DF250 - Running Up That Hill (Patreon)

“I don’t believe it,” Anton muttered for the fourth time since he heard the news. “Suliel, I—”

He broke off as he entered the room, taken aback by the tension he felt in the air. Suliel and Kelsey were sitting, facing each other across the table. Kelsey was grinning like one of her skeletons, and Suliel had a frown on her face as she glared at Kelsey.

“What did Kelsey do now?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Suliel said with a sigh. “I’m just mad at Kelsey because she was being annoying.”

“Are you sure?” Anton asked. That did make sense—Kelsey was never happier than when she’d gotten under someone’s skin. But he had the feeling it was something more.

“It’s nothing, forget it,” Suliel said. “There was something you didn’t believe? News from the front?”

“Sort of,” Anton replied, deciding to leave it for now. “We got word from Aris’s detachment.” He pulled out a chair and sat down at the table.

“The one we sent to capture the supply cache? What happened?”

“They captured it without any casualties,” Anton said. “But Aris… went on ahead.”

“Ahead… where? Wasn’t the cache the destination?”

“To Bures,” Anton said. “She’s taken Zaphar, and they’re going to sneak into the city.”

Kelsey laughed. “They grow up so fast,” she said. “To think, I knew her when she was just a baker’s apprentice.”

“This isn’t funny, Kelsey,” Anton said disapprovingly. “She was supposed to be safe—well, safer—inland, but now she’s going to be in the city I’m about to lay siege to!”

“The very definition of unsafe,” Suliel agreed. “But you know that Aris can take care of herself, right? She’s on her third Tier—with an Epic Class, no less, and she’s nearly completed it.”

“She can do a lot of damage,” Anton conceded. “But she’s vulnerable in hand-to-hand. And she’s pregnant!”

Suliel narrowed her eyes. “Women don’t turn into spun glass the moment they start carrying a child, you know.”

“They do, though?” Anton said. “I mean, not literally. But Dad was always saying that pregnant women needed extra protection, on account of how fragile they became.”

“Your mother was one of the Heroes of this town,” Suliel pointed out. “What did she have to say about that?”

Anton thought about it. “Now that you mention it, I don’t think that he ever said it when she was around.”

“That sounds about right,” Suliel sighed. “Anton, take it from me: While a pregnant woman needs some extra consideration, Aris isn’t even showing yet. She’ll find it harder as she progresses, but her Toughness is in the twenties. She’ll be fine if she avoids injury, just like any other person.”

“That might be hard to avoid, considering she’s about to be trapped in a siege!” Anton protested.

“That isn’t ideal,” Suliel admitted. “But let’s not panic. Having an agent in the city is supposed to be a good thing.”

“That’s why we’re bringing Elara,” Anton said. “Her contacts in the city… though, what if she’s pregnant?”

He shied away from Suliel’s angry glare. “Okay, okay! I already know I’m going to keep her safe during the campaign.”

“Just don’t put her in a coccoon. Honestly, with your Aegis, you’re more capable of keeping someone safe than anyone I know of.”

“I can’t use it on Aris unless I know where she is,” Anton complained morosely.

“She’ll be fine,” Suliel assured him.

“Actuuuuullllly….” Kelsey said, drawing out the word. “There is one point that she might not have considered.”

“What’s that?” Suliel asked.

“Without me there, she’s strictly limited to the ammo she brought with her,” Kelsey pointed out. “That’s a lot, for most practical purposes, but if she gets caught up in an extended battle, it could get used up quickly.”

“That’s right!” Anton realised. “We need to—”

“I’m sure,” Suliel emphasised, “That Aris is aware of the problem. She will be trying to establish contact through smugglers or something, so we should be alert for that.

“I can get a resupply package ready once we work out how to get it to her,” Kelsey confirmed. “And whatever she’s doing, I don’t think she’s trying to kill dozens of people.”

“You’re right,” Anton agreed. “I’ll give some special instructions to our scouts, and—” he made an irritated sound. “This is the sort of thing I’d get Zaphar to handle.”

“One way to look at it is, he’s already on the job,” Kelsey said.

“Fine. Thanks, Suliel, you really helped me get my head straight.” Anton rose to his feet. “You coming, Kelsey?”

“Sure. Suliel, Tyla is on her way up. I’ll have her find you, and you can coordinate.”

“That will be fine,” Suliel said flatly.

“Coordinate what?” Anton asked.

“Oh, it’s just a little research project of Tyla’s. Something for them to work on while you’re on campaign.”

“Oh, I was hoping that she’d come with us, but… I guess human wars aren’t something she wants to be a part of.”

“You’ve got that new guy,” Kelsey said. “Killian or whatever.”

“He might end up being my new Court Mage, if Tyla doesn’t want the job,” Anton said, frowning. “I’d prefer people I can trust, but…”

“I don’t think that Tyla is going to be a standard wizard,” Kelsey said. “But if her project works out, she’ll turn into something much more valuable for the kingdom.”

“Oh? What would that be?”

Kelsey smiled. “I’ll let Suliel tell you about it when you get back.”

*

Preparations for the march continued apace, with only minimal involvement from Anton. His knowledge of mass combat was limited, and while he was learning the importance of logistics and maneuver, he was mostly just approving the decisions of Duke Ariman and Count Hartwell.

