Conquering His Cold Heart

The people of Furano were a hardy people, resilient and brave. Frost couldn\'t help but nod in appreciation.

Frost was escorted to the conference room in the main government building shortly after arriving. There Leo was sitting at the head of the table with stacks of paper reaching above his head and people sitting at his sides rolling off report after report orally. The poor young heir looked as though he\'d aged several years from the strain, administration was definitely not his forte.

Thankfully by his side were hard-working, dedicated and skilled staff who would assist him through every step and monitor his work. Leo just had to push through it since it was now his responsibility.

"Looks like you\'re swamped with paperwork Leo." Frost smiled at his friend\'s misery before offering to help.

Leo perked up at seeing Frost and was just about to agree before he held his tongue. "No this is my responsibility as the future lord of the territory, I should be the one to do it…thanks though." Though clearly reluctant he knew that if kept relying on others he\'d never be a capable leader.

Frost\'s smile grew larger at his words. "True, then I wish you luck young Viscount." Frost eyed the mounds of paper not envying Leo in the slightest.

"I realise this may be a bad time given the amount of work already on your desk but there\'s an issue I wanted to discuss with either you or your father." Frost spoke firmly, emphasising the importance of his request.

Leo immediately caught on and gave the aides by his sides a hard look. "I can give you twenty minutes not a moment more." Leo replied with a dignified tone, his charisma as a noble shining through.

The aides and everyone bar Frost and Leo left the conference room to give them some privacy.

"What\'s the issue, if it\'s nothing major then I promise you\'ll have the full backing of the Furano viscounty." Leo immediately opened with that, giving Frost practically a blank cheque, an action that made Frost\'s heart warm.

"Thank you, Leo, but I don\'t think it\'s anything too major. My proposal is in regards to the territory that I\'m in control of."

"Ah yes I do remember you mentioning something about having your own place, it\'s where you were during the early and mid-stages of the monster stampede right?"

"Pretty much."

"It\'s a budding new territory that myself and those who work for me are in the middle of establishing and I\'m here today to not just inform you of it but to also perhaps create a relationship between our two territories as well as another that has already agreed to be friendly with us." Leo\'s brow rose in surprise before lowering a second later, his expression becoming calm as he leaned forward.

"Please elaborate." Leo assumed the mantle of the Viscounty\'s interim lord at this moment, Frost\'s proposal was something that needed to be discussed in a formal manner not some chitchat between friends.

Frost then as requested began to explain his territory, where it was, the rough state of development, the forces involved, purpose as well as mentioning the enclave Kranor situated in the external regions of the glacial mountains that already promised to establish relations.

The more Frost spoke the harder it was for Leo to keep his calm; Frost\'s territory was in effect a camp and within the confines of the glacial mountains, yet it was also right on Furano\'s front door. He was shocked that someone, especially someone he knew had already not just discovered the potential of the \'dungeon\' but had moved to claim it as his own.

The laws around the establishment of camps were usually first come first served before people tried to vie for control. It was a bold move to make one so early in the game. There\'ll surely be many who wish to take advantage of the area once the camp is fully established. Having Frost set the groundwork while they swoop in to take the finished prize.

Building a large camp so close to Northrend territory and being privately established was just asking for trouble. If it wasn\'t the empire coming after him it\'d be the order of the ice shield and the countries present in the glacial mountains. The dungeon is, as of yet an untapped market that the big wigs will surely wish to exploit.

However as Frost went on he realised that his friend was practically unfazed by such troubles. His forces were already established and the groundwork had already begun despite the stampede just ending. Frost and his subordinates were either incredibly strong or just plain crazy. But to take a bite out such a big pie one needed to be a little crazy.

Leo was smiling from ear to ear by the end of Frost\'s explanation, he felt as though this proposal could be even more fruitful than the monster stampede.

"I\'ll have to discuss to details with my father and mother before making a final decision however if I\'m being honest with you, we of the Furano Viscounty would gladly join hands with you and your territory. Such a high level camp would bring nothing but boons for us after all." Leo gave his reply with confidence, sure his mother and father would agree with him.

"Thank you, Leo, I\'m glad this ended on a positive note." Frost said with a gentle smile, if he wasn\'t such a close friend with the Furanos this could have easily led to some sort of strife or even war.

"No problem, I\'ll talk to my mother and father when I next get a chance meanwhile I\'ll give you permission to solicit help from our citizens. I\'m sure many of them would like to be part of this venture.

I suggest however that you head to the guilds next as they\'ll be able to grant substantial aid to your cause and even grant legitimacy to your camp, granting it some protection in the interim." Leo really looked forward to the growth of such a camp that was on friendly terms with Furano.

The tired and listless look that was present in his eyes the moment Frost entered was now gone, replaced with excitement and determination.

The two chatted for another couple minutes before the aides had to forcefully interrupt their meeting, Leo still had a lot of paperwork to get through after all.

"Haaaaaa I\'ll try and organise a dinner at the manor tonight, Father should hopefully be able to attend. We can discuss the topic further then and there as well as deal with the rewards that you\'re due from your efforts during the stampede." Leo sighed and waved Frost off promising to meet again for a meal in the evening, more determined than ever to power through all his paperwork.

Frost nodded his head in acknowledgment before walking out of the building. "Guess I\'ll head to the guilds like Leo suggested." Frost turned and headed to adventurers guild first which was currently swamped, people desperately clamouring for information on their rewards as well as those seeking to buy the abundance of materials kept in the guild\'s warehouses.

Frost barely managed to make his way through the wide entrance given how packed it was. He only succeeded because over half of the people present recognised him and moved to the side, allowing him to cut the very long line.

Kamey was working at one of the desks and recognised him almost immediately.

"Sir Frost welcome, how can I help you?" She spoke with much greater respect than she used to. His endeavours during the war as well as his rise to the B-rank made the young dungeon core a highly prized asset for the guild.

Frost smiled upon seeing the face of someone he knew. "I was wondering if I could have a chat with the vice guild master about a certain proposal." He explained the reason for his visit though left out the key details as it was still rather hush hush at the moment.

Kamey noticed a certain authority in Frost\'s voice, he was speaking to her in a very formal manner.

\'This proposal must be big.\'

"Give me a moment I\'ll go and speak to the vice guild master." After quickly having another employee replaced her at the desk, she went up the staircase to Bastion\'s office where Thrall was currently at work. With Bastion out of commission the guild was in his hands. Along with the Keeper he had full control of the guild\'s day to day activities.