Valkyrie's Shadow

Before the Storm: Act 3, Chapter 3

Before the Storm: Act 3, Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The Baroness’ first move was to send their scouts to reconnoitre the town again. Given the expedition's overwhelming strength relative to the town’s visible defenders, Pandora’s Actor questioned the necessity of such an act. Lady Zahradnik’s Undead state made her thoughts unknowable to him, however, so he settled in to wait alongside their imperial guests to see what she was up to.

“Momon, Momon!” Miss Erex waved her hand.

“Hm?”

“Where’s your partner, the ‘Beautiful Princess’, Nabe?”

The thoughts of the three Wizards perked up at the mention of Narberal. If he recalled correctly, his Master had experienced the same difference in treatment in the Empire, where Fluder Paradyne showed absolutely no interest in the ‘dark warrior’ until he gave him a glimpse of his arcane prowess.

“In the capital,” Pandora’s Actor replied. “Adventurers in the Sorcerous Kingdom no longer exist as they do elsewhere. Our members are true professionals who can be formed into any combination of individuals depending on our needs. The senior staff are usually busy overseeing training and instruction.”

“But didn’t you come here as a couple from elsewhere?”

A couple…

He held back a sigh at the flower garden blooming in Miss Erex’s thoughts. He supposed that it couldn’t be helped that people thought of their relationship that way, but it always mentally threw him off. Ironically, Nabe’s faceless state in the young woman’s imagination put her closer to the truth than most.

“While it’s true that we arrived together,” Pandora’s Actor said, “we only became an Adventurer team because it helped us move around in this region of the world. Our private interests are served better with the current arrangement.”

“What part of the world did you come from?”

“Far to the south.”

“Did you come by way of the Theocracy or by ship through the Holy Kingdom?”

That’s a good question.

No one seemed to care about Momon and Nabe’s origins aside from the fact that they were outsiders. As a result, he didn’t have a concrete answer to the question. Miss Erex was reportedly an ambitious officer aiming for a high position in the Imperial Ministry of Foreign Affairs, so she was potentially a source of valuable information on the outside world.

Let’s see what we can get out of her…

“We travelled through the Theocracy,” he replied.

“I wasn’t aware of that,” Lady Zahradnik said. “What route did you take?”

Pandora’s Actor froze at the unexpected ambush. It seemed that he wasn’t the only hunter present. He made a show of recollecting the journey as he desperately fished the imperial trio’s thoughts for information.

“Let’s see…after crossing the desert from the Koshey Belt, we came northwest through the savannah on the margins of Evasha.”

Their imperial guests seemed satisfied that his account matched their knowledge. Lady Zahradnik was a complete blank as she nodded at his words.

“I wasn’t aware that such a route existed.”

Me neither!

“Was there a particular reason that you asked?”

“My people are from beyond the Theocracy,” Lady Zahradnik answered. “Both my great grandfather and my mother. Rumour has it that Gazef Stronoff was from the south, as well. Are you and Nabe from the Koshey Belt or a country even further south?”

“Ah, no, we–”

“Zahradnik, the scouts are back.”

Pandora’s Actor breathed a silent sigh of relief as he was saved by the returning scouts. The existence of the Koshey Belt was the limit of Dimoiya Erex’s knowledge of the south. He would have to conduct some research before the topic was brought up again.

They joined the Adventurers, who were gathered around a large sheet of paper unfurled over a flat boulder. One of the Rangers was penning out the details of the town. Like the town’s wall, even the largest structures were little more than piles of broken stone scattered across the landscape.

“Howe,” Lady Zahradnik said, “you mentioned a ‘mayor’. Where is it?”

“Should be this building.”

The Rogue gestured to a large building adjacent to the central plaza.

“What is the town hall’s staff composed of? Is there an archive or anything similar filled with Skeleton Mages?”

“The Skeleton Mages are in other buildings. The clerks in the town hall are Wraiths and Ghasts. Couldn’t get a solid count.”

“Any sign of underground passages? Cellars or basements?”

“The one for the town hall looks like it’s filled in.”

“Alright. What about casters? Where are they?”

The scouts took turns reporting the locations of several Skeleton Mages. Lady Zahradnik took a step back from the map once they were done.

“These two buildings look like temples,” she pointed to two other buildings on the plaza. “These other buildings with one or two Skeleton Mages might be shops. Alchemists and such.”

“What about this clearing?”

“A Druid Grove, going by how the vegetation is arranged.”

