Almost six months had passed after the Blue Roses were defeated by Geralt and Entoma. During that time many things had changed for them. Lakyus was now a prisoner of the Sorcerer King and her friends had learned the truth about the Dragon Emperor´s grave. All the treasures he was buried with, as well as his corpse itself were far too dangerous to fall into the Sorcerer King´s hands. They had tried to find a clue to its exact location, but were stopped before they could anything. But Evileye, Gagaran, Tia and Tina were determined to not let Lakyus´s sacrifice be in vain. They had to find it, no matter the cost. Partially, because they wanted to fight the Sorcerer King, partially, because they hoped they could exchange the treasures for Lakyus. While staying in the Argland Council State, they averted from meeting the Dragon Lords and slowly planned their next steps. Preparing for their treasure hunt had taken longer than expected. It took them a while to recover from their injuries and they couldn´t acquire the gear necessary to withstand the harsh environment right away. After they finally got their hands on it, they were so low on cash they had to take on some jobs to be able to buy enough provisions. Now they were finally able to leave. Fortunately, the Sorcerer King hadn´t made attempts to find the grave himself yet. The night before they were to leave, Rigrit visited them once again.
"I wish I was able to join you. But I have to keep an eye on the situation here. Some of the Dragon Lords have been behaving weirdly these past few weeks. Tsa is afraid some of them are pursuing their own agendas."
Evileye responded.
"It´s alright. If you are able to gain further insight, it might be helpful. But what do you mean by weird?"
"Apparently some are getting really impatient. They are discussing this for almost ten months at this point."
Gagaran was shocked.
"Ten months?"
"Well, that in and of itself is not that unusual. Dragons in general and the Dragon Lords especially perceive time different from us. They meet so rarely, it is not unusual for their meetings to last more than a year, but the more hotheaded members of the council are tired of discussing things and want to deal with the situation now. Saessenthesis and Villentretenmert seem adamant about dealing with the Sorcerer King, if necessary on their own."
"But isn´t that a good thing?"
Rigrit crossed her arms.
"It could become a dire situation. If they act on their own, their actions could cause a rift between them and the others, leading to infighting and maybe even a civil war. In the worst case their hasty actions could lead to their demise. Tsa fears that every single one of them is necessary to deal with the Sorcerer King and his minions."
"I see. That is really a troublesome family he has."
"I guess the only one that is not acting weird is his older brother Horaki. He is a self-centered prick as always."
Evileye then said.
"On the other hand, this gives us the opportunity to take action ourselves. We can´t afford to wait any longer. Lakyus has been imprisoned for far too long. Every day we wait puts her in unnecessary danger."
"I agree with you, but you have to be aware that your actions might be futile."
Evileye´s tone darkened.
"We have to assume we can change things. Otherwise we might as well just give up and wait for our deaths."
Rigrit nodded.
"But you have to be careful. If the Dragon Lords learn of your actions, they might become your enemies as well."
"We know that. Unfortunately we have no other choice. As long as we don´t know the location of the Sorcerer King´s lair, our only chance of freeing Lakyus is to find something the Sorcerer King wants and negotiate that way."
"All I´m trying to say is you should be careful. Last time you tried a risky move like that, you were almost killed by the Sorcerer King´s servants. I don´t want to see you die before me."
Gagaran laughed.
"Pff. I bet you survive every single one of us. Aren´t you immortal?"
"Not immortal, just unaging. And I remember having explained this to you a couple of times already."
Tia said.
"Don´t bother. Complicated things like that don´t get through to her."
Everyone except Gagaran laughed, until Evileye stopped them.
"I think that´s enough. We have things to do and no time to waste."
Her friends agreed with her and attempted to leave. Rigrit then put her hand on Evileye´s shoulder and whispered.
"Listen. I know you are unusually emotional, but try to keep your calm. We both know what happens when you lose the ability to make good decisions."
Evileye shoved her hand away and responded.
"You don´t have to tell me. I know what I´m doing, as long as you do your job, everything will be fine."
"I wish I was as confident as you. You have to always expect the unexpected. The Sorcerer King had a lot of time to prepare for this and I´m honestly afraid of what he is capable of."
"Yes. We took too much time to get ready."
"You were all in terrible shape. Even healing magic has its limits, but I´m not talking about the last months."
"What do you mean?"
Rigrit looked into the distance.
