Chapter 47: 45 – Expectations

"Anastasia, it looks like Aunt Navi and Sara are back. Want to go see them?"

"Yes!"

Hopping out of her chair she grabs my hand as Steph and Mitena follow behind. After walking through the town in cloaks, we made it to the gate and saw James already there talking to Sara and a couple men. After seeing me, Sara came over.

"Welcome back, Sara," I say when she gets close enough.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," she returns with a bow. "The extermination was a success. This was a small group we assume was heading to the mine that we already eliminated. We think they were already inside of the Empire when we attacked the mine."

"I see. That would make sense. They would need people to travel back and forth. Navi had mentioned people wanting to be turned into vampires?"

"Yes. Of the twenty people rescued, all wanted to join us here at Midnight. The two with James are the ones who wanted to be turned. They both had similar experiences as I did. They were knights, questioned orders, and detained as heretics and sold to be laborers. Both had an ankle cut since they were decent knights, so as to keep them from running, but still allow them to work. They were shackled and chained when we got to them. The others in this group were more villagers or travelers."

"I see. What is their reason for being turned?" I asked.

"They want to help serve us as guards and protect the people here," she said. "Their reason for originally becoming knights was to protect the people, but they can't effectively do that as they are, and no longer wish to serve the Empire."

"Please introduce me to them, then."

"Of course, Your Majesty."

Walking up to the pair, I can see they are level 32 and 36. Not bad. After being introduced to the pair and speaking some more, we talked to James who would oversee them. I would turn them tonight at the barracks and they would receive shadow cloaks. Likely, they would be working as night guards. Being vampires, their night vision could be very helpful with that. 

Thus far, we haven't had any major issues. A few fights, domestic disturbances, or being too loud at night. Thankfully, no robberies or murders. However, I know it's only a matter of time. I've been working with Elden and James on punishments, which was much harder than I originally thought. I despise slavery. So that's out as a flat punishment. Even penial labor could easily become slavery if we aren't careful, and mass incarceration does nothing to fix the root of the problems.

In the end, what we came up with was a system that focused more on community service for minor things, and penal labor for more moderate. Time would vary, as would if they would be incarcerated when not working. The hours of work would be limited and adequate meals and breaks would be provided. 

Then the system goes straight to capital punishment for things like rape or murder. Accidental homicide would be deliberated on, and repeat offenders of moderate crimes would be potentials for capital punishment.

Honestly, for someone from modern day Earth, it may be a bit draconian, but mass incarceration could be seen as even more so. However, for humans from Erald, it's more lenient. They still have a system of 'steal and lose a hand' or slavery for life for many things.

When we finally attack the humans, there's a reason I won't really mess with the public slaves in cities. There isn't 'slavery magic' in this world. The slaves on the streets are most likely people caught for something. If it's something justifiable or not is up for debate, though I suspect many were forced into it. Even so, the church wants to keep its face. That's why they raid towns with bandits for slaves for their more seedy and illegal things. They don't want the illegal slaves to ever see the light of day or talk to the public. That would only make the church look bad. Someone I see on the streets is most likely there for some reason or another.

(Hey, Navi. You around?) I asked.

I see a red dart fly from the sky. "Here, I am! Here, I am! How do you do!"

"Welcome back," I said. "While I go to the elves, I have a job that's right up your alley."

"What'cha got for me?"

"It's been quite a while since you last looked at the old wall enchantments, right?"

"Sure it has," she said. "It's like putting together a shattered beer bottle trying to decipher a millennia old broken enchantment."

"Well, the dwarves all but confirmed that it's possible to hook into a dungeon as a power source. It would also explain why most old vampire cities are built around them besides just for training or resources. The tunnel we're making is going to need lights and air vents with fans. Unless we bring electricity to Erald, we're going to need the dungeon to power these if we want any regularity for them in the future. Buckets of cores is going to eventually be more trouble than it's worth."

She had a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "Did you ask the dwarves about how they hook into it?"

"They said it was like that since long ago. They don't know how it works and said their records say the elves helped them. I'm planning on asking the elves, but I don't want to rely only on that. Think you could look more into it?"

"Sure. The area all around us is pretty clear of trash now. Still probably some pockets further north or south though. I haven't looked at the enchantment since I got my wand. Plus I can work on those ideas we have for the farms. I could probably send Tsuki to take over recon for me. Then I'll only fly out if there's another thing like that mine. Oh! You own a gold mine now, BTW! I went ahead and sealed the entrance to it and the castle. Gratz, you buck-toothed gold digger!"

