Ria takes a deep breath.
She tugged at her shirt and skirt.
This was the biggest assignment for her to date.
She had spoken with generals casually at parties, but she's not sure how that would hold up in a real negotiation.
She entered the general's tent.
It was dainty.
Dimly lit by greenish crystals in lanterns.
There was a long rectangular map table in the center.
Weapons strewn across the ground.
A sleeping bag right beside the table.
In one corner, a young man sat at his table and scribbled, seemingly unaware of her presence.
"The general is not here yet, perhaps I can take a look around. This is already not quite what I expect from a Herdial general."
Ria leans on the ledge of the map table.
She studies it.
A flag placed on the right most part of the map.
A sketch of the town. A railroad stretched out of the northern edge of the map.
"This is where we're currently at. A trading town with all of its warehouses and an existing rail head is a good place to launch a raid."
From the starting town, a curved path highlighted by a red marker stretched across the map.
It moved through the center of the map, a barren area with no features.
Several sandworm figurines were placed along the path.
The path moves further.
Another flag placed at the mouth of the ravine.
Wyvern figurines placed around it.
Further to the left, the path goes into the Ravine, stopping at what appears to be a mine shaft, marked by yet another flag.
"The mine had been closed for over a year due to the wyverns. Our stake in the mine had been frozen. Luckily we didn't put too much money in it. Perhaps we can get some of it back after this?"
That was all she could get from studying the map.
She looks around the room.
The scribe was still scribbling in the corner.
"I guess I'll wait around."
She walks around the table.
There was a pile of parts on the end of the tent like a scrapyard.
Her nose twitched.
"Gun powder."
There was a pile of loaded bombs.
Her flames could detonate them and blow up the tent and her with it.
"Better stay away."
She browsed the parts.
It was not like she had anything better to do.
Arms and legs.
Armoured platings.
A cylindrical pod.
A mana core.
"Mana powered suit. One of the spire city's most popular exports. Protection that money can buy."
Attachments for the suit.
Steam pressured bolter along with the steam core to power it.
A pile of steel bolts
After a few minutes, she walked up to the desk.
The young man seemed familiar.
A fine tunic typical of Herdial merchants, ruffled hair that one might expect at the end of a journey.
"Execuse me, do you know where the general is?"
He looked up from his scribbling.
His eyes widened, jaws dropped, staring at Ria's astonished face, a mirror of his expression.
A moment of awkward silence.
"It's you!?"
…
"Tea grown in the gardens of the Herdial capital."
The young man held the copper kettle and poured into each of their cups.
"I heard of it. It's hard to get hold of the real thing though. The ones that arrived at the RazenHeir estate are mostly just regular tea leaves. Though I did hear from multiple merchants that prolonged consumption improves your mana flow, stamina and cognitive abilities."
The young man laughed. His modest vocals could project his voice just far enough for it to reach across the table to Ria.
"Haha! My lady, I thought you would be too sophisticated to believe that baseless nonsense."
"I didn't say I did. But you seem to enjoy it."
"Well, it hasn't made me throw up yet. Though I wish that it would improve my mana as it claims to."
Ria took a sip. It was fairly bland with a hint of bitterness.There was a subtle, refreshing fragrance to the otherwise unimpressive beverage.
"It's not bad."
"Is it now? I was worried that it was going to be too bland for my lady."
"You can stop with the jests now, my noble general. I could have hardly imagined that the one who haggled on behalf of wyvern carvers would have such a grand post."
"Just a force of habit. I have been haggling with the spire dwellers my whole life. As for you, I could have hardly expected that a porcelain princess would show up heading a raid party for the wyvern queen."
"Hmp, this porcelain princess also would never expect to see a baby fawn in charge of a whole army either."
"I'm much older than I look. I'll have you know that I am fully of marriageable age."
Ria took another sip of tea. The general reached for the kettle and poured her another cup.
"That's my line. Does the baby fawn general not have any sense of creativity?"
"I am a general. I need none of that."
They both laughed.
"So, it would seem you are a pure blood knight as well. The famed hearthstone house. The keepers of the stone fortresses of Herdial. But isn't it too early for you to take on the responsibility of an entire army?"
"What can I do, my eldest brother is gone. My elder sister is too quirky for this role."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Don't be. He died an honorable death fighting a sandworm titan, having lived well past the median lifespan of knights all around."
"Thats good to hear."
He took another sip of tea.
"By the way, you can me Rey. Rey hearthstone."
"Sure, General Rey. You are probably thinking the same thing. How do you propose we slay a queen wyvern."
"Fortunately we're not the ones to worry about that. The slayers guild is in charge of that. We are just here to carve a path open for them."
He stands up and walks to the map table.
Ria follows.
"This is where we're at. From here, we have to reclaim the road into the mountain passes where there is an abandoned mana crystal mine. It's infested with sandworms since no one had used the road for so long. Then, we just have to reclaim the mine, do a bit more drilling through to the wyvern's lair. The underground route would prevent the wyverns from strafing us as we approach the lair."
Rey points to the mountainous areas.
"The mine? It was shut down years ago. What exactly happened to it?"
"Bad things. We just lost contact with it. The lucky miners outside the mines were evacuated. Since then, there wasn't the funding for an expedition into the mines. The sandworm pass leading to it was also abandoned. Allowing the sandworms to breed endlessly."
"You called for our help?"
"Well that knight that came along with you. Taller than a Herdial elephant. Many times stronger than one. Really helpful to have someone who could wrestle head on with the horrors down there in the mines."
Ria chuckled. "You need a wall of muscle in the caves? Sounds about right. By the way, what are these markings here?"
"Mana veins. That's my first proposal. The wyverns feed on the cavern caterpillars and vegetables that grow inside them. If we just capture these points, build bunkers into the mountain and defend, we might draw the queen wyvern out."
Ria nods.
"I heard about them. Annual expeditions into these veins. Avoid the wyvern breeding season and the worst of the punishing weather in the peaks. They had to stop once the wyverns became aggressive all year round though."
"It's not an easy expedition at all. They only take gold rank and above. Even then the attrition rates are high. Rock slides. Falling off cliffs. The wyverns themselves are not too happy with having their food stolen."
"Do we intend to attempt them?"
"Nope. The proposal is scrapped. If even those gold adventurers have a hard time getting to those veins. What chance do I have with a militia drafted from the farms and mines?"
"Oh."
"The plan is simple. Clear the road to the mine. Drill a hole under the wyvern peaks to the queen wyvern's lair. Leave the rest to the dragon slayer guild. Whether they win or not, we're still gonna get paid."
"I hope they do win. Food prices in Moradale are getting unbearable."
"I'm rooting for them too, you know."
"Of course. So, when do we start?"
"The steam tanks set off first thing tomorrow. I hope your knight's ready because we could use a monster slayer on the front."
Ria nods.
"Now, about the loot splitting."
"80-20. After deducting losses and expenses." Ria said flatly.
"My dear porcelain princess. You believe your knight to be of the strength for you to be demanding such a high share in the face of my cannons?"
"A giant knight with the physique of an elephant and a mana pool of a grand sorcerer. You won't get that for a better price anywhere else."
"Htmp. You mana users sure think you're special. Fair enough. 80-20 just for the first battle. Sandworm parts don't sell very well anyway."
"You won't be disappointed."