Valkyrie's Shadow

Before the Storm: Act 8, Chapter 12

Chapter 12

“Hey, you alright, Nemel? You’re lookin’ kinda crazy sitting in your little corner there.”

“Hm? Whatever do you mean, my lady?”

The sound of mad scribbling nearly drowned out the imperial scion’s absentminded reply. Liane eyed her warily from what was probably a safe distance.

“Y’know, just the whole crazy Wizard look you’ve got goin’ on right now…”

“What’s truly crazy is what we just heard,” Nemel didn’t look up as she continued writing. “Do you understand how many countries could be sacrificed just to gain the insights of a Dragon Lord?”

Liane shifted another step away.

“I don’t get it,” she said. “The Sorcerous Kingdom has plenty of powerful magic. You weren’t this excited about it.”

“It’s just as the Black Scale Dragon Lord said, my lady,” Nemel replied. “There’s magic, then there’s magic, and then there’s magic. If I had to make a comparison, seeing a high-tier spell cast by Lady Shalltear would be like looking at the biggest potato you’ve ever seen. What Queen Oriculus spoke about explains the existence of every potato that ever was, is, and will be. That pretty much makes the big potato small potatoes.”

After a moment’s additional thought, Liane decided to vacate the vicinity of the crazed Wizard entirely. Warden’s Vale was already a dangerous place in her mind; adding a resident population of mad mages to the mix convinced her that the frontier territory would one day be the site of some great cataclysm. Reportedly, they were already planting potatoes.

The humid north wind greeted her as she stepped up onto the main deck of the newly assembled ‘flagship’ of their cargo fleet. What was going on there was only slightly less concerning than what was going on down below. Twilight had long passed, emphasising the dancing flames a few dozen metres away. Half of the ship’s furniture had been ‘salvaged’ by Nemel’s Goblins to construct a makeshift fort on the ship’s bow. One of the diminutive Demihumans had even swiped the ensign of the Sorcerous Kingdom – which had been mounted off of the vessel’s stern – fastening it to the highest chair leg sticking out of the improvised structure’s precarious parapets.

She spotted Clara standing halfway between the bow and the bridge. The Radiant Jewel of the Riverlands looked none too pleased by the development.

“I told you this was a bad idea,” Clara said as Liane approached. “I’m no good at handling Demihumans.”

“Uh, I dunno how ‘no good at handling Demihumans’ leads to this,” Liane said. “Whaddya even say to ‘em?”

“Barely anything,” Clara replied. “I showed them around the ship’s living area and said that they should make themselves at home. After that, they went crazy and I fled for my life.”

With all of the protections that came with their equipment, Liane doubted that anything short of a Death Knight could hurt them. Their strength had also been augmented to the point where they could casually toss solid wooden furniture around. The combination of everything meant that they had nothing to fear from everyday threats, even if the threat was the average Demihuman.

“Frontier Nobles are basically tribal Demihumans,” Liane said, “and you’ve already tamed one of those. What did Ludmila say about all this, anyway?”

“She said it was ‘cute’,” Clara pouted, “and then she went right in to join the Goblins. I don’t see what’s so cute about a pile of jumbled-up furniture.”

“What’s she doin’ in there?”

“I don’t know!”

Liane scratched her head as she left Clara to take a closer look. Contrary to her friend’s claims, there was a simple logic to the fort’s construction. The largest tables gathered from around the ship formed its outer walls and a tower of dubiously stacked chairs occupied the middle of the ‘courtyard’ within. Tarps had been stretched over the interior to offer shelter from the elements.

The entrance of the structure was an improvised checkpoint that prevented potential intruders from rushing straight inside. A screech of warning from a Goblin standing on a stool alerted its fellows to her approach.

“Bad!” Said the Goblin.

“Bad!”

“Bad!”

“Bad!”

Why?

Amidst the sound of shrieking Goblins and the clash of spears against shields, the dull thud of heavy footsteps sounded from within the fort. A hulking Orc emerged from behind the checkpoint barrier and cast a critical eye upon her.

“Your reputation precedes you, Chief of the Wagner Clan,” he said.

“Uh, what reputation might that be?” Liane asked.

“What is your business with us?” The Orc asked back.

“I’m here to see my friend,” Liane answered.

She leaned to the side to catch a glimpse of the fort’s interior, but the Orc shifted to block her line of sight. The Goblins took exception to her movements and rushed forward to surround her. Before she knew it, her wrists were bound and she was being dragged inside. Florine and Ludmila regarded her with suspicious frowns as she made her entrance.

