Valkyrie's Shadow

Stone and Blood: Act 4, Chapter 4

Stone and Blood: Act 4, Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A review…

Florine stared at nothing in particular as she was whisked from Felhammer to Hardar on one of the Dark Dwarves’ Golem-powered trains. Her passenger car, as with everything else ‘Dark Dwarf’, was designed with practicality in mind while comfort was seemingly avoided. It was standing room only and built entirely from enchanted steel with emplacements for siege weaponry and arrow slits for the vehicle’s armed guard.

The train itself travelled a bit slower than a Soul Eater-drawn vehicle on the highways of the Sorcerous Kingdom, though the train was capable of hauling far, far more than even the most heavy-duty freight wagon produced by Liane’s workshops. Her friend would have very much liked Khazanar with all of its technological marvels.

Liane would be a much better fit here than me.

She was probably overthinking things, but the idea of holding a review with Lady Albedo made Florine wonder if she had accomplished anything of note. The Prime Minister was very much a results-oriented individual…no, rather than a results-oriented individual, she was a results-oriented perfectionist. There had been many cases where a member of the House of Lords or the guilds rushed things to please her and ended up with a scathing reprimand for their unsatisfactory results.

Probably the only thing that saved people that got on Lady Albedo’s bad side was her high degree of professional pride. Of course, this also meant that getting on her good side was no guarantee of a smooth relationship in future endeavours. In the culture of the northern Human countries, where patronage and clientelism dictated the terms of every relationship in society, this resulted in quite the harrowing experience for those who went into a meeting with Lady Albedo thinking that they could conduct their business as usual.

However, it wasn’t as if she wasn’t willing to participate in such a system. It was the fact that nearly everything that most people could bring to the table was utterly worthless in her eyes. Pedigree and prestige meant nothing. She was so beautiful that most sane people decided that she was beyond their reach. Connections with insignificant parties – which was pretty much everyone to Lady Albedo – were of no value. Material wealth held no personal allure, though she was more than happy to think about how she could tax it.

Liane and Clara are probably going through a whole lot of that right now.

While she hadn’t heard anything about it yet, the representatives from the various interests in the Baharuth Empire should have already arrived at Castle Corelyn for trade negotiations. Clara had invited Lady Albedo to attend as a guest to observe the proceedings, though Florine wasn’t sure whether she would appear or not. She also wasn’t sure what she would think of the traditional interplay between aristocrats, as the first time she had been exposed to it resulted in Count Fassett being tossed headfirst through a Gate to some unknown location, never to be seen again.

A glowing crystal on the monitor at the front of the passenger car changed from blue to green. The Dwarves around her checked over their belongings while the soldiers guarding the train renewed their vigilance.

“Is Hardar that dangerous?” Florine asked.

“It’s all sorts of dangerous,” Velgath answered. “Probably nothing you’d have to worry about, though.”

The train came to a stop and Florine waited as the soldiers disembarked to secure the surroundings. Out of one of the arrow slits, she could see them pushing away the dozens of hawkers who came to sell food and beverage to the passengers.

“Hardar’s atmosphere is a bit different from Felhammer,” Florine said.

“Just a bit?” Velgath frowned.

“I can only really make any sense of the commercial activity,” Florine replied. “Everything here has a more chaotic feel to it. Not that I mind.”

She continued peering out of the arrow slits, trying to identify the various goods and services being offered. As she did, she noted that the soldiers didn’t abuse their authority to ‘requisition’ any goods from the locals. Most would scarcely believe it, especially considering the evil and ruthless leanings of the Dark Dwarves.

Come to think of it, that part is just like the Sorcerous Kingdom.

When the shattered remnants of the Royal Army spread the news of Re-Estize’s devastating defeat at the Battle of Katze Plains, everyone prepared for the worst. There were only a few who didn’t, such as Liane, who pointed out that there was no reason for the victors to follow proper legal procedures if all they wanted was to raze everything to the ground.

Technically, she had been proven wrong as the new administration ended up levelling the pauper’s quarter of E-Rantel, but, for the most part, Liane was right beyond even her own expectations. When their unfathomably evil new overlord occupied the territory, there was no looting, arson, or rape. In the subsequent weeks, violent and destructive crime fell to nothing.

The Dark Dwarves were the second case demonstrating that being evil did not necessarily mean ‘lawless’, ‘chaotic’, or ‘destructive’. If anything, being perceived as evil probably made maintaining law and order easier as would-be criminals and other disruptive elements did not doubt that those in power would be more than pleased to dish out some unspeakable punishment for even the lightest crimes.

