Valkyrie's Shadow

The Tiger and the Dragon: Act 1, Chapter 5

The Tiger and the Dragon: Act 1, Chapter 5

Chapter 5

“Brother Martelli. I have kept you waiting.”

Clara went up to where the veteran Paladin was observing his Squires practise in the palace gardens. His polished plate pauldrons glinted in the morning light as he turned at her voice.

“Think nothing of it, my lady,” he said. “The Temples are here to serve. If anything, we are honoured that you have taken an interest in our training today.”

“My imagination keeps running off with me whenever I think about it,” Clara replied, “so I felt the need to settle things once and for all.”

“Ah, it is nothing too exciting,” Brother Martelli chuckled. “There are dangers, to be sure, but the outskirts of the Katze Plains are just a bit more lively than the graveyard in E-Rantel. Those who started ahead of us now treat it as an entertaining weekly excursion.”

They accompanied Clara to her carriage, which set off on its way along the river. The two young Squires stared at the scenery as it sped by vineyards and villages; what was normally a journey of two days took less than an hour between the Soul Eater, the new vehicle frames from House Wagner and the road paved over the winter.

“Xavier and Rosalina, if I’m not mistaken?"

The two children nodded at Clara’s friendly query. Xavier was nine while Rosalina was eight. And now they were being brought out to the Katze Plains to fight Undead.

“Are you excited about your excursion?” Clara asked.

They nodded again. The two Squires were wearing coat-of-plates under the customary tabards that they donned for civilian settings, as well as steel plate pieces for their arms and legs. They each also had a heater shield and warhammer, both fashioned to fit their stature. A careless glance might have one assume that they were Noble scions whose families possessed the wealth to indulge their children, but she doubted that any of her subjects would see them that way.

For her part, Clara had been disturbed at the notion that children were being sent to fight very real and deadly opponents since she first heard of it. Brother Marcus explained that, as apprentices for most vocations started learning their trade somewhere above the age of six, so too should Squires be expected to start learning their ‘trade’ at the same time. According to Ludmila, the new Rangers that she was raising commenced training around the same age as well.

If she were here to listen to Clara’s concerns, Ludmila would probably say something along the lines of civilian Nobles being too ‘soft’ and give Clara’s belly a playful poke.

“Brother Martelli,” Clara said, “how does one determine when a Squire is ready for these excursions?”

“Our measures are fairly straightforward, my lady,” Brother Martelli replied. “The Squires go through daily combat drills in addition to the rest of their studies. Once a week, their performance is assessed by holding nonlethal bouts against summoned opponents. Actually…for some reason the Elder Liches standing by at the army bases are always happy to participate in their training, so the kids get to fight against all sorts of things every day.”

The reason why the Elder Liches were participating in the Squires’ training was straightforward: it was training for them, as well. Every Undead servitor was created with basic knowledge of its capabilities, but they had no experience. Any opportunity to gain experience was treated as precious and better equipped them to serve their creator. One might think it strange to consider an Undead being as an ‘earnest’ individual, but they were very pure in that sense.

Clara examined the two Squires, who shifted under her gaze.

“How strong would you say they are now?”

“They are progressing much more swiftly than Squires would in the Theocracy. Hmm…if I were to use local measures, they are both around Difficulty Rating Fifteen.”

“Difficulty Rating Fifteen is about the strength of an Iron-rank Adventurer, isn’t it?” Clara furrowed her brow, “Are you saying that they could win in a fight against an Ogre?”

“An inexperienced Ogre, yes. However, issues of reach and mass would exist in practice. Also, like any apprentice, they are still learning their craft and thus limited compared to ordained professionals. Additionally, the development of our Squires here is…lopsided.”

She looked back at Brother Martelli, who was seated across from her. His expression was not precisely troubled, but his tone still suggested that the ‘lopsidedness’ was a serious matter.

“How so?”

“It is not in any way a complaint, of course,” the Paladin said, “but our curriculum for Squires and Acolytes has been honed over centuries to raise students to an established standard under the conditions that you would see in the Theocracy. First is mundane education, which covers language, mathematics, law and basic life skills, Then there is religious education which also includes our role as members of the temple staff and its ministry. Finally, is our martial education, which is both theoretical and practical. I guess the practical part would be what most outsiders think of when ‘Paladin’ or ‘Cleric’ comes to mind. The ‘lopsided’ part comes with the fact that there were no Paladin orders in the Sorcerous Kingdom before we arrived.”

