Valkyrie's Shadow

Winter's Crown: Act 3, Chapter 13

Winter's Crown: Act 3, Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Kesstris Esess wasn’t exactly sure what happened.

After a night curled up in his makeshift shelter, under a pile of half-dried reeds, he awoke to the gloomy chill of the morning. He forced himself out to start a new fire, moving about in the thick mists to warm himself up. The others stirred before he headed off to the Human Lord’s place, and Ezsris tagged along, excited to see what a Human village was like. Kesstris was almost certain the female would get herself in some sort of trouble, but her excitement made it hard to refuse her. It was so cold in the depths of the valley – where did she get all of her energy?

They walked several kilometres, past the timber yards and to the fortress village beyond. Along the way, they stopped and scurried back behind a row of timber, peeking out at a massive feline Beastman who must have been twice his length. It stalked across their way silently, on the heels of several small, woolly creatures less than half of Kesstris’ size. He didn’t focus much on them, however – he was preoccupied looking at the dagger-sized fangs of the Beastman and the wickedly curved claws poking out of its huge paws.

Was the terrifying Beastman tending to its livestock? He wasn’t sure how such a large being could survive on so few of the small creatures. Did they prey on other things in this land? Maybe it might consider the Lizardmen as a decent meal. Against his better judgement, he came out to fearfully ask some questions, but then they flew – making their way over the broad river to the cliffs on the other side. Kesstris and Ezsris could only stare in disbelief as the Beastman and its small herd of livestock floated away to become mere specks over the water.

How did these Humans survive in a place where giant, predatory Beastmen flew? None of the Undead sentries appeared to pay it any mind: this Human Lord must have displayed her dominance over these Beastmen somehow. Kesstris was starting to think he was quite lucky getting away with just having his tongue stabbed.

Shortly after they entered the village, he lost sight of Ezsris, who had probably gotten distracted by something, somewhere. He hoped she wouldn’t end up causing some sort of trouble. Making his way awkwardly up the stairs and ramparts, he wondered if anything had actually ever tried attacking this place. It seemed a difficult thing for his kind, at least. Along the way, Humans would glance at him briefly before returning to their tasks and, partway up the hill, he found the building with the Death Knight that the Human Lord had described.

Upon being let in by the mean-looking Human attendant, he was overwhelmed by the odour of blood. Kesstris looked all about the place nervously as he waited in front of a small desk. His Darkvision allowed him to see the interior, but he couldn’t figure out where the scent was from. The discussion of the previous evening came back to him: maybe the Vampire had just visited, and a grisly sacrifice made.

He did not have long to dwell on the image, however, as the Human Lord came to stand at the desk before him. Then he was buried in a mountain of words, many of which he did not understand. Now, he staggered back out, having made the excuse that he needed to have his Hunters start their work. Kesstris had risen not an hour ago, yet he was already exhausted.

On the way back down, he found Ezsris being dangled high above the ground, a Death Knight holding the hunter up by her tail. Her head was pointed straight down at the grass, and her jaw hung slightly open. She swung back and forth lightly in the wind but was otherwise very still.

“E-Ezsris?” He managed to stammer out her name at the sight.

The black-scaled female stirred, turning her head to eye Kesstris.

“Oh,” she said, “a handsome chief has come to my rescue? I tried playing dead, but this Undead wishes to keep me.”

“…did you do something?” He asked.

“I went inside this building here,” she pointed to some sort of shed. “Humans were going in and out and the door was open, so I thought to see what it was about. Then there was this little Skeleton inside that became angry at me.”

Lady Zahradnik walked past them, entering the building behind the Undead sentry.

“This is an outrage, my lady!” A miffed voice drifted out, “That thing came inside and started rooting around all over the place! She ignored my protests, so I had no choice but to have the gentleman outside take her away.”

“Was anything stolen?”

“Well, no, but half the warehouse is a mess now,” the voice sighed. “Please tell me we are not going to have random reptiles entering and poking their heads everywhere, my lady.”

“I will have a word with them, Jeeves.”

Lady Zahradnik appeared in the doorframe, walking back out to stand in front of Kesstris and Ezsris. Her eyes went from one of them to the other.

“Hello,” Ezsris smiled.

“Do your people have the habit of going through others’ belongings, Chief Esess?”

“N-no, my lady,” he replied. “This one is simply too curious for her own good.”

“As Chief,” Lady Zahradnik said, “the conduct of your people is your responsibility. If the situation becomes so severe that I am forced to act personally, the result may not be to your liking.”

