Valkyrie's Shadow

Empire in Chains: Act 4, Chapter 10

Empire in Chains: Act 4, Chapter 10

Chapter 10

“Captain Germund seemed taken aback that you disclosed your family’s influence over your posting.”

Moving in time to the quick trot of their mounts, Ludmila scanned the way ahead as evening fell over their journey east through Mittelislein. Aside from sending two dozen villages high in the broad river valley into hiding, the day had been uneventful.

“This sort of manoeuvring is normal amongst Noble families in the Empire, my lady,” Officer Roberbad replied. “It isn’t even limited to the nobility: anyone with the means will act to promote their interests.”

“Yet he called it ‘hilarious’.”

“The army may as well be a different world to people like my lord father,” Officer Roberbad said. “Don’t get me wrong, it does happen, but there’s an order to things in the Imperial Army that does not fit into the common sense of an average imperial subject. I would even go so far as to say that it would appear foolish to them: fait accompli is the order of the day for most citizens. People reach as far as they think they can get away with and it is always assumed that you’re doing something. Making any sort of admission is rare because it can and will be used against you by your competitors, rivals or even the Emperor himself. I’m from a civilian Noble house, so the Captain probably thought that I would act as one – especially in the face of someone who wields unquestionable authority.”

Officer Roberbad’s explanation felt very much in line with what Ludmila had observed during her visit to Arwintar. Perception and pretence took precedence in a culture of ‘meritocratic belief’ based in the decidedly odd way that the northern Human nations defined reality.

In contrast, what she understood and had observed of the Imperial Army thus far suggested that their martial houses had many similarities to her own. Baseless posturing and hollow pretence could not take root because those who attempted to carry themselves in such a manner were stabbed in the face with reality. The ‘weight’ that Akli attributed to Ludmila was very much in force here.

“Then why did you do it?” Ludmila asked.

A moment passed between them before Officer Roberbad provided an answer.

“Instinct. A good Noble knows when this sort of thing isn’t worth the trouble – we don’t survive in the Empire, otherwise. It’s better to cut my family’s losses and protect my house than offer a mildly amusing sideshow for the army that may grow into something ridiculous.”

“Why do you think it isn’t worth the trouble?”

Officer Roberbad glanced at her, furrowing his brow.

“It’s a pure gamble. My house wants a connection with the Sorcerous Kingdom.”

Ludmila’s lip twitched. The young nobleman glowered at her for a moment, then turned away and sighed.

“I’m sorry,” she smiled despite herself, “I’m not laughing at you. My friends are working hard in Arwintar to forge connections, yet all we’ve gotten so far are endless waves of attainted suitors and polite refusal from the imperial aristocracy. Then again, they are incredibly intimidating…”

“Are they border Nobles, as well?”

“No, they’re civilian Nobles. They’ve taken to Arwintar quite well. I felt a bit sorry for Lady Frianne – they’ve been making her run all over the place.”

“…Lady Frianne as in Lady Frianne of House Gushmond?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Officer Roberbad gave her a strange look before turning to face forward again. Did he have a problem with Frianne? She seemed like a pleasant individual with a high degree of competence during Ludmila’s stay.

“The risk is too great,” he said. “Arwintar is the heart of the Empire. The Nobles there are within arm’s reach of the Emperor and everyone watches everyone. Unless someone is an absolute idiot, they won’t be making any bold moves in the capital. The further away they are from the Emperor, the less timid they’ll be.”

“Does that mean I’ll be dealing with their propositions out here?”

“Our Commander passed down orders from General Kabein before your arrival. The First Division’s Rogues swept Enz for any obvious agents prior to your arrival. Anyone in the city that attempts to approach you for that sort of thing will be turned away with extreme prejudice.”

She frowned at the aggressive language.

“Is it something that legally warrants ‘extreme prejudice’?”

“For the most part, probably not,” Officer Roberbad admitted. “The problem is that agents are rarely sent out to achieve a specific objective. That means they can come away with anything from making an acquaintance to negotiating a trade agreement or doing something that ultimately undermines imperial authority. Not that we suspect that you’ll do anything of the sort, my lady.”

