Second Skin: Unified: A litRPG Adventure (Second Skin Book 3)

by M Damon Baker

  “I will not hurt her, Thelmé,” I concluded. “The truth is, I need Líann. She has completed me, I couldn’t cast her off even if I wanted to.”

  “You have done so much for her already, Empress,” Thelmé replied. “The changes you’ve brought about in her have made her into the Queen I’d always hoped she’d be. If you’ve also finally brought love into her life, I cannot bring myself to object.”

  “I need more from you than that, Thelmé,” I responded as I held her gaze. “You must keep this secret for us, and even more importantly, help us when we need you to. You alone know about us, and I swear, if you utter a single word of what I’ve told you, or tell anyone about my love for Líann, I will rip your heart out with my bare hands.”

  I didn’t raise my voice, or let my eyes flare; instead, I spoke to her calmly, making my threat even more ominous for the lack of emotion I displayed in making it.

  “The secret you ask me to keep is my Queen’s just as much as it’s yours, Empress,” Thelmé replied evenly, despite how obviously shaken she was by my words. “I will not betray either of you.”

  “I’m sorry I had to say that to you, Thelmé,” I softened a bit as I stood up. “But I needed to make sure that there was no doubt about how seriously I view this matter.”

  “Thank you, Empress,” she said with some relief. “I understand.”

  I finally left Líann’s quarters, not only having claimed her as my own, as I’d intended, but with Thelmé also on our side to help us maintain the privacy we so desperately needed. It bothered me to have to keep my love for her secret, but Tási’s needs, even more than any of the other factors, were far more important to me.

  When I made it back upstairs, I had a quick breakfast and then sat down for my morning meeting with Talína. Not much of note had occurred, but I was quite amused when she let me know that Líann had responded to my letter, accepting my requirements for her to host our weekly breakfast meetings.

  The rest of my day was equally devoid of anything significant, as were most that followed. It was the beginning of a relatively calm period for The First Sintári Empire, but one that was destined to end before too long.

  23

  Over the next several months, things remained relatively tranquil and peaceful, and the Empire ran smoothly. The Realms that had joined me sent us the troops they’d pledged, and the First Marshal organized them into a unique fighting force.

  In the forefront of our Army stood five hundred stout dwarves clad in half plate and carrying shields made of Dwarven Steel. The weapons they bore were also made of the same metal, but varied between stout hammers, wicked battle axes, and even a few heavy broadswords.

  Behind that front line of nearly solid metal, Evans placed the human soldiers from Lorida. Clad in Dwarven Steel chain and with the long swords and even longer spears they bore, they were able to attack anyone that engaged the dwarves in front of them, almost with impunity.

  The back line of the Imperial Army Evans fashioned was comprised of the elves of Íforn. They were equipped most lightly, in leather, with just a few carefully placed sections of Khelduin to protect their vital areas. But it was not their armor that was important, it was the heavy longbows they carried that made them most effective. Their proficiency with those weapons let them get off multiple volleys before most foes could even engage our front lines, reducing any attacker’s numbers dramatically before they would even be able to strike their first blow against us.

  But as impressive as all of them were, it was the line of halflings that stood between the humans and elves that presented our army’s greatest and most deadly threat.

  Nadiel had sent me nearly four hundred Evokers, halfling casters with their people’s extraordinary gift for magic, in addition to dozens of guards, whose sole responsibility was to shield their charges from danger while they invoked their deadly spells. Apparently, once word had gotten out about my goal of uniting Arrika under the concepts of my Imperial Charter, there had been no shortage of volunteers to join my efforts. As a result, we had an abundance of spell casters, and Evans intended to use them to his advantage. From their position of relative safety behind the human line of spears, they could rain death upon anyone closing in on or even engaged with the metal wall of dwarven warriors in front of them.

  Sprinkled among the Evokers were nearly fifty Curates, ready to heal any wounds that the troops around them received. Combined with the healing crystals I made sure everyone had in adequate supply, my army was far better equipped to overcome any battlefield injuries than any other force on the continent.

  I was surprised to learn that none of the Realms protected their soldiers this way. The value they placed on life was simply too low, and the cost of providing the measures I had were conversely too high for any of them to justify. But my perspective wasn’t the only factor that made my actions possible. The monetary boon Líann had gotten for me from Olóra was partly responsible as well, in addition to the priceless fortunes that the constant stream of immigrants brought to me, in the guise of talented people.

  Among the many who came to settle in the Imperial District over those months were several apothecaries who crafted the crystals I’d distributed to my troops. Venna and Stel negotiated quite favorable terms for us, and in addition to providing them with housing and workspace, they only requested a slight profit margin above their cost of materials. This cost was especially low because nearly all the ingredients that they required were found within the confines of the valley. Even some otherwise rare flowering herbs grew in plentiful supply there, a fact that I attributed without doubt to the Dryad’s continuing efforts. Consequently, I was able to provide a great deal of additional protection to my troops, at a fraction of the typical cost.

