Valkyrie's Shadow

Chapter 7

Xoc’s mouth fell open, aghast, as Vltava hurtled through the air towards Xigaoli. Then, she screamed as the fluffy little beast thing exploded on impact, knocking everyone in the vicinity to the ground.

H-He explodes? Since when does food explode?!

The scorching heat intensified, bringing with it the odour of burnt fur and charred meat. An angry orange glow cast long shadows into the surrounding jungle as a fiery form emerged from the ashes of the Gao caught in the inferno. It rose to a towering ten metres and let out a roar reminiscent of a thousand raging bonfires.

“D-Demon!”

“Demon God!”

“The Demon Gods have returned!”

Xigaoli’s gang picked themselves up and fled into the jungle, leaving a chorus of yips and whines in their wake. Those closer to the river jumped into the water, swimming desperately for the opposite shore. The fiery monster strode through the trees, stomping on any thugs that were unfortunate enough to be in its path. Screams drifted through the trees as everyone – including the residents nearby – fled before its wrath.

“Wh-What is that thing?” Xoc said in a horrified whisper.

“A Huge Fire Elemental.”

“A Fire Elemental?” Xoc turned at Winter Moon’s voice, “Th-Then Vltava was…”

Her words trailed off when she spotted Vltava sitting on Winter Moon’s shoulder. Vltava yawned, blinking lazily as the carnage expanded outward from the trading post.

“I thought you exploded!” Xoc said.

“What are you talking about?” Winter Moon said, “Good food doesn’t explode.”

Does that mean there’s bad food that explodes?

She supposed that an exploding meal would be, by default, bad.

“I’m no military expert,” Winter Moon said, “but shouldn’t you be doing something with your warband?”

Xoc looked away to examine her warriors. They were shaken by the emergence of the Huge Fire Elemental, but seemed otherwise unscathed.

“Split up into packs of five,” her voice carried across the unnatural stillness. “Make sure there’s at least one hunter in each pack. Spread out and comb the forest for any of Xigaoli’s thugs.”

“What should we do with them?”

“Tear them apart and dump them into the river,” Xoc said. “We could do with more fish.”

“What if we find Xigaoli?”

“I’m pretty sure he was obliterated in that explosion,” Xoc said, “but if he managed to survive and you find him, he’s not worth any more of our time than any of his thugs.”

Her warriors organised themselves and dispersed to carry out her orders, their eyes bright with anticipation. Xoc followed the path of the Huge Fire Elemental, which was marked by a winding procession of blackened bodies contorted into poses of agony.

“I guess I should be thankful that the jungle isn’t on fire after all that.”

“If it was a natural Fire Elemental, it would,” Winter Moon said. “Summoned beings do not act according to their respective natures. Not independently, at least.”

Was there anything that Winter Moon didn’t know? She even knew about the ‘taxes’ and ‘bureaucracy’ stuff that Master Leeds tried so hard to teach Xoc.

As they made their way westward, Xoc noted that the residents beyond the immediate vicinity of the trading post had unsurprisingly also fled. Fortunately, it didn’t look like any had been killed in the confusion.

“How can that Elemental tell Xigaoli’s people apart from everyone else?” She asked, “There are plenty of Gao living here.”

“A summon’s orders may be crafted in such a way that prevents collateral damage,” Vltava said. “The invaders were well-fed and bore identifying markings.”

Roars and yips suddenly sounded from their north, followed by a high-pitched yelp of mortal agony. Xoc went in the direction of the clamour, finding a group of her warriors standing over the corpse of a dark-furred Gao.

“Enxoc,” one of the warriors flicked the blood off of his claws, “we found her hiding under the roots of that tree over there. Even as the aggressor, she still had the gall to beg for her life.”

“I’m not surprised,” Xoc said. “It’s a good thing that Elemental sent everyone running, or Xigaoli’s goons might have taken refuge amongst the residents.”

“How far are we to pursue them?”

“All the way to the western border of the city,” Xoc said. “A bunch of them have escaped across the river, but don’t give chase.”

“We’re not going to take their clanhold?” Chimali asked, “This is the ideal opportunity! Their forces are broken and our warriors are eager to deliver the killing bite.”

“Are you crazy?” Xoc answered, “We’re spread insanely thin as it is. Our mouths are already stuffed full of problems without us trying to take another ‘bite’.”

