Stone and Blood: Act 4, Chapter 4

Stone and Blood: Act 4, Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A review...

Florine stared at nothing in particular as she was whisked from Felhammer to Hardar on one of the Dark Dwarves’ Golem-powered trains. Her passenger car, as with everything else ‘Dark Dwarf’, was designed with practicality in mind while comfort was seemingly avoided. It was standing room only and built entirely from enchanted steel with emplacements for siege weaponry and arrow slits for the vehicle’s armed guard.

The train itself travelled a bit slower than a Soul Eater-drawn vehicle on the highways of the Sorcerous Kingdom, though the train was capable of hauling far, far more than even the most heavy-duty freight wagon produced by Liane’s workshops. Her friend would have very much liked Khazanar with all of its technological marvels.

Liane would be a much better fit here than me.

She was probably overthinking things, but the idea of holding a review with Lady Albedo made Florine wonder if she had accomplished anything of note. The Prime Minister was very much a results-oriented individual...no, rather than a results-oriented individual, she was a results-oriented perfectionist. There had been many cases where a member of the House of Lords or the guilds rushed things to please her and ended up with a scathing reprimand for their unsatisfactory results.

Probably the only thing that saved people that got on Lady Albedo’s bad side was her high degree of professional pride. Of course, this also meant that getting on her good side was no guarantee of a smooth relationship in future endeavours. In the culture of the northern Human countries, where patronage and clientelism dictated the terms of every relationship in society, this resulted in quite the harrowing experience for those who went into a meeting with Lady Albedo thinking that they could conduct their business as usual.

However, it wasn’t as if she wasn’t willing to participate in such a system. It was the fact that nearly everything that most people could bring to the table was utterly worthless in her eyes. Pedigree and prestige meant nothing. She was so beautiful that most sane people decided that she was beyond their reach. Connections with insignificant parties – which was pretty much everyone to Lady Albedo – were of no value. Material wealth held no personal allure, though she was more than happy to think about how she could tax it.

Liane and Clara are probably going through a whole lot of that right now.

While she hadn’t heard anything about it yet, the representatives from the various interests in the Baharuth Empire should have already arrived at Castle Corelyn for trade negotiations. Clara had invited Lady Albedo to attend as a guest to observe the proceedings, though Florine wasn’t sure whether she would appear or not. She also wasn’t sure what she would think of the traditional interplay between aristocrats, as the first time she had been exposed to it resulted in Count Fassett being tossed headfirst through a Gate to some unknown location, never to be seen again.

A glowing crystal on the monitor at the front of the passenger car changed from blue to green. The Dwarves around her checked over their belongings while the soldiers guarding the train renewed their vigilance.

“Is Hardar that dangerous?” Florine asked.

“It’s all sorts of dangerous,” Velgath answered. “Probably nothing you’d have to worry about, though.”

The train came to a stop and Florine waited as the soldiers disembarked to secure the surroundings. Out of one of the arrow slits, she could see them pushing away the dozens of hawkers who came to sell food and beverage to the passengers.

“Hardar’s atmosphere is a bit different from Felhammer,” Florine said.

“Just a bit?” Velgath frowned.

“I can only really make any sense of the commercial activity,” Florine replied. “Everything here has a more chaotic feel to it. Not that I mind.”

She continued peering out of the arrow slits, trying to identify the various goods and services being offered. As she did, she noted that the soldiers didn’t abuse their authority to ‘requisition’ any goods from the locals. Most would scarcely believe it, especially considering the evil and ruthless leanings of the Dark Dwarves.

Come to think of it, that part is just like the Sorcerous Kingdom.

When the shattered remnants of the Royal Army spread the news of Re-Estize’s devastating defeat at the Battle of Katze Plains, everyone prepared for the worst. There were only a few who didn’t, such as Liane, who pointed out that there was no reason for the victors to follow proper legal procedures if all they wanted was to raze everything to the ground.

