Valkyrie's Shadow

The Tiger and the Dragon: Act 3, Chapter 3

The Tiger and the Dragon: Act 3, Chapter 3

Chapter 3

9th Day, Upper Wind Month, 1 CE, 1200 Hours

“Your Majesty, Baroness Zahradnik has returned to the palace.”

A pure smile filled Draudillon’s expression as she put her hands together in front of her. The Captain brightened in response.

“Oh!” Draudillon said, “It brings Us joy to know that the Baroness has returned! We were wondering where she disappeared to.”

An hour after the meeting with her makeshift court, Captain Scavo returned from his task. Draudillon looked past his shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of the tall woman through the hole in the door.

“She went to examine the farmlands around the city,” the Guard Captain said. “The Baroness doesn’t talk much, but she can sure get things done. I’ve never seen a Noble like her before.”

Yes, that’s because martial Nobles die before anyone else.

The Draconic Kingdom had them at one point. They were the foundation of any Kingdom’s military and went on to become the backbone of its armed forces.

Races that naturally formed tribal societies – including Humans – followed patterns of societal development which could be considered analogous to one another. One of these patterns was the rise of a martial elite that secured territory and helped to enforce order. When tribes grew to the point that they formed countries, those martial elites became martial aristocrats.

A broad warrior caste forming out of the foundations that those martial aristocrats laid was an indicator that a country was on the road to greater success. If a country failed to do so, it was a strong sign of stagnation. The Empire was an example of the former, while Re-Estize was an example of the latter. Given that a martial Noble served as a Commander of the Sorcerous Kingdom’s forces, the Sorcerer King was likely well aware of how things worked and knew exactly what he was doing.

There were exceptions to this pattern of development, of course, but their success was predicated on one thing: ‘unnatural’ strength that arbitrarily allowed civilisations to exist. While it was not the only one, the Slane Theocracy with its ‘sacred relics’ and ‘divine blood’ was the premier example of such a state in the region. Trying to raise a country in the same way without the same power inevitably resulted in being out-competed – also known as being driven away, eaten, enslaved or otherwise integrated into other societies.

The Draconic Kingdom occupied a strange sort of middle ground between the two paths of development. It had the natural tribal development of humanity, but, at the same time, her great-grandfather, the Brightness Dragon Lord, had introduced a Draconic bloodline into its royal house.

Theoretically, this gave the Draconic Kingdom the strength of a sorcerous bloodline and Draudillon enjoyed several other perks from that manifesting the powers of her Draconic lineage. The people had naturally developed along the ‘tribal’ route, so one could say that it was a regular Human country supported by the strength of a Draconic bloodline. Their geography was also highly favourable for Humans and gave them access to an enviable amount of natural wealth. With proper guidance, it all combined to give the Draconic Kingdom a good chance of being highly successful.

Unfortunately for the Draconic Kingdom, their Beastman neighbours were counted as one of the powerful countries in the world. As time passed, it grew and so did the appetite of its population. In the end, the advantages that Beastmen tended to enjoy over Humans proved to be too great to overcome with wise rule and prudent development.

A good martial Noble and their retinue might prevail over a thousand Beastmen, but then ten thousand more would come. It didn’t help that strong people attracted the Beastmen like ants to sugar since they saw them as worthy adversaries to test their mettle against and earn them honour and renown.

Once their martial elite was ground to dust, the Draconic Kingdom could only cling to the rapidly-deteriorating remains of its martial tradition and throw money into training soldiers. Sometimes, a Noble found the heart to take up arms and serve as a Captain or Commander, but that heart was featured in the cuisine of their Beastman foes not long after.

A strong military was ultimately an unsustainable effort in their situation. Any semblance of a proper army that they built up was summarily torn down by the Beastmen and things just continued to deteriorate from there. Now, they relied on Adventurers and foreign aid for survival.

She wondered if sending Baroness Zahradnik was a calculated move on the Sorcerous Kingdom’s part. Humanity rallied around the strong. Martial Nobles were not only individually strong, but also strong leaders. If she knew what she was doing, flagging morale would transform into unflagging fervour wherever she influenced the battlefield. Unfortunately, that would only last as long as she was around, so they had to act to stabilise things before then.

