“Has there ever been a Sintári Empire before?” I asked, hoping for some guidance from the past.
Broda and Venna looked at each other for a moment and then smiled broadly before Venna responded to my question.
“Not until now,” she replied. “Empress Dreya of the First Sintári Empire.”
“It has a certain ring to it, don’t you think?” Broda chimed in.
“Really?” I protested.
“Well, I mean we will have to put it up for a vote, but, since you suggested it, I’m sure the name will be approved,” Venna grinned back at me.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Ella said as she poked her head into the room. “But it’s time for you to meet with the dwarven King, Empress.”
I glared at the two of them as I got up to leave, but they only looked back at me innocently in return. I couldn’t actually stop them from putting forth the name I had accidentally suggested to them, and they knew it. Well, I consoled myself, at least my Empire would finally have a name, one I would hopefully get used to in time.
The suite we had arranged for Broda’s uncle was only a short walk away, so we arrived quickly, and I was escorted inside by one of his retainers. Ella joined the man outside the room where I was to meet with the King, and I sat down across from him at a table where lunch had been set out for us.
“The people you sent to us have been a great boon to my Realm, your Majesty,” I offered as I took my seat.
“I’m glad to hear it,” he replied. “From what I’m told, I’ll be sending you some more as well.”
“Are you referring to the soldiers your Realm will be providing for the Imperial Army?”
“Yes,” he responded. “It won’t spoil my defenses, but the loss will still cost me dearly.”
“Can you replace them with new recruits?”
“In time, perhaps,” he mused. “But none of the Realms are very populous, mine included. Five hundred soldiers is a large number to replace, not to mention the training that will be required to make them into a real fighting force. Once you have the tribute from all four of us, you’ll have the largest offensive force in Arrika at your disposal.”
“But the Realms mostly rely on defense, as I recall.”
“That’s the rub,” the King responded. “With the constant threat of the Dark Lands, beastkin, and even our neighbors, we’ve all been forced to focus on defending our Realms more than anything. Even with the two thousand under your command, you’ll still be hard-pressed to break through the fortifications of any Kingdom that defies you.”
“So, I’ll still need to rely on diplomacy for a while?”
“I’d say so, yes.”
That was disappointing—bending to the stiff protocols of diplomacy chaffed at me immensely. I thought I’d be free of them once I secured my alliances, but it seemed that I still hadn’t escaped their clutches just yet.
“Speaking of unpleasant things,” he continued. “I hear you’re having dinner with Líann tonight.”
Did no one have a good opinion of this woman?
“Yes, that’s true,” I sighed. “Please tell me that you have something nice to say about her.”
“Sadly, everything good about Líann is on the outside,” he told me. “I’ve had my dealings with her, and she’s treated me fairly, but the woman’s got no soul. Or rather, no heart I should say. She’s dead inside, lifeless and cold.”
“Yet you’re telling me she’s been decent in your negotiations?”
“Aye, the terms we’ve come to have always been equitable,” he confirmed. “But dealing with her is almost like talking to a corpse for the amount of warmth you’ll get.”
“But I need her,” I complained to him. “I need her scribes to be precise, unless you know some other way that I can get the resurrection magic I need.”
“What need do you have for that?” He inquired.
“After every battle I’m forced to fight, I plan to raise as many of my soldiers as possible,” I explained to him. “And before you anger me by complaining about the cost, understand that I don’t care. The lives are worth more to me than simple coins.”
“Aye,” he replied slowly. “I’m learning that about you. But if that’s what you seek, then Líann’s the one you’ll need, sorry to say.”
I drown my disappointment in a deep sip of the orcish brew the King chose to have served with our meal. He had truly come to love the strong drink, and in addition to securing its formula, he had also procured several barrels of it to bring back to Dhel-Ar with him when he left—a powerful testimony of the King’s love of the draught.
After that, it was only small talk again, and when it came time to leave, I made a request of him that I hoped he would honor.
“Your Majesty,” I began. “You were the first to declare for me and will always have a special place in my heart. For that reason, I would like to request a special boon from you. Would you tell me your true name, so that I may call you by it when we are alone?”
“You are asking me to break an ancient tradition, Empress,” he replied.
“I’ve probably had you break many of those already.”
“Aye, that you have,” he grinned. “So, what’s one more, right?”
“Torgyd,” he finished. “Before I was King, my name was Torgyd.”
“Then I bid you farewell, Torgyd, my friend,” I smiled at him broadly.
“Good luck, Dreya Sintári,” he replied. “You’ll need it for your meeting with the Ice Queen.”
Well, that wasn’t exactly the high note I wanted our meeting to end on, I thought as I left the room, but at least the reports I had were consistent. Líann might be a fair negotiator, but she was a heartless bitch as a person. I resolved to keep matters between us strictly business and avoid anything remotely personal, so that neither one of us would aggravate the other. Líann might be queen bitch, but I was the Empress, and if she provoked me, I would teach her just how much I outranked her in that category.
With several hours to kill before my fateful dinner with Líann, I decided on a whim to see how Ridge was coming along with his work. Ella knew exactly where he was, so we found him quickly, and I looked over the progress he had made since the last time I’d visited him.