“Yes, my lady,” he dipped his head. “W-will I need to find a new Hunter? Or…”

The Undead dangling Ezsris over the ground released its hold, and she flopped to the ground. The young Huntress scrambled to her feet, rubbing her tail as they followed Lady Zahradnik down the hill. To Kesstris’ great relief, she made no further attempts to get herself into trouble, and Lady Zahradnik wasted no time in returning to their camp on the shores of the floodplain.

They arrived to the sight of the other four Hunters basking in the sun. The Lizardmen seemed entirely oblivious to their approach, so Kesstris started dragging his feet over the gravel. Lazy eyes slowly opened in their direction, then grew wide when they finally registered their approach. The sound of panicked movements filled the air as they scrambled to stand in a line.

“Do you have any questions about what you’re to do?” Lady Zahradnik asked Kesstris.

His mouth opened, then closed again. He still only had a vague idea of what she wanted, and even less of an idea why. Walking over to his hut, he retrieved the maps she had handed to him.

“You asked if we were learned in writing yesterday,” he said after returning, “why?”

“So you could record the results of the survey work,” she replied. “As it is, you may use whatever means you are familiar with to note the plants, animals and other important features that you come across. You should be making special note of anything particularly rare or useful.”

Kesstris scratched his chin in thought. Was there a reason to be so thorough? What she asked for would take weeks. They still needed time to move in and build their homes as well – winter was still months away, but this place was still cool, even in the summer.

“Would it be enough to collect what grows in the area shown by each map?” He asked, “Of the plants, at least. We have no way to keep animals.”

“That will be fine,” Lady Zahradnik replied. “Just be sure to remember what animals you do find when you deliver your report. Actually…”

The Human Lord turned to look in the direction of the hill, then back to him.

“Rather than risk losing any information,” she said, “Nonna will come and record their findings until your administrative aide arrives. I have much to go over with you before you start moving your people into the Vale.”

“Nonna…?”

“She is the senior administrative official of my demesne. As Nonna and her subordinates will be coordinating with your people in the future, now is as good a time as any to become familiar with one another. You should go ahead and get your people started – I will be waiting at your camp here.”

With that, she walked over to the fire and pulled out some sort of tome. The Human Lord appeared to pay them or their surroundings little mind as she flipped through its pages.

Kesstris made his way down to the muddy shores of the floodplain, motioning for his Hunters to follow. After looking out at the landscape of clumped marsh plants and waterlogged trees, he turned to address them.

“So…are there any questions about what Lady Zahradnik has ordered us to do?”

The Hunters looked to one another, then Ezsris spoke.

“It’s understandable enough,” she said. “We are to identify the things in this place, and she wishes to record as much as possible for future reference.”

“I think she should have been talking to you instead of me.” Kesstris eyed her tail, which was once again starting to swish about energetically, “Just listening to her makes me tired.”

“A task for Hunters,” she waved a hand lightly. “As Chief, you have many other things to do, yes? Like placating this Human Lord. We were sent to explore this place anyways, and what she wants is one and the same. Just leave it to us!”

Her last statement was punctuated by the slap of her tail on the ground. Kesstris let out a sigh: it didn’t take her very long at all to regain her excitement after angering the Undead in the stronghold. At least she couldn’t get herself into trouble out here. Probably.

“W-what was the Human place like?” Yenseus’ asked, “Did you see anything that might be dangerous?”

“They live in caves dug into the hill,” Kesstris said. “It’s strange – I thought the Travellers said that the Humans lived in shelters that they built on the plains. There were many dozens of Humans there, but I went straight to the dwelling of the Human Lord.”

“Then what was that like?”

“It was…”

The Hunters leaned forward as his voice trailed off.

“It was what?” Usuryus prompted.

“Um…like a cave?” He held out his hands, trying to form what he described, “There was a wooden part that extended out a little bit, so it looked a little bit larger than the other Human dwellings.”

“You didn’t see anything weird inside?” Ezsris asked.

“Weird?”

“When the Human Lord came out with you, she smelled of blood.”

“…”

Kesstris never knew that bringing a skilled Hunter could cause so many problems for him. There seemed to be no end to the troubles that she brought.

“C-chief,” Yenseus said fearfully, “you’re not hiding anything from us, are you? The way you speak to this Human Lord has changed as well…”

“It smelled like blood,” Kesstris said, “but we don’t know what happened! Maybe they were preparing food or something…”

“Oh, don’t forget to tell them about those flying cat Beastmen too,” Ezsris’ tail waved excitedly. “I’ve never seen such a large Beastman before! It was twice as long as the Chief. Its paws were three times the size of my head – the claws must have been like swords!”

Yenseus cringed, holding her head in her hands. A terrified, keening sound issued from her throat. The other Hunters started looking over their heads.