An officer reentered the passenger car and gave them the all-clear. Once Florine and Velgath disembarked, they were swiftly led through the milling crowds up a shallow incline leading away from the railway terminus.

“How far is it to Hardar Gate from here?” Florine asked.

“About an hour at this rate,” Velgath answered. “There usually isn’t such a large crowd up here.”

“We’re still pushing the council forces out of Hardar,” the Captain leading their escort said. “Well, it’s more that we’re dealing with all of the reinforcements that haven’t figured out they’ve been beaten yet. You think you’re finally done and then another battalion shows up.”

“What about the Gazers?”

“They haven’t shown their ugly faces yet. Long-range patrols haven’t detected any approaches, so they’re still probably making themselves cosy in the rest of Khazanar.”

“I still don’t know what these ‘Gazers’ are,” Florine said.

“Floating eyeballs with teeth,” the officer said. “We probably won’t see any for a while, though. They’ll send their slave armies first.”

Why is it that everyone down here seems to have a slave army?

“How large is this invasion?” Florine asked.

“Large enough to overrun the rest of Khazanar,” the officer answered. “Gazers don’t raise proper slaves like we do, though. They’re basically battle fodder with little to no formal training.”

“Is that truly enough to overrun Khazanar?”

“It depends on what they’ve got fighting for them. A bunch of Monsters, Dragons, and other nasties would make a mess out of a principality while a good chunk of the army’s away. If they didn’t have those, then it’d have to be a pretty big hive with multiple Spawners.”

Since they could enslave Dragons, Gazers sounded like a powerful species. Maybe they were as strong as Frost Giants. With that in mind, the absurdly large army that the council had mustered no longer seemed so absurd.

The crowds thinned out as they ascended until only their escort accompanied them up the underway. When the hard, angular Dark Dwarven architecture grew monolithic in proportions, more Dwarves appeared in the buildings around them. Their escort stopped in what appeared to be a huge courtyard penned in on all sides by massive fortifications built into the cavern walls.

“Have we arrived?” Florine asked.

“Yeah, this is it,” Velgath answered with a gesture toward the far end of the courtyard. “The Gate of Hardar.”

Florine’s gaze went in the direction of the Dwarf woman’s gesture, but she didn’t see anything that resembled a gate. There was a space that indicated that something was probably there, but the darklamps illuminating the area only revealed the same stone formations that made up the rest of the cavern wall.

I should have asked Isoroku what he saw when he came here last…

Possibly the greatest hazard of the Realms Below was the magical interference that came from being so deep underground. All sorts of Tier Magic spells did not work over long distances, including Message, Teleportation, and long-range Divination-school spells. As this was the case, Isoroku had to travel to the surface to submit Prince Fehammer’s second order for Undead security forces.

Just as she was starting to feel that Velgath was making fun of her again, a soldier stepped out of the cavern wall. There was no sign of a door or even any magical effect – she had simply walked out of the stone as if it wasn’t there. The soldier went over to the Captain of their escort, and they spoke in low voices for a few moments before the Captain turned to address Florine and her party.

“Time to get some obnoxiously fresh air,” he said. “Follow me.”

The Captain strode forward and disappeared into the stone. Florine stopped at the threshold, pressing her hand to the cool stone of the cavern wall. It didn’t pass through, so it either wasn’t an illusion or it was an illusion so powerful that she was being tricked into believing there was a real wall in front of her.

“What are you doing?” Velgath’s voice came from behind her.

“My hand isn’t going through,” Florine replied.

“It’s not supposed to go through,” Velgath said. “You’re supposed to go through.”

“Wha–”

A hand pressed against the small of her back and shoved her roughly into the wall. Florine’s shriek was swallowed by the stone. The end of it sounded through the cool night air outside and echoed off of the nearby cliffs. She cringed as dozens of heads turned toward her.

What just happened?

She was pushed into a wall and popped out of a mountain somewhere. A forest of tall conifers obscured the scenery aside from the tops of the sheer peaks surrounding their location. Above her, the moon and stars peeked out from behind the intermittent cloud cover.

“Well, go ahead and do your thing,” Velgath said. “We’ll be waiting here.”

Florine wasn’t actually sure what she was supposed to be doing. In the end, she followed Isoroku out into the forest, where they stopped after walking for five minutes. The Elder Lich raised a hand to the side of its head. A few seconds later, the portal of a Gate spell opened nearby and someone completely unexpected appeared.

