The Celestial Bureaucracy

Looking forward to more

great story
but im still kinda waiting for a sino-vietnamese war

School is ramping up fairly quickly, so I regret to say that I'll be postponing the update until I get things in order. I might do another culture update in the meantime though.

Until then, Cheers~

Sorry, this update has been long overdue.
Finals are still going on, so it'll be awhile till the next one as well.

Subtlety



We reached the gates of the Commonwealth city of Poznan one week after departing our beloved fatherland of Saxony. My bodyguards stopped by the roadside to feed the horses while my translator, Greta pored over the map. It was decided quickly after leaving Hamburg that between the two most frequented routes out of Europe, that we would take the Northern Route which ran through the Littorn Commonwealth.

The Southerly Route which ran through the Dual Empire of Austro-Hungary was the most heavily frequented but the tariffs and poll taxes squeezed the wealth from pilgrims like juice from oranges. The reasoning behind this came from the fact that Dual Empire controlled not only the Bosphorus Strait, but the lands on both sides of it as well. Still, it was a secure and well-maintained route and no pilgrim travelling the Route would ever fear being preyed on by highwaymen.

However, Austro-Hungary belonged to the civilized sphere of nations and would not hesitate to snub perceived barbarians such as ourselves, even though as Europeans, we are all supposed to be children of Japheth all the same.

The Northern Route on the other hand, was not regulated by the Littorn Commonwealth and as a result, frequently terrorized by raiders & highwaymen. There were practically no poll taxes to pay though. And despite being Gentiles, they didn’t ask questions or care who you were, what religion you practiced or where you came from. The most low-profile option by far.

The city of Poznan in particular was a good staging point.

It was not only a checkpoint for religious pilgrims traversing the Northern Route, but a prominent international center for trade and commerce as well.

As we entered the city, Turks rode through the streets on their mounts and spread flyers out for public ceremonies and events. Greeks & Romans could be seen performing street theater for crowds of bystanders. And Norsemen were operating chariot ride services for the busy citizens of the city.

We made our way to the market to restock on supplies.

On the way there, we witnessed a young boy attempt to pick a man’s pocket. The man immediately took notice and seized the street urchin by the hand, and started screaming at him. At a moment’s notice, Littorn guards were on the scene and took the boy away. I looked away and remained on task. But at the back of my mind, I couldn’t help thinking that what I saw could be the fate of one of my tribesmen’s children if I failed.

I noticed that people were staring at us as we rode our horses through the street. My father’s men were following a little too close to me. With their zweihanders and scarred faces, they were hardly inconspicuous. “Are they trying to draw more attention to me?” I stopped and whispered over to my closest bodyguard, “Look, I know my father wanted you to protect me, but right now, you’re attracting more notice and putting me at more risk than you know, I just need you to lay off until we skip town, okay? Greta and I can handle ourselves,” My bodyguard nodded and along with the other four men rode off to standby elsewhere in the city.

Greta and I finally made it to the bakery. My brunette translator hastily dismounted and followed me in as I entered the store.
“How much food do we have left, Greta?” I asked.

“About two days worth, Princess,” she punctually answered. I pulled her close and reprimanded her,
“Don’t call me Princess out here,” I whispered while shooting her an admonishing look.
“Oh, I forgot, I’m sorry,” she apologized. I simply sighed. As talented as my companions, subtlety was definitely not their strong suits. Greta loaded several baskets full of flatbread and paid the baker. As we left the bakery, we were approached by a skinny man with strawberry blonde hair.

The man clearly wanted to talk to us but was going through different languages to see which ones we spoke.
He first addressed us in Spanish and then Italian, both of which Greta was not too polished in.
“Do you understand me now?” he asked, speaking in our mother tongue.
“Er, yes, I do,” Greta replied sparking a look of delight on the man’s face.
“Ah, so you speak German,” the man happily replied.
“My name is Fairfax, pleased to make your acquaintance,”
Judging by the man’s accent, he was Avalonese, from the British Isles to the west.
There was an awkward silence in which no one spoke or knew what to say. Greta and I simply walked out as he followed.

“Wait! Hear me out!” Fairfax pleaded. "I know you've got this,"
He pulled out a letter, the same one we were carrying as my bridal ticket.
Only the most respected and senior members of the tribe knew about my letter.
This Avalon man should not have known. Greta picked up on this immediately and proceeded to pin the man to the wall and start shaking him down.
"How did you know we have a bridal ticket!? Who are you really?"
“No-no-no! Please, you have it all wrong!” he stammered.
“You can let him go,” called a voice from behind.
A young red-haired girl emerged into view. She wore thin furs and was adorned with a red & grey cloak.
“We are on the same journey,” she addressed in German.
I squinted at the girl and realized that I recognized her, “Blythe?!”
The girl was the eldest daughter of the Chief of the Avalons. I had met with her on several occasions and the first time we had met, she drove me to my wits’ end. Later, we became somewhat good friends; as far as I could tell anyway. But if she was here, then that meant…
“Yes, I received the letter as well,” she said, finishing my thoughts. “I had been travelling with just Fairfax here up until today; when I spotted you in the crowd, I just had to get him to try and convince you to travel with me for my safety,”

“Wasn’t it dangerous for you to travel with that man alone in the first place?”
“He’s a eunuch. And that’s a bit hypocritical isn’t it? Considering you’re travelling with five men yourself,” she retorted in her trademarked scalding wit.
“How did you know that?” I asked, astonished.
Blythe simply cocked her head over by the waterfront where my father’s men could be seen miserably failing at tailing me. I subsequently groaned.

Greta let go of Fairfax and he subsequently straightened out his robes.
“Well, will you let my steward and I accompany you?” Blythe asked.
“We are competing against each other now, you must realize right?”
“It sounds to me that you want this too much,” she grinned.
I couldn’t let her know that my real objective was to gain the protection of the Empire through my marriage.
If there was anything that was strictly confidential, that had to be it.
So I lied. “I saw the Emperor’s portrait, Blythe. I simply fell in love at first sight, and no one’s going to stop me from seizing that man as my groom, not you, not anyone,” That was extremely difficult for me to say and I couldn't help but think she saw right through to me.
She gave me an odd look in kind, “I always thought of you as just a ruffian, Adeline,”

She told me frankly to which I couldn’t help but grimace. “Never took you for a romantic,”
“As for me, my father has sent me, hoping I can send Chinese riches back to the Isles,” Blythe explained.
“But at least this gives me the chance to travel the world and spend my life in a legendary court. Given the rumors from other countries, and, *ahem*, your own testimony, the Emperor doesn’t look half bad either, so there’s nothing to lose,”

She put a hand on my shoulder. My father’s men immediately sprung into action and surrounded a frightened Fairfax and a calm & collected Blythe.
I sighed for what must have been the umpteenth time.
“It’s alright, men, you all remember Princess Blythe, right?” They looked at each other and realized that they were indeed improperly surrounding the princess.
They backed off and made their apologies, practically groveling to her. Ugh.