“Captain Cavallaro informed me that ordination would be irregular since you’ve included children that were much older than you usually would. Is what you speak of in addition to that?”

“Yes, my lady,” Brother Martelli nodded. “Priests and Paladins attending institutions in the Theocracy usually start at the age of six and are ordained around the age of fourteen or fifteen. They are treated as junior staff until twenty. We can smooth things out here if it was only an issue with the time needed to complete their education, but what surprised us was their physical advancement. For instance, these two have been Squires for half a year, but they have the strength of third-year Squires in the Theocracy.”

“…and this is because they’ve been training with the Elder Liches every day?”

“Amongst other things. The overflowing support that we have received in the Sorcerous Kingdom has been a great blessing, but time is one resource not so easily procured. For the time being, while they might physically match Squires of their age in the Theocracy, they do not have the years of education, discipline and experience that comes with it.”

A nine-year-old with the strength of an Iron-rank Adventurer…

She imagined that all sorts of problems would crop up. Beyond the fact that children were children, growing up came with all sorts of physical and mental changes that took time to grasp and develop mastery over.

“What kinds of issues do you foresee, Brother Martelli?”

“Boys will always be boys, of course,” the Paladin seemed to shrug, “so we will have to emphasise how the actions that come with their rowdiness can produce extreme results compared to other boys of their age. Girls can be extremely vicious once they get going…Captain Cavallaro had some interesting stories about Sister Alessia, but I am half-certain that he was just trying to scare us.”

“You must have one in mind if you’re leaving it on that note.”

“Again, I do not know how true this is, but a few years ago Sister Alessia was in a particularly foul mood about something. Captain Cavallaro told her to go work off her frustrations in Katze, so off she went. He found out later that she ended up attacking an Elder Lich. It is said that the Elder Lich ran away from her, which is quite strange in itself…”

“Ah,” Clara nodded. “That story is actually true.”

“It is, my lady? How does one confirm a story such as this?”

“Captain Iškur was the Elder Lich that she attacked.”

Brother Martelli turned his head to look at Rosalina.

“What is it, Brother Martelli?” The Squire smiled back at her master.

“Nothing,” Brother Martelli replied. “Anyway, it is something we will have to keep a careful eye on. It is against our tenets to stifle personal development, so we cannot simply tell them to stop training if that is what they wish to do.”

“I would not do that even if it was against our teachings,” Clara said. “It is our system of education that needs to adapt to new realities. The Temples are far from the only ones that must do so in the Sorcerous Kingdom.”

“You speak truly, my lady. Still, we are in a state where much change is required but few educators are available. It will be a while before we catch up.”

“What are your numbers looking like at the moment?”

“Not counting Sister Alessia – who is still a junior temple staff member – we have half a dozen Paladins in E-Rantel and thirty in Corelyn County. Each of us has taken two Squires and we will take two more every three years. For the time being, we have a nine-year curriculum planned so Xavier and Rosalina will be ordained at the ages of eighteen and seventeen, respectively.”

“When will they count as fully-fledged temple staff?”

Brother Martelli sucked in his lips, looking out the window at the river.

“That is difficult to say,” he said. “As much as I would like us to have our first class of Paladins recognised according to custom, we will have to see how things go in practice. It may go the full term after ordination.”

It was only their shortage of temple staff that made the delays seem larger than they were. Clara predicted that it would only take seven or eight years to normalise things. The Squires and Acolytes between now and then could still help out in the temples without being ordained. The only places where the shortage was truly telling was in locations without temple staff at all. A fully-fledged Cleric was required to oversee a shrine or temple and they had very few of those relative to the projected growth of the settlements in need of their services.

“I’m sure we’ll be able to manage through our initial challenges,” Clara said. “While staffing shortages are a concern, the number of temple staff should swell to healthy numbers in the next two decades.”

