.
My encounter with the rusalka Piri was the only significant event on that particular round trip. She promised to get me an audience with her grandfather at some point in the future, and left. I spent the rest of the time until sunrise enduring Dilorè’s amorous advances, and we spent the subsequent day patrolling and letting the Berado occasionally spot Dilorè. Giving them not one but two counters to their fairy knight.
While she was putting in her appearances, I was cloaking and doing an intense survey outside the northern perimeter. It became clear that the ‘mercenaries’ had already fled, along with the fairy knight whom I had wounded. It really did look like we had successfully broken this invasion attempt. The only thing that remained to be seen was whether the enemy could break their forces out of the encirclement they were now in.
When evening approached, Sidis brought Dilorè and I to her home (the treehouse I spotted previously) for dinner. The main dish was something like mac and cheese, except the macaroni was more like penne, the cheese was a rich sauce poured over the pasta, and the dish was heavily topped with chives, fried onions, roasted garlic and chopped bacon.
The Robert side of me was very happy.
After dinner, it was time for me to head back to the team, who would have already reached Lisrau Mining Town in the early afternoon. I went over a few details with Dilorè, then was about to walk out to the porch– the bird-kin treehouse had a landing pad structure where they could jump from to take off– when Sidis caught my arm.
“You really can’t stay here tonight?” she asked, sounding a little like a disappointed child.
I felt my brow wrinkle up. Admittedly, I knew nothing about how she normally would act, but Sidis really had been acting a bit strangely for the last two days. Especially, she had a habit of grabbing my hand, or touching my arm, various intimate gestures that one ordinarily wouldn’t do with someone who is practically a stranger.
“We need to stay coordinated with the rest of our team,” I told her. “I’m the only one capable of shuttling back and forth without being seen.”
She gave a reluctant nod, then held out the talking stone that I had given back to her the previous morning.
“Um… if you would like…”
The fact that I didn’t understand was apparently clear on my face, because she nodded again and began explaining.
“I’ll give the other one to Lady Dilorè,” she said. “The elve on your team should know how to keep this one charged. You’ll be able to communicate without having to fly back and forth.”
“That’s an expensive tool, isn’t it?” I asked.
“I can replace it if I need to. Our tribe has craftsmen who can make them.”
No, that’s not the point, I wanted to say, but it was too good an offer to pass up. This was the perfect tool for us in the current situation. So I came up with an alternative response.
“See how much it will cost for that replacement, and I’ll reimburse you,” I said as I accepted it. For some reason, that request made her slump slightly, but she nodded.
# # #
When I was approaching Lisrau Mining Town, occupying a high-altitude valley two thousand two hundred paces above sea level, huddled in the shadow of the Great Wall, I put my plan for finding the team into motion. I braked to a stop, took the sheet of ‘returning bird’ paper on which I had already written a short message out of my wallet, and told it “Return” while pinching the corner where Arken had artfully inscribed his personal seal. It folded itself into a perfect origami swan and flew off toward the town.
I followed it most of the way, only slowing back to a hover once it began flitting back and forth, seeking entry into an inn. This was a barren place, above the treeline, with only gravel and straggling plants inside town and alpine tundra outside it. In several spots, which probably received less direct sun through the day, there were still significant patches of snow.
The buildings all looked like ski chalets in the Alps, mostly high-peaked roofs built on low stone walls. The inn was a barely more complicated structure, being a cross-shaped building made from by intersecting two such structures, lined with dormer windows for the second story. It had many chimneys, and the returning bird solved its quandary over the doors and windows being already shut against the cold by diving down one of these.
A couple minutes later, a sending bird fluttered up to me. I extended my hand, palm up, where it alighted and unfolded itself into a leaf of elven paper bearing a brief message.
Fly around to the rear of the building. I have opened a window for you there.
A short time later, I was inside a somewhat rudimentary boarding room– this inn probably served working class types– with Arken and someone I had not expected to see.
“Miss Talene, why are you here?” is the only thing I was able to say to her.
Talene had never met our team in Dausindau. She should have no connection to these people.
She smiled and bowed neatly, “Ëi onar lâ, Rôn.”
Having had my poor manners pointed out, I smiled graciously and reciprocated. “”Ëi onar lâ, Your Wisdom.”
Since I have absolutely no idea what the Fairy equivalent for ‘Your Wisdom’ is.
Behind me, Arken was grunting a bit while pushing the window closed. I guess the fit was a little tight.
With a grin, Talene admitted, “I only received sagehood last year. I’m still not used to hearing ‘Your Wisdom’ yet.”
“Then we’re even,” I responded as I shed my travel pack. “Until a few weeks ago, I had no idea I was a princess, so words like Rôn and ‘Your Highness’ sound strange to me.”
Her eyes widened. “Really? You didn’t know?”
“Really. Mother thought it would upset me to learn I was an exiled royal. I did learn that I was exiled while growing up, but the princess part was a recent surprise.”
“We should move next door,” Arken noted, heading for the door. “The rest are discussing our options there. We came over here to let you in without chilling everyone with an open window.”
