Beyond?

by Andur

  “Tools?” Stella's eyes widen.

  “Yes, so far he bought ropes, whips, handcuffs, a very tight leather outfit, two sets of differently sized marbles, chains, oil and a very thin lingerie, matching Helen's three sizes.” I count the different items. “And he visited the page with the dildos eleven times, but so far he hadn't the courage to buy one of them. Maybe he is still thinking about the size? I am hoping to get a little more on him.”

  Stella is just standing there in utter disbelief, her mouth wide open. “I get the handcuffs, but a whip!? Marbles?”

  “It's okay my love. Your mind is too innocent, but that makes you cute. Don't take the wrong path like your parents. And don't talk with Louise about this, she would surely dirty your mind.”

  Stella turns away from me and takes Zadkiel up from the floor. “I don't want to hear any more of this! Give me back my illusion of having proper parents!”

  She opens her robe to feed Zadkiel, pressing him to her chest.

  I steal a glance and scratch my cheek. “Did you make them bigger?”

  That was obviously not the correct question since Stella snorts and leaves the room with big purposeful steps.

  Something tugs at my clothes and I remember about Sariel. She crawled to me since Stella left her behind.

  I nod vehemently, looking down at her. “Did you see that? Your mother can't even take a simple question.”

  Sariel looks up to me with begging eyes and tugs once more on my trousers.

  “She is a bad mother, isn't she? Feeding Zadkiel and forgetting about you.”

  Sariel's eyes wander to my chest.

  “No! I don't have any milk!” You made a fatal mistake when you chose me as a provider. I lack the necessary facilities.

  Her gaze turns upwards to make eye-contact with me and her thumb wanders into her mouth, looking even more heartbreaking.

  I bend down and pick her up. “We'll follow your mother and plug you up to her second tit, she has two after all.”

  82. ~Developments.~

  “While the Eastern Plains are mainly dominated by grassland and small hills, Nict is a country of wild and old forests, which only give way to the big fields of farmers and meadows for their cattle. The region has more than enough water since the mountains to the north are the origin of many big rivers.

  Broad and comfortable roads are connecting the villages with the border cities. It's a necessity to keep those roads in a very good state.

  No sane civilian would get the idea to cross the almost impassable forests. Only experienced hunters and lumberjacks enter the dark backwoods, which reclaim cultivated land within months if nobody stops the wild vegetation from overgrowing everything.

  But the reason for the peasants' fears are not the dark backwoods, nor the thick underwood. The thing that's stopping the average person from entering the forests is a certain part of the lively vegetation.

  You can find the slasher vine almost everywhere in the entirety of Nict. It's an insignificant looking plant and most unfortunate victims never know what killed them. The people who are working in the forests developed a keen eye to recognize the thin vines which reach from tree to tree. In many cases just a few centimetres above the ground and hidden by high grass.

  The slasher vine is completely harmless during its growth period, reaching from tree to tree, feeding from the nutrients of its host plants.

  It gets only dangerous once the slasher vine reaches the end of its life and develops little capsules with seeds along its vines. Once it dies, the slasher vine starts drying up, shrinking in the process.

  The vines tense and shorten while they get almost as strong as steel wire. Once these thin wires are touched even lightly, they snap, slashing at the unfortunate victim.

  The force is big enough to seriously wound or maim the victim. Many found themselves without legs after taking a stroll in the forest. The lucky ones get decapitated.

  The seed-pockets burst open and deliver their poisonous seeds into the victim’s wound, paralysing it to use it as fertilizer for the new, fast growing vines.

  That's the reason why all animals which live in the forests are either very resistant, armoured beings like the fire lizard. Or smart, fast and nimble creatures like the parda, the wild ancestor of the warcat.”

  -Biology report II.

  Free City States of Nict, Capital

  Azir

  “We haven't seen each other in a long time.” Clara Veit folds the fingers of her hands on top of her office table, taking a praying position. She is the director of the university and the personification of an old hag. Her hair is white and there are more wrinkles on her skin than I can count. The horns are only sad stumps on her forehead, reminders of former glory. She is a very skinny, almost starving-looking grandma.

  I smile and nod. “Indeed. A long time! Though I don't know why I am here?” A teacher informed me earlier that the director requested to see me. Since I was already on my way home I decided to stop by in the director's office.

  She nods. “I admit that I almost forgot about the student who bound his fellow classmates naked onto a statue.”

  I draw in a deep breath. “That's a false accusation! There were never any witnesses.”

  She squints her eyes. “Yeah... I am still wondering what you did to them to make them stay silent until today. Though that's not the reason why I called for you.”

  “So what's the problem then?” I ask. “I haven't much time. I am a busy person.”

  Clara points at Sariel, who is sitting on my lap. “That's the reason!” Her finger wanders to Zadkiel, who has a comfortable spot on my shoulders. “And that! You can't bring children to your tutoring lessons!”

  I tilt my head in confusion. “Did anyone complain?” Strange, I made sure that nobody would say anything about my children. “I had to take them with me since Stella has laboratories and there was nobody available to look after them.”

