Valkyrie's Shadow

Chapter 8

“So,” Xoc said, “what was that you said about being attacked?”

Back at the clanhold, Xoc sat stiffly before her fully-assembled court. The midday sun beat down on the assembly, though none but the Humans seemed to pay it any mind. Elder Patli rose from his cushion, adorned in the full trappings of a clan mystic.

Why did everyone have to dress up? It isn’t as if we don’t see one another every day.

Xoc blew a long, blue tail feather away from her nose. Since everyone else was dressing up, she had to dress up too. Except she was pretty sure they had dressed her up too much. A small army of wives and grandmothers invaded her home and she came out looking less like a Beastman and more like a bird.

“It’s hard to believe it’s a coincidence,” Elder Patli jingled in a ridiculous way as he spoke. “The Jorgulans are on the offensive, and this flooding favours the races of the Commonwealth.”

“The Commonwealth was nothing but a name to us until recently,” Xoc said. “It wasn’t until Saraca came along that we learned more about them.”

“If the existence of things relied on our acknowledgement,” Patli said, “then nothing would exist outside of our jungle. Clearly, that isn’t the case.”

“But if they can flood us like this, then why haven’t they done so long before? Why would they fight the eastern clans for generations to no good end?”

“And what would make them ‘ready’?”

The Elder didn’t seem to have an answer for that.

“We should ask the warrior clans,” he said. “That son of nar Ki’ra shared information with us without hesitation. In hindsight, we should have asked for the details behind the Jorgulan invasion.”

That did appear to be the case. As a city dweller, the warrior clans had always been a mysterious, almost untouchable existence. Her first brush with them as Saraca’s student revealed that they were rather open with fellow warriors and the knowledge that they shared with one another made it seem like they lived in an entirely different world. She still didn’t understand why they insisted on standing apart from the average denizen of Rol’en’gorek, but that didn’t mean she was content to remain ignorant.

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to ask,” Xoc said, “I’m not sure how to go about doing that, though. How far does our Merchant network extend?”

“What we have so far can barely be called a network,” Master Leeds said. “Our Merchants go one city in any direction, at best. We can field a trade expedition to Ki’ra if you’d like, but, if our information is accurate, that will tie up every ship we send for upwards of two months.”

There was no way she could stay away from her clanhold for that long. Recent events had proven that even a single day could bring radical change to her clan’s situation.

“If we do send an expedition,” she said, “we’re going to have to plan things thoroughly. Showing up for no reason other than to demand answers to our questions wouldn’t be well received.”

“What if we offer them a gift?” Master Leeds asked.

“A gift?” Xoc’s tail curled curiously, “As in tribute?”

“That may not be the right term in this case,” Master Leeds said. “If I understand it correctly, the warrior clans of Rol’en’gorek are expected to contribute to the defence of the Confederation. That fellow from nar Ki’ra may have afforded you a bit of favourable treatment, but that favour flowed from him to us. If we go barging in demanding what only an officially recognised warrior clan normally has access to, the reception may be outright hostile.”

Across the courtyard, heads bobbed in agreement.

“Master Leeds speaks truly,” Metztli said. “The warrior clans have always been proud. Assuming privileges that we have no right to in their eyes is bound to elicit a hostile, if not outright violent, response.”

“So this ‘gift’ is supposed to keep them from tearing us apart,” Xoc said. “What is it? If you say ‘warriors’, we still can’t spare any. We don’t have an excess of much, overall.”

“Fortunately, we enjoy a unique position that will allow us to contribute in other ways,” Master Leeds told them. “As an industrial centre, we can produce war materiel for the warrior clans. In particular, leather equipment. All of the hides that have come in along with the meat have given our Leatherworkers a lot of practice. We can send a barge full of it – two thousand suits – to Ki’ra along with our request for information.”

That was one commodity they had plenty of. The citizens usually wore cloth, as leather was too expensive, leaving ocelo Pa’chan with a vast surplus of leather.

“Do you think they’ll accept it?” Xoc asked.

