by Pirateaba
Erin was quiet for a while after that. She didn’t know what to think of Lady Magnolia. The woman herself sipped her tea quietly as she watched Erin. At last, Erin looked up.
“I still don’t think they’re your enemies. The Antinium, I mean.”
“You do not know their history. You have not seen what they do.”
“Kill people? But Humans do that.”
“And we are a wretched species. But the Antinium are sadly better at killing than we are, and their Queens attempted to wipe this continent free of every living species once before. Consider this, Erin. Even in war, [Lords] and [Generals] often spare civilians. It is a point of honor, and practicality. Not even [Soldiers] relish that level of violence, and so the few who slaughter are condemned by every nation.”
She raised a finger.
“But the Antinium have fought thusly from the beginning. They leave no survivors. And what is worse, they make no permanent peace. I believe they have simply been waiting since the last Antinium War, building their strength for the final war in which they will win and slaughter us all.”
Erin couldn’t believe it. Klbkch, do that? But—she’d seen him killing Goblins that one time. And yet Pawn—
“It is not the individuals I speak of, but their Queens. They are heartless and care nothing for other species. If you will not believe it of the Antinium you know, believe that.”
Erin could. She remembered the Queen, and the cold way she had spoken about Klbkch, her subject.
“So that’s it? You’re fighting a war and you want help from us?”
“…If you want to put it that way, yes. Rather, I simply hope you will not make things worse. I don’t expect much help from you.”
“Hey, that’s—!”
“Accurate.”
Erin opened her mouth. Lady Magnolia stared at her. Erin closed her mouth.
“Erin Solstice. A young woman who treats Goblins like people and teaches the Antinium how to become individuals. That alone makes you extraordinary, but it will not win a war.”
Lady Magnolia drummed her fingers on her leg.
“I should like nothing more than for the Antinium to all become individual. That would mean they are people, and people can be manipulated, flattered, bribed, intimidated, or threatened. A swarm simply devours everything in its way. But it will not happen, because while the Queen in Liscor is a visionary, the other Queens and the Grand Queen lacks her ideals. No, it will not change what is to come.”
“And that is?”
“War. And not just any war. A world war, as your people have spoken of.”
Lady Magnolia said it calmly. She looked out one of the windows, at the setting sun.
“Perhaps it will not begin on this continent, but it will come soon. Already the idea of it hangs in the air, whispering in every ear.”
Erin felt a chill.
“How do you know?”
“From whispers. The Isles of Minos have closed. Perhaps due to the actions of a traveler from another world? Their ports are barred to any ships but their own, and every spy I have planted in their kingdom has gone quiet. A Goblin Lord has emerged in the south, and if a King should rampage again, we may all fall to the youngest species before the Antinium.”
Lady Magnolia started ticking off points on her fingers.
“Az’Kerash builds an army of the dead, and I only pray we may stop him. I would send heroes to slay him before he unleashes his madness, but they are in short supply. Between him and the Antinium, we face two major enemies, although one is far more dangerous than the other. An individual versus a swarm, you see? And then there are simply dangerous fools among the Drakes and Humans who would start bonfires over matchsticks anyways. Flos goes to conquer, and perhaps he is the least dangerous of all. He at least desires to create a kingdom rather than break everything apart. And all of this happens because of your people, Erin Solstice.”
The room felt darker, and not just because the sun was setting. Erin tried to swallow around a dry mouth.
“My people?”
“We were at peace before you arrived, Erin Solstice. A factitious, torn peace full of petty battles and squabbles, yes, but peace nevertheless. The world was slowly healing, but all too soon the truce forged of paper will burst open like scabs and war will once more ravage the people and land.”
Lady Magnolia paused. The shroud around her lifted, and she looked over.
“Mm. That was quite good, wasn’t it, Ressa? I shall have to remember that to Teriarch next time we speak. Write that down, would you?”
“Yes, milady.”
Magnolia turned back to Erin.
“I don’t mean to sound completely hopeless. There are threats, true, but I hope that my preparations will guard against some of them. This continent is strong, and I have done my best to ensure the north is stronger than it was. But that is the truth of it. War is coming. And you few travelers are caught in it.”
Erin tried to breathe and had trouble doing so. It seemed so huge when Magnolia said it like that.
“What should we do, then? I mean, is there anything—?”
“Nothing. You can help those you meet in your inn, and perhaps that will change things. But unless you know of a technology that saves lives…? There are a number of curious things the other young men and women talk about, but they are frustratingly vague on details. I will pursue that line of questioning, however.”
Erin shook her head.
“I still don’t think it’s right, keeping them here.”
“And what would you do? Let them loose?”
Magnolia frowned at Erin. Erin shrugged.
“Maybe not, but they’re not as stupid as you’re treating them.”
“Fools seldom are. But they are thoughtless, which is worse. What could they do that would not cause more harm?”
“I don’t know. But give them a chance.”
Magnolia paused as she sipped at her cup.
“A chance? As what, adventurers?”
