Stone and Blood: Act 2, Chapter 4 (Patreon)

21st Day, Lower Wind Month, 1 CE

Florine spent the next few days with the Zern, learning what she could about the Abelion Hills, its people, their relationships, and the region’s recent history. For the most part, the venture had proven more fruitful than she had expected, though the Zern did have a variety of blind spots that she believed stemmed from their nature.

Foremost amongst these was anything to do with how economics and trade worked between the tribes. As an insectoid race that lived in highly-structured hives, the Zern had little in the way of appreciation for those concepts. Insights and observations on culture also had a flavour distinct to their species.

As a token of goodwill, King Beebeezee assigned Boobeebee to accompany Florine on her tasks. And, so, another member was added to her party.

“Do the Zern have any needs particular to their race?” Florine asked as they made their way back down the Thousand Sinkholes.

“Needs?” Boobeebee said, “Do you mean food and such?”

“Amongst other things,” Florine said. “My information on the Zern before coming here was limited to notes on consumption and location. The appearance of your King was a surprise – he looks so different from the rest of you.”

Florine wasn’t sure whether it would be rude to point that out to the King, so she simply smiled and interacted as if nothing was wrong.

“Ah, that is a common question for the few who see our males,” Boobeebee said. “All I can say is that is how things are. It is just as strange to us that your males and females mostly look the same.”

She supposed that she could accept that. No one questioned why men and women looked the way that they did, after all.

“As for my needs,” Boobeebee said. “It will be lonely being away from home, but it is not as terrifying as it first seemed when Jaldabaoth forced us to fight for him in the Holy Kingdom. We can eat any sort of meat that can be found in the area.”

“What about rest or any cultural practices?”

“At home, we take many naps. Outdoors, we can be active for days at a time, but our rest is long.”

“Come to think of it,” Florine said, “I don’t think I’ve seen Liolio ever sleep.”

“Liolio always sleeps,” the Miq atop her head replied.

“You do?”

“One part of Liolio sleeps while another part is awake. Liolio is always asleep and always awake.”

“I-Is that so? Well, so long as I’m not somehow abusing you…just let me know if you need to rest.”

Liolio hopped on her head several times.

“The Miq always guard the herd. How can one always guard the herd if one is entirely asleep? This is silly.”

“Where will your journey be taking you?” Boobeebee asked.

“Everywhere,” Florine answered. “But, for now, we’re on the way back to the administration’s local office before heading out on the next leg. According to the map, we’ll be following a river back down and most of the trip will be back through the Baafolk and the Ylii-miq’s former territory.”

“I see,” the Zern said. “So we’ll be travelling down the Long Horn, is it?”

“The Long Horn?”

“It is the name that the Baafolk gave this tributary of the Abelion River. The Short Horn joins it further down. Under Buser’s leadership, the Baafolk territory expanded to straddle both rivers.”

She wondered how many names the tribes had for the same features. The notion was bound to be one of many sources of confusion if they didn’t keep careful track of everything.

According to the administration’s map, the new highway was supposed to go through the thinnest part of The Neck and across the former Orc and Baafolk territories before running west along the forest south of the Thousand Sinkholes where the Zern lived. From there, it would connect with the fortress city of Kalinsha, where the hole in the Great Wall created by Jaldabaoth remained unrepaired. Considering the dire financial state of the Holy Kingdom of Roble, those repairs wouldn’t come any time soon so the Sorcerous Kingdom offered to enact the repairs in exchange for a permanent exclave in the fortress city.

On their way back through the Ylii-miq’s former territory, they came across a convoy on its way back from delivering supplies to the tribes further west. Florine eyed the Death Knights shouldering the steel rods attached to the cargo containers’ frames.

“So, Liolio,” she said. “Your life with the Ylii was something like what you’re doing right now? Sitting on their heads watching out for potential dangers?”

“Liolio sits on head because Human is so skinny,” the Miq replied. “Ylii have many places to sit.”

“Could they ride on something like the cargo containers?” Florine gestured at the steel box.

“Liolio does not know…”

“How about you try?”

The Miq’s talons dug into her scalp. It was a good thing that she had damage reduction.

“Liolio has done no wrong!” He gave a distressed peep.

“Huh?”

“Do not leave Liolio behind! Liolio has worked hard, yes? You have not been eaten, yes?”