“They may be closed-mouthed about nearly everything to outsiders,” Master Leeds answered, “but there are some things that they just can’t hide. Chimali told me that the Merchants from the other day were speculating over whether the warrior clans could pay for anything with the seasonal tributes disrupted. Considering everything else that has happened, I’d say an equipment shortage is almost a guarantee. We have records from the surrounding markets over the past month that suggest the same.”

“Alright, so we send them this gift–”

“The gift isn’t the equipment,” Master Leeds told her, “it’s the deferred payment.”

Xoc levelled a flat stare at the Guildmaster.

“What?” he said, “Do you know how much one suit of leather armour is worth? No Merchant in their right mind would give an entire barge of it away.”

“But we have more leather than we can use,” Xoc said.

“And it’s a Merchant’s job to find a suitable buyer for everything. Think of it this way: the equipment is effectively free until Rol’en’gorek wins or at least regains its footing. Repayment is something we can only enjoy if we survive and it secures a relationship with one of the great clans.”

She wasn’t sure if anyone would consider debt a ‘relationship’. Not a favourable one, at any rate.

“There’s no rule stating that we have to be obnoxious about it,” the Guildmaster grinned at her sour expression. “We can supply them with as much equipment as we can make and be as lenient about repayment as we wish. So long as you have that tie to them, you have an excuse to keep in touch or even introduce new goods.”

“It’s no wonder that Chimali took a liking to you,” Xoc muttered, “even your hooks have hooks.”

“Are we capable of providing so much equipment?” One of the elders asked, “You are correct in the fact that we have plenty of leather, but Leatherworkers are another matter entirely.”

“It’s no problem,” the Guildmaster replied. “There’s no deadline for the first shipment. Given that we’re looking at a huge, generational war in the east, we should be ramping up production as an industrial centre deep inside friendly territory. The city is full of people trying to make ends meet and it’s a damn waste that no one’s harnessed that potential.”

Xoc wondered how far Master Leeds’ plots went. Every problem turned into an opportunity for profit, and it felt like he was the most serious person about building Xoc’s ‘empire’. He framed everything as beneficial in one way or the other, if not in several ways at once, so it was hard for anyone to find unacceptable faults with his proposals.

“That brings us to the next topic,” Xoc said. “I’m sure everyone’s heard of what’s going on to our west.”

“About that,” one of the elders asked. “Shouldn’t the displaced people be returning to their former homes? I can’t imagine they enjoy such cramped conditions.”

“There will be sanitation issues, besides,” another elder added.

“We haven’t imprisoned them,” Xoc said, “but we don’t have the warriors to protect the people if they go back across the river. Our trading posts are on the northern side, as well.”

“Why not also build these trading posts on the south side of the river?”

“We will, but we don’t have the people to be everywhere at once.”

“Even if you put them right across the river from the northern trading posts?”

Xoc looked down at Master Leeds.

“It’s not impossible,” the Guildmaster admitted. “There are still the problems with security that you stated, though. Since there’s no river to serve as a barrier until the next valley, the people who move back over will be vulnerable to the gangs that have occupied the other clanholds around the city. The people that we’re trying to feed may very well have their food stolen away by force.”

“Don’t worry,” Xoc told the elders, “it shouldn’t be long until we can start moving across the river. So long as we can get the northern tribes to cooperate and we continue diverting the river trade to our port, we can keep building up the clan. We’ve been balancing on some narrow branches since the flooding started, but we’ll be in a comfortable position once we sort out the situation in the west.”

“Have you given any thought to the formation of new tribes under ocelo Pa’chan, Enxoc?”

Ugh.

An unexpected question flew in from the far side of the court to smack her in the head.

“I don’t think that’s something we should rush,” Xoc said. “Tribes and their chiefs don’t just happen overnight. That’s why I suggested that we start with community leaders. Those who show that they have what it takes to be a chief can be selected after that.”

To her annoyance, half of the elders seemed dissatisfied with her response.

“Why are you in such a rush to create new tribes?” Xoc asked, “Do you hate court sessions that much?”

“The new chiefs will sit in court?”

“Uh, yeah?” Xoc replied, “They will if there’s something that concerns their tribes, anyway.”

The elders seemed surprised by her answer.

Seriously, what do they want?

