Chapter 148: Harrak is back.

Viv’s euphoria lasted just long enough for the gun to disappear and Arthur’s recriminations to turn into a massive rant.

 

Wings are the pride of our kind.

 

“But I’m not a dragon,” Viv whispered.

 

Wings must be big and floaty.

 

Good vessel for gray mana.

 

“But I can’t use gray manaaaaaaa.”

 

Mother must grow real wings soon.

 

Or else we will both be shamed.

 

“Damn you’re really a teenager now. I can’t embarrass you in front of the cool kids.”

 

Is important.

 

Judgment is very strong.

 

I attacked him many times.

 

I could not make him move.

 

“Wait, you spent time with Judgment?”

 

Of course.

 

Judgment, biggest dragon.

 

Eats very well.

 

I study.

 

Not very smart though.

 

Big hoard, no investment.

 

She shook her head with disapproval.

 

“Right, hmmm. It’s all well and good… but we should return to the others.”

 

Others?

 

“They’re on a ship heading west.”

 

We do not need others.

 

“Solfis is there. So is Sidjin.”

 

Hmph.

 

I suppose they are tolerable.

 

Arthur veered south and Viv used the opportunity to look at the dragonette. First, she wasn’t a dragonette anymore. Her wingspan was over two Vivs. She was also more than one Viv and a half long and that was the pre-transformation Viv. For all her length, Arthur remained lithe and thin, much more graceful than the towering juggernaut Judgment was, or the green dragon they’d met in the forest. Arthur now used a combination of flaps and gray mana to fly at speeds that would leave a biplane behind yet little wind roared in Viv’s face. The maneuvers she’d performed on the griffin also showed she’d gained some aerial combat training, possibly from Judgment. It warmed her heart to see that her adopted daughter had not rested on her laurels, preferring to push herself to excellence instead.

 

It didn’t take long for Arthur to locate the ship, mostly by finding a towering column of dark smoke and searching from there. Viv spotted the ship with ease. It was the only one covered in a transparent shield dome visible from up there. Arthur still approached with some care even after Viv recognized the people on the deck. Enhanced vision was really amazing.

 

Should have teleported.

 

“We don’t actually have an uninterrupted series of portals back to Harrak. Many of them are isolated from each other and require us to walk a little. That’s fine if it’s just us but we have many mages and their luggage. It will be easier to stop in Losserec and get ourselves some carts. Safer too. Teleportation gates can be trapped.

 

Fair enough.

 

Arthur landed lightly on the railing under the concerned gazes of quite a few groups of people but they all calmed down once they noticed her. While Arthur hopped on the prow for a nap, Viv turned to Sidjin, who was surveying the shore next to a man with a captain hat. He looked weirdly dreamy.

 

“Everything alright?” she asked.

 

“The guard tried to stop us but we sent them away. We’ve had horsemen following us and a river fort threatened to shoot at us. Otherwise, it was all smooth sailing, pun intended.”

 

“And the fire?”

 

Sidjin shrugged.

 

“I just had to remind the fort soldiers that whatever they had, I had better. I didn’t kill anyone, if that is your concern.”

 

Viv winced internally. Her escape had been… bloody. However, her freedom was on the line and that meant no holding back. She’d been captured once before. Never again.

 

“What about you?” she asked the captain, “Can we count on your cooperation?”

 

“Hmm? Oh, yes. I am a part of the trader’s guild. Our policy is to let pirates and bandits take our belongings, then escalate the problem to the recovery division. As it is, however, you have given good coin for the transit including hazard pay. I expect that the council will file a complaint with the guild and then be told to fuck off. And besides, I can swear under oath that I was physically compelled to cooperate. Your lady in blue even whipped me. Look!”

 

He pulled his shirt to reveal red marks, some already bruising a little. It didn’t look too bad.

 

“I see.”

 

The captain leaned in conspirationaly.

 

“Do you… do you think she would do it again? If I asked nicely?”

 

“Errr. You’ll have to ask her.”

 

“You see, my wife — she is a good woman—”

 

“Terribly sorry captain but I really fear you will have to discuss it with her and her alone,” Viv insisted while Sidjin laughed silently in the background.

 

“Now if you have to excuse me, I must greet the rest of the passengers.”

 

“Of course.”

 

The next person on the list was a complete surprise to the point that Viv did a double take. Under the watchful gaze of two bodyguards stood a man Viv never expected to see: General Jaratalassi, the Steel Trap. Her strategy teacher leaned against the railing, a lit pipe in one hand and a bottle of liquor in the other. He looked like he had just come out of the barber and his hair was braided back. With a comfortable northerner garb, he might have just finished his class.

