Valkyrie's Shadow

Chapter 11

19th Day, Upper Wind Month, 1 CE, 0300 Hours

In the stillness of the night, a thick mist crept over the shore and spilt over the piers of Helama. From the bow of Ruin’s Wake, Liam watched as the wharf was engulfed in a shroud of grey.

“This is way too convenient,” Tira remarked from nearby. “Teams two and three: take point.”

Two groups of men – each composed of two Ninjas from Ijaniya and four men from the Balik Family – disembarked and swiftly padded towards the buildings along the wharf. Liam peered into the night, alert for any movement in the mist.

Five minutes later, one of the Ninjas reappeared. He held up a hand, deftly moving his fingers.

–first set of buildings: clear.

Tira nodded and turned to the rest of the men.

“Move up to the first row of buildings,” she said. “Teams ten, eleven and twelve, move our stuff.”

The groups moved to carry out their instructions. Liam wasn’t sure whether Aykut’s men had accepted Tira’s leadership or just didn’t want to miss out on the action. Once the last of the other groups disappeared up the pier, Tira turned to Lady Zahradnik.

“There’s something else, isn’t there?”

“A few things,” Lady Zahradnik said. “Most of this operation is experimental, but that might be obvious considering what we’re doing here. For your part, the Intelligence Division is demonstrating what they’re capable of when it comes to reconnaissance in force. We’re also investigating the benefits and detriments of employing local collaborators. I’m not just here to hand you your orders, either.”

“Oh? Will you be joining us?”

“Not as an infiltrator. You’ll have aerial observers supporting you tomorrow night. Tell me…have you worked with any sort of Commander before?”

“No, I can’t say that I have,” Tira replied. “It’s not exactly a ‘shady organisation’ thing.”

“I suppose I can see why it wouldn’t normally be,” Lady Zahradnik said. “But, technically, nothing prevents it from working. No more than for anyone else, at any rate.”

“How does it work?”

“For someone to receive the benefits of a Commander, they have to be subordinate to that Commander. That’s probably the trickiest part.”

“We’re already subordinate to you for this operation,” Tira pointed out.

“If it was as simple as saying so,” Lady Zahradnik smirked, “Knowledge of the benefits would be far more widespread. For the time being, I only ask that you genuinely cooperate with me. We’ll see how things go from there.”

“Fair enough. We’ll see you tomorrow night, then.”

Tira hopped onto the railing.

“One more thing,” the Baroness said, “while there aren’t any of the locals around.”

“What’s that?”

“Allow the two families working with us to get their contributions in. The Draconic Kingdom is built on loyalty, service and sacrifice. The people need something to stand on coming out of this.”

“Got it.”

Tira hopped down to the pier. Lady Zahradnik turned her gaze to Liam and Saye.

“I haven’t seen the two of you for some time,” she said. “I suppose it’s fitting that you’d end up in this line of work.”

The Baroness reached into the pouch at her hip, producing a polished silver ring. She held it out to his sister.

“This is for you, Saye.”

“What is it?”

“A Ring of Sustenance,” Lady Zahradnik replied. “You’re the only Bard present, so you won’t survive your work without this.”

“I thought she was running the field hospital,” Liam said.

“She is,” the Baroness replied. “And it’s the hardest job in this operation. Once the fighting starts, she can’t sleep until it’s over. Not only will she be managing the supplies and using healing items, but she’ll also be playing a song of healing the entire time.”

“…we need to get another Bard,” Saye frowned down at her fingers.

“This should be the busiest fight for this part of the campaign,” Lady Zahradnik said. “After this, there’s another city to help out but we won’t be dealing with the huge numbers that we’ll have here.”

Lady Zahradnik turned to Liam.

“I hear you’ve been focusing on your combat training above all else,” she said. “So much so that you failed your test yesterday.”

“H-how did you know that?”

“Miss Alpha is very fastidious when it comes to reporting her students’ progress,” Lady Zahradnik smiled. “A Shadow Demon delivered her report. Well, I suppose we’ll see whether your focus pays off or not. Are you ready to fight?”

“I am,” Liam nodded.

The Baroness gave him a long look.

“Remember that the average Beastman around here is around Difficulty Rank 30. That’s more than twice as strong as you are.”

“We were trained on how to take on stronger targets,” Liam said.

“Let’s see where that training takes you, then. Fight well, Liam.”

Lady Zahradnik patted him on the shoulder. She gave Saye a hug.

