Valkyrie's Shadow

Empire in Chains: Act 1, Chapter 17

Empire in Chains: Act 1, Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Did I really put so much stuff in these?

Though a misnomer, Infinite Haversacks could still carry a lot. All manner of items covered Ludmila’s bed and her desk, the open spaces on her shelves, and the floor. There were rows of potion bottles sitting on the windowsill and boxes filled for later sorting were stacked up along the walls. She hadn’t even used half of the magical containers’ capacity.

With her extended stay in the Empire coming soon, Ludmila figured that she should clean out her bags and ensure that everything necessary was prepared. Though she had both combat and casual equipment, she still packed away several sets of clothes and a pair of shoes just in case she was dragged into some formal occasion that required them. There were towels, blankets, two large pillows and a bedroll, plus a tent large enough to allow two people to work inside of.

Food was plentiful as well. Snacks, at least. She had several types of biscuits and crackers, preserved meats and fruits, as well as nuts that she kept foraging on patrols and putting away like some sort of squirrel. Her Ranger habits seemed impossible to get rid of. In addition, she had a Pouch of Infinite Water, pouches of dried soup, and the cups, bowls and utensils she could use for small meals.

I must be the least undead Undead in existence.

Roughly a quarter of what she carried were provisions that she did not require. She didn’t need to eat, sleep, stay warm or indulge in any mortal comfort, yet she had included it all anyway.

Another quarter of her ‘inventory’ consisted of the assorted consumables she had accumulated over the past few months. In addition to the alchemical substances that she used in her glass arrows, there were vials of Alchemist’s Fire, Holy Water and two sets of healing potions. The healing potions harmed her, but she figured that they would be useful for any living person that required emergency treatment. Several ceramic jars filled with venom for her arrows were carefully arranged in a small box.

The other half of her inventory were items related to her work. There was stationary, binders, office supplies and various references for administrative tasks. Her equipment was, of course, stored within. She had also prepared 1200 arrows of various types, including flight arrows, pre-filled glass arrows, and heavy steel war arrows with hardened bodkin points capable of punching through the front of a plate breastplate.

A number of magic items had found their way into her possession, as well. Four magic lights and two ‘heating hoops’ produced in her demesne would keep a fairly large shelter well-lit and warm even in the depths of a mountain winter. Two Shrouds of Sleep could be used to preserve game or any corpses she needed to keep in good condition. She had found and purchased the magic item that Liane used to repel vermin from their pavilion in Fassett County as well as another item that emitted a shell of Silence for privacy. There were also two magical decanters and two of the magic boxes that kept their food fresh and warm.

Ludmila frowned down at the items. Their combined cost would have been more than a lifetime of earnings as an administrative assistant under her father. Now, it amounted to a minor expenditure that only represented a tiny fraction of House Zahradnik’s seasonal income. Furthermore, the equipment bestowed upon her was probably worth more than an entire duchy. A small part of her had wondered how anyone could ever get used to such things, yet it seemed that a life filled with absurdities could indeed become ‘normal’.

She started putting her things away, then stopped as she picked up one of the magic boxes. Lifting the lid, she found the meal that she had made before His Majesty’s excursion to the Katze Plains. The food was still as hot and fresh as it was when it had been prepared. Ludmila closed the lid again – she would get around to eating it at some point. Either that or she would find out whether the magic truly made things last forever.

Ludmila switched out several of the books that she had finished reading, then decided to add every volume of Van Gushmond’s Fundamental Principles of Magocratic Governance. Since the author was from the Empire, Ludmila thought she might be able to gain a better frame of reference for the work. She restocked on paper and added a few more binders for good measure. Hopefully, they would be enough to contain all of her notes on the Imperial Army.

Once everything she thought that she needed was stowed away again, she was left with a surprisingly large pile of lint and debris, some botched paperwork, and several dozen damaged arrows. She shredded the paperwork and broke up the wooden arrow shafts to add to her tinderbox. The arrowheads damaged beyond repair would be delivered to Kovalev’s new foundry as scrap.

Besides that…she picked up the tuft of Krkonoše wool sheared off nearly two months previous. The strange object that she couldn’t detach was still stuck to it. Recalling the resilient properties of the wool, Ludmila carried it out of the room with her. She couldn’t tell how valuable the material was, but it was a potential resource that the Krkonoše Rangers could trade with the rest of the demesne if there was a surplus.

