Chapter 58: The Skirmish at Fort Twilight

Chapter 58: The Skirmish at Fort Twilight

An explosion rumbles out, reaching Daniel, Ryuogriar, Xyreko, and Erimaya in the carriage. Praemar and Xiannelle cry out, “Princess!”

Erimaya looks to Daniel. “D-Daniel?”

He can only sigh. “Looks like negotiations turned south.”

“It was unlikely they would trust that these are their own soldiers after this long,” replies Ryuogriar.

“I'm willing to bet it had more to do with 'Empress Hekate Fell Lawson' suddenly showing up in person at their gates.” Daniel puts his helmet on as he says this, snugging the fasteners for his armor and picking up his sword.

“I'm sorry for all the trouble,” murmured Erimaya.

“It's not your fault, Erimaya. Hekate wanted to make a show so that as many people as possible know not to mess with her. What you're hearing is the fort resisting, but she won't hurt anyone.”

She nods, looking up at him with concern. He already has his helmet on, so smiling would do no good. So, Daniel reassured her by petting her head the same way he did with Hekate. Erimaya blushes, and Xiannelle growls softly. “Sit tight. Xyreko, if we need to evacuate, transport Erimaya and her attaché to safety before anything else.”

“As you wish, your Grace.”

Ryuogriar follows as Daniel steps out of the carriage, and the soldiers are nervously watching the small battle taking place at the gates. Hekate has already blown the gate open with her ice-rifle and fire magic, which looks bigger and more devastating than it actually was. She's now on the upper wall, disarming soldiers in swaths using her magic and agility as they try everything they can to pin her down. She seems to be having fun as far as Daniel can tell.

“We've got a long way to go with our Empress, don't we, Mukori?” asks Ryuogriar dryly.

“Just remember, Ryuogriar, that our little Empress helped me conquer the Citadel. I brought the firepower, but I couldn't have navigated without her.”

Ryuogriar is quiet for a moment. “I wonder if the old lord could process the irony... He brought her back to the hoard as little more than a whelp. I’m... sure she’s told you...”

“Dragons find her true form ugly.” The two walk towards the gate as Hekate distracts/embarrasses the soldiers guarding the fortress. She’s thankfully being careful not to hurt any of them too badly, and her small size and agility make her untouchable to them. She’s also laughing, which will do nothing positive for the soldiers and their morale.

“The lord certainly did... He knew what she was. We all did. I can’t say I ever foresaw this future, but she... was a child. I didn’t find her attractive, but I can’t count how many times I’ve felt guilt over her treatment... when we mighty dragons couldn’t produce a single viable child that lived more than a year.” She looks at Daniel with shimmering eyes. She’s not crying yet, but she’s feeling something deep with her thoughts. “I hope it resonates with all who deem themselves almighty. That which you look down on has a line of sight on your throat.” She looks up at the wall and Hekate as they draw closer. “I have given it much thought. And, she is still a child.”

“Do you know Hekate’s actual age?”

“Yes. She’s fifteen, just as you’ve likely assumed all this time. I don’t know where the lord found her, as the only remaining feldroks should have been the Feral Feldrok and the Devourer, who were both hundreds of years old.”

Ryuogriar raises her hand, creating a barrier that deflects a barrage of arrows, bolts, and magic spells from the defenders that saw them approaching.

“She looks younger. But, we’ll talk more later. Let’s help Hekate break their disagreeableness.” Daniel withdraws a flashbang, pulling the pin. He keeps the spoon down for a moment. “Ry-Mukori, please deliver this to our guests on that turret up there. You have three seconds from when I let go, and do not be looking at it after second two.”

She smiles and nods. “Ready.”

Daniel throws the flashbang grenade underhand, and she uses wind magic to intercept and carry it up to the turret of the fortress wall firing on them from the left. He calls out the count, “One [Mississippi], Two [Mississippi].” As he counts the third second, he is already looking away, and Ryuo mimics him, “Three [Miss-]” BWAM!

The soldiers on the turret cry out, many of whom are blinded or disoriented by the flashbang grenade. Since it’s still new to them, many of them couldn’t help but look to see what it was, which was just enough time for it to detonate and blind them temporarily.

As they pass through the gate, Hekate shrieks over the inner wall, “Daniel! You butt! That hurt my ears!”

Ryuogriar chuckles, and Daniel apologizes, “Sorry! I-...” He notices she’s wearing her helmet, and she’s listening to him intently. He resumes normal volume, “have decided that my favorite is Ryuogriar.”

