Hikari drew her bow, a deep draw, holding it steady. Wyverns circled the skies above the caravan, raining down fire from above. Ria hugged her boot tightly, the fire harmlessly grazing the surface of Hikari's barrier before fizzling out.
As for the rest of the caravan, mercenaries and merchants left the carts strung out along the main road, and proceeded to hug the stone protrusions on either side, dragging their horses along and entrusting their wares to their fire proofing preparations.
Hikari releases her bow, the shockwave kicking up a thin layer of dust. The flaming ballista bolt soars into the sky, missing its target by a wing span. Its target, although unscathed, was thrown into confusion, sending it into a confused flight path, weaving left and right, confusing the rest of its flight formation.
"Now, my lady!" Ria ran towards the road side, a knight holding up a steel shield covered her all the way. The rest of her bodyguards, three knights and a scout detachment, followed suit.
Hikari was now freed up. She slung her bow and casually walked along the main road, exposed on both sides, goading the flying beasts to attack her. The latter did not oblige, continuing to circle in the air hesitantly.
The stare down continued for a few tense minutes. The constant hail of fire balls petered out, having done minimal damage to the well prepared defenders. One by one the wyverns broke off their attack and flew off. The caravan heaved a sign of relief before slowly making their way back to their carts.
Boom! A wave of dust, Hikari leapt high into the air, drawing her bow again, she tilted backwards, laying horizontal with the ground. The grey skin of a wyvern's underbelly came into view. The arrow left her bow, no flames, just the sheer force of arm strength behind it.
A clean hit. The wyvern let out a deafening screech, thrashing around in the air before tumbling onto the ground, falling completely silent.
"Good work Lady wyvern bane!" Several rugged and beefy men, armed with carving knives quickly walked up to the wyvern, swarming all over it. Like a well oiled machine, they took apart the wyvern like a piece of furniture. The wings were first chopped off then the front and back claws, incisions were made at even intervals, followed by straight line cuts resulting in a grid.
Ria stood behind Hikari and watched the show. "Fans of yours? Lady Wyvern bane? I didn't hire them."
"They just follow me."
The skin was removed, in astonishingly equal sized sheets. And then the fat, scrapped into jars, hardly missing a drop. Followed by the lean meat, the blood drained into jars. The bones were broken apart with hammers, they were to be ground into powder anyway. Then the organs, each into a jar and then filled with salted water to preserve them.
Finally the core of the wyvern, a warm red crystal and a pile of smaller grey ones.
The foreman, tanned muscles, a rugged grey tank top fraying at the sides, both arms tattooed. He walked up to Hikari with the sack of crystals, his helper pushing the cart of lean meat.
"Good work. Please sign here." He held up a paper and an ink press the size of his palm.
"Hold on. Let me see that." The hulky man was taken aback at the sudden, soft invisible high pitched voice. After a few moments, he noticed the short and skinny Ria staring up at him.
"That's not for children, run along now." He dismissively waved his hand at Ria. Then one of his hencemen walked up to him and whispered in his ear. His expression instantly changed.
"Ahem forgive my rudeness, Lady RazenHeir. Shame on me for forgetting that the esteemed lady of the house has a modest stature."
Ria held out her gloved hand. "I'm actually of marriageable age, I'll have you know. The paper please."
The man rolled his eyes, pulled his collars with his finger, visibly sweating.
"The price of their services need not conform to the exchange rates in a place several dozen miles from here."
A smartly dressed young man, whose build is not unlike that of Ria, only half a head taller than her.
Ria turned to face him.
"So you admit that their unilateral claim on the share of the spoils is actually far more favourable than that of the exchange rates in that faraway place which I presume you are referring to as the center of all commerce in the region."
"I merely state a guiding principle, we have yet to appraise the goods."
