Chapter 25: Noah's Legitimacy
A maid climbed the stairs to one of the imperial castle’s towers, breathing heavily by the time she reached the top. As she wandered the space taking note of what needed to be cleaned, she noticed a bat hanging from the ceiling.
“Woah!” She jerked back in fright but quickly recovered. “I’m not used to seeing bats in here…” she muttered to herself. She looked around for a stick or something she could use to scare the bat and force it outside the castle. It was surprisingly big, though. Almost like a monster.
Spotting the very broom she was planning to eventually use anyway, she bent over and reached down for it. Her hand never made it. Sprouting from the floor immediately adjacent to the broom, a tentacle hooked around her wrist and immediately charmed her. Now DM could communicate with her telepathically, although she’d hardly remember anything that happened while she was charmed.
“What is your name?”
“Madeline. People call me Maddie.”
“Maddie, are you a maid employed to work in this castle?”
“Yes.”
DM thought it was an overly-obvious question, but it made sense to start with some easy ones while he verified she was answering his questions properly and was in a healthy state of mind.
“How long have you worked in this castle.”
“Six years.”
“Good. To your knowledge, did Emperor Noah conspire to have the previous Emperor and his son unseated or killed?”
“Not that I’m aware, but I’m just a maid. I can’t say for sure.”
“Who else besides the Emperor would be likely to know?”
Maddie thought for a moment and then rattled off the names and titles of several people. Two of them were current advisors to the Emperor, one of whom currently lived, or at least often spent the night, in the castle himself. DM had Maddie explain the layout of the castle, in detail.
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Several hours after sunset, the Emperor finally dismissed the court so that they could get some sleep before resuming planning for a likely invasion. Several of the Emperor’s advisors adjourned to assigned chambers in the castle, not bothering to journey home. The next few weeks were likely to be tough in that regard.
One man who had been particularly vocal throughout the day’s proceedings closed the heavy wooden door behind him and collapsed onto the bed, not bothering to disrobe or do anything else. The childish behavior belied his advanced age. Given the revelation that a joint army of humans and monsters was likely preparing to attack the capital, nobody in the castle would blame him if they witnessed the display.
The man’s dramatic entry to the bed distracted him from noticing the monster that was already in the room. As a bat watched, a tentacle sprouted from the floor, curving over the end of the bed and grabbing the man’s ankle. His fancy clothing offered no protection from the status effect, and he was too tired to even realize anything was happening.
“How long have you served the throne?” DM jumped right into the questioning.
“Thirty three years, but there were several breaks about twenty years ago because–“
“I’m not concerned about that,” DM interrupted. “How did the previous Emperor die? How did his son die? Was the current Emperor responsible?”
“Emperor Leo’s heart failed him suddenly. His personal healer refused to explain what he learned after investigating the Emperor’s body. His son took the death very poorly and started acting extremely reckless, dying in an accident before he could even be crowned as the next Emperor.”
“Why do you think the healer refused to share what he learned?”
“Most likely, it’s because the Emperor led a sedentary life and ate poorly. The healer may have felt responsible and tried to cover it up or kept quiet simply to protect the Emperor’s dignity. The healer’s silence fed speculation that the death was not merely an accident, but I’m not aware of any evidence to that end. I know of no involvement by Emperor Noah or his cohort in Emperor Leo’s death.”
“What about Leo’s son?”
“He fell from atop a castle tower. A maid insisted he was trying to show off, slipped, and fell. I have no reason to think Emperor Noah was involved in that either. Some say Emperor Noah personally pushed his rival to his death, completing his succession battle.”
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“What is your opinion of the legitimacy of Noah’s reign?”
“I have no reason to doubt his legitimacy.”
“How good of a job is he doing as Emperor?”
“If we judge him solely based on results, then one could argue he’s failed to quell the building rebellion that’s clearly taken root in the central region. I’m not sure if anyone else would have performed any better given the same circumstances.”
“If Noah, say, fell in battle, who would be next in line to become the Emperor?”
“Emperor Noah has no children, and not even a wife or concubine. Other than his father who is estranged from the Empire, I’m not aware of any other Zarak men who could inherit the throne. Unless a female relative was chosen, the dignified thing to do would be to call a meeting of all major nobles from all regions to negotiate a successor.”
DM paused to note he found it a bit strange to have such a long and detailed conversation with someone even though that other person couldn’t see him. He pushed the thought aside so he could finish his interrogation of sorts.
“Who is the ringleader of the central nobles who seem to be fomenting rebellion?”
“Almost certainly Andrei Vosk.”
“How likely is it that Andrei Vosk realizes Noah is not responsible for any prior plots to seize the throne?”
“Quite likely. His information gathering is as good as mine even though I live and work right in the palace.”
