“Betrothed. First among his betrothed.”
“Wait.” I hold up a hand and stare at Ali before looking at Katherine. “You guys are an item?”
“Yes,” Katherine answers.
“Of course,” Reqm says.
“It’s not just a cover?”
“Why would I do that?” Reqm looks honestly puzzled. “Do humans do that… oh wait. Yes. Of course. She is not my beard.”
“That’s not…” I splutter.
Katherine whisper something into Reqm’s ear while he continues to regard me.
When he replies to her, his voice isn’t as low. “He’s not really that impressive. Are you sure it’s him they want?”
“Oy. Pumbaa. Enough for now. This is a private talk,” I say. “While this place might be private, I’m not sure I’d call it discreet. Or safe.”
Katherine gives me a half-smile and holds up a single finger. A moment later, a notification appears before me.
Diplomatic Silence (Level 4)
Every form of government requires a way to keep secrets and negotiate in private. Using this Skill, the Diplomat ensures that what is said within the radius of the discussion is safeguarded. This Skill works in tandem with the government System-purchased buff National Secrets for additional effects. Mana regeneration reduced by 20 permanently.
Effect: Increases cost of information and other surveillance Skills by a factor of 4. Receives an additional 54% of National Secrets government buff.
“Fine,” I grumble good-naturedly. “And I assume that’s running all the time?”
“Of course,” Katherine says. “Reqm has a similar Skill. His grandfather also has a constant counter-espionage Skill running on his family, as does Earth.”
“Wait, counter-espionage Skill?” I say.
“It informs us if someone is purchasing information or attempting surveillance,” Reqm says.
“Ah…” I nod. That makes sense. Still… “It’s the Lady of Shadows…”
Katherine shakes her head. “There’s a lot of misinformation about her. She’s not infallible. She’s just a Legendary.”
“Just.”
Ali snorts, but he nods at Katherine. “She’s not wrong. Even a Legendary’s power is limited.”
“Do we even know what the limits might be?” Mikito asks.
“Her Skill details are hidden. But others?” Ali shakes his head. “If we took John’s Class to the max, he’d have three choices from his Skill Tree. Each of which would be a penultimate for the Grand Master Paladin. Following the theme, they’d be able to boost any of the Paladins they command or even raise an individual to the Class or a tier, temporarily or permanently; he’d be able to use the Weight of Duty to shatter a planet; and the Skill the Might of Justice allows him to borrow any Skill, any System-recorded memory, any piece of currently owned equipment from those he served.”
“Served?”
Ali nods and I pause. I recall that the Empress had a couple of Heroic-level pieces of equipment. Maybe even some Legendary ones.
“Actual borrow, as in teleportation or…?”
Ali shrugs. “Uncertain. I could verify at a Shop but…”
“It doesn’t mater,” Mikito butts in. “You’re saying that a Legendary Skill can influence things on a planet or across an Empire, but with some degree of restrictions.”
There are nods, and I frown, remembering what happened at Prax. The Lady of Shadows had taken steps to hide the movement of the fleet coming for us, making it so that we never knew it was arriving until it was too late. Hiding things at that level was powerful, but if you considered that she probably had to look at influencing multiple individuals at a time, instead of altering actual reality, it wasn’t impossible. Or she might have just adjusted information flow for everything coming in and out of the space station.
“So we’re looking at a limited number of individuals she can affect,” I say.
Katherine nods. “And we know for certain that her Skills have been in use in a variety of other locations, including the current trade war between the Stadin and Maties Groups.”
Req’m adds, “Ares has also requested her aid in dealing with a Mana outbreak along the Restricted Zone nearby the Fraskee Borders. There’s a flood of Behemoth Crawlers and a living planet that has pushed outward, carrying with it a flood of Mana.”
“Fraskee?”
“Nautical creatures. Sort of like your mermaids, but not exactly,” Ali supplies.
“Why would they care?” Mikito asks.
“Because one of the lies the Council tells is that the growth of the Forbidden and Restricted Zones are regular and controlled. Not contained, but controlled,” Reqm says, his lips twisting in a snarl, his tiny tusks glowing with his displeasure. “They lie to us about the deaths that occur, the planets that are destroyed. And when they fail, they make sure no one knows.”
“If no one knows, how do you?” Mikito says.
“Because the Galactic System is old, and no secret is truly secret,” Reqm says.
I could beg to differ, but I keep my mouth shut. I don’t know him, no matter how much Katherine trusts him.
“And such secrets are whispered among those of us in power,” Reqm says. “It is only those without power who know not the lies they are told. Though many think they do.”
I frown. “Yet you’ve got a whole planet experiencing things right now. What happens to them? Are they killed?”
“Or moved to another location. Their minds wiped, their memories altered, their histories changed,” Reqm says. “If they fail. If they succeed in containing it, the incident is covered up, lies are woven such that no one knows better. Information is edited for many years, using individual Spies and Propagandists. The very nature of the attack is made a lie. Until the truth is no longer understandable.”
“They do this so that more people stay. Wait. Holding still in their doomed planets because they think they’re safe. Or at least, as safe as living in a Restricted Zone can be.” I think over what I know of Restricted and Forbidden Zones and come to the final conclusion. “They need people to stay, don’t they? Because without sapients, the borders would grow faster. Without individuals serving the Adventurers who move in to gain what resources they can, monsters won’t be killed. Mana won’t be churned.”
“Yes.”
Vicious but effective. It’s not something I would do, not something I can even condone doing. But it’s effective and it keeps things stable, which I am realizing, for most governments, is more important than what is good or right or moral. Practicality over morality.
Mikito drags the conversation back on topic, to the reason we’re here, as she clears her throat. “We’re safe from being spotted, at least we hope so. Unless she turns her attention on us, because we’re a lot smaller than a planet—”
“Though you have your planet and my merchant empire backing you up.”
Mikito continues, ignoring the interruption. “But we still shouldn’t take too long. What can we do to help you, Katherine? You and Earth.”
Katherine pauses, visibly recalling what she needs to say, then launches into what must be a rehearsed speech.
***
We leave the art gallery an hour later, with a lot less enthusiasm than we arrived. It’s no real surprise, not with the information related to us. We’re weighed down by the knowledge we’ve gained and what we must do. Being the organized woman she is, Katherine had much of the information ready to go in an information pack, so what we spoke about were the high-level aspects. The rest we’ll read later.
As suspected, Katherine has been building alliances over the last four plus years she has been in Irvina. Even so, it has been difficult for the lady to build any true alliances due to concerns about longevity. While groups like the Erethrans or the Truinnar might want a Dungeon World under their control, making it happen is much more difficult than just wishing.
Like Earth when I returned years ago, many groups have formed their own enclaves, their areas of control. And unlike Earth, many such places in established Dungeon Worlds have significant resources poured into them. Even the lowest Level Dungeon World would still require a couple of Master Classes to conquer a lightly defended settlement. In higher Leveled, more established Dungeon Worlds, you’d require a full armed assault to have a hope of winning.