V2 C8 - New Allies

Despite her mother’s pleas, Kella couldn’t spend the night at the family home.

She’d returned home to Pilgrim’s Post to tell everyone of Connor’s death and the funeral was taking place in a few days’ time.

If she had stayed at home with her parents, Kella knew she’d never been able to leave.

That didn’t mean she wouldn’t attend her brother’s funeral. Instead, Kella was going to rent a room at a nearby inn for the week.

“Hey, kid.”

“Tylus.”

“Captain Tylus now, actually.” Tylus showed her the crest denoting his rank on his chest piece. “Got promoted two years back when old Ulian retired.”

“Congratulations.”

“Thanks. I heard what happened to Connor. I’m sorry for your loss.”

“…Thank you. Will you be coming to the funeral?”

“I hope so. Planning on seeing if Connor’s friends from the garrison could get a few hours off but, well, these are strange times.”

“The Great Disaster.”

Tylus nodded. “We’ve had reports of monsters, murders and all sorts of strange sightings across the empire.”

“Has anything happened here?”

“No, thankfully. Well, just the usual small crimes and one murder this month.” Tylus chuckled bitterly. “I don’t know if that’s something to be happy about.”

“It’s better than what’s going on at Stonefall. The city’s one step from breaking out into a massive riot.”

“I’d heard the stories, but didn’t believe it. What in Themis’s name is happening to the Holy Empire?”

“...I don’t know.”

Tylus patted her on the shoulder. “If you need any help or a place to stay, let me know. The wife and I will always have a place for you in our home.”

Kella smiled. “Then, I think I’ll take you up on your offer. Do you mind if I stay until the funeral?”

“Stay as long as you need. We’d love to have you.”

“Sir!” A guard jogged up to Tylus and handed him a sealed envelope. “Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s fine, son,” Tylus said with a wave of his hand. Then, he leant over to Kella and whispered, “Problem with getting the promotion: never a moment’s rest.”

Kella laughed a little before Tylus turned his attention back to the guard. “What is it?”

“Forgive for the interruption but we received a letter addressed to Miss Kella just now and, um,” the soldier said, his body shaking a little.

“What’s wrong?”

The soldier held up the envelope and showed them the blue wax seal with the iconic mark of the Staff and Sword of Saint Themis - a seal that only the royal family or those with Divine titles can use.

“It’s from Lord Arieon the Wise, the Divine Caster.”

***

David glanced over the documents before him with frustration.

He didn’t have much paperwork to do nor did he need to micromanage everything that was going on at the castle anymore, thanks to Rebecca and Eva.

However, his frustrations grew with every passing day as the task of building his own empire looked to be increasingly impossible.

He had his generals, his allies, the newly raised Karak-Harth and his future undead horde, but David still felt like he was nowhere near close enough to achieving an overwhelming victory over the Holy Empire.

Black port, one of the five massive cities in the country, was destroyed, but the Holy Legion still had more than a hundred thousand members, and each town and city had thousands of guards in their garrisons. Then, there were the members of the Adventurers Guild, the Paladins and the Sons of Tartarus, not to mention any other powerful forces David didn’t know about lurking in the shadows.

He'd heard of the Divine Paladin and Caster, but had no idea how powerful they were.

Then, even if David did manage to defeat each and every one of his enemies, he would still have the other nations of Aangapea to battle afterwards.

In comparison, all David had was a single castle, a handful of caves full of undead miners and goblins they’d subjugated, less than a hundred giants, some Hysminai and Machai, and then whatever undead soldiers they could summon.

“It’s nowhere near enough.”

Without careful planning and near-perfect execution, there was no way David could take down the Holy Empire.

He walked over to the map of the Empire Mímir had bought from Stonefall and studied the flags and blocks on it.

They represented the Holy Empire’s armies and were spread evenly across the land.

When Prince Julius had marched his forces south to recapture Black Port, he’d shown David just how quickly the Holy Empire’s forces could assemble when faced with a crisis.

To defeat the Holy Empire, David needed to find a way to destroy most of the empire’s forces in a single swoop.

If I wait until the time limit’s almost gone, I’d have the largest possible army I could muster, but then I wouldn’t have enough time to secure my new empire and invade the north like I want to.

On paper, David’s plan was simple.

Slowly weaken the Holy Empire from within, create chaos in the nations to the north, then take full control of the Holy Empire’s territories within a month, then invade and take the north-east.

David wanted to achieve at least that much before Eris’s summoned heroes arrived.

Mímir’s currently on a mission in the north to cause chaos, which is why I added that part into my plan. Abaddon’s not got much he can do right now and Mania’s busy managing the Hierophant. I don’t know what to do with the twins either. They’re strong, but I don’t know where to send them or what tasks to give them other than just protecting the Keep.