“Do you think the other lords conspiring with him also realize that Noah’s rule is most likely legitimate?”
“Maybe. I can’t say, but I wouldn’t put it past Vosk to keep information from even his own closest allies.”
“Does Emperor Noah have close connections to any female blacksmiths?”
“Hm?” Despite being charmed, the man hesitated. He was searching his memory. Charm could compel someone to take action, but it couldn’t actually make them remember things more easily, at least as far as DM could tell.
“You don’t remember?”
“Now that I think about it… Well, I honestly didn’t pay much attention to Noah growing up, but I do recall him being friendly with another girl who… I think was the daughter of an imperial blacksmith? It was an improper relationship that drew some scorn, but most people overlooked it because Noah’s father’s history overshadowed everything else.
“She must not have become an imperial blacksmith herself since I haven’t seen her since. Perhaps she became a blacksmith elsewhere, carrying on her father’s legacy outside the castle. I cannot say for sure.”
“Does the Emperor have reason to doubt his court and his own advisors? Perhaps to seek assistance from outsiders to investigate the central region recently?”
“His Majesty the Emperor would be a fool not to doubt his court, at least a little. Vosk and the others surely will take advantage of any lapse in judgment. It would make sense if he recruited outsiders to investigate, although I have no awareness of it happening.”
“Go to sleep.”
The man was already lying in bed, so he simply closed his eyes and dozed off. DM released the charm status but not infect.
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As the monster army bypassed the city of Baram, Kat’s party continued to pursue them from a good distance back. As the five girls approached the eastern boundary of the city, they noticed the guards were acting surprisingly calm. Unlike the soldiers of the other cities who were at a heightened alert level whenever the monster army was within sight, the Baram defenders simply went about their duties as normal.
“That’s strange…” Vulp was the first to note the difference between the other cities and this one.
“Yeah, they aren’t panicking,” Kat agreed.
As they continued their pursuit, intending to also bypass the city to the east, a squad of guards jogged out of the city to intercept them. While they waited for the guards to approach, Kat whispered orders.
“Don’t reach for your weapons unless they do. Especially you, Lupy.”
“I won’t!”
“They’re probably here to question us,” Kat continued. “Even if they’re not, no summoning any monsters, either. The guards in the city can see us from there.”
The other girls nodded to Kat and waited.
As the guards drew close, they made no attempt to draw weapons or shout threats, so the girls relaxed a bit.
“State your affiliation and intentions!”
It was a strange order. Kat wasn’t sure what to even make of it. She decided to just answer as directly as she could.
“We’re adventurers and have been tracking these monsters ever since the Union’s border. We’ll keep tracking them until we can report back to the Guild what happened to them.”
The guard shook his head. “You can’t proceed south of Baram right now. You’ll need to… Wait, which Guild branch are you affiliated with?”
“The Twin Cities,” Kat answered.
“What? From the Holy State?”
She just nodded.
“Not from the northern region?”
“No?”
“What about you four?” the guard called to the other girls.
“Same,” Vulp answered as the other girls nodded along.
“Fox ears?” a second guard suddenly interjected. “Say, wasn’t the hero of the battle at the Twin Cities a…”
“Oh yeah!” another guard responded, suddenly dropping all pretenses of being a stern professional. “Don’t get many fox-kin here. Didn’t her name repeat the same letter or something? Val… Valorous Vulp, was it?”
The first guard turned back to Vulp. “Do you know Valorous Vulp? Any chance you’re related? She can’t be your mom or older sister or something, could she?”
The other girls smiled wryly while Vulp answered the question. “…I’m Vulp.”
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Sasha’s party approached Baram from the west.
“Everything seems normal so far,” Sasha observed.
“Yes… Let’s try to enter the city for now and keep our ears open. Especially mine.” Ardreth somehow flexed his pointy ears.
They approached the western gate and gestured to get a guard’s attention.
“What do you all want?” the guard lazily called down from atop the wall.
“Um… to enter the city? We’re adventurers traveling around completing quests.”
“Why don’t you come back later?”
“Good Sir,” Ardreth jumped in. “Is there a problem right now here at Baram?”
“Absolutely no problems! Now go somewhere else! Either north or back west!”
Ardreth turned around and stepped over to the two brothers, whispering so only they could hear. “Most likely, the information we seek is available in Baram right now. Perhaps you could suggest they let important travelers like yourselves into the city?”
The brothers looked at each other and nodded. The hunter’s falcon nodded in an attempt to mimic its owner, but nobody paid it any attention.
“Is my uncle, Lord Andrei Vosk, currently in the city?” the older brother asked while holding his spear over his head dramatically for some reason.
“Y–Your uncle?” The guard’s tune was changing quickly. “Please, enter the gate so that we can clear up this misunderstanding immediately.”