“Maybe. But just give them a chance to do something rather than lock them up and let them be useless.”
Erin tried to explain.
“I have this annoying—this girl in my inn. She’s really, really troublesome, but if I left her alone she would die.”
“Ah. Lyonette de Marquin. Dreadful girl. I’m not sure she is the example you should use.”
“You know who she is? I mean, she said she knows you—”
“I’m sure she does.”
Lady Magnolia made a face as if the tea had suddenly gone bad. Erin looked around and saw Ressa making a similar look of disgust, which disappeared as soon as she noticed Erin looking.
“She says she’s really important and that you’d take her in. But the [Butler]—sorry, Reynold—wouldn’t let her come with me.”
Magnolia sighed as she swirled her tea around with a silver spoon.
“She certainly is…important, but I fear she overstates her value. She wrote me several strident letters demanding that I offer her the hospitality of my house. I do not wish to do so.”
“But she nearly died by herself! She was getting exiled and she would have frozen to death if I hadn’t found her!”
“A pity.”
Erin’s heart grew silent in her chest for a moment. She looked at Lady Magnolia.
“Just because someone is really…really annoying or useless doesn’t mean they deserve to die.”
“Neither does it mean that I should waste time and resources saving them.”
“But that means you’re killing them if you don’t help. That’s wrong.”
A sigh. Erin gritted her teeth as Magnolia looked at her.
“What if they are a danger? What if killing them would save thousands of lives? Would that not be the most morally correct choice?”
Now Erin was getting angrier. Magnolia was—well, she wasn’t a bad person. Maybe. But she was getting on Erin’s nerves.
“You don’t get to decide that. God—gods know every
thing, so I guess if they existed, they’d be able to say if that was right or wrong. But the gods are dead. Everyone tells me that. So no one gets to decide if things are moral. You can kill however many people you want, but you can’t say it was the right thing to do.”
“Fine then. I chose to let Lyonette die. I do not regret it, any more than I regret confining the others from your world. I cannot release them into the wild because they would die, and neither will I risk them spreading dangerous information as they so casually do. But they are quite a drain on resources.”
“So? You offered to take them in.”
“To save their lives. But I may soon lock them in a house and toss bags of grain inside than keep them here. They are not worthy of this house, or the people who must put up with them. They eat, argue, talk about games and laugh at monsters as if they were harmless, and talk to my servants about freedom as if they were slaves.”
“They do? I mean, really?”
Lady Magnolia scowled.
“One of them does, at any rate. She doesn’t seem to understand the difference between employing a family of their free will and forcing them to work.”
“I’m sorry if they’ve offended you. But—”
“I will give them a chance, which may be more than they deserve. Enough. It is growing late, and I wish to impress one thing upon you, Erin Solstice.”
“What?”
“Numbers. Or perhaps—worth.”
Lady Magnolia put down her cup and looked at Erin directly.
“The smallest of the Antinium Hives – the one based in Liscor – holds at least three thousand Antinium at any given time. More, as of late. At least two thousand Workers and a thousand Soldiers are ready to go to war at any moment; my estimate puts their numbers at a thousand more in their Hive. And that is the least of the six Hives, if there are only six. The others are larger by an immeasurable factor.”
The numbers staggered Erin. Three—no, four thousand Antinium? Why didn’t they help when Skinner attacked? But Lady Magnolia wasn’t done. She pointed at Erin.
“You are worth two Antinium Soldiers in a battle. Ryoka—with items, perhaps she could defeat a dozen. Two dozen. But I very much doubt it.”
She shook her head.
“As dangerous as you are, as unique as you are, you are only one Human. But I require an army. I seek heroes. I have children, bright and full of weapons that would shake the earth—none of which I can use now or without having them used against me in time. You and Ryoka Griffin are extraordinary in your own ways, but you are still young. And small.”
Magnolia looked towards the window.
“I will hope that you rise to the challenges you will face. If there is a way I may aid you that will encourage growth or help myself, I will do so. But I am playing a game against titans, and I am only a small Human.”
Erin didn’t know what to say to that. Magnolia looked large and small at the same time—a giant in her own right, full of more force than anyone else Erin had met—but still so small compared to the things she talked about.
“If you are able to, I hope you will persuade Miss Ryoka to visit me. I am in need of whatever aid she can give; whatever she can remember. These new defensive potions and alchemist creations she has made cheaper will save countless lives in the long run. But convincing enough farmers to grow spicy peppers will be difficult. Bottles are equally expensive, but if it can be manufactured into a spray as young Rose claims…”
Magnolia sighed, and looked at Erin.
“Which brings me to you. You, Erin Solstice, the girl of many odd talents. You have skills, and a brain hidden behind all that fluff, but you maintain a small inn and do little with what you have. Is that all you will ever do? What is it you wish to do in this world, Miss Erin Solstice? Do you want to go home to your world? Or perhaps, do you want to stay here? This world is full of wonders, but I am sure yours is filled with just as many.”
Her eyes bored into Erin’s, unblinking, and Lady Magnolia’s voice seemed like the only thing in the world. Erin couldn’t look away as the questions hit her again and again.