Maybe they were just being old and cranky.

After a long and gruelling afternoon of reorganising people, ensuring everyone in her territory got what they needed, and an onerous discussion about how they would expand their fungus farms, Xoc staggered out of her court in an attempt to revive herself.

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“Enxoc!”

“Enxoc!”

“Enxoc!”

She shuffled to a stop halfway along one of the ball courts. There, a handful of young warriors were looking up at her with bright eyes.

“Enxoc!” The tallest of them said, “We heard you won a great victory in the west!”

“I wish they took me as well!”

“Me too!”

“How many people did you kill?”

Xoc forced herself to straighten.

“We still need plenty of warriors and hunters,” she told them, “so be sure to train hard.”

A round of even greater enthusiasm came in response.

“Train with us, Enxoc!”

“Eh? I guess I could…”

Though it had only been a few days since she had last trained with her warriors, so much happened since then that it took her several moments to recall when that was. The young Ocelo trainees, of course, employed the natural stalk-and-pounce tactics of their race, keeping their distance and trying to attack from the rear much as they would when hunting prey. This aspect of their nature made them difficult to train as what people commonly perceived to be a warrior and they weren’t thought of highly due to their elusive behaviour in combat.

Still, it was what Xoc had to work with, as the majority of her people were Ocelo. And it wasn’t as if there weren’t any Ocelo warrior clans.

“Enxoc.”

Xoc looked away from her opponent and ended up with him hanging off of her shoulder. In the seating above the ball court, a familiar Nar looked down at them.

“Rolo,” Xoc said. “You’re back already?”

“We just got back less than an hour ago,” Rolo replied. “Nar Tamal was desperate for fodder so the Merchant turned us around as soon as he negotiated payment.”

“That’s not a surprise,” Xoc peeled the Ocelo youth off of her arm. “How was your first escort?”

“I never knew that simply walking could be so tiring. It was a bit annoying that the Con carrying the litters looked like they were slowing down for me.”

“Sorry,” Xoc said, “We’re still figuring that stuff out.”

The strangest part about ocelo Pa’chan was that, while it was originally an Ocelo clan, the Ghrkhor’storof’hekheralhr had long become a place where every race in Rol’en’gorek dwelt. Having a mixed-race clan was unprecedented, but it felt inevitable for ocelo Pa’chan. Slowly, but surely, the population of non-Ocelo grew as they expanded their influence.

This came with all sorts of challenges, but it also came with the realisation of certain possibilities that were impossible for a single-race clan. Rolo’s Merchant escort was an investigation of some of those possibilities. They tried to leverage the strength of every race, but it would take time for them to strike the right balance between them.

“Were there any problems along the way?” Xoc asked.

“Not that I noticed,” Rolo answered. “Then again, I just accompanied the cargo while the hunters kept an eye out for trouble. When the escort was first described to me, I thought it’d be like the jobs I’ve sometimes taken around the city where I just have to look big and threatening.”

“Well, that is a part of your job,” Xoc said. “You’re there as a deterrent and as a heavy hitter if necessary. Most of our new warriors quickly realise that their work outside of training barely involves any fighting.”

“But there was a fight, wasn’t there? People were talking about a great battle on the western fringes of the clan’s territory.”

Xoc shifted uncomfortably at the thought of all the wild rumours that were probably circulating throughout the clan. She did want certain rumours to spread out into the city so the other gangs wouldn’t bother them, but the way that her people treated her after coming back was an unwelcome surprise.

“It was a short battle,” Xoc replied. “Xigaoli…you’ve heard of him, right?”

“The slumlord?”

“Yeah. Anyway, a bunch of gangs took over the city clanholds when the clanlords withdrew to their territories. Xigaoli moved into the one upriver from us and he’s been busy marking his new territory. He didn’t like that we were expanding nearby and tried to get rid of us. After they found out that their usual tactics wouldn’t work on us, they routed.”

Hopefully, Rolo wouldn’t ask for details. Xoc wasn’t sure how she would explain the weaponisation of one of their guests.

“I’m glad that I didn’t join Xigaoli,” Rolo said.

“He tried to recruit you?”

