Valkyrie's Shadow

Stone and Blood: Act 2, Chapter 10

Stone and Blood: Act 2, Chapter 10

Chapter 10

It’s spite. It has to be…

Florine cast a sidelong glance at the pair of Dark Dwarves riding the Soul Eater next to her. The two were desperately clutching at the thing as they galloped somewhere in the neighbourhood of eighty kilometres an hour over the arid plains along the Abelion River. She imagined that not many terrestrial beings had ever travelled so fast, yet Falagrim and his Cleric, Agni – supposedly his sister-in-law – still wore the same dour expressions as always.

“What are you lookin’ at?” Falagrim said.

“Nothing,” Florine looked away.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

She held in a sigh. The Dark Dwarf prince insisted on coming along, wanting to see how the Sorcerous Kingdom ‘handled things’.

For her part, Florine was riding with Boobeebee in front of her. Zern were roughly the size of Human children, so she was an easy fit. The Vampire Bride hugged Florine from behind. Iliky’ie stayed behind to sleep in the tunnel that she had dug under her tent.

Plus there’s a bird on my head and a Demon in my shadow. And, then, there’s Isoroku…

The Elder Lich was using a Fly spell while holding onto the Soul Eater’s tail since flight magic alone wasn’t anywhere near as fast. Florine was certain that any Demihumans who saw them whiz by would do so with expressions agog, but there seemed to be none along the way. While Humans might settle to cultivate lands in river valleys, Demihumans prioritised finding places with good natural defences against raiders, Magical Beasts, and the occasional Monster. Though none of those existed any longer between Jaldabaoth’s brief reign of terror and the Sorcerous Kingdom’s annexation of the area, a mix of tradition and practicality still had the local tribes stick fast to their old ways.

Those old ways were potentially a boon and a burden at the same time. They were invaluable at providing insights into each tribe and its workings, yet she never knew when she would accidentally trip over something problematic. Then there was the volatile situation developing along the western border, which threatened to provoke the Sorcerous Kingdom’s new citizens into their old practices.

They reached the Abelion Estuary roughly an hour and a half after departing the Dale of Defiance. From there, the Soul Eaters slowed down as they followed the sandy coastline north. Their journey took them over a small, rocky peninsula with a narrow cove on the other side.

A pair of Death Knights met them on the beach near a large cluster of hide tents. The two Undead patrollers brought their fists up to their breastplates in a stiff salute before one of them gestured to the settlement beyond.

“Representatives from the local tribes have gathered here with their concerns,” Isoroku said.

“That doesn’t seem normal,” Florine peered at the distant bonfire in the darkness. “I thought every tribe has been keeping to themselves since the king’s peace was declared.”

“We believe that they tracked down the patrol with their Rangers,” the Elder Lich said. “This merely happens to be the location where they were intercepted by the first set of petitioners.”

“Have there been any new developments since we departed?”

“No.”

That was a good sign, at least. Isoroku’s alarming report back in the Dale of Defiance did suggest a volatile situation in development, but, thus far, any sparks that might set things aflame hadn’t happened yet.

Perhaps the most annoying part about it was that the Undead patrols had no sense for what was going on. Things either were or weren’t threats, and threats that took action were dealt with accordingly. Things had gotten to a near-untenable point before the tribes sent their petitioners – probably as a last resort.

The Undead couldn’t identify issues that couldn’t be stabbed and the tribes were unaccustomed to communicating in a nonviolent way with anyone, never mind the Undead. In the meantime, a seemingly endless variety of problems didn’t wait for Florine’s plans to address that.

She stopped her Soul Eater a good distance from the perimeter of the settlement and let Boobeebee down before dismounting. Roughly halfway to the first circle of tents, several figures emerged at the edge of her darkvision. According to her materials, seven different races of Demihumans once lived along the western coast. By the time the Sorcerer King liberated the Abelion Hills, the only one that remained was the Monachini. They were a race of Azarashi Beastmen, whatever an Azarashi was.

The Demihumans standing before her had cute dog-like heads and sleek coats of short brown fur. They also stood as tall as Death Knights, carrying barbed bone spears half again their height.

