Notes : Chapter 441 has been written and added to the queue, kicking off book 12 !
Thank you for all the kind words yesterday. It helped a lot with lifting my spirits.
As for what happened today, turns out there is worse than high heat. There is high heat and rain that doesn't lower the heat but instead turns everything into a humid swamp.
Managed to write 441 on the train at least. I'm gonna go collapse on my bed and rest. I think I've earned it.
///
Chapter 439
Red Sands Desert, Aurorean Empire
Dungeon Factory, Command Center
"Are you alright? You look rough." Said Allya as soon as the Earth-born entered the command center.
Alexandra smiled. Allya was a practiced dissembler and liar, but the dungeon core had gotten good at telling when she was being genuine.
"I'm not alright, no. But I'll live." She made her way to her command chair, and sat down. "I notice Trira isn't with you?"
"Part of what I'm updating you on. Apparently, the New Republic netted some members of that smuggling network your new guest was a part of. Not just small time crooks either, some of the administrative staff. They've been trying to negotiate with the New Republic. She'd taking over."
"Not doing your doom Empress act to get them to talk faster?"
Allya smiled.
"I could, but the trick is to make them think what they know is important enough to save their hides, but not important enough that they can play hard to get and try to negotiate for more. That, plus knowing the Erisians were involved, which allows us to both remove it from the pool of info they can use to negotiate and hang over their heads, should make them talk faster. And more cheaply."
"Good. If we can get some idea of their clients list, we get closer to finding out who caused this whole mess."
"Speaking of. We got the Erisian agent, plus the message for him to carry home."
Alexandra nodded.
"Then release him. We can't afford a conflict with the Empire yet, and I'd rather have him out there reassuring them we're not about to flay their hides before the fleet arrives to cause more trouble."
Besides, the man had been a messenger. However...maladroitly its message had been delivered, 'do not shoot the messenger' went double for backchannel communications, especially with the enemy.
Éclair wouldn't necessarily be thrilled about it, but there was no telling if that agent had already told someone else of her protégée already, and alternative arrangements had already been taken to protect them both.
Overall, any possible advantage to keeping him under wraps or disappearing him were massively outweighed by keeping channels open with the Eris Empire, in case something like this happened again, and making sure they realized the Aurorean Empire wasn't about to use or even disclose the casus belli they had been handed.
Though, of course, the unspoken part of the message was that they could do so at any time, in case the Erisians decided to try something stupid.
Ah, the joys of spycraft, where blackmail and veiled threats lurked behind every interaction.
"Understood."
"Though I have to ask, how did the New Republic managed to grab some of the smugglers?"
The Empress shrugged.
"Some detachments are sweeping up the wildlands. Suivra just fell. Apparently they didn't expect the Five Sisters to not just fold immediately, but mutiny and join Amelia in her rebellion."
"No one did." Not even Coledar, that had led the army taking control of the area. Now the Fourth Imperial Army, it was marching towards Elkis. Soon, they'd have the capital surrounded. Though both it and the Second Army, led by Amelia, were taking their time. Mostly, it was to give time for the Third Army heading from Tark to catch up, but also the territories they were heading into were getting very densely populated, and pacifying them before laying siege to the capital would pay dividends later. Especially since 'pacifying' mostly meant cutting deals with the various local powers, purging those stupid enough to try and stay loyal to the Senate, and integrating everyone into the nascent Empire's trade network. "And they couldn't run fast enough."
"Their organization was already collapsing. Your guest running to the guild enabled them to take some serious bites out of the competition. With everyone out for themselves, the administrative staff got left behind, while the actual smugglers got out of dodge." The Empress shook her head. "Remarkably stupid of them, since the people handling the payroll probably have everything necessary to bury them."
"Criminals don't usually shine by their brilliance." Those that did tended to not stay criminals for long. Either someone got them out to use said brilliance, like the many instances of ennobling successful mercenary commanders or bandit lords, or they became a threat to the powers that be and either got squashed by them or successfully overthrew them. "What about the whole mess with the guilds?"
"Dealing with it. The merchants guild is still haggling on the details, but I got Elkaryos to agree to a bunch of concessions with us. You, especially. Ella can brief you on the details."
"And the adventurers?"
Allya sighed.
"As Trira had warned, we weren't able to pull every idiot in. Most of them were brought out for it though. We're also doing some digging, and the core of the conspiracy appears to have been guild soldiers that weren't able to get to their weapon caches or kept quiet when they were trapped in the crowds, instead of breaking out." She hesitated. "There's...a serious possibility that we missed one last weapon cache also. Given some of the hardware they had. We think it was a smaller one, meant to stockpile plasma bombs closer to central points in the cities. We're looking, but they might have emptied it. Either to use the weapons or move them somewhere safer."
"That or they were outfitted with the explosives, and kept them when they decided discretion was the better part of valor." Offered Alexandra, before grimacing. "But yeah, another cache isn't something we can ignore."
"Thankfully, with what happened I have every justification to start combing through the city. The guard is turning up all sorts of stuff, which is proving its own trove of useful things and headaches. On the plus side, we might be closing in on how the guild got so many troops inside the city to begin with."
Alexandra perked up.
"Truly?" That had been troubling her a fair bit. Getting people into Rebirth wasn't too hard, but they'd been keeping a tight eye on the guild, and anyone coming in that could have been affiliated with them.
"Yep. While searching a warehouse, my people found that one of the trading houses had been smuggling in live cavernlions, held in stasis and hidden inside shipments of fresh food, itself under stasis as well. Turns out, cows make for wonderful shielding."