"Everything so far went perfectly for the Sorcerer King. It´s obvious he has been preparing for eons. Patiently biding his time, not causing unnecessary attention, staying hidden for centuries. He used his time efficiently and planned everything meticulously. Magic, military might, wealth, intellect and patience. He has these things in abundance."
"You almost sound like you are admiring him."
"I can´t help but feel impressed by his abilities, but he is a merciless tyrant we have to oppose with all our might."
"That´s exactly the reason we are going to look for the Dragon Emperor´s grave. We have to use every arrow in our quiver if we want to be successful."
"But you have to promise me one thing. If it looks like you are going to encounter one of the Sorcerer King´s minions, don´t try to fight them. Just escape. As long as you are alive you can still change things."
"You don´t have to worry that much. I´m not going to make the same mistake twice."
"Why do I not feel reassured?"
Cardinal Raymond was reading the communiques the Slane Theocracy had exchanged with the Elven Kingdom. After the meeting with the other cardinals, they had decided to consider peace with the elves, at least temporarily until the matter with the Sorcerer King was resolved. He was well aware that the elves wouldn´t believe them if the government of the Slane Theocracy were suddenly to declare the war to be over and that it would be a long and tedious process. But for some reason the negotiations went in a totally different way than expected. The Elven Kingdom´s letters stated their agreement to almost every demand the Theocracy came up with. Even a delayed release of the enslaved elves didn´t seem to be a problem for them. But on the other hand there was one thing they vehemently rejected. They were not willing to let the Theocracy´s envoys meet their new queen. To an extend it was an understandable position. The queen was still a small child and probably not well fit for this kind of official work. On the other hand not presenting the queen made the cardinals doubt the council´s legitimacy and honesty. That point was well communicated in the last letter, but the response this time was pretty surprising. The message began with the usual set of phrases and it took Raymond a while to get to the important parts.
"… Unfortunately though, due to recent developments and tragic events in her family, the young queen is not able to take part in our nation´s official businesses. Partly due to her young age, she is not willing to part ways with her new family that is providing her with the comfort and security necessary for her future development. She has officially transferred all her privileges and duties to the members of the council and her presence is not required to form mutual beneficial bonds. They only way the queen would be able to attend was if her newfound family were to attend as well. Despite them being wonderful and kind people, they are unfortunately not fit to attend a high-ranking event like that…."
(It´s really hard to understand their intentions. It sounds like they genuinely care about the girl´s well-being. If we demanded her presence, it could make us appear cold and indifferent, weakening our position in the upcoming negotiations. Maybe that´s their goal. I have to find a way to force them to present the queen, without weakening ourselves.)
After pondering about this problem for a very long time, he had to make a decision. He knew full well that the other cardinals wouldn´t approve of a meeting without the elven queen. Some for simple political reasons and the fear of the treaty looking illegitimate, others to further for their own goals. He chose his words careful enough to not appear threatening, but strict enough to clearly convey the message. He made absolutely clear that the presence of the queen was unavoidable, even if it meant to allow outsiders to attend the meeting. Raymond knew that he granted the opposing party a small advantage by doing so, but on the other hand he gained more support from the other cardinals. Walking on such a thin line was really difficult, but Raymond mastered it to an almost artistic degree, not only being able to walk the line, but making backflips on top of it. If everything went according to his plan, the meeting would take place next month, allowing him to adequately prepare the place for their conference. The place was already chosen by the Theocracy and approved by the elves. It was a small patch of land between their two respective nations. The Theocracy was already busy preparing the site to make it into a suitable place. For the time of the negotiations, military personal and some scripture members would be on stand-by, but none would be allowed to enter the building. Same was true for the elven delegation. For the cardinals that wouldn´t be much of a problem, since most of them are capable warriors and magic casters, as well as former scripture members themselves. They would be able to defend themselves. Raymond wasn´t expecting for the conversation to end in failure, but he wanted to prepare for the worst. Both, the elves and his fellow cardinals held the potential of messing things up. On the other hand, apart from the high commander and the chief priest, none of the elven officials possessed significant fighting abilities. The six year old queen would certainly not be posing a threat and allowing her family to attend as well, would surely not change that.