“Blythe and her steward want to…travel with us…” I said to them reluctantly. When I saw that none of them objected, I turned to Greta. “And you, Greta?”

Greta was still watching Fairfax but she nodded in agreement.
“Fine,” I sighed. “But you better hold your weight, Blythe, if you can’t keep up the pace or contribute in a pitched fight, I will leave you behind,” I warned them.

After spending a night at one of the numerous taverns that dotted the streets of Poznan, we set off for the Varangian lands in the morning. There was still so much ground to cover but I was determined. Upon reflecting on the encounter with Blythe, I ultimately decided it would be best to keep her around on the journey. She pooled her funds with ours and tended to eat very little, so she was far from being a strain on our supplies.

And as much as I hated to admit it, her sharp wits kept me on my feet.

Wow

for moar

For the story that is becoming as good as PotU

Finals are over.

So regular updating will resume.

Also, thank you, but I don't think this story can compare with Princes of the Universe.
I use too many local colloquialisms in my dialogue (hence the spotty grammar) and my style is derived from a little experience in writing role-playing modules.
Plus, Sisiutil is a professional/full-time writer with a novel or two, isn't he? Yeah.

Anyways, there will be an update coming soon.

He's not published yet AFAIK, but soon might be, IIRC.

Finals are over? Lucky, mine are starting soon

Flicker

“Run, Run, RUN!!!” I yelled as I pushed my horse to ride faster.
Riding several meters behind us, a group of Varangian raiders were hot on our tails.

They had ambushed us on the Turkish off-road and killed two of my bodyguards before we knew what had hit us.
And now we were riding across the vast steppes in a desperate attempt to flee them.

My bodyguards fired a volley of arrows and were able to take two of our pursuers off their horses.
There were at least two dozen of them though. And they returned our arrows in kind.
“Get down!!” I shouted as the arrows whiffed around us. “Where do we go?!” Fairfax screamed.

“I don’t know!!” I berated the eunuch, “Just keep moving forward!!”
I looked backwards and saw the Varangians from the corner of my eye readying their bows again. “Everyone get down again!!” I yelled.
One arrow landed square in the back of the head for one of my bodyguards.
His horse tumbled violently and his body with it, but suddenly, it had disappeared from view.
“Whaaa-----?,” I exclaimed until I realized we were run right off a cliff and felt the rush of the drop overtake me.

We all started to free-fall deep into the crevasse.
I could only think about my imminent death as we all plummeted down the straight drop.
A piercing jolt started from somewhere on my back and spread all through my body as I felt the cliff-face smash against me.
The incline of the cliff had changed from steep to gradual and as I slid down the slope, a hard thud could be heard as I dropped onto the chasm floor.
Groaning in pain and trying to gather my bearings, I heard another thump lay beside me, coughing and wheezing.
Blythe had landed next to me, writhing on the floor in pain. At this point I had regained my footing and checked to see if she was alright.

Her left arm was limp and she screamed when I applied pressure on her elbow. It was probably best not to move that arm.
I could hear Greta, Fairfax & the others on the other side of the rubble. They were attempting to break through to reach us but it was apparent that it was to no avail.

“Princess! Are you injured?”
“I’m fine, but Blythe has a fractured arm,”
“We’re trying to get through, just give us a minute!”

They went for another round of tackling the rubble but it just would not budge.

“It’s no good!” I heard my translator shout.
“Is there another path over on your side?” Blythe shouted to them.
After a few seconds of silence, we got a response.
“Yes, there is,” we heard Fairfax shout back.
“Okay, listen to me, Fairfax, I want you to go follow the other path. There really isn’t any other choice at this point.
We’re far too deep to climb back up and even if we could, those Varangians would be up there waiting for us.
With any luck, somehow we can meet on the other side,”
“What if they run separately, how will we reach you?” Greta asked.
“Don’t worry about that,” I piqued in. “

“Also!!” the red-haired girl added. “Are the horses on your side of the rubble?”
“Er, yes, they are, but they’re dead,” Fairfax replied in a downtrodden tone.
“Would you like us to salvage what we can from them?”
“Most definitely,” Blythe responded a little weakly, “Don’t forget our bridal tickets, Fairfax,”
Greta was still displeased at this state of separation.

“Please Greta, there’s nothing we can do here if we stay. Just trust me, we will meet again soon,” I tried to reassure her.
“The Princess is right, Greta,” I heard a bodyguard say. “We will find another way, do not sulk. She is still alive so hope is not lost,”

Blythe and I left the tower of rubble and began walking through the crevasse. It was long and twisted but at least

Blythe and I stared into the gaping maw. It stayed agape and didn’t appear capable of moving. After a short while of watching it, I worked up the nerve and got up from behind the rock to walk towards it. “What are you doing?!” Blythe exclaimed. “Don’t let the beast see you!” I motioned back to her, but didn’t say anything. Standing before it, I took a moment for myself and then stepped in between the jaws of the beast.

I stood between the jaws for a time. Nothing happened. “Come on, follow me,” I called out to Blythe. After seeing that the “jaws” were harmless, she got up and followed me into the maw. The interior appeared to be pitch black but we had no choice. It was the only way we could go. Blythe held onto my right shoulder as we walked so we wouldn’t become separated. And I kept my hand on the wall to try and keep our bearings straight. The wall was rocky but over time, it became smooth. Unusually smooth. It didn’t really hit me until the space we were traversing suddenly flooded with light. Blythe raised her still working arm over her face to shield her eyes from the sudden change in lighting.

The light flickered but appeared to be coming from overhead, from the ceiling. I didn’t question it, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t unnerved. Despite the uneasiness that came with the sudden light, it was good that we had gained visibility of our surroundings.

All throughout this place, we saw nothing but dilapidated surroundings and small puddles of water. But occasionally, we could see a strange symbol etched into the walls.



Neither of us had seen anything like it. It didn’t look like any language we could think of, but after looking at one for awhile,
we decided it was best not to dwell on such things.