  The director shakes her head. “Nobody complained, but the teachers saw it and I don't allow it!” She shakes her finger at us and the twins follow her movements synchronously with their eyes.

  “Fine. It won't happen again. Next time I'll give the children of the ~second princess~ to a random caretaker.” I simply have to execute more control over the campus. It seems like a few persons still don't realise that interfering with me can only end badly for them!

  Clara crosses her arms in front of her chest. “See to it. There won't be another warning.”

  I get up and leave through the office door in a hurry. What a waste of time. Upon exiting through the door I hear a strange hollow sound from above my shoulders and remember that Zadkiel is riding me!

  Hurriedly I place Sariel on the floor. She is very displeased and her small tail displays that by moving around wildly. Taking Zadkiel from my shoulders I find a big bump developing on his forehead.

  He didn't let out a single sound, but there are tears in his eyes and his chin is twitching, a sign that the great crying will start any moment now. “Don't cry, you are a strong one.” I apply a healing spell while Sariel is looking at us with an expression that can mean only one thing.

  What can I say? She is right. Zadkiel could have taken care of his head.

  I take Sariel under my left arm and grab Zadkiel on his clothes. “I think we should take a short-cut.” So I concentrate and teleport all of us directly into our living room at home. It was a long day and I am tired.

  Upon reappearing in my house I am greeted by Stella and Ivy who are having their evening meal.

  “Ah! You are back! That's good. Zadkiel needs his liver!” She stands up and approaches me, but her attempt at taking Zadkiel away from me doesn't go too well.

  I never imagined that a baby's body can get that strong, but he is burying his fingers with all his might in my clothes and starts crying.

  Stella pulls even stronger. “Let go, Zadkiel. Your liver is waiting. What's wrong with you? Just a month ago you didn't stick to your father like that.”
<
br />   I sigh. “I can understand him. Every child who is fed stuff like that is going to hate the one who feeds him.”

  Finally Zadkiel's fingers tire and Stella manages to get him off of me. I feel for you boy, but it's for your own good.

  “It seems like the saying that love goes through the belly has some merit when it comes to children.” Ivy chuckles and continues eating her bread with cheese.

  I deliberately ignore Zadkiel's predicament and start stuffing myself with the snacks on the table. “When I was small I thought that my mother was trying to poison me.”

  Stella pulls a grimace and stops her attempts at feeding Zadkiel with a spoon. “This isn't going to change the fact that he needs to eat his share of liver.” A syringe appears from under her clothes and she starts filling it with the mashed liver. It's not a normal one, but the big version for cooking.

  I continue eating while I am observing the situation. “Do you really think this will work?”

  She shrugs her shoulders. “Zadkiel isn't swallowing the stuff on his own, so I have to take drastic measures.” The syringe is closed again and Zadkiel's eyes turn big and round as it is forced into his mouth. His cheeks bulge outwards like a hamster's and at least something goes down his throat.

  Our happy time is interrupted by a message window popping up in my field of vision. It's from Helen and flagged important. Obviously Stella got it too, because she stops forcing the ugly white mass down Zadkiel's throat.

  I open the message and start reading.

  “The south started moving their forces. We expect them to attack our three southern border cities within the week...”

  83. ~More than Enough.~

  “The fire lizard is a three meter long, green lizard which lives in Nict's forests. The scales on its hide are the most sturdy natural material we know of. In earlier days they were often used as arrowheads or as small knives. The fire lizard is herbivorous and likes to eat the charcoal and ash of plants.

  Normally the fire lizard lies dormant and sleeps. It's a very docile animal which doesn't bother other beings if not deliberately disturbed. Even if it decides to move, it does so in a slow manner, fully relying on its tough skin and it's ability to breathe fire.

  The fire lizard has two organs in its mouth which create a set of chemicals. Through mixing them with it's spit, they ignite upon contact with the air. Strong muscles in it's mouth allow it to spray a breath of fire to a range of up to ten metres.

  The fire lizard is the only animal which is keeping Nict's rampant flora in check by starting big forest fires at regular intervals. Those fires keep it supplied with its main source of nourishment, charcoal.”

  -Biology report III.

  Free City States of Nict, Capital

  Azir

  I get to my feet and point at Ivy. “Take care of the kids!”

  Ivy's eyes wander to the twins, who return her sceptical gaze with intense glares. “Are you sure that I-”

  “You'll do fine. Didn't you say that you want to try it for yourself? Well, someone who lays eggs also has to take the responsibility for it afterwards, so see this as a free trial. You always vanish when you should do your job as a baby sitter.” I rebuke her.

  “Taking care of children isn't in my job description.” She answers without bashing an eyelid.

  “You are our servant and a servant, per definition, serves. Whatever I need help with, you help.” I turn and follow Stella to the stepper disc, leaving Ivy with the kids.

  A minute later I am with Stella in Helen's office. The ruler of Nict looks like she had a bad day and her normally neatly arranged dress looks like she just got out of her bed.

