by Tamryn Tamer
“Somebody needs to tell the herald…” Hestia said, staring up at Slade.
“I can’t leave the city,” Slade said, shaking his head. “But don’t worry. I’m sure somebody will get the message to him.”
“I need my potions back,” Hestia whimpered.
“What for?” Slade asked.
“Protection,” Hestia said while squeezing them.
“Okay,” Slade said while stroking her hair. “I’m going to have to go to the keep soon. I probably won’t be able to see you for a while.”
“I understand,” Hestia said as he stroked her hair. “Don’t worry. As long as I have my potions I can take care of myself.”
“Don’t leave the embassy,” Slade said. “If you leave, they will try to take you. Understand?”
“I understand,” Hestia said, looking up at him. “But you need to be careful too, my love. If something happened to you, I would turn this entire city into a graveyard.”
“If anything happened to you, I would turn this city into hell itself,” Slade said, kissing the beautiful elf’s forehead. “I’ll be careful.”
CHAPTER 11
The classrooms in the academy were large enough to fit over two dozen adult Arachne and the auditorium could have easily fit a few hundred. The hallways were similarly oversized to account for any of the larger monsters although ones as large as Yama required private lessons and outdoor classes.
Frost’s occasional lecture always took place in the auditorium and there was always a massive waiting list. In order to keep things fair, the waiting list was always rotating so people rarely attended two lectures in a row and they needed to meet various requirements to attend. But even if people couldn’t attend the lecture, the notes from it were easily accessible in the academy library.
He discussed a wide range of topics but generally tried to focus on teaching his villagers critical thinking skills. One of his most popular lectures was one where he discussed the various party roles and how to expand on them. He gave examples of different monsters and had them think about how they might be able to take them down.
Basic principles like tank swapping, focusing their targets, and even burn phases were covered in order to make them think about how they’d take on a more powerful opponent.
It wasn’t anything he considered revolutionary but according to Cassia the lessons he was teaching were unreasonably complex. Even she struggled with some of the concepts despite her age and experience since she was used to fighting on her own.
The current lecture was about deciding which abilities to prioritize.
“So, who can tell me which of these abilities compliment each other?” Frost asked while revealing a long list of abilities on the board. There were several correct answers to the question given the wide range of abilities but he was simply testing for understanding.
He looked out at the class of pensive demihumans. A pair of Myrran women in white pleated skirts and halter tops managed to claim the front seats, although based on the way they continually smiled while adjusting their legs, the cat-eared women were less interested in the material than they were Frost.
The slime women and gorgons took the class remarkably seriously. It seemed that most of the monster-like demihumans were star pupils, barring the werewolves who seemed unable to focus long enough to learn much of anything.
“Yes…” Frost paused as he tried to remember the pink slime woman’s name. “…is it Imethan?”
“Imerithiana,” she corrected, slowly sounding out each part of the name as if she were helping a child pronounce it. “But if you like you can call me Meri.” She said, smiling bashfully.
“Alright Meri,” Frost smirked as the slime woman’s face lit up. “Which abilities do you think complement each other?”
“Precision and anatomy!” Meri said excitedly while making a stabbing motion with her hand, causing the snake hair of the gorgon in front of her to snap at her defensively, narrowly missing her fingers. “Oh! I’m sorry!”
“Oh no,” the gorgon said apologetically. The teal skinned woman stroked her snake hair gently, calming the fanged vipers. “I’m sorry. They should know better.”
“Precision and anatomy,” Frost nodded as the two women continued quietly apologizing to each other. “Let’s stick to those two. What other abilities compliment them?”
“I know!” a lamia said excitedly while balancing on her long serpent tail. Between the height her tail offered and her long slender arms, the green-haired woman towered over everybody else. Excitement emanated from her extra-large eyes and abnormally wide smile, making it impossible not to call on her.
“Larissala?” Frost said, immediately realizing his mistake as the lamia’s smile turned to a disappointed frown.
“I’m Larissala!” the red-haired lamia a few seats down said. “That’s Sarassalala!”
“Right,” Frost winced. “Sorry about that. Sarassalala.”
“It’s not a problem,” the lamia’s face slowly turned a violet hue as her smile returned. “The answer is archery, right?”
“That’s one answer,” Frost said as he began circling all of the weapons kills. “But every one of these abilities is potentially complemented by knowledge of anatomy and precision. Additionally, in anatomy’s case, are there any other abilities that…”
“Oh, oh, oh!” Erissa hopped up and down excitedly from her seat near the front. The azure-haired elf continued hopping as her generous chest bounced. “I know!”
“Erissa,” Frost said, staring down her blouse at her lacy teal brassiere. Her casual attire was almost as distracting as the nearly transparent robe she wore out hunting. The black pleated skirt and frilly blouse looked like some cross between a schoolgirl outfit and renaissance fashion, complete with knee-high stockings. “Where else might anatomy be…”
“Healing!” Erissa said excitedly. “And surgery and even alchemy because if you know what parts of the body the illness attacks then you know which parts to heal and it’s like when I’m out healing I can focus my healing magic on the areas better if I understand what part of it is really hurt!”
