Siren's Reach - Fallen Lands Book 3

Chapter twenty-five

No Country for Old Sins

Evelyn

Even as we were speaking, things were going from …whatever stage of horror movie awful they were at to worse. More soldiers were starting to stumble out of their tents, half-awake and confused, to see what was going on, but not many. Someone had begun to yell commands from their central command pavilion, but I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. As I watched, I saw a flash of bone-white carapace as two more sentries froze in place before tumbling to the ground. One of them managed to scream for a fraction of a second, turning more attention toward the threat, but the few people urged into investigating were still only timidly moving in their direction, half-dressed and entirely unprepared.

"Sibylla, how many of them are there?"

She hummed thoughtfully, "Well, I suspect that with their current size, they must have been feasting on one another as well. These are just the few along the fringe that are attacking now. The rest will probably pick up the scent of blood from fresh prey soon. At least a few hundred will make it into the camp… Maybe even close to a thousand if we're lucky."

"Lucky?! All of those people are going to die, Sibylla! I… I don't even know where to start! How am I supposed to save people from something like that?"

Sibylla's smile faded as she turned to look at me, "Evelyn, you're not. You're not supposed to save any of them. These are not good people. Have you already forgotten that they're here to kill you, murder and rape your people, and then loot your town before burning it down and leaving? You are letting that Hero title go to your head."

"We don't know they're all like that! And even if they are, do you really think being eaten alive by monsters is the right solution?"

Sibylla looked incredulous. "Do you think it's any better to run them down with cavalry or burn them alive with magic? Evelyn, you are at war with these people, not because you asked for it, but because they came to your home and started murdering your people. They all know exactly what they were expecting to happen. They all know what being part of one of these mercenary companies is about. None of them are innocent. None of them deserve mercy. We even gave them a strong warning and stripped them of their weapons and gear. Those are the same soldiers down there. What did they do? They found more weapons and came here anyway. Now, they're paying the price."

I wanted to argue with her. My chest felt tight with guilt and grief, but I knew my objections were pointless. What argument could I make? That sending my soldiers out there to fight and die was somehow better? I gave one small nod, unwilling to voice my understanding, and turned to look back over the field. Panic was beginning to spread in the camp. Most people didn't understand what was going on, and even as some units began trying to grab weapons and armor, none were organized yet. I watched a large group of Mukade swarm out of the darkness and into a group of unarmed men. Sibylla mentioned that they grew fast, but these things looked like they already had the mass of a large dog. Any of the soldiers that were bitten immediately collapsed from some kind of paralytic venom, and the monsters wasted no time beginning to devour them. Some of the others tried to flee into the camp, and some tried to fight, but it was only seconds before they were all down. The Mukade were much faster than the runners and pounced on them from behind. Those who tried to fight went down even faster. Their improvised weapons, fists, and kicks were completely ineffectual against the carapace of their attackers. The monsters just ignored them as they wove between their legs, coiling up them as quickly as a snake and biting into their victims as they dragged them to the ground. The things didn't hesitate at all – The moment they had a grip on someone, they began eating. I could only imagine the hopeless terror those people were feeling, and I felt my claws beginning to pierce my own palms as I squeezed my fists against the guilt.

Sibylla must have noticed because she stepped in front of me, took my hands, and rested her forehead against mine.

"Evelyn, don't cry for them. Do not waste your grief on those who would not do the same for you. This is not your fault. You did not ask for this. They came here, and they brought evil with them. Now, they are reaping the harvest they deserve."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, "It is hard to imagine that everyone down there is evil, Sibylla. What about the camp followers? What if there are recruits down there who signed up because they had nothing else?"

Sibylla shook her head gently against mine, "They're all part of that mercenary company. They all work for them in one way or another, and they all know exactly who they're signing up with. The only ones down there that could possibly claim innocence are the horses."

I sniffled and nodded, "I know. I just can't justify in my mind that we're making them suffer through being eaten alive."

Sibylla snorted, "Oh. Well, that venom isn't just a paralytic. It almost completely overloads their nervous system, and it's a strong narcotic. Sure, they're in pain, but they probably think it's because they're dancing with lightning rainbow unicorns at a really hardcore rave."