“What are you scheming?” Florine asked.

Liane put on an innocent look.

“Me? Scheming? Well, plenty of things, but I just wanted to see what was going on in here.”

Ludmila raised her right arm to point at a nearby cookpot. As she was prodded over by her little green captors, Liane frowned at the bubbling content within.

“Are you people trying to declare independence from the rest of the ship?” Liane said as she plopped herself onto a cushion by the cookfire, “I’m pretty sure Clara thinks ya’ll are gonna start sending out raids soon.”

“We’re strategising,” Ludmila replied.

“Strategising, huh,” Liane said. “How is that different from scheming?”

Florine and Ludmila turned their attention back to the table where they were seated. Liane scooted over to sit between them. A member of nearly every tribe and company that had accompanied them to the Draconic Kingdom was present and a few partially-filled pieces of paper were scattered across the table. Liane tilted her head as she scanned the content of the closest sheet.

They’ve already gotten this far?

“Have I ever mentioned how crazy you are?” Liane said as she looked up at Ludmila, “Why is this necessary?”

“Because this is a conflict that cannot be settled with reason,” Ludmila replied. “The Guilds have enjoyed their position and all that it entails for far too long; one could say that they cannot imagine an existence without their system.”

“So you decide to create this…parallel economy instead of just going along with the plan that’s already in play.”

“The plan already in play is too slow,” Ludmila told her. “Furthermore, our ‘trade schools’ almost exclusively enrol Humans. Not only will our steps here make things more accessible for non-Humans, but it will also provide an environment that is free of the trappings of Human civilisation.”

“Somebody help, my friends have gone tribal…”

Liane yelped as Florine pinched her thigh.

“You know we’re right,” her friend told her. “The moment that a Merchant travels beyond the Empire, it is no longer the Human world. While they may claim to have international affiliations, the Guilds of each region mostly adhere to local customs and most of their members never leave their respective towns and cities.”

“That should be the same for our people, yeah?” Liane said.

“Yes, but expecting everyone to follow the customs of an insular, monoracial society is unreasonable. Our national policy plainly states what the goal is in that regard.”

How can they be so confident in creating something we have next to no experience with? It isn’t as if anyone from the Royal Court gives us any hints.

For the most part, the Royal Court tended to one-sidedly issue directives and expected them to be carried out. If it wasn’t for the fact that they had long proven themselves to be extraordinarily competent, pretty much anyone would have considered those directives the whims of an arbitrary idiot.

Florine had the most exposure to multiracial societies, but that experience was still insufficient to claim any sort of expertise. To Merchants, culture was something one adopted to facilitate trade: a variety of hats to put on and take off according to where one was. No one wasted their time and resources trying to enact change in a place that they only frequented for a few days out of the year.

That being said, Liane and her friends were also Nobles. It didn’t take much for them to understand that the problems being described were very much real and that something needed to be done about them. What was annoying was the fact that coming up with a solution wasn’t just as easy. Indeed, there was a wide range of potential solutions and no one agreed exactly on which combination of them was appropriate for their situation.

“So,” Liane said as she gathered the nearest sheets of paper to herself, “have you settled on anything specific yet?”

“Only a few of the obvious things,” Florine said. “The construction of the Abelion Highway has progressed far enough that goods can be conventionally delivered from the Sorcerous Kingdom. Our first step will be to open a central marketplace for the population to investigate what we have to offer. Fortunately, the site for this marketplace has already been established through local traditions.”

“Does that mean Warden’s Vale will still allow Merchants to use its infrastructure?” Liane asked.

“We’re still deliberating on that,” Florine answered.

“There’ll be enough tears to flood the Katze if the Guilds find out that the new highway to the Holy Kingdom’s been closed off to them,” Liane said. “I can’t imagine that the Royal Court will be very pleased with the loss of potential tax revenue, either.”

“Does E-Rantel even produce any manufactured goods that the Holy Kingdom would want?”

It was a good question. The vast majority of trade between cities consisted of the exchange of mundane items produced by specialised industries. The existence of these specialised industries usually depended on the availability of raw resources, meaning that the city of E-Rantel had little to nothing in the way of specialisation beyond being a natural centre of trade. Its primarily agrarian duchy was focused on the production of food and fuel. Economically speaking, it was historically little more than a fringe territory of Re-Estize that delivered grain, lumber, and taxes to House Vaiself’s heartland domains.

