"I will say that I'm very grateful for everything you've done for us," Quartus said. "This expedition did not go as planned, and without the help of the two of you, we would all be dead."

Quartus rode on the back of a muskox, leading the troop toward their destination. The morning air was crisp, and the sunlight bright. The full moon shone despite it being morning, reflecting the sun in a vibrant white sphere.

"We're happy to help," Frost said, nodding.

"You guys say something down there?" Frolick said. He rode atop Molly and was a good ten feet higher than everyone else, baby tied comfortably to his chest.

"He said he's grateful for our help," Frost said.

"What?" Frolick said. "He's hateful of our help? That's not very nice."

"No," Frost said, yelling back. "Oh, never mind."

"Your brother is a colorful fellow," Quartus said, peering up at Frolick.

"That's putting it lightly," Frost said.

"But he's very caring," Quartus said. "I also should apologize to you for leaving you in the dark yesterday. I was...very anxious about what happened."

"Again, putting it lightly," Frost said.

Quartus nodded, his body bobbing with each step of the muskox. "Alta, myself, and several others were meant to keep the Flintlock at bay. Plant a fake castle. Destroy their supplies. Turn them back. We...sent a message of sorts."

"Well, the message has been received," Frost said, nodding.

"But I fear we may have sent the wrong message."

Frost shook his head. "That's what I can't understand."

Quartus stroked his white beard. "Why is it that you and your brother traveled here? All the way up to the Northern Reach."

"I came to join the frost mages," Frost said, gritting his teeth. "To fight the Flintlock. They're destroying my home, killing innocents. My friends."

"If that's the only reason you've come," Quartus said. "Then you might as well turn around."

Frost's eyes widened, and he shook his head. "No, it can't be. We came all this way. Besides, if I go back, they'll kill me. They nearly did already. Just like you."

"I see," Quartus said. "Then proceed if you wish. Hailstone is a haven for all travelers but know that frost mages believe in building, not tearing down."

"Even in the face of death, you would stand there and be killed?"

"With matter and form, a frost mage is born," Quartus said. "But from a sundering heart, the soul falls apart.

"What?" Frost said, confused. Quartus was speaking in riddles.

"The point is," Quartus said. "The way of the frost mage is to form, to shape, to create. Not to break or shatter."

"You're still not making any sense," Frost said.

"Frost magic isn't just a power," Quartus said. "It's a way of life. To wield it properly, you have to understand it. It has to be part of you."

"But there's also self-preservation," Frost said. "You're telling me you'd just stand there and die?"

Quartus shook his head. "Did we allow Hailstone to be destroyed by the Flintlock?" Quartus asked. "No, we find ways to build the future by being creative. When exposed to enough heat, ice melts. But solid ice is far stronger than other elements. Able to move mountains."

"But you'd all be dead if my brother and I hadn't been there," Frost said.

"True," Quartus said. "That was a mistake. We aren't perfect. We weren't meant to be captured. There weren't supposed to be any remaining villagers in the valley who needed to be evacuated. But plans never go perfectly in real life."

"So you were there to plant the decoy and then got caught up rescuing innocents?"

Quartus nodded. "Yes."

"But I've seen your power," Frost said. "Why didn't you fight back when you were captured? Even for the sake of the mission."

Quartus said, "Without water were are helpless. Besides, there were others who would have carried on the sabotage of Flintlock supplies. In hindsight, that may not have been a bad thing, given what happened. I'd gladly sacrifice myself to avoid this terrible fate."

"That is the most confusing thing of all," Frost said. "Why in the Five is that a terrible fate? The Flintlock aren't innocent. And don't give me that excuse of starting a war. Don't you see that the Flintlock are bent on wiping out anyone who's a Frostmarked in the whole world?"

Quartus shut his eyes and shook his head.

"They're killing everyone who's a Frostmarked," Frost said. He felt his neck muscles strain as he elevated his voice. His temperature rose, and his face turned slightly red. "They find us using Testing Glass to identify us before execution. They're pure evil and need to be stopped."

"No," Quartus said, his eyes. "It is not the way. Frost mages no longer interfere with worldly matters. We have long since found peace in isolation."

"Don't you see," Frost said passionately. "You may be the only ones who can do anything. We're dying out there. The Flintlock are destroying the world and remaking it in their image, killing people like us."

Quartus was silent for a moment, pondering the point. "I shall think on this point more when we return to Hailstone. It is a complex matter."

"What in the Five is so complex about it? Let me guess, you believe in a balance of good and evil."

"Frost," Quartus said, looking him in the eye. "Strange name for a foreigner. I am grateful for your help, but you are beginning to try my patience."

Frost only shook his head, huffing as he did. He wondered whether this entire journey had been a complete waste of time.

"Very well," Quartus said, breathing deep. "I will attempt to explain it. I owe you that much."

Frost looked up, furrowing his brows.

"There is no balance of good and evil," Quartus said, amused. "There is only the good. Evil is the absence of good. Like holes in the ice on a frozen lake, evil can draw you in and drown you in a cold underwater grave. But if the ice is solid, one stands on a firm foundation."

"Ok," Frost said, thoughtfully, though he wasn't completely sure what the parable meant.

"A thousand years ago," Quartus said. "The Frostmarked laid the foundations of the world spreading knowledge, learning, culture, philosophy, and even religion. Many stayed behind, including your own ancestors. But then we had to leave."

"Why is that?" Frost asked.

"To preserve ourselves," Quartus said. "In the frozen North. There is more of course, but that is for another day."

"But now the Flintlock are trying to root you out."

Quartus nodded. "We do not fear the Flintlock. However, their targeted actions would indicate that something else is at work. Something more powerful may be trying to crack open the ice. Mark my words, a dark force is at the heart of the Flintlock Empire. Something far more powerful than metal guns."

"So you agree then? Something needs to be done."

"I don't know," Quartus said. "If the diaspora is under attack, then I imagine something else is coming for the heart of Frosthaven to strike us at our center."

"So we fight back now. Before the Flintlock have a chance."

"You still don't get it," Quartus said. "Cracks in the ice have a way of growing, leading to bigger and bigger problems. When they get to the center of the lake, the whole thing gives way."

Frost stroked his chin. He was beginning to understand the analogy. Ice would shatter under enough force.

"There is no balance between forces," Quartus said. "Only form. Under enough strain, or if a form is struck at just the right angle, it shatters, breaking into a thousand shards."

Frost thought deeply on the parable. So it wasn't the Flintlock that Frosthaven feared. It was disorder. Chaos. Shattering. If that was the case then what was it that he had just witnessed? He suddenly understood why it was that Quartus and the others were so profoundly disturbed by the accidental killing of thousands of enemy soldiers.

As Frost rode along in silence, he wondered what it would mean as news of the one-sided battle made its way into the center of the Frosthaven Empire.

Would it mean the end? Or the start of something new?

As Frost pondered the thought, he caught sight of a magnificent city set on a hill. It was far bigger and far more splendid than the fake Hailstone Keep he'd seen melt before his eyes.

Here, finally, Frostilicus had arrived at the heart of the Frosthaven Empire—Hailstone Keep.