“Why are Skeleton Mages getting swapped in for divine casters?”

“I’m not exactly sure,” Lady Zahradnik said. “His Majesty the Sorcerer King has theorised that there isn’t a suitable conceptual analogue for divine casters at this Difficulty Rating in our region.”

“Conwhat?”

“The right type of Undead to swap in. Stop sleeping through my lectures.”

“But they’re perfect for naps…”

Lady Zahradnik sighed as light laughter rippled through the assembled Adventurers. Viscount Brennenthal raised his hand.

“I would appreciate it if you elaborated on this subject,” he said. “It doesn’t sound like anything I’ve heard before.”

“It has to do with what I mentioned before about negative energy zones reflecting what once existed where they stood,” Lady Zahradnik said. “The details are quite interesting. What Undead manifest in any given spot depends on factors such as the biome they’re situated in and what civilisation and race occupied the area before. That’s why we tend to see the same types of Undead across this region. Even the equipment that the Undead spawn with is reliant on what came before.

“In other words, you could say that there is a ‘conceptual pool’ of forms that can manifest based on the combination of the above factors. Once enough ambient negative energy has collected in an area, it will coalesce into a form available for selection. So far, this is consistent in our observations of Undead producing areas in the Sorcerous Kingdom below a certain threshold.”

“What happens above that threshold?”

“A sufficiently advanced negative energy ecology will begin manifesting aberrant forms. These are rare, so there isn’t much that I can say beyond that.”

“How come we haven’t noted this…structure before?” Countess Waldenstein asked.

“We actually did,” Lady Zahradnik answered, “but our framing only has us recognise the smaller patterns within the greater. A sentry at a graveyard has a solid idea of what they’ll potentially face. Similarly, we have expectations of what might lurk in an old tomb or what will be present on a border patrol along the Katze Plains. What we don’t see is how Undead in our region differ from other regions: what we know is perceived as normal everywhere, but it isn’t.”

The Baroness’ briefing continued, thoroughly plotting out their assault on the town. Once she was satisfied that everyone understood how things would roughly play out, they took their positions outside the ruined town’s main gate.

?Watch Captain’s cohort, first.?

At Lady Zahradnik’s signal, the Rangers started loosing arrows at the gatehouse. The ruin turned into a hive of activity as the nearby Undead reacted to the attack.

“That’s a lot more than just the gate,” Pool called out.

?We’ve got a call to arms. Looks like they’re mimicking living reactions. Horst; Cass: you’re up.?

A pair of Wizards stepped out in front of the fighters. Despite the rubble of the wall being less than a metre high, the Undead sentries rushed to the equally ruined gatehouse to stream out in their hundreds toward them. Arrows continued flying out to take down the leading attackers.

?Slip them up.?

“?Grease?!”

“?Grease?!”

The old path halfway down from the gatehouse immediately took on a slick appearance. Despite Grease being a First-tier spell, even the much higher-level Wights lost their footing and fell. A handful managed to stay on their feet, but their movement was significantly slowed. The Rangers switched to take down the Undead that looked like they could struggle their way through while the pileup of Undead grew.

?Clean them out!?

“?Lightning?!”

“?Lightning?!”

The twin lightning bolts ripped up the path to the gatehouse, leaving a trail of devastation in their wake. A single, frazzled-looking Wight appeared to be the only survivor.

?Hold. Horst; Cass: withdraw.?

Behind Lady Zahradnik, the Rangers lowered their bows. The warriors on the front line eyed the smoking, three-metre-tall undead Demihuman as it stalked toward them.

“Great Wight? Or Wight Lord?”

“I don’t even know what kind of Demihuman this thing is based on.”

“It’s a Gnoll,” Lady Zahradnik said. “It’s a bit bigger than a regular Gnoll, so it may be a lord.”

“It don’t look lordly to me.”

“Someone ask.”

“What are they doing?” Miss Erex whispered.

“Checking for signs of self-awareness,” Pandora’s Actor told her. “There’s a somewhat broad range in which intelligent Undead may be found.”

Heinrich walked toward the Wight, which looked entirely intent on ripping him limb from limb.

“Um…hello? We’re Adventurers from the Sorc–”

A heavy thunk sounded as the Wight slammed its claws against Henrich’s heater shield.

“There’s gotta be a better way to do this,” Henrich grumbled.

“You need to work on your people skills,” Kyla told him.

“Then we should get a Bard to do this.”

“Fuck that!” Vincent’s voice came from the back.

Another thunk sounded from the front line.

