by Billy Wong
They fought for a few minutes before Becca ran out of arrows. She tossed away her bow and started to draw her sword, then when it was halfway out, slid it back into the scabbard. "Let's call it a draw for today," she said, looking away. "I want battling you for the first time to be a good memory. But I'm too competitive... if I lose, I won't be able to enjoy it. So we'll settle it another time."
Julianna replaced the spear on her back, more than content with not possibly damaging their somewhat delicate relationship with a clear cut victory either way. "That's fine with me. I didn't know you thought so much of me, though."
Becca gave a light shrug. "I didn't know either for a long time. But I missed you when you were dead. I realized I like having another queen, or princess as you call yourself, who I could aspire to be better than—aside from the magic, that is. I'm glad to have you back."
"Glad to be somebody's inspirational figure."
"It's not quite like that! You're more like my rival."
"If you want to call it that, sure. Do you have a room you can lend us, rival, or should we stay at an inn while you look into that nickname?"
"I have guest rooms available. Come inside and take your pi-"
She turned as a soldier ran into the courtyard, falling to his hands and knees as blood oozed down his broad face. "My queen," he gasped, "there are monsters attacking the town!"
Becca wiped sweat from her brow. "From one fight to another, huh? Which direction are they coming from?"
"East, south, west... almost every direction!"
"Shit, that doesn't sound good. All right, I'll go help your comrades fight them." She looked at Julianna and Keith. "You coming?"
"Of course," Keith said. "We'd embarrass ourselves if we hid back here."
Another problem, though? As if they didn't have enough distractions from trying to save the continent with that faction having it in for her. They followed the queen outside, Becca calling for help for the injured soldier and grabbing a fresh quiver of arrows along the way. Exiting the fortress, they heard screams coming from multiple parts of the town which surrounded it. "Let's split up," Becca suggested. "I'll go west, you choose for yourselves."
"South?" Keith said.
Julianna nodded. "Then I'll go east." They separated, sprinting through the streets towards the noise. As she neared the eastern edge of town she saw a massive brown naga dozens of feet long emerge from between houses, people fleeing before it. A number of arrows protruded from its hide, but to no evident effect. She dashed in front of it with spear in hand and they engaged in a standoff, it feinting bites at her and her jabbing to keep it back. Any second now it would commit to a strike, but she expected to prove the faster. Then she heard a swishing sound behind her, and glanced back to see another serpent slither into view around a building. This might be a bit more of a challenge. The first naga snapped at her. She leapt over its head and kicked down at it, propelling herself farther up. The second beast flung itself skyward after her. She thrust while its maw opened, mistimed it just slightly and drove the spearhead into its upper lip. It thrashed hissing in agony, swinging her around by the weapon until it was dislodged and she went flying. The first naga sprang and caught her in midair between its jaws, enormous fangs piercing her armor into her. These things were both bigger and quicker than the ones she'd seen on the road, with surprisingly good teamwork...
Though she didn't bleed, it still hurt as her form was disrupted. With her in its mouth, its head crashed through a stone wall with a stunning impact. She rolled free and came to a knee inside what looked to be a bakery with shelves full of bread while both nagas' heads hovered before the hole one had made in its side. They headbutted the wall a few times each to widen the opening and shot in together, alternating bites at her. She stood her ground blocking and dodging at first, but they adjusted their timing to make it tougher on her and she was forced to jump back again and again. She bumped up against the opposite wall and froze. The first naga launched itself at her. At the last moment she hopped aside, so that it missed and smashed its cranium through the stone. She burst forward, thrusting at its partner in an effort to strike a decisive blow before the first serpent recovered. It evaded her initial jabs with deft head movement before she tried swinging the spear sideways, missing and exposing her back to it with her spin. It lunged—taking the bait. Julianna stabbed back and up behind her, driving her spear tip through the roof of its mouth. She pulled it out and the creature sank down, dead.
The first naga recovered and pulled its head into the store to face her again, snarling at the loss of its companion. "Don't worry, you'll join your friend soon enough." It reared back, then spat a glob of dark liquid at her. She shielded her face with an arm as the venom splashed sizzling over her. The serpent watched, perhaps waiting for her to die, but due to her unique composition, it had no effect beyond a tingling sensation where it touched her hand. "Your move," she said, preparing to counter. Unexpectedly, instead of going on the offense it turned and slid outside through the hole. Huh?
She stepped out after it to see it retreating away from town. Not knowing if it would return to attack again, she considered going after and killing it. As she started towards it, a low voice said, "There is no need. It will not trouble this place again."
Julianna looked. A cloaked and hooded man stood in the street leaning on a wooden staff, strands of gray hair blowing around his pale visage. Though she might be one of the last people who should be intimidated, she felt a tinge of unease. There was something about him that didn't seem right, like maybe the structure of his facial bones was slightly too pronounced through his cheeks. "Who are you? Can you communicate with them somehow?"
