Biggest thanks for Ace-Triad for fixing my SPAG problems, and Angel Wraith for beta-reading... and picked out a pretty major plot hole in the original draft of this chapter.
Special thanks goes to both fluffball13, and Datnoob whose input inspired part of this chapter and its omake respectively.
As always, I will blabber some more in my end note.
Mein wordlessly picked berries hanging by the bushes. About twenty paces left of her was Oersted busy with his own forage, while Naofumi is sitting on the ground ten paces behind them. This is a system the three of them developed when foraging for food after their escape from the capital. Keep each other in sight, close enough to help each other if they are jumped by a monster, or something worse. Thankfully, they haven't been caught up by possible pursuers from the Three Heroes' Church yet, so they only tested it against the monsters.
The princess tries to figure her way through the bush where different colored berries grew. She tries her best to recall back to their travels with Gaston about what wild bounties are safe to consume, and what fruits or mushrooms that look enticing on the first glance can give you a stomach cramp in the best case scenario. But she didn't pay much attention to them back then.
She remembers the basics, like the more colorful something looks, the more likely it has some kind of poison in them. But then again, one type of berry Gaston picked that were both safe for them to eat, and a bit of treat with its mildly sour sweet taste was in a deep shade of red with black lines on them. The other time, the former ranger turned village hunter stopped Firo from eating a very unassuming looking white berry for its poison. So it's not really a good rule.
While she is trying her best to puzzle over what to pick to fill their empty stomachs, a black fur covered, a beast dark as a moonless night, with two snarling heads leap out of the bush to lunge at her, its maw filled with teeth each as sharp as a dagger.
Chapter 104: Life Goes On
The princess didn't hesitate, the star wand, which had been previously tacked to the side of her body flipped into her hand in an instant. It takes even less time for the weapon's form to change from an unassuming looking piece of branch into a sword with a gem at the end of the hilt. Fast as a lightning, Mein jams the blade of her sword wand upward, going through the monster's jaw right through the top of its skull. The other head lets out a pathetic whimper, before its whole body goes limp. Despite having two heads, cutting off one would still kill the thing.
The time between when she was attacked and the death of the Wavehound was only enough for Oersted to take a single step towards her. The princess turns her sword wand around and kicks the dead carcass off. She only noticed the similarity between this monster she killed and the monster that gave her the cursed scar till its dead body hit the floor.
Mein shakes her head as she waves the blood off the surface of the star wand. She changes its form back to the much more portable piece of stick once again for easy carry. With that startle, she no longer feels like picking more berries, so she simply brings what already had over to the pile in front of Naofumi.
Oersted joins her right after, as the two of them bring the food over to Shield Hero. Naofumi starts separating them into two piles, the one on his right will be the ones they'll use to stave off the hunger in their bellies, while the pile on the left will be thrown away due to it being poisonous. The princess in disguise appreciates the Shield Hero's dedication to learn useful skills at every moment, rather than brushing the opportunities away like she did as she assumed there'll always be someone else with appropriate training there to attend her.
They practically lost everything that's not glued onto their body, or picked up during their escape after Consevatie The Younger incarcerated them. Sadly, this includes all their traveling ration, or even the survival gears and tools one uses during travel. While things like a tinder box isn't strictly necessary thanks to her fire magic, the loss of cooking pots and pans means they can't cook a proper meal even with the food they gathered during travel and had to resort to eating fruits, berries, or edible roots to stave off their hunger pain.
They could technically still roast meat, or foraged wild plants over an open fire if not for their second problem: The need to avoid detection from the the Three Heroes' Church, who by now must have been fully mobilized after their very public escape attempt. She is torn between the concern for Mala, Baldy, Blue Eyes and Lord Noches' well-being by extension, but also hoping they manage to divert the church's attention a bit longer to ensure the safety of Naofumi.
It's the third day since their escape from the capital after the noble sacrifice of both Uranus, and everyone working for Lord Noches. They barely exchange a handful of words with each other, and only when they can't get the meaning across with a few gestures or body movements.
It's hard to estimate how much land they covered when they escaped head first into the forested area of the mountain range. They kept as far away from any sign of civilization as possible. Even a distant trail of rising smoke would scare them into hiding under some thick foliage. Dreading the moment when more indentured demi-human slaves working for the the Three Heroes' Church would descend upon them. Thankfully it hasn't happened yet.
The princess picks a few berries off the safe pile as she starts to munch on them. She looks around, feeling the area around them looked rather familiar. Then again, most of the forest around north of the capital looks similar to her, so she's not a good judge of that.
