Chapter 4

“There's nothing there, Ida.”

Despite their continued reassurances, Ida continued to frown into the hand mirror. Her free hand touched over her forehead, checking for any signs of her faceplant into the floor the previous evening.

“You’re going to trip,” Nemel told her. “And then you’re really going to have something there.”

Nemel held out her left hand and Ida returned the mirror.

After a sound night’s rest, Ida’s complexion was much improved. On the other side of Ida, Fendros and Elise walked alongside one of their wagons. Dame Verilyn was on Nemel’s right in her Human form. An Adventurer Cleric was on the other side of Dame Verilyn, which made Nemel wonder if Dame Verilyn was somehow being underestimated despite the Adamantite plate clearly displayed over her breast.

Before they departed from Oestestadt, Dame Verilyn had discovered that Adventurers could work as Merchant guards. With the logic of ‘if we’re going to the next city anyway, I may as well get paid for it’, she started signing up for merchant escort commissions. After that, she encouraged Zu Chiru to talk to other travelling Merchants about joining the caravans she escorted. Those Merchants couldn’t deny the value of having an Adamantite-ranked Adventurer for the price of a regular merchant escort, so the caravan grew larger with every departure. Now, it was starting to feel as if a small festival hit every town and city they arrived in.

The morning sun occasionally glared through the clouds as they journeyed out from Nixhaven on their way east to the territories of Niederislein. While the mostly cloudy skies did not have the look of rain, a sharp, cold wind still cut into them from the seas to the north. Fendros, Elise and Ida drew closer to the wagon as a sudden gust whipped over them, throwing their mantles askew. Squeaks of discontent rose from the Quagoa walking behind.

“Master, it is cold!”

“Yes, yes, it is cold.”

“We will be taken from the ground and cast into the trees!”

The wind wasn’t that strong.

As Nemel understood it, the Quagoa were a subterranean race that once contended with the Dwarves under the Azerlisia Mountains. According to Dame Verilyn and the Quagoa, rather than the cold, damp and dark place filled with horrors that she imagined an underground world to be, the realms below were a warm, damp and dark place filled with life and many wonders alien to those who lived on the surface. Like the surface, it had its share of monsters and other threats, though Nemel couldn’t quite wrap her head around creatures that swam through stone, possessed malevolent mind powers, or the other unfathomable terrors that they claimed existed the deeper one went.

With the wind making all sorts of noise around them, the Quagoa’s covered noses constantly swivelled this way and that. Apparently, the surface world was just as unimaginable to them as their underground home was to Nemel. To the Quagoa, what Nemel considered pleasant surroundings were too open, dry, cold and bright even when wearing magic items that compensated for their day blindness.

They were also terrified of trees. A half-week earlier, one had gotten a splinter in his rear from sitting on a wooden chair. He squealed and moaned and cried as if he had taken a mortal wound. Zu Chiru and the others could only wring their claws – which Nemel was sure could easily tear apart trees – in tearful worry until Dame Verilyn came along and pulled it out. Quagoa coats were stated to be as strong or stronger than platemail, but it seemed that they offered no protection against wood, which resulted in their fear of trees and shrubs.

This sort of aversion was the case with many creatures in the world whose natural protections were bypassed by one thing or another. Almost all that she knew of required some special material or magical enchantment or even a combination of things, but the special material being wood seemed odd to her. Then again, wood was probably rare underground so the Quagoa were likely a tough opponent to deal with in their native environment.

One of the apprentices shuffled away from the wagon, crossing behind Nemel.

“Where are you going?” Another asked.

“It is cold even when we try to use the wagon to block the wind,” the apprentice replied. “So I will go to the master’s wife, where it is safer.”

The other Quagoa appeared to agree with his logic, shuffling over as well. They huddled closely together.

“I don’t get why she’s Zu Chiru’s ‘wife’,” Nemel glanced down at the one nearest to her.

“Should a male in possession of great fortune not have a great many wives?” The apprentice asked, “Master Chiru can provide for many children. The numbers of our clan will surely swell to greatness.”

Polygamy was not outlawed in the Empire, but it was rare that anyone had multiple wives. It was more common that wealthy nobles, merchants and adventurers had multiple mistresses. The Emperor, of course, had the Imperial Harem, but he hadn’t yet taken an official wife despite already having many children. The only man that Nemel could recall offhand with multiple wives was Count Palatine Peshmel, who had five…or was it more now?

“Some people see it as a viable option,” Nemel said, “but shouldn’t Zu Chiru’s wife be a Quagoa?”

“Master Chiru has three wives,” the apprentice held up a clawed hand. “Two ugly wives the master has taken because it makes business easier in the realms above. Such are the sacrifices a great Merchant must make. But Master Chiru also has a beautiful wife who is the envy of all.”

“What’s she like?" Fendros asked curiously.

“Ah, where to begin,” the apprentice scratched his chest with a far-off look. “Her coat is as pure as white jade. Her eyes are like glimmering gemstones of clear turquoise. Her shape is like a stone worn smooth and encrusted by the trickle of warm, sulphurous waters. This one hopes to find such a wife one day.”

