Crowned in Black: Chapter 42

It was only me and Istvan in the War Room today. I sat down while Istvan paced.

“Another hundred ships are joining Janos’s fleet. They’re building a fortress out on the plains. None of the 3rd Fleet defected to us. Because of fear or conviction in Janos’ cause, we don’t know.” Istvan’s voice was calm, but it had the edge of fretting as he walked around the table. “When those ships arrive here, they’ll outnumber us three to one. Even if we completely fortified the pass - which we can’t for lack of resources - the chance of them defeating us through sheer attrition is almost certain.”

He was right, and I didn’t like that he was right. I laced my hands and stared at the map of Myszno on the table. We had metal markers representing the flotilla and Janos’ ground army, which had been busily constructing fortifications out on the plains. “And if we fly our fleet out into the plains to try and stop those ships from joining up, we might as well just burn them and cut the throats of every soul on board. We COULD try to encircle them, or slow them down somehow.”

“I think that is all we can do. Unless we think of a way to sabotage the reinforcements. But they have that entire part of the sky under surveillance.”

The problem was, we couldn’t. We simply didn’t have the numbers. It would have been one thing if we were more technologically advanced, or had more money to throw at weapons, but even though Myszno was clawing its way back from ruin, it couldn’t match the financial and military might of the Crown. It was just that simple. I rubbed my forehead, then my eyes.

“Then there’s only one thing for it,” I said. “We slow them down as much as we can and spread the word that Ignas is alive. And while that happens here, Karalti and I go to free the dragons.”

“I… hmm.” Istvan paused, his hands folded behind his back, and turned. “You truly mean to do this?”

“Yes.” I set my hands down and stood. “We’re not going to have another chance like the one we’ve got now. Ororgael, Lucien and Janos all think they have our backs to a wall, and they’re focused on us here in Myszno. If me and Karalti sneak into Cham Garai and remove their biggest advantage, then not only do we free the dragons for their own sakes, we gain the weapon that carried them to victory. Revala proved that even a massive fleet is no match for a surprise attack by several hundred dragons. And unlike Ororgael’s assault, our dragons will be led by a Queen.”

Istvan sucked his lip under his teeth. “I mean no offense, but… the risk is borderline unacceptable.”

“Yeah. But it’s necessary. I feel it in my gut.” I moved some of our pieces around the map, and scowled. “I’ll gather the others in the Great Hall and we’ll work out who’s doing what. Karalti and I are going to head to Cham Garai.”

“Alone?” Istvan frowned.

“This time, yeah.” My eyes narrowed slightly as I thought. “We don’t know what the Diamond Pact is, exactly, but whatever it is, Ororgael and company were able to access it without being able to reach Solnetsi. That means we don't have to get into the Dragon Gate itself. The fewer of us there are, the faster it is to get in and out, the less risk of us getting caught. Ororgael wants Karalti real bad - at first, I figured it was because he needed a queen to be able to control the other dragons properly and to make more dragons. But it's also likely because a queen dragon can unmake the geas."

Istvan stared pensively at the map. "Very well. But I will be blunt: I do not like the danger inherent in this."

"Me either. But Ignas is alive and it looks like he’s going to make it. We just have to make sure there's a Vlachia left to rule, and that means taking a leap of faith." I rose and stretched. Now that I was properly alive again - as alive as a dead man inside of a videogame could be alive - stretching felt really good. I rolled my shoulders and windmilled my arms. "Let me go get everyone together. They won't be happy about it, but they're going to have to accept it. We can't leave Myszno undefended."

***

I broke the news to Rin, Gar, and Suri over lunch. It went about as well as expected.

"You're sticking your bloody arm into the lion's mouth like a fucking idiot, is what you're doing." Suri shook her head, aggressively dunking her bread into her stew. Every action, from the way she held her spoon to the clenched hand on the table suggested she was furious. "And it's gonna get bitten off."

"Hector, I... I have to agree. Ororgael can perma characters now, Hector. He has that sword." Rin's eyes were wide and very blue, glittering with concern. Her hands fidgeted on top of the table. "You might be Level 41 now, but he's still at least twelve levels higher. And all it takes is one mortal blow, and..."

"You're fuckin' dead," Suri added, cutting off Rin as she jabbed her spoon at me. "You AND Karalti. Where do you think that's gonna leave us all? We fuckin' talked about this, Hector."

Gar sighed testily, absently stirring his food.

"It leaves you in defense of Myszno." I was starting to feel angry myself. "Me and Karalti soloing something this dangerous isn't ideal, okay? But what's the alternative? We leave everything up to he NPCs here? The entirety of Vlachia - and Dakhdir - hangs on whether or not we can beat Janos back and return Ignas to Taltos. Right now, Janos has control of the information, the resources, and the weapons. There's over two-hundred thousand troops sitting on our doorstep. There's nothing good or safe about this situation, alright?"

"Hate to say it, Suri, but the man's got a point," Gar finally said. "At this point, we need nukes."

"So summon Matir over the battlefield," Suri said. "You can do that now. If a bloody great big god appears over the Pass, I'm pretty sure Janos is going to stand down."

"We can't destroy the Vlachian fleets. I've already said that three fucking times." I scowled at her. "The summon description for Matir says that he fights independently, outside of my control. What if I call him, and he destroys every ship and every soldier and guts the entire Vlachian army? Then Ilia flies in to take Taltos, and then what are we going to do? We can purge and replace Janos' loyalists, IF we still have a military."

