Chapter 20

“Stop squirming!”

Nemel’s fingers worked gingerly to undo the knot holding the wriggling sack shut. Every time she brushed against the person inside, they would react by tossing about with panicked squeaks, undoing all of her progress.

“I can’t–stop! I’m not trying to hurt you. I can’t work this knot loose if you–”

A hand reached out to pick up the sack. Dame Verilyn deftly undid the string and dumped the occupant out onto the snow.

“Quagoa aren’t particularly strong as far as Demihumans go,” she told Nemel, “but they’re relatively durable. Rough treatment by Human standards is nothing to them.”

Zu Chiru rolled to a stop. He frantically flipped about, trying to look everywhere at once. After several seconds of panic, his beady eyes settled on Dame Verilyn.

“Wife!”

With a tearful cry, Zu Chiru leapt up, wrapping his arms around Dame Verilyn’s waist. He nuzzled her belly, sniffling as he made soft crooning noises. Dame Verilyn did not draw away, nor did she make any move to comfort him, so Nemel couldn’t decide whether it was a touching scene or not.

Nearby, the Vampire Brides freed Zu Chiru’s apprentices. Fendros, Elise and Ida went over to warm themselves in front of the fire, eyes wide as they took in the frozen alpine landscape. A dozen tied-up Assassins were clustered nearby, being watched by what appeared to be even more Assassins.

Lady Shalltear came by with an attractive woman adorned in loose clothing with a black breastplate. Her blonde hair was tied up into a short ponytail and her garb matched those of the other Assassins. Why were there so many of them? How did the world not run out of people with so many contract killers around? The Vampire walked over to eye Fendros, Elise and Ida, who fidgeted nervously under her crimson gaze.

“So,” Lady Shalltear said, “these are your new minions…”

“Yes, my lady,” Dame Verilyn’s voice held a note of pride. “This is–”

“I approve,” the Vampire licked her lips and smiled. “They’re all very cute! It would please me if you gathered more.”

Cute? What sort of criteria was that? Lady Shalltear was just as inexplicable as Lady Zahradnik when it came to how they determined that someone was qualified for service.

“…have you done anything with them, by the way?” Lady Shalltear asked.

“I’ve done many things with them, my–”

“We haven’t done anything!” Nemel cut in.

Dame Verilyn might evoke amorous reactions from the people around her, but she was almost certainly clueless about what Lady Shalltear had asked about.

“Oh. Well, your loss.”

Lady Shalltear’s arm snaked behind the slender waist of the female Assassin. The woman visibly stiffened but did not attempt to pull away. Nemel eyed the two with a frown.

Did she just squeeze her butt?

“Cute Nobles,” Lady Shalltear’s voice chimed happily, “cute Ninjas – today is a good day.”

“You…you said my clan was safe,” the woman said. “Where are they?”

“I will send you to join them soon enough,” Lady Shalltear replied. “But first…wasn’t there something that you wanted to ask her about, Dame Verilyn?”

“Was there?” Dame Verilyn frowned, “Hmm…ah, why did you take my minions, Miss Tia?”

“Tira.”

The Frost-Dragon-in-Human-form froze.

“Huh?”

“My name is Tira.”

“B-but you told me it was Tia.”

“I lied.”

“Argh! Do you have any idea what is involved with me remembering things?”

“You didn't have any issues remembering my name,” Lady Shalltear noted.

“You know exactly why I remember your name, my lady.”

“Meaning my methods are effective,” Lady Shalltear nodded. “Shall we have her do the same?”

Dame Verilyn leapt away from the Assassin.

“No, thank you!” The Frost Dragon said, “She can just be Tia from now on.”

“But that’s my sister’s name…”

“Well too bad for her. Wait – how come I didn’t smell anyone that might be your sister up at that base…”

“Because my sisters weren’t there.”

“If they’re anything like you,” Lady Shalltear said, “We should go and pick them up. Just tell me where and we’ll go get them.”

Did she want to pick them up because they were powerful Assassins, or because they were cute Ninjas?

“They’re not with us anymore.”

“Oh…did they die? I can fix that.”

“No, they left the clan. Cut ties with us in the middle of a job.”

“I see,” Lady Shalltear waved a hand dismissively. “We only want loyal people so forget that. Were there any others afield? Someone mentioned agents and such.”

“We have our information network and some people are out completing contracts. We can contact them once we know what’s going on…and once we see that our clan members are safe.”

Lady Shalltear turned a curious look up at Tira.

“You seem to care a lot for your people despite being a cold-blooded killer.”

“Work is work. I’m the heiress of Ijaniya – they’re my clan and I’m responsible for them.”

