The OP Lich is a Returnee, Chapter 232 (Patreon)

Chapter 232 – Audience

Ambassador Glad Pescariu fought to keep his breathing even. He had known, intellectually, that, as the Ambassador to Japan, there was a good chance that he would be called on to speak to the Lich Queen of Risen Athelia, since her castle was here, but he had always hoped that he would never have to actually have this meeting. His country was old, and proud, but their leaders weren’t fools. There was no negotiating with a force of nature that made hurricanes and earthquakes look quaint by comparison. There was only hoping that she was in a good mood on the day they met, and that whatever situation required the meeting was not one which would spark her ire. He had no wish to see a ‘gas leak’ eliminate his country’s leaders, after all.

But his orders had been direct. The Lich Queen was the foremost expert on the undead in two worlds. She had vampires as part of her army. One of her new apprentices was a vampire. If anyone could give them advice on how to handle the current situation, it was her.

He did not mind the fact that he had to leave the car at the castle gate, and walk the rest of the way. It gave him time to prepare himself. He did not mind seeing the undead trolls that opened the gate doors, or the skeletal archers on the walls, or the other undead going about various tasks. It helped focus him on who he had come to see, and why. Not that it settled his nerves any.

He followed the undead creature that had met him at the gate into the castle itself. The files said that this man was named Galeren, and he was a ‘Greater Zombie’, which apparently meant that he was a zombie who was better preserved than the normal type, and retained their human intelligence. He was also the Seneschal of Risen Athelia, responsible for ruling in the Lich Queen’s absence when she was abroad. Though, considering that she was able to teleport, and had regional governors overseeing the day-to-day operations of her lands, the position was largely ceremonial.

He knew he was just trying to distract himself with trivia. Well, not trivia, but facts about the location and people around him that did not directly relate to who he was meeting, and why. It was an old habit of his, ever since he was a kid. He focused on facts when a situation threatened to overwhelm him. Not that many people would blame him for being overwhelmed at the idea of meeting the Lich Queen.

In truth, he had not expected to meet with her so quickly. When he sent the request to meet, he’d fully expected to have to wait for a week, maybe two. Not because he thought that the Lich Queen would be playing petty dominance games, but because that was simply the reality when dealing with world leaders. They had many demands on their time, after all, and for a non-emergency meeting with a representative of an unallied country, that timeframe was fairly normal.

Instead, his office had gotten a call a mere hour after their message was delivered, telling him that the Lich Queen would be free at 13:00 the next day. He had quickly rearranged his other meetings and promised he would be there, but he was not blind to what this actually meant. The Lich Queen had not inquired ahead about what the meeting was about, and had answered too quickly for things to be entirely coincidental. She must have already heard about things in his country, and had already started forming opinions. Whether that was good or bad, he couldn’t say.

They reached the throne room, and he saw not just the Lich Queen, in her undead form and full regalia, sitting upon her throne, but eight others as well. The closest two, flanking the throne, looked like elves. The one on her left hand was a female mage of some sort, if the robes and staff were any indication, and she wore a symbol of a red tree over a silver lake, on a black field. On the Lich Queen’s right hand, there was a male elf, wearing a breastplate and other medieval-looking armor that seemed to drink in the light. He had a sword sheathed at his side, and a shield in one hand, emblazoned with the silver on black symbol of Risen Athelia, the same as was above the Lich Queen’s throne.

The six others were split three and three on either side of the throne room, watching, but clearly not the focus of this meeting. They looked to be human, though that was no guarantee, considering the Seneschal leading him still looked human at a glance. They were all dressed in matching mage robes, with the Lich Queen’s symbol on their tabards. They would be her apprentices, then.

The Seneschal stepped ahead of him, and said, in a clear voice, full of ceremony, “My Queen, I present to you the Ambassador to Japan from the country of Romania, Glad Pescariu. He has come on his country’s behalf, seeking Risen Athelia’s guidance in a matter of some importance.”

Ambassador Pescariu managed to keep his emotions off his face. The introduction was polite, and not incorrect, but it slanted things. He knew it, the Seneschal knew it, and the Lich Queen knew it. ‘Guidance’ implied a teacher-student relationship, while ‘aid’ would have been closer to a relationship between equals. At least it wasn’t ‘instruction’, which would have implied a master-servant relationship. He could work with this.

“Let him approach, as a welcome guest.”

The Lich Queen’s words were clear, and he could feel the power in them. Effortless power, that clearly signaled she was a being who had far surpassed mortal limitations. As if anyone needed reminding of that.

“Her Royal Majesty, Queen Akagawa Kaori, First of Her Name, World Traveler, the Deathless, the Dragon Ascended, the Heroine of the Elements Undivided, Conquerer of Haerth and its Minions, Mistress of the Dead and Ruler of the Damned, Archlich and High Contractor of Murena, Agent of the Goddess of Death, Chainbreaker, Archmage of the Elements Undivided, Destroyer of Athelia-That-Was, Demon’s Bane, Legend-crafter, Weaponmistress, She Who Wields Both Spell and Blade, the Lost Sleeper Returned, and Lich Queen of Risen Athelia bids you approach, as a guest of the realm, so that you may deliver the message you have come to convey.”

