Herald of Shalia 5

by Tamryn Tamer

  “Lady Priscilla,” a Myrran raised her hand. “How much does the inn cost?”

  “Oh,” Priscilla shook her head. “Don’t worry about that. Herald Frost and I will work something out.”

  “You heard her!” Renna said excitedly. “Free food and drinks!”

  “I’d be more interested in a free bath,” Ena said while sniffing herself. “I know the rain washed most of it away but I still feel gross.”

  “You do smell a bit foul,” Fayeth teased. “I certainly won’t be sleeping with you until you have a proper bath.”

  “We just killed an ettin!” Renna shouted while trying to rile up the other raiders. “Free drinks! Free drinks! Free drinks!”

  “And then baths!” Ena said as several other melee fighters agreed.

  “I’ll make sure they behave since it seems like you two have business to discuss,” Shael sighed as Renna began marching the group toward the inn.

  “Thank you Shael,” Priscilla said. “I appreciate it.”

  “Thank you for hosting us,” Shael replied while rushing off after the others. “Okay everybody! Be on your best behavior or else you won’t be allowed on the next raid!”

  “Did she say they killed an ettin?” Priscilla gave Frost a confused look. “And what did they mean by raid? There aren’t any other villages up here.”

  “Not that kind of raid.” Frost shook his head as the demihumans funneled out. “There’s an ettin that spawns in a clearing in the mountains east of here. If it’s not killed regularly more of them will spawn and then they’ll invade.”

  “Well that’s good to know. And they killed the ettin?” Priscilla asked while scanning the group. “None of them are very high level. Did you help them?”

  “You should take some time to visit the academy,” Frost said with a smug grin. “You could probably learn something.”

  “I’m running two villages and you already have me reading the manuscripts that Hansel sends me on how to govern a city,” Priscilla scoffed. “I don’t have time for a classroom.”

  “Maybe I can send you a tutor,” Frost joked.

  “I might actually take you up on that. I don’t want to fall too far behind everybody else. Anyway, there are more pressing matters. You arrived at a decent time. I have an issue I’m not entirely sure of how to deal with. I should probably tell you about it in front of the priest though. He’ll complain about how he wasn’t allowed to give the village’s side of things. Even though I know damn well you’re not going to care about the village’s side of things.”

  “Well,” Frost nodded. “I suppose we shouldn’t keep him waiting then.”

  Frost followed Priscilla to the village temple on the other side of the square as the rain continued to pour. The temple was large enough to fit a couple hundred people and was primarily used for things like announcements, trials, or the occasional wedding. The back of the temple consisted of several bedrooms, offices, and a formal dining area for the priest and his family.

  Even through the heavy downpour Frost could hear arguing as they approached the building. While he couldn’t make out exactly what they were saying he recognized a slew of different profanities as well as several unpleasant words that led him to believe they were discussing Priscilla.

  “Having a tough time here?” Frost asked as they arrived at the front door. “Doesn’t sound like they like you much.”

  “The people of Serino didn’t like me much either if you recall,” Priscilla said. “But my mother always said that nothing makes a person complain more than forcing them to do things that are good for them. Although she was talking about limiting father’s drinking at the time.”

  “Still pretty accurate,” Frost nodded.

  “Well,” Priscilla paused and took a deep breath. “I suppose we better get to it then.”

  “I suppose…” Frost was interrupted by Priscilla kicking the door open causing the entire room to go quiet.

  “What did you stupid sister fucking mongrels say about me?” Priscilla shouted as she stepped into the large hall. The knight grabbed the first person she saw by the collar before throwing them into a chair. “What? Nothing to say? But you all sounded so big and strong when I went outside! You think you can call me a whore and get away with it? I am your governor! Do you know what the governor of Blackwater would do if somebody called her a whore? She would hang them from a fucking post by their tongue! I have been kind and merciful so far but that can stop anytime!”

  The villagers backed away while staring at Herald Frost.

  “Don’t look at him for fucking help!” Priscilla shouted as she grabbed a small axe from a man and threw it across the room, leaving it stuck in a pillar. “He’s only stopping by for the night! He’s not going to fucking save you! So, which one of you cowardly slugs said you had something to put in my mouth to shut me up? Huh? Nobody wants to speak up?”

  “It was just talk you ornery cow,” a young child said as his mother shushed him.

  “Ornery cow?” Priscilla smiled wickedly as she approached the young boy.

  “He didn’t mean it, Lady Priscilla,” the boy's mother said, tugging his ear. “Isn’t that right?”

  “Ow!” the boy yelped as his mom tugged.

  “I said isn’t that right?” the mom repeated more sternly.

  “This is not fair!” the boy snapped. “Father’s called her way worse things!”

  “He has not!” the woman said while releasing the boy’s ear. “I swear my husband…”

  “Be quiet,” Priscilla said while glaring at the villagers in the room. “I don’t give a damn. You’re stupid, weak, whiny, and unappreciative. If it were up to me every one of you would be tossed in the river but Herald Frost, your fucking lord for those of you who’ve forgotten, said if you wanted to stay you could stay. He even allowed your priest to stay!”

