Valkyrie's Shadow-Chapter 7Before the Storm: Act 11,

Chapter 7

“Conrad, tell me what you see.”

“A field, Lord Reginald.”

“Just a field?”

“Yes, Lord Reginald.”

“If my memory serves me correctly,” Lord Reginald said, “I called for our vassals to raise their levies last week. Should this field not be populated by thousands of men by now?”

“Yes, Lord Reginald,” the footman replied.

An exasperated sigh fell from the ramparts above Liam’s head. A rare sunny day in the Azerlisian Marches had drawn the lordling from his castle to perform an inspection of the army gathering outside of Re-Blumrushr’s walls. Much to Lord Reginald’s frustration, however, Raul’s plan was way too effective and there wasn’t much of an army to speak of.

“Lord Reginald,” a new voice sounded from above, “Count Laval has arrived. Baron Blackwell is with him.”

Liam glanced at the ornate carriage parked next to the nearby gatehouse. As with many of the Nobles in the city, its escort had grown thin as many armsmen had been dispatched to escort the officials sent into the countryside.

“What a pleasant day. Don’t you agree, Lord Reginald?”

“Dispense with the pleasantries, Count Laval,” Lord Reginald said. “You should know why you’ve been summoned.”

“Indeed,” the Count replied. “And while it’s still too soon for my men to return, it would be impossible not to notice the lack of men coming in from the nearby territories. Lord Blackwell here may know the reason for our present troubles.”

“And what might that be?” Lord Reginald asked.

“Not all of my men have returned,” Lord Blackwell answered, “but those who have all tell the same peculiar tale. The hearths due service for this round of conscription are all absent their able-bodied men.”

“All of them?” Lord Reginald was incredulous, “A handful would not be surprising, but how can it be the case for every one of your villages?”

“The only possible answer is that they’ve been forewarned,” Lord Laval said. “From what I’ve gathered, any village a day away or further from the city stands a good chance of presenting the same problem.”

“Oathbreakers,” Lord Reginald spat. “What do those brainless peasants hope to accomplish by fleeing?”

“They will no doubt continue to succumb to their base nature,” Lord Laval said. “In regards to this, I’ve instructed my retainers to be on high alert against a surge in bands of roving outlaws.”

“First, those swarms of vagrants from the north,” Lord Reiginald grated. “Now, this.”

“At least the procurement of supplies is going well,” Lord Blackwell offered.

An awkward silence hung in the wake of the Baron’s remark.

“The security that was supposed to be guarding those supplies has run off to the gods know where,” Lord Reginald said.

“Perhaps it is time to stop overlooking the indiscretions of these commoners, Lord Reginald,” Count Laval said.

“Hm? What do you mean by that?”

“Our laws are only as good as our ability and will to enforce them,” the Count said. “If we allow tens of thousands of oathbreakers and vagrants to overrun the countryside, it will be perceived as weakness on our part.”

“And how do you propose to remedy this?” Lord Reginald asked.

“Nothing out of the ordinary: we simply uphold the law. Hearths that will not uphold their oaths will lose their tenancies, and vagrants…are vagrants.”

Liam frowned at the implications of the nobleman’s ‘solution’.

“But can we afford it?” Baron Blackwell asked, “If the rumours are to be believed, a third of the Kingdom has had a disastrous harvest. Should we not preserve our industrial production in anticipation of lean times?”

“There is no issue so long as our lands remain,” Lord Laval said. “Indeed, it is the vermin running loose across our territories that pose the greatest threat to recovery. Besides, they breed so prodigiously that their absence will barely be noticed.”

“I suppose it will give us the chance to reorganise our fiefs, as well…”

They’re only so firm when they act against their own people…

Flashes from his childhood stoked the flames of anger sparked by the thought. House Fassett ruthlessly preyed upon its subjects, yet that ruthlessness shrivelled up and went into hiding when brigands and criminal gangs showed their faces. As far as he had learned, the story was no different in the Azerlisian Marches.

Liam retreated from the wall as a patrol appeared to make its predictable sweep of the area. He returned to continue listening in on the conversation, but the Nobles were content with making a show of how they would deal with the ‘vermin’ before returning to the upper city in their carriages.

