Echoes of War, Ch 7: Royal Messenger (Patreon)

“The King of Aethra commands your obedience.” A brash tone accompanied the words, following by a glare at Jeric, who was seated on the far end of the hall. “The royal forces will arrive within a month to occupy this area.”

Human. Wind Courier-King’s Messenger. Level 158.

Jeric’s face was expressionless as he let the man speak, but a creak from his knuckles sent a tremor through the arm of his stone chair. It wasn’t quite a throne, but it was elevated at the end of the hall where he’d decided to receive this messenger. A quick analysis gave him the necessary details to understand what was going on.

“You are expected to comply with the king’s forces and grant them full access to this area, as it is the king’s territory.” The idiot continued blathering, unaware of the quickly rising temper at the other end of the hall. “It is your duty as a subject of the king to obey.” The messenger sniffed as he looked at Jeric, his beady eyes narrowing in contempt.

“Your position as a noble of the kingdom has never been confirmed by the king, but it seems like you’ve set yourself up as a local lord. You have no right to occupy this territory. If you persist in doing so, you will be named an outlaw and a usurper. You are commanded to immediately hand over all contracts and magical keys to this area to me, and to assist in transferring authority here to the king.”

The stone of the chair’s arm creaked again as Jeric’s thoughts raced at a thousand miles a minute. He’d expected this type of power grab, but not so soon. For most of the last year, they’d been working steadily to repair the relic, but with the increasing number of Flaws in the area from the Dimensional Convergence, it was impossible to prevent attention from turning toward their area. Now, it seemed that the king’s interest in the affair had finally arrived.

Unfortunately, their forces weren’t strong enough yet to deal with the king's army. Otherwise, he would have already silenced this messenger. Even now, it was tempting, and damned with the consequences. The man’s voice was more shrill than a wraith.

A quick assessment of their forces didn’t help the matter. He knew the numbers like the back of his hand. They had 120 of the Sky Guard golems, all at Level 200. They’d recently started to be able to repair those when they were damaged, which was a divine blessing in its own right with the Flaws they had to deal with, but it took time and resources, primarily high-level monster cores.

His own level was nearly at 200 now, as were Aemilia’s and their allies’, but most of them still hadn’t reached the Second Evolution. The Ice Sylphs had since they’d been stronger to start, but that good news was limited. Their hunting team was larger than ever with a dozen individuals in two groups, but it wouldn’t be enough against a real army.

He rubbed his beard as he tuned out the messenger’s words and looked into the space above the man’s head, his eyes thoughtful. His subclass as the Blessed Statesman of the Moonlight Relic made it easy to conceal his thoughts, even as it keyed him into every little twitch of the messenger’s features. The subclass provided innate boosts to his Assess and Persuade abilities, making it easier for him to read emotions and other areas related to Charisma.

Understanding this messenger’s type of shallow personality was simple. It was obvious that he enjoyed carrying messages like these. He felt like he was borrowing the king’s authority and so was overly pleased with himself, puffing himself up as he made demands and acted in an inflated way. Jeric’s lack of response was beginning to get to him, and his voice was rising to an ever more strident pitch as he started to repeat himself. He began to gesticulate, his words flying out like spit.

“Enough.” Jeric’s voice crashed through the room with the full weight of his Intimidate ability behind it. It was an offshoot of Persuade, one that he’d trained to good effect against weak monsters and unruly adventurers as the Commander of the Frozen Peak.

The messenger’s teeth slammed shut with an audible click as his face paled. His hands trembled as he raised them half-heartedly in front of himself, as if he wanted to have a shield. “You...you...” he stuttered, his eyes wide and incredulous, as if he couldn’t believe that Jeric had interrupted him. “The king commands your obedience!”

“Then he can damn well come here himself and say it,” Jeric replied bluntly. After a lifetime of living on the edge of society, he had little respect for the so-called king. “Where is your king now? Where is the king’s army to fight these Flaws? Where is the gratitude to us for having protected this area? I don’t recall hearing an offer of aid or a promise of protection.”

His words were harsh and clipped, his anger radiating across the room as a wave of icy mana spread, coating the stones on the floor in white frost.

“Only now you come, demanding to take over once this area has some success to it, once it is built up. And the first words out of your mouth are not those offers of help or protection. Instead, you talk about magical contracts and keys, insisting that we give you everything we have built, and you show where the real interest lies. This land has always been a legend of enchantment, and now your king wants to seize it for himself.”

His voice rose, followed by waves of ice that thickened across the floor and then the stones began to tremble as the slope of the mountain below him responded, shaking until it felt like the walls of the building might fall down any moment. His anger was quickly turning to rage as he spoke and the land was answering.

“Do any of you understand the real trouble of the Flaws,” he growled at the messenger, “of the stability of the World Seal, or of your duty as a ruler? It seems like not. Instead, you demand, you insult, and you threaten.”

His body blurred as he left the chair and a moment later his hand was around the messenger’s throat as he lifted him into the air. The man kicked, his feet thrashing at nothing.

“You would...kill a messenger?!” The man’s words were a choked and futile protest as his eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head.