The Holy Kingdom, on the other hand, was in the supremely enviable position of being a maritime country with direct access to the western oceanic trade. So long as its trade fleets continued to function, the only thing it would want from the Sorcerous Kingdom would be raw resources for domestic use or to ship off to hungry overseas markets. However…

“It hasn’t been that long since the Roble was invaded,” Liane said. “Their domestic industries must still be in shambles. There’s plenty of opportunity in that.”

Florine’s perpetually cordial expression faded into one of grave concern.

“About that,” she said, “I have reason to believe that things have taken a turn for the worst in Roble.”

“How much worse than ‘flattened by Fiends’ can you get?” Liane asked, “Did something happen to the southern half?”

“The breaking of the country may have also resulted in the breaking of its spirit,” Florine said. “From my brief brush with the Holy Kingdom while I was dealing with some issues along the border, that’s the feeling I had.”

“The feeling…you mean it gave you the ick? Like in Fassett County?”

Her best friend nodded sadly.

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“Yes, but several orders of magnitude worse. I voiced my concerns to Lord Demiurge and asked if he could look into it, but I haven’t received any word on the matter yet.”

Liane pondered the implications of Florine’s claim. It was difficult to imagine a country like the Holy Kingdom – which was upheld as a bastion of good throughout the region – falling to corruption and decay. However, its downfall being orchestrated by a powerful Fiend was a plausible explanation. In that sense, Jaldabaoth may have won the true victory.

“Either way,” Liane said, “it represents an opportunity for us, doesn’t it? If the Holy Kingdom is still trying to recover, we can sell them all the help that they want. If the country’s fallen to pieces, we can sell its people the security and stability that they need. It’s an all-around win.”

“I wonder if it will be as simple as you assert,” Ludmila said.

“Whaddya mean?”

“I came across a girl from Roble in Warden’s Vale. It’s been so busy recently that I forgot about her…why are you shifting away?”

“I’m not,” Liane said.

She flinched as Ludmila smiled and rested a hand on her shoulder.

“What do you know about her?”

“…”

“Confess!”

“Y-You’re not my Pries–owowowowow! Staaahp! What are you doing to meeee…”

The violent woman released her grip. The feeling of wrongness in her shoulder subsided. She gingerly checked her shoulder for injuries, but found no trace of any.

“So,” Ludmila said, “who is she?”

“She’s Liam’s,” Liane sniffled.

“Liam’s?”

“Liam’s wife.”

“What!”

Everybody in the fort jumped at the Frontier Noble’s sudden outburst. Liane tried to take shelter behind Florine, but got pecked on the forehead for her trouble.

“Liam is far too young to have a wife,” Ludmila fumed. “Who ordained their ‘marriage’?”

“Who knows?” Liane said, “All I know is that your temple buddies found her with Liam in E-Rantel while you were away and brought them to Clara.”

Ludmila’s glare went past Liane’s shoulder, threatening to bore a hole through the fort’s ‘wall’. A few moments later, Clara came rushing in.

“I intended to speak with you about it when we finally had some time to ourselves,” Clara said.

“We can speak about it right now,” Ludmila said. “Just what in the world did this girl do to Liam?”

Clara went over to sit beside Ludmila, taking one of her hands in a calming gesture.

“According to Liam, she was a part of his cover when he was on assignment in the Holy Kingdom. He was unsuccessful at shaking her off on his way out, so he ended up bringing her back with him.”

Florine visibly brightened.

“Oh, so Lord Demiurge did manage to look into my report.”

“Liam and Saye were investigating some things for the Ministry of Transportation,” Clara said, “but it wouldn’t surprise me if the Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave him some things to do, as well.”

“So you knew about this girl he brought back with him?” Ludmila asked.

“Not until Vicar Aspasia brought the matter to my attention,” Clara answered. “After looking into the girl, it seems that Liam found a workshop in the city that would help her make a new life for herself in the Sorcerous Kingdom.”

“Then what’s this about Liam being her husband?”

“From what I can tell, it’s a one-sided thing. Do you honestly think that Liam would get himself involved with random women wherever he goes?”

『Lady Wagner?』

『Woah! Huh? Who?』

『It’s me, Liam. Sorry to message you so suddenly.』

『Uh, no problem. Actually, you’ve got pretty good timing.』

『Huh?』

『Nothing. Whaddya need?』

『I need some help with my assignment.』

『Your assignment…ah, that assessment thingy up and down the eastern marches?』

『Yeah, that. Well, sort of. To be honest, it’s gotten complicated.』

『What kinda complicated?』

『Um, you see, there’s this girl…』

Liane perked up on her cushion. It looked like things were getting interesting.

