Chapter 15: Chapter 14: Secession

Cannara’s dot was already in Ribera, which didn’t surprise me. Her speed was already obvious. Despite it being supposedly a three-day journey on horseback, she’d set up shop in less than a day.

More impressive was the fact the area around her, and a bunch of smaller dots connected to her by a web of thin lines, lit up. While the rest of Ribera was grey, these parts were green and brown. The familiarity was comforting.

I focused on her dot, the sub-menu appearing in my mind. Most of the options were still unavailable, but one had cleared up—[Command Centre].

Without hesitating, I activated it. Now, my only problem was how to inform my paranoid Spy I had a direct link into her brain.

Heeeeeeere’s… Johnny!

I heard a yelp, which was puzzling, given I was listening to the thoughts she directed at me. Maybe that had been too much.

Oliver? she thought, her inner voice shaky.

Yeah, I replied, sorry. There’s no good way to introduce this to a person without them losing their shit.

I haven’t lost anything, I was just… surprised.

Yeah, that’s what I meant.

How are you doing this?

Magic. She didn’t need any more explanation. How was I supposed to describe the mystical, RPG-RTS fusion System with a penchant for being annoying?

Okay. A pause ensued, during which I had no clue as to what she was doing. I thought her dot shifted a little, but it could have been nothing. Eventually, she continued, What is it you need from me?

Um… If I told her it was an experiment, I’d probably wake up one morning bound to a spinning wheel, daggers embedded between my legs. What was that reaction at dinner, the other night? When we were talking about—

I remember. Ghostly whispers shrouded her words, but I couldn’t make them out. She sounded hurt. It was nothing.

Didn’t sound like nothing.

It was nothing!

I swallowed, biting my lip. Obviously, I shouldn’t have even asked. How are you getting on?

She seemed relieved by the subject change. I’m making good progress. I’ve already sent my agents across the duchy, gathering information and spreading the rumours you asked for. I had planned to infiltrate Zarua further tomorrow.

Well, that explained what all the smaller dots were for, but it didn’t leave me any less gobsmacked. Cannara, how is it you can get there in less than a day and already have an entire network of spies?

Magic.

I’d sort of asked for that one. You can do magic?

No, she said, I am magical. Enough to have already recruited my crew and placed them in strategic locations when you sent me here.

All right. I shifted on my bed, seeking the most comfortable position. And what have you all found out so far?

That the men in Zarua weren’t worth the trip.

About the mission.

That the men in Zarua—

What does your libido have to do with espionage?!

She projected a rather protracted sigh at me. Everything. If I’m not satisfied, then I’ll become distracted, and my work will suffer.

I returned a longer, louder sigh of my own. Then satisfy yourself, but—

That’s what I was doing when you interrupted me. Her tone turned harsh.

Then just tell me what we know and you can get back to it!

Fine.

Idly, I wondered if any other monarch would have suffered her attitude. Then I considered what might happen if I brought it up, and decided I liked myself in one piece.

She continued, We haven’t been able to find much, so far, since we barely have any contacts. The streets are buzzing with the news, though, so it was hard to miss.

What news?

That Aleister plans on seceding from Larheim, then conquering us in the name of Ribera.

My jaw dropped. He just goes round telling everyone his secret military plans?

I expect, like your would-be murderer, he wants us to know what he’s doing. He has the people in high spirits, fantasising about the riches to be gained from becoming their own nation, unburdened by the rot within Larheim.

My jaw tightened. Riches that’ll never make it to them.

They don’t know that.

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With a final sigh, I wondered how I’d deal with this new development. Thank you, I thought. You can go back to your… activities, now.

She said nothing, only harrumphing in response. Satisfied we were done, I cut the connection; it had been informative, and now I knew Aleister’s next move. It was a bold one, and I wasn’t sure how I should respond. As a Duke of my kingdom, any action against me was treason, and I had every right to march in there and cut his head off, as long as I could prove it.

But if he seceded, that was no longer an issue. What’s more, he could declare war ‘for the sake of the poor citizens starving in Larm’, and look like a hero, painting me as the villain.

It was a sinister and, quite frankly, brilliant plan.

Unfortunately for him, I now knew it, and endless possibilities raced in my head at how to counteract the situation. In the end, it always came back to one place.

I needed to raise the national morale.

***

The next morning, I woke up feeling grimy, so I headed to the palace baths. These were the size of an Olympic swimming pool, filled by complicated pumps and heated by roaring underground fires. When I asked how these were maintained, Ella had introduced me to Shin, a red-headed fire mage who hated the sun.

