“You set her up?”
“Yes, I suppose I did,” she actually smiled. “Although I had no idea it would be her who fell into my trap. I convinced Ella to let me set a wide perimeter around your tent. Something that looked good, but not too difficult for a professional to slip past. Then, I simply waited for her to take the bait.”
“Me being the bait,” I noted dryly.
“Yes, you were,” Saibra replied without hesitation. “I will make sure to tighten your security and you should also place some traps around your tent as well. Future threats will only become more serious from now on.”
“How comforting,” I rolled my eyes at her.
Saibra only responded by calling in my guards and closing the perimeter around my tent, pulling them nearly against the canvas walls, and within clear sight of one another. She then began an organized search of the entire camp, not only to find the soldier Moiren had killed, but to search for any possible accomplices.
Despite her thorough efforts, no trace of either was found, and it was only after a full roll call that we discovered who the missing soldier was; a young elf named Treí who’d come to us from Olóra. Even after a second search, we never discovered his body, and we could only surmise that Moiren had found some unique way to dispose of him.
During the initial search, Tási returned to me. She’d been away, tending to her duties when Saibra thwarted the attempt on my life. Tási was quite upset with herself for not being there and vowed to stay by my side from then on.
“No, Tási,” I rejected her promise. “I need you to take care of your responsibilities. You’re not one of my guards—I already have plenty of those.”
“Obviously not,” she shot back. “Or the killer wouldn’t have gotten so close to you.”
“I told you, that was Saibra’s plan,” I replied to her. “You need to let your people do their jobs.”
“You put me in charge of your security,” she reminded me. “Protecting you is my job!”
“Well, sure, but you can’t be with me all the time,” I struggled to come up with a response.
“Why not?” She challenged me.
“You know perfectly well why you can’t be with me all the time, Tási,” I replied to her pointedly. “Do you really want to know exactly when those times are and how long they last? Just say the word, and I’ll fill you in on all the details.”
It wasn’t exactly fair for me to make that point to her so bluntly, but she hadn’t left me much choice. During the entire trip, I’d only been with Venna on two occasions, and seen Ella just once, but even that would have been more than Tási would have wanted to know. Her defeated look made me feel horrible about what I’d said, but when she finally relented, I pulled her into bed to lay with me.
“I can protect myself, Tási,” I soothed her as I ran my fingers through her hair. “The guards are all around us, and I’ve put traps down as well. No one’s going to get to me.”
I tried to do for her what Nentai had done for me once, to sooth away her worries and set her mind at rest. I focused myself on calmness and peace and sent those thoughts to her in tiny tendrils with every stroke of my fingers through her hair. After only a few short moments, I felt Tási’s body relax and lean against me, and only a short while later, she was sleeping peacefully with her head nestled against my chest. I had no idea if my efforts would have the same effect on her as Nentai’s had on me, but I was relieved to know that I at least had a way to calm her and put her to rest, as she had so often done for me.
While Tási snored softly beside me, I pulled up the notification I’d received when Saibra killed her former colleague.
Boon, Saibra’s Oath – Saibra’s kills belong to you now, and you will receive full credit for every life she takes in your name. In addition to XP credit, you have also received a 1% bonus you may apply to any armor or weapon skill that you currently possess. However, this bonus may not be used to raise any skill above 60%.
Experience gained – You have gained 990 XP.
If that’s what Raithe had done by transferring Saibra’s oath to me, I was tempted to set her loose on anyone I even thought was my enemy. Her kills were almost more valuable to me than my own. In fact, they might have been even more so. Full XP credit, plus a bonus to my proficiencies? Even with the limitation, the boon was incredibly powerful, which only made sense, seeing as it had come from a God.
I was already damn good with my bow, and my competitive nature made me desperate to be able to compete against Saibra’s skill with her blades, so I put the bonus I’d received into my Two-Handed Skill. I figured that would benefit both blades I wielded, at least indirectly, rather than just one of them.
In spite of the attempt on my life that night, with my guards close by, the traps I’d set around my tent, and Tási in my arms, I was able to fall asleep easily once I’d tended to that single notification.
After breakfast the next morning, I opened my Inventory and gave the armor and uniform I’d recovered to Rhia. As usual, I picked her out to run my errands and sent her off to take the gear to the quartermaster. I also noticed the parchment and coin purse I’d forgotten about the night before and took them out as well.
The purse was nearly empty, and I handed it off to Saibra as a modest reward. The parchment was far more informative, however, putting a price of 200 Talons on my head. Gilfri’s assassins had failed, and I saw no reason why the horse lords’ efforts would be any more successful, so I passed it along to Saibra as well.
“Impressive,” she said after examining the note. “They must truly fear you to offer this much.”
“I trust you’ll see that no one ever collects that bounty,” I stared at her meaningfully.
“They won’t even get close to you, Empress,” she replied with the barest hint of a smile.
The rest of that day was spent in preparation for the next, when we would break camp and make the last stretch of our march to Hygan. The entire camp was a busy hive of activity. Everything non-essential was packed away, and in light of the events the night before, all of the watches were increased.