"I already have. The cart of skin is worth 2000G on the Herdial grand exchange, perhaps 1500G at least on the Moradale exchange. The fat, conservatively, 2500G. The horns, 1000G. The fresh organs, 4000G at least. On the other hand, the meat would have to be consumed tonight so lets say 50G, a full meal for an entire convoy. while the mana crystals could fetch only 5000G max anywhere on the continent. I have done many transactions by the way to ascertain that number."
"I stand by my point. You don't seem equipped to carve up a wyvern and transport it yourself. And if you leave it, it would just become salvage. Free for any passerby to claim."
"Not equipped to transport it you say. Bring it out!" The RazenHeir foot soldiers removed the riggings on a cart and removed the tarp covering it. There were gasps amongst the onlookers as a huge bag carved with the symbol of the spire tower.
The boy took a few moments to recover from his astonishment.
"Pptttttffff" he let out a mocking laugh.
"A subspace pouch? Please. That is the stuff of legend."
"Oh? Yet you know of it. You don't believe the RazenHeir house has the connections to obtain such an artifact?"
The boy rolled his eyes uncomfortably, glancing back at the angry glares of the carvers.
"Even so, the cost of maintaining its enchantments would far exceed the sale of the wyvern parts. You would be taking a hefty loss just to prove a point."
"What could I do, the negotiations are breaking- aaahhh!"
Hikari pinched the back of her cloak and lifted her up. The armour pieces on her torso opened up, swallowing Ria before sealing themselves back together.
The carvers and onlookers were silent, their jaws wide open at what they just witnessed. Noses were bleeding, pants were under pressure. None could utter intelligible words at the sight they just witnessed.
"Good sir, have you really been ripping me off?"
The foreman flinched, sweating profusely.
"Uh.. I suppose… I haven't been quite forthcoming with you…. "
"We'll discuss this at the town"
The wyvern meat cracked and sizzled over the fire. Hikari sat in front of it, laser focused on every minute change in texture. The smell of spices, the dripping fat. Her mouth watered as she impatiently poked the meat with her throwing dagger.
Opposite her, a row of children gathered. Rags, long unwashed hair, face covered in dirt. They stared at the roast, completely still, their mouths watering.
Poke. Poke. The dagger finally pierces through the meat. The ring of children tightened. Hikari ripped out a piece and stuffed it into her mouth. As she chews, she rips out another piece, and places it onto a wooden table.
The children pressed themselves onto the RazenHeir scouts around the table. "Move, or I won't cut." The concave of children meekily moved back an inch, still holding up their bowls as high as they could. Then the cutting began, thin slices, one for each child. They were then funneled out the side.
"Nom. This is good." Ria bit into her wyvern meat skewer. "I never knew you had an orphanage out here."
"I can't finish it all."
"Still. You gave a lot of children hope."
Hikari swallows and grabs another piece.
"The faces. Some are gone."
"oh. It happens." Ria takes a small bite. "It's about the request too. Herdial is primarily an agrarian country. A lot of hands are required to plough the fields. The fields and livestock then attract monsters from beyond the borders which requires a lot of people to then defend. But, when you lose too much farmland, you are simply left with a load of poverty."
The giant knight quietly continues her meal. Ria snuggles up to her.
"Don't worry too much. You can't save everyone. More people already owe you their lives than I could keep a record of, myself included. Once the mission is done, whatever it is, many more would."
Soft giant fingers curled themselves around Ria, wrapping her whole and pressing against the soft leather. The last bit of wyvern meat disappeared down Hikari's throat. The bonfire had been extinguished and the RazenHeir scouts had dispersed the children.
"Ria. The pouch-"
"Shh!" a sharp whisper. "The ruse won't work anymore if you tell."
___________________________
The next morning, Ria and Hikari made their way to the Herdial encampment, along with the rest of their entourage. Five weavers, four smiths, three cooks, twelve stable hands for twelve horses, Ria's personal attendant, ten infantry men, ten scouts and four knights.
They reached the encampment. A wooden palisade, large enough to house an army. Surrounded by a mote, sharp wooden stakes sticking out of the ground.