“Bring her before Us,” Draudillon told the Captain.

The Baroness entered, adorned in an equestrian outfit with tall boots, thigh-high stockings and a skirt that hung slightly above where her stockings ended. Her chestnut hair was done up in a loose bun, pinned by a blue crystal ornament that did not tremble in the slightest as she glided forward to stand before the throne.

Despite being so young, everything about her screamed of a confidence born of unyielding discipline and hard-won skill. She carried herself with an air that would terrify people in times of peace, but it was exactly what was needed in times of war. A mountain that stood defiant against any and all adversity; an unfailing blade that mercilessly cut down the enemies of the land. It had been so long since Draudillon had seen a martial Noble that she nearly forgot what they were like.

“We thank you for your hard work, Baroness Zahradnik,” Draudillon nodded.

“Your Majesty,” the Baroness lowered herself into a curtsey. “How may I be of service?”

“We have reviewed the situation in the capital,” Draudillon said. “It is Our wish that Seagate be liberated to alleviate the stress on our food stocks.”

The Baroness raised her head.

“Very well, Your Majesty.”

…eh?

There should have been more than that. When she issued a royal decree, people would fall over themselves in an effort to express their sincerity or firmly entrench an impression in her mind. It was never a Noble’s equivalent of ‘okay’.

“How long will this take?” Draudillon asked.

“Seagate will be yours by the morning.”

“…just to be sure, you understand that Seagate is two towns, yes? One on each side of the estuary.”

“I do, Your Majesty.”

Her no-nonsense tone certainly inspired confidence, but…

“What about the defence of the capital?”

Baroness Zahradnik fell silent for a moment. She didn’t forget about that, did she?

“If Your Majesty so desires,” the Baroness said, “A strategic overview of our operations can be provided in the war room.”

We have a war room?

“We would like this,” Draudillon nodded. “The capital region has been isolated for so long and information is scarce.”

She rose from her throne, shivering as she shed the blanket from her legs. Ioena and Sebas Tian fell into step behind her.

The Baroness led them out of the throne room and through the palace to its northwestern tower. Draudillon’s steps slowed when she noticed the tall Undead sentry at the door. Baroness Zahradnik went by it without missing a step.

What is that woman made out of?

Draudillon stared at the Undead sentry for several moments. Then, a stroke of womanly genius fell upon her. She turned around with a distraught look. Her distraught look turned genuine when she saw what was going on behind her. The quivering Ioena was already clinging to Sebas Tian’s arm.

Dammit, Ioena!

“Is something the matter, Your Majesty?” Sebas Tian asked.

“We…We…nothing!”

She spun on her heel and stormed through the doorway, ignoring the neatly-ordered ranks of Undead Beastmen on the first floor and heading up to the war room. More advanced strategies were required if she wanted to get ahead of a palace filled with ambitious young noblewomen.

Draudillon caught up with Baroness Zahradnik on the second floor, where she was greeted with an unexpected sight. The tower floor had been cleared and refurnished. A large wooden table of sturdy craftsmanship occupied the centre while shelves had been placed along the walls. Smaller tables with chairs went with the shelves and the entire space was softly lit.

To her alarm, four Elder Liches stood around the table. To her further alarm, two women and two children stood around the table between them. Adding to her rapidly mounting alarm was the fact that one of the women was cradling a baby in her arms. Even further adding to her catastrophically mounting alarm was another baby cradled in the arms of one of the Elder Liches.

“Welcome to our war room, Your Majesty,” Baroness Zahradnik said. “Please don't be alarmed by my general staff here.”

Draudillon’s gaze went from the Baroness to the Elder Liches; then to the woman with the baby and the two children. They bowed respectfully from their places at the table.

“Your general staff…all of them?”

“The Commander on night duties is resting upstairs, but the rest of them are here, yes. The Elder Liches are from the Sorcerous Kingdom’s Southeast Army Group. Wiluvien Linum here is one of my Maids.”