Too late, Xoc realised that it should have been obvious. Any of the gangs would have loved to add one of the more well-known pit fighters in the area to their strength.

“Yeah,” Rolo replied, “I turned the goons that came to see me down and they didn’t want to risk pressing the issue.”

“Why did you decide to refuse them?”

“They’re parasites,” the Nar shrugged. “Once the city they’ve been feeding off of has nothing more to give, they’ll start gnawing off their own limbs. I have two cubs to care for and that’s hardly a situation that I want to raise them in. Unlike the gangs, ocelo Pa’chan has something beyond scum and villainy going for it. Speaking of which, I have a question for you, Enxoc.”

“Sure, what is it?”

“If you were capable of leading this clan, then why did you compete at the fighting pits?”

Xoc blinked slowly at Rolo’s question. Why did people assume that she had always been what she currently was?

“I just wanted to help the people around me, at first,” Xoc replied. “It wasn’t as if I grew up wanting to be a lord.”

“Then why did you do it?”

“It just happened,” Xoc said. “People started seeing me that way and I felt more and more obliged to do what I could to improve things around me. Eventually, it became this.”

She gestured to the busy clanhold around the ball court.

“That’s a very big ‘eventually’,” Rolo said.

“You don’t have to tell me that,” Xoc replied. “Anyway, I should check with the Merchant Guild to see what the Guildmaster has to say about that caravan. Make sure you get some proper rest before your next escort.”

Xoc made her way over to the ‘Human district’ on the clanhold’s second terrace, which had gone from a humble square of tents to a market surrounded by simple stone buildings. Dozens of homes for the Humans and their families had been raised, as well, with more on the way as labour allowed. The Humans themselves were as busy as ever, toiling away in their workshops, tending to their storefronts, and instructing a small army of Beastman Apprentices.

At the Merchant Guild, she found not only Master Leeds, but also Chimali. The two were standing across from one another at the office’s front desk, where the Guildmaster was busy recording something in a stack of parchment bound with string.

“Welcome, Enxoc,” Master Leeds looked up as a set of chimes announced her entry.

“What’s going on?” Xoc yawned.

“Chimali’s hooked another Merchant,” the Guildmaster said. “From downriver this time.”

“That’s great!” She perked up, “The elders were concerned that we’d be depleting our stockpiles trying to feed all those extra people. “

“If the estimates about the population north of the river are correct,” Master Leeds said, “we need two full barges a day to break even. We’re not quite there yet and we’ve no idea how quickly imports will dwindle. Ideally, we want to keep building up those stockpiles even as we supply food to the new population. I won’t know how viable that is until those Merchants start fulfilling those contracts we issued.”

“We’ve handed out twenty contracts so far,” Chimali said, “so that alone should be twenty barges of meat by the end of the week. It should be almost double what we need right now. Plus, we have yet to intercept the Merchants coming from the southern side of the lake.”

“Don’t take all of the city’s food,” Xoc said. “That will just make everyone hate us.”

“I doubt they even realise what we’re doing,” Chimali said. “And what do we care if those gangs hate us?”

“It’s the people that will suffer,” Xoc told him. “If the gangs don’t get enough food to distribute to the populations under them, then they’ll let everyone starve to feed themselves first.”

“We’ll get to them eventually,” Master Leeds said. “Have you considered what measures you’ll have prepared once they have their backs to the wall, Enxoc?”

Xoc’s tail twitched at the unfamiliar words.

“‘Backs to the wall?’ I’m sorry, I don’t know what that means.”

“Er…when our influence and control grows significant enough that we corner the gangs. Given how Xigaoli’s bunch reacted to us setting up that trading post, I imagine that intimidation and violence is their go-to method of getting what they want.”

She hadn’t given much thought to the specifics of that, yet. An overwhelming advantage on ocelo Pa’chan’s side would see the gangs slink away, but, much like the previous night, it was possible that they would try to interfere with expansion, development, and growth before things got to that point.

“Chimali,” Xoc said, “what do you think are the chances of the gangs working together to keep us from getting too powerful?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen them work together,” Chimali replied, “the closest thing to it is when they independently prey on the same target because they sense weakness. Maybe Xigaoli’s gang will be absorbed by another gang, making them strong enough to give us trouble? Assuming that the rumours about Xigaoli’s defeat aren’t treated seriously.”

