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Sexy Steampunk Babes: Chapter Forty Five
🕑 Added 2024-09-24 10:06:00 +0000 UTCContrary to popular belief, William’s mother didn’t actually spend every hour of every day inside her office. Despite the presence of his many aunts, he knew that the head of the Ashfield family spent much of her time riding about the county seeing to many of the issues that might require her attention as the head of a small territory.
Admittedly, a great many of those issues involved long debates over the minutiae of property lines or livestock ownership. However, given those details were of some real importance to the farmers to whom the aforementioned items belonged, William was of the opinion that it spoke well of his progenitor that she felt the need to show personal interest in them.
He knew for his own part, he’d been somewhat… lax on the subject in his own brief time as head of Redwater county. In his defense, Xela Tern was much better suited to the task of seeing to the needs of the nearby farms than he’d ever be, but the fact remained that as an actual landlord, his own efforts could best be described as… distant.
After a few moments thought on the subject, he realized he didn’t actually know the names of the many villages surrounding the newly renamed town of Redwater. Which wasn’t exactly an ideal state of affairs for any lord. Though, given that he saw the territory itself as little more than a convenient vehicle for weapon production, it wasn’t entirely unexpected.
He shook his head at the thought, as he momentarily wondered if Marline’s words on the subject of his ‘harrowed’ mindset had some truth? He’d long thought that he’d gotten lucky in how he’d come to be ‘born’ into this world – but now he was being forced to consider whether or not such fortune had come with drawbacks of a less obvious nature.
Fortunately he was saved from any lengthy kind of rumination on the topic by the arrival of his mother, as Aunt Sophina – who had been content to spend the intervening half hour between him calling and his mother arriving in stony silence – moved aside to let the Ashfield matriarch slide into view.
“Well,” Janet said as wiped an errant lock of hair from her eyes, a move that suggested she’d rode at some speed back to the estate. “I hope this is important William. Because as much as I’d like to thank you for pulling me away from the council of little old ladies, I’ll be forced to make it up to them with another meeting later. And they’ll have even more to argue about by the time that rolls around.”
“Ah, I assume they haven’t mellowed any in the time since I left?” William asked as he vacantly recalled his mother’s many complaints about the ‘council of landowners’ that served to represent the many farms and villages around Ashfield territory.
“Not in the slightest. And they’re worse than usual given it’s now the tail end of winter.” She shrugged. “As a lord yourself now, I’m sure you know how it is.”
He struggled not to wince as he realized he didn’t. The closest he’d come to meeting the local landowners of his territory had been when they’d shown up in support of Xela on his arrival at Redwater.
Since then, his dealings with them had been entirely through the wood elf herself.
Which wasn’t exactly great. If anything, the reminder of just how much he’d effectively shoveled onto Xela’s plate did have him make a mental note to follow up on her. Last they spoke she’d made a request to hire on some of her old war-buddies to act as additional trainers for the plebian pilot cadre he was starting up. A request he’d granted, along with the funds to follow through, but he’d heard nothing on the topic since.
And given it had been two weeks since he’d come back to the academy, said training program should have started by now.
“Still, as I said, we’re both busy,” his mother continued. “If anything, I know from my own memories of the academy that your time is probably more precious than mine at the minute. So much so that your willingness to spend thirty minutes waiting for my arrival is a cause for some concern. If the topic wasn’t urgent, I’d have expected you to leave a message or set a time to call back on a later date.”
Well, she wasn’t wrong. Say what one would about his mother and her almost blind ambition, she could be fairly quick on the uptake when she chose to be. More to the point, she was entirely correct. If Marline hadn’t insisted on taking the team’s laundry off him, he wouldn’t have had time to make this call.
Which was a fairly absurd consideration for a conversation that might well shape the future of the nation, but that was Academy life. At least, on those occasions in which he couldn’t call upon Griffith to grant him an exemption. Of which this most definitely was, given he was in a rather explicit way currently engaged in an act of treason.
“Well, I suppose I’ll just come out and say it.” He took a breath. “The Queen is aware of Olivia’s secret heritage and, as a result, what her engagement to a Blackstone male would mean for the future of Lindholm. Needless to say, she has zero intention of letting said betrothal come to pass.”
Well, it was done now. Given orb calls were monitored by the Queen’s people, he figured he had until the end of the call, plus thirty minutes for it to filter up through the chain of command, until Griffith or someone else in Yelena’s employ was dispatched to ask him ‘what the hell?’.
Fortunately, he had a plan for that, but prior to that coming to pass he fully intended to get his money’s worth for shoving his neck onto the chopping block – by getting his moronic younger sibling off of it.
“She… what!?” His mother breathed after moving through a number of expressions.
Surprise. Anger. Disgust. Dread. Resignation.
It really was a rather amusing tapestry, one he might have felt guilty for enjoying if it weren’t for the fact that his mother had most certainly brought it all upon herself. What little filial piety he’d managed to cultivate in his time in this world did little to mitigate the schadenfreude he was currently feeling.
“You,” she finally breathed, eyes narrowing as she glared at him through the orb.
“No, actually. Though I can fully understand why you might think that,” he said as he reclined in his seat.
“Then how?” Janet spoke through gritted teeth.
He shrugged. “Our dear queen might have been blindsided by the Blackstone-New Haven Alliance, but that doesn’t make her incompetent. Merely fallible. And the merely fallible have plenty of ways of ferreting out information once a situation has been brought to their attention.”
“Brought to their attention?”
“That’s guesswork on my part. It’s not like I have the woman’s ear in any real capacity,” he lied. “I only became aware of her discovery of your little conspiracy when one of her agents called me aside to ask a series of rather leading questions on what I might know. From there, it wasn’t hard to guess at her intentions.”
“And what did you tell them?” she asked with narrowed eyes.
“Nothing,” he scoffed. “Not that it matters. They clearly already know. Questioning me was simply good spy-craft. Further confirmation and all that. Indeed, I’d say they were probably sniffing around less to learn about you and more to see if I was involved in any way.”
He grinned. “Fortunately, given my actions last year and my other work on the Crown’s behalf, it’s pretty clear that I’m not.”
Janet chewed her lip. “If not through you, then how else could the Queen have found out about our plans?”
He rolled his eyes. “Honestly mother, the Queen is clearly not without means of her own, means she clearly saw fit to employ once you made it clear something was going on behind the scenes at our estate. Well, you and the Blackstones.”
“Me!?” Janet hissed.
“And the Blackstones,” he said dryly. “Firstly by refusing to drop the engagement when I did just about everything I could to publicly shame my fiancée short of dropping my pants and servicing half the mess hall.”
Again, he felt his lips quirk up in amusement as his mother winced at the image. Strained relationship or not, no mother wanted that image fluttering across their imagination.
He coughed before he continued. “Certainly, everyone knows that the Blackstones prefer to keep their bloodline human only, and males of the right age and breeding don’t exactly grow on trees, but there’s an upper limit to what that means they should be willing to tolerate.”
Limits he’d well and truly cost by snubbing Tala at every opportunity.
“Especially from a countship,” he added. “I imagine that was the moment when the Queen might have begun to wonder if there was perhaps a reason why her sworn enemies would be so willing to hang onto a marriage with a frankly tiny house deep in the territory of their supposed enemies.”
Rather than immediately refute his point, his mother hesitated, no doubt thinking over every communication she’d had with the Blackstones since he’d started attending the academy – and which of them might have been intercepted if the Queen truly had developed an interest in what might be being said.
Given the way she sagged, he imagined there were quite a few. Which wasn’t unexpected. Like most conspiracies, its main defense was in that no one but those involved knew about it.
Though it was interesting to note that his mother truly did seem ignorant of the Queen’s invisible agents. Which the Blackstones clearly weren’t. Otherwise they’d all be dead by now.
Was it pure paranoia that kept the ducal house from informing his own of the crown’s capabilities? If so, it seemed shortsighted. Indeed, given the only other reason he could think of for the Blackstone’s remain quiet on the particular capability was if the Blackstones themselves had something similar.
Which was horrifying for all sorts of reasons.
“More to the point,” he continued. “When said marriage fell through, you didn’t immediately attempt to ingratiate yourself with me and the crown through me. Nor did you seek out potential matches, and thus alliances, through Olivia. Indeed, you’ve actively rejected what few have been offered. For a woman with but one heir, no allies and the ire of at least two major powers, that would strike even the most inobservant of onlookers as peculiar.”
His mother scoffed, though there was no heat to it. “A minor house going quiet until a major scandal blows over is hardly new. And Olivia still won’t be of marriageable age for five more years.”
He inclined his head. “Marriage. Betrothal. The difference is minor but for the topic of the law. To that end, perhaps your decision to lie low might explain an unwillingness to seek out marriage offers. It doesn’t serve to explain why you’d be rejecting those that came to you.”
From what he’d garnered from Griffith – and through her the Queen’s people – it wasn’t like the offers being extended to his mother were bad, considering the circumstances. If anything, one had been quite good. Another countship to be certain, but an affluent one that would have opened up new markets for Ashfield County.
“And Olivia’s parentage?”