She had a Maid Commander? There existed maids who were trained to be bodyguards and others who were raised as casters, but she had never heard of a Maid that was a Commander.

“What about the children here?” Draudillon asked.

“Olga and Raul are apprentices,” the Baroness answered.

“…and the babies?”

“I don’t think they’ve settled on their vocation yet, Your Majesty.”

“I see.”

The sheer terror that should have filled Draudillon’s mind was squeezed out of her head by the sheer ludicrousness presented at the table. If the Beastmen knew that they had lost a decisive battle against two children, a nursing mother and two babies who hadn’t decided on their vocation yet, they would slash their own throats open out of mortification.

She stepped up to the open side of the table across from Baroness Zahradnik. Spread before her was one of the recently made maps of the Draconic Kingdom.

“Captain Scavo was kind enough to provide us with a map from your palace archives,” the Baroness said. “I hope you don’t mind our using it, Your Majesty.”

Normally, one would be infuriated if important maps fell into the hands of a foreign power – or even a neighbouring landlord – but anger was pointless in this case.

“What are all these markers on the map?”

“The blue markers represent known Beastman positions, Your Majesty,” Baroness Zahradnik replied. “We are updating their movements as reconnaissance reports come in. The other markers are for our infantry, cavalry and irregular forces.”

Draudillon knew that her country’s situation was bad, but having a map with presumably accurate information made things look utterly dire. She scanned the area around the capital.

“There are no Beastmen near here?”

“It appears that the ones attacking the capital came from all over the duchy, Your Majesty.”

“We see,” Draudillon nodded. “That’s good news then. What about Our subjects?”

“As far as we’ve seen,” the Baroness replied, “the people are gone.”

“Gone?!”

Baroness Zahradnik quietly stared at her for a moment before speaking again.

“Your Majesty, forgive my asking but do you understand the nature of the current invasion?”

“They’re...they’re conquering the Draconic Kingdom to turn the land into a livestock pen, no? That’s why We were surprised when you said Our people were gone. If they want to farm Humans, then they cannot eat all of the people.”

The Baroness nodded. She then indicated a line marked across the Draconic Kingdom. Starting from the Oriculon Estuary, it followed the river inland until its first major northern tributary. From there, it followed the tributary to the northern border.

“We’ve just started scouting out the areas adjacent to this line, but there is a trend here that we believe is notable. The Beastman occupation on the lands in the east has perhaps one-quarter of the invaders that they have in the west.”

“Well, those lands to the east have been occupied for longer. The cities there have been under their control for over a year. This side of the line is where Our people are still resisting, yes?”

“That may be the case, but…the fact that the Dragonic Kingdom is regularly subjected to attacks by its Beastman neighbours is common knowledge in the north. Details beyond that, however, are not known. If I may ask, could Your Majesty summarise what you know of these offensives? E-Rantel does not border any official Beastman states.”

Draudillon collected her thoughts as her eyes traced the border of the Beastman territories. A military officer would be better suited to explain, but she had lost what few she had left when the capital was overrun.

“I cannot describe their tactics,” she said, “but there are two broad categories of attacks. The most common are what one would call raids: the Beastmen come over the border in small parties, kill any defenders that get in the way and then drag off their meals.”

“How are those raids usually dealt with?”

“If we manage to detect them well in advance, Adventurers will intercept them. Most of the time, they are there and back across the border before Adventurers can respond. Most successful interceptions happen when the Beastmen get greedy and go in too deep.”

“Has the Draconic Kingdom ever retaliated against these raids?”

“No,” Draudillon shook her head. “Adventurers do not attack other countries and We do not have the military resources. Even if We did, attacking Beastman lands is folly. Their terrain is poor for Humans – it is mostly mountains and jungle valleys.”

One of the Elder Liches stretched forth a plotting rod, moving a few of the markers around. Another added a set along the northwestern border.

“What about the other category of attack?” Baroness Zahradnik asked.

“They are the big raids,” Draudillon answered. “Thousands of Beastmen cross the border and overrun the land. Cities can be occupied during those and they gorge themselves on Our citizens.”