Liam and Saye hopped onto the pier and made their way to the wharf. There, they found most of the groups gathered between the buildings, which were emptied of inhabitants. He made eye contact with Tira and signalled with a hand.

–what’s happening?

–checking gate.

Pon appeared out of the mist to the east. He jerked his head towards one of the empty buildings. Tira motioned for Aykut to follow. Liam and Saye went to listen near the door.

“Beastmen guarding the gate,” Pon said. “Six of them.”

“Are they looking out for us?” Tira asked.

“No idea. They aren’t the same types of Beastmen that we’ve seen in Karnassus.”

Tira and Pon turned to look at Aykut.

“Our men were sent over a week ago,” he said. “We have no way to know whether they succeeded or failed, only that it was unlikely that they would fail.”

“But you know who you sent, right?” Tira asked.

“I do,” Aykut answered.

“Then ask them.”

The man stared blankly in response.

“The Message scrolls,” Tira said. “Use one to contact one of your guys on the inside.”

Aykut took out several scrolls and started to check through them. Liam and Saye exchanged a look.

“The ones painted silver on the end are Message scrolls,” Saye said from the doorframe.

The man held up the scrolls to the window. It appeared that he didn’t have a Darkvision item.

Liam resisted the urge to shake his head. The men from the Balik Family had the same feeling as so many he had seen and known growing up in Fassett Town. Thugs who worked for thugs who worked for people that may as well have been thugs. He was almost killed by one in the past. Now, they almost seemed laughable.

Their equipment was incomplete and their knowledge was a hodgepodge of whatever life in their own small worlds taught them. They didn’t use or even know about most of what Rogues were capable of. Even if some of the men were stronger than Liam, he felt that he wouldn’t lose against any of them. One attack was enough to turn them even more helpless than the people that they picked on. They probably wouldn’t even see him coming since they couldn’t see in the dark.

A flash of azure flame brightened the interior of the building.

“Zellos? It’s me. What do you mean ‘who’? It’s me!”

The Ninjas outside the building furrowed their brows. A few of them went off in different directions.

“Hey, Aykut,” Tira said, “keep it down.”

“It’s Aykut,” he said in a much lower voice. “Why did my voice change…? Look, Zellos, we’re outside the Wharf Gate right now. Where are you and your men? …you’re not telling? What? You don’t believe it’s me?”

Tira walked out of the building. She took a Message scroll out of a supply crate and used it. After a few minutes of silent conversation, she signalled for everyone to gather.

“We’re sealing this city starting right now,” she said. “To pass that gate, we need to kill off the Beastmen below, in the gate tower, and on the nearby walls. Even if we dump their bodies in the river, the rest’ll notice something’s wrong when morning comes.”

“But Zahradnik said–”

“Plans change,” Tira told Aykut. “I just spoke with her: she’s on her way back right now. In the meantime, we’re securing the Wharf Gate. Saye will set up the first waystation in the gate tower. Pon, take five of our guys and get to the wall north of the gate. Ilen, same for this side. The rest of us will go through the front. Pon and Ilen, move in after I do.”

“What about us?” Aykut asked.

“We’re just getting started,” Tira answered. “This might get real messy real quick, so be ready.”

The two teams of Ninjas split off. Liam and Saye followed Tira and the main group to the gate. Unlike a gate manned by Humans, the Beastmen didn’t use any torches to light the night. The six Beastmen sentries reported by Pon were crouched in the shadows cast by the waning moon.

Tira raised her hand and drew a line across a group of Ninjas with her finger.

–you six, take your marks. I’m hopping in first.

She pulled out a scroll painted dark grey on one end, walking behind one of the buildings. There was a flash of azure light. The world fell silent. Tira came back out again.

–come in two seconds after me. Going now.

Tira took a step, vanishing into the shadows. She reappeared under the portcullis of the Wharf Gate. The six Ninjas popped out of the shadows beside their targets. If the Beastmen made any noise as they died, Liam couldn’t hear it.

Six dead Beastmen were dragged out towards them. Tira raised a hand from the gate.

–stuff those corpses inside the buildings. The rest of you, get over here.

The Ninjas around them moved. Aykut’s men looked around in confusion.

“She says to hide the bodies in the buildings,” Saye said. “Everyone else, go up to the gate.”

Tira came out from the gate as they approached, holding out a hand for them to stop.

“There’s a crapload of Beastmen in there,” she said in a low voice. “You can see them camped out in the streets and along the walls inside. Aykut, where are those men that you sent waiting for us?”