  “The priest doesn’t matter since we have to answer to you!” a man snapped bitterly before dashing behind another man to hide. “We’re just doing your cursed goddess’s bidding!”

  “It does matter,” Frost said while placing his hand on Priscilla’s shoulder. “You’re all still allowed to worship Riliandra and your priest is proof of that. You answer to Priscilla because she is in charge. This is about maintaining order. As followers of Riliandra I’m sure you all understand the importance of maintaining order. Surely your priest can attest to the importance of maintaining order.”

  The villagers quieted as they pondered his words.

  Riliandra was the official goddess of Rilia for centuries which meant that most of the people born in the country were her followers. They were taught to follow instructions and obey their superiors along with the importance of organization and adhering to processes. Like with any religion, there were outliers and non-practicing followers, but even those people at least understood the importance of maintaining order.

  That same sense of order and organization was why King Asmund’s army operated like clockwork. He could command something from his throne and a few days later construction would start on a defensive structure on the other side of his country.

  “That is all well and good,” the priest said while stepping into the center of the room. “But a local lord is responsible for the well-being of the people. She is not fulfilling her obligations. We are being victimized by monsters and she wants us to do nothing.”

  “Victimized by monsters?” Frost looked to Priscilla for answers. “What do they mean?”

  “Let them explain it to you,” Priscilla said before taking a seat on a nearby wooden chair. She leaned back and crossed her arms while grinning smugly at the priest. “I don’t want to be accused of swaying your opinion.”

  “Fine,” Frost sighed. He turned his attention back to the priest. He was an older man with long grey hair and a matching long beard. He wore a long brown robe and several silver chains with large ornaments on them. On his belt he carried a large club but it was in nearly pristine condition suggesting he’d never actually used it. �
��What’s the situation?”

  “Like we told Lady Priscilla, we can handle this problem ourselves,” the priest grumbled stubbornly. “We’d prefer to just leave you out of it.”

  “And yet here I am,” Frost said. “Now, stop making this difficult.”

  “It’s the harpies,” a woman said from the gallery. “They keep stealing our food and supplies!”

  “Yeah!” a younger man chimed in. “We work all week and they come at night and take the fruits of our labor!”

  “They’re worse than bandits!” another one chimed in. “At least bandits fight you fair and square. These cowardly monsters wait until nobody is around and swoop in and steal the food from our children’s mouths!”

  “Quiet,” the priest said gruffly while glaring at the villagers. Once the villagers quieted themselves, he looked at Frost. He was clearly irritated by the outburst but quickly shook it off. “As they said, we have a harpy issue. The vermin wait until we are asleep and steal everything in sight. They are nothing more than bandits and we intend to take care of them like bandits but Lady Priscilla suggested that we should try to arrange a meeting with the beasts instead.”

  “I see,” Frost said, turning his attention to Priscilla. “Any reason you didn’t just send a message to me about this?”

  “Didn’t know about it until two days ago,” Priscilla answered. “I caught them setting traps and found out then. I had them dismantle the traps and we’ve been arguing since. The other night I set up a little trap of my own to arrange a meeting but as soon as the harpies saw me, they flew off.”

  “She just gave them three baskets of our crops!” a farmer said. “What kind of governor steals food from her people to feed to bandits?”

  “And she’s planning to do it again!” another person said.

  “I said quiet!” the priest shouted while gripping his cudgel. The villagers once again fell in line and the priest tried to regain his composure. “Like they said, she is planning on stealing more of our food just to give to these monsters.”

  “Demihumans,” Frost corrected.

  Many countries classified certain demihumans as monsters so that people could kill them more freely. Harpies, gorgons, lamia, and slimes were all classified as monsters either because people viewed them as dangerous or as annoying. Harpies were in the annoying category.

  “They’re monsters,” the priest argued. “Mindless pests that do nothing but steal!”

  “I have harpies in my village,” Frost said while staring down the old man. “They are demihumans. As for the stealing, they steal because they are foragers. Harpies have wings and talons in place of arms and legs which means that while they can fly, they’re not capable of things that we can do. Even if they decided to hunt small animals, they lack the ability to skin the animal and making a fire is a team effort that can take them hours. That being said, they’re not mindless, which they have proven by evading your attempts to capture them. They tend to be extremely cautious. The ones in my village watched me for two weeks before they approached me.”

  “Treating elves like people is bad enough but you expect us to treat these thieving vermin like people?” an elderly woman snapped as several other villagers grumbled in agreement.

  “You’re being unreasonable,” the priest said. “If this were human bandits, you’d have no issue killing them!”

  “You treat humans worse than demihumans,” a man said in agreement.

  “That’s not a fair thing to say,” a woman said. “He’s treated us fairly well. He could have kicked us all from our homes and he’s still the lord of this land.”

  “She’s right. As the lord he can do as he pleases. It is our responsibility as villagers to follow the decrees of our lord.”

  “Decrees? He has no issue impaling people but we can’t kill monsters?” another one scoffed.

  “This is ridiculous! Why not just put the chains on my children now. It’s clear you just want us to be slaves.”

  “Don’t be so fucking stupid you fucking crybaby,” another man laughed. “He’s building roads and watchtowers. He’s not enslaving anybody.”

