...Carriage of King Astraka...
The next two days were quiet ones for King Astraka and the captive Vanysa, her tirade had yielded a 'little' intelligence, trivial mainly, but it had taught him a considerable amount about the thinking of the undead rival that he had to fight against. They weren't pleasant thoughts. He counted himself as a proper noble and a proper king, he considered it his duty to provide for his people, and clearly the inept failure Queen Calca could not be permitted back, so it fell to him.
But curiously, the Sorcerer King, Ainz Ooal Gown...seemed to take a more 'personal interest' in his people. For King Astraka...it was abstract. He looked at facts and figures, was there enough food, was the military budget funded, were laws obeyed and were those charged with enforcing those laws doing so lawfully themselves?
By the same token, he had to balance the issue, if a noble kept a harem of peasant girls or had some...unsavory predilections...but that noble was critical to his rule, well sometimes someone had to suffer for the greater good, he might be personally disgusted with the man, all he could do was behave somewhat better himself...but he could let it go on within that noble's domains to keep the peace. That was how the game was played. But from her description, the Sorcerer King had chosen to flip the board over and not play the game at all, he involved himself in the lives of his peasants, he took the time to reprimand a peasant boy and reason with him rather than simply having a guard give the kid a beating, or just ignore it as they were only peasants.
He furrowed his brow while Vanysa slept lengthways on the seat, there were now chains on her wrists that held her in place, and not for the first time since meeting her, he felt more than a little ashamed of what he'd done.
"Agh! Why does this BOTHER me!" He snapped to the air and grabbed at the hair on his head. He'd spoken with her a few more times, the sandwich had been good, he'd even made one for himself...a first for the nobleman turned King. Yesterday had been a bit of a breakthrough...
"Ah don't much feel like sayin anythin ta the man what got me all tied up an helpless, ahm no more appy than you are yah know, proly a lot less!" She snapped at him. "But so ah can just stop bein bored, ah tell yah what, yah let mah hands loose an ah promise that while 'you' av let em out, we can at least stay entertained an ah won't go callin fer help."
He'd frowned. "I don't often bargain with peasants."
She shrugged. "Well yah wanna be bored, ain't no way ahm gonna stop ya, an yah already done bargained with me once, an that gotcha a sanich, and yah know yah liked how that came out, so why nae do it twice?" She'd asked him, and giggled at the way she said it.
He'd rolled her eyes and said, "deal."
She'd been willing to talk to him, but when he tried to get information...she locked up. Now she was tied up again, and chained for good measure, so that he could sleep in peace without risking her trying to escape then. Part of him wondered if he was making a profound mistake, or if this was the best possible decision he could have made. A part of him told himself to cut her throat and hide the body to avoid any possible detection later, but he set the notion aside.
He'd be home soon, and then he'd try in earnest to draw out what she knew of her...benefactor.
...Royal Palace...Re-Estize Kingdom...
Princess Renner had been very thorough in planning the ball, and both King Zanac & the Marquis Raeven had been enthusiastic supporters of it, so much so that it seemed most of the nobles of the Kingdom were all going to be available, no matter what their faction. Even the learder of the new faction of incompetents, one 'Philip' had chosen to attend.
For this event, no expense had been spared, the finest meals were being prepared by the finest chefs, only the most high quality well born servants were in attendance to wait upon guests, and the finest clothing was worn by all. The great ballroom was bathed in orange light by hundreds of candles, there were so many in fact that there were four servants who had no other job but to walk around the room and ensure that every candle remained lit and that any that burned down or broke was quickly replaced.
When the palace was opened King Zanac stepped out on to the grounds where they all were awaiting entry.
"Nobles of Re-Estize, may I bid welcome to the most dedicated and fine citizens a king could ask for!" A round of cheers greeted him, no matter the faction, national pride tended to be high.
"The purpose of this ball is to celebrate our unity! While the world beyond our borders is divided, our neighbors at one another's throats, their futures withering, while we stay strong, united, and growing. We of course...have suffered over the years..." He gave pause to his words, allowing for a solemn moment of silence, "But we still STAND!" He said, thrusting his fist into the air as she shouted his final statement.
