by Pirateaba
Magnolia nodded. Then she seized Ressa, who was guarding Magnolia’s back.
“Find the others. There must have been more!”
Ressa hesitated.
“I should guard—”
“Tyrion is here. Go!”
The [Maid] hesitated, and then became a blur that leapt towards one of the windows. More people cried out as glass broke and Tyrion stared after Ressa with narrowed eyes.
“The [Assassin] will escape. Is that your plan?”
Magnolia was breathing a bit heavily. She saw people running after the [Assassin] now the shock had ended. The Minotaur was running, although he could hardly hope to catch the killer.
“No. He won’t get away.”
A voice rang out above the shouting. A man strode forwards, rapier in hand. Thomast, Lady Bethal’s husband.
“[Affair of Honor]!”
The man in black had reached the doors. But he paused, mid-step when Thomast used his skill. The Chevalier’s voice rang throughout the room.
“Turn, murderer. There can be no retreat until this matter is settled by blade.”
Magnolia saw the [Assassin]’s shoulders slump. He turned, and the Chevalier Thomast strode towards the man in black, rapier in hand. The room parted for the two to meet.
Magnolia did not watch the assassin die. She strode over to the head on the floor pushing aside the people who’d formed a wide circle around it. Magnolia stared down at it as a [Lord] and a female adventurer inspected the head carefully, neither actually touching it. The [Lord] looked up, saw Lady Magnolia, and stood up to bare her path.
“Lady Reinhart, please stay back. The head may be warded or enchanted to do further harm upon being touched.”
“Then check. But I wish to see the deceased.”
“Stop wasting time.”
Someone pushed past her. Magnolia turned and saw Tyrion. He strode into the circle of onlookers and despite the adventurers’ protests, bent and picked up the head by the hair.
Something flashed on his hand. A ring blazed and then the light from within faded. Tyrion inspected the head and then turned it to face Magnolia. She felt a lurch in her stomach, but controlled the feeling. Instead of fainting, retching, or staggering away as some of the people behind her were doing, she simply sighed.
“Ah, Patricia.”
The dead woman’s head was white, drained of blood. Her features were contorted in horror, but it was her face. Magnolia would have known it anywhere. She had been a friend of Magnolia’s.
And now she was dead.
Tyrion stared at Magnolia.
“Is the [Assassin] another one of your plots, Reinhart?”
“No, some enemies of mine seem to want to kill me. And my friends too, it seems.”
Magnolia spoke automatically, while one phrase flashed through her mind again and again.
The Circle of Thorns.
Tyrion shrugged.
“This is no business of mine.”
He turned, and handed the head to a [Lord] who nearly dropped it. Tyrion strode out of the room as Thomast bent to wipe his blade on the dead assassin’s clothing. A capable killer he might have been, but Magnolia knew there were few who could match someone of the [Duelist] class in a one-on-one bout.
In the end, Ressa returned empty-handed. The head disappeared, and the room was filled with shock and fear. Magnolia ignored the eyes turned towards her and the whispers, and found Lady Bethal with her husband.
“Lady Bethal. Thomast. Thank you for disposing of the killer.”
The man’s eyes were shadowed as he bowed.
“It was my honor and duty. But I regret Lady Patricia’s death.”
“Yes. And she had no husband. So there is another matter which must be dealt with now.”
Magnolia turned and Ressa pointed her silently towards a group of girls, one of whom was weeping uncontrollably. Patricia’s sole daughter, Eliasor, tried to curtsy when Magnolia approached her, but the woman waved that away.
“No formalities now. Eliasor, I am sorry that your mother was killed in such a heinous way. But now that she is gone, there is something that must be done.”
She touched the gemstone Ressa handed her and spoke into it loudly, cutting above every other voice in the room.
“Ladies and lords! Lady Patricia’s life was cut untimely short! However, her daughter, Lady Eliasor still lives. She is now the head of the Melissar family. I bid you all welcome her as a peer!”