Healthy numbers of course did not mean having enough temple staff to comfortably service the congregations in the southern territories of the Sorcerous Kingdom. It meant having enough Clerics and Paladins to raise new shrines, monasteries and temples beyond.

Their work in Corelyn County was merely the first step in returning the populations of the north to the fold. It would be a monumental venture that spanned generations, but the foundations they laid in the Sorcerous Kingdom would be nigh unshakeable. Their god had returned to once again live amongst them, after all.

After following the river for another half hour, they reached the dividing line between the fertile valleys of the Riverlands and the barren reddish clay of the Katze Plains. The road, however, did not end there. Somewhere in the mists beyond, construction continued as the Ministry of Transportation lay down a highway that followed the Katze River. Other highways would branch off of it to create a road network linking the territories surrounding the barren wasteland.

This gave the Sorcerous Kingdom exclusive access to routes, as only the Undead could safely use them. The road network was merely a bonus, however: the true treasure was the maritime corridor that the Katze River provided. It had been nearly a year in the making, but Clara was now on the eve of her first great offensive.

Her carriage slowed and turned off of the road, stopping in an area serving as a stockpile for the roadway. They stepped out into the middle of a lot lined with raised and covered sections partially filled with pre-prepared construction materials.

The Sorcerous Kingdom’s Undead servitors could not build roads as the Dwarves could, but they were able to fit things together. As with many other professional tasks, anything beyond a certain threshold of complexity or employed special Skills and Abilities simply ‘failed’ in various ways. Most of the time, things just broke apart. No one knew how perfectly good materials could do that, but they unapologetically did nonetheless. It wasn’t limited to construction, either. Once, her chef tried to teach a Vampire Bride how to cook and she could only produce charred abominations. Clara once joked to Ludmila about burning water while trying to prepare tea for herself, but a Vampire Bride might actually be able to.

Lady Aura, who had experience in accommodating those shortfalls with a construction project of her own in the past, shared several insights with them. As long as tasks were kept ‘menial’, things would work without a hitch. Thus, Clara, Liane and Florine had put their heads together late in the autumn to figure something out.

Liane quickly came up with a solution, though Clara suspected that it was something that she had been considering for a long time. With the growth of her new workshops came a world of new possibilities. Her evolving machining industry made high precision tools and parts possible, which in turn allowed for the mass production of standardised goods.

They could make a hundred thousand identical screws and an equal number of nuts that could perfectly fit those screws. Everything could be made with unerring precision and the motive force provided by Undead labour allowed craftsmen to fashion parts with unheard-of rapidity. This of course extended to any industry that adopted House Wagner’s innovations and devices for standard measurement.

As a result of the savings in time, fuel and labour, prices for many once-expensive goods were bound to collapse. For the time being, the nationwide effort to bring everything in line with new standards of industry and infrastructure was consuming everything, but they needed to ensure that none of their tenants were left behind in the transition.

It took about a month of trial and error, but a new system was designed that the Undead servitors could safely use. Pieces of anything that needed to be constructed – including roads and buildings – were manufactured in Corelyn Harbour or Liane’s still-for-some-reason-unnamed capital.

Everything was then transported to the construction site for assembly. All that the Undead working on the Katze road network had to do was submit measurements from a construction site and every brick, block, plank and pillar would be fashioned to fit their needs. It didn’t come remotely close to the quality and appearance of Dwarven craftsmanship, but it was fast, cheap and did the job.

Brother Martelli led them to the edge of the stockpile area. Rosalina and Xavier hefted their shields and warhammers, peering out into the mist. A pair of Death Knights accompanied Clara as she followed behind the trio. The Paladin kept glancing over his shoulder towards her as they followed the road deeper into the wasteland.

“Do not worry about me, Brother Martelli,” Clara said. “I have been out here several times.”

They were uneventful inspections of the border, but she doubted that much could happen with the Royal Army occupying the region.

Roughly five hundred metres down the road, they stopped at a simple, magically-lit army post manned by an Elder Lich and two Death Knights. The lonely structure looked more than a bit odd in the otherwise featureless surroundings. Brother Martelli walked up to the window facing the road.

“Brother Martelli with Squires Xavier and Rosalina. We’re here to use the exercise grounds.”