“If you have a brain, please respond.”

“Do the Undead even have brains? I think the Elder Liches’ heads are empty.”

“Can someone figure this–eep!”

The Wight suddenly lunged, its slavering maw of yellowed fangs reaching over Henrich’s shield to bite his pauldron. Henrich’s Warhammer came across to smash into the Wight’s extended neck. Its jaws came loose as its head fell and swung loosely from the hinge of its broken spine.

“Dammit, this damned thing drained me!”

“Aww,” Themis crooned in sarcastic sympathy, “did you get get a widdle dwainy-wainy from the wighty-bitey?”

The commentary continued as Henrich contended with the Gnoll Wight. Eventually, the Fighter slapped it to the ground with his shield.

“Can we end this thing already?” He asked, “I don’t know if it’s intelligent, but it clearly isn’t interested in cooperation.”

“Fine,” the Baroness said.

Henrich cocked his warhammer. Two broadhead arrows whizzed in and buried themselves into the hapless Wight. Henrich spun on his heel as his target disintegrated.

“I hate you people.”

Themis raised her hand toward the Fighter and cast a spell.

“?Lesser Restoration?.”

?Reposition at the gate. Scouts, check how much of the town that encounter cleared.?

The Adventurers picked up their packs and made their way up the path. Lady Zahradnik gestured for the Countess’ party to follow.

“Do expeditions always go like this?” Viscount Brennenthal asked.

“Things are a lot more orderly with the ‘captain’ present,” Pandora’s Actor said. “We get a fair bit of banter if the situation isn’t very threatening.”

“They have a much different approach from the Imperial Army. If faced with hundreds of Undead, my former Captain would have ground them down with an infantry line while keeping the mages in reserve.”

“Mindless opponents are simply that predictable,” Lady Zahradnik said. “If Captain Germund had the same amount of experience fighting the Undead, he would have probably done something similar.”

“It was instructive nonetheless. I still haven’t given much thought as to how this new War Wizard company will operate on a tactical level.”

“What did the Imperial Army have in mind?”

“An Imperial Air Service wing with more Fireballs.”

Countess Waldenstein snorted.

“It’s pointless going over all of the nuances with the Court Council or the Generals,” she said. “I had to sell the concept in terms that they could understand.”

“Do we even have a hundred spare War Wizards lying around?”

“Your primary source of recruits will be seniors from the Academy. We needed a clearly defined outlet for those types, anyway. Think of it this way: if you start with a full company, people are going to expect you to do things before you’re ready.”

“I suppose…” Viscount Brennenthal said, “But going by what I’ve seen of General Ray, he’s going to push to get an operational company as quickly as possible.”

“In that case,” Countess Waldenstein said, “have you considered recruitment posters? I’m sure Public Affairs can come up with something nice and inspiring. They’d even put your face on it.”

“I’m afraid we’ll be swamped with female applicants if I do that.”

“You make it sound as if that’s a bad thing,” one of the Adventurers snarked.

Viscount Brennenthal fell silent, but his thoughts seemed to be focused on puzzling out training arrangements if his War Wizard company ended up being filled by women.

“It’s worth considering given how rare mages are in general,” he said after several moments, “but I feel that civilian women joining the Imperial Army because of a propaganda poster are going to be in for an unpleasant shock. I can’t exactly treat them like regular recruits: the dropout rate for civilian women trying to become Imperial Knights is nearly a hundred per cent.”

“How you integrate them into the Imperial Army is entirely up to you, isn’t it? Countess Waldenstein asked.

“As far as I know, yes,” Viscount Brennenthal said. “But I can’t have people joining thinking they’re going to be the protagonist in a romantic adventure.”

“…you give women too little credit,” Countess Waldenstein crossed her arms.

Viscount Brennenthal rolled his eyes.

“Don’t act as if you haven’t seen what Public Affairs sticks on those posters. They’re shameless about planting silly ideas into the heads of both men and women alike.”

“Zahradnik, say something…”

“He’s not wrong,” Lady Zahradnik said. “Wagner snatched one of those standing cutouts of General Ray from a hallway in the Academy. It’s set up in the solar of her city manor now.”

“…”

“In all seriousness,” the Baroness continued, “establishing an identity for your War Wizards and managing the expectations associated with it will be the central challenge. The Sixth Army Group learned that lesson the hard way and General Ray was the only one who tried to prepare his soldiers for what they were getting into.”

“What do you mean by that?”

The Baroness scanned the town ahead of them before settling into a more comfortable posture.