Would an even bigger gang swagger over to threaten them as Xigaoli had? How powerful would ocelo Pa’chan have to be to deter any acts of aggression?

“Rather than speculate endlessly over this,” Master Leeds said, “why not send dedicated agents to keep an eye on the rest of the city? So long as we have some idea of what’s going on and how powerful each gang is, we’ll have something to measure our economic and military progress against.”

“That makes sense,” Xoc said. “Do they have to do anything special? If the other gangs have acted as Xigaoli’s has, Ghrkhor’storof’hekheralhr will be a much different city from the one we remember.”

Master Leeds crossed his arms, raising a hand to scratch his chin.

“I was hoping that we could just send Merchants to trade with other parts of the city or just have some people wandering around,” he said. “Even some people pretending to be shopping around or looking for work would net us plenty of information. Out of curiosity, do spies exist in Rol’en’gorek?”

“What are those?” Xoc asked.

“…”

She sensed that the ‘spies’ he mentioned would lead to another endless expanse of information that she would need to learn.

“They’re uh…well, do the warrior clans conduct reconnaissance?”

“They do,” Xoc replied. “Hunters are used for that.”

“Spies are kind of the same, except they usually don’t fight. They just collect information.”

“Oh,” Chimali said. “I can help organise that. We have plenty of people who have done this sort of thing in the past. You should have said so at the beginning instead of using that fancy word.”

The Guildmaster’s eyes went from Chimali to Xoc, then back down to his work.

“Should I go and do it?” Chimali asked.

“Yeah,” Xoc said. “Just don’t send them to do anything crazy.”

“It will be like the old days,” Chimali said. “Except without being poor and starving.”

Chimali rushed out of the office, leaving Xoc, Master Leeds, and a few of his staff in the office. The Guildmaster looked up at the closing door and shook his head.

“That guy is perpetually excited about everything.”

“He’s always been like that,” Xoc said. “There’s always some new idea or opportunity he wants to try out. Even if they result in failure, he just laughs it off and tries something else.”

“It’s a good attitude to have for a Merchant,” Master Leeds nodded. “Most people don’t handle things like rejection and failure well, and Merchants experience rejection and failure aplenty.”

“Really? It always seems like you have the right answer for everything.”

“Well, I don’t mean to sound condescending, but many of the problems that you’re facing have been long solved elsewhere. All you need is the knowledge, will, and resources to implement those solutions. Since everyone is keeping an open mind here and cooperating with my people, things will naturally go pretty smoothly.”

“I hope it stays that way,” Xoc said. “We have enough problems coming from outside of the clan. Oh, I saw that the first trade caravan is back. How did things go with nar Tamal?”

“Uneventfully,” Master Leeds said, “which is good. A few of our people stayed behind at their village to consult them on fodder storage, our new products, and so on. We’ve already sent the next caravan of Blood Fungus, as well. Once nar Tamal is decently caught up on things, we’ll increase our trade volume and fatten up those herds. When will you be speaking to the next tribe?”

“…I don’t know,” Xoc admitted. “My head’s been full of all of the stuff that keeps happening to us that I haven’t thought about it at all. If things stay quiet, then I guess we can start preparing for a visit tomorrow.”

“In that case,” the Guildmaster lowered his head, “I’ll prepare the details for the court, Enxoc.”

Xoc left the Merchant Guild, feeling a bit lost. She walked in a daze down the newly paved streets on her way back to the top terrace, absently acknowledging the people calling out her name.

Did I just run out of things to do?

Her mindless steps continued carrying her forward, and, before she knew it, she found herself back in her home. Her dark stone alcove looked especially welcoming.

It’s alright to sleep, right? I’ve been awake since that nap yesterday…

Xoc curled up on her bed, closing her eyes as she relished the sensation of the cool stone. There were plenty of small things to take care of, to be sure, but the march of events that threatened imminent doom seemed to have come to an end. All that was left to face was the doom that loomed in the not-so-distant future.

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