The Elder Lich pulled out a black binder from under the counter, slowly flipping through the pages.

“Is this your first time here?” It asked.

“Erm, yes,” the Paladin answered. “Is there some problem? According to our estimates, things should be ready by now.”

A map appeared on the counter between the Elder Lich and the Paladin.

“Sections A1 through to H3 are depleted,” it said. “The closest replenished sections may be found further northeast. Please ensure that you refer to the marker posts for the appropriate Difficulty Rating ranges. The Sorcerous Kingdom cannot be held liable for any damage or loss of equipment and death or injury, including any debilitating conditions sustained. This includes, but is not exclusive to, Disease, Poison, Curses, Ability Damage, Level Drains, Confusion, Insanity, ageing and loss of virility or hair. Have a nice stay.”

A swirl of dust blew across the road in front of the post. The Elder Lich stared across the counter at Brother Martelli. Clara leaned over to look at the Paladin.

“Brother Martelli?”

“Erm, right,” he took the map into his hand. “Thank you. Hmm…”

They made their way northeast, ascending the gentle slope from the riverbank. After coming back from the Sorcerer King’s Katze Plains excursion, Ludmila had devised a way to turn the area near the border into a ‘training ground’. Past the buffer area that ran along the border, she had the Royal Army’s patrols criss-cross the area, dividing the wild Undead into ‘plots’ of different sizes and difficulties.

These plots could then be used for live combat exercises. It took about a week for a dozen or so weak Undead to replenish each plot, but there were hundreds of plots prepared and plenty of room along the border to create more.

After walking for fifteen minutes, Brother Martelli held up a gauntleted hand.

“This looks like the place,” he said. “Let us check over your equipment one last time, shall we?”

The Squires ensured their armour was fitted properly. Their sallets were closed tightly over their bevors and the joints of their armour secured. Despite being covered from head to toe without a bit of skin exposed, they didn’t seem to have any issues moving around. Brother Martelli gave a satisfied nod before turning to address her.

“My lady, please stand back while I bring them closer.”

In the distance, past a long iron stake painted with a single white stripe, she could make out figures standing unnaturally still in the mist. A chill that had nothing to do with the cool weather travelled up her spine.

“Are you sure this is alright?” She asked.

“The most advanced Squires have been doing this for over a month now,” Brother Martelli answered. “There have been no major injuries yet. I believe that the Temples should have submitted their reports…”

She did get reports from the Temples but she still couldn’t quite wrap her head around it. There was nothing normal about bringing eight-year-olds out into a cursed wasteland to battle the Undead. The Paladins, however, treated it like Farmers taking their children on a trip to the local town.

“Are we ready?”

“Yeah!”

The two Squires raised their warhammers above their heads in an enthusiastic reply to Brother Marcus’ query. Clara silently shook her head. Maybe this was why Sister Alessia was the way that she was.

Brother Martelli walked forward a bit, tapping his weapon against his shield. Several figures reacted to the sound, moving towards them at different speeds.

“Hmm…five Zombies and three Skeletons. You two go ahead and take care of them.”

“You are quite calm about this, Brother Martelli,” Clara noted.

“Ah, this is nothing much,” the Paladin replied. “If anything, you are fortunate to have this place.”

The three Skeletons reached the Squires first. Rosalina blocked a barehanded strike and then brought her warhammer in under her shield to shatter one of her opponent’s legs above the knee. It reached out to grab her ankle but received a hole in its skull in return.

Xavier knocked back one of the Skeletons with his shield. He immediately turned and stepped in to destroy the pelvis of the other before it could react to his sudden movement. The Squire crushed its neck beneath his boot as he moved forward to dispatch the one he had knocked back.

“Ah–that was a mistake, Xavier,” Brother Martelli said.

The boy looked around for a moment before realising his advance had attracted a dozen more Undead. He backed away, throwing a nervous glance in Brother Martelli’s direction.

“The battlefield is an honest place,” the Paladin told him. “Your enemies will punish errors in judgement to the fullest extent possible…as may your allies if you do something unforgivably stupid or reprehensible.”

“B-but what do we do?” Xavier asked.

