It was a cold morning, with gray clouds covering the sky and a few snowflakes falling here and there, signaling that winter had finally arrived in Medelan.
Despite this rather inclement weather however the goblin camp near the city was brimming with frenetic activity. The humanoids were in a hurry to finish packing up their belongings and depart for Brettholz before the upcoming snow storms would make the roads impassable. Meanwhile, a few kilometers away, the Vex were also about to depart, but in their case there was no preparation needed and the drones just stood still, waiting for their Queen to give the order to start moving, something Marcus was very eager to do. Since he couldn’t enter the city without bothering everyone with his aura, he had been forced to stay alone in his camp for three days and he was sick of it by now. Even using his copy drone to visit Treval and interact with other people wasn't really enough, as it just wasn't the same as being there in person —though to be honest, that was an advantage sometimes, as it had allowed him to celebrate the victory in the company of both Yasen and Alya without blushing to death.
Truth be told, he could have probably received a better accommodation if only he asked for it, but he felt reluctant to request anything from Duke Grimdale. The nobleman had proven to be as unhelpful as possible while trying to keep a facade of politeness, an attitude that the Vex Queen personally found infuriating, though for the sake of diplomacy he had kept his thoughts to himself. However, since he didn't trust himself not to call the duke an ungrateful and hypocritical asshole to his face if he spent too much time with him, he had decided to just keep the interaction with the nobleman to a bare minimum. Besides, it wasn't as if he actually needed anything from him. Given the Vex's spectacular adaptability, the drones could easily thrive even when left entirely on their own. For starters they didn't actually need accommodations of any kind, and the matter of feeding them had been solved by volunteering to dispose of the corpses of the orcs that littered the battlefield. Given the number of humanoids that had fallen near Treval, Marcus had more than enough meat to keep his drones going for at least a few weeks, not to mention that his own meals had been much more satisfying than usual as of lately since raw orc meat actually tasted absolutely delicious to him.
However, that was nothing when compared to the Blue Terror's flesh, which was by a large margin the most delicious thing he had eaten since he had arrived in this world.
At first, when his drones had brought the oni's remains to him, Marcus had felt a tad conflicted about whether to eat them or not. After all, Blueskin had been a human in his previous life just like him, and the Vex Queen still felt a bit of reluctance to commit anything that could resemble cannibalism. However, he quickly got over his qualms after considering the possibility of acquiring at least some of Blueskin's abilities for his drones, a prospect that was enough to make his mouth water. So, without further ado, he had taken a piece of the oni's body and had put that into his mouth.
What followed was an almost orgasmic experience.
Marcus's taste buds had almost been overwhelmed as a stream of extremely detailed genetic information flowed into his mind. It was such a pleasant sensation that the Vex Queen had all but lost control of himself, ravenously devouring the rest of the oni's meat without even realizing it, and after he had eaten all of it he felt a deep regret over having ordered his minions to eat that meat themselves. He even felt a bit sad knowing that it was unlikely he’d ever eat oni meat ever again, given the rarity of that orc subspecies.
However, on a more positive note, he had also been delighted to discover that a plethora of Blueskin’s abilities came directly from his genetics and therefore could be used by his drones. Sure, all of the Aura related powers were hidden behind nonsensical DNA strings as usual, but there were still a lot of extremely useful traits that were perfectly readable.
For starters, the oni's shapeshifting and regenerative powers were both the result of a unique cellular structure which allowed the humanoid to control the growth of his own cells. This was an impressive ability indeed, but sadly, as it was also the case with the Zaru's regeneration, the energy cost was prohibitive for any practical application. Still, it wasn't a bad thing to have by any means, and Marcus was hopeful that he would find a way to make use of it sooner or later. Besides some other abilities, while perhaps less flashy, were still equally impressive and perhaps even more useful. Chief among them was the oni's extremely efficient digestive system, which was superior even to that of the rest of his kin. Not only did it all but maximized the host's food cost efficiency, but it could also be controlled more or less at will, either slowing down to a crawl to save energy or turning up to quickly burn through nutrients in exchange for explosive power. Implementing this trait into the future generations of drones was assured to drastically improve the Hive as a whole, and just thinking about it made Marcus feel almost giddy with anticipation. In fact, he was so excited about making new drone models that for once he was, if not looking forward, at least not completely averse to the idea of laying eggs. And given just how humiliating that activity had felt for him in the past, this realization really surprised him.
“I guess people really can get used to everything if given enough time.” He thought while smirking sardonically. “Just a few months ago I thought that laying eggs was one of the most demeaning things in the world, but now it feels pretty normal, sort of like taking a dump. At least when oversized eggs are not involved, of course. That is just pure torture.” He shuddered, as memories of laying the Broodmothers and Destroyers flashed in his mind. “Hopefully though I won't have to do that crap ever again. Now that the oni has been dealt with, we're at peace and there is no need to rush to make new drones. I can finally relax and take things slowly now. Heck, I might even stop by Golam on the way back, and ask him to join me in making new drones. I’m sure that with his expertise, I can really make the most of the info I got from the oni!”
