Valkyrie's Shadow

Chapter 8

“Master!”

“Master!”

“Master!”

Ilyshn’ish stood back with a furrow on her brow as several Quagoa swarmed Zu Chiru a block into the Demihuman Quarter. The Quagoa Merchant smiled and bobbed his head as they sniffed him closely and patted his fur.

Well, isn’t he popular…

“How was your journey?” One Quagoa asked.

“Did you bring anything from afar?” Queried another.

“Did any Frost Dragons come for you?” The last twitched his nose fearfully.

Ilyshn’ish snorted. What silly questions. Zu Chiru’s ‘journey’ was a five-minute stroll to the quarter next door, yet they welcomed him like some hero returning from a legendary undertaking. While they chattered away, she slipped into a nearby alley, softly weaving an appearance she had not used in some time. She came back out, and the Quagoa’s mouths all fell open.

“A…a…a wife!”

“A wife!”

“Master Chiru has brought home a beautiful wife!”

Zu Chiru stared at her, his mouth working silently like a stranded fish.

“Master, take us with you tomorrow to find beautiful wives as well!”

Ilyshn’ish wordlessly shook her head and returned to the cart. Several of the Quagoa ran up to her.

“Oh, no, mistress! Let us push the cart.”

“It is not right that you should sully your claws.”

“Your fur is too magnificent to dirty.”

“Have you seen a coat as fine as hers? Even Pe Riyuro cannot compare!”

The Quagoa fell over themselves to ease her burdens, pushing the cart away. Zu Chiru stole furtive glances at her.

“What are you waiting for?” Ilyshn’ish asked.

“I uh…I should go now,” Zu Chiru looked around. “My mother always warned me of overly-beautiful females. Now, where did the Human go…”

“That was me.”

Zu Chiru stared for a moment, then blew a laugh out through his nostrils.

“Nononono,” he chittered. “Ugly bald Humans do not turn into gorgeous Quagoa females. Never in my life have I seen a Human do this.”

“You’ve only been in the city for a single season.”

“This is true,” Zu Chiru admitted. “But it does not change what I say.”

With an exasperated sigh, Ilyshn’ish stuck a paw into her Infinite Haversack. She pulled out Zu Chiru’s tattered letter and held it out before him.

“You sent this to me,” she said. “Your spelling is atrocious, by the way.”

“This cannot be,” Zu Chiru leaned forward as he squinted at the paper. “I am not brave enough to write love letters…hm? This is from last month.”

“I still haven't figured out what this is…”

“Lady Wagner told me that a Merchant must be able to correspond with associates,” Zu Chiru explained. “She sat me down one day and had me write to someone I knew. I could not choose family or clansmen and I was not confident in my skills, so I went with a safe option and sent my letter to the dead Dragon. I did not know the postal service sent letters to Derey. Wait – do Dragons go to Derey?”

Ilyshn’ish was certain that Dragons did not go to Derey – their souls rejoined the world upon leaving the mortal coil. She was also certain that Zu Chiru was an idiot. How could one be a successful Merchant while being an idiot at the same time? He was lucky he had the protection of two nobles.

“You were going to show me around?” Ilyshn’ish prompted.

“Er, yes…but what do I call you? Are you Shiver? Dame Verilyn?”

“Just pick something. I don’t have the energy left to think.”

Zu Chiru scratched his chest in thought. In the end, thinking appeared to be too much for him, for he turned around and led her away. Ilyshn’ish followed him down into the terraced bowl of the Demihuman Quarter to the entrance of the Quagoa warrens.

“You’re not going to the market?” Ilyshn’ish asked.

“No,” Zu Chiru answered, “there is still much work to do.”

“But merchants work in markets, yes?”

“I thought this as well,” Zu Chiru replied, "and it was like that at first. But things became too big and I had to hire apprentices to keep up with everything. Now they work in the marketplace while I must manage the company most of the time.”

“Then you’re not doing merchant work now? I’m only here for that.”

“Lady Gagnier and Lady Wagner say this is part of a merchant’s work as well. They were very excited and proud when I told them I was too busy to do everything and started teaching me how to…‘grow my business’. This merchant thing only becomes more and more complex – one day they will find poor Zu Chiru’s head melted like a vein of struck heatstone.”