“I don’t know,” Aykut replied. “We thought it would be like Blighthold, but it isn’t. Zellos refused to answer any of my questions. Maybe they’re hiding in a building near the gate?”

“So you don’t think they’re refusing to report because they failed?” Tira asked.

“I don’t see him doing that,” Aykut answered. “We are here at the Queen’s command. There are greater things at stake.”

“I see,” Tira turned around and looked to the parapet above. “Well, we’re clearing this tower now. Wait here until we secure it. Make sure you conceal yourselves entering the gatehouse or Beastmen in the street will spot you.”

She raised her hand.

–clear?

Liam looked up at the wall. He couldn’t see anyone signalling back, but Tira lowered her hand and turned back to address them.

–they’re ready. We’re going up the stairs.

The stairwell was only wide enough to fit one person in a fight. Tira took the lead, using another Silence scroll near the doorway at the top. She disappeared in a blink. By the time they came into the room, Tira was already heading up the next set of stairs. Three dead Beastmen were left in her wake.

Nine dead Beastmen lay sprawled over the furniture of the captain’s office above. Pon led his group up the next set of stairs while Tira looked around the office. The sound of the waves lapping over the shore nearby returned as the Silence effect from the scroll faded.

“Get these bodies out of here,” Tira said. “Dump them over the wall and get the others to carry them away.”

“Should we shut the gates, boss?” Ilen asked.

“Not yet. Those Beastmen will come sniffing around if they see that something’s off.”

Customs ledgers and sheets of paper were scattered over the floor. There were some bags filled with Beastman belongings, but they contained nothing of note. Aykut and his men came up, bringing their supplies with them.

“How did you do that?” He asked, “There was no alarm raised; no sound of struggle.”

“The Silence scrolls,” Saye answered. “It puts a field of silence around your target. If that target is yourself, it’ll bring that field of silence wherever you go.”

“As generous as our supplies are,” Tira said. “We don’t have enough to take out thousands of Beastmen like that. Each scroll only lasts two-and-a-half minutes.”

“There are three more gates and six towers,” Ilen said. “We can do that, at least.”

“Maybe. But we’re still gonna have to do the walls the old-fashioned way. Hmm…”

Tira pulled out the map of the city and unfolded it on the office table. The Wharf Gate was between the Ferry Gate and another gate that opened to the coastal highway. The remaining gate was on the other side of the city.

“This is kind of a fix,” Tira said. “If it were Humans guarding the walls like we thought, we could’ve left things as they were. The Beastmen in the city are going to notice if the walls are empty, but we can’t seal the city unless we get rid of them. Aykut, try calling your man again. He can come to see us himself if he’s so suspicious.”

Aykut used another scroll. Pon came down from the top of the tower, accompanied by Lady Zahradnik.

“We’ve got a problem,” Tira told her.

“So I see,” Lady Zahradnik joined her at the table. “Humans were manning the fortifications in the evening, but we’ll just have to deal with this. Any luck contacting the Suna Family?”

“Not yet. Aykut’s trying to get his man to come out and see us. You got any ideas?”

“I’ve called in a few sergeants out of each of the companies closing on Helama coming to join us,” Lady Zahradnik said. “They’re scattered all over the countryside sweeping up the Beastmen in the way, so It will take most of them around two hours to arrive. In the meantime, we have to thin out the Beastmen in the city starting from some convenient place.”

“I can send my people over the rooftops to look around,” Tira said. “Our darkvision range is limited, though. We might not catch everything from above.”

“Boss,” Ilen said, “we got someone coming to the gate.”

“The wall or the road?”

“Road. From the inside.”

A man came up the stairs shortly after, dressed in the same style of garb as Aykut’s men.

“Zellos,” Aykut glowered at the newcomer. “I wish I could strangle you right now.”

“H-how would I know?” The man said defensively, “It could have been a Beastman trick!”

“Are you saying I sound like a Beastman?”

Lady Zahradnik cleared her throat.

“Dog and Wolf Beastmen have very sensitive ears,” she said. “Now that you’re here, what did you find out from the Suna family?”

“Everything has been arranged as requested,” Zellos said. “Except the watch shifts, obviously. The safehouse is in the ‘Human quarter’ of the city.”

“Describe this ‘Human quarter’.”

“Ehm…it’s not an official thing,” Zellos replied. “When the Beastmen started moving in a day or two ago, the people of the city gathered together for mutual protection.”

“Did it work?” Lady Zahradnik asked.

“No,” Zellos shook his head sadly. “We have nothing but rocks and sticks to fight back with. It has become like a pen of livestock there. The Beastmen come and go as they please, taking people when they are hungry.”