I choked a snotty bark of laughter, "We really shouldn't joke about people who are dying, Sibylla."

She stepped forward and actually hugged me, "I know, Evie. I'm sorry. Well, I know what will make you feel better. We can go rescue the innocents from that camp before they are eaten, okay?"

I slumped, "You just want to steal their horses."

"No, Evie," she said with a squeeze. "The cavalry are all dead now. Those are ownerless horses. I just want to save the innocents."

I sighed but nodded. At least that would be something other than sitting up on the wall watching everyone die. Of course, my nod was enough for her, and she stepped back, taking my hand and dragging me toward the stairs. I planted my feet and brought her to a stop after a few steps, though.

I looked around, and fortunately, my Castellan was nearby. "Septimia, we are going to see if we can retrieve the horses from that camp, at least. Have someone ready at the gate and archers on the wall in case we're followed."

"My lady?" she asked, her confusion evident, but we were already moving.

Sibylla made as if to step toward the stairs, but I pulled her in the other direction and right over the side of the wall, casting [Slow Fall] on the both of us before gravity had a chance to drag us down. Understanding my intent, she flashed into a fox even faster than me, and we were lost in the shadows the moment our paws touched the ground. I wasn't sure how much time we had, but with her immediate sprint across the field, I began to feel the urgency as well. The closer we got to the camp, the more we began to hear the yells of people trying to form a defense, the cries of those trying to flee for their lives, and the confusion of so many people who didn't understand what was happening. I could smell the hot scent of blood in the air and everything else that came with that kind of carnage. It was hard to push it all to the back of my mind and focus on our goal, but at least in that, I had the simple aid of needing to follow Sibylla.

The horses had been set in picket lines behind the camp followers. Their camp was the least hard hit of any as we passed it. I saw one burly-looking man near the edge of the camp, his legs each being devoured by a different mukade. He wasn't dead, and his face was stuck in a rictus of horror as his eyes twitched and spun, seeing nothing. The beasts eating him were nearly the size of war hounds now and silent outside of the tearing of flesh and snapping of bones as they feasted. They wasted nothing, their front legs and mandibles cramming his legs further into their gnashing jaws as easily as someone might push a branch into a woodchipper. It tore at me to ignore the man as we moved on, but there was little I could have done for him, and we had too much work to do. We kept moving forward, dodging between tents and the people coming out of them to stare in confusion at the madness unfolding in the army camp. Based on the murmurs I heard from those we passed by, they didn't understand what was happening, thinking perhaps it was a raid by Siren's Reach or perhaps a monster was loose in the camp. They felt safe waiting where they were, thinking that if it was us attacking, we'd spare them as non-combatants and that the soldiers could handle a few monsters. It made the guilt worse, but their calm demeanor was likely the only thing keeping the mukade from noting them and spilling into their camp in force.

My mind kept grabbing onto the scenes of horror we passed, and the distraction of it nearly caused me to be run over twice before we made it to the picket lines. They were set as far from the campsite used by the cavalry and officers as possible, which made sense considering the smell. There were still nearly five hundred horses down here – and despite that, it was still the most calm and quiet area of the camp. I could feel the magic in their tethers, though, so perhaps the enchanted leather straps were helping them sleep. It would be as practical an enchantment as the anti-theft properties I knew they must have from the four men I saw trying to figure out how to steal a horse. I guess the entire camp wasn't willing to trust their safety to a few soldiers and hope.

Before I could say a word, Sibylla jumped into a nearby shadow and out of another just behind them, smoothly shifting to her foxgirl form, drawing and swinging her sword all in one motion. Two of the men fell to the ground with their spines severed in the neck before, quick as lightning, she stabbed out twice, taking each of the other two through the back of the head.

"Sibylla!" I whisper-hissed at her as I retook my foxgirl form nearby. "Was that really necessary?"

She nodded, looking over the picket line, "Yes. They were enemy soldiers, and they were trying to steal my horses… Ah! Here!"

She skipped over and pulled on a line that was attached to all the tethers along the picket. I moved to stand next to her as she fought with it for a moment before trying to cut it with her sword. Her swing pulled perfectly across the line without severing a single strand. With a huff of frustration, she looked as if she were about to toss the line away when she froze in place. Turning her head to smile sweetly at me, she asked, "Can I borrow those fancy claws of yours?"