After walking further ahead for awhile, I could feel the texture of the ground change. What was previously smooth flooring became a veritable mess of loose rock on the ground. The ceiling above our heads and the marble white walls did not seem to change in appearance though.

“Oh!!” I heard Blythe exclaim, “Look!” she pointed with her right arm. “Glass!!” she shouted excitedly.
There were over at least a dozen shards of glass on the ground in front of us. “Careful,” I cautioned but internally, I was just as happy about this discovery. Glass was a hard commodity to come by throughout the world and being able to sell just a few shards, assuming we could find a way out of this place, would help fund the rest of our expedition. I crouched down to help Blythe gather the glass and place it in the pack that I still had on me.

“Adeline,” Blythe called.
“What is it, did you find more glass?” I asked.
“No,” she responded. “Do you know what that is?”
I walked towards her and took a look at what she was pointing at. I had never seen anything like it.



Part of it was made from wood and it appeared to be some sort of tool, but…it didn’t look like any tool I had seen before. When I picked it up, it felt somewhat light, as if it were hollow on the inside.

It wasn’t long till I figured out one of the parts could be moved. As soon as I pulled it back, a resounding burst of noise and light emerged from the other end of the tool. With all due haste, I dropped it out of my hands. Across the way, a small hole had materialized in the wall. Blythe and I looked at each other and slowly, I reached over to the object again and squeezed the movable part again. Another hole appeared next to the other one I had made before. We both agreed something like this could potentially be useful on our trip.

We saw many skeletons in the corridor. Some of them still had scraps of cloth attached to their bones but it was too hard to tell what kind of clothing it might have been. There were several tools similar to the one I had recovered lying on the rubble everywhere as well. Blythe picked one up with her good arm and slung it over her shoulder.

As we kept walking along, our surroundings changed again. A large cavernous space lay ahead of us but it wasn’t the size of it that filled us with awe. There were huge skeletons that looked like they were some sort of metal. Iron maybe? Blythe, upon seeing them, insisted that we were in a dragon graveyard and that this place validated their existence. Normally, I would’ve been skeptical but even I couldn’t deny the presence of the hulking, creaking, lifeless skeletons that towered above me. This place just kept getting odder and odder.



“Is this a map? If this is, this amazing! Oh, I wish I had the map still with me to compare,” “I mean if this is correct, then, we can’t be too far away from the Empire!” she exclaimed. “Maybe I can take this with us as well!” But when she reached out to grab it, the map crumbled into dust. I took her by the shoulder and encouraged her to move on.

“Let’s keep going Blythe, there are obviously things we can’t bring with us, amazing as they are,” I said.

“What do you think this place was?” Blythe conjectured as we kept moving along.
“Who knows?” I shrugged, “Maybe it was some ancient city that fell into ruin,”
“I’ve never seen you so excited before, Blythe,”

“Never?” the red-head turned to me.
“To tell you the truth, every time I’ve met with you, you seemed to give the impression that everything wasn’t worth your notice or attention,” I admitted.
I suddenly realized the gravity of what I had just said and the feeling washed over me that I should have held my tongue.
“Adeline, that was exactly how I felt,” she said.

“I’m not like you, you know,” Blythe said. “And I don’t mean that in disrespect, Adeline,”
“I didn’t love my country and often cursed myself for being a princess of Avalon,”
“There was nothing in my life that had any value. My whole purpose for existing in the first place was to lie back and think of Avalon; reproduce, or rather to secure favorable positions for my father. What else was there in my life? Attending temple services, crafting, mingling with vapid and single-minded tribeswomen; all of that was devoid of substance for me. And my father. He is a man who embodies the sin of greed. All through my life, he has offered me up to dozens of suitors in Avalon with the sole purpose of enriching his coffers,”

This was all very sudden of her but I stayed silent and continued to listen.

“You might be wondering why I would agree to go off to become a bride at behest of my father.
I had resolved to myself, if I’m going to lie back and think of Avalon, then I’ll find a way to do it outside of it and never come back,” she kicked a piece of loose rock off the floor. “And when that envoy came to our shore and delivered the letter, I knew I could seize my chance there,”

She turned to me and addressed me directly.
“Adeline, you have a country you love, a family and people you cherish,”
“In that, I am envious of you,” she sighed. “I can’t understand why you left such a treasured place to go off to a far-flung land in the corner of the world,”

“That’s exactly why I left though. Blythe, if only you knew…”

“I hope you do not think of me as too flighty, Adeline,”
“No, of course not, why would you even be concerned with that?” I asked.
“Because if you did, I’m afraid you wouldn’t be able to take me seriously as a friend,”
She thought of me as a friend. Beyond all the patronizing and teasing, I got the feeling that she considered me a true friend.

We suddenly caught sight of a faint glimmer off to the far side of the wall. Upon closer inspection, the light appeared to be from the sun! There was a way out! A crack was arrayed across the wall and along those lines, the material could be pulled loose and both of us could squeeze through. I helped Blythe out first and then climbed up and over back onto the outside.

It was going to be a long way down. After coming out of the ruin, we discovered that we were standing on another cliffside,
albeit less elevated than the one we previously fell off of. The pathway ahead was partially covered in more rubble, but it was traversable.
We decided to move forward, in hopes of encountering the others again.

“Princess!!” we both heard a voice call from below.
When we both peered over the ridge, we spotted Greta, Fairfax & the others on a pathway below us.
“Oh, how will we reach you?” Greta called out.
“There must be a way down up ahead, just keep following the path!” I shouted back to her.
After following along us for awhile it was apparent that there was no way down, apart from a slight depression in the middle of the path.
There wasn’t any way to progress from here as well, with the end of the walkway that we stood upon gradually merging into the side of the mountain.

“We don’t have a choice, Blythe, it looks like we have to jump,”
“Just hope that they catch us,” I added. “Greta, we’re going to jump!!” I called to my translator.
“What?!” she exclaimed in disbelief. “No! It’s too dangerous!”
“There isn’t any other way, let’s just coordinate this properly,” I replied. “That’s an order,”
Blythe and I watched as the men got into position and we readied ourselves for the jump.
I took her hand and when she was ready we plummeted off of the cliff.
My bodyguards managed to safely grab hold of us and proceeded to put us down slowly.

“Thank goodness you’re alright, Princess,” Fairfax beamed as he approached Blythe.
“Let me see your injury, please,” Blythe gave him her arm as he began to treat her injury.
“What are those things that you and Blythe have slung over your shoulders?” my translator asked me quizzically.
“It’s a long story, but I’ll save it for later,” I responded.