This time it was his turn to scoff. “The rite of Droit du Vassal is common enough. Given the timescale, it wouldn’t be hard for our monarch to guess where you might have sourced the elven half of my sister’s blood.”
His mother colored a bit at that. After all, just because it was the ‘done’ thing when a woman needed a magically capable heir didn’t mean she wanted to explicitly discuss it with her son. Nor did William particularly want to dwell on how his mother had likely gone on bent knee to request a ‘night’ with their liege lady’s then living husband.
“Well,” the woman said, finally straightening up. “Whatever our Queen might believe she knows about your sister’s future marriage plans, the fact remains that this isn’t the Elven Imperium. Olivia had the blood claim to push for her rightful position as the duchess of Summerfield, and though they may not have the Queen’s good favor at this point in time, there’s no law against a betrothal to House Blackstone.”
William nodded. “That is true, and by the letter of the law, Olivia is perfectly safe. But we both know that what is likely to occur to Olivia if the Queen feels she is a threat to her position as monarch will have nothing to do with legality.”
Janet paled, her momentary bluster pierced like a balloon.
“And,” he continued. “If you’re thinking of having my sister ‘foster’ in the safety of the North, I’d recommend against it. Doing so will likely only hasten an outcome we both want to avoid.”
“…I’d not be quiet. I’d make it known to every House in the land that she murdered my baby girl,” his mother hissed. “The Blackstones wouldn’t even need to storm the capital. The other houses would do it for them.”
Willaim rolled his eyes. “Don’t be obtuse, mother. Words are as wind and I doubt the Queen’s agents would be so sloppy as to leave evidence of their misdeeds by acting openly. Pirates. Bandits. Even a rogue dragon. The list of tools available to them are as myriad as the houses that have employed those self-same techniques throughout time.”
Attacks of the kind he described happened every other week as nobles great and small played the great game amongst themselves - and he’d bet as few as one in three were legitimately what they portrayed themselves to be.
His mother knew that. He knew she knew that because of the way she slumped in her seat.
“So…” she asked, defeated. “…what you mean to tell me is that regardless of what I do, my daughter is doomed? Entirely as a result of my unchecked ambition?” She laughed, a hollow humorless sound. “To that end, is this call a form of commiseration or gloating?”
William didn’t even bother to respond to the barb. After all, it wasn’t untrue. And he was not so pure of heart that he didn’t feel some degree of sadistic pleasure at seeing his mother feel some degree of consequence for her reckless ambition. Ambition borne of opportunity and the perceived altruism of allowing a coming civil war to be reduced to a relatively bloodless coup, but ambition all the same.
“Neither, I’d remind you that I’m taking a rather considerable risk myself by informing you of this. I figure I’ve got maybe half an hour after this call ends before I’ll have the Queens agents barging down my door.”
This time it was a considerably more complicated feeling that flashed through his chest as his mother paled once more at that reminder.
Before she could open her mouth to say… something, he interrupted.
“I’ll be fine. Focus on Olivia. You seem rather certain she’s doomed,” he said. “Couldn’t that be avoided by simply calling off her secret betrothal and accepting another?”
Of course, he already knew the answer, but there was a script to be followed here – even if only one of the actors present was aware of it and the other was mildly surprised to find it was being followed regardless.
Slowly recovering from the now realized possibility that she might lose both of her children, Janet took a moment before she straightened up, analytical mind at work as she shunted her feelings to the side.
“No. Now the Queen’s aware of the threat Olivia represents, she can’t afford to leave her as a loose end.” She winced. “More to the point, she’d never trust me to honor my word on the matter, even if I arranged another betrothal. There’s always a chance I’d go back on it.”
“Even with me as a hostage?” he asked. “My territory is barely a few miles from the capital and I’ll be attending the Academy for the next few years.”
His mother winced again. “No, our… antipathy is too well known at this point. Yelena wouldn’t risk the possibility that I’d consider a ducal seat worth the… loss of a son.”
Went unsaid was the very real possibility that that was the case. Admittedly, it likely hadn’t been true prior to last year, but his continuous ‘acting out’ against the family had put a considerable strain on their already distant relationship.
William knew that, from the perspective of his family, he was, in a very real way, the dog that kept biting the hand that fed it. Of course, it didn’t much matter that from his perspective he was biting because said hand was feeding him bullshit. All that mattered was that he was going against the family’s interests.
“A geass?” he suggested.
She laughed. “I’m the matriarch of a countship at peace, with a strong core of law-sisters behind me. The loss of my magic would be inconvenient, but something I could easily survive.”
William had figured as much. “Then what if you were to place Olivia in the care of one of the Queen’s allies? Foster her with them, as you were about to do the Blackstones?”
She considered it reluctantly. “And leave her in the hands of the very person threatening her life? I’d not put it past the woman to have her removed anyway to be on the safe side.”
William could see why his mother might think that. She had no idea how much sway his opinion held with Yelena, given that most of his ‘advancements’ were being kept under wraps or attributed to others. No, Yelena wouldn’t kill his sister unless she had no other option, because doing so would guarantee the end of his loyalty to her.
Unfortunately, he doubted his mother would be willing to believe him if he suddenly said as much. Mostly because it sounded like the sort of thing an older man might say to ply a young woman back on Earth. The usual claims of her being special, unique and worth being listened to.
Fortunately, he had no intention of going down that route.
“Not entirely true,” he said slowly. “There is one ally of the Queen who is both guaranteed not to be party to your conspiracy and would never hurt a hair on Olivia’s head.”
Janet’s features creased in thought. “Who?”
“I’d have thought it obvious,” he said. “Me.”
It was amusing, the number of emotions that flitted across his mother’s face.
“I…” she started to say, before she paused in genuine consideration. “Swear.” She spoke slowly, staring down at him. “Regardless of the wrongs our House has done to you. Regardless of the role Olivia unwittingly played in them. Swear to me as her brother that you will keep her safe.”
He resisted the urge to snort in derision at the rank hypocrisy of it.
Fortunately for his family, while his sister might have been a fairly naïve bloodthirsty little brat, she was one of the only beings on this planet whom he loved unconditionally.
Nothing was going to change that.
“On my life,” he said.
Janet continued to stare at him for a few more moments before sagging.
“Great, now I just have to convince the rest of the family that not only is the jig up, but that the only safe place on the continent for the heir to our family is in the care of the brother whose position she usurped.”
William had little sympathy.
“…I’d remind them that said brother has his own title now. Earned through his own merits. And as such has little need for Ashfield county.”
For the third time since their conversation began, Janet winced at the quiet venom in his tone. Still, she nodded.
“Aye, that might help,” she muttered.
William didn’t much care, just so long as she convinced his aunts. To that end, he reached over to cut the orb’s connection.
…And then just stared at it.
Holy shit, he thought. Did that just… work?
Sure, there was every possibility that Janet had just lied to him and she was currently scrambling to load Olivia into a Shard headed towards Blackstone territory, but he doubted it. Say what one would about his progenitor, while she was all too willing and capable of lying to the world at large, where her progeny was concerned she tended to be distressingly honest.
Indeed, despite the weave of bullshit he’d spun wholesale about arousing the Crown’s suspicions, the fact of the matter was that he’d have been utterly ignorant of the Ashfield-Blackstone Alliance’s revival if his mother hadn’t chosen to be honest with his blabber mouth of a sibling.
No, he had a feeling Olivia would be arriving at the Redwater estate within the week. Which would be… interesting. Because if she’d been pissed before, she’d be even moreso now.
Definitely worth having a sit down with her to explain the facts of life once she’s outside of our mother’s sphere of influence, he thought.
Still, those were back of the mind considerations. For the moment he was mostly just stunned that… he hadn’t had to fight an entire fleet. Or even murder anyone. He hadn’t even had to invent anything.
He’d just… talked.
And that was a possibility he hadn’t even considered prior to Marline bringing it up.
Was… was it really possible that he hadn’t gotten away with his harrowing as scot-free as he’d thought? Because, for the longest time, he’d believed himself lucky. Fortunate that the information he’d received from his patron was… compatible with the vessel it had been installed into.
Sure, said information was him as far as he was aware, but the fact remained that he’d considered it a case of the right software in the right hardware. Only now he was being forced to consider whether there were… bugs in the system.
Feedback loops.
Logic-gate errors.
Backwards compatibility issues.
George shook his head. It wasn’t worth dwelling on. He was fine. Marline was overthinking things. He’d just let his own personal biases regarding his home influence his thinking.
…Yeah, he was fine.
William stood up, stretching his arms above his head as he felt the kinks in his back pop agreeably. Perhaps part of him was a little disappointed that the whole situation had been resolved so easily – he’d been looking forward to unveiling some of his new toys – but this way he’d be able to save those surprises for the grand finale.
Stepping over to the door, he tapped the enchanted symbol near the handle to break the vacuum gap between the room and the outside world, allowing the sounds of the academy once more filtering through the walls and into the room.
Stepping out into the hall, he actually jumped a bit as he found himself face to face with two rather identical looking women.
Ok, identical is a bit of a stretch, he thought as he regarded the two.
Physically, yes, they shared all the same features, but it was clear both had put a little effort into differentiating themselves from the other. Which was hard to do in a military academy given the mandated uniforms, so their efforts had mostly been relegated to their hair.
The older twin – Clarice – had her hair down, shoulder length, with a notable pink streak running through the blonde. By contrast, the younger twin – Marcille – had chosen blue highlights at the tips of her hair, tying it up into a ponytail.
As visual language went, even William could tell what said clothing choices meant – not least of all because such dye-jobs would have required a permit from the Academy.
They were a pair of individuals who happened to be twins. Not to be treated as some monolithic singular entity. Indeed, that perspective was only reinforced by their positions as he came out of the room, the older standing prim and proper in the hallway, while the younger leaned up against the wall, arms crossed.
And as she drew herself up to stand, he noted that he’d been mistaken in his initial assessment of them being physically identical. It was subtle to be sure, but Marcille’s build seemed slightly more athletic than her older sibling.
The heir and the spare then. The former’s education was probably more administrative while the latter was more martial, he thought.
“William, right?” Clarice spoke gently, a wide smile slipping across the fourth year’s features. “Sorry to ambush you like this, but your friend told us you were looking to set up a meeting of some sort?”
Where Clarice’s tone was soft, her sibling was slightly more gruff, though not aggressively so. That just seemed to be her default tone. “And your other friend told us a few minutes ago where you’d be around now. Seemed it be easier to grab you now than when you’re being swamped at lunch.”
William smiled awkwardly a bit at the reminder. Yes, he’d certainly become popular since his return to the academy. And while that was beneficial in the long run, in the short term it had made it a little difficult for him to meet certain individuals who he wanted to speak with.
“Is that so,” he said slowly as realization dawned on him.
Said realization being that… did he actually need the twins anymore? He’d kind of just… resolved the issue which had given rise to his need for them. Rather anticlimactically at that.
…Did it really matter who won the Summerfield Ducal Seat at this point?
Of course it did!
The thought was like lightning through his brain.
Sure, he couldn’t fight the Blackstone fleet over the seat now, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t an opportunity here. An opportunity to both gain an ally and place them into a position of considerable power. All he had to do was help his chosen candidate beat out the other contenders – of which his sister now wasn’t.
Yes, having some allies for after the Blackstones were dealt with could only be useful.
Still, I better move fast, he thought. I’ve not got long before the Queen’s people show up. Probably with Griffith in tow.
To that end, it would probably be wise to move this conversation away from the scene of his most recent crime.
“Yes, yes I did,” he said, affecting his most innocent ‘young man’ smile. “I realize this is likely a bit forward of me, but I happen to be something of a budding engineer myself, and when one of my friends mentioned that my… well, it’s a little embarrassing to say it, but newfound popularity, might be able to garner me an opportunity to get a look at that fascinating new Shard House Whitemorrow had developed…”
He trailed off, as if embarrassed by his frank interest.
Fortunately for him, both girls clearly ate it right up. And wouldn’t they? On Earth this would be the equivalent of a girl fawning over a guy’s expensive new ride. More to the point, said girl happened to be a wealthy heiress with deep pockets of her own.
…Not to stretch the metaphor too hard.
“I think we can arrange that,” the older twin said. “There’s not much time left until lights out, but Marcille and I have an… arrangement with the academy guard. They won’t give us any trouble if we linger a bit.”
“Really?”
The younger twin grinned as she gestured down the hall. “Really. It won’t be a problem.”
William followed after the pair as they started walking in the direction of the hangars, as Marcille ‘casually’ struck up a conversation.
“With that said, as fancy as our Basilisk is, I think your ride pretty nearly blew him out of the water. I mean, showing up in a Shard you designed is one things, but not many of the cadets around here have the pull to arrive in their own cruiser.”
William scratched his neck bashfully. “Ah, my friends told me I should ‘go big or go home’. You don’t think it was too much do you?”
“Oh, not at all,” Clarice said, her shoulder ‘casually’ brushing against his as she walked alongside him, perfume wafting across his senses as she did. “Not at all. A new county like yours needs to be bold if it wants to garner the right sorts of people as allies. Other people with ambition, you know?”
William nodded along absently – even as most of his mind was on how Yelena was going to react when she found out about his ‘betrayal’.
Well, hopefully she’s in a good mood, he thought.
-----------------
Yelena sighed, sagging into her throne as the last member of the Lunite delegation stepped out of the room and out of sight. Thus the only witnesses left to her less than Queenly behavior were her guards, who’d seen much worse over the years.
Praise be to geass enforced loyalty, she thought as she stretched idly.
Standing up, she shook her head.
“Honestly, do they really think I’m just going to give-away the Kraken Slayer because of a few veiled threats?” she muttered quietly to herself.
The whole thing had just been a giant waste of time, made worse for the fact that it was basically just a repeat of the same ‘conversation’ she’d been forced to have with the Solites a few days ago.
Both nations had heard about the Kraken Slayer.
Both wanted it.
She’d die before she let that happen. And regardless of how difficult the North was being, she knew they’d stand with her to keep it from happening.
Ugh, all I want to do is get into the bath and have this day be over, she thought.
Fortunately, there was nothing left on the docket so provided there wasn’t some kind of emergency in the next few minutes, she figured she’d be…
And there’s the door opening. and that’s a very worried expression on Janna’s face, Yelena thought with quiet resignation as one of her hear clerks all-but flew into the room, determinedly striding in her monarch’s direction.
Well, whatever it is, hopefully it shouldn’t be too bad, she thought in a moment of rare hope.
----------------------------
Thupa winced a little as a dull roar echoed forth through the doors leading to the Queen’s throne room.
So uncivilized, the Lunite ambassador thought as she strode through the halls of the pretender-queen’s pitiful excuse for a palace.
Then again, what else could one expect from the half-breed leader of a rebel backwater? Albeit, a backwater with an irritating tendency to birth novel new ideas.
The Shard. The Bolt-Bow. Aluminum-Refinement, the dark elf thought as her bodyguards opened the door to her decidedly rustic quarters. And now a device capable of killing Krakens.
Each of them as crude and unrefined as the place that spawned them, but useful all the same – after refinement by more civilized hands.
Barely even sparing a glance at the two centurions, she stepped inside, hearing the door close behind her.
However, rather than finding her room just as she left it, she was both unsurprised and irritated to see a distinctive purple letter placed carefully on her desk.
And now I’ve gotten a visit from the fucking Frumeratii, she thought acidly. Likely to ask why I’ve yet to ‘acquire’ the Kraken Slayer for the Empire.
As if that was ever going to happen through anything other than the cannons of an invasion fleet. Something that was unlikely to happen so long as the damned colonials persisted in their suicidal strategy of intercepting reclamation fleets over open water. A stance that had likely only been reinforced by the fact that they could now actually recover said the cores of any such ships that happened to fall there.
Stepping over to the desk, she picked up the letter, noting the intact seal, before addressing the room at large. “I know you’re still here, would it kill you to simply announce yourself like a real person rather than play this cloak and shadow game?”
Predictably, the wolf-cloaked spy that was undoubtedly present somewhere in the room remained silent.
Thupa rolled her eyes.
The Empress’s personal agents were as fond of their theatrics as they were competent in their spy craft. A lesser woman might have been impressed by such, but the countess had long since grown inured to them.
Still, whatever irritation she might have felt at receiving a missive in such a manner, quickly started to fade away as she read through the contents of the report – and her new instructions.
Well, it seems the colonial’s habit of coming up with strange new ideas isn’t relegated only to the Southern parts of it, she thought with a smile as she incinerated the letter with a brief mantra. Must be something in the water out here.
She smirked at her little joke, even as she set about thinking about how best to fulfill her newest orders.
Comments
Lurkemancer
To list what points towards Marline being a guy in no particular order: -BlueFishCake, when talking about his next series, mentioned that he didn't want to make the femboy character blatantly obvious from the get-go. -Marline's reluctancy to be naked with others around. Now, this could be chalked up to not wanting to give away her/his attraction to women, but I get the feeling that that's exactly the false hint our dear author is trying to plant. After all, Marline is still sneaking glances at others (and has been caught doing so, even if it was subtle), meaning that not showering with the team didn't stop that angle; But if Marline had anatomy not befitting a Dark Elf woman, being naked with others would very quickly reveal that. -Marline's horror at the idea of anything sexual with a man, including being in the same team as a notorious playboy (way back in the beginning). Again, this could be chalked up to being a lesbian, but once again, that's likely the red herring. -The character art shared a while back; Now, it was AI generated, sure, but out of all the characters, Marline was the only one who was explicitly flat as a board. And as far as I know, that is an attribute one has to stress very hard to generative models to get it to stick. -Marline's spiel about having secrets for life; Which again could point to both a lesbian Marline or a femboy one. Now, WHY would Marline pretend to be a woman? His family's situation meant that they needed a saboteour (someone who ran the highest chance of securing a core for the family) more than they needed a son. And considering how the last guy we've heard of was treated by his team, it's safe to assume that if Marline's gender was found out, he'd have no shot at the position, exceptional aptitude notwithstanding. And at this point, he's coating by on the inertia of that secret, rather than risk shaking up the entire team dynamic. So there is both a motive and a trail of evidence, both in-story and outside of it to suggest that Marline is indeed this story's resident femboy. At least that's my read into the situation so far.