“I see,” the Vampire turned her attention to an open spot in the snow. “Well, so long as you understand who it is that you serve…”

The portal of a Gate spell opened before them. Tira eyed the hole in the air suspiciously.

“What’s that?”

“Your clan is being accommodated on the other side. You wished to see them, yes?”

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Nearby, the other Assassins were freed from their restraints. They went over to stand with their leader.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Dame Verilyn said. “Why did you take my minions?”

“To get you alone out here,” Tira replied. “So we could kill you.”

“Why?”

“Because we were hired to. We don’t know the reason why: only that people we discover digging too far into the past are to be silenced. We’ve had that job since we started taking contracts nearly two centuries ago and it seems to be older than our organisation. I wouldn’t be surprised if other groups have been hired for the same job.”

“Who is it, though?” Nemel asked, “You get paid, right?”

“It goes through middlemen and drop boxes,” Tira answered. “It’s not our business to know who is hiring us or why – we just do it.”

“That’s just irresponsible. People are killed just because someone had the money to get rid of them?”

“Yeah.”

Nemel narrowed her eyes at Tira. She cared about her people but seemed entirely unbothered about killing other people for money.

“Time to move,” Lady Shalltear clapped her hands lightly, “Get in there. The rest of you, too.”

“Us?” Nemel asked.

“Unless you want to walk back to wherever you came from…Ilyshn’ish, how far is it?”

“Far Sound is a week away as the Quagoa waddles.”

Without supplies, they definitely wouldn’t be able to make it back down to the coast.

“Fly back to where your wagons are,” she told her. “Message me once you’ve prepared your cargo and staff.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Dame Verilyn transformed into a Frost Dragon, winging her way to the northwest. Nemel stepped through the portal after Tira and the other Assassins.

Rather than finding herself in some sort of dungeon to hold the members of Ijaniya, Nemel stepped out into a spacious plaza. Around her was what appeared to be a large town under construction. Many of the buildings being raised, however, were of unknown design. Dominating the horizon to the northwest was the familiar sight of the Azerlisia Mountains.

“This…is the border with the Sorcerous Kingdom?”

“Indeed,” Lady Shalltear’s voice came from behind her. “You’re familiar with this place?”

“Until recently, I was working in the Katze Marches, my lady. If this is the border, then that should mean this is the town that’s been under construction for the last few months…”

“It’s the capital of Wagner County,” Lady Shalltear told her. “I don’t think Liane’s settled on a name yet. Anyway, your people are being housed in that keep to the north, Tira. The person who will be in charge of you is currently busy, so it may take a week or two to make formal arrangements.”

The Ninja heiress sent her gaze towards the tower a few kilometres away. Nemel was familiar with the structure from her patrols out of Engelfurt: it was one of two old keeps that straddled the highway near the former border of Re-Estize and the Empire.

“If we have to wait that long,” Tira asked, “what will we do about supplies?”

“You can buy groceries from this town.”

“…you’ll just let us go wherever?”

“Do you think we can’t hunt you down if you run?”

“...no.”

“It’s good that you understand,” Lady Shalltear nodded with a smile. “Humans often take far too long to digest reality. That aside, I do not believe you will find your conditions here disagreeable. While you wait, you may go anywhere you wish in the Sorcerous Kingdom. If you manage to sneak your way into anywhere you’re not supposed to be, then you will be more valuable to us than you currently appear. Just don’t perform any other criminal acts in the process. That is all.”

Lady Shalltear turned away at the last, seemingly uncaring about whether the Assassins heeded her or not. Or the fact that hundreds of Assassins had been dumped into the Sorcerous Kingdom. Tira and her subordinates silently exchanged glances before walking off in the direction of the keep.

Nemel was still somewhat confused over everything that had happened. Were things in the Sorcerous Kingdom always so abrupt and inexplicable? It was as if none of her common sense applied.

As her tension dissipated, Nemel’s stomach growled at the aroma of freshly-baked bread wafting through the air.

“You may go for breakfast, if you wish,” Lady Shalltear told them. “Dame Verilyn should be a while yet.”

Nemel went over to Fendros and the others, who looked similarly disoriented. A mix of Human militia and powerful-looking Undead occasionally patrolled the streets. None of the townsfolk seemed to mind the Undead and Zu Chiru had already disappeared somewhere with his apprentices. Maybe they were long used to such absurdities.

“Let’s get some breakfast?” Nemel asked.

“I-I guess?” Fendros replied, “I’m still trying to come to grips with the fact that we just crossed the entire Empire in a single step.”

