Aquatic Nightmare

The trip back to the duchy was a tense one, the [Kobold] tribe had no mounts, and were forced to pack all their things with them. They did still have a wooden cart lying around, from which they could carry 'the hoard'. Despite being as small as they are, they are very strong, having no trouble pulling the cart of necessities. The expedition was down a man, James was the only one who hadn't been saved. Their strange mermaid doctor claimed that she could keep anyone stable and technically alive, as long as they weren't properly dead. Eliana had no idea what the mermaid classified as dead, but she was certain her son wasn't dead yet. If he was, then she would be giving her steward a taste of hell.

Kharn's constant snooping around the kobold's cart did spark a few moments of trouble, especially when their doctor got involved. The kobolds were as fanatic as one could expect when the kin of dragons is involved, while the soldiers didn't really get over the fact that the same doctor had really mauled some of them. Zulie was still mentally recovering, and would no doubt be facing nightmares for months. Esstrey's endless prodding of the duchess didn't do anyone any favors either, she didn't treat her like someone of her stature should be treated at all. Eliana was clearly somewhat off-put by the questioning, but was too desperate to find a cure for her son to berate the mad doctor.

For Esstrey it was annoying how stingy the expedition is with information, is everyone in this world usually so stubborn? She was barely able to find out that this [Central Governor] has been around for as long as anyone on 'this planet' remembers. That question triggered a whole slew of questions relating to something called [The Veil] connecting many worlds with portals, new worlds frequently come into cross-world conflict, especially if they are deemed valuable. This planet is of [Common] quality, and it had been integrated long ago. A rather disgusting form of imperialism, where it seems that a machine that could be better compared to a natural disaster is the one responsible for setting up the connections. Esstrey simply hopes that Earth will never have to face this thing, she could already imagine what the 'cool-headed minds' in charge of the nuclear arsenal would do in such a scenario. She may have lost many memories, but the sheer strategic destruction that can be wrought by nuclear war is not something so easily forgotten once you learn about it.

As the capital city of Malencia, Malus comes in sight, Esstrey realizes this is one of the few long-distance trips she had in these other worlds that didn't involve attempted robbery. Not from a lack of trying mind you, she detected plenty of heartbeats following them at various moments. The [Central Governor] seems to strengthen everyone that practices enough, whether it be raiding or driving a coach. The entire coach seems to rock very little over the rough terrain. There are other things that catch Esstrey's eye that proves this theory, like how the cavalrymen seem to have no trouble steering their horses, who are obviously unsettled by the company of the expedition.

The duchy itself is located in a corner of the Faerune Kingdom, the entire kingdom is well entrenched due to a large amount of natural barriers, an ocean to the east, with mountain ranges to the north-west and the south-west. The duchy is located to the south, flanked by the western pass and the southern pass. The nations outside these passes are said to be savages, but Esstrey guesses that those nations simply don't have the natural barriers the Faerune kingdom has, giving the occasional warlord an easy time. Considering the size of the city Malus, the duchy has made good use of its advantageous position in the world to strengthen itself greatly, and the current mastermind that engineers this situation is currently located in a coach not even meters away from her. Said mastermind also apparently has an issue that she wants Esstrey to solve.

Esstrey can't contain the grin growing on her face, resources are a vital part of waging conquest, and a little mercenary work for the highest bidder is an easy and safe way to get such resources. It's unlikely she could get herself an enclave of mermaids to do piracy here, since the Faerune Kingdom doesn't have large standing crime issues. Rowan did try to mention something about illegal religion, but was quickly hushed by Kharn. No matter, she will get information about this one way or the other. If need be she could always summon Zha'klos again, she seemed co-operative enough, albeit a bit aggressive.

For now, Esstrey has more important matters to attend to, like attempting to do a little painting on the kobold cart while they move, there's nothing really special about Malus itself that Esstrey hasn't seen before. A quick glance reveals it's your average, albeit large European style medieval city. In the center is a castle on a piece of high ground, while the city itself is already surrounded by walls. It all seems a bit overdone, especially considering how irrelevant walls can become against certain foes, Esstrey herself probably wouldn't have much trouble just climbing the walls. Maybe the castle on the hill is there so the nobles can look down on the general populace? That would fit with what Esstrey knows about nobles.

Esstrey's crude painting of a certain demon lord fighting off a band of assassins with guns is interrupted by the voice of the duchess as they approach the hill.

"Doctor, I would like to request you cease carving into the cart of your subordinates and focus, once we enter the castle I expect you to act with at least a modicum of decorum. I have many internal enemies that would love to spread more rumors of my dealings with the less than savory figures of society. This is where the kobolds will enter a secondary passage that leads below the castle, they can set up deeper there. Kharn, lead them." The duchess is actually mildly surprised when the witch adopts a bored look on her face, shifts her body to be stable, and seems to regard all her surroundings with a look of disdain and disappointment only a practiced court noble could normally wear. It doesn't stop the sight of the huge mermaid picking up a kobold and patting it on the head any less ridiculous, but as she sets the kobold back on the cart, she can at least take solace in the fact that the witch won't be embarrassing her too much during her stay here.