Helen stumbled as she dismounted from her flying beast, almost face-planting into the dirt. She wearily climbed back up from her knees onto her feet, half-heartedly cursing the stupid overgrown bird. She'd flown on flying drones a few times; somehow, those were much nicer to ride on than tamed monsters. That just figured.

Not that she wasn't grateful to be given access to one, of course. Even with the exhaustion dragging at her, she felt much safer being a good distance away from the Imperial borders and out of reach of the Empress. The one she had just scorned.

"Are you alright, Miss?" a man asked. Focusing a little, she could sense a rather typical slightly condescending concern from him.

"Just fine," she answered, brushing her knees off and standing straighter. She glanced at the small group of soldiers around her. At least she assumed they were soldiers, they didn't seem to wear a standardized uniform, but they were carrying stylized emblems.

"I need to speak to your superiors immediately," she continued. "Lady Sazatore should be waiting for me."

The apparently leader nodded and bowed slightly. "Just this way, Miss."

Helen glanced back at her borrowed giant eagle, then turned to walk after him. She tried not to let her exhaustion and anxiety show, although it felt like she had to drag her body through molasses every step of the way. Her surroundings did not manage to hold her attention, despite being in a town she had never seen before.

She was proud of herself, but the burst of pride she'd felt upon first realizing she had managed to escape Regina had faded over the hours of travel. She had made it across the border and to an outpost of the Confederation mililtary, who had taken her to a larger base and there given her the tamed riding beast. Then it took several hours to travel here. She had been traveling for almost the entire night now, and been awake since dawn the day before. While the sun had risen, she'd like nothing more than to crawl into some bed, any would do, and sleep the day away.

What she didn't like to dwell on was that pride wasn't the only emotion she felt about her actions. A part of her was glad to avoid trying to sleep for now, because … she little liked admitting it even to herself, but she did feel a little guilty. The Empress' parting shot about a monster trying to murder an innocent child still haunted her.

I didn't try to murder him, she told herself, for the tenth time. And she didn't. It wasn't like she had doubts about that.

She didn't know the poison she'd used, but she doubted it would kill him. The lady had certainly spoken as if it wouldn't. And besides, the Empress' phrasing itself showed that he was not actually dead, so clearly it was indeed true.

Besides, why would they want to kill little Robin? It made no sense. Helen might have been born a peasant, but she wasn't stupid, and she knew what went on at court. Trying to kill the prince would be a bad move. She assumed their preferred target would be Queen Kiara, who would be harder to get to. She had seen her occasionally, but the queen was closely guarded, and she was an adult, with some sort of magical knight Class, which had to have decent physical Stats. Unlike the other princesses. Her enemies would likely try to kill her as well, in time. If she was assassinated, or died on the battlefield, Cernlia would be split on who to support. June was the current crown princess, a grown woman and close to the Empress — which would be a point in her favor for some, but the opposite for others — and Prince Robin, while still a child, was a boy. Many nobles would rally behind him for one reason or another. But if he died along with the queen, they would all consolidate behind June. For the Empire's enemies, that was absolutely worse than if he lived. Why wouldn't they want the Cernlian nobles divided? It wasn't like they had a candidate of their own to advance that would benefit from his death.

Janis was more obvious and also a logical target, though Helen had more doubts about the poison's effectiveness on her. Although what did she know, maybe it was particularly lethal to demihumans? At least she was an adult. She could defend herself and if she was careless enough to die from a drink she should have tested, it was basically her own fault.

Not that it was likely to matter; Helen was rather sure they would all be dead inside a few years and all the long-term plans for their succession were worthless.

Finally, after almost sleepwalking through the town she reached a walled fort at the edge, with guards posted around it. They let her and her escorts in, perhaps having received a message sent ahead, and Helen forced her tired mind to focus. It was not hard to find the mind of the woman she was looking for; it was too weighty and powerful to be easily ignored, but it was also currently locked up behind tight defenses, not letting any stray thoughts leak out. Helen went in that direction.

Inside the building, she found a sort of meeting room where the woman in question was speaking to several men, one of them in what looked like a custom-tailored uniform and the other two in rich Western fashion. Helen quickly scanned their System notifications.

