Before the Storm: Act 1, Chapter 9

Before the Storm: Act 1, Chapter 9

Chapter 9

What is this place...?

Unlike Zwillingstürme, Corelyn Harbour did exist on the Empire’s maps. It was marked as a village on the Katze River, however. After seeing the new town on the imperial border, Rangobart assumed that the village had undergone some changes as well, but he had woefully underestimated their extent.

As they rode south from the crossroads between the Empire, Re-Estize, and the Slane Theocracy, they were greeted by the sight of what could only be described as a city wall. Its pure white limestone was awash in magical lighting, giving the vista before them a glowing, mystical quality. At every tower fluttered two banners: the vermillion and gold standard of the Sorcerous Kingdom, and a silver goblet filled with red wine set on a field of cobalt.

Not two years have passed since the appearance of the Sorcerous Kingdom...right?

The significance of the sight ahead of them was not lost on the carriage’s other occupants. If the Baharuth Empire focused all of its excess resources on a single project, it could perhaps raise a new town similar to Zwillingstürme in the same time, minus its glass canopy and absurdly thick walls. Corelyn Harbour, however, was absolutely impossible. That Zwillingstürme, Corelyn Harbour, and the new infrastructure they were travelling on had all been built in the same period sent a clear message about the overwhelming industrial might of the Empire’s new suzerain.

“Out of curiosity, Lady Wagner,” Count Roberbad asked, “was Corelyn Harbour being reconstructed when it was still a part of Re-Estize?”

“No, my lord,” Countess Wagner answered. “Before the Battle of Katze Plains, it was a part of the same vineyard we’re currently travelling through. Two more new towns were built on the highway to the Theocracy border at the same time and I believe the rural roads in the thirteen baronies of Corelyn County are around twenty-five per cent paved.”

“But...how is that even possible? Did the Sorcerer King use some grand spell to create this all from nothing?”

As far as Rangobart knew, no such spell existed. The extent of the Imperial Ministry of Magic’s forays into conjuration were spells that could create basic construction materials. At best, there was a Third-tier spell that could temporarily summon a small cottage.

“Magic was involved in some of Corelyn Harbour’s construction,” Lady Wagner replied, “but most of it was accomplished through mundane artifice. If I recall correctly, a delegation from the Imperial Ministry of Magic was here when we held a public demonstration of the terraforming magic that created the foundations of the town.”

Rangobart’s family turned their gazes to him.

How am I supposed to know? I was in the northwest with the Second Army Group this entire time.

“The Imperial Ministry of Magic may have witnessed what you speak of, my lady,” he said, “but I can’t recall them publishing their findings anywhere. As a whole, the fellows at the Ministry are rather reclusive.”

“I see,” Lady Wagner said. “I was wondering how it was possible not to generate any interest from the Empire after that demonstration. Well, now that you’re here, you can examine what we have to offer firsthand.”

Their carriage entered a gate positioned under the raised foundations of the town’s walls. The highway went through a canyon-like passage before going through a second gatehouse. Rangobart nearly pressed his face to the glass as a breathtaking vista opened up before them.

The highway was raised above the town proper, giving them a clear view of the lively goings-on below. Like Zwillingstürme, the buildings were all fashioned from stone, but the white limestone of Corelyn Harbour lacked the oppressive feel of the other town’s grey granite. Greenery and flowing fountains graced the town’s plazas and, like Zwillingstürme, none of the more unpleasant aspects of town life could be detected.

As he tried to take in as many details as he could, they crossed through yet another gatehouse. This time, they emerged high above the town’s namesake harbour. Rangobart could only gape in awe at the rows of warehouses that stretched a kilometre to either side.

“You can’t seriously call this a town,” he said. “This place is larger than any city in the Empire aside from Arwintar. So is Zwillingstürme, for that matter.”

“The two towns are bigger than E-Rantel, too,” Lady Wagner replied. “For now. The new towns springing up are built with the future in mind. This is the new reality, so I’m sure you can imagine our frustration when the Empire insists on clinging to its impoverished past.”

‘Impoverished’ was a word that one would never use to describe the Baharuth Empire. Yet, with the sights on display all around them, they could hardly refute her.

“The members of my party are undoubtedly keen on achieving a similar degree of economic might for their own lands,” Count Roberbad said, “but it’s the details that matter, yes?”

“Of course, my lord,” Lady Wagner smiled. “Over the next two weeks, we will do our best to ensure that you are thoroughly informed of your options and what they entail.”

The highway crossed over the waters of the river, feeding their carriages into a fully fortified island that ran the length of the harbour. From a single glance, Rangobart doubted that the entire Imperial Army could scratch the thing and that caused him once again to wonder what the Sorcerous Kingdom was trying to defend itself against.

“Lady Wagner,” He asked, “is there any particular reason for such a large island fortress? Both Zwillingstürme and Corelyn Harbour also have substantial layers of defence.”