 

“General. An unexpected pleasure.”

 

“Ah, Viviane, the woman I wanted to see.”

 

As Viv got closer, she realized the man was more tired than he let on. There were deep pockets under his bloodshot eyes. His posture shifted and the weakness was gone as if it had never been there.

 

“I have a request for you.”

 

“Do tell? I’m afraid I cannot go on an expedition together again. I am heading back to Harrak.”

 

“Yes, well, I am counting on it, not least because I am technically the leader of the army of the city you just humiliated.”

 

“Ah.”

 

“The guards are not under my command, however, so I shall close my eyes on this entire fiasco. Pendrath had it coming. I warned him several times. I will be brief. I need your help.”

 

“My help?” Viv asked, somewhat surprised.

 

The older man nodded. He tapped his pipe and let embers fall on the turgid waves of the river Shal.

 

“I’d like for Harrak to join the Paramese alliance. And then I need you, specifically you, to join me on the Hallurian front.”

 

Viv frowned. That was entirely unexpected, yet the sense of worry she picked up from the aging general told her he was not joking.

 

“I thought the Hallurians were vanquished?” she asked.

 

“Everybody thinks so and most rulers pulled their forces back from the border. Look, I am turning to you because you have a good head on your shoulders. We both know why troops have been pulled back.”

 

“It’s expensive and leaves home undefended.”

 

“Yes, yes, you were a good student. The point is that there is no immediate threat. There is, however, a very serious hint of one. I sent seven scout squads over the border in the past two months. They have all returned alive.”

 

“What?”

 

Viv was flabbergasted.

 

“This never happens.”

 

“Indeed not. They reported deserted fishing villages, abandoned mushroom farms. Cities depopulated of men of fighting age. Something is brewing. Something massive. I may have a glorious title but I am merely a Helockian noble without much wealth. The only forces I command are the ones lent to me by willing participants and that is why I turn to you. Look, I can facilitate your accession to the rank of participating nation which will solidify your legitimacy. I will also convince Baran to let you install gates on their territory. They will also provide you with all the supplies you need. I would still be lying if I said it was worth it. I am not asking you to come because it benefits you. I am asking because it benefits Param.”

 

His speech finished, Jaratalassi returned to his resigned silence.

 

Viv was sure the man had social skills in spades, mostly leadership. She’d had a taste of it. And yet, he had not seen fit to use it on her. That meant, according to etiquette, that he saw her as an equal. His attempt to sway her was as transparent as it was candid and Viv felt herself moved by the old warrior’s humility. Not that it mattered of course. She had the spark of luck and planned on turning Harrak into an internationally recognized independent… whatever it was she was building. Constitutional monarchy? In any case, her fate was sealed the moment Jaratalassi had opened his mouth.

 

“I need some time. My army is not ready for maneuvers.”

 

“I expected it. Begin your preparations, build your teleporters because when that thing comes, it will come fast and hit hard. Call it… intuition.”

 

“I will have everything ready for your signal. You have my word.”

 

Jaratalassi grabbed Viv’s hand with surprising speed and strength. Fingers dug in her uniform and the skinsuit underneath. To the side, Solfis rose to a stand. The bodyguards paled.

 

Viv found herself drowned in the intensity of the man’s gaze.

 

“I will hold you to it. I WILL hold you to it. This is vital. Absolutely vital.”

 

He blinked.

 

“Sorry about that.”

 

“It’s alright and I have taken your warning to heart.”

 

“Right. Yes. I need sleep. I will retire below deck until we reach the next port.”

 

Viv let him go, turning to Solfis who merely clicked back into compact position.

 

“You alright there Solfis?”

 

//The betrayal of the council requires a swift and decisive punishment.

//However, we do not have the capability to carry it out.

//I am distracting myself from this frustration by writing the code that I will gift to my first child.

 

“After this fiasco, I’d be surprised if the council isn’t reshuffled.”

 

//It does not matter that they are punished.

//It matters that we inflict the punishment.

//And warn the rest.

//Nevertheless, I admit that you set a good example.

//I shall have to be satisfied with it.

//I am also staying here because your newest recruits find my appearance unnerving.

 

“You mean to say that the skeletal mage killer golem appearance scares them a little? How peculiar.”

 

//Sarcasm detected.

//You slew Elunath in glorious combat.

//Yet I am the one they are afraid of.

//It strikes me as a deficiency of the meat mind.