“But the Beastmen are ultimately driven out…”

“They are,” Draudillon eyed the cities that most commonly fell. “The usual pattern to things is that the Beastmen come in great numbers against our border defences. While this happens, a combination of Adventurers and our military forces stall for time. Foreign aid may or may not arrive before cities fall – it usually takes somewhere around a season for a proper force to be organised and sent to us.”

Bitterness welled up within her as she spoke. Needing to wait for help while her domain being was violated was a wretched feeling,

“Do you know why the Slane Theocracy didn’t send help this time?”

She looked up at the Baroness with a frown.

“How did you know that?”

“I understand that it is supposed to be a secret, but the Slane Theocracy’s role in assisting the Human nations in the region is not unknown to me. They are the only nation that can afford to offer this sort of aid on a regular basis, anyway.”

“Until now,” Draudillon muttered.

“Until now,” Baroness Zahradnik smirked.

Draudillon held up her hands helplessly.

“We do not know why they haven’t come,” she said. “They do not even respond to Our calls for help.”

“Then these Adventurers that have been working for the Draconic Kingdom: do you know of any whom I can speak with?”

Filaments of anger rose within her.

“We managed to retain them for a while with promises of payment,” she said, “but most of them left when Crystal Tear fell and they saw that We could no longer effectively collect taxes. Adventurers will not fight if they are not paid to, after all. If any of them are still around, they would be out in the north somewhere where Nobles can still commission them…why do you ask?”

“I wanted to ask if the Beastmen that raid the Draconic Kingdom are the same ones that are invading, Your Majesty,” the Baroness said. “I observed some curious things while we were removing them from your capital.”

“Oh? What were they?”

A glass of wine appeared on the table at her wrist. She looked over her shoulder to offer a smile of appreciation to Sebas Tian.

“The Beastmen here do not appear to be warriors,” the Noble from the Sorcerous Kingdom said. “We questioned a few dozen and they were all from various civilian vocations – mostly related to agriculture.”

“That may be the case,” Draudillon said defensively, “but if the average adult Human is Difficulty Rating 3, the average adult Beastman is Difficulty Rating 30, you know! They do not need to be warriors to tear apart Our soldiers.”

“Forgive me, Your Majesty,” Baroness Zahradnik lowered her head. “I did not mean to disparage your subjects. All that I meant to say is that our observations of this invasion indicate that we are dealing with something akin to a large-scale tribal migration. Before arriving, I assumed that we would be fighting a professional Beastman military. Which brings me to another of my questions: do the Beastmen have a professional military present in the Draconic Kingdom? Fighting a chaotic and disjointed opponent is far different from fighting an organised force.”

Draudillon thought back to the tales that the Adventurers regaled her with whenever they successfully returned from a request. It was difficult for her to sort out truth from boast, but…

“They do,” she said, “but I do not know if they are in the Draconic Kingdom. Their warriors are each powerful enough to merit Mithril-rank commissions on their own; often higher. Our only saving grace is that they do not appear frequently.”

“Then we’ll have to keep an eye out for them,” the Baroness rubbed her chin. “A Beastman hero or a party of them may be annoying to deal with.”

Annoying? More like a nightmare.

If a party of Beastman heroes cared enough to attack the Draconic Kingdom, the country would have perished long ago. They probably existed in other parts of the world, but not in the Beastman country nearby.

“About the ‘big raids’ that you mentioned,” Baroness Zahradnik said. “Were they all of this magnitude?”

“No,” Draudillon snorted. “This one is unprecedented; many times larger than any that have come before.”

Her eyes ran over the myriad of markers on the map before her and sighed.

“Some of my ministers advised me to harbour the people of the duchy in the capital,” Draudillon sighed. “But we couldn’t possibly feed them all. I thought…I thought that they would at least stand a chance of survival with the Beastmen. Humans are just livestock to them, you know? Chattel. Since a Farmer does not pointlessly slaughter his livestock, I thought they could at least survive like that until we could figure out how to save them.”

