Chapter 11
An excerpt from the book "Aramia—Land of Fallen Heroes."
The atmosphere in the palace nowadays was absolutely depressing. Rumors of the princess being swapped, which no one dared to voice aloud, but which circulated in the minds of all the servants and palace guards. The unknown emissary, who actually turned out to be a public enemy of the queen and a servant of evil forces. The "River Kingdom's" refusal to form an alliance with Aramia. A new omen from the mysterious oracle of the clay tower about an imminent catastrophe. "Red Star, Red Star!" shouted the guards that night, pointing at the strange changes in the night sky, where a Star had exploded, changing its color from white-blue to a blood-red nebula.
The young knight Artorius, who at the grand assembly in the throne room that morning had volunteered to accompany the princess on her journey to the ancient sanctuary on the Great Mountain near the borders of Beastland, a country sometimes called the River Kingdom, was preparing for his journey. That night, Artorius was carefully gathering and packing his gear while his best friend Drikherst from the royal guard helped as he could, trying to distract his friend from his heavy thoughts.
"It's a pity only two can go to the sanctuary," Drikherst complained with somewhat exaggerated concern for his friend. "I would have liked to escort you with the lads all the way to the mountain!"
"My friend, it is fate," Artorius replied distractedly, trying to stuff another warm blanket into his saddlebag, just in case, "one cannot go to holy places in a crowd. It is sacrilege. And a violation of the tradition of the blessing of the most holy Aya. The tradition is always this way. A Woman and a Man. Yin and Yang. It has always been so."
"Yes," Drikherst agreed with his friend, again exaggeratedly, "it has always been so."
They prepared in silence for a while. And when the preparations were already finished. Drikherst finally couldn't stand it and asked his friend the question:
"Are you in love with her?"
Artorius stopped mid-motion, not answering the question for some time. Then, without turning, he answered quietly: "Yes, my friend. I have been in love with her since the very day she hung that toy medal around my neck on the wall by the west gate. Remember how we played the queen and her loyal hero back then?"
Drikherst also stopped, sighed.
"Of course. We were just children then…"
"Stop."
I stopped reading and looked up at Elayna questioningly.
"What's wrong?"
"Is this happening right now?"
I thought for a moment before answering.
"I don't know for sure, most likely there's a slight lag with real time. Maybe it happened fifteen minutes ago, or maybe half an hour. What's the matter? Why do you ask?"
Elayna hesitated with her answer. Finally, she forced out:
"It's wrong. It's like... we're eavesdropping."
"This isn't an idle curiosity, Elayna."
"I know. But still."
I thought about her words. Eavesdropping? But this is necessary to prevent a catastrophe!
"Then let's skip this conversation between two friends and go straight to what happens at the lake castle? That hasn't happened yet. Therefore, we're not eavesdropping on anyone. Deal?"
Elayna nodded with visible relief. A faint blush was visible on her cheeks in the light of the streetlamp, and I realized she was embarrassed by the heartfelt dialogue between the two friends. Apparently, her character was a very sensitive soul. It was somewhat strange to observe her. According to the plot of Kunisada's book, she should have been dead by now. Deep in the dungeon, torn apart by monster lizards. Just like the other three blockheads. I wonder how much the plot changes if Elayna and her three admirers stay alive? The four of them can defeat one Red Giant at most. I flipped to the part where Rosalinda Junior and Artorius arrive at the Lake Castle and started reading from the conversation with the castle's master, Romulus…
Baron Romulus was a stately man of powerful, muscular build; his leather jacket simply tried to burst from its buttons under the swollen mounds of muscle. Sturdy legs, like the trunks of an oak tree, a weather-beaten face with a short-trimmed beard, and a gloomy, bear-like gaze from under his brow completed the picture of this descendant of the Great Roldon, nicknamed the Bear, one of Romulus's distant ancestors who had once taken the Castle on the Lake from a family of powerful vampires who allegedly terrorized the entire region in those dark times of the first kingdoms. Next to the master of the castle were his wife Martha, a blonde and gray-eyed woman in a white house dress and apron with rolled-up sleeves, about thirty-five or six years old, her two sons, and a daughter. Plus his nephews - underage sons, children of his brother Ulfik, who died in a hunt.