I looked around carefully, but we were still alone, so I stepped forward and took the cord. "You just want me to cut it?"

She nodded, "I don't think they'll wake up right away, but if it works, go down the rows and do this for all of them. I'll do the rest."

So, I gripped the cord in a loop, extended my claws into the circle, and pulled it against them. The enchantments parted like thread, and the fibers of the rope followed suit as it slid across the length of my claws. One clean motion severed the entire thing, and Sibyl began pulling it out of the picket line from the other end, freeing all the horses as she hummed a soft song just loud enough to be heard. As we moved from picket line to picket line, that humming became louder until she began to sing in a lilting melody that sent a shiver up my spine, only covered by the ever-growing cacophony from the soldier's camp. I didn't understand the words; they sounded somehow Eastern European, but I could feel the meaning in them. It was a song of peace and comfort. It felt like trust and love and knowing the way home – but the way it tried to worm its way into my mind gave me chills.

With my far easier task, I finished my part long before she finished hers and began focusing more on keeping an eye out. It was madness in the soldier's camp and now even the edges of the support camp. When we'd been working, I heard a few different warnings called out about someone near the horses from sentries at the soldier's camp, but each time those calls had been quickly silenced when the shout caught the attention of the mukade. That was before the full tide of the monsters had flooded down upon them. Now, what was left of the soldiers was broken into small groups, surrounded and trying to fight off Mukade who were nearly the size of horses. There were fewer of the monsters now – some having been killed in their mindless hunger and reckless assaults, others who found themselves the next meal of their kin, but they were still easily overwhelming the camp. They were so big now that they were just launching themselves into the groups of soldiers, wrapping one or two up in their multitude of bladed legs and yanking them away to be feasted on. It was becoming more and more apparent that the only thing keeping them from spilling down into the support camp was the time it took for them to finish consuming the soldiers in front of them. The camp followers were starting to notice this, too, and many were beginning to flee into the night. They wouldn't get far. There were already a few of the monsters working their way around the sides of the camp, and the motion of the runners quickly caught their attention.

I almost jumped out of my skin when Sibylla said, "I'm ready, we should go."

Looking at the path we needed to take, I shook my head, "You go ahead. I'll see what I can do about any that try to follow us."

She blinked at me but shrugged, "Don't get yourself into a fight with too many of these. They're dangerous. It's better to fight them in the day; twilight is their natural hunting time."

"Of course it is." I breathed out but nodded. "I'll be careful."

She returned the nod and, picking her song back up, started leading the horses away. They didn't need much encouragement and moved at a gentle canter, following her jogging form. Then, in what looked to be an afterthought, she waved her hand at the camp as she passed, causing bright, sparkling foxfire to spring up around dozens of the soldiers and camp followers trying to find a way to escape. I stared blankly after her, at a loss for words, until I saw the change in the mukade. Any that looked like they were going in a direction that might have them chase the horses were now sharply fixated on the bright lights. It was so cold-hearted… but from the mission's point of view, it was the right thing to do.

I followed once all of the horses were past, trying to stay between the camps and the path the horses were taking around them. I was so focused on making sure I knew where the monsters were going that I didn't notice the man directly in my path until I almost ran right into him. I spun, striking out with my claws, but they went straight through his ghostly form – and the contact did something. He was stumbling around, confused, but after my claws touched him, he started to fade like smoke caught up in a strong breeze before just breaking apart and flying right into me. A shot of energy rushed through my entire being as I felt the ghost vanish into my core. It wasn't the same feeling as when I devoured a soul, but the sensation was similar, if far weaker. I felt fleeting impressions of who he was and then a flicker of euphoria. The whole thing happened so quickly, in less than the blink of an eye. I almost thought I'd imagined it – just my fear of ghosts creeping up on me. That would make sense as I snuck past this horror show in the middle of the night, but then a system notification, unlike any I'd seen before, popped up.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

[Soul Harvested. 1/100.]

