Valkyrie's Shadow

Empire in Chains: Act 5, Chapter 15

Empire in Chains: Act 5, Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Dame Verilyn led Nemel out the rear entrance of the merchant inn, through the yard and into the back streets of Far Sound. Upon reaching the wooden palisade protecting the town, she was scooped up into her liege’s arms. Nemel wrapped her arms around Dame Verilyn’s neck just before they hopped over the wall. She wasn’t set down again until they made their way out of the clearing around the settlement and into the forest nearby.

“I’m pretty sure I can’t keep up with you,” Nemel said.

“That’s alright,” Dame Verilyn replied, “we’ll be flying.”

“Oh, erm…”

Nemel reached into the satchel slung over her shoulder, pulling out her flight cap. She fastened it on and adjusted her goggles. Despite what had happened, a thrill of anticipation ran through her: she had only ever seen Dame Verilyn as a Frost Dragon from a distance. The number of people who had seen a Dragon from up close was probably a handful at best and she doubted that anyone in the Empire had ever ridden one.

When she looked up from her preparations, she found that Dame Verilyn had laid some sort of blanket on the forest floor.

“What’s that – oh, did you need help putting that on?”

“Putting what on?” Dame Verilyn asked.

“The blanket? It’s for your back, right?”

“No,” her liege frowned at her, “it’s for you.”

Nemel returned the frown.

“Me?”

“Yes, you,” Dame Verilyn nodded and made circular motions with a finger. “Lie down and I’ll roll you up in it. The journey will be more comfortable that way. Oh, did you need to relieve yourself before you go? Out here, though – it’s safer.”

“Why is it safer to go to the bathroom outside?”

“In both Elenel and Far Sound, I found a man inside our inn’s latrine with a spear. I thought it bizarre, but maybe it’s just something that commonly happens in this part of the Empire.”

Wha…?

Someone was definitely trying to kill Dame Verilyn, though Nemel couldn’t imagine why. She also couldn’t imagine anyone succeeding.

“I-I’ll be fine,” Nemel said. “Also, I have a magic item that bestows an Endure Elements effect, so you don’t have to worry about me needing a blanket.”

“…are you sure?”

Dame Verilyn didn’t seem convinced, but she put away the blanket. Nemel gaped as the beautiful Human Bard returned to her draconic form. Then she gasped as the Frost Dragon snatched her in a foreclaw and flew off.

The treetops swiftly receded below as Nemel dangled limply like a fish from an eagle’s talons. It took several moments for her to figure out what was going on.

“W-w-w-wait, why am I going like this?!”

“How else would you go?”

“Uh…on your back?”

Dame Verilyn scoffed.

“Don’t be silly. This is obviously the correct way.”

“But…but what about Lady Zahradnik?”

“Lady Zahradnik is Lady Zahradnik.”

“Hah? Woah!”

Nemel’s stomach lurched as she was tossed from one claw to the other. She squirmed as Dame Verilyn adjusted her grip.

“Hmm, you’re a lot squishier than Zu Chiru. How hard can I squeeze you?”

“Please don’t squeeze me. Various things are already threatening to come out.”

She was used to flying, but not flying like this. And certainly not this fast. Her ears kept popping as they ascended a thousand metres at what felt like six times the rate of a Hippogriff.

With only a slice of the moon peeking out between the clouds, the lands below were an insubstantial void. Nemel turned her gaze to the snowy peaks silhouetted against the night sky, trying to figure out how far they had already flown.

“How long until we’re there?” She asked.

“I don’t know,” Dame Verilyn answered.

“Y-you don’t know?”

“I’ll know when I see it,” Dame Verilyn said. “Unless…how well-drawn do you think that map was?”

“It was basically a sketch with some landmarks. You should be able to see them from up here, right?”

An uncomfortable silence passed between them.

“About that…Frost Dragons don’t learn or think the same way as Humans do.”

“But you seem perfectly intelligent to me,” Nemel said.

“What!” Dame Verilyn’s claws twitched. “W-why does it have to go in that direction? Just because people are different doesn’t mean they have to be stupid.”

“Sorry…”

“Anyway,” the Frost Dragon continued. “We have a perfect memory for our experiences and we learn the fastest through them. Maybe it gets better as our accrued experiences build up, but it’s very difficult for Frost Dragons to learn by reading and other abstract means because how we associate things is through our direct experiences.”

Huh…

“So that’s what you meant back then…but how do you understand unfamiliar things that people say without ‘experiencing’ them?”

“I don’t. Until I do.”

“So as your experiences grow, you understand more about…what you remember?”

“That’s right.”

