Or, The Sole Admirable Trait Of That Tribe
The resulting conference established several weighty facts and suggested several theories. The redhead had a subordinate introduce him as Lord Treasurer Boij Avroshipt Ogleript, the luminary who occupied the highest domestic office in his country and held the absolute confidence of his childhood playmate, the king.
“He's also a cousin of the noble humiliated through his sio addiction,” Stansolt whispered to Dirant while Onerid and Ibir struggled to stifle laughter inappropriate for the occasion however appropriate it may have been for the names Dvanjchtlivs chose for their children.
The schedule called for the Swadvanchdeu delegation to arrive the next day, and it would have done so if not for the impatience of undersea monsters who grasped their ship and hurried it along, a phenomenon difficult to explain. The Noiswawauans had the same schedule but accelerated it for an entirely unlike reason.
“I was warned of risk and deadly treachery,” Prince Ozovramblidaj explained. “I wished to miss none of it.”
His force, which is to say the portion of his retinue consisting of capable fighters, scattered Helsodenk's arsonists by their sudden and irresistible advent. A few of the villains succumbed to capture. Their testimony would be invaluable provided anything like a trial occurred. The rest fled into the folds of night's cloak, and without their opposition, the Dogai-Brein Sleet and Hail Mistresses subdued the fires faster than hoped.
As for the generous man who provided the services of those two without saying anything about fees as perhaps he should have, Chisops was invited to expound his relevant theories, particularly the one about monster stations which, after accreting from various substances, attracted and sedated monsters until they dissolved through a process yet unknown, an event which caused an apparent sudden increase in the monster population in the spring. “These stations are not generally known because of a very simple fact of their existing where we cannot see them. Under marshes, inside hills, the ocean floor I suspect, and other locations proposed by stories long thought fanciful are where they can be found, and the proof of that is the samples I have collected by means of certain long hooks I developed for the purpose. I will leave it to other researchers to discover how monsters enter the secluded stations reachable only by the use of hooks at present. The question is unquestionably worthy of study. but outside my own direct interest.”
Takki asked him a question after winning a coinflip against Dirant. “Eizesl, do these monster palaces have regenerative powers? Since they form naturally, doesn't it make sense they can reform over time?”
“The calculations I have made after collecting samples from the same set of monster stations repeatedly indicate that they do, Seifis.”
“Is there any chance then that some of those substances taken from monster palaces would be able to, for instance, repair minor flaws in wood, reduce leaks, and keep away lichen?”
Lord Treasurer Boij was shaking with such energy that it seemed the next time he opened his mouth a mixed drink must shoot out. Instead, outrage did. “Are you saying I paid for, and sailed upon, a ship covered in monster juice?”
Chisops Dogai-Brein considered the idea. “There may be validity in such an application. What an intriguing thought. Once again, I have focused my attention solely on gathering evidence of the existence of monster stations and consequently have limited my experiments upon the substances which constitute them despite the tantalizing prospects. Ah, the lifetime of mortals, ah, how brief it is.”
Takki looked satisfied with the conclusion of the inquiry and indeed was. “Right, of course not, Eizesl. We can't expect you to figure out everything by yourself. Mr. Helsodenk bragged about selling new treatments to the Akard-Velgsins though.”
“That's clear enough then,” Boij stated. “We burn down the ship, burn Helsowho if that doesn't do it, hang Narark Akard-Velgsin at the next opportunity, and maybe torture you a little to teach you to be more careful about the people you tell things.” He stared at the Dogai-Brein head, who sidled closer to the head of the Bodan-Tins.
“Gentlemanly nobles, we have laws here in Drastlif! They protect everyone, and not a day before my death will anyone of the Dogai-Breins or Akard-Velgsins be treated in a manner so peremptory and unconcerned with justice.” That declaration by no less a personage than Poiskops Bodan-Tin embraced them all as if a cloud that all but glowed with principle, the “all but” because of certain names conspicuously not included. Not that anyone blamed him for it of course, or even disagreed, though Keiminops suggested they probably ought to confirm Helsodenk's company in Arvawesk possessed complete records about its processes and products before they executed him. More than one promising invention had been lost together with its creator's noggin.
“That's fine,” Ozovramblidaj said. “We share one goal: the burning of the ship.”
“Your Highness is ever eager to burn a Swadvanchdeuan ship.”
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“Who said that?” Nobody could say for sure, except for Stansolt Gaomat, who chose not to do so. The need for translators caused a proliferation of voices, and to attach all of them to their proper persons taxed the most perceptive and well-memoried of men. Dissatisfied but unwilling to be held up by something so minor, the prince continued. “We have a routine massacre before us with these monsters sedated as they are, correct?”
Anyone would feel reluctant to contradict a prince save for the fact of his being a Dvanjchtliv, which conferred a powerful wish to show him up felt by everyone there barring the Jalpi Peffu. The Swadvanchdeuan Dvanjchtlivs experienced the desire with especial keenness. Their leader however wanted even more to launch the attack forthwith, and because he kept silent, the sole objection came from a Drastlifar.
