was a hub, Jack and his furry companion just watched as the city went

about its life.

“I have seen more people in the last ten minutes than I have my whole life—

guess that's a great city for you.” Jack remarked more to himself. “Anyway,

do you think they’ll serve us food when we get there? I’m starving. We

finished our supplies last night. There should be a place to eat somewhere

around here.”

As they walked, a woman on the street gasped. “Oh my! What’s that young

man walking with? Is that a wild animal?”

A man beside her urged her on. “Just keep walking, darling, and don’t make

eye contact. With any luck, he’s just a traveler passing by.”

The woman clutched her coal sack tighter. “I almost dropped our coal. If we

had walls like the capital, we wouldn’t have to deal with this…Now I’m

going to have nightmares for days.”

Both of them trailed off, a nearby shop owner, a burly man with soot-

stained hands—polishing steel, called out to Jack, his words almost

discernable as his lips balanced a cigarette.

“Hey there, kid! Don’t mind them. I think your furry friend looks cool. The

wife won’t even let me have a dog. Anyway, I noticed the chain around

your waist—it looks a little beat up. I own this shop. We use locally mined,

high-quality coal to burn and forge steel, which we also acquire from our

mines. We make all sorts of things people need for their daily lives from

steel in our basement. Name’s Stan. Nice to meet you, kid.”

Jack smiled, his mood brightening. “Ah, don’t worry about it, mister shop

owner sir. We came across a lot of people like that on our journey—we just

looked past it. Wow, did you make everything you’re selling here? That’s so

cool! Orenians are awesome, don’t you think, buddy?”

The wolf, caught up in the excitement, jumped and tackled Stan to the

ground, licking him affectionately. Stan laughed heartily. “Flattery will get

you everywhere, kid. You’ve got a good friend here.”

“Thank you, mister. He’s a good guy and a very good friend,” Jack said,

helping Stan to his feet.

“That’s an understatement,” Stan replied. “I overheard you talking about

getting something to eat. I could fix up that chain for you while you grab a

bite. There’s a nice eatery across the street called the Hungry Oak. The

owner’s a good friend.”

Jack hesitated. “I’d really appreciate that, but we only have about a

thousand Lunas on hand, and I’m not sure how much the food will cost. We

haven’t had anything decent since yesterday.”

Stan looked thoughtful.“Yeah, the times are rough on all of us kids, with

international relations at an all time low we can't exactly expand to foreign

markets—these wars have us at a choke hold…The repairs would normally

run about three thousand Lunas. I’m sorry, kid, but you can still get

something for you and your friend to eat across the street.”

A woman’s voice cut in. “Oh, Stanley, just fix the damn thing for the child.

You already got his hopes up. Besides, don’t you think people will ask

about his chains after you’ve fixed them? When he tells them about our

quality work, we’ll get more customers. Don’t you think, darling?”

Stan chuckled. “Well, looks like you caught the wife in a rare good mood,

kid. You must’ve been born under a four-leaf clover or something. Meet my

wife, Elen, the most beautiful woman in the north.” He winked at Jack as he

took the chain. “Wow, this is good workmanship and quality steel, kid. Is

this your weapon?”

“A strange old man gave it to me years ago,” Jack replied. “He said it was

from South Da..Dapia or something like that. I wasn’t really listening.”

Stan examined the chain closely. “South Drathia, huh? Those guys know

their way around steel. I’ve never been there myself, but I’ve seen their

work more than a few times over the years.”

“Thanks for helping us, ma’am,” Jack said, turning to Elen. “I’ll make sure

to give you guys the rest of what we have after we eat.”

Elen waved off his concern. She glanced at the both of them, her expression

warm. "Don't worry about it, kid. I like you boys, and something tells me

you're destined for great things. We may as well be friends."

Jack and his wolf hurried across the street to the Hungry Oak, an eatery

distinguished by its all-lumber construction. Continuing the theme of local

businesses supporting each other that was evident across the cold city.

The Orenians clearly took pride in their local businesses. As they neared,

whispers swirled among the patrons, their eyes tracking Jack and his wolf

with every move. Before they could enter, a nervous waiter intercepted

them.

"Welcome, sir. You’ll need to leave your dog outside. Our manager has a

strict policy against pets. Here’s a menu so you can decide on your order."

Jack frowned, glancing at his companion. "Then I guess I'll stay out here

with him. I’ll have the fried chicken with a side of bread, and get me some

mashed potatoes for him. And by the way, he isn’t a dog; he’s a wolf." He

thought, “I guess I forgot how weird people can get around you buddy—no

harm, I guess.”

The waiter raised an eyebrow. "There’s no such thing as a dog the height of

a human. I don’t know what I was thinking. Still, I’ve never seen anyone

with a wolf as a companion before. That’ll be 300 lunas, please." Jack

handed over the money."Alright, let me go prepare your food."

Jack sighed as the waiter walked away. "That wiped out most of our funds,

buddy. Oh well, nothing lasts forever—certainly not money. It smells good

here. I’m practically drooling. How about you, buddy?"

He barked with his tail weaving in excitement.

A little girl approached, holding a cat. "That’s a weird dog. Is it sick? My

name is Amanda, nice to meet you, mister. Oh, and this is Nappy, she’s my

cat."

Jack chuckled, shaking his head. "I keep saying, he is not a dog! He is a

wolf and his name is Crimson…And no, he’s not sick. You should be more

worried about that cat you’re carrying. Is it sick? And what kind of a name

is Nappy? Why the heck are you allowed to bring a pet inside when they

told me Crimson couldn’t enter?"

Amanda petted Crimson, undeterred. "That's a lot of questions mister,

Nappy’s not sick, she’s just lazy. And ‘Nappy’ is a great name for a cat—

she loves it, so there!" She added, "My dad owns this eatery, so I can bring

Nappy whenever I want. And are you dumb? Crimson’s too big to go inside,

and most people are scared of him, so he’d drive our business away."

Nearby, a woman whispered loudly, her voice tinged with concern. "What is

that little girl thinking? Doesn’t she see that he’s creepy and maybe

dangerous? Oh my, she just touched it! What if she gets some wild animal

infection?"

A man emerged from the eatery, sweating despite the cold. He wiped his

forehead with his apron and approached the woman."

While I appreciate your concern for my daughter, I’d also appreciate it if

you didn’t harass my customers, ma’am. Here at the Hungry Oak, the only

thing that matters is whether or not a person can enjoy our food. It doesn’t

matter if they’re nobility or commoners—all customers are treated with the

same respect. Now, either buy some food or go home to prepare dinner for

your family."

The woman walked away, visibly embarrassed. Franklin turned to Jack,

Amanda, and Crimson."Hey, pumpkin, you’re not bothering the nice young

man, are you? Nice to make your acquaintance, young man—that's quite the

friend you have there…My name’s Franklin. I’m really sorry you couldn’t

come inside earlier. I’m sure the customers inside would understand if I

explained the situation to them—you can’t very well enjoy your food if

you’re freezing out here."

Jack smiled. "Oh no, don’t worry about it, Franklin. We’re quite

comfortable here, we are not easily bothered by the cold.”

Franklin nodded. "If you insist, the least I can do is expedite your order.

Alright then, I hope you enjoy your meal. Amanda, don’t stay out here too

long—you’ll catch a cold." He returned inside.

Jack turned back to Amanda, teasing. "Now then, where were we?... Ah

yes…nope, she doesn’t like it. Look at her face when you call out to her.

Miss Whiskers or Wrinkles—now those are some cool names for a cat. You

should pick one of them, you’re welcome. What sort of little girl are you,

anyway? How do you know so much? Aren’t you like 7 years old? And if

all the adults are afraid of Crimson, why aren’t you?"

Amanda grinned, unperturbed. "Why would I be afraid? Crimson is cute

and fluffy! I wonder what he’s doing with an angry dum-dum like you. And

I’m 10, silly."

Jack laughed, shaking his head." Wow, you’re an incredibly frustrating

kid."Their playful banter continued until their food arrived. Jack and

Amanda proceeded to split his share of the food—Now with their mouths

full, their previous argument had faded, now replaced by laughter and

enjoyment.

Eventually their once full plates had now been turned clean, Jack finally

stood up, Crimson soon doing the same as the youngman "Well, the food

was delicious, but Crimson and I have to get going now. It’s been nice

meeting you. You’ll make a great business owner one day."

Amanda waved enthusiastically. "Come back soon! I’ll tell the cooks you

said thank you."

Jack smiled, his tone warm. "Once I leave a mark on this world, I will

return here and that’s a promise. I’m a man who keeps promises made to

friends, but I don’t know how long it will take me to reach that goal so I

won’t be seeing you for a while. So you grow up and don’t cause any

trouble for your dad and his customers."

Amanda waved them off with a warm smile. “I promise I’ll take care of this

business and Nappy. Your and Crimson’s next meal here will be on the

house. Goodbye, Crimson! And goodbye to you, mister, and good luck on

your journey.”

Jack tipped his hat with a grin. “My name is Jack Scarlet, and I’m the man

who’s gonna change this world one day. Remember that.”