by Unknown
“Then we’ll have to do so. I want one-sixth of the hive to deal with the wasps,” the queen said, coming to a snap decision. “They’ll set it on fire, make sure it stays on fire, and kill any wasps that try to flee. Especially their queen.”
“It shall be done, Your Majesty,” the attendant said, bowing and heading for the exit.
With her gone, the queen turned her attention back to the large flower pot and her watering can, debating on whether she should add a little more water or not. The bits of information she’d gotten on gardening were maddening with how little there was on cultivating trees. Yet she was so hopeful that she could grow the tree in question, since its nectar had made the most delightful honey.
“I think a little more water,” the queen decided at last, picking up the can to carefully water the soil and the seed within.
If she didn’t succeed, she could always try again. It was the only way for her to learn how things were done.
Chapter 22
A horn sounded from Clarion as they crested the hill, and Joy blinked, since the sound was a little different than most of the horns she’d heard before. There was something clearer about the sound, and she couldn’t help a frown, wondering why it sounded different. It didn’t help that there was far too good of a chance of the question not being answered, either. The only thing to do was ask before she forgot, and at almost the same time she opened her mouth, someone in the front of the caravan began to blow their horn in a particular pattern.
“What’re they doing? And why does the city’s horn sound different?” Joy asked, shaking her head.
“The city is challenging us, to make sure we’re friendly. The response pattern is telling them who we are,” James replied, looking up at the city ahead of them in admiration. “As for their horn, I’m pretty sure that’s a trumpet.”
“That’s made out of metal, Joy, unlike the ones made from animal horns,” Cora clarified a moment later. “At least, I think it is.”
“Oh! That’s good, then!” Joy replied, nodding quickly.
Clarion was ahead of them, and Joy was surprised by the sight. Irador had been amazing enough to her, as it was built in a relatively flat area, but this area wasn’t flat, and Clarion had been built into a mountainside, one of only a handful of mountains in the area.
The city had been carved into the lower reaches of the mountainside, with odd terraces forming what almost looked like stairs leading up to the city walls below it. It was hard for Joy to tell for certain, but it looked like many of the terraces were flooded with water, confusing her, especially since there were people wading through them as well.
Within the walls, each of them tall and thick-looking, the city was filled with stone buildings and a castle built into the mountain itself, which Joy thought was both fascinating and a little impractical.
“Why is the castle built into the mountain?” Joy asked, looking at Brianna, who let out a soft sigh and smiled at Joy.
“Because the walls won’t stop anyone who can fly, Joy. Most monsters can’t fly, and the same is the case for the majority of enemies from the Kingdoms of Darkness, but enough can that it makes defending cities more difficult than you might think,” Brianna said, gesturing at the city. “Clarion is a fortress, but if an army with enough flying soldiers attacked, they’d probably go from being able to hold out for months to a handful of weeks or less.”
“Which is why cities tend to have a lot of weapons intended to deal with flying enemies,” Cora added, giving Joy a stern look. “It’s why I didn’t want you flying around Irador. You could be killed far too easily if someone got nervous.”
“Oh,” Joy said, blushing, then nodded toward the odd terraces. “What’re those? They look like weird stairs!”
“Rice paddies,” Eda said succinctly, a smile flickering across her face. “Rice was imported from one of the other continents, and in areas like this it seems to grow well. The only problem is that it needs lots of water.”
“Wait, that’s what a rice field looks like?” Stella asked incredulously, looking at the fields in surprise. “I… it grows underwater?”
“Don’t ask me!” Cora said, raising her hands as several people looked at her. “I barely know as much as Eda where rice is concerned.”
“And I don’t know much more than what I’ve said,” Eda added, flushing slightly. “It takes a fair amount of water, and I know that it grows even when submerged, at least some types of it do, but that’s it.”
“I can add a little to that, though,” James volunteered, smiling broadly. “Clarion chose to import it and learn how to grow it because it can be grown practically anywhere, as long as you have the water. This entire region is so bad for crops that they hoped it’d give them some local food aside from sheep and goats.”
“You know a lot about this!” Joy said, grinning at him, and James coughed, looking away in embarrassment.
“I wouldn’t say a lot. It’s more that my family talks about how to make our holdings more profitable. Clarion is an example of something we could do, but we’re waiting to see if there’s any problems that crop up before we decide to try it ourselves,” James explained, shrugging as he looked at the terraces ahead of them, then added, “Personally, I think it looks like it’s going well. The problem is with soil fertility, I suppose, and whether it’ll last. I just don’t know enough about it… and it isn’t really my specialty. My sister is the one into agriculture.”
“For someone who doesn’t know much about it, you sure seem to have picked a lot up,” Brianna said, the teasing note to her voice causing him to flush even more.
“It’s called self-defense. If I just pretended to be paying attention, she would’ve been pissed enough to beat me up,” James replied, looking uncomfortable enough that it made Joy smile more. “I’m not the youngest, but that saddled me with even more responsibilities. Do you think all nobles have it easy? Only one child inherits, by and large!”