“What else can one do?” Brother Martelli shrugged, “One must answer for their mistakes. Surshana’s measure does not discriminate.”

Brother Martelli kicked the first of the new wave of Undead that reached them into another. The second Skeleton’s skull exploded under the force of his warhammer. He continued working his shield and weapon, stepping around smoothly as he went from kill to kill. When much tougher-looking Zombies from the first group finally reached him, they appeared to offer no more resistance to the veteran Paladin’s attacks than the Skeletons did.

“If this were not training,” he said, “it means that you reap what you sow. Except it may not only be you that answers for your errors, but everyone fighting with you. As a Paladin, you must not only be mindful of how your actions affect yourselves and your fellow warriors, but also all who rely on your protection. It is not enough to take actions you are prepared to pay for: you must ensure that your allies are not forced to pay for them as well.”

The Paladin stepped aside and they waited for a group of four Zombies to make their way over. One of them clutched the edge of Rosalina’s shield, dragging it down while the other wrapped its arms around her.

“Eek!” She cried, “Get off!”

“The main threat that Zombies represent,” Brother Martelli said, “is grappling with their unnatural strength. Once one grabs onto you, it makes it easier for more to do so. Unless they are under the control of something else, they will not coordinate, but their interference will make it easier for other opponents to act against you.”

“Brother Martelli,” Clara resisted the urge to step forward and help the girl, “should you not do something about those Zombies?”

“She will be fine, my lady,” the Paladin waved his hand, “These Zombies are stronger than the average Farmer, but are no match for our Squires here. Zombies can also resort to clawing and biting, but they won’t be able to get through her armour. The longer she stays like that, however, the worse she will smell.”

Indeed, it seemed that, despite her panic, Rosalina didn’t budge. She made an annoyed sound before dropping her warhammer to draw the dagger from her belt. After being jabbed several times in the ribs the Zombie clinging to her flopped to the ground. The Squire put her dagger away before picking up her warhammer again and whacking the other Zombie in the head.

I want my worries back…

Nearby, Xavier was done dispatching his opponents. Clara couldn’t see through their visors, but she could imagine their disgusted looks as they tried to wipe away the viscera smeared over their armour.

“Never forget your footwork,” Brother Martelli told them. “In many cases, how you use your feet is more important than how you use your arms. While Paladins are very sturdy, rooting oneself to the ground and trying to withstand everything is seldom the correct answer even when you’re holding a narrow passage. In this case, Zombies are slow and mindless. Against such opponents, you have the luxury of choosing when and where to engage and how they are positioned when you do so.”

Brother Martelli drew the attention of a few more Undead. After dispatching the Skeletons, he let the Zombies shuffle up to him.

“Many physical combatants require space to fight,” he said as he sidestepped in a circle around them. “Unless one is incorporeal, one cannot be in the same place as others. Everything also has its own measure – the effective range of its offence. As you can see with these fellows, I am using the ones in front to block the others and they are all interfering with one another trying to get to me.”

Brother Martelli picked up his pace until the Zombies formed into a tight mass trying to reach him. Eventually, their attempts to get past one another led to them stumbling to the ground. The mindless Undead cared nothing for those around them, stepping and tripping over each other. The Paladin kicked the head off of one of them, which bounced over to attract the remaining Undead in the first group.

“Now, let us finish these off and move on to the next group.”

The two Squires dutifully voiced their acknowledgement. The Zombies were the size of adult Humans, but Rosalina and Xavier may as well have been slaughtering chickens for all the difficulty they had with them.

“Is this how you trained your previous Squires?” Clara asked.

“I was overly cautious with my first Squire,” Brother Martelli answered with a self-deprecating smile, “Children learn quickly and Squires are tougher than they look. It just takes some experience to understand this and wrestle down the urge to protect them against things they can easily handle.”

Rosalina and Xavier finished their task and they started walking over to the next ‘patch’ of Undead. The two used the towels tucked into their belts to wipe away the mess in their armour as best as they could.

“As for how we trained them,” Brother Martelli said as they strolled along, “as I mentioned earlier, what is made available to us here is superior. I would even go so far as to say it is luxurious. Even on the Theocracy’s side of the Katze Plains, we bring whole squads of Squires because opportunities for real combat in relatively safe conditions are scarce. Elsewhere, they help in border patrols but Monsters and wilderness tribes do not replenish their numbers so frequently.”

