Her Majesty’s Swarm - Volume 4 - Chapter 5

The Witch’s Blow

“It seems she’s been poisoned,” the doctor said.

Lysa was lying on a bed, moaning in pain and sweating profusely. Seeing her like this pained me, but I didn’t have the right to look away; she had taken this blow for me. Since I accepted this truth, I knew it was my responsibility to keep my eyes open to the reality of this situation.

“Poison? What kind of poison?” I asked.

“It’s probably a drug called the Witch’s Blow,” the doctor replied. “A powerful toxin that puts the victim in a catatonic state, which gradually worsens until it leads to death. Assassins often use it.”

The doctor then turned to look at us.

“There is an assassins’ guild in this country that’s famous for using the Witch’s Blow. Have you done anything to earn someone’s ire?”

Dammit.

I had an idea of who was responsible for this, of course: the Nyrnal Empire. They probably realized we were trying to ally with the Eastern Trade Union and had that assassins’ guild dispatch an agent. I was the intended victim, but Lysa had covered for me and taken the poison instead.

To hell with you, Nyrnal. You really pissed me off this time.

“Is there an antidote?”

“Not here. The assassins’ guild might have it, but you won’t find it in any ordinary hospital. The ingredients to concoct the antidote don’t exist in this country.”

There wasn’t even an antidote. I could feel fear creeping in on me. Was Lysa going to make it?

“Where can we find it, then?” I asked.

“In the Nyrnal Empire, and the Nabreej archipelago.”

One of them was that despicable country, but I was unfamiliar with the other.

“The Nabreej archipelago, you say?”

Going to the Nyrnal Empire to get the ingredients was out of the question. Still, I didn’t have the first clue where the Nabreej archipelago even was. The only thing I did know was that the nation on those islands wasn’t under Nyrnal’s control yet—it was a free country of merchants, like the Eastern Trade Union. But that was all I knew about the place. Everything else was a huge question mark.

“Let’s go, Sérignan. We can leave Maska to look after Lysa, and we’ll go hunt for the antidote. First, I have to talk this over with Ventura.”

“Very well, milady. It’ll be all right. Lysa shouldn’t die.”

I could only pray that she was right. Pray to the ones looking over us...

♱

“The Nabreej archipelago? Honestly, it’s a pretty strange place,” Ventura said with a scowl after I explained our situation. “They aren’t trading with us right now, although they used to. Maybe they just want to avoid getting involved in the war, but they’re insisting on an embargo so they can stay friendly with Nyrnal.”

Considering the Eastern Trade Union had previously been hostile toward Nyrnal, the Nabreej archipelago decided to keep its distance from them and stay out of the war.

Great. Just what we need at a time like this.

“Can’t we go there and get the antidote ourselves?”

“The ports at Nabreej will only accept ships from Nyrnal. That’s part of the embargo. Besides, a country that’s trying to toady up to Nyrnal isn’t going to sell anything to the Arachnea.”

Their embargo was thorough, but there had to be a loophole somewhere.

“How strong is Nabreej’s military?”

“Their military?” Ventura replied with some hesitation. “Well, their navy is decent, but their ground forces aren’t impressive. I think they have about three infantry divisions.”

“Hm, that’s not much,” I murmured. “With an army of that scale, they shouldn’t have many heavy infantry.”

Ventura’s face paled. “Don’t tell me you’re planning on attacking Nabreej.”

“I’ll do anything if it’ll save my friend’s life. If they won’t give us the antidote, we’ll just have to take it by force. If they’re only willing to trade with Nyrnal, it means they’re effectively a colony of the Empire.”

I’m not letting Lysa die. I’ll do whatever it takes to save her. Should they withhold the antidote from us, I’ll have to regard it as an act of aggression against the Arachnea.

“If they’ll declare that they’re not a colony of the Nyrnal Empire, I’ll lend them an ear. But if they don’t, I’ll see them as an enemy colony and launch an attack. We’re at war with Nyrnal, after all.”

We’ll get you that antidote, so hang on, Lysa.

The Arachnea were naturally resistant to poison, but maybe that poison, the Witch’s Blow, was special somehow. Still, it shouldn’t kill her that quickly. At least, I hoped it wouldn’t.

“There’s also the matter of the man who attacked us.”

“You’re suspecting the assassins’ guild, correct?” Ventura asked.

