The Morning After

For the rest of the night, the watch was increased with called up soldiers, but no further incidents were reported. Meanwhile, as the healer predicted, the dwarf didn't make it through the night, making the mercenary the only survivor. Wishing to know more about what happened and to see if she can cover her tracks, Snježana invited the mercenary to the castle under the guise of an official invite.

Alex arrived in his formal attire with his longsword strapped to his hip. While he managed to clean the blood off it, he hadn't gotten to the armour yet, so, wishing to present himself in the best light possible, he had to wear formal attire.

After the servant informed her about the mercenary arriving, Snježana told him to allow him to enter, closed the letter that she was reading and put it in the pocket and sat down at the throne.

Alex entered the throne room looking around studying the layout and all the exits and windows in case something might happen. And yet his gaze ended up fixated on one thing and one thing only. The gorgeous woman sitting at the end of the room. In his eyes, she was one of the most beautiful of all the women he had ever seen.

Snježana noticed the gaze, but decided to ignore it for now. "I assume you must be the survivor of the caravan?"

"I am, Milady." The pain that he felt while bowing brought him back to reality. There was no time for something like that. Instead he focused on the meeting itself. Thankfully, he was allowed to sit down so that he wouldn't groan from pain.

When Alex sat down, Snježana had a chance to look closely at his attire. "Ah, it seems you don't belong to the usual stock of mercs, especially with that formal uniform you have on. Must have cost a pretty penny."

"I am not, well, a mercenary really." Alex hesitated before continuing. "I just do what I'm good at for money as my former job was... removed, shall we say."

The Boyar leaned in. "Would you mind introducing yourself then? And please, no need to stand up for that. I can see you are still in pain from yesterday."

Alex redressed himself. "I am Sir Alex Kahlenberg of the forcefully-disbanded Order of the Blue Lions, a former Imperial knightly order."

Snježana sounded impressed. "Oh, an Imperial knight. I am sure I would get an interesting story if I pressed further, but right now we have more pressing matters at hand."

The knight nodded. "You have Beastmen somewhere near the city. So yes, that is more pressing."

Snježana gravely continued. "We need to make them focus on the city before they attack one of the villages and such plans are being drafted as I speak. But right now, I am more interested in this caravan you were escorting."

Alex smiled at her, looking into her eyes trying to read her. "Dwarf stuff. Didn't ask much into it as it was their business, my business was just to protect it."

Snježana raised an eyebrow. "Really? Now I must ask because it's rare for foreigners to send missions to the northern forts, especially with weapons. Do you have any idea why? Any at all?"

He looked at her as she spoke, some could say the look of the knight itself was charming and... slightly seductive. "I do not have an idea. Well, not in the beginning, but now I suspect that the northern forts have spotted Beastmen and have invested in weapons to defeat these herds."

Snježana leaned back into her throne. "Is that so?"

Alex confirmed. "I suspect so and feel quite grateful for the fact I am not a citizen in the north. Not being able to fight seems... scary, to say the least."

Snježana put a hand on her chin. "Well, it would be strange that we heard no such reports though, since we are in the Northern Oblast. Then again, I guess this is what this letter is for." She pulled out her pocket the letter that she was reading before.

Alex looked at the letter in front of him. "It could. That's why I say that I suspect and not I am certain. Now, I do not know of any letter nor its contents, but may I ask a question?"

Snježana nodded. "Of course."

Alex took a breath, then spoke. "Why did you invite me here? The guard captain could have asked all those questions."

Snježana shook her head. "May I start with this letter first?"

Alex smirked. "You are the ruler here. No need to ask, Milady."

Snježana sighed. "Just to make sure. You truly have no idea what it says here, do you?"

Alex was confused, he slowly replied. "I do not."

Snježana's tone became cold. "It's an official letter of introduction with Tzardom's seal and even signed by the Tzar himself. Made specifically for a diplomatic mission from Karaz Ankor whose target was Fort Straghov. It even has official order to provide hospitality should the caravan need it. Now I assume you had no issues so far on your journey?"

The knight put a hand on his mouth. "We have not had any other issues, no. But, the Tsar... It must be more important than I anticipated."

The Boyar gravely nodded. "Yes, and now I have to report the loss of it to him. But that isn't a concern to you."

Alex wiped his brow. "No. It is sad, but not my responsibility to report."

Snježana sighed again. "What you should be more concerned about is the caravan itself. The patrol found the site of the ambush earlier at dawn. I am afraid to say it, but even with clear heroic defence as shown by the pile of corpses, no one else survived. I have arranged for the transport of the bodies and the cargo to the city. It is happening as we speak."

Alex tried to get up, but decided against it half-way. "Thank you. I wasn't sure how many there were out there in the dark, but it must have been hundreds of them. I fought as well as I could. I do not feel anything for the defeat if that is what you are looking for. It is a risk that I took on when I became a mercenary."

Snježana dismissed the matter. "In any case, it seems you have done your duty well. So then, what do you wish to do now that your contract is basically over?"

Alex raised his gaze back towards the Boyar. "That is an excellent question, Milady. Realistically, I will stay here for the time being, getting ready to travel and I will look for work again. As for my wish, it's to restore my order and live in peace someday. You know, like most people." He chuckled.

Snježana smiled. "When the time comes, I can provide you with a horse if you need it. It's the least I can do for your service."

Alex showed gratitude but quickly went back on topic. "Thank you, Milady. But back to my question. What is your answer to that?"