“That’s right,” Frost smirked at Erissa as she beamed proudly. He walked toward the board and drew an S, A, B, C, D, on the board. The S was at the top and the D at the bottom. Next to the S he wrote anatomy. “This is what’s known as a tier list. When looking at abilities it’s important to look at them in terms of their tier. The more an individual ability modifies an ability, or the more abilities it modified, the higher its tier. Anatomy is tentatively an S tier ability because it will enhance every combat ability, several magic abilities, and even certain crafting abilities.”
“Crafting abilities?” one of the elves that Mira was training as a seamstress interrupted. “Sorry.”
“No worries,” Frost said, smirking at the lovely woman as she blushed. “And yes, crafting. Let’s use tailoring as an example. Anatomy would give you an understanding of a person’s build as well as help you identify features that need to be enhanced. Without tailoring, you have no idea how to enhance them but when coupled with tailoring you can both identify and enhance.”
“That’s correct,” Mira said from near the rear of the auditorium. The crimson-haired elf was the second-best tailor in the village behind Lishri and was considered the Arachne’s star apprentice. “Queen Lishri is level ten in anatomy.”
Several of the seamstresses whispered amongst themselves as Frost walked back to the board.
“But, does that mean anatomy is an S rank ability for a tailor?” Frost said, pointing at the ability. “Anybody?”
“I don’t think so,” an elf seamstress said while pointing at the board. “I think precision would be more important.”
Several of the seamstresses nodded in agreement.
“Mira?” Frost looked up toward the grinning elf as she shook her head.
“Tailoring is the only S rank ability for tailoring,” she answered. “After that, you need to master other tailoring abiliti
es. Even precision isn’t necessarily important if you don’t have the ability to complete the pattern. I would probably put them both in the middle. Maybe B or C.”
“Thank you,” Frost said, nodding in approval at the redheaded tailor. “Which brings us to our next point. Every tier list is different depending on your goals. If you are planning on learning any combat class, anatomy is an S rank. If you intend to become a blacksmith, tailor, or leatherworker, it’s much lower priority. But, if you don’t know what you want to do, it’s an S rank because it can supplement all of those things.”
“So, should we learn it, or shouldn’t we?” a frustrated werewolf asked in a low growl.
“If you intend to hunt monsters then anatomy is one of the most important abilities you can have,” Frost answered. “Precision is similarly important. Additionally, you’ll want to choose a weapon ability. A weapon that is both one-handed and two-handed is more versatile than a weapon that is exclusive to one or the other. An axe, a sword, or a cudgel is more versatile than a dagger or a spear.”
“What about archery,” a gorgon asked.
“Archery is an S rank ability but it requires a supplementary weapon,” Frost answered, grinning at their confused expressions. “Archery’s usefulness can increase or decrease depending on the surroundings. This is something you all need to consider. Similarly, a sword loses its effectiveness at range. This is also something to be considered. I’ll cover this more at a later time when discussing win conditions but for now I just want you thinking about what you want to do and how best to do that.”
“What about magic?” a large orc woman asked. “It looks like magic is more powerful than other abilities.”
“Magic is a little more complex,” Frost said as he gestured at a small group of fairies sitting on a table in a corner. “Fairies for instance naturally use the drain spell but it requires them to come in contact with their target. The drain spell will allow you to siphon off magic from your opponent making you stronger while simultaneously making them weaker. Having tried it myself, it’s very powerful magic. But, it does have a significant weakness. Anybody know what it is?”
“Oh!” a grey haired Florenne in the back hopped excitedly while raising her hand.
“Okay,” Frost said, pointing to the bunny-eared woman whose name he couldn’t remember. “What’s the weakness?”
“You have to be touching them,” she said. “I know because fairies lived in the forest near my village! As long as you didn’t let them touch you, you were fine.”
“Exactly,” Frost said. “So, when you consider that magic users prefer to keep their distance, the spell is powerful but not really useful for ranged casters. But if you’re a close ranged fighter like spellblade, it’s very effective. You need to consider your goals when thinking about what types of magic and spells you wish to use. Since I fight at close range, I’ve mastered the drain spell. It works particularly well when hunting large slow monsters.”
“Are there any spells that are really powerful?” an elf elementalist asked.
“Good question,” Frost said as he wrote paralyze on the board in the S-rank column. “I consider Paralyze to be one of the most powerful spells for a few reasons. The first is that since it’s a low-level spell it can be learned very quickly by a wide variety of classes. The second is that it’s extremely versatile. It can be used offensively or defensively against a wide variety of opponents. Finally, paralyze can be cast at both short and long range, although it loses some of its strength at long range. Even compared to grand magic…”
“Sorry handsome,” Brynn shouted as she burst into the auditorium, walking briskly toward him. The dark-haired bard’s hair was still wet from a bath and she was wearing a simple green sundress that was slightly too large for her petite frame. He imagined she was interrupted during a bath and grabbed something she could toss on quickly before rushing over. “We have to cut your lecture short today. We have a situation.”