“I see…”

Nemel exchanged glances with Fendros, who looked about as lost as Nemel felt. One could apply the apprentice’s description to a Human woman up until the last part…well, the last part might be applied as well but it didn’t sound very flattering.

The other apprentices, however, all nodded and smiled their terrifying smiles, teeth glistening in the sunlight. Given that Dame Verilyn was considered ‘ugly’, it seemed that Quagoa standards of beauty were too far removed from those of Humans to make much sense of. Still, Nemel wondered if she would ever meet this ‘beautiful wife’.

“Do you think they have any kids?” Elise whispered.

“Eh…”

“Argh! Don’t make me think about that!”

Nemel glanced over at Dame Verilyn. There was no way she hadn’t heard that, but she did not react in any way. Was it possible that they did have children? Hippogriffs were the result of crossing Griffons with Horses. What would the offspring between a Dragon and a Quagoa look like? Would they have wings and a tail? Did they hatch from eggs?

Aside from the legend of the Goblin King who was said to have married a Human princess, Nemel had never heard of a Demihuman having kids with anything other than their own species. At the same time, there was also Queen Oriculus of the Draconic Kingdom who had the blood of Dragons in her veins and could wield Draconic magic.

She glanced over at Dame Verilyn, eyeing her beautiful figure set aglow by the morning light. If Dragons could have children with Humans, then maybe the Human princess in the legend of the Goblin King was actually a Dragon in Human form. The Goblin King rode a Dragon…

Nemel shook the thought away. If she kept on along those lines, she would start sounding like those crazy people who theorised that Sorcerers and Bards derived their powers from Draconic ancestry.

Ahead of the caravan, the Ranger screening the way ahead fell back towards them, trading places with another Ranger in their escort. She rubbed her eyes wearily as she settled in beside the Cleric.

“Good work,” the Cleric said. “Nothing strange?”

“Nope,” the Ranger replied, “just people things and the sun in my eyes.”

The Platinum-rank Cleric turned his gaze up towards the snow-capped range to the south.

“What about up there?”

The Ranger followed his look.

“Nothing’s changed,” he said. “An air patrol crossed over us a few times, but there’s been nothing but the birds elsewise. Army’s still not making their move.”

The two Adventurers looked pointedly at Dame Verilyn.

“I’m still doing regular work if that’s what you’re asking.”

At her words, the Cleric and the Ranger seemed to relax.

“You did the Scrags and the Crabs yesterday, didn’t ya?” The Ranger asked in conversational tones.

“I did,” Dame Verilyn nodded. “I have to wonder why the commission for the Monstrous Crabs was left alone for so long, though. I hadn’t fought any before now, but I’m not sure if it merited the difficulty rating.”

“If it was one or two,” the Ranger said. “The Army would’ve been enough to take care of it. That colony in the cliffs was just bad news.”

“A Mithril team tried early on when the job was first posted,” the Cleric shook his head sadly. “They never returned. Probably didn’t know what they were getting themselves into.”

Nemel wondered if some of their new inventory was from that Mithril team. Fendros leaned forward.

“How come the army didn’t take care of them?” She asked, “They’re just crabs, right? The Wizards could just fly overhead and cast spells on them.”

“People might think that,” the Ranger said, “but it ain’t so easy. That right, officer?”

“If the Army didn’t deal with them,” Nemel answered, “then it must have been because the conditions for engagement were poor. What was this colony like?”

“It’s a bunch of caves along the cliffs west of Nixhaven,” the Ranger said. “Completely submerged until low tide. If anything comes by that the crabs can’t reach, they just go into their hidey holes. They’re filled with water so area of effect spells go off when they hit the surface.”

“That does sound annoying,” Nemel said. “Regulations restrict patrols from venturing too deeply into caves, never mind flooded ones. And never mind attacking them, trying to identify targets from the air can be pretty hard.”

It was something she quickly learned as a member of the Imperial Air Service. Having a bird’s-eye view meant you could see far, but it didn’t mean you could see everything. Even with a tiny bit of cover or camouflage, Human eyes could easily miss those who weren’t even trying to hide. Every patrol flight had Dragoons to compensate for this, as they could telepathically communicate with their bonded mounts and take advantage of their exceptional senses.

“Sea jobs are the worst,” the Ranger grimaced. “You’re like a fish out of water out there. You go on a boat and your boat gets destroyed. You fly and everything goes underwater. If you try fighting underwater, everything does everything better than you. A lot of stuff doesn't work like you’re used to.”

“New teams that come in from elsewhere always learn the hard way,” the Cleric added. “It’s part of the problem with not having Adventurers raised in the area from Copper. Mithril Rank is something to be rightfully proud of, but people come in with too much confidence. They’ll see jobs like that and underestimate how different it is from working on dry land.”

“That commission was rated for Orichalcum, though?”

