NOVEL FROG Chapter 704 – Long-Reaching Effects
“Think of a political upheaval like a stone falling into a lake. The waves caused by the fall would be its reach, and naturally, the larger the upheaval, the wider and further its reach would be. In fact, if it’s large enough, there might not even be a lake left by the time everything settles down in the end.” - From a lecture by Garth Wainwrought, Professor of Socioeconomy for the Levain Institute for Higher Learning, circa 492 FP.
“Would the effects of the Empire’s political upheaval affect your plans, Aunt?” asked Áine as the group continued their journey two days after they had the chat with the merchants in the tavern. “Come to think of it, Clangeddin does border the Forest of Despair, if not by much, according to the maps we have so far. Would they really make a fuss over someone claiming the forest?”
“I expect it would depend entirely on what the Emperor at the time would be like. We can’t exactly predict the future so we can’t tell whether the situation at the time would be beneficial or not for us. If they prove to be friendly, then a stable Empire would be in our advantage, but if we have reason to believe that they might come after us, then it would be better to have an unstable Empire, since they would have no time to worry about us that way,” replied Aideen honestly since it was just the six of them and nobody else around. “That’s also why some of us will leave ahead of the rest to check the situation when the time comes.”
“I guess it is a bit too early still, since these humans keep changing leaders so often,” noted Áine in realization. The Clangeddin Empire was a mixed race nation that welcomed everyone, but the Imperial family had always been Human, so a new Emperor would rise to the throne every few decades as the years went by. “It’s much more convenient to deal with long-lifers like elves and dwarves. We could be assured that they’d keep their word for at least a couple centuries barring extreme circumstances.”
“Not always, but I do get what you mean. It is definitely more convenient that way,” admitted Aideen with a chuckle at the thought. “It’s just how the cards have been dealt, though. Posuin, the other largest nation that borders the forest, is also a human one, so one way or another we would have to check things out again closer to the actual time.”
“Celia, Kino, if you two are not against the idea, I would like you two to be part of the group that would check the situation at that time,” Aideen continued as she looked at the two unliving girls she had basically considered her disciples and friends all this while. “I would need to be with the main group so I could only come later. Ideally I want some people I trust to be part of the advance group.”
“It would be an honor to be of service, Miss Aideen,” said Celia almost immediately with a slight bow of her head. Amongst the group, she was the one who felt most indebted to Aideen, so the chance to be of help was something she had always yearned for all this while. “Just let me know when and I will depart immediately.”
“Sure thing, I owe you a lot, Miss. I’ll be happy to help out too,” said Kino with a nod as well. She was younger and the conditions from which Aideen rescued her was not quite as traumatic as Celia’s but she too felt like she owed Aideen a lot for everything that their encounter had made possible for her. “Actually, I have something in mind that I feel like discussing with you on that matter.”
“Oh? Go ahead, Kino. I’m all ears,” said Aideen with some surprise. It was rare for Kino to assert herself that way, as the girl was usually more demure compared to the rest of the group.
“I was thinking, since so much time went by between Miss Aideen’s visits to Alcidea, things naturally changed a lot here. Some like the dwarven kingdoms are less likely to change in the near future given how both of their monarchs were recently risen to the throne, but the same cannot be said for most of the other nations,” said Kino as she explained what she meant. “Rather than having to learn the changes that took place during our absence, wouldn’t it be better for us to have someone stay here and watch over things in your stead?”
“I had considered that as well, and the Death’s Hand does have some reach here, but it’s nowhere near the reach we have in Ur-Teros. There are only a few agents and they might not be here all too often,” said Aideen as she thought about what Kino said. “Wait a moment… Are you perhaps suggesting that…”
“I am volunteering to stay here to keep an eye on things until you are ready to make your move, Miss Aideen,” said Kino with a firm nod of her head, looking Aideen straight in the eye as she spoke her words. “I am trained as an agent and could defend myself well enough, as you know. This way I can keep you updated much more frequently about the situation here until you are prepared to make your move.”
“It could work, I guess. There’s definitely easy enough ways to deliver messages from here to the Lichdom, though those would take a while to arrive. Similarly, I know better than to be worried about you, especially after what we’ve been through together,” said Aideen after some contemplation. “Still though, it would mean you would be on your own for probably centuries here. Are you sure you’ll be fine with that, Kino?”
“I am fully aware of that, Miss Aideen, and am prepared for it,” replied Kino with a nod. “This is something I wish to do, to at least be of some help to your endeavors. Please allow me to do this.”