“WHAT!?” screams Hekate. She gasps, “I mean, ‘What? I can’t hear you. My ears hurt.’”

Daniel fires his revolver loaded with non-lethal beanbag rounds, which easily knock down the armored soldiers as Ryuogriar casts a spell to turn the ground between them and the defenders into waist-deep and extremely sticky mud.

Ryuogriar teases as she works, “Mukori, perhaps a punishment is in order for worrying you. Each offense could mean surrendering one of her bonding times with you.”

“You shut up!” shouts Hekate from above, cartwheeling out of the way. She points and shouts, “This isn’t over! Daniel, don’t listen to her! She’s evil! Yeep!” She smacks a spear that almost reaches her, and then she pounces the soldier before kicking off of him into an acrobatic backflip.

She still has the spear, and she scolds the soldier, “Hey! That thing’s sharp, and I’m going to need to fight a dragon after this!” She snaps the spear in half, tossing the parts over the wall. “Just surrender. I don’t even want this crummy base. I’m Empress Hekate. I have a way cooler fortress. I’m just trying to return your soldiers!”

Meanwhile, on the ground, Daniel and Ryuogriar have incapacitated most of the soldiers with a combination of Ryuogriar’s magic and Daniel’s tear gas grenades. Twilight isn’t laid out the same way as Peony, with a much more substantial fortress blocking the way ahead. However, they’re inside the outer wall, and the ranged defenses have been drastically reduced. Or at least, the people manning them.

“Daniel! I think I’ve got the leader guy! They keep trying to protect this old man!” She drags a man down the stairs by the leg, in spite of his attempts to kick free. She tosses him in front of Daniel and Ryuogriar, immediately squaring up to Ryuogriar. “As my reward, I want Ryuogriar...”

“Who are you?” asks Daniel, directed at the man as he ignores Hekate.

“Hey! Don’t ignore me!”

The man tries to spit, and Daniel fires into his chest armor, causing the middle-aged man to cough and yell in pain. “There’s no cause to be disrespectful. After all, you don’t want my dear companion to spit on you in turn.”

As if on cue, Ryuogriar puffs a small breath through her lips, ‘spitting’ a puff of blue fire. She smirks coldly, and Hekate crosses her arms, puffing herself up proudly like a frog trying to look big next to the well-endowed appearing dragon in humanoid form. “And, I can do far worse.”

Ryuogriar doesn’t poke at Hekate this time, simply allowing her to be prideful.

The man, having seen the fire, becomes nervous. Daniel states, “Three people have all but walked through your defensive perimeter. If you’d like the charade to continue, we’ll level the fortress. But, we’re not here to fight. Just take your soldiers back, send them on their merry way, and never let them return. They’re cursed to die if they enter into Fievegal territory again ever in their lives.”

The man’s eyes widen, and he glances at Hekate. “You think my darling would lie to you? I know you’re important. But, Daniel has even more terrible ways of extracting...”

“D-Daniel?” asks the man.

“Yep. The one and only, it seems.” Daniel removes his helmet, revealing his unremarkable and very human face. “I survived the assassination attempt and we captured all of the soldiers. And, in the process of attempting to assassinate me;”

“The Emperor of the Citadel,” adds Hekate pointedly.

“And, the Conqueror of Dragons and the Feldrok Sorceror,” adds Ryuogriar warmly.

“And, and, the Harbinger of Calamity,” finishes Hekate a little competitively. Ryuogriar simply smiles.

Daniel takes a breath and exhales, staying composed. “Your soldiers attempted to harm Empress Hekate Fell Lawson, Queen Dragon Ryuogriar, Queen Dragon Reignleif, and Queen Dragon Geirahoel. In the world I come from, we called that an ‘international incident’ in the best case scenario. In the worst case scenario...” He looks at Ryuogriar and Hekate as if the word has escaped him.

Hekate holds up a finger, answering intelligently, “I think we have a term for that in this world, Daniel. ‘Declaration of War’.”

“Ah! Yes, that’s the one. Declaration of War.” Daniel looks at the man again. “So, I ask again, who are you, and who is in charge of Fort Twilight, who deployed assassins? We’ll be including their names in the formal declaration of war with the east.”

“Y-You’re; They’re demons! We’re already at war.”

Suddenly, a humongous spear stops less than an inch from Daniel’s cheek, halted by the magic barrier bubble Ryuogriar is keeping around the three of them. The spear -or rather, the scorpion bolt-, floats in midair, captured in magic. Daniel exhales deeply. It actually startled him quite a bit, and if Ryuogriar wasn’t present, he’d be dead.