Mein idly pulls her star wand out, and starts to spin it around the fingers of her free hand, playing with it to alleviate her boredom and mixed anxiety. She looks through all the forms Father unlocked and still available to her, hoping to access some useful ability despite their general weakness due to the level 40 restriction imposed by the blood curse. If Naofumi's shield had an ability that showed them a phantom map of their surroundings more accurately than any sandbox map, perhaps Father had something similar? He was a strategist before he became one of the Vassal Heroes after all, and it feels like an ability right up his alley. Unfortunately for the princess, the answer seems to be no after she combed through all her available selection. Either it's something unlocked after a much higher level (unlikely, as Naofumi did it when he was below level 20), or Father's mind was too old fashioned for him to unlock such possibilities.
By this point, Naofumi had finished separating the edible from the poisonous. He scoops the handful of fruits and berries forward, and shares it with Oersted. The three of them finished their meal in silence once again, not feeling like talking after what happened in the capital. Oersted suddenly looks up behind them, and points his finger in the distance. Mein and Naofumi turn around, ready for a fight before noticing the distant cloud of rising dust created by a sizable group of riders traveling fast. Too fast, and numerous for a normal group of travelers, or even a large trade caravan.
The princess quickly moves her finger in front of her mouth to have the others stay quiet and points her other hand towards the thick bush. If anything would be the sign of their pursuers from the Three Heroes' Church, this is likely it. But it's also possible that it's a group tasked for some other purpose.
Assuming the one in charge of the Three Heroes' Church isn't an idiot (she would have scoffed at that idea based on Cromwell's recent record, but it only makes the fact that they were captured by an actual idiot that much sadder.), they would have sent out more of those stealthy demi-human hunter/killer teams than a large group of riders. Be it filorial, or a knight's raptor, the mounts would create disturbance that's easy to spot over a long distance by a small group as them, and it would allow them to lose their pursuers in a complex terrain like forested mountain towards northern Melromarc.
With her mind made, Mein activates the star wand's ability to make other people ignore her presence. She slips away from both Naofumi and Oersted, and makes her way towards the direction of the rider band. She needs to see the group with her own eyes to better determine what's going on. And if the group really is here to chase after the Shield Hero… someone needs to lead them away.
The group of riders move much faster than her own pair of legs can carry herself, but she isn't trying to run directly into them. The princess managed to find a high perch overlooking the road down, the litter of stones and foliage growing around them makes for a good hiding spot. She crouches down, and carefully peek her eyes through the branches and leaves to stare at the road, and the incoming group. Even from a distance, she managed to catch the banner which the group is flying: a golden, stylized feather over a field of azure sky to go with House Consevatie's words: The heart to fly will never die.
The figure riding in the middle, being shielded by both white robed church men and azure cloaked sworn swords of House Consevatie is no other than the arrogant fop. He is riding on top of Firo's bird form, cuddling Raphtalia in his laps. Firo's eyes are filled with anger, like she wants to go full speed ahead to trample everyone in front of her, and only stopped by Consevatie's reign… and likely the punishment of the slave seal holding her back. Poor Raphtalia fidget in Consevatie's embrace, looking like she's one twitch away from throwing herself under the claws of her fellow riders to end her own misery. Riding beside them, the four-eyed cousin of Iris Amelia is glaring daggers at Raphtalia.
Mein's old 'friend' passes her perch fast, and she manages to recover from her brief moment of stunned shock. The heir of House Consevatie being sent away from the capital is a bit strange, especially at this moment. The first guess the disgraced princess made was he's being punished for his mess up in the capital by being sent away from the center of power. Taking out both the Shield Hero… and herself would no have doubt been the crowning achievement for both himself, and the Three Heroes' Church. If he had quietly killed both of them, this would be it for the Three Heroes' Church. They managed to kill the 'demon' they always wanted to get rid of, while not leaving anyone with definitive proof that they were guilty for the deed.
Unfortunately, the fool allowed Leon Bartfort to exploit his ego, and being talked into keeping Naofumi and herself prisoner, leading to their escape. It flushed out all the forces of Lord Noches, which were no doubt hiding in the dark tunnels underneath the capital and causing mischief to the Three Heroes' Church, yes. But it's not enough to excuse the blunder of letting the Shield Hero (and herself) escape.
But the fop was practically preening like a filorial who won Zeltoble's annual grand race as he rode away to the north. That's not the face of someone who is being practically sent away on exile. While it's possible that it's his usual clueless arrogance, the presence of his church and House Consevatie mixed retinue seems to object to her original assumption. No, his identity as the heir to Lord Consevatie, one of the Three Heroes' Church's biggest backers likely protected himself from the worst of Cromwell's wrath. He's probably being sent away to act as an overseer for some unimportant location, so Cromwell can claim he's rewarding the Consevatie heir for rooting out Lord Noches' resistance, while keeping the idiot away from the center where all the important decisions and maneuvers are made.
