by Han Yang
“I’m King Damien, and this is Queen Tarla,” I said.
The warrior woman stood. Her tight leathers were practical with extra pockets and meant for war. She had a short haircut that kept her brown hair tight to her head. Everything about the woman told me she was a dragon rider. She said, “Countess Carlina.”
“Welcome to Moonguard City,” Tarla said.
“I don’t feel welcomed. You made our delegation wait almost two hours, we haven’t seen our prisoners, and no refreshments were offered,” Countess Carlina said.
I smiled as if apologetic. My plan needed them here and out of sight.
“Uh, about that. I’m a warrior king. We won two engagements that I needed to sleep from. I’m not a god,” I said with a shrug. “Are you hungry?”
Jenovene cleared her throat from the side of the room to let me know I was doing something wrong.
“Who is she?” Countess Carlina asked, eying Jenovene with disdain.
I stood, offering my hand to Tarla. “I’m a savage beast who defiles decorum. Jenovene is trained in the ways of the court. I’ll let you talk while I walk around my city and snack on a kabob.”
“Meat on a stick?” one of the ladies asked perkily. “I fancy a walk.”
“Indeed,” Tarla replied. “We have an excess of pork at the moment. It’s delicious with yummy spices.”
Countess Carlina eyed the lady in the fine dress.
“I shall join you. I am Duchess Nomi, and while not trained in military negotiations, I am trained in diplomacy. I do not mind if you are unknown to the intricacies of court. My husband is barely house trained,” Duchess Nomi said, causing the ladies in the room to laugh.
“I’m not trying to be rude intentionally,” I said. “Who am I negotiating with? If it's all three, please join me for a casual walk. If it's the one, again, please join me for a walk.”
“I will negotiate, and my daughters will record and advise,” Duchess Nomi said. “May I have an attendant?”
I stared at her in confusion. Ike walked forward and said, “Formerly Prince Ike of Ignoria, General of Tribe Moonguard, Reborn from the Gods at your service, my Lady.”
I bent my arm in an offer to Tarla, but she shook her head no. “I shall retire. I have someone who I miss dearly. Have a wonderful walk, my King.”
“And you enjoy your rest, my Queen.” I kissed the back of her hand.
Tarla leaned close to my ear and said, “I love you.”
I pulled her in close, picked her up off her feet and pressed my lips to hers. She smirked when our kiss finished.
“You never need to whisper such things, my love. Tell Mags daddy will be back soon,” I said and twirled her towards the exit.
Jenovene hurried to Tarla’s spot, and I frowned. The raven-haired woman said, “Customary.”
With her on my arm, I walked out of the throne room to the spiraling ramp, descended to the bottom floor, then waited on the road. Ike was a professional, getting the trio to laugh routinely. If he had them entertained, I wasn’t going to poke the bear.
A series of vendors sold ham stacks, eggs, kabobs, and other food. We gave them the food, they prepared it, and we split the cost. This was the only food at cost in the entire city. We still handed out free food to the masses in large cafeterias.
I fished out some coins that glinted in the lovely sunny day. A nice breeze wafted a delicious smell. The scattered clouds zoomed by overhead and Ossa hunted a pigeon. I returned my attention to the troll vendor and bought enough food for everyone.
Duchess Nomi had swapped with Jenovene, and I wasn’t happy. I tended to always keep my enemies at a distance. This would work for the plan, but I preferred to not have my reactions scrutinized as closely.
“No thanks,” I said, and she gasped. “I literally just slept for four hours after a long day, and my breath is atrocious.”
“Oh, I don’t mind,” Duchess Nomi said with a curtsy.
“What am I missing here?” I asked bluntly while scanning the others.
Ike smiled genuinely and directly said, “She was thoroughly searched this morning. Her griffins are locked in a stable, and any transgression means the death of her nephew. Technically, a surrender of the white means you can do that anyway, but she has cause to keep you happy. If anything happens, your guards will kill them all, and those fortunate enough will get revivals. You are absolutely safe, my King.”