There was a pause, and then by her side, Lady Bethal cutsied to Eliasor. The girl stared at her, wide-eyed, and then at Lady Magnolia as she did the same. Around the room, the [Lords] and [Ladies] remembered their duty and bowed or curtsied, acknowledging Eliasor.
It was a painful sight, to see the girl try to respond as tears still ran down her face. Magnolia spoke to her more quietly.
“I know this is hardly the time to think of such things, but you are your family’s sole heir now, Eliasor. If you wish it, I will send my own guards and [Maids] to assist you in the weeks to come.”
The girl opened her mouth, choked, and kept crying. Magnolia paused.
“I fear your mother’s death was my fault. Lady Patricia was one of my confidants, a trusted friend. She had a place in my circle, and I hope that one day I may offer you the same. But I swear to you, Eliasor, I will find the people who ordered your mother’s death. And I will kill them all regardless of where they hide. You have my word on that.”
“Thank you—Lady Reinhart.”
Magnolia nodded down at Eliasor. She hesitated, and then walked away.
“Lady Bethal, Lady Pryde, Lady Wuvren, Lady Zanthia, to me.”
They came out of the crowd, people parting to let them pass. Magnolia looked at some of the foremost [Ladies] of Izril, and nodded towards the doors.
“Let us leave Eliasor to her grief. We must talk.”
They strode out of the room, people parting to let them pass. Magnolia’s face was carefully blank, and she kept the emotions tightly held in her chest.
“It’s too harsh, leaving her to govern her entire house like that. Must she really become a [Lady] in the moments after her mother’s death, Magnolia? Couldn’t it have waited a week? Or a month? Or years?”
Bethal murmured as they walked down the corridor. Lady Zanthia, tall and old and willowy, but tough as a tree, nodded, looking sympathetic. Magnolia’s voice was a bit sharper than she had intended as she replied.
“What would you have me do, manage the girl’s affairs for her? Or let a distant relative or friend do it? How would she ever become a proper [Lady] then? No. No, she must either rise to the challenge or fail alone. Our help can only be that. Help.”
She walked on, speaking as the fire built in her chest. The gall of it. An [Assassin], sent to kill at a gathering of the nobility.
“This is Izril, ladies. Not Baleros or Chandrar, where war is a part of life. Not Rhir, where struggle is part of life. And not Terandria, where monarchs dictate who lives and who dies. Here we fight with words and thorns. We know peace, but peace with Drakes and Gnolls is bloody. We must struggle alone. Alone, even when we are together. To survive. And those who cannot survive, die.”
Heads rose. Four of Magnolia’s escort, her entourage that she seldom made use of, stared at her. Magnolia looked around.
“Summon your most trusted protectors, your own soldiers, my ladies. Bethal, your husband’s Knights of the Petal will be needed. The same goes for the rest of you. I had planned to tell you after the meeting, but there is a war going on. I am reforming my entourage. Prepare to move at once and together. No one else will die. No one.”
They nodded and began to stride towards their carriages as their servants ran to meet them, their guards armed and wary. Ressa walked to stand next to Magnolia. She looked at her mistress, and saw unshed tears in Magnolia’s eyes. But Magnolia’s voice was steady and she made no mention of them when she spoke to her [Maid].
“It seems my enemies are far bolder and resourceful t
han I would like, Ressa. I need an army, and not just one fielded by my entourage.”
“What are you intending?”
Magnolia took a breath. She knew what she had to do, but she didn’t like it.
“It’s time to go back to the family estate. My grandfather has an army, and I will have it from him.”
“Didn’t you swear you’d never go back unless you were dragged kicking and screaming?”
“Broken promises. A friend is dead, Ressa. One of my people, one of my allies. I’ll have an army, if I have to beat that old man to death myself.”
“Well then, I shall begin sending [Messages].”
Magnolia nodded. She felt tired, distracted, and worried. She stared back towards the ballroom, and felt a tightness in her chest. She never knew what to say to children. She should have said something. But nothing had helped when her mother had died. Magnolia turned away and stared out into the fading sunset.