Nothing ever went according to plan: at least that was how the saying went: but Liam doubted that plans usually went so wildly awry. Or maybe they did. His work in both the Draconic Kingdom and the Holy Kingdom of Roble had crazy stuff happen.

I was working for them in Fassett Town, too…

He skirted past a pile of scraps from the nearby construction as he made his way back into the Re-Blumrushr. The especially miserable winter seemed to have seeped into every aspect of the place. Tense desperation overshadowed the bleak facades of both buildings and citizens alike, accompanied by the sound of the occasional Mercenary patrol that kept the city in line.

Things changed little even in the upper city, aside from the Mercenary presence. By now, every Noble had been called upon to raise their levies and many of their retainers had gone to do so, leaving the area even more lifeless than it was before.

“You there! You’re with…you’re with them, aren’t you?”

Liam cringed as he was called out in the middle of the street. A man in a well-tailored coat detached himself from the hedge enclosing Countess Beaumont’s manor and directly approached. Liam glanced at their surroundings, praying that they were as empty as they appeared.

“My name is–”

“Not so loud,” Liam said without breaking stride.

The man faltered, looking around them in a painfully conspicuous manner before rushing to catch up to him. Much to Liam’s annoyance, he still insisted on introducing himself.

“My name is Alfonse. I’ve come to ask after a mutual acquaintance…”

Two armsmen standing guard at the manor gate raised their hands in greeting, then lowered them in confusion as he walked by with the new pest. By his appearance, he was either a wealthy Merchant or part of the staff of a higher-class establishment. It wasn’t out of place for someone like that to be seen in the upper city, but he had an oily feeling to him that Liam didn’t like.

They walked past the next manor, then another, before Liam spoke.

“I don’t think I know you.”

“Ah, that is to be expected. My name is–”

“Alfonse.”

“Alfonse. Yes. I am the proprietor of a restaurant in the new entertainment district.”

“I see. Who are you looking for?”

“The…director of the new district has disappeared. My associates and I were wondering if you know anything about it.”

“When was the last time you saw him?”

“Last week. He suddenly told us to close the gambling dens, but nothing else. A fellow working in the main office said that he had left with all of our funds. The other establishments in the district are profitable enough that coin isn’t a problem, but my associates and I have been left without further instructions.”

It sounded like Olin had done exactly as Lady Albedo had ordered. That being said, Liam wasn’t sure what was supposed to happen to everything Olin had left behind.

I guess that’s why he left them without additional instructions…

Plausible deniability was a sort of defence, after all. In fact, it worked particularly well against Lady Albedo and her peers. They expected everyone to do what they were supposed to and nothing more or less.

“Olin was sent to the capital,” Liam said. “I don’t know when he’ll be back.”

“Is that so? What shall we do in the meantime?”

“You can keep doing what you’re doing,” Liam said, “so long as it isn’t illegal. That includes anything you think the authorities won’t notice. Keep the district in good order and make sure your employees are well-treated and properly compensated. That includes the prostitutes.”

“I-I’m afraid I struggle to follow…”

Liam rounded on Alfonse.

“Believe me when I tell you that you do not want to be found wanting when your new district is inspected. I know a whole lotta Fiends who will be more than happy to punish anyone who doesn’t measure up.”

Alfonse swallowed audibly.

“I will do as you say, sir.”

“Not just you. Everyone.”

“Y-Yes, sir.”

The pale man nodded violently before turning to scurry away. Hopefully, the threat would keep people out of trouble when the Sorcerous Kingdom took over.

Once he cleared his head, Liam headed back to Beaumont Manor. His wariness returned as he spotted a carriage flanked by footmen in Blumrush colours.

“What’s going on?” Liam asked one of the armsmen at the gate.

“No clue,” the armsman replied. “It’s House Blumrush, so we couldn’t stop ‘em like we usually do.”

Liam walked silently past Lord Reginald’s men on his way into the manor. He followed the voice of Countess Beaumont, which drifted down the corridor from the nearby drawing room.

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“What you say is most concerning, Lord Reginald. Whatever could have happened to cause the people to do this?”