“Will you protect this world? Save it? Do you simply want to live in peace? Or perhaps you would like to destroy it? Do you even care?”
Erin opened her mouth, but Lady Magnolia silenced her.
“I don’t believe you have an answer that would not prompt me to throw something at you.”
“I do.”
“Really? This tea pot is quite heavy and quite expensive. I would hate to waste it.”
“I want to protect the people around me. That’s all. I have friends. I don’t want them to die. I want to help them, and some day find a way home. And live in peace. That’s all.”
Lady Magnolia stared at Erin for a while.
“Hmph. Well, at least you don’t have small dreams. Well then, Erin Solstice, delightful and infuriating as this conversation has been, I believe only one thing remains for me to do with you.”
Erin tensed. Ressa had moved behind Magnolia, but she was fast.
“And what’s that?”
Lady Magnolia smiled.
“Send you home.”
—-
It was a small group that gathered outside the coach. Reynold held the door open as Erin climbed in, and the girl realized that Joseph and Rose and the others were watching her from a window. And trying to shout to her, by the looks of it.
She’d wanted to say something to them, but Lady Magnolia had vetoed that suggestion. She claimed she had no desire to listen to another hundred complaints and besides, Erin had nothing to say to the others that they would not learn soon enough.
Erin had silently agreed with that, but she still glared at Lady Magnolia as she got into the carriage. She was fairly sure she didn’t like the [Lady], but at least in public Lady Magnolia was all smiles and rainbows.
“I trust Reynold will see you safely to your inn. I also took the liberty of sending a meal with you, as I shamefully neglected to play the good host. Do take care.”
“…Thanks.”
The door began to close, but a slim hand interposed itself before it could shut. Erin wondered what would happen if she slammed the door, but then Magnolia opened it. She lowered her voice so that only Erin could hear.
“Oh, and by the way, Erin. Though I laud your desire to protect those around you, I believe you will soon find that answer means changing the entire world. So the question remains: what will do you? Will you try to save this world we live in, or wait for others to do it for you?”
Erin stared at Magnolia. The other woman was smiling.
“If I punch you, would Ressa kill me?”
Magnolia’s smile widened.
“Quite likely. Do agonize about your future on the ride home. Goodbye.”
The door closed. Reynold waited until Magnolia was clear, and then snapped the reins. The carriage began to move swiftly away, and Erin sat back in her seat.
“I think I really hate her.”
Lady Magnolia. She was like a hurricane trapped inside of a bottle inside of a tornado inside of a washing machine. She was all go, and even thinking about what she’d just learned made Erin want to vomit up thoughts.
And she was so confident she was right. She’d seen right through Erin. Or maybe—
Erin turned and glared out the window as Lady Magnolia’s mansion disappeared in the distance. She had a small thought in her head.
Maybe…she was actually a good person. A rich [Lady] trying to save the world by herself.
Probably not. She was still a jerk. But the things she’d said—
Outside, the world began to blur as Erin sped away from Lady Magnolia’s house, and back home. Thoughts whirled around in Erin’s head, not least of which was that Magnolia had put enough food in the carriage to feet both her and Reynold for a week. But that wasn’t as important as what she’d learned.
So many things. War? The Antinium? Were they really the biggest threat? Could Magnolia be trusted?
&
nbsp; Erin wanted so desperately to talk to Ryoka about it all. But without anyone to talk to—besides Reynold, and he really couldn’t help with this—Erin found herself drifting off. Her mind began looping, and only a few thoughts repeated themselves.
What had Magnolia said? Choose. Erin thought she had an answer, but war? She couldn’t even imagine—
What should she do?
Live alone.
Save the world.
Run away.
Ask for help.
Live in peace.
Fight for freedom.
Bring democracy.
Protect secrets.
Go back home.
Save the world.
Protect her friends.
Save the world.
Give up.
Save the world.
Save the world.
Save.
The.
World.
Interlude
Lady Magnolia and Ressa retired to her personal sitting room after Erin had gone. It was a mark of Lady Magnolia’s abilities as a [Lady] that she did not seem to notice the shouting young men and women who were trying to attract her attention. Her servants and a glare from Ressa allowed Magnolia to make her way up the stairs unimpeded.
The truth of the matter was that no matter how upset Joseph and Rose and the others were, they didn’t quite dare shout in Magnolia’s presence. And neither were they able to force themselves to push past the polite maids and manservants to accost her physically. They were held back by Lady Magnolia’s sheer presence.
It was a skill as well as a Skill, and Lady Magnolia had mastered both. She let Ressa closed the door and muffle the last indignant protests echoing through her home and sighed.
Even that was graceful. Lady Magnolia was known throughout the continent—well, by Humans at least. Any Drakes and Gnolls who paid attention to Humans knew of her, but Humans were by and large identical to the majorities of Drakes and Gnolls. Still, those who knew anything of Lady Magnolia knew that she was a [Lady]. At all times she was graceful and polite.