“I-it didn’t do anything!” Kesstris tried to calm them down, “It just walked by with its livestock and flew over to the other side of the river. The Humans didn’t even pay any attention to it. Look…Lord Cocytus sent us here to find a place to live, so let’s get started. There’s supposed to be someone coming to record your findings, so make sure you cooperate. Let’s not make a bad impression, alright?”

Ezsris had already vanished into the reeds before he finished talking, and the others reluctantly went on their way. Kesstris was so tired, yet their work had barely begun. He shuffled back to the camp, where he found that a figure in black robes had joined Lady Zahradnik.

“I thought I would introduce you to Nonna before she joined your surveyors,” Lady Zahradnik said when he reached them. “Nonna is an attaché from the central administration, here to both assist with various tasks and learn about the different peoples of the Sorcerous Kingdom. She is currently working as my head administrative official.”

She…?

Kesstris eyed the Undead being as it was introduced. Why was it a ‘she’? There were many Nazarick Old Guarders around the Great Lake, but none were defined in such terms. There were none to be seen here, for that matter: in their place, even more powerful Undead were employed. Was this land that much more dangerous than their old home?

Everything here either did not make much sense or was outright worrisome. With the rich bounty of the land dangled before them, it felt like one of those old stories where a greedy child was enticed into a den of monsters.

He dipped his head in greeting, and Nonna stared back at him silently in return. After a moment, the Undead being went by him to head down to the floodplain. Lady Zahradnik cleared her throat.

“She is not one for pleasantries,” she told him, “but she will become much warmer once you establish a working relationship. When your own village becomes large enough, you will have your own Elder Lich helping out there.”

“For my village?”

“That’s right,” she replied, “every administrative division in my territory will have at least one Elder Lich working in it. The harbour town will need more when it starts growing, but the villages usually only end up with one.”

“Why would we need an Elder Lich to help us run things?” He asked.

“Hmm…I suppose we didn’t actually see any at the Great Lake. How was your village organized? I believe you mentioned a Chief, various heads and elders…”

Kesstris had received much instruction in running a village, in accordance to his future role outside of the Great Lake, so he inwardly breathed a sigh of relief over the idea that they were now reviewing matters more familiar to him.

“After the war,” he told her, “Lord Cocytus gathered our people into a single village as an alliance of tribes. A unified council was created, with the chiefs of the old tribes, their heads and their elders. Lord Coctyus oversaw proceedings sometimes, but daily matters were usually left for us to take care of. If there was anything important to discuss, we would let him know.”

“That is roughly similar to the way Humans do things,” Lady Zahradnik said. “So we can use the ways you are accustomed to as a starting point for how things are done here. In the future, each Lizardman village will be run by its own chief, and the entire tribe will be led by a council of your leaders.”

“Each village…so you mean to have many Lizardmen come to live here?”

“That would depend on several factors,” she replied, “but, provided that the fish farms are possible here, at least as many as necessary to meet the needs of the demesne. There will be demand downriver as well, but I need to see the effects of these farms on the land before trying anything too ambitious.”

“…why are you doing this?”

“Because it is His Majesty’s will,” she said. “As a member of the nobility, it is my duty to realize the will of the Sorcerer King.”

To follow the strong was the way of his people, but the Human Lord’s tone towards this ‘duty’ to Ainz Ooal Gown was not one of worship – nor was it grudging acceptance or the resignation of the weak. Her voice was tinged with something else, and Kesstris wondered what it was.

“Is…is there a reason why you wish things done in this manner?” He asked, “You could rule us personally if you so chose.”

His initial fears were that she would come to rule them directly, driving the Lizardmen to serve in whatever purpose she had in mind for them. Many who witnessed the brutal outcome of their duel feared that they had fallen out of favour and would be handed to a tyrant – one whom Lord Cocytus claimed would instil fear into them again. Well, she was still frightening enough as it was.

“Because that is the way of things,” her lips turned up slightly. “All peoples have members of their own that lead them. Lizardmen have Lizardman Lords, do they not?”

“In the past, the Lizardman tribes were led by the strongest amongst them. Only one or two chieftains might be what one might consider a ‘Lizardman Lord’…though Shasuryu Shasha, who appears to have the same mysterious power as you, currently heads to council…”

“It is no great mystery,” she said. “Not any more, at least. You seem to have trained enough under Lord Cocytus for him to recognize your quality: have you heard him refer to ‘Classes’ and ‘Levels’?”

“Muu…these words I have heard before,” he replied. “There is much confusion about them, however. Many feel that the old way of looking at things makes more sense.”

“That is perfectly understandable,” Lady Zahradnik nodded. “Until one comes to their own realization of this aspect of our world, it is difficult to grasp, let alone work with. I am still developing my own understanding, but I am confident that I know enough that it can be used to our advantage.”