“A definite point,” Brianna conceded. “I’m lucky that there really isn’t much chance of something like that coming up in my family. Sure, one of my siblings might get knighted and granted the lands after my parents die, but it almost certainly isn’t going to be me.”
“You don’t want the responsibility, for one thing,” Cora chimed in.
“Says the lady who doesn’t have to worry about any of it,” Brianna shot back. “You’re not even a citizen of Astonia!”
Joy just listened as the others bantered, a smile growing on her face as she learned even more about her friends without them even seeming to intend for it to happen.
As they spoke, the caravan moved steadily toward the city. It would require going up a couple of switchbacks, Joy saw as they got still closer. When she looked at the rice paddies, that made a lot of sense, though. There was a lot of distance to climb, and the wagons held a lot of stuff.
The conversation petered out as they started up the hillside, each of her friends running out of breath in turn, and Joy glanced at the sky as a strange creature flew overhead, one with the wings, claws, and head of an eagle, and the rear body of a lion. It seemed to have a rider, which intrigued her, but she didn’t say anything more, not wanting to force her friends to talk under the circumstances. The creature flew past them and over the city, something which surprised her, after what the others had said about it being dangerous to fly in a city.
“Was that… a griffin?” Cora huffed, and Helen nodded.
“Yeah. It was,” the human replied, glancing up curiously, then focused on the road. “Probably a patrolling knight or something.”
Joy mouthed the word to herself and smiled. The odd creatures that were a combination of multiple other animals amused her for some reason. She wasn’t entirely certain why, though, and she began to hum a bright tune as she bounced her way up the hillside. It was a little tiring, but that didn’t bother her at all.
Ascending the hillside, Joy also got the chance to examine the terraced fields more closely, and what she sa
w fascinated her. Like James had said, there were plants growing under the water’s surface, the tips just barely breaking the surface at this point, creating a pretty sheen of green across the water’s surface. The water itself wasn’t very deep, and a canal ran alongside the road for part of the trip, burbling and with multiple sluice gates to allow it to be redirected. The entire setup was incredible to her, and it made Joy admire the people who could come up with things like that even more. Apis built things, but most of the things they made were so simple in comparison. It was another thing she was going to have to think about if she was going to become a queen.
“I don’t like it,” Joy murmured, a hint of sadness rushing through her at the thought of not being able to travel anymore.
“What was that?” Stella asked shortly, glancing over at Joy curiously.
“Not anything important! I just was thinking, I’ll miss traveling like this once I’m a queen,” Joy replied with a broad smile at Stella. “There are so many neat things to see, and so many things to learn!”
“Ah! Fair, fair,” Stella replied, smiling at her warmly, then let out a sigh of relief as they crested the last of the terraces. “Oh, thank the Mother for flat ground! That would be horrid to try to climb while under attack.”
“Which is probably why they built the city here,” Brianna said, slowing down to take a few deep breaths before continuing. “It’s in a strategic location and easy to defend.”
“But we’re here! Now we just have to wait until we’re in the city, and we can go find the dwarves!” Cora said cheerfully, looking far better than she had climbing the hill. “I can hardly wait!”
“You’re going to have to! The caravan’s stopping,” Joy said, giggling as she pointed at the lead wagons, which were creaking to a halt.
“True, but that’ll change soon enough,” Cora said, still looking happier, now.
Joy just nodded, slowing along with the others, and she fluttered her wings several times, looking up at the city walls in interest.
They were really big.
“It’s good to see you again, Guildmaster. And the supplies you brought with you are quite welcome as well,” Sir Wilbert said, offering a hand to Silverhoof, who chuckled as he took the hand and shook it firmly.
“The supplies are hardly that extensive, and it isn’t like we brought that many people with us. I swear, half of the adventurers in Irador suddenly remembered ‘urgent business elsewhere’ as soon as word about the invasion began spreading,” Silverhoof said, shaking his head in remembered irritation. “I wish they’d think about the future for once.”
“Even the number you’ve brought will help immensely, let alone coming yourself,” Wilbert said, gesturing Silverhoof over to the couch and table in the middle of the room. There was a broad cushion on the floor as well, which made Silverhoof much happier. Many places didn’t have comfortable furniture for centaurs, so he appreciated those who took the effort to be more welcoming. On the table were a couple of bottles of alcohol and several glasses, which didn’t bode well to him.
“I see few other choices if we’re to keep the beast from being freed. I don’t know that many people in the country who are powerful enough to defeat Alethus in single combat, and while I can’t guarantee my chances against him, with a little help I can probably do the job,” Silverhoof replied, settling onto the cushion carefully. “How are things looking up here? I know there was discussion about guarding the last piece of the seal, or even bringing it here to safeguard it while we brought in reinforcements.”
“Yes, well… reinforcements are going to take longer to get here than we hoped, and Damiel told me in no uncertain terms that we don’t dare move the last piece,” Wilbert said, his smile fading as he sat on the couch, lines of worry appearing on his face. “We can’t be certain that Alethus is responsible, but the road linking us to the main border fortresses was severed two days ago. A huge landside took them out, and I’m guessing that it’s his doing. Any reinforcements are going to have to circle the Agate Range, which is going to slow them down immensely.”
