Valkyrie's Shadow

Birthright: Act 4, Chapter 18

Chapter 18

The interior of the cavern was not something Ludmila would have expected out of a natural cave. Rather than being damp and dark, it was filled with moss, ferns and other greenery common to a forest’s undergrowth. Streams of light filtered down from cracks in the ceiling, though she did not recall seeing any openings in the ground above the cave entrance. Water dripped from above, and the stones were slick with moisture. The murmur of a stream echoed off of the walls from somewhere out of sight.

“Lord Mare, did you make this all after we left last night?” The scenery of the cavern gave her a tranquil, comforting feeling that she could not help but appreciate.

“I did,” he nodded, but his voice held the slightest tinge of worry. “Is there something wrong?”

“No, my lord,” Ludmila smiled. “I think it’s very beautiful…it’s amazing that you were able to fashion this overnight.”

“Oh.”

Whether he was pleased by the praise of his work, she could not tell. She scanned over the floor and walls of the cave. Much of the plants and fungi she could identify as those native to the region, but there were still a handful unfamiliar to her.

“There aren’t any plants like the one yesterday, are there, my lord?”

At her question, the Dark Elf boy cringed slightly.

“That’s…that’s something I found a while ago deep in the Great Forest of Tob,” he said. “I thought it was cute so I used it as a decoration, but Shalltear got mad at me after what happened. Blair and Merry said it was too dangerous to have around Adventurers below Platinum, so I brought it home. There’s nothing in the caves that are like that – even the creatures that I’ve prepared won’t do anything, so you can work around them without worry.”

While they conversed, Howe opened the two crates that had been set down inside the cavern entrance. As he laid the contents out across the stone floor, Ludmila spotted several spools of wire, springs, vials with various labels on them and an assortment of structural parts – some of which she was familiar with, others entirely unrecognizable.

“Will you be staying with us, my lord?” Ludmila asked.

“Yes, I’ll be watching,” he replied. “Let me know if there’s something that needs to be rearranged.”

She stepped over several ferns to join Howe, who was scratching his chin as he scanned the pieces arrayed before him.

“This’ll probably be more your show,” he said idly while she looked over everything.

“Why is that?”

“You’re a Ranger, aren’t you?” Howe said, “We’re surrounded by, well, nature. If this was some building or ruin I’d be able to figure out where to best place everything, but you’re probably better at it here.”

Ludmila looked through the contents of the boxes again. She thought she could fashion several traps that she knew of with what was available, but...

“I’m not sure what some of these things are for…”

“We’ll get to that when we start finding locations to set ‘em,” the Rogue replied.

Ludmila surveyed the first cavern. Beneath the greenery, hard stone and loose soil lay uneven over the cavern floor, with a patchwork of shallow pools connected by small rivulets of water. The walls were slick with moisture and tufts of moss clung to the surface, hanging out in loose strands. Turning her head up, she saw the first enemy: a large, sleeping bat that hung unmoving from the ceiling.

“Was there a trap in the first room yesterday, Howe?” Ludmila asked.

“There wasn’t,” Howe replied. “Do you think we have to follow that scheme?”

“It might be best to do that,” Ludmila looked to Lord Mare.

“It’s a cave, so it doesn’t have ‘rooms’,” Lord Mare’s voice echoed slightly from where he had wandered to further inside, “but the idea should be the same: make sure the party is functioning properly, then give them something like a challenge at the end that will count as a test for promotion to Iron rank. A-at least that’s what Mister Ainzach wants.”

Ludmila returned to where Howe was replacing all the parts back into their crates and, together, they carried them further into the cavern. She continued looking over their surroundings, wondering how a trap might be placed to the best advantage.

“The first trap I made is here.”

Lord Mare used his staff to point at a puddle in the centre of the path that ran through the cavern. Below the surface of the shallow water, there was a flat stone.

“Did you notice that?” Ludmila asked Howe.

“Hell no,” Howe said. “The light around the cave reflects off the surface of the pool and prevents you from seeing below unless you’re at just the right angle…what happens if you step on it?”

