***Tirnanog, Hochberg***

***Magnus***

We walked down the ramp in full regalia with Peter and the rest of his staff in the lead. Everyone was wearing armour, but we had decided to forgo the large weaponry as a show of faith.

Peter took care of introductions as soon as he reached the end of the ramp. On Tirnanog, it was only proper procedure for the less powerful among two groups to exchange greetings first and do most of the talking.

I remembered Mary’s boring lessons on how the established etiquette worked with dread.

When there were real decisions to be made, Peter would defer to us.

Our advisor was received by a woman who greeted him with a handshake. She was clad in a sturdy linen dress and leather which hinted more at a protective function than truly fulfilling it.

“Peter Rumen! What tumultuous news leads you so far south? I thought you would avoid leaving your mountainous abode ever again and settle down.”

“I could throw the question right back at you, Tianna,” Peter quipped. “I remember you vividly promising to retire. Instead, it looks like you never took off the badge.”

He turned to introduce the rest of our group, deliberately ignoring our guards who had come to an awkward stand-off with their equivalents from Hochberg. “This is the rest of my entourage. They are just fulfilling an observer role. And our two protectors, Astra and Magnus Frost.”

Astra and I shook hands with the woman.

Tianna smiled pleasantly at us and bowed. “My name is Tianna. An honour to meet you. To my knowledge, the Frosts haven't left the mountain in decades. I hope the news which brings you here isn't too dire.”

“Depends on your definition of dire,” Astra replied without much emotion. “What we have to tell you ranges from alarming to catastrophic.”

Tianna dropped the introductory light-heartedness and turned serious. “Of course, our scouts told us it would be important. The matriarch wishes to see you right away.” She looked at Peter. “There have been changes since your last visit.”

“Oh?” Peter gestured for the rest of us to follow while Tianna took the lead. “How so?”

Meanwhile, the guards of both groups intermingled with some in the lead and others following. I wasn't so sure about the modality, but I guessed if nothing else it ensured mutual destruction if one party tried to back-stab the other.

“Greta died during the winter and Vanya took over as the new matriarch,” Tianna said without much fanfare.

Judging by Peter's body language, this indeed came as a surprise. From our briefings, I remembered Greta to be Hochberg's Matriarch, but I had been told nothing about this Vanya.

“Greta is dead!? How? And I don't want to question the wisdom of your government system, but is Vanya taking over wise?” Peter's confusion was obvious.

Tianna threw a sideways glance at Peter while she and her guards led our group of twenty deeper into the fortress city. The rest of our people had stayed behind with the Caravaners.

“Vanya blazed through all the tests and achieved the highest scores possible. There is no ground to stand on even if anyone desired to question her rule. As long as she wants to rule, she can. I won't pretend that there is no discontent about the situation, but it helps that Vanya was Greta's protégée.”

She sighed and returned her attention to the corridor ahead. “As for the former matriarch, she was found murdered in her quarters – a poisoned dagger with deathnut oil buried in her heart. The case is still under investigation. So far we have found nothing.”

Peter turned around and threw a grim glance at us before he signalled our guards to heighten their awareness, followed by a chat message to the entire group.

'Watch out for assassins!'

I casually placed my hand on the pommel of my short sword. Just to assure myself of its exact position. Next to me, Astra mirrored my actions.

The Hochberg had a very different government system compared to the Aerie. Their structure was even more hierarchical with a matriarch or a patriarch at the top. Without in-depth knowledge, it would have been easy to dismiss the job as a king or queen, but the position had a little more nuance than that.

For one, becoming matriarch required doing well in a series of tests which outsiders weren't privy to. The Aerie knew of their existence, but not what they entailed and Hochberg had done an excellent job at keeping the secret.

We eventually reached an official-looking hall – ending my musings.

Judging by its closeness to the docks, I doubted it to be the actual place from where the current leader ruled.

But the opulence of the frescos on the walls was superb. The room was intended for the reception of high-ranking guests without question. A demonstration of wealth and craftsmanship which depicted various historical events. Sadly, I wasn’t knowledgeable enough to identify most of them.

Only the central artwork on the left wall wasn’t hard to misunderstand. It was the depiction of five grand armies standing against a sixth far larger than them. The sixth was protecting a portal which supplied them with endless troops.

My eyes drifted to the ceiling which was lighted by glow-sponge, reminding me of Aerie.

The hall was filled to the brim with highly decorated guards in plate armour. I couldn’t be certain, but it looked like iobeetle shell – the same material from which my armour was made. At a glance, I counted a hundred, more than enough to subdue our measly entourage, should we try to start something.

