by Andur
But Ascathon doesn't pay any attention to him. I guess he judged that I can deal with one of them on my own. In a split second I decide to play the weak victim to utilize my advantages.
“~Kyaaaa!~”
I kneel down while shielding Sera with my body. The Inquisitor is encouraged by my play and runs next to me with a knife in his hand. The weapon is glowing and runes are engraved all over it.
He reaches with his free hand for my upper arm and grabs it roughly.
That's going too far! And he is wide open! This guy isn't trained very well. Or is he a newbie in the business? With all my force, I bounce upwards and place a perfect uppercut on the inquisitor's chin with my free left fist. My right arm is occupied with holding Sera.
But it looks like I overdid it. I feel bones break and the person is lifted high into the air. A fine shower of blood is sprayed all over me. Fortunately there is no ceiling above the balcony. I see the body disappearing into the direction of our garden.
Unfortunately I can't see very far in the darkness. Even with my heightened senses it's hard to see something.
In the meantime Ascathon traded a few blows and spells with the other individual. As the inquisitor realizes that he misjudged the odds, he jumps from the balcony and disappears into the night while dodging and deflecting a shower of icicles.
Ascathon jumps from the balcony himself in pursuit and the shadows swallow him.
“Haah... should I follow them?” But I can't protect Sera from the cold with my battle aura and Ascathon didn't cast environmental protection on us.
I look down at my silent baby and realize that I am not the only one who is sullied with blood. “Aww. Look at you!” I try wipe the drops of blood out of Sera's face and close her gaping mouth with two fingers.
But the mess got just worse. Wiping blood away with a bloody hand isn't a good idea.
“~I guess we both need a shower.~”
***
It's morning and I place a plate with breakfast in front of Ascathon. “You shouldn't be so moody. Everything went well. Except for the mess in the garden.”
The bloody trail from our balcony across the garden is still blemishing the view. It's the first time that I wish for a little snowstorm.
“It sucks. The rat got away! It's bothering me! And probably he is running to the Academy right now to snitch on us!” He starts to mash up his food.
Wah. That doesn't look tasty at all any more.
“How did he get away from you in the first place?” I think that's a mentionable feat on its own. I sometimes spar with Ascathon and to get away from him isn't easy at all. He has something like instant teleportation and searching spells which enhance his eyesight.
“I followed him through half of the city until arriving at the fjord. There he jumped into the water and was gone.” Ascathon shrugs his shoulders.
“Isn't the water cold!? How long can you survive that?” Whoa. Nobody in his right mind would jump into the fjord!
“That's what I thought too, so I didn't follow. But I ordered Den and his men to search for him. Though I don't have much hope.” Ascathon starts to chew his mush.
I tilt my head while thinking. “Then let's hope that the Academy doesn't have too much resources to spare for us while facing the Phenex Empire.”
Ascathon stops chewing and swallows. “I wonder how they will explain to the Jarl that two of their investigators entered a restricted area and attacked one of his nobles?”
34 - Moving in.
Jamaian Union, Jamai-Capital
I am mad! In fact my anger boils so hot, I seriously want to incinerate someone right now. But I guess that wouldn't be befitting of a queen.
The reason are those Jamaian slaves! They are so stupid, they aren't usable for much more than to serve without thinking.
Probably I am too hard on them. The Jamaian tradition of slavery is a long and efficient one. In my long life I never encountered something like it.
Honestly. I organized rebellions with slaves, the same goes for changes of power and war. But the slaves I encountered here aren't much more than moving bodies.
Even after freeing them of their slave rings, they know nothing else than obedience. The problem was already anticipated by me, but I didn't think that it would become so huge.
In fact my people and I are overwhelmed by the logistic problems of controlling Jamaian. I had thought that the freed slaves would become an assisting factor.
Instead they became a huge hindrance. Forging the remains of the Jamaian Union into something that might be controlled could take me two or three years. Originally I planned less than one year for this task.
The Kingdom of Mislow is using the time to fortify its borders. It might become a very problematic issue to conquer them.
In addition this stupid admiral in front of me looks like he will bring me really bad news, judging by his expression.
“~Go on.~”
“... The Nation of Mist got a new weapon! They suddenly outrange our longest range spells by a serious margin. Several of our raiding groups, which were sent along the coast, got intercepted. We can protect our supply lines from the Phenex Empire. But that's just because the Nation of Mist lost a huge part of their fleet.” The admiral throws himself to the ground.
I cover my face with my hands and say nothing.
“You may go.” Tjena dismisses the admiral who retreats hastily. I listen while his steps disappear in the distance.
We are currently holding residence in a luxurious villa. It belonged to one of the former rulers of Jamai. I am sitting inside the library at and expensive table.
“It will work out in the end, my Empress. You are immortal after all.” Says Tjena with a soothing voice. She is searching through the books and documents in this room.
I draw a deep breath to cool my head and look up. “It's not that easy Tjena. The world just got a lot more complicated. I may not be able to achieve my goal.”
“How can you say something like that. It would create chaos if the public were to hear you speak those words.” Tjena hastily walks to the doors and closes them.