“The Undead said that our new ruler was on her way,” one of them said with a harsh, guttural voice. “Is that you?”

The Demihumans’ gazes were directed at Isoroku rather than Florine. The Elder Lich cleared its throat and gestured toward her.

“You?” The group’s speaker said in suspicious tones.

“Me,” Florine smiled back. “I believe representatives from several tribes have gathered. Might you be so kind as to guide me to them?”

The Demihumans exchanged glances before turning and walking back into the camp. Their flippered feet kicked up sand as they waddled along, but those showered along the way paid no mind. Instead, they stared at Florine and her party with their large, dark eyes.

“On second thought,” Boobeebee said, “maybe I should have stayed in the Dale of Defiance.”

“Why is that?” Florine asked.

“Zern!” A voice cried from the darkness nearby.

“Why have you come, Zern? Your foul kind is not welcome here!”

A sudden wave of hostility swept over her. All around them, hundreds of Demihumans filled the spaces between the tents. Their previously cute, dog-like faces pulled back into snarls, revealing long fangs that gleamed in the moonlight.

“Be gone, Zern!”

“Take your new Human wench with you!”

Eh? How did I get dragged into this?

“Filthy friend of the fishmen!”

“Go drown yourself!”

The crowd pressed in as they hurled more insults. They took several steps back as Liolio hopped to his feet, letting out a threatening ‘pip’. Eventually, Florine arrived at the bonfire she had spotted from where she dismounted. In addition to the race populating the settlement, there were two other groups.

One was made up of reptilian Demihumans that vaguely looked like Lizardmen. Unlike the Lizardmen, however, they didn't have webbed feet and were quite a bit thinner. Sandy scales covered them from head to toe and their heads ended in short, beaked mouths. For some reason, she felt that they were no happier to see Boobeebee than the Monachini.

The other race looked like a collection of sticks pieced together into an insectoid form. They leaned back and forth in unison as if they were swaying in the wind. Florine had no idea how to read them at all.

On the opposite side of the bonfire, a Monachini rose to its feet, layers of shell necklaces rattling as it did.

“I didn’t want to believe it,” the Demihuman said in a vaguely female voice. “But it is true. Have you come to add to our woes, Zern? I had hoped never to see another one of your kind for the rest of my life.”

“Or ever again,” the reptilian spat.

The twig insectoids only stared silently at Boobeebee, a malevolent feeling emanating from each. Angry voices drifted in from the darkness all around them. Florine regarded the Zern hero with a slight frown.

“I’m afraid that I lack the context for this,” she said.

“The Zern raided us!” The brown-furred Demihuman shouted, “Raided us with no just cause! Their stinking holes are a hundred kilometres away and still they came. Came and killed!”

“Is that true?” Florine asked.

“That was around twenty years ago,” Boobeebee said. “We came for a certain Lord–”

“Your people killed him!” Froth flew from the Monchini’s mouth, “We never presented any threat to the Zern! Your people came and killed him, and because you killed him we could no longer hold against the Merfolk! So many starved and died. Our people dwindled to a quarter of what once was.”

“Your people quadrupled their population under that Lord’s leadership,” Boobeebee noted.

It appeared that they had been targeted by one of the preemptive strikes that Boobeebee had mentioned. Despite rarely being attacked, the Zern still manipulated the balance of power in the region ‘just in case’.

“Also,” Boobeebee added, “it wasn’t my people who killed him: it was me.”

Deathly silence fell over the crowd. Florine wanted to cover her face with a palm. The brown-furred Demihuman tottered on her feet.

“You…you’re Boobeebee!”

Fearful whispers rose from all around them, rapidly becoming panicked cries.

“Boobeebee!”

“Boobeebee!”

“The Purple Lighting has come to strike us again!”

Many Demihumans receded into the shadows. More still surged forward with angry voices.

“Smash her shell!”

“Fillet her!”

“We need more rocks!”

?Enough.?

The night fell still again. Florine stepped into the light of the bonfire.

