Tal Salunbal III

The teenager furrowed her eyebrows as she spotted the guild seal on the door, marking it as belonging to the blacksmith's guild of the Clockwork Empire, and under the control of a Headmaster Giles. The owner of the establishment was some apprentice, just finally being promoted to journeyman. Anyone who had the guild's symbol was well respected now, providing maybe not the best quality of equipment, but always good reliability and cost. "Why do I keep seeing her nearby?" she whispered to herself as she looked around, noticing no one else seemed to be interested. Their daily lives had seen a drastic improvement with the empire now controlling everything inside Aureos. There wasn't a point to interfere with the background actions of the empress's agents. It wasn't conducive to a long life.

"Have you heard the word of the empress today, child?" a comforting male voice said as she turned around and noticed three priests behind her, an emblem of the gears marking them as members of the Church of the Clockwork Empress. "You have worries that may be soothed if you listen to the teachings." The leader had his head shaved, with a symbol of a black inked clock on his forehead.

"Um, no thanks, I'll be going now." She brushed them off and headed back to the checkpoints, eventually reaching the tavern her party was lounging in. The girl found Pops cleaning his mace, followed by Marv lying in a booth with his hand on his chest half asleep, though his face looked to be mildly in pain as he blew air out of a puckered mouth every so often. Dylan was eating some breakfast and pointing his fork at the warrior. No one else was in the hall, bar two drunks passed out on the floor, and the tavernkeeper cleaning glasses.

"I'm telling you, if we just grab one of the bigger quests, take it easy, travel with whatever product in Sweet Water is needed to get here, it could be very lucrative for the nobles and us."

"That's not going to happen, Dylan, you know what they're moving is contraband."

"We don't know that. It's possible most of what they are moving is consolidation of their assets. Would you want any of your property liquidated in another city if you don't get the paperwork done on time? They probably are scrambling to adhere to the new laws and don't want to piss her off."

"Empress's tits, Dylan, how daft can you be? Any coin being brought over won't have adventurers guarding it, it'll have the best mercenaries riding alongside. They also have contracts in place, you know, the ones where we pay ahead of time and invest our money and then paid back at the end, so we don't try and steal?" The rogue took a bite from the kielbasa in front of him and pointed the fork again.

"Hey, we aren't the… oh, Dina, enjoy your trip to the rich and wealthy part of the city?" Dylan said as she sat down and dropped her head onto her crossed arms on the table. "What's wrong?"

"Someone else bought the bow."

"Oh, sorry to hear that…" he replied. "It's not the end of the world, you know, there will be other top-quality weapons in the future. Just have to keep your eyes out for em." The rogue looked at Marv, who was staring at the ceiling. "Oh, come on, can't you just cleanse your stomach?"

"Priests do that you dumb ass, I'm a wizard."

"I thought you had healing spells, what the hell?" Marv sat up on his elbows and glared at him, his stomach grumbling unhappily.

"I do, I just don't want to waste my mana on an upset stomach."

"Told you not to add those spices into your food pal, you just had to try and show you could keep up with my eating habits." The wizard grumbled something and fell back on the booth.

"Tilly will have something for us tomorrow, no doubt. Dina, keep your chin up lass," Pops said as he stopped cleaning his weapon and tried to pat their ranger on her shoulder.

"I know… hey, um… what would all of you think about joining a tournament?" Both men at the table looked at each other, then at her.

"Like one of those hero championships? Oof girl, I don't know we have what it takes for that just yet."

"Oh come on, Pops, we're a lot stronger since that trip to the abbey; don't sell us short like that," she whined out as the brunette rolled her head towards him. It was true, they had gotten better in their fields of expertise since meeting the empress. The constant capturing of running criminals had helped with training their bodies in the past few days as well, the battle to defend Silvinholm during the siege before that. What they didn't know was that a report had been sent involving most of the adventurer parties roaming around throughout the empire to the new ruler of the lands they lived on.

"You do realize why they throw those things, right? Nobles see who they need to look out for, then get them as hired help permanently. It has nothing to do with the rewards, they're inconsequential. If they can stop one of the other houses, minor or major, from getting a new hero around here, then it was worth the effort. Beats having a new assassin to worry about, or someone breaking down their doors and killing the guards to ransack the hidden vault behind a painting. Shit, how often does that happen anyway?"

"In Silvinholm or Aureos? I remember there being scuffles between houses about once a month from what I heard from the mercs," Dylan remarked, finishing his meal and drinking his ale.