These were not all the inhabitants of the Castle on the Lake, only those who came out personally to meet the princess and her knight at the gate. The castle had plenty of space, enough to accommodate hundreds of people if needed.
"Your Highness," Romulus bowed, not very low, and all the household members followed his example, performing a deep bow in unison, as if they had practiced it for two hours every day.
Artorius jumped off his horse and, holding it by the bridle, brought a clenched fist to his chest, greeting them with the knightly salute of the royal guard.
One of the nephews immediately took his horse. And Artorius himself at once offered his palms to help the princess dismount from her white mare. However, Rosalinda dismissed the courtesy with a wave of her hand and jumped down herself. Her horse was immediately taken by the bridle by the second nephew.
It was a strange meeting. Despite the ostentatious courtesy, Romulus was afraid to show too deep a devotion; the rumors of the princess swap had of course reached him, and he was well aware of the purpose of Rosalinda Junior's journey. He desperately did not want to look like a fool in front of the neighboring nobles from the area. And, of course, this did not go unnoticed by the princess's eyes, nor by Artorius's. For a while, they stood opposite each other, and it is unknown how this oppressive silence would have ended if Romulus's wife, Martha, had not saved the situation. She stepped forward and hugged the princess, who was frozen listlessly with her gaze lowered. Rosalinda's arms hung like limp scourges in the grip of the castle mistress's strong arms as the baron's portly wife lifted her. Rosalinda began to cry quietly, hiding her tears and turning her head away.
"Rosie, dear, how you've grown! Now, don't cry, don't cry. Everything will be fine."
Martha's clear and soft voice, as if by magic, melted everything around; everyone started to move. The nephews led the horses to the stable. Romulus gestured for Artorius to follow him, and Martha practically carried Rosalinda to the kitchen.
"Come along, dear, I'll treat you to some lingonberry pie. Fresh from the oven. I spent all morning baking for the whole family…" Martha chattered on, simultaneously wiping the girl's face with the hem of her apron while she wept silently…
"Wait!"
I tore myself away from reading again.
"What is it now?"
Elayna hesitated with her answer again.
I decided to help. "Eavesdropping again?"
"No. I feel sorry for the princess," she explained with a guilty look.
I peered into her eyes in the dim light of the magic street lamp. She really was ready to cry. This was strange! Why was she taking it so personally? So exaggerated! Was she pretending? It seemed that hypocrisy and pretense were not part of her character. I was surprised by this strange behavior. Something was off with these artificial beings. They had some strange hypersensitivity. That psycho queen's tantrum alone was something else!
"Listen, this hasn't happened yet. For now, it's just words written on this page." I tried to sound convincing and reassuring at the same time.
"But it will happen, won't it? Right?"
"Yes. In two days, the princess and Artorius will reach Lake Castle."
"What happens then?"
"You don't want me to read it?"
Elayna shook her head.
"No. Otherwise, I'll cry. Just tell me in your own words what will happen there."
I paused for a moment. These artificial people are really strange.
"Alright. I'll tell you in my own words," I agreed and began. "You've heard the story of the Castle on the Lake. And about the founder of their noble line, Romulus, nicknamed the Bear?"
"That's a famous story. My grandmother told it to me when I was a child. About the vampires who lived there and killed everyone who approached the castle. Or who passed through the nearby forest at night."
I nodded and continued:
"Well, your grandmother didn't tell you the whole story."