Our march northwards the next day began early in the morning, and by noon, we’d begun to see the first signs of the chaos that lay ahead of us. Large caravans of commoners fled southward in droves, hurrying away from the mayhem they’d left behind.
Khorim’s expert interrogators carefully interviewed the fleeing refuges, and we learned that Líann’s propaganda campaign had not only borne fruit; it had destroyed Hygan completely.
The horse lords had been forced from their strongholds, as the people not only fled their oppressors, but also sabotaged what they’d left behind. In an effort to strike back at those who’d trodden upon them for so long, the food stores and water supplies had been tainted and poisoned. The nobles of Hygan had been driven from their homes and fortresses and sought refuge with their allies in Zonnia. Thanks to Líann, Hygan had been defeated before we’d even set foot in their lands.
Few remained in Hygan’s cities, but as we drew closer to the first of them, a delegation was sent out to meet us. Although the nobles that sought to speak with us rode in on their warhorses, they wore none of their heavy armor and appeared to be unarmed. So, after they’d dismounted and were thoroughly searched, I granted them an audience.
All five—three men and two women—appeared quite nervous as they were led through my Army and past my guards before being brought to stand before me. They stared in amazement as I sat casually in front of them in a plush chair, with Bane curled on the ground beside me and my companions, in their God-forged gear, arrayed all around.
“One of you may speak, and I will judge you all by the words that they utter,” I dictated my terms to them.
When a man stepped forward, I cast See Truth on him, and waved casually in his direction, giving him leave to begin.
“Empress,” he began awkwardly. “Please do not judge us by what our fellow lords have done. We counseled against their rash actions, but our vo
ices were outnumbered. The few of us you see are all that remains of the city’s nobility, and we are desperately trying to save the lives of those who have not fled.”
“Have you read the Charter I offered to your Realm?”
“Yes, Empress, I have.”
“If I made you King, would you sign it? Can I count on you to uphold its terms and be my ally?”
His words not only sounded earnest but flowed in hues of blue as he spoke them. If he was the sort of man he seemed to be, the people of Hygan would need his strength if the Realm was to recover from the catastrophe that the horse lords had wrought upon their own people.
“I’ve dreamt of turning Hygan into the sort of Realm your Charter describes for longer than I can remember, Empress,” he replied nervously. “But even now, I lack the forces necessary to make that happen.”
“Forgive me, your Majesty,” I smiled at him broadly. “Did you not notice the Army you just walked through?”
Understanding flashed across his eyes, and just to make sure things were clear, I spelled it out for him.
“Once you sign the Imperial Charter, I will loan you a portion of my Army so that you may restore order to your Kingdom,” I explained. “They will follow your commands, but if you order them to violate the terms of my Charter in any way, they will turn on you. Immediately.”
“When you have reestablished order, my Army will leave you to govern as you see fit,” I concluded. “In accordance with the terms of the Charter you signed, of course.”
“Empress,” he held my gaze as he replied. “I understand your need for clarity, but you have no cause to doubt me—I will sign your Charter today, right now if you wish, and be faithful to its terms even without the threat of your reprisals.”
“Then it seems you and I have reached an understanding, your Majesty,” I said as I rose from my chair. “Let us formalize our agreement so that you can discuss your military needs with my First Marshal.”
The new King of Hygan, King Udel, I finally learned the man’s name, signed the copies of the Charter I presented to him without even bothering to read it again. Regardless, I made sure he had his copy to review and remind him of the promises he made to me before I shuffled him off to Evans—the two of them spent hours discussing the needs of the shattered Realm.
It mostly boiled down to food and security—Udel had little to none of either. Eventually, Evans agreed to detach a thousand of our soldiers to reestablish order and sent a vast portion of our food stores along with them. We had planned for extended sieges in both Hygan and Zonnia, but with the first of the horse lands already under our control, we were left with far more than we needed. Udel also proved himself to be valuable to us in return. Through his connections, he’d been able to learn a great deal about what had befallen Zonnia.
That Realm had crumbled, much like Hygan had, but with my Army in front of them and the Dark Lands at their back, the treacherous nobles had nowhere left to retreat. So, they had gathered themselves together and rallied all their loyal forces in their capitol, the fortified city of Ondale. According to Udel, it was there that the nobles intended to make their stand and resist me until the very end. Part of me hoped that they would.
After anticipating conflict for so long, Hygan was a disappointment to me. I should have been glad to take the Realm without bloodshed, but without Líann as my outlet, my darkness was growing stronger. I simply had to let it loose on something very soon, before it forced my hand and lashed out on its own accord. I needed the nobles left in Zonnia to resist me, as without the opportunity to unleash my shadows, I doubted that I would make it back home before they’d overwhelm me.
Fortunately, at least from my perspective, the march to Ondale would only take us a week, and once we had Hygan under King Udel’s control, we headed straight for the walled city. I had hoped for a quick siege, followed by the slaughter of the nobles who’d chosen to oppose me, but when the high walls of Ondale came into view, I knew that would not be the case.