Either way, it's good news for her group. This is a sign that the the Three Heroes' Church has no idea where they have disappeared to. Consevatie's group would have caught the attention of anyone with a pair of working eyes and a working mind. If the church had even a vague idea of where the escaped Shield Hero is, they would have sent out their hunter/killer team first to dispose of their biggest threat.
With her decision made, Mein stays in her hiding spot for a few more even as the last of the riders disappear from her view. She casts a [Clairvoyant] spell to lead her back to where Naofumi and Oersted were hiding, and begin to slowly sneak her way back to her companions. Her steps are noticeably lighter on her trek back, knowing the Three Heroes' Church's current oblivious state of their locations.
When she arrived back at their temporary hiding spot, the place looked empty except for a very suspicious looking pile of discarded inedible berries. She drops the misdirection effect of her weapon ability and stands up. Naofumi runs out of the bush Mein pointed to earlier almost in an instant, as he runs over and pulls her into a tight embrace. His voice is low and shaking. "I was scared…"
The princess simply tightens her own arm around the Shield Hero's back, even giving him a few light pats. There's no words need to be said about the two of them, she should tell him the newest information she learnt of Consevatie The Younger. "Consevatie was riding with that group. He has Firo and Raphtalia with him."
Mein feels Naofumi's arm slowly growing still around her. He edges away from her, and she releases her arms around him. Despite still not saying a word, the way he blinks his eyes tells Mein what he's thinking about right now. "We can't save Raphtalia and Firo by ourselves. Consevatie had a few hundred men trained and equipped for war protecting him. We have to save ourselves first."
The Shield Hero is as silent as he is unmoving. After a few more beats, he finally lets out a single sigh. "I know."
Mein gives a soothing rub on Naofumi's shoulder before fully pulling herself away from the shieldless Shield Hero. Instead of going back to her wild fruits and berries, she drags out the dead hound monster and changes her vassal weapon into a sword wand once again. It's not as easy to use with its much longer blade, but she begins to awkwardly skin the dead beast.
"What are you doing?" Naofumi cocks his head sideways. This isn't the first time they've been attacked by a monster after their escape, nor is it the first time they killed a monster that has meat on them. But with them too afraid to even start a fire or go near civilization, they had to leave all of the potential loot behind as they continued fleeing north.
"The church doesn't know we are here, or else they'd sent more of their stealth demi-human hunters out before Consevatie's group." Mein points her free hand down at the giant dog. "Which means we can make a small fire and cook some real food. We need to eat better to bring our stamina back up if we are trekking our way north to make our escape."
"Wouldn't you send out the riders to chase down someone?" Naofumi blinks a couple of times. His knowledge of warfare clearly stops at the concept level, and a very basic one at that.
"On an open plain, yes. Feet can't out run the claws of filorial, or knight's raptor as the saying goes." Oersted takes a step forward into Naofumi's view as he explains. "But northern Melromarc is mostly forested mountain. It slows down the speed of a much larger rider even if their mounts are sure footed, and there's a lot of space for a man on foot to hide from them. Much better to send out rangers and hunters if you want to track down someone."
The Shield Hero nods his head, clearly convinced by their explanation. While Mein is busy butchering up the body of the dead hound, Oersted starts to cut down straight, and thicker tree branches. Naofumi gathers up dried dead branches and leaves and sets up stones in a circle around them. Mein throws her hand up, lighting the tinders gathered by Naofumi up into a nice little campfire. She takes the branches from Oersted's hands, and runs meat through them. She hands the skewered meat over to Naofumi, to let him slowly roast their better-filling meal.
The princess sits down, and supports her head with her hands as she watches the meat over the fire slowly turning color. It's going to take more time to cook. Now their food is more than wiping their sleeves over the cover to clean them up. Her mind begins to drift towards the near future, about their ongoing escape from the Three Heroes' Church.
Now that they have lost pretty much everything except their clothes, the next step is clear. They need to cross over the border of glorious Melromarc, so the influence of the Three Heroes' Church that's trying to prosecute is no longer ironclad. And the most obvious one is to keep going north. Thankfully, it's not hard to figure out their general direction despite the thick forest around them. Towards the north, earth rises above the treeline into a tall mountain range, taunting salvation to them yet also serving as one last obstacle.
The disgraced princess isn't sure if the border garrison had already sworn their loyalty to the Three Heroes' Church, or if they'll be more sympathetic towards the maligned Shield Hero. Revealing her true identity to them could be just as dangerous if the commanders at the border are in bed with the church. Iris' grandfather is supposedly the general in charge with the overall defense of the northwest border, and she can't see the man who stood as an equal to Father and the pope became one of Cromwell's (or Chief God forbid, Consevatie The Younger) creatures. But it's equally likely General Anderson had already left the border fortification to check what's going on with the chaos towards the south.