Technically, she had been proven wrong as the new administration ended up levelling the pauper’s quarter of E-Rantel, but, for the most part, Liane was right beyond even her own expectations. When their unfathomably evil new overlord occupied the territory, there was no looting, arson, or rape. In the subsequent weeks, violent and destructive crime fell to nothing.

The Dark Dwarves were the second case demonstrating that being evil did not necessarily mean ‘lawless’, ‘chaotic’, or ‘destructive’. If anything, being perceived as evil probably made maintaining law and order easier as would-be criminals and other disruptive elements did not doubt that those in power would be more than pleased to dish out some unspeakable punishment for even the lightest crimes.

An officer reentered the passenger car and gave them the all-clear. Once Florine and Velgath disembarked, they were swiftly led through the milling crowds up a shallow incline leading away from the railway terminus.

“How far is it to Hardar Gate from here?” Florine asked.

“About an hour at this rate,” Velgath answered. “There usually isn’t such a large crowd up here.”

“We’re still pushing the council forces out of Hardar,” the Captain leading their escort said. “Well, it’s more that we’re dealing with all of the reinforcements that haven’t figured out they’ve been beaten yet. You think you’re finally done and then another battalion shows up.”

“What about the Gazers?”

“They haven’t shown their ugly faces yet. Long-range patrols haven’t detected any approaches, so they’re still probably making themselves cosy in the rest of Khazanar.”

“I still don’t know what these ‘Gazers’ are,” Florine said.

“Floating eyeballs with teeth,” the officer said. “We probably won’t see any for a while, though. They’ll send their slave armies first.”

Why is it that everyone down here seems to have a slave army?

“How large is this invasion?” Florine asked.

“Large enough to overrun the rest of Khazanar,” the officer answered. “Gazers don’t raise proper slaves like we do, though. They’re basically battle fodder with little to no formal training.”

“Is that truly enough to overrun Khazanar?”

“It depends on what they’ve got fighting for them. A bunch of Monsters, Dragons, and other nasties would make a mess out of a principality while a good chunk of the army’s away. If they didn’t have those, then it’d have to be a pretty big hive with multiple Spawners.”

Since they could enslave Dragons, Gazers sounded like a powerful species. Maybe they were as strong as Frost Giants. With that in mind, the absurdly large army that the council had mustered no longer seemed so absurd.

The crowds thinned out as they ascended until only their escort accompanied them up the underway. When the hard, angular Dark Dwarven architecture grew monolithic in proportions, more Dwarves appeared in the buildings around them. Their escort stopped in what appeared to be a huge courtyard penned in on all sides by massive fortifications built into the cavern walls.

“Have we arrived?” Florine asked.

“Yeah, this is it,” Velgath answered with a gesture toward the far end of the courtyard. “The Gate of Hardar.”

Florine’s gaze went in the direction of the Dwarf woman’s gesture, but she didn’t see anything that resembled a gate. There was a space that indicated that something was probably there, but the darklamps illuminating the area only revealed the same stone formations that made up the rest of the cavern wall.

I should have asked Isoroku what he saw when he came here last...

Possibly the greatest hazard of the Realms Below was the magical interference that came from being so deep underground. All sorts of Tier Magic spells did not work over long distances, including Message, Teleportation, and long-range Divination-school spells. As this was the case, Isoroku had to travel to the surface to submit Prince Fehammer’s second order for Undead security forces.

Just as she was starting to feel that Velgath was making fun of her again, a soldier stepped out of the cavern wall. There was no sign of a door or even any magical effect – she had simply walked out of the stone as if it wasn’t there. The soldier went over to the Captain of their escort, and they spoke in low voices for a few moments before the Captain turned to address Florine and her party.

“Time to get some obnoxiously fresh air,” he said. “Follow me.”

