by Pirateaba
“I’m not sure what I was thinking. But I was open to talking, back then.”
“Indeed? No doubt you had your own goals. Perhaps you were thinking of selling me some secrets.”
“Perhaps.”
Yeah, that was probably it. Magnolia smiles enigmatically.
“And perhaps I would have taken you up on that offer. But alas, by the time your letter reached me I had already found other people like you. Thus, I had no need to keep searching for you.”
And there it is. Part of the issue’s out in the open at last. I breathe out.
“Yeah. The others. Erin told me you have other people from my world here.”
Not a bat of an eyelid. Lady Magnolia smiles and shrugs.
“Oh yes. They are guests here, for as long as my patience allows. Pestilential, inconsiderate brats that they are, that might not be for too much longer.”
Wow. That’s something. I know Erin said Magnolia didn’t like the others, but—
“Okay, so you have people from my world. You know everything. Why am I here, then?”
“Dead gods. Here we go again.”
To my surprise, Lady Magnolia touches her eyes with one hand and sighs gustily. I stare at her. When she looks up, her irritation is suddenly plain across her face.
“She’s doing it, Ressa. I though she wouldn’t—but she’s doing it.”
“Yes, milady.”
“First that girl Erin—are all young women from her world inbred, do you think?”
“Doing what?”
“There she goes again!”
Magnolia scowls at me and points accusingly at my chest as if I were some kind of monster.
“Stop asking thoughtless questions! I know you’re not that stupid, Miss Ryoka. Or at least, I hope you’re not because if I have to have another conversation like the one I had with Erin Solstice, I will throw this tea pot at you.”
What’s with her? It’s like a switch has flipped. Suddenly Magnolia Reinhart is all action and no pretense. She glares at me.
“A word of advice, Ryoka Griffin. Few things annoy me as much as feigned ignorance. Do not pretend you don’t know why you are here. You and I both know that I know almost everything. That you come from another world? Obvious. That your world has different technology and inventions? Of course! Your fellow travelers have told me all about the wondrous things of your world—phones, planes, guns, cars—and you know that I have a vested interest in such things.”
Lady Magnolia drinks more of the sugary liquid that vaguely resembles tea in her cup as she stares at me.
“I know everything. Everything except the details. You know, or you might have guessed that while your friends can chatter on to me about the wonders of guns and warfare as your world practices it, they are remarkably empty-headed when it comes to producing such miracles. It’s rather like having a boastful idiot claim to be able to fly without a shred of evidence to back it up. But you do know how to fly, don’t you, Ryoka Griffin?”
My lips clamp shut. Magnolia eyes me.
“Yes. You do. Or at least, you know more than the others. And you know that is why you are here, Ryoka. I want you to tell me what you know.”
The woman sighs, looking suddenly exhausted.
“So here we are. That skips—how much needless back-and-forth? Honestly, I was willing to play along for a while, but when you started acting like an idiot I lost my patience.”
I just look at her. This is Magnolia Reinhart? Is this her true face? Is she being honest with me for a reason or—
“Well? Say something!”
I barely see it coming. Magnolia flicks her wrist, and suddenly the saucer of the tea cup comes spinning at me. I catch it reflexively.
“What the—?”
“Don’t you dare ask what that was. It was a saucer. And I threw it at you because I am irate.”
I just stare at her. She’s violent! Is it the sugar working? No—this is a completely different approach. She’s doing this on purpose too! I’ll bet—she’s seized complete hold of the conversation.
Well—fine. Let’s just dive into this. No pretenses, no holds barred. I grit my teeth.
“Okay, let’s assume you’re right about everything. In that case, at what point do you strap me to the rack and torture me for information?”
“Torture? Oh, please. Why would I need torture when I can just use magic? Or a Skill?”
Magnolia snorts at me, but she seems mollified by my response. She takes something out of the pocket of her dress and peers at me. For a second I’m thrown—I didn’t even see the cunning pocket sewn into her dress. Well now, she’s not obeying medieval fashion standards with that.
