Jackal Among Snakes

Argrave stood atop the newly-built fortress in the Great Chu and watched the troops labor to repair the ships. Many had been badly hit by the brunt of that great wave of ice that had frozen the coastline of the Great Chu. He had spent the night here after a brief visit to a still distraught Sophia, and the ice had either broken from the tides or melted. Now, half a thousand ships that were no longer seaworthy were having that issue remedied.

“It’s done,” Elenore told Argrave, making him jolt.

“What’s done?” he answered back in his mind.

“Durran’s made contact with the Great Chu commanders,” Elenore disclosed somewhat proudly. “Well, correction—he isolated one, and from there, I’ll spare you the details. Doubtless he’d like to tell you his grand feats himself. Rather than parley officially with the troops’ knowledge, they’d like to have a meeting in a secluded place come nightfall.”

“Not shady at all. I think I’ll go alone, without telling anyone where I’m headed,” Argrave remarked sarcastically. “Fine. Where’s this going to take place?”

“A few miles east, there’s a large sea cave in a cove. They intend to meet you within it. Durran’s scouting out the place now, but I suggest you come amply prepared. Even if not all of these commanders intend to try something, one or two may. If I were the imperial court, I’d let the meeting proceed yet try something of my own.”

“A sea cave in a cove. Lots of ways to die in such a place. Would you collapse it on my head? Or maybe there’s already a secret base established there, and they plan to ambush us. Maybe they’ll just make it blow up, like all their fortresses. The possibilities are endless,” Argrave took a deep, uncertain breath.

“…you always try and act funny when you’re worried. It’s unbearable. I’ll look after Sophia, so stop worrying about her.”

After having read his soul, Elenore broke the connection and left him alone in this cold place. Some of his worries did fade at her promise, so he stopped trying to think about how to be witty now and instead focused on how to be witty later, when his wit might save him from the machinations of Ji Meng and all others of this place.

“Where’s Rook…” Argrave walked away with purpose, muttering.

#####

claim that the day passed without incident, but that was too good to be true. More and more Great Chu fortifications made the hills before them their home, and as more came, their temporary foes were willing to take more risks. They fired upon the fortress from above and below, mainly

looked around the cove he’d been bid to travel to. He’d always liked coves, partially because he liked the way the word sounded, but mostly because they always looked rather neat. This one was no exception. It was a large half-circle of a beach, shielded by two rocks that seemed rather like arms. The ocean continued past these arms, and in the center of this half-circle, he saw the

Argrave asked Anneliese. “Did

overt traps. From all I can see, this cave is

it a sea cave,” Argrave reminded her. “It’s got

a salt mine. I suspect that’s why this cave opened—structural weakness due to mining, plus salt’s typical reaction to water. Still, despite everything, there are no traps that I

their general mood? Anyone acting

could escape via teleportation. We shoulder as much risk as they do. Even still, I’d expect some degree of trepidation in

didn’t know quite what to make of that, but he proceeded onward toward the cave after Anneliese withdrew her bird. Rook was around, somewhere, keeping well out of sight as he protected and scouted for them. The Alchemist was contained within the Ravenstone, ready to aid. Durran and all of his wyvern riders—plus the Order of the Gray Owl Magisters that’d ridden with them—were nearby. Argrave could even see some

from Royal Road, this story should be reported if

stood out front of the cave, holding the emperor’s dadao on his shoulder. He looked around before joining them. He spared greeting, saying, “Ordinarily I’d ask you what you know about

look into the cave. “I may know a few. The Great Chu never did something of this scale in Heroes of Berendar, though. You’ll

Argrave thought it might be something else entirely, but as more senses—smell, even taste—assaulted him, he had to concede that the walls around were all made of salt. He hadn’t known

of the cave. Eight of them kneeled atop pillows in a respectful and respectable position, their backs rigid. Two guards kneeled behind each, the points of their drawn swords stabbed in the ground. As for the commanders, their helmets were to their left, while their blades were

around his shoulders, bunched it up, and placed it beneath his knees as he imitated their posture. Behind, Anneliese drew her sword from her staff and placed its point in the ground, kneeling to his left. Durran did the same, kneeling to his right with the dadao in the same

each of them in turn. He did recognize some of them, but there wasn’t much to recognize—he remembered these people only as eternally-hostile bosses that appeared on the coast of Vasquer in the late game. Their presence was minimal enough that many people—Argrave included—had viewed them as walking katana dispensers, placed there for the sole purpose of allowing the player to roleplay as the edgelord they were always meant to be. Only Emperor Ji Meng had some substantial development, and could potentially have some role in fighting

and reached into his breast pocket. He pulled free a wooden token and held it in the air before them. “The emperor has named me Grand Commandant.” He willed some magic into it, and Ji Meng’s magic signature flourished. “You may

the passive stone gaze of soldiers

is the son of heaven?” asked

time. The son of heaven has learned that the imperial court is extremely compromised. Perhaps all of you witnessed that days ago, when the