In short, all citizens were equal under the eyes of the law and no exceptions would be made to General Kabein’s orders. After her visit to Arwintar, Ludmila feared that she would be left alone to navigate the treacherous currents of imperial intrigue, but the Imperial Army felt much cleaner. Even a civilian Noble like Officer Roberbad made admissions of his own accord when a topic that directly concerned him was broached.

It was good that it appeared that she would be able to focus on her duties but, at the same time, she wouldn’t be able to direct any parties interested in collaboration with the Sorcerous Kingdom to her friends while she was here. Even a Frost Dragon was achieving more progress at making inroads than she was. Hopefully, her work with the Imperial Army would leave her feeling less useless than she had been so far.

?My new minions are so clever – I can’t wait to see my taxes.?

Ludmila frowned as Ilyshn’ish abruptly conveyed too many wrong things in a single thought.

?Why not just call them ‘vassals’ like everyone else??

?‘Minion’ is much more respectable. Besides, you wanted to see them before I made it official, yes??

?I understand why you’re…well, no, I don’t understand how you can be this excited about these candidates.?

Since coming back into conversation range of Ilyshn’ish near the imperial border, the Frost Dragon was a veritable wellspring of bubbly excitement. Sometimes Ilyshn’ish would ask questions, but she mostly talked about her travels and what she thought of the Empire, how much money she was making, interesting things that she had learned, how much money she was making, her new ‘minions’, how much money she was making and how much money she was making.

?Because they’re my first minions! Finding minions is a major accomplishment in the life of any Dragon. The first step to becoming a proper Dragon Lord. Plus, they’ll be offering me tribut–er, taxes. What’s not there to be excited about??

?Being a liege is not simply a collection of privileges. You are answerable to them as well.?

?Of course! Rest assured, I will kill anyone who messes with my minions.?

?…you and I have much to review about lordship. Don’t do anything rash. You said that your caravan is two days from Norford??

?After tonight, yes. As long as it doesn’t start raining again. Zu Chiru has agreed to stay there for as long as you need me for.?

Norford was over two hundred kilometres north of Enz, the capital of Mittelislein. It was the second-largest city in the Empire and a major port, so, hopefully, the Quagoa Merchant would have plenty to do while he waited.

?Thanks for agreeing to help.?

?I-it’s not that I think we can succeed, but it would probably be very hard for her to actually catch us unless she manages to spring an ambush. Even with our age difference, a Green Dragon is no match for a White Dragon when it comes to speed, agility and our skills as hunters.?

?But you haven’t figured out any way we can decisively defeat her.?

?No. She’s bigger, stronger, tougher and likely has a selection of spells that she’s well-accustomed to employing. The most we can probably do is pester her. At the end of the day, she is the only factor that matters in this ‘operation’ of yours: her minions, brood and anything else in The Blister can be easily dealt with using what you have at your disposal.?

Ludmila sighed. Maybe they could pester her to death. She had a feeling that this would always be the case with such powerful adversaries.

If their opponent was instead a Human, they could be overwhelmed by the sheer number of Death-series servitors available. Dragons, however, could just fly away. As far as she could figure out, they needed some way to get the Ancient Dragon to land and keep her grounded.

?Do you think that it’s possible to negotiate some sort of agreement with her? Having her join the Sorcerous Kingdom, perhaps??

?You already know my thoughts on this.?

?It can’t be so arbitrary…?

?It can! You can sense it from me, can’t you? My Frost Dragon nature. No matter how I sound or behave, it’s always there, influencing everything. So shall it be for her and Green Dragons are vile. Even when cowed, a Green Dragon will continually work to manipulate you and undermine everything that you are in a belligerent attempt to subvert you to their will. They are malevolent scheming, insidious corruption and betrayal personified. They’re so toxic that their breath is literally poison. Is that someone you want in the Sorcerous Kingdom? Whispering into every ear and sowing ruin far and wide??