But in her hands—what is that? A monocle? I instantly have a bad feeling about it, and it gets worse when she puts it to her eyes and…studies me.
Yeah, she’s looking at me. And that monocle—
Oh no. Is she reading my mind?
No—she couldn’t be. Think. My mind races as Magnolia peers at me. I’m…pretty sure she can’t read minds, even with an artifact. If she could, she’d wear that thing all the time. It’s definitely for revealing some aspect about me—a lie detector?
Don’t get thrown by it. I fold my arms and wait. But Magnolia seems satisfied. She tucks the monocle back in her secret pocket.
“Hmf. Now, as to getting you to spill your much-vaunted secrets. Tell me, do you really think it would be that difficult for me?”
I hesitate.
“Yes.”
“Really? How arrogant of you.”
Magnolia rolls her eyes in exasperation. She stares at me with a bit of contempt, or is it disappointment?
“You astound me, Ryoka Griffin. For someone who appears so intelligent—could it be you’ve forgotten my Skills? Surely not.”
She smiles at me, and every hair on the back of my neck tingles.
“I’m curious. What would you do, if I, oh, asked you to tell me everything you know?”
It’s like lightning. Pink lightning. The words hit me and go inside my head, effortlessly opening the vault of my mind. My mouth opens. I should tell her everything, right? Isn’t that the best—
No.
I waver, grit my teeth. I’ve felt this before. This…is like Teriarch’s geas spell! God—I did forget she could do this!
Magnolia smiles at me, and puts more intensity into her silken voice.
“Come now. You know you want to. This is quite simple for me—if you can’t even stop me from doing this, you are truly foolish. Tell me everything, Ryoka Griffin.”
I want to tell her. My jaw is clamped shut, but I can feel the muscles spasming. It’s taking all I’ve got to hold still. Magnolia’s waiting for me to crack. But—I—
I’ve done this before!
My mouth opens. But what comes out is a wordless shout. I jump up, fist flashing towards Magnolia’s face—
And find myself tumbling backwards onto the couch, ears ringing, pain bursting from my chest and cheek. Ressa’s standing in front of Lady Magnolia, hands raised. I reel backwards and sit down hard on the sofa.
“Um. Well, that was surprising.”
The only sound in the room comes from Lady Magnolia. I can see her blinking at me from behind Ressa. She looks as surprised as I’ve ever seen her. I sit on the couch, staring up at Ressa. I didn’t even see her move. I’m tempted to try and hit her, but—
“Very well, Ressa, please step aside.”
Lady Magnolia’s hands push at Ressa. The surprised [Maid] moves sideways. Lady Magnolia blinks a few more times, and then looks down at her lap.
“Spilled tea. How wasteful.”
A small pool of tea is puddled in her dress. It’s ruining the expensive pink silk. But to my surprise, Magnolia just sighs and stands up. She shakes the dress—
And the tea slides off it and onto the carpet. I blink. Magnolia catches my eye and shrugs.
“Ward spells on the dress. Prevents staining. Too bad about the tea, though.”
/> Then she sits down as if nothing has happened and pours herself more tea. I rub at my cheek as Ressa takes a place behind Magnolia again. She’s staring at me hard, but I’m in no mood to fight.
Once there’s a fresh cup of tea in her hands, Magnolia looks at her maid and then at me.
“That was a bit too quick for my eyes, Ressa my dear. Am I right in thinking you stopped her from pummeling me?”
“Yes, milady.”
“I thought as much. Well, I seem to have misjudged you slightly, Ryoka my dear. I thought you might resist my Skill, but nothing as impressive as that. How did you do it, pray? You have no magical items on you—none for that purpose at any rate—and you have no Skills.”
So the monocle was looking at that? I just stare at Magnolia and shrug.
“That’s a secret.”
“Hmf. Well, I’m not too curious so I won’t pry. May I congratulate you, however? It isn’t often that someone has directly struck at me. The last person to do it was, well, your friend, Erin Solstice.”
