Chapter 16
The Siege
After receiving the report from Suzie and Ricardo that no alternate exits exist and that they were attacked by members of Black Serpent in both the pleasure district and the slums, the negotiations with Duke Deokk take a drastically different turn.
“Sealing the city and killing all who try to leave? Whatever it is that they've got planned, it can't be good!”-Allura
“Agreed. This is not the time to be fighting among ourselves. What do you suggest?”-Deokk
“Do you have a means to communicate with your army outside the gates?”-Allura
“Only a signal flare that we can use to indicate we're in distress.”-Deokk
“And it can only be used once?”-Allura
“OF COURSE!”-Deokk
“Damn! I had hoped to tell the troops to prepare a siege to keep those snakes from leaving the city, but an S.O.S. flare now would be premature. Especially since we don't know what they're planning.” Allura turns to the priest in charge of the mediation. “You! Priest Fradoh, was it? We're going to need your help as well as your subordinates.”
“The name is Frandoh! And I fail to see why I or my men should assist with a problem of Sydonia and a suspected criminal! With WANTED posters to boot!”-Frandoh
“Two reasons. First, I doubt His Holiness, is that the correct title? Would appreciate a priest of your station turning a blind eye to the activities of Black Serpent.” The ledger Allura looted from Baron Royce's office appears in her hand. “And I had hoped to investigate these shipments myself, but it would serve us both better if your people launched an official investigation into the names in here who apparently received POWs from Sydonia that I wish to repatriate to my home country of Furcadia, if they're still alive and can be found.”-Allura
“You dare to blackmail me, WENCH?! Besides, that ledger's veracity is suspect as you forged an invoice just to get into the city, did you not?”-Frandoh
“Oh, I would never dream of blackmailing a fine upstanding man of the cloth like yourself, Mr. Frandoh. It's just that the Black Serpent don't believe in doing things quietly and His Holiness will hear about it sooner or later, and then comes looking for answers from you, provided you survive whatever it is they have planned for this city.” Allura then smugly pets the ledger. “As for this ledger, you have nothing to lose by launching an investigation into the names in here. If the investigation's a bust, you can blame the disgraced baron of Sydonia. If the investigation proves fruitful, you can rake in the fame and glory, your country gets to defrock some corrupt clergy and loot their assets, and I get my people back, so I can bring them home!”-Allura
“I see your point, but we do have to survive this presumed crisis first. What do you need from us?”-Frandoh.
“We need your people to relay messages to Deokk's army, mixed in with your regular patrols if you like, to avoid suspicion, and to inform the troops on your country's side of the border to begin siege operations, so that those treacherous snakes don't escape. And if, gods forbid, it turns into open combat, we'll need all the support your people can provide us.”-Allura
“That's reasonable. We'll get started right away.”-Frandoh.
It doesn't take long for the Black Serpent to notice the city's gone on high alert and is blockaded on both sides of the border by their respective troops.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“I don't like it! Do you think they've gotten wise to us?”-Westro
“And we were so close! Marquess! What have you learned?”-Commander
“It appears there's a manhunt going on for a suspected terrorist who raided the Deokk mines, took off with some slaves, after apparently killing just about every armed guard in the place, and enslaved the baron running it just long enough to make him blow the place to hell with the mine's own explosives.”-Marquess
“Nice poster. The artist made her look downright sassy! They're saying she did all that alone? I'm not buying it. It's extremely unlikely such a skilled operative would even show her face unless....”-Westro
The commander, Westro, and Marquess all turn to each other and loudly proclaim at once “TRAVELER!”
“Fuck! It just had to happen now, that our years of scheymes, plotting, and service to C'th'skhss is about to come to fruition, some meddler came along to ruin it!”-Commander
“And how the hell do you pronounce that name anyhow?”-Westbro
“You need to have your tongue surgically altered, Westro, and even then you may not be able to get it right, not even if you're a reptilian, like me!”-Commander
“So I take it we're going to accelerate our plans then?”-Marquess
“Indeed. Contact Zarthman and have his troops hurry up in getting the summoning ritual ready...”-Westro
A masked man suddenly appears from invisibility behind Westro. “No need for that. Everything is ready on our end. We're just waiting for the order to begin with the sacrifices.”-Zartham
“Alright! Tell your Dreadlocks to start right away, before those goody two-shoes try to stop us!”-Commander
With but a simple snap of his finders, Zartham signals the start of the massacre of every last man, woman, and child in the city, starting from the poorly defended slums, back-alleys, and overcrowded parts of the pleasure district, to slowly working their way into the merchant's quarter, the nobles districts, and the embassy areas, as well as all the other strategically important places.
Back at the embassy, the now very uneasy alliance was busy preparing itself for a dangerous battle with unknown numbers and types of forces, a battle that can not be avoided.
System Notice: Smokeless Powder blueprint research complete. Smokeless powder ready for construction. Alert: more sulfur needed.
“Well, since there aren't any hot-springs nor volcanoes in the area and I need sulfur, or do you call it brimstone?, the best place I can get some is the latrines.”
“Umm. Do we have to?”-Allura
“No, I don't suppose we have to, I can make some with MP, but it would be better to save MP for the battle ahead and get what we need by scavenging trash and waste, of all kinds.”
“Oh. Okay. Jade. We'll need to talk, in private.”-Allura.
“Oh. That's a dangerous series of words. The one who hears them is almost never up for a good time...”
“Indeed. That is sage wisdom.”-Deokk
“And you're both right. It's not going to be pleasant, Jade.”-Allura
As Jade's using a clever application of his [Analysis] skill to suck up sewage from the very, very deep latrine pit using suction through a large glass cylinder, deconstructing everything into its component atoms, Jade begins her little tirade.
“Look. I get that this is an emergency and you might have different cultural mores, being a Traveler, and likely not being a beast-kin. But we need to cover why this request is particularly touchy among the people of Furcadia.”
“Let me get this straight. You have no issues with nudity, nor sexuality, as you had me around you while you bathe and you tend to flirt quite aggressively, which I enjoy by the way, but toilet etiquette is a problem?”
“Good. That makes this quick and easy.”- Allura
“Oh?”
“See. We're raised to accept that only dumb animals, children too young to understand, or those too old/feeble/ill to do anything would dare mess with our own waste.”-Allura
“I can see how that makes sense, but how do you deal with sewage and such? Leaving giant pools of the stuff around and pretending they don't exist can't possibly be viable.”
“Well. We do have pools of the stuff, but we use specially trained slimes to take care of everything.”-Allura
“Oh, wait. The slaves we had to leave in that stable?”
“I've been trying not to think about it! Putting my countrymen through that is the lowest form of insult! The fact that we had to abandon them in a filthy barn pisses me off to no end! I'm grateful we were able to make it NOT filthy for them, at least, and I can't really blame the boy running the place, but who in their right mind that isn't a hateful bigot would think declaring that beast-kin, in a neutral city, should be mandated to sleep in stables and consider that a good idea?!”