"Well that's cool. Any idea on the dungeon there?" I asked?

"Nah, but there was part of the mountain that looked purposefully collapsed right by the castle. My guess is it's under there," Navi said. "Overall, if a decent wall gets built, it could be a good second city eventually."

"Nice. I'll talk to Anastasia. Maybe she can help look through books when I'm gone for maps or old info on its dungeon. Still probably years away, post-church before we have enough people for a second city."

"Yup! I'll take another look at the core and the wall enchantment. Maybe now that we have a second core that has never been tapped into, I can compare them to see what is different!"

"Sure. I know if anyone can rediscover something, it's a moth like you."

"You know it, buckaroo!" She flew down and sat on my shoulder. "So, what 'cha gonna work on now? You leaving soon?"

"I'll probably leave the day after tomorrow with Talon." I think more a moment. "How long did you say it was to the elven city?"

"They only had that one city, and it's deeper than a deep dish pizza in their forest. It's probably going to take Talon five to six days."

"Damn. That is far. The books said they have a straight monarchy as well, right?"

"Yup! So just convince their king, and you're golden!"

Why the fuck do I feel like a flag was raised. Dammit, Navi. If shit doesn't go smoothly, I'm fucking blaming you!

Walking back to the castle, I spend the rest of the day with Anastasia. I sent Steph to go check on the dwarves. Ailine came back that evening, and we got to spend the last couple hours before bed together.

The next day, I checked in with Steph in the morning since I kind of forgot to last night.

(Good morning, Steph. How are our guests?)

(Good morning, Your Majesty. Those still here are doing well, I believe,) she said.

(You mean other than the priestess and priest?) I asked.

(Well...The two from the church went to live at their future site, the guards all moved to the barracks, the workers also decided to move to tents at their site. The dwarves remaining in the castle are Mr. Redrik and his people, but they have holed up in the library. One of the maids had to bring them blankets and food late last evening.)

What the actual fuck?

(Does everyone dislike their rooms here?)

(I… think it would be best for you to talk to them. None are dissatisfied, but I think you would enjoy hearing from them, Your Majesty.)

Well that isn't ominous as fuck.

(I'll do that, then. Thank you.)

Heading to the library first since it was closest, I found Shane and his observers all buried with noses in books and taking notes with piles of books around them.

I hesitantly spoke when I was next to him. "Shane?"

"Hmm? Oh, Queen Midnight! Good evening!"

What the hell? Where did the diligent, proper, aide to a king, go? Who is this mess of a person with frazzled hair, bloodshot eyes, and disheveled clothes? It's only been a fucking day!

"It's morning now, Shane. Is everything alright? Did any of you go to sleep?"

"Queen Midnight, how could we possibly sleep! This library is amazing! All of the history books are recounting recorded events from a completely different perspective! How could we sleep when there is so much we can now figure out! Why people did something or why they didn't. Seeing history through multiple lenses is amazing! Look at these notes! We have such a better understanding of events when we cross-reference our perspective from the vampire's! And these are originals! Even in our own library, books from a millennia ago are extremely rare. Almost everything is references or written interpretations. These are original accounts of historical events! Perfectly preserved!" The look in his eyes is similar to Alienor when I first met her.

"Ah, yeah. Sure. Just... Just don't work too hard and remember to get some sleep."

"Thank you so much for this opportunity, Queen Midnight!"

"""Thank you!""" the other dwarves parroted from their own piles of books.

Quicker than I intended, I get the fuck out of there. What the hell happened to them? On the trip they were all the scholarly, more silent types. Now they're a bunch of starving fucking hyenas attacking my books like they're fresh meat. Honestly, it was a bit frightening. I'll just leave them to the maids. They seem like they're enjoying themselves at least.

With one group confirmed fine, I leave to find an answer to my larger worry. Why did the workers decide to sleep outside? I gave them a large stipend for food if they didn't want to eat in the castle, but to leave it entirely? It isn't like they even moved that far away. I arrive at the work site and see the dwarves, Lala, and a group of humans hard at work digging into the ground.

I walk up to the dwarf giving directions to the others. "Good morning, Lyle."

"Hmm? Oh, Queen Midnight! Good morning. What can I do for you?"

"I was just checking if everything was alright. I heard you moved out of the castle and wanted to make sure you weren't dissatisfied."

"Oh, that?" He waves his hand. "Not at all. Everything there was amazing. Honestly, me and my men just really enjoy being outside. Really, most dwarves do."

"Really? I was always under the impression that dwarves preferred their mountain homes."

He shook his head. "Not most of us. To the dwarves, the mountain homes like Dunmoor are great for security and to block the cold. You came at a great time, the warmest two summer months I've ever seen. Honestly, right now I wouldn't doubt that it's snowing outside of Dunmoor."

That gives me pause. "Wait, you have two summer months? It was a bit chilly, but I didn't think it was summer."

"Sure do. About two months out of the year we don't have much snow. The majority of dwarves don't live in the mountains and we've never tried to build more. It's too claustrophobic for us. That's why the ceiling of the dome is so high there, and why I'm glad you're building this tunnel pretty wide."

"I thought the ceiling was just structural."

"It is, but also just gives a feeling of not being trapped. Same reason our homes and buildings are as tall or taller inside than even houses here. At least a bit. But here? The weather is perfect, the skies are clear, we don't have to worry about monsters. Truly, this is amazing. Midnight may become a vacation spot for some dwarves if we get a road built."

Why do dwarves constantly shatter my preconceived ideas about them? They're nothing like the standard fantasy dwarves!

"Well, as long as you and your men are happy, please let us know if there's anything you need," I said.

"Sure. Thank you, Queen Midnight," Lyle looks back at the beginning work. "And you weren't kidding about Princess Lala. Her magic is amazing! She does the work of a team by herself!"

"She is very talented. Well, I'll let you get back to it. Keep up the good work and take care, Lyle."

"You as well, Queen Midnight."

Claustrophobic fucking dwarves? Just add it to my growing list of newfound knowledge. At this point, I don't even need to check with the others, but just decide to poke my head in.

Arriving at the barracks, I see the dwarves and humans having joint training. James and Dorian are next to each other, both with arms crossed, shouting out at their men. Watching for a couple minutes, they would make a comment to each other then give a slight elbow nudge at a comment before both laughing. Is this some budding BL or bromance or something? Where did the always professional James go? Or the dutiful, but resigned to his life, Dorian? Is this how James is when I'm not around? I mean, I guess people would act a bit differently if their boss' boss showed up at work or called for them. I wonder what the Whitewaters are like?

Not able to quell my curiosity, even though I know it's bad, I use every stealth skill I have and sneak over to their home. Peeking through a window, I see Elden and Realyn sitting on the couch together, gazing lovingly at Dylan playing on the floor with some toys. They give each other a kiss before Realyn lays her head on his shoulder. Yup. Never seen this fucking lovey-dovey side of them. Well, I probably can't say much. People probably don't know I cuss so often, either. Guess we all have masks.

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Just to finish with everything, I go to the church site and see Alienor, Colin, and even Degare serving bowls of soup to a couple dozen people and laughing while chatting. Sara's even there and I notice a few new faces. Maybe new people from raids? Well, it really seems like everything is fine in town. 

Oh! The fairies! I haven't really gotten to talk to Tsuki or Carmen since I got back! I wonder how my adorable little natural gyaru nieces are! 

I ask telepathically, (Tsuki, Carmen, are either of you around?)

Tsuki said, (Sure, Aunt Lia! We're both in the garden. Need something?)

(No, I just haven't really seen you two since I got back, and I'm leaving again tomorrow. Mind if I stop by?)

(Awesome! Yeah, come on by!)

Heading back to the castle, I arrive at a sleeping Talon's room. Yup. Fucking lazy hippogryph. Whatever. She'll have to work hard to get to the elven city, so I'll cut her some slack. Heading out the door, I see Tsuki and Carmen flying around pulling out weeds and grasses from the garden. 

"Hi girls."

""Aunt Lia!"" they both shout and fly over.

"Working on weeding the garden?"

"Yup!" Tsuki puffed us, looking proud. "I got back from a patrol and Carmen is making bricks later, so we're just tidying up a bit."

"You two have really done a great job." I pat them both on their heads with a finger. "It's always beautiful back here, but I know with your mom and Lala being so busy you two have had to do more. I'm proud of you, girls."

"Eheheheh, it's nothing for an awesome Big Sis and her super cool Lil Sis!" Tsuki put an arm up and flexed her tiny bicep. Cute!

"That's right! Tsumen can do anything!" Carmen said, mirroring her sister.

'Tsumen?' Did they make a celebrity name together? Oh well. With both of their little arms and their chests puffed, they're adorable.

"Well I'm awfully proud of my two awesome nieces. I won't keep you two, I just wanted to say hi, so keep working hard, Tsumen."

""Yes!"" they shouted and flew off to continue their work.

What adorable yet frightening beings fairies are.