“Imperial culture ennobles the protective aspects of martial culture as a consequence of the Empire’s history,” she said. “They threw off the rule of foreign invaders and the Imperial Knights are honoured for their role in maintaining the security and order of the realm. A spirit of service and steadfastness are virtues to be rewarded.”

“But that’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Miss Erex asked.

“Whether it’s a good thing or not is beside the point. What matters is that the culture of the Empire and the Imperial Army revolves around the idea that the Imperial Knights are defenders of the Empire. The Imperial Expeditionary Force doesn’t need defenders: it needs conquerors. That comes with an entirely different set of expectations – even a different sense of morality. The Imperial Administration may see its military strength as little more than numbers to plug into its formulas, but signing people up to fight the wrong fight will leave you with a legacy of broken veterans.”

“How did General Ray prepare his soldiers?”

“He told them the truth. Showed it to them. General Ray transferred people into his battalion based on their ambitions and aggression. He facilitated that aggression, showing them that they were nothing like the steadfast defenders that the Empire imagined them to be. In fact, they were the antithesis to that concept; the very sort that imperial citizens are raised to revile and fear. They were violent thieves who would trample anyone who stood in the defence of their homes, stealing their lands and livelihoods. He even called his battalion ‘Ray’s Raiders’ to remind them of what they were.

“Above all else, he made it clear to his soldiers that the Empire would not understand them. That only those who stood on the same battlefield would ever comprehend what they had become and truly accept them for it.”

“…and do you agree with his stance?” Viscount Brennenthal asked.

“It doesn’t matter whether I agree or not,” the Baroness replied. “It just is. Imperial culture may take generations to align with the Empire’s new reality. What General Ray is doing is spearheading the required change while seeing to the mental well-being of those under his command.”

Pandora’s Actor gauged the reactions to Lady Zahradnik’s words. The Adventurers were clearly disturbed by the direction that she claimed that the Empire was talking, though he could only consider it progress. A year before, none of them would have batted an eyelash over the idea of Demihumans being victimised by imperial conquest. Countess Waldenstein and Miss Erex still mostly thought nothing of it while Viscount Brennenthal was somewhere in-between.

As for himself, he wasn’t sure whether he could relate. If the forces of Nazarick were ordered to assault a guild base, they would do so without question. A different question arose when he considered his feelings when confronting the NPCs of the target guild base, however.

To the NPCs, dying in the defence of Nazarick was considered the pinnacle of service. If so, would the enemy base’s defenders be considered the most honourable of foes? Would Nazarick’s denizens fight to the utmost of their ability out of respect? Or would some NPCs seek avenues to spare their foes out of that same respect? He could almost tell who would do what.

By the same token, analogues to Nazarick’s structures were already being made in their new world. Duplicity and disrespect toward Nazarick and its Supreme Overlord were met with the utmost vehemence when the offenders should have been unworthy of attention either way. Bugs to be squashed, so to speak. Being made to care about the actions and words of what should have been an insect beneath their notice was infuriating for some and surprisingly refreshing for others.

I suppose that our ‘culture’, too, is evolving.

The denizens of Nazarick were tied to the circumstances of their creation, yet this existence that was set in stone could still give rise to emergent behaviours. He found the prospect deeply fearsome and exhilarating at the same time.

A few minutes later, the scouts returned, reporting that the ‘wall defence’ on their side of the town had been obliterated by the Adventurer’s attack on the gatehouse.

“We’ll strip the town of its patrols, next,” Lady Zahradnik said. “How far do they come out?”

“There’s one that loops between the square and this gatehouse,” Pool said. “It stops at every intersection, though, so it might take some time to arrive.”

“Will attacking them sound another alarm?” Pandora’s Actor asked, “Not that I think we would lose, but we could do without fighting the entire town at once.”

“There’s a simple way to find out,” the Baroness said. “Pool, hit the patrol on this side and lead it out to the side of us. If it comes alone, bring it over.”

“…and if it doesn’t?”

“I have confidence that you can outrun them.”

The Ranger gave Lady Zahradnik a long look before leaving to carry out her instructions. To everyone’s relief, only the patrol came running.

“Red Skeleton Warrior…variant?” One of the Rangers frowned, “I liked it better when we were fighting Human-sized Undead. It’s too damn annoying to tell what’s what here.”

A tall, big-boned Red Skeleton Warrior chased after Pool with a giant maul, followed by its cohort of a dozen regular Skeleton Warriors. There were at least five different races represented in the patrol.