//A similar shape fosters foolish trust.

 

“You’re just mad because you can’t preach the greatness of Harrak to them.”

 

//Perhaps.

 

Viv noticed a rather peculiar moment. The last group on the deck was made of a smattering of young mages around the tall, grandfatherly figure of Abe. Despite the gray skin and red eyes, he had managed to make himself less threatening by sitting relaxedly on a barrel under the distrustful gaze of Lana, the only one who had not succumbed to his smooth charm. One of the girls sniffed quietly, her shoulder under the protective paw of the servant of Enttiku.

 

“Of course, you have not recovered yet. You have fought through a long storm and you have survived a terrible ordeal. For this, you deserve praise for there is no harder fight than to stand in the face of hopelessness. And now, you face a wave. Waves will come and go, child, for the sea remembers the storm. Sometimes, the wave will be low, just a painful reminder of the storm. Sometimes, the wave will rise until you feel submerged, until you feel like you are drowning. You are not. It is just a wave. It will come and go and when it has passed, you will be yourself again. They will always return, child, but they will always pass. And if you open your eyes, you will see that many other rafts face those waves, and that you are not alone. We are here with you.”

 

The girl sobbed a yes. They fell into a group hug.

 

It gave Viv the warm fuzzies. At least, she’d done that. She’d given them a chance. That counted, here on Nyil.

 

Also, Viv thought, they now had a psychothera-lich.

 

She didn’t know how to feel about it.

 

“Ah, Viv, did you want something?” Abe asked after they split.

 

“No no, just checking in on everyone.”

 

“We are fine. And safe. Now how about dinner? I am famished.”

 

***

The next day, everyone was rested and Viv shared her plan, which was immediately shot down by Sidjin.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author’s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

 

“Nothing beats teleportation in terms of speed and we should not remain on this ship any longer than we have to. No force on the continent would be willing to face us head on but believe me when I say that they have plenty of ways to sink a ship that we cannot even begin to imagine. I have free access to the teleportation network I set up for the builder’s guild and they happen to have branches all over northern Enoria. We will stop at the next quarry, hire one cart, teleport to Losserec, and then travel south using your witch gates.”

 

Viv relented. It was a bit shameful to realize that high mental stats did nothing for lazy planning. The ability to think fast did not make one think critically. It was a painful reminder she’d needed. After that, she let Sidjin organize the rest of the trip. Their passage through Losserec was too fast to generate much of a response but once they hit the first witch gate, they realized they had a problem.

 

“It’s destroyed,” Lana said, stating the obvious.

 

Someone had meticulously demolished the gate. There were no traces of who had done it but from the cracks, it could not have been recent. The culprit had left an imprint in a nearby rock: the new royal seal of Enoria. A hawk over a forest.

 

“It looks like King Sangor objects to the leader of another nation traipsing freely over his land,” Viv observed.

 

//That does seem wise.

 

“Yeah. Well. That complicates matters.”

 

The truth was that Viv was transporting half a country’s military worth of arcane firepower without warning the local boss and that was considered a serious diplomatic faux-pas. As a proponent of the ‘ask for forgiveness, not permission’ school of getting away with things, Viv was faced with a difficult decision. She could give Sangor enough time to corner her into a meeting on his terms or she could double down.

 

She opted for doubling down. She’d already committed, so the ‘fuck around and the find out’ would not be much worse if she got caught anyway.

 

“Arthur. I need you to carry me.”

 

“Squeeeeeeeeeeeee.”

 

“I know, I know, I’m sorry but unless you want to go ahead by yourself, we need a way to move faster.”

 

Arthur grunted. During the battle, Viv had switched from her claws to her back but Arthur categorically refused to be ridden unless circumstances demanded it. They argued until the scaled menace agreed to carry Viv under her like a grumpy fuel tank.

 

Thus began a game of ‘island hopping’. Viv would set up a gate, then fly to another location and build its twin. The mages would then walk through it and set camp, disabling the previous platform. That method allowed them to mess up tracking. To Viv’s immense surprise, they crossed Enoria like this in less than a week and without accident. The sight of the Deadshield woods filled her with intense relief. From then on, it was the matter of only a couple of minutes to use the still-active witch gates.

 

The portal opened to show Kazar and the fertile strip in all its glory. The colossal purple tree overlooking the walled city served as an imposing landmark in rolling hills of green peppered with elevated villages. Laborers crowded the fields, planting seeds for spring. It was a massive improvement compared to the first time she had been here. Now, the deadlands were merely a cover of clouds far in the distance, still present, still dangerous, yet pushed back through effort and dedication. Viv smiled.