Ridge had completed his work on the wall that surrounded the Palace and defined the outline of the fortress around it, and was now putting up the barracks and other necessary structures inside those confines. At the pace he and his assistant were working, it would only be a matter of days before he was done and would then move on to carve out the tunnels that led to the top of the canyon. Those passageways would not only allow access to the lookout posts and siege weapons above the Garrison, but also branched off along the way, leading to multiple positions on the high cliff walls overlooking the canyon itself. From those high vantage points, our soldiers could rain death upon any force that managed to get past the Garrison walls before it even approached the Palace and its surrounding fortress. So, even if the Garrison was lost, there would be a veritable gauntlet of terror that an enemy would have to pass through just to reach the fortress walls. It would be a death trap.
After looking over his progress, I left the two elementals to their work. I would have to remember to check back in a few days though, since I wanted to try to summon an Air elemental as soon as Ridge finished building the last of our defenses.
Once I was outside the confines of the Palace, I didn’t want to return until I absolutely had to so, instead of doing that, I headed towards Travis’ inn, the Dragon’s Roost, and the town that had sprung up around it.
I had intended to stop in for an ale and speak with Travis and Annia for a while, but as we approached the village, the sign for Marli’s Emporium caught my eye and I headed there instead. I hadn’t spoken with Marli in quite some time, and I thought it would be nice to see her again.
“Welcome, what can I—” She halted her greeting when she saw me enter with Ella and my guards.
“You wouldn’t happen
to have about a thousand resurrection scrolls on hand, would you?” I asked as I casually took a seat across the counter from her.
“No, Empress, I’m sorry I do not,” she replied almost stiffly.
“No one’s here, Marli,” I told her. “You can drop the formalities.”
“Then, may I ask why you would need so many of those scrolls?” She inquired.
“Because I want to be able to bring back anyone who falls in my service,” I explained to her. “Or at least attempt to.”
“You could buy yourself a new army with the amount of gold that would cost,” she observed.
“But would that new army also replace the lost mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers of the old army?” I responded pointedly.
“No, I suppose not,” she replied wistfully.
“That’s why I need the scrolls.”
“You definitely are a different sort of leader than we’re used to, Dreya Sintári,” she commented with a smile. “But I think that difference might just be what Arrika needs.”
“I hope so, Marli,” I replied before changing subjects. “So, how’s business been?”
“Not bad, actually,” she surprised me by saying. “I have a buyer at the outpost, and he keeps me well-supplied from the passing caravans. Although your Captain Faine purchases a great number of things, there’s still a lot her people don’t bring back, so business is good.”
“Just what sort of things is Faine overlooking?” I asked her.
“Now, if I tell you that, I might as well close up my shop, now wouldn’t I?” She replied almost cheekily.
There’s my old Marli, I thought.
“Alright, keep your secrets then,” I conceded. “But if you do notice a shortage that needs to be addressed, I expect that you’ll inform me.”
“Just as soon as I corner the market,” she smiled back at me.
“Sooner than that if it’s important, Marli,” I glared at her reproachfully.
“Of course, Empress,” she replied, still smiling.
I briefly toyed with the idea of infusing my stare with a quick flare of green light to make my point to her more emphatically, but decided against it. I knew that Marli was just having a bit of fun with me and that she would certainly let me know if she ever became aware of anything that needed my attention. So, instead of scaring the daylights out of her, I simply said goodbye as we exited her shop. I still had almost two hours before my dreaded meeting with Líann, so after leaving Marli’s, I stopped at the inn as I had originally intended.
“Can I get a round of ales for me and my friends?” I called out to Jessah as we strolled inside.
“Hold your horses!” She shouted as she was serving a table and her back was turned to me.
The gasp that erupted from one of the patrons in front of her alerted Jessah that something was wrong, and when she turned around, a look of shock and mortification came over her face.
“I’m so sorry, Empress,” she practically groveled. “I didn’t realize it was you.”
“Oh, shut up Jessah and get us our drinks already,” I smiled at her. “Do you really think I’m that petty?”
“Yes… I… I mean no, Empress, right away,” she stumbled before she ran off to fetch our ales.
“You really flustered that one,” Ella commented with a smirk as we took our seats around a table.
She wasn’t so far removed from being in Jessah’s position, and I reminded her of that by placing my hand over hers beneath the table and sending a thin thread of craving into her. Ella stiffened immediately, and I pushed the tendril into her a little deeper before I finally let it dissolve away.
“I’m sorry, did you say something?” I replied innocently.
“No,” Ella croaked. “Never mind.”
Jessah returned just then with our drinks, and Ella grabbed hers and immediately took a deep sip to cover her discomfort.
“Are you very busy, Jessah?” I asked.
“No, Empress,” she replied. “It’s just you and that other table at the moment.”
“Then, please, sit and join me,” I said as I motioned to an empty chair. “I’d love to hear how things have been going for you.”
“Yes, of course, Empress,” she responded as she sat down.
“Relax, Jessah,” I replied. “It’s just me, Dreya.”
