NOVEL NEXT V10: Chapter 10
V10: Chapter 10
…
It's probably racist to say that I was relieved to see that my smuggling-focused Champion was a rat-type of the Beast Tribe.
Merchant Champions all enjoyed additional traits based on random character generation. Sarala had additional diplomacy thanks to having overtly lion-like features. It was like a 5% buff to his diplomacy. Some would say that's negligible, but 5% is the difference between 95% and 100%, so I highly value it. To offset this bonus, they also received a minor debuff. Lion-like Merchants received as 5% debuff to their mana regeneration. Some consider that just world-building flavor, but 5% less mana means 5% less spells across an entire playthrough, so you'll never see me setting up a lion-like Merchant up as a Mage Champion.
Anyway, the Rat-Types had a pretty nice 5% increase to their intrigue, which would probably help with the smuggling business. The 5% decrease in health is fine in my book, since I don't plan on sending him out to combat. Just stay in the city and magically keep its factories running and population growing while under siege, so that's nigh-unbreakable and kills any army trying to take it. That's all I need you to do. There's no need to go out there to crack skulls and risk your life.
Though, admittedly, I wished the guy was a bit tougher.
I asked to meet with him one-on-on after the first day at Sarala's compound, and the guy looked like he was going to shake himself to death.
"Please, Sir Archibald, this is a courtesy meeting. I simply wish to know you better, as I intend to assign you to a very important posting. A critical one." I looked over my shoulder and Ayah was ready with the map. She unfurled after taking it out of the document tube. We sat outside of the underground complex Sarala was building in the desert sun. Thanks to some nearby water fountains, shade, and a nice breeze, it wasn't that bad. "Take a look at this map. This is the city of Safehold. A city that is currently supporting the network of fortified outposts watching the largest pass through the mountains to the rest of the outside world."
Archibald nodded mutely at me, then calmed visibly as he looked at the map.
"This is… a fortress city. No. The start of one." I nodded, while the Rat-based Champion gestured at the map. It came alive with magic tracing the ink and turning black. With a gesture he lifted the print off the paper and started looking through plans whilst seated. I took the chance to have some tea made with dried orange peels and mint. Very refreshing. Man, I've really gotten used to magic, huh? "What is this?"
"An emulation of the existing Ancient transportation network. Activating the Ancient network itself would open up subterranean avenues of attack, so we've elected to keep it inactive. This one is a tunnel made by mages which will have train lines." Underground train lines delivering cargo was hefty in terms of cost, even with magic and mages replacing boring machines. However, I planned to make them anyway. Game logic didn't always translate into reality. I can understand clever schemes and plans getting supplies in and out of a city under siege, but anything more than that required logistics. "You are familiar with trains, yes?"
"The iron horse that pulls dozens of carriages at the same time. Yes. One line for inbound and one for outbound. What is the maximum tonnage?"
"Daily tests and estimates on an aboveground, straight tracks give twenty tons per train. The train will take 4 hours to reach Safehold from the Citadel." The distance between Safehold and the Citadel took an army 5 days to reach on a non-forced march, or 4 days in a forced march. My estimate was that it was around a hundred miles away from the Citadel. The train could take more supplies per run, but it would need to slow down in order to not stress the machinery. Twenty tons at 25 mph was our current limit per train. Thankfully, since we could make the trains, we could scale up by just adding some lines. "And, it's two inbound and outbound lines, along with two more service lines. Four trains to each line. 80 tons every 4 hours… our 20 tons of supplies every hour. All manned by Iterants on shifts, so it will be constant."
Archibald's brow furrowed at my words.
"Your majesty, your forces are the finest on the continent and we have your Citadel Guardians. Will the enemies from beyond the continent be able to put this fortress to such a siege?" Archibald asked. I almost blinked in confusion, until I realized why the grey-furred rodent-man spoke. This must be a result of all our victories and successes. At his question, I gave a sharp, clear nod and he blinked. "I understand that they are mighty, but they have much that need to surmount. Their closest city to Safehold is over sixty days away on foot. Fifty of those days is through undeveloped wilderness. Whatever army reaches us will also have to go through the mountain passes, they will be beset by Guardians the moment they reach our lands, and be bombed from the sky."