"I'm not saying we join a noble house on all their romps; I'm saying we test our mettle, get something hopefully in the process" Dina replied, waving her hand over the table casually.

"Ehhh… we won't be the only ones to join up lass. Every rank from the bottom up will want a piece of the action as well… including those Adamantite goons who have a shady feel to them," Pops grumbled out, putting down his mace and leaning back, the back legs of the chair barely containing his weight with a creak before slipping on the floor and dropping him to the ground.

"If it's broken…" the bartender snapped as he wiped the counter down.

"I know, I know… ouch…" the old man yelped out as he got up and picked up his seat, rubbing his back the entire time. "I'm fine by the way, thanks for asking." The owner mumbled something about people pushing their luck, then walked downstairs and out of the room towards his cellar. Pops sat back down on his chair and looked between both of his teammates, wincing in the process as the sun warmed the area from the open door near the balcony. "At best, we'll barely reach the minor rewards for those things, which are all rubbish, by the way."

"Yeah… maybe…" Dina responded quietly, staring at the salt shaker in the middle of the table. There was no guarantee they'd win anything, coming away empty-handed while others walked away with land and riches. The tank of their group patted her on the shoulder and squeezed reassuringly.

"You're still young lass, take your time in pushing yourself."

"Yeah… but… I'd like to at least somehow show we aren't lower than dirt, prove those assholes are all talk or something… I dunno…" They sat in silence for a few minutes as the ranger just mulled over signing up for the tournament, if not to fight with her group, then to at least shoot some targets and call it a day. The minor rewards provided little more than some extra pocket coin to spend. Just then, footsteps were heard at the door. Pops looked up and had to perform a double-take, noticing it was Ezra with another priest. He elbowed their archer in the arm as she looked up and saw him walking towards the bar, almost oblivious to their team.

Is he following me? No, he looked like he was here for something.

The barkeep walked out from the cellar and greeted him at the top of the stairs behind them, then brought both men of the cloth up a flight of stairs to the third floor where his family lived. "Wonder what they are here for. Don't they stay in the temple now?"

"Maybe blessing someone in the name of Elesia? Who knows," Dylan answered Pops's question. Marv sat up and raised an eyebrow, confused for a moment with a thought flying through his head. "What now, Marv?"

"I was just thinking… at the abbey… when Ezra resurrected all those people… was that really Elesia who came to his aid or… or was it…" The wizard shook his head and waved the thought off, grabbing at his stomach. There was a groan, followed by the man getting up and heading for the restroom quickly. Both the warrior and rogue sitting next to Dina looked at each other and blinked due to the question.

"You don't think…" Dylan wondered quietly.

"She couldn't have, that was the goddess Elesia doing that… unless…"

"There's a reason there's a religion built around her and all… bloody hell… we fought next to a goddess…" Dylan replied. Both men instantly flexed their muscles with a goofy grin on their faces. "We're amazing!" A random warcry came out of their mouths as their female companion rolled her eyes.

"You see? That's why I think we can at least try for the tournament." They both sighed and had a small silent conversation between each other with their eyes. The old man nodded and set his jaw after rolling it for a moment.

"Alright, lass, we can try, and I only mean we try. If it gets too difficult, no sense in having to crawl away beaten to a pulp. It'll just show where we are on the totem pole against other adventurers and mercs."

"All the weapons are padded Pops, except for the bows, of course; they get leather tipped arrows. Whoever knocks out the other team wins. That's only if we join the team matches; there are solo events that we can each do instead," Dina explained. "Are we really going to join? Seriously?" A huff escaped the tank's lips as he nodded again and closed his eyes for a moment, chastising himself for enabling her and getting the teenager's hopes up. It would at least show where they stood now that they were gold-ranked adventurers. The ranger threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. "Thank you!"

"Alright, alright! No need to strangle an old man. When's the tournament?"

"One week from now. We have time to prepare."

"We're gonna need some time to practice at least. Let's start tomorrow. In the meantime… today is an I don't give a shit about anything day," Dylan added in as he entwined his fingers together and put them behind his head with a smirk.

"That's not the response from a winner," Dina told him.

"That's the response from a rogue who is going to put as much effort as needed, and if it becomes too difficult, we don't lose anything for it."

Three Days Later, 24th, December

Hrist and her sister landed on their Pegasus near the temple, their journey ending from the ship that carried them there. The trip was almost entirely uneventful, keeping themselves occupied while the crew took care of menial tasks; once off the vessel, they were provided ample supplies for their stay. The Valkyrja were also provided a care package tailored to each of them, courtesy of the empress on this day for some reason.