Her eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"Romulus the Bear didn't kill all the vampires. The vampire mother saved the youngest daughter and, sacrificing herself with a special spell, hid her in the castle. She put her young daughter to sleep, and she is supposedly still sleeping somewhere. In two days, on the night of the third day, under a full moon, just when Princess Rosalinda and Artorius arrive there, she will awaken. For the revenge she has awaited for five hundred years. As you know, vampires are immortal unless you cut off their head or pierce their heart with a silver blade. The vampire girl has accumulated enormous magical energy over five hundred years of sleep. The castle is located at the intersection of magical ley lines. So, upon waking, she will slaughter everyone in the castle. Only Rosalinda and Artorius will escape. And even then, only because Romulus will sacrifice himself to cover the princess. There are about fifty inhabitants in the castle. They will all die. Then the vampire girl will flee into the forest."
ElImayna, in horror, in shock, stared at me after my short, perhaps even too short, summary.
"Slaughter... everyone?" she asked, stuttering, repeating my words.
"Yes. Everyone. Children, women, adults. Five hundred years of accumulated magical energy is no joke."
"We must inform the queen and send knights and mages there!"
I shook my head.
"That's the worst thing you could suggest. She is capable of killing half of Aramia's mages and knights single-handedly. I told you, she has been storing magical mana for five hundred years! She's so strong right now that she could probably even take on the Red Giants, one or two for sure…"
I fell silent, stunned by my own words! So that's it! Really, if the vampiress agreed to participate in the battle against the Red Giants, along with Beastland's Lightning and the captain of the royal guard with her knights. They could theoretically defeat ten percent of the giants. With luck. Could this be the answer to this riddle? How to save Aramia. I involuntarily began to bend my fingers, forgetting Elayna's presence. So, Beastland's Lightning and his retinue can kill two or three giants before the others kill them. The female captain and the entire royal cavalry, all the king's horses and all the king's men along with Humpty Dumpty, from three to five giants. Plus the Vampiress, she'll kill two or three. Next, the army of Maramia and its gray knights - the elite guard. Let's say they take two giants. The archbishop of the temple of the Old Gods, Chilander in Maramia, is also a very powerful mage; although he's a negative character, he might join the alliance for his own safety. Let's say he'll kill one giant with his disciples-novices. Total? Fourteen! That's in the best-case scenario. Most likely, it will be the worst-case scenario. There are about a hundred giants. Or rather, ninety-nine and a centurion. The Leader. He is the strongest, and killing him is like taking down several giants. I have no idea who can take on the Giant Leader yet. Maybe Kitsundina? This patroness of Beastland is a very real goddess of hunt and love and is hanging around somewhere in the wooded mountains of the River Kingdom. The other patron goddesses of Aramia and Maramia, Aya and Kaya respectively, have disappeared somewhere. It is Aya whom Rosalinda is looking for. And she intends to summon the patroness of Aramia at the sanctuary for salvation. Kaya - the other goddess who is the patroness of Aramia's neighboring rival power, Maramia - is also in an unknown location. Players in the old game had to find them somehow. Without them, the giants cannot be defeated. Kitsundina is a Goddess too, but no matter how strong she is, the Red Giants will overwhelm her with numbers. She might well be able to clash with the main giant and win, but only if the others don't interfere…
"Emissary-san! Emissary-san! Wake up!"
I flinched at Elayna's touch. She was shaking me by the shoulder, trying to wake me up, I had sunk so deep into my thoughts.
"I asked you to call me by my name!"
"You have a strange name," Elayna made a weak attempt to justify herself.
"Strange?" I got indignant. "You're the one with the strange name 'Winkelbaum'. Do you even know what that means in German?"
"What is 'German'?" she asked naively, freezing in anticipation, waiting for me to explain her name in a language she had never heard.
I waved my hand.
"Ah, forget it. It's not important right now. Better tell me what we should do? Armies, mages, knights, all that is out of the question! We'll lose fighters, the Giants will kill us."
"Us?"
I froze. Stunned myself. Oh yeah, no one here will kill me. I'm a citizen of the Galactic Union. Invulnerable and Harmless.
"My apologies. You will be killed as everyone else around, except me," I corrected myself. And added with a little anger: "If that clarification makes you feel any better. Nitpicker!"