I was more than aware of my preparations and just how far the enemy was from us… but I was also aware that they will not work forever.
"You are correct. The current fortifications will be enough to hold against the first waves, but it will not stop. They will never stop." I explained carefully while looking at my new Champion's eyes. They widened at my words. "The Ancients cursed them, Archibald. Cursed them so much that they are but a shadow of a shadow of their true selves. The only means to reverse that… is by taking the Citadels from us."
I gestured at him when I mentioned the Citadels. His people typically have half the lifespan of other Merchants. On average they live only forty years. Archibald was a scholar and mage for a long time, but he would've never reached the rank of Champion without the Citadel. He was here now, with all his magical talent and wisdom, thanks to the Citadel. I gave the same treatment to incentivize his people to come to my side. They were cunning, had litters, and gun don't care how short their operator is.
"For as long as we have lived on this continent, they and the other threats have had the entire world. The first waves will break, but there will be more." The wizened man's brow furrowed and his whiskers twitched. He looked down at the map. At the city whose defenses and rail line he said may have been too much. Now, I was sure that it looked like too little. "They will build roads towards our lands, they will build military bases and supply centers, and in a decade… Safehold will be surrounded and put to siege. At that moment, you will be there surrounded by armies in the hundreds of thousands, while the rest of the continent is surrounded by millions."
Archibald stared at the map for a long, long time before opening his mouth once again.
With a question that I wanted to hear.
"This river here that leaves a valley… can we use it to irrigate the lands around Safehold, or better yet create a dam?"
Weaponizing a dam.
Even if he can't magically keep a city fully operational while under siege, if he can destroy the incoming armies, I didn't care.
…
Interlude: Riegert
…
The final expedition.
It was a sobering name for my next venture outside the continent.
This time to the north past the lands previously held by the Scholars who were neighbors to the Guardians.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
If calling our expedition the final one was not enough, Khanrow sent me a letter stating that the Guardians stressed their coffers to send another expedition out in addition to the one they already sent.
We were going out there with roughly 6000 professional soldiers, but each expedition sent by the Guardians was five thousand, and they had Necromancers.
But this time the fruits Jack's labors were apparent just from looking at the people walking about the base.
Conqueror scouts were dressed heavy in furs and spoke with veterans of previous expeditions. On their backs their long cannons made in the Citadel were covered in white, mottled cloth that matched cloaks on their backs. Children of the Elm discussed valley passes and mountain trails found by our flying teams with Forgers of the Mountains. They were similarly clad to the Conquerors. Finally, there were a few larger, hulking Merchants of the Marsh who had ursine bloodlines speaking with a few Scholars of the Skies on what to bring for spare equipment. For this expedition, every soldier was provided the means to blend into snowy foliage, a seemingly logical move for the sake of survival.
Yet, despite differences in size and shape, everyone looked similar enough when wearing the same colors.
Only the Wardens were missing, and that was because the refugee camps were not yet processed for any potential traitors, while those we trusted were hard at work reestablishing themselves as leaders of their communities.
Iterants, of course, were seeded amongst the groups now as well. Their ability to sketch what they see from memory was essential. The lands we went into now was a the 'middle' between the lands of the living metal beasts and the carnivorous flying monsters. The Scholars lands are going to be either the most easy to defend, or the hardest. The land of the Guardian's lands was easier for the jungle-borne creatures to invade, while the Children of the Elm's lands were closer to the living machines of war. Our homeland shared nearly all its borders with the Demons.
No.
The war has not yet come.
We still have some time left.
I shook my head through the chill of the wind, and moved towards another cabin. The one where I knew Oswald awaited me.