She descended from her third-floor suite to the second floor, going over to poke her head into the war room. The Elder Lich officers were gathered around the table with Wiluvien, as was usual for the daytime hours. On one of the couches, both Wiluvien and Lluluvien’s babies lay sound asleep.

Lluluvien had given birth to a girl the day after Wiluvien’s delivery, and caring for their children ended up being a part of their usual shifts. This appeared to work for the time being, but Ludmila wondered what they would do when they had highly mobile and curious toddlers to deal with.

“How are things going?” Ludmila asked.

“Reconnaissance is proceeding as scheduled, my lady,” Wiluvien replied. “Things are as quiet in the Upper Reaches as you said they would be. About those accounts from the south: should we adjust our patrols for this increased level of aggression?”

One of the Royal Army’s patrol routes stuck to the old road, going from Warden’s Vale, through the construction camp and nearly to the top of the pass to the Theocracy. The second route followed the river trail between the construction camp and the ancient pass. The expansion of her borders covered the territory all the way to the range that lined the south of the Upper Reaches, but the dense forests and rugged terrain were a poor environment for Death-series patrols. Bone Vultures conducting aerial patrols were still the best scouts that they had on hand, as she had kept the Krkonoše Rangers from settling the southern range to avoid potential issues with the neighbouring nation.

A thirty to fifty kilometre-wide belt of wilderness acted as a buffer on the Theocracy’s side of the mountains, which they had reportedly cleared of Demihumans in recent months. With this in mind, she thought it would be quiet enough to keep the border empty of the Sorcerous Kingdom’s forces until spring. Once the Upper Reaches were fully under her control, the central administration would disclose the change to the Sorcerous Kingdom’s borders. The Demihuman tribes would be inactive, Human armies did not conduct wilderness campaigns in the winter, and, as far as she knew, the Theocracy was maintaining their neutral stance in all matters related to the Sorcerous Kingdom.

“Have any strange movements been detected along the border?” Ludmila asked.

“No, my lady,” Wiluvien answered. “Your assessment of the territory’s strategic outlook covers everything we can think of. It’s just that the staff has worries over all of the unknown factors on the Theocracy’s end.”

“The best we can do for now is observe things from high altitudes on our side of the border,” Ludmila said. “Sending the army to take a look around would be a breach of both the Grand Marshal’s standing orders and the Sorcerous Kingdom’s national policy. Once the outpost in the central valley is completed and the old road refurbished, merchants or pilgrims should be able to give us a better feel for attitudes and dispositions across the border.”

That was her hope, at least. The best way to keep border tensions minimal was to have people regularly going back and forth to show that there was nothing worrisome going on.

“What is the border like in Corelyn County?” Wiluvien asked.

“Lady Corelyn still employs Human security forces along the Theocracy border. Things are steadily improving, but our situation is not the same as Corelyn County’s. Demihuman subjects and Undead security forces occupy the Upper Reaches, so we have deeply-entrenched perceptions to combat, unlike Lady Corelyn’s lands.”

“And they will naturally blame our side for any incidents that occur,” Wiluvien twisted her lip. “It makes me wonder what started the war in the south.”

“I do not think Re-Estize has ever had any lines of communication to Evansha,” Ludmila said. “So all we know is that justifications were strong enough to spark an open conflict. It may be that we will never discover the whole truth about it.”

History was filled with conflicts that only had the account of the victor as any sort of window on its cause. The Theocracy’s war with the Elf Kingdom in the Great Forest of Evansha was a complete mystery to those that she had asked. From the perspective of the locals, it was merely a conflict in a faraway land that had no bearing on their daily lives. She had not, however, approached the few Elves in the Sorcerous Kingdom with her questions, worried over what it might lead to.

Race, religion and ethnicity were stronger than national identity. In asking, she would likely be seen as a Human follower of the Six Great Gods rather than a Noble of the Sorcerous Kingdom. With the topic being what it was, she thought that the risk of offence was high.

“What should we do if something happens, my lady?”