As the raven-haired woman lowered her hood and dismounted, gazing at the slowly crumbling architecture of the temple with no one to maintain it, there was a pang of pain that struck her heart at seeing such a display. There was nothing left of the pantheon beyond them, not even the rest of the bringers of the slain were alive to come with these three battle maidens. Skuld put her hand on her sister's shoulder reassuringly, nodding at her. "Let's head in, the wards should allow us to walk freely." Hrist nodded as the other two headed towards the entrance, with her trailing behind for a moment.

Everything happens for a reason, this is no exception. A new world springing up from the old, coming up from the ashes that came of Ragnarok. Odin… may you rest in peace knowing we do what we can for the Clockwork Empire, hoping that someday the empress we follow will somehow reach godhood. Selene… I hope you are safe right now.

The battle maiden headed after her sister, passing through the stone arch in front as the ward shifted, no door seen that needed to be moved. The women stepped softly down the stairs into the main entrance area, following set paths as they peeked through doorways into empty chambers. What should have remained of the furniture was mostly rotted pieces on the ground, tattered tapestries, and forgotten tables. What magic or godly power that kept the temple looked after had faded quite a bit, leaving only ghosts and echoes of a once incredible past. "Look over there," Brynhildr told them as she motioned towards a spot that looked as if it should have had a bed.

Lying on the ground amongst broken pieces was a skeleton wrapped in a rat eaten grey robe, still as can be with a nightstand collapsed nearby. This concerned all three of them, believing that their trip was all for nothing and that the library was already dust. "Let's find a room we can at least set up a camp in first, then we'll head further inside," Skuld suggested as Hrist nodded with a muffled agreement. It took them about twenty minutes checking through each entrance to another room before they found one sufficient for their use, a window facing away from the land outside and out towards the ocean. The temple itself resided on a cliff to the northern tip of the first island, with most of the structure hidden deep in the rock below. Multiple portholes were strewn throughout each floor to let light in and provide a view of the water down below.

As the Valkyrja unpacked their supplies carried with them, the Pegasus outside having more than enough strength with the drastic change to their physiology to handle the load, Skuld sat down for a moment as Brynhildr pulled out a canned juice drink. Her brunette sister pulled out her package each had been given for that day. "Huh, wonder what she gave us. Is today some sort of holiday?" the blonde asked, looking up at Hrist. Her sister simply shrugged as she leaned against the wall, looking at her own backpack. There was one for her as well.

"Wow! Uh, this is unexpected…" Skuld yelped out in surprise as she opened the main flap and pulled out a beautifully made clock with carved wood and ornate engravings. The whole contraption was wind up, with no need for batteries or alternative power. It still could run on other sources, that much was clear, with a small panel on the back along with a cord hidden in a tiny cubby hole. "I told her there needed to be some things to brighten up my office and bedroom, as I've started collecting random odds and ends from Gold Pine shops. This is fantastic." There were figurines that moved about in the dial, slowly shifting through different phases in an endless show that acted like a flipbook. The package still had quite a few other things inside, along with a carefully polished magnifying glass, compass, and even candied pecans. The final item inside was a necklace with an emblem of two angular wings aiming upwards at the top of a sword. At the pommel, a cog was emplaced.

"Oh, now I definitely have to see what I got," Bryn commented as she pulled her pack across the stone floor and flipped through some of the pockets. Once the care package was dragged out, the flap was popped, and all the items were pulled out one by one. A very high-quality bottle of whiskey was found, one of the empress's private stock, along with assorted puzzles. "Huh, she remembered…"

"I swear, you love those things, don't you?" Skuld giggled out as one of the boxes contained well over 10,000 pieces.

"Hey, I don't drink and screw around as much as you think I do. Sometimes there's a need to just sit down in a quiet room and just put one of these together. Oh, look… what are these…"

"Board games… well, you do tend to head into Gold Pine often enough… we all do, I guess." Bryn looked back and forth between her sisters and smiled. Each box had multiple games, the board itself rotating or flipping to allow new rules and tokens to be used.

"There's a group I think I've made friends with of Abbey's, they got me into some of these things. I mean, I like them, at least." Two small bags of potato chips were pulled from a protected pocket on the inside of the package, both her favorite.