“Damn. That does change things…” Silverhoof said, tugging on his beard thoughtfully for a moment as his thoughts raced, then focused on Wilbert as he continued. “Why does this… Damiel object to moving the seal fragment? He’s the Tarngard researcher, yes?”
“According to him, the two pieces that have been removed have caused the spell sealing the spider to begin fraying, though the damage isn’t catastrophic as of yet, primarily due to the one piece still being maintained,” Wilbert explained, leaning forward as he met Silverhoof’s gaze. “If we remove the last one, the spell will fray still further, and if it’s removed for even a few weeks before all of the pieces are replaced, the spider could break free within a year or two on its own. The only option to prevent it would be to reseal the monster, and we don’t have the resources to do so easily. Besides, asking anyone to make that sacrifice… it just isn’t reasonable.”
Silverhoof winced at the explanation, shaking his head in dismay. Not being able to move the seal fragment would make defending it even more difficult, and with the road taken out of commission… he quickly ran the numbers internally, and his frown deepened. It would likely take a week and a half for the nearest other reinforcements to reach them, and that could be disastrous. Besides which, there was no way the duke would agree to moving the seal fragment if it would simply ensure freeing the monster that their attackers were trying to release.
While he was thinking, Wilbert poured some whiskey into a glass, then held up the bottle, looking at Silverhoof curiously. The Guildmaster debated for just an instant, then nodded. Usually he didn’t drink when working on business… but this wasn’t a good situation, and it wasn’t like he was going to let himself get drunk.
“That’s going to make this difficult. Are all of the knights here?” Silverhoof said, taking the glass once Wilbert finished pouring. Wilbert chuckled darkly, shaking his head while corking the bottle again. Silverhoof took a sip of the whiskey, pleasantly surprised by the flavor.
“I wish. We’ve got half of them here, but the other five hundred are parceled out to other towns and cities in the region. Our opponent is hitting just enough outlying towns along his route that we can’t afford to fully draw down defenses. Sure, they’ve been driven off in most cases, but that’s entirely due to the garrisons in place,” Wilbert said, grimacing and sitting back again, letting out a heavy sigh. “No, he’s deliberately making certain we can’t concentrate our army to face him, and it’s galling. Unless we give up on the smaller towns, there’s nothing to do, and trying to evacuate the civilians would be a complete disaster. He’d burn down the towns, attack the refugees, or both.”
The whiskey didn’t taste nearly as good by the time Wilbert was done, and Silverhoof debated, tapping his flank as he tried to come up with a strategy or solution… but there was a sinking feeling in his gut. One he really didn’t want to think about.
“He’s going to try to pull us into a field battle, isn’t he?” Silverhoof asked, hoping he wasn’t right.
“That’s my best guess,” Wilbert agreed grimly. “The artifact and the vale are well away from Clarion, which means it’s going to be a nightmare to defend either, and every report indicates he’s going to have at least a two to one number advantage over us. I’m afraid they might have a level advantage, too, and that doesn’t bode well. I don’t see a good way to come out of this on top… not unless we can assassinate Alethus or something.”
One possibility finally came to mind, and Silverhoof grimaced, not entirely happy with the idea of making the suggestion, but it had to be said.
“I doubt any assassination would be successful, however… I do have a thought, though I don’t know how feasible it is,” Silverhoof said slowly, frowning.
“Oh?” Wilbert asked, his eyebrows rising.
“Has anyone in the area met the apis in the Shimmerwood? Talked to them, I mean,” Silverhoof asked, and smiled wryly. “If the spider
escapes, I suspect they’ll be in danger, after all.”
“That… is an excellent question. I know they’ve been seen, but as to meeting them… that I don’t know,” Wilbert said, sitting forward again as his mind began to work almost visibly. “With as dangerous as the Shimmerwood is, and how the apis in the Teeming Jungle were able to hold off the army ants for so long, they could make all the difference in the world.”
“Assuming they’re willing to help us at all,” Silverhoof cautioned. “While the Shadebough Hive was willing to assist us and rather friendly, we can’t assume that all of them are going to act the same way.”
“True. Still, I can check and see if anyone has met them, then we can figure out how to approach them,” Wilbert said, setting down his glass and smiling warmly at Silverhoof. “At least this gives me some hope!”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Silverhoof said, and smiled wryly as he added, “And if it looks feasible, at least I have an excellent set of ambassadors with me!”
Their laughter filled the room at that.
Chapter 23
“There’s a lot of smoke around here!” Joy said, waving a hand to try to clear the air in front of her face, and Cora almost laughed. That was a vain effort, even if Joy was trying hard.
Besides, despite what Joy might be saying, the apis was looking around with an eagerness that belied her words.
The road was lined with masonry buildings, most of them storefronts, and there were an enormous number of metalworkers about. Smiths were forging everything from nails and horseshoes to a man working on a breastplate farther down the street, while yet another looked like he was working on barding for a horse. When she thought about what might be coming, though, it made sense to Cora. No knight would want to be dismounted in combat, or to lose their warhorse. Those were quite expensive from everything she’d heard.