“I fear it’s going to be a very busy spring, Ressa.”
The maid just nodded in reply.
4.07
She lived in Liscor, at least for the moment. It was a home away from home, of sorts. But in truth, her real home lay far away. Someday she wanted to go back to it, but for now she did her best. That was what she did. Her best.
It was a curious thing, but despite her presence in the city for a relatively short amount of time, many people knew her name. Of course, not all of those people liked her. But she was noted. She stood out, even among her prolific species.
She was unique. And famous, in her own small way. There were people across the continent who’d heard of her, or heard of things she’d done. Important people knew her name.
It was not that way for the world. Few cared about her, having their own struggles and battles to worry over. The news of the King of Destruction’s return eclipsed anything she might do now or in the immediate future.
And yet, one of the most powerful males in the world knew of her. He desperately wanted to meet her, though he’d never laid eyes on her before.
Because she could create wonders. If the people of this world believed in miracles, they would have called them that. But these were natural things to her. The incredible things she could do weren’t mere acts of magic, but something deeper.
She had only one real class. Only a few people knew her true nature. To the rest, she was part magic, part enigma. But she changed Izril, changed Liscor, changed people by her very presence.
Her class was [Thaumaturge]. She worked wonders. Her name was Xrn.
And she was sitting in a small dirt room in the Hive of the Free Antinium underneath Liscor. And she was not happy.
“It’s not that I’m angry, Klbkchhezeim. I’m just disappointed.”
She was talking to another Antinium, a slimmer version of the Workers who filled the Hive, and one with only two arms. Klbkch sat hunched over in his chair, avoiding looking at Xrn.
That was difficult for anyone not used to her. Xrn stood out from every other Antinium in Liscor’s Hive, possibly the world. Her carapace was azure, not brownish-black. And her eyes shone and swirled with countless colors, a magical storm whirling behind her faceted eyes.
The colors were tinged green and orange and pink now, the colors that reflected her irritation. The Prognugator of the Grand Queen of the Antinium, known by her enemies as the Small Queen, Xrn, stared pointedly at Klbkch, but he didn’t respond. She made a sound that sounded like a sigh crossed with a click.
“I understand you have your duties. It cannot be easy to manage a Hive while attempting to combat numerous threats from this dungeon, and maintain your position as this—what did you call it?—[Guardsman] in the city. Attending to the group sent by the other Hives must weigh heavily upon your time.”
No response. Xrn looked pointedly at Klbkch. The colors in her eyes deepened, growing darker. Klbkch knew that was a bad sign. She wasn’t just irritated.
“And yet, I note you apparently had quite a lot of time to spend eating and entertaining yourself at an inn. So much time in fact, that you were able to create your own presents and receive two yourself.”
Klbkch hunched his shoulders. His voice, when he spoke at last, was defensive.
“It was Christmas.”
“A Human tradition.”
“It was an important social event that fostered—”
“Klbkch. I am not questioning your use of time. I am simply asking why you haven’t included talking to me as part of your activities.”
An unpleasant silence followed her words. The Antinium didn’t usually beat around the bush, so after a moment Klbkch looked up and nodded slowly.
“We’re talking now. I had wished to delay our conversation, Xrn, because I anticipate the outcome and believe it will not be favorable.”
“Oh?”
Xrn shifted slightly. She had only two arms, like Klbkch, and she had been folding them in a fashion she’d picked up from Humans. Now she uncrossed her arms.
“What is your fear?”
Klbkch exhaled inaudibly. He stared at his old…friend? Was that the word for her? Perhaps. She was more than that, and yet not a friend. A sister, perhaps. But that was inadequate.
They were Centenium, he and she. He had been known as Klbkch the Slayer during the Antinium Wars, but his origin lay far before that time. Back then, he and Xrn had known each other. Fought together. But after all this time, he wasn’t sure he knew her anymore.
So Klbkch chose his words carefully.
“My conclusion upon learning you had arrived to personally oversee the achievements of Liscor’s Hive was that you were here to order me to return to the Grand Queen.”