I guess there's only Anastasia and Mitena to check up on. That dragon just keeps growing. I really need to make her a roost before too long. Making my way to the art room, I found nobody there. Strange.

(Anastasia, are you at the castle?) I asked.

(Mommy Lia! No, I went to the dungeon with Mommy Ailine! Want us to come back?)

(No, that's fine. I was just checking in. I love you and be safe.)

(I love you too and I will!)

Walking around the castle I pass her room and see Mitena laying on Anastasia's bed. Well, might as well talk to her for a bit. She seems to understand people at least as much as Talon.

I go over to the napping dragon. "Hey, Mitena."

"Groewell?" She opens an eye but doesn't make any other moves.

"I just wanted to chat for a sec. Mind if I come in?"

"Groewell."

I go sit on the bed next to her and run my hand along her scales. "You doing alright here? I don't know what a dragon needs, but I hope you're getting it. I also want to thank you for always keeping an eye on Anastasia. I think you're probably her best friend, and I appreciate that."

"Groewell, groewell."

"Well, I'll be going. You should probably try to fly sometime. I know Anastasia would love to see it. If you ever wanted, we could even make a saddle and she could ride with you."

"Groewell."

"Yeah, you too."

Are all monsters lazy, or just the ones that live here? Whatever. For some reason I feel conflicted. I tried setting everything up so I wouldn't have to bother with it, but now that everything is running smoothly, I feel kind of useless. What the fuck am I going to do when the church is gone? Really, I never thought about that before. 

Once the church is gone and the dust all settles, am I just going to wander around like this all day? Will I end up like Talon and Mitena and just sleep? Maybe I'm just restless. I'll just spend some time making a drawing of Anastasia drawing me making a drawing. Draw-ception. Until Ailine came back later, that was how I spent me day. Still, Anastasia loved the picture.

The next morning was similar to how I left last time. I gave a kiss to Ailine and Anastasia, then went down to see Talon.

"Pii?"

"Yeah, it's time to go," I said. "You still up for it? It'll be a longer flight this time."

"Pii!"

Saddling up Talon, I also grab my big bag. This time, I'm bringing armor and weapons as well as bars of iron and steel. A bunch of wands and staffs as well as bolts of fabric and even ready to wear clothes of varying sizes. When we went on our buying spree to jumpstart the economy we ended up with a lot of clothes. 

From what we could gather from books, metal might be what they lack in the hot and humid southern forests. I also figured things they may use frequently like wands or things harder to grow in humid environments like the plants to make different fabric might be good. Getting Talon ready to ride, I hop on and we leave without a word, just before sunrise.

The trip was a lot of the same. Flying high, coming down if we spotted a tasty monster, then flying up again. We took it a bit slower, so the trip to the only elven city would take us almost six days. During the six days, we hadn't seen any sign of elves. Once we entered the thick, humid forest, we also stopped seeing as many monsters. In fact, the last couple days, we didn't even see a goblin. 

There were actually fucking monkeys jumping around. And mosquitoes. So many fucking bloodsucking mosquitoes. Thankfully, it seems levels do something to keep their damn needles from penetrating, but the constant buzzing is fucking annoying as hell. Maybe after I beat the church I'll dedicate my life to erasing the uselessly annoying mosquito. Little fucking blood sucking demons need to die.

This entire fucking forest looked closer to a jungle than a forest to me. Still glad that vampires feel hot and cold but don't overheat, sweat, or freeze. Been a fucking while since that had actually meant anything. Seriously. What the fuck is up with Erald? From giant snowy mountains to the fucking Amazon. I mean, yes, Earth had places like the Andes mountains with desert on one side and jungle on the other, but at least it had a scientific reason. Here the gods were just like 'you get snow, you get yearly temperate, you get jungle.' Damn gods ignoring science.

In the late afternoon of the sixth day, we finally spotted what we were looking for. The city of the elves. 

The ruins of it, at least.

Looking down, I don't know what to think. "What the actual fuck? Fly over to what's left of the castle, Talon."

"Pii."

Flying over the area, I looked a bit closer and could make out the vine, tree, and jungle covered stone wall that had completely collapsed. Past the wall I can't even make out if there were ever houses or roads. In the distance, we see what might have once been a castle. However, the jungle is covering what remains of it. The only reason we spotted it is because it has half a tower left and we could see the stone. Like a picture you can't unsee, we saw the remains of the castle below that. Talon flies over it but the canopy is too deep to see below. 

"Find a spot to land. We'll go look around on foot."