Geralt sat on a table in the library of the Witcher Fortress Kaer Morhen. Only a couple of months ago he witnessed something incredible. The scene that had unfolded before him was still boggling his mind. His liege, the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown, held a casual conversation with one of the seven Dragon Lords of the Argland Council State. The emerald Dragon Lord, Horaki Folter, revealed a plot conceived by the other members of the council, planning to destroy the Sorcerer Kingdom. Geralt was utterly shocked, but the Sorcerer King seemed very composed, almost expecting these developments. That was the difference between a normal person and an exceptional ruler. With ease he seemed to handle the discussion and convinced the dragon to form an alliance and secretly support the Sorcerer Kingdom. Another shocking revelation was that Geralt becoming a servant of his majesty seemed to be the reason for this hostility, despite Geralt never having done anything to deserve this kind of disdain. At least he thought so. It had never before crossed his mind that the bed-time story his master Vesemir had told him when he was still little was actually a true event. For him, the Dragon Emperor´s grave was only a story told to entertain children. Seriously, how bad was it hidden, that his ancestors found it by accident? As soon as he heard that it was real, he felt the sudden urge to go and find it himself, proving that he was as capable as the Witchers that came before him. Unfortunately the Sorcerer King had agreed to leave it alone for now, to not further aggravate the dragons. At least he had promised to Geralt he would be accompanying him as soon as he started searching for it. He pretended to agree, but deep down he was barely able to hold back his curiosity. In order to temporarily forget about it, he indulged himself in work. He increased the training of his students, which went surprisingly well. Geralt felt proud of his pupils and was looking forward to their graduation ceremony. Ziri was also eager to learn, so Geralt would often include her in the lectures. Currently he was working on his newest project. He was working on the newest addition to the books in the library. He was busy drawing diagrams and anatomical pictures. Due to the nature of his motive, he had difficulties drawing some of the finer details, therefore he had practiced on a stack of paper, before drawing it into the book. He was glad he had asked Mare for higher-quality paper. The ink didn´t blur and dried quickly, making drawing a lot easier. Nevertheless, it took him several attempts to get it right. He was deeply focused as something stopped him in his tracks. His medallion started vibrating, announcing a gate would be opened in a couple of seconds. He immediately got up from his chair and patiently awaited the guest. At first he was expecting Mare, who was his usual point of contact, but deep down in his guts he had a very uncomfortable feeling. Seconds later he knew where this feeling came from. The person emerging from the shadowy portal was none other than Albedo. Geralt wouldn´t dare to judge the Sorcerer King for the choice of his second in command, but Geralt instinctively knew that Albedo was not somebody he wanted to be around for longer than necessary. He was deeply afraid of her and was glad that she didn´t pay him much attention. All the more surprising was her visit. Geralt bowed down and greeted her properly, waiting for her to respond.
"The first batch of the midgets is now here. I hope everything is ready."
Geralt sneakily looked out of the window and saw a second portal from which several children, boys and girls, emerged.
"Of course. Everything is well prepared. I´m grateful for your effort of coming here in person."
"Hmpf. I had some other things to do."
Albedo looked annoyed and Geralt silently hoped she would leave before some tragedy happened. Albedo also looked at the children. Did Geralt imagine things or did she smile for a second? It wasn´t her usual, gentle smile, but the smile of someone seeing his plan work out. As Albedo turned around to leave, Geralt sighed internally, but his breathing stopped as her expression hardened after looking at his desk.
"What is that?"
She pointed at the pile of paper Geralt drew his pictures on.
"Just some drawing practices. It was pretty hard getting it right."
Albedo picked up several pieces of paper of paper and stared intensely at them. Geralt took a step back, as he saw Albedo getting more and more flustered. Her wings began to tremble and her breathing got slightly more worked up.
"Where have you seen this?"
She asked, no, more ordered him to tell her. Her finger pointing at the skeletal figure on the paper. Geralt responded, desperately trying to conceal the trembling in his voice.
"Nowhere. Just from the way he moved it´s how I imagined his bones to look like. His walking posture indicates a pelvis like that"
Once again, Albedo seemed to tense up.
"I will confiscate them. Never show something like this to anybody else."
Geralt nodded enthusiastically. The, Albedo left the fortress via the portal she entered it. Exhausted, Geralt dropped back in his chair and stared at the ceiling, thinking of nothing.
Back in Nazarick, Albedo rushed by several of the surprised Homunculus Maids, holding tight a stack of papers. Once in her room she made sure to thoroughly lock the door, followed by standing still for a couple of seconds. Then she neatly laid down the drawings on top of her bed. Her next act would have been shocking almost everyone in Nazarick, probably Ainz Ooal Gown would be the most shocked. She jumped on her bed, happily rolling around on top of the countless drawings of Lord Ainz´s skeletal body.
"Ooh Ainz-sama..."