"In that spirit, come within, and celebrate with me! Enjoy the wine, the music, and the fruits of a peace I pray that may long endure!" He said, opening his arms wide as if to embrace old friends, and he stepped aside and gestured to the entryway, a broad smile on his face as the cheers met him and the crowd moved forward across the grass and up the smooth clean stone steps of the palace.
In his head, Zanac wanted to practically cry, every word he'd said was a bald faced lie, he as now essentially a puppet of the Sorcerer King, who somehow essentially had their heirs all hostage without having been even remotely guilty of actually taking them as such, indeed he was going to be their rescuer.
When the last guest entered, Renner approached him. "Brother, you did very well, father would have been proud."
Zanac sighed, "It doesn't feel better."
Princess Renner sighed heavily, "Welcome to my existence, it did not feel good to be bartered like livestock, it did not feel good to pretend to be powerless, foolish, or weak, and you tolerated my enduring those for years." She said smartly.
"Well, I'm sorry." Zanac said sincerely, "This is very unpleasant."
"Most medicine is bitter, but the people of the Kingdom will survive, and you just need play your part." She said pointedly.
"I will." He said, "I have had a number of entertainment features planned, and provided assigned seating that gave front row preference to the novice faction of nobles, our people are mostly in the back, during the entertainment, I leave it to you to get them out to where they can meet with the Sorcerer King."
"Never fear brother, I won't fail." Renner said solemnly.
"I know, you're excessively clever, and...well most of these nobles are idiots." He said with a semblance of exhaustion, "Now, lets go in before somebody notices our conversation, see you afterwards sister."
"And you, King Zanac." She replied with a charming smile and moved among the crowd.
Philip sighed, the Kingdom was so pathetic, he looked up at the short, chubby King Zanac and reflected that it should be himself up there, not the fat lump that had inherited the throne. He was sure the man's talent was ordinary at best, and there really were so many idiots here, especially among the royals, but at least it gave him a chance to show himself off, and he never hesitated to do that. "Worthless. They're all so worthless." He said as he wandered around and mingled with the guests, quietly as he walked, he picked out which ones he would behead as he shook their hands and made small talk, all he needed was the opportunity to act, and quite soon that opportunity would come to him. He wandered over and casually caressed the bottom of a servant girl who was passing by, she turned around quickly and when she saw it was he, she blushed. Philip grinned, she must have been excited to get the attention of 'Philip the Great'. "More wine." He said, standing very close to the woman, she must have been very impressed with him, because she stammered out an acknowledgement and backed away as fast as she could to obey. He leaned against the wall and casually indulged in his favorite dream for the future.
He imagined himself there, standing over the body of the Sorcerer King, the beautiful Albedo kneeling in front of him, so very impressed, as well she should be, his name being written down as 'Philip the Great', and with the massive wealth of the Sorcerer Kingdom, he wouldn't need the Slane Theocracy, or the stupid nobles, he could behead the ones he didn't like, he saw their heads rolling away in his mind, and his crest flying over Kami Miyako, and if he had that, why the Holy Roble Kingdom was all but broken and the Draconic Kingdom wasn't much better off, he imagined he could conquer both of those easily...it was his...it would all be his...one day.
The servant returned, bearing a bottle, she appeared nervous...'The presence of greatness...it must do that to women.' He thought smugly as he held out his cup. She poured, not looking him in the eyes, which didn't bother him, because he was staring down at her ample breasts.
He casually reached out to touch her, "I ah...sir...the other guests..." She said. 'Obviously shy.' He thought, 'Its ok, I just need to take the lead.' He thought, and stepped closer, "They're fine." He said, and finished his cup, and held it out for a refill. "Another." She did her best to bury her discomfort, and poured for him again. "Good, you're very...attentive, and its good to be...attentive, to the right guests." He said, and he touched the side of her face, she flinched as if slapped, and he put his hand there again, more slowly, 'I need to ease her in...when she understands how nice this can feel...' He thought, and then he felt a touch on his back and turned around, and found himself face to face with princess Renner. The golden princess herself, he turned from the servant woman, and the princess spoke.
