AnnouncementWhoops.I accidentally published this chapter with the wrong text pasted into ScribbleHub. If you read it in the three or so hours before I realized, then congratutions on your sneak preview of chapter 22! Mistakes happen /shrug

  “It's kind of like Chernobyl isn't it?”

  “The city? That's not too far off, yeah.”

  Ramel looked up from her cauldron at Dawn and Zerel, “What's Chernobyl?”

  Dawn smiled at the witch, “Chernobyl was a town and the site of a major disaster from our world. The, um, energy?” She gnced at Zerel, who shrugged and nodded at the choice of words, “The energy coming from the site of the disaster was dangerous, and getting too close for too long would poison or kill you. The area was abandoned and evacuated for almost, what, thirty years?”

  Zerel frowned, “I thought it was closer to forty- Oh. Right. The time thing.” Dawn, Hilda, and Zerel had already determined that they died in different years. Dawn had died the earliest, missing out on the worldwide chaos of Zerel and Hilda's ter recollections.

  The snake continued with an amused smile, “It was supposed to heal eventually, but researchers from our world thought it'd be thousands of years before Chernobyl was habitable again.”

  Ramel nodded as she looked back down at her cauldron, “Makes sense. I don't think I ever heard of the serpent's aura directly killing someone like that, but-”

  “Zerel!” An interrupting voice came from the entrance to the witches workshop. Standing there was Shamish, who looked as annoyed at having to be there as always. “The dy merc and her girlfriends are here. They want to talk to you and the snake.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, Zee.” He confirmed, indignant at nothing, “They're at the west gate. Chron sent me to get you. Says it's not his problem.”

  “I suppose it's not. Only a day, though! She came back faster than I expected. Ram, I'll see you ter. Come on, Dawn, let's see what Dame DuSonde wants.”

  The various members of the coven bid them goodbye as Zerel and Dawn left the workshop. While crossing the compound, Dawn asked, “Is she actually a dame? Or are you granting her that title?”

  Laughing, Zerel crified, “No, I don’t think so. ‘Lady’ is probably more appropriate for Hilda. I guess some head of house could grant her the title, but ‘daughter of Duchess DuSonde’ is probably prestigious enough on its own.”“The duchess is only second to the emperor and princes, right?”

  “Yeah. Though, there’s a vassal state in the northwest with a king who’s beholden to the emperor. I think his rank is technically equivalent?”

  “So Hilda’s not that different from a princess?”

  “Ehh,” Zerel shrugged, “depends on the type of princess. I don’t think Hilda has much of a birthright she’s entitled to. She doesn’t seem to like funting it, either.”

  When they arrived outside of the palisade wall, Zerel was surprised to see that Hilda looked nervous. Her arms were crossed and she was pacing restlessly. Sherry and Dahlia were more rexed, but looked worried for their third. Hilda perked up as Zerel and Dawn approached, “Queen- Zerel. Dawn. It’s nice to see the two of you are well. We returned so quickly because I have… I need your help with an urgent family matter.”

  Zerel cocked an eyebrow, “What could you need my help for? Didn’t you want to take Dawn and I to the north to help us, anyway?”

  “Yes, and I’d like us to start that journey as soon as possible. My youngest br- sibling was trying to convince his father to summon a demon.”

  Frowning, Zerel asked, “Isn’t that super illegal in the empire? There was a goblin settlement that was incinerated after imperials cimed they had the ingredients to summon a demon.”

  “Sorry, trying to do what?” Dawn asked, in English.

  “Trying to get his dad to summon a demon,” Hilda crified before switching back to Imperial, “It’s illegal on religious grounds because it’s considered bsphemy. Marc, my stepfather, is notorious for summoning a demon and receiving clemency for it, only because he used it to contribute to the war effort years ago.”

  Dalia interjected, “Wait. You don’t know what happened to the Bck Canopy ptoon, do you?”

  Hilda grimaced, “I haven’t been told, but it can’t have been good.”

  “Girls, focus,” Zerel commanded, “so your sibling is trying to summon a demon? What do they want from an abyss dweller?”

  “Um,” Hilda hesitated, “Kirk…”

  “Hilda’s younger brother wants a potion that can turn him into a girl.”

  Zerel looked at Sherry who seemed confused by Hilda’s reticence, then at Hilda herself, “You want me to supply a potion that will turn your brother into a girl?”

  Hilda nodded, “You have what Kirk wants already, and I don’t know what he- they will do if they don’t get it.”

  “I see. You know it’s not like some magic transformation, right? It takes time, and she’ll need a long term supply.”

  “I know.” Hilda set her jaw, “I was hoping you could help me find a way to get Kirk a supply, and I’d like help with other problems that will come up, too.”

  “Other problems?” Dawn cocked her head, and Sherry did the same.

  “This… The Empire is a patriarchal society, Dawn.” Hilda looked tired, “I know Zerel has met Vasi and made deals, but the lords of more influential houses are not as willing to put self interest above racism, let alone misogyny. There have been many disputes over the rights of women in the st thirty years. Most of those disputes have been brought on by my mother’s ascension to power. I’ve met some of those men, and I can’t imagine they will be kind to Kirk. They barely tolerate my mother and sisters.”

  Sisters? Zerel recalled what she could about Anis and Celeste. Er, Ana and Cecelia, wasn't it? Ana was the princess, betrothed to the least significant prince but still tying the DuSonde house to the empire. Cecelia was a military woman; a commander in the navy, or something. The tter she understood, but what was the princess doing that needed so much tolerance from patriarchal nobles?

  “What about yourself?” Dawn asked.

  “I think they were just happy to see me stay away from political or military influence.”

  “Bad news for them, huh,” Zerel suggested.

  Hilda’s cute brow creased, “I’m not going to start engaging in politics now, Zerel.” Dawn and Zerel shared a baffled look before turning their gazes on Hilda. “...What?”

  “Hilda, honey,” Dalia remarked, “you know that bringing an unknown demigod and the leader of an unallied cn to ally with your powerful mother is a political move, right? Even if that’s not your specific intent. It simply is political.”

  Brow ever furrowing, Hilda seemed confused, “No, it’s just that…” She trailed off for a moment, seeming to realize her folly, “oh no.”

  “It’s unavoidable, midy,” Zerel chuckled, “if you have friends, or a community, or even just people you love, you’ll end up entrenched in politics. One way or another.”

  “It’s so exhausting, though!” Hilda harrumphed, took a deep breath and looked over her company, “Okay. