Shadows in the Smoke 32 - The Laws of War

  “Where base factionalism divides other nations’ leadership, the Republic is united in its quest to better the lives of its Citizens. Each member of the National Assembly acts on their own conscience to represent their electorate, avoiding the jockeying for power and infighting that dominates less-advanced societies such as the Empire.”

  The Struggle for Freedom by Bjarne Midthun

  =====

  Captain Loga saluted and hurried out of the room. Ester’s eyes widened as she looked to the door and then back to Lindholm. She could hardly believe her ears. The liches had sent an envoy? Who would even speak to someone like that? Was he alive or undead? Surely the Republicans wouldn’t allow an undead into their fort. The glances between the Republican officers and muttered conversations suggested at least some of them were as uncomfortable with the idea as she was.

  Lindholm was the only person in the room who seemed completely unfazed. “Ulrik, Henrik, Ketil, Gaarder, Flens you will accompany me,” she reeled off the names of the 13th’s senior officers. But no one from the fort’s garrison.

  Was Lindholm deliberately cutting them out? Ester couldn’t bring herself to care too much with how Commander Sundt had behaved towards her.

  “You too, Mazar.” Lindholm’s voice yanked Ester back to the present. “If you are going to report back on the liches then you should at least hear what their envoy has to say. I trust the rest of you will maintain your discretion about this.” It wasn’t a question.

  Ester stifled a gasp. Did Lindholm really want her there? It felt mad, she was standing there worrying about some of the Republicans trying to kill her while, at the same time, Lindholm was inviting her to secret meetings with undead envoys.

  Lindholm didn’t give her time to think about it. She was already moving, with the other officers following close behind her. Ester gave herself a mental kick and hurried after them. She shouldn’t be complaining. She’d been angry about the Republicans looking down on her and suddenly everything was falling into place. They knew she’d destroyed a team of infiltrators and now they were accepting her help.

  Jakob followed beside her. She shot him a slightly sceptical glance. Lindholm hadn’t asked him to come, but then he’d practically been her shadow since Vegard and the infiltrators. He was probably pushng his luck because he wanted to hear what was going on, but if Lindholm didn’t want him there then she’d say something.

  They marched through the fort’s corridors, with Lindholm setting a surprisingly quick pace, given her height, and it wasn’t long before they reached what looked like an inky-black hole in the wall, guarded by a pair of soldiers. When Ester focused on it, it was easy enough to see the swirls of magic and runes forming the barrier. It would block out all sound and light inside the room. Probably a sensible precaution for something like an envoy from the liches.

  Lindholm nodded to the guards and paused. Magic flickered briefly around her and she seemed to ripple before solidifying into the form of a middle aged man, with a more than passing resemblance to Commander Sundt. Was she trying to keep her presence in the fort a secret? Would that even work? Ester couldn’t help feeling a bit sceptical. If the undead knew enough to try to kill her in her sleep, surely they must already know about Lindholm?

  If Lindholm had the same doubts, she didn’t show it. She glanced to one of the guards and then strode straight through the magical barrier without hesitation. Ester wasn’t sure she’d be able to do that with the same equanimity, knowing what was on the other side, but as the officers followed she could hardly do anything else.

  Arcanist-Captain Loga was just inside, staring intently at a bedraggled looking man stood at the back of the room with a pair of guards. For all of Lindholm’s casual confidence, the other Republicans weren’t taking any chances. Both guards were pointing their guns at the envoy and the Arcanist-Captain looked ready to lash out at the slightest provocation.

  The envoy didn’t look like much of a diplomat. In fact, if she’d seen him on the streets of Trevayn, Ester might have guessed he was a labourer, or even a beggar. Not that there were any beggars in Trevayn.

  His clothes were poor quality, a drab brown coat over faded grey trousers. His hair hung limp and scraggly across his face and his hands were shackled in front of him. His face was marred by a large, old scar that cut right across one cheek. His gaze flicked nervously from officer to officer as they came in and then lingered on Ester for a little longer, before he looked down at the floor. He didn’t say anything, but seemed to shrink in on himself slightly at their presence.

  After a few seconds, Lindholm broke the silence, her voice transformed into the deeper tones of a man. “You said you had a message for the fort’s commander? Well, here I am. I have no patience for your kind, so do not waste my time.”

  The man winced and then pulled himself together, standing up a little straighter, before giving his assembled audience a shallow bow.

  “Thank you for your time, Commander. My lord and master, he who controls life and death, the preceptor of the nightlands where the sun never rises, overlord of uncountable souls, scourge to his enemies and friend to those who provide leal service, the Sovereign Kleomens bids me to deliver his words to you.” He focused on a point on the wall, clearly reciting from memory. “Commander, you are cut off from reinforcements. As I send this message, you will be discovering that you no longer have the food supplies to resist my armies for any period of time. You will face starvation, your men will die and then live again in my service. If they are lucky. Spare your men, let us discuss the terms of an honourable surrender. You know the truth, there is a place in Askia for the living too. If you are willing to meet, send my envoy back with your acceptance and we shall meet in no man’s land, an equal distance between your fort and my camp at noon tomorrow. Each of us will bring no more than two attendants.” The man slumped again as he finished reciting the message. “Uh, that’s all, Commander.”

