Actually managed to get this interlude finished early on account of how short it is. No joke, I'm pretty sure this is the shortest chapter I've written to date in Dishonored Princess. But I've come to learn that short chapters aren't necessarily bad as long as they serve their purpose, which I think this one does nicely.
We once again get another Aultcray chapter and an extra scene with Eclair at the end.
Big thanks to Qinlongfei for beta reading this chapter.
With that said, let's get it started.
Interlude 3: Knights and Kings
Aultcray stood by the window of his office, which gave him a grand view of Castletown below him. His city.
He may be of Faubley descent but Melromarc had always more at home for him, than his home country ever did. And he didn't have to put up with Piggy's annoying bullshit so that was also a positive to enjoy here.
He compiled all the information they had on the heroes up to this point.
The Spear was dependable with a heart of chivalry and righteousness , combat wise he was certainly inexperienced but had lots of potential if his ability to gain the upper hand on the Shield Demon during their duel is any indication.
The Bow appeared to have a strong sense of justice, though Aultcray couldn't shake the feeling that he was hiding something darker under that smile of his. When you live in Faubley, you learn how to detect when somebody is hiding something and that boy was definitely hiding something darker. What it was however, was the question.
The Sword appeared to be a bit on the jaded side but he did seem to want to help, perhaps his cold and stony persona is merely a front to protect something else ?
Conclusion : All the heroes had a lot of potential to them, but the real issue is that none of them appear to trust him.
Primary objective right now should be regaining the trust of the Cardinal Heroes and get them on Melromarc's side. For how he could do that is still unknown at this time to him.
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the door to his office open and he knew there were few men in the kingdom who would have the guts to do that unannounced, which let him know exactly who it was.
" Aultcray, we just got a messenger hawk from Silver Keep " Loknar said as he entered the room.
" What's their status ? " Aultcray asked as he turned to face his friend.
" Still kicking, but they've taken heavy losses from the Wave " Loknar explained as he held up a letter in his hand " The commanding officer there, an...Aslatiel asked for an update on Eclair's status and return "
" So Uther's fort still stands tall...good " Aultcray was glad that his old friend's keep still stood tall.
" Barely. The damn place isn't going to last the next wave without some serious reinforcements and supplies " Loknar said bluntly " What's your plan ? "
Aultcray took a moment to think about it. Silver Keep was too vital to lose, sure if the castle flat out falls than Fort Wolf's Mouth can take over the role...but this was Uther's ancestral home. And while he may fucking hate the fact that he employs those damnable beasts...he won't let his old friend's home go to ruin. Especially since his daughter was still alive in this world.
" We need to shore up the Keep's defenses and get them supplied before the next wave hits " Aultcray pointed out " How many men and supplies can we spare ? "
" Not enough, we already lost a couple dozen men during the second wave. We're going to be hard pressed finding more able-bodied soldiers to reinforce the Keep and we're going to need all the supplies we can get for the next wave" Loknar shot the idea down " And even if we did have the men to spare, I get the feeling that the boys aren't going to be too happy working with a bunch of demi-humans and beasts "
" You're right " Aultcray agreed.
Contrary to popular belief, unit cohesion did in fact matter and suddenly mixing them together with a race of people they hate isn't going to end well for anybody. And the last thing you want is to suddenly get into an argument or fight in the middle of a battlefield. Aultcray has seen it happen and those who argued on the battlefield ended up dead.
" And that's discounting the fact that if we suddenly move a large number of men to the north, the northern lords might see it as an act of war " Aultcray pointed out.
" Asking Biscas if he can lend some knights is a no go too for obvious reasons " Loknar said with a sigh " What other options do we have ? "
Aultcray thought about the information at hand.
Sending supplies and men from his own army is a no go, Biscas is out...so the only other option is to find support in the north.
" We could rouse the Silver Pass nobles for support, I'm sure that fool Reichnott has some men he can spare for House Seatto " Aultcray suggested.
" Maybe...but we can't do it on behalf of House Seatto, that's up to the Lady of the House " Loknar said with crossed arms.
Unfortunately true my old friend.
" Why don't we go see how our patient is doing ? " Aultcray said as he walked to the door " I'm sure she would want to be part of the discussion for how to salvage what's left of her family's fort "
Loknar nodded " Agreed. Its been a while since I've seen Eclair "
The two exit Aultcray's office and make their way
" So what's your take on the 3 Heroes ? " Aultcray asked his old friend.