“It would be unreasonable for me to ask for everyone to forget the past,” Florine said. “However, I am here to address your present problems. Who speaks for the tribes represented here?”

“Urf-oru,” the necklaced Monachini said. “Elder of the Barbed Urchin tribe.”

“Tik’okl,” one of the reptilians stepped forward. “Head Hunter of the Klixicar Clan.”

“Zztztl, Head Hunter of the Drthr.”

She nodded to each in turn.

“Thank you for taking the time to bring your concerns to the administration. I am Florine Kadia Dale Gagnier, a Baroness of the Sorcerous Kingdom. Though this may be the source of some confusion, I have not been sent to rule you, but to assist in administering the Abelion Wilderness. In time, you will come to understand what this means.”

Hah, I cheated…

She wanted to avoid using any of her old tricks, but the ‘discourse’ went flying in an unexpected direction and only became worse with every moment. With what was at risk, it was hardly the time for experimentation.

“Now,” Florine said. “I believe you have petitions to make and they’re all related to the same problem.”

Urf-oru let out a sigh that reeked of fish.

“They are one and the same, but your arrival has dashed away our hopes.”

“Why is that?”

“Because it is a problem with Humans,” Urf-oru told her. “Why would one send a Human to deal with Humans? It is obvious that you will take your race’s side. Humans would sooner kill us than act reasonably.”

“They’re not my people,” Florine replied coolly. “I hail from the other side of the Abelion Wilderness – from a different country entirely where none of the races of the tribes represented here exist. I’m unaware of any specific history that you may have with the Holy Kingdom of Roble. You should start by explaining what’s going on here.”

The Monachini elder slumped back onto the driftwood log in front of the bonfire. Florine held her gaze until she seemed to relent.

“Our people lived in several colonies along the coast before Jaldabaoth came,” Urf-oru said. “The Humans across the bay side with the Merfolk, which makes them our enemies.”

“Am I correct in assuming that the source of this enmity is competition over territory and resources?”

“Yes and no. The source is indeed as you say, but things have gone beyond ‘competition’. They are truly enemies of our people.”

“But weren’t you part of the Sorcerer King’s forces when he returned from the Abelion Hills to liberate Roble?” Florine asked.

“We did not come to save the Humans and the Merfolk,” Urf-oru said. “We came to help defeat Jaldabaoth and his minions. The legends make it clear that all must stand together to fight great evils when they arise.”

“One could also say that events such as these are an opportunity to forge new bonds with old enemies.”

Urf-oru made a noise somewhere between a bark and a burp.

“There may be wisdom in what you say, but the Merfolk and the Humans have simply resumed their actions as our enemies. The Sorcerous Kingdom may wish for peace, but peace was never an option.”

“How can that be?” Florine frowned, “The Sorcerous Kingdom and the Holy Kingdom of Roble are supposed to be on good terms. There have been no reports of conflict anywhere along the border.”

“This ‘peace’ only works to Roble’s advantage,” Urf-oru bore her fangs. “We live at the end of a bay. Because we are prohibited from fighting, all the Merfolk need to do is drive the fish away. It is the act of an enemy that wishes for nothing but the death of our people.”

“It is the same on land,” Tik’okl added. “The prohibition on raiding and all forms of violent warfare have encouraged many Human tribes to expand beyond their wall, assured that they will meet with no retaliation for their actions.”

“They shouldn’t be able to expand very far,” Florine said. “We have that buffer zone between us, after all.”

The Klixicar hunter let out a long sigh.

“You say that you are not the same as they, Florine Kadia Dale Gagnier,” he said, “but your words tell a different tale. Changing one thing changes all things, and the Humans of Roble bring many changes with them. The tribes saw wisdom in the establishment of this ‘buffer zone’, but it can only work if both sides respect it.”

“So you’re saying that the other side isn’t…”

Florine looked over at Isoroku.

“Is there any evidence that we can use to support this claim?”

“Patrols have noted no incursions into the specified area,” Isoroku said. “However, it should be noted that our political stance with the Holy Kingdom of Roble means that not every possible resource has been brought to bear.”