And just like that, I began to notice them. Ghosts. They were everywhere. The camps were full of them, hundreds of them milling around, confused about what happened to them. There were dozens more on the field where soldiers had died earlier in the day during the failed assault on the wall. There were even more that looked like merchants, travelers, and even a few children. Those were the worst, all of them looking lost and forlorn, radiating an unending hopelessness that I could feel from half a mile away. They were nearly invisible if I wasn't focused on them, but I knew they were there. And the moment I began to notice them, each and every one of them turned and looked directly at me. My world froze for a moment while I looked over a scene out of my worst nightmare. And then, as if they were moths drawn to a flame, they all started coming toward me. At first, they walked, reaching out toward me like a beacon in a storm, and I started to stagger back toward the wall, but then they all began to run. I turned and ran.

And then dodged to the side, barely missing the maw of a Mukade the size of a truck. I was on my feet, sabers in hand in an instant, and as it struck again, my [Channel Lightning] sparked to life around me. I stepped to the right, slamming my blades into its head to force it to the left while casting [Storm Bloom] directly under the center of its body. The vines sprang to life and began tangling up several of its legs as it tried to spin around to face me again, and I used the distraction to jump onto the thing's back and slam my sabers through its eyes. It didn't die right away, but I just held on as it tried to shake me off until the electricity had enough time to cook its brain. Just as I yanked my swords out, two of the ghost soldiers reached me. I squeaked.. uh, heroically.. and tried to swing down at them from my perch on the monster, but they ignored the swords, just reaching out like I was the only light left in the world to touch my ankles. The moment they did, it was just like before. They blew away like smoke in the wind, their souls shooting through me, leaving a surge of power behind and disappearing into me. I gasped and shivered, too shocked again to move for an instant.

And that was long enough for another of the Mukade to pounce. I felt the weird fang-like pincers near its mouth slam into my ribs as it tried to inject me with its venom, but my new armor held, and instead, it got a mouth full of lightning. I pushed more mana into the spell, and the monster convulsed just enough for me to roll free of it and get to my knees. I raised a hand and let loose a [Sun Ray] directly into its open maw. The monster's head exploded in a spray of orange and green gore. I managed to enable [Channel Wind] just in time to blast away the wave of goop, but that didn't stop the next monsters from leaping at me from behind. I felt it hit my barrier just as I felt the warning on the wind, and I hit the ground and rolled, letting the thing crash face-first into the corpse I'd just left behind. I stood to see it had forgotten about me with the new meal readily available, but several more were charging in my direction.

Taking a page out of Sibylla's playbook, I threw a dazzling display of foxfire over a clump of soldiers that were holding out better than the rest. They'd actually gotten fully armed and armored and looked to be several of the higher-ranking infantry. It didn't distract all of them, but it gave me a little breathing room. I turned, ready to kill the one beside me who was distracted eating when I heard a sniffle. I looked down to my side just as a pair of young children, a girl, and a boy, ran up to me and wrapped their arms around my waist in a hug.

I froze, "What're you.." But before the words finished leaving my mouth, they blew apart in the wind, their souls flowing into me. Their emotions were much stronger, something I could actually feel and understand in that blink of an instant. The terrible fear of being lost forever, the endless longing to find their family, and the desperate hope that they'd finally found the way home. I gasped at the surge of energy, the burst of emotion so powerful that I'd not even noticed when even more of the ghosts had caught up with me from behind until the euphoria and influx of power lingered longer than before.

[Soul Harvested. 13/100.]

I slammed my sabers back into their scabbards and pulled my glaive from over my shoulder, jumping forward and lancing it through the back of the mukade in front of me. Its blade punched through the carapace with little resistance, and I began walking backward toward the wall. I didn't know what was going on, and my hands were beginning to shake with the confusion. The mukade were getting bigger every moment, and there were very few soldiers left. I knew I could stop and let them kill each other, but then they would feast on one another, each survivor becoming stronger and stronger – but the ghosts… Why were they here? And what were they doing to me? The shaking got worse, and I almost turned to flee when a ghost rushed me from the side right as a Mukade burst around a cart I was passing, snapping for my head. I dove backward, trying to avoid them both, and felt it as I crashed into another soul from behind. I gasped in shock at the unexpected surge of power and landed flat on my back. Before I could leap to my feet, three more ghosts reached down to touch me, and I screamed. I tried to roll away from them but only ended up in a crowd of ghostly soldiers. I grabbed my glaive at the end of its tip and swung it wide in a panicked attempt to clear a path to escape, but it only caused them all to flood into me at once. I crashed to my knees, overwhelmed by the influx of energy, emotions, glimpses of memories, and the strange euphoria.

