Chapter Two Hundred and Sixty-Four — Game of Groans
Chapter Two Hundred and Sixty-Four — Game of Groans “We need to go over everything, then plan out what we’ll be doing while we stay in Goldenalden,” Amaryllis said. She slapped her book onto the surface of the room’s dining table, then slid a rolled up map out of her bag and unrolled it.“I thought we just had to deliver some letters,” I said , bunny ears twitching. “And maybe snoop about, have some fun? Play tourist.”Amaryllis huffed, a very particular huff that I think meant something like “this is going to take some explaining.” “Things are more complicated than that. I don’t have a good lay of the situation either, until then everything I’m about to say is entirely speculative.”Awen and I glanced at each other, then back to the table. It felt like she should have been doing this in the Beaver instead of the Dewdrop Inn, but if Amaryllis thought this was the right time... “Okay,” I said. “What do you want to explain, and what will we be doing?”“The situation first,” Amaryllis said. She tapped at the world map with the tip of a talon, something that I’d noticed she liked doing. “There are four bigger players here, and quite a few smallers ones.”"I'm guessing Mattergrove isn't one of the bigger ones," Awen said, her expression somewhat pained.I supposed she was worried about her home."I'm afraid you're correct," Amaryllis confirmed. Her talon moved to the west and down, settling over the Seven Points. “Mattergrove has economic ties with Deepmarsh and the Harpy Mountains, and deeper ties with the independent cities to its north, but otherwise, I don’t think they have a big enough stake in things to truly get involved. If a war breaks out, they might be a source of supplies for the harpy and grenoil, but I don’t think they’ll be any more involved than that.”“Oh, alright,” Awen said. “That’s probably good.”“So who are the big players?” I asked. “And what’s that mean, anyway?”“The big nations to watch out for are the Nesting Kingdom, Deepmarsh, the Trenten Flats, and Sylphfree.” She tapped each nation’s capital as she named them. “Deepmarsh is the smallest of these, but they are well-situated. Their marshland is inhospitable to large troop movements, and the grenoil are capable of having big population booms if they so choose.”“They can?”Amaryllis nodded. “You’ve spent some time in their kingdom, I’m surprised you didn’t know how they’re born.”“I never asked,” I said. “Do they do it like... frogs?”“Essentially, yes. They have pools where eggs are laid by the hundreds. The fittest of these are chosen and are raised to become tadpoles and eventually members of whichever family they’re from. Most eggs are never hatched though.”“Huh,” I said. I didn’t know what to think about that.“It’s an important factor to consider in the grand scheme,” Amaryllis said. “But we’re going off topic. The next country to consider is the Nesting Kingdom.”“Your home,” I said. “Would they go to war?”“Against the sylph or the cervid? Definitely. We’ve skirmished against the cervid before, and the sylph are long-time enemies.” She touched the mountain between the two nations. “The Golden Peak is a natural wonder that both of us want. Not only for the gold found there, but the ancient dungeons as well. Right now, it’s ostensibly owned by both sides, with everyone having claims over the same area. In practicality, it’s neutral, unclaimed territory.”“That’s not great,” I said.“It isn’t,” Amaryllis agreed. “Having fought the sylph before means that we... the Nesting Kingdom, that is, don’t think the idea is impossible. The last war was a long time ago though. Now there are proper airships and new weapons; the populations of both nations are quite a bit larger too.”“Does that make it more or less likely that they’ll want to fight?”“I don’t know. People have been at peace for a while, they might not want that changed. And some of the xenophobia has settled down a little.”I nodded, that was good to hear. “What about the other two? The Trenten Flats and Sylphfree.”“The Trenten Flats are a problem. Regardless of whether a war is started or not, the nation is an issue. They’ve been expanding a lot. They nearly have cities spanning the central continent. They’re stretched thin across most of that though. A lot of wide, barren swatches with nothing but plains and a few forests. Still, they have by far the largest military, though it is also the least advanced.”“Advanced how?” Awen asked.