“Burna’s balls. Thornlung is the last thing we need.” He shook his head. “What a coincidence.”
“Coincidence?” I asked.
“Yes. The first day in fifteen years that I mention the existence of my sister, and Thornlung appears in the city,” he said. “It is a nasty disease. Swift and deadly. Breakouts of it in cities here are rare, but not unheard of.”
“She had it?”
“Yes. We all did.” A flash of something that might have been pain passed behind Vash’s dark gray eyes, and he grimaced. “You handled that well. Your cheeks are starting to fill out the pants of authority, eh?”
“They sure are,” I grunted, standing up. I smoothed my coat down. “He was testing me, wasn’t he? With the ‘why won’t you make me mayor?’ talk?”
“Yes. Though in truth, the idea of electing a mayor via popular vote is also radical change for Myszno, if not all of Vlachia. It is typical for them to be appointed by the ruling lord.” The Baru jerked his metal thumb toward the dining hall. “What comes now?”
“Now I go and study my map of Myszno and get a handle on the kind of terrain we’ll face in Bas,” I said. “I plan to blitz the place in a single day. Maybe two.”
“Solonovka is named the Fortress City for a reason.” Vash arched his eyebrows. “You think it will be that easy?”
“No.” I straightened the narrow silver band on my brow—the coronet of the Voivode. “But I promise you this. Fortress or not, we’re going to teach Zoltan Gallo the new motto of House Dragozin.”
“And what motto is that?” He asked wryly.
“The same one my division used in the Army.” I grinned back. “‘Fuck around and find out’.”
Chapter 12
The first thing I did after returning to my quarters was to go into the KMS and spend almost all of our hard-won money on two things we needed to make Myszno one of the wealthiest provinces in Vlachia.
A little over 20,000 olbia got us two destroyer-class airships from Litvy, medium-sized warships to replace the ones we’d lost battling the Demon. I couldn’t outfit them with high-quality magical shields yet, but they were fast, quiet, and able to carry a decent number of troops. I also put in an order for a team of high-level NPCs—a mage, an artificer, a Forgebrother of Khors, miners, and archeologists—to join us from the fair city of Boros. The team would be dispatched with the ships to Krivan Pass to begin the excavation of the Hall of Heroes. I assigned the Knights of the Red Star to supervise them. Of all the soldiers in my army, they had the highest morale, the most Renown, and the strictest vows of honor. They were also tough enough to keep any curious player characters at bay.
After the shopping spree, I surfed over to the interactive map of Myszno, and finally took a good, long, hard look at Bas County. Myszno had ten counties, with the population concentrated in only four of them: Litvy in the north-west, the ducal seat of Racsa in the center, Boros to the north-east, and Bas, which was due south of Racsa and only about a day’s ride by land out of Karhad. Like Racsa, Bas was very mountainous, with most settlements and villages located in steep alpine valleys. The capital, Solonovka, was a city on the edge of the Vlachian frontier that was, as my DI would have said, ‘locked down tighter than a nun’s cooter’.
The city had not one, not two, but THREE concentric rings of tall stone walls: one around the town itself, one around the base of the switchback ridge where Hussar Manor sat, and one encircling the castle itself. From the ground, it was extremely defendable. Approaching it by air was almost as risky. For one thing, any airship or dragon coming toward the city could be spotted for miles in any direction. According to notes submitted by Kitti via Suri, there were five towers in Solonovka, and each of them was armed with anti-aircraft weaponry. In Archemi, those fell into three categories: magical defenses, blackpowder artillery, and giant ballista or other large shooty-downy devices capable of plugging a lot of metal into an airship’s engine at high speed. In any case, it was bad news—assuming Zoltan Gallo actually had the manpower to field them.
My study was interrupted by a soft knock on the door. My ears pricked.
“Suri?” I called out.
“Sure is,” she drawled. “How’d you know?”
“Call it an educated-and-or-magically-augmented guess,” I said. “Come in. Door’s unlocked.”
She cracked it open and peered inside, scowling. “Why is your door unlocked?”