They wandered over to the completed side of the town. Along the way, they stopped and stared as a gigantic glowing galleon sailed through the air overhead. Points of crimson light shone down from the Undead crew looking at them from the railing. The ship continued flying for several hundred metres before settling in front of a busy warehouse.

Eventually, they found themselves in front of a DEATH BREAD. Unlike those in the Empire, this one was as crowded as the most popular bakeries in Arwintar.

The crowd here, however, wasn’t all Human. Nemel hesitated at the sight of a group of Toad Demihumans at the end of the line, then relaxed as some Human townsfolk queued up between them. Ten minutes later, Nemel went over to a covered dining area in the plaza nearby. Upon entering, they discovered that it was magically heated.

“I guess we’re not the only people who thought of doing this,” Elise said as she unwrapped her pastry. “Is everyone in the Sorcerous Kingdom rich? Magical lighting is one thing, but everything we see is so advanced.”

That much was certainly true. An urban centre would already be considered prosperous if it had magical lighting and paved roads, but the unnamed town went far beyond that. It wasn’t even a matter of the town being new: the fact that the town had things most cities couldn’t afford spoke volumes on its own. That it didn’t even have a name yet made it seem that such things were commonplace.

In any imperial city, one would find a mix of familiar architecture that denoted the wealth of the occupants. Even in Arwintar’s second class districts, most buildings were some compromise between stone foundations and wattle and daub. None of that could be seen here. Everything was constructed from stone that seemed to be tastefully carved from the ground up with a uniform degree of excellent craftsmanship.

Not only did the streets have magical lighting, but bright illumination could be seen in every building. Their windows were wide open in the cold winter morning, yet none of the residences had woodsmoke rising from their chimneys. This likely meant that they had magical heating as well.

Aside from Arwintar, cities in the Empire only had their major thoroughfares paved. Even the alleys of this town were paved and the streets had raised sidewalks. The pavement was not fashioned out of cobblestone, but something that Nemel could only recognise as seamless strips of stone. The plazas were also paved out of the same material and whoever planned the city layout included plenty of green spaces – or at least they would be green if it wasn’t winter – that gave the townscape a pleasant, relaxing feel.

“Do you think all of the places in the Sorcerous Kingdom are like this?” Elise asked, “Re-Estize didn’t look this way, right?”

“I haven’t been to Re-Estize before,” Ida looked around idly, “but the lecturers at the academy always said that Re-Estize was three or four steps below the Empire in terms of its urban centres and infrastructure. You can tell that this place is even more advanced than the Empire, but you can barely draw any connections to Human architecture in the buildings. The Sorcerous Kingdom hasn’t even been here for a year yet, right? How could things have become so different so much so quickly?”

The way by which Lady Zahradnik carried herself in Norford made a lot more sense now. She might have been a Human Noble, but the world that she saw was an entirely different one.

“Maybe Lady Zahradnik was exaggerating about her territory being in the middle of nowhere,” Fendros said. “Things might be far easier than we expected.”

“I don’t think she would mislead us like that,” Nemel replied. “If anything, all this around us is worrying me. I thought we would be raising little hamlets to generate some income for Dame Verilyn…maybe she was actually expecting us to match this.”

Everyone at the table paled and swallowed.

“Th-that’s unreasonable isn’t it?” Elise said, “I know people like to think that Wizards can do anything, but this is definitely impossible for us!”

“What’s impossible for you?”

Nemel nearly leapt out of her seat as Dame Verilyn appeared beside the table.

“That’s, erm…when you said you wanted us to help manage your demesne, did you mean building a town like this?”

“Since Humans are the way that they are,” Dame Verilyn said, “I assume that the territory I have allocated for this style of development will eventually become like this.”

“…but not right away?”

“It will happen when it happens.”

Sighs of relief rose from around the table. Nemel looked at the bag dangling from one of Dame Verilyn’s hands. By the looks of it, she had picked up a stack of meat pies for herself and the Quagoa, as usual.

“Where’s Master Chiru?” Nemel asked.

“Offloading the inventories he planned on returning with to the Sorcerous Kingdom in one of the warehouses here. After that, Lady Shalltear will be dropping us off at the next destination on his tour.”

“The next destination,” Nemel furrowed her brow. “Do you mean Elenel or…”

“No,” Dame Verilyn replied, “the place after that. However, Zu Chiru says that there will be a change of plans from there. We’ll be heading to Arwintar instead of going south.”

“That’s a big detour,” Nemel said. “Do you know why?”

“The Merchant Guild has issued an advisory for the area,” Dame Verilyn told them. “Apparently, fighting has erupted along the southern border of the Empire.”