"Yes. The nagas thought someone here killed their kin, and came for revenge. But I told them of the hunters truly responsible, so now they seek the proper targets of their wrath."
"Then the hunters will..."
"Will what, die? What you call monsters are thinking beings too, who deserve to know the truth of their loved one's demise. Besides, it is not assured the hunters will perish. If they are prepared and savvy enough, they might yet emerge victorious."
"But I could stop the nagas," she said spreading her hands in exasperation, "or at least that one. Why keep me from fighting it?"
His tone remained eerily calm. "Did I keep you from doing anything? You are the one who chose to stand and talk, when you could have pursued."
She supposed that was true. But she had been so surprised and taken off guard by his appearance, her attention shifted to him in the absence of an immediate threat. She could still go after the naga now, but it had disappeared from sight and she might have difficulty finding it, in addition to perhaps not being able to handle a group of its relatives without using magic. "I'll meet with my allies and decide what to do then," she told the mysterious man before walking away from him. A few steps later, she realized she had been too rattled to even ask his name and looked back. But he was gone, vanished as if he'd never been there.
Julianna headed for the fortress only for Keith and Becca to meet her a short distance from the bakery. They looked a good deal cleaner than she did, covered in dust from broken masonry, venom and naga blood as she was. "Whew, you're okay," Keith said. "I was getting a bit worried you'd been defeated."
She did her best to summon up her usual bravado. "Me get defeated before you? Ha, that's a laugh." But because of the uneasiness that odd encounter put in her, it came out sounding flat.
"Is something wrong? You seem off."
"How did your battles with the nagas go, assuming nagas were what attacked the other sides of town too?"
"They were," Becca said. "As far as a battle goes, I'd barely started one before some strange man called them off."
"You saw him too, then... What about you, Keith?"
He nodded. "After meeting Becca, he came with her to find me. I had gotten a few swings in, but was still interrupted before making real progress."
"So I guess I'm the only one who
managed to kill one before he got there. Still didn't get to finish the fight"—she raised an eyebrow—"but if the weird stranger arrived with Becca, why are the two of you late following after him?"
"We were aiding a couple of villagers pinned by debris. He didn't care about that in favor of stopping the monsters, so he went on without us."
She bit her lip. "Stopping the monsters, or saving them? I didn't have too much trouble against the two I faced—well, I had a little bit, but I was winning. When he halted the fight, it gave the one still alive a chance to escape. What about you guys, what happened to your nagas?"
"I thought to help you two," Becca said, "so I let mine get away."
"Same, basically," Keith added. "Had to help the villagers, so we figured we could track them down later if need be."
Julianna asked the queen, "What about your soldiers? Did they not want to do anything?"
"They probably just thought to follow our lead and let them go when we did, especially since they struggled to contain them before."
She remembered the arrows stuck in the first naga, which seemed to have affected it little. Average warriors couldn't be blamed too much for being reluctant to challenge such an enemy. "A man who can speak with monsters... you ever hear of something like that?"
"No, not at all." Becca wore a rare anxious expression. "Did he seem... I don't know, unnerving to you? Even moreso than his unfamiliar ability would account for."
"He did," Julianna replied, and Keith nodded.
"A lot of things are happening these days for sure. Let's hope not too many of them turn out badly for us."
"Did he mention to either of you that the nagas would be going after some hunters next?"
"No," Keith said, and Becca shook her head. "He mentioned that to you? Must be because you were the last one that he felt there was time to chat."
"Yeah, he said hunters slew their kin and were thus the proper targets for their revenge. If you want, Becca, maybe we could hunt them down later or you send some of your men with better preparation after them. Though I wonder if obstructing their vengeance would offend that man."
"It's not like we owe him anything. We didn't ask for him to butt in."
"True; still, his powers are something we should be wary of."
"You're right," Becca agreed, "but I wouldn't live up to my responsibilities as queen if I knowingly let my subjects get slaughtered."
Julianna nodded. "Indeed. If the friend of monsters does take offense to us, we'll just have to deal with it."
Becca rounded up some of her men and they returned to the fortress, where they retrieved three ballistae from storage. They set out after the nagas, and though it took a few hours eventually found the spot where the five beasts had reunited. They followed the trail from there, and late in the day caught up with their quarry. Just in time too, as the nagas flowed as a group towards a hunters' lodge. Atop the rise from which they spotted the creatures, Becca said, "Release arrows!" She and the soldiers showered them with shafts from handheld bows, which didn't appear to do serious damage but annoyed them enough to turn and rush uphill. "Ballistae take aim!" The serpents approached. "Shoot!"
Not appearing to realize what the ballistae were, the nagas took their bolts head on. Two dropped with gaping holes punched through them, while a third lucked out enough to only be grazed and have a gash ripped along its neck. The surviving monsters neared, and Julianna and Keith ran to intercept them. The couple briefly struggled to hold them back three on two, then Becca joined them with sword in hand. "You finally use a blade," Keith remarked.