“Because I’m right here.” I gestured to the living room. The Ducal Suite had a central living area, with a Victorian-style sofa and chairs, fireplace, and paintings of the old Voivode and his family. There were four doors in here: one to the bathroom where I slept, one that led to the Lady’s Chambers, one that went to my bedroom and office, and one that went to Rudolph’s butler lair.
“What? One assassin wasn’t enough for you?” Suri huffed, letting herself in.
“If someone comes in the door, I’ll throw fruit at them.” I picked up an apple from the bowl and grinned at her.
“You throw that at me, you better be ready for the consequences.” Suri was still in the armor she’d been wearing when she met Karalti and I in the courtyard: a set of [Bolza Guard Armor] in the silver and green livery of the old duke. “How did the meetings go? I saw we’re back down to about five thousand olbia.”
“There was, in fact, a great Voivoding,” I replied, moving to get a glass for her. “Want anything to drink? There’s wine, wine, water and... let’s see what this jar is... I think some wine?”
“Vlachia sure does like its wine.” She chuckled, pointedly locking the door behind her. “Give me something red. The sweet kind, if Rudolph put that out for you.”
“He did.” I poured two glasses, one for each of us. “You look sweaty.”
“I am. Had training with Kitti.” Suri unequipped her full-plate, then the padding underneath, stripping down to a pair of leggings and a form-fitting vest that kept her chest under control while in armor. She unlaced it halfway as she moved to the sofa, sighing with relief as some of the compression lifted and her cleavage was allowed to breathe. She had quite a lot of it. Against all odds, I managed to keep my eyes forward and not spill the wine.
“How’s she doing? Kitti, that is.” I asked.
“Good. Girl’s a natural Berserker,” Suri said, dropping down. “Her father coddled her and tried to keep her away from swords and rough men, but he couldn’t beat the wildness out of her. That’s what you need for this Path: wildness, will, and spirit. She’s got the right kind of fire, but she’s still just a kid. She doesn’t like drills, because those are boring. She can get a bit sooky when she’s tired.”
“Sooky?” I took her glass over to her and pulled up an ottoman, straddling it to sit in front of her.
“Yeah. You know. Whiny, bitchy. Whatever you wanna call it.” Suri took her glass with a smile. “Normal boot stuff. She’s just gotta power on through it.”
I snorted. “Hand her over to Istvan. Have you seen that man drill recruits?”
“Oh my god.” She let out a short laugh. “I heard him ranting in the barracks the other morning. Funniest shit I’ve heard in my whole fuckin’ life.”
“Dooo tellll.” I leaned in.
“He was yellin’ at the top of his lungs at some of the new guys I hired on the first day back here. And I swear, this is a direct quote.” Suri waved her hand for a moment, gaining her composure, and then put on her best Barking Sergeant Istvan voice, complete with accent. “‘I take great offense at waking up a room full of men, and find that somebody has the audacity to stand at the end of his bed with an erection! And I want you all to pay very close attention, because if I see that erection again, I will kick it until such a time as it becomes un-erect!’”
I started laughing about halfway through, and then kept laughing until I was rolling on the ottoman.
“I swear to god, Hector, I lost about half the coffee up my nose,” Suri was laughing too, by now. “I don’t think I’d hand Kitti over to him, though. S
he’d come out the end of his training with half a dozen tattoos and a drinking problem.”
“Hey, come on now. He’s gotten better with the booze,” I said. “Vash has been good for him.”
“He sure has.” Suri shook her head. “Anyway... Had a look at Bas, yet?”
“Yeah. Operation Girlpower looks like it’s going to be a doozy,” I said.
She stared at me in disbelief. “Operation Girlpower?”
“Kitti’s still a girl. We’re restoring her family to power. The name checks out.”
“Fuckin’ hell.” Suri sighed, leaning back against the sofa. “Remind me again why I put up with you?”
“I’m a savant. I found and implemented the clitoris despite never having attended the training course.” I nodded.
“There is that,” she replied dryly. “I’ll have to design an award. We can pin it to your forehead next to the dick.”
I beamed at her. “The Pink Pearl Badge.”
“Pffft.” She chuckled as she drank, shaking her head. “Anyway... you reckon we’re gonna be able to finish the quest on time?”