“How many times have you stroked your ego delivering messages?” Jeric ignored the question and growled at him as he walked toward the entrance, carrying him in one hand. “You carry the king’s words, but you are a petty soul. How many times have you used your position to browbeat others, taken bribes, felt like you could insult those you met whose strength was higher than yours? It is time you realized the state of the world.”

Jeric’s hand clenched tightly enough around the messenger’s throat that he struggled to draw breath. It wasn’t so much that he suffocated, but he was no longer able to speak. Jeric didn’t care about whatever else the man had to say.

The building where they’d been meeting was on the Third Layer, the current focus of their repair efforts for the relic. The hall they’d just come out of was Jeric’s office, but calling it his throne room was just as accurate at the moment. The interior was unfinished, filled with random bits of stone and material that he’d moved to the side to make space, leaving only a chair and a desk that was covered with account books and records. He’d decided to meet the messenger here since he was busy with his work. Now, he was glad he’d chosen it for a different reason.

He carried the messenger across a short distance to the edge of the mountainside, where the Third Layer looked out over a cliff and the land below. It was a stunning view as the vast height of Sun’s Rest pierced the clouds. The lower slope of the mountain and the valley far below was visible for dozens of miles. From here, everything looked small and far away. In the distance, the peaks of the Western Reaches stretched across the world like majestic kings, the true rulers of this land.

“Look,” he growled as he held the messenger over the side of the cliff, dangling him in the open air. He shook him slightly to wake him up. “Out there, across the mountains. What do you see?” He grabbed the man’s arm with his free hand, holding him in the air as he forced him to look outward, and released his grip from his other hand just enough to let him speak.

“The...the...” The man’s eyes were rolling with terror as he continued to stutter, drawing in a gasping breath. “Mountains?” His word was hesitant and frightened, but he couldn’t ignore Jeric’s command to speak.

“No,” Jeric growled. “What you should see is a land that needs a protector. One that is troubled by Flaws that increase by the day. A land that is crying out in pain. Instead, your king plays petty games and employs fools like you to make threats, interfering with the true work that is happening. Instead of fighting monsters and closing Flaws, you come here looking for trouble with me. That makes you just as much my enemy.”

“You won’t...kill a messenger?!” The man stuttered, asking the question again as fear for his life made his eyes wide. “The king will avenge me!”

“Who said I was going to kill you?” Jeric growled at him as he shook him, shaking the man until his teeth rattled against each other. “You’re a Wind Courier right? You run on currents of air to deliver your messages? So run back to your king. Tell him what I’ve told you, and tell him to focus his attention where it should be. Soon, he won’t have time to play political games.”

“You would threaten the king?!” The messenger gasped. “That’s treachery!”

“That’s not a threat, little messenger,” Jeric said. “It’s a promise. Out there, the Flaws are increasing. Soon, this area will be a death trap. So tell him to bring his army, and the bigger the better, to prepare to fight me. When he comes, he’ll understand and he will help me fight the Flaws, or he will die.

“Now, gather that magical wind your class is supposed to have, and fly down from my mountain. And never return. The king may send another messenger if he wants to work together, but not a snide little one like you. To you, this land is henceforth forbidden.”

Jeric’s words rang out with the force of a magical command, warping the air around the messenger. A swirl of magical runes in icy blue and stone grey imprinted themselves on the man’s hands, marking him for the future. Then Jeric hurled him off the cliff.

The messenger fell like a rock for a few dozen feet, but he quickly slowed down as he gathered the wind and caught himself. His class wasn’t all for show, but he wasn’t able to fly. The most he could do was drift a little. A few moments later he landed on the Fourth Layer, but he didn’t dare to look back as he began to run, heading away from the peak.

Jeric folded his arms across his chest as he watched him go, his eyes blazing.

“Love, did you really have to throw him off the cliff?” Aemilia said gently as she came up behind him, her hand settling on his shoulder. She’d been nearby, but had been occupied with other things while he met the messenger. With this development, she’d come running over just in time to see what was going on.

“Yes,” Jeric grumbled as some of his anger faded away with the question. He wanted to stay angry at the messenger, but his wife’s present made him relent. “I know he was adding a few things of his own to that message, but I didn’t kill him. The king’s message was an ultimatum. It doesn’t matter what the response is. He’s set his sights on us.”

“Maybe getting tossed off a cliff will be good for him, and next time, he’ll be more careful with how he says things,” Aemilia said, her lips curving up into a smile as she shook her head. “But either way, this isn’t the king’s land. He’s overstepping himself.”

“Yes,” Jeric agreed as he wrapped his arm around his wife’s waist and pulled her in tight. She rested her head on his shoulder as they looked out over the mountain slope together, studying the land they were building. “That’s also why I threw him off. Anything else would lend credence to his claim. Aethra surrounds the Western Reaches on both sides, but they’ve never had the ability to claim the mountains. It wouldn't be good to encourage them. The dwarves hold the northern portion of the Reaches as the territory of Runekeld and the Ice Sylphs hold this valley and the surrounding territory. It has been their ancestral home since long before the kingdom was founded. Everyone else lives here by their permission.”