“Cervid airships, as far as I’m aware, are still two generations behind anyone else’s. Their bodies also mean that piloting isn’t as easy for them as it is for a harpy or sylph. Their enchantments are generally of lower quality, as is most of their magecraft. Really, their greatest advantage is their numbers.”“There’s a lot of them,” I said.She nodded. “Plenty more than any other nation can field. If it comes to a wide-scale battle, it doesn’t matter that their mages are weaker. A modern, academy-educated harpy warmage will run out of mana long before the cervid run out of poorly-trained novice mages to throw into the battlefield. Likewise for their soldiery. Every single soldier counts as cavalry, being who they are. On an open plain their mobility is a huge advantage. Their bowmen are also quite gifted.”“Scary,” I said. I could imagine a big group of them charging across a hill. That would be terrifying.“Indeed. Unfortunately, I think any modern war will be fought in the skies. Which brings us to the sylph.”`“They have a big army,” I said.“It’s not only big, it’s modern,” Amaryllis said. “I think only the Snowlands might have better equipped and trained soldiery. It’s a mark of pride here to have served, as well as an obligation. They have... usable airships as well. They lack elegance and I believe any harpy ship could outpace and fly circles around a sylph ship, but there’s no denying that they make up for it in durability and numbers.”The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.Nothing I didn’t know, though I doubted some of Amaryllis’ patriotic views about ship designs. She had some biases. Airships that looked like ships were nice, very romantic, but there was nothing wrong with big boxy ships too.It wasn’t the size or the shape of the ship that mattered, but the way it handled and how much it was loved by its crew.“So, that’s the, ah, players? That’s what my mother always called the people who were taking part in a big political event,” Awen said.“That’s the players, yes. The big ones, at least. There’s also the Snowlands to the north, who are likely to only defend their borders unless the cervid antagonize them, in which case they might expand southwards a little. The independent cities are a mixed bag. No two of them are similar, except in their scope. For the most part they’re too small to really change things on an international scale.”“Those are places like Rosenbell, right?” The place where we’d first met Rhawrexdee and where I fought in that tournament.“That’s one of them, yes,” Amaryllis said. “It’s somewhere in the middle in terms of size, I think.”I nodded. Those cities likely had a lot of people in them, but they probably didn’t care too much about other countries since they weren’t part of any. “What about the desert?”“The Ostri? They’ll be on both sides as mercenaries. Likely more of them on the harpy and grenoil side, if only because of geographical convenience. The only other big player on the continent is the Kingdom of Endless Swells, and that’s only because they have a few colonies set up to the west, along the shores of the Moonstruck Sea.”“Are they nice?” I asked.“They’re very fixated on the sea and its surroundings. I can’t say whether or not they’ll fit whatever definition you have of nice,” Amaryllis said.Awen “awa’d” silently. “I’ve met some of them. Traders. They dressed strangely, but they were very kind.”I nodded. “That covers everyone then?”“We could go over the groups that make up these players,” Amaryllis said. I think she noticed my pout because she rolled her eyes. “But we should move on. The current situation is somewhat precarious.”“Because of Reinnewt,” I said. The no-good mean... jerk who had tricked Amaryllis and I into almost getting kidnapped and who had blown up that ball.She nodded. “In part, yes. Pointing out that he’s likely an outside factor trying to aggravate the current political situation would be a good place to start. But there are a lot of tensions between all these nations. Right now, we need to navigate things towards a peaceful resolution.”“It’s like trying to calm things down between angry neighbours,” I said.“And one of them is accusing the other’s dog of pooping on their porches,” Awen said with a barely-restrained giggle.“Immature, both of you,” Amaryllis said. “But essentially yes. Even if this problem is solved, that doesn’t mean the tension will disappear. Accusations are likely to be tossed around and insults will follow right behind.”