『Don’t you worry, Liam. Your big sis will help you out any way she can.』

『Really? Great! Thank you sooooo much.』

『Spare me your thanks. Let’s hear the details.』

『She’s a noblewoman. The new Countess of Beaumont.』

This kid’s turning out to be a real gourmand.

As far as commoners went, Liam’s ‘wife’ from Roble was about as pretty as one could get. Now, he had set his sights on a noblewoman – a Countess, no less.

“Why are you sitting there grinning like an idiot?” Florine asked.

Liane wiped the grin off of her face, but it was too late. Everyone at the table was staring at her expectantly.

“Uh…I’m talking to Liam. He asked for help with his new female acquaintance.”

Ludmila rose to her feet. An oppressive aura smothered the surroundings and the fort’s Demihuman defenders fled.

“Where is he?” Her voice was deadly calm.

If I tell her, is she gonna fly over and geld the poor guy?

『Lady Wagner?』

『Hold on a second, I’m trying not to die here.』

『A-Are you alright? Should I message Lady Shalltear for help?』

『No, it’s fine. It’s just that Ludmila just found out about your wife and now you’re calling me about this new girl.』

『What? Why did you tell her?!』

『I tried to cover for you, but then she touched me. Sorry.』

“I don’t have any of the details yet,” Liane said, “gimme a minute here.”

Ludmila sat back down again, but the oppressive aura didn’t subside. Liane cleared her throat before raising a hand to her ear.

『Anyways, what sorta help do ya need?』

『I found her stuck in her manor. The Eight Fingers guys said that they took her out of the city because she was being a problem, but, as far as I can tell, she’s just trying to straighten out House Beaumont’s business. It looks like the late Count messed things up big time.』

『I see. What’s the play here?』

『The play? Uh, she’s honestly trying her best to fix things, but she’s pretty much on her own here. I just want to help her out.』

『…do you not understand what happens to a girl her age when you’re nice to them in this sort of situation?』

『Not really. Why?』

『No reason. Lemme run this by everyone else.』

Liane lowered her hand and scanned the faces of her friends. Clara and Ludmila looked like they were waiting to set upon her like a pair of jilted Harpies.

“So…Liam’s out on an assignment in Re-Estize and he came across one Countess Beaumont. Anyone know her?”

“Edolie Rhyesse Dale Beaumont,” Clara said. “Sole daughter of House Beaumont. If things haven’t changed since we were memorising the lists as children, House Beaumont is under House Blumrush. Their territory lies at the foot of the Manticore Mountains and primarily exports forestry products as either timber or charcoal.”

“Personally, I meant. We all know the rote stuff.”

Florine, Clara, and Ludmila shook their heads. Liane supposed that was to be expected. Never mind the houses of the interior avoiding the Duchy of E-Rantel like it was a wilderness populated by uncivilised savages, the new Countess had still been too young to make her debut when the Battle of Katze Plains happened.

“What happened between Liam and Countess Beaumont?” Ludmila asked.

“She was causing some problems in Re-Blumrushur and got moved to her provincial estate,” Liane said, “but Liam claims that she isn’t as useless as people thought. She’s impressed him enough that he wants to lend her a hand.”

“It’s plausible that she was misidentified,” Clara said. “Unless a scion is known to be especially promising, any assessment would be based on the capabilities of their parents since they are responsible for their education. The late Lord Beaumont was involved with the Eight Fingers to the point that the syndicate has a stranglehold on Beaumont County.”

“The girl could be just as much a crook as the crowd her house has fallen in with,” Liane noted.

“I think Liam is skilled enough to tell the difference,” Florine said.

“Yeah,” Liane snorted, “unless it’s not a matter of skill, but a matter of Skill.”

“At her age?” Clara said, “That’s highly unlikely. As far as we know, she had what amounts to a normal education for a female scion in Re-Estize.”

Clara produced a fresh sheet of paper and placed it on the table.

“What does Countess Beaumont need help with?”

“You sure we should help at all?” Liane asked, “Liam’s supposed to be doing work for the Ministry of Transportation. The dumbass faction is Lady Albedo’s show.”

“If we’re to receive approval to assist this girl,” Clara answered, “she must be valuable enough for Lady Albedo to make an exception for her. Asking Her Excellency without first building a compelling case will only result in rejection. Furthermore, she will be irritated over having her time wasted. Framing Countess Beaumont as a test case for revitalising struggling territories in Re-Estize should make for a convincing case.”

“You’re probably not wrong…lemme hear what Liam has to say.”

Liane’s hand made it halfway to her ear before she realised that Liam’s Message spell had expired.