  “You can’t know that! He’s the Herald of Shalia and we all know what happened there!”

  “He’s the lord of these lands, and if we want to stay on them, we need to obey him,” a woman said calmly.

  “Herald Frost is in fact the lord of these lands,” the priest said while glaring at the woman. “But as our lord it is his responsibility to protect us. The harpies are still bandits and need to be punished.”

  “They’re thieves,” Frost said. “These harpies never attacked anybody.”

  “Fine,” the priest nodded. “They’re thieves. They still need to be dealt with. We should be permitted to capture them and punish them as thieves.”

  “Hm,” Frost hummed. “Well, what would you get out of punishing them?”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” the priest asked.

  “I mean that there are different types of punishments,” Frost answered. “Lashings, cutting off fingers, branding, breaking legs, cutting out eyes, executions, and plenty more. I imagine you’d do something like that, right? Cut off a talon for stealing?”

  “That seems fair,” the priest said in an approving tone.

  “But what do you get out of that?” Frost asked. “How does it help your village?”

  “It serves as a warning for future thieves,” the priest answered.

  “Maybe,” Frost said while shaking his head. “Or you just make all of the remaining harpies angry and while you’re sleeping they drop torches on your roofs.”

  Several villagers mumbled nervously to each other as Frost walked around the room. It was obvious that they never considered that the harpies would fight back in some way. Although it was unlikely that harpies ever considered fighting back either.

  “We should kill them then,” the priest said firmly. “To make sure they can’t do something like that.”

  “And how are you going to catch them all?” Frost asked while continuing to pace around the room. “And assuming that you do, is stealing going to be punishable with a death sentence in this village?”

  “Can’t do that,” Priscilla said, grinning as she got up from her chair. “If you sentence demihumans to death for stealing then you have to sentence humans to death for stealing. And if stealing is a death sentence then what’s the punishment for assault? Or insulting a noble? Where’s that little boy from earlier? If stealing is death then surely insulting me means I can take a few fingers, right?”

  “Sounds fair,” Frost said, shrugging while looking over the crowd of nervous villagers.

  “Fine, we understand,” the priest said. “But you don’t want us to kill the harpies and you clearly don’t want us to punish them either. Are we just supposed to let them steal from us?”

  “Well,” Frost stopped and turned toward one of the farmers. “You. If that child over there stole some of your crops how would you have him punished?”

  The man fidgeted nervously as he looked toward the priest for help.

  “Speak up,” the priest nodded. “It’s fine.”

  “Well,” the man mumbled. “I’d probably have him do some chores.”

  “Oh,” Frost turned toward the priest and smiled. “That’s an idea!”

  “What?” the priest said while giving him a confused look.

  “Chores,” Frost answered. “Punish them by having them do work around the village.”

  “Herald Frost calls it community service,” Priscilla said. “And it works well. In Serino if I catch somebody throwing garbage in the middle of the road, I make them spend a day picking up garbage off the streets.”

  “So, you want us to make them slaves?” a villager asked in a confused tone.

  “No,” Frost sighed while shaking his head. “I want you to give them a punishment that makes sense for the crime committed and benefits the village. Then, afterward maybe you could find some jobs so they can actually earn some c
rops?”

  “You expect us to share our village with monsters?” the priest asked with disgust in his voice.

  “Demihumans,” Frost corrected in a stern tone. “And I’ll move in a host of gorgons, slimes, werewolves, and fairies into the village if I want. It’s not your village. This village belongs to me and if you don’t like how I run my territory you’re free to leave it.”

  The room waited in silence for the priest to say something but the frustrated old man knew there was nothing he could say about it.

  “Fine,” he answered. “But we still need to catch them!”

  “Yeah,” Frost nodded. “I’ll handle that. Can we lure them here again?”

  “Already have the vegetables gathered,” Priscilla answered. “But shouldn’t you get some rest? You’ve been traveling for days and you’ve probably been up all day.”

  “While hunting in Blackwater I’m sometimes up for forty-eight hours straight,” Frost chuckled. “I’ll be fine. So, let’s get things set up and I’ll follow them to their village.”

  “You could just capture them and make them tell you where it is,” Priscilla suggested.

  “I could,” Frost nodded. “But I don’t think it’s the best way to start a new relationship. I’ll just follow them, introduce myself, and see about negotiating an agreement.”

  “Negotiating,” the priest scoffed contemptuously. “And what happens if negotiations fail?”

  “They won’t,” Frost said confidently. “It’s like I said. I have harpies in my village. I know what makes them tick. Now, let’s get things set up.”

  Frost opened the door to leave the hall and immediately groaned as he looked outside. Harpies loved rain because it made bathing easier for them but they didn’t particularly like flying in the rain. He wondered if they would even come out that evening.

  “Don’t worry,” Priscilla said with a smug grin. “The villagers were looking to set traps tonight because these harpies are most active during stormy weather. It’s strange since I always thought that harpies were afraid of storms. But apparently, it makes it easier for these ones to steal when everybody is hiding indoors. But as a bonus they’re a bit slower so they should be easier to follow.”