Florine looked up in confusion.

“Why are you…I just want you to try and see what it’s like. I’m not mad at you or anything.”

Liolio sat down, clearly unwilling to move. Florine sighed.

“Then how about we get some of your people to come and try?”

They separated from the convoy, with Liolio guiding them back to his tribe. The sounds of the Miq calling out their warnings announced their presence far in advance. Though she couldn’t see him, Florine felt that Liolio’s bearing grew more proud the closer they got to his home.

Or is it his home?

“Liolio,” Florine asked, “why did your people end up gathering here?”

“It is the place of meetings,” Liolio said. “Where Miq without Ylii and Ylii without Miq come together. The Ylii are gone, but we do not know where else to go.”

How long did two races have to live together for them to not know what to do without one another? Florine regarded the thousands of Miq staring at her from the shadows of the hidden hilltop grove.

“Isoroku,” she said, “could you have the Ministry of Transportation dispatch an empty convoy to our location? Have our army liaison come along, as well.”

The Elder Lich raised a bony hand to its head. Florine produced the binder of racial dossiers from her Infinite Haversack, flipping it open to the profiling of the Miq. A sense of anger rose within her when she found no mention of the Ylii, but there was nothing to be gained from being angry.

Will this work? I suppose we won’t know until we try.

Florine dismounted, walking up to the edge of the grove. The assembled Miq eyed her warily and kept their distance, but they didn’t flee.

“Why have you returned, Human liar?” A voice sounded from the crowd.

“I’ve just returned from visiting with the Zern,” Florine replied. “The work that I spoke of – I’ve given it some thought and I’d like to try something out.”

If the Miq’s way of life consisted of riding things around and keeping an eye on the surroundings, then maybe they could ride the convoys around. If they could manage that, then the next step would be adding them to the area’s security patrols. Being around Ludmila as much as she did, Florine was well aware of the need for Rangers in the Royal Army. The Miq seemed naturally suited for the role, providing unsleeping sentries for the unsleeping Undead patrols.

That was her hope, at least. It would be nice if it worked in practice.

With the convoy likely several hours away, Florine took out a chair and a small table out of her Infinite Haversack, sitting down to check over the notes she had taken while in the company of the Zern.

“Please rest while you can,” Florine told Boobeebee. “We have some time before we need to get going again.”

“Then, if you’ll pardon me…”

Florine frowned as Boobeebee scooted under her table. She was larger than King Beebeezee, but that wasn’t saying much considering he was just under a metre long.

“Am I being improper?” Boobeebee said, “I’m more comfortable with something solid over my head.”

“I don’t know anyone that prefers to sleep under tables, but if it’s alright with you…”

She glanced down at the insectoid, who had fit her head and shoulders under the table. Her eyes were drawn to her left shoulder, where her shiny midnight blue carapace sheathing her eel-like upper body was shattered and split apart, revealing the flesh beneath. Boobeebee tended to move with respect to the injury, wincing painfully whenever she didn’t.

“If you don’t mind my asking,” Florine said, “how did that happen?”

“Jaldabaoth,” Boobeebee’s tone was filled with resentment. “Back before his forces spread out over the Holy Kingdom, he made a point to have the representatives of each race in his ‘army’ gather regularly. There was little point in his doing so beyond displaying the power he had over us. One time, a member of my 'group' of races – those that initially resisted him – was late. By his reasoning, this made all of us late. To show his displeasure, he punished one of our group and I happened to be the closest at hand.”

Florine’s lips pressed into a thin line. It was a horrible way to manage people, though she was certain that Jaldabaoth had done so on purpose. It was a method utilised by those who relied on fear to maintain order, manipulating groups of people to police themselves according to their tormentor’s rules. Some even had the gall to call it ‘collective responsibility’ in a perverted attempt to make it sound virtuous.

“It can’t be healed?”

“That wasn’t the end,” the Zern shifted on the ground. “After we were dismissed, I went to see if someone could heal my wounds, but Jaldabaoth’s minions found me first. They dragged me away and chained me to a wall, then twisted jagged chunks of broken armour into splints to hold my wound open. Everyone was warned not to assist me, and I healed in a way that left my arm practically useless.”

Boobeebee’s clawed hand went to her shoulder. The bitterness in her voice increased tenfold.