Next door turned out to be a large room with three beds. The map which Matthias created for us, showing southern Arelia and the northwestern Tabad, was spread out on the middle bed.
The women were all seated on the edge of the other two mattresses, facing the map. Ceria was waving me over to an empty spot between herself and Melione. Graham was using a box-like seat that’s a common furnishing in Huadean inns; it’s long enough for two people, or one Graham, and the top opens as the lid of a storage cabinet. Ryuu was seated at the head of the middle bed, while Arken and Talene took up positions at the foot.
It looked like a serious meeting, rather than a group of travelers preparing for the night. On top of that, it occurred to me that all the members of a caravan guard group shouldn’t be present, mid-journey. Half or so of this group should be guarding the wagons at this time.
“So, what’s going on?” I asked once I had my seat.
“Put as simply as possible, we’re out of a job,” Allia stated as Ceria snuggled into me slightly. “The royal army impounded the caravan.”
Of course, they weren’t out of a job, since their real employer was Uncle Owen, but I understood what she meant. They had lost their cover for infiltrating Berado territory. But I was taken aback for a different reason.
“Why? Wasn’t Arelia financing that caravan?”
Talene chuckled. “To be specific, the lord of Lisrau was financing it, but yes, he had the king’s approval. Until the king ordered it seized. He now views the Berado with suspicion, thanks to this cave-in I’ve been dealing with.”
It was too far from the subject. I tipped my head in confusion. “I’m sorry?”
“While you lot were lollygagging your way down here in wagons over the last six days, I’ve been rather busy,” she explained. “We rescued the survivors three days ago. Since then, the local workers have been dealing with recovering bodies, which only requires my supervision whenever they need a new area assessed. So, I’ve devoted myself and the inspectors from the kingdom to finding the cause. I’ve not only identified that cause, but also the culprits.”
“Culprits?” I echoed. “Meaning it wasn’t an accident?”
“It wasn’t an accident,” she confirmed with a nod. “Or rather, the purposeful cave-in escalated into this disaster when it set off a chain reaction. And the culprits were certainly working for the Berado, so the king is now reconsidering his alliances.”
I’ve mentioned this before, but adventurers become intimately familiar with mines and mining thanks to the monsters spawned by the underground ecosystem of Huade. That’s why even a relative newcomer to adventuring such as myself knows…
“That’s crazy!” I retorted. “Why would they take a risk like that?”
The disaster that happened was the exact reason you don’t purposefully cause a cave-in, except with careful engineering or an extremely urgent need. For example, a wave of high-ranked monsters that you have no hope of stopping.
Since that was a possibility, I followed with, “If there were a legitimate reason for it, the mining company would know about it, right?”
“Right. And there was no such need. Instead, there were reports of a potential treasure trove of resources, which probably extends out of Arelia into Berado-held territory. We’re nearly on the border with the Tabad here. The Berado have been trying to grab all the resources in the region lately. They probably already have an entrance on the Tabad side. When the Arelians stumbled into it from their side, the Berado wanted to seal them off.”
“A resource large enough to extend across borders would have to be something very amazing,” I noted.
She nodded. “And I am told by your friends that you recently encountered a very similar something amazing. As soon as they heard the description, they recognized its resemblance to a similar site in Hamalgaar.”
I frowned. I had declared the underground forest we encountered as classified information and sworn them to secrecy. The Royal Knights had confirmed that classification.
“Sorry, My Lady,” Graham apologized, identifying himself as the leak.
“It wasn’t just him,” Brigitte immediately filled in. “I messed up too.”
“Technically, Miss Talene represents a foreign government,” I stated, glaring at both of them. But I followed it with a sigh. “Fine. Exactly how much resemblance does this place have to Hamalgaar?”
“Everything the miners described was the same,” Melione replied. “Except it sounds like this place might be even wider.”
I was puzzled. “How do you know what the miners described?”
Talene answered for her. “After the Royal Army released them, I contacted them as a complete team of conveniently jobless adventurers. The Arelians need scouts in order to find their entrance. While trying to sell the job to them, I brought them to listen to the testimonies of hospitalized survivors. I realized they were your team during that time.”
“I beg your pardon? You shouldn’t have known anything about our team!”
She grinned. “We were fully briefed about your mission and your team by Lady Dilorè. She had to give us details before Lady Serera would permit you two to go off on your own.”
“What?” I retorted. She might be Mother’s friend, but this was a little bit too much proxy parenting, wasn’t it?
“Master was also a little hesitant about letting you go on this mission. I don’t think either of them consider their young princess quite old enough to be on her own.”
She wore a sympathizing smile. She could see I was fuming. Placing her hand on her chest, and bowing her head slightly, she stated, “For the record, Your Highness, I argued on your behalf. You’re no ordinary fifteen-year-old, after all. As Master should properly know, even if Lady Serera doesn’t”
Talene knew I was a transmigrator, and a bit older than I appeared. With a bow of my head in return, I stated, “Thank you for that.”
“As for why I am getting myself involved, it’s as a favor to you, and also to the Arelians. They want to confirm that Tabadan entrance, and your team needs cover for going over the border. I think we can work out a deal.”