But then a high-pitched, blood-curdling scream echoed in the air, interrupting his thoughts and making him flinch.
“Bloody hell. She's at it again.” He mumbled, recognizing that voice and pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.
He shifted his attention to the eastern part of the Vex camp, where one of the Dreadnaughts was waiting to depart. On its back, locked inside a large steel cage, was Tiny Sneaky, who was currently busy screaming at the top of her lungs. That wasn't really a surprise though, because she had been doing so almost without pause for the past two days, ever since she had woken up after being captured.
Marcus let out a weary sigh. The presence of the ogress was a royal pain in the neck, and he suspected that it was the main reason why his friends had avoided the Vex camp and left him alone for the past days. Not that he could blame them though, as the decision to keep Tiny alive had been his and his alone, so it was only fair that he had to deal with the consequences by himself. All those who knew about it had made it clear from the start that while they respected the Vex Queen's choice they considered it rather foolish. Hoggs in particular had been fuming about it, insisting that the ogress should be killed immediately, lest word of Marcus's mind-controlling ability would get out and ruin his reputation.
The worst part was that the Vex Queen kinda agreed with them, but he still couldn't bring himself to execute Tiny. After having spared her, freed her of Blueskin's control and altered her mind so that she wouldn't be able to hurt others, killing her felt just wrong. Not only was she harmless now, thus removing the main reason to eliminate her, but the Vex Queen also felt a tad guilty after witnessing her anguish. It was clear that having her mind scrambled had left Tiny completely traumatized, and Marcus couldn't help but feel responsible for it.
So, ultimately he was only keeping ogress alive in order to soothe his aching conscience, a rather petty reason for sure. However, after all he had been through, he thought he deserved to indulge in a bit of healthy selfishness. After all, he wasn't hurting anyone else and he could easily take care of Tiny by himself with his own resources, so it was his own business what he did with Tiny. The only argument that could be made was that maybe putting an end to the ogress's suffering right now would have been the more merciful choice, but then again it was still too soon to know for sure whether or not she would recover.
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That said, he did find the constant screaming terribly annoying, and he fervently wished that the ogress was catatonic instead, because that noise was starting to really get on his nerves.
“I guess I'll feed her.” He thought with a resigned sigh. “That at least usually shuts her up for a bit.”
Since visiting the ogress in person made her even more upset, probably due to Marcus’s aura, he instead ordered one of his Workers to bring Tiny her meal. Scuttling through the camp, the drone quickly recovered a few slabs of cow meat from the larder —feeding the ogress her own kin just felt wrong to the Vex Queen, even though he had been assured that orcs were cannibals— and then brought them over to the cage. Noticing the creature approaching her, Tiny screamed even more while crawling to the opposite side of the cage, but the drone just left the meat on the floor in front of her together with a jug of water before retreating, leaving the humanoid seemingly alone. However, Marcus still observed her through the eyes of the other drones present, and after a minute or two he saw the ogress cautiously approach her meal, sniff it with suspicion and then throw herself on it, devouring it with inhuman voracity, something that actually made the Vex Queen kinda hopeful about his captive’s fate.
“Food is life.” He thought as he watched the ogress consume her meal. “If she's eating like this, she must want to live. That means that there is still hope that she will recover from her trauma.” He paused and sighed. “Of course, there is still the matter of what I am going to do with her once she's recovered, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. For now, let's just see how the situation will evolve.”
Having solved that problem for now, he shifted his attention to the gates of Treval, where his copy drone was waiting with the rest of the Brettholz delegation while Marquis Eisen and Duke Grimdale were engaged in a drawn out exchange of painfully insincere pleasantries. Yasen was also present, though he had to stay in Grimdale to help with securing the province, while Alya was missing, having suddenly and unceremoniously left the day before on a boat headed for Rennhafen, without even saying goodbye. Knowing the wolfwoman’s personality though, Marcus had decided not to take offense by that.
“We are forever grateful for your kind hospitality.” The marquis was saying with a polite but kinda forced smile. “It is a shame indeed that we will not be able to enjoy it for longer, but I'm afraid that we are in a hurry, since we have to get to Brettholz before the roads become impassable. Otherwise, we'd be stuck here for most of the winter.”
“Oh, that wouldn't be a bother, as your presence here is a great honor for me and my city.” Duke Grimdale replied in an equally fake tone. “But I'm sure that you have a lot of work to do in your province, just as I do in mine.” He grimaced, and for a moment his voice sounded almost genuine. “This orc invasion has created a lot of trouble that we both need to take care of.”
“Quite so.” Eisen agreed. “Which is exactly the reason why we can't stay any longer. Of course, you are welcome to come and visit Brettholz any time you want, so that we can return the favor you did to us by so gracefully providing accomodation for me and my retinue.”
Again, these words were uttered in a polite tone, but it was crystal clear from their inflection that the marquis didn’t want the duke to come visit, ever. To his credit, Grimdale also understood this immediately, and responded in kind.
“And you're always welcome back in my city, marquis, just as you were in the past days.” The stout man said with a forced smile. “But that’s for a future time. For now, fare well on your trip back to your province.”