[Soul Harvested. 32/100.]

I barely saw the notification update through the daze, trying to focus on anything at all, when the weight of the world crashed into me. My vision snapped into sudden clarity when a pair of pincers spraying venom began slamming into my [Ghost Helm] over and over. I'd lost my glaive in the fall, but my claws were already punching into the monster as fast as I could pull them out and stab them in again. It was trying to wrap itself around me, but my assault loosened its grip enough to move my arms more freely. Without a thought, I jammed my claws deep and dragged them in opposite directions, nearly tearing the thing in half. My mind suddenly cleared, and I realized I'd stopped channeling my defensive spells. Risking a quick glance at my status as I reactivated them, my mana and stamina were nearly full. I'd expected to be fine but not as topped off as I'd be after a full night of sleep. I was distracted from the thoughts as electricity arced out and burst the eyes of another nearby mukade before it had a chance to pounce, and I suddenly understood what was likely attracting them to me. I couldn't disable the spell, not with so many nearby, so I lunged for my glaive, striking out to crack the blinded monster's head open before continuing my backward retreat toward the wall and casting several more foxfire spells on some of the bigger mukade.

The distraction worked, peeling several monsters away, but it also worked on me. I turned my head only to find that I'd let myself get nearly surrounded by ghosts again. The soldiers were running at me from every direction like a mob, realizing it was about to be left behind in a disaster. Their urgency made them all the more horrifying, and I nearly turned to run. Without [Mental Resistance] helping me push back the irrational fear of ghosts, I might have done just that, and the massive mukade that rose up and spit a stream of slimy acid might have killed me. I dove toward the thing, the only direction I could go without launching myself into more ghosts, and stabbed it right under its jaws. It didn't rear up in pain, instead smashing down to crush me. The butt of my glaive hit the ground and forced the blade the rest of the way through the beast, nearly breaking its lower jaw off. I aimed up with a [Sun Ray] to drill further into the gap beside my weapon, and a kill notification popped up and was brushed away. I did my best to push the monstrous thing off to the side as I twisted and yanked my glaive out, but I collapsed in the process as the soldiers began to crash into me. I tried to roll away from the onslaught, but I was overwhelmed with the confusing mess of emotions and disorienting energy surging through me. I gasped and curled into a ball, trying to hold my head and heart. I couldn't breathe, and I was silently screaming for them to just stop! My entire world was chaos. I don't know how long I laid there like that, only that it all suddenly ended in a deep chime that lingered like the tolling of a bell.

[Soul Harvested. 100/100.]

You have achieved [Twilight Harvester of Souls] level 1. You have received the following benefits! + 20 Hit points, + 70 Mana, +70 Stamina, +10 Aurora,+10 Arcana, +5 Skill Points, +5 Spell points

You have obtained the Trait: [Eternal Requiem]

You have obtained the Skill: [Harbinger's Reach]

You have obtained the Spell: [Ritual of the Last Horizon]

The tolling of the bell faded, and in its wake, I could feel the rushing of a river in the back of my mind, its water sounding almost like a hymn sung by an unfathomable number of souls. I took a deep breath as the river faded, but the hymn did not. I opened my eyes to see myself surrounded by the souls of the soldiers and travelers trapped on this plain, but they weren't reaching for me any longer. They simply stood, the hymn reverberating through them as they slowly faded, breaking apart and flaking like ash that streamed into me. I blinked, holding my hands out in front of me and then reaching to touch one of the many streams. I still felt the energy, and if I focused, I felt the hints of their emotions and memories, but it was far easier to push them aside. That's when I finally understood. I was the medium, and they were flowing through me like a bridge to that river beyond, each one leaving a small sliver of themselves behind with me. I picked up my glaive and stood, my mind calming more with every passing moment, and stepped toward the oncoming swarm of mukade. There were still dozens of them, and most were fighting each other over the remaining corpses of the army, but the rest charged into me. As we closed, my [Levitation Aura] grabbed onto all of us. I barely noticed the draw on my mana with all of the energy streaming into me from the fading souls, and I forced far more mana into my [Channel Lightning] than I had before. I launched myself into the fight. They weren't helpless in the air, but they were severely handicapped, and with my [Aerial Duelist] trait helping my mind recognize every subtle motion and advantage to take, that was more than enough. I used [Wind Walking] to control my every movement and give me the footholds I needed for [Heroic Leap] and [Squall Step]. I stayed above my enemies, always striking downward to get the best advantages with [Death from Above]. With what felt like an unlimited amount of mana and stamina, every strike of my glaive was a [Heroic Strike] for maximum damage or [Gale Strike] for absolute control. The numbness in my mind wore off at some point, but that was okay. I was killing monsters, and I was in the zone. I knew this dance, and I pressed on.