NeoJungleLover
I did not pick up such hints :o And - yeah? I mean everybody has some better sides, it’s hard being one man army
Lurkemancer
The one thing I'd absolutely love to see going forward is William coming to terms him not having perfect solution to every given situation and thus needs some advisors; Even if he remains reluctant to the possibility that his Harrowing might have anything to do with it. Because as this little scene with Marline demonstrated, he does have lacking angles. Plus having someone to trade at least some secrets with would allow William to finally feel like he fits in. And would give Marline someone to share the burden of "her" being a guy, if I'm reading all the subtext clearly so far. And even beside that, Marline does seem like the perfect fit to be something of a moral grounding force for William. Also, my bet is that all Harrowing works the same - Some outlander's mind brought into the Contractor's mind, resulting in a constant state of identity problems. They're raving mad, because how else are you going to describe someone from Fantasy France that suddenly starts talking in Tagalog? How would one describe a person having a contant mental back-and forth with themselves other than "not quite there"? And the only reason "William" wasn't all that affected was because he barely had anything to mesh with the new identity, whereas others had decades of experiences muddled, thus cracking where William could just be erased.
Blue Fishcake
No heirs means it's returned to the crown as their are no other claimants. As far as the law is concerned William is the first of his line and has no 'blood relations'. The Summerfield duchy is different because while they lack a direct heir, their *are* claimants to the title.
Blue Fishcake
Beta readers have it :D Another one that's just short of double length.
Carl Philip Steuch
Not unless he designate her as such. If the old Stillwater territory had been an Ashfield vassal fief and his mom had granted it to him then it would have been returned to her at the time of his death given no heirs, but as he established a new house and doesn’t rely on his family’s support, they have no claim on it. Legally Ashfield and Redwater are separate houses with no ties.
Trevayne
That is what I figured. I was curious if his sister would be his heir as his closest relative.
Carl Philip Steuch
In feudal societies the way it normally goes is if he doesn’t designate an heir, and has no descendants the territory is returned to the crown. That’s what happened to the Stillwater family that ruled the territory 50 years earlier.
O
I’m pretty sure that’s a goal of the twins
Trevayne
Another question I was wondering about. William is now the Count of Redwater. Who is his heir, or does the Queen get to take it all back if he dies? I do not think this is going to happen, but inheritance have driven plots before, so I was curious.
Conrad34xdsa
You still got a few hours for it to be Sunday
Blue Fishcake
Stopping for lunch so this is a good opportunity to say that it'll just be a few more hours. I was actually on track for Sunday, but once more the chapter is getting long. Which doesn't really bother me as it's a fun one, but I'm well aware that I guessed at Sunday.
Trevayne
Good question. I figure at least part will involve the negotiations with the twins, maybe all of it if the hint is NSFW. Although thinking about it, they want his support and he wants to see if they are worth supporting (not slaver sympathizers). I expect they will talk shop first, unless they seriously think that moving straight to seduction is a good idea. I expect they have tried to learn something about him over the past two weeks and one thing that will come out is that while he flirts, he doesn't deliver. There is a lot of innuendo, but AFIAK he has not had sex with anybody at the academy. The closest he has come was with Griffith, and they were not at the academy when they sealed the deal. Assuming they have tried to figure him out, they will know this much and not try to immediately vamp him. I expect they will talk shop and politics. They will feel him out as to whether he could support them and he will be trying to determine if they are worth supporting.
Conrad34xdsa
So, will we get a hint as to what our next chapter will be about?
Spintool
Maybe a sexy twin beach episode 🤤
John
i think you should probably make a filler chapter or something to catch up with the schedule. maybe a beach episode lol?
The Fire Piper
Heh. Starting to look less possible. 😆
Jacob
I think it's been implied that in Lindholm there is a balance-of-power thing when it comes to the crown trying to impose it's authority on the internal matters of the various vassal territories. Since lines of succession (and any lack thereof) are an internal matter, the nobility might see such (overt) interference in the matter by the crown to be overstepping the crown's authority. As a result, Yelenna might risk losing the support of at least some of the nobility if she attempted to do so.
Jacob
> I can’t wait for in the middle of their seduction attempt an entire squad of Royal guard with Griffith, picking him up and dragging him off the royal palace with a “You saw nothing” as a explanation. I don't see why we can't have both :-D I'm thinking twins' seduction -> ball turret distraction -> twins try to get seduction back on track (w/partial success) -> Griffith and guards show up
Conrad34xdsa
I can’t wait for in the middle of their seduction attempt an entire squad of Royal guard with Griffith, picking him up and dragging him off the royal palace with a “You saw nothing” as a explanation. Also, they already planned on bringing him there to see the aircraft, considering they bribed a guard to give them privacy. They are definitely planning on being “bold”. Considering his reputation as a man of action, they might think he would respond to that better.
Jacob
I'm just waiting to see Clarice's response when, in the middle of her & her sister's seduction of William, he suddenly only has eyes for the innovations of the Basilisk's ball turret gimbal system
Jacob
> Pretty sure his mother's actions towards him over the last ten years would result in a pretty cavalier attitude towards her, if not something close to hatred. I doubt he hates his aunts though, like Karla. Just look at William's internal dialogue comments in the communications crystal discussion with his mother. This is exactly my point. If he 'harrow request' was about protecting the whole family, then that motivation would have been locked-in with the rest of the harrowing programming, but that obviously isn't the case so I doubt that was the request.
Jacob
I'm not so sure at that final point. The queen's goal will be to keep her away from Blackstone and to not cause her harm for the reason you say. If Olivia were to be harmed even inadvertently by Blackstones trying to take her, the queen would be perfectly happy for William's ire to be further pointed at her enemies
Borisoff72
You think he's just going to start sending mail bombs to his enemies?
9 o’clock
You might just wanna write a short chapter just so you can get back on schedule I just assumed the normal schedule is Friday and Saturday
22junk
Quality over speed. Do what you gotta do. That said, some art of royal elf lady previously described with words like “curvy” and “milf” would go a long way.
Blue Fishcake
Sunday. Probably. Maybe. It's possible.
Trevayne
Yes, it is blackpowder. At present, that seems to be the only explosive he has actually made as opposed to thought about. We know he knows of more from this quote: "Sure, the Queen had wrangled the method for creating explosive powder out of him, but not all powders were created equal. Not even close." However, we haven't seen William actually make any other explosive powders. For that matter, how much does he need to make and how can he do it? I suspect the how much question depends on just what he intends to do. Is the goal to produce say eighty (80 - allows 2 guns per ship in the RN with a few left over to defend the capital) 4"/50 guns and explosive shells for them (say 150 rounds per gun)? That would probably need 15 lbs of propellant and 1.5 lbs of explosive filler per shell. The total number of shells is 12,000 (80 x 150) and those shells need 180,000 lbs or 90 tons of propellant and 18,000 lbs of explosives for the shell fillers. Can William do this via magic-assisted chemistry or will he need to create a factory to produce explosives and propellant and well as factories to make nitric acids and any other required inputs? William has the knowledge to do an immense amount of things, but how many are practical propositions given the capabilities of current Lindholm? I personally think a steel naval gun like a 4"/50 is a better anti-airship weapon than a shard. That said, if William doesn't think he can make the guns and ammo in the next two years he might go with something else, like anti-airship explosive bombs and rockets.
Spintool
Looks like today is Friday, You all know what that means
Bas van Lissum
No thats blackpowder, a far inferiour version to modern smokeless powder. The confusion is understandable however
Trevayne
It will be interesting. Right now, I don't think William's actions are really industry as we know it. He seems to be using his mage-smith abilities as a way to produce industrial-type products in limited quantities. Effectively, his workshops resemble a very advanced but slow 3-D printer. He can make lots of different things, but he can't make them in industrial quantities as we would understand it. For that, he needs actual industry. For example, he is building a new shard, the Corsair-M. From the description, he is making one prototype now, and if it works, he can make a few each week. A WW2 Corsair factory could make them in hours and produce thousands.
Borisoff72
I could see someone explaining slavery to a three or four year old and them not understanding the full implications but still deciding that it was "very unfair." Some young kids are absolutely obsessed with fairness in that way.
Conrad34xdsa
That doesn’t explain why she hasn’t elevated one of the claimants to the position of heir by now. If she has gone senile that could explain some of the decisions. Historically speaking, if a ducal house is wiped out or there is a crisis of succession the matter would be settled by the regent as Ducal houses are created by Regents and as such would be subject to Royal authority. I stated before that the Queen could have the Duchess be called to court to explain her actions and be told to declare an heir or face censure to prevent a Summerfield Scuffle.
Trevayne
A big cave with lots of bats, or perhaps some offshore islands with massive colonies of seabirds. While having it on his lands would be useful, as long as it isn't on Blackstone or New Haven lands he could probably make it work.
Trevayne
I thought the last war was ten or more years ago. If she lost all her heirs then, she probably should have been encouraged to pick a new one. I expect everybody thought she had more time, so she wasn't pressed on it. Elves usually live a few centuries, IIRC.