Both his father and his brother looked at him as if he had broached a taboo topic. Countess Wagner, however, didn’t display any sign of offence.

“That would be the doing of Baroness Zahradnik,” she said. “I suppose it’s what happens when a martial Noble obtains influence and resources.”

“Indeed,” Count Roberbad harrumphed. “We of the Baharuth Empire are all too familiar with this. Due to the Emperor’s ties with the martial aristocracy, the entire country is slowly becoming some sort of manufactory that churns out Imperial Knights.”

One of those Imperial Knights is right here, you know? You even encouraged me to become one...

That was an unfair line of thought, of course. His family had taken a calculated risk in having him enlist in the Imperial Army – one that had reasonably good odds of paying off. War Wizards were always in high demand and Nobles enlisting in the army started as Third-class Knights. A decade of service to the Empire was practically guaranteed to result in some land and routine patrols as a War Wizard weren’t particularly dangerous.

“Is there any truth to the rumours about a new imperial campaign, my lord?” Lady Wagner asked.

“It’s hard to imagine it being anything else with all of the recent activity,” Rangobart’s father answered. “Of course, we’re the ones who have to supply that rowdy bunch.”

“Would expansion not bring new wealth to the Empire?”

“To the Empire, yes. Where it ends up is another story. The winter conquests have undoubtedly whetted the appetites of the central bureaucracy and the Imperial Army. I wouldn’t be surprised if even more of the budget was allocated to the military.”

“Some might call that an investment in territorial acquisition,” Lady Wagner noted.

“Hmph. If it was so easy to acquire new territories, there wouldn’t be any wilderness left to conquer. The unclaimed lands are vast compared to the countries nestled within them for good reason. I suppose that, to the brute holding the spear, every problem can be solved by stabbing it.”

Their carriage slowed to turn into an ornate gate with an expansive garden on the other side. At the end of the garden, framed by the fortress walls that extended past it, was a palace that wouldn’t look out of place in a Bard’s tale. Rangobart frowned as their carriage followed the road around the garden and he realised how huge it was.

“That’s Castle Corelyn?” He asked.

“That’s right,” Lady Wagner answered. “It’s more the keep of the citadel of the fortress, but we decided that calling it a keep would be a great disservice.”Visjt novelbin(.)com for new updates

“How big is it?”

“Fifty metres by two hundred, with three main storeys and three basements. The front half serves as the office of House Corelyn and the back half is where various functions are hosted. The state rooms for your party are also located there.”

This thing is almost twice as large as the Imperial Palace...

The only buildings that he knew of that might rival it were the six high temples of Ciruxsantex, the capital of the Slane Theocracy.

“One must wonder what E-Rantel looks like now if you have all of this in a provincial centre,” Rangobart muttered.

“E-Rantel actually hasn’t changed much,” Countess Wagner said. “It’s one thing to build something from the ground up and another to deal with something that’s already there. The Royal Court is still trying to figure out how to fix all of the problems that come with its antiquated design.”

“Considering the fact that Re-Estize built it,” Count Roberbad sniffed, “there must be a great many problems indeed.”

As always, imperial citizens, be they Nobles or commoners, jumped at the chance to take jabs at their rivals in the west. He wasn’t sure whether it was such a good idea considering that their hosts were until just recently Nobles of Re-Estize. The policies of their new liege lord didn’t demand a belligerent stance toward their neighbours and they might still have blood ties to their old kingdom.

Four rows of footmen and Maids awaited their arrival, arranged in wings upon the sweeping steps of the palace entrance. At their head stood a single noblewoman who could only be described as a radiant jewel of transcendent beauty. Her waves of lustrous blonde hair shone with a silken sheen in the glow of the garden’s magical lighting as she swept out her cobalt skirts in a graceful curtsey.

The sound of the nobleman expressing his praise over their accommodations drifted from Countess Corelyn’s group. Lady Wagner led Rangobart towards the balcony to an alcove overlooking the hall below. The sound of the man’s voice went silent the moment they entered. Rangobart examined the construction around them.

“Is that a magical effect?” He asked.

“Nah, just good old architecture. The Mountain Dwarves have all sorts of tricks that we’ve incorporated into the design of our buildings. I guess a lot of their stonework may as well be magic to us.”

“I knew about their roads,” Rangobart said, “but I wasn’t aware of anything else.”

Not only did the alcove block all sound from the rest of the balcony, but the stone deflected the magical lighting in a way that shrouded it in shadow to observers beyond. Across the great hall on the opposite balcony, he could see dim figures standing around and lounging about.

“Who are those people on the other side?”

“They’re the other Nobles of the Sorcerous Kingdom, plus representatives from a few Merchant companies.”

“They’re here for the talks, as well?”

“That’s right,” Lady Wagner nodded. “The entire duchy is here. We wanted to bring in some of the Demihuman Chiefs, too, but that’s something we’ll have to ease you imperials into given the reactions at the border.”