Our party managed to find our way out of the crevasse and made it out onto the steppe.
We took a moment to make a few impromptu earth burials for our fallen comrades and began to proceed.
The loss of our mounts would mean that the journey would take longer but we spotted a small village up ahead on the horizon.
With any luck, we could trade for new horses there or maybe even camels.

Now I just have to hope that I've got just enough luck left to last rest of the journey.

Very nice, will follow. ancient civilization uh? wonder what is that cave

Taliban. Lol.

I dunno, maybe he found a tribal hut with rifling or something?

I find it quite curious that someone would take the time to carve out the logo for an airliner in a cave wall

I picked up huts at the beginning of the game.
The rest of them were already snatched up by the AI.
So no, I didn't get Rifling.

Where the characters ended up is just a bit of both narrative and foreshadowing.
It also gives you guys something to speculate about.

Unrelenting

After our descent from the mountain, we made our way to a Turkish border town and traded for supplies. When Blythe, Greta & I came back with a train of camels, the men were astounded. “How did you find the money for all of these mounts?” Fairfax exclaimed. Blythe shrugged, “We’ve had this much money. Some of us just know how to budget correctly,” In reality, we traded the glass we found and received extra supplies in addition to our new camel train to boot. They didn’t have to know that though.

We now passed through Tartar territory, making our way to the border of the Chinese Empire.
On our map, it indicated that the nearest border fortress was only a few miles away from here.
After several months of travelling out in the wilderness and through foreign lands, we had finally reached our destination!
The sense of exuberance however, was quickly snuffed out.
Out in the distance, our party spotted a group of riders on the hillside over to the north.
They were Tartars. And they did not look friendly.

“Oh, not again,” I said to myself. “Everyone, we have to run now!!” I commanded.
“What? Why?” Greta asked, confused at the sudden change in spirit.
“Just do it! There are Tartars here! We need to go at full speed!!” I shouted.
That got them going. We pushed our camels to the limit as we traversed through the rough terrain.
This was a make or break situation; no convenient crevasses here to save us this time.
Over on the northern hills, the Tartars broke into formation and began to hunt us down.

These men were not like the undisciplined Varangians we had escaped from before.
Within a matter of minutes they were already hot on our tails and on our flanks, getting ready to dive in.

“They’re closing in!”



One of the riders swerved close and caused Greta’s camel to lose control and crash into the ground.
As I looked back, another Tartar swooped in and grabbed Greta from off the ground.

“Keep going, Princess!! We’ll stay behind and buy you some time!!” my bodyguards yelled as they prepared to fight the bulk of the oncoming horde. “We can’t leave you or Greta behind!” I shouted. “Do you see that woodland over there?” my bodyguard yelled as he pointed east. “If we happen to still be alive, we will meet you there, but for now, you must flee, Princess!!” He turned his back to me and along with the other men, charged backwards, with zweihanders raised to the sky in a desperate attempt to buy us time. Blythe & Fairfax rode alongside me as we dashed towards the clearing.

We quickly made our way into it, tying our mounts to several trees deeper inside.
As soon as that was done, we ran out by the brush to watch for any sign of their return.

Suddenly, I felt something sharp sink into my left scapula. When I turned around to see what had happened to me, I saw Fairfax standing over me, dagger raised, ready to stab me again.

“NO!!! What are you doing Fairfax?!” I heard Blythe scream. She stopped him from plunging the dagger into my flesh a second time. My vision was a blur, but I could make out the outline of Blythe wrestling with Fairfax. He broke free from her and with one quick motion, the eunuch slashed her throat. She collapsed to the ground, limp and spilling blood from her neck while Fairfax walked back over to me to finish the job.

"You killed Blythe!!!" I exclaimed, still in disbelief.
"That I did," he said casually. "You understand that you're next, right?"
“Why, Fairfax?” I screamed, trying to ignore the pain from the wound.
“What else? I work for the Gallians,” the eunuch laughed as he twirled his dagger.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. We had travelled together for months and there was nothing to suggest that he might betray us.
“I had to wait of course for a good opportunity to get close to you, without the presence of your bodyguards or any other sort of nonsense,” the dirty-blonde snickered. “The Gallians offered me everything I could ever want; money, a villa, even a harem, all in return for your head on a platter, Adeline.
Blythe over there was just an unfortunate casualty,” he smiled.
“A harem?! Why would you even want that? You’re a damn eunuch!”
“Oh, believe me, I may lack the essential parts, but I still have my ways to enjoy,” the traitor sneered.
And he suddenly lunged forward brandishing his main gauche, ready to strike.

I dodged out of the way just barely and kicked him out into the open. Leaping after him, I tried to disarm him but he moved aside and we ended up facing each other in the middle of the dust pit.

He thrusted again with the dagger but I knocked it out of his hands by smashing in his elbow.
“Fight fair!!” I screamed as I threw another punch, this time aimed at his face.
He caught my blow with his hand and made space for himself by kicking me back.
Now that the line had been drawn, we began to circle each other in the dust pit cautiously.
Fairfax didn’t look it, but he was a wily fighter and I had to stay on edge.

Stampeding hooves could be heard over in the distance as we fought.
From the corner of my eye, I spotted them stopping on the elevated hills to watch our fight.
They were visibly confused at the situation but also visibly amused as well.
Presumably they would swoop in and capture me if I should win or kill Fairfax as soon as he was finished.
I could hear Greta screaming and hollering at us before her mouth was muffled by her captor.
She would have to wait. They would all have to wait.

The only thing I wanted to do right now was kill Fairfax.

I lunged at him and tackled him, but he held his ground and pushed me off of him. When I looked up, his fist had made impact with my nose, leaving me disoriented. I couldn’t see it as I was stumbling, but I felt him backhand my face, spilling blood from my nose and sending me flying to the ground.

“See luv’, this is why women ought to not be fighting,”
I felt Fairfax grab my hair and begin dragging me across the hard ground with it.
“If all the Saxons fight like you, then it’s really no wonder why you’re losing the war,”
“AAAUUUGGHHHHH!!!” I howled as he kicked me in the ribs.
He then looked up to address the Tartars up on the hill.

“Do you see this, Tartars?! How about I cut you a deal? Let me go in peace and I’ll give you this precious little princess! Not quite damaged goods yet! How about it, hm?” Fairfax began to laugh like a madman. Barely conscious, I realized that this was my chance.