“I’m sorry, Emp... um, Dreya Sintári?” She inquired about how I wanted her to address me.
“Whatever you’re comfortable with, Jessah,” I told her.
We talked for a while and she let me know that things had been going well for her and Irisse. Travis and Annia rushed over to join the discussion as well once they found out I had stopped by. I discovered that the inn was doing quite well, and that they’d done a brisk business with both the soldiers from the Garrison and the citizens in the valley. Even a few members of the visiting delegations had wandered over during the past days to sample the home-style food and fine ale Travis served.
“Where’s Irisse?” I asked when I realized she’d never joined us.
“Sick again,” Jessah said almost painfully. “She’s prone to bouts of headaches, and sometimes needs a day or two off.”
“Is there nothing that can be done for her?” I asked. “Crystals, potions, anything?”
“We’ve tried them all. So far, nothing’s worked,” Jessah replied with regret.
“Can I see her?” I asked. “I can sometimes heal things that others can’t.”
“Really?” Jessah replied hopefully. “You’d do that for her?”
“I’ll try, but I’m not making any promises.”
Actually, I really didn’t want to do it at all, but something inside me simply couldn’t let the woman continue to suffer if there was anything I could do about it. So, when Jessah led me upstairs, I followed her to the room they shared above the inn.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Dreya?” Ella whispered to me.
She knew, better than anyone, what I was risking and also just how much I didn’t want any additional entanglements. But I couldn’t fight my nature, and as much as I feared the consequences, I had no choice.
“No, I really don’t,” I whispered back to her. “But I have to do it anyway.”
She nodded back to me in understanding. We’d had the same discussion before, and she knew how conflicted I was on the matter, so she didn’t press me any further as we entered the room Jessah and Irisse shared.
The drapes were drawn closed, and the room was nearly pitch black despite the waning daylight outside, and without my Enhanced Sight spell, I doubted that I would have been able to see much of anything in the gloomy darkness. But with its help, I could make out Irisse, huddling under the covers of their bed, crying softly in pain. I could almost feel the woman’s agony from where I stood in the doorway and I immediately rushed to sit beside her.
“Let me take your hand, Irisse,” I whisper softly as I reached under the covers, but her back was to me as she lay still in the bed and she didn’t react to my words.
“She sometimes doesn’t respond when it’s really bad, Dreya,” Jessah explained as a tear rolled down her face. “It’s like she’s not really here with us.”
“I need to look inside her Jessah,” I told her. “It can be a rather intense experience for some. I would have preferred to ask Irisse for her permission first, but if that’s not possible, I’ll ask for yours instead.”
“I remember,” Jessah replied firmly. “Go ahead. Do it.”
A look of shock came over Ella’s face as she realized the significance of Jessah’s words, but I ignored her and focused on the task in front of me.
As I slid my hand back beneath the blankets, I withdrew myself as much as possible before I pressed it against Irisse’s back. Her skin was damp with sweat, and she shivered despite the warmth of the covers, and I could clearly feel her pain even before I delved inside her. I had no idea what could be causing her so much discomfort, but whatever it was, it was tantamount to torture for her.
/>
I remembered Tási’s precaution about protecting myself whenever I tried something dangerous, and I considered this situation as definitely fitting into that category, so I sent only a thin tendril inside Irisse, stripped of everything except my own sense of awareness, and delved into her in search of the cause of her misery.
I was immediately glad that I had taken my precautions, because inside Irisse was a whirlwind of pain and agony, swirling around like a hurricane and crushing her beneath its powerful forces. I had no doubt that I would have experienced some portion of that pain as well had I not heeded Tási’s advice, and I was grateful that her warning had finally creeped into my thick skull.
With the cause of her pain so obvious, I began searching for the cure. The powerful forces that wracked her with pain were far too strong for me to even attempt to overcome with the tiny tendril I had made, and if I used anything larger, I would be vulnerable to its painful influences as well, so I had to find a way to work with what I had.
Instead of trying to overcome the power of the storm inside her, I simply observed it for a while, trying to detect any patterns or weaknesses that I might be able to exploit. That’s when I noticed the tiny trail that led away from the center of the maelstrom and deep into Irisse’s heart.
I followed the path of that thin cord, drawing myself deeper and deeper inside her until I found the tiny, black seed from which the entire raging storm inside her seemed to originate. As insignificant as it seemed, I knew that the little speck of darkness I had found was far more powerful than it appeared to be. It simply had to be in order to cause as much damage as it was. Or perhaps not, I realized.
The vile little seed may have been a store of great power, but its strength was diverted at that moment, completely occupied with inflicting its pain upon poor Irisse. If I was right, now would be the perfect time for me to strike, when it was at its weakest and couldn’t use all that impressive force to defend itself.
It was a huge risk, but one that I felt was worth taking. My intuition told me I was right, and that I had stumbled upon a rare opportunity, so I struck, and I struck hard. In an instant, I funneled the entire force of my being into the thin tendril, flooding it with power before I launched my assault on the source of Irisse’s agony.
Second Skin: Unified: A litRPG Adventure (Second Skin Book 3) Page 61