“But they will regroup even if Xigaoli is dead.”

“Then let them,” Xoc said. “It would be nice if they destroy themselves fighting over who takes Xigaoli’s place. Either way, I doubt that they’ll attack us again. We should take advantage of that to establish our other trading posts on this side of the river. The rest of the city can wait until we’re ready.”

“And how long will that take?” Chimali said, “Didn’t want to prevent the suffering of the citizens?”

“I do,” Xoc snapped. “And we’re doing it as fast as we can. We’re trying to build as we expand. Overextending our forces will leave what we’ve built undefended.”

Xoc turned around and returned to the trading post in a grumpy silence. They were already progressing so quickly, yet that progress still fell woefully short of what was necessary. Master Leeds projected that the Ghrkhor’storof’hekheralhr would fall under their economic influence in a season or so, but how many people would starve in that time? If it took months to stabilise the city, how long would it take to do the same for the greater region around it?

She feared that, by then, the flooding and famine would have surely run their course and the population would be a pittance of its former state. It was something Rol’en’gorek couldn’t afford if it wanted to fend off the Jorgulan invasion. Her only hope was that the other clans across Rol’en’gorek were making similar efforts to maintain order and ensure the survival of their people. If everyone did their part, then recovery wouldn’t be so difficult. With all of the knowledge and artifice that the Humans had introduced, they could rise and surpass their past selves.

Once she arrived at the camp, she dispatched a Lup runner to inform the clanhold that the situation was under control. The trading post staff and their families returned an hour later, along with the first shipment of food. It was only then that Xoc finally allowed herself to relax, dangling her legs off of the newly built pier as she watched the remains of Xigaoli’s gang float by.

“We’ll have an impressive haul from the lake in a few months,” Patli came up to stand behind her.

“How were things at the clanhold?” Xoc asked.

“Apprehensive,” the mystic answered. “Many people were volunteering to come and fight. It was a good thing that your runner arrived when she did or you’d have six hundred of them disembarking right now.”

“Xigaoli’s gang shouldn’t be bothering us anymore,” Xoc said. “Hopefully, that should apply to any of the gangs around the Ghrkhor’storof’hekheralhr once word of what happened gets around.”

“What did happen?”

“Chimali threw Vltava at them. Literally.”

“…I see.”

Xoc looked over her shoulder with a dubious expression.

“You knew he was that strong?”

“I had some sense of it,” Patli replied.

“I didn’t!” Xoc rose to her feet, “I thought Chimali had gone mad!”

“And so did your aggressors, I suppose.”

“Of course! They were laughing right up until they exploded. You mystics are scary.”

An amused chuckle rose from Patli’s throat.

“I wouldn’t say that Vltava is representative of all mystics. We do learn much from our discussions with him, however. Vltava and his people are wise beyond our meagre measures.”

“What do you talk about?” Xoc asked.

“At first, we discussed the history of Rol’en’gorek. More recently, the flood and the crisis created by it. It’s no surprise to anyone that this is an unnatural disaster, but we still don’t know anything about the cause.”

Admittedly, it wasn’t something that she thought about. Even if she knew, she obviously couldn’t do anything about it. All they could do was try to survive and hope the entire world didn’t eventually drown.

“What did you come up with?”

“There were two likely reasons,” Patli replied. “The first is that there’s a blockage downstream. A landslide or upheaval from an earthquake that has arrested the river’s flow. The second is that it’s raining or snowing far more than it should be somewhere upriver.”

“One of the Merchants that I spoke with yesterday said that the rivers past Ki’ra have become exceedingly violent,” Xoc said. “Enough to wash entire towns away. Would that explain it?”

“It might. The high rivers are usually made treacherous by the summer melt, but not to the degree that the floodwaters put settlements at risk. Vltava may wish to know this.”

“What do you think he’ll do once he finds out?”

“Who knows? As a Druid, Vltava is a servant of the balance, but the balance doesn’t necessarily weigh in our favour. Many of our discussions with him revolve around the industrial practices of Rol’en’gorek, how they’ve upset the natural order, and how they’ve created a fatal weakness for our people.”

“If I remember correctly,” Xoc said, “that’s something you mentioned long before Vltava arrived.”