“Yeah. I think so.” I straightened up and cracked my back, then my hands. “We won’t know exactly what we’re dealing with until your scouts return. Has Kitti been able to fill you in on any details?”
“A few,” she replied. “Namely that Zoltan isn’t exactly popular in Solonovka. Like most knights, he had his own little patch of land with a few tenants to farm it. He treated them like shit, and it seems likely he’s treating everyone down there the same way.”
“That’s helpful,” I said. “If we can break his hold over the populace, they’ll turn on him.”
“Assuming we can get to him, yeah.” Suri swirled her glass. “Solonovka is probably the best-defended town in Myszno. The Demon was the first invader to take it by land or air since it was built, and he only did that by tricking his way in past the first two layers of walls.”
“Sure. But from what I remember of Kitti’s description of events, there’s only so many people who could be working with Zoltan. The problem with big, heavily entrenched positions is that they take a lot of manpower to maintain. Towers have to be guarded, posts staffed, weapons made and repaired. If he doesn’t have the boots on the ground, it’s free chicken.”
“Right. And I think it’s safe to assume he’s relying on air defense,” Suri added. “He knows the new Voivode has a dragon. He has to know.”
“Right.” I said. “In a place like Solonovka, he’ll be worried about airships, dragons, and cannons.”
“Mhhm.” Suri drained her glass and relaxed back into her seat. I did the same, then sidled over onto the sofa. Suri promptly rested both her feet in my lap.
“Sooo...” I began to absently rub her toes, settling back against the armrest. “Before I can wind down for the day, I need to see the recording on the Heart of Memory. I don’t know if I can share the feed with you or not. If I can, do you want to see it?”
She groaned, and tipped her head back against the cushions. “Sure. I was just taking a break, to be honest. And I was hoping I could ask for a favor.”
“Go ahead.”
“I want to get my gear back as soon as we can. Tonight, if possible. When I died in Withering Rose’s cockpit, my Inventory dropped there.” Suri said, looking over her chest at me. “I feel naked without my bloody armor. This guard equipment doesn’t even have half the rating of the full-plate Rin made me.”
I nodded. “Consider it done. Karalti needs to finish eating, but after that, I’ll see if she’s up to it.”
“Thanks. Hopefully we can just teleport in, grab the bag, and teleport out.” Suri gave me a wan smile. “I missed you. Being a titled Lady in a big castle wasn’t nearly as much fun without you and Special-K around.”
“Don’t enjoy Voivoding?” I let go of her foot and took the Heart of Memory from my Inventory. I sent off a quick party message to Rin: “Hey, sorry to bug you: is there any way to stream the information on the Heart so Suri can see it?”
“Y’know, I enjoy ruling more than I thought I would,” she said. “Only thing that pisses me off is how inefficient everything is. Lords and ladies and knights and vassalage and shit... it’d be so much fucking easier if there was a proper chain of command, people earning the right to lead based on merit. I’m not a big fan of this top-down feudalist bullshit. Not with a big war on the horizon.”
“I knew there was a reason I loved you.” I chuckled. “I’ve been thinking the exact same thing. Things won’t change overnight here, but I have a feeling they will change. I’m planning to fight for it.”
“Huh. Well, if we’re gonna be lording over the place for a while, we really need to get a new throne, though. Your skinny Tuun arse fits in it alright, but I’ve got hips. It pinches the shit out of me.”
“We kind of need to get a new everything,” I said, turning the Heart over in my hands. The ruby mana core pulsed softly, radiating warmth against my palms. “I like green things, like plants and shit, but I’m not too big on the green brontosaurus decor. We’ll hopefully be able to fix the castle soon, but the province comes first. I’d live in a mud hut before I let anyone in Karhad starve or freeze to death.”
“You know some people are gonna die no matter how well we do, right?” Suri said. “That’s how that goes.”
I wasn’t sure why what she said pissed me off as it did—but it did. “Willingly, Suri. I know I can’t save everyone, but I won’t willingly let them starve.”