Snježana tilted her head, puzzled. "To what?"

Alex persisted, defying her with his stare. "Why have you invited me here to speak to you personally instead of having your captain talk to me? I do not think it was to merely see me because there's an actual reason. Am I wrong?"

Snježana was a bit flustered. "Oh, that. Since you are the only survivor, you are the only one I can ask about to understand more."

Alex grinned. "Well the guard captain could ask me the same question as you did."

Snježana shook her head. "True, but right now he is busy with trying to coordinate and look for the Beastmen camp. Oh, that reminds me. He had a message for you. He said that he would apologise to you once he is free. Mind sharing with me the reason for that,"

Alex's smirk only got further. "Oh, that's between me and him, but thank you. Is there anything else, Milady?"

Snježana rolled her eyes. "Other than hoping you will get a chance at revenge while you stay here, nothing at the moment. You are dismissed."

"Revenge...", Alex muttered to himself. He stood up, smiled at her before bowing down and then walked out of the room. Once he exited, he met a dwarf that was nervously pacing around in the hallway. Once he noticed Alex, he asked: "Excuse me, is the Boyar free now?"

He took a look at the unfamiliar dwarf. He was swearing creased clothes with ink spots on him and visible bags below his eyes. Whoever he was, also didn't have much sleep the night before. Alex answered his question. "Hm? I believe so. I'm not a guard."

"Thank you." The dwarf passed by Alex and entered the room. Too curious and seeing no one around, Alex decided to wait by the door, trying to listen in. The voices inside, however, quickly quieted down as the last sound was the door closing in there. Not wishing to intrude on a clearly private conversation, Alex returned back to the hospital.

Meanwhile, as Voldrik entered the room, Snježana greeted him with a question. "So, I assume you are finished with the work?"

Voldrik snapped back. "I wouldn't be here if I wasn't, now would I?"

Snježana smiled. "Excellent. Now, may we move this conversation elsewhere?" Her hand was pointing at the door to the storage room.

Voldrik raised his voice. "Fine. But you better have an open mind for my objections."

They entered the storage room for a more private conversation. While it wasn't exactly a habit for her, Snježana sometimes used the room, when chairs were taken out, to have conversations that she didn't want anyone listening in. Even though she didn't know it, she correctly guessed Alex might try to listen in.

While Snježana took a spare chair and sat down, Voldrik remained standing with his arms crossed. When asked, he answered: "I just sat for half a night drawing everything while thinking what to say to you. I'm in no mood to relax."

Snježana shook her head. "Remember. You offered to do it yourself."

Voldrik sighed. "And I accomplished it. That still doesn't mean I am onboard with this plan."

Snježana frowned. "I hope you have a new argument then. Because earlier one did little to change my mind."

Voldrik sighed. "Then I hope you understand that your ambition might cost you everything. Many ambitious people from all races perished because of their goals. Their desires had led them astray and caused unwanted suffering. I do hope you realise that."

Snježana lowered her head as she thought for a moment. Afterwards, she turned around and looked at her city as if the walls weren't there. Then she asked: "Tell me, what are your goals?

Voldrik was exasperated, and increasingly irritated. "You know what they are. To create the best weapon that I can make to protect my home here. I hope that is still yours too."

Snježana smiled. "Yes, but not just that. I want to expand. I want to make our city an important stop on the map. I want to leave a permanent mark here. And most of all, I want to endure that we have a future here, that no one can force us from our land." At that, she turned to him. "So, tell me, can you help me? Can you help me achieve my goals?"

Voldrik wiped his face with his hands. "And there is truly nothing that I could possibly say that would convince you otherwise?"

Snježana shook her head vigorously. "No."

Now it was Voldrik's turn to think it through while stroking his beard. After a minute or so and a loud sigh, he accepted his fate. "Fine. But know that I will act as the voice of reason in matters of decisions."

Snježana smirked devilishly. "That's fine. It's all I could ever ask from you. Besides, we both know that those designs are currently worth little more than the value of the paper it was drawn on. Even if we wanted it, we can't produce most of them as we lack the resources and production capabilities needed for them. But it can be used as a good first step for future expansion."

Voldrik raised an eyebrow. "And what about those that perished? Also, I assume the person that was here is the only survivor? Do you plan to keep him in the dark about all of this?"

Snježana nodded. "It seems he won't cause any problems. He was only hired for the escort and knew very little of the mission. It looks like I will have to go to the capital to find out what exactly was their objective. We also need to assess the state of their own equipment. As for the dead, I was hoping that you could help for the dead dwarves."

Voldrik closed his eyes, internally muttering a prayer. "Of course. I will arrange a proper burial for them."

Snježana got up. "Thank you. Now that the main work is done for the moment, do you want to have breakfast with us?"

Voldrik stepped behind her. "Sure. I think a visit from Uncle Beardy will draw kids' attention away."

Snježana started walking out of the hall. "If not, I can at least distract them with a story about a heroic knight that saved the day. Kinda have a basis for a new story with that mercenary."

Voldrik started following. "How so?"

Snježana looked back at him. "Apparently, he used to be a knight before his order disbanded. Wonder if he has any stories to share."

Voldrik smiled. "Ah, so my eyes didn't deceive me. I thought a common merc couldn't afford something like that."

Snježana mumbled to herself: "It helps that he has a pretty face."

Voldrik pretended not to hear. "You said something?"

Snježana forced herself to smile. "Oh, nothing, nothing. Let's go eat."