Flinging my legs up into the air, my feet took hold of his head, catching him by surprise and with all my strength; I brought my weight back down with sheer force, smashing his head onto the rocks. As he struggled to lift himself off the ground, I brought the ancient tool slung over my back into my hands and bashed his head in with the blunt end of the instrument.

What happened next, I could not recall.
I only saw red and by the time I came to, Greta was next to me shaking me and sobbing hysterically.
The Tartars had apparently fled the scene and what remained of Fairfax lay sprawled on the rocks in a bloody, unrecognizable mess.
A small wisp of smoke was coming from the hollow point of the ancient tool I was holding.

“Adeline,” she cried. “What happened? Why did you kill Fairfax?!”
My senses returned to me upon hearing her voice. I looked over to her and stared at her red, puffy face.

I had a lot of explaining to do.

Tending to my wound was the priority however. Greta helped to patch me up and gave me a diagnosis on what the wound had done to me. I was fortunate in that
the wound in my scapula wasn’t fatal; it would appear that it missed my vitals, but it still hurt. There was no time to mourn the lost now. In the wood, I wrapped up Blythe’s bleeding neck with cloth and laid her body against the brush. As I shut her eyes, she looked like she was just entering a long sleep, but maybe that was just me trying to cope with the loss. I had really felt like we had become genuine friends and that we had reached a mutual understanding. All of that was gone now. Greta and I held a brief moment of silence for our fallen Saxon brothers and began to ride. We still had the bridal ticket and the camels that we hid in the wood.

As we trekked across the dusty steppe, I told my translator what had transpired. She was shocked to hear that Fairfax had betrayed us and remorseful about Blythe’s death. When she inquired about the thing I used to kill Fairfax with, I admitted to her about my little foray into the ancient ruin.

But neither of us were in the mood to talk. We rode the rest of the way in silence.

After travelling several leagues, the outpost was now within sight. Greta pointed out the black and red dragon banners that flew proudly over the ramparts of the fortress and we increased our pace and promptly arrived in front of the gates. The guards came to attention and approached us, presumably demanding us to stop. Greta couldn’t speak their language of course but I revealed the letter and the ticket and brought it to their attention. The guards looked at each other and one of them left to enter the fortress while the other one waited with us. A man dressed in thicker-looking armor soon arrived. He appeared to be an officer of some sort. The officer appraised us and judging from the expression on his face, did not think highly of us. I couldn’t blame him.

I was still bleeding in places and Greta was similarly roughed up by the Tartars. It wasn’t until one of the guards pointed at the letter and gold piece of paper I held in my hand till the officer changed his expression. With a big smile, the officer beckoned for us to follow him into the fortress.

Greta and I followed him in with heavy hearts and half-broken spirits. We had lost everything and everyone to reach our destination. But I had to resign myself from grieving. The fate of my nation rested on my success and if I failed, then the sacrifice of my men and…Blythe, would all be for naught.

I couldn’t let them down.

What a damned Frenchie bastard
good thing everything that remained were a lot of pieces

Seriously, TD, this story is AMAZING. You don't write professionally by any chance?

General Olaf said:

Seriously, TD, this story is AMAZING. You don't write professionally by any chance?

Click to expand...

No, I don't write professionally.
I am an illustrator to be exact and would love to draw book covers but that's the extent of it.

I have a huge list of influences, but I'll list them when this story is over.
I would do it like helmling & Sisiutil have done for their stories, but with mine, I feel like it may give away too much of where I want this story to end up, so just wait

Other than that, I am the Storyteller for several Roleplaying Campaigns for a group of friends. To be specific, I started out with (playing) White Wolf games (like World of Darkness or Exalted) instead of the standard D&D fare that most people start out with, so that changes up my writing process in two ways (imo):

1. I focus a lot more on pop/alternative-culture influences and hyper stylization.
2. Trying to make people see from perspectives they wouldn't normally give a second thought.
3. Characters drive the story. They have to be multi-dimensional and have flaws in order to keep a story interesting.
4. I try to keep the game/story fast-paced and interesting.

Any more questions? The next update is coming along nicely by the way so keep posted.

Before I start this update, I want to say that the latest version of GEM has been released by Genghis Kai. All units apparently have a move score of 2 or greater now, something I sorely wished I had for this campaign. Oh well, maybe I'll replay it on Monarch or something. Anyways, onto the story!

Heut Ist Mein Tag

After I had received medical attention from the physicians of the Tartar-Chinese border outpost, Greta and I were sent in to the commander’s office to speak with him.



The commander had put two and two together and understood that we had been attacked by Tartars. It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence apparently, according to how much Greta understood from his words. As the invitations were sent out, eventually word spread to organized crime and slavers all over the world. We were lucky to have made it, he said. The commander assured us that we would be given a security detail to accompany us to the capital just in case.

Before he summoned some attendants to bring us to our lodgings, he mentioned that the choosing of the brides was two weeks from now, and Louyang was only a day’s ride away. This meant that Greta had some time to learn some rudimentary Mandarin and I had some time to rest from my ordeals.

We were subsequently brought to a bath house next to our guest room in order to clean our wounds and refresh ourselves. I balked at the idea initially. Normally, when a Saxon hears of a bath house, we associate it with Roman decadence and sloth. But upon entering, it dispelled my stereotypes and misgivings. Instead of a large marble pool filled with prostitutes and dirty old men, we found ourselves in a private, modestly furnished room with two large wooden tubs spilling water into the indented floor. The water was warm to the touch and a combination of peony and lotus blossoms floated atop the surface, bringing a pleasant aroma up to our noses.

Greta, while still slightly shaken, could not abandon her duties and had already began to work on learning Mandarin along with the written characters of the Chinese. “This language is so difficult!” Greta fumed, as she flipped through the material. “If I pronounce this character with just the slightest change in tone, its meaning changes entirely,” She nearly dropped the book into the bath but managed to catch it time, breathing a sigh of relief.
“Don’t overexert yourself, Greta,” I said wearily, “There will be plenty of time to study,”

It didn’t appear that she had heard me. I wasn’t going to press the issue anyway. Receding into the waters, I reflected on the events of the journey.

“Blythe would have enjoyed this,” I thought to myself as I closed my eyes and tried to forget my worries.



Three days later, we were given a high priority escort by the Imperial Army to the capital of Louyang. As such, we did not ride in the sedans like privileged guests normally did, but were seated in a military-grade chariot. The Imperial Army was phasing out their chariot fleet for mounted cavalry I was told, but they were still used to shuttle around VIPs and were being introduced to the civilian sphere as a mode of transport.