Trying to cross the mountain range without going through the garrison is equally perilous. It wasn't called Griffin's Spine for nothing. The peak of the mountain range raised up towards the sky across the northern Melromarc border, forming a natural wall from the area outside of glorious Melromarc. And if that's the only noticeable thing about the mountain range making traverse difficult, it might have been called something like a serpent's spine. No, what really gives Griffin's Spine its name is the numerous griffin kingdoms dotted alongside the mountain range. These apex predators of the sky periodically raid settlements close to the mountain range that had weak defense, and fiercely attack anyone who dared to wander too close to their kingdom nests.
For the particularly daring high level adventurers (usually in the level 40-100 epic range), especially those who specialize in stealth. The griffin kingdoms provide a nice source of income. Griffin eggs are always in high demand both for any nation's air cavalry, and for decadent nobles who want a prized pet or even treat it as a special delicacy. But for their under leveled and under equipped group… the prospect of trying to climb through the Griffin's Spine mountain range feels more like monster assisted suicide. They might as well jump off a high mountain and save those dangerous… but majestic beasts the trouble.
Mein looks around as she walks behind Oersted and Naofumi as their rear guard. Once again, the forest looks very similar due to all the brown trunks and green leaves. But she's reminded of the bandit camp they encountered back during their first journey north.
Wait, the bandit group under that large man who claimed to be a former professor from Faubley's Hero Academy. If they are as trustworthy as they boasted, maybe she can ask them for help. Naofumi did help the refugee turned bandit group settle down in the southern area of Whiterun County, and she did negotiate a deal with Count Balgruuf to leave them alone. The old man with his axe gun was already stronger than Farkas, and he claimed to specialize in zoology. If he is willing to help them, it might be possible for them to actually cross over Griffin's Spine without anyone the wiser. The pelt for the hound would also serve as a nice gift. With her decision made, she reaches over to Naofumi and slaps her hand on the Shield Hero's shoulder. "Remember Porter's group? We shouldn't be too far. They can help us."
Both Naofumi and Oersted stop looking at the fire to turn around and look at Mein. While the young Gallian knight looks oblivious as he should, Naofumi's eyes start to turn. The Shield Hero is clearly becoming aware of what she's planning. "Can we find them? We don't know where we are."
"Let me try [Clairvoyant]. So long as he's not out of the range…" The princess switches the wand into its strongest form she has access to. The maximum range of a [Clairvoyant] is dependent on both the user magical power, and how clear they can visualize their target. Thankfully, the Faubley man had a comically large mustache that's hard to forget. She closes her eyes and tries to focus on Porter's face, then pushes her magic through the star wand, and… nothing. There's no smoke-like ghostly trail for her to follow. It seems like they are much further away from Porter's group than she originally anticipated.
The princess scratches her chin and thinks harder. She doesn't want to give up on this line of thought yet. The northern region of Melromarc had been where the Three Heroes' Church had their strongest influence due to the people suffering the worst abuse from Siltvelt occupation. So it's unlikely they can seek official help from the nobility. Sure, Lord Whiterun had named Naofumi one of his thanes, but one count's influence and power is no match compared to the church. Someone like Balgruuf might already have been deposed by Cromwell. Which leaves someone like Porter's group the best candidate to get in contact with for Naofumi's benefit.
She decided to try and visualize the camp of the bandits next. Unlike Porter, who is a person and could have moved further away, their camp obviously can't pack up by itself and go. Plus, it was built on top of a hot spring that's supposedly powered by one of the dragon blood veins. It also had a very rare alchemist reagent, which suggests it also had some kind of magical layline underneath. Both should act as a beacon for the spell to focus on. Sure enough, a trial of smoke formed in her vision when she opened her eyes. "I locked onto their camp, but I can't find Porter."
"You think the church chased them away?" The Shield Hero voiced out his immediate conclusion.
"Maybe, or they could have escaped on their own. Let's go see them first before we jump to conclusions." Mein's reply draws nods of agreement from both Naofumi and Oersted. Not soon after, their meat is done and they eagerly dig in. It's only meat roasted over a campfire without any kind of seasoning. But after a few days eating wild fruits and berries, and especially that prison meal of gruel, they practically taste like heaven.
Their meal didn't take too long. Now that they have a more immediate goal again, everyone was too anxious to sit back and enjoy the taste of their food. They did their best kicking the dirt over the remains of their camp, hopefully hiding it in case the church did send out a hunter killer team after them later. But Mein wasn't too confident at their amateurish ability to hide trail from professional trackers. Finding the whereabouts of Porter's group as quickly as possible is probably going to be their best bet.
The princess takes up the front, rather than bring up the rear as their usual traveling formation. With her spell being the only direction on where they are going, it makes the most sense that she walks in the front. But Naofumi and Oersted both make sure to keep their distance closer to her in case she's jumped by some monster now she's distracted following her smoke trail. When she found Consevatie's retinue, they were eating their second meal and the sun was in the middle of the sky. By the time they begin to find signs of someone staying in the forest, the sun is well dipping its way towards the western horizon.