"Hey, I didn't realize it, but there's a secondary flap on the outside," Skuld told them both as she opened another pocket and pulled out a stocking filled with candy and a juicy orange. Hrist stopped leaning against the wall and walked over to her pack, pulling her own care package out. As she silently looked through the items inside, she glanced up to see Brynhildr pull out the same necklace Skuld had gotten. There was surely one for her as well. Inside the container was a small box that seemed to be quite cold, with magic or some unknown science she didn't know. As the box was opened, there were blocks of ice cream kept frozen, enough for eight portions worth. A secondary box had something that looked like ice cream, though it was room temperature and dry.

"Is that still ice cream? Try some," Bryn asked her as the battle maiden bit off a piece, allowing it to melt in her mouth. A small label on the side said, "Freeze-Dried Neopolitan Ice Cream." Great care was put into packaging the blocks of it and not have any pieces break off in transit. "How does it taste?"

"Delicious." Hrist had a small grin slowly creep up on her mouth as she looked at the remainder of items. A portable music player was provided along with high-end quality headphones, some pocky, a few books, freeze-dried mixed berries, and a smaller package hidden at the bottom. Once it was ripped open, the bag expanded, having been vacuum sealed. Inside was a plushie of her with a note attached.

"I heard from Jeeves and the maids that you liked collecting these things. I haven't seen any of them myself yet, so I figured adding another to your pile might help vary it up. Maybe in the future, you'll show me the collection? Hope you like it, stay safe."

A tear dropped from her eyes that she didn't know was building as she touched the face of the plushie, the intricate work put into sewing it together. Two black half orbs were sewn in for eyes with long raven-black hair flowing down the back; everything was meticulous, down to the parting of her bangs on either side of her forehead. The toy was wearing her Valkyrja battle armor, visor kept up, and weapons in hand. There was a smile in place of the mouth, something she didn't have very often it seemed despite enjoying living in the castle with the empress.

"Looks like you got another one… is that you? Gonna go next to the one you brought with, I'm assuming?" Bryn smirked at her and winked. Hrist's face immediately went beet red as she snapped her head up at her sister, pursing her lips together and trying her best not to look embarrassed.

"I… I have no idea what you're talking about." Her hands swiftly grabbed the plushie and put it behind her back, though her actions came with a cost at trying to hide her new toy. The maneuver had the foot of the plushie grab the necklace chain and fling it across the room, launching it through the open window. The raven-haired woman leapt up and bolted for it, grabbing hold of the thing as it left the window sill and kicking up a bit of dust from her speed. Hrist exhaled in relief, scared that a present that was given by Selene would be lost to the ocean on the other side.

"Nearly lost it there for a moment," Skuld said concerned as she looked at Bryn. The battle maiden simply stood there with her arm outstretched, still shocked. A present that was recently given to her was just about to drop into the open ocean. She pulled the jewelry back through and put it around her neck quickly, then picked it up and stared at the craftsmanship. While it might have had some enchantments on it to protect her, the thing had more sentimental value than combat utility.

Odin, forgive us. We took a vow to follow you, and now that you have sent us here, we have added a new pledge to adhere to the rule of another. You'd be proud of us, and her, if you did get to lay your eyes upon the empire she's building. We know you were wise beyond all and would agree this is the best choice. We are her Valkyrja now.

"Well, we should probably start exploring before we get too caught up in all the new gifts we can play with. Shall we get to walking through the bowels of this place?" Skuld asked. The other two warriors nodded and headed out with her down multiple flights of stairs through new floors, carrying flashlights along with glow sticks and a satchel of sticky lights to place along the walls. Their night vision was beyond compare, though leaving a bread crumb trail back to the small camp they made was still useful. The lights also kept little critters from getting underfoot that didn't see them very well, stopping their boots from crushing the odd mouse that was trying to find a morsel of food hidden somewhere. Pests were not blocked anymore by the wards, letting them know they were almost dispersed completely.

As they reached the 4th floor, they finally reached a sealed room. All three of them stood side by side and pulled on two levers, raising the wall they knew that hid treasure behind that was hopefully worth something. As they collectively held their breath, the opening raised enough for them to see the room seemed almost immaculate save for a light layer of dust. The library beyond was perfect, more than likely the area where the magical protection was cast from to maintain the temple as well as its anchor point to finally dissipate from. The books that lined the shelves ran for what looked like miles but was more than likely only a kilometer at best. The ceiling, however, reached almost up to the 1st floor, with multiple spiraling staircases at the corners to reach much further down to the bottom. The bookshelves were built in cylinder shapes, with an inner abode that held tables still not collapsed. Piles of books were lying on the ground, with many more bunched up together with end caps on each shelf.

"Wow, it looks like we found what we're looking for; if this is the worst it's supposed to be for the library, it should have another year or two before even these crumble. We came just in the nick of time," Skuld remarked, her eyebrows raising at the sheer amount of history before them.