“I already suspected that there is another player in the game Tjena. When the Nation of Mist got their new bubble-spell a few years ago, I thought they simply had luck on their side.” I shake my head at my own stupidity. “There is another immortal on this world. And he is assisting the Nation of Mist to keep the balance of power.”
Tjena has a surprised expression now. “Could you explain that further.”
“When we started to stretch our influence towards the sea, the Nation of Mist opposed us with all its might. But they shouldn't have been able to hamper our efforts for that long without help. This world didn't advance in technology or magic knowledge for hundreds of years.” I close my eyes while I think.
“The Nation of Mist shouldn't have been able to stop the whole Phenex Empire. But they defeated us on the Ocean of God again and again. And that's because they suddenly got a new spell!” I lift one finger in a lecturing manner.
“Then I took action myself and changed the balance of power. And Suddenly! They had another new trick, which restored the balance of power! I am willing to believe in luck for the first time. After all times of war are times of technological progress. But two times is no coincidence. They went to someone for help! And he lent them his knowledge!” I smile at Tjena.
“And why must that someone be an immortal?” Tjena looks at the ceiling while thinking.
“Because just we immortals have access to such vast amounts of knowledge in this world! Of course it could be a very smart and witty guy too. But I don't think that someone like that could avoid clashing with the Academy. And the the Academy is hell-bent on limiting knowledge.” I start to gnaw at my fingernail.
“So why won't you simply show our mages some tricks like that disintegration ray.” Tjena's smile vanishes when she looks at my face. “Forget that suggestion. I don't know why, but you seem to think that it is a really stu
pid idea.”
I nod. “Sorry Tjena, but you have no idea. This could create havoc. Let's assume that I teach my special spell to my subordinates. Who says that the other immortal wouldn't do something like that again?”
Tjena's expression becomes a little sad. “You think that he might know more than you?”
My shoulders drop. “Who cares if he knows more than me?” I shake my head. “He could know ten times more than me, it doesn't matter. If we start an arms race, the world might be destroyed. We don't even have to be extraordinarily smart for this.”
“Oh.”
I smile at Tjena. “~~Oh.~~ … So the question is. How do we identify this other power? And either negotiate with him, or put him away.”
Tjena tilts her head. “~Negotiate? You?~”
Argh. I feel my face becoming hot. “I never met someone like me before! So I would like to have a decent talk with him to determine if he poses a danger!”
*Knock*
Tjena walks to the door and opens it. A ship captain with many stars and medals on his uniform enters and throws himself to the ground. They always do that when they have bad news. “Go on.”
“We sailed to Sarn like you ordered. There we decided to send four of the five battleships up the fjord to attack Sarn and capture the targets. My ship stayed on sea to report back in case something unforeseen happens.” He pauses for a second.
“The fjord was a trap. Our four ships were attacked with an unknown spell. All of them sunk or were damaged too heavily to flee. It took about a minute.” Then the captain is silent.
I look at Tjena and start to smile. “~Those are really good news!~”
“They are?” The captain looks up with a confused expression.
“Please explain this new spell to me in detail.” I urge the captain to go on.
“Unfortunately we don't know much. The spell threw projectiles with unbelievable power at us. The barriers of the battleships could defend against a few of them, but they broke under the concentrated fire of several attackers. They seemed to be able to cast the spell really fast too. Less than ten seconds in my opinion. When we investigated the coastline with clairvoyance magic, we found several well hidden positions with strange artefacts. They were long metal tubes with magical circuitry. Probably they have something to do with the new spell.” The captain looks down again.
“You may go.” I wait until the captain is gone. Tjena closes the door behind him.
“You think that we found your hidden power?” She turns towards me.
“Isn't it strange that he possesses something that's forbidden by the Academy? He even used the Academy for his own goals. Of course he may be just a puppet too. But I think that we should get some hints from him at least.” I start to tap the table in front of me with one finger.
Tjena's expression turns sour. “Even so, it sounds like we need the whole army to deal with him.”
“No, just my special unit. And my most trusted advisor.” I look at Tjena. “My best spy will go to Sarn and investigate this place. You will take a look around. And if you get a hold of something that can be used as a bargaining chip, you bring it to me. I will go to the Academy in the meantime.”
“Such a mission could take months! And you can't go to the Academy! What if you are found out? And what do you want there?” Tjena is shocked.
I wave my hand. “Don't make such a fuss, it will be just a short trip. I will use one of the captured Gates, so my trip will be much shorter than yours. I will be back before anyone realizes that I am gone.”
Tjena stops moving. “How?”
I explain happily. “You see. Every Gate has a code, which is recognized as a certain place. The Gates themselves aren't very smart. It's up to the operator to allow the connection. The only question is if the code is recognized as valid or not. Of course there can't be two versions of the same code inside the network. That stops anyone from cheating the system.”
Tjena's expression drops. “And you happen to know such a code.”
My expression becomes high and mighty. “Don't think that this old granny ignored the entire world while forging the Phenex Empire. About two hundred years ago, I infiltrated the Academy and entered some fake codes into their system. They should still be in their check-books.”