“Can we reach the safehouse?”

“We can,” Zellos nodded. “The Beastmen let Fishermen work during the day under close watch, so the ‘quarter’ is near to this gate.”

“Then it’s as good a start as any,” Lady Zahradnik said. “Bring the supplies to the top of the tower. I’ll fly them over to the rooftops.”

“Are we leaving some people here?” Tira asked.

“How many would it take to quietly hold this gate?”

“If the Beastmen that come snooping around are like the ones that were manning this post, two of my guys.”

“We’ll go with that for now, then.”

Without another word, Lady Zahradnik went to pick up one of the crates, taking it up the stairs. Tira gestured with her chin. Several Ninjas picked up the rest of the crates and followed the Baroness to the top of the tower.

“She’s a lot easier to work with than I expected,” Tira said.

“Why did you think she’d be hard to work with?” Liam asked.

“It’s usually like that,” Tira answered. “People like to be in control. Adventurers and Workers want to be in control of their lives. Master artisans want to be in control of their shops. Nobles control their lands and their people. Soldiers exert control by hammering their idea of order into the world around them. The more powerful a person – or a group of people – is, the more they’re able to exercise control over their lives and the lives of others and the more they embrace that control.”

“She sounded like she was in charge there,” Aykut noted.

“She is in charge,” Tira said. “But that’s where the difference lies. She’s not trying to control everything. Giving up control is probably one of the hardest things someone can do, but she’s just placing her trust in people she’s just met.”

Liam stared at the empty stairwell. He wasn’t sure if it was like that at all. Back when they met outside Fassett Town, Lady Zahradnik had placed her trust in Liam, Saye, and the other girls as well. But it wasn’t so much ‘trust’ as it was ‘expectation’ – she had a way about her which demanded that everyone become a part of something greater than themselves.

Not that it was bad. It was better than being someone who only saw the ground at their feet and lived petty lives that accomplished nothing.

Since they couldn’t get onto the rooftops easily, Liam and Saye followed Aykut and his men out of the gate tower. They crossed to a nearby alley, staying as far away as they could from the Beastmen sleeping along the streets. The alley itself had Beastmen as well, but someone had gone and killed them all. He saw a few of the Ninjas ahead, carrying some of the corpses with them.

The men guarding the entrance to a back alley courtyard stared from their low fires as the dead Beastmen were carried by. Liam’s eyes went past the sentries, taking in a sight that was familiar, yet not. Men and older boys lined the sides of the courtyard and inner alley lanes, standing at the entrances of humble homes. They were like the refugees in Roble who flooded Rimun, guarding the meagre shelters where their women and children slept.

Most of them were skinny, as if they hadn’t had a decent meal for months. That, too, was like Roble, where the northern part of the Holy Kingdom had all of its stores raided or ruined. The air was filled with the odours of too many Humans crammed together, though with the sea just outside the walls, most looked like they had washed recently.

What was not familiar was how they carried themselves. Even though they looked starved, they didn’t have the air of starving, desperate people. Their eyes were sharp, watching and waiting for…something.

Zellos stopped to speak to one of the men in the courtyard, who nodded and gestured to several others nearby. Some of them went to bring in the rest of the dead Beastmen while the others accompanied Aykut through the maze-like bowels of the city quarter. Along the way, Tira and Lady Zahradnik dropped down from above to join them.

After three turns and four more courtyards, they stopped at a small garden with rows of vegetables. A worn door on the other side opened and three men with the same demeanour as Aykut’s came out.

“You can take your things in there,” the black-haired man in the middle said.

The door on the other side of the garden turned out to be the back entrance to an old warehouse. In the place of shelves and pallets were tables, chairs and hammocks, mostly occupied by more thugs. Where the front doors of the warehouse should have been was the wall of another building. It was featureless save for a single door.

A middle-aged man in a clean black coat came out with an entourage of burly men. They walked out between the tables, meeting Lady Zahradnik, Tira, and Aykut in the middle of the warehouse.

“Sal Suna,” the man said. “I wasn’t sure what to expect when Balik’s men came in the other day, but…”

“You prepared a place for us nonetheless,” Lady Zahradnik said. “Her Majesty thanks the Suna Family for its service.”

Lady Zahradnik produced a scroll and presented it to Sal Suna. The man reached out and unfurled it. His black beard shifted silently as his eyes scanned the content. After several moments, he nodded quietly several times. He touched the scroll to his breast.

