The Vampire & Her Witch

”Aubin,” the bearish Master Wimund said, clapping the flustered man heavily on the shoulder. ”Let Benouet explain, it’s his plan, he should be the one to unfold it. You and I, we just need to answer questions if Her Eternity has any questions for us. Apologies,” the burly master said, turning to look at Ashlynn and Nyrielle a touch sheepishly. ”My friend here isn’t accustomed to working for such important clients.”

”And you are?” Nyrielle said with a raised eyebrow.

”Mistress might be interested to know that Master Wimund trades in stone. The statue of you that stands in the plaza was sourced from his marble quarry when his grandfather ran the family business,” Ashlynn added helpfully. ”Though he trades in far more than just marble.”

”Your Eternity,” Master Benouet said, adjusting his silver-rimmed spectacles as he stepped forward. ”I know your time tonight is very valuable, and Lady Ashlynn has already spoken with us at great length about this venture. If you’re willing, I can present the essential outline and we can speak more on the journey, if you approve.” Seeing the vampire’s slight nod, the tradesman didn’t hesitate to launch into a description of the wild notion that he and Ashlynn had put together over the past week.

”Lady Ashlynn was very impressed by the canals that serve the High Fen, not just in High Fen City, but the ones that transport the harvest from the fields,” he explained.

”We used barges that carried grain downriver to the harbor in Blackwell County,” Ashlynn explained. ”But wagons still have to bring everything a considerable distance over land before it reaches the river. The High Fen seemed much more efficient and I wondered if we could bring this kind of efficiency to the Vale of Mists.”

”That seems unlikely,” Nyrielle said. ”The Vale is steep-sided with many creeks and streams that feed the River Luath. The High Fen is virtually flat. Besides, the villages in the Vale of Mists don’t produce much to trade beyond their own needs. What little is sent to trade in the fortress town is best transported over trails by hand cart, or just carried on the backs of men of the Horned Clan.”

”Yes, yes, we talked about this problem at length,” Master Benouet said eagerly. ”I don’t think that canals between your villages are impossible, but they aren’t necessary. Not yet at least,” he said, glancing briefly at Ashlynn who shook her head so slightly that it was almost imperceptible. Their discussions had covered considerably more than what he was about to present but clearly, Lady Ashlynn wanted to keep things focused on the most immediate proposal.

”Instead,” the spectacled master continued. ”I showed Lady Ashlynn a special set of canals we’ve constructed in the foothills of the mountains that service the silver and copper mines.”

”That’s why you brought up Airgead Mountain,” Nyrielle said, nodding along as she understood the logic. ”So you want me to act as an intermediary with the Lord Jalal of Airgead Mountain to help him extract the minerals there? He may not be interested. Most of the mines have been closed for generations, in part to make it harder for the Lothians to raid them.”

”The issue,” Ashlynn said, stepping into the conversation. ”Is that Lord Jalal has little ability to refine what he mines. From what I have been able to learn, much of that work was done at the base of the mountain in territory that has now fallen under the control of Baron Hanrahan. Lord Jalal and his clan have treated Airgead Mountain as their personal hunting preserve and they refuse to allow smelting or the processing of ore on their sacred mountain.”

”I don’t know that I’d call it sacred,” Nyrielle said. ”But it’s true that his clan values their forests and their hunting much more than they value the rich mineral deposits under the earth.”

”The problem with getting at the minerals of Airgead mountain, from our perspective,” Ashlynn said. ”Is that the terrain is much too challenging. The best route would be to leave the vale and travel across the lowlands, through Baron Hanrahan’s territory before approaching Airgead Mountain. Doing so is all but impossible, and so is transporting heavy ore all the way from Airgead.”

”But,” Master Benouet interjected. ”It’s very, very easy to move ore by boat. Master Aubin is the man who designed boats for my canals in the foothills. We use either strong men or mules walking alongside the canal to pull them, but compared to using wagons, it’s much, much easier.”

”And just where would this canal go?” Nyrielle said as she tried to envision the enormity of this plan. Her love certainly hadn’t started small!

”Orava Village,” Ashlynn said, mentioning the village that stood at the edge of Nyrielle’s territory closest to the High Pass. ”The forest thins there, which leaves ample room for creating smelting pits, but there is still plentiful wood to burn. Even better, once we’ve refined ore, it can either be passed downhill to the fortress town, or traded directly across the High Pass.”

”Mistress Nyrielle,” Ashlynn said, puffing her chest up with pride. ”The Lothians have made Airgead Mountain their priority in the upcoming offensive. They’re going to exert considerable pressure on Lord Jalal. You and High Lord Dirar in the Southern Step have been helping him to hold on, but he needs reinforcements and supplies.”

”If we can construct a canal that will allow him to sell his gold, silver, and jewels to the markets of the High Fen and beyond, it could be the difference between his nation standing tall or falling to human greed,” Ashlynn explained.

Of course, she had reasons beyond that one. Building a conduit to trade ore was only the beginning of the plan that had taken root in her mind. But this step, if they did nothing else, would still be incredibly important. And if they were able to go further, then the sooner they could take this step and deliver results, the easier the steps that followed would be.

”No doubt this wouldn’t be easy,” Nyrielle said, looking at the three men. ”But you’re each willing to pack up your lives and visit the Vale of Mists to see if it’s possible? I can’t even promise you that Lord Jalal will agree to this plan you know.”

”Your Eternity,” Master Wimund said, placing a clawed hand on his solid, muscular chest. ”My grandfather could have returned to the Vale of Mists after you reclaimed it. No doubt he would have been able to help to rebuild your fortress and your walls. Instead, he struck out on his own in the hills of the High Fen and he never once spoke of going home.”

”I’m a proud man, Your Eternity,” he said, lowering his head in deep respect. ”My family’s quarries have supplied the greatest artisans of the past five decades. Countless champions have been immortalized in our stone. But I’ve been watching Lady Heila in the arena these past few days. When today’s fight ends, someone will likely commission a statue in her honor, maybe even High Lady Erna herself will commission the statue, but whoever makes it, I’ll likely sell them the stone.”

”But that’s as close to Lady Heila’s saga as I’ll ever come,” he added, looking up to meet Nyrielle’s midnight blue eyes with an unflinching gaze. ”You don’t need statues in the Vale of Mists. You need walls that can’t be breached, towers that can see for leagues, and right now, a canal to open a source of wealth that can secure all the other things you need to fight your enemies.”

”I can’t fight in a war,” the bearish man said. ”My strength is meant for other things. But for once, I’d rather help someone win a battle than wait until it’s over so I can help commemorate it.”

”I appreciate your honesty, Master Wimund,” Nyrielle said, extending a hand to shake the bearish man’s meaty paw. ”Since you’re willing to make the trip, I’ll do what I can to help it succeed.”

Before she could comment further or say anything to the other masters, however, a youthful, excited voice from closer to the railings shouted in excitement.

”Look! They’re starting, they’re starting!” an excited teenager from the scaled clan said, bobbing up and down on his tail and clutching the railings in excitement as he pointed to the gates of the arena. ”But what... what are those,” he said, suddenly going still as he watched the misshapen forms of Tausau’s Mongrel Horde making their way onto the sands. ”Are they, are they here to be executed?”

”No,” Nyrielle said with a dark smile forming on her lips as she pulled Ashlynn toward the rail overlooking the arena.

”They’re here to feed.”