The first bit of evidence that someone was near, and trying to build at least a semi-permanent dwelling was seeing some tree stumps, and a trail in the dirt where people drag the felled timber away. Mein moves over to the stump and takes a look, finding the cut surface to be smooth rather than coarse as usual handiwork of some random lumberjack. The tree was likely cut down by Porter with one clean sweep. Not surprising, considering what he was able to do to Farkas.
Mein dispelled her [Clairvoyant] at this sign. With the trail of lumber plowed into the earth, there's no question where it'll lead them too. The smoke-like trail when using [Clairvoyant] is only in the caster's own head. Unless one over-charges the spell to make everyone able to follow the direction. But the spell would still leave a trail of mana for a person, or even a monster sensitive to mana to follow.
The princess turns around to her two male companions. She once again puts a finger across her lips. Since her spell didn't manage to connect to Porter, it's safe to assume he's no longer in the camp, and they have no idea what they'll find. It's better to be safe, rather than sorry. The three of them crouches down, and carefully make their way towards the bandit's camp. They make sure they stay outside the clear lumber trail, hiding amongst the treelines and bushes.
It didn't take too long for them to discover the campsite of Porter's group around the hotspring. The refugee turned bandits clearly treated their task of settling down on this location seriously. Dozens of wooden shakes dot around the pound, there's even a wooden fence around the makeshift settlement. Although in this case, it probably served more to mark their perimeter rather than actually providing any protection. Mein doubt it could even stop a panicked muffalo.
Porter isn't anywhere to be found, which is a bit of understatement. It's more to the point to say there is no one left to be found. But the settlement still looks untarnished by both the element, or any wandering monster. Wherever Porter's group is now, they haven't left that long ago.
Mein feels someone approaching her from behind, so she turns to look. Oersted has his sword in hand, and the free hand raised slightly above his head. The knight clearly wants to take point again, so Mein allows him. The three of them slowly, and cautiously approach the abandoned settlement to look around. There's no sign of fighting, so Porter's group left in an orderly fashion rather than being chased away by the church.
The better question is what made them leave. The obvious answer is they ran away from a possible hostile takeover by the Three Heroes' Church. Cromwell's action after the Third Wave is very much not legitimate, and he likely made much more powerful enemies than a small group of refugees turned to banditry. But it's not like Porter or his group would know about all of this political intrigue unless the former professor is an avid Player of his own in office politics.
But there are also other possible threats that can drive them away. It could be as simple as the church's move startled some big monster nests and unwittingly set them upon Porter's group. Most of them are glorified squatters, not warriors after all. Then again, if there was some monster stampede, they would have found a ruin of snapped wooden shards and splinters, not a mostly intact if abandoned makeshift village.
"Well be on the lookout. See if you find anything." The princess turns to face the Shield Hero. The people are gone, but they mind finding something that'll help them on their journey. Naofumi nods along, as he dives into the shacks and begins to search through them. Mein and Oersted move with him, acting as his look out and protecting him if something dangerous stepped out. Thankfully, it didn't come down to that. If there was a physical threat that made Porter and his group leave their newly built settlement, it didn't linger around for the three of them.
Sadly with Naofumi coming out empty handed each time, the refugee turned bandits didn't leave anything behind anything physically helpful either. The Shield Hero suddenly looks up and points his finger toward the direction of the cliff of the mountain. "What about that cave?"
Mein was too ashamed to admit that she forgot all about it. With their new direction set, the three of them carefully moved over. This time, the princess volunteered to look inside. She can protect herself with the star wand, and she can cast spells to light up her steps to make sure she doesn't trip over anything.
The cave was damp and smelled of mold. In other words, not any different from any other naturally formed rocky room with only one entrance. The princess made sure that she only kept a [Mage Light] floating above her head, rather than firing them all over the cave for better lighting. She wants to leave as little trail of her magic for their possible pursuers after all. With her left hand touching the wall, she carefully makes a full round before carefully wandering to the middle area. She looks up and down, inspecting every surface to make sure she didn't miss any detail. But the cave is as barren of anything useful as the abandoned shacks outside. There isn't even any sign that Porter's group buried anything in the earth.
This was as orderly of a retreat as one can get. The refugees turned bandits weren't running from anything, and they were most definitely not hurt for time. Perhaps it's more to the point to call it a voluntary migration by this point. With nothing left to do or find, Mein leaves the cave and meets up with her companions who eagerly await her return. "Nothing was left. Porter's group wasn't under immediate threat when they packed up and left."
