Chapter 262 - Cat Business
“What are you doing?” Claire twisted her lips into a frown as a familiar hand extended from her shadow and captured her wrist.
Its owner exited the dark expanse soon after, her lips twisted into a cocky smile. She gave the lyrkress a light tug, followed by another when her fingers refused to move. “Priscilla is dead. There is no need to execute those that took her side for coin alone.”
It was a declaration that only led Claire to put more force into the grip. Her veins bulged as she nearly squeezed the elephant’s eyes out of her skull before an exasperated, knowing smile convinced her to reluctantly relinquish her kill. Of course, she wasn’t entirely compliant. She kicked the mercenary in the gut as she dropped her, a final show of dominance that left the elephant with her eyes rolled into the back of her head. The erdbrechers’ reaction was split, featuring a mix of relieved sighs and horrified gasps, but whatever the case, no one moved to retaliate. They remained where they were with their weapons drawn and their eyes shifting between the matriarch-strangler and the queen of animal control.
“You owe me,” grumbled Claire. “And congratulations.”
“Thank you,” said the squid, with a warm smile. “I have waited many long years to avenge my kin. And now, it has finally come to fruiti—”
“Not that.” Claire grabbed the squid’s nose and gave it a formidable pinch. “I meant the ascension.”
The freshly crowned monarch retrieved her fan and covered the bottom of her face, but her shock was hardly veiled, easily noted through her rapidly blinking eyes. “And here I was, hoping to catch you by surprise.”
Arciel was in her usual humanoid form. As far as she had been able to tell, by looking at herself in a bubble-shaped mirror, she looked exactly the same as she had prior to her ascension. If anything, it was the expected behaviour. She would have been far more surprised to see her appearance altered. Unlike Claire’s forms, hers were not reflections, but careful and deliberate constructions made by way of a skill.
“Easily.” Claire stuck out her tongue. “It was written all over your face.”
The fresh level 500 lightly touched a hand to her features. “Is it really?” She traced the tips of her fingers across her visage, lightly touching her lips and her nose. “I can hardly feel a difference.”
“It’s very different.” Claire stood up on her toes and jabbed a finger into the side of the kraken’s cheek. “This spot makes it particularly obvious.”
Arciel moved her own hands to the same location and felt around, only to find herself twice as confused.
“I’m pretty sure she’s just messing with you!” A third voice forced itself into the conversation from afar. When the pair turned towards the distant speaker, they found Sylvia floating through the air with a cat scruffed in her paws. Natalya waved when their eyes met, her troubled smile easily recognisable, even from the other side of the sky.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Claire.
“Yeah, right!” shouted the forest critter. “I bet you just guessed from context ‘cause you knew she was kinda close already.”
“That would certainly make for a more reasonable interpretation,” said Arciel, “but I’ve found that she often gleans far too much for it to be merely a product of deductive reasoning. Her ability to understand Agent Snufflepuffs, for example, is simply irrational.”
“Mmmnnn… yeah. I guess you’re right. Marc’s kinda hard to understand if you can’t peek into her skull.”
“It can get a bit creepy,” added Lia, as she was set down in the ring. “Sometimes, I swear she knows what I’m going to say before I do.”
“It’s not my fault,” huffed the lyrkress. “You’re just too easy to read.”
“Sometimes, I just think it’d be nice if we could just have a normal conversation. You know, without the part where you overanalyze my psyche and dig up my deepest subconscious thoughts.”
“You don’t have any deep thoughts. Only perverted ones.”
“Oh, for the last time, Claire! I’m not a pervert!”
The accuser briefly narrowed her eyes before turning back to the squid. “So? What are you now?”
“Wait a second, you can’t just brush me off like that! Claire! I! Am! Not! A! Pervert!”
“I shall elaborate on the particulars of my race when we next find a moment to meet in private.” The squid took a moment to adjust her tie before addressing the many elephants in the universally hallucinated room. “As I expect you have already come to understand, your contractor has fallen. While I have certainly heard many stories of mercenaries of your nature facing criminal charges, I assure you that I will do no such thing. I bear no ill will towards you, and would like to speak to a representative.”
There was a brief moment of chaos, with trumpets tooting all around the stands. Some made mention of waking the matriarch, while others volunteered themselves instead, only to be held back by their peers and rivals. Eventually, the girl in fishnets broke free from the crowd and approached. She had a relaxed air to her. Unlike most of the others, she kept her hands hanging loosely by her side and her trunk casually dangling in front of her.
“I will serve as our representative until the matriarch awakens.”
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“Oh uhmmmm, she’s the one Claire beat up at the end, right? I can wake her up if you want.” Sylvia volunteered her services with a raised paw, but the desert-roamer met her proposal with a shake of the head.
“Let her rest. I doubt she’d be in the mood to talk, even if you woke her.”
“Then I can thrash her until she is,” said Claire.
“How about we solve the problem with a little less violence this time?” The cat grabbed the lyrkress by the shoulders and reeled her back before she could draw her lizard again. “Maybe you could settle for a prank or something instead?”
“A prank?” Claire raised her tail to her chin. “That doesn’t sound like a terrible idea.”
“I assume you’ve heard the details of our contract,” said Fishnets, as she cast a worried glance in the lyrkress’ direction. “Are you planning on chasing us out?”
“Quite the opposite,” said Arciel. “Unfortunately, this city is likely to find itself going through a time with some rather… unruly individuals in power, and I was hoping to employ the lot of you as something of an independent security force for the remaining time that your charges have been paid.”
The young elephant paused to scratch her chin with her trunk. “And why would you choose us? Surely, your men must hold grudges against ours?”