  She gestures for us to take the seats in front of her desk. “Like you heard, the South is amassing their troops. They crossed our borders and are marching towards Tri, Tetra and Penta. They are moving faster than we thought, considering that we expected them to need at least four months to mobilize.”

  She sighs and throws a stack of documents into her waste bin. “So much for our plans. They have mobilized at least five hundred thousand warriors for each of our cities. It's hard to imagine how they managed to achieve that. They would have to enlist everyone of suitable age to achieve such numbers. I want to ask you what you think of the situation and if you can help somehow.” She sets her eyes on me.

  I shrug my shoulders. “The first thing is that we can start bombarding their supply lines with our satellites. The nature of Nict is harsh and no matter how devoted their army is, troops without supplies don't go far.

  The second point is that we can send our drones to harass them and maybe start moving more troops to the cities in question? Is my fortress anywhere close to the action? It should be able to deal with one of the armies. Unfortunately it's too slow to intercept all of them.”

  Helen nods. “My military commanders already anticipated this and sent the fortress towards Tetra weeks ago. It's the farthest city to the south.”

  I nod, tilting my head in thought. If there is something I've never bothered myself with then it's a military command. At least there are some capable people who are planning ahead. Given the nature of the relationship between Nict and the Southern Nations I expected nothing else.

  The fact that they managed to gather such a huge army is still troubling though. Do they have reinforcements too? “Does it look like they intend to fight for the land, or are they going directly for our cities?”

  I answer the question myself by linking up to my satellite network. “Their armies are marching in a straight line towards our border cities. Looks like they are not bothering with the small villages.”

  Helen snorts and smiles. “Even they'd learn something from history if they fail often enough. Taking control over the surrounding land and besieging the border cities doesn't work. The Gates enable us to supply the cities with fresh troops whenever we want.

  They have to take the city and deal with the City Gate. That's the only chance for them.”

  Stella growls and repositions herself in her seat. “But if they shut down one of the Gates, we'd have a problem. Our enemy operated undercover for years, how can we be sure that they haven't found a way to deactivate the Gates? We shouldn't underestimate them, even if we threw them off balance.”

  Helen returns her attention to me. “Is there a way to shut down the Gates? After I heard your story about your... previous life, I deduced that your people must've known how the Gates work? Surely you didn't ignore a nifty artefact directly in front of your nose.” She already knows me too well.

  I squint my eyes and try to remember my studies on the topic. Of course I don't expect anyone in this time to fully understand the Gates, but if our enemy is really the Emperor's son... he should know how to do it.

  “There are ways. Like deactivating them manually, but that requires opening one of the cover plates. Since the Gates are heavily guarded I doubt that anyone could do so without being interfered with. They were constructed to be left alone after all. The creators never intended them to be switched on and off at convenience. Unfortunately the schematics in the library don't specify the exact power source for the Gates, so I don't know if that's a possible approach.”

  “There are blueprints in the library?! I have to seize them. And you don't know? I thought you had surely already sneaked to one of the Gates on a dark night to inspect them. What would you need to answer that question?” Helen asks with a grin on her face.

  Damn! Luckily I already copied all the books about the Gates with one of Ivy's remotes. “Well, it isn't like I can find out anything without being allowed to take a Gate apart. Can I take one of them apart?”

  Helen's grin vanishes. “No.”

  “Then no answer.” I state the matter of fact.

  She shrugs her shoulders. “The functionality of the Gates is much more important than knowing the answer in this case. We have a huge hostile army on our soil. We can't deactivate one of the Gates even for a short period of time. Our cities are too dependant on
each other.”

  That's too bad, but she is right. The City Gates are in use day and night with a constant flow of goods from one city to the other. The problem lies in the forced specialization which came with the fusing of all seven cities.

  While the capital is the main population centre, Mono is mainly responsible for manufacture. Di is the shopping district and Tri specializes in weapons. Tetra is our stronghold against the south, but despite that it has the biggest agricultural output. The cities to the east are flourishing with fishing products and cloth.

  You could explain the web of relationships in even greater detail, but the point of the matter is this. Shut down the Gates and you end up with angry citizens, collapsing trade and huge losses.

  “Then we have to rely on the guards to keep suspicious people away from the Gates.” I conclude.

  “There is no need to let anyone close to the Gate in the first place. Nobody has a need to deviate from the main road which leads through the Gate.” Stella points out.

  We continue our discussion for a few more minutes, but nothing particularly interesting arises. So Stella and I head home while the military handles the issues at hand.

  The following days showed that we underestimated the determination of our enemies. Despite the constant use of our satellites they pressed forward, in many cases completely ignoring their own losses.

  My satellites are precision devices. It makes almost no sense to use them against thinly spread troops. What they did a perfect job on was cutting off the enemy's supply lines.

  They lost far more people to starvation and thirst than my satellites could've ever killed with their limited ammunition. Of course we can resupply the satellites, but that takes time. You have to teleport the whole thing down to us. That requires a few nifty calculations, which can't be done by everyone, then you have to restock it and teleport it up again.

  This process can take days since you have to wait for the right time windows when you can get the satellite and send it back into space.