Lord Mare pressed on the rock with his staff. A green slime fell from a hollow in the ceiling, landing in the puddle with a plop.

“This is just a common Forest Slime, isn’t it?” Ludmila said.

It looked similar enough from the slimes that made their home in her fief and the surrounding wilderness. They were generally benign, and preferred avoiding confrontations.

“I-it’s summoned, but it’s a low level Slime. The attacks are weak and it doesn’t have any resistances.”

The Dark Elf made a slight motion with his staff before returning it to his side. The slime scuttled back up the cave wall and into its hollow.

“Maybe the trap needs to be more obvious?” Ludmila wondered aloud.

“Well, if they spring it the first time,” Howe said, “they’ll probably be on the lookout for more like it further along.”

She looked further down into the cavern. It seemed that the Rogue had the right of it – she was paying far more attention to the puddles along the way and spotted the next trap several dozen metres ahead.

“You’re right,” she agreed. “This gives us a chance to set our first trap too. If they’re busy looking for the next puddle trap, they might not notice ours.”

“Is that fair? We’re supposed to be going easy on them, right?” Howe said.

“Are there such things as ‘fair traps’?” Ludmila replied sardonically, raising an eyebrow.

Howe let out a chuckle.

“Fair enough – those are the instructions we were given, though. It’ll work as long as we make it a bit obvious,” Howe set down his crate lightly and lifted the lid. “You’re right that traps aren’t supposed to be fair; if we set one up along those lines that show trainees what to look out for, it would be instructive for them.”

Ludmila examined the path between Lord Mare’s first two traps. Like most of the cave, it was lined with vegetation which contrasted with the bare path running through the centre.

“Is there anything that works with a tripwire that you can lay under the ferns on the side here?”

“Yeah, one minute.”

She watched as the Rogue fashioned a rail for a dart with pieces of wood, setting a spring with a simple release to propel the missile along its course. He held it up in his hands for her to inspect.

“Can that get through a gambeson?” Ludmila asked.

“Hmm...probably not.”

Howe fished around the crate for several minutes before settling on a stronger-looking spring.

“This should do it,” he said. “Just anywhere with cover?”

“Yes, I can lay the wire after you find a spot.”

Ludmila checked through the spools of wire while Howe went looking for a place to hide the dart trap. She settled on one of the thicker ones that would clearly be seen strung across the path. Howe aimed the trap at the air above where the wire was laid.

“Don’t aim it too high,” Ludmila said. “If it can get through a gambeson, it can kill someone if it hits them in the wrong place.”

“Uh huh. Watch out, I’m triggering it.”

Howe plucked the wire leading to the mechanism with a finger and it released the dart with a quiet snick. There was a flash as the projectile drew sparks against the cave wall. Ludmila went off to retrieve the spent weapon, finding the damaged dart below the wall that it had struck. She returned and held it out with its bent head.

“There’s about a dozen more in the crate,” Howe shrugged as he took the dart and tossed it back into the container nearby, “we should be set for the next spot.”

They continued working their way further into the cave, setting several more dart traps and a few barbed snares along the way. After setting up the next series of traps, Howe asked her a question.

“Why do you call the kid ‘Lord Mare?’” The Rogue said as he sifted through their remaining supplies, “Is he some noble’s son?”

Ludmila looked around – it seemed that Lord Mare had gone ahead of them.

“Lord Mare is one of His Majesty’s direct vassals,” she replied, picking up her crate, “as is Lady Aura, his sister. They’re both members of the Royal Court.”

“The R–” Howe stammered, “they’re both nobles then? I heard something about Elven royalty having eyes like that…is that why?”

“I’m not sure about the royalty part,” Ludmila said, “but many of His Majesty’s vassals have that same sort of bearing – even the maids. What I do know is that using the ranks that Human nations use does not translate very well. My liege, Lady Shalltear – she came out of the tomb entrance with them before that first battle yesterday – is also a member of the Royal Court, so I’ve had some small glimpses into the relationships at the highest ranks of the Sorcerous Kingdom in the past few weeks.”