"Let's check the last of the rooms before we start digging into all of that. If we start now, we should have most of the temple mapped out and able to come back to the important stuff," Bryn replied. They turned on their heels and continued exploring through the myriad hallways and quarters of the old seers that had once considered this place their home. The crumbling architecture was a little worse for some areas, with a few of the rooms collapsing due to structural integrity. As they slowly moved from one area to the next, a wall eventually gave way on top of Hrist, causing her to throw her arm up and block the falling stone bricks. While she was unhurt by the event, it did show the other side had a room that could no longer support the weight from above.

"This place must have been incredible before the fall," Bryn said in awe as she stopped in front of a tapestry that was torn in half, showing a great battle of Valkyrja against monsters, two gods leading the charge with an army of Einherjar backing them up. The faces were worn out, with the paint faded, though all three of them could at least make up Sigrun at the forefront. In unison, they all prayed to one day see their sisters again, whether they were resurrected somehow or reincarnated, maybe even when their lives have been given in service to the empress. A forlorn silence fell upon the hallway for a minute before they walked on, having a job to do.

Meanwhile

Morlan sat next to his lover in the helibot, checking over his equipment one last time as he glanced at Bronze Team. "You sure you really want to come with us? It's just a demon nest, nothing to get excited over; intelligence even believes there is no respawner," Ethan told him.

"I'm sure. I've had explained to me that the training I've been through may temporarily come to an end in a month or two, at least once our empress has had time to focus on matters that don't involve the integration of the old Artinia. Besides… I want to see first hand what I'm probably going to need to keep up with in the future with my… well, my teams." He checked his bracers and gauntlets to make sure they were clamped right, with the new material vastly more comfortable than anything he had worn before. Selene had told them if they went out and encountered any sort of combat, they needed to bring the best of the best in equipment that she had specially made for her troops. As far as he was concerned, this was god tier that he was wearing. The warrior could feel his strength and speed improved just by strapping on the chest plate alone. With the rest, he felt almost invincible. It made what he used to wear feel like trash he had pulled from a bin.

"Still don't have a name for the agency you'll be overseeing?" Turnie asked as her shoulder mounts popped up temporarily, twisted around entirely in a 360-degree arc, then folded down. There were four of them, making her look a bit like a spider ready to strike when they were extended. Two submachine guns were strapped to her thighs along with two heavy pistols just under her chest. The ex hero of Artinia was surprised she looked far more human these days than the first time he had met the automaton, with what looked like metal paneling for hair. Her face especially was able to show more emotion now, not just smiles or frowns.

"I'm going to leave that up to the empress, given she'll also help me vette any future agents. It's also… well…"

"Going to be part of her government. Psychologically, it means she still has total command," Orlo interjected as his dome rotated and looked at both Elsei and Morlan. Oddly, despite minor improvements in the body structure for the others, with major ones for Jorge and Turnie, the Light helibot didn't have much of a design change. There were no legs, no arms attached; he was still very much a curious-looking mechanical creature.

"I still think you should start easy after your run around in the gym for the past few days. These aren't critters or stupid cunts that are the enemy of your kingdom; these are demons and demi-humans," Deacon informed him. The sniper looked at his commander, who simply kept his mouth shut and shook his head softly. Jorge knew Morlan eventually would need to get his feet wet with how the empire would handle security matters, how to work with the military and police forces, and how to, in general, run things in a different way than what he was used to. There was far more communication, more tactics and small group strategy, less charging into battle, and more stealth kills. Real-time logistics was a must, with backup only a call away. The mental preparation courses he was taking back at the castle were strenuous at best, grueling and exhausting at worst. To the warrior in that helibot, the training was for the best of the best to excel at. For Bronze Team, that was casual Monday work after a relaxed weekend.

"Five minutes out," the helibot transport informed over internal coms. Typically, the team simply spoke via silent channels, except the two organic beings inside didn't have that capability. Morlan looked over at Elsei, who was holding onto her halberd, wholly replaced with one crafted by the empress. From what he heard, it was supposedly called a legendary quality tier item by Selene; the name was Aldon's Breaker. She had said it was named after a special smith that was renowned from where she came from, an old friend of hers. His own sword, Haden's Last Word, was purported to be able to carve through just about anything. At first, he thought that meant it was vorpal in nature; however, her design of the weapon was beyond his comprehension. All of his gear looked like he shouldn't be worthy to carry any of it, instead meant for a legend beyond legends.