The mukade weren't creatures of thought. They were tireless hunters who never hesitated or retreated, purely hunger-driven killing machines, and that was their undoing. They charged into the battle heedless of any danger, attempting to feast on the dead bodies falling to the ground, only to unwittingly throw themselves up into the levitating battle above. At some point, Sibylla returned with one of her horses and Haunt, probably to save me after I collapsed, but instead, she ended up using her magic to further confuse and hex the creatures. They attacked each other as much as they tried to attack me, and though the hymn ended and the last soul was harvested long before the battle was over, I had more than enough energy to finish the monsters off. The longer I fought, the larger and stronger they became, but fighting like this, it didn't matter. The biggest ones could spray their venom, but I could easily avoid it. They had no leverage, making their attacks clumsy and weak. It felt like I was fighting for more than an hour. When I finally killed the last of them, a pair nearly the size of Sebastian that spent more time trying to kill each other than me, I was left a little dazed and confused at the lack of anything to fight.

I drifted to the ground, doing my best to land on a vaguely clean patch of grass. I shifted to a fox the moment I felt solid earth beneath me, letting the gore and sludge fall away in the flash of transformation before making my way over to Sibylla and Haunt and shifting back. I stopped in front of Sibylla, exhaustion settling over my shoulders, and said, "Please don't do that again."

She nodded, "I'm sorry. That was… extreme. I won't say they didn't deserve it, but I didn't take into consideration that you didn't. I'll be more practical next time."

I nodded and stepped forward to hug her, and she let me. She even gave me a small squeeze back without any gagging noises.

When we mounted up and started heading toward the wall, I finally noticed that it was entirely packed with soldiers, mercenaries, and even some of what had to be townsfolk. All of them had watched that mess. I wasn't sure how I felt about that, but as we closed in and the gate was opened for us, every one of them took off their hats or helmets, taking a knee or bowing to us as we passed. Inside the gate, Lilith jumped into my lap, and Kira was waiting, already mounted after riding up from the town. She didn't say a word, just turning and riding with us as we headed home.

As we rode, I looked over my notifications. The kill notifications I brushed away, and I briefly looked at the skill gains in Glaive, Lightning Mana Manipulation, and Wind Walking, but the others were more concerning.

[Soul Harvested. 200/200.]

You have achieved [Twilight Harvester of Souls] level 2.

[Soul Harvested. 400/400.]

You have achieved [Twilight Harvester of Souls] level 3. You have received the following benefits! + 40 Hit points, + 140 Mana, +140 Stamina, +20 Aurora,+20 Arcana, +10 Skill Points, +10 Spell points

[Soul Harvested. 628/800.]

You have achieved [Guardian of the Sky] level 29! Congratulations! You have received the following benefits! +30 Hit points, + 70 Mana, +60 Stamina, +5 Intelligence, +5 Wisdom, +5 Arcana, +5 Attribute Points, +5 Skill Points, +5 Spell points!

I still hadn't talked to our mother about my Sentarith class, and this experience had shown me how much of a mistake that had been. It was a stupid thing to be ashamed of, and now I was beginning to understand that, even if I wasn't ready to really sit down and think about it just yet. I was ready to forget about that entire experience for a while, so I decided to focus on something else.

"I want to hope that this will be the last time we have to deal with these people, but I have a feeling it won't be."