" Lots of raw potential, doesn't trust you enough to actually let you bring it out " Loknar gave his assessment " After the stunt you pulled, they are going to be cautious accepting any help from the crown "
" Which shows they are smarter than we give them credit for " Aultcray said " Nonetheless we're going to have to play nice with the Shield Demon for now to get the Heroes on our side again "
" And what do you intend to do with the Shield Demon and Malty, old friend ? " Loknar said with sympathy. He knows this can't be easy for his friend.
"...I'll figure that out later "Aultcray said simply as he opened the door to the infirmary.
They both approach Eclair's bed to find the now Lady Seatto sitting up on the bed, looking in much better shape than before.
Eclair noticed their presence and turned to them with a smile " Uncle Aultcray, Uncle Loknar..."
" Hey Eclair, good to see you " Loknar greeted with a smile " How's the recovery going ? "
" The doctor said I've just about made a full recovery, it will be good to get back in action again " Eclair said happily. She certainly was the restless type who didn't like lying around.
" While I'm glad that you've recovered at last Eclair...I'm afraid we have a situation " Aultcray said slowly.
" What's the matter Uncle ? " Eclair asked.
" We just received a messenger hawk from Silver Keep " Aultcray saw Eclair's eyes widen and she looked ready to interject when he held up a hand to calm her " Calm down, the Keep is still alive but they've taken heavy casualties and requesting for an update on what's going on with you "
Eclair quickly stood up from the bed " I must head back immediately then Uncle ! I will depart as soon as I get my armor and weapons. I need to let them know I'm okay-"
" Calm down Eclair !" Loknar shouted as he pushed her to sit back down on the bed.
" How can I be calm Uncle ? When my men, my people need me ? And I'm busy being treated like a porcelain vase ? "
" I understand that, but this isn't a situation that's going to be solved by hopping on a filorial and charging in head first " Loknar said firmly " If you want to be an effective leader than you must be able to take a moment to see the bigger picture "
Eclair hesitated for a moment before she sat back down.
" I-I...understand, I apologize for my actions " Eclair bowed her head.
" Its fine Eclair, we know you just want to help " Loknar said sympathetically " But the best way you can help is working with us "
" Its obvious that Silver Keep is in desperate need of reinforcements and supplies..." Aultcray laid the cards on the table for Eclair " And your only real option is to ask some of your father's bannermen and try to get some aid "
" That's a great idea Uncle Aultcray but...why are you telling me this ? " Eclair said confused " I don't know many of the northern lords besides Lord Reichnott"
" Eclair...you're the Lady of House Seatto now, I can't do the bargaining for you " Aultcray said " You're going to need to work out deals with the northern lords yourself in order to get the supplies and manpower you need to reinforce the Keep "
" And you're going to need to make a good deal since I doubt the northern lords are going to part with any supplies or men without some serious negotiation " Loknar added somberly.
" But...But Uncle Aultcray, I don't know how to ..." Eclair said slowly " I'm a knight first and foremost, I don't know the first thing about making deals and bargaining and negotiating with the northern lords "
Aultcray let out a sigh, he knew exactly where Eclair was coming from. He himself honestly always felt better suited as an army commander than a king, sure he had receive his royal education in Faubley but those lessons about politics always bored him when he felt more attuned to the sword. When he was just starting out as King , his dear wife had to give him a complete rerun of those lessons on politics or he would be completely blind to it.
Needless to say, he knows what its like to be pulled out of your comfort zone and into a world you don't understand and everything doesn't seem to not make sense in the slightest.
He thought of a way to get through to Eclair...until he came up with the perfect idea.
" Are well enough to walk and train Eclair ? " Aultcray suddenly asked.
" Y-yes, I've just about fully recovered " Eclair nodded.
" Come with me " Aultcray said as he turned to exit the infirmary, hearing Eclair get off the bed and follow him with Loknar.
The trio moved from the infirmary to the courtyard, where Eclair changed out of her hospital garbs to a much more practical training outfit, which consisted of a simple brown pants, leather boots and white shirt.
" Here " Aultcray handed Eclair a wooden practice sword " We'll be doing a light spar to brush up on your skills. I take it you've been restless in the infirmary "
" You have no idea uncle..." Eclair said as she gave the wooden sword a few practice swings.
" What are we doing here Aultcray ? " Loknar said.