She would pay to see that happen. It sounded mildly entertaining. Zu Chiru opened the portal to the warren, which was far larger than she remembered it.

“This tunnel is much larger than before,” Ilyshn’ish examined the reinforced walls. “You said your people were poor, but materials for this were expensive in that plaza.”

“They are, hm…byproducts?” Zu Chiru’s mouth worked around the word, “The tribes of the Great Forest of Tob deliver many stones, but ones bearing ore are rare. Gems are even rarer. Most are not considered suitable for masonry on the surface. Since the ground below E-Rantel is soft, I thought it would be better to use them for our home instead of trying to find a market for it. It was a good idea, I think.”

The tunnels descended in a wide spiral stretching beyond the range of Ilyshn’ish’s Blindsense. At regular intervals, a side tunnel led into small complexes where Quagoa families lived. Zu Chiru stopped at one and went inside. It was a good thing that Ilyshn’ish had become a Quagoa – the ceiling of the side tunnel was less than two metres high.

“Sister!” Zu Chiru called out, “Sister?”

A brown-furred Quagoa popped her head out from around a corner, several ledgers in hand.

“Welcome home, brother. One of your apprentices dropped off…” her eyes grew wide. “Wife? A Wife! My Zu Chiru has finally found a wife!”

“She is not my wife, sister…”

Zu Chiru’s sister frowned.

“Then you should make her yours right away!” She reached out and shook his shoulders, “You are a single male in possession of good fortune – it is only right that you should seek a wife. Everyone knows this.”

She furrowed her brow in thought, then gave Zu Chiru another shake.

“This one will be the first. You should try and get at least fifty more.”

“Fifty…”

Zu Chiru glanced over at Ilyshn’ish.

“Are you crazy?” Ilyshn’ish said.

“Are you crazy?” Zu Chiru’s sister waddled up to her, “How can you refuse my Zu Chiru? Foolish female, he is the greatest Merchant of the Quagoa – if you become his wife, you will have fresh Nuk and the best ores! Your children will grow up without want for anything.”

Zu Chiru’s sister fluffed up her fur in affront, and she glared at Ilyshn’ish with her beady eyes. Ilyshn’ish wasn’t sure how to turn her misguided aggression without revealing too much about herself. What sort of busybody sister would stick their snout into her brother’s affairs, anyway?

Zu Chiru grabbed the ledgers and took Ilyshn’ish’s claws in his.

“Where are you going, brother? Your den is that way–”

After the door to the warren slammed shut behind them, Zu Chiru let go of her, releasing a long sigh.

“Zu Chiru is sorry. My sister becomes excited like that. Getting a wife is all she ever talks about since I started doing this.”

“Then why not get a wife?”

“I would like to go out and see the world first,” he said. “Lady Gagnier and Lady Wagner speak of many wondrous things. Maybe when I am travelling, I will meet a nice female? Perhaps from some exotic Quagoa nation far away…”

They continued to follow the main tunnel on its slow descent. Eventually, Ilyshn’ish noted other Demihumans.

“You’re sharing your warren with other races?”

“Ah, it is not so much a Quagoa warren anymore as it is the subterranean section of the Demihuman Quarter. We cannot expand outside the bounds of the Quarter, but it is two hundred metres to the bedrock here.”

“Humans are such strange creatures.”

“Yes,” Zu Chiru wheezed in amusement. “There is so much room to live, yet they choose to stay on the surface. They think the Demihuman Quarter is a small part of E-Rantel – they do not realize it is already twice the area of the city on the surface.”

They came across many different races. Most of whom she was unfamiliar with. Some of them didn’t even walk on the floor of the promenade, crawling along the walls and the ceiling. Undead patrols occasionally passed them by and the entrance to each side complex was guarded by a Death Knight.

“Where did all these different people come from?” Ilyshn’ish asked.

“They are from the Great Forest of Tob,” Zu Chiru answered. “I did not know there were so many peoples in the world, never mind the Sorcerous Kingdom.”

Despite the great diversity; the mixing of many predators, prey and rival species, things appeared to be quite peaceful. This was most likely because they were all subjugated by the same overlord, but still...

“What do they eat?”

“Food is still imported from outside the city,” Zu Chiru said, “but work is being done here as well. I will show you when we get there.”