“Fake codes?” Tjena looks at me dumbfounded.
“Codes which are recognized as valid, but have no real Gate assigned to them. All we have to do, is to change the codes of one of our captured Gates.” I smile.
“A few hundred years ago … why should they still be used?” Tjena has a doubtful expression.
“The check books are huge encyclopedias with nothing but codes. How many Gates do you think there are on the whole continent? If a random mistake happens, it can be found. But my entries weren't random, they were complete datasets. So they shouldn't have been noticed.” I stand up.
“That doesn't explain what you want from the Academy!” Tjena follows me.
I smile. “~Meeting a friend.~”
35 - Crawl, crawl little caterpillar.
Norfolk, Sarn-Valley
First hand! Second hand! Leg one! Leg two! One, two, one, two!
~Mwhahahaha!~ Guess what, you nasty world! I can crawl! Bow to me! From now on I can move on my own!
I have found out a lot about this world. First, unfortunately I am no princess. But my parents are nobles of some sort!
Second, there is magic! Hell, yes! My last world didn't have enough mana. That was quite a blow to me, because I am really good at magic.
Third, my parents are monsters! Yes! Monsters! When those inquisitors turned up and attacked us, I thought I was a goner. It was my first bad experience in this world. Mom started to scream and played the weak maiden. But when the inquisitor grabbed her, she showed her true colours.
The strike almost decapitated the guy. I learned one thing in that moment: To never, ever make mom angry. The blood sprayed everywhere. Since then I was happy for every day without being crushed by her strength.
Dad wasn't less frightening. He summoned icicles out of thin air and tried to nail the second inquisitor. But the guy was quick. It looked like a dance while he was evading the projectiles. When his friend went ballistic, in the true meaning of the word, he decided to run.
My mouth was gaping wide open while I watched the entire scene in shock. The gears in my head finally started to turn again when mom closed my mouth with two fingers and clumsily tried to clean me up.
She didn't even flinch because of the blood.
Since then I became more subtle in my attempts to play matchmaker for them. If they find out that I am not a normal baby and played with them … I don't even want to think about it.
Hahaha! Finally! I arrived at the corner of the bed! Uh, oh.... it's only half a metre, but it looks damn high.
I will have to use a little magic to float down safely. So let's concentrate! Spell for floating, formation, cast! And roll over like a ninja to throw myself off the bed!
*plop*
Outch. That didn't go very well. The mana reserves of this body are still too small. At least the fall was softened. So now the next exercise! The bookshelf. I need something to read or I will go insane. Being caught in a baby's body with an adult's mind is like you get crippled and can't do anything yourself.
One, two, one, two, … almost there!
The door opens and mom steps inside. For two heartbeats we stare at each other. “Kyaa! Sera! You can crawl!” Mom runs over and grabs me.
Damn! I was so close!
“But how did you get down from the bed? Did you fall off? That's dangerous. I need to get a cot for you.” Mom looks at the bed in dismay.
Noooo! Don't put me behind bars! I am not a criminal!
“Bubu... aga?” There! Take a look at my big pleading eyes.
“~Oh, you are so cute!~”
Urgh ... bad idea! Don't crush me!
***
I am behind bars! … again.
Damn all wor
lds with such devilish customs! I fought a dire battle to escape the cage several times with my mother as the jailer! This went on for three weeks now.
She even tried to use the other people of the house as babysitters. But they all gave up very fast after I escaped them a few times.
Each time I got a step closer to the bookshelf. But it was never enough. Dad doesn't speak up to her, he just looks at me with pity in his eyes.
Her cage improved each time. The newest version is actually lidded! With a lock! Mother … you amaze me. I may not be able to escape this time.
The door opens and mom enters with a new person.
“I am so happy that we found someone! You can't imagine what a problem child she is. You turn your head away for a single second and she is gone.” Mom points at me.
“There she is. Hello sweety! How are you doing?” She kneels down in front of the cage and starts to fiddle with the lock. “This is the new nanny! Her name is Tori.”
I glare at mom and the new person. Tori is skinny and has brown hair. She isn't exactly a beauty, but she doesn't look bad either.
Right now Tori is looking at me with a forced expression. I am sure that she isn't sure of what to think about this situation either, isn't she?
The cage is opened and I am handed to Tori. “Isn't that nice sweety? No more cage from now on. Tori will be always there for you.”
Mom looks at Tori. “I will be working from seven to four. It would be nice if you take care of her during that time.”
Tori nods and mother leaves us alone. For a few awkward moments I stare at the new nanny. She looks at me with a pitying expression.
Then she looks around in the room. Her eyes fall on the shelf with the books. “I guess we will be reading books. Nothing else we could do here.”
One Hundred Points!
***
Daddy's secret laboratory is scary. I am almost one year old by now and I spoke my first words. For the time being I keep it simple. Otherwise I would freak out my parents. Tori doesn't have time today, so daddy took me with him. Although I doubt his judgement. You can't bring a little child to a place like this. There are lots of dangerous tools and artefacts!