Noting the location, in case I was ever in dire need of fire, I’d promptly discarded that as a mystery solved and got back to admiring the baths. Marble inlays spread across the stone walls, and steam filled the air with the smell of scalding water.

It burned the dirt from my skin and tension from my muscles, and I had to lean back against the edge. Apparently, Larheim had no bathhouses. Without widespread plumbing, most people’s options for bathing were limited, so an idea struck me.

Districts started forming in my imagination. Ruler View could zoom in for more detail, as long as I owned the territory, so I had a rough idea as to the layout of Larm. The area around the tavern I’d visited when I’d first arrived, for example, was mostly commercial, but all the businesses had shut down.

If I demolished the disused buildings, there’d be plenty of space. It was close enough to residential areas to be convenient, but not so close as to cause excessive noise pollution, so I figured it was the perfect spot. There was already a tavern.

I could add more, but I only wanted to form the skeleton. Government-sponsored businesses couldn’t be the only game in town, so I’d build strategically, driving up foot traffic and making the area more attractive.

In other words, I was going to build my bathhouse there. The first one, anyway, as a test run. I could improve public health, increase Morale, and make a profit in one fell swoop. I wanted something else, too, something suitably large-scale for my quest that would draw people from the entire continent. Developer was made to build things, after all.

Unfortunately, my sum total of ideas was equal to jack plus shit.

When I finished my bath and went to my Council Chamber, everyone was in a panic. Captain Tomas had a vein bulging from his forehead, and Duke Kalvin looked like he was having a stroke. I showed up, looking confused, and Hana told me what had happened.

Every settlement in Larm had received a visit from a Riberan crier. Given the distances involved, that meant they’d been carrying their message for three days, unless they had Skills like Cannara’s.

Hana looked confused that I shared in her serenity, so I told her of my foreknowledge. With that out of the way, I asked if we’d received a crier ourselves.

***

Hana and I strode into my future Ministry Plaza, which was chock-full of citizens. They ranged from young to old, human to elf, woodworker to merchant. The people looked more upbeat than they had when I first arrived, but not by much. They clamoured around a man in the centre.

This idiot was, I shit you not, wearing a full-on fucking jester’s outfit. Baggy pantaloons, ruffled shoulders, a stupid spiky hat, you name it. He carried a bell, which he rang by swinging his arm repetitively.

“—declare that said duchy will no longer be a region of Larheim, and will henceforth be known as the Principality of Ribera! What’s more, any citizen who denounces the false King and submits himself to the Prince will be afforded generous discounts on food and guaranteed employment in the fields!”

Silence. Then, a hushed muttering broke out, and people’s eyes lit up with greed. I had a hard time processing my shock. They’d grow the food, and they only got a discount on buying it back, with the wages Aleister would pay them?

Would it even be enough?

Still, it was a strong ploy, and he clearly had a lot of people convinced. He could offer them material benefits, while I currently only delivered promises. Without results, how could I expect their trust?

Humans—though I guess I should say ‘humanoids’—weren’t as simple as that. Not everything was a rational analysis, and it showed in their hesitation. Larm was their home, and they were people of Larheim, even if life was hard right now.

All they needed was a reason.

I cleared my throat and shouted from the back of the crowd, “Don’t be fooled! Duke Ribera offers you a golden apple, but there’s a worm inside.”

“And thus arrives the King himself!” said the crier. “Truly, even more of a jester than I.” He paused for laughter, but no one laughed. Impassive, Hana started drawing her sword.

I put my hand on hers to block her, then turned back to the crier. “So, if Ribera’s its own country now, that means we have more concrete borders, right?”

The crier gulped. “Well, that is—”

“And since it only just happened, there’s been no time to negotiate any kind of open borders, has there?”

“Not as such, no—”

“Do you have a passport to be here?” As I’d learned, passports were issued by the Crown, giving visitors a limited legal stay.

We’d issued precisely zero in the past year.

“Of course I do!” The crier stomped his foot.

“Guards!” I cried, and a squad of burly soldiers rushed through the square. As the crowd parted around them, they hoisted up the crier and dragged him away, kicking and screaming.

People shrugged and went back to their business, though a few still looked uncertain. I smiled at some who passed, trying not to let out my true feelings. I needed to accelerate my plans.

I needed results, and I needed them now.