"That's good." The Shield Hero nods his head. He didn't say it out loud, but Mein can feel his unspoken words. At least the Three Heroes' Church didn't claim another group of innocent victims. Even if they wouldn't be getting help from anyone. The Shield Hero pauses for a brief moment, before asking again. "Can you use your spell to find him?"
Hmm… the settlement doesn't look like it was abandoned for too long. Porter and his group likely left around the same time as their escape from the capital. It's certainly possible that they are still around the area, and she might be able to connect to him this time if she tried [Clairvoyant] again. But just as she's about to close her eyes to best visualize Porter's face before casting her spell, Oersted suddenly spins around to look into the treeline. "We aren't alone."
Mein immediately springs around to push Naofumi behind her. She turns to the direction where Oersted is facing, and sees some silhouette skulking and… shambling in the forest. She can't get a very clear look, but the distinct puppet-like way they move made their identity clear. Some kind of undead creatures. "Run."
The three of them turn around and try to put as much distance between them and the unliving as possible. She would have tried to light the entire forest on fire again like she did south of Gallia city. The immediate danger of being consumed by the forest fire started by herself, and the slightly less immediate danger of alerting the Three Heroes' Church of their presence keeps herself from committing this immediate reaction.
They didn't get far before the undead cut them off from the other side. Skeletons, wielding rusty weapons, crawl their way out of the abandoned settlement, surrounding them from all sides. There's already more than a few dozen of the unliving, and more seems to come out of the woodworks. Mein doesn't know how they managed to miss this many skeletons. Their movements are jerky, almost like a puppet dangled and controlled by wires, unlike the undead creatures that move with fluid, almost living creature motions from Eclair's home. It suggests they are being controlled by a necromancer, or something else rather than being self-sentient.
Then, the creatures fall upon them, and they are forced to defend themselves against this threat. Oersted lights his sword with holy fire, as he cuts through the unliving creatures. Mein herself waves a trail of condensed, white hot flame like a serpent with the assistant of her star wand. Burning the bones of the undead into ash. Naofumi stands between the two of them, sending large group of skeletons flying away with concussion blasts of his miracles,
The princess isn't sure how long they can keep this up. They are being outnumbered more than ten to one, and more undead creatures seem to keep coming. Sooner or later, one of them is going to make a mistake from fatigue, or simply be overwhelmed by their enemies, and all of them will die afterwards.
Suddenly, the skeleton horde stopped coming after them. For a brief moment, the ones not immediately fighting them hunched over as some wires had been cut. Then, they actually start to move away. Mein, or Oersted didn't put their respective weapons down, or relax their fighting stance. The puppeteer is likely going to show their face to announce their intention, and there's no guarantee they will be friendly, or even human in spite of calling their undead servant off.
For the brief moment, there's a pregnant silence hanging over the air as the skeleton horde kept themselves away from Mein's group. She did a quick count, and realized their number had swelled well past a hundred. Not as much as the retinue of Consevatie The Younger, but equally intimidating for an entirely different reason.
Then, a small shadow moved through the trees. Clearly living, with how wild fluid its limbs seems to be flailing around. The princess thought it looked almost like a child, and then it came out of the bushes. She realizes it is a child, or at least a young teen with short black hair and a pair of small raccoon ears. The raccoon girl raises her hands over her head.
"Don't fight, don't fight! OKAY!? We didn't recognize you guys and thought you were spies sent out by the church. All of your holy fires, or miracles didn't help the impression." The child begins to furiously ramble as she waves her arms up and down. In the end, she points her finger at Naofumi. "YOU! You are the Shield Hero, right? I saw you once in Balafon, before I left to study with my mentors."
Mein turns around to look at Naofumi. His face is frozen in a frown, clearly trying his best to recall this raccoon girl. Mein herself didn't have any recollection of her, other than she's obviously the same race as Raphtalia, likely also a descendant from Q'ten Lo. But probably not related to their royal family, or even their nobility like that group of Okami remnants from Graile.
"Yes. I'm the Shield Hero. You are… Yukari, right? The younger sister of Minato, the former shepherd of Balafon? I remember you used to hang around Ren, like Wyndia." A sudden sign of recognition dawns on Naofumi's face as he calls out to the raccoon girl.
"Yep, yep! That's me!" The now named Yukari nods her head as furious as her mouth throwing out words. "Mister Ren saved us from slavers back in the capital. That's why I had been following him for a while. But I really had to start my apprenticeship with my mentors. I wasn't getting any brighter without my mentor, and they were getting worried. So I left Balafon before the Third Wave. Dodged an arrow right there! The church took over the city, chased away Jarl Balgruuf, and then they took over Balafon too. I'm worried for my big brother now."