Business Casual
Infertility is a possibility. Or perhaps she lost all heirs in the last war?
Trevayne
We know that mage-smithing can be used to create complex shapes in metal without full-scale machine shops. I wonder if magic can be used to facilitate other industrial processes. For example, could William use a spell charge to facilitate chemical reactions so he can get things like gasoline without having to build large-scale chemical plants and/or refineries? It wouldn't be alchemy, it is more magic-assisted chemistry.
Trevayne
Err, no, he has already given the Queen the gunpowder formula. That was the price tag for the Queen agreeing to give him two years to stop his sister's betrothal. Otherwise, the Queen would have to have Olivia killed. Here is the except from Chapter 33 where William agreed to provide it to her. "She glared into the orb. “The secrets to the production of the Kraken Slayer. That’s my price.” ‘To allow your sister to keep breathing,’ went unsaid. He argued. Long and hard. Presented her with alternative magics and technologies that frankly boggled the mind. So much so that part of her suspected he was simply making them up. And she couldn’t have that. Not as a ruler. She worked with what was, not what could be. “The Kraken Slayer,” she said finally as he slowly started to run out of steam. He sagged, the fight going out of him. “I’ll write up the method once I land in my new territory,” he muttered. “And present it to one of your palace guard.” The victory felt somewhat hollow given how she’d achieved it, but it was a victory all the same. “This is for the good of Lindholm, William.” She made some small attempt at commiseration. “And you have my word on this. Two years. More than enough time to convince your family of this folly.” " Chapter 38 is where it was officially turned over. He wasn’t about to complain, even if it did make telling her that he really needed to get to work… difficult. Fortunately, she’d headed back to the capital a few hours ago – the recipe for blackpowder firmly in her possession. He smiled a bit at that. Sure, the Queen had wrangled the method for creating explosive powder out of him, but not all powders were created equal. Not even close.
Trevayne
Good question as to why Summerfield wound up without a direct heir. I wonder if it is just a process of ageing and the Duchess' health started to decline unexpectedly. She is an elf and as such was expected to live a long time. Everybody might have thought she could still marry and have a child who would be the new heir, but her medical condition worsened and she is no longer fertile and will die in a few years. Effectively, she put off getting an heir too long. She might also think she has a legitimate hidden heir and was worried about them getting assassinated if they were publicly announced. As for the Queen just picking one, I expect that would anger a bunch of the other nobility and encourage Blackstone to kick off the civil war immediately.
Trevayne
Err, they don't need guns pointing down, that is what javelins (aka bombs) are for. The problem with a sub shooting up at an airship is the same difficulty that an airship has in trying to target a sub. How does one vessel detect the presence of the other?
Trevayne
Possibly, but I think his sister can see the chances are high of her own "accidental" death once the logic is pointed out to her. She is bright, but naive in thinking that all the plans will go as planned and that she can't be a target.
Trevayne
I agree with most of this, although I would expand on parts 2 and 3. I don't think the Blackstones will kill Countess Ashfield because I think she will call a family meeting the same day with most or all of her sister-widows. They might even have Olivia present or tell her shortly afterwards. The Blackstones might want to kill her, but I doubt they are going to act without getting approval from the Duchess of Blackstone herself and I doubt they have the time. Especially when they know the Queen can tap the long-distance message crystal links. I expect they will try to get her away to Redwater relatively quickly so that it is harder for the Blackstone agents to kidnap her. I would also add a point 4 in that the Blackstones might try to kidnap her from Redwater. William is at the academy. Just how is he going to ensure her safety from several miles away? I expect the answer to this is the Queen will need to have some of her people there even while he is not present, just to safeguard Olivia. Under these conditions, she will want to keep Olivia safe because William will be really upset if something happens to her.
Trevayne
I think it depends. Right now they are focused on getting his support for their bid. He is trying to figure out who he wants to support. I think the twins are willing to do whatever is necessary to gain his support, but right now they have just met him. I expect they want to assess him as an individual before trying to persuade him. William is doing the same thing. In particular, he wants to assess their attitudes about slavery. Ideally, they are opposed or neutral, but being pro-slavery is a deal killer for him. He did not just go through everything he did in the first year to get betrothed to a pro-slavery woman in year 2. He certainly would not help put someone like that in line to get the Summerfield duchy. Right now, they are starting to assess each other. They might both be pleasantly surprised if they are both interested in creating new things. I doubt the twins are the primary designers of the Basilisk, but I think they may have been involved. There probably is a level of physical attraction, but William doesn't want to have sex with anybody within four years of his own age. He really prefers women who are 30 or over. Griffith is already stretching things, since she is 26 or 27. The twins are 24, so by his rules, they are off-limits. As for the other claimant, Plumgarden?, he will want to talk to her, but I think the twins have the inside track because of their family's new shard. Edit: I think we are going to find out more about Plumgarden because maybe Blackstone changes their plan to back a different claimant if Olivia is no longer available.
Basil Harpham
Gunpowder isn't for the queen, it's for when he brings down the monarchy.
Conrad34xdsa
By the way Blue. Do you plan on giving us an explanation as to why a official heir has not been picked in order to prevent the Summerfield Scuffle? There are many heirs that can be raised up but that has not happened. Perhaps someone with more intimate knowledge of the situation or more direct involvement can shed some light. Perhaps inside a Shard for example
Conrad34xdsa
Well that’s the funny thing. They’re trying to manipulate him to their side and they are basically playing directly into his hands. The question is will he actually get intimate with them so quickly? Griffith is only 26 and they are only 22-23, not much of a stretch. If he goes down that road this early, he might lose out on a chance to meet with the other county heir if she has a better offer.
Scott Mitchell
Lots of fun events to come it seems, as for the Summerfield Scuffle I wonder if now that our boy is less in need of ship hulls for a impending “hot scuffle” air war… if he will turn his attention and courting to a absolute nobody. Some poor house with the humiliating honor of running a broke province that is just covered over in these black goop spots that ruin farming… (oil) or some other unknown invaluable reasources? What will become of the Ork submarine? Will they find our lad? Will he refit it with hull mounted discount ICBMs to creat the first knock off apocalypse tube of the ocean? I imagine enemy air ships don’t have guns that point down very far… Even if the surprise surface to air attack can’t punch through the armored landing hull above, they could strip/damage propulsion leaving them stranded “above sea”…
Spintool
I hope this plan backfires in Williams face By causing resentment in his sister. She was about to become second to only a queen and William took that from her after already humiliating her and her house. Nothing is more fun than some sibling infighting in a medieval story. I bet The likelihood of William sister trying to keep working with Blackstone against her brothers wishes is very likely
Borisoff72
Maybe there's a cave with a lot of bats conveniently located on his lands?
Trevayne
I don't see how a toddler would even conceive of a previous life to ask for. The impression I had is that the toddler, William Ashfield somehow asked for the ability to protect his family (possibly to end slavery, but I don't know if a toddler can understand slavery). Somehow a Fae heard and answered him by copying all the memories of George Satterfield, and then boosting those memories with ludicrous detail. We know he knows every possible detail about every weapon he has ever seen, touched, or read about. He also knows similar amounts about various pieces of music, although I suspect that is limited to his own record collection. An interesting question is whether there was some kind of trauma, maybe his nursemaid was murdered or attacked, that would explain why William asked the question that effectively ended his own existence.
Conrad34xdsa
Problem is, it’s assume he made the deal when he was a baby. That’s why he is not insane. Because there was no personality to override. Unlike where a normal person is harrowed and becomes a catatonic like state. I highly doubt the baby is able to understand slavery, and I also doubt that he wished to protect his sister, a sister who would be born in approximately 5 years in the future. My money is on the idea that the baby mentality cried at a Fye and as such interpreted that as a question and gave an answer.
Conrad34xdsa
The problem is, is that the queen does not know if Williams sister will actually go to the county or go to the Blackstones. Plus she does not know about William trying to rig the Summerfield Scuffle so that his sister is not a threat afterwards. Plus, she has no guarantee that the Blackstones won’t hear about this development and realize that the jig is up. Considering there is a spy in the palace, that might be far more likely that they learn from the spy first and that would not bode well.
Conrad34xdsa
She already knows he’s planning on destroying slavery. She is just not up-to-date with his current plan with the Summerfield Scuffle.
Conrad34xdsa
Well, I did say KrakenBlueSteam would return in 1-5 days and I was correct on the later end. Glad to know that you are doing better. So the conversation with the queen will be interesting. I think that William will explain that he is getting his sister to stay with him to temporarily take her off the playing field. He could (depending upon what exactly he and the twins are discovered doing in the shard when the Queens agents track them down) Explain his plan to permanently remove his sisters’ claim for the Summerfield Duchy by putting someone else on the seat. Doing so permanently removing the threat that his sister’s existence posed to the Queen and thus saving her neck in the long run. With that context, there are a few things that have to happen. 1. Williams Sister actually arrives at his county and is not sent to the Blackstones. 2. The Blackstones are not using their own invisible spies inside the Ashfield and Alert the Blackstone's to this development and kidnap his Sister to their lands or kill Lady Ashfield before she gives the order to pull out of the deal. The latter part is unlikely as there is at least one other aunt in the room to witness and raise the alarm. 3. The Blackstones don’t steal his sister away at the last minute from Williams county and push her claim for the Summerfield Scuffle anyway. By the Way will we refer to this succession crisis as the Summerfield Scuffle to save time?