"Arrows aren't proving very effective, so I have to adapt. When I say move, throw yourself to the ground or dive aside."
They fought defensively for a bit while the soldiers reloaded their ballistae. "Ready!" a man said.
Becca kicked the naga she faced in the nose, pushing its head back. "Move!" she cried, and threw herself down. Julianna and Keith jumped in opposite directions as the ballistae loosed again. Two nagas went down, the last missed by the bolt aimed at it. But with Becca, Julianna and Keith triple teaming it, it didn't last long after.
"That was simple enough," Julianna said. "I'm surprised you resorted to such weapons instead of doing it the hard and manly way."
"I had enough excitement before. Might as well go for efficiency for a change."
They went to the lodge and informed the inhabitants what had happened. The hunters thanked them for saving them and also for the nagas' bodies from which usable materials could be gathered, then they turned back for the city. "Do you think this monster attack had to do with the faction that sent Eve?" Keith mused on the way.
Julianna replied, "It's doubtful, but we can't be sure. Let's just wait and see what the investigation turns up."
Over the next days, Julianna and Keith stayed in Becca's home while her men looked into the origin of the Magic Empress moniker. But it proved impossible to pinpoint, nobody able to identify an organization that might have created it as it seemed more like local slang. Maybe it had come first, born out of casual conversation, and Eve's group adopted its use later. Julianna grew impatient with doing nothing, and soon decided to leave. "We should go," she told Becca after packing their things, "waiting around here isn't helping anyone. Contact us if you learn anything about an anti-magic faction or similar, and thanks for what you've done already."
"No problem, it was fun." The young queen grinned. "Next time we meet, I'll defeat you."
Julianna returned her smile. "Sure... if the continent doesn't fall before we can have a rematch."
"I'll trust you with that, old lady."
"If you call my woman that one more time..." Keith growled, then let out a chuckle. "Take care of yourself, kid."
With no immediate ideas on what to do regarding the magical decline, they headed north for Myrrhise, where hopefully their own advisors would be able to help them figure out the next step.
Chapter 6
It took them the better part of a month, but they eventually arrived at Myrrhise where the populace welcomed them back with joy. News had clearly spread of Julianna's resurrection, but it wasn't a problem at this point. By now King Rudolph had caved thanks in part to Duke Malin's nudging, and Severil and Plasbias acknowledged Aerilea's leadership once more. Only Ostuh still held out, with the council deadlocked on whether they wanted to subject themselves to restrictions from outsiders again. Overall, they had achieved most of what they sought to, and things in Ostuh might work out in their favor yet. They returned to the palace, where their son grinned widely upon seeing them.
"Mom, Dad!" Julian beamed, standing up from the throne. "I'm so happy you made it safely back."
Julianna hugged him, but said, "No need to act so excited. You're a monarch now, might want to show some more poise in front of the guards. Besides, of course we'd make it back."
"Monarch? But aren't you going to take back the position?"
She wasn't sure herself, having mulled it over repeatedly without coming to a clear conclusion. "I did die, and you rightfully succeeded me. While I'm back now, a rather unprecedented situation, that doesn't necessarily mean you have to give up your seat. You haven't been doing a bad job in charge, maybe I should just sit back and advise you."
"You should take into account the other side of that argument," Keith reminded her.
"I know. Aerilea would be seen as stronger if I officially took the reins again, or at least have a stronger face. No insult meant towards you, Julian. But other leaders will probably treat me with more respect especially for the time being. Still, being ruler again would also restrict my ability to move around, or at least make it harder to find an excuse for it."
"That reminds me, did you solve the issue with the decreasing magic energy you wrote me about?"
"No, and that's one of my concerns. I may want to leave again in search of a solution, and sitting the throne could make that inconvenient."
Julian furrowed his brow in worry. "So the continent is still in
danger of falling... I'd prayed that was no longer the case. It's very scary."
She couldn't disagree with that. "By the way, what is the status of the outer islands? We'd heard rumors, but I figure you should have more accurate information. How is Kureau doing, particularly?"
"Kureau's network of islands has held up so far, perhaps because the magic there is stronger than at the isolated isles. They were evacuated anyway though in case they might fall, and the country is having some trouble with all those folks packed together in a smaller area than they're used to. We're sending them food to help, since they farmed on those islands too, but only have so much to spare and can't do much for the space problem."
"And the other nations' isles," Keith asked, "along with our own?"
"Many have broken off, but thankfully because few people live on them or use them for much, it hasn't been too impactful."
"I imagine it's 'impactful' on the world below, though. They must be quite unnerved to have all these great chunks of rock crash down on their land."
"I would try to send somebody up here to check what's going on in their position," Julianna said, "but I guess it must be hard for them to do so considering we never get visitors."
"They might be scared of us too. Floating high above they might envision us as sky gods, or at least frightfully powerful magicians."