Ilyshn’ish’s ire filled Ludmila’s mind. As did her concern over her well-being. Considering that Ludmila could, as Ilyshn’ish had mentioned, feel the Frost Dragon’s cold, independent nature through their bond, this concern was a curious feeling. It was selfish and selfless at the same time, and it was uncharacteristically warm.

?Alright, I get it.?

?You don’t – I can sense that. But I bet that you will the moment you lay eyes on her.?

?Keep thinking about ways to fight her, I suppose. Maybe the Imperial Army will have some ideas.?

?Hah! The only thing those soldiers are good for is rusting in the rain. Well, I did see one of my minions flirting with one. Should I take some back with me for breeding purposes??

?Please don’t try to breed your minions. I mean vassals.?

?But you do it all the time!?

?That’s matchmaking. Family planning. I don’t snatch random people off of the street and breed them.?

?Mmh…?

?There’s something up ahead here. I’ll talk with you later.?

In the distance, a squad of Imperial Knights waited on the rural road at the crest of a hill. As they rode up the slope to meet with them, Ludmila brought her column to a halt. Officer Roberbad rode up to see what was going on.

“Will we always need to do this, my lady?” The Death Cavalier over her left shoulder asked.

“E-Rantel took over two months to return to a semblance of ‘normal’,” Ludmila answered. “The Empire can’t afford that, so it will be a slow process of acclimation for its citizens. However, the bare minimum of our objectives only requires you to help shore up territorial security. The company that received us adapted to their presence within two days, so I think this will be easily achievable.”

They watched as Captain Germund and several of his men joined the squad on the hill. He looked over from where he was and called Ludmila over with a jerk of his head. She dismounted and walked towards them, eyeing the wary faces of the unfamiliar squad.

“Is something the matter, Captain Germund?”

“The garrison sent a detachment to lead the Undead over to the exercise grounds southeast of the city, my lady,” Captain Germund said. “These men look like they’re about to soil themselves so I’m getting Sergeant Harlow’s squad to go with them. Harlow, pass your horse over to the Baroness.”

“Yes sir…which one of these sissies gets to walk?”

“You can ride my Soul Eater, Sergeant Harlow,” Ludmila said.

“…really? Nice.”

Sergeant Harlow sauntered off, taking the Undead contingent away on the back of the Soul Eater. Ahead of him, the squad that had come to ‘lead’ them very much looked like they were fleeing in terror.

The rest of the company continued on its way to Enz. The walled city was built on the southern shore of the River Islein, whose rushing waters had slowed to a broad flow nearly 500 metres across. A wide avenue stretched from the outer gate all the way to a second wall enclosing the garrison along the riverfront. The company ordered itself into neat columns as they made their way through.

“The construction here is different from Arwintar,” Ludmila said as she took in the sights along the way.

“All of the cities around The Blister have this style of architecture,” Officer Roberbad said from beside her.

“Is there a reason for that?”

“The academy doesn’t cover it,” Officer Roberbad replied, “but I believe one of my tutors said that it’s because the people in the area were part of the population that lived here before the Demon Gods came and ruined everything.”

Ludmila frowned as she examined the features of the citizens. It did seem that they shared a distinct set of traits that differed from most of the people in Arwintar. Their hair was more sandy than golden and they were slightly taller. They didn’t have the ‘pretty’ features of the central populations of the Empire, instead looking more rugged and angular.

“My studies never covered anything from before the Demon Gods,” she said. “Is it something well-known here?”

“No,” Officer Roberbad shook his head. “Just bits and pieces. Even amongst Nobles, most don’t care about history beyond what claims they might be able to make from it.”

“But it was Humans who lived here before the Demon Gods, yes?”

“As far as I know,” Officer Roberbad nodded. “Unless someone else was constructing buildings that just happened to suit Human needs.”

They continued in silence as Ludmila added the tidbit of information to the slowly expanding puzzle stemming from the discovery in the Katze Plains. The columns stopped to allow a set of wagons to cross the main thoroughfare.