Draudillon sniffed. And now they were dead. It seemed that she could only be decisive about bad decisions.

“I don’t think it was supposed to turn out that way, Your Majesty,” the Baroness said.

“What makes you say that?” Draudillon wiped her cheek.

“It’s just a hypothesis for now. The idea that this is a mass migration combined with what our reconnaissance has turned up so far suggests that the Beastmen are well aware of their logistical issues.”

Baroness Zahradnik pointed to the eastern part of the Draconic Kingdom.

“These tribes have ‘settled’. The numbers there are probably what is sustainable for the long term.”

The noblewoman’s hand moved to the western part of the map.

“This ‘army’ consists of the tribes that are still migrating and looking for territory to settle. However, their logistical needs are taking their toll. Everyone in this duchy was eaten because the Beastmen needed to eat. They all came to your capital because it contained the most food.”

“Wait, are you saying that the Beastmen in the east have swindled the ones in the west?”

“In hindsight, some might see it that way. Ultimately, we do not know how they determine who settles where or what their original plans were. Generally speaking, a tribal migration keeps migrating until the population finds a suitable place to settle down. The problem is that you have the Deadmarch in the northwest, which is a foodless expanse to them. Any scouts that they send will find the Katze Plains to the north. Scouts that go west will be crushed by Altamura’s patrols. Without knowing whether there is food ahead, the tribes cannot continue their migration.”

“And while they loiter, they eat all of my subjects.”

“Any meat, really. Your people, their livestock, any game…it’s hard to imagine that they don’t know how to fish.”

So while she was trying to keep food riots from happening in her capital, the rest of her country was rapidly being devoured. If she received a gold coin for every time she sighed, she could probably keep an Adamantite Adventurer team or two on retainer.

“Is there anything you can do about any of this?” Draudillon asked.

“This is the tentative plan for now,” Baroness Zahradnik indicated the capital with a finger. “The capital duchy is currently clear of Beastmen, but I would like for you to refrain from sending people out to repopulate your territories for the time being. There should still be a lot of hungry Beastmen in the neighbouring lands, so sending new villagers out right now will attract more Beastmen to the capital. Preparations to begin working again can still be made within the city walls, of course.”

“Does that mean you’re not leaving any soldiers here?”

“One of our cavalry squads will be left to patrol the perimeter of the city, just in case some curious Beastmen make it all the way there. Otherwise, the capital’s defence is primarily predicated on staying outside of the Beastman tribes’ awareness. Like the Deadmarch, the duchy here has become a place where there is no food to be found and they risk starvation if they attempt to cross it. The Linum sisters will be overseeing the defence of your capital, as well as coordinating our reconnaissance efforts, so Your Majesty may consult with them whenever you wish.”

“What about inside the city?”

“The rest of our forces will be dealing with the invaders. What we have here in this tower is to defend our command centre, but they can also act in case of emergencies. Will Your Majesty be capable of enforcing law and order in your city?”

“We’ve enacted some temporary measures that should work as long as the city doesn’t run out of food. So you will be heading to Seagate next?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Seagate will be secured, as will the river up to the eastern border of this duchy. Once we do that, the rest of our delegation will arrive. This should be sometime late tomorrow, so please prepare your party before then. Ah – we’ll also need a way to assure Seagate that we are acting on Your Majesty’s authority.”

“We can draw up a royal writ or something similar. You’ll probably have to deliver it to the local authorities personally, however – if one of the Undead walked up to them they’d probably go into hiding for days.”

“It would be wonderful if a single document could be provided that will be accepted wherever we go.”

Was there a writ for that? The only one that she could think of indicated that the bearer was acting on the Queen’s behalf. Anything impromptu could be rejected as a forgery even if it had the royal seal on it. If she handed over the former to Baroness Zahradnik, the Nobility would probably go into fits upon seeing such a thing in the possession of a foreigner.

Or maybe they’ll just stay quiet with an Undead army staring them in the face…

“We have something in mind that should serve. It’s only temporary, mind you! Temporary!”

“Of course, Your Majesty. I simply wish to ensure that the process of recovering your lands goes as smoothly as possible.”