“You have some resources right here,” Florine gestured to the tribal representatives. “Can you take us to where these problems are occurring?”

“We can do this,” Zztztl trilled. “Does this mean that something can be done?”

“I can only promise that any unlawful activities will be addressed,” Florine replied. “If we discover any that effectively circumvent the law to facilitate undesirable outcomes, I will consult with the central administration for an acceptable resolution.”

An uneasy feeling fell over Florine as she was led on foot out of the settlement and further west along the coast. The western border was far more lush than the interior. Thick brush obstructed her view of the landscape, making her constantly wonder if something would suddenly pop up and attack them.

“So you mentioned something about Human tribes expanding beyond the wall,” Florine said. “What is it that they’re doing?”

“It is similar to what we witnessed when the Sorcerer King led us beyond the wall,” Tik’okl said. “All is being stripped away, replaced by vast seas of grass.”

“That should mean they’re clearing the frontier for farmland,” Florine said. “But our patrols should have noticed if they’re cutting into the buffer zone.”

“They have not done this…yet. The ways of Humans are strange – they turn the land into squares. We cannot tell where they will go next, but we can already see the damage being done.”

“But if they’re not infringing on the buffer zone, we have no right to stop them…”

The hunters ahead of them ducked as the animal trail they were following turned into a veritable tunnel of vegetation. Florine slowed down, careful not to accidentally lose Liolio on a low-hanging branch.

“…is this how Humans do things?” Tik’okl said. “My people lived in the savannah to the south before being moved here, so our experience with your kind is limited. It feels as if Humans believe that they can decide what is and what isn’t. A border is a line. The land is turned into squares. But the world does not work like that.”

“The ‘squares’ are ‘plots’,” Florine said. “I don’t know how they do things here, but, where I come from, the lines are drawn in respect to natural features. Plots are allocations of land that come with contracts of tenancy–erm, they’re places where people can make a living for themselves. The reason that they look like squares is because it’s a simple way to organise things. A village is built amidst a collection of plots. Anywhere between five and ten villages will form what is called a ‘Barony’, which is managed by a Human Lord. A Barony is ruled by a Baron or a Baroness.”

“And you are a Baroness.”

“That’s right.”

“Hmm…so this ‘Barony’ is basically a tribe?”

“In terms of relationships between people, I’d say that each village is something like a tribe. Tribes usually have chiefs, but they’re not the same as Human Lords.”

Tik’okl looked over his shoulder at her.

“You do not look strong enough to rule over multiple tribes…or even one, for that matter.”

“Humans have different types of Lords,” Florine said. “The strong type of Lord that you’re accustomed to tends to protect the borderlands while ones like me administer the tribes in safer territories.”

“Is there such a thing? All territory can be dangerous, and strength can steal everything without strength to counter it.”

“From what I’ve seen, the way we Humans do things results in higher populations than the average Demihuman tribe. Rather than fight every battle personally, Human Lords like myself instead have soldiers to maintain security. Human countries raise large armies in this fashion.”

“We have seen these ‘soldiers’,” Zztztl said from behind her. “Few were notably strong. A single Zoastia could probably kill several thousand in a single battle. A Zoastia tribe on the warpath would have easily destroyed most of their army if not for the aid of the Sorcerer King.”

She didn’t have a suitable answer for that. When it came to the greater scheme of things, even Humans themselves recognised that they were somewhere at the bottom of the pile when it came to raw martial power. A great deal of investment was required to train, equip, and maintain a fighting standard that many Demihumans enjoyed by simply existing.

“Well, there’s always someone stronger,” Florine said. “I won’t pretend that Humans can fight everything and win. We must do what we can to survive.”

“This is true,” Tik’okl nodded. “Zztztl was using an unfair example anyway.”

“There is no such thing as an ‘unfair example’ in this case,” Zztztl replied. “All it takes is something to happen once to end the legacy of generations, be it Zoastia, Dragons, or Demon Gods.”

“Shut your maws,” a voice hissed from ahead of them. “We approach the Human lands.”