“Well, this is awkward. Hey, Ludmila, can your Artificers make a magic item that lets people use Message spells?”

“I’m not sure,” Ludmila replied. “With Message use being a taboo for almost everyone in the region, even scrolls of the spell are nearly impossible to obtain without the right connections. Not that this is a bad thing. The spell can be quite dangerous if it ends up in the wrong hands, so access to it should be regulated. That’s probably why the Imperial Army employs communications officers instead of having any old Rogue run around with a bandolier of Message scrolls.”

“Yeah, but Liam’s being provided with ‘em.”

“And if he is somehow compromised, all the enemy gets is a few scrolls instead of an item that allows them to use the spell indefinitely.”

The reasoning seemed a bit too paranoid. If the ‘enemy’ wanted access to Message so damn much, then they’d get their own stupid mages.

“Let’s focus on the task at hand,” Clara said. “There should be at least a handful of things that Countess Beaumont will require if she intends to enact change in her fief, such as a bare minimum of household staff.”

“And a professional armed retinue,” Ludmila added.

Liane, Florine, and Clara stared at Ludmila.

“Why is it always violence with you?” Liane said.

“Does anybody think it unnecessary in this scenario?” Ludmila replied.

“But where will she find the people for this retinue?” Florine asked, “Professional armsmen take half a decade or more to train.”

“And House Blumrush squeezes its vassals for every copper coin possible,” Liane said. “Even if there are Mercenaries for hire somewhere nearby, they don’t do charity.”

“Gathering armsmen should be simple enough,” Ludmila said. “As Clara mentioned, Beaumont County’s primary industry is forestry. She should have thousands of Rangers amongst her subjects to choose from and they are legally obliged to serve if she calls for a levy. As far as operations within her borders are concerned, they should far outperform any common thugs-for-hire. They will have superior skillsets for the terrain, know the lay of the land, and will be fighting for their homes and families.”

“What if she needs to leave her territory?” Florine asked, “A regiment of armsmen may be able to live off of the land while they’re in her fief, but they represent a hefty financial burden outside of it.”

“That depends on how much time she has to restore order,” Ludmila answered.

“It will not happen in any amount of time without restaffing her court,” Clara said. “To do that, she’ll likely need to go to the city to find qualified people. This should do nicely as a test of her capabilities as a Noble.”

Ludmila’s expression turned sour.

“What if she’s more like me than you?” She said, “The test will prove nothing that we don’t already know about Martial Nobles in that case. Obtaining a retainer with the required qualifications is expensive, as well.”

“Liam mentioned that she’s entirely on her own,” Liane said, “so make it super expensive. At least relative to her means.”

If her administrative apparatus had gone completely kaput, it meant that she wasn’t collecting taxes. To collect taxes, she needed a functioning administrative apparatus. Credit and favours might have been an option if Countess Beaumont was a bit older and had the time to forge the relationships that facilitated those sorts of transactions, but that was neither here nor now.

“Then I guess she has to do it the old-fashioned way,” Liane said.

“I don’t think she’s a Merchant…” Florine said.

“I meant raiding. All she’s gotta do is extract some resources from her neighbours. If it can be framed as self-defence, we can even rent out some Death Knights. His Majesty’ll like that.”

“That will probably work,” Ludmila said.

“Ludmila!” Clara gasped.

“Most administrators in Re-Estize employ Adventurers around this time of the year to deal with the wilderness tribes, wild Beasts, and other things that come sniffing around for food,” Ludmila said. “Over time, Death Knights are cheaper to employ than Adventurers and any spoils obtained will remain in the hands of Countess Beaumont. The proceeds from the remains of a single marauding Manticore should be able to pay for both the Undead rental and a handful of administrative staff.”

“I wonder if House Blumrush will notice that they’re not commissioning Adventurers and demand an explanation,” Florine said.

Liane snorted.

“Doubtful. They’d only come calling after something happens that messes with their revenues. Haven’t you been to their march before?”

“I have…”

“Then you should know exactly what they’re like,” Liane said. “They’re short-term thinkers. Development and investment are things that they expect other people to do for them and they expect taxes to be delivered on time for the privilege of doing so. I betcha there’s even more wilderness than there was before with all the shortages that Re-Estize’s been–”

『Lady Wagner?』

“Welp, Liam’s back. Anything to add to what we got?”

“Lady Albedo may want to add some personal touches,” Clara said. “Generally speaking, however, this should be good enough to begin with. We’re providing Countess Beaumont with the tools that she needs to succeed: now, we will find out if she knows how to use them.”