Karak-Harth and his liches should be able to raise a very large undead army, hopefully one big enough to rival the Holy Legion’s in numbers if not in strength. David frowned. On the two hundredth day, when I get to summon my next general, I’ll have Karak-Harth march.

Hopefully, he can destroy another one of the empire’s cities before marching on their capital. If there’s any place that the empire would defend until their last, it’d be the capital named after their beloved saint.

A soft knock came from beyond his door. “Lord Allaric, it’s Rebecca. May I come in?”

“Enter.”

The Machai opened the door and Rebecca entered carrying a stack of papers, bowed, then stood a few metres across from David.

“Forgive the interruption, Lord Allaric.”

“Interruption?” David laughed a little. “The only thing you interrupted was my boredom. Did you need something from me or were you dropping off paperwork?”

“I just wanted to give you my report of what’s been going on at the castle lately since I hadn’t had the opportunity to do so before, but it isn’t anything urgent. If it’s not a good time, then-”

“It’s fine.” David beckoned to his desk and asked, “Shall we?”

Rebecca nodded and the two sat down at his desk. She placed the documents on the table and took a handful off the top.

“Where shall we begin, Lord Allaric?”

“Wherever you want.”

“Then, with your blessing, I would like to start with the slaves you recently liberated from the Sons of Tartarus.”

“Ah, yes. How are they faring?”

“They’re all healthy and are all staying in the barracks and in the servant’s quarters, my lord. For the time being, the youngest children have had to share their beds with their parents or siblings as we don’t have enough beds at the moment.”

“That was to be expected. However, it’s better that they’re here than back in those cells in chains.”

“I couldn’t agree more, Lord Allaric. I did draw up formal plans for more expansions for the Dread Keep and perhaps even a castle town in the surrounding area for more people to live in.”

Rebecca took two groups of papers from her stack and gently placed them before David. One of the bound groups of paper was titled ‘Dread Keep Expansion Plans’ and ‘The Profiles of the Liberated Slaves from Stonefall’.

“The profiles of the freed slaves consist of their names, family members, characteristics, former jobs and their hometowns, and what Eva and the other servants have observed about them, Lord Allaric,” Rebecca explained. “It isn’t as highly detailed as Lord Mímir’s reports would be, but I hope that it has some information in it that’s useful to you.”

“Thank you, and don’t worry about trying to match Mímir and the Ravens’ abilities. When he wants to be, he’s an overachiever who can’t be matched. If only he was like that all the time.”

Rebecca wasn’t sure how to react to David’s comment and so remained silent for a few seconds, before carrying on.

“The renovations for the Dread Keep are coming along nicely, Lord Allaric. Lord Abaddon has also volunteered to help dig tunnels and passageways beneath the castle, and to help with the foundations of any further expansions you might want to make to the Keep.”

“I’ll make sure to have a few words with Abaddon before he tries anything like that. Rebecca, if he tries to start digging tunnels beneath the castle without written orders expressively saying to do so, do not let him. If he questions you, tell him to come see me.”

“…Yes, Lord Allaric.”

“As for the other plans, I do like the idea of the castle town and other expansions but, for now, those might have to be put on hold until the Holy Empire has been defeated.”

“As you wish. Although, I had a few thoughts about how to make your empire more official when it’s declared.”

“Oh?”

“I was thinking, Lord Allaric, but do you have an idea for what symbol you want to be on your standards and banners?”

“I hadn’t given it too much thought. I take it you have an idea then?”

Rebecca nodded. “As I was walking through the castle halls the other day, I remember seeing the Machai everywhere and thought that the symbol for your empire could be derived from them, specifically their helmets. Eva told me the other day that she once thought the Machai were Satyrs, and then I had a flash of inspiration.

“What if your empire’s symbol was something terrifying and mythical to reflect you and your empire’s nature, Lord Allaric? What if the symbol for the Demon Empire was a Satyr’s Skull?”

A Satyr’s Skull? David pondered. A skull definitely screams ‘bad guys’, so it’d fit and Eris shouldn’t have any complaints about it either. It’s edgy, but it works and it’s got a good ring to it.

“I quite like it. It’s a wonderful suggestion and a worthy symbol of my empire.”

Rebecca smiled happily and bowed slightly. “I’m pleased you like it, Lord Allaric. Then-?”

“As for the slaves we liberated from Stonefall, I was intending for them to be put to work around the castle, either as servants or soldiers, but what were their former jobs? Is there anyone with a high value trade like a blacksmith?”