The gurgling of a stream filtered through the leaves and their party stopped just before the vegetation abruptly ended. From the shelter of the brush, Florine saw hundreds of men toiling away across the water, uprooting stumps and clearing boulders. Women and children did lighter work, sorting the leavings strewn over the cleared lands into different piles awaiting transport.

For some reason, the Holy Kingdom of Roble declined the use of Undead labour despite the Sorcerous Kingdom’s role in their war, so the ten-kilometre-wide strip of land between the buffer zone and the Great Wall of Roble was nowhere close to being completely cleared. The narrow length that they saw was likely cleared first to mark the limit of available land.

At the thought of the wall, her eyes were drawn to the horizon where an unnaturally straight line interrupted by broken towers lay. Near the southern end was a fortress that she could clearly tell had been destroyed despite being so distant. The sight was a bit disappointing. Roble’s Great Wall was always spoken of as an awe-inspiring thing.

If this is the southern end, then the Kalinsha gate should be fifty kilometres north of here. Why are they working so far…ah.

Further south, she spotted tall masts along the coast. That made sense. It was far easier to move cargo by ship than it was by land.

“Do you see the problem now?” Tik’okl asked.

Florine’s attention turned back to the workers, identifying their various tasks and how they were being organised. As far as she could tell, nothing was amiss.

“I believe that you and I see different things,” Florine answered. “What is it that you see?”

“The reduction of game and the withering of these lands,” Tik’okl told her. “As I said, changing one thing changes all things and these Humans change many things. The results are beyond our ability to predict and they will not respect your borders. The destruction wrought here will affect all of the tribes living in the west. The Abelion Hills will be diminished.”

“Water will be a problem first,” Zztztl added. “Many creeks and streams are used to mark the border. Most of those wind their way back and forth until they join the river that spills into the sea near the Monachini village. Our lands depend on those waterways and the Humans are taking the water.”

As if on cue, a thin, middle-aged woman with sallow cheeks approached the stream with two wooden buckets. She set them down on the muddy shore and scanned the surroundings with a fearful gaze. Her blue eyes stopped when they met with Florine’s own.

“Hello,” Florine smiled and waved.

The woman let out a piercing shriek. Her buckets came flying at Florine, but they didn’t make it all the way.

“RAID!” The woman nearly tripped over her ankles as she turned and ran away, “Raid! Demihumans! The gods save us!”

Her warning was picked up and repeated by the labourers in the clearing. Everyone dropped what they were doing and Florine watched with morbid curiosity as a wave of Human bodies rolled straight toward the distant wall. Screams of panic and terror quickly drowned out any coherent cries.

“…what are they doing?” Zztztl said. “I am certain that this Human was too weak to detect us.”

“Being raided, I suppose,” Florine replied absently.

“They behave as a herd of prey animals,” the insectoid Demihuman cleaned his forelegs. “It makes me want to chase after them.”

“Perhaps we should leave,” Tik’okl gave Zztztl a pointed look. “Blame will be cast upon us for something we never did.”

“I’m right here, you know,” Florine rolled her eyes. “We have Isoroku and the other Undead back there, too.”

“That may be so, but, considering this reaction, any warriors that respond to the ‘raid’ may attack us regardless.”

Florine couldn’t dismiss the possibility. After a moment’s thought, she decided that they should stay.

“It’s best to clear the misunderstanding with the local authorities once they arrive,” she said. “This isn’t an incident we should leave up in the air.”

The two Demihumans turned their heads up at the clear morning sky.

“That was a figure of speech. I meant that we shouldn’t allow this event to be left to their interpretation.”

If a woman waving from the bushes was perceived as a Demihuman raid that created a mass panic that swept up all of the labourers from the border to the Great Wall, Lady Albedo might very well end up receiving a desperate plea from Hoburns requesting aid against the second coming of Jaldabaoth.

The day grew brighter as they waited for a response from the local authorities, but an hour passed and still no one came. Florine passed the time considering the Demihumans’ plight and asking various questions. It didn’t take her long to develop a clearer picture of what was going on and why.