Ambassador Pescariu bowed respectfully, copying the version he had learned for interacting with the Japanese. A little bit of respect went a long way in diplomatic circles, especially since it cost him nothing to do gestures like this. And when he was dealing with someone who could single-handedly wipe his country off the map, without even trying hard, being respectful was the bare minimum.

“Your Majesty, thank you for seeing me so quickly. I come on instructions from my government, to seek your advice on a troubling matter. You are recognized as perhaps the foremost expert on the undead on two worlds, now that contact has been established with the world your class was summoned to, and it is for that expertise that my government instructed me to contact you.

“I know someone of your stature is bombarded with news from all parts of the world, and that my homeland is a relatively small player. It is rare for Romania to make headlines that echo throughout Europe. Rarer still for such news to be easily discovered here, in the Far East. So, I will not presume to think you already know of the current situation in my country.”

He took a breath, and said, “For the past year, there has been a steady increase of disappearances, missing persons and animals, and strange sightings. Some of the missing beings have been found later, drained of blood. No culprit has yet been identified. The police, even our thaumaturges and mages, have been unable to do more than map the disturbances. Finding the killer, or even tracking them, has been beyond most of them. However, any time one of them looked to be making headway, they were soon added to the list of missing persons.”

Pescariu shook his head. “I know the history of my country as well as any other, both in real life, and in folklore. I am fully aware of what this looks like. If it were before the Awakening, I would have said that, with it being too many incidents for coincidence, that there was a serial killer on the loose, under the delusion that they are one of the vampires of old. However, with the Awakening actually causing vampires and other creatures thought to be mythological to appear in real life, the serial killer seems a more hopeful alternative, one more easily understood than the supernatural.

“And this thinking is not mine alone. My government believes that this is the work of a vampire, or possibly more than one. Which puts my government in an unfortunate position. While there are scholars that have knowledge of mythical vampires, their abilities, and their weaknesses, separating fact from fiction is impossible, and there is a concern about just how many people will be slain before a solution can be found.”

The Lich Queen’s burning blue flame eyes stared at him like she was seeing his soul. For all he knew, she might be. Everyone knew that she could rip out souls, turn them into gems, and more. No one knew the limits of her power, but being able to see someone’s soul was probably well within it.

“Ah, so the trouble near Târgoviște has been going on for that long?” Something of his thoughts must have crossed his face at that, since the Lich Queen chuckled. “I may not have the time to stay personally apprised of everything going on in the world, but there are websites and online forums that track things. Since the information is getting out to the public, now, I guess that things have progressed to the point where your government can no longer cover things up?”

“Respectfully, your Majesty, I must object to the talk of a cover up. While it is true that my country did not advertise the events, or our inability to find the ones responsible, that was not due to any attempt to hide or misrepresent the events. However, the Romanian government, publicly hunting a vampire in the region of Wallachia? That would immediately become sensationalized, which would lead to the generally peaceful supernaturals who make my country their home being put in danger. Whether they were vampires or not, frightened people would not care, and would work to exterminate them. Which would only cause far more death in the long term.”

The Lich Queen nodded once, acknowledging the point. “Looking out for those who would be made into scapegoats is admirable, especially considering the history of witch hunts and similar that have happened throughout the western world. So, what is it your government wishes of Risen Athelia in this matter, Ambassador? I do hope you were not planning on asking me to play supernatural detective in a foreign land.”

He shook his head vigorously. “Absolutely not. Besides the terrifying precedent that would set, on many levels, my government is well aware of how rude that would be, especially as you do not have any sort of obligation or responsibility for undead who are not sworn to Risen Athelia, just as our leaders are not responsible for someone of Romanian descent living in foreign lands, with foreign citizenship.”

The Lich Queen chuckled. “Good, I would hate for the first meeting between our countries to have so quickly run into that kind of rudeness. So, what does your government want?”

“I have been ordered to ask if you might provide consultants, who might help our investigators in finding the perpetrator or perpetrators behind these incidents, and bringing them to justice. And I was instructed specifically to ask if these consultants would limit any combat to self-defense, or defense of those in their company, unless authorized by local officials.”

“Interesting. A restriction that preserves Romanian authority, while bending to reality that sometimes, there are things that must be done. I presume that these ‘local officials’ would be the officers that my people, if they went over there, would be liaising with, and not some bureaucrat sitting safely in an office kilometers away?”

“That is the impression that I was given, yes. But the specifics would be worked through with the lawyers, to ensure that any evidence gained can be legally used to ensure that those who are behind this can be tried and sentenced under the law, and justice is done.”

“Very well, I have some individuals who can be sent to aid your country in the search for these individuals. Of the four I will be sending, two are vampires, and the other two are other types of undead. I shall, of course, ensure that their dietary needs are no concern of your countrymen.”

Pescariu bowed lower this time, in gratitude. “Thank you, your Majesty. I shall inform my government of this at once.”