“I did, and it’s a large part of why I pursued the cultivation of Blood Antlers, but it’s merely one portion of the solution that is required. Many mystics understand the situation that we put ourselves in, but solutions acceptable to the people are few and far between. As for this flooding, Vltava may interpret this disaster as a corrective measure and do nothing to help us.”

On that uncertain note, Patli left her to attend to some matters at the trading post. Maybe she could ask Winter Moon to convince Vltava to help. She was at least more sociable.

“Hey, there you are,” Chimali called out to her. “Look who I found.”

Chimali walked out onto the pier, holding a disembodied head by its mane. Hgrost stared at her, his charred features a rictus of agony.

“It looks like he bet against us,” Xoc said.

“Unfortunately for him.”

Xoc looked away from her old acquaintance’s head to gaze at the silhouette of the clanhold to the southwest.

“Do you think he encouraged Xigaoli to attack us? She asked.

“It’s possible,” Chimali answered. “The gangs are timid before true strength. If Hgrost had only passed along the mention that we could bring multiple warbands into battle, Xigaoli should have been cowed despite his ‘success’ in the city so far.”

“So Hgrost told him it was probably a bluff based on what he knew of us.”

“That’s one of the only reasons I can think of for this attack. And, well, he wasn’t wrong. Unfortunately for them, one of our guests is a tiny walking disaster.”

“We can’t rely on something like that again,” Xoc said.

“We can’t?”

“We can’t. If word gets around that we’re relying on Vltava for protection, people will attack us whenever they find out he’s not around. Winter Moon and the rest of them spend more time exploring than they do hanging around the clanhold, you know.”

“It’s still useful,” Chimali told her. “Every day of peace that the rumour buys us is a day of peace we have to further develop the clan’s holdings and trade ties. You yourself mentioned that, with enough time, we will become unstoppable.”

She couldn’t deny his point. Maybe she was being overly proud.

I guess it’s always been like that.

Throughout their childhood, Chimali was willing to do almost anything to get by. Xoc, on the other hand, always wanted to do the things she thought she was best suited to, and she was loath to lower herself to do what she thought was below her.

“Say,” she said, “do you think I’m doing alright? With the clan, I mean.”

“I’m hardly the person to ask about that,” Chimali casually lobbed Hgrost’s head into the river and sat down beside her. “The elders or Master Leeds know more about the things you’ve been doing. I’m just Chimali.”

“I’m asking because you’re Chimali,” Xoc told him. “Everyone else I get to talk to about this stuff is so lofty. Even the people around the clanhold that we grew up with don’t treat me like they used to. They all just look up to ‘Enxoc’.”

“I don’t see anything wrong with that,” Chimali said. “That is simply who you are. I don’t think anyone was surprised when Xoc became Enxoc, nor will they be if she becomes il-Enxoc or even Kal’il-Enxoc.”

She hoped that would never happen, but having the clan exert its influence over the city and its surrounding region would invariably ‘promote’ her, whether she liked it or not. Pursuing membership in the Confederation Council was almost like willingly chasing after a nightmare.

“So you don’t think all this stuff I’ve been pushing on the clan is too prideful? You’ve disagreed with me more than a few times on various things.”

“...it’s not that I disagreed with you,” Chimali said. “It’s just that I provided my perspective on things. We’ve always been that way, yeah?”

“I guess…”

A few minutes passed as they watched countless body parts float by in the darkness. Once in a while, one of them would suddenly get tugged underwater. She wondered how big the fish would be by the time they were harvested during the dry season.

“Look,” Chimali said. “I don’t think being prideful is necessarily a bad thing.”

“You don’t?”

“Everyone would like to have something to be proud of. It’s just that we can’t afford it most of the time. Also, for many, the things that they feel proud of are not seen as good things by others. You speak as if the pride that you’ve carried all this time becomes a burden forced upon others, but I think it’s the opposite.”

“Huh?” Xoc looked over at Chimali, “How does that work?”

“Hmm…it gives people a sense of worth, I guess? Not everyone can appreciate everyone else for what they are capable of doing, but seeing one’s skills help build something that everyone appreciates is just as good, if not better. I am loved by few for what I can do, but if what I can do helps give rise to Enxoc and our reborn clan saves Ghrkhor’storof’hekheralhr from this disaster, then what do I care for the love of the masses? I have irrefutable proof that my skills are useful to what I believe matters.”