Trevayne
Possible, but if they had designed the shard, why wouldn't one of them be thinking about arriving in a shard of their own design when we see their own POV in the previous chapter? I am guessing Clarice was embellishing their achievements to impress William. They have probably already done some research and found out he is inventive (flashbang, spell-bolt) so by claiming to have designed it, they can impress him. They probably did have some input into it since it was a family design.
Jason Dortch
I thought he just asked for memories of his previous life, which happened to be on Earth 1 during WW.
Jason Dortch
Maybe the twins desi her the plane and the family lead on the ball mount system?
Trevayne
" William scratched his neck bashfully. “Ah, my friends told me I should ‘go big or go home’. You don’t think it was too much do you?” “Oh, not at all,” Clarice said, her shoulder ‘casually’ brushing against his as she walked alongside him, perfume wafting across his senses as she did. “Not at all. A new county like yours needs to be bold if it wants to garner the right sorts of people as allies. Other people with ambition, you know?” William nodded along absently – even as most of his mind was on how Yelena was going to react when she found out about his ‘betrayal’. Well, hopefully she’s in a good mood, he thought. " I wonder how long it will take William to realize that the twins are trying to manipulate him as much as he is trying to manipulate them. I expect he would have picked up on it faster, but he was busy wondering how Yelena was going to react to his conversation with his mother.
Trevayne
Thinking a little more about this, if they can work out a scrying or divination technique to track them, attempting to infiltrate underwater could lead to a disaster. If they are intercepted as they leave the water, they are sitting ducks because they are at slow speeds and have minimal attitude. Any Lindholm ships would have superior speed and altitude and could easily bomb them as they emerge. They can't even shoot back because the gunports had to be sealed to allow for submerged travel.
Trevayne
But are they unprotected? They certainly seem to keep them outside in all weathers so they may have magic rust-proofing.
Trevayne
An interesting question is do they have a law defining treason, or is it just what the monarch says is treason? From personal experience, even if classified information has been released into the public domain, the correct response for someone who knows the classified version is "I can neither confirm nor deny". That is because even if X is public, the public may not know if X is true, so you are not allowed to confirm or deny it. I am not at all sure if Lindholm has formal laws regarding this. As a medieval state, they may not, but as the reinforced concrete, elven city planning, and magic point out, Lindholm is a fantasy medieval country and the historical norms may not apply.
Trevayne
Thinking some more about explosives production, I expect he is going to have to talk to the Queen about how much he can tell the Alchemists and who he can tell. I expect he will talk to the Queen about this and then, assuming Yelena agrees, he and Piper go and talk to the Queen again. That is when Piper gets read into the Krakenslayer secret and they ask her about potassium nitrate and where they can get it, along with sulfur. The charcoal (carbon) should be easy enough to obtain. This is where they can get an initial idea of just how much gunpowder they can make, at least in the next 6 months to a year. That determines just what kind of weapons they can do. Lots of gunpowder means everything is possible, but if it is hard to make, than they probably want to restrict it to bombs and mines. A medium amount suggests some artillery, but probably not rockets, because they are too expensive in terms of propellant.
Trevayne
I don't know how much the alchemists in particular, and society in general, know about chemistry and elements. I suspect magic may make the scientific method harder to practice because a mage may be able to consciously or unconsciously influence experimental outcomes via magic.
Trevayne
That, or at least starting to do that, is a good idea. I doubt very much that Olivia is ready to run a county now, especially a strange (to her) one like Redwater. Xela is a much better choice to run it in William's absence (and frankly presence) now. That said, Olivia can certainly serve as Xela's aide and understudy. She might have already started to do that for her mother back at Ashfield, but until recently she was probably too young. In addition, it would keep her busy learning things she will need to know if she will ever be a countess, whether at Ashfield or somewhere else. From William's perspective keeping her busy gives her less time to brood and plot revenge for the duchy he kept her from getting, twice.
Vlad Cold
Potassium nitrate produced either from excrements or by mining and very location dependent. Unlike ammonia nitrate production, it is limited and cannot be just set up on industrial scale at any logistically accessible location at whim.
Mikołaj
I thought more of potassium nitrate which you need for gunpowder anyway. It was used since ancient times as fertilizer too.
Vlad Cold
As far I remember history of Haber experiments, it took him pretty long time to figure out economically efficient variant of ammonia production, with a lot of loud booms along the way, for high pressure steel vessel with hydrogen at high temperature with chemical reactions eating it from the inside is rather unstable and explosive combination. Even true genius won't figure that in less than a year. Do they even know what hydrogen and ammonia is? Or at least electrolysis, it was first discovered in like 1785. Ammonia nitrate can easily double crop yields, and should have nice multiplicative effect with magical methods.
Allen Mainville
He acted against the Queen’s intentions. As things were, she knew more or less what was going to happen and how (more or less) to handle it. Now that William has done what he’s done, she has to completely stop and reassess everything to figure out what’s going on and how to handle it, while also figuring out what the hell is up with her supposed “subordinate”, William.
DMR1
He's gonna make his sister run the county, isn't he?
Trevayne
It is certainly worth looking into. I don't think we have any real information on current farming techniques. Maybe they have farming mages that enhance the yields via magic? We know that the society seems to be a weird amalgam of medieval/renaissance with magic-punk and odd engineering (reinforced concrete) worked in. It is hard to say if they would benefit from conventional fertilizers or not without knowing more about how they farm.
Mikołaj
William should consider fertilizer production as a way to gather capital for different projects and cover for explosives production
Trevayne
Thinking about William's future conversations, I look forward to his next chat with Marline when she asks him how talking to his mother went.
Trevayne
Pretty sure his mother's actions towards him over the last ten years would result in a pretty cavalier attitude towards her, if not something close to hatred. I doubt he hates his aunts though, like Karla. Just look at William's internal dialogue comments in the communications crystal discussion with his mother.
ChaosAndBunnies
I'd look at it more like how spies feed irrelevant or out-of-date, but still very real, information on their side to the enemy in order to gain trust and legitimacy. Yes, by a very technical definition it could be considered an act of treason, but it's the necessary and expected cost of doing the job you've been explicitly given by your side for their overall benefit, so they don't consider it as such. Either way, this doesn't stop the Queen from being mad about it.
Jacob
I'm having a hard time seeing the actual treason here. Which state secrets did he give up exactly? He didn't reveal anything about *how* the queen acquired the information and instead made up those details out of whole cloth. He especially didn't reveal anything about her secret invisible agents.
Jacob
Also, which state secrets did he give up exactly? He didn't reveal anything about *how* she acquired the information and instead made up those details out of whole cloth. He didn't reveal anything about her secret invisible agents.
Jacob
Salt water does nasty things to unprotected iron so even the 10-year-old hulls are probably unusable
JaxonJak
*Clears throat* The industrial revolution and its consequences .. . . .
Jacob
But then he wouldn't be able to be so caviler about betraying his mother
Trevayne
The problem is he loves his sister so he has to at least tolerate the rest of his family. Now if his mother's plotting had gotten Olivia killed, that would probably have resulted in a total break with William never willingly talking to his mother again.
Trevayne
Yes, but as the saying goes, "Technically correct is the best kind of correct".
Business Casual
I was thinking that her joke of "something in the water" also wouldn't work for the air carrier. Also, the Kraken Slayer is already a near perfect (just gotta remove the mermaid guts attracting krakens) counter to subs.
Prometheus
Willaim has a bad habit of being "Technically Right" in all the wrong ways and the sooner the Queen learns to life with this, the happier she will be.
Trevayne
Err, that can't be it because Olivia is at least four years younger than William, so the harrowing occurred before she was born. Edit: It could have been a more generalized desire to protect his family, just not his younger sister.
Trevayne
Interesting question, did the twins design the Basilisk or did they embellish their role to impress William? In chapter 45, they claim to have designed it, but in their POV section in chapter 44, it was a family design. from chapter 45 “With that said, as fancy as our Basilisk is, I think your ride pretty nearly blew him out of the water. I mean, showing up in a Shard you designed is one things, but not many of the cadets around here have the pull to arrive in their own cruiser.” Note, suggest editing the word things to thing so it reads I mean, showing up in a Shard you designed is one thing, but not many from chapter 44 House Whitemorrow was but a countship – for now. So it had decided to take a different approach. One that was both cheaper and more efficient. To that end, the Basilisk wasn’t designed to combat shards. It was designed to kill airships. It didn’t dodge or weave. Truth be told, it flew like a brick, with a turning circle that was just this side of laughable. But that didn’t matter when it was tough enough to simply shrug off incoming fire, while returning the favor with interest using either the nose cannons, or more likely, the rear guns. Guns that had a near perfect one-eighty degree firing arc due to the ingenuity of the pneumatic powered ‘ball mount’ system their family had come up with. …That wasn’t necessarily why her peers were envious of her and her sister though. The Basilisk was eye-catching. It was new. That was all there was to it.