“Lady Nigredo,” Florine lowered her head in a curtsey. “This is a pleasant surprise.”

“Baroness Gagnier,” Lady Nigredo returned her greeting. “It’s good to see you alive and well.”

“Was there some cause for concern?”

“Ah, it’s just that keeping track of things underground is troublesome. The information from the Azerlisian Mountain Dwarves also indicated that things grow more dangerous the deeper one gets and we had no idea where you disappeared to after entering that ruined city under the Abelion Hills.”

“I see,” Florine said. “Well, as you can see, my lady, I’m still in one piece. We had a few interesting encounters, though…speaking of which, did we do anything about that Hill Dwarf city or its surroundings?”

“Not yet,” Lady Nigrdo replied. “Exploring ruins like that is supposed to be the task of the Adventurer Guild. We’ve left sentries at the entrance until they get around to it.”

Florine nodded, sighing internally with relief. She couldn’t imagine the Undead handling the complicated situation of the Realms Below very well. Given what had happened when they travelled through the area, employing the Undead for exploration would make things harder for the Sorcerous Kingdom in various ways. It was a good thing that the Sorcerer King had the foresight to address the issue far in advance.

Columns of Undead exited the Gate, arranging themselves between the trees. Falagrim’s order came close to matching the Draconic Kingdom’s current lease, so Florine was sure that the administration was ecstatic about it.

“By the way,” Florine said, “what are you doing here, my lady?”

“My dear little sister sent me to investigate the entrance of Khazanar,” Lady Nigredo replied. “Its existence has caused quite the stir.”

“How so?”

Lady Nigredo gestured toward Isoroku.

“When this child submitted the order for Undead security forces earlier today, my little sister asked me to observe the location where its Message was sent from. I was surprised to find that I couldn’t.”

“You couldn’t find where Isoroku was?”

“No,” Lady Nigredo shook her head, “I couldn’t find the location. It’s as if this place doesn’t exist. Or perhaps its existence is transient. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

“What about where we’re standing now?” Florine asked.

“We’re encountering the same issue,” Lady Nigredo answered. “I know that I’m somewhere, but I’m not sure where it is. Attempts at divination by our people back in the Sorcerous Kingdom simply fail to produce any results. The only thing that appears to work is the Gate spell, though that was expected.”

“I’m sorry, my lady, but I’m not very well-versed in magic.”

“The best way to put it is that it’s a matter of ‘targeting’. Unlike most teleportation-type spells, which require either direct line of sight or familiarity with the target location, Gate opens a portal to wherever the caster wants it to open. For instance, if someone went to the other side of the world and requested a Gate via Message, the caster of the spell need only open a Gate to the person. They don’t need to be familiar with the person’s location or even know where the person is.”

“I suppose not all magic is made equal,” Florine said.

“Certainly not,” Lady Nigredo laughed lightly. “Beyond that, magic is not a mere exercise of strength. There are First-tier spells that can foil Tenth-tier spells, and the locals in the region have come up with many novel ways to employ what magic they have.”

She had heard something like that, though it was part of a conversation between Lady Shalltear and Ludmila some time ago. Magic had rules, and all spells had to obey those rules unless they were specifically made to break or circumvent them in some way.

“In that case,” Florine said, “I shouldn’t take up any more of your time. The entrance is this way, my lady.”

Fifteen minutes later, they were still walking around the forest with no sign of the Khazanar entrance.

“That’s strange,” Florine said. “We didn’t walk that far. I could even see where we came from and we headed straight there.”

“I don’t detect any magic being used at all,” Lady Nigredo said. “This is quite intriguing.”

“I never realised my sense of direction was that terrible,” Florine looked down in embarrassment.

“It’s probably not you,” Lady Nigredo told her. “This location is probably under some form of defensive enchantment.”

“But you said you didn’t detect any magic being used at all?”

“Well, it wouldn’t be much of a defensive enchantment if people could casually detect it. Its design is quite clever. Something is subtly keeping us from reaching the destination and it’s also preventing long-range observation. At the same time, those under the effect of the enchantment have no sense of being under one. If we didn’t know that something was supposed to be around here, we would have probably walked through the area without noticing anything amiss.”

Can magic do that?

To most, magic was healing spells and Fireballs. The most common applications were practical and straightforward, such as providing a convenient water source, preserving food, or stamping official documents. When one brought to mind the most powerful magical thing they could think of, it was usually some legendary sword or magic item.

What was going on around Hardar Gate was mythological in its mystique. It was no wonder that no one could ever figure out where the Dark Dwarves came from.