The Captain strode forward and disappeared into the stone. Florine stopped at the threshold, pressing her hand to the cool stone of the cavern wall. It didn’t pass through, so it either wasn’t an illusion or it was an illusion so powerful that she was being tricked into believing there was a real wall in front of her.

“What are you doing?” Velgath’s voice came from behind her.

“My hand isn’t going through,” Florine replied.

“It’s not supposed to go through,” Velgath said. “You’re supposed to go through.”

“Wha–”

A hand pressed against the small of her back and shoved her roughly into the wall. Florine’s shriek was swallowed by the stone. The end of it sounded through the cool night air outside and echoed off of the nearby cliffs. She cringed as dozens of heads turned toward her.

“I left the area, for lack of a better way to put it. I went straight up, and when I tried landing by going straight back down, I ended up somewhere else.”

“So magic resistance isn’t a factor,” Lady Nigredo crossed her arms.

“It’s doubtful that anything these Dwarves could devise would work on me if it did.”

“A field effect, then? If so, it’s less like the castable ones and more like an environmental setting. How far did you have to fly to get back to us?”

As the conversation went on to become a snarl of unknown terms, Florine wondered if her review with Lady Albedo would ever happen. Or if they would ever make it back to Khazanar.

“You people ready yet?”

Velgath appeared from behind a tree and walked over to stand beside Florine.

“Yes,” Florine replied. “We tried returning on our own, but we couldn’t for some reason.”

“That’s what’s supposed to happen,” Velgath told her. “Who are those two women wandering off down there?”

“The one in black armour is Lady Albedo, the Prime Minister of the Sorcerous Kingdom. The one walking with her is Lady Nigredo, her older sister. Oh, I’d like to tell you that you should behave yourself around Lady Albedo. She’s–”

“A Demon,” Velgath said. “A creature of chaos and destruction. I’m surprised you’re working under someone like that considering how you feel about Jaldabaoth.”

“Lady Albedo is an entirely reasonable person!” Florine told the Dwarf, “Also, we don’t have anyone like Jaldabaoth in the Sorcerous Kingdom.”

“I’ll take your word for it, but what’s she doing here?”

“She wanted to see me about something,” Florine replied. “I hope you don’t mind if we stay out here for a while longer?”

While one might think to offer their hospitality as one would to an important guest, the Prime Minister of a country going into another without authorisation or proper arrangements was completely out of the question. Then again, the thought might have never crossed the Dark Dwarf’s mind at all given how they were.

“Can we at least get the Undead moving along?” Velgath said.

“That shouldn’t be a problem.”

Velgath walked over to where Isoroku was checking to make sure Prince Felhammer’s order had been accurately delivered. It was only then that Florine realised that, in all that time trying to reach Khazanar, they somehow hadn’t moved very far at all.

“Did you see where she came from?” Lady Nigredo asked when she returned with her sister.

“I didn’t,” Florine shook her head. “Lady Velgath is some sort of psionic assassin and she’s very good at not being noticed when she doesn’t want to be.”

“So it seems that our suspicions about the Dark Dwarves were true,” Lady Albedo eyed Velgath as she went by with the Undead column. “Nigredo, please accompany them to the entrance.”

“Of course, dear sister.”

Once Velgath and Nigredo vanished from view, Albedo turned her attention to Florine.

“I hope Lady Nigredo doesn’t mind Velgath’s personality,” Florine said. “As a whole, Dark Dwarves are...”

“We’re aware,” Lady Albedo said. “It seems that Dark Dwarves really are Dark Dwarves.”

“What does that mean, my lady?”

“It means that the majority of their race can be relied upon to be a certain way, no matter where they come from. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed this in your time working as an official?”

“I don’t have any expectations of anyone being ‘a certain way’,” Florine replied. “Humans certainly aren’t like that.”

“Oh, but they are,” Lady Albedo’s bardiche vanished as she crossed her arms. “It’s just that their Job Classes influence them as much as their race does, which makes you think that Humans ‘certainly aren’t like that’.”