"Ahh...Philip, isn't it?" She said with a winning smile, and he bowed politely.
"The one and the same." He said with a satisfied grin. "There is some entertainment about to take place, I pray you'll come join us for it, surely your friends would be lost without your guiding hand?" She asked indulgently.
'She's right.' He sighed in his head, 'They're all idiots, they'd be lost without my brilliant direction and leadership, I'd better go or they'll say or do something stupid.' Aloud he said, "As you say highness, I would be a bad friend indeed to leave them alone on such a marvelous evening." He bowed again and began to walk away, though he turned to look at the servant girl somewhat regretfully, only to find that she was moving away as fast as she could, no doubt upset that he had to leave her.
He shrugged and thought, 'Next time' as he moved to the seating area.
...E-Rantel...Governor's Manor...
Leinas Rockbruise was doing something she hadn't done much of in her life. She was enjoying herself. The Sorcerer King had come by E-Rantel and praised her efforts, he'd even offered a reward to her, she'd requested a few days of relaxation, and as a result she spent two weeks being pampered in the spa of Nazarick, she still felt as relaxed as a slime.
Her work around E-Rantel overseeing the fiscal shifts and the investment in the demihuman district were largely successful, more demihumans were building businesses, some had sold their homes, others had become landlords, many others had leveraged their property into business ventures.
Leinas had ensured she was scrupulously fair, and the incorruptible elder liches that served as beaurocrats and judges simply could not be bribed, while the use of mind control magic exposed the corrupt and cost some their fortunes, and others their freedom. As she came to understand more of the vision of the Sorcerer King, she came to appreciate the value of it, especially seeing the end result of it all. Fighting for a better future had gone from meaning the need to swing her sword, to the need to move her pen...all in all, she was all smiles and positivity.
That was her mood when she saw a document on her desk, it was a letter, addressed to the Sorcerer King from Queen Draudillon. Correspondence for Ainz Ooal Gown was not common, but nor was it unheard of, but Albedo had been quite firm in that Leinas had an obligation to ensure her master's time was not wasted with petty concerns, so she was obligated to filter out the polite greetings and other nonsense for 'bulk' delivery, while only urgent matters were expressly brought to his attention immediately.
It might have been a tedious chore, but it was one that showed the highest level of trust the undead could place in her, so..she gingerly broke the seal and was about to read it when a servant knocked on the door and informed her that the Platinum Dragon Lord was there to see her.
"Send him in." She said with surprise, and set the letter down, deciding to skim it while she waited.
'Who the hell is Vanysa?' She thought to herself, shifting through her memory trying to place the name, until...gradually...a vague recollection came bubbling to the surface, an offhand remark from a battlemaid about a bubbly blonde girl that visited Nazarick and...once slept in the Sorcerer King's private chambers. She swallowed hard and put that into the urgent stack and activated a scroll calling for a courier to come urgently.
The courier came and went before the Platinum Dragon Lord arrived, and Leinas found herself missing her vacation much sooner than she thought she would. She did her best to hide her discomfort, and invited the lord to sit in front of her, and then she sat herself.
"Good morning my lord, how can I help you?" She asked, folding her hands formally in front of her. He, for his part, sat straight and kept his hands in his lap.
"I will be blunt, I've come to see what kind of a country this is." He said. Leinas nodded sagely, "Of course, I assume you passed through the orientation already, correct?"
He nodded, "I did, and I will admit I did not believe what I heard there. So far however, if there are any lies, I have yet to find them."
"What more can I do for you then?" She asked, spreading her hands open invitingly.
"You are a human, formerly of the empire, and one of the great defenders of humanity, but you are here, serving the undead. Why?" He asked, and leaned in intensely.
She sighed heavily, "You probably know about my curse?"
"I did." He answered.
"He cured it. I was cursed, then cured, and blessed. In exchange, I serve him as I served my former emperor." She answered as honestly as she could.