“What’s that like, then?”

“It’s...different, to put it lightly,” Ludmila thought for a moment before continuing. “His Majesty and his vassals are such that the measures we use to gauge power – land, wealth, political influence, connections, strength of arms – are paltry in their eyes. They value fealty, service and the order mandated by His Majesty. It’s easy to draw parallels to aspects of our former nation but, at the same time, there is always something at the edge of my own perception telling me that many things are not as they seem, and often beyond what counts for common sense around here. Fortunately the Sorcerous Kingdom has adopted the laws of Re-Estize, which allows us in turn to better integrate into their ways.”

“The laws of Re-Estize, huh,” Howe sounded noncommittal. “Do you think those will actually work out?”

“I haven’t found any faults with them,” Ludmila replied.

“A noble wouldn’t, I guess.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“It’s nothing,” Howe did not look at her when she pressed him. “If it worked for your land, then it worked.”

A stifling atmosphere settled between them with the unexpected sour note, and Ludmila turned to walk off with a frown. She kept revisiting his words, unable to discern why Howe had taken issue with her reply. There was only his uncharacteristic labeling of her as a noble; the Adventurers that she had interacted with so far usually never brought up her social status in a formal way, and Howe was no exception.

As they reached the final stretch of the cavern, Ludmila spotted Lord Mare using some sort of magic to make the carpet of plants thicker.

“What is the fight in the third section of the cave supposed to be, my lord?” She asked.

“Um…” The Training Area Manager stopped his work, turning around to reply, “Instead of your fight, which slowly mounted pressure, this time they will come quickly. The final fight is six Giant Bats and a Dire Badger.”

“They get attacked by seven giant animals all at once?” Ludmila looked around for the animals in question.

Despite the large cavern that the fight would be situated in, the sheer size of the beasts would make it difficult to fight en masse. Giant Bats had wingspans upwards to three metres, while Dire Badgers were roughly as long as a Human was tall, and three times as massive.

“Er, no.” Lord Mare looked up at the Giant Bats hanging from the ceiling, “There’s not enough room for them to attack all at once. The bats will wake up when someone disturbs them, and will take turns attacking. The badger will come out for the same reason. There should be a few ways for the party to approach the problem, so it’s up to them how they want to handle things.”

“Where are all these animals from?” Ludmila asked, “Did someone run around the countryside catching them? They’re so docile, too. I can’t imagine someone taming them just to have them turned into training objectives.”

“Aura’s pets are too high,” Mare said, “well, actually, she did tame a low level pet last week, but even that one would need at least a team of Mithril ranks to defeat…a-anyways, these ones are just some low level creatures that I summoned, just like the Slimes.”

“Does that mean that we’re always fighting you, my lord?” Ludmila frowned.

“I-I don’t specialize in summoning, so they don’t have any bonuses or anything,” Lord Mare looked up at her, then his eyes widened. “It’s not like I’m trying to hurt the Adventurers – actually I am…wait…I mean, Lord Ainz’s orders…”

Lord Mare’s beautiful eyes started to water, and a look of distress grew on his face. Ludmila resisted the urge to reach out and comfort him. Or maybe tease him. Both seemed equally tantalizing…

“The Adventurers understand that it’s for training, my lord,” Ludmila said, “I don’t think anyone will think that you’re belligerently harming them. Hmm…does that mean that those cockroaches from yesterday were yours as well?”

“They were from Shalltear.”

“…pardon me, Lord Mare – I don’t believe I heard that right.”

“T-that’s why she was there yesterday,” Lord Mare told her, “to deliver them from her place. Their summoner is one of her vassals. Who you’re training against depends on what you’re fighting. The Goblins and Ogres from yesterday afternoon were from a place north of E-Rantel. Cocytus is interested in testing some of his subjects in here as well, so they’ll probably show up when there’s a good match. Then there’s the Undead…well, anything natural will probably be something I summoned.”

To the side of them, Howe cleared his throat.

“These summoned animals here right now,” he asked, “will the party know what they’re dealing with?”