Mein quickly shares a look with Naofumi. It seems like her earlier worry was not unfounded. The Three Heroes' Church likely knew about Count Balgruuf naming Naofumi as one of his Thanes, and decided the lord of Midgardian descent had to go. She wonders what comes to the nordic lord now. After Naofumi stopped the crisis Trumpet had with Gaelion, he was at least sympathetic towards Mein's personal plight. It might not have been much, but he was friendlier towards her, the maligned princess of glorious Melromarc than most other nobles.
"But anyways. My mentors reached out to the group that's been settling here. They had a few strong fighters among them. And we found Jarl Balgruuf with his family ambushed by one of the church groups. So he and his family are now guests at my mentors' manor… well. It's more of a ruined and abandoned watchtower for they fixed up over the years. But it's really nice!" The raccoon girl clearly had no idea that she had long lost her audience, and continued to ramble. But she did manage to catch two crucial details. Yukari's mentors are working with Porter's group. And they managed to save Count Balgruuf, and their family from the church.
The church likely didn't openly send out a large army after the family of the deposed Nordic Lord. Such an unforgivingly vengeful action to kill off an entire noble family would ensure the rest of the ladies and lords all raise their arms against the Three Heroes' Church. But her mentors must be powerful spellwrights if they can take Balgruuf and his family from some kind of assassination squad sent by the Three Heroes' Church, take them under protection, and to escape from any immediate consequences.
The princess looks around, the large group of skeletons clearly backs her assumption up. And the ones they just faced are likely mere fodders. Because they certainly wouldn't be able to stand up to a full army of the church templars. Suddenly, she feels very lucky despite another brush against death. It probably could have gone far worse.
"Can you bring us to your mentors? We are brought low by the machination of the Three Heroes' Church." The disgraced princess takes a step forward to ask Yukari. She was originally trying to appeal to Porter and his group, but this sounds even better now that Count Balgruuf and this mysterious benefactor are with Porter. "Two of our companions had been killed, and we barely escaped with our lives from the capital thanks to assistance from Lord Noches."
"Oh yeah! I remember! That boy riding that weird balloon creature came through two days ago! Said something about the Shield Hero captured by the church! What was his name again? Rahe?" Yukari jumps on her feet. Her words once again makes Mein share a look with Naofumi. So, Raki came through this way too, and it sounds like he brought the news to Yukari's mentors.
"Raki. His name was Raki of Lute."
"Oh, yeah! That's him!" Yukari nods her head rapidly. "Poor Yatsuhashi nearly dropped dead right there! Anyways. My mentors gave him some supplies, and Gaston led them to the north. Your fellow heroes were somewhere in the north helping them deal with some mess in Rabier County… I should probably lead you to my mentor's manor now. They can explain everything better than I do."
"That would be for the best."
Omake: Dread of the Young Vicar
Another wave of clashing weapons and screaming can be heard in the distance outside the window. The noise reminded Vicar Vittorio of all the rioting, and Cromwell's band of sycophants putting different noble houses that are suspected of being Shield Demon sympathizers under siege. It's mostly turned into a fleeting memory by this point, and he supposedly didn't even see the worst by the time he arrived in the capital. It still makes for a ghastly sight to see brothers of the same nation spill the blood of each other over petty politics. Perhaps one of the noble houses is now trying to get some payback for all the things Cromwell subjected them to.
He tries to not pay it any mind as he takes a slow sip of tea to help calm his nerves. The Romalian Vicar knows that he is a lucky one. It's easy for him to shut away the dread when he is high above the ground, in a well ornamented sitting room inside the Grand Cathedral of Three Heroes. Still enjoying his luxuries, rather than fearing for his lives being ruined by all the pointless infighting. But he needs to keep a rational mind at this crucial and precarious moment. They are surrounded by more enemies than those within, both in the kind of mindless beasts, or in the form of man but are little better than the monsters spilled out of a wave. If he can't salvage their situation, his position as the Vicar of Romalia will not save him from the crusade the other nations launch against Melromarc.
"Perhaps my order should take over the task to locate the Shield Hero." Vittorio's suggestion makes Balmus raise his head. "Cromwell's action would have thoroughly turned the Shield Hero against your faith. On the other hand, I had instructed Julio to make an invitation to the Shield Hero when he attended the military parade. The Shield Hero might view my agents more favorably than yours."
"That sounds the most prudent-" Balmus' reply is cut off when someone practically throws the door to their sitting room open. Vittorio turns around, and notices one of the demi-human agents of the Three Heroes' Church coming in. "What's the problem, Raziel?"
"Shield Hero just made his escape with the help of Lord Noches' resistance." The bat demi-human's reply greatly confused Vittrio. And judging by Balmus' very blank look, the Pope of his three heroes worshiping sibling faith doesn't have any more clue about what's going on. The Shield Hero… escaped? From what?
Thankfully, the bat immediately clarified. "The Shield Hero, and First Princess Malty was lured into a trap, and captured by the son of the Culture Minister and acting steward of the crown. He was working behind everyone's back, including Cromwell's."