“I don’t think I could’ve ever thought of that,” Xoc said.

“Well, now you know,” Chimali said. “It will be good to keep in mind, I think. Even the most suspicious, unsociable fellow may be someone who would fight to the death for the clan and its lord. All they need is a place to belong and something to believe in or protect.”

The barges made five more shipments before dawn broke over the city. There were predictably no further incursions from Xigaoli’s gang, though Xoc wondered what sort of effect the Huge Fire Elemental had on the other denizens dwelling north of the river. She stepped out from her shelter, wandering around until she found Patli tending to an injured artisan.

“What happened?” Xoc asked.

“We’re in a rush, is all,” the artisan answered. “Cut myself with one of those new iron tools.”

Elder Patli cast a spell and the glow of healing magic washed over the artisan. Aside from the artisan’s injury, everything else seemed relatively peaceful.

“How long before we can open the market?” Xoc asked.

“In an hour or two, perhaps,” Patli answered. “Why not take a look yourself? I’m sure there are more than a few questions waiting for you.”

Xoc grabbed a skewer of meat before making her way up to the trading post’s market section. Furniture brought in from the clanhold was arranged around the trunk of each tree and Merchants were already laying out their goods. Most of it was food, with the occasional stand selling cloth and leather sundries.

“Enxoc!” A Merchant called out to her, “How does it look?”

She winced as the sound of her name being called out drew the attention of everyone in the area. Soon, everyone seemed to be asking for her opinion of their displays. Obligingly, she went around to examine all of the stands, stopping to converse with each Merchant. There was one question in particular that seemed to be on everyone’s minds.

“How do they pay?” Xoc said, “We’re offering them work, right?”

“Rumours of food and work have spread more rapidly than we thought it would,” one of the Merchants said. “There are probably three times as many people in the area as before.”

Xoc looked at a pair of sentries, who confirmed the Merchant’s words with a nod.

“You’d think they’d be more wary of us after that fire thing rampaged across the jungle,” one of them said. “But I guess they’re just that hungry.”

“Hmm…”

According to Master Leeds, their trading posts were supposed to gradually take over the local markets as they incorporated more and more of the population into the labour pool. Having everyone’s demands dumped on them all at once wasn’t part of the plan.

“What about the other markets in the area?” She asked.

“They’re still there, as far as we know,” a Merchant answered. “Our information on their inventories isn’t the best, though.”

“How do you want us to handle the crowds, Enxoc?” The leader of the day watch asked, “As it is, it’s going to be chaos once we open for business. We don’t even have a basic perimeter built yet.”

“We won’t be able to control them if they come in all at once,” Xoc said. “Business will slow to a crawl since most of them will be trying to barter whatever they have.”

“Then we should give them something to do,” Chimali said.

“Oh, you’re finally awake. What do you mean by that?”

Chimali stretched and yawned as he came over to join them.

“Xigaoli’s antics messed up our planning,” he said. “The people out there don’t even know what anything we’re selling costs.”

“He has a good point.”

The Merchants around them nodded. People usually went into the markets with some idea of what they could get for their offerings. Trading for information with the late Hgrost had proven how much food prices in the city had changed relative to ocelo Pa’chan.

“Once they have the right information,” Chimali said, “many should disperse to gather what they can trade for food. Given our dealings with Hgrost, they will be pleasantly surprised that it’s cheaper than they expect. That should give us some time to catch up. I’ll go out and hire some criers.”

“We need the warriors to set up queues at each entrance,” Xoc said as Chimali left. “How many people can the market handle right now?”

“A hundred, maybe? We’re using a flimsy, temporary setup so any more might end up damaging the stands.”

“There must be a better way to do this,” Xoc scratched her ear. “People are going to starve while they’re waiting in line.”

One of the Merchants raised a paw.

“Since we’re using set prices,” she said, “is the way we’ve set things up really necessary? It’s not as if we’re expecting people to browse and haggle.”

“She’s right,” another Merchant said. “Instead of having everyone come crowding in, we can just have them line up at each stall.”