  “Very well.” Lindholm’s showed nothing of her thoughts. She glanced back at the officers and then fixed the man with her gaze. “We shall discuss your message and send you back with a response shortly. Either way, you will live to see another day.” She hesitated and then barked an order at one of the officers, “Arcanist-Captain Loga, see that he is fed. Much as I might wish otherwise, the laws of war and diplomacy are sacrosanct.”

  “Of course, Commander.”

  Without another word, Lindholm turned and strode out of the room. Outside, she waited for Loga to emerge and immediately grabbed him. “Edvin, make sure there’s nothing wrong with his food, but bring it to me before you feed him.”

  “Of course, Sigrid.” He sketched a salute and gave her a knowing smirk, before hurrying off while Lindholm led the rest of them to another room. In a small flash of magic, she brought up a black barrier just like the one in the envoy’s cell.

  “So, Citizens, thoughts? Shall I take this Sovereign up on his offer?”

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  Ester bit down on her lip, surely they couldn’t be seriously considering anything a liche was offering? She looked between the Republicans, desperately hoping they agreed.

  “Sigrid, surely you’re not seriously considering meeting with whatever liche is in command there?” Arcanist-Major Norred sounded confused by the idea. “Ice and steam! He said it was Kleomenes, a bloody Sovereign!” His words were accompanied by nods and mutters of agreement from the other officers.

  “I doubt it is a Sovereign, that seems vanishingly unlikely to me.” Lindholm sounded more amused than worried. “Anyway, if it is, they would not come themselves. Those kinds are never truly willing to risk themselves, or they wouldn’t have given up everything to get to where they are.”

  A Sovereign? Ester looked around in confusion. Presumably that was some kind of liche. There seemed to be an unspoken conversation going on. Lindholm hadn’t even said she was going to meet the liche, but they all seemed to think that was what she was planning. Was the woman actually thinking about surrender? Ester would flee the fort and kill anyone who tried to stop her before she ever handed herself over to the liche kings, whatever worthless promises they made.

  The officers continued to give their views to Lindholm, speaking in turn, but with an urgent tension in their voices. None of them even mentioned surrender, but every single one was deadset against her meeting with the liche. Eventually Lindholm brought it to a halt with a simple upraised hand.

  “Mage Mazar, you have been very quiet.” Obviously she had, she wasn’t stupid enough to get involved in the Republicans’ argument. It wasn’t like they’d listen to her anyway. “Tell us, what do you think?”

  “I, ah.” Ester didn’t want to say anything stupid. Nor did she want to admit how little she knew about the liches. “I do not see how you can trust a liche. If you give them the opportunity to kill you, then you risk losing the fort in a single blow. I could see why you might do it if there was something to be gained, but why take the risk when there is nothing to discuss?” That was as close as she’d go to mentioning the possibility of surrender when none of the Republicans were discussing it.

  “I see. You do not think we should consider surrender?”

  Ester’s eyes narrowed at the slight smirk on Lindholm’s lips. Was she mocking her? “No! The undead need to be stopped and I will die before I put myself or anyone else at their mercy.” She clamped her mouth shut, surprised at her own vehemence.

  “Well said, Mage Mazar.” Lindholm nodded sharply and then swept her gaze across the assembled officers. “You have all made good points, but I still wish to meet the liche. I need to know more about what we face and this is a good way to learn. I expect that the liche will keep its word, for now. And if it does not, well perhaps it is the one that should be considering the risks of meeting.” A feral smile stretched across her face. “As for surrender, I do not think the idea even requires discussion.”

  That brought the debate to an end and the officers descended into discussions of the logistics of the meeting, while Ester stood to the side. A few minutes later, Captain Loga came in, carrying a steaming bowl of food. It made Ester’s stomach rumble just smelling it. Great Spirits she was hungry. She hadn’t eaten since the night before and with everything that had been going on she hadn’t even realised until now.

  “The envoy’s meal, Sigrid.” Captain Loga held out the bowl.

  “Ah, yes, thank you, Edvin.” Lindholm fumbled in one of the pouches on her belt and pulled out a small packet.

  Ester watched as Lindholm held it up to take a closer look at it. What was she doing? Was it magical? She focused her own mind on it, but saw nothing. As far as her eyes told her, it was completely mundane. Whatever Lindholm was looking for, she found it.

  “ébair.” Lindholm spoke only the single word, but the flurry of magic around the packet was far more complex. So much so that in the brief moment she could see the runes and light, Ester couldn’t even start to work out what it did. In a flash it was gone and everything looked as mundane as it had a moment before.

  Lindholm studied the packet for a moment longer and then carefully untied it and squeezed the contents into the bowl of food.

  “Stir that in thoroughly, Edvin, and make sure nobody else even thinks about eating it.”

  The Republican officer chuckled at that. “I was wondering why you told him we respected the laws of diplomacy.” He glanced at Ester and frowned. “With the undead that is, obviously.”