It wasn’t long—only a few days— before Anton was saying his farewells to those staying behind. Suliel would be in charge, of course, kept safe with an expanded garrison force under the command of her captain, Draer Rynmos. Cheia would remain to guard the sea approach.

It had been Elara’s idea for the would-be King and Queen to lead the army out on horseback. Anton’s Agility was high enough that he couldn’t really feel uncomfortable in the saddle. He might not have the skill to control his steed in combat, but he shifted his weight automatically as the horse moved under him. Even at a gallop, he would be in no danger of falling.

He managed to feel uncomfortable, nonetheless. Everyone was staring at him, dressed in his finest clothes and armour. And he was saying goodbye—for now—to Suliel.

“Take care, my Lord.” Suliel wasn’t speaking to him, not really. She was projecting her voice, as loud as she could without shouting, to everyone watching in the courtyard. “Come back to me, safe and victorious.”

“I will,” Anton declared. “You stay safe as well.”

A faint flicker of emotion crossed Suliel’s face. Frustration, probably? Anton knew that Suliel didn’t want to be left behind, but she had been the first to insist on it. Kirido stood at the heart of their movement now, and it was still vulnerable.

“I will,” Suliel promised in return.

Anton frowned. Something felt wrong about her response. He opened his mouth to say something.

“Don’t worry, Your Royal Highness, I’ll keep her safe.” Kelsey stepped out of the crowd. Like most of the army that would be travelling with him, she was not on horseback. In her particular case, that was not because a horse couldn’t be found, but because no horse would suffer her to ride them.

Her suggestion of a skeleton steed had been rejected.

“You’re coming with us,” Anton reminded her. He tried to maintain his regal demeanour, but this was a deviation from the script. “I know your dungeon will remain, but you can’t exert yourself outside of your bounds.”

He frowned as a possibility struck him. “You are not to exert yourself outside of your bounds. No Dungeon Breaks while I’m away.”

Kelsey giggled. “Nah, nah, I’ve got a surprise that I’ve been saving for the right moment. You know how some Traits get better when you go up a Tier?”

“Some say all of them do, but it can be hard to tell,” Anton said before he could stop himself. “For example, my Leaping Attack has more distance, power and speed than when I first got it, but some of that is due to my higher Abilities. I—”

He cut himself off before he could ruin the ceremony further. Trait research was interesting, but this was supposed to be a solemn farewell, not a brainstorming session.

“Yeah, you know,” Kelsey said with amusement. “The same thing goes for my Traits as well. So there were a few changes when I hit Tier Four.”

“What sort of changes?” Anton asked dubiously.

“A few little things,” Kelsey teased. “My spatial manipulation is a little stronger, lower-level summons are more efficient—really happy about that, by the way—but the big thing is, the maximum number of Avatars I can sustain is now two.”

“What?”

“Let me show you.” Kelsey held her hand out to the side. It was a familiar gesture, one that she did when she was summoning a humanoid monster. It had to appear with her touching it—any part of the body would do, but she preferred to use its hand.

Anton tensed, but what appeared was not a skeleton or revenant. It was… another Kelsey.

They looked identical, but while the original Kelsey was wearing a short, purple tunic over scandalously tight blue trousers, the new one’s tunic was green.

“Two of you?” Anton exclaimed.

Both Kelseys grinned in eerie unison. “That’s right!” they chorused. “Now you’re getting it in stereo, baby!”

*

Horrifying as it was, two Kelseys were actually a boon, or so Anton tried to tell himself. With one remaining in Kirido, supplies could flow directly from the town to the army without having to pass through the dungeon.

The other good thing about one of them remaining in Kirido was that they couldn’t do that creepy dual-talking.

“How can you be two people, in two different places?” he asked as he rode at the head of the column. There was no real point to him riding; he couldn’t go faster than the men walking behind him. It was just to be seen.

“You’ve got two hands, right?” Kelsey said. “It works like that.”

Anton looked down at his hands. Kelsey had said before that her Avatar wasn’t really her, just an extension that could interact with people. A part of her that she could control and sense the world through.

“Still,” he said. “I think I’d be more than a little confused if my hands could see.”

“And hear and taste and all the other stuff,” Kelsey agreed. “I gotta say, if you set aside all the obvious shortcomings, being a brain in a crystal is a hell of an upgrade. There’s no way I could have managed half the things I’ve accomplished if I was relying on my old meat brain.”

Anton thought about that. “We don’t know half the things you’ve accomplished, do we?”

“Nope! Not that I don’t like to brag, but you don’t have the necessary background to understand half the things I’d like to brag about. Probably never will.”

In what was almost certainly a performance, Kelsey stared pensively at the road ahead.

“Even as your tech level improves, and you start to be capable of the same sort of things, you’ll have had it easy, because I did it first. I can guide you past all the dead ends and pitfalls. You’ll—and I’m talking about your nation, Anton; I know you’re never going to dope a semiconductor—You’ll never know how hard it was.”

She sighed. “I guess I’ll have to content myself with being known as the one who started it all. The inventor of the modern age.”

“Didn’t you tell my aunt,” Elara asked from Anton’s other side, “That you would usher in an era of ever-increasing destruction? That with the release of guns into the world, we were stuck on a ladder of escalation that would never end until we destroyed the world?”

“Oh, Elara,” Kelsey said. “You always know how to cheer me up.”