Hostage Rescue (Princess Rescue Inc Book 2)

by Hechtl, Chris

  He had spliced together every wire he could into a power line to an outlying building, the closest to the creek. Just the lights alone drew attention. The power hammer itself took two hafta of work to perfect. Once he had it operating smoothly, he showed it to the smiths. Enough were intrigued about it to express a desire to listen and learn.

  There was hope yet for them. He put any he could to work reforging what metal they could scavenge into the new design of Terran ploughs and planting equipment. As the snows melted, the work took on an almost feverish pitch.

  ~~~^~~~

  Another convoy from the Imperium had arrived as soon as the snows and most of the mud had cleared from the roads. This one was loaded with seed, beasts, and tools since a lot of the seed had been eaten by the desperate people. It had allowed them to plant once more.

  By the beginning of ver , all of the fields around the capital had been laboriously picked of rocks and then planted. Some were already sprouting with new crops.

  Chapter 2

  In the morning just after breakfast, Princess Zara was called out to a local emergency. She decided to go despite the worry of her guards. The guard captain Princeps Augustus Devitis insisted on going with her.

  They disdained the normal beasts to take a set of branacks they'd brought with them. The six-limbed beasts had recovered from the long journey and seemed eager to get out of the smelly barn. They danced about on their rear feet, pawing the air with their other limbs until they settled down.

  Dominus Siegfried took a lance with him along with his rifle. Zara kept her revolver in her shoulder holster.

  They were joined by several of the people who had come with them on the march north. Brynhild, one of the shield maidens, insisted on coming with them.

  They rode with the princess at the center of their ranks. She nodded politely to people along the way. She was still getting cold or concerned looks in passing. She tried to keep her responses warm but it was hard.

  When they arrived at the edge of the farm, they saw a herd of Toucan Giraffe grazing in an orchard. Farmers came out waving poles, rakes, beating on pots, and waving weapons in order to drive them off. Most of the farmers were kids; they were too small to wave the implements and looked absurd.

  The animals flick their ears to show they are aware of the humans but did not react until the humans approached within striking distance. When they got within a few paces, they used their long legs to gallop off and then resumed feeding.

  "I don't know why they bother; the beasts eat the fruit from the top of the tree that they can't reach anyway," Dominus Wesdt said in disgust as he moved forward to join them.

  The princess turned to the surly viscount with a curious look and then went back to watching the show. After a moment, she pulled out a small pair of binoculars and put them to her eyes to see better.

  "Now that is an interesting device. A far seeing one?" Siegfried asked.

  "Yes." She watched the farmers herd the animals off and then regroup. The herd did so as well, stubbornly unwilling to go far.

  "They need Garmr to drive them off," Siegfried said thoughtfully. "But they have to be fed and trained right. Many were used for food during the hard winter."

  "Yes, or they need something better and not so much of an investment," the princess stated. "Maybe build a fence?"

  "A fence takes time and they can step over it," Siegfried said in amusement. He was surprised she was thinking things out and asking questions rather than just dictating to them. It was refreshing and not expected. "The higher you build it, the deeper the footings need to be. They can knock them over."

  "Ah. So what does work other than animals?" Zara asked, lowering the binoculars.

  Siegfried wished she would offer them to him but held his tongue on that matter. Instead, he focused on her question.

  "Generally, I've heard good things about thorn bushes. Tall ones around the perimeter would keep them at bay or thorny vines on the fence. They tend to avoid them though they will go after the flowers and fruit with their long tongues," he said thoughtfully. He was surprised by her question.

  "The herd needs to be culled," the berger, the local mayor said, coming up behind them. They turned to him. "They are not afraid of people anymore. We need to make them fear us again."

  "I noticed no one used fire to drive them off? Torches? Most animals fear it, even the smell of fire," the princess said, making the statement more of a question.

  "Yes, Your Majesty. Fire can burn the crops and hurt the farmers as much as the animals," Siegfried replied patiently. He'd come to realize that the princess genuinely wanted to know things. She was strange in that she didn't mind expressing her ignorance and inviting someone's opinion or an explanation.

  "And there they go to the watering hole," the berger said with a sigh. "They'll drive off the Audumla and other beasts the farmers have until they have their fill," he said in an aggrieved tone of voice.

  Zara turned and brought the glasses up for a look. She could just make out the intruding herd at the watering hole. Several stood watch while others would bend to sip at the water. The ones sipping would splay their legs apart awkwardly. They seemed rather vulnerable in that position.

  One had a tongue darting in and out to lap at the water. Another was bolder, taking gulps of water and lifting the head up to swallow.