“It was Mithril back when that team took it,” the Ranger said. “That was a year ago and the number of Crabs went up. With how those newly-arrived Adventurers were, I actually wonder if it was the crabs on their own that got ‘em.”

“You mean just fighting normally on land?”

“Yeah. Those things are harder to fight than they look. From a distance, they look and act like regular crabs. If someone gets close alone, it’s over. They come at you really fast – faster than Gold Rank Adventurers can normally run. Then they grab you up in one of those big claws of theirs and…”

The Ranger made a snipping gesture with his fingers. Fendros, Ida and Elise made squeamish noises.

“You can get caught off guard too. They can be over twice as large as a man, but they can fit in the strangest places. You can just be walking over the shore and a claw comes out of a crack you never noticed and takes your foot off. Or they’re sitting under the sand or pop out of the water nearby. If there’s a lot of ‘em, it gets plain messy. One of them grabs you then three more grab you too and they all start ripping you apart trying to get a piece for themselves.”

“How…how did you fight those monsters?” Elise asked, “Wasn’t the job for a colony of them?”

“There were about three dozen larger than a Human,” Dame Verilyn said. “Hundreds of smaller ones. I just killed them as they came.”

“Didn’t they try to grab you? How did you deal with that?”

“Just dodge,” Dame Verilyn shrugged. “Or break their claws when they reach for you.”

The two Adventurers shook their heads with helpless smiles.

“Heroes are just something else,” the Cleric said. “You fight unarmed too, right?”

“She’s fast, as well,” the Ranger added. “She knocked out those two jobs in a few hours. Would probably take normal Orichalcum teams weeks to clean out those caves.”

“I always thought Dancers only worked as entertainers,” the Cleric said. “I never knew they could be so powerful in combat. Even the regular Bards I know are only about as tough as Rogues. One good smack from a Troll or an Ogre and they come looking for healing, but here you are taking down entire lairs of Sea Trolls on your own.”

That’s because she’s cheating…

Humans were weak and didn’t have powerful natural weapons, armour or any other pronounced physical attributes like high strength, toughness or agility. Dancers weren’t like Monks who used Ki to strengthen their bodies. Dame Verilyn’s humanoid forms appeared to retain her draconic strengths so maybe it was common for Dancers of races with strong physical advantages to engage in a similar form of combat. For Humans, however, it seemed next to impossible.

The Imperial Army had Bards sprinkled across their divisions, but, as the Cleric mentioned, they couldn’t last long on the front lines. Most of them performed support roles in the camps, helping with the recovery of the wounded and boosting morale. Bards could, of course, become strong, but strong people were rare in general. In the Empire, Bards were few and mostly worked in civilian vocations. The last strong Bard who served in the Imperial Army was Duchess Gushmond who retired around two generations ago.

Their conversation drifted from Dame Verilyn’s work to the Sorcerous Kingdom’s Adventurer Guild. Having heard it all before, Nemel turned to talk to Fendros and the others.

“Are you doing okay, Ida?” Nemel asked.

“I’m fine now. A bit tired, but fine. The work that she wants me to do at the merchant stand won’t be a problem, either. It’s better than…better than being sold to Karnassus.”

Being sold to Karnassus could mean several things. One could sell slaves as livestock to be slaughtered as food, though that was unlikely given she was being sold to shore up her family’s dwindling finances and meat cost as much as, well, meat. If they were lucky, noblewomen being sold as slaves might be purchased to serve as clerks or overseers. It was more likely that they would be purchased for an establishment in a pleasure district due to the unique beauty that came with being a Noble. If they were purchased for their skills by a Human, then they would still be used for their master’s pleasure in addition to everything else.

Unlike the Baharuth Empire, slaves in Karnassus had no rights to speak of and were completely at the mercy of their masters. This being the case, slaves were more expensive – especially if they were educated, young noblewomen who could cast magic. The high price she would command was probably the reason why Ida had been sold to merchants from Karnassus in the first place.

The Empire was supposed to apply legal rights to any citizens sold as slaves within its borders. With the attainted, however, everyone just looked the other way. Even young children could be taken away in broad daylight.

It might be a long time before Ida was truly ‘fine’. Working together to create a new ‘normal’ was probably the best they could do for her.

After several minutes of relaxed discussion over how they would be helping out with Zu Chiru’s stand, a slight sigh from Dame Verilyn drew Nemel’s attention. She grew curious upon seeing her new liege with an unfamiliar look on her face. A mix of anxiety, anticipation, and something like timid resolve. It was unlike the powerful Frost Dragon that she had come to know in the past few weeks.

Nemel could only think of one thing that might be the cause. She looked up towards the ridge of icy peaks to the north. Neither seeing nor otherwise sensing anything new, she turned her gaze back to Dame Verilyn, leaning towards her to speak in low tones.

“Is something going on?”

“She’s coming,” Dame Verilyn replied.

“Who is?”

Nemel glanced nervously at the sky. Dame Verilyn smiled slightly.

“Not her,” she said. “My Liege. Lady Zahradnik is making her way down Hochislein. She will be at the imperial border shortly.”