“I believe there were a few blacksmiths and apprentices among them, as well as ten or so herbalists. Most of them, however, were stolen away from small farming or lumberjack villages, Lord Allaric.”

“They could be of some use to us once my empire has been formed, but they wouldn’t be of too much use to me right now. Perhaps they could make for decent soldiers or guards.”

“…Lord Allaric, it might be worth asking them if they wish to become soldiers before trying to order them to do so.”

“I agree, but we can’t give them too much freedom because if even one of them manages to leave the Keep, they could be a threat to our operations. Therefore.”

When David trailed off, Rebecca’s expression became bitter and she lowered her head. “I know, Lord Allaric, but I don’t want to force them into work.”

“They won’t be forced to work, but they won’t be allowed to leave. We’d pay them appropriate wages for their work using your father’s fortune and if they don’t want to work, then we won’t force them. However, I plan on charging them for any future food, water or other supplies they need.”

“We’ll charge them for their supplies, Lord Allaric?”

“We have no choice but to in order to motivate them to work and to try and ration the castle’s supplies. I know your family has years’ worth of supplies, but that was for a castle of less than seven hundred. Our current number here is more than double that and will only get bigger, meaning that we’ll burn through those supplies faster than expected.”

“Do we not have other ways of acquiring food or other supplies right now, Lord Allaric?”

“Not sustainably, no. I’ll mention to Mania the next time I see her that she needs to order extra food and supplies for the Hierophant and send some of them to the Dread Keep. I might even send the twins on a shopping mission to the capital if necessary.”

“Very well, Lord Allaric.”

“If there was nothing else, return to your duties.”

Rebecca bowed and went to leave, but she stopped when she saw the displeased look on his face.

“…Is there something bothering you, Lord Allaric?”

David was about to dismiss her, but stopped.

Rebecca’s knowledge has helped us in the past. Maybe it could help us here now?

Even if it’s just rumours or stories, any leads on new potential allies can help. Truthfully, the only person I currently trust wholeheartedly on my council is Rebecca.

David rose from his chair and told her of the issues that had been plaguing him before she’d arrived and the two stood beside the map together.

Maybe she’ll have looked into it a bit more or remembered something.

Rebecca hummed to herself and glanced down at the map of the empire, gently brushing her fingers over the cloth before she came to a stop over a large forest in the western part of the empire near the city of Adetite.

“I have heard that in the Beast Woods there were once werewolves and vampires, but they were thought to have been wiped out centuries ago. When I saw Lady Mania, I thought that she might be one of those vampires, so I believe that they might still exist somewhere in this world.”

“Vampires and werewolves? Do they fight with one another or live-in harmony in the stories?”

“I’m afraid to say I don’t know. Some say that the werewolves were the servants of the vampires and others say that they were constantly fighting one another.”

Hmm, that’s annoying. If Eris lied to me and she has interfered with this world a little, then there’s no way those two species won’t be fighting one another. After all, it’d be harder for me to recruit them if they were.

The only way to find out would be to go there and see for ourselves when we can.

“Do you know where exactly in the Beast Wood they live?”

“I’m afraid not, Lord Allaric. The stories only said the Beast Woods themselves and not where exactly within them.”

“…I see. Then, do you know of any others?”

“I know of one other group who might still exist. Here.” Rebecca pointed to the steep mountains near the Goddess’s Eye Lake, about fifteen miles from where they’d found Karak-Harth’s tomb. “In old Elvish, they’re known as the Gørviligr; the Vengeful Elves.”

“Vengeful?”

“Physically, they’re the same in appearance as other elves, but they were called the Vengeful Elves during the War of Unification before they were supposedly wiped out. Some travellers said they saw some in the mountains near the lake, but no one has seen them in hundreds of years.”

David looked back at the map.

Three more potential allies and all of them could be extinct for all we know. I’ll have to send the Ravens and spiders to investigate; hopefully, at least one or more of these groups exist and want to join me.

If there’s only one left, I want it to be the vampires.

***

Hidden within the thick, tall trees of the Beast Wood, sat beside a beautiful, crystal lake was a magnificent castle.

From her bedroom balcony, the young vampire princess sang softly to herself with a small smile on her lips, letting her top fangs poke through her lips. She was gently swaying her head in the cool night breeze when someone knocked at her door.

“Lilith, it’s me,” a deep voice said.

“Come in.”

Her heavy white-gold doors were pushed open and her father, dressed in a smart black suit, stepped in. Lilith didn’t turn to face them and kept singing.

“I have some good news, Lilith. Do you remember the great disturbance we felt a few months ago?”

Lilith’s song went silent.

“We think we’ve found the one responsible for it.”