He noticed me as I opened the door to the cabin, as the wind brought in some cold until I closed the door shut. On the desk at the center of the command room, the maps drawn by Iterants were strewn. They were sketched by hand from memory after they flew as far as they could within a day of our farthest outpost on the mountain ranges.
"General." He stood up straight and gave me a salute. I gave him a nod and told him to be at ease. He wore an officer's tunic with his awards on his lapel and rank on his shoulder. He was a captain now. Technically, I could be considered a warlord, as well. "The storm clearing soon?"
"No. It'll clear within the next day. It's good news. The Guardian's newest expedition just set out. They might get wiped out." The lands north of these mountains were said to be always filled with blizzards. However, with the rise of the Citadels and the passage of time, the defenses left behind by the Ancients were failing. The endless blizzards were intermittent now. Lasting days with stretches with nothing happening. Gaps in the armor created by the ancients to protect us. Sometimes the frost storms started without notice. "Be ready to ride out tomorrow. We want to be sure we'll get through."
"Understood, general. Ready the troops to ride out tomorrow." He aimed the words at a nearby aide, who proceeded to nod and moved out into the frigid night outside. Another aide came forward with a cup of heated tea. Oswald offered it to me first, but I declined. Instead, I took off my coat, and produced a flask. Coffee was my preferred drink. The first beans from the vault where we found the Life Goddess were finally produced. The freshly roasted beans were delicious, but most of it was being brewed in large batches and the wakening agent extracted by alchemists to produce coffee pills. It kept soldiers awake and alert, as well as quickened their blood. It was a far safer alternative to the other pill being created. "Do we have a route?"
"A route through the lands we know? Yes. Several, in fact. Good enough for us to spread out in smaller groups, as you said we should. But after the initial days, we'll need start setting up temporary observation posts." Oswald stated, and I nodded. Iterants can be thrown high up with magic and caught with magic, then they could act as perfect guides with their memory. Mages could also use their familiars. Those were common tactics of the normal army now. However, our king long advised us to not use magic, and we've yet to be caught following that advice. We had to find and create temporary observation posts on high enough elevation for our navigators. "The land of living metal has a dearth of trees, while the immense trees of the corpse eaters are difficult to fell inconspicuously. We can climb them, sure, but not bring along any lumber."
"Then, we'll have to hope the request to the Citadel arrives quickly." I asked for a solution for the problem from the nearest Citadel. The scholars had proposed something promising. A series of lightweight rods that could be attached together composed of very lightweight Citadel Alloys, which could be carried by an Iterant, rapidly assembled, and them held up with tension and ropes by a coordinated group. A similar rod made of wood would be too weak to hold up an Iterant, while one of steel would be burdensome to our troops already carrying so much supplies. I told them to have them made and shipped out to us as quickly as possible. "Or, we're going to have to ask Conquerors to try and form pyramids his majesty suggested."
Oswald laughed, but I when just drank coffee, he went silent.
To his credit, he blinked and considered the idea.
"Three at the base, two in the middle, and then one at the top… that's tall enough for decent sightlines." Oswald said, plainly astonished by the idea, while I just nodded. "It would look silly and the Conquerors would grumble, but…"
"We won't use magic, won't be found, and we'll have maps." I finished his thought with a shake of his head. "The troops may laugh, but it'll work and they'll live."
Oswald shook his head after a moment and regathered his thoughts.
Then, we went back to planning the final expedition.
Jack's words rang in my head.
"Two have appeared. The third and last must be near. If it is found… we must return with it at any cost."
I have fought and lived with these men for nearly a decade… but if the cost of the third, final Goddess was their lives?
I would pay it.
But that paled in comparison to what we would do as we returned.
The flying cannibals were numerous and fed off of tribal, savage versions of the people of the Continent.
The living metal monsters bred people on the industrial scale to create slaves and components.
Upon those peoples, the living foodstock of those cannibals and the thoughtless masses of menials made by living metal, we were going to unleash disease and plague.
Despite the horrors I was about to unleash, my chief concern was that we were not doing the same to those controlled by the Demons.