Erin tried to hit Lady Magnolia? I just blink at her. Magnolia turns to Ressa.
“Didn’t you take a teapot to the face that time?”
“It was to the chest, and it was lukewarm tea.”
“Ah, of course.”
I eye Ressa. The maid eyes me. I definitely feel like the mouse if we’re in a cat and mouse relationship. She got in front of Magnolia from behind the couch before I could hit her. And she hit me in the cheek and chest in an instant.
“Your maid’s quite dedicated.”
That’s code for ‘what kind of freak of nature is your maid’? Magnolia just shrugs at me.
“Of course she is. Ressa possesses many skills, some of which include cleaning and pouring tea—others of which involve preventing people with blades from stabbing me.”
“And that’s normal for a [Maid]?”
“It’s normal for maids under my employ. Do you think I would carelessly walk around—even in my own home—and entertain guests without a bodyguard of some kind?”
“I suppose not.”
“But you didn’t think of it, did you? Really.”
Magnolia sighs and looks at her maid.
“They grow more simpleminded every year, it seems. Erin was like that, wasn’t she, Ressa? She was rather surprising in some ways, but she was as thoughtless as a rock in others.”
Okay, I feel like I should stand up for Erin even if what Magnolia’s saying is true. I grit my teeth and force myself to ignore the stinging pain in my chest and on my cheek.
“Erin is my friend.”
“How wonderful for you.”
Magnolia gives me a look that tells me she could care less. I keep going, ignoring her expression.
“She’s my friend. But I’ll admit she’s also an idiot in some ways. She doesn’t understand your goals. But I do. I know what you want, so let’s get to it.”
“Do you really?”
The other woman eyes me with more skepticism. She shrugs.
“Well then, go on. Enlighten me. What do I so desperately want from you?”
I open my mouth. Magnolia raises a finger.
“However—if you haven’t thought this through, Ressa will beat you quite black and blue.”
“What is your problem with stupid questions?”
I snap at Magnolia and barrel on before she can tell her maid to kick the crap out of me for that question.
“I know what you want. You know about my world by now. You’ve talked with people who’ve told you about guns, bombs, and all of our technology. I know you told Erin you don’t want that information spread, but there’s no way in hell you wouldn’t want to manufacture those kinds of weapons for yourself. ”
“Really? And why is that?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Fear. Even if no one in your world has weapons yet, what if you run into more people from my world? What if someone else creates guns in secret? If that happens, it’s too late. You need to make weapons or else you’ll be overwhelmed.”
I don’t know how Erin didn’t consider that. For all Magnolia says she can suppress that technology—that’s impossible. But to my surprise, Magnolia doesn’t even bat an eyelash at my answer. Instead, she laughs.
“Good answer! Unfortunately—you are wrong, my dear Ryoka. Right in one way, but terribly wrong in the other.”
What? I stare at Magnolia. She smiles at me, shaking her head.
“You really are new to this world, aren’t you? I sometimes forget—but you really know nothing.”
“What do you mean?”
I’m right. I’m sure of it. But Magnolia clearly thinks I’m wrong. She puts down her tea cup and stretches her fingers out.
“I’m sure you’d say I’m being overconfident. But the truth is, Ryoka Griffin, guns are nothing to fear if it’s just a war we speak of. If one side has guns, they have an advantage, yes, but it does not mean they would necessarily win.”
“You—clearly don’t understand weapons from my world.”
I shake my head, trying to explain to Magnolia how insane her claim is. One side with swords and arrows taking on an army with guns? I suppose if it were guerilla attacks and attrition warfare—but no, she’s wrong!
“Oh? You disagree, Ryoka? Are guns really that fearsome?”
“Of course! They—”
I raise my voice in anger, trying to get Magnolia to understand, to be wary when I hear a slight knock. Instantly, I go silent. Magnolia frowns, and Ressa immediately turns her head to the door. Magnolia raises her voice and calls out.
“Yes?”
