Jackal Among Snakes

Argrave stood atop the newly-built fortress in the Great Chu and watched the troops labor to repair the ships. Many had been badly hit by the brunt of that great wave of ice that had frozen the coastline of the Great Chu. He had spent the night here after a brief visit to a still distraught Sophia, and the ice had either broken from the tides or melted. Now, half a thousand ships that were no longer seaworthy were having that issue remedied.

“It’s done,” Elenore told Argrave, making him jolt.

“What’s done?” he answered back in his mind.

“Durran’s made contact with the Great Chu commanders,” Elenore disclosed somewhat proudly. “Well, correction—he isolated one, and from there, I’ll spare you the details. Doubtless he’d like to tell you his grand feats himself. Rather than parley officially with the troops’ knowledge, they’d like to have a meeting in a secluded place come nightfall.”

“Not shady at all. I think I’ll go alone, without telling anyone where I’m headed,” Argrave remarked sarcastically. “Fine. Where’s this going to take place?”

“A few miles east, there’s a large sea cave in a cove. They intend to meet you within it. Durran’s scouting out the place now, but I suggest you come amply prepared. Even if not all of these commanders intend to try something, one or two may. If I were the imperial court, I’d let the meeting proceed yet try something of my own.”

“A sea cave in a cove. Lots of ways to die in such a place. Would you collapse it on my head? Or maybe there’s already a secret base established there, and they plan to ambush us. Maybe they’ll just make it blow up, like all their fortresses. The possibilities are endless,” Argrave took a deep, uncertain breath.

“…you always try and act funny when you’re worried. It’s unbearable. I’ll look after Sophia, so stop worrying about her.”

After having read his soul, Elenore broke the connection and left him alone in this cold place. Some of his worries did fade at her promise, so he stopped trying to think about how to be witty now and instead focused on how to be witty later, when his wit might save him from the machinations of Ji Meng and all others of this place.

“Where’s Rook…” Argrave walked away with purpose, muttering.

#####

Argrave wished he could claim that the day passed without incident, but that was too good to be true. More and more Great Chu fortifications made the hills before them their home, and as more came, their temporary foes were willing to take more risks. They fired upon the fortress from above and below, mainly lobbing spells or, more mundanely, flaming barrels of black powder that exploded violently. Individually, they were negligible. Yet over the course of many volleys, casualties occurred in defending against them.

But time had passed, and the late-night meeting had come. Argrave looked around the cove he’d been bid to travel to. He’d always liked coves, partially because he liked the way the word sounded, but mostly because they always looked rather neat. This one was no exception. It was a large half-circle of a beach, shielded by two rocks that seemed rather like arms. The ocean continued past these arms, and in the center of this half-circle, he saw the aforementioned sea cave of this cove.

“Are the commanders present?” Argrave asked Anneliese. “Did they bring any plus ones?”

His queen scouted ahead with her Starsparrow. She kept her eyes closed as she said, “They did bring troops, yes, but not a great abundance. I notice no overt traps. From all I can see, this cave is only partially natural. There are strange patterns in the walls, but not carvings. More like… streaks. It’s… it smells quite salty.”

“That’s why they call it a sea cave,” Argrave reminded her. “It’s got sea in it. Not the letter, either.”

“I think this place was a salt mine,” Anneliese decided, still linked with her bond. “Tasting the walls… yes. Yes, definitely. It’s a salt mine. I suspect that’s why this cave opened—structural weakness due to mining, plus salt’s typical reaction to water. Still, despite everything, there are no traps that I can see, no more troops than might be typical.”

“And their general mood? Anyone acting unusual?”

“None are nervous,” Anneliese said. “That’s the most unusual thing. They’re high-ranking spellcasters. Just as we could, they could escape via teleportation. We shoulder as much risk as they do. Even still, I’d expect some degree of trepidation in some of them. Perhaps they are merely different from us… regardless, it interests and concerns me.”

Argrave didn’t know quite what to make of that, but he proceeded onward toward the cave after Anneliese withdrew her bird. Rook was around, somewhere, keeping well out of sight as he protected and scouted for them. The Alchemist was contained within the Ravenstone, ready to aid. Durran and all of his wyvern riders—plus the Order of the Gray Owl Magisters that’d ridden with them—were nearby. Argrave could even see some of the great reptiles despite some clever positioning in alcoves.

Durran stood out front of the cave, holding the emperor’s dadao on his shoulder. He looked around before joining them. He spared greeting, saying, “Ordinarily I’d ask you what you know about these people, but your knowledge is a little lackluster on this continent, isn’t it?”

“Don’t sound so pleased,” Argrave responded as they look into the cave. “I may know a few. The Great Chu never did something of this scale in Heroes of Berendar, though. You’ll have to forgive my ignorance on this one occasion.”