“I am afraid that prospect is far from supported by the reality, as much as I hoped it to be true at an earlier stage in my research,” monster palace expert Chisops attested. “The monsters become calmer in the vicinity of a monster station, it is true, and yet what so many philosophers say is seen in this case, that calmness leads to reason through reflection. The monsters about a station are more organized than usual. Observe how the ones farther out, patrolling, will exchange their places with the monsters who have rested awhile. Yes, they will resist your approach, and once they perceive you intend harm to the station, they will grow enraged.” His voice grew wistful as he reflected. “That was when I decided to bring two guards.”
His warning dispirited Drastlifars who yearned to finish this thing up and retire to homes they hoped still existed. The Dvanjchtlivs, by contrast, immediately fell to arguing about whether the crown prince or lord treasurer should get to be the marshal. When Stanops Bodan-Tin objected to the proceedings, they assured him he was assuredly the highest civilian authority, and if the way they said “civilian” had an insulting tinge to it, that was both intended and irrelevant.
An agreement was reached, itself a discouraging sign for patriotic Grenlofers, whereby Prince Ozovramblidaj took command in exchange for the concession that he not forbid Boij from cutting down Helsodenk Nifkleskir on sight. “The meat will be made over to the hawk that hunts it,” Ozovramblidaj declared, which seemed clear enough even to non-Dvanjchtlivs.
“There is an eminently practical contrivance. We have none of these at home, and now I marvel at our incompetence.” That was the conclusion of Todelk University-graduated Ritualist Dirant Rikelta upon examining the portable stage, a short wooden platform large enough to accommodate most practical rituals. For the first time in his career he had assistants, two of them no less. One handled buckets of sand and the other buckets of water for rapid ritual cycling.
The few Ritualists there approved by Posmeterin Igwodan-Tin for live battlefield support, those being Posmeterin, one of his sons, one of his daughters, and Dirant, went to work creating the First Schedule, Second Schedule, and Third Schedule Monster Immunization Rituals and processing combatants. Even if the preventative rituals had not yet attained the reliability or comprehensiveness of the six Disinfectant Rituals, they were worth using if only to cut down on the costs, an inevitable concern for any organized monster extermination campaign. This time, Poiskops Bodan-Tin announced his intention to bear the entire financial burden with an easy smile characteristic of someone who knew where he could put his hands on a bundle or two at any hour of any week.
Battle preparations took little time with Prince Ozovramblidaj as the organizer. His considered arrangements put Petarun Bavan-Ston over the medical teams which attendants from both delegations joined. Keiminops Bodan-Tin assembled hauler crews to grab injured fighters and escort them to the doctors and Ritualists. Poiskops Bodan-Tin himself attended to supplies, tents, and barricades. In regard to the army itself, Ozovramblidaj weighed the value of communication against class abilities and decided to set all his Myrmidons in the center regardless of tribe, counting on their natural teamwork. The elite combat classes, such as the Duelist class to which he belonged, he set on the flanks in a more country-based formation, and the questionable ones such as Acrobat and Subjugator (non-medical) he designated as reserves.
When the battle at last began, Dirant saw none of it. His vision was not hindered by a lack of light but rather the opposite as the Dvanjchtlivan Reciters and Distorters invoked their explosive abilities. Columns of flame and lightning countered phantom spouts, glistening orbs splattered on sea giants to leave them pale and still, and caressers lost their searching claws to cutting winds.
That was the fancy stuff which the sophisticated battle-enjoyers so often derided as mere displays for the vulgar. A genuine fight-lover praised the work to which the physical types put their sabers and halberds, and someone more Loigwiny could have and in fact did appreciate the archery techniques of Adaban Myrmidons.
The courage of humans, their selfless camaraderie, and above all the abilities granted to them by the gods through their classes had made man dominant over monsters everywhere on Egillen, but not without dedication to specialized roles. The Ritualists became too busy shifting sand around to look up aside from when their assistants were washing, scrubbing, and resanding the platforms, and if they did, chilling mists concealed everything but the explosions. Dirant preferred to spend the moments of rest he was able to grab by means of efficient Todelk techniques to add some flourishes to his ceremonies. The poisoned fighters appreciated the personal taps on the head, and not understanding the language he used to extend his chanting to unnecessary lengths only increased the eerie solemnity of the proceeding and gave the sense something worthwhile was being done.
> Ability Ritual Flair gained.
As proof that to help others is to help oneself, Dirant's rituals thenceforth raised the respect spectators held for him based on his Panache and Receptivity.
Better indications than sight of how fared the battle came when the reserves started appearing. Keiminops Bodan-Tin dumped off Loigwin Nein-Cadops-Bain personally, an honor one armiger paid another. The former scowled during the incident while grumbling about how dashing the latter must have looked. Another was the frequency of repeat appearances, which indicated both a long battle and a lack of deaths or debilitating injuries. A little HP loss here and there built character, or so fathers told children who sought consolation after they tripped.