" Call it giving Eclair a lesson in negotiation and bargaining..." Aultcray explained.
" Using swords ? " Loknar raised an eyebrow.
" I find no better way of explaining it "
" Of course, you don't...how the hell did you ever be considered ' the Wise Sage' of our generation ? " Loknar said exasperated, but stood on the sidelines.
Aultcray laughed as he took out the Seven Star Staff hidden in his robes, changing it to the Wooden Staff. Weak stats and no special effects or skills for him to use. Just perfect for a small duel like this.
People always underestimated magic users who used staffs as catalysts, seeing them as defenseless in close range. They didn't know that a staff made out of the right materials and at the appropriate length, could double as a quarterstaff used in close combat and bludgeoning damage. And Aultcray had plenty of experience bashing his staff against the skulls of worthless animals to know that it could kill just as well as a sword.
He took up a defensive position as he held up his staff and Eclair took her own stance preparing to attack.
" This is just meant to be a simple spar, nothing too serious " Aultcray explained " First one to force the other to the ground wins "
" Understood uncle " Eclair nodded as she prepared to make her first move.
Aultcray took a deep breath and a breeze passed them-
Right as Eclair made her first move, stepping forward quickly and attempting to strike at him, which he easily deflected the attacks with his staff. He could partly tell that Eclair wasn't putting her all in this fight, be it because he made it clear that this was meant to be a simple spar and not a duel to the death. Or she felt the need to go easy on him due to his age.
Goddamn, he hated being old.
" First rule of negotiating-" Aultcray used his staff to deflect and deliver a side swipe that would have broken Eclair's rib if he didn't purposefully miss " Never charge in blindly to a negotiation without knowing EXACTLY what you need to get out of said negotiation and what you need to do "
Eclair jumped back and deliver another strike which Aultcray blocked again and decided to go on the offensive, stepping forward and delivering a series of quick strikes that Eclair was barely able to defend against.
" Second rule of negotiating- " Aultcray forced Eclair on the defensive to block his fast paced strikes with his staff " Know your position and what you have to offer in order to get what you want and never give more than what you're willing to part with "
" Third rule-" Aultcray said just as Eclair counterattacked, knocking away his staff and attempting to go in for the critical strike, which forced him back.
" Look for weakness in your opponents form and exploit it as much as possible to get what you want " Aultcray said as Eclair pushed her offensive and gave him his golden opportunity.
" Final rule-"
Aultcray actually moved forward just as Eclair delivered a downward strike, barely sidestepping it by inches and almost crossing his beard. The strawberry haired woman clearly not expecting it and he was able to deliver a sideswipe attack by his legs, causing her to trip and fall flat on her back. He kicked the wooden sword away and held his staff at her.
" Make sure your trump card doesn't turn into weakness that your opponents can exploit " Aultcray said at last.
Eclair's face was one of both shock and silent resignation, as she seemed to take in all that he had just said.
Aultcray put his staff away and gave Eclair a hand up, though she chose to remain sitting on the floor.
" This all still seems very confusing uncle " Eclair admitted.
" I know it does..."
Eclair just sat there for a few minutes, staring off into nothingness as her face spoke of one that is trying to wrap her head around the reality of the situation before her.
" You know its funny, I always thought father would be with me through it all to guide me to become the best knight and person I could be..." Eclair said in a sad tone " But now he's gone and I'm not even sure how to even balance all the numbers in a finance book, least of all negotiate with the northern lords for how to get supplies and men to reinforce the Keep "
Aultcray let out a sigh " One step at a time Eclair, one step at a time"
" Here have some water " Loknar walked towards them and handed Eclair a waterskin, which she took a big gulp of. His old friend giving Eclair a patient look " So what's your plan now ? "
Eclair seemed to think about it for a moment before answering " Well...first things first, I need to head to Silver Keep and let them know that I'm still alive. Then I need to assess the damage and figure out what we'll need to reinforce the Keep before the next wave and then I can figure out how to negotiate with the northern lords on receiving supplies and men "
" A good start. I can teleport you to the Keep to save time " Aultcray offered. Despite only visiting the Keep only a few times, he did make it a point to keep it saved as one of his teleport points.
" That would be much appreciated uncle " Eclair nodded.
" Alright, so I can send you there as soon as-" Aultcray stopped as he noticed Lord Noches, standing in the doorway that led further into the castle. His spymaster waving him over.