“Jaldabaoth lives up to his epithet, truly,” she said. “A Fiend who stands above all Fiends. Toward the end of the war, I heard some Humans that had come from the south exclaim over the loss of life and destruction that was wrought, but that is the least of what Jaldabaoth did. Mere death and destruction were far from enough to satisfy him. Everything he did was done to taint the soul. Once, I was considered a hero of my race. Now, I am merely a cripple. My King tries to find things for me to do, but his pity ultimately wounds me more.”

“Are you saying that he sent his minions out on purpose to do that to make your wounds permanent?”

“Of that, I have no doubt. He attacked one’s pride and sense of worth. Values and morals are mocked and denied. One could only pity our ‘enemies’ at the time – those Paladins in the Holy Kingdom. They were sworn to protect their people and guide them, yet everything Jaldabaoth did tempted them to forsake their oaths. If they did, then it was his win and he continued to break them from there. If they remained steadfast, then their people suffered and died. No matter who they were, everyone danced in the palm of Jaldabaoth’s hand, and he delighted in our moral and physical ruin.”

It was as if the most embellished and fantastical tales of Fiends had come to life. Of the Demons who revelled in destruction and the Devils who brought about the downfall of mortals through their inhuman machinations. There were more than a few Fiends in the Sorcerer King’s service, and Florine could only thank the gods that they weren’t anywhere near as bad as Jaldabaoth.

“Does that mean every race in the Abelion Hills was manipulated and scarred by Jaldabaoth in some way?”

“I don’t doubt it,” Boobeebee replied. “He had as many ways to twist people as there were races, if not more. Even those who willingly fought for Jaldabaoth to sate their bloodlust and desire for glory were used until there were no more to be used. For some reason, I do not think he ‘cared’ about those ones as much as he did those that resisted, like the Orcs and the Zern.”

“Because there was less sport in it,” Florine’s voice was grim.

“That is likely.”

It looked like she had her work cut out for her. A land filled with scarred and broken people waited for her attention, and she barely knew where to start. At this point, she couldn’t blame the administration for keeping everything at arm’s length. The Elder Liches who only dealt in forms and numbers were eminently unqualified to deal with the mountain of issues that awaited them. They probably didn’t even care.

A few hours later, the calls of the Miq informed her of the approaching convoy. Boobeebee stirred from her sleep as Florine put her things away. The leading set of Death Knights entered the range of her Darkvision – roughly twenty metres – leading a procession of five half-sized cargo containers. The Vampire Bride came forward to inspect them while the army liaison came to join Florine.

Florine turned to address the Miq.

“The Sorcerous Kingdom has a need for good sentries,” she said. “Liolio did an excellent job while accompanying me, so I’d like to see if other Miq can do just as well with our convoys. If things go well, we may even be able to have you join the patrols securing the peace of the realm.”

A great clamour rose as thousands of Miq discussed her proposal. The army liaison turned to her.

“The Royal Army was not informed of this,” it said.

“Is potentially having thousands of Rangers who can keep up with the activities of the Undead at odds with the Royal Army’s objectives?” Florine asked.

The Elder Lich looked out into the night at the wall of noise.

“…are you certain that they are Rangers?”

“I’ll leave that for the experts to determine,” Florine replied. “Liolio on my head here was very attentive throughout my journey to the Thousand Sinkholes and back.”

Scratching sounds joined the voices of the Miq as the liaison took notes.

“This one shall confer with its superior,” it said before raising a hand to its temple.

There weren’t any problems, as far as she could discern. Lady Albedo wanted productive citizens, the Royal Army needed Rangers, and co-opting the Miq into something that they were good at was in line with national policies set by the Sorcerer King himself. All they needed to do was figure out the details.

“Your proposal has been granted provisional approval,” the Elder Lich said after a moment. “How shall we proceed?”

“The Miq seem to naturally perch on travelling individuals,” Florine said, “but sitting on a Death Knight might be too much to start with. We’ll be having them do their thing atop the containers instead. Our first task is to familiarise the Undead with the Miq’s vocabulary.”

“Vocabulary?”

“They have different calls for different scenarios. Liolio can go through them with you…at least once things quiet down.”

Once the noise from the grove settled, twenty Miq ran out to cluster in front of Florine, turning their beaks up at her attentively. They all had the same, earthy pattern to their feathers as Liolio and Florine wondered how she would ever be able to tell them apart.