“The party has a Druid and a Ranger with them,” Lord Mare replied, “so they should. Unless I specifically order them to do something, these summons will just behave naturally.”

Lord Mare sent a questioning look to Ludmila, who nodded in agreement.

Even novice Druids and Rangers would know about the wildlife that was local to their region. With their tough hides, irritable nature and tendency to dig up fields and feed on crops, Dire Badgers were considered pests by farmers everywhere. Adventurers taking low rank extermination requests would be well aware of their traits. Rather than seek to flee when injured, Dire Badgers flew into a dangerous rage. With claws and teeth strong enough to burrow through anything short of stone and capable of tearing down fences and trees, even armoured combatants would have to be careful when dealing with them.

Giant Bats tended to behave like most other bats and were plentiful enough to be part of the pool of common knowledge of any local living out in the territories. They were not known to be explicitly harmful, keeping to themselves unless their usual sources of food became scarce. They were large enough to carry off small livestock – or children – with their swooping attacks, but their broad wingspan made them easy to strike at if one was aware of their presence.

This fight would test how each group would approach the problem with the party members available to them. For Ludmila, the question was what to do about traps in the chamber where the fight occurred.

“Lord Mare,” Ludmila asked, “what sort of traps did you place in this room?”

“A smoke trap,” he pointed at a vaguely suspicious set of stones along the path. “They all trigger the same trap and, if the room is full of smoke, the Giant Bats will gain an advantage over the trainees due to their Blindsight.”

“Will they still be able to win even if that happens?”

“It will be harder – Mister Ainzach said they are weaker than your party from yesterday – but they should still be able to get by even if that happens.”

“What happens if they lose?”

“The summons just knock them out,” Lord Mare said. “They won’t die from them.”

“Don’t tell me you want to lay traps that take advantage of the chaos,” Howe said from where he was peering into the Dire Badger den.

“The way it is now, they pass no matter what, right?” Ludmila reasoned, “If it’s a test that’s impossible to fail once you reach the last fight, it seems a little hollow for a promotion exam.”

She heard the Rogue sigh, but he did not voice any opposition.

“Will they be able to disable all the triggers for the smoke trap before the fight starts, Lord Mare?”

“No,” he replied. “They’re built into the cave floor, so all their scout will be able to do is mark them if she’s sneaky enough. If she disturbs the bats overhead while trying to get by them, the fight will start immediately.”

If the party spread out in reaction to the Dire Badger charging out, the dense carpet of moss and ferns would obscure almost any trap. The worst case scenario for the trainees would be waking up the bats before disarming all the traps, then accidentally triggering the smoke trap and having several members fall prey to the other traps hidden around the cavern while they were busy fighting. If they were really unlucky, several key members would be disabled and they would be overwhelmed.

She sifted through what was left of their supplies again. In the end, she decided to set an alarm to wake the bats before their scout could mark all of the traps. If that was thwarted…

“Is it possible to create some pits, Lord Mare?” She asked.

“Yes…where?”

After a few minutes, several deep pits large enough to trap a single adult in were created around the cavern. Without assistance or climbing skills, anyone who fell in would not be able to return to the fight. Ludmila and Howe arranged the remaining pieces of wood available from their supplies into lattices to hold up the soil and plant matter covering them. Lord Mare rigged the pit traps to set off the cavern’s smoke traps as well if one fell into them.

“What are these things that are left?” Ludmila asked as she looked through what was left over in the crates.

“Smoke, sleeping gas, some acid…you’re not trying to use everything here, are you?” Howe raised an eyebrow, “You know overdoing things is just going to come and bite us in the ass later. All of us will be competing to see who can make everyone else’s lives more miserable.”

“I thought that was the point?” Ludmila replied. “This is training for us too – we’re not going to be making purposely nice traps for our enemies when it comes down to it.”

“Enemies? I thought the point of the new Adventurer Guild was to explore; not traumatize everyone we run into with all sorts of nastiness.”

“…fine, we’ll just leave it as is, then.”

“Uhm…they’re about halfway here from the north gate,” Lord Mare informed them, “we should get going.”

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