"I see our final agent has arrived," Sazatore said to the men. "Pray give me some minutes to speak to her myself privately and call you in afterward for a common briefing, if you would?"

They grumbled a little but filed out. Helen focused on her teacher.

Honor Sazatore — Level ? Psychic Connector

She looked the same as before, though more richly dressed in a sumptuous pink gown. It should have clashed with her complexion or made her appear frivolous, but it didn't. Her face was unremarkable and lined enough to make her wonder about her age, her hair still full and brown. She looked collected, powerful.

"I am glad you have made it safely, little hawk," she said. "Sit down, drink some water. Tell me, were you successful?"

"Thank you, Master," Helen replied, sitting down and pouring a cup of water from the jug. "I am not certain if I was."

Sazatore smiled slightly. "No need for that. You may call me 'teacher' if you wish, my apprentice, but I do not require displays of submission or flattery."

Helen returned the smile, inclining her head. "Of course. I administered the substance, or oversaw its administration, but I fled before I was entirely sure if I was successful. However, I am afraid it seems unlikely. The Empress personally went to heal Robin Lyns, and Princess Janis was still up and moving."

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Her teacher sighed lightly. "It seems they discovered it in time, then. A shame. But you still did well, my dear."

Helen nodded, grateful for the praise. She did not ask further questions about the poison, she was smarter than that.

Honor regarded her silently for a moment. "Do not be anxious, little hawk," she said softly. "We will win this."

Helen smiled back. If anyone else had used such a nickname, she'd have been annoyed, but somehow it was different with her. "I know, Teacher. How could we not? They are trying to fight the gods."

"Exactly," she agreed with a brisk nod. "It is rank arrogance. They will never prevail against the will of the gods, I can scarcely imagine anyone even being stupid enough to attempt it, 'Progenitor' or not."

Helen nodded as well. It was, ultimately, why she was here. She'd started being concerned before, of course. But the all-but denunciation from the churches and the lack of any proper reaction from the Empire had rather settled the matter. Helen would not pretend to be pious or devoted to the gods, but she did not have to be pious to rather be part of the conquering army than sitting in the castle that would be sacked.

And now she was with a teacher who would actually teach her and not neglect her education. Hopefully, at least, an inner voice pointed out. We have only met twice before. It was easy to forget, they slipped so easily into a comfortable familiarity. Helen wondered if it was influenced by her psychic power; she wanted to learn it.

"Regardless, I will protect you, and teach you to protect yourself," her teacher continued. She paused for a moment, then smiled almost impishly. "I also have something to show you that I think will rather cheer you up. We could consider it a reward for your performance and successful escape. But first, we must discuss what you have seen and heard in more detail."

"Of course. Have the documents I have sent ahead arrived?"

"Yes, we safely received them."

Helen smiled. She wasn't sure about the exact path they had taken, except that they were supposed to be smuggled with a merchant's wares. Though it was quite fast for that, perhaps some trader of luxury perishable goods? It didn't matter now, though, but they would help to prove her worth. She hoped to earn a favorable position in the Confederation, and while her teacher's patronage would be vital, evidence of capability would also be useful.

Unfortunately, she knew it would be harder for her to advance here than in the Empire, but she'd simply have to do her best.

For now, she shared everything she'd seen and done with her teacher. Then, as they called in the other men, recounted it again. Helen confirmed that she had managed to affect a group of younger sapient drones, but they did not seem to be in serious danger of dying, although they fell ill. One of the men present must have been involved in the planning or procuring of the poison and asked detailed questions she answered as best she could. She made a note of his face and name.

At some point, she managed to slip in a question and learned that the two men she had worked with, the 'probationary servants' she had checked, had also safely arrived in the Western Confederation. She did not know them, but they were capable and willing to follow orders, she wouldn't mind working with them again.

It had really been easier than she had feared. Students of the Empress were trusted and given access to most of the palace, and the inner gardens, which had almost become an unofficial gathering spot. She had met Lady Florance as she was taking her son Robin out there several times. And, of course, while they weren't close, she had also trained together with Princess Janis on rare occasions. Altogether, it had positioned her perfectly for this work.