The streets in the city were paved wide, but oddly enough for the capital of the largest Empire in the known world, was very empty. It was a military city, Greta relayed to me. Louyang was the nexus point where they brought young boys from across the Empire to begin elite military training. Several schools of swordfighting, archery & martial arts had their origins here and combined with a generation-long instilment of loyalty towards the Emperor, the city produced some of the most fearsome warriors to walk the earth.

When we arrived into the grand hall of the palace, multitudes of women from various nations were already all gathered here, seeking for an audience with the Emperor. They all had their own letters, just like me. On the wings of the grand hall, nobles and ministers from across the Empire were in attendance.
They were hedging bets at who would be chosen to be the future Empress.

The ladies of the court were visibly annoyed and scornful of every newcomer though. Word had circulated for some time about the divine message the Emperor had received, urging him to take a new Empress from a foreign nation. As Xiwangmu was the patron goddess of women, it was perceived that she had turned her back on the women of this land. Still, begrudging or no, the multitudes of court ladies wanted to see for themselves what all the fuss was about.

Two major factions were at play here.

The Arabs all sat in one corner, eyeing the competition and flaunting their confidence for all to see. Hailing from the nation of the United Arab Sheikhdoms, the collective of sheikhs that ruled each province sent a total of thirteen daughters in order to increase their chances. Although united, the UAS was a very weak country. It was also the birthplace of the Christian religion; a much scorned faith amongst the Western world. The UAS was surrounded by hostile Judaic enemies. Babylon & Israel to the north held contempt for the UAS, as well as Abydosians to the west and the Aryans to the east. In this, I felt some semblance of understanding for them, despite being Jewish myself. However, their nation was not under siege like mine was.

The other major faction was the cabal of daughters of the King of the Pashtuns, Mirwais Tarkani. Though they had few enemies and were a well-respected kingdom, they wanted to link the House of Xia to the House of Tarkani for matters of prestige and enrichment. If the Arabs had numbers, the Pashtuns had quality. The eldest daughter of Mirwais Tarkani, who had a gaggle of relatives surrounding her was quite possibly the most beautiful woman I had ever seen with my own eyes. This was going to be difficult to overcome indeed.

The painful realization soon set in that I looked completely different from the rest of the competition. Many of them were wearing fanciful silk garments and elaborately perfumed. Many of them had beautiful, straight black or brown hair. Their healthy tan & olive complexions practically made me look like a ghost in comparison; although my skin color was closer to that of the ladies of the Chinese court. Contrasted against my ruddy furs, barbarian musk & disheveled platinum blonde hair, my chances didn’t look good indeed.

“Good evening, subjects & prospective subjects of the Empire, I am the Prime Minister of His Eminence, Gao Su,” spoke a thin, wiry man dressed in simple, austere robes. Many interpreters were standing at the ready to translate his statements at the ready and interpret back to him any response he might receive. “The Emperor has instructed me to announce the method in which you will compete for marriage,” “There will be a series of three competitions for you to prove yourselves in,”
“The first is a beauty pageant where you will be judged for your breeding, grace & poise. You may retire to your rooms to change in the appropriate attire,”

“What did he say?” I nudged Greta. “Something about a display? I think he means modeling,”
I was soon ushered into a dressing room where I was to make a presentation of myself for the Emperor.
I removed my clothing so that Greta could begin reapplying the tattoo markers on my body.

As Greta smeared the paint across my back, my eyes wandered to a porcelain doll that rested on the vanity in my room. The figure depicted a former Empress in her youth. The Scarlet Empress to be exact. She was the last ethnic Han Empress and from what I was told, but that was two generations ago. She was a controversial figure of sorts but apparently, her image had been redeemed in recent years and upheld as a positive symbol of Chinese power instead of one of tyranny.



Overtones aside, I couldn’t help but admire the craftsmanship and care put into the piece. It did worry me though, as the way I looked was far from that ideal. I tried to shrug it off my mind as I donned a wrap of fur that slung around my body, as to show off my body paint.

Greta assisted me in painting my face with our tribal tattoos. Some attendants had attempted to apply hot oil to my hair in order to straighten it, but whether I was exercising good judgment or not, I declined. It was a crazy idea, but perhaps if I stood out as far removed in appearance from everyone else, I might catch some attention for myself. Then again, it might backfire and make me look like a fool, but I decided to gamble on it. The attendants also tried to adorn me with jewels but again I declined and put on my animal bone necklaces instead. I couldn’t refuse some simple perfume however. They were very adamant on that.

I luckily still had the pressed cornflowers from Saxony. Back home, people said that the flowers had matched with my eyes, but I didn’t know how much that was worth here. Greta decorated my hair with them anyway. A robed lady dropped by my room and impatiently tapped her feet against the ground, signaling me to go. The time was ready to go present myself to the Emperor. It was all or nothing.

The color drained from my face when I realized all of the other candidates had dressed in the robes provided by the Chinese attendants. Gazing at the crowd, many of the people in attendance were clearly outraged by my lack of modesty and clearly glaring at me. I caught the eye of some of the Arabs & the Pashtuns. The condescending smiles they could barely veil were making me tear myself up inside.

My chances didn’t look good. The Prime Minister watched over the assembly of females for a second, whispered something into the shadowed Emperor’s ear and resumed his post shortly thereafter.

“The next contest is ready. You may return to your dressing rooms to prepare for pitched combat,”

The princesses gathered looked at each other in dismay and then immediately began to protest. The Emperor wanted to judge their breeding and character but now wanted them to engage in a vulgar brawl? Even though the ladies of the Han court were well versed in martial affairs themselves, they chattered incredulously at the audacity of such a contest. Gao Su raised an eyebrow. “You may stay your mouths. Need I remind you that you are in the Court of the Xia Emperor and that while we are obliged to be hospitable towards you, that you also have an obligation to respect the Emperor’s wishes. You are welcome to sit out of this round but it will automatically dock you in part, the attention and consideration of His Eminence,”

Several guards marched into the room and set racks of wooden weapons against the wall for us to choose when we returned as all the candidates shuffled out, grumbling to don lamellar plates for mock battle. While they all were going to loathe this brawl, I was going to relish this.

When the fight began, my warrior instincts took over. Diving into the crowd, I didn’t even have to hit anyone physically to knock anyone down. These poor, prissy civilized women all faltered at the sight of me leaping towards them with sword in hand. In a matter of seconds, I was already last one standing. If the beauty pageant had drained me of any confidence I had, then the battle royale must have restored it all back. Behind the curtain of my room after we were all dismissed to clean ourselves up, I was practically grinning ear to ear.

