Chapter 17

Nemel dangled a leg over the icy parapet, trying to figure out whether she could safely drop down to the walkway below. Lady Shalltear and her attendants had already hopped down and were making their way to a set of stairs leading to the yard behind the wall. She didn’t want to use mana casting a Fly spell just in case she needed it for some other reason.

A gasp escaped her as something grabbed her ankle and pulled her down. Nemel found herself gently cradled in Dame Verilyn’s arms a moment later. Her liege continued to carry her, moving on swift steps to catch up with Lady Shalltear.

“Um…you can put me down now…”

“Are you sure? Humans have all sorts of issues with icy surfaces. Actually, your race is terrible at negotiating many types of terrain.”

Nemel nodded. She adjusted her uniform as they followed Lady Shalltear, who stopped to turn a questioning look at Dame Verilyn.

“Where are we going?” She asked.

“The next one is standing by the tower at the end of this wall, my lady,” Dame Verilyn answered.

“They’re not very good if they haven’t noticed us yet…”

The tower in question must have been over fifty metres away. Without some way to see in the dark, it wasn’t unreasonable for a Human sentry to miss them from that distance.

“Well, whatever,” Lady Shalltear looked at one of her attendants. “You – go get that one.”

How is she not frozen in that…

They were high up in the mountains and snow blanketed the slopes below the wall. Due to her equipment, Nemel wasn’t affected by the frigid weather but she couldn’t help but shiver at the sight of the attendants’ outfits. The fine, alabaster silks draped over their bodies were more suited to some dry, hot place in another part of the continent.

Maybe they had magic items to protect them from the elements. Most women would probably shed their winter garb if they could, but the number of artificers in the Empire was limited and most were tied up enchanting equipment and creating items for the government. Not to mention such items would be expensive: personal luxuries like that were something that only the wealthiest could afford.

As they waited for the attendant to return, Nemel kept glancing at the others standing near Lady Shalltear. What sort of attendants could be sent after Assassins? Her eyes went from their sheer outfits to their pale skin. Then they went to their glowing, red eyes and she froze.

“Dame Verilyn,” she whispered, tugging on her liege’s sleeve, “are…are these attendants Vampires?”

“That’s right,” her liege replied. “They’re Vampire Brides.”

Her breath caught in her throat momentarily before picking up. They were Undead. Undead that fed on Humans. She should be panicking more than this – why wasn’t she?

Lady Shalltear turned her crimson gaze upon Nemel. Her lips turned up in a licentious smile.

“Tempting me like that is unwise.”

“I-I beg your pardon, my lady?”

A pale hand reached out; cool fingers touched Nemel’s lips. The fingers traced their way down her chin and pressed lightly against her neck. She could feel her pulse hammering against them.

“I can sense it, you know,” Lady Shalltear said. “Your fear. The panic in your gaze; the nervous scent in the air; the rise and fall of your heaving breast. Your fragile heart sending warm blood racing through your veins. If a cute girl like you cannot control yourself in my presence, you will only invite…intimacy.”

Nemel swallowed and closed her eyes. Lady Shalltear was a Vampire, too. Was she about to become one as well?

The cool sensation left her skin as Lady Shalltear withdrew her fingers. Nemel peered through a crack in her eyelids. The Vampire in the black ballroom gown had produced a decanter of wine from somewhere. She opened the stopper and a thin filament of steaming red liquid snaked out. It gathered into a small sphere before Lady Shalltear popped it into her mouth with a lazy gesture of her finger. A sour expression crossed her perfect face.

“Bleh,” the tip of her pink tongue stuck out. “It froze.”

Nemel stared as she realised what the red liquid probably was. It wasn’t wine: it was blood. But whose?

“Is…erm, do they sell blood in the Sorcerous Kingdom, my lady?”

“Oh no,” Lady Shalltear held up the bottle like a sommelier displaying a prized vintage. “Save for a single demesne where certain exceptions can be made, subjects of the Sorcerer King are prohibited from eating other subjects. As you are with Dame Verilyn, I assume that you’re some sort of minion…”

“I am,” Nemel picked up the trailing end of her words, relief flooding over her. “I am. Uh, out of curiosity, in which demesne are these ‘exceptions’ made?”

She would definitely do everything she could to avoid a fief where she might be eaten.

“Zahradnik Barony,” Lady Shalltear replied.

Nemel’s mouth worked soundlessly at the Vampire’s answer. She couldn’t avoid it – she would be working there.