Was this show of force and arms an indication of distrust?

I searched for a reaction from Peter, but our advisor kept his cool and his smile never wavered while he followed Tianna into the room.

Closely guarded by a separate row of bodyguards, a girl of no more than eleven years sat at a generously sized conference table made from a massive slab of stone.

She wore a billowing dress decorated with embroidery. Her brown hair hung down to her shoulders and was decorated with glittering jewels. Otherwise, she looked utterly unremarkable. Her face still had the roundness of a child, her adult features not having settled in yet. No distinct ethnicity could be assigned to her, something which happened more and more often on Earth with people travelling all over the world. Judging by her darker colour and eyes, I assumed her ancestry to hail from somewhere around China and India.

Tianna bade us sit down across from the child-regent while she walked around the table and took a position next to the girl. The bodyguards ignored her.

We sat down, facing Vanya from seven metres away. Supposedly more than enough distance for her bodyguards to react in case of an attack.

I carefully controlled my expression, fearing I would mess up otherwise. Vanya may look like a child, but who knew in this world? If I had wagged my tongue and firmly stepped in it, it would turn out she was some two hundred year old hag.

“The patrol group sent us some very confusing news,” Vanya began. “First about the unexpected arrival of an Aerie delegation. Then about some UI which allows limited control over our mutations?”

The girl raised a doubtful eyebrow.

Peter repeated his introduction and looked at us before Astra gestured for him to take the lead.

He turned back to face the matriarch and cleared his throat. “With your permission, I would like to begin in chronological order and explain what happened at the beginning of this winter. It’s best to know the cause before we reveal our reason for being here.”The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Peter launched into a well-rehearsed tale concerning everything of political interest. First the Thich's attack on the recruitment party, then my revelations about Earth and the Violet-Gene-Complott as it had become known amongst Aerie's leadership. How I had unlocked the colony's supercomputer, followed by the assassination attempt on me – suspiciously carried out with deathnut oil.

Vanya didn't interrupt a single time and only listened in silence.

“... alas, this was the final nail in the coffin,” Peter ended his tale. “The council of elders has ruled all of this warrants the fleet's mobilization. Our main purpose is to forewarn you. A sizeable part of Aerie's airship fleet is about to pass through your lands. We will force an explanation out of Thich, one way or another.”

“How do you intend to do this?” Vanya asked.

“First of all by occupying the Old Camp and denying Thich access,” Peter suggested. “It should be enough to force a statement out of them. What happens afterwards would depend on their reaction. Do they admit it? Do they have an explanation for everything? We have to see.”

Unlike what I would have expected of a child, Vanya hadn't shown any emotions during Peter's explanations.

“It would violate the treaty,” she pointed out.

“Not if you and your people support us. All it takes is for two or more clans to suspect foul play by another and they are entitled to investigate with any means necessary,” Peter replied.

“I also assume you would welcome any military aid we are willing to give. At the very least, you will want us to ignore your forces passing over our territory. This is a tale which is hard to believe. Thich collaborating with Earth for experiments. A large group of Forgotten resurfacing. An underground society sending us aid in our hour of need. War,” the matriarch mused after staying silent for over a minute. “I assume you brought proof? I can't make decisions based on hearsay.”

Peter bowed his head. “You can have us eat any meat you desire if you want proof that the nanomachines' less desirable functions are deactivated. The fleet will bring the witnesses from Thich when they arrive. Magnus can unlock your colony's supercomputer – if it still works. To resolve initial doubts, we've brought several bodies of Forgotten infiltration specialists, fresh enough to account for the aforementioned time frame.”

Vanya grimaced, finally showing a reaction befitting her age. “I’ll leave examining the bodies to those who can be trusted. As for food…”

She brought out a pouch from in between the folds of her dress and threw it over to Peter.

I raised an eyebrow.

The girl must’ve anticipated the situation and prepared accordingly.

Our advisor caught the pouch and opened it. He took out something which looked like dried jerky. His smile never wavering, he took a bite and chewed before he swallowed.

“Needs a little more salt,” he commented before he handed the pouch further down the table.

Everyone took a bite of the offered treat and I followed suit when it was my turn. Poison was extremely unlikely. Vanya could have all of us killed with a single order to her guards.

Our nonchalant acceptance of the offered food caused a slight stir among the guards around us.

My UI popped a familiar message.

‘Would you like to accept a new mutation?

Yes / No