“Thank you for agreeing to cooperate,” Florine smiled. “I understand that most people would normally have reservations about working with the Undead, so you are all very brave to come forward. For now, all I’d like for you to do is pick one of those metal containers to ride on. I’m sure you’ve seen them being carried around.”

The Miq eyed the Death Knights and the containers they were shouldering. After several moments, one quickly stepped forward, followed by the rest. It happened so quickly that they may as well all have moved at once. They fluttered up on their short wings and settled atop one of the containers.

“Spread yourselves out between them, please,” Florine said. “This convoy stays together during the journey, so you won’t be separated from one another.”

It took several minutes for the Miq to sort themselves out. They hopped about, inspecting their experimental perches. The metallic surface didn’t look very comfortable. Florine wondered if better seating could be arranged.

“How is it?” She asked.

A mess of replies came back. Did they always talk all at once? It didn’t sound like there were any immediate problems, however, so she looked up at Liolio.

“Liolio,” Florine said, “can you go through all of your calls with the Elder Lich here?”

The Elder Lich stared at her. Now that they were doing it, Florine had no idea how they would be able to document the sound.

“On second thought,” she said, “let’s go through the calls with the Death Knights.”

Florine walked up the line of the containers, stopping in front of the one in the centre of the convoy. The Death Knights shifted slightly as they turned their attention to her.

“How should we do this…” Florine tapped her chin. “Let’s start with ‘caution’.”

Liolio let out a ‘pip’. The Miq perched on the containers echoed his call, as did the ones watching from the grove. The army liaison raised a pen to its clipboard, then stopped. Florine offered it an apologetic look.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I have no idea how to describe that.”

The Elder Lich wrote something down anyway. Florine resisted the urge to grab its clipboard to see what it was.

“You’ll hear this one a lot, at first,” she told the Death Knights. “The caution indicated by this call comes from their unfamiliarity with new surroundings or individuals. Liolio did this for my entire trip up until the point that we returned to his race’s territory. Hopefully, this means that they’ll stop doing it once they familiarise themselves with their routes…”

She looked up at Liolio. The Miq bobbed his black-plumed head in the approximation of a nod. They seemed to pick up on others’ mannerisms quickly.

“Alright, can you do the next one up?”

Liolio pipped again. The call matched the one he had made when they entered the Thousand Sinkholes.

“What does that one mean?” Florine asked.

“We are being watched,” Liolio said. “By one of unknown identity or intent.”

The liaison’s pen scratched over its clipboard again. When it stopped, Florine asked for the next call, which wasn’t the one she expected.

“What’s this one for?”

“We are being stalked,” Liolio replied.

Florine supposed that very few would willingly stalk an infantry squad of Death-series servitors. What predators that remained in the area probably fled as soon as they caught wind of them.

After the next call, which was the one Liolio had made just before the Zern appeared before them, Florine nodded to herself. Four calls would be very simple to keep track of and pay attention to – especially considering the single-minded tendencies of the Undead.

“Are there any other calls that you use?” She asked.

“Hunting calls,” Liolio answered.

The crimson gazes of the Death Knights seemed to flare in unison.

“…hunting calls?” Florine said.

“Competitors that must be driven away,” Liolio said. “Enemies that must be trampled and destroyed. The Miq will chase and mark them. It is dangerous, but it must be done.”

“Well, let’s hear it. Just for reference.”

Florine felt Liolio shift on her head. He let out a piercing cry. She let out a shriek and ducked as the Miq on the containers dove at her. The Vampire Bride threw herself on top of her and Liolio let out a startled squawk as he was dislodged from his perch.

When Florine uncovered her head and looked up again, the Miq had returned to their containers. Liolio stood on the ground nearby, eyeing her dubiously.

“A lord would not do that, Human liar,” he said.

Pretty much every Noble she knew would have done that. Except for Ludmila. She would have probably snatched a Miq out of the air and twisted off its head.

“You need to understand that not every Lord is the warrior sort,” Florine told Liolio.

“This is true,” Liolio said. “Are Human Lords magic casters?”

Several lines from Fundamental Principles of Magocratic Governance floated through her head. She waved them away.

“I’m not one of those, either. I’m just a regular Noble – a civilian Lord. We do other sorts of things.”