" We'll talk about this later, for now Loknar can you get Eclair set up in one of the guest room until further notice ? " Aultcray said.
" Just got demoted from army commander to fucking butler, what is my life ? " Loknar said humourlessly, which made Eclair chuckle a little.
Aultcray smiled at his friend before going over to Lord Noches.
" What do you have for me ? " Aultcray asked as the two walked further into the castle for privacy.
" My spies inform me that the heroes appear to be ready to leave the capital and venture further into Melromarc in search of bigger game " Lord Noches explained.
" That is to be expected...how soon do you think before they are pushing out ? " Aultcray inquired.
" Unclear, but I expect it to be soon. The Bow in particular seems restless on heading out to clear some bandit nests in the north since he recently recruited a 'Beast Slayer' into his party so that is something to take note of " Noches shrugged.
Aultcray couldn't help but admire the Bow's actions, it was about time somebody did something about those filthy bandits and animals who crawled out from under the woodwork to take advantage of the chaos. If he wasn't King, he would go kill that Hound Lord that's been a pain for a few months now.
Oh well. He will have to settle for letting the Bow get the glory for taking down the Hound Lord, which should let him gain some traction with the northern lords to support him.
" Did you find out the affinities of the heroes like I asked ? " Aultcray had Noches have his spies keep an eye on the Cardinal Heroes and he had been waiting for info on their affinities to come to light.
" Yes, my liege " Noches nodded " The Shield appears to have Healing and Support, the Spear has Fire and Healing, the Sword has Dark and Ice, the Bow having affinities for Thunder and Aqua " Noches listed them off to Aultcray.
Not bad I suppose. I already guessed the Shield had two of the non-elemental affinities, the three heroes appear to have a good mix of offensive and defensive magic at their disposal.
Though out of all them, only the Bow shares in my affinity for Thunder, so he's the only one I can personally teach. That may be a problem...
" What's your plan my liege ? " Noches asked.
" Get me a couple of crystal balls containing Zweit level spells for Fire, Healing, Thunder, Aqua, Dark and Ice. Along with grimoires containing knowledge on higher tier spells for the heroes to learn " Aultcray ordered.
" Planning on showering the heroes with gifts in order to get back their favor my liege ? " Noches asked with a raised eyebrow.
" Partly- right now I want the heroes to gain some magic spells so they aren't going back out into the field without any magic to call on for themselves " Aultcray explained.
" Then why bother giving them grimoires if we're also giving them magic balls too ? "
" The heroes obviously aren't going to be able to learn any higher tier spells from grimoires before the next wave, so the next best solution is to give them a few crystal balls so they can get some mid-level spells to use and grimoires that they can learn from while on the road " Aultcray explained in detail his plan to Noches.
" Sounds fair, I will see to it immediately..." Lord Noches bowed before walking away.
" Oh and Noches ? " Aultcray called out to him which made the man stop.
" Yes, my lord ? "
Aultcray hated every part of himself for saying this...but he knew that he had no choice.
" Acquire some basic healing crystal balls for the Shield " Aultcray felt like throwing up just for saying that.
" Oh ? "
" It will be a good step to at least appear that we care about the Shield and it could help us re-establish trust with the 3 Heroes " Aultcray said.
" Understood my lord " Noches said before walking away.
Aultcray really fucking hated the Shield...but he was willing to set that aside if it meant nabbing a bigger fish.
Which in this case, was the 3 Heroes.
Eclair's POV
With House Seatto being a martial house, Eclair never really cared much for the luxuries that other noble houses indulged in. She honestly always saw them as wasteful expenses when that money could be better used to improve the lives of their people or better protect them from threats like bandits, monsters and the Wave of Catastrophe.
That being said, she will not turn her nose at the generosity offered to her by uncle Aultcray...
Even if she has heard some unsavory rumors from the nurses talking about how he had apparently went rogue and summoned all of the heroes behind the Queen's back. She didn't want to bring it up earlier because she was still processing what to do about her own ancestral home, but now that she's been given some time to think about it...she wants to hear it straight from uncle Loknar if no one else.
" Here you are Eclair, if you need anything just ask some of the maids or servants " Loknar interrupted her thoughts as he opened the door to her guest room.
As expected even the basic guest room was very beautiful and lavish fitting that of the royal castle, a queen sized bed, a fine crafted wooden desk and a balcony which gave a good view of the city below her. But even this felt too much for Eclair, who even growing up at Silver Keep never got the chance to experience such lavishness.