She paused for a moment, realized she’d hit a nerve, and reached out to squeeze my arm. “Right. I get what you mean. And I agree. I saw enough of that in prison.”
“So did I,” I blurted. Then paused, blinking, as it occurred to me what I’d just said.
“You served time?” Suri cocked her head. “You never told me. When?”
“I... uhh... haven’t. Been in prison. I mean, I was born in an internment camp in Orange County, but, I was like... one year old when we were released. Don’t think anyone ever starved in there.” I rubbed my eyes and forehead. “I’m not sure why I said that. I’m just tired, I guess.”
“Eh. Slip of the tongue.” Suri looked faintly troubled, and I saw her glance at my left shoulder. “On that note: how’s your pet black hole doing?”
“What?
“Your shoulder.”
“Oh, that. I haven’t checked.” I shrugged, then pulled my shirt off and had a look at what she was talking about. The hole in question was an eerie triangular patch of black nothingness that took up most of my left shoulder. It was a scar, kind of. The surface was solid, but it didn’t feel like skin. It didn’t feel like anything. You couldn’t push your fingers through it, but you couldn’t feel it with your fingers, either. I’d earned it during an airship crash soon after entering Archemi.
Suri leaned in to look at it as well. “It’s bigger.”
“This? Nah.” I pointed at the black space. “It’s always been that size.”
“No, Hector. It’s bigger.” She reached up to probe it. “It didn’t used to touch your collarbone like that. You need to show this to the Masterhealer.”
I frowned, turning my head to look at it again. Now she mentioned it, had it spread from my shoulder to my chest a little? “It’s fine, okay? It’s just the light. Even if it has gotten bigger, the Masterhealer isn’t going to be able to do shit about it.”
“We don’t know that,” she insisted.
I was saved from having to respond by an [Incoming Voice Call] popup. I kissed Suri on the side of the head and held up a hand. “Hang on: Rin’s calling.”
Suri rolled her eyes, and sat back with a sigh.
“Heya Hector! Sorry it took me a while to get back, I’m setting up a workshop in the smithy quarters,” Rin chirped. “Thanks for the materials!”
“Uhh... no problem.” I didn’t remember leaving Rin any materials, but maybe someone else had. “So yeah: is there a way to stream this thing you gave me?”
“Hm
mm...” I could almost hear the gears turning in her head. “Oh! Yes! I’m pretty sure there’s meant to be a first-person streaming function, but I don’t know if it was actually included in Archemi’s beta launch. If you watch it while streaming a first-person POV in a video chat channel, you should be able to share it with us.”
“You want to see it too?” I asked her.
“Sure! A-as long as it’s not too gory, or a-anything!” She stuttered off. “I mean, you did, like... die.”
“I can’t guarantee it wasn’t gory,” I said. “Ororgael is a bad dude. For all I know, he whipped out Ororgael the Lesser and molested my tender, innocent corpse.”
“R-Right. I’ll pass for now, then. Even though I don’t have a stomach and probably won’t puke, there’s some things I really, really don’t want to know about Michael, you know?”
Once Rin DC’d, I opened a new video chat with Suri. Then, I ordered it to stream. Sure enough, a first-person video feed appeared in a small frame. When Suri accepted the invite, suddenly she could see what I was looking at. Her face split into a broad grin.
“Hey, mate. My face is up here, you know.” She pointed at her eyes.
“Face? What face?” I managed to tear myself away, also grinning. “Oh! There she is! Sorry, I must have missed you there. It was hidden behind this amazing pair of... chin... pillows.”
“‘Chin pillows’.” She laughed, throwing a cushion at me. “Fuck you and your prim Yankee bullshit. You will address Colonels Knockers and Norks with all due respect, soldier!”
“Apologies, ma’am. Ma’am. Ma’am.” I nodded to her, and saluted to each boob. “So, ready to watch me die pathetically at the hands of my arch-nemesis over and over again?”
“Not really, but let’s get on with it.” Suri looped an arm over the back of the sofa, closing her eyes.
I rattled off the words of power to the Heart of Memory and did the same. A warm sensation spread through my head, and then the playback started.
Chapter 13
Spear of Destiny Page 10