“Rumours concerning the levy spreading to the countryside were inevitable. With so many wagons delivering food and materials to and from the city, it’s impossible to tell who precisely is at fault. You must understand that the peasants do not share the same sense of duty that we do, my lady. A firm hand must be employed to keep them honest.”

Liam stopped to stand opposite the armsman standing at the door.

“The men I initially sent will have barely just arrived in Beaumont County,” the Countess said. “Since my fief isn’t on the highway, the problem will hopefully not be so severe. Either way, it will be a week at best for them to return with any bad news.”

“I would not risk waiting,” Lord Reginald said. “Imagine how far one could flee in that time? You must send additional men immediately to hold your subjects to their obligations.”

Was Lord Reginald enthusiastic after his discussion with Count Laval, or anxious? As far as he had seen, the lordling always had people come to him, not the other way around.

“The majority of my men are out escorting shipments,” Lady Beaumont said. “Our next caravan of lumber should arrive at the city sometime tomorrow. That will be my earliest opportunity to organise enough men to deal with these mass desertions.”

“You must urge them to make haste,” Lord Reginald told her. “A levy is not called lightly, after all.”

“Yes, of course, Lord Reginald. If I may ask, how have the others reacted to this unexpected occurrence?”

“Those I’ve spoken with thus far are committed to ensuring that the peasants understand that their privileges come with responsibilities. I similarly advise you to not be lenient when dealing with any oathbreakers you find.”

The clink of a teacup sounded from the room, followed by the rustle of fabric. Lord Reginald appeared several moments later, followed by Lady Beaumont. After seeing Lord Reginald off with a smile, the Countess came back inside wearing a grave expression. Liam fell into step beside her as she ascended the stairs to enter her solar.

“Your friend is quite fiendish,” she said before flopping onto a couch.

“You mean Raul?” Liam replied, “What he’s doing is pretty effective, but I don’t know if you can call it fiendish.”

“Oh, but I can,” Lady Beaumont kicked her dangling legs impetuously. “He knew exactly how to hurt us the most in this situation.”

“Us?”

“I meant the nobility at large. Even if I had a thousand men, they wouldn’t be able to catch a fief’s worth of men fleeing conscription. Most of the Nobles here don’t even have a tenth of that.”

“So is Lord Reginald desperate, or angry?” Liam asked.

“One does not preclude the other,” the young noblewoman answered. “No excuse will spare him from his father’s displeasure if he fails to carry out his task. At the same time, Lord Reginald will surely lash out against any unfortunate soul that crosses his path as his frustrations mount.”

“I didn’t know you were that familiar with him.”

“No more than any other scion raised in this city,” Lady Beaumont straightened in her seat and turned her eyes up at him. “What do you think we should do?”

“I think that depends on what Raul plans to do,” Liam replied. “He’s the one with the most power to do anything now. By the way, I overheard a conversation between Lord Reginald, Count Laval, and Baron Blackwell. By the end of it, they seemed to be intent on evicting all of the households whose men had fled and getting rid of all the refugees pouring in from the north. Would they actually do that?”

“Both are within their legal rights to do so,” the Countess said. “A tenant household that refuses to fulfil its levy obligations is in violation of the contract with its liege. Vagrants have no protections at all and are technically trespassing so long as they are on someone else’s land. There is usually some leeway afforded for vagrants since they generally end up in towns and cities to serve as low-cost labour. In this situation, however, they are little more than extra mouths to feed.”

He wondered if Raul had accounted for the nobility’s reaction to his strategy. Even if he did, what could he do with less than three hundred men scattered across the Azerlisian Marches?

“Will the people do something if this starts to happen everywhere?” Liam asked.

Lady Beaumont furrowed her brow in confusion.

“The people? I don’t see how they could stand up to armsmen. Besides, they don’t have the benefit of our perspective. They won’t know that anyone is coming for them. When it happens, their respective villages are the only ones being targeted as far as they are concerned.”

“We can do something about that part, at least,” Liam said. “Is there anything else you want to add before I contact Raul?”

The young noblewoman replied with a tired shake of her head. Liam turned and walked down the alley, then froze as a grizzled thug emerged from the shadows.

