Valkyrie's Shadow

Empire in Chains: Act 6, Chapter 2

Empire in Chains: Act 6, Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The first leg of the patrol ended with their arrival at a modest frontier village roughly thirty kilometres northwest of the fortress town. The Fifth Legion was generally well-received by their constituent populations, but the especially cheerful reception was a testament to how popular Captain Randall and the First Company were in the eyes of the locals. As with anything in the Empire, everything was ordered and received by standing and to be the First Company in a Division and the soldiers of that company were looked up to as the – reasonable – pinnacle of what the common man could aspire to be.

If they could, men and women stopped their work and came out to greet the squads as they entered the square. Boys left their chores to swarm the Imperial Knights with gleeful cries, showing off their makeshift arms formed out of pieces of wood. Girls shyly offered water and towels to the soldiers caked with the dust of their long patrol. The soldiers, in return, were cordial, entertaining children and adults alike, creating the perfect scene that many posters in the towns and cities attempted to portray.

This perfect scene, however, was marred as the local Baron arrived to approach the Captain with an escort of personal retainers. Like most minor Nobles out in their territories, he was dressed only slightly better than the commoners around him. The characteristic good looks of an imperial aristocrat combined with the powerful build of a martial Noble distinguished him more than the mode of his dress. The nobleman’s grim expression was at great odds with the near-festive atmosphere around him.

The Captain dismounted at the Baron’s approach. Joachim followed Lady Zahradnik as she went closer to listen as the Baron spoke to Captain Randall with the shadow of worry in his voice.

“Captain Randall.”

“Baron Owyn,” Captain Randall nodded in response. “I take it that they’ve started.”

“Smoke from the fires started appearing a few days ago.” Baron Owyn replied. “I don’t know if you could see their handiwork coming in, but the local division of the Sixth Legion has struck well into the foothills. Though if they’ve managed to make it that far without retaliation, maybe it won’t be as bad as we thought.”

“If it isn’t,” the Captain said, “then that’s fine. Our concern is that it is. No one’s noticed anything from the tribes?”

Baron Owyn turned to look at a middle-aged man on his left. By his rugged look, he was a forester, huntsman or some other professional along those lines.

“No trace of anything, sir,” the man said. “Some of my Rangers have gone as far out as the first tribal settlements we saw go up. They’re completely razed – scavengers were all over the bodies.”

“How many bodies?” Captain Randal asked.

“Not enough,” the man answered. “We were due for raids this autumn or the next so there should’ve been at least three times the corpses. They might’ve been killed on the run, though.”

Captain Randall appeared to relax slightly at the report. Whether the survivors of the initial attack had been run down or were able to escape was unknown, but it at least appeared that they made no attempts to return to their territories.

“Has the air wing said anything?” Baron Owyn asked, “Flights cross overhead once in a while, but we can’t tell whether they’re ours or the Sixth Legion’s.”

“As of this morning,” Captain Randall told the Baron, “nothing’s been reported. They’re on high alert, though, so they’ll at least spot any raids coming in during the day.”

“I see. Thank you, Captain. The squads that came in earlier have already set up their tents in the usual spot. I assumed that you’ll be having dinner with your men, but it appears that you have a…guest?”

The Baron sent a pointed look toward Lady Zahradnik, who lowered herself into a respectful curtsey.

“Baroness Ludmila Zahradnik,” she said with a polite smile. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Baron Owyn.”

“Zahradnik…” the Baron frowned, “the same Zahradnik from the memorandum? The liaison officer from the Sorcerous Kingdom.”

“The same,” Lady Zahradnik replied. “I’ve been working with Captain Randall to get his men accustomed to the supplementary forces leased from the Sorcerous Kingdom.”

At the mention of the ‘supplementary forces’, Baron Owyn glanced from side to side as if expecting a Ghoul to jump out from between the cottages around them.

“You…you brought them with you? Here?”

“I instructed the men to station them on the south side of their camp,” Captain Randall said. “You’re welcome to join us, my lord – Lady Zahradnik will be debriefing the men once we get our tents set up.”

The Baron excused himself, promising to come to the camp once he attended to a few matters. Captain Randall offered an arm to Lady Zahradnik before leading her towards the company’s camp south of the village. Joachim couldn’t help but shake his head at the number of jealous looks the pair received as they made their way out of the settlement.