 

She was home.

 

City guards rushed towards her, hands on their spears and bows. Most recognized her immediately.

 

“Your teleportation was not scheduled! State your— oh. Lady Bob? Is that you?”

 

“In the flesh! I’m back and better than ever.”

 

The officer was young and flustered. His eyes searched over her new companions. He was not ready.

 

“Oh great! I can send a messenger to Lady Azar. Or Voice Farren? The Lady Azar is in Sinur’s Gate. Oh, Mage Rakan occupies your old tower. Do you want to meet them?”

 

“Slow down,” Viv said with a laugh. “We’ll go to the tower first, and travel deeper inland afterward.”

 

It looked to Viv like it was going to be a long series of meeting people and catching up. That was fine. It was also inevitable.

 

Viv walked through the gates of Kazar, attracting a crowd. She smiled and shook hands and held the babies. There were a lot of newcomers, mostly passing through. They could be recognized by the fact they were afraid of her eyes and left flabbergasted by the familiarity people were treating her with.

 

“Who are we fighting this time? Is it the Enorians?” an old veteran asked.

 

“Come on, it’s not that bad,” Viv replied with an embarrassed laugh.

 

“Did you topple another government?” a baker asked her with a frown.

 

“Err. Maybe?”

 

“Good, show those arrogant c—”

 

“Lady Bob! Can you tell my mom she should let me have a sword?”

 

And so on and so forth. By the time she reached the base of the tree, the square was packed full so she used the opportunity to make a small speech. Mostly she said it was great to be back, that exciting stuff was on the horizon, no it was not another invasion, and to welcome the people she’d brought with her. Rakan opened the door and let everyone in. He looked good, Viv realized. Tan and healthy. He stood straight with most of the leaking mana swirling into the staff that hosted it. More importantly, there were children with him.

 

“Hey, Viviane. Welcome home.”

 

“Your home now. I’ve moved to the palace. And you have pupils?”

 

The children hid behind him. To be honest, they were more teenagers than truly children, just on the cusp of adulthood in that gangly and awkward phase many had. They were mage trainees. That much was clear from their auras. Interestingly, two of them had a strong affinity for black.

 

“Yes. Children here have shown a strong affinity for the arcane arts. Before, they would have been sent to Enoria with a caravan but the people have seen it fit to stop. Wonder why.”

 

“I don’t,” Viv chuckled.

 

“In any case, we have a budding new generation and I do my best to lead them on the path to greatness.”

 

The teens collectively blushed.

 

“It’s a long road for sure.”

 

They groaned.

 

“But I have faith. My mastery of all primary hues allows me to train any one of them. Besides that, my duties also extend to repairing the wall wards and going on expeditions to clear more land with the One Hundred. I have studied your obelisks and I have successfully replicated the first one two weeks ago.”

 

“That is great news! Who are the One Hundred?”

 

“Ah right, you don’t know. I will let Ban explain it to you. In the meanwhile, let me introduce our promising new prospects.”

 

There followed a very long series of meetings. Viv was not annoyed because it was an essential aspect of rulership, as her dad had told her multiple times. Nothing enforced loyalty more than seeing the ruler and feeling valued by them, given time and attention, and so she smiled and nodded and offered commiseration and promises that were vague enough to be believable. Merchants complained about taxes, influential folks about their neighbors. Viv received them all and listened with a placid smile. Lana and her mages used the opportunity to walk around town to buy necessities but Abe stayed by her side. He had a calming effect. So did Solfis but not for the same reasons. As for Arthur, she flew off to nap somewhere after eating a bowl of eggs.

 

In the midst of conversations, she gathered nuggets of valuable information. Who despised whom, what looming conflict could upset the peace of the city, and so on. There were tensions between newcomers and the original Kazarans. The merchants had formed a guild to oppose Lady Azar but she’d stymied them at every turn. Crime was on the rise since some who came had been exiled for good reasons. A prison had to be built to contain them. Public spending had massively risen and so had taxes. There was some bad but as someone who had been in Afghanistan mid-insurgency, this was all pretty tame. Just normal tensions in a city undergoing growing pains.

 

And then came the temple, led by Farren. The angelic young man now looked much more confident than he used to. He was also backed by the temple guard which made Viv’s eyebrows rise. Lorn, their leader, appeared embarrassed. Koro the Amazon was just super excited to see Viv and waved when she thought no one could see her. Farren was obviously tense.