  He hurried out, shooting a frown back at Ester and leaving an awkward silence. Ester stared after him. It didn’t make any sense. What was the point of poisoning one unimportant man? The fact that they’d do it didn’t surprise her. It wasn’t like the Republic was known for its honour and, frankly, she’d probably do the same if she was fighting the undead. But that didn’t mean it was worth it.

  “Come on then, I can see you are desperate to ask, so ask.” Lindholm’s grating voice broke Ester’s train of thought.

  “Sorry, Arcanist-Colonel.” She needed to be careful what she said. Despite her harsh manners, Lindholm seemed to be her biggest ally here. It wouldn’t do to upset her. “I was just unsure what the point of poisoning the man was. It seems to be a lot of effort for someone unimportant and does it not risk discovery by the liches?”

  “Well, if I had simply poisoned him, you would be correct, Mage Mazar. However, this is a bit more than that. Nothing will happen to him. For a time. However, eventually, when he is in the presence of a sufficiently powerful undead, he will explode. Violently. If any part of him should penetrate them, they too will be infected and after a time they will also explode.”

  Ester’s eyes widened. “You can do that?” How could Lindholm get something that complex into a simple packet of paste? "Are you not worried they will find it before your meeting?”

  “Ha. The Republic is not as magically backwards as you think.” Ester opened her mouth to protest, but Lindholm didn’t give her time to reply. “As for discovering it, no doubt they will at some point, but there is no chance of that before the first detonation. I have put a lot of thought into the design. If I am honest, I do not expect it to bag me any liches, but we could get lucky and if it can thin the ranks of their greater minions I shall also be pleased. Anything else?”

  Ester very nearly asked the obvious question - how could she make it? But that would be foolish, there was no way Lindholm would share that kind of secret. So, she just shook her head.

  “Very good.” Lindholm turned her attention back to her officers. “Now, we need to decide who will be going to the meeting with the liche. We will want to ensure that we have enough power there to discourage any treachery, while avoiding weakening our own defences. Ulrik, what do you propose?”

  As the Republican officers started to debate who’d be accompanying Lindholm, Ester’s mind was racing. How would Lindholm even make a tincture that could do something like that? It was the first thing she’d seen the Republicans do that was truly impressive. Did the Empire have poisons like that too? If they had, she’d never heard of them. But then, why would she have? It wasn’t the sort of thing that you’d tell people about.

  Was this like the poison she’d been looking at in Nilrava? A sort of anti-necromancy version? Were the Lands of the Dead and the Republic all desperately trying to poison each other while she just blithely ate whatever she was offered? Her stomach twisted at the idea.

  Maybe not. The Republicans had seemed to be clueless about the necromantic poison in Nilrava and Lindholm’s tincture was rather less subtle than that. She was feeding it to someone with no way to detect it and then, when it took effect, it would be pretty clear that there’d been foul play. Still, she was going to have to be more careful about what she ate. She needed to remember that she was isolated and among people who had no love for her. She had no intention of dying in this cold, lonely fort, but it would be a particularly ignominious end if someone simply poisoned her.

  “… Mage Mazar.” Ester’s attention was yanked back to the room as Arcanist-Major Norred finished speaking. What had he just said about her? She frantically searched back through what she’d only half-heard and had to stifle a gasp.

  Before she could say anything, Lindholm replied. “I am reluctant to risk our guest, Ulrik, could you elaborate on your reasons.”

  “Well, we don’t want to weaken our defences, but need more magical weight for the meeting. Clearly she has enough power to be worthwhile, given what she did to the infiltrators. Also, there’s no point trying to hide her presence if the liches are sending people after her already.” Was he really suggesting… Ester wasn’t sure whether to be exhilarated or terrified as he went on. “Finally, given she’s here to learn about the horrors of the undead, what better way of doing that is there than a face-to-face meeting with a liche.”

  “Mmm.” Lindholm turned her gaze up as she thought for a moment. “You make some good points Ulrik. It should be safe enough, but I cannot guarantee that. Not under the circumstances. Mage Mazar, what do you say? Do you wish to meet a liche?”

  “I will come. if it helps defeat the undead then I will do it.” The words spilled out of Ester’s mouth almost before she could think about them. She could hardly believe they wanted her to go.

  “Excellent. That is settled then, you shall accompany me tomorrow. Now, Citizens, we will want to ensure the walls are sufficiently manned and that we have some suitable surprises ready in case there is treachery. Ulrik, ideas?”

  As the Republicans went back to discussing their deployments, Ester just stood there in stunned silence.

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  We've had a lot of discussion on the Bones in the Dark discord too, including a lot of specualtion about what other people are actually planning for Ester. .

  Dramatis personae:

  Ester Mazar - Chartered Mage, why are you even talking to this guy when you could be setting him on fire?

  Sigrid Lindholm - Arcanist-Colonel, rules? Screw the rules, I have power!

  Jakob Rostad - Arcanist-Subaltern, if I stay very quiet, I get to be in the command meetings.

  Ulrik Norred - Arcanist-Major, far too used to Sigrid Lindholm's shenanigans.

  Edvin Loga - Arcanist-Captain, almost too busy to remember he hates the Empire.

  Unnamed envoy - Traitor to humanity, om nom nom this is better than the food I get at home.