I would hunt down the ones who had caused Lysa so much suffering and have their heads on a pike.

“We’re looking for both the assassins’ guild and the person who hired them. We’ll tear them limb from limb. However, there’s a fundamental problem here.”

Only a few people should have known that the Arachnea had people inside the Eastern Trade Union. For starters, there was Ventura, Konrad, and Keralt. There was also Honnoson Alphtel, whom I hadn’t met yet. Whoever was behind this had to be one of them, or someone related to them. Of course, we were trying to ally with the Eastern Trade Union, so we couldn’t very well make enemies here. Still, whoever had done this to us had to pay.

Ventura began, “I’ll handle the investiga—”

“No,” I interjected. “We’ll handle it.”

I couldn’t leave this in Ventura’s hands. He was one of the suspects, after all.

“How, exactly?”

“I can’t answer that right now.”

If he knew how I was going to look into it, he might find a way to avoid it.

“Anyway, we’ll make our way to the Nabreej archipelago,” I declared. “We’ll do it in a way that won’t reflect badly on your country.”

“What do you mean?”

Without sharing my plan with him, I took my leave. At this point, I couldn’t trust anyone. The only ones I could believe in were the comrades who’d been with me every step of the way. We’d have to open the way forward on our own.

♱

“You want me to sail out to sea?” Gilbert asked.

I’d contacted him for assistance. Gilbert had once let me ferry Ripper Swarms on his ships, and he’d helped me hold a memorial service for Isabelle. His ship was currently moored in the Popedom’s harbor.

“That’s right. I need to get to the Nabreej archipelago. Can you take us there?”

He frowned. “You want to go there? That’s honestly a bit of a dangerous stretch.”

Apparently, the Nabreej archipelago’s navy was constantly patrolling, and now that trade had been virtually shut down, there weren’t any ports that would accept a ship that wasn’t from Nyrnal. Any pirate who dared approach was promptly chased away by the navy.

“Gilbert, please,” I pressed as earnestly as I could. “A friend’s life is on the line here. We need this antidote. Just take us there and back, that’s all I’m asking. We’ll handle everything else. I don’t want to lose another friend. Please.”

The Swarm knew how to handle a ship now, but they didn’t have the sailing techniques needed to avoid the navy and the dangerous current around Nabreej. Gilbert knew this. If he just agreed, we’d be able to charge the archipelago.

“Raise your head, Your Majesty,” Gilbert said. “You took revenge for Isabelle. I owe you a great debt, so of course I can’t ignore your request. My crew and I will take you to Nabreej and back. You can rest easy. We’ve smuggled contraband there a few times already.”

“Thank you, Gilbert.” I let out a sigh of relief. “You have no idea how much that helps us.”

Gilbert was a good guy. We’d only fought together once, but he trusted us. Mourning Isabelle together helped him harbor that trust, and I was grateful for it.

“So will you two be our only cargo?” he asked.

“No, it’ll be a little crowded. Well, not crowded with people, though.”

“Bugs, huh?” Gilbert cracked a bitter smile. “Oh well. I’ve got room in the cargo hold.”

I was going to take Swarms with me. They’d help me break through Nabreej’s gates.

“Well, let’s strike while the iron’s hot. We’ll set sail as soon as possible, so do what you need to do, Your Majesty.”

“Right. I’ll be done soon.”

With that, we’d secured a ship to take us to Nabreej. All that remained was selecting the right Swarms for the job. I took one Worker Swarm, three Genocide Swarms, and one Toxic Swarm. That would do. As soon as we landed on Nabreej, I’d have the Worker Swarm get busy.

I was ready for war.

“Sérignan, we’re going.”

“Can’t we place Lysa in a Regeneration Pod, Your Majesty?”

“A Regeneration Pod can only restore lost stamina,” I replied. “It can’t remove status ailments. Each faction has to produce special medic units to cure those. And right now, we don’t have one.”

The Arachnea faction was usually the one to inflict status ailments. It was rarely on the receiving end of poison and the like. Their medic unit wasn’t unlocked until late into the game, and we hadn’t gotten that far. So, I still didn’t have those units in my army.

“Then we must get that antidote at all costs,” Sérignan concluded.

“Right.” I nodded firmly. “No matter what it takes.”

Steeling our resolve, we boarded Gilbert’s ship.

Just you wait, Lysa. We’ll be back with that antidote before you know it.