"Were you 'stolen' from his service?" The dragon lord asked.
"No, he released me with a favorable recommendation, the Sorcerer King did what the emperor could not, and I offer all that I am able to, in return." She replied.
"And you are happy about this?" He asked.
"I am." She replied.
"Because you got what you wanted?" He asked further.
"I won't say no...but it is more than that." She said, leaning in herself, "I have come to believe in his vision for this world, between Carne & E-Rantel, I'm seeing the model of the world he wants to create, and its one I want to see. I won't say he's without his ruthless side, how far he'll go when he's pushed, but..."
Their conversation was interrupted by a gate opening in her office, and through it stepped the Sorcerer King, he came in from behind the Platinum Dragon Lord, such that he did not realize who was seated, and he slapped the letter down on Leinas's desk.
"When did this arrive?" He asked.
Leinas knelt immediately and said, "Sire it came in with the morning paperwork, I sent it to you the moment I saw its contents." She answered with her head bowed.
"Do you know who Vanysa is?" He asked her.
Leinas shook her head. "I only heard her name once sire, a battlemaid mentioned that years ago a girl by that name visited your home, she mentioned you seemed to like her."
The pressure in the room began to build, "She personally attended to me during the entirety of my sojourn into the Beastman Kingdom, and more recently she personally spoke before great leaders as to my character, no easy thing for a peasant to do. Her disappearance is unacceptable. Have your forces been assembled yet?" He asked her.
Leinas swallowed, "Most of them sire, but others are still coming in, we will be ready to march at the end of the month if you want them all."
"End of the week, the rest can be rerouted to the border and catch up to you. I want your entire army ready to march step over the border the very day that thirty day window ends." He answered as the pressure continued to build, Leinas felt it pushing her down, she could not hold her head up, she was breathing hard.
Then it vanished, kept breathing hard, and Ainz reached out and touched her shoulder, "I'm sorry, I did not intend for you to feel that, it is simply that this outrages my greatly." He said.
It was then that he noticed the Platinum Dragon Lord sitting there, breathing very hard as well.
Ainz inclined his head, "I did not see you there, I apologize, my mind was...occupied."
"No...think nothing of it, it is simply that I was hoping to learn more about your kingdom, perhaps take a tour of your city so that we could know one another better." The Dragon Lord said diplomatically, then he tilted his head, "Vanysa has gone missing? She's the busty gutsy blonde girl with the funny manner of speech, right?"
Ainz chuckled, "A more apt description I could not make, yes, she has vanished, apparently the night of the conference, that is what the letter from Queen Draudillon says. I am on my way to see her about it...momentarily."
Leinas swallowed, she did not envy the Queen.
The Platinum Dragon Lord felt uncomfortable, "I'm sure she had nothing to do with it." He said.
Ainz paused..."I agree, but this letter is very lacking in information, it asks only if she is with us and expresses some concern, something about a lost coin and being unable to find her, and her not being at her residence lately and a fear that if she is not with us, then she has been taken...and she is not with us."
The Platinum Dragon Lord took that in slowly, "I understand your concern..." He said. "You will not be to hard on her though?"
Ainz thought for a moment, "No, not unless she is involved."
"How will you find out?" He asked.
"Quickly." Ainz replied, and the pressure began to build again, only for Ainz to cut it off immediately.
He gestured to Leinas, "Send word to the others, get them to the march immediately, and I want all the weapons and armor Neia needs to be waiting at Prart when she arrives. There will be a heavy price to pay if Vanysa is made to suffer. Also, have Albedo bring Aureole Omega to the throne room and be ready to meet with me when I return, along with the rest of the general command, to include yourself."
A moment later, Ainz was gone again, leaving the Platinum Dragon Lord alone with Leinas.
"Should he...have said those things in front of me?" The Platinum Dragon Lord asked, mystified.
"Be glad he did." She replied.
"Why?" He asked.
"First, it means he does not consider you an enemy, and more importantly, he does not consider you to have been involved in this." She said, letting that sink in.