  That protection was not limited to preventative measures either. Líann had come through for me with the scribes she’d promised as well. I immediately set them to work, and she browbeat the lot of them until they agreed to accept a somewhat reduced fee for their work. It wasn’t much, but the difference allowed me to purchase over one thousand scrolls, more than enough for the time being, although I made sure they knew that I’d likely need even more in the future.

  Nadiel had also delivered in that regard, although the number of Curates with the resurrection magic I needed were few in number. Only seven had responded, and they initially made rather ridiculous demands for compensation for their services. I’d thought about their request long and hard before making them a counteroffer that not a single one of them refused.

  In exchange for their services, throughout both my efforts to unite the Realms and conquer the Dark Lands, I offered each of them a full suit of Khelduin chain mail. The armor was worth even more than they’d asked for but cost me almost nothing to provide. In addition, their payment would be made up front, and they would have the benefit of the armor’s protection immediately upon agreeing to my terms. Once I made my counteroffer, every last one of them immediately signed the contracts I had prepared, binding them to my terms.

  Nadiel did make one additional contribution that I appreciated greatly, and I sent her a very gracious letter of thanks in response. Along with her troops, she sent several Evokers who’d agreed to join my personal guard. The vulnerability they had due to the absence of casters in their ranks had been made obvious when Insleí had torn through them so easily, but with the addition of the Evokers, that oversight had been corrected, and Ella made sure that at least one of them was included on each of my guard details.

  Several weeks after Gilfri’s death, we received a message from Wenflé. After quelling the unrest that had followed in the wake of Gilfri’s demise and the release of so many from the onerous blood clauses he’d forced on them, Wenflé had taken the throne. Nearly all of Gilfri’s supporters had fled Olóra or had been killed once his power over the decent people had vanished. Under Wenflé’s rule, Olóra not only became a safe place once more, but among his first acts, he’d signed the Imperial Charter, joining my Empire as well.r />
  Olóra was not the only Realm that came to me during that time. The neighboring elven Kingdom of Eória also signed the Imperial Charter, almost immediately after Wenflé had. Eória was ruled by a very young King, who Gilfri had apparently taken advantage of and bullied into a subservient role. Once he was free of Gilfri’s influence, the young monarch asserted himself by doing the one thing he’d known would have angered Gilfri the most, and pledged himself to me and my vision of a united Arrika.

  The human Realm of Ashton, located between Eória and Isouri, also signed the Charter during that time. Ashton was the beneficiary of a rather rare set of circumstances. Positioned as it was, with Eória to the West, the horse lands of Hygan and Zonnia to its north, and the ocean on its southern and eastern borders, the people of Ashton were almost completely shielded from the threat of the Dark Lands. Although they maintained a standing army for defense, their lands had seen nothing but peace for some time. So, when my envoy arrived, and they realized that my Empire controlled the nations on either side of them, it took very little convincing for them to sign on as well.

  Evans scrambled to adjust his carefully organized army to account for the troops that Olóra, Eória, and Ashton sent to us in the wake of their admission to the Empire. Some he folded into the already existing units, integrating the various races for the first time, something that was inevitable given the path we were on. The rest he formed into a group of skirmishers; heavily armed but lightly armored, they would protect our flanks and make quick, harassing strikes against our enemies.

  Unfortunately, the troops we received from Ashton were… subpar. This was no slight on the Realm’s part; they simply had nothing better to offer. But Evans had the perfect assignment for them. Rather than begin the arduous task of making them into front line soldiers, Evans started training some of them with the siege weapons Dellon and his sons had been working on for our army.

  Eventually, when one of the Kingdoms refused to join us, we would need to attack a fortified position. In preparation for this, Dellon had built scaled-up versions of the ballistae and catapults that defended both the Garrison and Imperial Fortress walls. These were not only larger and more powerful versions of the ones he’d already made, but were also completely portable, designed to be easily disassembled for transport and then reassembled wherever we needed them. The troops sent from Ashton were a perfect fit for this assignment, as we would not be losing any combat-ready soldiers in training them for this duty.

  The remaining troops from Ashton that weren’t trained on the siege weapons were molded into our support personnel. This was a somewhat less glamourous role, but it was made clear to them that we viewed them equally importantly as the battle troops. To underscore this point, they were all issued the same red capes that identified the rest of our soldiers and given ranks that reflected the various responsibilities they held. With their numbers included in our ranks, the Imperial Army had swollen to thirty-five hundred soldiers during those months of quiet expansion, a force that no nation on the continent could afford to ignore.

  With seven Realms to draw from, The Imperial District itself also grew phenomenally. The dwarven caverns expanded into complex developments, and villages in the valley seemed to spring up almost overnight. Ridge had long ago finished his work on our defenses, and after carving stairs and channels for two unique elevator-like devices that the old plans outlined for us, he’d begun constructing the city that had been laid out on the plateau overlooking the valley. We were still a long way from needing that space, but with the way things were going, and the future I had in mind, it was only a matter of time before those lands would be occupied as well. The valley and the mountain above were not the only lands we altered to suit our needs. Even the wilds beyond our walls began to yield to our progress.