“I must apologise for the behaviour of my peers,” Rangobart said. “Miss Gran advised us on our conduct, but I suppose many things are easier said than done.”

“We had the same problems with most of the Nobles here, so we had a good idea about what we were up against.”

“You didn’t have any trouble adapting to the Demihumans and the Undead?” Rangobart asked.

A set of Nobles walked by the entrance of the alcove on their way to speak with Countess Corelyn. Lady Wagner took a seat on one of the couches facing the balcony.

“It looks like Corelyn’s gonna be stuck there for a while,” she said. “We may as well get comfortable. As for your question, the three of us are Merchant Nobles so we’re a bit more adventurous than most. We’ve all been to Karnassus a few times and it doesn’t take much to extend how they interact there to the Demihumans here. As for the Undead...well, we have Zahradnik. She just smashes through everything in her grumpy Frontier Noble way, so we just stroll through the aftermath.”

Rangobart smiled slightly at his recollections of the Baroness during the Blister Campaign. He wouldn’t call her ‘grumpy’, but she did have a way of overcoming every obstacle like some sort of unstoppable force and she did so with nothing in the way of panache or even emotion. In a way, that was quite terrifying in itself – it was like watching death scythe across the landscape.

“You mentioned that there were three of you...?”

“Ah, yeah, the third one of us is Florine – Baroness Gagnier, that is. She was supposed to be here, but the Royal Court dispatched her to the Abelion Hills. She’s in charge of organising the Demihuman populations there, now.”

“The Abelion Hills...”

“You haven’t heard?”

He sifted through the relevant events he had been made aware of. It didn’t help that he had been far away from the political centre of the Empire the entire time.

“We heard that the Sorcerous Kingdom intervened in some sort of conflict in the Holy Kingdom,” he said. “It’s also said that the Sorcerer King died to the same Jaldabaoth that attacked the capital of Re-Estize some time ago.”

“How did everyone react to that?” Lady Wagner leaned forward.

“I don’t think anyone believed it,” Rangobart replied. “It didn’t help that the information tried to stress the fact that he was dead. Some people suggested that it was a poor joke related to him being Undead. Most dismissed it as nonsense. The Nobles decided that it was some sort of trap.”

“Cheh. That’s no fun.”

“Did he die?”

“Well, I was chatting with His Majesty just the other day in E-Rantel,” Lady Wagner said, “and he didn’t seem dead to me. At least as far as the Undead go.”

“I’m not sure whether I should be asking what one would chat with the Sorcerer King about.”

“It wasn’t anything too special. His Majesty wanted to know how the sales of certain technologies went in our trade talks here. I had to disappoint him, though.”

“...you can do that?”

“Why not? The stuff he was interested in selling is too good if you know what I mean. Normal people don’t care about ‘perfect’ if they can get ‘good enough’ for cheap.”

Rangobart struggled to reconcile himself with the discussion. Countess Wagner made the Sorcerer King seem less like some unfathomable monster and more like a regular, if slightly overambitious, person. His aristocratic training put him on guard and he wondered if she was trying to lull him into a false sense of security.

“So, you’re a Viscount now, huh...”

“Hm? Er, yes, that’s right.”

“But...Viscount Roberbad?” Lady Wagner arched an eyebrow.

He cringed at the memory of his recent blunder.

“I was just granted my territories, so I haven’t decided which title to use. I didn’t think about how to style myself right up until that very moment.”

“I guess that’s not a bad problem to have. What are your titles like?”

“That’s the thing,” Rangobart laughed helplessly. “I don’t know. I have a Kolberg, Österhalden, and Brennenthal. The last one sounds like it should be the primary title...”

“...but it also sounds like it’s on fire.”

“Exactly. I’ll just have to wait until I can hire a survey team. With thousands of newly landed Imperial Knights, I may be waiting for a long time.”

“Why not commission the Adventurer Guild?”

Rangobart snorted.

“The Adventurer Guild is rapidly becoming defunct in the Empire. They’re leaving in droves, knowing that the Death-series Servitors will eliminate any demand for them. Even if they did stick around, they’d hardly speed things up with so many new titles being issued.”

“Nonono, I meant our Adventurer Guild. The Sorcerous Kingdom’s. They’re trained for exactly that thing: exploring new lands, meeting new peoples, and all that. They’re even on an expedition right now, surveying an unexplored part of the Sorcerous Kingdom in the Abelion Wilderness.”

“...I’m not averse to the possibility,” Rangobart said. “It’s certainly better than waiting years for an official imperial survey. What’s involved in commissioning them?”

“Uh...dunno. I can ask, though. We can get you your answer before breakfast.”

“I’d appreciate that, my lady.”

“Sure thing!” The Countess grinned, “Anyway, it’s about time I go and rescue Clara. I’ll see ya in the mornin’, Viscount Roberbad.”