The men standing guard outside. Light grey uniforms, to blend in with the stoney terrain. Most of them had no armour at all, equipped with a mix of muskets, bows, and spear, none carrying more than two.
The wooden gate opened, allowing them inside the camp. In the confined area with tents and men, Hikari touched her boots together, reducing her stride, almost dragging her boot across the ground. A crushing incident on foreign lands would be bad form.
There were a few elite squads. Black hide full body armour, fur coats on the inside. Curved blades, one long one short, with a decent level of enchantments. Well-built, hulking fearsome warriors, reaching the level of Hikari's hips. Their golden masks, glinting in the sun, an aura of mystic and intimidation.
One of them walked up to Hikari, his mask and helmet off, revealing his dark, rugged face, a light colored scar diagonally across. He tilted his head back and examined Hikari, the white of his eye bulging out of his sockets.
"You must be the wyvern slayer, right this way. The commander will see you now. Meanwhile, the rest of you will follow my quarter master to your allotted camp spot." The warrior's voice was deep and forceful
Ria and Hikari followed the warrior. "This is quite the assembly. Is an invasion of sorts afloat?"
"Good observation, lady RazenHeir. In fact, we are going to slay the queen wyvern."
"Bold, but do you have a plan?"
"You will hear of it soon enough."
They reached a conspicuously large tent. Round, covered in fur for sound insulation. The sentries were all elite warriors.
Despite the precautions, Hikari's sensitive ears could still hear the bickering going on inside.
"If we march on through the canyons, we'll be strafed with fire and buried under falling debris.""
"We can't avoid losses against the foe we are facing. Or would you prefer a war of attrition against flying foes we cannot hit."
"I prefer to face it in its lair, where it has to face our steel. And then we'll present its head to her highness."
"I see you prefer to end up as its dinner and have it present your bones to her highness."
Hikari looked around the camp from her vantage point as she waited. It did appear to be a serious effort indeed. Vast stock piles of grain and ammunition. Platoons upon platoons of men drilling extending into the horizon. Workshops, assembling rows of ballitas. Forges pumping out swords, bolts, chains and many more.
The scale completely dwarfs the campaign on the cultist stronghold, which in part was due to the swampy terrain and the general demand for geomancers. But the mountainous terrain would likewise impede such a massive army.
However, most curiously, it appeared to be just a regular army. Built for fighting other regular armies. In a monster raid, one would generally employ specialized equipment. Her claymore is a terrible choice against skilled renegade or undead knights. It fairs decently against soft wyvern necks, but only if they swoop. It could do well against ogres if she aims at the limbs.
Finally, after a few minutes, the grumbling men left the tent and scattered. They were in fine fur coats, neatly combed hair and an overgrowth of medals and wreaths.
"You may enter now." The guard said.
Ria takes a deep breath. She tugged at her shirt and skirt. This was the biggest assignment for her to date. She had spoken with generals casually at parties, but she's not sure how that would hold up in a real negotiation.
She was escorted into the tent. There was a long rectangular map table in the center. All around the room, there were golden sculptures, of trees, bulls, mountained warriors and more. It appeared to be more of a museum than a war room.
At one corner, there was a young man about her weight class sitting at his desk full of stacks of paper, busy scribbling away. There was no one else in the room except the two of them.
Ria walked in front of one of the sculptures. Curious, it appears the general has yet to arrive. She studied the golden sculpture. It was a live depiction of a tree with an amazing level of detail. Each tiny branch and even the leaves and fruit on them were shaped.
Fascinating, she thought. Herdial is not well known for their rune works nor mana smithing. There isn't a school of magic she knows of that specializes in this sort of magic. It was handcrafted.
After a few minutes, she walked up to the desk. "Execuse me, do you know where the general is?"
The young man seemed familiar. A fine tunic typical of Herdial merchants, ruffled hair that one might expect at the end of a journey..
He looked up from his scribbling. His eyes widened, jaws dropped, staring at Ria's astonished face, a mirror of his expression. A moment of awkward silence ensued.
"It's you!?"