“So even after learning that it’s a stray pooping on their porch, they’ll still be mad at each other because they said mean things to each other before,” I surmised.Amaryllis glared. “Anyway. The situation is volatile, but I think we can keep ahead of it. First though, we need to know what everyone thinks is going on, and how they’ll move. Which means either spying on everyone, which we don’t have the equipment, people, or experience for, or we use the Broccoli method.”“What’s the Broccoli method?” I asked. I was Broccoli. I should probably know what that was.She grinned. “Aggressively befriend everyone.”I felt my cheeks puffing out. “I don’t befriend people aggressively,” I said. “And you can’t just... weaponize friendship!”“Not with that attitude you can’t,” she replied. “We need to get information from each faction, in particular the diplomats who will be gathering here. There should be some from every nation, which means that Goldenalden will become the centre from which a lot of important choices will be made. We need to learn what those diplomats know in order to know how to act ourselves.”I thumped my foot down. “I don’t like any plans that involve pretending to be someone’s friend just to use them. Friendship should be treasured, not commodified.”“I don’t know,” Awen said. “Forced friendship would be nicer than doing some of the things my mother encouraged me to learn. It’s a lot more honest.”I thumped my foot harder. “Awen!”Awen raised her hands in surrender. “It’s like walking from house to house to see what everyone in the neighborhood thinks of the yard-poop situation before trying to fix things.”I considered it for a moment, then gave in with a nod. “Okay, fine. I wouldn’t mind meeting more people anyway. Is that the whole plan?”Amaryllis started to roll up her map. “That’s part of it. A lot of it will depend on what we discover. For the most part, if I can represent the Nesting Kingdom, then our goal becomes deflecting and discouraging any open conflict. We want to avoid any war at any cost.”“I’m sure everyone can get over a few stains on their porch,” I said.My head stung and it took me a moment to realize that Amaryllis had whapped me with her map. “Stop it with the dog turd analogies!”I rubbed at the spot between my ears, then glanced to Awen, and we both started to giggle while Amaryllis fumed. She couldn’t resist for long though, and soon she chuckled before trying to hide her own amusement.“So, what now?” I asked. A glance out the nearest window revealed that it was still midday.“We have a week to get everything ready, which should afford us some time to reconnoiter between setting up appointments,” Amaryllis said. “I also need an idea of where and when to meet everyone important.”“Oh! Then we have time for fun!”
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Chapter Two Hundred and Sixty-Five — Out Over the Town
Chapter Two Hundred and Sixty-Five — Out Over the Town “Before you run off and find trouble,” Amaryllis said. “We should decide who to focus on first.”“You mean which group to go meet with first?” I asked. “Do we even know where we should go to meet with them?”“We don’t, but I suspect it won’t be all that difficult to find out. There’s a readily available source of information for us in this city.”I listened. “What’s that?”“The Exploration Guild.”I blinked. “Oh gosh, I almost forgot all about them. Is there a branch here?” I reached up to the bandoleer running across my chest. I still had the guild’s pin attached to the front of it, just over my chest.“There’s a branch in nearly every country. Even in the Trenten Flats, though the organization is quite unpopular there. It’s not all that influential in Sylphfree either,” Amaryllis said.“I’m not a member,” Awen said. “Will that matter?”“It shouldn’t,” Amaryllis said. “The guild often employs people outside of itself to assist with certain things. I know some parties only have one or two members that are part of the guild, especially those made up of poorer members.”“To avoid the guild fees?” I asked.“Exactly. The guild’s missions pay relatively well for someone willing to risk talon and wing, but they’re only available to members. It’s a business after all, though not one that’s centred around profits first.”That sounded a little strange for a business, but I couldn’t complain. “Right, so we visit the local branch for information first, then we... ah, scout out the city?”“That’s an interesting way of saying sightsee,” Amaryllis said.I grinned. “Isn’t it?”She bounced to her talons and started for the door. “We’re wasting time girls! We have a world to save, because it certainly won’t save itself.”