The attendant returned with the Assassin she had been sent out to retrieve.

“Well, that’s no good,” Lady Shalltear frowned.

“It’s not?” Dame Verilyn asked.

Lady Shalltear motioned to the man, who sported a sort of blithely loose expression.

“A Vampire Bride just dominated him with next to no effort. He can’t be more than Level 15 or so – probably lower than that.”

“Oh. The other one mentioned that the strongest members were out on a job, but we can still ask this one where they keep the better ones, yes?”

The Vampire Bride who brought the man back with her looked at Lady Shalltear, who nodded.

“How many people are here right now?” The attendant asked, “How strong are they?”

“Around two hundred,” the man answered softly. “A third are in training, a third are between jobs. The rest are base staff – sentries, cooks, craftsmen and the like. Those between jobs and the masters overseeing training are stronger than I am.”

“If one were to compare them to Adventurers,” Dame Verilyn asked, “how strong are they?”

The man looked askance at Dame Verilyn.

“Answer her truthfully,” the Vampire Bride said.

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Nemel looked around as the sentry took his time pondering the question. Were there no patrols? Or perhaps their remote and hidden location usually made patrols redundant.

“The boss’ sisters became Adamantite Adventurers,” he said after some consideration. “Based on that…we have some Mithril-equivalent people on site right now. Everyone stronger is out.”

Lady Shalltear was clearly unimpressed. Nemel raised a hand weakly in front of her.

“If I may ask, my lady…”

“Hm?”

“Dame Verilyn said something about looking for spies?”

“That’s right.”

“What were they going to be used for?”

“I don’t know,” Lady Shalltear shrugged. “Spy things.”

Spy things? The person who sent Dame Verilyn to look for spies didn’t know why she wanted spies? Or maybe it wasn’t something Nemel was supposed to know about.

“Ijaniya is one of the most famous – infamous? – Assassin organisations around,” Nemel licked her lips. “If it’s espionage agents you’re looking for, there’s more to it than just being strong. The other man said so, right, Dame Verilyn?”

“Did he?” Dame Verilyn tilted her head.

The way Frost Dragons learned things was really inconvenient. Did she understand anything of what the man related?

“The way he described their operations was a bit similar to how the Imperial Army works,” Nemel said. “It’s not just about killing people. An organisation like this has supporting elements that provide the training, equipment, maintenance, intelligence and situational awareness required for whatever they’re supposed to be doing. Since you’re looking for ‘spies’, the most valuable people in Ijaniya are actually the numerous agents who collect information and not the powerful Assassins…or maybe the powerful Assassins become powerful spies since they aren’t needed as Assassins?”

Lady Shalltear nodded slowly several times throughout Nemel’s explanation, but the Vampire’s expression looked just as clueless as Dame Verilyn’s. Nemel glanced at the dominated sentry. Why was she trying to market them anyway?

“I’ve been wondering about this for a while now,” Lady Shalltear said, “but who is this child supposed to be?”

“A manager minion,” Dame Verilyn raised her head proudly. “I’ve managed to pick up not just one, but four of them! Nemel Gran is the overminion. The others are kidnapped at the moment but I’ll get them after this.”

“Has Ludmila seen them?”

“She did before she left for her other task, my lady,” Dame Verilyn replied. “There weren’t any problems with Miss Gran.”

“What about the others?”

“Lady Zahradnik said that there are some issues with them, but it shouldn’t be anything that can’t be fixed. Considering that they’re from the Empire, I think it’s a respectable result.”

What was that supposed to mean? And what was wrong with the others? Was Lady Zahradnik really just a Baroness? For a minor Noble, her opinion carried far too much weight.

“Mmh, well, if Ludmila didn’t sense anything terrible…I left her in charge of that whole end of things, too. Since this child said so, I suppose we’ll take all of the people here.”

Lady Shalltear nodded to herself, then turned to speak to the sentry.

“Is there some way to bring everyone to us?” She asked.

“There is,” the man answered. “This way.”

He led them down the stairs to the courtyard, bringing them over to the gatehouse. Along the way, another sentry spotted them.

“Hey!” She said, “What’s going on there?”

“Get the alarm!” The man cried out to her.

The female sentry dashed for the gatehouse. A harsh clanging filled the air, repeated at regular intervals.

Men and women streamed out of the buildings nearby, then more came from deeper within the complex. Nemel bumped into the wall as she nervously backed away from the cold stares of the surrounding Assassins. The Vampire Brides formed a defensive ring around Lady Shalltear. It was only then that Nemel realised that there were more people on the wall above her.

