Upon seeing this group of adults who suddenly appeared around the stronghold, Nunu's little mind instinctively conjured up a single word— the Frostguard.
Black armor, black helmets, and gleaming, sharp weapons—on Freljord, only the Frostguard Citadel Clan possesses such attire.
Even powerful clans like Avarosa Winter's Claw couldn't possess so much elite equipment, because Freljord was simply too poor.
In Freljord, mining is far more difficult than in other places. The frozen snow and thick soil are simply beyond the reach of ordinary clans. Therefore, most of the weapons circulating in Freljord are ordinary stones, as well as animal tusks and bones.
What are you trying to do?!
Nunu watched as the Frostguard approached, then hugged the flute to his chest and glared fiercely at Flara ahead.
"If you come any closer, I won't be polite!"
As Nunu spoke, she brandished her claws and roared, trying to intimidate the group of adults in front of her.
But all he got in response was a strong arm.
Picking Nunu up and tucking him under her arm, Flara ignored the little guy's punches and kicks, simply raising her other hand and whispering, "Back to normal."
Where are you taking me?
"Put me down! Let me go! I want my mother, I don't want to go with you!"
"Let me go, you bad guy!"
Flara rolled her eyes in exasperation at the shrill childish voice beside her, then looked up at the sky.
With her magic, she naturally sensed the presence in the sky, which made Flara even more confused.
The Frostguard has a long-standing tradition of taking orphans away and sending them to Village of the Abandoned. These orphans are not usually orphans because of the Frostguard; most of them are children whose families were taken away by the cold weather.
But when did Flara become an orphan caretaker?
It's not that I look down on the job, but given her status, isn't doing this kind of work a bit of a waste of her talents? After all, she's practically Lissandra's right-hand woman, isn't she?
Thinking of this, and feeling the little one beneath her fussing, Flara's resentment deepened.
Nestled in a snow-covered valley, a small village sits. At night, moonlight filters through the cold and falls upon the sloping white stone houses. Wild animal furs are spread on the floor of the houses, and on the dry grass beds, a group of dirty children, dressed in gray clothes that emit a pungent odor, are curiously watching a newcomer.
He was about five years old, with a fair and clean face that glowed with a healthy rosy luster. His large, bright blue Big Eyes blinked lively. He sat in the corner, and his clean, warm clothes attracted the attention of the other children, who all stared at him.
Under their gaze, Nunu shrank back, clutching in her hand the food the adults had given her—a few pieces of jerky harder than a rock.
Nunu didn't know how much time had passed, but he was indeed a little hungry. So, he put the jerky in his mouth, took a small sip of hot water, and began to chew the jerky vigorously.
The dried meat has a salty and savory flavor, and it's not unpleasant to eat.
As soon as "you" swallowed the first piece of jerky with difficulty, Nunu noticed the girl next to her drooling. She was thin and bony, her hair stuck to her forehead like dry straw, and she was wearing dirty, thick clothes. She was staring blankly at the jerky in Nunu's hand.
After thinking for a moment, Nunu reached out, picked up a piece of jerky, and handed it to the other person. "Do you want some? I'm not that hungry, but if you are, you can have some of mine."
Nunu asked her.
The little girl was stunned for a moment, then instantly reached out and snatched the jerky from Nunu's hand, stuffed it into her mouth, and began to chew vigorously.
"Wait, hey, slow down! Don't damage your teeth!" Nunu said anxiously, trying to stop him. "My mom said teeth are very important, you must take good care of them. Many adults don't pay attention to their teeth, and when they get old they can't eat anything and can only drink soup, which is why they don't survive the winter!"
Just then, a voice rang in his ear. "That's an adult. We don't need to worry about that. We'll lose our baby teeth eventually!"
Nunu turned her head and saw a big boy with white hair, who was much taller than her!
Standing before him like a little adult, the boy was neither thin nor fat, but his complexion had an unhealthy tinge. His sallow face was framed by bright, curious eyes that were fixed on Nunu. After scrutinizing Nunu for a moment, the boy loudly proclaimed, "Hey, which clan are you from? Where's your mother? Is she dead too?"
"No way! My mom and I just got separated!" Upon hearing the other person's words, Nunu immediately stood up, clenched her Riot Games, and said forcefully.
