In the end, phase one took two weeks to complete. It left the landscape nearly unrecognisable. Large earthen walls with crenelations encircled the bustling camp, with a deep ditch present for extra protection. Creating it had been little trouble, as I had to take the earth for the walls from somewhere. Unfortunately, there was no drawbridge or proper gate yet, leaving glaring weak spots in the entire structure. Wagons were present near the empty holes in the walls that would eventually be transformed into gatehouses, with soldiers ready to barricade the way should an enemy be spotted.

  Well, ‘earthen’ was just a fancy way to say dirt. I had made a dirt wall, something any force ready for a proper siege would surely laugh at. Still, it was both rather impressive for the short amount of time we had spent working on the construction, and functional.

  Importantly, our fast progress was not something Nazair would expect. If they were aiming to surprise us with a quick response, they would likely not account for this.

  Unfortunately, now that the threat here was minimal, I was once again being sent into danger by the Queen.

  I sighed.

  I had, perhaps naively, thought that such duties would not be thrust upon my shoulders. Surely Baldemar of Attre could be called to the Capital and judged there? As I mulled over the Queen’s decision, I realised that I had perhaps underestimated her bloodthirst.

  Calanthé wasn’t called the Lionness of Cintra for nothing. She fought her first battle at the young age of fifteen, as a child. So ferociously at that as to earn her moniker.

  That such a person chose to deal with things via a swift execution instead of a lengthy trial wasn’t that surprising. A battle maniac, one kept from the battlefield through the chains of duty and birthright, whose bloodlust still lurked inside, waiting for an opportunity to escape.

  It made too much sense. That my affiliation with the Brotherhood would keep Nazair from acting had been a flimsy hope, to the point that I had not understood why the Queen had thought so. I had guessed that she had perhaps bought too much into the Brotherhood’s propaganda, overestimating the effect of their reputation, but now another explanation presented itself. The Queen had simply desired blood. If she could not swing a blade herself, she could take satisfaction in the blood her soldiers spilt.

  I shuddered. Perhaps she had even hoped that the matter would spiral into an all-out war, justifying her presence on the battlefield once again.

  Hopefully, I was just jumping at shadows. Calanthé had seemed rational, if a bit brash. Still, it was quite lucky for the kingdom’s future that she had sent me, instead of some glory hound who’d escalate the conflict unnecessarily.

  ‘Why was I being sent to deal with the Duke, though?’ I lamented.

  It was possible that my good handling of the Nazairi incursion had convinced her of my competence and loyalty. As usual, good work was being rewarded with more work. At least there was a silver lining there. Since Calanthé entrusted me with such a responsibility, it was clear that she now held significant faith in my abilities.

  Now, how was I going to do it?

  It’d be ideal if I could just march in with a few hundred soldiers, arrest him, and leave. All nice and lawful. Unfortunately, the man had to know that the Crown wouldn't let him off easily and that an arrest would likely end with his execution. I either went in with a force he couldn’t easily subdue, or in secret.

  Since the former wasn’t possible, it would have to be some variation of the second option, which would, of course, put the most risk on me again.

  It wasn’t a good option. I would have to enter Attre, get to the Duke, and then kill him in a way that was both official and wouldn’t lead to me getting dogpilled by a hundred guardsmen. And, since the world hated me, the need for all of it to be at least somewhat official to satisfy the Queen’s demands made actual secrecy impossible.

  That sounded less than ideal when spelt out like that.

  As the day drew to a close, I called for another meeting in my tent. Soon, my six officers were gathered around a table, with me at the head.

  “I will be departing soon,” I began, “As discussed, Ser Roderic will be in command here in my absence,” I nodded towards the knight, “Fret not, I will be taking five of the remaining royal guards with me,” Some meatshields were a must, “our mission will hopefully not take more than two or three months, not enough time for Nazair to muster another covert force. With an all-out war unlikely, you should not have any significant problems.”

  I paused, “To the common soldiery, say nothing. Officially, I will be doing research in private.”

  I saw Ortagor cringe when I said research, though all of the men nodded. The teachers in this world used corporal punishment a lot, so perhaps he had some unpleasant memories associated with the word.

  I couldn’t do anything about leaks from the Queen’s side, but at least I could minimise the chances of the enemy learning of my movement from my own troops. I didn’t think that Nazair had managed to insert spies into my army, considering its rapid assembly, but Cintra’s own nobility?

  My task would be difficult as is. I had some advantages on my side, namely the near nonexistence of mages working as assassins. This wasn’t surprising, as a mage trained enough to make assassinations viable would at the same time possess the skills for a cushy job. At the same time, the training and education needed to become proficient were very difficult to acquire outside of institutions like the Brotherhood, which would happily cooperate with the aggrieved party to both identify and hunt down any such person.

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  This meant that just barging in, requesting an audience and killing the Duke right then and there was a viable option. The issue was that, though I had the Queen’s orders, the chances that the Duke’s guards and soldiers would care were rather low. I might be able to escape, but then the entire thing would seem like a genuine assassination, instead of the lawful execution of a traitor.

  I had to both kill the Duke and make it obvious that my actions were lawful and ordered by the Crown. So, no shanking the guy in an alley. Nothing unlawful or suspicious.