At the centre of the company’s camp, Captain Randall called a few men to help pitch Lady Zahradnik’s tent. As with the other companies the Baroness had worked with, the men from the Second Division’s First Company were taken aback at the size of the thing once they had finished raising it.

“Did you bring your household with you as well, my lady?” The Captain sent a bemused look at the Baroness’ tent.

“One of the Captains in the Second Legion mentioned that Nobles in the army get their work done in the garrisons during their regular duties. I suppose this looks a bit odd…”

“Considering your circumstances,” Captain Randall said, “I think it’s understandable. Just a bit odd-looking, as you say. With things as tense as they are right now, it’ll be the last thing on the men’s minds.”

Lady Zahradnik produced a desk from the pouch at her waist, followed by several other pieces of furniture. She set them up under the makeshift vestibule stretching out from the front of her tent. Magical lighting was placed overhead, after which she disappeared inside. The inside of the tent lit up and the noblewoman could be seen moving back and forth placing more furniture around the interior.

“I wonder if the Court Council will reallocate our budget surplus to creature comforts,” Captain Randall mused. “I could use a tent like that. It looks better than the room of an inn in there.”

“Oh, it is better, sir,” Joachim said. “She has magical heating, preservation containers, enchanted decanters and a bunch of other things. It’s a tent for a campaign that brings along the comforts of a city suite.”

“Do you get to stay in there with her or do you get the kennel?”

“The kennel,” Joachim smirked. “At least my tent looks like one when I put it up beside hers. She lends me a couple of magic items, though.”

Between Lady Zahradnik’s hot meals and her magical conveniences, he was probably getting spoiled. The companies that she had worked with so far probably felt the same way. She brought familiar hospitality in one hand and the Undead with the other; masterfully managing the army’s disposition at all times.

“How long until the last few squads arrive?” Baroness Zahradnik asked as she came out of her tent.

“A half-hour at most,” Captain Randall replied. “I didn’t send them too far out and the Baron’s huntsman made it sound like things have been pretty quiet considering what those hooligans have been doing out there.”

“Hooligans,” a voice came from behind them. “I couldn’t have put it better myself.”

Baron Owyn came from the direction of the village. With him were several footmen and the village Priest. He waved the footmen forward to deliver the supplies he had prepared for the First Company. Rather than having the army’s patrols carry their supplies with them, the villages along patrol routes served as waystations where their provisions were stored, freeing them of their logistical burdens.

“I was more than happy to host them the other day,” the Baron said, “but their conduct made me wonder if we’ll be compensated for what they requisitioned.”

“This has become a rather common theme when it comes to the Sixth Legion,” Lady Zahradnik said.

“You mean I didn’t happen to get a bad batch of them, my lady?” Baron Owyn asked.

“I’d first like to hear an honest assessment of the ones you interacted with,” the Baroness answered. “Were they really ‘hooligans’?”

Lady Zahradnik gestured to one of the stools placed in front of her tent. The Baron sat down with a sigh as the Baroness poured steaming tea from one of her enchanted decanters. He took it from her desk with a grateful nod, cradling the cup in front of him.

“There was no one thing particularly bad about them,” he said. “Everything just came together to give the wrong feeling. I heard the Legions went from eight to six, but I didn’t get how they went about doing that until recently. They took the Imperial Knights closest to retirement and put them to pasture so they could keep the new recruits.”

“It sounds like a decision made from behind a desk,” Captain Randall snorted. “Only a bureaucrat whose face is buried in their tabulations would do that.”

Captain Randall seemed to have the right of it. The oldest knights were those most deserving of their pensions and due to retire anyway. Recruits with long careers ahead of them would be wasted if they were simply discharged. It lined up elegantly on paper and was a clear course of action for one who only saw things from that perspective, but numbers never told the whole story.

“I’d say it’s reasonable to a degree,” Baron Owyn said, “but this is absurd. Discipline was all over the place, their Captain and his Sergeants were up to their necks dealing with their enthusiasm and they certainly didn’t have any idea how to conduct themselves around the civilians. It’s as if they stuck every fresh face in the army in the Sixth Legion.”