“What in the world are you two doing?”

Lady Albedo tromped out of the trees behind them. Florine sent a glance over the Prime Minister’s figure, which was not adorned in its usual alabaster garb, but a suit of black plate mail. In her right hand was a massive black bardiche that she seemed to handle with no less difficulty than a pen.

Florine lowered her head and waited for Lady Nigredo to reply, but she seemed engrossed in trying to uncover the secrets of Hardar Gate.

“I was leading Lady Nigredo to the entrance,” Florine said, “but we’re unable to get there.”

“It’s quite amazing, dear sister,” Lady Nigredo spoke up excitedly. “Try flying up and see what happens.”

The Prime Minister of the Sorcerous Kingdom – currently demoted to ‘dear sister’ – shot up through the trees with a powerful flap of her wings. However, she didn’t come back down. A few minutes later, she came tromping through the trees again.

“Those cheeky Dwarves,” Lady Albedo muttered darkly as her free hand went to the sceptre at her waist. “I should give the ground a good whack for their impertinence.”

Lady Nigredo came up, waving her hands in front of her in a panic.

“You shouldn’t cause trouble for others, dear sister,” she said. “Besides, this is far more valuable intact, don’t you think?”

“Can you replicate the effect?”

“Hmm…I can’t say for certain without more study, but we may be able to develop a similar effect with the right people. This sort of thing wouldn’t ever be allowed by Ariadne, so I don’t think we’ve considered it.”

The Prime Minister put on a thoughtful look.

“You’re right about that,” she said. “Perhaps it could be used in the area around Nazarick? There are places throughout the Sorcerous Kingdom that could use more security, as well…”

“What happened when you flew above the trees?” Lady Nigredo asked.

“I left the area, for lack of a better way to put it. I went straight up, and when I tried landing by going straight back down, I ended up somewhere else.”

“So magic resistance isn’t a factor,” Lady Nigredo crossed her arms.

“It’s doubtful that anything these Dwarves could devise would work on me if it did.”

“A field effect, then? If so, it’s less like the castable ones and more like an environmental setting. How far did you have to fly to get back to us?”

As the conversation went on to become a snarl of unknown terms, Florine wondered if her review with Lady Albedo would ever happen. Or if they would ever make it back to Khazanar.

“You people ready yet?”

Velgath appeared from behind a tree and walked over to stand beside Florine.

“Yes,” Florine replied. “We tried returning on our own, but we couldn’t for some reason.”

“That’s what’s supposed to happen,” Velgath told her. “Who are those two women wandering off down there?”

“The one in black armour is Lady Albedo, the Prime Minister of the Sorcerous Kingdom. The one walking with her is Lady Nigredo, her older sister. Oh, I’d like to tell you that you should behave yourself around Lady Albedo. She’s–”

“A Demon,” Velgath said. “A creature of chaos and destruction. I’m surprised you’re working under someone like that considering how you feel about Jaldabaoth.”

“Lady Albedo is an entirely reasonable person!” Florine told the Dwarf, “Also, we don’t have anyone like Jaldabaoth in the Sorcerous Kingdom.”

“I’ll take your word for it, but what’s she doing here?”

“She wanted to see me about something,” Florine replied. “I hope you don’t mind if we stay out here for a while longer?”

While one might think to offer their hospitality as one would to an important guest, the Prime Minister of a country going into another without authorisation or proper arrangements was completely out of the question. Then again, the thought might have never crossed the Dark Dwarf’s mind at all given how they were.

“Can we at least get the Undead moving along?” Velgath said.

“That shouldn’t be a problem.”

Velgath walked over to where Isoroku was checking to make sure Prince Felhammer’s order had been accurately delivered. It was only then that Florine realised that, in all that time trying to reach Khazanar, they somehow hadn’t moved very far at all.

“Did you see where she came from?” Lady Nigredo asked when she returned with her sister.

“I didn’t,” Florine shook her head. “Lady Velgath is some sort of psionic assassin and she’s very good at not being noticed when she doesn’t want to be.”

“So it seems that our suspicions about the Dark Dwarves were true,” Lady Albedo eyed Velgath as she went by with the Undead column. “Nigredo, please accompany them to the entrance.”

“Of course, dear sister.”

Once Velgath and Nigredo vanished from view, Albedo turned her attention to Florine.

“I hope Lady Nigredo doesn’t mind Velgath’s personality,” Florine said. “As a whole, Dark Dwarves are…”

“We’re aware,” Lady Albedo said. “It seems that Dark Dwarves really are Dark Dwarves.”