"Second, it means he does not expect you to betray what you've heard to anyone that it would matter to, probably because if word got out, he'd know exactly where it came from and you know it...that means he considers you smart enough to act on your own best interest and keep quiet." She paused again, allowing that to sink in.
"Third, it means he's thinking you are more likely to be an ally than you are to be a threat." She finished and let all that sink in at once. The Platinum Dragon Lord was almost offended for a moment about something existing that didn't think of him as a threat...but then he questioned his sanity and set that absurd thought aside.
"Exactly." She said as it all sunk in. "You could be much worse off now. Something else to keep in mind though, either he knew you were here and was able to plan his behavior to let you see him behave this way over a mere peasant...in which case he is incalcualbly cunning...or...he didn't know, and you saw what kind of king he was by virtue of his obvious care for a peasant that isn't even a citizen of his nation. He's either a genius or he's genuine, both set him a cut above the norm that I have seen." Leinas said, and after a moment she added, "I can't give you a tour now obviously, but I suggest you take a look around, enjoy the city of E-Rantel, see who your neighbor really is." She said and stood up, "Now, thank you for coming, I'm sorry you had to experience that disruption, his majesty is...passionate about the wellbeing of those who have served him loyally."
The Platinum Dragon Lord stood and bowed, "I wish you luck, General Rockbruise."
"And I pray I have no need of luck." She said with a smile, returning the bow, and leaving the room to emptiness.
...Black Justice line of march...
The high walls of Prart were seen sooner than expected, and the city even from a distance, looked much improved, but the sun was setting and they were still a long way off, so Neia ordered encampment for the night and defenses were swiftly set into place. Both the Vines & the Blood Miners had learned the Black Justice methods, and they applied themselves to those methods religiously, stakes were hammered into place, improvised walls were made of carts, and a watch was set over the prisoners, who were kept gagged and bound in their improvised prison cart, and the torches were laid every twenty feet surrounding the exterior of the camp, allowing the camp that was shrouded in darkness, to see into the light to target any threats. When those were established, cook fires were laid and a watch was set, and it was only then that tents went up for people to sleep in, some only had bed rolls, but it was good enough.
Around their cook fire that night, Skana asked, "Do you think Tinamoc is there?"
CZ shrugged, "Do not know. Maybe."
Neia nodded, "I expect he will be, he had a head start, even if he is delayed, well we were the hunted ones."
"Maybe." Skana said, "But I'll be a lot happier when we know."
"Cute." CZ said, and placed a sticker on her cheek.
Skana smiled indulgently and left the sticker in place, it upset CZ when her friends removed her stickers.
"What about these prisoners, what do we do with em?" Neia asked.
"The King says we're an insurrection, but the Queen says otherwise, so I guess it comes down to whom you believe." Neia said with a shrug.
"I still can't believe she's alive again." Skana said.
"Saw her myself." Neia replied, "We officially declare for the Queen, and when the month is over, we have official international aid with full just cause.
"You should rule." CZ said, pointing to Neia. When Neia's jaw fell open, CZ said, "Cute, and placed a sticker on the tip of Neia's nose.
Neia froze for a moment and then gasped out..."WHAT?!"
AN: Well another double release day, by the time you see this it should be the 25th, and I owe a few more double release days yet. :) These two chapters were unique in some ways, first, I responded to some reader feedback about the way Vanysa speaks, I've made her language more simplified so it doesn't have to be read out loud to understand, but I don't think it changed her character any to do so, a little more of her mental state is revealed, look carefully, you'll find the pattern for it. The characters are explored in somewhat greater depth now, and we're coming to the end of the time spent returning home for all the characters. Ainz is obviously really pissed off, and events are about to spiral out of everyone's control.
If you want to increase the number of days in which I do double releases, you can donate blood to an appropriate location and simply send me photo proof of your donation in the form of your vampired arm where they're draining the blood from your body...I know, you just thought of Shalltear, its why I like y'all. You get me. ;) Anyway, alternatively, you can donate to charity at bdgiving dot org.
...you slave drivers. ;)