“Get yer hand off ‘o that sticker,” the thug said, “or we’ll let ‘er have it.”

Liam’s gaze went past the thug to where another man had pinned Saye to the wall. His sister sent him a tearful look, her cries of fear and pain muffled by the rough hand covering her mouth. The first thug grinned and stepped towards Liam, casually tapping his mace on the brick wall of the narrow passage.

What can I do?

If he tried to fight, they would kill Saye. The thug’s broken-toothed grin grew wider as he raised his weapon. Liam sent one last look at his sister as the mace’s metal head came whistling down.

Saye’s older than that now.

The illusion shattered. In a single, swift motion, Liam’s hand went to his bandolier and sent a kunai hurtling towards a figure standing outside the nearby window. A startled curse mingled with the sound of shattering glass as his attacker fell away.

Did she just call me a Ninja?

Liam’s mind raced as he leapt through the window in pursuit of his attacker. If the illusion had played out to its conclusion, he didn’t doubt that he would have died.

Two armsmen leapt up in shock as he landed amidst the shards of glass on the grass below.

“Where did she go?” Liam asked.

“Go? Er…I didn’t see nothin’, but someone was makin’ tracks through the garden to the hedge over there.”

His hand went to his bandolier again as he rushed to the break in the hedge. The See Invisible scroll in his hand burst into azure flame before he stepped out onto the street beyond. Not fifty metres away, he spotted a ghostly robed figure heading for the lower city gate.

I can’t take her out in the middle of the street…

Creating an awkward scene aside, he couldn’t afford any unwanted attention and neither could House Beaumont. Fortunately, his mark seemed completely oblivious to the fact that someone could see through her spell. He concealed his presence before picking up his pace, waiting for a better opportunity to strike.

The robed woman walked right through the gatehouse unnoticed, and the sentries paid Liam no mind as he did the same. Her pace relaxed as she entered one of the newly reconstructed parts of the city, where she paused at the mouth of an alley to dispel her Invisibility before coming back out to blend into a market crowd.

She seemed to know what she was doing. He couldn’t deal with her safely unless she isolated herself. The question now was why an evidently powerful mage had attacked him in the first place.

Liam shuddered at the recollection of the illusion she had forced upon him: the experience of years gone by turned into a nightmare. What kind of magic could rip people’s dreams away to be used as a weapon against them?

And why had he even been attacked in the first place? He couldn’t recall crossing a powerful mage in recent memory…or ever. The closest thing to it was playing cat-and-mouse with Elder Liches during his training.

Was it a result of the local politics? While House Beaumont had receded to the background, it was still growing in stability while many other houses faltered. A rival might have struck out in jealousy. A more powerful house might seek to destabilise what they saw as a nascent threat.

It was a likely, yet unlikely explanation. There were definitely houses that would do that sort of thing, but all of the Nobles wealthy enough to hire a powerful mage spent their winters vying for political power in the captial. The sole exception to this was Lord Reginald, who ruled the city on his father’s behalf, but House Blumrush was on amicable terms with House Beaumont due to the Countess’ compliance over the winter.

An hour passed as Liam tried to figure out the reason behind the attack, at which point the woman left the market with a jar of preserves. She then lined up at a bakery, coming away with a set of pie crusts.

Is she making desserts? After she tried to kill me?

He supposed he had no right to criticise her, considering all of the ridiculous things he had done.

At long last, his mark arrived at a boutique where she went up a set of stairs to the apartments above. Liam slipped in behind her, preparing to strike as soon as she entered her room.

The woman turned to close her door. Liam drove in his blade below her ribcage, feeling her body convulse as it failed to draw in a pained gasp before dropping limply to the floorboards. Purple Worm Venom was potent enough to make a Beastman powerless, so the mage wouldn’t be getting up anytime soon.

Now to figure out who sent her…

Liam turned to close the door.

『Fly.』

What?!

He spun around, dagger brandished, finding the mage levitating over the floor. She burst through the shuttered window before he could pounce. Liam ran forward in the vain hope that he could catch her with a thrown kunai, but the woman was already rising into the clear azure of the afternoon sky, her limbs dangling limply beneath her.

“Finish her!” Liam shouted.