Moonlightwind
I’m thinking it was actually for the ability to protect his sister, given he seems compelled to use the weapons he creates and his love her is completely unshakable.
MaybeASquid
I mean if there was another big fight it'd be hard to justify not completely cutting away from the family so I get why it went this way
Dankenobi1
Personally I'm kinda glad there isn't a ton of drama and beating around the bush, makes it feel more real
Borisoff72
*he’d considered it a case of the right software in the right hardware." My personal theory is that what William asked the Fae for was the knowledge required to end slavery. It's exactly the sort of thing a good-hearted little boy would do, not understanding the price. There might still be more of William in there in terms of conviction, if not intellect.
Matt Bradock
I do admire William/George's taste and ethics though, when it comes to women. There are plenty of old men who still prefer women - or girls - as young as possible. Just take a look at Hollywood, the MeToo movement and the Nickelodeon scandal. Then again, you yourself said he's an unapologetically good guy - who might go overkill for all the right reasons.
Trevayne
I am trying to decide which of the upcoming conversations will be more interesting, William and the Queen or William and his sister. He needs to persuade Yelena that while his actions might technically be treason, they were in accordance with their deal where William had two years to prevent his sister's betrothal. For that matter, he should point out to Yelena that while he has neutralized the threat from a Blackstone-Ashfield alliance, the Blackstones could continue trying with one of the other claimants. Yelena needs to have her spies look into the other claimants. The conversation with his sister is about as fraught. From her perspective, this will be the second time William has cost her a chance to be a Duchess. On the other hand, she is not an idiot, so if William asks her to put herself in Yelena's position and ask herself how she would deal with the threat posed by Olivia marrying a Blackstone. She wants to be a player and eventually she will be. She needs to learn now to start anticipating the reactions of the other players before her failures get herself and/or others killed.
TeFiLeDo
If I remember correctly, one week was missed after the comments (more or less) demanded it. That was during Steampunk 1, I believe. I agree that missing or delaying a chapter or two is totally fine, especially for health reasons. Most people will understand that life can get in the way. There definitely is a limit, but Blue Fishcake is very far from reaching it.
TeFiLeDo
I love that sometimes the text just says _George_ without any fanfare. I'm really looking forward to how this will turn out.
Blue Fishcake
I'll fix that post-haste :D
Trevayne
There are two problems the invaders would face. The first is that modifying airships to work as submarines removes their ability to fight except as carriers. The gunports have to be sealed to submerge. The captured airship the orcs modified could not fight. Maybe the Solites could get around this by submerging to get to Lindholm and then abandoning the submarine capability to be able to use their guns again after arriving. The other problem is running into Kraken unless they also get the Screamer. While Kraken don't normally bother with surface ships, these modified airships moving underwater would look like food and/or threats. A third, lesser problem would just be keeping the force together. They can't be too close or risk collisions that would probably sink both vessels. If they get too far, the fleet might be a mass of individual ships a hundred miles across and vulnerable to defeat in detail if intercepted by Lindholm's Royal Navy.
MaybeASquid
I also love the setup of Will/George's fall, I'm excited to see what happens as you build up his support network that will help him pick himself back up
MaybeASquid
This isn't the family ultra trauma I was hoping for, but I will gladly take driving driving the queen crazy instead.
Trevayne
I thought they were going to the main continent to take refuge with the Wood Elves and maybe get assistance from them. I think the Woodc Elf area is Old Green on the map. And assuming they even made it… they’d be a single ship, far from home, low on supplies, attempting to negotiate with a people that even the Invaders of her home consider barbaric and backwards. To be fair, those same Invaders thought the same of her own people, but given these were fellow elves the Invaders were speaking of, she was inclined to believe it.
Vlad Cold
Not before some education/training, for she can bring Will many problems if introduced as she is now.
Trevayne
The really old hulls are unlikely to be usable, but the wrecks from the most recent battles 10-20 years ago may be salvageable. As for how they can do it, just send a few mages down in diving suits with a core. They can use the aethergas given off by the code to force out the water and the ships will float to the surface like balloons. They can then make the lift tanks gas-tight and have the ship take off. If its engines do not work, it can be towed by another airship or a surface ship like a balloon.
Trevayne
True, but he also accomplished the mission the Queen gave him. If he performs an act of treason to accomplish a specific set goal issued by the head of state, is it really treason against that state?
Hikaraka
If they need hulls, how difficult would it be to re float some of the wrecks from under Al hundreds old nest? They may be rotten wood, but maybe some of them has an intact superstructure.
22junk
He shared state secrets with a traitor so legally it’s treason. Practically speaking he’s not a traitor until the queen declares him one, just like the Blackstones won’t be traitors if they can be dissuaded before everything comes to a head. So he just needs to wait for her to cool off then placate her with new toys.
22junk
I just reread the chapter with the aqua orcs and realized a few things. I assumed when they talked about going East they meant traveling East along the Northern coast until they could turn South and head for the lower half of the continent. But now that the Lunite diplomat is looking into a new innovation from the North, I wonder if they aren't making deals on a different continent altogether. "And assuming they even made it… they’d be a single ship, far from home, low on supplies, attempting to negotiate with a people that even the Invaders of her home consider barbaric and backwards. To be fair, those same Invaders thought the same of her own people, but given these were fellow elves the Invaders were speaking of, she was inclined to believe it." I don't recall New Haven referring to the Western elves as inferior before, but if the orcs assume the South is united against them, which is why they think the Blackstones have the Kraken Slayer, it makes sense to seek out a different nation entirely. Blue reminding us that the West is afraid of conflict over open water makes a future submarine invasion seem more likely. I assumed we'd see aqua orcs join up with the abolitionists eventually but now I wonder if I misunderstood the point of that chapter. Is the map of the world the entire world or just the bits relevant to the story? Can they travel East to get West?
Trevayne
Yes, and it will be interesting to see if this is an actual wake up call, or just a once-off as he returns to his usual methods. His problem is he can make hammers like no one has ever seen before, but not every problem is a nail sticking up that needs to be hammered in. In particular, I could see him building new weapons and getting everything ready to go when he stumbles across information revealing that New Haven is working for the Solite Empress. Will it occur to him that showing the information to Eleanor Blackstone might prevent the civil war, and thus make it unnecessary to use his brand new and shiny hammers?
Borisoff72
They can get to Lindholm now, undetected, and they don't have to worry about the Cores falling into the sea. The aircraft carrier was explicitly announced by the Blackstones. No one ever bothered trying to keep it a secret.
Borisoff72
But now the Blackstone's are going to probably figure out that the Queen knows.
Borisoff72
One does wonder if the next step is to figure out a way to betroth his Sister into the Royal family somehow.
Borisoff72
However, The danger is clear. The rebel orca have run to the Lunites and given them the submarine. Now the Lunites can move their ships to Lindholm undetected. Given that the Orcs will want something in return, they Lunites will be fighting the Blackstone fleet first. If they get through that though, William and the Queen should have enough time to prepare.
Hunter
This is an EXCELLENT summary man! Awesome job on this, cause I wasn’t even thinking about why she was mad beyond “he blabbed”… I certainly think he’s in trouble, but not as much trouble as he might otherwise be in. Especially if he seals deal with his new ally’s.
Trevayne
Good question. I don't think there is much the Wood Elves can do directly. It looks like their magic is very powerful inside their territory, but can't do much outside it, so I don't see therm providing much direct aid. They might provide a refuge for orcs fleeing the Blackstones, but I doubt they will do much directly. One possibility though is advice, or perhaps divination magic. Even though they can't help directly, they might point the orcs in the sub towards William. I think he would be fascinated by the sub-conversion and might have some ideas about restoring the armament. I don't think William can harbor fleeing orc rebels in his territory yet, but I think he can provide advice and maybe technical support.
Trevayne
At least, on those occasions in which he couldn’t call upon Griffith to grant him an exemption. Of which this most definitely was, given he was in a rather explicit way currently engaged in an act of treason. Interesting question, is he engaged in treason? I expect he is thinking this because he thinks the Queen could see it as such, but is it? IIRC he made a deal with the Queen and turned over the formula for gunpowder in exchange for the Queen not killing his sister for at least two years to give him time to end her betrothal. The Queen may not be happy about it, but he can tell her that the betrothal has been ended and his sister is in his protective custody so it can not be revived. The Queen might not like how he did it, but this is what she agreed to. Another interesting question is whether this will flip his mother. She is going to have to tell the Blackstones the betrothal has been cancelled. This is the second failed conspiracy with the Blackstones. They are going to be annoyed and might indicate that she is no longer trusted and should consider immigration once the Blackstones take over. Even if they don't say it, after two failed intrigues, Janet Ashfield probably thinks she is on Eleanor Blackstone's enemies list. Given that, she should probably back the Queen and hope she wins.
sir_drop_kick
Looks like William was missing the forest for the trees. So caught up in the moment he forgot the simpler solutions. It's a pretty funny and dangerous trait for a character like him to have. Also him acknowledging, even in passing, that he might not be mentally sound is going to open up new exciting conflicts. This is looking real good.