Hekate puffs her tail up, glaring at the castle. Ryuogriar declares coldly, “Hekate, I am with you in obliterating this entire fortress. I hear this valley was quite scenic long ago.”

Hekate nods. “Agreed. Let’s turn this entire... OW!” She’s cut off by Daniel bonking her helmet lightly with his fist, and he flicks Ryuogriar’s forehead, and she whines, “Mukoriiii! Whyyyy!?”

Daniel looks at the man once more, who is horrified that Daniel is still alive, it seems. “We’ll overlook this latest attempt on our lives, since we did kinda break in. But, that was the last attack we’ll overlook. Hekate, Mukori, NOW if we’re attacked, you may clear this valley of synthetic constructions.”

They both cheer up instantly, and they face the castle, cackling together.

The man waves his hands desperately, shouting, “Hold attack! Dear gods, hold the attack!”

The soldiers around them that were moving into position call out, “General!?”

He sighs, and Daniel smirks. “General, is it? Well, then that makes it highly likely for two things to be facts; you’re the commanding officer of this base, and you’re a member of the Grand Zenkon Empire specifically.” Daniel pulls the general up to his feet, aiming his revolver at the man’s chest. Hekate pouts, “Awww... They’re actually not attacking.”

“Seems these human-kin are wiser than they often behave.”

Hekate looks up at Ryuogriar skeptically. “You realize, if you and Daniel make a child, it would be a human-kin, too, right?”

Ryuogriar blushes, glancing nervously at Daniel.

Once they reach the gate, the guards seem to recognize them, but they still challenge them in the usual way. “Halt! Who goes there?”

Hekate points from her cradled position in Daniel’s arms, “I am Hekate Fell Lawson, Empress and Ruler of the Fievegal, Lady of the Citadel, and acquaintance of Commander Leiwelles kos Morglodston. Please inform her of our arrival. I shall apologize for arriving unannounced. We are escorting a high value envoy, and it’s imperative she be returned to her kingdom.”

“S-Stand by, your Majesty! We must confirm.”

“Take your time! I’m plenty comfortable. Heeheehee!” Hekate swishes her tail back and forth, stretching in Daniel’s arms while he holds her, showing no signs of dropping her.

The soldiers retreat from the edge of the wall, undoubtedly to discuss and summon the Commander.

***

Commander Leiwelles walks briskly to the west gate. She’s not quite as nervous as last time, but she still has to play it safe. She climbs the wall’s stairs and peers out over the simple battlements of the wall. Sure enough, as her soldiers guessed, she easily recognizes Hekate, Daniel in his armor, and the lady dragon Ryuogriar, though she’s the only dragon present at the moment. She does study the carriage behind them, though. It bears the sigil of the Fievegal, but it’s abnormal. The design of the carriage is definitely from the east, especially since Leiwelles has never heard of demons and demon-kin using carriages the way nobility do in the east.

However, she more easily recognizes the uniforms of Stalvaltan Guards, given that the Grand Duchess herself was just present at the fort. It’s a peculiar sight, but one she knows will only be answered when she speaks to her guests.

“Open the gate,” orders Leiwelles.

“Open the gate!” “Open the gate!” come back the replies.

“Prepare to accept dignitaries and royalty. Form up greeting detail and inform the galley to begin prepping for double population. Rigging and construction teams begin restoring the camping area for our guests. I shall meet with the dignitaries.”

Leiwelles descends back to the ground as Ryuogriar and Daniel walk in, with Daniel still carrying Hekate like a maiden.

Hekate finally climbs down out of Daniel’s arms, standing tall and proud for her small size with her hands on her hips, and she says proudly, “Greetings, Commander Leiwelles. I have come again. We have brought someone very important, and we need you to ensure she gets home.”

“Oh? Is it the Grand Duchess Aramellianna?” asks Leiwelles, surprised at the quick turnaround.

This surprises the three of them, though. “Grand Duchess?” asks Hekate, looking to Daniel.

Daniel replies, “No. Should it be the Grand Duchess?”

“Oh... I suppose it seemed only natural, since she left here westward not a week ago. Is she residing at the Citadel?”

Daniel looks at Ryuogriar and Hekate. “We... haven’t seen the Grand Duchess.”

“It’s likely she was still en route to the Citadel, and we missed each other,” offers Ryuo, avoiding revealing their method of travel.

“That must be...” remarks Daniel.