?Ilyshn’ish, have you asked anyone about that coin??

?Quite a few people, actually. No one seems to have any idea about it.?

Beyond physical evidence of Human habitation, it appeared that the average imperial citizen also had no idea what came before the founding of the original Re-Estize. Her friends were still in Arwintar attending to their own business, so perhaps Clara would be able to find something in an archive somewhere.

The men at the garrison gate eyed her as the Fifth Company dismounted and awaited clearance to enter. Unlike the knights of the Royal Earth Guard, it seemed that magical equipment was next to nonexistent in the Second Legion. Considering the cost of equipping an army in even the most basic sets of magic items, it was no surprise. The mundane arms and armour they possessed were probably more than enough for what they were expected to handle while greater – and much rarer – threats were left to Adventurers.

A tall man – roughly 190 centimetres in height – appeared a few minutes later in officer’s attire. Captain Germund saluted as he approached.

“Commander Enz.”

“Germund,” Commander Enz returned his salute. “Picking up achievements while dealing with our new friends, eh?”

“It was pretty convenient, sir,” Captain Germund replied. “I guess the gods were smiling down on us.”

He turned to motion towards Ludmila.

“This is our liaison officer from the Sorcerous Kingdom, Baroness Ludmila Zahradnik. Baroness Zahradnik, this is Jogen Ort Arel Enz, Commander of the Second Legion’s First Division.”

“Commander Enz,” Ludmila dipped her head in a slight curtsey, “it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

The Commander returned her greeting with a half bow.

“The pleasure is all mine, Baroness. Welcome to Enz.”

The tall man unbent himself, examining her with his steel-grey gaze. His look turned thoughtful as he stroked his neatly-trimmed beard.

“I guess all those rumours were true.”

“Rumours?”

“News travels quickly if it happens in Arwintar, my lady,” Commander Enz said. “Your visit to the capital has created quite a lot of gossip.”

“I hope it wasn’t bad gossip.”

Commander Enz snorted.

“It’s never as simple as ‘good’ or ‘bad’,” he said. “You match the description at least. The men will take care of your horses – General Kabein and his staff are waiting for you in the keep. You too, Germund.”

The commander turned on his heel. Ludmila and Captain Germund followed, but Officer Roberbad seemed to hesitate.

?Attend to me, Officer Roberbad.?

They walked up towards the four-storey basalt keep that overlooked the city and the valley surrounding it. Commander Enz led them inside, taking them around through the spotless, magically-lit interior to the second level. There, in the middle of a polished pine floor, over two dozen men stood around a huge stone table. Large mugs sat in front of them. From the lack of any distinct odour, they appeared to be filled with water or weak tea.

At the sound of their steps over the floor, the men turned to face them. Commander Enz brought Ludmila to a space directly across the table from an aged man with a dignified look under a well-kept head of pure white hair.

“General,” Commander Enz said. “Baroness Ludmila Zahradnik, our liaison officer from the Sorcerous Kingdom. Baroness Zahradnik, General Natel Inyem Dale Kabein.”

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Excellency,” Ludmila lowered her head as she spread her skirts in a curtsey. “My experience thus far with Captain Germund’s Fifth Company has me looking forward to working with the Second Legion.”

General Kabein returned her greeting, taking the time to introduce the men around the table. They consisted of the five division commanders of the Second Legion and their aides, along with the rest of Kabein’s general staff.

“Now that that’s over with,” General Kabein said, “let’s get to the heart of the matter and move quickly. Every day that passes is a day where things can start to spin out of control.”

The other men glanced around the table, confusion evident on their faces. Two aides moved to distribute folders at a nod from General Kabein. As the Commanders and their aides read over the documents contained within, confusion turned into alarmed horror.

Ludmila already knew what it was. She drew her own copy from her Infinite Haversack. Upon the cover page was a single line, written in the flowing handwriting of Lady Albedo, Prime Minister of the Sorcerous Kingdom:

No man can serve two masters.