Was that the case? One’s vocation certainly affected one’s perspective and thus their behaviour, but Florine always thought of it as a ‘normal’ thing.

“Are you saying that the Dark Dwarves have Racial Class Levels?”

“No,” Lady Albedo told her. “They’re Humanoids. They just happen to live in environments where their natural tendencies allow them to thrive as they are. Just like Humans.”

The Prime Minister’s glowing amber gaze looked down on Florine as if she were a bug. She sometimes got like that, particularly when the topic of Humans was brought up. There were rumours that she had been heard referring to them as ‘lower life forms’ in the past.

“I will keep that in mind when I observe the behaviour of others, my lady,” Florine said. “Isoroku mentioned that you wanted to conduct a review with me. Is there something that you wished to speak about in particular?”

“Not in particular,” Lady Albedo said. “I simply desire information. The time between your entry into the Dwarf ruins under the Abelion Hills to today has been a complete blank since we’ve been unable to communicate with the Elder Liches. You may begin with what you’ve learned with the Dark Dwarf nation’s military and political situation.”

Even summarising what she knew, it took an hour for Florine to convey what she had seen. Lady Albedo didn’t seem to mind at all, stopping Florine once in a while to clarify or expand on certain points.

“I’ve also begun putting together my thoughts on what I’ve seen of Dark Dwarven society so far,” Florine said. “In particular, I’ve come across notable cases confirming what we’ve come to learn about Job Class development and how various methods may be employed to nurture growth.”

“Oh? I’d like to see it if you feel it’s in a presentable state.”

“It’s not presentable, but it does contain the key points I wished to convey if you don’t mind the clutter.”

Lady Albedo held out a gauntleted hand. Florine reached into her Infinite Haversack, producing the notes that she had been working on throughout the day. The Prime Minister flipped through them at the startling speed that she usually did. Early on, many Nobles suspected that she didn’t read their reports at all, but they were quickly proven wrong.

“This is quite useful,” Lady Albedo said as she handed back the stack of papers. “I assume you’re not proposing a system of slavery.”

“Of course not, my lady,” Florine replied. “Their system simply confirms what we know and the report offers a case study on how they have applied their take on the Class System to their society. In fact, with a bit of effort, I believe we can far surpass their system with our own.”

She would need to consult with Clara and Director Alpha about that to make sure she was on the right track. Neither of them would probably be pleased about how she came across the information, however.

“In that case,” Lady Albedo said, “I look forward to your proposals in the future. I believe there’s something else you’ve wanted to say this entire time?”

Silence fell over the forest as Florine looked up at Lady Albedo’s expectant expression. She was already sure what the answer to her concerns would be, but she dreaded asking all the same.

“Prince Felhammer may be following the terms of his lease to the letter,” Florine said, “but he’s not doing as much as he could be to aid his people. I understand that, as a country, we can’t be seen as some sort of regional nanny that comes to the rescue of everyone regardless of why they were in trouble in the first place, but the lives of tens of millions are at stake.”

“I will answer your concerns with a question of my own, Baroness Gagnier,” Lady Albedo placed a hand on her hip. “Do you see any political repercussions in letting events play out as they appear to be?”

“No, my lady,” Florine sighed. “From a purely political perspective, the way things appear to be going will only end in a net positive for the Sorcerous Kingdom. At least as far as I can see.”

“So there you have it,” the Bardiche returned to Lady Albedo’s hand. “That is not a conclusion I could have come up with on my own, by the way. Not in the same way you have, at any rate. Remember that you occupy your current position precisely because your capabilities in this particular arena are unparalleled in the Sorcerous Kingdom. There is no need to second-guess yourself.”

With that, Lady Albedo flew off, leaving Florine with a sense of tired resignation. She had known it all along, but the confirmation left her with a deep sense of dissatisfaction.

To achieve its foreign policy objectives, the Sorcerous Kingdom saw the deaths of countless millions as no obstacle.