“Brother Marcus said something about Sister Alessia causing a great panic when she and some other Squires went into the wasteland of their own volition.”

“Well, she was his first Squire. Sister Alessia is also a prodigy and prodigies can be difficult to handle in many ways. Most importantly, they went unsupervised. Weak Undead in small numbers are not a threat to our Squires but other types of Undead can be mixed in. Incorporeal types are especially bad since they ignore armour and require magic or enchanted weapons to hit.”

A few minutes later, they arrived at the next group of Undead. Brother Martelli drew a handful over and, after ensuring that nothing problematic was on its way, he settled back to watch.

“Does the Theocracy do this with other vocations?” Clara asked.

“The regular army has to make do with drills and patrols. Our mana economy revolves around servicing civilian sectors and what we have to spare goes into training our elites or conducting magical research.”

‘Luxurious’ seemed an apt description for the broad situation in the Sorcerous Kingdom. Material abundance was growing, security was beyond adequate and the administration was likely unmatched in the region. Clara had questions as to how the other territories would take advantage of their circumstances, but followers of The Six tended to squander little.

After clearing another two groups of Undead, Brother Martelli peered deeper into the mist.

“Hmm…having so many summons available for training really does throw off our schedule. Let us head in further."

“What usually happens?” Clara asked.

“Usually, we start practical training around Difficulty Rating Six, by Adventurer standard,” Brother Martelli answered. “If it is a big group of Undead, they can fight together. If not, they take turns. Either way, it takes longer and we have to be more cautious. The equipment that the Temples have provided is excellent as well: keeping up with growing children is an expensive prospect.”

“I hope it doesn’t come off as extravagant.”

Brother Martelli laughed.

“How can this be?” He said, “If anything, the support that we receive here is heartening.”

“I would still like to improve where possible,” Clara said, “Are there any practices in the Theocracy that you believe will do well here?”

“Hmm…that is difficult to say, my lady. Faith is an integral aspect at all levels of society in the Theocracy. Things that I may consider desirable are simply not allowed here. It is strange: in the Theocracy, the Temples loom over the judicial, legislative and military branches of our government. Here, the Temples are not part of the government at all and your Royal Court looms over everything.”

“Still, there should be some things that can be adopted…”

“I can only present general ideas. The mana economy here is…immature, for lack of a better term. It is my understanding that Re-Estize is not only secular but has poor integration of magic in general and this territory has inherited the problems that come with that.”

That much was painfully true. While the rationale behind a secular state was to keep religious agendas from influencing the government, it had a variety of negative effects.

In Re-Estize, ‘secular’ was as good as saying mundane: the population did not incorporate magic in any way aside from the occasional convenience. The Temples – which represented the largest demographic of magic casters in the nation – existed as a separate, similarly convenient entity that provided health care, spiritual guidance and education for the lucky few with access to temple schools.

That the average individual lived a life of subsistence meant that magic never truly went beyond an esoteric industry that produced expensive luxuries and services with little exposure. Concepts like mana economy were entirely alien and many industrial sectors were untapped. Due to this background, the idiom ‘pearls before swine’ accurately described the situation of the average Human subject of the Sorcerous Kingdom when it came to magic.

Even now, it was often the case that visitors from the Empire and the Theocracy pointed out amazing things that the locals took for granted. When those things were brought to their awareness, all they could say was ‘heh...is that so?’ while not understanding why it was. There was simply no appreciation for what went into anything because they were ignorant of so much.

At best, the monetary value of a product or service was the only indicator of its value. Of course, one could not know the intricacies of everything, but their common knowledge was embarrassingly unsophisticated.

“Raising public awareness of magic above the level of superstition and folklore is something we have been working to address. Though for some reason, Baroness Zahradnik appears to be in the lead when it comes to that.”

“Well, it is as they say, yes? Technology and magic tend to go to the military first. Baroness Zahradnik is a military governor, so I suspect that her territory will be at the forefront in many fields where militarisation is possible.”