The baroness reached down to arrange a dozen large branches over the campfire. The flames rose, and Kesstris grew more alert as warmth seeped into him.

“The ‘Lords’ that you see amongst many races are actually a type of class,” Lady Zahradnik said, dusting off her hands. “Though different races have various qualities unique to them, all Lords appear to manifest abilities useful in leading their people. I still find it strange to refer to myself as such but, as a Frontier Noble, I am probably recognized as a ‘Human Lord’ by Demihumans who have ‘Lords’ of their own. You seem to have come to this understanding as well, comparing my abilities to those of this Shasuryu Shasha.”

Kesstris nodded slowly. It made a sort of sense, and having her use similar abilities on him might be seen as proof of her claim.

“I understand your words,” he said. “But our chiefs earn their positions through ceremonial contests of strength and proof of their value as leaders. I may be chief for now, but should someone stronger come along…should the strongest not lead?”

“It may be presumptuous of me,” Lady Zahradnik replied, “but I believe that leaders should be groomed from a young age. Humans have many vocations – classes, if you will – and those who become the most proficient at their work are the ones that have done so from a young age and pursued it without diverting from their course. An excellent smith is not also an excellent Tailor, Farmer and Miner: they are just a smith. People who divide their efforts between disparate paths are never as proficient as those who focus on one.

“To this end, my subjects are respected for the fruits of their labour – the expertise and products only they can deliver. So it is the same with any class: I do not make judgements solely based on how strong or weak someone is. Those who are strong – those with high levels – are so because they must be. A smith must be high level because they are needed to craft the best equipment possible. An enchanter must be high level in order to ensure that this excellent equipment is imbued with the best magics possible. A warrior must be high level because, without their strength, all else can be stolen away. With the support of the people that they defend, they will be equipped with the best items possible so they may perform their duties to the highest standard.

“It is difficult to discern who can excel, but we must support all so we can have the strongest society as a whole. This is a bit of wisdom from my own faith – something proven time and again. With the knowledge provided by the Sorcerous Kingdom, as well as the resources allocated to the study of this wisdom, the truth only becomes more clear.”

“Your own faith?” Kesstris frowned, “You do not worship Ainz Ooal Gown?”

Come to think of it, he saw no statues or monuments to Ainz Ooal Gown in this place: only the flags of the Sorcerous Kingdom waving here and there.

“I do not,” Lady Zahradnik said. “My gods are the Six Great Gods of humanity, who came to live amongst us over six centuries ago. It is their wisdom that I refer to, and their tenets that have guided my house.”

“B-but Ainz Ooal Gown is the Supreme God of Death!”

The Human Lord stilled and stared at him for a long while. Kesstris knew little of Human expressions, but he had the distinct feeling that he said something he shouldn’t have.

“T-then what of our offerings to him?” He pushed their conversation along, “Our tributes?”

“Religious offerings aside,” she replied, “we generally do not deliver tributes here: we pay taxes.”

“Taxes?”

“Simply put, this territory is my title, granted to me by the Sorcerous Kingdom to manage. My vassals take up contracts of tenancy, and a share of the land’s production is paid to them for their skills and labour. The remainder goes towards the maintenance, security and development of the demesne.”

This was certainly not something that was done at the Great Lake. Even now, they relied on the generosity of Ainz Ooal Gown to provide for their needs as they awaited their fish farms to become fully operational. The description of ‘taxes’ was an unfamiliar thing. In the past, the Lizardmen took care of their own families, foraging or hunting for what they needed. No one demanded that a portion be given up simply for using the land – not the Chiefs, nor Lord Cocytus.

“H-how are we to survive these ‘taxes’?” He asked, “We barely had enough to live before…”

“That is one purpose of this survey being conducted,” she answered. “Taxes only come with production, so you will not be paying them until we’ve established what is necessary for a single village to survive, and how much land each one is capable of managing. At the bare minimum, every village will not be lacking for basic needs, so you need not worry about that. Do you see any problems with this?”

If her words were spoken truly, Kesstris thought it was far better than their initial expectations. Spectacularly so. Over time, there would be more Lizardmen living here than at the Great Lake. He felt a thrill of anticipation at the prospect, and his tail started waving over the gravel.

“If it is possible,” he said, “I would like to see my people prosper here.”

“Good,” Lady Zahradnik’s teeth gleamed at him. “Then, while your Rangers perform their survey work, I will begin your instruction in the ways of lordship. It will be a long process, but you will learn how to read and write, how your tribe will integrate with the rest of my demesne, and become familiar with the laws, institutions and customs of the Sorcerous Kingdom.”

Kesstris’ tail went limp again.