  Realistically, I would have to convince his men through force.

  However, was that even possible? Did Calanthé just saddle me with an impossible order? Perhaps there was a limit as to how much competence one should project. It seemed that I had overshot.

  I tapped my fingers on the table before realising I had forgotten to dismiss my officers. Quickly waving them off, I resumed thinking, before remembering one last thing I had to get done before departing. Nodding to myself, I sent one of my guards for Coen.

  While hiring the Witcher had been well worth it, my plans to utilise him as a bodyguard or even a soldier had been quite the bust. Once he had realised we were planning for battle, the man had simply left after pointing out that such things weren’t included in his contract. I couldn’t exactly begrudge him doing the smart thing, especially when it was all legal and above board. Really, the surprising thing was that he had come back.

  “Coen,” I greeted when he arrived.

  The witcher nodded, a calculating glint in his eye, “Lady Degurechaff.”

  “It is my understanding that you wish to continue our previous arrangement, here in Marnadal?” I asked.

  He nodded again, but stayed silent.

  I tapped my fingers on my desk, “Why?” I asked him bluntly. He was smart enough to understand that future attacks weren’t out of the question. While the fort itself wouldn’t have much use for a witcher, we would still need to keep our supply lines clear, and many of those went through Erlenwald. Not to mention his usefulness for my personal project.

  Coen stayed silent for a moment, before speaking, “The elves,” he began, before falling into thoughtful silence again, “I will not stay forever, but I would like to see where this is headed.”

  I furrowed my brow, not understanding completely. In the end, I nodded. Whether he had struck up a friendship with some of the elves, or was simply curious about them, it wasn’t really any of my business, especially since the Crown was still paying.

  When dawn broke the next day, we were already ready to depart. All of us wore concealing cloaks that made it nearly impossible to discern the armour underneath, though our helmets had to be regrettably removed.

  I had thought the matter over, and while the lack of armour might help us escape detection, I could not completely dismiss the risks of assassins already waiting in ambush. Hopefully, no one enemy knew of my current task, but hope couldn’t deflect arrows.

  We would keep to the forests regardless. With five plate-armoured warriors to defend me, I was confident in vanquishing any monsters we may encounter.

  No one came to send us away, just as I had ordered. To the rest of my men, I would be quietly working in seclusion.

  I spared a last glance at the budding construction. From outside, the earthen walls were already fairly imposing, even if their strength was not ideal.

  Pride swelled in my chest. Nilfgaard had lost this round, though it was doubtful they even knew that Cintra had begun playing. Despite their swift conquests of Metinna and Ebbing, the idea that they’d attack Cintra soon was ludicrous. Nazair, mayhaps, for it was a relatively weak country, its environment not terribly suitable for farming. That it posed any sort of threat to Cintra was a testament to Cintra’s own fractured nature. The actions of Duke Baldemar served as a prime example.

  By the time Nilfgaard’s warmachine was ready to turn northwards once again, the fort would be ready to welcome them.

  I wonder what the Queen would name it? Hopefully something tasteful.

  The distance from Marnadal to Attre, the unimaginatively named capital of the Attre duchy, was fortunately rather short. Even with our avoidance of proper paths, the travel wouldn’t take more than a week.

  However, it didn’t take long for my plans to be firmly dashed.

  I scowled at the rearing scolopendra, thankful for my running reflex enhancement. Creating a longer-lasting version of the spell had been an excellent idea. The giant centipede had burst out of the ground in front of us, causing the horses to rear.

  I held on the reins with one hand, the other quickly forming gestures.

  Before it could attack, it was bombarded by a hail of ice, pushing it back.

  Despite the element of surprise not working out for the creature, it did not seem discouraged.

  Unfortunately for the giant insect, by the time it was ready to attack once more, I had already finished conjuring up a large spear of ice. The tip, sharper than any blacksmith could manage, easily punctured the centipede's underbelly, causing it to screech and fall.

  As I watched dispassionately, it continued twitching and screeching on the ground helplessly.

  Now, a single monster, despite its success in ambushing us, wasn’t much of an issue.

  However…

  “This is the fifth beast we’ve encountered!” I hissed. It was only the second day. My travels, both to Cintra and from Cintra to Marnadal, had made me expect some monsters, of course.

  But this was preposterous.

  Sure, we were travelling off the beaten path, but we were still close to the roads. There was no way that travel through Attre was safe for the average citizen or merchant.

  I was starting to think that maybe the Duchy losing its ruler would be a public service.

  Clicking my tongue and sparing a longing glance at the carcass, I ordered my guards to resume our travels.

  Scolopendras were rather rare outside of Brokilon, and this was the first time I encountered one. Yet, seeing its carcass, my mind couldn’t help but drift towards the infamous Viy of Maribor, Alzur’s fatal creation. It was possible that he had utilised a giant centipede as the base of his experiment, instead of the regular, more mundane sort. I still did not truly understand his reasoning for choosing insects for his experiments, so there might be some useful knowledge there. I might even find a few hints as to how Alzur lost control so spectacularly, which would be even more valuable.

  I had my theories, of course, but there was still a chance that there was more to it than the simple intellect of an insect acting according to its nature.

  Someday in the future, perhaps.