Chapter 14 “Frost War”
“Are you here to find Lord Ig?”
The first mate of the sailor stood in front of Miss Verafia and said, “However, Lord Ig is not here. Miss, if you need anything, I can take you to her.”
Verafia looked up and glanced around, really not seeing Ig. She shook her head, a smile flickering across her small face:
“No need. It’s fine to just look around with Ophi.”
“Okay.”
The first mate did not insist and said, “I have something to do, so I’ll take my leave. If you need anything, you can call me anytime.”
Verafia held Ophi’s hand and, following her clearly enthusiastic lead, began to wander around the lounge.
The sailors in the cabin were initially a bit reserved about the sudden arrival of the unsullied white-dressed young lady, but seeing as she didn’t make many moves and rarely even spoke, merely observing quietly from the side, they quickly relaxed and continued with their own entertainment.
The entire crew lounge, neither large nor small, could accommodate dozens of off-duty sailors. As for the games they were playing, on a ship at sea, there were only a few of them.
Several strong sailors were gathered in a circle, their muscular arms adorned with various tattoos, straining to overpower each other amidst piles of copper coins and cheers.
Watching the sailors arm-wrestle, Ophi’s big eyes also showed a flicker of interest. She lifted her soft skirt sleeves, revealing her slender, fair, lotus-like arms, wanting to join their game.
However, these sailors were clearly wary of the formidable reputation the dragon-girl had built up in recent days and repeatedly refused her request, causing Ophi to pout and grumble unhappily several times.
Apart from that, many sailors were playing with cards and boards, using their own copper coins as chips for entertainment. Verafia walked over and looked several times, finding among them a poker game with quite ancient rules, passed down from the dwarves to the human world.
Back when she was Lothel, traveling through the various countries on the continent, Verafia had also learned several card games with different rules. At Ophi’s urging, after a moment of hesitation, she nodded and sat down on a stool, her slender fingertips grasping the cards.
The tall sailor sitting opposite her couldn’t hide his joy, clearly preparing to win a few rounds from this “young lady” whose rules seemed rather unclear.
In the eyes of the sailors, gambling games like card games were not suitable for noble young ladies. The golden-haired girl in the white dress before them still looked perpetually ill, delicate and frail. Although they didn’t know why she had come onto their ship, would her parents allow her to engage in such games?
However, this joy did not last long on his face, turning into annoyance. After a few short rounds, having figured out the rules, it didn’t take long for her to win all the silver coins laid out before the sailor.
“Wow… Verafia, you’re amazing!”
Grasping the girl’s hand, Ophi looked up and said with immense surprise, “A few days ago, they had almost won all the silver coins I had on me…”
“Because I had encountered it before, and it was just a matter of understanding the rules…”
Verafia pursed her lips slightly and said softly. Compared to her previous low mood, the girl’s expression was clearly much brighter, with a hint of blush on her fair, delicate face.
She suddenly tilted her head slightly, her golden eyes rarely showing a glimmer of interest, and pointed to the side: “Ophi, look, what are they doing?”
Ophi led her through the gaps in the crowd, not like other places crowded with onlookers, but to a quiet corner. Facing a wooden table sat two apparently young sailors.
“Is this… a war chess board game?”
Verafia leaned her little head closer. On the wooden table was a map with clear black and white distinctions, with detailed data on terrain, buildings, and various other aspects. On the map were quite a few metal game pieces of different shapes but exquisite craftsmanship, as well as several eight-sided dice made of crystal glass.
The pieces of the two sides were divided into two different camps, in frost-like white and metal-like deep black.
“Ah, it’s Miss Dragonborn and ‘Young Lady’.”
The two sailors, who were locked in combat, felt the approach of the young ladies, looked up, and seeing two exquisite little faces, said with some surprise.
“Just call me Verafia.”
Verafia said.
The two sailors before them were much younger than others, and compared to most of the other crude sailors, they were much more decent in their demeanor and speech. One of them even wore glass lenses with metal frames.
These two youths must come from affluent families and have received an education, which is why they were here playing board games… But why did they end up on such a ship? Are they explorers?
Verafia was a little curious, but she also knew that asking presumptuously was impolite, so she tilted her body slightly, her big eyes showing novelty: “Are you playing war chess… I haven’t seen this style before.”
“This is a board game called ‘Frost War’ that has recently become popular in Huron Port. You may not have heard of it.”
The youth with the metal spectacle frames quickly stood up and explained to her:
“Miss Verafia, this board game is divided into two opposing factions. The white represents the Frost God faction, and these pieces are the Frost God’s minions, the Frost Offspring, and this one represents their hero character, the North Wind Witch.
“And this one represents the followers of the Frost Calamity hidden among humans, who can enter the opponent’s territory without damage under a successful probability check, and cannot be targeted for attack…”
The youth with the metal spectacle frames introduced them one after another, including the Witch Hunter and the Alliance Council in the human faction… and, finally, the victory conditions, with the human faction killing the North Wind Witch, or the Frost God faction completely destroying the eight great cities.
“Frost God, North Wind Witch, and the human Witch Hunter…”
Verafia murmured softly. These words sounded somewhat familiar to her, reminding her of when, in the inn in the small town, before she fell asleep, Ig told her stories about the ‘North Wind Witch’ by her bedside.
The girl couldn’t help but show a few more traces of curiosity and asked with her big eyes: “The struggle between the Frost God and humanity takes place on a continent in the far reaches of the world, frozen by frost… Could this story background be real?”
“How could it? If such a lost continent really existed… how is it that no one has ever been there in so many years?”
The youth with the metal spectacle frames shook his head and smiled: “And a continent truly covered by frost, with evil gods lurking, how could a human civilization with an established system be born there?”
“I think it’s possible it’s just some obscure story writer who, because their story wasn’t popular, resentfully gave their manuscript to someone else, and only then was the worldview adopted and made into a game?”
Finally, he didn’t forget to make a joke.
Verafia thought for a moment, feeling that what the other party said did have some truth to it, so she nodded and stopped asking.
It seemed that during their conversation, the two youths had also become familiar with the young ladies, no longer as reserved as they were at first. The sailor sitting opposite raised his head and kindly invited:
“Miss Verafia, why don’t we play a game of this board game with you and Miss Dragonborn?”