  The Imperial Army was far too large to stay encamped within the District itself, so they set themselves up outside the Garrison’s walls. For safety, Evans sent out large groups to patrol the forest around them, and then expanded those efforts into training exercises. Our soldiers began to actively seek out the dangerous creatures that roamed the wilds, and often made tactical strikes against some of the stronger threats that the scouts discovered. Their efforts allowed the loggers to clear even more of the forest, and the first farms and even small villages were established outside the protection of the Garrison’s outer walls.

  With the increase in our population, and the pacification of the surrounding lands, the first caravans began making the detour down the road we’d carved out and into the Imperial District itself. For the first time, my people were able to trade with the traveling merchants directly, purchasing the few things we couldn’t provide for ourselves, or exchanging the goods and services they had to offer. It was an incredible boon to us, and a true indication of just how much my Empire had grown.

  Although Bane’s growth began to slow somewhat, he still continued to get even larger. I even dared to let him carry me to his secret training place when he finally let me see what he could do.

  Stay back, Sintári, he warned me the first time he showed me his flames.

  I took a few steps away from him, and he simply opened his mouth and shot a stream of blistering flames over a dozen yards in length. He then altered the flow of the fires, making them even hotter, before letting out a final blast that extended even further away.

  ‘That was amazing, Bane!’

  I couldn’t help but be completely in awe of his accomplishment. The fires he’d shown me would roast anything in their path, and virtually assured that he could vanquish any opponent, as long as he saw it coming.

  Thank you Sintári. It has taken me some time to understand just how my fires work. It was only when I realized that the flames are a product of my altered venom sacs that I began to unravel their mysteries.

  Well, didn’t that just make perfect sense. Once Bane’s fangs became true teeth and he lost his venom, his venom glands must have become some sort of flame-producing organ instead.

  ‘You’ve done really well, Bane. I’m quite proud of you. Is there a limit to how much you can do that?’

  Yes, but as I grow, I am able to do more and more.

  ‘You are magnificent, Bane,’ I complimented him as I stroked the scales behind his ear and sent him a tendril of my love.

  Thank you, Sintári, came his thoroughly contented reply.

  Bane wasn’t the only one to improve himself—I’d been taking lessons with Saibra, and I discovered that her blade skills were indeed greater than the old Drill Master’s. I took a tremendous beating from her at first, and even by the time I’d reached my limits training with her, I still could only just barely hold her off for a short while before she tore me apart. But the gains to my skills were not the most startling thing I learned from her.

  One afternoon, after taking a rather brutal beating from her, I decided to broach the subject of the oath she’d made and that Raithe had passed on to me. Although I’d felt nothing when it occurred, I wasn’t sure what effect the passing of that link might have had on Saibra. Knowing what had all too often happened in the past, I reluctantly asked her about it while I sat down to recover from one of her lessons.

  “Saibra,” I began cautiously. “Do you know if what Raithe did created any connection between the two of us?”

  “If you’re trying to bed me like the others,” Saibra shocked me with both her insight and her bluntness, “You only need to ask.”

  “I… How… How do you know about them?” I stammered in my awkward surprise.

  “Don’t worry, your secret’s safe,” Saibra casually assured me. “You’ve been more than cautious enough. I doubt that anyone else would even know what to look for.”

  “What gave it away?”

  “Well, with your Chief Minister,” she began explaining almost offhandedly, “you two keep passing each other these knowing glances that only lovers share. The same sort of thing gave away Captain Ella as well, although you’re much more restrained with h
er. Now, Queen Líann on the other hand, was a little more difficult for me to figure out. I could tell right away that she cared for you, but you were not quite so obvious with her until more recently.”

  “Saibra,” I swallowed hard as I replied to her. “I cannot tell you how important it is that this does not get out. You have to understand that I need them—none of these are simple affairs, it’s part of who I am as a Sintári. If things were different, I wouldn’t feel the need to keep my relationships secret. But the world hasn’t known my kind for a very long time, and I’m not sure that its ready to understand how different I am just yet.”

  “Do you have room for one more?” She stared into my eyes intently as she asked.

  “No, Saibra, I don’t,” I replied, returning her gaze. “I didn’t choose any of them at random, and none of my relationships are simply for pleasure. Each one of them was drawn to me for a specific purpose. Their roles cannot be so easily duplicated.”

  “Then I will answer your original question,” she responded as she leaned against the wall behind her. “Yes, Raithe did something to me, but I don’t know what it is. I only know that I need to protect you and stay by your side. I thought it might mean that I would become one of your lovers as well, but I see that isn’t the case.”

  “I’m sorry if that disappoints you,” I said, unsure of how she really felt behind the mask she was keeping up. “None of what’s happened to me has been by choice, but the four of them have completed me, and I’m unwilling to upset the delicate balance that we’ve achieved.”

  “You’ve told me more than you needed to, Dreya,” she replied candidly. “So, I’ll return the favor.”

  “Insleí is dead; you helped me kill her,” she held my gaze with her blue-grey eyes as she continued. “But I retained all her skills, and her memories. All of them, including how you broke her. I remember how it felt when you snapped her bones, and I remember the other things you did to her as well. It’s those other things that still come back to me at times.”