“Yes, ma’am,” I replied before giggling and hopping after her. “Do you know where the local Exploration Guild building is?”“I don’t,” Amaryllis said. She opened the door into the corridor and held it open for Awen and I to step out. “We can ask the innkeeper.”I took the lead heading up to the topmost floor. The Dewdrop Inn was getting a bit busier. I guessed that being close to noon meant that many more people were coming out to grab lunch.Mister Jared was at the counter, smiling at a customer while he set a plate before them, then filled a pitcher from a tap behind him. His eyes lit up when I bounced closer and leaned onto the countertop.“Hello Miss Bunch.”“Hello Mister Jared,” I replied with a big old grin. “You know the city well, right?”“Like the back of my hand,” he chuckled. “What are you looking for?”“The Exploration Guild,” I said. “I heard they had a branch in Goldenalden and I thought I’d stop by to see. Plus, don’t tell Amaryllis, but it’s an excuse to walk around.”“That sounds like a great excuse to see the sights,” Jared said. “Here, give me a moment.” He reached under his counter and brought up a frame with a map within it. “This is a little old, but it’s still good enough. We’re in the Gold District now. The Yellow District here is where you’ll find all the best shops in the capital. Just head north and west from here. The Green District bisects it, so don’t worry if you end up there. If you find yourself at the big wall, then you’ve gone too far. Now, you’re looking for the Exploration Guild. They're on the far side of this park here.”“Oh, I see,” I said. “Which way is north from here?”Jared laughed and pointed off towards one corner of the inn. “That way, my dear.”I pointed north with one ear, then pointed northwest with the other. I had it pretty much figured out, I thought. “Thanks!”“No problem; if you get lost, don’t be afraid to ask a passing guardsman.”“I will! Do you think we can travel from above or will we need to go to the ground level?”“As long as you don’t purposefully jump into people’s way, you should be just fine,” Jared said with a nod.Laughing, I stepped back and ran over to my friends. “I know where to go!” I said. “We’re going to need to jump a bunch though.”“I can fly,” Amaryllis said. It’s a bit of a white lie. She can hover a little and I think if she was aiming for something below she could glide quite well, but she doesn’t quite have the whole ‘upwards lift’ thing handled well enough to call what she does flight.“Awa, that might be hard for me. I can’t jump like you do, and I don’t have wings,” Awen said. There’s a gleam in her eyes a moment later, a dangerous one. “Though, I think I could make do. I took a good look at those rockets the cry used. With a small tank, and some thrusters... I’d need a magic element to create the initial flame, and some sort of control surface too. Oh, and directional thrust and some wings for lift.”“I think we can settle on Broccoli carrying you across any gaps for now,” Amaryllis said. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but the mere mutterings about it are giving me shivers.”“I could mount a repeating crossbow to it,” Awen whispered.“Come on!” I said. “Daylight’s burning and we have a whole heap of city to explore.”I led my friends out of the Dewdrop Inn. The top exit opened onto a wide platform that served as the building’s roof. There were flowers next to the roof acces and no railings on the edges, but there were nets just a step off the side to catch clumsy people.I glanced up as a sylph in a blue couriers’ outfit buzzed by. There was plenty more traffic in the air too. Sylphs zipped about, most in loose, flowing clothes that didn’t hamper their wings.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.Instead of backpacks or purses, a lot of the sylph I saw had fanny packs dangling in front of them.That made sense. They didn’t want anything catching on their wings, and most flew... not quite upright, but not horizontally either.I looked towards what I hoped was the north-west (my ears had never stopped pointing that way, like a fluffy compass atop my head) and I judged the distance to the next building over. The space was a bit shorter than the width of a road, if only because both the Dewdrop Inn and the building across from it had balconies around their tops.I could make that jump easily, and so could Amaryllis.“Alright, Awen, hop on my back,” I said as I hunched down a bit.Awen stared at me, then at my back. “Are you sure?”