Hekate adds, “We’ll search for them on our way back.”

Ryuogriar nods in agreement.

“Xyreko, have you been monitoring the conversation?” whispers Daniel in his helmet.

“Of course, Daniel. Unless you order me not to, I will always be listening to your helmet.”

“Thanks. Any sign of Grand Duchess Aramellianna kos Stalvaltan or her escort?”

“I’ll check with Ucahote. Shall I have him annihilate them on sight? Or, would you take them as warbr-?”

“Don’t finish that sentence, please. You know what I want by now.”

The voice in his helmet chuckles. “Very well, your Grace. I’ll have Ucahote invite them in and watch out for them until we return.”

“Thank you, Xyreko. Please pass my thanks to Ucahote as well.”

“As you wish.”

During that time, Hekate and Ryuogriar were discussing the envoy to be Erimaya, explaining how she came to the Citadel.

“The second Princess of Mornistae travelled all the way to the Citadel on her own...” She looks at Daniel, saying more quietly, “The same princess that...?”

Daniel nods without saying a word, and she straightens. “I see. Then, it seems, you successfully lied to me. Come, we’ll prepare a stateroom for the Princess and meet with you all in private.”

Hekate nods. “Thank you! Can we have a snack, too? We’ve been going back and forth, and I think Erimaya is hungry, too.”

“Of course. I can’t promise quality, but I can gladly have something prepared. Shall we?”

“We shall! Thank you, Commander!”

They meet with Erimaya, who thanks the commander for her hospitality before they head to the conference room.

“Princess, if you’re alright with overnighting here, you are welcome to stay. I’d feel more comfortable, of course, if you left early in the morning for Castle Northwall. As the border fortress, there’s always a risk of demon attack.” She smiles at Daniel, Hekate, and Ryuogriar. “I expect we’ll be safe enough tonight.”

Hekate replies proudly, “As long as you want, Commander, your Highness. While we’ll be returning tonight, I have given Princess Erimaya my blessing. She will arrive home safely.”

Leiwelles cocks her head, while Erimaya replies, “Thank you, your Greatness.” She and Hekate smile warmly at each other.

Daniel explains, “Erimaya will have the Citadel’s protection, Commander. Please don’t ask further questions.”

She nods reluctantly. “Very well. And, the Stalvaltan soldiers?”

“They’re cursed to die if they return to our territory,” replies Hekate seriously. “Otherwise, they’re free to go. Shame they won’t be able to escort their matron lady, but that’s how it goes. Will you send them home with Princess Erimaya?”

Leiwelles nods. “Of course. We’d only ask them to stay if we were under immediate threat of attack. We... aren’t, are we?”

Hekate scoffs and chuckles. “Not from me. We haven’t heard a peep out of the Demon Covenant, though.”

“I see. But... Do I understand correctly that... dragons are off the menu?” asks Leiwelles, stealing a glance at Ryuogriar.

Ryuogriar replies with a smile, “Of course. We are no longer under threat of the Devourer, the former Dragon Lord is deceased, and the new dragon lord is restoring our population for the first time in centuries. We have nothing to gain by starting conflict now.” She puts her chin on her hand with her elbow on the table, smiling at Daniel.

“Y-You’re... You weren’t already reproducing?”

“No. We were cursed. But, our new lord lifted the curse. We’ll return our race to a place of glory and inspiration for others to look up to. As we always should have been.” She smiles at Leiwelles, knowing fully well that Leiwelles can discern lies with her god-given magic ability.

“I see. Then, as long as you don’t invade, I have no quarrel. Though, I must confess, since we’re being so honest; the thought of more dragons in the world does give me some cause for alarm.”

“If humans were to breed endlessly, I would feel cause for alarm as well. Is it not fair for my people to know the joy of children, Commander?”

“I didn’t say that. I hope your children grow up well, and that you truly do keep your promise.”

“Mine too, right!?” interjects Hekate. “W-When I have them.”

Leiwelles scoffs. “Yes, your Grace. I hope your children grow up wise and kind, and most of all healthy.”

Hekate grins, and Erimaya giggles warmly.

After the meeting, the group say their farewells, and Hekate, Daniel, and Ryuogriar take flight on Ryuogriar’s back to the Citadel and ensure Aramellianna’s caravan is safe. Xyreko teleported back to the Citadel, as her remote golem model can’t fly.

As it turns out, Aramellianna’s caravan arrives at the Citadel only shortly before the three reach the same location, and Hekate makes the decision to play the same game as all the other times, at least to begin with.

***