“Perhaps they may, but I have seen for myself your mettle as warriors and the commitment that you have to your duties,” said the queen. “Of course, I do not expect an immediate answer, especially not with your decision-maker rendered unconscious, and I have other matters to attend to in the meantime as well. However, I do hope that you will consider it as an option.” Arciel snapped her fan shut and turned to face her friends again. “Now, I believe it would be best to announce our victory before the bloodshed finds itself in excess. Sylvia, might you be able to magnify my voice?”
“Uhhhhmmmm… sure…?” The fox tilted her head. “Oh! Actually, I think I can do something even better.” She clapped her paws together and, with a magical arf, painted a grand illusion in the sky.
It was a picture-perfect projection, an intimately accurate image of the squid depicted from the waist up. Because it was mirrored in real-time, it captured her momentary surprise as she looked up and down between the illusion and her hands, but few took note of her shock. The still-fighting soldiers cast it only a brief glance, as they had with all the other large-scale magic, before returning to their battles; they hadn't flinched when the darkness was stolen nor when the ocean was lifted above the sky. At the end of the day, the way forward remained unchanged. It was only by fighting and killing that they could fuel their continued survival.
“Attention all soldiers.” But that changed when the projection spoke. Its voice was not loud, nor did its proximity vary its volume. It rang into each of their heads instead, transferred directly by way of a powerful spell. “Lay down your arms. The wretched queen has been slain, and her corpse consigned to the bottom of the sky. We stand united now as a single people, flying a single banner, for a single purpose. There is no longer a need for bloodshed among our ranks. I repeat, there is no longer a need for bloodshed.”
It was an order that the battlefield was hesitant to obey. The warriors had been at each other's throats just a few seconds prior. Some were on the verge of death, kept alive by little beyond their will to kill. Others were bleeding out, silently praying that their squad mates could secure a wealth of experience before they succumbed to Xekkur’s call. And yet a third group was engaged in a life or death struggle, where even a single misstep, a single moment of hesitation, would lead to their immediate demise. There was not a single reason for anyone, let alone anyone under Priscilla’s command, to abide by her orders, but the empowered words carried with them a mysterious, soothing weight. Starting from those furthest from the battlefield, the soldiers began relinquishing their arms. They released their weapons one by one and turned their eyes to the figure in the sky. Everyone knew who she was. It was only her allies that had caught glimpses of her person, but her enemies had been granted illustrations and descriptions for the purposes of making attempts on her life.
With no evidence, the words carried little weight. The dagger-shaped heirloom she presented was something known only by the royals and their confidants, a meaningless but valuable object that served no purpose in the eyes of the public. But had it been a false claim, Priscilla surely would have refuted it with a broadcast of her own. She wouldn’t have been able to magnify her body into the sky like her opponent, but she needed only a simple soundstone to poke a hole in the false claim. And it wasn’t as if the army had a lack of them. Every commander had at least one on his person, and the queen, the supreme commander, was no exception. But there was no rebuttal, even as ten, twenty, thirty seconds passed.
The silence spoke volumes. Even if the queen was not dead, she was likely captured or incapacitated. While many of the field officers had hidden the truth from the men serving beneath them, they were aware that central command had suffered a similar fate. The messengers responsible for relaying their orders had suddenly ceased all activity some thirty minutes prior; the generals were perfectly silent.
Their operation had been completely and thoroughly dismantled. It was a realisation that came with a mixed bag of emotions. The conscripts were relieved, thankful that they had survived the battle, but the true warriors among them were indignant and insulted. There was yet another faction outraged to see the princess instated as ruler, but their vexation was a tiny droplet in a sea of solace and repose.
“I speak now not only to those brave souls who have taken up arms for their beliefs but the Vel’khanese people in aggregate.” With a flick of the bard’s tail, her voice echoed all across the city. For more than just those attending the battle to hear. “We have suffered greatly under Priscilla’s rule. Heavy taxes, rampant crime, and a complete lack of respect for our longstanding traditions and family values. A blasphemy we shall endure no longer.” She took a deep breath and planted the back of her fist against her bosom. “With the coming of spring dawns a new age. As rightful queen of this nation, and as a warrior with hands stained by the wretched harlot’s blood, I shall endeavour to see this nation restored to its former glory. I shall spare no expense in bettering the lives of the people, in working towards a future where our children and their children after them will have forgotten the depraved queen’s cruelty, and in creating a nation whose banner we may all fly with pride.”
She paused for a moment, so that her words could sink into the countless minds they had invaded.
“Beginning immediately, the annual tax per capita shall be lowered from three silver coins to two. Landowners shall receive additional deductions on their properties’ liabilities, the precise value of which shall be described by the minister of levies and tariffs at a later point in time. Imported goods shall likewise see a deduction in duties owed, and merchants who have already made advance payments shall be granted rebates through the aforementioned ministry.”
The queen raised her hand from her breast to her hat and took a deep breath.
“The vast majority of key officials shall also be replaced following this incident. To that end, we extend an offer of opportunity to any literate and knowledgeable individuals that wish to involve themselves in government affairs. Wages begin at twice the regular market value, and are subject to further upwards evaluation for candidates with relevant experience.”
Arciel smiled softly. “That is all for the time being. Further details shall be distributed at a later time, with pamphlets made available at your local government offices no later than the end of the week. I bid you all good night. You may rest well, for it is in certain terms that I assure you, Vel’khan shall only continue to prosper.”
With those final words, and a signal to the fox, the queen’s image vanished from the sky. Leaving only a brilliant moonlit night behind.