Although perhaps not quite enough to make an attempt on the Empress. Who was also the strongest of the Hivekind — if the poison had only made the younger drones sick, it wouldn't even harm her. It hadn't been said in so many words, but she understood it was why she had not been a target; which was good for her, even if having Regina still alive and out for blood was not.

Privately, Helen was thankful that she had not been tasked to attack June. She was, at this point, almost more of her teacher than the Empress had been — although she was not far beyond June in ability.

"Well, it seems the assassinations themselves failed," one of the men concluded finally, "but it is hardly a loss. We have managed to enrage the monster and her most important supporter. We will wait for further news, and in the meantime, we can hope that it will lead them to foolhardy action."

Sazatore smiled and nodded. "Quite so. I trust you will make sure it reaches the right ears. For now, this should conclude our discussion."

They exchanged a few more words before parting. Sazatore rested a reassuring hand on Helen's shoulder and steered her from the room. "Will war truly break out over this?" she asked.

"We can only hope," her teacher muttered. "I personally doubt it. Now, come on."

Helen regarded her thoughtfully as they left the building. She doubted her teacher had ever met any of the people involved personally, except perhaps years ago. She had clearly made a point of not visiting Cera or getting within a certain distance of Regina, presumably to hide. Which had given her the advantage, as Helen doubted the Empress was aware she was involved in this conflict at all, even if she might have heard her name from Madris Ulaven or elsewhere.

After leaving the fort proper, they walked along the edge of the wall and then crossed a street and followed a dirt path to a ravine. The placement of the location and the dip in the landscape meant that while it was close to and protected by the fort, it would be hard to see from the town or most positions. Helen wondered what they were hiding.

She found out quickly, as they passed a fence into a yard attached to several sheds and stone huts. In fact, she stopped, turning to stare at what she was seeing and her teacher. "You have built cannons?!"

They looked less refined than the Empire's, although to be fair, she had never gotten a close look of those. Big hunks of dark metal, on wooden frames, gaping open maws like some monsters. Several of them were currently lined up with men swarming over them.

Her teacher smiled, a self-satisfied smirk which had mischief dancing in her eyes. "Of course. We need to even the scales somehow. Even with the gods' support, their armaments are formidable. But they are building enough of their cannon, training enough men to use them, that it was not too difficult to obtain proper plans and information. I didn't even need to do anything."

Helen inhaled deeply, looking around. "… I assume this is not the only place where the Western Confederation has been secretly building artillery?"

Sazatore's smile widened. "No. We have taken great pains to keep the secret, so I will not be sharing further details with you. Suffice to say it takes a lot of experimentation and must be away from civilization. Still … it is worth it. Watch."

She followed her teacher a few meters further, and they got behind the cannon just as one of them was rolled out and aimed at an earthen berm quite some distance away. She had to squint to make out details.

The cannon was prepared and fired. Helen watched avidly, wincing slightly at the sound of the explosion. The shot struck its target, throwing dirt and stones into the air.

After a moment, she turned to her teacher. "They are not as good as the Empire's, I assume, Lady Sazatore?"

Her teacher shook her head. "Call me 'Honor', dear."

Helen nodded. "Of course. Honor."

"And no, not yet. We have had trouble producing rifled barrels, and I am told it will take more time to be able to properly deploy cannister shot. However, those are minor setbacks." She smiled slightly. "They are not the only ones with mages, after all. Our men have worked out good techniques for shaping iron."

They watched as several more pieces were rolled out for test-firing. Helen noted the different types. Ones further back seemed lighter and their carriage was different; if she didn't miss her guess, they were her hosts' answer to the Imperial equivalent and would be moved around the battlefield by horses or tamed monsters. Other types were presumably good for sieges, or conversely to defend fortifications and break sieges.

She couldn't help but smile at the sight.

She'd never doubted their ability to win, but it was still inspiring. She had wondered about the practical realities of the war; having artillery would do much to put her mind at ease.

Now it was only a matter of time until the Empire got an unpleasant surprise. It's a shame, but what can you do?

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