Walking back out onto the runway, I felt like nothing else could stop me now. The other women glared at me, especially the ones who I had given cut lips. But all attention returned to the shadowed seat up above. Gao Su returned and announced that the last trial was a question that he would soon pose to us now:

“The question is: Why do you wish to become the Bride of the Emperor?”

Starting from the right, the princesses all began to dictate their reason for desiring marriage.

“I wish to bring the glory of the Empire to my uncultured peoples through your guidance!”
“My desire is to join my House with yours and produce beautiful offspring,”
“I just have my sights set on the most eligible bachelor in the world, the Xia Emperor!!”

I could’ve given a reason like the rest of these women; devoid of meaning and constructed solely to curry favor.
I couldn’t. I had to speak my mind. My conviction would not allow anything else.
So I blurted it out:

“My country is under siege from our mortal enemies, the Gallians. I have come here on my own accord, against the wishes of several of my countrymen to give myself up in exchange for my nation’s salvation. Our young men are dying, leaving our walls unattended and our young women, made slaves and ravaged! If you do not take Saxony under the wing of the Empire, then I fear it shall cease to exist at all. I am speaking from the heart, for a love of my tribe, my country and everything I hold dear. For that reason, I am ready to surrender my all to His Eminence so that my people can live on! That is my reason,”

There was great silence in the hall save for the whispers of the interpreter to the shadowy figure behind the curtain. After a moment, he approached forward in view of the crowd again and spoke.

“Very well, next,” Gao Su said.

When I received Greta’s translation, I could feel my heart sink.
I must have failed if I had been dismissed so fast. The rest of the women went on, citing their reasons. Most of them were just saying what the court wanted to hear. Eventually, they run to the end of the line and Prime Minister Gao Su was ready to make his statement.

“Thank you, the Emperor has given me his decision and I am ready to make the announcement as to the woman the Emperor has selected to be his bride,” he spoke.

“The chosen bride is to be Adeline of Saxony!” the Prime Minister shouted with a finger pointed at me.

At this, a near unanimous gasp was heard coming from the crowd.
The eldest Pashtun at this point, erupted into rage, upon hearing the result,
“No!! That’s not right! She only won the brawl and nothing else!!” she screamed.
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Gao Su said in a matter-of-fact tone. “She won all three categories,”
“We’re not going to take your word for it!” the Pashtun princess spoke defiantly.
“If you’re not going to take his word for, then take mine,” the Emperor spoke from the shadows. “I desire Adeline to be my bride,” he said in the language of the Pashtuns.

My eyes widened as Greta relayed this to me.

“Adeline of Saxony is to be the bride of the Emperor of China,” Gao Su reiterated, slightly annoyed that he had to repeat himself.
“We will adjourn this pageant to prepare for the wedding ceremony. The Ladies & Gentlemen of the court are dismissed,”

Clearly a few noblemen had won their bets, much to the chagrin of an uncomfortably large amount of the rest of the nobility. I guess they didn’t think of me as a shoo-in. But that didn’t matter now. I ran up to Greta and embraced her, for we had won the contest and now, the last obstacle I faced was to convince my groom to send help for our besieged homeland.

After the pageant, I was taken to the Empress’s quarters where I would be staying. Maids and attendants were immediately preparing for the wedding all over the palace and I spent the remainder of the week learning the Imperial wedding customs. It was on the first day of the new week when I received a letter from my fiancé, which required translation from Greta.

Eagerly, she began to read it:

“I was quite taken by your native display of clothing from the outset whereas others showed disgust. Part of that segment was designed with the indigenous cultures of the bridal candidates in mind. I wanted to see where each prospective bride was coming from and you were the only one who showed me.

As for the martial competition, I require strong offspring to ascend the throne when my time comes.
A woman like you, fierce and warlike, should be sufficient to gift the Empire with strong children in union.

And finally, your words moved me greatly, brave Princess. I have never been more sympathetic for any plight than yours. The sincerity in your words demonstrated to me that you were pure in motive, unlike the rest of your competitors. I could tell that most of them only sought my wealth or power; something

I will honor your request, Adeline. I’ve dispatched a five thousand strong expeditionary force to secure the borders of Saxony. Not only will they serve to safeguard your nation, but they will help to train your countrymen in our methods of martial warfare, in order to better beat back the Gallians of which you spoke of and any other future foes.

You have also mentioned that your nation is running low on manpower, and that the young and bright of your generation are lost. The men I sent are not any common conscripts; they are hand-picked officers and young men of good breeding. They shall temporarily remedy your manpower problem, but at your father’s discretion, should they be able to settle in the land and start families with members of your tribe, then there is a possible long-term solution available. Either way, it is my edict that they are to respect the livelihoods and business of your people.

The last point I would like to address is your request to directly integrate your nation into my Empire. Your land shall be free to govern in most of your own domestic affairs. The defense of your nation is in our hands. It would be too difficult to arrange for direct control of such a far-flung territory. I hope you understand this position.

My interpreter told me that you would devote yourself to being a good bride, so it would spur me to ensure the safety of your nation. I want to say that I hope I can be a good groom, and deliver your nation from ruin.

Xia Feng,”

At the bottom of letter, was the imperial seal pressed in red ink.

The letter excited me in the fact that, everything I thought I did wrong, turned out to be completely right. To be honest, the personal union aspect of the marriage had never crossed my mind before but now, after reading the Emperor’s words, I had the feeling that it was going to turn out alright. I could barely wait for word coming back from Saxony that my homeland was safe. But the wedding was still in front of me and all of these good things called for a celebration. I shared with my translator a cup of baijiu and we celebrated our success. The big day of the wedding was two days from now and I could not have been more ready.

On the day of the wedding, I entered the Palace through the gates, flanked by handmaidens and servants holding the ends of my gown. I slowly walked into view of the crowd, dressed in the richly embroidered robes of the Empress. A scarlet veil prevented anyone from seeing my face, as a sign of modesty. I caught sight of the Emperor in his person for the first time. To my relief, he was only a few years older than me from the look of him. I had the chance to learn more about him through the servants before the ceremony. Emperor Xia Feng was an offbeat man in comparison to the prevailing personalities in the Empire. He did things no one could expect or reason. His considered his patron God to be Xiwangmu, instead of the traditional Huangdi; arguing that everyone could learn a lesson or two for the fierce goddess in having the correct attitude needed to fight the Manchus. Other odd details included the fact that for the most part in his life, studied the Pashtun & Tartar languages in Dailiang instead of conforming to martial duty and politics at the Louyang academies. When I caught sight of his eyes, I could tell that he must’ve seen the world in a different spectrum than most, for that of which I am grateful, because I might not have been chosen otherwise.