"Cavernlions?"
"Monsters. Come from, well, caverns, as the name implies. They're not illegal here but they are in the Kingdom and apparently they were heading to somewhere in Sarth. Which is bringing its own can of worms for how we enforce this stuff."
"Hey, that's why you get the crown."
"I don't think 'heavy the head that wears the crown' should be referring to the paperwork headaches." Allya shook her head. "In any case, they managed to sneak it through the inspections, so we're going to take a closer look. If monsters can be brought in that way, then people can too. Probably a lot more easily as well. Even if it's not how the guild got their people through, it'll be one weakness patched up at least." She hesitated. "What's our next move?"
Alexandra sighed.
"I'm going to take some time off. I...need to get some rest."
"Yeah. I mean no offense but you really do look like hell. With plenty of justification mind you."
The dungeon core smiled.
"Thanks. After that?" She shrugged. "We start making our battle plans to take out Southmarch. Provided, of course, that the Eris Empire doesn't throw a wrench in the gears."
"Don't worry. I'm certain my...friend will see to that."
Alexandra's eyebrow rose, but she nodded.
"Let's hope so."
*****
Oris Lumière, Empress of the Eris Empire, set down the report.
"Well. I suppose I should be congratulating you. You've turned a catastrophic shitshow into a mild shitshow, and all it took was outing some of our assets and begging the enemy for help."
Cassissa stopped herself from reacting as her sister stared at the Director, then at her in turn. They were both standing in front of the Empress' desk, in her personal office.
The view behind the desk was as spectacular as it was fake. The First Empress had set her office buried in the core of the palace, defended in every direction by layers of armor, enchantments, and guards. The view in the 'window' was a projection.
No one had seen a good reason to change that. Having the sovereign's office so well protected had paid dividends over the years. According to what they knew, Allya was following the same course as well. Which had probably saved her from the latest assassin, though solid information on what had happened was scarce to come by, even for the Agency. They knew someone had made the attempt, and probably come closer than the Aurorean Empire was willing to admit, but outside of 'the Imperial Guard suffered fatalities' and 'something exploded', there wasn't much more to go on.
"We saw no other solution." Said the Director. "At least not without as high of a chance of success without potentially catastrophic complications."
It was as close to a rebuke as anyone outside of the Imperial family would ever give the Empress, and the most powerful woman on Alcheryos raised an eyebrow.
Before she could speak however, the man standing at her shoulder nodded.
"I concur. Under the circumstances, it was the best option. Even had the other options keeping our involvement in the shadows been successful, there is no telling if another attempt we wouldn't have seen coming could have succeeded later. Now the Aurorean Empire is forewarned and will not rise to the bait."
The Empress gazed at the man who had spoken, while Cassissa tried not to visibly shiver. Katarak, the commander of the Black Hand, was someone who was spoken about only in hushed whispers in dimly lit rooms.
The Agency was dangerous, yes. But The Black Hand was the Empire's blade in the dark. Set up by the First Empress, they had one goal and one goal only: ensure the Empire's continued existence, through whatever means necessary.
She wasn't privy to the highest secrets of the Empire, but as a potential heir she knew enough to guess that they'd at assassinated at least one dungeon core during the United Dungeon Wars, and had been a huge part of what had brought the UDC to the negotiating table.
"...I see." Said the Empress. She turned back towards the Director, and dipped her head. "Very well then, my apologies."
The Director nodded back, graciously, and Cassissa tried not to blush as her sister smiled at her.
"Don't look so surprised, Cassie. I can admit when I was wrong." The Empress' face became serious again. "However, this brings some problems up. We have someone within our own ranks who is trying to drag us into a war with the Aurorean Empire. A war we are not yet ready for."
"Archduke Armrik has an axe to grind with her." Offered Cassissa, and Oris shook her head.
"We have been keeping tabs on him because of that." There was something else, but the Empress didn't say more, and Cassissa wasn't foolish enough to try and dig.
She knew already that being allowed to send a letter to Allya, after her first one was discovered by the Director, was already a massive concession. And she really, really didn't want people asking questions on what, exactly, was in the return package.
"There is a possibility that it is both an internal actor with external assistance." Said the Director.
"Or an external actor with internal assistance." Cassissa shrugged as everyone looked at her. "It wouldn't be the first time someone has gotten some powerful friends inside the Empire. And dragging us into a war with the Aurorean Empire to weaken us both would be to the benefits of many."
"We have many enemies indeed." Oris tapped one of the paperweights on the desk. It was a smooth stone, that was said to have come from Terra itself, that the First Empress had procured somehow. "But few without our Empire would be bold enough to do something this brazen. Especially since our response would be cataclysmic."
"If it is external, the UDC is the prime suspect." Said the Director. "If it is an internal actor with external assistance, things become more complicated."
The irony that their people would be the more likely threat to take action was an irony apparently lost on anyone but the princess.
It said unfortunate things about the Empire that its boldest foes were its own parts.
It was also one of the reasons why she had never wanted the crown to begin with.
"We will have to pursue both. Katarak, you have the threat within, Director, Cassissa, you handle the one without."
Cassissa wasn't quite sure on how to react. Her sister wanted them to 'handle' the fucking UDC? What were they even supposed to do?
"Very well, your imperial majesty." The Director bowed, and Cassissa followed suit, though with a shallower one. She was, after all, a princess. "It shall be done."
The commander of the Black Hand said nothing. Cassissa wasn't sure if it was a good sign or a bad one. She probably didn't even want to know.
Cassissa followed the Director as she left, wondering how she was going to handle this impossible order.