The projected image shimmered above the crystal: Kaiser's pale face, calm eyes, the hint of amusement that never meant anything good for the people on the receiving end. "Convinced" sounded polite. Ludwig could imagine exactly what it meant in practice.
Ludwig didn't understand how Kaiser was able to move so fast; he had a whole settlement to manage.
It was unsettling. Ludwig had been negotiating kingship and holding Wrath at bay, and Kaiser had already turned the plains into a network of pressure points. Efficient. Slightly terrifying.
"Good, then we'll need a place to operate from, this mountain is rather unfriendly," Ludwig said.
He said it while scanning the edges of the Safe Lands, the torches, the invisible barrier Dedal had opened earlier. The mountain wasn't just unfriendly, it was actively hostile at night, and Ludwig had felt that hostility with his own skin. Soothsayer's laughter didn't fade quickly from memory.