His Shadow Demon flew from out of the darkness under the window sill. In less than seven seconds, it caught up to the mage and took her in its talons before ripping the woman in half. Her remains tumbled out of the sky, sending droplets of blood raining upon the city below before vanishing behind the rooftops.

“Did you see that?”

Liam looked down. A handful of people stood amidst the broken slats of the wooden shutters, staring up at the sky.

“Was it a Giant Eagle? A poor woman fell from her window and it swooped in and got her!”

“That wasn’t no Giant Eagle, it was some kinda monster!”

The citizens rushed to find shelter as word of the incident spread. Liam pulled himself to the rooftops, looking around to figure out where the mage’s remains had landed. His Shadow Demon returned a few seconds later to once again merge with the nearby shadows.

“Show me where the body is,” Liam said.

A shadowy claw stuck out from under his boot.

“Where’s the watch?”

“The watch is useless! Call the Adventurers!”

“No, get the Temples! It was one of those floaty Wraith things!”

The chatter in the streets below grew more lively as he sprinted over the rooftops. He found the upper half splayed atop a building near the wall, its intestines draped from a building across the street like some macabre clothes line. It wasn’t the grisly sight that stopped him dead in his tracks, however, but the amulet resting upon the woman’s unmoving breast.

It was an icon of The Six.

A Scripture? But why?

If what he had learned about the Scriptures wasn’t wrong, she was a member of the Clearwater Scripture. They were specialists in espionage and subterfuge, using their magical capabilities to support the Theocracy in both domestic and foreign operations. He even knew one of them: a ‘spy’ who lived in E-Rantel and occasionally bothered him when he was doing his homework.

Liam pressed a hand against his forehead. Had the Theocracy started a covert war against the Sorcerous Kingdom in retaliation against the coming war with Re-Estize? The idea confused him to no end: there was no way they didn’t know the true identity of the Sorcerer King.

He forced his feet to move as a commotion rose on the other side of the rooftop. There, the woman’s lower half lay in a pool of blood upon the city wall. Armsmen and Mercenaries alike formed a loose ring around the remains.

“This is a bad omen,” one of the Mercenaries spat.

“Leave your irrational superstitions out of this,” an armsman growled. “This is obviously the work of a Giant Eagle or some Monster from the mountains.”

“Like hell it was!” Another Mercenary said, “Me and my boys saw the whole damn thing! It wasn’t no damned Giant Eagle.”

“Or any other Monster from these parts,” a bow-wielding Mercenary added.

“It was a Demon. Or maybe one of the Undead.”

“Like I said,” the first Mercenary spat again. “A bad omen.”

“It was a Giant Eagle.”

The gathered men turned at the voice of an official who came from the nearest gatehouse.

“It was a Giant Eagle,” the official repeated himself. “Any claims to the contrary will be met with severe punishment.”

Bad move.

Now the Mercenaries knew that the Nobles had something to hide, and word about it would inevitably spread. House Blumrush’s efforts to keep the war with the Sorcerous Kingdom a secret to most of the city might still hold, but the rumours stemming from the woman’s grisly death could do more damage than the truth.

Countess Beaumont threw herself at him the moment he returned to her manor. Behind her, Claire visibly restrained herself, her eyes filled with worry.

“Thank the gods you’re safe!” The young noblewoman said as she buried her face in his shoulder, “What in the world happened?”

“What did you see?” Liam asked.

“Not much,” the Countess answered. “You were going to contact Mister Raul, and then you threw something at the window and jumped out of it! The armsmen stationed below said that you were chasing after something, but they couldn’t see what it was.”

“Someone tried to kill me with a spell through the window,” Liam said. “She’s dead now. The aftermath might be, uh…interesting.”

Lady Beaumont looked up at him in befuddlement, but Liam was too tired to explain any further. He walked past her, dragging himself into the drawing room. He pulled a Message scroll from his belt pouch and absently stared at the thing as he collected his thoughts.

The Countess came to sit in the chair across the table from him. Claire appeared a few minutes later, bearing a tea set. Liam thanked the Maid before taking a sip, then activated the scroll.

『Raul, you there? Some stuff happened…』