“I will.” Eisen nodded. “And may the Lord of Light watch upon you.”
The marquis then turned to Yasen and saluted him more briefly but much more warmly.
“Goodbye, my friend!” He told the captain with a genuine smile and shaking hands with him. “I hope the next time we see each other, the circumstances will be less extreme than they have been as of lately!”
“Goodbye, Eisen.” The Aura Master replied cheerfully. “And your wish should probably come true soon enough. After all, if everything goes well, we shall soon see each other in Rennhafen when his majesty will summon us there.”
These last words, for some reason, made Duke Grimdale grimace, but he remained silent. Meanwhile, having concluded his salutes, the marquis turned away, and the rest of the Brettholz delegation followed suit. Marcus's copy drone also started heading towards the carriage where Felix and Klara were waiting for him, when Trakk suddenly called him.
“Sir Marcus, would you kindly ride together with me and marquis Eisen for today?” The goblin asked. “We have a few things we'd like to discuss with you.”
“Oh, sure.” The Vex Queen replied. “I'll be right with you. Just let me tell my friends that I won't be joining them.”
“Oh, goodies.” He thought. “I wonder what this is about? I hope they're not going to make a fuss about my decision to keep Tiny alive... I already got enough complaints about that from Hoggs.”
He quickly ran up to Felix and Klara, who were sitting on a cart pulled by two Vex Warriors who were currently standing still, waiting for the signal to depart. Hoggs was also with them, napping on the back of the cart, something which wasn't entirely surprising considering he had been up all night handling telemantic communications between Grimdale and Brettholz.
“Hi Marcus!” Felix greeted him by waving his hand. “We were waiting for you! Hop on!”
“Hi guys.” The Vex Queen waved back. “Sorry, but Trakk asked me to join him and the marquis on their carriage. If it’s not a problem I’ll catch up with you later with my real body.”
“Alright. We'll see you later then.” The young man replied, spurring the drones to start moving. “Giddy-up!”
The drones, of course, weren't horses and didn't need such commands, but Marcus decided to indulge the boy and mentally ordered the Warriors to start moving. Then, as the cart headed away, he too turned back and started walking to the marquis's carriage.
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“Thank you for joining us, sir Marcus.” Eisen greeted the Vex Queen when he got up on the carriage and sat in front of him, right next to Trakk.
“Well, technically speaking I didn't.” Marcus replied sardonically. “This is my copy body, remember?” He tried to smile, but the gesture still didn't come to him naturally when he was in this proxy body, so he quickly gave up. “Anyway, Trakk told me you wanted to talk about something.”
“Yes.” The nobleman replied. “There is indeed a matter in which we would require your help.” He paused for a moment, licking his lips, and then he said: “We'd like for you to be present when we'll speak with the arachne, Anak'si, when we'll stop for the night this evening.”
“Oh, sure.” The Vex Queen nodded. “But wasn't she still recuperating and unable to hold a conversation? I remember that you told this to the Duke yesterday.”
“Yes I did.” Eisen confirmed with a smirk. “But I may have exaggerated the truth a bit. Anak'si is indeed still in the process of healing, but she can speak with no problems.”
“Why did you lie then?” Marcus asked, a bit confused.
“Because it was the best way to keep Grimdale away from her.” The marquis replied. “He was really eager to speak with her, most likely so that he could get some information that he could use against us, so I used her health as an excuse to limit his access to her.” His smile turned sly. “She is actually recovering surprisingly fast, though I've been told that it'll take at least a few weeks for her legs to regrow completely.”
“Hm.” Marcus mumbled in a neutral tone, but he refrained from actually commenting. He found these games of deception, and politics in general, very distasteful, even though he had to admit that in this case they might have been necessary in order to keep the slimy duke and his schemes at bay.
“Fight fire with fire.” He thought bitterly. “That does make sense, but if everyone is spewing bullshit then we're doomed to drown in an ocean of manure, no matter the reason.”
“So, can we count on you then?” Trakk asked, distracting him from his thoughts.
“Yes.” The Vex Queen replied. Then, after a moment, he added: “But why do you want me there anyway?”
“That’s because, as you know, the arachne is allegedly a human from another world reincarnated in Aos, just like you.” The marquis explained. “We’d hope that you could confirm some of the information she’ll give us.”
“Assuming, of course, that you do come from the same world.” The goblin general added.
Marcus raised an eyebrow in his real body, considering the proposal.
“That’s fine by me, but why do you need me to confirm her words?”
The marquis hesitated for a moment, prompting Trakk to answer instead.
“That’s mostly because we don’t trust her yet.” The goblin replied. “So having a trustworthy person like you to double-check what she will tell us would be helpful.”
“That’s right.” Eisen agreed. “Besides, we thought that you might enjoy the chance to talk with someone from your old world, if she does indeed come from there.”
The Vex Queen thought about it for a moment. Certainly, he would like to speak with a few people from his old life, his friends and family mostly, but as far as strangers were concerned, it didn’t make much of a difference for him whether they were from Earth or Aos. However, he did like to be helpful to the marquis, so he decided to accept.
“Alright then. I’ll come with you when you go to speak with her.” He said.