That… Vicar Vittorio would admit he isn't as seasoned a player in The Game as some of those gathered in the meeting hall. He came into power after The Great War, and his promotion to the seat of Romalian Vicar was only due to the untimely death of his mentor and predecessor Vicar Claud. So he really has no idea what to feel about this turn of events.
There is a sense of loss at the perfect opportunity to play savior to the Shield Hero and win him over. There is also a sense of surprise at a young heir able to pull of the feat of finding… and capturing the Shield Hero mixed with the dismay of said heir deciding to take the Shield Hero prisoner was the best course of action (appeasing to the Shield Hero, or quietly killing him would both have been better choices, although for entirely different reason). But more than anything, there was the sense of creeping dread that something had gone very, VERY wrong. And now the task of making the Shield Hero side with them, rather than any other nation with malicious intent towards Melromarc had grown much harder.
"How did it happen?" Balmus' stern voice smashes through his clouded mind, like a boulder sitting in the middle of a river, splitting it into two separate streams. "I doubt that arrogant boy could have pulled it off himself."
"There was a rumor about His Excellency Vicar Vittorio was denied entry into the capital and stranded on the plain with his retinue." Raziel's answer made the Vicar in question blink his eyes. Yes, he heard about it, and had a good laugh at the time. This kind of malicious gossip often spread through the nation during the time of crisis due to all the confusion about what actually happened. He didn't think about fighting it, since he knew the futility of the effort. "Heir Consevatie prepared a trap around the Four Heroes Church camping on the plain and the Shield Hero stepped right in it. Based on it, I suspect Heir Consevatie was the one who spread the rumor."
Raziel's words throw Vicar Vittorio into the coldest depth of the ghost sea. If a rogue of a rogue element from Balmus' church was able to pull something like this so close to his own men, that means his own faith is compromised. The candidate… he immediately realized who betrayed him in the worst way possible at the worst time. "Roger of Ajax. You did well…"
"Focus! Vicar Vittorio! We must do our best to prevent the situation from deteriorating any further." He feels a hand suddenly fall on his shoulder. "You go to your men, and I'll go to mine. We'll survey all the damage that's been done with our own eyes, and stop any idiot from trying to make things worse."
"As you say, Your Eminence." He quickly stands up and turns to look behind him. Right now, Julio and a member of his Adeptus Astartes is standing behind him. He turns to his enhanced knight. "Summon Lord Commander Cloud and have him join me outside the walls in our camp. Julio, you are with me."
"As you wish, Your Excellency." Both Julio and the mage knight bow down to him. The knight immediately turns around and flies out of the room to find Cloud, while his lord inquisitor quickly falls behind him. They need to stop that brute, before he does more irreparable damage.
End Note:
Confession time again. Back when I mentioned the whole necromancer stuff around Whiterun in Act II, and had Balgruuf mention they might be from Le Strange or Carrow family, I had no exact idea of who these necromancers pretending to be hermits are. I know they are the parents of Fluffball13's SI character Micah, because she mentioned that she liked the idea of some genuinely helpful and jovial necromancer characters. But in term of who these characters specifically ARE, I had no plan of them being Rudopholus and Bellatrix Le Strange.
The idea came later, when I had more concrete ideas of what exactly happened during Faubley's secret high society war (essentially this story's Wizarding War), and I asked Fluffball13 if she liked the idea of being the daughter of Rudopholus and Bellatrix. She had a good laugh about what I planned and was pretty happy with it. So here it is now, this story's version of Rudopholus and Bellatrix were the necromancers living near Whiterun.
The idea of my story's version of Necromancy started out as a gourmet wizard's attempt to preserve food without ice magic to keep it fresh, and it went so horribly wrong that it ended animating the dead tissue was indirectly inspired by the webcomic series Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire even if that's not exactly what happened in the online comic. In that story, the first necromancer used to be a genuinely jovial man, even suggested to be a bit of a goofball not unlike Motoyasu in life (some of the rejected name he came up for his new branch of magic before settling on necromancy include 'Kill ya dead', and 'Most awesome magic ever'), to the point where the main characters wondered if he was a priest or a chef. Which inspired my idea of necromancy being invented as a freakish accident to benefit culinary art. I think it goes along with Fluffball13's idea of nice necromancers nicely.
On the other hand, the omake was inspired by the review from Datnoob, where they questioned how Balmus wasn't informed about SIOC's stunt. To be honest, I did consider having a small scene where he has a small brainfreeze moment at SIOC's sheer stupidity. But I felt the execution would end up too comedic, and doesn't go with the otherwise sombering tone of the interlude chapter. So, I decided to write a series of omake chapters that show what happened in the immediate aftermath from Vittorio's perspective to clear up what's going on with the two Melromarc's religious leaders.