“How does that relate to the question about the map?”

“The Sorcerous Kingdom’s maps are very accurate. I can look at a map and look down from the sky and match things like that. If it’s just a map made out of abstract images, it won’t mean much to me.”

Nemel pulled out the map. It was clearly a rough sketch that used symbols to indicate the landmarks around the meeting place.

“But this is a map made out of abstract images. There are icons and everything.”

“Obviously not to me!”

“Does that mean you’ve been looking for trees like the ones on this thing? And a stream that looks like a squiggle?”

“That was a stream? I was just looking for a squiggle.”

“Where does one find a squiggle like this?”

“I-I don’t know! I haven’t been everywhere yet. Maybe there’s a place somewhere in the world that has a squiggle on the ground just like that!”

A goddess. Lady Zahradnik must be some sort of goddess if she was able to teach Ilyshn’ish about Human customs, laws and territorial management.

“So what were you imagining when you were talking to me about potato farms and such?”

“Something like the villages in Lady Zahradnik’s demesne? With potatoes.”

“And what do potato plants look like?”

“Uh…something like grapes, maybe? Or oats. I’ve never seen potato plants before.”

Nemel scowled down at the map. They were definitely going to get lost. She was going to be dangled all the way to the Beastman Confederation at this rate.

“Oh, I think I see them. One, two, three…eight sacks? Does that sound right?”

What was the point of this map?

“They didn’t take the wagon drivers,” Nemel said, “and I doubt we’d find people carrying eight sacks out in the middle of nowhere. How many are there?”

“Two dozen,” Dame Verilyn replied. “They’re moving pretty fast for Humans.”

“What do they look like?”

“They’re dressed in black from head to toe.”

Fendros’ described the kidnappers along those lines, so there was little chance that they had found the wrong people.

“How far are we from Far Sound?”

“Hmm…about thirty kilometres. They’ve been following this river up into the mountains…if they keep going like this, they’ll reach the treeline in two hours.”

The treeline in the northeast of the Empire was a bit over two thousand metres. To get from sea level to the treeline in about four hours while carrying people…they must all be very strong. Could Dame Verilyn fight that many strong people at once?

“What are we going to do?” Nemel asked.

“Where does the map say we’re supposed to meet?”

“Further up this river, between the two big ranges southeast of Far Sound. There should be a set of falls. They’ve probably set up some sort of trap for you.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you! That’s what the note said, right? If you want to see your husband ever again, go to the place marked on the map.”

“Oh. Well, that’s awkward.”

They continued flying southeast up the mountain valley. Rather than getting closer to the ground, she rose above the surrounding peaks. The Frost Dragon banked into a huge circle that went from one range to the other. Nemel was beginning to regret not opting for the blanket: Dame Verilyn probably felt that she was handling her gently, but it still grew uncomfortable.

“Why are we flying around like this, Dame Verilyn?”

“I’ve never been here before, so I’m familiarising myself with the place.”

“…and you’ll just remember it forever?”

“I’ll remember the experience of familiarising myself with this place indefinitely.”

Nemel shook her head as she continued to dangle an absurd distance over the ground. Would she be able to do her job as a seneschal properly if this was what Dame Verilyn was like? If she mentioned something dependent on something else like ‘taxes’, would it bring a specific number of gold coins to mind? A single page on a financial report might take weeks to explain.

Please continue to serve Dame Verilyn well – she is exceptional in many ways, but she will be depending on you for others.

A strange warmth rose within her as Lady Zahradnik’s words echoed in her memory. Nemel wasn’t aware that she had been entrusted with so much. Someone else might have been tempted to deceive and confuse Dame Verilyn in the same position, but she most certainly would not.

Compared to imperial society, where one wouldn’t be surprised at any dirty dealings undertaken for the sake of gaining advantages, her new home would be vastly different. An impossible place that Nemel thought could only exist in fantastic stories like Dreams of Red.

“Uh oh.”

Nemel scrubbed her cheek.

“What’s wrong?”

“Someone’s coming.”

“I…I can’t see anything this high up.”

“Not down there,” Dame Verilyn said. “Up here. Another Dragon is coming this way. I guess a dangling Human going in circles six thousand metres in the air is quite conspicuous.”

Was that what she looked like? Dame Verilyn did mention something like that in Engelfurt…

“Is the Dragon with them? Maybe that’s why they thought they could take you on.”

“That’s highly doubtful,” Dame Verilyn snorted. “A Bronze Dragon would have nothing to do with kidnappers. They’re all about order, justice, righteousness and that sort of thing. Something like Paladins? No charity, though – that would be absurd.”