Sibylla nodded, "I sincerely doubt it. Something triggered an arcane alert. One of my wards detected a signal from their camp, possibly when the leaders of the mercenaries died. I felt them scrying the dead camp and then watching the attack on the army and support camps, but I disrupted their spell before they had a chance to see you in action."

I sighed, "That's too bad. Maybe they'd have been frightened off."

"More likely, they'd have tried to find a counter for you." Lilith chirped, and Sibylla nodded.

Kira gave the fox a confused look, but she knew it was Lilith and made an educated guess on her comment before saying, "You seem concerned that this won't be the end of things. I heard that Lord Edgar was dead and you only need to go claim his lands?"

I sighed and nodded. "Lord Edgar was never my true enemy. Those mercenaries were hired by Count Alexandros of Drolia. We think we've stumbled into some plot, possibly to build a land bridge to allow them to threaten Lihume or something equally as stupid. They'll be back eventually."

Sibylla grinned, "Well, one benefit of that whole mess. They saw the swarm of monsters but not how things ended. I think that'll have them scratching their heads and trying to sort things out before trying to send more troops."

Kira tried not to look annoyed, but still nodded her agreement. "Yes, and when you claim Blackstone and its territories, they will have to find a new pawn and reason to wage war on you."

"We know that the inheritance is in contention. Otherwise, Lady Sarah would have already gained the territory, and the war would have ended. They might use whatever cousin thinks they have a claim as an excuse, but it would be a hollow one to anyone involved, considering you're now going to take the land by right of conquest." Lilith chirped, and I translated for Kira.

She listened and gave me a sad shake of the head, "I do not think that will matter. If they are intent on pursuing war, they can find many pretexts. Suggesting her cousin has a stronger claim would be a stretch, seeing as the land was inherited from Sarah's mother's line, but they could try to frame it in a light that favors their cause."

Sibylla tilted her head to the side quizically, "How would that work? Do they think everyone is stupid or something?"

Kira simply nodded, "Perhaps, and perhaps it does not matter. They could falsely accuse you of mistreating the people of Blackstone and Siren's reach to justify a war of liberation or accuse you of forcibly taking the land without cause, keeping up the farce about you starting this war to begin with. They could even draft up false documents with a forged signature from Edgar promising the lands to someone of their choosing. Maybe the local barony currently controlling those lands would be stirred into war with you, conveniently finding an ancient pact preventing the territories from becoming or being controlled by a freehold. By the time anyone makes the effort to disprove any of this, the war would likely be over."

"Not in the way they're hoping, either," Sibylla quipped, and I gave her a small, sad smile.

"No, not in the way they're hoping, but any war would be a tragedy. Maybe when all of this is settled, we can talk to the Baron and try to get him to see reason."

Sibylla nodded, "Or maybe I will go to Drolia and get right to the root of the problem."

I blinked at her, "You're not going to go, I don't know, start a plague or something, are you?"

She snorted, "No. I don't want to depopulate the place. I was just thinking about killing their leadership and destroying all of the institutions that propagate their disgusting way of life. Nothing too crazy."

"Uh."

She sighed, "Okay. Perhaps I will devise a more solid plan for that part, but in the short term, it seems like this Lord Alexandros guy is our main issue. Perhaps we should look into a way to deal with him."

"We both know that he's just the face of whatever they're doing. I think we're going to have to come up with a few plans at once and try to break this down one part at a time – but first, we need to finish this war we're in. Amélie should be back soon, and then we can just take Dawn's Light to each manor to claim the territory faster than they can react. That'll throw them off balance for a while and let us focus on other issues, like that dungeon boss in Darkwater Downs and the sea monsters attacking the shipping and coastline. I'm worried that is a bigger issue than we realize."

Lilith nodded her little fox head. "Yes, and that is going to be even more of a problem with the pirates plaguing the coast. I hope Amélie was successful in getting more patrols sent out to deal with them."

I nodded, slumping a little in the saddle. "I hope so, too. But before I do anything else, I'm going to nap until dinner time. I'm so tired."

Sibylla hummed and moved to ride a little closer to me. "Yeah. About that. Do you want to talk about what happened out there? You just sort of collapsed on the field. You gave me a bit of a scare."

I snorted. "No, I don't… But I guess maybe I should, so long as you're not going to make fun of me for seeing ghosts again."