“That’s probably a given with the new mandate of the Sixth Legion,” Captain Randall said. “Those who only have youth and ambition to their name are the most likely to risk dying in some nameless field in gods-knows-where.”

“I’ve seen them in Karlsheim and some of the towns while they were on leave.” Lady Zahradnik noted, “They were on the brash side, but they weren’t causing any major disturbances.”

“Maybe a city or a town can absorb all of that ‘energy’ of theirs,” Baron Owyn replied, “but a village can’t. I have three hundred people in this village and the surrounding hamlets; throwing a hundred of these inexperienced and eager soldiers into the mix was too much. I was actually happy to see them ride off to go bash Demihuman heads since it meant they would be moving on to plague the Baron next door.”

Though his grandfather complained endlessly about them, the men from General Ray’s camp didn’t seem to be as bad as Baron Owyn described. Then again, that in itself may have been one of the General’s calculations. Suitably ambitious soldiers in companies that stood apart from the rest. All for the sake of making his battalion stand above the regular divisions of the Sixth Legion. The more problems the others made for the Wyvernmark, the better General Ray would seem in comparison.

Night fell, dinner was served and Lady Zahradnik moved on to debriefing the squads over the day’s patrol. The Baron and his village Priest expressed their interest in attending right up until they were informed that the Death Cavaliers were to be included in those debriefings. Baroness Zahradnik’s gaze followed them as they swiftly departed the camp.

“I was of the assumption that all martial Nobles entered service with the Imperial Army,” she said.

“A few things go into that decision, my lady,” Captain Randall said. “The army will of course welcome them with open arms, but some just prefer to stay at home. This is especially true for lords like Owyn who have territories right on the border. A few of the lucky ones like Captain Ward will have assignments near their fiefs.”

“Do they participate in the realm’s defence even though they no longer hold martial obligations as Frontier Lords?”

“They can still fight, so they will if they have to. Each usually has at least a small retinue of fighting men, as well. For the most part, they cooperate if needed: even if we have a professional army, we can’t cover every part of the Empire at all times so having these little redoubts all over the border makes more of a difference than most people think.”

“That’s something that doesn’t make it into the official reports,” Lady Zahradnik said. “Thank you for letting me know about it, Captain. Now, we should move onto these debriefings…”

Captain Randall called in the first squad, who was accompanied by the Death Cavalier who had been attached to their patrol. The men no longer seemed terrified of the Undead being, but neither were they entirely comfortable around it. Their Cleric stood as far away as he could from the thing.

The Baroness’ time with each squad not only included collecting information about their experiences and answering questions that they might have, but also encouraging the men to communicate with the Undead, who had questions and concerns of their own. His sensibilities as a Cleric of the Earth God were always disturbed at what the Temples would consider the promotion of abhorrent practices. Undead were the enemies of all life; no matter how pleasant they seemed at first. Eventually, an Undead being’s true nature would reveal itself to the sorrow of those who had involved themselves with it.

As they were followers of The Four, he was certain that the Imperial Knights knew this but Lady Zahradnik slipped past their guard by relating to them as a martial Noble with a soldier’s sensibilities. That she was an attractive young woman amongst thousands of men likely played no small part in her success. She never pressured them with the authority that she technically held, instead appealing to each company by promoting the qualities of the Undead and the ways they could be employed to enhance the security of the realm.

It wasn’t simply allowing the terrifyingly powerful Undead to do everything, either. The Baroness put great effort into incorporating them as a part of the Imperial Army. They were soldiers who could work with fellow soldiers, and by being excellent at what they did they enhanced the efficacy of those who worked with them. With every company that they worked with, Joachim watched men nod, their minds working behind thoughtful expressions as Lady Zahradnik inexorably overturned cultural reservations and religious principles alike.

As the Empire was a secular state, the Clerics in each company were legally barred from interfering with her ongoing assault. Joachim wondered what the Clerics of the Second Legion had done in response to her methods, but the reports that he was privy to were notably lacking in that regard.

Baroness Zahradnik was with the seventh squad of the night when Captain Randall shifted his attention away with a sharp expression. No one at the debriefing missed it, and silence already filled the air between them when the Captain’s orders rang out over the camp.

?Saddle up, we’ve got incoming!?