“I don’t like dying, even if I can be brought back,” I said dryly.
Duchess Nomi bit her lip to contain her giggle. “You sure are different.”
“Yes, I’m from a different planet, and I was a librarian, not a warrior,” I said and begrudgingly offered her my arm.
Duchess Nomi finished chewing her bite, tossed the stick in a bin, and accepted my extended nook. I used the moment to give her more than a parting glance. Sandy blonde hair rested in a single tight bun. Hazel eyes complimented slightly tanned cheeks. She appeared mid-twenties to early thirties, letting me know she wanted to let her age show slightly.
Pretty, but those eyes spoke of cunning. I decided to trust she wouldn’t try to kill me and led the group towards the western gate.
Our prison rested outside the city, exposed to attack. I had converted all the child prisoner sections into housing and schools. I simply didn’t have a massive arena inside the city big enough to house them all. Moonguard City was small compared to Sasin or Xastriban.
Luckily, the captured Podoni caravan came equipped with tents and wagons already. I simply had them establish their own camp while staging supplies near the gate as needed. If there was one thing we had an excess of, it was camping gear.
I even let thirty of them hold weapons. Ike thought this was crazy, but the camp was literally guarded by four thousand minions. Anyone trying to do anything untoward would learn the hard way that I didn’t play games.
“Your city is so empty,” Duchess Nomi commented while we passed the banking section.
“Yes, we are devoid of goblins at the moment. I left some to guard the local woods and help gather resources. Everyone does their part. I run… I ran a socialist society for a long time. I was the tribe master who gave everything to the citizens. We had no bank besides mine, or a need for one. That’s why all these upper society buildings remain void of life. That is changing, though,” I said.
“I would imagine so. Most expeditions split the spoils equally. They part ways once home, and regular life resumes. You have to rebuild that regular life,” Duchess Nomi said astutely.
I nodded and walked us under the inner keep’s gate. The sorting continued in this area around the churches. Instead of items from the portals, we had unfolded sails laid out along every side road. Trolls and korb cleaned metal with cloth until it gleamed.
I saw Dad and Mom among the thousands of workers. The duo picked over the fine elva items, and mom sized dad up for a fancy chest piece.
We exchanged friendly waves when they caught sight of our group. Surprisingly, Mom didn’t give judging eyes for having another woman on my arm.
“You can salvage from the bottom of the ocean,” Duchess Nomi said with interest.
“Don’t act surprised,” I said, and the others gasped. “If you flew in this morning, you saw all this. Even if I suddenly build up my own air power, I can’t stop spying eyes from seeing what we do inside the city.”
“I will take the insult with no ill-will. I did not see this, but you are correct, when I left, I would have,” Duchess Nomi said.
We left the church area and walked down a korb section of the city. The constant hammering of home modifications made the area hard to talk in.
Korb attached doors, added shutters, and built furniture. Awnings were being attached, and a few of the homes knocked out walls to connect neighboring residences. I didn’t like the look of the upper decking plank bridges, but korb liked to live communally. The concept of privacy was not normal in their society.
After the two story homes faded, we entered the main
city road that stretched four wagons wide. A series of ogres plied uneven stones out of the cobbled road. A series of water mages cleaned the stones while geomancers formed the base. Once the stone went back into the slot, it levelled imperfections in the road to create a smoother ride.
The din of construction rang loud, and we traveled in silence while observing the construction. I kept a purposely slow pace to enjoy the early afternoon rays. We shifted by the market where only four or five vendors sold basic items. I saw a new soap merchant, a sign we were making progress.
“I figured you would have shit in the streets and goblins rutting in the open,” Duchess Nomi said.
Her daughters snickered, as if she had scored points with the insult.
“Nope, they’re civilized. A point of pride, actually,” I admitted. “It’s rather nice when your citizens are so devoted. One might say they would do the unthinkable for you and win wars.”
“Except we are isolating about three thousand Ignoria refugees. Imagine our surprise when they came from this very city,” Duchess Nomi said.
