DF216 - Against All Odds (Patreon)

“You’ve got some nerve,” Anton told the Prince.

Prince Mazir smiled disarmingly.

“When you are an upstart begger boy, or a foolish knight or even a gallant hero, it is called nerve,” he agreed. “When one is a prince of the greatest nation in the world, called on to serve as its representative in far-away lands, it is called composure.”

They were meeting on the docks, this time. Prine Mazir had sailed in under a white flag, which was the only reason he’d made it to shore. Anton didn’t want the Tiatians setting even a single foot on land, so he’d set up some chairs and a canopy on the dock.

Refreshments had not been provided.

“Please understand, Lord Nos, Commander Kareth was just engaging in some harmless scouting. She was as surprised as anybody when our objective fell into her lap, so to speak.”

“You call it scouting, I call it trespassing,” Anton stated. “If she had managed to capture Princess Elara, it would have been kidnapping.”

“I would have rebuked her most sternly when she returned,” Prince Mazir replied. “But under the circumstances, what was she to do? There were fires, arrows, knives… Her Highness’s life was in danger. As for the trespassing… can you really say it was your land?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Anton demanded.

“The system of ownership and titles here, it rests on the authority of your King, does it not? A King that you are currently in rebellion against?”

“What if I am?” Anton asked cautiously.

“Without your King’s assent, your territory is limited to what you can hold. And how are we to find out how far that extends without sending out scouts?”

He made an expression that might have been meant as a show of concern. “And wouldn’t you know, we ran into some of your King’s men in that forest. Wouldn’t that mean it belongs to them, and not you?”

“We ran them off,” Anton said grimly. “As we did you.”

“Yes… burning down your own forest makes a strong statement, I must admit. I hope it didn’t turn out badly for you.”

Anton didn’t reply. He wasn’t sure how much of the forest the Tiatians could see out where they were. They could probably tell that the entire forest hadn’t burned down, and they might have noted substantially less smoke than they would have predicted. He didn’t plan on giving them anything for free, though.

Suliel took over for him.

“Just what did you come here for?” she said icily. “Trespassing and attempted kidnapping haven’t gained you any favours here, no matter what lies you tell about them.”

“My mission remains the same, Lady Nos,” Prince Mazir said. “Though… some details have changed. Out of courtesy to my absent sister, allow me to pass on the latest news.”

Anton had very delibrately chosen not to bring Elara down to the docks. She was back at the castle, with as heavy a guard as he could spare.

“How generous of you,” Suliel drawled. “Rest assured, we will be appropriately grateful.”

Prince Mazir smiled thinly. “It’s good news… for some,” he said. “Your faction has pushed forward rapidly, and the King’s response… did not go well. There were delays that prevented the main force from being assembled in time, and the rebels have pushed into royal territory.”

Suliel was unmoved. “I’m sure we’ll get confirmation of that in due course,” she said. “However, even if that is true, the final battle has yet to be fought.”

“Indeed,” Prince Mazir conceeded. “However, matters have turned dire enough that King Kalond felt the need to appeal for help.”

Suliel’s eyes narrowed. “He sold out his own country. Even after what I’d learned… I didn’t think he would stoop so low.”

“You’re upset, so I’ll ignore the potential insult,” Prince Mazir said easily. “You shouldn’t think of it as selling out, so much as siding with the winning side. Becoming a province of the greater Empire comes with many benefits, after all. For example, once the Fleet has a supply port in this region, you can be assured that Elitran raids will be a thing of the past. And—”

“But you still need Elara,” Anton interrupted. He didn’t really want to argue about politics, and this kept the conversation on what mattered.

“Of course,” Prince Mazir agreed. “Now, though, we are operating on the King’s behest. Retriving his daughter is, apart from bringing his kingdom back together, his fondest wish.”

“Are you just going to hand her over, though?” Suliel asked shrewedly. “It seems that would be giving up a valuable playing peice.”

“The details are yet to be decided,” Mazir admitted. “We have concerns for her safety, and it has not yet been reported whether her brother still survives. A trip back to Tiatia might be an opportunity for heads to cool, and her husband’s grandmother is eager to meet her latest grandaughter.”

“So the only thing that has changed is the veneer of your legitimacy,” Suliel said scornfully.

“Not quite,” Mazir said, holding up a finger. “Under the current circumstances, I am empowered to offer you a better deal.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Anton said.

“Are you sure? I can now offer the opportunity to keep your baronial rank under the new regime. Kirido will belong to your family in perpetuity.”

“You’re offering me what I’ve already got,” Anton snorted.

“Remember, the King has our support now,” Prince Mazir cautioned. “Ground troops are… not far away. Do you think your Queen can defeat him now? This deal doesn’t even require you to switch sides. You can secure your position no matter who wins.”

“And all I need to do is hand over a friend,” Anton said. “No thanks.”

Even Anton could see that the deal wasn’t as foolproof as Mazir was claiming. His Queen, if she won, might well have opinions about him handing her neice over to the Tiatians. Not that it mattered.

“Elara asked for my protection, and she has it,” Anton said. “It doesn’t matter what you offer.”