“That patrol captain’s an Ogre,” another Ranger said. “Two Goblins, a Gnoll…I don’t know what the rest are.”

The others were Human-sized or slightly larger, but their skeletal structures clearly weren’t Human. Half of them had small tusks that jutted from their lower jaws while the rest had flattened heads.

?Hobgoblins and Orcs, plus one Bugbear.?

“These things gonna hit any different?” Someone asked.

?Strength according to size. Hobgoblins will be about the same as Human Skeleton Warriors. Loose arrows once Pool’s out of the way. Actually, Pool, take a left. Let’s get half of that patrol in here.?

The Ranger abruptly changed direction, allowing the Adventurers to loose their shots into the side of the column. Assailed by the new threat, half of the Skeleton Warriors jerked back to run along their previous course.

?Match them one for one.?

“Left Goblin.”

“Right Goblin.”

“You lazy little…Bugbear.”

“Uh, what does an Orc skeleton look like?”

?The taller one with the little tusks.?

“Front Hob.”

“Back Hob.”

The frontliners closed with their targets after calling them out. Alessia reached hers first, intercepting its axe with her shield. She guided the blade to the side, then stuck out a foot to trip the ‘Hobgoblin’ as its momentum carried it past her. The Paladin pivoted and smashed her opponent’s ankles in quick succession, then crushed the wrist reaching for its fallen axe with a booted heel. Howe and another Rogue came over to finish off their helpless target.

She fights so dirty…is she really a Paladin?

Pandora’s Actor chuckled lightly at Miss Erex’s thoughts. A strange, empty hiss filled the air.

?Above! Alessia, defend our guests!?

“Aye, Dominia!”

A barbed javelin streaked down through the canopy and bounced off of Pandora’s Actor’s armour. A second attack struck Alessia’s shield.

“I love you!” Dimoiya cried, “You’re the best Paladin ever!”

?Aerial patrol: two Wyvern riders! Pool, get the rest of that patrol in here. Finish them off before our new friends circle back to strafe us again.?

A storm of Magic Arrows lit the undergrowth as the Adventurers rushed to put the remnants of the patrol down. Pandora’s Actor peered through the gaps in the canopy, alert for any sign of a renewed aerial assault.

Is this truly a mindless response?

The question was mirrored in some form by the thoughts of multiple people. It was difficult to think the seemingly coordinated attacks were merely a coincidence.

“Incoming! Right flank!”

A dark spot against the clear skies appeared intermittently through the canopy, swiftly making its way toward them. Pandora’s Actor sprinted across the back of the Adventurer front, launching himself through a gap in the branches. A rotting mouth lined with decaying teeth momentarily filled his vision before he rose past it.

The same, empty hiss that preceded the first attack filled the air as the Undead Wyvern twisted its neck to snap at him. Another javelin bounced off of his armour as he levelled out. He landed on the Wyvern’s back, seizing the Wight rider by the neck as it reached for another javelin. Its crimson gaze burned with the single-minded hatred of the Undead even as Pandora’s Actor severed it in half and hurled it into the trees below.

Now, where’s our other flying friend…

His ‘mount’ bucked beneath him as he scanned the surroundings. All that he could see was an endless sea of green and the mountains looming in the east. He spent a few minutes shifting his weight around and trying a few other possible ways to steer his impromptu mount, but nothing seemed to work.

A stroke of one of his greatswords separated the Undead Wyvern’s neck from its shoulders. Much to his annoyance, the thing kept flying along, trying to throw him off. A pair of simultaneous slashes removed its wings and he hopped off just before it crashed into the trees.

On the forest floor, he found the Undead Wyvern to be far more resilient than he gave it credit for…or perhaps his attacks struck locations that couldn’t take much damage in the first place. The long, dismembered body thrashed blindly about, spraying black viscera from its severed extremities.

Pandora’s Actor ducked under a wild swing of the Wyvern’s scorpion-like tail before lopping it off and driving his offhand home. At long last, the Undead creature collapsed and started to disintegrate. He didn’t spare a moment more standing over his vanquished foe, turning on his heel to take several steps before stopping again.

His initial intent was to send their aerial attackers crashing down somewhere near the battle in an impressive display of daring-do. Unfortunately, that had proven impossible and he had travelled far further than expected. There was no sign of the town nor any sounds from the ongoing fighting.

“Now...” Pandora’s Actor said to himself as he eyed the undergrowth around him. “Where am I?”