I still smiled at this. She didn’t understand the game I was playing, baiting me with insults.
“Can’t win them all,” I replied. “It’s funny, really. You save people, feed them, clothe them, and let them go when the time is right. I hope they find happiness with your people, and I respect your empire providing them shelter.”
As we neared the west gate, Jorma landed with Peth in front of us.
Countess Carlina said, “A water dragon used for scouting. The wonders just keep coming.”
Jorma approached in her blue robe. She tried to straighten her wild hair the best she could as if she needed to be presentable.
“General Asha returns,” Jorma said, bending a knee.
“Arise,” I ordered. “If the news is good, share. If poor, wait.”
“Is capturing six thousand elva alive good or bad news?” Jorma asked with a smirk.
“Interesting. I didn’t expect this,” I said.
I had checked my report this morning. I only lost a few hundred centaurs and a few dozen human skeletal knights. Even with the losses, I was at max minions, telling me something had gone right. Without saying anything else, I upped our pace.
This news bumped up my timeline and I was eager to speak with Asha.
The scaffolding for the western gate went a few dozen feet high. Crews placed stones one at a time to rebuild the wall. Beside the gate, teams pulled ten-foot tall chisels up high with pulleys. The metal dropped suddenly and the rocks would break apart.
We left the construction and arrived on the fields outside the city. In the distance, I could see a wary army of elva marching off their horses. The Podoni forces were preoccupied from watching the sight of their defeated allies arriving and didn’t notice us.
The prisoner camp was in prime condition. Fires cooked meals, no one slept in the muck, and most of them went about small chores like brushing horses or washing clothing.
“Excellent. I can, for once, say I am truly impressed,” Duchess Nomi said.
I rubbed the back of my neck with a free hand. “I may have said I would kill them and turn them into the undead if they misbehaved.”
“Ah, not an idle threat either,” Duchess Nomi commented.
“I will let you figure out how best to handle the situation of bringing your troops home while you conduct your inspection. I must attend to military matters,” I said and she actually let me go.
Jenovene replaced my spot on her arm and they walked into the heart of the prisoner camp. Asha and Cecil trotted ahead of the returning armies. They both dismounted and Charlie received a single scratch before heading to the stables with the other mare in tow.
“Welcome home,” I said.
“Can I get a healing?” Asha asked.
I readied an area spell - heal other - instead of my once a month spell. I would need to get the minotaurs and orcs behind shield mages to use my fountain of youth spell. That and Duchess Nomi would probably be pissed if I made her appear as young as her daughters.
The condensing magic reached a boiling point, and I unleashed the spell in a growing wave that faded quickly. My healing never had the same sort of power that my necromancy did.
“Thanks,” Asha said. He gestured to the ladies in fine dresses. “What are they offering?”
“No idea. We just hit the part where they get to ensure all their troops aren’t being converted into zombies. Now they do the parade thing, and then I drop the big reveal,” I said with a shrug. “And the fight with the elva?”
“Uh, yeah, about that. You missed a good time. Apparently, elva are not innocent and neither are their horses. The undead caught their tired horses about three hours south. A few hundred died to close the gap, but once it closed, the elva lost troops.
“I was a bit shocked when Cecil had no problem raising the dead. There’s about four hundred elva in need of being risen, but Cecil ran out of space,” Asha said.
“Go kill five hundred rasker minions. They’re our weakest link, and no one will complain if they turn to dust,” I said to Cecil.
“Consider it done. After the coming battle, I will prepare a minion report. I keep trying to, but there has been almost infinite work,” Cecil replied.
“Thank you for your effort,” I said sincerely. “There will be peace one day, and on that day, we will fish or play chess.”
“Thank you for letting me see the sun rise again,” he replied in earnest. “A trip in the ocean during summer sounds delightful.”
Asha and I watched him walk away. The main force of surrendered elva neared, and ogres streamed out of the west gate. The two groups met with my forces, delivering wagons and tents to the beleaguered arrivals.