“We are at Her Majesty’s service.”

Liam furrowed his brow as the men around the warehouse lowered their heads respectfully. Maybe they weren’t exactly the same thugs that he knew.

“So,” Sal Suna said. “What now?”

Lady Zahradnik gestured to her right.

“May we use this table?”

Sal Suna waved the men at the table away. The Baroness unrolled a map of the city, placing a magic light on one side and a pen on the other.

“What type of Beastmen are in the city?”

“Cougars. Tigers. Jaguars.”

“No dogs or wolves at all?”

“None. I heard they’re in Phelegia upriver.”

“That’s convenient for us,” Lady Zahradnik said. “Is there a specific place where the Beastman Lords are located?”

“No,” Sal Suna shook his head. “Each tribe claims a part of the city. The Lord just picks the nicest spot in that part to live in.”

“Does that mean that the Clanlords are in the central keep?”

“Yeah.”

“Are there any Beastman warriors in the city?”

Sal Suna looked around at the men nearby, who shook their heads.

“We don’t know,” he said. “So many have moved in over the last day or two.”

“Do you have a rough estimate of how many?”

“The Beastmen camping outside moved inside. That’s all I can really say.”

“Have you put up any resistance in that time? Killed a few in the alleys when the chance presented itself, for instance?”

“Not since they moved in,” Sal Suna said. “Now that there are so many in here, they don’t brush off dead members of their tribes as failed hunters. Humans that kill Beastmen where they live are considered a threat to their families. We had some try and fight back at the start, but they were swarmed and butchered.”

Liam tried to imagine what that was like. The people here couldn’t retaliate or run. All they could do was watch as they were picked off one at a time.

“How often do they come to take someone?” Lady Zahradnik asked.

“Once an hour, at least. Probably twice that.”

“Can you mark out the area where Humans reside?”

“Just this section here,” Sal Suna traced out an area between the Wharf Gate and the Coast Gate. “The Beastmen moved into the rest.”

“Do the Beastmen post sentries over you?”

“At the entrances of the quarter. So we don’t try to escape.”

“Where are these entrances?”

Eight spots were marked on the map. Lady Zahradnik gestured to the crates behind her.

“Fill the deeper parts of each entrance with traps. Have men at each one ready to ambush any Beastmen that make it through or try to escape. Tira’s people will clean out any Beastmen loitering in the alleys right now. Bring their corpses into the quarter. Let the people know not to leave.”

Men moved to carry out her instructions. Lady Zahradnik studied the map while they filtered out of the old warehouse.

“Were you able to gather the temple staff from around the city?” She asked.

“They’re in the buildings nearby,” Sal Suna said. “What did you want with them?”

“This safehouse will be turned into a field hospital,” Lady Zahradnik said. “The temple staff will help tend to the wounded.”

“…how many wounded are we talking about here?”

“We’re moving faster than anticipated, so we may take more casualties. Ideally, it will only be of those who have volunteered for this.”

Lady Zahradnik’s finger traced down from the ‘Human quarter’ to the Wharf Gate.

“We’ll divide Tira’s people into two pairs of groups. One will clear the walls while the other will follow behind and clear the streets below. Do you think it’s possible to secure the walls without alerting the Beastmen?”

“The killing part we can do,” Tira said, “but I don’t think we have enough Silence scrolls to guarantee that something doesn’t make loud noises or sound the alarm along the way.”

The Baroness pulled a dark, palm-sized crystal out of one of her pouches, placing it in front of Tira.

“I only have one of these, unfortunately.”

“Nope,” Tira picked up the crystal. “This is perfect. I can take care of the streets. Another group can do the wall above. We’ll go all the way around. Most of my people will be free to use if we do it that way.”

“How long will it take you?”

“As long as we don’t have to double back and redo parts of the wall, about thirty minutes. That’s also assuming everything’s as easy as the Wharf Gate…where’d you get this, by the way?”

“E-Rantel. A Merchant from the Empire was selling it in the main plaza in front of the Adventurer Guild.”

“Seriously? Dammit, I need to do more shopping.”

“What about us?” Aykut asked.

“After we’ve fortified this quarter,” Lady Zahradnik answered, “those on ‘offence’ will be helping to clear out the city section by section. The wind blows toward the sea at night, so we’ll be doing the southern parts first.”

“We might not be able to clear the whole city before dawn,” Tira noted.

“As long as we can minimise losses to the citizenry,” the Baroness replied, “that’s fine. The Beastmen will be stuck in here with us.”

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