Originally, the concept of the buffer zone with Roble was based on the one established between the Sorcerous Kingdom and Re-Estize. It worked there because Re-Estize’s fringe territories were always poorly developed and the additional presence of the ‘evil kingdom’ next door encouraged people to stay away. Thus, the buffer zone was far larger than it looked as the nearby territories of Re-Estize had become neglected and allowed to grow wild.

Roble, on the other hand, had become emboldened by the notion that the lands east of their wall had become safe. This led to their royal court dispatching pioneers to tame them.

In short, the buffer zone needed to be larger in order to cushion the effects of Human industrial development. It occurred to her that the former point of equilibrium was probably the wall itself and Roble should have never sent out pioneers in the first place. She wasn’t sure how the new borders had been negotiated or the rationale behind it, but the Sorcerous Kingdom had agreed to them to the detriment of its new citizens.

“There is one thing that I cannot understand no matter how I look at it,” Zztztl said. “The tribes of the Abelion Hills suffered grievously at the hands of Jaldabaoth. Should it not be the same for Roble?”

“They did,” Florine replied. “According to the official report handed down to the House of Lords, the Holy Kingdom of Roble lost over a third of its population. Nearly two million people died and up to a million more were expected to perish from exposure, starvation and disease in the aftermath. We unanimously voted to provide humanitarian aid in order to mitigate this tragedy.”

It was a pivotal moment in the Sorcerous Kingdom’s history, by Florine’s estimation: the point when the House of Lords went from being the Nobles of an annexed territory to the legislative body of a new state determined to make its mark upon the world. According to Clara, Lady Albedo was pleased that something related to their efforts in the west was actually working for once.

“What is the ‘House of Lords’?” Zztztl asked.

“Oh, um…it’s a council of the Sorcerous Kingdom’s many Lords,” Florine answered. “Together, with the executive branch – the Royal Court – they work to run the country, discussing the challenges that face the Sorcerous Kingdom and putting together legislation to address those challenges.”

“We were not aware of this,” Tik’okl said.

“It’s something inherited from the previous administration,” Florine told them, “so it’s made up of Humans at the moment. We’d like to bring in the other Lords of the realm so they can offer their perspectives, but it’s a long learning process. That’s actually a part of the reason why I’m here, but I’ve only come across one Lord so far and he never leaves home. Hopefully, in the future, the inclusion of leaders from many races will help us avoid oversights like the one you’re presently experiencing.”

“You helped create this?”

“I was actually away in another country with a few others when it happened,” Florine said. “As far as I know, it was rolled into the end-of-war negotiations and the House of Lords only got to review it. It’s difficult to grasp what’s going on when all one has is a piece of paper.”

A cautionary ‘pip’ from Liolio drew her attention back to the clearing across the stream. In the distance, tall banners displaying the sigil of the Holy Kingdom of Roble and several unknown ones fluttered in the wind. Florine had the Vampire Bride help fix her appearance as they approached, but when she was done, it didn’t look like that had come any closer.

“What’s going on?” She asked.

“They stopped,” Zztztl said. “A single Human with a spear is making its way forward.”

Florine peered at the distant banners. They must have been over a kilometre away. Given their long and violent history with the tribes of the Abelion Hills, their caution probably felt warranted, but it seemed silly from her perspective.

It took a full half hour for a man dressed in the colours of Roble’s army to cautiously make his way closer to the stream. His eyes grew wide as he took in the sight of Florine and her companions on the opposite shore. Several seconds passed before he broke out of his trance and ran back the way he came.

“Now that I’ve seen how these other Humans behave,” Tik’okl said, “the claim that you are a Lord is not so unbelievable.”

“I’d rather you not use these particular Humans as the standard,” Florine sighed.

The banners started moving again, bobbing up and down as a squadron of Riders came forward at a gallop, lances levelled in a threatening display. The one at their head was adorned in gleaming steel plate, while the others appeared more sensibly dressed for patrol duties in their mail shirts and leather leggings.

“You savages!” The plated leader thundered, “How dare you take a Noblewoman hostage!”