An elva approached, devoid of weapons and with a weariness to his steps. His weapon was missing, his helmet with white plume tucked under an arm, and I could see the sadness etched on his face.
“No further,” I commanded. Thankfully, he stopped before my guards shot him. “What do you need?”
“I beg for basic supplies to quench our thirst, food to quiet our stomachs, and shading to prevent sunburn,” the elva said.
“Uh,” I pointed to the ogres dragging out items. “They’re on the way. Build a camp. Expect anyone leaving the camp without permission to be slaughtered. I will hold court with you after the coming battle.”
He turned his head in confusion but decided not to question me.
“I thank you for your kindness,” the elva said and walked to help establish a second camp of prisoners.
“What was it like?” I asked.
“Oh, they can shoot better than me. The problem was that crossbows don’t care how great you can shoot a bow once you enter their range. When the first volleys unleashed, enough tumbled down that Cecil added to our ranks. They thought they were impervious to necromancy.
“Ghouls stripped their flesh, and then skeleton elva rose. It was truly terrifying, and they gave up not long after the fight started. The horses were winded from the hard march both ways,” Asha said.
“Ah, not really a fight.”
“I mean, it was for a few minutes. After that, a quick surrender cut off most of the fighting. It really was as simple as they were tired, and the moment they saw their dead rise, they lost hope,” Asha said.
“What do we do with them?” I asked.
He patted me on the back, sighed in a tired manner, and left to probably get a good rest. His lack of an answer was the best I would get, telling me it was on me to decide.
I watched the elva continue to arrive. A few of the younger elva seemed to have energy left where the older kin were exhausted. Luckily, I had a whole bunch of camping supplies for them to use. I watched the elva struggle and didn’t find an easy answer. I wasn’t angst ridden, but I certainly was uncertain.
Jorma hesitantly approached with Deston at her side. A new guard trailed behind the duo. The arrival hid their identity drawing a baggy hood over their face
and the thick robes made it hard to tell what species rested under them.
Jorma had brought me our special guest.
“My King, Nee requests your presence,” Jorma said.
“Where is she?” I asked.
Deston glanced down, as if uncertain how to respond. “She is… expressing displeasure at the diplomats.”
“Over what?” I asked.
“The pilfering of valuables from the camp has been put on hold, by Lady Jenovene no less,” Deston replied.
“Speak plainly,” I snapped.
“Mother and the dumb duchess have reached terms,” Jorma said. “I see you compartmentalized… again.”
Deston glanced around in confusion.
“Excuse my anger. I have hardly slept. Jorma, fill our friend in on my plan. Speaking of which, you're both not mere messengers. Retire and aid in the city's defenses,” I said with a shooing gesture.
I walked across the field until I found an angry goblin ogre, an angry princess, and an angry duchess.
They went silent when I neared and asked, “What’s the problem?”
“We reached a tentative deal,” Jenovene said. “An official from the capital will come to bring the proper terms. These people and all their supplies for peace.”
“Oh,” I said in shock. I had never expected this, and I couldn’t accept it.
“Yes, it is really that grand of an offer,” Duchess Nomi said with a cheeky smile.
I shook my head. “I’m afraid it won’t be approved.”
I lifted my empty hands with an ‘I’m sorry’ shrug.
“I’m almost certain it will be,” Duchess Nomi said. “We barely call the elva allies, and they clearly are not worthy of helping our forces or even their own. The Podoni Empire values strength. That is why I’m making this offer, and why I know it will be accepted.”
“Doubtful. You hold limited information. We’ve reached beyond the point of peace. Bribe me, or I sell your people to the Jeer Coalition,” I said.
“You monster,” Duchess Nomi hissed between clenched teeth.
“Quite right. As a matter of fact, I am needed at the front,” I said. I turned to one of my dwarven guards who carried a drum. “Beat out the tune for war. Jenovene, please tell my lovely Queen I will need a raincheck for tonight's events.”