“What does that mean, my lady?”

“It means that the majority of their race can be relied upon to be a certain way, no matter where they come from. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed this in your time working as an official?”

“I don’t have any expectations of anyone being ‘a certain way’,” Florine replied. “Humans certainly aren’t like that.”

“Oh, but they are,” Lady Albedo’s bardiche vanished as she crossed her arms. “It’s just that their Job Classes influence them as much as their race does, which makes you think that Humans ‘certainly aren’t like that’.”

Was that the case? One’s vocation certainly affected one’s perspective and thus their behaviour, but Florine always thought of it as a ‘normal’ thing.

“Are you saying that the Dark Dwarves have Racial Class Levels?”

“No,” Lady Albedo told her. “They’re Humanoids. They just happen to live in environments where their natural tendencies allow them to thrive as they are. Just like Humans.”

The Prime Minister’s glowing amber gaze looked down on Florine as if she were a bug. She sometimes got like that, particularly when the topic of Humans was brought up. There were rumours that she had been heard referring to them as ‘lower life forms’ in the past.

“I will keep that in mind when I observe the behaviour of others, my lady,” Florine said. “Isoroku mentioned that you wanted to conduct a review with me. Is there something that you wished to speak about in particular?”

“Not in particular,” Lady Albedo said. “I simply desire information. The time between your entry into the Dwarf ruins under the Abelion Hills to today has been a complete blank since we’ve been unable to communicate with the Elder Liches. You may begin with what you’ve learned with the Dark Dwarf nation’s military and political situation.”

Even summarising what she knew, it took an hour for Florine to convey what she had seen. Lady Albedo didn’t seem to mind at all, stopping Florine once in a while to clarify or expand on certain points.

“I’ve also begun putting together my thoughts on what I’ve seen of Dark Dwarven society so far,” Florine said. “In particular, I’ve come across notable cases confirming what we’ve come to learn about Job Class development and how various methods may be employed to nurture growth.”

“Oh? I’d like to see it if you feel it’s in a presentable state.”

“It’s not presentable, but it does contain the key points I wished to convey if you don’t mind the clutter.”

Lady Albedo held out a gauntleted hand. Florine reached into her Infinite Haversack, producing the notes that she had been working on throughout the day. The Prime Minister flipped through them at the startling speed that she usually did. Early on, many Nobles suspected that she didn’t read their reports at all, but they were quickly proven wrong.

“This is quite useful,” Lady Albedo said as she handed back the stack of papers. “I assume you’re not proposing a system of slavery.”

“Of course not, my lady,” Florine replied. “Their system simply confirms what we know and the report offers a case study on how they have applied their take on the Class System to their society. In fact, with a bit of effort, I believe we can far surpass their system with our own.”

She would need to consult with Clara and Director Alpha about that to make sure she was on the right track. Neither of them would probably be pleased about how she came across the information, however.

“In that case,” Lady Albedo said, “I look forward to your proposals in the future. I believe there’s something else you’ve wanted to say this entire time?”

Silence fell over the forest as Florine looked up at Lady Albedo’s expectant expression. She was already sure what the answer to her concerns would be, but she dreaded asking all the same.

“Prince Felhammer may be following the terms of his lease to the letter,” Florine said, “but he’s not doing as much as he could be to aid his people. I understand that, as a country, we can’t be seen as some sort of regional nanny that comes to the rescue of everyone regardless of why they were in trouble in the first place, but the lives of tens of millions are at stake.”

“I will answer your concerns with a question of my own, Baroness Gagnier,” Lady Albedo placed a hand on her hip. “Do you see any political repercussions in letting events play out as they appear to be?”

“No, my lady,” Florine sighed. “From a purely political perspective, the way things appear to be going will only end in a net positive for the Sorcerous Kingdom. At least as far as I can see.”

“So there you have it,” the Bardiche returned to Lady Albedo’s hand. “That is not a conclusion I could have come up with on my own, by the way. Not in the same way you have, at any rate. Remember that you occupy your current position precisely because your capabilities in this particular arena are unparalleled in the Sorcerous Kingdom. There is no need to second-guess yourself.”

With that, Lady Albedo flew off, leaving Florine with a sense of tired resignation. She had known it all along, but the confirmation left her with a deep sense of dissatisfaction.

To achieve its foreign policy objectives, the Sorcerous Kingdom saw the deaths of countless millions as no obstacle.