  "They'll want permission to hunt them," Wesdt said. "Usually the lords did it but only when other animals were not available." The berger nodded grimly.

  "Why?" Zara asked, expressing her ignorance. The berger looked surprise.

  Siegfried coughed into his hand and then decided it was up to him to explain. "The beasts taste terrible. Their hides do not tan easily or well. Even some of the animals won't eat the meat," he explained. "They'll kill them and leave the carcass which will draw in predators which will cause more problems."

  Zara frowned. She could see how they were all leg. Still, just about any animal could be fed to the beasts like Garmr and Titans.

  If they turned their noses up to them, then they must taste truly terrible. She reminded herself to never eat an offering of their meat. It was saying something that the Duluthians refused to eat them, even in a stew after the hard winter they'd just endured.

  "They are useless, pests," the berger said as Zara offered her binoculars to Siegfried. He took them in gratitude and carefully raised them to his eyes to see. "They should be irradiated," he muttered darkly.

  Zara considered that statement and decided it might be a teachable moment. "I have spent a lot of time with the Terrans, looking at how they view Midgard. They see us as stewards of the land and beasts, as guardians to reign in our excess and keep things in balance. If we err, we need to correct it. By slaughtering an animal, we might cause more harm long term." She briefly remembered how they had sent out hunting parties that had brought in a number of beasts. That might have opened up the territory to the long necks.

  "How so?" Siegfried asked curiously. Two beasts began to spar by swinging their heads at each other and kicking at each other. It was fascinating to see them up close, as if they were so close he could touch them.

  "They say that if you take away an animal it can upset the balance. For instance, what these animals eat in nature might suddenly grow out of control or the predators that eat them will have less to eat and may become a problem, preying on the farm animals," Zara explained.

  The viscount nodded. "True," he said grudgingly.

  "Very true," the berger said with a shiver.

  "What if all the hunting we did over the winter allowed them to come here? And it deprived the basilisk in the area of their natural prey." The men looked suddenly grim. "If the basilisk go hungry, it won't be for long."

  "They would come and prey upon the farm beasts," Augustus said, indicating the farm, "or people."

  "Correct."

  "They are already a problem. The waters have been bad. Drought in some areas has hurt us and apparently driven off some of the beasts. Whic
h means more of them come looking for food out of the wood," Wesdt admitted.

  "Ah. See what I mean about balance?" Zara asked.

  "Then what do you propose, milady?" Augustus asked.

  "I'm not sure. We need to know more," Zara said cautiously.

  "Well, Princess, it goes to show, the Terrans don't know everything," Wesdt said caustically before stalking off. The berger followed.

  Zara watched him ride off with a frown.

  "Problem?" Augustus asked.

  "He's still adjusting," Siegfried said as he reluctantly handed the device back.

  Zara smiled slightly in thanks as she put the binoculars away in her carrying case.

  "Funny, a bit of glass and tubes to be able to make you see further," he said. "Why didn't someone here think of that?"

  She nodded. "We had someone in the capital working on them apparently. I didn't know." She shrugged. "Theirs are crude in comparison, though they have gotten better."

  "Oh?"

  "They used them to see the stars," she said, pointing to the sky.

  He looked up and then back down to her. "Interesting. Why?"

  "To study them for our calendar. And to predict the weather," Zara explained. "They believed that some things were written in the stars."

  "Ah."

  "Apparently," she hefted the case with the device within, "they can make a single tube version or others. The Terrans used the same concept to create a device to see tiny things too," she explained.

  "Tiny things?" he asked, wrinkling his nose. "Why?"

  She smirked. "Ever try to thread a needle?" she asked.

  He stared at her for a moment and then smiled. "I've heard a few people complain a time or two," he admitted.

  She nodded. "Things like that and also to see other work that needs to be done. To pull a splinter for instance." He grimaced. "Or to read fine print in an old book," she said. He nodded. "Their medicus can use a thing called a microscope to look at samples to see what is wrong with a person, beast, or plant and then recommend a potion to fix the problem."

  "Ah, very nice." He nodded at that idea.

  She reminded herself that medicus were not well received in some places. The Imperium had learned to treasure them after several plagues, but that didn't mean they had been a well-paid profession. That was changing though.

  She intended to make the same changes in Duluth, whether the natives liked it or not. Too many people died when it could be easily avoided.

  "They also have things to help people see better," she said. He blinked. "They wear them in a frame around their eyes." She used her fingers to outline the shape, going over her ears. "The glass lenses bring the world back into focus. They were working on making them for people when I left."

  He suddenly had a vision of his aunt who had trouble seeing. "Handy indeed," he murmured with a nod.

  ~~~^~~~

  Viscount Wesdt was not happy with the intruder princess but he had no choice in enduring her.