Ludmila’s tendency to ‘militarise’ everything did tend to result in her quick adoption of all sorts of things. That being said, her development employed brute force methods that incurred hefty costs and created products with much room for refinement. Still, the raw violence by which she pursued new ideas tended to produce results.

“Regardless, it is still something that the rest of us need to consider for our territories,” Clara said. “The ‘spirit’ of her subjects is distinctly different from ours and thus produces different results. Is there something you can think of that may only manifest in civilian settings?”

“The system of temple donations, perhaps…actually, yes – I believe that you will see that happening at some point.”

“Can you describe this system to me?”

“It is one where priority services can be purchased by more affluent members of the congregation.”

A number of alarming connotations popped up in Clara’s head at his summary.

“What is the rationale behind this system?”

“Mana is limited and certain spells have high material costs. Scheduled rates for mana go up exponentially with higher tiers of magic, especially if it is cast through a ritual or requires expensive components. Our limitations result in queues but one can pay extra to expedite treatment.”

“How much do they pay?”

“Triple the scheduled rate, my lady.”

“…what happens to the ‘donation’?”

“One-third goes towards paying for the spell, of course. The rest subsidises care for those less fortunate. Outsiders who come to the Theocracy for treatment sometimes complain that we are ‘taxing the rich’ but we consider it a practical form of charity.”

“I see.”

Clara let out a relieved sigh. It wouldn’t be good if she had to strangle one of her new Paladins in front of his Squires. A part of her felt guilty for suspecting that something untoward was going on, but it reminded her too much of the privileged abusing their authority in Re-Estize.

“Ah, it looks like we have some Ghouls in this bunch. You may want to stand apart from us for this, my lady – they have quite the aroma.”

She stepped back as they prepared to clear the patch of Undead. Aside from the Ghouls, it looked like the same variety of Zombies and Skeletons from before.

“Bleh, it stinks!” Rosalina cried.

“Ahaha, now you know why they would not summon these for us in town. Ghasts are even worse and their stench can inflict debilitating conditions.”

Adventures passing through her old village always talked about how they risked their lives in the Katze Plains and shared many a story of daring-do. While she did believe that they embellished their exploits somewhat, Clara didn’t think that an excursion would be so…carefree.

“Ah, watch that Zombie there, it is actually a Swell Skin.”

Xavier kicked a slightly bloated-looking Zombie away. He reached into a belt pouch and hurled a crystal vial at the fallen Swell Skin. The Undead creature twitched on the ground as a hiss filled the air and pustules erupted over its flesh.

“Good job,” Brother Martelli nodded. “Even a drop of that ichor on your skin can result in Disease. If it gets through your visor…well, let us just say the experience can be unpleasant.”

“You have seen it happen before, Brother Martelli?” Clara asked.

“Of course,” the Paladin answered. “It happens to everyone eventually. The danger of these weak Undead does not lie in their individual power but in all of the little tricks that they have. These naturally-spawned Undead manifest certain aspects of life. Many are familiar with how they represent negative emotions and the forces associated with negative energy but they do not realise the fact that, as a whole, the Undead carry ‘themes’.”

Another group of Undead came in. Brother Martelli paused to rest his watchful gaze on the two Squires as they met the hodgepodge of weak foes. Once their numbers were diminished, he nodded and continued.

“With Undead such as these,” he said, “one experiences the inevitabilities that come with life as time marches on. A scratch here, a cut there, a minor illness that weakens one just a bit. Aches and pains and weariness. These small things can build up and become overwhelming, so vigilance must be constantly maintained. Even the mightiest warrior will fall prey eventually if there is no reprieve.”

“Unless you are not affected by any of that,” Clara noted.

“Of course,” Brother Martelli nodded. “Many equip themselves in such a way that they are protected from much of what can happen out here. Ultimately, however, we depend on our fellows. Whether they be the artisans that fashion equipment and curatives, those who produce our food and supplies, or our comrades who fight alongside us, we Humans face the trials of life together. Alone, we are not much for very long.”

“That is an interesting insight to have out here.”

“It is as I said, no?” Brother Martelli’s hazel eyes seemed to smile from behind his visor, “The battlefield is an honest place.”