“That’s shame,” Prince Mazir sighed. “With all the recent work you’ve done on this harbour… I had recommended that it be given the role of basing our Fleet. That would have meant money coming in, development… you would have benefited greatly, if you were still in charge.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Anton repeated.

“Then… could you at least report these changed circumstances to my sister? She deserves to make her choice with the latest information.”

Anton glanced over at Kelsey, who had been sitting quietly, guarding the box on her lap the whole time.

“Did you get all that?” she asked. “Over.”

There was a slight pause, a burst of noise, and then Elara’s voice came through.

“I did. I’m grateful for your support… Anton. You have given me a choice, and I choose to accept your hospitality over whatever lies before me as a pawn of the Empire and my Father.”

Prince Mazir stared at the device in Kelsey’s lap. “What a strange… magical item your dungeon has made.”

“Thanks,” Kelsey said, grinning easily. “I’ve got a notion that you might be seeing a lot more of my work real soon.”

“I suppose that’s true. Am I to understand that Elara can hear us? Is that really your final answer?”

“Was I not clear, Prince Mazir?”

“You were,” Prince Mazir said sadly. “It seems that I must take my leave, and when we meet next, it will be under unhappier circumstances. Do take good care of her, my Lord. If she should happen to die when we take this town, I’ll never hear the end of it from Grandmother.”

“Don’t worry,” Anton said stiffly. “I don’t plan on letting your men get within a mile of her.”

Prince Mazir nodded slowly and stood.

“It would be strange for me to wish you luck, but I wish good fortune in that, at least. Commander Kareth will want to kill you, but the rest of the forces will be ordered to accept your surrender, should you choose to give it.”

The prince gave a half-bow, then turned and walked briskly back to his boat.

“Too bad we’re letting him go,” Kelsey said. Suliel whirled to face her.

“Those are the rules,” she hissed. “No harm to messengers!”

“I know, you said so before. Repeatedly. No killing the prince, Kelsey, no turning him into a Revenant and sending him back to Granny with a hunger for brains, Kelsey. No—”

“We get the picture,” Anton said. “And I know that you understand politics to know why we have that rule.”

Kelsey pouted. “I never killed a prince before,” she sulked. “Barons, sure.”

She gestured at Suliel, as if to indicate that most of her noble victims had been members of Suliel’s family. “A count, once. A duke’s son, one time. But never a prince.”

“Is that… important in some way?” Anton asked. “We’re fighting for lives and freedom here, Kelsey. I don’t have time for some score that you’re counting.”

“The Hungry Depths has killed a King,” Kelsey said. “Lots of Dungeons have, according to Mel. Since I started communicating with Deppy, I can’t help comparing myself to… her, I guess.”

“Well, The Depths is older and has more levels—and you’re messing with me, aren’t you?” Anton groaned. “There’s no way you actually care about this.”

“Ah, you got me!” Kelsey giggled. “I do want to get my score up, but you’ve got to look at the big picture. I may not get any experience for it, but when you look at what the guns will do, the chaos we’ve brought into the world… We’re gonna kill so many people!”

Anton snorted and turned his back on her, striding back to the castle and forcing her to follow. He knew she wasn’t joking, and he didn’t like the implications that he was equally responsible for the chaos. But it was more important to never encourage her.

“This is it then,” Suliel said, walking by his side. “When do you think the attack will come?”

“Not today, I’d guess,” Anton said. “If that was a scouting force, they’ll want to land more troops and form them up on land. That takes time.”

“Attacking on foot, then? I hope the new walls surprise them.”

“I’m sure they will,” Anton assured her. “They’ve seen the height of them, but they don’t know about our construction techniques.”

“My construction techniques!” Kelsey put in from behind.

“But I think they’ll attack from the sea as well,” Anton said. “We’ll be relying on Kelsey’s cannon and the Whiskerwind.”

“They’ll do a scary amount of damage, but they won’t be enough,” Kelsey warned. “Not unless Tiatians are put off by the prospect of horrible death.”

“They won’t be,” Suliel said. “Soldiers everywhere are drilled to press on despite casualties.”

Kelsey nodded. “It’s too bad you don’t have the troops to man more of them.”

“This is all happening too fast,” Anton agreed. “If we’d had a year to—not to even prepare, if we’d just had time to grow with all the new industries… but we didn’t.”

“So, you think they’ll attack us from both sides to make the greatest use of their numbers?” Suliel asked.

Anton nodded. “It stretches us thin. The guns mean that each of our men is worth more than they think, but we can’t line the walls as densely as I’d like.”

“I see… we conscripted the remaining adventurers to serve as a last-ditch defence of the town… but perhaps we should give them guns and put them on the wall?”

“Yes… send more guns out into the world,” Kelsey said with an evil chuckle.

“That’s why not,” Anton said, gesturing back at the cackling Avatar. “I don’t want the guns getting out of our control any more than they already have.”

“Getting them back would be an issue,” Suliel agreed. “What if—”

“Sire! Sire!” A runner came pelting down the street, looking for Anton.

“What is it?” Anton demanded. Has the attack started early?

“There are riders, sir. At the west gate!”

“Riders?”

“They’re flying the Queen’s colours, sir! About a dozen knights! They could be reinforcements?”

That didn’t seem likely to Anton. On the other hand…

“Let’s find out.”