“So we’re not about to be attacked? Wait – have you met a Bronze Dragon before?”

“No.”

“But if Frost Dragons learn through their experiences, then how would you know anything about Dragons that you’ve never met before?”

“I just know,” Dame Verilyn said. “We’ve gone over this before, yes? Unlike Humans, Dragons are born understanding various things. As for your other question, that would depend. While they readily involve themselves in conflicts that they believe to be just, they tend to avoid killing or even injuring others unless they believe that it is similarly justified. Ah, speaking of which: try to stay neutral in any sort of conversation he brings up.”

“Why? You make it sound as if Bronze Dragons are good Dragons.”

“I’ll explain later: he’s getting close enough to overhear us. Oh – if he’s more aggressive than expected, I’m going to have to throw you away. Make sure you cast a Fly spell if that happens.”

Nemel adjusted her goggles, trying to spot the approaching Bronze Dragon. His voice boomed out into the night long before she could see him.

“Stranger, declare yourself!”

“Could you keep it down, please?” Dame Verilyn hissed back.

“WHAT?”

“Shh!”

Dame Verilyn slowed to a lazy glide and the Bronze Dragon came alongside her. Metallic scales glinted over a draconic form nearly twice as long as the Frost Dragon’s. Despite the sheer difference in size between them, Dame Verilyn seemed unconcerned. A pair of glowing amber eyes regarded them from a beaked head with ribbed and fluted crests that swept back like the wings of a Paladin’s helmet.

“Good morning. I’m Dame Verilyn.”

“Dame?” The other Dragon’s voice was incredulous, “As in a Knight?”

“That is the title I currently hold,” Dame Verilyn replied. “Is there a problem with a Dragon being a Knight?”

“Erm, no, but a White Dragon being a Knight is a bit out there…”

“Is that so? There are plenty of stories about White Knights.”

“That’s not how it works.”

So this is what a conversation between legendary beings is like…

It wasn’t legendary at all. Even being dangled in the air all night was more legendary than this. Nemel would have some words with the next Bard she heard telling a tale where legendary figures enacted epic exchanges.

“I don’t believe I got your name, Sir…”

“Erenos’iphilii,” the Bronze Dragon replied. “Uh, no ‘Sir’.”

He seemed to have become meek. Was it because Dame Verilyn had a title and he didn’t? She did make it seem like Bronze Dragons were like knights in shining armour or scales or whatever.

“Well met, Erenos’iphilii,” Dame Verilyn said. “I won’t be here for long. I’m just here to deal with some kidnappers and then I’ll be gone.”

“Kidnappers?” The Bronze Dragon’s gaze went down to Nemel, “I hope you realise how strange that sounds when you have a Human in your clutches.”

“Hm? Ah. This is one of my minions. Say hello, Miss Gran.”

Nemel was suddenly thrust out in front of the Bronze Dragon’s beaked snout. He went cross-eyed before falling back a few metres.

“H-hello,” Nemel said.

“Is what she says true? Are you one of Dame Verilyn’s minions?”

Nemel did her best not to squirm before the maw of huge teeth.

“I’m her vassal,” she nodded. “The seneschal of her territory, to be precise. My aides and some Merchants we’re travelling with were kidnapped so Dame Verilyn came to rescue them.”

“I still have no idea why they would do that,” Dame Verilyn muttered as she tucked Nemel away again.

Erenos’iphilii tilted his head to look below. A low growl issued from his throat.

“Nothing would surprise me when it comes to their despicable acts,” he said. “Those are agents from Ijaniya.”

“I take it that you’re familiar with them.”

“They’re an unscrupulous Assassin organisation that have based themselves between the northeastern border of the Empire and the City-State Alliance to the east. The complex that you see below the glaciers over there is their headquarters. They’re commonly hired in this region for espionage, abductions, murder and all sorts of other foulness.”

“I’m surprised that a Bronze would suffer their presence at all.”

The other Dragon snarled viciously at the landscape below. Arcs of yellow-green electricity coursed over his maw.

“Oh, rest assured, I’ll get them. They are aware of my domain over Veneria to the east, so I’m sure they’ve made preparations to fend off any premature attempts at their destruction. But another century and their doom at my hand is assured.”

“In that case, do you mind if I remove them?”

“You? That they’ve abducted your minions is reason enough, but Ijaniya is not an organisation that an Adult White can destroy. You heard me just now, yes? An Adult Bronze like myself needs another century to overcome them. Though…if we combine our might, these villains will surely–”

“Thanks,” Dame Verilyn said, “but no thanks.”

Nemel squeaked as the Frost Dragon tucked her wings and dove from the night sky.