Suri's eyes flashed warningly. "Then the only option is to agree with you, is it?"

"Suri, s-stop it." Rin stood up, scolding her even as she stammered. "Please. It's n-not necessary. He’s try to do his best, like all of us."

I glared at my girlfriend. She glared back.

"Guys, fucking cool it." Gar looked between the both of us in irritation. "Way I see it, there's no good solution. So we pick the least bad solution. Maybe Hector's right, maybe he isn't; maybe he's going to get his fool ass killed. But if it’s the least-bad option and he’s thinking for the long term, well, maybe it’s just got to be done."

"I took your advice on the Dragon Gate," I pointed out to Suri. "You were right then. I think I'm right now, and me and Karalti can handle this. It's not like we can send someone else to do this job, and of all the people here, you're the best tactician we have. I'm not trying to shit on you, okay? I just don't see any other good way we can handle this without losing everything."

Suri barely blinked, her nostrils flaring. Not for the first time, I was really reminded of Cutthroat. But after a tense minute or so, she averted her hot golden gaze from mine, and grimaced. "Fine, alright... I'm sorry I snapped. But I'm gonna be sick to death with worry about you two."

"I know." I rose and went to her, and gave her a hug around the shoulders. "Karalti's waiting in the courtyard for us, so I'm not going to make a big song and dance about it. Ororgael has to think we're here, in Kalla Sahasi. The more you can convince our enemies that we're here, preparing to make some final stand, the safer Karalti and I will be. And if it goes to shit... make sure you get out with Ignas. Everything relies on him retaking the throne so that Vlachia's power is set against the Drachan instead of being on their side."

"Got it." Suri dropped her spoon into her empty bowl and sat back. Not even an argument like this one could deter a Berserker from their food. "Let me see you out, at least."

I held a hand out toward her. She clapped her palm into mine, and let me partly pull her upright.

"Good luck, soldier. Give 'em hell." Gar gave me a flippant salute, and finally started on his stew.

"Yeah. Just... be careful, okay?" Rin nodded in agreement. “I don’t know what I’d do without you and Karalti.”

"We will." I gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder, then headed out with Suri in tow.

Karalti was dozing on the flagstones beside the Strelitzia, getting her afternoon cat nap in while I handled the humans in our lives. To my surprise, Vash was standing out there with her. Suri and I made a beeline for him, and he lifted his hand in greeting.

"Why aren't you with Ignas?" I asked him. "Who's rotated in?"

"Vilmos and Simeon. Ignas slept like a baby all night, and is now awake, talking and trying to pretend he isn’t nearly as unwell as he is. He’s madder than a cat in water, too, because he can’t access his kingdom… something about needing to actually sit the royal tush on the Raven Throne itself." Vash regarded Suri and I both with uncharacteristic seriousness, his crooked, scarred face drawn into graven lines. "I saw the crows flying in over the walls before. There's war coming again, eh?"

"Janos has regathered, and reinforcements are on the way," I said. "Karalti and I are going to get the dragons.”

Vash's mouth split into a more familiar, crooked grin. "Hah! You, Dog, are crazier than a quazi with a barbed pike up its butthole. But that is the kind of bold move this stupid conflict needs though, eh? I said it yesterday, and I’ll say it again. The Black God chose well."

Suri looked a little startled by that, then frowned. She took Vash's advice with as much regard as I generally did... and his confidence in us gave her pause.

"I AM going to get a big head, at this rate." I grinned back at him.

“Pfft. Then we will have to build bigger doors, and get the newly minted Prince a wheelbarrow to carry his balls while he swans around his castle.” Vash snorted, but then sobered a little. “Still: be safe, Prince Dog, and beware. I have a strange feeling about this journey you are about to undertake."

"Strange how?" Suri took a step forward.

Vash shrugged his bare, sun-weathered shoulders, and looked up to the sky. More crows were flying in, cawing softly. A few, at first, and then dozens of them. They passed the castle, heading for Karhad Valley.

"Hard to say," he grunted, his gray eyes following the passage of the birds as they flocked toward the city. "I don't know how to describe it. Change, eh? Big changes are coming to us all. This is what the Black God whispered to me in my dreams last night. And it's strange... since you returned from Burna's Tomb, his voice seems somehow louder, yet further away."

“Wait: dreams?” I frowned.

Vash grunted. “Hrrh, you know: the hallucinations behind your eyelids at night?”

"I know that, you ass. I mean that most people here don’t dream, and… the rest, I’ll need to talk about it with you later." I didn't know what to say. Telling Vash that his god wasn't even really a god, but some ancient dragon cyborg who'd had a hand in bringing the Drachan to Archemi in the first place, and that he had died and transformed himself into a summoning crystal felt cruel, somehow. "All I can say is that Matir’s joining the battle against the Drachan more directly this time around. And he's no longer inside the Dragon Gate."

Vash's eyebrows shot to his hairline, and he unfolded his arms. "Burna no longer sleeps?"

I shook my head.

He glanced at the sky. "What of the Caul?"

"World still hasn't been eaten yet. It's still there," I replied. "But we pulled out one of its foundations. Matir says that as long as we do it in the right order, then it will stay stable until the bitter end."

"I can hope so."  The monk's lips pursed. "Otherwise we're all screwed, eh?"