“Nothing has changed on that front,” Ludmila replied. “Our borders are open to trade and travel. Any criminal acts are to be met with an appropriate response.”

Not that they had any traffic from the Theocracy. Bo and Cid were the last two visitors, to her knowledge.

Ludmila left the war room, fiddling with the Krkonoše wool in her hand. As she passed Nonna’s office, she stopped and held it up towards the Elder Lich.

“Nonna, can you detect any ‘mana’ from this?”

“No.”

“Are you aware of anyone attempting to work with Krkonoše wool?”

“No.”

“Is there anything new that requires my attention?”

“No.”

“Thank you.”

A glance at the shadows outside reminded her that Ruin’s Wake was due to arrive within the hour. She looked around the square as she made her way to a wagon waiting for deliveries to the harbour. Decorations and furnishings from the harvest celebrations still lay around the area, but her subjects had returned to their usual lives. Most worked in the warmth of their shops and homes, while a few moved back and forth carrying various goods from place to place.

She walked by the Linum residence – which was next door to hers – and smiled over at Ilwé Linum, who was tending to Lord Mare’s potted tree.

“Good Afternoon, Mrs Linum.”

As usual, Ludmila received no response. Despite the passing of months and the tender care of her family, Ilwé Linum remained mostly unchanged from when they had rescued her from Fassett County. The Linum sisters wanted their mother to name their newborn children, but even the notion that she had become a grandmother did not draw a reaction. The tree that Lord Mare used to teleport to and from Warden’s Vale was the only thing that received her attention.

Ludmila knew little about mental illness in Humans, never mind what could afflict Elves. A part of her patiently reminded her that half a year was not such a long time in the lifespan of an Elf, but the desire to make something happen grew every time she saw her in that state. According to Themis, certain afflictions could be cured with Magic, though some were more difficult to cure than others. Conditions that came with age could not be removed.

Mrs Linum did not look very old, however. If anything, she looked very young – no more than a Human woman in her mid-twenties.

She kept the smile on her face until she was well on her way to the harbour, then sighed. There must be something that they could do for her.

By the time she arrived at the harbour, Ruin’s Wake had already placed itself at its berth. The fog marked its presence well in advance. Ludmila hopped off of the wagon and walked up to the ship just as Captain Iškur disembarked.

“Welcome to the Vale, Captain Iškur.”

“Thank you, Baroness Zahradnik,” the Elder Lich bent forward slightly. “You have quite the place here.”

“It is probably not a pleasant locale for you and Ruin’s Wake.”

“Indeed,” he replied. “I don’t mean to be rude, my lady, but I don’t know how you can live here. The moment we crossed into your territory, we could feel it.”

Ludmila checked over the Elder Lich’s appearance, then turned her gaze to Ruin’s Wake. The negative energy contained within them appeared unchanged from when they first met.

“Was it really that bad?”

“Well, I can’t say whether it’s good or bad, but it’s certainly noticeable. Sort of like stepping out into the sunlight. That there are Undead here feels extra strange.”

“Corelyn Harbour was not the same?”

“Oh no,” Captain Iškur shook his head. “How did Ruin’s Wake put it…Countess Corelyn’s territory is a lot more ‘balanced’ than yours. Life reigns here, unopposed. Maybe it’s because the place is so primal – there’s all sorts of living stuff out here.”

How much of what he felt was her doing? Did cleaning up the traces of ambient negative energy in her territory make that much of a difference? She hadn’t gone out to collect any of it ever since she went to clean up her mess in the Upper Reaches.

Ludmila reached out with her senses. To her surprise, she found that her entire territory was devoid of ambient negative energy. Would this ‘imbalance’ lead to some sort of catastrophe?

“Will this cause any harm to you or Ruin’s Wake?” She asked.

“Not directly,” Captain Iškur answered. “I just hope that some crazy Dryad or Treant doesn’t pop up and attack us.”

“We do not have any of those in the harbour,” Ludmila told him. “I take it that you have already seen Lady Corelyn?”

“Yes, my lady. She said something about being able to earn some gold by delivering cargo for you. I came over right after dropping off some scrolls in Lagaš for the others.”

“That’s correct,” Ludmila replied. “We have quite a large backlog, so there is a lot of work for the two of you. The harbour master’s office is right this way.”