After making another round, they walked past a suspiciously Dwarven-looking archway. About a dozen Dwarves were working to lay out pavement around it. Ilyshn’ish sensed a familiar layout past the opening.

“This is the Frosty Beard.”

“Yes, the third floor,” Zu Chiru nodded. “They hired a company to expand the inn. I think those workers will be busy for a long time here – everyone is trying to hire them for their own places.”

The air grew warmer and more humid as they went deeper. Traffic grew sparse after the fourth level and their surroundings became rough and unworked. Zu Chiru continued leading her forward until they reached the sixth level. Through the strong odours that permeated the air, Ilyshn’ish detected a familiar, mouthwatering scent.

“You’re raising Nuk down here?”

“Lady Aura caught several small herds from different parts of the mountains and brought them here, but it is only a part of it.”

Zu Chiru opened a side door and walked in. Beyond it, through a second door, was a wide cavern reminiscent of the underground spaces below the Azerlisia Mountains. Luminous phosphorescence filled the scenery, creating patches of fluorescent colour across the spectrum. A thin mist diffused the light, giving the place a dreamlike feel. Small groups of Nuk roamed around the cavern floor, as well as the occasional tall Myconid.

On the ledge overlooking the cavern, Ilyshn’ish detected a small presence.

“Lord Mare?”

“H-hello.”

The Dark Elf turned to regard them. His gaze went from Zu Chiru to Ilyshn’ish.

“You found a mate?”

Zu Chiru cast an abashed look at the cavern floor. Ilyshn’ish’s fur rippled in irritation.

“No, my lord,” she said. “It’s me – Shiver.”

“Hmm…?”

Lord Mare gave her a once-over, then raised his staff.

“「True Seeing」. Oh, it is you…”

There was magic that could pierce her guise? Ilyshn’ish frowned at having missed the opportunity to open her senses to the spell.

“Lord Mare, that spell…who can cast it?”

“Both arcane and divine casters,” Lord Mare replied. “It’s out of reach for pretty much everyone in this region, though. Some beings also possess it naturally as an ability or sense – a lot of the sentries at home have it.”

Ilyshn’ish took refuge in the fact that it appeared to be extremely rare. The last thing she needed was having her guises seen through while she wandered around in strange places. She turned her attention to the scenery past the ledge again. Trickles of water coursed along the cavern floor, through the stony pillars that crisscrossed the space. The cavern curved out of sight, running parallel to the promenade outside.

“What is this place?”

“It’s a grotto,” Lord Mare told her. “The bottom half of the area under the Demihuman Quarter is for agriculture. It hasn’t really gotten going yet, so things are pretty bare right now. Four levels are for cultivating mushrooms, moss and lichen. There are some herds of animals being raised here too. The bottom level is a lake for fish.”

“So all this is to feed the upper levels?”

“Y-yeah. We froze migration until we figure out how many we can support with this. If we get it just right, it’ll be a self-sustaining environment.”

“I’ve always considered you an amazing Druid, Lord Mare,” Ilyshn’ish said. “I feel like the things you can do will never cease to amaze me.”

Lord Mare looked down, picking at the cavern floor with the base of his staff.

“I-it wasn’t just me,” he said. “A lot of people helped. The Dwarves and the Quagoa planned and dug out the tunnels, and now they’re making the upper areas look nice. Myconids are tending to the mushroom grotto, and Lizardmen are raising the fish. The Demihuman and Heteromorph leaders are managing their tribes well. Everyone is doing their best. There are even Humans…”

“Humans? But Humans live on the surface.”

“The ones organizing things on the surface are also organizing things down here,” Lord Mare told her. “Baroness Gagnier and Countess Wagner. They’re even figuring out how to structure the economy so it can generate revenue for the Sorcerous Kingdom.”

“I see…”

Ilyshn’ish only understood the last part in very basic terms. However, it fell in line with a long list of other things that she had learned about the Sorcerous Kingdom. Unless one was an Adventurer, it seemed that strength and raw power did not matter at all when it came to how the nation measured its subjects. Submission to the order of the Sorcerer King and toiling to create wealth for the nation took precedence over everything else.

As a Dragon, who loved personal wealth and could naturally grow to become some of the mightiest beings in the world, Ilyshn’ish wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

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