If Xrn had eyebrows she would have raised them. Since she did not, her mandibles twitched, and a yellow element appeared in the miasma of lights in her eyes.
“An interesting thought. Why would you believe that?”
“The Grand Queen’s desire to have me act as her Prognugator is not unknown to me, Xrn.”
“And you believe I was sent for that purpose alone?”
He shook his head.
“Of course not. But she would not have sent you unless she had ulterior motives. I know her beliefs regarding my Queen’s work with Individuals.”
“She is not alone in that regard. But your work has achieved much.”
Klbkch nodded. Modesty was also a foreign concept to the Antinium.
“A start. It is something the Antinium have never created, these…Individuals. I trusted you would know their worth. But that does not detract from my point. Did the Grand Queen not send you with instructions regarding me, Xrn?”
Instead of answering his question, Xrn stared at one of the walls. There was nothing to stare at but dirt, yet that in itself was telling. Klbkch had visited the other Hives. He knew some were built of stone, others fortified, the walls hardened. The other Hives were grander, larger, and the Queens had their own elite soldiers, and had modified their Workers and Soldiers accordingly. Yet this Hive was where the hope of the Antinium lay, Klbkch was sure.
“Do you know what I have been doing these last two decades, Klbkch?”
He shook his head.
“I assume acting as an aide and advisor to the Grand Queen.”
“That is my duty, yes. Go on.”
“Fighting? Defensive duty? Negotiating with other Queens and Prognugators?”
Xrn sighed.
“You are unoriginal.”
“I prefer not to guess. Speculative statements are a time-consuming endeavor that I attempt to refrain from partaking in. You remind me of my partner in that regard.”
“The Drakes have some things to teach us.”
Klbkch nodded.
“Yes. They are quite adept at wasting time.”
“True.”
Xrn fell silent again. She raised her hand, and Klbkch saw her perform a trick she’d often do when she was thinking. As Xrn stared at her hand, miniscule spires of ice appeared, freezing over parts of her carapace
. Fire chased ice and the resultant water and steam swirled—not upwards, but around her hand and down her arm, gathering, turning into lightning which crackled and struck stone fragments which melted and gathered, turning into magma—
Klbkch looked away. He stared at Xrn. She truly hadn’t changed. Just as before, he couldn’t read her expression. Xrn tapped her fingers onto Klbkch’s simple wooden desk and the whirling elements spilled onto it, burning and freezing the sturdy wood. Klbkch watched calmly. A new desk would not be an issue. The Hive’s funds would allow him to buy a thousand desks in a moment if he needed to.
“I have been busy, Klbkch. Not always with tedious work. It has been a while, but I trust you recall the first war against the Crelers?”
Klbkch nodded. He clenched one hand unconsciously.
“I recall.”
“A truly costly series of encounters. Well, in the time since I have participated in several offensives. At one point we were forced to aid the Armored Antinium in combat against Giant Moles. I trust you are familiar with them?”
They were worse than Crelers, in some ways. Klbkch’s mind flashed back to the sight of a huge creature, seventeen times the size of the largest Soldier, tearing its way through a tunnel, devouring Workers and chewing through Soldiers in a single bite—
“I have encountered them. And I am familiar with the battles of which you spoke. My Queen debated sending a force to assist in the fighting.”
“There was no need. But such encounters certainly detracted from our war strength. If we had chanced upon them or unearthed the Caverns of Consumption during the last war, things would have gone far worse for us.”
“I am not familiar with the Caverns of Consumption, although I recall hearing a report on the subject. What manner of danger was this?”
“Parasites. They infected over forty percent of the Silent Antinium’s Hive before we could eradicate them.”
Klbkch nodded slowly. He didn’t shudder, but he felt as though something was crawling underneath his carapace at the thought.
“A terrible setback.”
“So it goes.”
Xrn shrugged again as if the termination of nearly a half of a Hive’s Workers and Soldiers was of no concern. She looked pointedly at Klbkch.