When he lifted my veil, the throng of nobles, ministers & foreigners were astounded.
My new appearance stunned the court. Not only was I wearing the robes of the Empress but my face was painted in the Imperial colors of black and red instead of the blue & earthy colors I had used before. From the corner of my eye, I saw Greta gaping in silent awe. We went through the motions of the wedding ceremony and when it was over, I turned to see the thousands of people in the court bowing down to me, their new Empress.

From that moment on, I became known as Lan Ye Hua, the Blue Wildflower;
Empress of the Chinese Empire.



The Arabs & the Pashtuns remained and were wedded off to other members of the royal family. Their nations, the United Arab Shiekhdoms and the Pashtun Kingdom were treated as special extra-territorial zones of the Empire. All people born from those countries were considered henceforth as Imperial subjects under limited autonomous government. I had earned the respect of some of my former competition although there were still a significant number of my new in-laws who resented me for my upsetting victory.



I grew to have a deep affection and love for my husband. Though it was never an intended factor in the arrangement, it was welcome enough. Perpetual homesick would plague me often but I fought it knowing that my presence here had ensured my homeland’s safety.

Months after the wedding, in Saxony, my father and his men were defending the hills of Hamburg from Gallic siege when to his rescue, came the expeditionary force rushing out from the brush, holding the black & red standards of the Empire high, causing the Gauls to lift the siege and flee in terror. With the Imperial banner mounted on the border, no Gallian ever passed through again. Saxony would subsequently become a pariah within the European community as we now housed foreign, non-European Gentiles in our land and bore their progeny but we ultimately benefitted from the security, infrastructure & teachings they brought with them. No state or kingdom would dare to march against the Dragon.

My first son was born around the time word came back from Saxony that the war had entered an uneasy ceasefire with the Gallians. Greta and I celebrated, for my saga was over and our country was saved.



One Month Later

The slender, brunette translator had set about organizing Adeline’s personal belongings. After weeks of celebrations and events, there was no time to take care of it and the Palace maids were respectfully asked not to handle them. Now of course, Greta finally had the time. A maid was present, dusting around the old room while Greta worked. The Saxon first set about arraying Adeline’s old furs and necklaces, then working to carefully store the remainder of the broken glass the Princess had found on the journey.

And then Greta found the ancient tool.

Greta remembered this. Back when she witnessed the fight between Adeline and Fairfax, she watched in horror as Adeline’s finger squeezed the trigger on the tool and let loose a horrendous noise and light, disintegrating Fairfax’s body on repeated impact. The Tartars, well-known for the tenacity and savagery in combat dropped her in order to flee in terror after seeing what the Princess was capable of.

Greta didn’t know what it was but she had a right mind to put it away.
The maid who was cleaning the room with her caught sight of it and came over.

“What is that?” she inquired, pointing at the wooden tool. “I’m not sure,” Greta responded. “Empress Lan Ye Hua had this in her inventory and I’m just sorting it out,”
The maid continued to question her, “Where did you find this?” “I honestly don’t know, Empress Lan Ye Hua found it in a crevasse somewhere between the Varangian lands and Turkish territory. I was separated from her at the time in a separate section so I can’t tell you much more than that,”
“I see,” the maid answered.

In the blink of an eye, the maid attacked Greta, knocking the wind out of her throat and proceeded to knock her out completely.



When Greta awoke, she awoke to the sound of galloping hooves.
This was certainly a familiar situation.
Her hands were tied behind her back with rope, and her mouth sealed with cloth.
She was also atop of a horse.
Not only that, but she felt the presence of hard muscles pressed against her back as well.
When she looked back over her shoulder, there was a young, but stern looking Han man behind her, controlling the horse.

She tried to scream but no sound came out.
The same maid who had knocked her out in Louyang rode up alongside them and yanked off the cloth.

“If you cooperate us, you have my word that no harm will come to you,” the maid said.
“You can’t get away with this! Empress Adeline will send men to find me!” Greta threatened.
“Empress Lan Ye Hua has been called for important duties in Linzi.
She won’t know you’re gone for a while and we’ll already have been back by then,” she said firmly.
The brunette’s eyes widened, “I’ll scream my lungs out!!”
“You can try,” said the man behind her, “Look where you are,”
As Greta looked around her, a sense of despair washed over her when she realized it was the dead of night in the middle of the desert with no one or no village in sight.
“What do you want with me?” Greta cried, feeling defeated.
“I only want you to be cooperative,” the maid responded.
The kidnappers continued to ride through the desert night, as Greta sorely wished more than anything to be unconscious again.



After several days, they had arrived at the base of the mountain where the crevasse ran through.
“You said you were separated from the Empress but had wound up in a different section of the crevasse?” the male rider asked.
“She came from one of those cliffsides up there,” Greta motioned upwards with her head as her hands were tied behind her back.
The kidnappers dismounted from their horses and removed a series of odd-looking ropes with claws attached to the ends from their packs.
The male rider seized Greta from off of the horse and tied her to his back, much to her protest. After spinning the rope around, both kidnappers threw the clawed ends onto the cliffside and once it was secure, they proceeded to scale the cliff face.

The walk was precarious but the kidnappers expertly made their way across and into the cavern.
At this point, Greta was untied from the man’s back and forced to walk at swordpoint. After entering the cave, Greta had become uneasy at the surroundings.
Lights turned on from the ceiling with every step they took, unnerving the poor translator.
She could barely contain her screams upon walking into the section of the cavern that appeared to be a dragon graveyard with huge, hulking skeletons towering above them.

“Origin? And is it civilian or military?” the woman asked the man.
“Аэрофлот. It appears to have been used for civilian purposes but later converted into military use, though I can't tell what era it's from,”
“It’s amazing that this still appears to be intact,” he added, “Even the generators still work, judging from the lights that turned on when we stepped inside,”
“Can you assess how much we can extract and salvage?” the maid questioned.
“Of course. I’ll get right on it but don’t forget to mark this location for future extraction,”
he commented as he went to investigate the properties of the nearest dragon skeleton.

The woman turned to Greta and spoke to her a little more softly than she had been for the whole trip.
“You’ve been cooperative thus far,” she patted the Saxon woman’s head.
“Wipe her memory when we return to the Empire,” she whispered to the man as she walked past him.