Once it seemed that no new Assassins were on their way, Lady Shalltear looked over at Dame Verilyn.

“Hmm…can you give them some sort of recruitment speech?”

“Me? Er…well, alright. Ahem–”

A figure thudded to the ground in front of them, sending a cloud of powdery snow into the air. The ring of Assassins drew back as one. Before them, a powerfully-built man in shining plate armour rose from where he had landed.

“Who?” Lady Shalltear furrowed her brow.

Nemel stared up at the new arrival. Atop a two-metre-tall frame, an absurdly handsome face with a brilliant smile looked out from under an open helm with swept-back wings. The bronze plates of his armour gleamed in the flickering torchlight. By all appearances, he was a Paladin, but she noted nothing that indicated his order or faith.

Even his sword is bronze. Wait a minute…

“I said ‘no thanks’,” Dame Verilyn cast an irritated look at the man.

“But how could I just stand by and witness this iniquity?” The man replied, “Two hundred against barely a handful of fair maidens is hardly fair!”

“I suppose it is unfair, in a way…”

“Fret not, Dame Verilyn!” The man who was probably Erenoswhatever declared in bold baritone, “While you may be White, your cause is just! Let us take these foul reprobates to task!”

Uwah, itchy! How can he say something like that?

“He seems to be acquainted with you,” Lady Shalltear said.

“I’m starting to wish he wasn’t,” Dame Verilyn muttered darkly, then switched to a more pleasant tone. “Erenos’iphilii, I believe you’re misunderstanding something. We’re here to take these fellows with us.”

“With you…I see. So you mean to try them for their crimes. I believe that your commitment to due process is admirable, but their guilt is abundantly clear. Let us not waste the precious time and resources of better beings in pursuit of the obvious.”

“I know that’s the way you Bronzes are, but we’re not here for that either. We will be employing them. I was just about to make them an offer.”

Erenos’iphilii lowered his gleaming blade, turning to face them with a frown on his tanned face.

“Did you not say that they kidnapped some of your minions?”

“Yes, they did.”

“So how does that thing lead to this other thing?”

“That’s a bit of a long story, but that thing led me to this other thing which happened to line up nicely with another thing.”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

“Understanding is not required.”

“Oh, you remembered what I said,” Lady Shalltear smiled. “You’ve become a very good listener.”

“It’s more that I can’t ever forget what you said,” Dame Verilyn smiled back, “but thank you, my lady. What shall we do now?”

“Nothing changes,” the Vampire said. “We still have to take these people back with us.”

“No.”

Dame Verilyn stepped away from Erenos’iphilii. The smile slid off of Lady Shalltear’s face.

“…No?”

“No!” Fervour rose in the man’s voice, “I will not allow it! I was willing to look past the fact that there are seven – seven! – Vampires here, but that was because I believed that you were Dame Verilyn’s allies and had come to deliver justice to these evil Assassins!”

“Erenos’iphilii,” Dame Verilyn said, “I suggest that you return to your domain in Veneria. Your cause is – ah, what am I saying: it’s not as if you can just leave.”

“Of course not!” Erenos’iphilii replied sternly, “If you mean to side with these vile criminals–”

“Employ,” Dame Verilyn corrected him.

“That is no better! It makes you no different than the fiends who have commissioned them in the past! I will not stand by while you–”

Erenos’iphilii’s head fell to the ground. His torso, however, flew through the air. From the waist down, he continued to stand until the long rope of entrails stretching off into the morning gloom nearly reached its limit. Dame Verilyn stomped on one of his sollerets and the intestines grew taut, eventually going loose again. The legs fell over with the clanking of metal plates as the innards attached to them flopped down over the courtyard.

“Why did I have to listen to all that?” Lady Shalltear lowered her left hand, “Dame Verilyn, the next time you know if someone will be wasting my–oh, that’s interesting…”

With Erenos’iphilii thoroughly dead, the detached head of the Bronze Dragon returned to its original form. Nearly three metres long, it occupied the space between their party and the surrounding Assassins. Half of the encirclement backed away as the rear third of the Dragon grew to fill their side.

Dame Verilyn cleared her throat. Her face lit up into an enchanting smile.

“Now, where was I…ah, yes: dear Assassins of Ijaniya, I come to you with an offer. You may either accept terms of gainful employment with the Sorcerous Kingdom, or you can be swiped out of existence like this fellow here.”