"Heh." The boy scoffed at Nunu's words, chuckling, and said, "Every new guy here says the same thing as you, that he's just lost his mom and dad and that his family will come to pick him up, but in reality, no one will come to pick them up. No one will."
The older child sniffed his reddened nose. A campfire crackled and burned in the center of the stone hut, providing warmth and light, but even so, it was still too cold for the children. He pulled himself closer and said to Nunu, "You too."
"It's different!" Nunu raised her voice and shouted, "My mom will definitely come looking for me, and even if, even if my mom can't find me, I will still go to find her! I will definitely find her!"
"What? Are you crazy? You can't leave here alone, it's too dangerous." The older child frowned upon hearing Nunu's words and said seriously.
He lowered his voice and said in a warning tone, "Bears, wolves, many dangerous creatures prey on children like us. If you run out alone, you'll die."
"Death? What is death?" Nunu was taken aback and asked subconsciously.
He really didn't know what the word meant, but he had heard adults talk about it. He asked his mother, but she just smiled and shook her head, saying that this knowledge was too far away for Nunu, and that he would understand when Nunu got a little older.
"Death means death, just like your mother is now, and no one can find you again," the older child said after thinking for a moment.
"Anyway, you can't leave alone, or I'll hit you!" The older child raised his Riot Games and threatened Nunu.
Nunu shrank back and sat down in the corner.
He was muttering to himself, "I have weapons, I'm not afraid of you."
At the same time, in another room in the Village of the Abandoned, a room that was taboo in the eyes of the children, a group of people were sitting on the ground under the dim light of a fire.
"What are you going to do next?" Layka asked, removing her hood to reveal her black hair.
"Let Nunu get used to life here first, and then let him know about the Yeti. Hmm, you'll have to handle that later," Li Ke said to Lissandra.
As he spoke, he stirred the broth in the pot with a spoon. The dark pot emitted a delicious aroma of meat. Li Ke thought for a moment and then asked, "Have you always only fed these children this kind of food?"
Upon hearing this, Flara, who was drinking the meat soup in her bowl, twitched her lips slightly, quickly looked up at her master, and then lowered her head again.
Because Flara saw that Lissandra's expression didn't change.
Then, Flara heard Lissandra's voice.
"Otherwise?" Lissandra's voice was calm and cold. She continued, "Avarosa and Winter's Claw received your help, but Frostguard Citadel did not receive any help from the Twin Cities."
"No?" Li Ke blinked.
"Really?" Lissandra countered with a question from Li Ke.
"Just tell me! How am I supposed to know what you need if you don't tell me?" Li Ke thought for a moment and realized that he hadn't actually had Twin Cities deliver any supplies to Frostguard Citadel.
Dried meat and fish soup are not nutritious foods. If it weren't for the Freljord people's good genes and large frames, the children in the Village of the Abandoned would generally be tiny.
Even so, there are many children in this place who are a few years older than Nunu, but are the same height as Nunu.
Thinking of this, Li Ke put down his spoon with a sigh, spread his hands, and said, "How can I know you need these things if you don't ask?"
"Now you know," Lissandra said.
She does need a lot of food, although she doesn't need to eat herself, but her men do, and the children she has adopted do. As for asking Li Ke for things, Lissandra won't be polite.
Putting aside the fact that I helped Li Ke so much, which Li Ke should have done in return, let's talk about Li Ke's Twin Cities. He's basically a nouveau riche, isn't he?
Those resources could be provided by any nobleman in Piltover, and it wouldn't be a problem for him.
Thinking of this, Lissandra sighed inwardly.
Freljord is indeed too barren. She, possessing divinity, doesn't need to care about these things, but the people of Freljord do.
Even with formidable combat power and a strong will, they cannot truly become wealthy. This is Freljord, the cruel northern frozen land of Runeterra.
"Yes, I'll tell Janna later, and have her tell Mel to send something over when Nunu leaves in a couple of days," Mel Li Ke and said.
To be honest, what Lissandra did in private was quite unfamiliar to Li Ke.
Even though he had a good relationship with Lissandra, Li Ke had to admit that Lissandra was indeed a block of ice. But it was this same Lissandra who secretly took in a large number of abandoned children and raised them to grow up.
You could say Lissandra is atoning for her past mistakes, but no matter what, she's done a good thing, isn't she?
"Meet with Nunu in a few days, talk to her about Layka, and then talk to her about the snowman. Let Nunu know about the snowman's existence, and tell Nunu that you are troubled by the snowman's ability to hurt people."