The reassuring words only served to raise suspicions. Even if they were accustomed to wielding their authority, there were always little things here and there that Nobles did for themselves. In her position, however, Draudillon could only hope that Baroness Zahradnik didn’t run off with half of the country.

“After Seagate,” Draudillon’s eyes drifted northwest along the coast, “what will you be doing?”

“We are assuming that everything east of the line drawn here is ‘stable’,” Baroness Zahradnik replied, “and more concerned with keeping the western tribes from encroaching on their territory rather than invading any further. As such, our forces will be working to relieve the west. In addition to the contingent that secured your capital, we have another coming through the Deadmarch from the northwest. Once operations have progressed to a suitable stage, another contingent will secure Blighthold from the sea.”

What the hell is the Sorcerous Kingdom, again?

There wasn’t a single trace of apprehension in the young noblewoman’s voice. At this point, Draudillon wondered if the Sorcerous Kingdom hadn’t just established a new state but conquered the north, as well. No doubt in her mind existed that they could have just as easily conquered the Draconic Kingdom with their forces – they were doing just that, in fact.

“How long do you think this will take?” Draudillon asked.

“It depends on how the Beastmen react to our presence,” the Baroness answered. “We’re walking a fine line between minimising losses for your people and containing the Beastmen so they don’t scatter and cause continued losses elsewhere. The current plan is to decimate the bulk of the Beastman forces in the northwest within two weeks. Following the initial offensive will be a second, more thorough sweep to ensure that local operations may resume. After that, we will address the occupation in the east.”

Relief flooded over Draudillon’s worry-worn mind. Two weeks. Never mind her capital running out of food, she would have half of her Kingdom back. Where she could only see darkness before, she dared to imagine that there was light.

She looked across the table at Baroness Zahradnik, who appeared to be waiting for any questions that she might have. Was she someone who had appeared with the Sorcerous Kingdom? Or was she a former Noble of Re-Estize who had gone with the Duchy of E-Rantel? Unlike Baharuth, Re-Estize was not known for its martial Nobles.

“We are curious, Baroness Zahradnik. You are making many considerations that We have not seen from others. Those who come to fight the Beastmen do not usually care about whether they are civilians or warriors. Nor do they care about their motivations or behaviour in general. They also do not consider the big picture as you do – they only care to collect their pay or see the Beastmen driven out.”

“Understanding the nature, motivations and influences that affect each and all sides of a conflict is foundational to formulating effective strategies,” the Baroness replied. “This not only applies to warfare, but also to a nation and its people. While it is possible to conquer and govern with raw strength alone, doing so does not enrich the world around us.”

“Umu,” Draudillon nodded in agreement. “You will forgive Us for saying so, but this wisdom is beyond one of your years. Do you have some great Sage as your mentor?”

“I am blessed to have many mentors,” the Baroness smiled slightly. “In this case, it was a Goblin who helped put words to something that I intuitively understood.”

Draudillon furrowed her brow.

“A Goblin?”

“A Goblin General,” the Baroness replied. “One of the best Commanders in the Sorcerous Kingdom. I feel that I am but a novice by comparison. What was it he said again…ah – ‘If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.’”

It felt like an empty saying to her. Knowing Humans and knowing Beastmen only assured one that the result would more often than not be terrible for the Humans. The world was not a place where people were born equal and what one was born as more often than not dictated their fate. While the two statements could be said to be the same, the Baroness’ version left little room for foolish idealism.

“We believe it is good that you have such a broad-minded outlook,” Draudillon said. “But I hope this outlook does not result in indecision when it comes to the Beastmen invading the Draconic Kingdom.”

“Of course not, Your Majesty,” the tips of Baroness Zahradnik’s fingers settled on the table. “Raids might leave room for two sides to develop a mutual understanding over time, but a migration is a migration. These Beastman tribes have freely chosen to risk their lives in a venture to lay claim to the Draconic Kingdom, decimating its population and subjecting the survivors to chattel slavery. As Queen, it is your right to declare the lives of these invaders forfeit.”