  One of the few good things about her was that she had brought some of the new tech to share, something that shocked all, and that she had unified the scattered clans in opposition to her. But no true leader had emerged to depose her.

  Even if they did, her family would just come with the infernal Terran weapons and wipe them out.

  Something had to be done about that. They needed to find ways to make the Terran weapons or make them ineffective.

  But that was only one way of beating them. The other was much more complex.

  He had noted Barron Farragut had sidled up to her, cozen to the girl, acting as an old uncle. She had tempered her autocratic nature and was receptive to him. He, however, couldn't lower his pride to that level.

  He had also noted that Siegfried had cozened up to the snip of a girl. The baron was encouraging the union; something surprising given that the baron no doubt had to have a younger son tucked away somewhere. No doubt a bastard but that was normal.

  Many of the young sons and daughters had gone south to fight and win glory and lands of their own. They'd failed. Some had returned but not all. It was a surprise to many that they hadn't been enslaved or put to the sword. Many of the survivors were either learning in the Imperium capital while they recovered or had been returned.

  He wondered if the princess thought they should be grateful. No doubt some would be, but others would resent that their husband or child hadn't come home.

  He'd have to look into that carefully.

  Someone had been behind the ambush.

  ~~~^~~~

  Domina Rasmussen considered her political options again. She regretted her knee jerk reaction to try to kill the princess, not just because it had failed, but because it had been very poorly thought out. She'd considered it from her point of view, assured that she'd find a way to cover her tracks. She hadn't considered the queen's reaction. The second convoy had been even more troublesome for her, not in the food it had brought but the good will.

  Over the long winter, she had expected the ax to fall at any time, but it hadn't. She'd had to send in someone else to get them sorted out; many had fled the capital. She'd lost weight fearing that she'd been found out. Her clothes hung upon her like drapes. She hated the look and wanted to correct it, but she didn't have a proper tailor she could trust to make the alterations.

  She had taken in a dozen families from the capital that had survived to get to her domain. Those were the ones with skills, those without appreciable skills she'd passed over and told them to move on. She had settled her chosen people in some of the empty homes around her domain but only after interviewing each carefully about news and events in the capital. It had allowed her to build a picture of events there. They had been on their own to cut wood and feed themselves. She had sternly warned them that she would require the tribute at aestas and again in autumnus .

  Some of them had planted in ver , the spring, but many had little to plant with. She doubted many would remain by the middle of the hot season. Those who did not pay their tribute would be turfed out in autumnus as the leaves changed and fell.

  Her spies had managed to identify the prisoners that had been caught. She had taken in the men and women who had acted as archers and had managed to escape the clutches of the Imperium. None would talk; she was sure of that much.

  The men and few women that had been caught had been imprisoned. Three had died from their wounds. Her spy had managed to slip poison to four more of them in the little food they'd been allowed. They'd died in their sleep. According to her spy, the Imperium fools had thought they'd died from the cold and their injuries.

  That had left another eight. Her spy had reassured her repeatedly that none had known of her involvement; the late Petersen had recruited them himself. That was a relief.

  During the winter, she had decided to take a step back and regroup. She had set about plotting a series of strategies while analyzing the interloper. The girl seemed genuinely concerned for the people. How noble. It was a weakness she could exploit in time.

  Along the way of her scheming she'd considered killing her neighbor Domina Berg. There had been no response from the countess, nor had she expected one. She considered using her kitchen spy to poison the woman, but then it would lead to questions as to why and by whom. Disposing of the woman would lead to more speculation, some of which she'd very much like to avoid.

  No, for the moment she would continue to play the long game while eliminating the remaining prisoners when the opportunity arose to do so.

  Her spy in the capital had reported the sighting of the infamous assassin Hakon Earling. She had employed the bastard son of a lord once before. He had spent the entire winter in the capital. She knew that if he was in the capital it could only be for one reason—he was on a contract. And she could easily guess who his target was.

  He might be an opportunity she thought, tapping her lips as she considered the germ of a plan carefully.

  ~~~^~~~

  Domina Berg rode with her guard
to check her holdings. She had some stewards for the task, but she preferred to make the check herself from time to time to keep them honest. The winter had been hard despite the minor help from the intruding princess. She had received a small tithe of food from the late convoy from the Imperium. It had made up for housing the convoys during their passing and a bit more.

  She had come to appreciate the gifts they had given, especially the gifts of knowledge to the medicus. Her son was alive because of that knowledge. He was still recovering but seemed much better. He was very dutiful about performing his exercises. They called it rehabilitation exercises to keep the muscles from growing stiff. He would walk with a limp but he would at least walk again.