“Then let’s do that,” Xoc said. “Bring ten tables to the western entrance and ten to the north entrance. That way, the artisans can continue construction unimpeded. We need twenty warriors on each side to make sure people line up and behave. I don’t want any Nar or Urmah stepping over everyone else. Also, we need patrols securing the perimeter to keep thieves from sneaking in. Break your duties up into four watches and continue training when you’re not on security.”

The trading post staff broke up to carry out her instructions. She hadn’t even realised so many had gathered around her. Within minutes, the lines of tables were set up under the curious gazes of the locals. The crowd slowly dispersed as criers started shouting out ocelo Pa’chan’s exchange values for various commodities.

Ten minutes later, the trading post’s first customers – a group of Gao – arrived, shouldering bundles of timber. The staff went about weighing the wood on scales set up behind the tables. Two minutes later, they were counting out slabs of smoked Nug in front of the salivating Beastmen.

“Say,” one of the Gao asked, “what are you using this wood for? I never knew it was worth so much.”

“Fuel,” the Merchant dealing with them replied.

Xoc supposed that it was a bit pointless for the Merchant to explain. In Rol’en’gorek, the type of wood the Gao had brought in was mostly used to smoke meat and feed communal fires. Ocelo Pa’chan, however, was turning it into charcoal for metalworking and a few other industries.

They didn’t question the Merchant’s answer, quickly picking up their meat and going on their way. The sight of the group tearing into their food as they walked along caused more people to rush to the tables, bearing all sorts of goods. A few overly energetic Beastmen were shoved back into place with growls of warning from the warriors watching the lines.

This is as good as we’re going to get it for now, I guess…

Xoc watched a few dozen more transactions before returning to the middle of the trading post, where the foreman and his artisans were preparing to get to work.

“How many of the locals did you end up hiring?” Xoc asked.

“A few dozen,” the foreman answered. “We had the pick of the litter, so to speak.”

The unfamiliar faces around them were all Nar, making Xoc feel as if they were hiring in a similar manner as the city docks.

“We can’t just hire one race,” she told the foreman. “I know that Nar can carry the heaviest loads, but everyone has their advantages. We’ve already figured this part out in the clanhold, haven’t we?”

It was relatively simple, in hindsight. Nar and Urmah could carry the heaviest loads, but they had the worst endurance. In the clanhold, where steady work was available day after day, Gao, Con, and Lup ended up being able to move the most over time due to their high endurance. As a result, Nar and Urmah were employed in jobs that required brief bursts of power, like operating lifts for quarried stone and quickly transferring cargo from ships. Gao, Con, and Lup moved things from place to place, which included running the paddle wheels for ships and acting as couriers. Ocelo were somewhere in the middle when it came to strength and endurance and could thus fill intermediate roles, but they were unparalleled for construction work in high places.

“This is what I figured we needed at first, Enxoc,” the foreman said. “Otherwise, we’d be hiring more than we intended and we’ll need more staff from the clanhold to supervise them.”

“Then hire more people and bring more staff from the clanhold,” Xoc told him. “There are too many people looking for work and we need more experienced workers. The faster we get them, the faster we can raise new trading posts. We need to raise four more for this side of the river and three for the tribes along the north side of the city.”

“This side of the river…does that mean we’re going to expand south into the rest of the city soon?”

“Ideally, not until we’ve established ourselves here,” Xoc replied. “There are probably a thousand things that we still need to figure out along the way. Also, our construction crews won’t only be for building trading posts. We’ll be building new homes for the residents, as well.”

Arboreal homes, especially, would be in great demand since they served as cover for the Blood Antler farms.

“I see,” the foreman said. “Then I guess I’ve been thinking too small. We’ll expand our operations as quickly as our logistics allow, Enxoc.”

“I’m sure our people will appreciate it,” Xoc replied.

Xoc left the foreman to his work, releasing a sigh as she made her way out of the market area to the pier. Not long ago, she would have considered her instructions overly bold, but now they felt just right. Maybe she was finally getting used to the lord thing.

“Enxoc,” Patli’s voice came from beside her.

“Hm?”

“Now that our immediate crisis is over,” the elder said, “I think it would be prudent to convene your court. Our discussions with Vltava lead us to believe that this out-of-season flooding is, in fact, some sort of attack against Rol’en’gorek.”

Xoc sighed again. She was never going to get used to the lord thing.