“Oh yeah, it’s just a small hop. You don’t need to worry!”She hesitated a little more, then jumped onto my back and I grabbed her knees while she wrapped her arms around my collar. It was like a back hug!I bounced up and down a couple of times, to make sure Awen had a good grip on me, then I stepped back and away from the edge. I probably didn’t need a running start, but it might help.Feet thumping on the balcony, I sprinted ahead until I was on the very edge, then shot some Stamina into my legs and launched myself over the gap.Awen screamed, a mixture of fear and delight that had all four of my ears ringing. The wind flapped around us, Awen’s hair a streaming banner and my own a tangled mess, before I landed at a jog on the other rooftop.“Awa! That was great!” Awen cheered.I laughed and turned around, Awen still gripping onto me. “Come on, Amaryllis, you can do it!”I couldn’t hear her huff, not with the distance and the wind, but I knew that facial expression anywhere. She backed up, pinched her tongue between her lips, then lowered her goggles over her eyes before she took a running leap over the chasm. Her arms flapped twice, catching the wind and giving her just enough lift to land right on the edge of the balcony.“Easy,” Amaryllis said as she walked to a stop.“Uh-huh,” I agreed. Still, I made a note to find shorter paths to jump next time. I didn’t want any accidents, and a cross-wind could come up at any time and cause some trouble.The Exploration Guild headquarters were supposed to be to the west of a big park. It wasn’t too hard to spot that part. A section of the mountainside that had been built out with dirt and big old trees were growing in clumps.We jumped over to another building, and I couldn’t help but notice all the strange looks we were getting from the sylph passing us by. There weren’t any other humans or buns or harpies up on top of these buildings; at least, none that I could see.We crossed over to the Yellow District, then into the Green, then back into the Yellow. For all that the sylph seemed to care a lot about being neat and orderly, they still had to work with a mountainside as the location for their city, which meant that they had to build around the bumps and inclines of the landscape.I imagined that not all the buildings around us were at the same height. There were clearly ramps below where carts had to be helped up to higher or lower levels. The entire city was built atop a whole heap of artificial plateaus.Once we reached the edge of the park, Amaryllis found a building with a few shops in it. A bakery on the top floor, a butchers in the middle, and a grocers at the bottom, all connected via stairwell. So I let Awen down and we climbed down to street level, with only a quick pause to buy some pastries.The sylph, it seemed, preferred these small, super-sweet pastries. They were little balls of sweet-bread, fried and dipped in a glaze, and stuffed full of either jam, or something the baker behind the counter called mountain bee honey. They were so sweet my entire face puckered up and I couldn’t help but shiver after every bite.I didn’t dare eat more than six or seven of them, else they’d do terrible things to my tummy.We went down and down until we reached the ground floor, then we headed outside and walked along the edge of the park. There were lots of younger sylphs within, with sylph moms looking after the teeny tiny sylphs who were darting around and play fighting and learning how to fly.There were a few neat play forts tucked away in the woods, and I saw more than one squealing group of sylphs running around with blunted wooden swords. Others were jumping off jungle gyms, playing something that was like extreme hopscotch by flying from suspended plate to suspended plate.Amaryllis gave me a look which I interpreted as ‘no, you can’t go play with the kids, you’re a big girl.’ She was probably right, a lot of them were pointing at us already, I bet I was the first bun they’d ever seen!We found the Exploration Guild right where Jared said it would be. A shorter building, but no less stately for its size. There was a big brass compass-rose above the entrance, with the familiar bandoleer across it and the name of the guild beneath it.The building was nice, but also a little bit on the shabbier side. The plants next to its entrance looked like they could use some watering and maybe a bit of weeding, and the stones were water-stained in a few spots.“I have the impression that I’m not going to get all the answers I want from here,” Amaryllis said.“Well, there’s only one way to find out for sure,” I said.
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