Liolio didn’t look like he believed her. Florine took the Vampire Bride’s proffered hand, getting up and brushing herself off.

“Let’s get going,” Florine said. “I have a lot of work to do back at the base.”

It was close to midnight by the time they returned to the Dale of Defiance. Florine found Lady Shalltear filing her nails while waiting for a shipment of food to finish arriving via Gate.

“That’s quite the noisy entrance,” her liege said.

“Good evening, Lady Shalltear,” Florine lowered her head in a curtsey. “We’re just trying something with the Miq here. They should quiet down once they get used to their new surroundings.”

“Couldn’t you have ‘tried something’ with sexier subjects?” Lady Shalltear asked, “I’m into all sorts of things but these don’t tickle any fancy.”

“I must work with what I have, my lady,” Florine replied. “Oh, by the way, this is Boobeebee. King Beebeezee of the Zern assigned her to accompany me as a local expert. Boobeebee, this is Lady Shalltear Bloodfallen: the Minister of Transportation of the Sorcerous Kingdom and my liege.”

Boobeebee bent her body slightly, then winced in pain. Florine cringed and looked to Lady Shalltear.

“My Lady, is there something you can do about her injury?” Florine asked, “She’ll be accompanying me while I go around and it would help if she could move unimpeded.”

The Zern hero looked back and forth between Florine and Lady Shalltear, evidently confused by Florine’s request.

“I could,” Lady Shalltear answered, “but it will hurt.”

“Nothing pains me more than being unable to fight to my fullest, Lady Shalltear,” Boobeebee said in a clear voice.

“Oh, good answer,” Lady Shalltear said. “Not even the slightest hesitation. That’s much better than I’ve heard from certain Humans.”

Something warm splattered against Florine’s face. She flinched, and, by the time she looked for whatever hit her, Boobeebee was collapsing to the ground. The entire left side of her torso was missing. Ichor and organs spilt out onto the grass and she spasmed repeatedly after falling into a pool of her own gore. A gasp escaped Florine’s lips. Liolio’s panicked cries filled the darkness.

“「Regeneration」.”

The glow of healing magic washed over Boobeebee’s twitching form. Lady Shalltear licked the yellow-green ichor on her fingers.

“Ick,” she made a face. “Scratch insectoids off of the list.”

“My lady,” Florine swallowed, “is she going to be alright?”

“Hmm…she has way more hit points than most. This may take a while. You should clean that stuff off of you, by the way. I was thinking that I could lick it off of you before I hit her, but after having a taste…”

Florine used a Trooper’s Towel to clean herself up. When her attention returned to Lady Shalltear, her liege had a wine glass cupped in her palm. A Vampire Bride carefully poured a crimson liquid into it. Once it was filled, Lady Shalltear came over, taking Florine’s arm and leaning against her as they watched Boobeebee slowly reconstitute.

“While she may have not tasted great,” Lady Shalltear said, “this is somewhat entertaining. Do you think she’ll start screaming when her chest finally closes?”

“…I wouldn’t know, my lady.”

She wasn’t sure if it was because Lady Shalltear had wondered aloud, but Boobeebee didn’t scream. Several minutes after she was struck down, the Zern hero rose to her feet.

“I-It’s healed?” She tested her shoulder gingerly, then raised her arm with a wonder-filled voice, “It’s healed! Thank you, Lady Shalltear! Thank you so much!”

“Don’t thank me,” Lady Shalltear yawned. “If Florine hadn’t asked, I wouldn’t have given you a second glance. Anyway, it looks like the shipment’s done. I’ll be returning to E-Rantel, now.”

“Have a good night, my lady,” Florine lowered her head. “Thank you for fulfilling my request.”

“Mhm.”

Once Lady Shalltear’s Gate closed behind her, Florine had the Miq hop over to a set of loaded containers. After she saw the convoy off, she returned to the administration’s tent in what she now realised was probably a wide, shallow crater.

“Thank you for asking to have my arm restored, Lady Gagnier,” Boobeebee said as Florine unloaded her notes onto the table.

“You’re welcome,” Florine said. “Honestly, I think it was just as much for myself as it was for you. I couldn’t stand seeing you like that. You said that the pity of others wounds you, so I hope you’ll forgive me for it.”