Trevayne
Seconded, and could you please identify the specific duchies? The map shows five duchies, but we don't know which ones are which. My guess is Blackstone is the one in the north-center of Lindholm, but which one is New Haven, the eastern duchy or the western one? For that matter, where is the capital, or is it that white blob in the east? https://www.patreon.com/posts/map-of-world-or-96324936
Baron Von Mott
I'm really interested as exactly where this sub-plot (no pun intended) of the rebel orcs running to the elves is going to lead. It feels sufficiently distanced from the main story that it could go almost anywhere...
Trevayne
I am also looking forward to that conversation, especially if he states his intentions. That is really a conversation that should have already happened. We have seen the Queen get blackmailed by William and seen her provide him significant backing. As he reflected in the chapter before the fight with Tala's team, the Queen tied up 17 mages producing enchanted wax bolts for his spellbolt guns. Given that, the Queen should certainly have already asked him about why he is doing what he is doing. She needs to know his motivations so she can determine if he fully supports her and the things that might cause problems. The fate of his sister is clearly one of those things. In short, before she places any trust in or reliance on William, she needs to understand where his red lines are. Normally, nobody would care about an 18-year-old young man's red lines, but William has already demonstrated to Tala, his mother, and the Queen that he can take effective action to keep those lines from being crossed or to make sure those who cross them regret it.
Trevayne
Good update with lots of food for thought. Less tech, more intrigue, but the plot gambits are thickening. William (or George) has been focused on using his technological knowledge to build better hammers, but it is interesting to see him realise that not every problem is a nail. I expect he will be more favorable to input from Marline and the others since this one worked out much better than he expected (so far at least, he hasn't heard from the Queen yet). For that matter, if the Queen is correct, the whole imminent Civil War could be solved with some intrigue, if the Queen only knew. This part indicates the Queen believes the North is loyal to the idea of maintaining Lindholm's independence. She’d die before she let that happen. And regardless of how difficult the North was being, she knew they’d stand with her to keep it from happening. What Yelena doesn't know is that statement is only true for part of the North. Blackstone would stand with her to maintain Lindholom and keep the Solites and Lunites from getting the Krakenslayer. New Haven, on the other hand, is loyal to the Solites and would readily betray Lindholm and turn it over. The amusing part is, assuming the Queen is right about the Blackstones, that she could prevent the upcoming civil war by finding proof that New Haven is working with the Solites and showing it to Blackstone. They might have been willing to risk a civil war with New Haven's backing, but I doubt they would want to go up against the Royal Navy without superior numbers. I also doubt that they would want to find themselves under a Solite boot again, which is what New Haven wants. Edit suggestion "Of course, he already knew the answer, but there was a script to be followed here – even if only one of the actors present was aware of it and the other was mildly surprised to find it was being followed regardless." I did have a question about this section. I think it is contradictory. William is talking to his mother and thinks there is a script being followed. Presumably he is the one actor present who is aware the script is being followed. So why would the other, presumably his mother, be mildly surprised the script is being followed. I suggest changing the other to he so the whole passage now reads as follows: "Of course, he already knew the answer, but there was a script to be followed here – even if only one of the actors present was aware of it and he was mildly surprised to find it was being followed regardless."
Random Information
Still don't understand. It seems to me the Queen has got almost everything she could want: 1) Stopped the Summerfield Dukedom coup. 2) Got the Kraken killer device. 3) William didn't divulge her Invisible Guards. 4) Didn't have to assassinate William's sister. Maybe she is losing some intelligence advantages by having the Ashfields alerted, but I can't see her being particularly angry by William's solution. It can't be seen as going against her.
Duncan Sharp
Nothing ever does
Duncan Sharp
Found some typos, SLEEP FIRST! "He knew for his own part, he’d been somewhat… lapse on the subject" 'lax on the subject' (short for relaxed) -- "such fortune had not some with drawbacks" 'come with drawbacks' -- "Janet said as wiped" 'as she wiped' -- "I’ll be forced to make up to them with another meeting later" probably 'make it up to them'. -- "tale end of winter" 'tail end' -- "at the minute" 'at the moment'
9 o’clock
Can you show us where his land is on the map?
Vlad Cold
I imagine William's conversation with the queen be like "What got you titties in a twist? I'm practically solving a bunch of your problems by this move with my sister, where's my thanks? You owe me.". On a related note: do they have any accurate test to determine whether person is Harrowed?
Sonata Fauns
Friend take a week off if needed. This is a great read and you’ve got more then a little room to take the time to get yourself taken care of. Focus on yourself this week.
Rowan Ruble
Oh, he is NOT fine. This is going to be very interesting.
Footbraclet
Double length and still didn't fulfill my addiction to this story 😔
Skrubstar
On a basic level, subversion and levers of control. Subversion because it isn’t great when your subject makes their own decisions without consulting you, especially when deciding to shield an “enemy” faction. Levers of control as well, because him shielding his Sister means one fewer lever to control him with. Bonus thought is also the unpredictability, where one advantage the Queen has is being aware of the conspiracy and who’s conspiring, whereas now there’s basically a signal flare that something is up, and that they should be looking to other places. One time can be excused, but twice from the same person gets to an intolerable level of suspicion, especially from someone who slighted your house for the Crown. Better the enemy you know and all that
Andrew
Thank you!
Morpheus
Ya certainly makes the pair more interesting as characters, and potential romance interests, if they are legitimately capable themselves. Especially in the fields that Will himself is revolutionizing.
Morpheus
Honestly this is sorta short circuiting the engagement too isn't it? That sounds good for the queen. At least that's what Will will say.
Random Information
So why is the Queen angry about William's solution to the Summerfield Dukedom problem? I don't understand that.
Blue Fishcake
Thanks :D I adore my other stories, but they were iterations on a theme - Mass Effect style Sci-Fi and Xianxia. Steampunk is a lot of fun in that it's my first setting that isn't really based on anything else. As an aside, I wanted William to be my first unapologetically 'good guy'. But just being boilerplate good seemed a little boring. So I decided to mix it up a little. Sort of the opposite of Jack. Jack was terrible motives and good means. William is great motives... less good means.
22junk
It’s concerning that the most obvious solution to dealing with a rival’s long term advantage like the Kraken Slayer is to seize it before it can be fully utilized. If the West attacks before the Loyalists have more ships in the air they’re screwed. I’m guessing the strange new invention to the North is the aircraft carrier; I can’t think of how the submarine would be a huge boon to a dominant power. Its main advantage right now seems to be sneaking under the radar. Also, don’t kill yourself trying to hit a deadline. Shit happens. Take a week to reorient yourself if need be. I love this story and want you to put out your best version possible.
Matt Bradock
"I'm fine" says everyone who doubts their own sanity over and over. This new development, the possibility of not only possessing the knowledge but also a compulsion to use it... Things just got really interesting. William is by far your most complex and interesting character so far. "When you have the most advanced hammers on the continent, every problem looks exactly like a nail... And you can't wait to hammer it in."
Marius Petrauskas
great update
Morpheus
O.O not even BUTTER!?
werotan
Also health first.
werotan
The plot thickens
Basil Harpham
its main defense was in it that know one but those involved knew about it. Should be no one
Larynx Punchworthy
I’ve been reading your stories weekly since Sexy Space Babes, and I can’t actually remember the last time you’ve missed a chapter. Don’t feel guilty that you’re delayed because of your body. If anything, feel guilty that you haven’t skipped giving us chapters like a normal web author. It’s part of the serial experience to randomly not get a chapter for a week, especially after a cliffhanger.
kaalveiten
The George/William dynamic totally not worrying.
Batou
When a girl would ask you about your bike... Shit this would work on me and I would not even know it... XD Great Story as always
Loganlee20
Man, take care of your health first. Nobody will hold you responsible if you miss one week. But thanks for the chapter!
Nicholas Roberts
So looking forward to the Queen talking to William! To be honest, I hope she eventually becomes aware of his Harrowing. That would REALLY set the fox among the chickens. I wonder what he's going to say... I thought, you know, what if he just lays all his cards on the table and says frankly that he's producing more weapons, he's gearing for the Ducal seat, he's preparing for a war on mass scale, and he intends to wipe slavery off the face of the earth. That might tilt his hand and expose his harrowed nature, but I imagine that if the Queen got a genuine ally out of it in eliminating the Blackstone threat that she might allow it to proceed. Idk, I'm excited to see what happens! Hope you're feeling better.
andreas
Wooob wooob!
Brian Roger
When Marcille said “ showing up in a Shard you designed is one things,” did she mean you as herself and/or her sister, or her lands in general? If the former, fascinating.
Kwack
Comment, Like, Read
Blue Fishcake
As it turns out, guilt, needed or not, is a hell of a motivator. Churned out a lot of words today after feeling shitty the two prior. Managed to make this double length. So please enjoy two chapters worth of content as thanks for being understanding. You guys rock. I feel a lot better about my shitty body causing a delay now :D Now I'm going to eat the dinner of champions! (Plain toast and water :P )
Found&Lost
This was unexpected but welcome! I was assuming a Wednesday or Friday release due to health issues.