The fortifications rivaled those of Orlan, with towers and weaponry of all sorts defending the thick stone walls. It seemed that our only hope was a long, drawn-out siege, one that would only end when one side or the other finally ran out of food. And if that were the case, with so many mouths to feed, it could very well end up being me who was forced to withdraw.
“I can tell by the look on your face that you haven’t seen Dellon’s catapults yet,” Evans said as he stood by my side surveying Ondale’s impressive defenses.
“Tell me they can breach those walls,” I asked him.
“They can, but it will take time,” he replied. “Dellon’s weapons have a greater range than anything our enemy has, so we can fire on them without fear of reprisal. But those walls are not only high, but thick as well, and it will take some time to bring them down.”
“And we’ll need to make more than one breach before we attack,” Evans cautioned me. “We can’t let them have a choke point. We’ll need to be able to attack on multiple fronts and force them to spread themselves thin. It’s the only way we can bring our superior numbers to bear.”
It sounded like a great plan. Perfect, almost, but time away from Líann was beginning to take its toll on me. I needed something soon, or I was going to lose control over my shadows.
“Make it happen, First Marshal,” was all I had to offer. “I need those walls down as quickly as possible.”
He’d anticipated that order, and the siege weapons were already being assembled on the fields outside Ondale. Our entire army was camped alongside, protecting the weapons from any attempt at a quick cavalry strike from the city. In only a matter of a few hours, the majority of them were firing projectiles against Ondale’s thick walls, but with little visible effect.
The defenders weren’t completely idle during our assault—they returned our fire, but their own missiles fell well short of hitting our position. Dellon had indeed created the perfect weapon for our siege; the only question was whether or not I’d last long enough to see the end of it.
“Stop pacing,” Tási chided me. “You look like a nervous hen.”
“I’m not nervous, Tási,” I growled. “I need to kill something, soon.”
“What’s wrong?” She asked as her tone became one of concern.
“It’s been too long since I’ve been able to purge my darkness,” I confessed as I glared at her. “It’s becoming too powerful for me to resist.”
She took a reflexive step back from me as I felt my eyes flare for just a second. I hadn’t intended for them do that, but just thinking about how intense the rage inside me had become stirred up the influence of my emotions.
“How can I help you?” She asked hesitantly.
I was moved by her dedication, and it calmed me momentarily. The shadows in me truly frightened Tási, and her offer to aid me with them had not been made lightly.
“Unless you’re willing to let me do some very bad things to you,” I forced myself to smile at her weakly. “I’m not sure that there’s anything you can do to help.”
“How… how bad?” She whispered.
“I’m sorry, Tási,” I replied. “That was only a poor joke. Even if you let me do the things I need to do, you can’t take my V’Ríel from me.”
“Your what?” She asked in confusion.
I sighed deeply and then explained the conversation I’d had with Nentai, leaving out Líann and how I’d make her one of the many-feeling. I’d explained much of it to her before, but some of it was still new to her.
“So, I’m Tási the Tári,” she rhymed in amusement.
“You are at that,” I laughed genuinely at her truly awful joke.
“How strong is your darkness?” Tási suddenly asked.
“That’s rather difficult for me to explain,” I replied, wondering what she had in mind. “Let me try and compare it something your more familiar with. Do you remember that one night that I…?”
“Yes, yes I do,” she flushed as she cut me off.
Tási swallowed hard, obviously uncomfortable with the volatile and incredibly powerful forces that were threatening to overwhelm me before she replied.
“Instead of making your own orbs, what if you channeled it directly into one of those stones,” she suggested hesitantly.
“They’re inert,” a discouraged sigh escaped me. “As far as I know, my darkness only works on living matter.”
“Generally, yes,” she offered. “But these are weapons, Dreya, meant for destruction. Maybe their purpose will make a difference.”
I’d channeled my Strength into arrowheads before, but never my raw emotions. Thinking about the possibility reminded me of the time Venna explained resonance to me. She hadn’t been able to bless my wooden bow when we’d taken on the undead lair and been forced to infuse the metal of my arrowheads instead.
Some things like metal were inherently more receptive to magic than others, she’d explained. Maybe I couldn’t affect metal and stone with my orbs, but what if I didn’t use an orb as my weapon? What if I tried to infuse something instead? And why the fuck hadn’t I thought of this myself?
“Find me some metal,” I growled at her. “Anything metal we can use as a missile. I’m going to tear down those fucking walls myself!”
As luck would have it, not only did we have metal shot for our catapults, but the horse lords had been kind enough to fire a few of their own at us before they realized we were out of range and gave up. All of them were gathered for me, and once one was placed in the bucket of Dellon’s catapult, I had everyone back away while I attempted to infuse it with my fury.
As soon as I tried to channel my rage into the hard metal ball, I understood what Venna had meant by resonance—the iron was receptive, to a point, unlike the comparatively willing Khelduin arrowhead that I’d filled with Strength. But with the experience I had in funneling my Strength into those few arrowheads, I had a sense of where the limits were, and just to be safe, I pulled away before I let the iron take on too much.
Second Skin: Unified: A litRPG Adventure (Second Skin Book 3) Page 83