“A situation?” Frost asked as his raven-haired wife grabbed his hand. “Care to…”
“But we were just getting started,” a student whined
“I’ve been waiting all week to see Herald Frost!” a dark-haired Myrran girl said, gesturing at her short-pleated skirt. “I even put on a special outfit!”
“You can’t just drag him off!”
“Sorry ladies,” Brynn said while dragging Frost out. “Talk to Cassia and I’m sure she can arrange another lecture. Right now, we have an emergency.”
“Emergency?” Frost said. “What kind of…”
“You’ll see when we get outside,” Brynn said as they left the auditorium. Several of the demihumans followed, curious about what was going on.
Once outside, it became apparent that there was in fact an emergency. Several wagons full of demihumans from Blackwater were parked outside of the gate as villagers helped them out of their wagons. There were no supplies that he could tell, indicating that they left Blackwater in a hurry.
“Herald Frost,” Sir Isaac nodded as he approached. Frost hadn’t seen the man fully armored for some time. The blonde knight nodded at the wagons. “You want the quick version?”
“Yes,” Frost answered as he scanned the group. He recognized many of them as Madam Gardenia’s employees and a few others from doing business in the demihuman district of Blackwater. “What happened?”
“Herald Law arrived in Blackwater last night,” Sir Isaac said. “Starting last night and going into this morning he’s been rounding up every person that’s associated with you. These are the ones that were able to escape before his knights got to them.”
“Madam Gardenia?” Frost asked. Sir Isaac shook his head, clearly not thrilled about delivering the bad news. “Okay. And what about the border?”
“Sir Adamus stayed in the village with the knights,” Sir Isaac answered while nodding toward the east. “They’re keeping guard and we have riders patrolling the area looking for anybody else.”
“Good,” Frost said, turning to Brynn. “Any idea what’s happening?”
“My father wouldn’t approve this unless there was good reason,” Brynn said pensively. “Killing those soldiers at the outpost the way you did might have pushed my father to allow an investigation. But something’s not right.”
“How so?” Frost asked.
“There weren’t any witnesses,” Brynn said, her eyes darting around as if she were sorting through invisible files. “Sending the Herald of Ziralia to Blackwater could potentially trigger Rilia to do something. It’s an escalation. My father is so hesitant to start a conflict near Rilia’s border that he allowed that ridiculous farce involving Cassia just to avoid a conflict.”
“Ziralia likely informed Magnus the same way Shalia informs Herald Frost,” Cassia said as she approached the trio. “It’s also not really a secret that Herald Frost killed those men. Everybody knows that he did even if nobody can prove it.”
“My father wouldn’t take the word of a herald and his prophet,” Brynn said, shaking her head. “There’s a reason that the entire grand council is made up of nobility. Even in smaller cities like Blackwater it was four nobles, four clergy, and one judge who always happens to be a noble. That’s how much he trusts the herald.”
“Alright,” Frost said. “What are your thoughts then?”
“It’s something else,” Brynn said, shaking her head as she continued sorting through possibilities. “Even if there were a witness from the outpost, my father would have quieted them. He doesn’t care about an outpost full of guards in Blackwater. Handsome, what have you been up to in the city?”
“What have I been up to?” Frost said defensively. “You know about everything that I’m doing.”
“Everything?” Brynn said, eyes narrowing as she looked him up and down. “Are you sure?”
“Fine,” Frost groaned. “I spent a few nights with Haru but we stayed in the demihuman district.”
“You owe me more date nights,” Brynn said authoritatively. “But th
at’s not it. My father’s not going to care if you have a Kina mistress. Anything else?”
“I’d rather not say,” Frost grumbled. “But how involved is your father with the banker’s guild?”
“What are you doing with the bankers guild?” Brynn asked, clearly irritated by the revelation. “And what are you doing with the bankers guild that you’re not involving me in?”
“The bankers guild spans multiple continents,” Cassia answered politely as she smiled wickedly at Brynn. “If they allowed kings, queens, or even heralds access to their records, people would cease doing business with them. Many nobles use them to fund rebellions against tyrants. Could you imagine what type of chaos would ensue if those same tyrants knew about that?”
“Handsome,” Brynn shook her head. “My father might not have access to the banker’s guild but anybody you’ve done business with could reveal that you funded them. Now, what have you been doing? Have you been funding rebellions? Assassinations? Another country?”
“No,” Frost answered. Although, he was funding a rebellion of sorts. “I’ve been investing in businesses in Blackwater and several surrounding villages. Issuing a few trade agreements and negotiating loan terms with a few nobles using the bank as a proxy. None of my holdings are currently outside of Blackwater.”
“You’re investing in businesses?” Brynn said, her head tilting slightly as she tried to figure out what he was up to. “What businesses, and why?”
“I would rather we figure out what’s going on here first,” Frost said, gesturing at the crying courtesans. “Unless you think me having investments in a few homesteads, mines, and lumbering companies would get your father’s attention.”
“I honestly have no idea why Magnus is here,” Brynn said, glancing at Cassia as if hoping the prophet might have an answer. But the violet-eyed blonde shrugged and shook her head, equally ignorant to why the Herald of Ziralia was in Blackwater. “Okay, that settles it then. We’re going to have to go find out why he’s here.”