Jackal Among Snakes

It was the morning of the next day. They had slept in a separate tent with the Veidimen. Argrave stared at a piece of soft bread with distinct finger marks. That had been his doing—in grabbing the bread, he underestimated his strength and crushed it. There had been several other similar incidents this morning alone to the point where Orion had even given him advice. That wasn’t something he thought he’d ever be dealing with.

Fortunately, he wasn’t alone in this. Anneliese, too, wore her reforged armor. She adapted quicker, but she also broke a doorknob in Leopold’s home. The power that these enchantments granted was overwhelming. As Argrave got the ball rolling, he intended to specialize his enchantments to those relating to magic. For now, this was a welcome boon.

On top of all of that, there was what Artur had added to the armor—protection from mundane weapons and projectiles on the whole body, temperature moderation, and slow fall. Each and all would be immeasurably useful, though frankly, Argrave did debate leaving it off despite the total confidence from Anneliese and Castro both. The incident with Traugott still rung in his mind, and even today the man’s whereabouts were unknown.

In the end, Argrave’s reason won out. Artur was a very prideful person and hated being looked down upon. He was completely obsessed with personal standing. Unlike Traugott, who found no worth in what people thought of him, Artur only cared what other people thought of him. He wore flashy jewelry, showed off his enchanting prowess by hovering in the air with his mantle, and made sure that his products were far superior to anyone else’s. All that Argrave knew of him suggested that he would never deliberately sabotage some of his work.

Still, the decision was close enough Argrave brought out an old doubt-assuager, perhaps hoping it might magically have new entries.

Traits: [Black Blooded], [Intelligent], [Magic Affinity (High)], [Blessing of Supersession (MAX)]

Skills: [Elemental Magic (B)], [Blood Magic (B)], [Healing Magic (B)], [Illusion Magic (B)], [Warding Magic (B)], [Druidic Magic (B)], [Inscription (B)], [Imbuing (B)]

Argrave had the bread in his right hand, a piece of paper to his right side, and the bronze hand mirror to his left hand. It had been a long time since he looked at the mirror. It now had B’s all across the board. It reminded him of high school—all B’s, consistently below great grades.

Whatever the mirror said, he hadn’t needed it to bolster his courage in a long time. His brain adapted to this world fully… hell, he was married, even. If that wasn’t adaptation, what was? And frankly, his nightmares had all but vanished. He did wonder if that might change in short order as Gerechtigkeit started making himself known. Nightmares from beyond the void were rather adept at creating nightmares in the head.

“Hmm. It looks like Vasquer is going to be ready to move, soon,” Anneliese said, hunched over the paper to his right as she read.

Argrave chewed and swallowed, then said, “Really? That’s good news. She’ll be a lot safer in Blackgard, I think. Fewer people around. Big mountain range to hide in. Nothing really dangerous to bother her, barring the stuff that’s deeper under the mountain.”

He took another bite, and Anneliese turned her eyes away from the paper. “Would you like me to dictate Elenore’s report for you, considering you’re busy stuffing your face?”

chewed, then swallowed. “Just give me

overseeing governance. With the money from taxes and the trade from the Archduchy, she’s looking into expanding her information network a bit more, and also branching

nodded as he

of fresh troops prepared by the time we return, with basic fitness seen to. She’s establishing provision agents for

ruin will they be exploring?”

coast, near the mountains

the nightmarish Iron Giants.” Argrave tapped Anneliese’s hand.

knowledge…” Orion spoke up, and Argrave turned his head.

all of it. You conflate fiction with reality, reality with fiction, all in this strange homogeneous memory porridge that makes you doubt yourself at

against my father on the field of battle. Though ancient evils reawaken on our

a fortress, perfectly coinciding with a larger-scale attack from Yettles—little warriors made of wood, about ye tall,” Argrave

can you learn by coming here? And depending on what

on his chair. “If you’ll notice, Gerechtigkeit has never yet had a personal hand in things. That time comes far later. Everything he’s done has been through third parties. He’s corrupting various powers, employing them to his ends in subtle ways.” Argrave scratched his

been told this long

ruin things,” he said, voice distant and eyes glazed over. He focused and continued dismissively, saying, “Anyway, I just want to find out what it is and whether or not it’s a bigger concern,” Argrave explained. “Like you mentioned, the Bloodwoods prevailed against Felipe in the past. That wasn’t a coincidence. There’s the wood elves… numerous, very deadly, and with a society that’s militarized enough that most kids say ‘kill’ instead of ‘mom’ first. Then

“He

more,” Argrave began. “They hunt in packs, preying upon giants, great beasts, elves… they only eat meat, you see, and they’re not particularly discriminating as to whether or not what they eat is intelligent. When their numbers were higher, they advanced out into Vasquer to capture humans.” He looked around, and both Anneliese and Orion were entranced. “They were so fierce the elves took to the trees for shelter, building homes far above the ground. The centaurs adapted to hunt with marksmanship, building great bows far taller than you or me—then, the elves adapted again, so on and so on. It’s a very brutal place with a long history of internecine

comes?” Orion asked seriously. “A great conqueror, born among the

unification thing.” He turned back around to finish his meal. “And if I have it my way, we’ll approach this through diplomacy instead of hostility. Might be difficult, but what isn’t? No way we head in immediately—until those Veidimen are equipped with gear on the

could achieve this with Elenore’s men,”

said quietly. “She did a lot for me way back when. So did her dad. It wasn’t… prudent… for me to head here, this past month. Still, it’s been weighing on me this entire time, making me feel like dirt. But now I have more time.” He

when you thought you were dying. You mentioned steppes, dryads, malfeasance… about how I should side with the centaurs

brows, then shook his head. “I promise you that’ll make sense. I just… I never expected to be king back then, I guess. Thought we’d be here earlier.” He played with a fork. “I’m glad I