Really. What the fuck is going on here? Arent elven cities supposed to have either giant world trees or crystal palaces? The dwarves and vampires only knew of there being one city. Am I supposed to play hide-and-go-elf? Well, they can elf themselves if that's the case. I just don't want them to fuck up my plans with the Empire. That's it. 

However, I do feel some presences inside. Maybe this trip isn't a complete bust? Activating my cloak, dark magic, and stealth skills, I go up the stairs to the front while Talon stays a ways away. I want to just sneak in and check out who I'm dealing with first. When I walk through the empty door frame to the 'castle,' I get yelled at.

"Who's there?! Show yourself at once!"

Looking to the voice, I see a group of roughly a few dozen around a fire, with dozens more poking their heads out of ruined rooms to see what the commotion is. The one that stood and yelled was a girl who looked to be in her upper teens. She has aqua blue shoulder length hair. Pretty face, really long pointed ears, and average slender body. It's easy to tell when she's wearing only a leather chest wrap and fabric shorts. 

In her hands was a blade that looked familiar. Blue/silver metal with blue patterning. Only she was holding it with both hands, and by the shaking arms, obviously struggling hard to keep it raised, even though she was level 17. Dropping my stealth, I just stared at this odd scene in confusion for a few seconds. How the fuck did she detect me as well?

"Easy, Princess. I believe this may be who we were waiting for."

The one to stop the 'princess' looked to be the oldest of the group. In Earth terms, she looked in her upper 70's. Complete with wrinkles and waist long grey hair. Her ears also seemed to droop slightly compared to the others. She was wearing a light robe. Many of the others also dressed sparingly, with most men being shirtless and women with chest wraps.

What in the literal fuck did I just walk into? You damn gods, what did you do? Did you fucking side quest me? Because I will fucking leave so quick. I swear, if the gods set me up to do a fucking escort quest with stupid people that glitch into the terrain or run off like idiots with a reward that's totally not worth it, I will fucking find a way to punch Order in the face like I originally wanted to!

YOU FUCKING GODS!

=====

POV - Gods

Chaos was on her knees shaking the screen. "Dalia! I'm sooooo sorry! Please don't hate me! Daliaaaaa! Hate Order! Pleaaaase!"

Order walked up beside her. "She can't hear you, you know. We both agreed to this. Isn't that why we overdid it with the armor and even launched the dragon patch in the [system]?"

"We did, we did. We front loaded that apology because how much of a mess this would be. But still! We just threw her in front of a speeding bus here! No! A speeding oil tanker on fire!"

"We had to. You know that. Additionally, we both know we couldn't have told her outright. You also almost broke that by hinting at things. Thankfully you didn't ever say too much so she still came."

"How could I not try to tell her, you butt! Argh!" She grabs her hair. "This is so frustrating! Can't I just… Yes! I'll code new skills to give them to her team! I can make them invincible and even give her soul the last nudge it—"

"No, Chaos. You know that's too far. Especially that. Us interfering with her daughter was almost too much as it was. You know a deus ex machina pulls more attention from End. If that skill wasn't something that could technically be gained by others, then that interference would have already been too much."

"I know! I know! I know! I don't want to call End again, anymore than you do. And I know, no more deus ex machina type interferences. That any more interference from us has to have an equal accolade. But still! I could just say 'gratz on waking up! Here's an invincibility skill!' or 'yay! You ate your veggies! Here, take this unmatchable orichalcum armor!'"

Order stares at her. "And you know you can't."

"And I know I can't! And we brought her to this dumpster fire! Argh! Her thoughts and actions are already in a blender, and we add this? She might just run away, too!"

"You know she won't turn away now. We've watched her long enough to know that."

"And that's why I hate it even more! Why do gods have to be so tricky and manipulative! I just want to watch my Dalia and Navi and all my darling grandchildren have fun. Raaaaah! Sometimes I really hate this job! I hate it! I hate it! I hate it! I hate it!"

"Let it out, Chaos. Let it out," he said as he rubbed her back. "She will be just fine and accomplish what she needs. You know that. She's a smart girl and will find a good solution that even we wouldn't have thought of. She may even make it easier than we think. She does have her habit of surprising people, us included. If anything, I should be anxious since we made her powerful enough to erase the elves, but we chose her for a reason. Think of her soul and this task. She will be just fine."

Chaos sighs, and with a huff, crosses her arms and looks back at the screen. "Hmph. I'll still watch her closely."

"As will I. That's all we can do now."

"Please do your best, Dalia. We're both cheering for you. And I'll punch Order for you later."

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