Highfold was an independent city that belonged to the Ice Sylphs and the dwarven clan that had helped to build it, but the kingdom tried to treat it as its own, including taxing trade to and from the city, since it ran along the kingdom’s roads. They’d even established a governor here, although that figure’s only real power was as a tax collector. It was a sign of their ambition.

“It’s troubling that he would cross the old treaty with the Ice Sylphs,” Aemilia said with a frown, her forehead crinkled in thought. “I wonder what gives him the courage. Their power over the valley isn’t for show.”

“Perhaps it was an attempt to break that hold,” Jeric said with a sharp frown. “We were both born in the kingdom, but now we have authority here. If I acknowledged him as king, it might be enough for him to try and claim this territory, or to get around the need for the Ice Sylphs’ permission. I’m not sure how their magic works. The kingdom has always been driven to expand.”

Garild had once said he could grant this land to Sam and have it acknowledged as the domain of the Horned Hunter of the Moons, but he’d been foolish to promise that. It wasn’t something the king had the power to deliver, even if he’d been willing.

“So we’re officially breaking with the kingdom,” Aemilia said with a sigh. “It was going to happen eventually, but this is earlier than expected. Highfold might suffer because of it. I was hoping the messengers I sent about that Outsider gate would be enough to clarify his priorities. If that thing opens, I’m afraid of what will happen. It’s closer to the capital than it is to here.”

“A small blessing for us,” Jeric agreed. “I thought the messenger would mention it, but all he talked about was controlling the area. It seems the king would rather play these little games than focus on what’s important.”

“I’ll tell Garild about this, and the dwarves,” Aemilia said with a frown. “The dwarven trade routes to Runekeld won’t be affected, and neither will those of the other races who come through here, like the giant tribes, but the human merchants are a large part of the city’s supply. It will be hard on them.”

“The valley is self-sustaining for food,” Jeric said. “The Ice Sylphs have always made sure of that. We won’t starve, and if we can suppress the Flaws, there’s still a chance to accelerate the rebuilding. Adventurers and refugees are common now. More want to join us every day.”

“We’re up to nearly 3,000 people,” Aemilia agreed, “mostly between Level 50 and 90, but it might slow down if the kingdom blocks the roads. It’s already difficult for the weaker refugees to get here. A blockade could be a death sentence.” Her expression was pained as she considered it.

“If you keep watch on them, we can send rescue parties, but it will be difficult.” Jeric rubbed his chin as he thought, and then he shook his head with a low growl. “The king is a greedy fool.”

“Giving in to that sort of ultimatum is a loss no matter what,” Aemilia said reassuringly. “Even if you cooperated, he would have made more demands. He wouldn’t rest easy until we were gone, not when our classes are a part of this area.”

“Aye, and I won’t be leaving the land our son founded,” Jeric said with a hard look in his eye. He was the Commander of the Frozen Peak, and that meant defending it from invasion, whether it was man or monster. If the king wanted to play games to take control of the area, he wasn’t much different than a Flaw. “This is the only place Sam knows to return to. I’m going to be here when he gets back, so he can find us.”

“It’s our home,” Aemilia agreed as she placed a hand protectively over her stomach, “but the king won’t let this go, not when the relic’s legend is growing. When it was just a forgotten ruin with enchantments no one could understand, it wasn’t worth much attention, and the Ice Sylphs have been peaceful since before the kingdom was founded, so there was never any conflict, but things have changed. We have changed them.”

“Aye, we’re a rising power,” Jeric agreed with a sense of pride that infused his words. “The Ice Sylphs are also growing stronger and word will spread. Unfortunately, the king's armies are generally Level 150 and their commanders are probably twice that. If they're coming here in a month, we don't have much time.”

“Perhaps I shouldn’t have written the Legions of Ice about the sylphs' past,” Aemilia said with a frown. “It reminds people about the armies they had and makes them seem more threatening. It could have waited.”

“No,” Jeric said, shaking his head. “The relic’s fame would spread at some point. It’s too much of a temptation to someone like the king. If anything, the sylphs’ history helps to protect this area. It was good that you wrote both. You needed the experience. Plus, the relic can defend against strong enemies, as can the sylvan wards on the valley. We'll just have to be careful.”

“I hope so,” Aemilia said as she looked down at her stomach, which was just barely beginning to show her pregnancy. She looked hesitant, which was rare for her. “And I hope we were right to have another child. We could have waited until things were more settled.”

A small grin appeared on Jeric’s face and he shook his head firmly. He wrapped his arm tighter and pulled Aemilia over in front of him. His large hands came down to wrap around hers over her stomach.

“This is the first time we’ve had a place to call our own,” he said as he tucked his chin on top of her hair, “and we always wanted a larger family. Now, we have the opportunity.”

His arms flexed as a swirl of snow surrounded them both, shielding them from view. Instead of feeling cold, it was warm and relaxing, and it turned the area into a private nook that was just theirs. With their connection to Ice, the drifting snowflakes didn’t block their vision at all as they looked out at the sunlit mountains.

“One child or three,” Jeric said softly. “Even if the heavens fall, we’ll do our best to protect them.”