Together, Anneliese, Argrave, and Durran pressed onward into this sea cave, following the ocean alongside a smooth pathway. Durran kept the path illuminated with spell light. Just as Anneliese said, deeper within the cave there were strange patterns in the rocks. Argrave thought it might be something else entirely, but as more senses—smell, even taste—assaulted him, he had to concede that the walls around were all made of salt. He hadn’t known rock salt could be so beautiful. It looked more like polished marble.

They finally came to the commanders of the Great Chu in a wide-open area of the cave. Eight of them kneeled atop pillows in a respectful and respectable position, their backs rigid. Two guards kneeled behind each, the points of their drawn swords stabbed in the ground. As for the commanders, their helmets were to their left, while their blades were to their right, both across the floor in a display of traditional parley that Argrave was vaguely familiar with.

Argrave walked up, surveying them. All eight commanders were S-rank spellcasters, and each one had at least one guard of the same rank. Their blades were all enchanted to expel magic with extreme force. In the face of this overwhelming force, Argrave removed the black Inerrant Cloak around his shoulders, bunched it up, and placed it beneath his knees as he imitated their posture. Behind, Anneliese drew her sword from her staff and placed its point in the ground, kneeling to his left. Durran did the same, kneeling to his right with the dadao in the same pose.

None of the eight commanders spoke as Argrave looked at each of them in turn. He did recognize some of them, but there wasn’t much to recognize—he remembered these people only as eternally-hostile bosses that appeared on the coast of Vasquer in the late game. Their presence was minimal enough that many people—Argrave included—had viewed them as walking katana dispensers, placed there for the sole purpose of allowing the player to roleplay as the edgelord they were always meant to be. Only Emperor Ji Meng had some substantial development, and could potentially have some role in fighting Gerechtigkeit.

Argrave took a deep breath and reached into his breast pocket. He pulled free a wooden token and held it in the air before them. “The emperor has named me Grand Commandant.” He willed some magic into it, and Ji Meng’s magic signature flourished. “You may address me as Grand Commandant Sun.”

Argrave’s declaration was greeted by the passive stone gaze of soldiers drilled for decades.

“Where is the son of heaven?” asked one.

“Safe, with his honor guard,” Argrave said, putting the token away. “I understand that this extraordinary circumstance demands extraordinary actions. Each of you may disbelieve me as you will, but I can take you to the emperor in due time. The son of heaven has learned that the imperial court is extremely compromised. Perhaps all of you witnessed that days ago, when the gods did battle above our first clash. Or perhaps you had those doubts when word came down from on high to attack the Sea Dragon, regardless of who was riding it.”

“When will you take us to the emperor?” another commander asked, seeming to care for no other matter.

“I can do so right this very moment, should you wish,” Argrave held his hand up. “But shamanic magic alone will take us there. And should you come, it will mean your full cooperation. You will be under the emperor’s banner once more—and as I am Grand Commandant, you would answer to me. Therefore, I believe we should converse first. The imperial court has hands everywhere, and I cannot risk one such traitor coming near the son of heaven.”

“The emperor would not come by escort of barbarians and gods,” one commander argued. “You seek only to weaken us by employing traps, tricks, and all manner of subterfuge.”

Argrave half-shouted, “You dare presume the mind of the son of heaven? You dare deem him weak enough to come under my thrall? If I did not have need of you, I would demand you kill yourself right now, cretin. But you may count yourself among the lucky.”

Silence reigned in this abandoned salt mine for a few moments. Even after that, the commanders were unrattled.

“Then why does the emperor accept the aid of gods?” another finally managed, far more diplomatically.

“Those gods serve my people. My people serve me. And I have sworn fealty to the son of heaven in exchange for refuge of my people from the deadly cold of our homeland,” Argrave pounded his fist against his chest, banging the breastplate. “We would settle here, in fertile valleys and rich soils, in exchange for our service. It is as much a pragmatic union as it is one of genuine loyalty. None living have brought me to my knees before, for in my land to kneel is to die. Yet Ji Meng brought us low, then offered to help us rise taller than we stood before. I intend to repay that debt with the blood he chose not to spill. And you, as sworn commanders of the Great Chu, are duty-bound to obey.”

Several of the commanders broke their uniform stoicism, looking between each other in what must’ve been consideration.

“You will take us to the emperor?” one among them asked.

“I will. Once there, you submit to my command. You will move only when I tell you to. You will do only what I say you may do. You will respect the authority of my commanders, two of whom kneel behind me now.” Argrave lowered his voice and demeanor as he finished with, “And you will show the son of heaven the respect he is due. If you will not agree to any one of these conditions, I expect you to pick up your weapon and leave this instant.”

The gentle sound of the waves against the walls of the cave persisted as Argrave waited for movement from someone—anyone. Yet none of the commanders rose to leave. It seemed that just as Argrave’s army had earned a foothold in the land of the Great Chu, so had he earned a foothold in its government.

But if they could infiltrate the Imperial Court of the Great Chu… who’s to say Argrave and his fledgling kingdom stood any chance?