The door opens and a maid enters the room. She looks nervous, and nearly freezes up when she sees me, Ressa, and Lady Magnolia all staring at her. But she’s clearly more afraid of doing her job wrong in front of Ressa, so she speaks quickly and clearly while bobbing a curtsy.
“I am extremely sorry to bother you, Lady Reinhart. But your guest—the Great Mage Nemor—requests the pleasure of speaking with you forthwith.”
Great Mage? Is that a class? But Magnolia just frowns, looking irritated.
“Tell him to go away. I’m busy.”
The maid hesitates. But when Ressa glares she immediately bobs a curtsy and closes the door. Magnolia turns back to me, frowning.
“Great Mage Nemor? That’s hardly accurate.”
“Is that someone important?”
My mind’s still on Magnolia’s outrageous claim, but I ask just in case. Magnolia snorts in idle amusement.
“He’s useful, but hardly important—or entertaining. He will wait. Now, go on. You were going to tell me how the armies of your world would destroy mine in an instant. Let’s assume you had an army – or simply the technology from your world. What would make them so fearsome?”
I glare at her. She’s so damn cavalier. Fine. She wants an explanation?
“A tank.”
“A tank? Oh, the others did mention one of them. A metal moving box that fires another type of gun, aren’t they?”
It sounds so simple when Magnolia says it. I shake my head as I try to explain.
“If an army had a tank—just one!—it would be able to destroy thousands of soldiers. A tank has armor that can withstand any number of spells you throw at it. It can hurl an explosion miles away that can demolish a building—”
“A spell can do the same.”
I pause. Magnolia stares at me, one eyebrow raised.
“Your tanks sound slow and cumbersome. Can they really beat a mage hiding in the grass with a [Grand Fireball] spell?”
Grand fireball? Could that destroy a tank? I—hesitate.
“That’s not the point! That’s one tank. But an army could have hundreds. And a mage takes years, decades to train. A soldier with a gun can shoot countless people and he only takes a few days to train. While a mage—”
“Hm. Yes. I see your point.”
Magnolia waves me into silence, not looking daunted in the least. She taps a fingernail on her dress, talking a
s she does.
“An army of tanks and guns, you say? I still find it hard to imagine, but I am told a gun is like a crossbow that shoots hundreds of bolts per minute, farther than any normal bow. Is that right?”
Pretty much. I nod. Magnolia nods as well.
“Fearsome indeed. But these are just arrows, aren’t they? Excuse me, ‘bullets’. Nonmagical bits of iron. Your…wonderful armies from your world—they lack magic. And that is a crucial flaw. Let us say you have, oh, ten thousand soldiers with guns and several tanks. And any number of your aircrafts as well.”
Magnolia leans over the coffee table, eyes glittering. Her smile has teeth.
“I could destroy an army like that in less than ten minutes.”
I believe her. I stare into Magnolia’s eyes, and I believe she could do it. How? A spell? Enchanted armor? Would enchanted armor even suffer dents? Could you really send a few warriors in plate mail and take down tanks that easily?
“You really don’t fear guns?”
“I didn’t say that.”
Magnolia frowns at me irately. She looks as if she’s considering tossing her tea cup at me and then shrugs and goes on.
“Anyone with half a brain knows that a gun is a dangerous weapon. But anyone with a full brain knows that even an army with guns is quite easy to destroy.”
“Oh really?”
“I will hit you, you know. Or rather, order Ressa to do it for me.”
Magnolia glares at me and sighs. She settles back into her seat.
“I can destroy two armies as easily as I can destroy one. That is not the issue.”
She raises one delicate finger.
“One gun, or even ten thousand will not change the world. But a million will.”
I think I get it. Magnolia nods as she goes on.
“I do not want to create guns and other such technologies. I do not want such secrets to spread either. And the reason for that is simple: while such devices might provide power to me in the short term, it will inevitably change the world for the worse. If every [Soldier] has a gun, then it is likely the larger army will prevail. If a child can kill a man in full plate armor, then levels lose much of their meaning.”
“And if anyone can field an army, then you lose your power.”