"Will this even work?" Nilah had been silent until now, drinking the broth. It was the first time she had ever tasted such delicious broth, so she slurped it down. Now that she had finished, her talkative nature kicked in.
"Of course, a little enticement is also needed. Nunu is a smart child. He will try to attract Lissandra's attention because he wants to find his mother, and he will do everything he can to prove himself."
Layka, who was sitting to the side, listened with some sadness.
Although, from what Nunu sees now, doing these things does indeed pose no danger.
But as a mother, how could she not be heartbroken to see her young child suffering?
Night fell, and the starry sky illuminated Freljord. In the Village of the Abandoned lived, the flames of the campfires that had been burning earlier had weakened, and now only dark red embers were still burning.
Lying on the prickly fur bed, Nunu curled up into a ball, clutching her mother's flute tightly in her arms.
He was very sad and couldn't sleep because this was the first time he had slept without his mother at night. In the past, his mother's beautiful voice would sing lullabies and tell stories to Nunu, but now, he could only hear the coughs and cries of other children around him.
Even though he was very sad, Nunu held it in and didn't cry.
Because my mother said that crying is useless.
He's Mom's little muscle-nosed monster; he's very strong.
Today is the third day that Nunu has been living in the Village of the Abandoned. In these three days, Nunu has discovered that several more children have come to the village. They are all about the same age as Nunu, and there are both boys and girls.
What they had in common was that they were all crying; the unfamiliar environment and the panic of being separated from their families filled them with fear.
But Nunu was different; he didn't cry!
Nunu also started to become like the other children, getting dirty. Although the children in the Village of the Abandoned didn't need to do chores, they still had to do daily cleaning, so Nunu also got some dust on her.
This made him feel a little sad, after all, the clothes he was wearing were made by his mother, and he loved and cherished them very much.
As Nunu was sweeping away the snow outside the door, thinking about how to run away and find his mother, he suddenly heard a commotion.
"Lord Lissandra."
"Lady Lissandra, everything has been arranged for the new children."
"Lord Lissandra"
Nunu heard the adults' voices, curiously picked up a broom and went over. Then, he heard a name— Lissandra.
Such a familiar name
Nunu opened her mouth and thought to herself instinctively.
Then he saw a tall person, a woman, whose face was obscured by a strange dark blue helmet, and whose legs were encased in dark ice.
The ice blocks flowed like water, wriggling and shifting, until the woman appeared before Nunu.
"Oh my god!"
Nunu's Big Eyes widened.
He recognized the other person!
Some things don't need names to be recognized, and some shouldn't even have names.
I'm talking about Frostguard Citadel!
And beneath it lies the Howling Abyss!
This woman named Lissandra was someone who appeared in the stories his mother had told him.
She's the youngest of the Three Sisters!
Thinking it over, Nunu realized where she was.
He's at Frostguard Citadel! The very Frostguard Citadel that everyone fears!
Nunu's heart pounded. She looked up at the tall woman from the legend in front of her.
Then Nunu noticed that the other person had also turned their face towards him, as if... were looking at him?
No, Lissandra doesn't have eyes!
The mighty Volibear gouged out Lissandra's eyes; she's blind now, and Nunu knows this story!
But strangely, Nunu felt that Lissandra was looking at him.
Surrounded by the Frostguard members, and seeing Nunu staring intently at her face, Lissandra turned her head away.
"It's still the same old stuff."
Nunu heard Lissandra's voice.
The legendary figures appeared before him, which piqued his curiosity. He picked up a broom, pretended to sweep the floor, and slowly approached, preparing to overhear the adults' conversation.
"Let the tribesmen leave that place. The Yeti is dangerous, and if we can't drive it away, then we'll flee from it."
"Also, tell everyone that if anyone can solve the snowman's problem, I can grant them one wish."
Nunu, upon hearing Lissandra say that...
Seeing a group of adults, and then hearing about the snowman.
He knew about snowmen; his mother had told him stories about them!
Therefore, Nunu lowered his head, looked at the broom in his hand, and then his gaze swept past the broom and landed on the flute wrapped around his waist.
A bold idea then emerged.
Nunu has made a decision, a decision that will make him a great hero and help him find his mother!
"That would be a great idea!"
The little guy shouted loudly in his heart.