" Thank you Uncle " Eclair nodded in gratitude as she entered the room.
" No problem Eclair, I'll talk to Aultcray later see if we can work out when we can teleport you to Silver Keep "
" That would be appreciated and..." Eclair awkwardly coughed " Um...Uncle Loknar ? "
" Yes, Eclair ? "
" Is it true ? " Eclair slowly asked.
" Is what true ? " Loknar raised an eyebrow in confusion at Eclair's question.
No point beating around the bush, is there ?
" That Uncle Aultcray summoned the 4 Heroes...and that they are here in Melromarc now...is it true ? "
Uncle Loknar didn't respond right away, but rather he looked saddened and averted his gaze to the floor in what seemed to be shame.
"...Yes " Loknar answered " How did you hear ? "
" Some of the nurses and doctors were talking about it and...I just couldn't believe it " Eclair admitted that she thought it was just pointless gossip.
" Well believe it because they are here and they are here to stay " Loknar said with a sigh.
" B-But why ? Uncle Aultcray has to know that he's doing is illegal and likely to lose him his-" Eclair was stopped by Loknar holding his hand up.
" He's...already well aware of that, and that appears to be the least of his concerns " Loknar crossed his arms " His overall goal appears to be getting the 3 Heroes on our side, while keeping the Shield in Melromarc to use as a bargaining chip against Siltvelt "
" That sounds incredibly risky... " Eclair pointed out.
" It is. Which is why we all need to be ready to help him if shit hits the fan " Loknar said warily " Listen Eclair, you're a good girl and a good knight, so the best thing you can do right now is to take care of your own house...and prepare..."
Loknar turned to leave when Eclair called out to him.
" Prepare for a fight ? "
" For a war..."
With those chilling words, Uncle Loknar left the room which left Eclair to ponder.
What the hell did she just caught up in ?
Hope you all enjoyed another chapter of Aultcray actually being smart in a story. I will never get tired of writing these chapters and you know what ? Aultcray was the character in my story that single-handedly changed my mind about interludes. I originally saw them as unneeded breaks from the main characters/plot, but you know getting the chance to write Aultcray like this has grown on me.
But anyway, putting that aside for a moment, things will of course be happening very differently with Eclair in my story if the letter about how Silver Keep isn't completely fucked is any indication of that. And with Aultcray moving things behind the scenes to both help Eclair and get the heroes access to some magic, we'll be seeing some of that soon.
One more thing before I move on to answering reviews, some of you may or may not have noticed that I changed Itsuki and Ren's magical affinities. If memory serves, Itsuki had Wind and Thunder canonically, while Ren had Aqua and Support. The reason for this change was mostly for my own fun, but also to better suit the changes I made to their backstories/personalities as a whole.
Naofumi and Motoyasu's affinities remained unchanged, because Naofumi is Shield Hero and Motoyasu's overall personality wasn't really changed all that much.
Now let's respond to some guest reviews, shall we ?
To Allyexis:
Glad you like that Raphtalia finally has some abilities to help her get stronger/be useful.
On the note of Malty brutally murdering her own family and loved ones...while I obviously can't say anything for spoiler reasons, she will in fact have to deal with this newfound discovery of herself that even she wasn't aware of.
And just to clarify, Malty killing her former loved ones without hesitation wasn't meant to showcase her sadistic side...but rather something much more unsettling about her as a person. What that is , I will let you wonder for now. Glad you noticed Malty felt a certain amount of guilt to show that she isn't heartless, and yes, she was indeed unsettled and somewhat disturbed by how easily she did it.
Glad that you liked the chapter all the same !
To Guest:
I definitely agree that letting a literal child make life altering decisions for themselves, is a much worse idea than just making it for them. Who clearly don't have enough life experience to make an informed and well-thought out decision, instead of just making it in the span of a few minutes in a forest behind a village and basically brand themselves a heretic.
Yeah, this is going to go as well as you think it will.
While I won't deny that Naofumi hasn't had the best track record for taking care of kids, I would like to point out that he is only 20( Same as Mein) so neither of them really know what to do and are just trying their best to help Raphtalia get through her stuff. I wanted to present that as similar to Qin's story in a way.
Oooh ! I like that theory. Let's see if its true in the future.
:P
With that cryptic last words, I will see you all in the next one.
Angel Out.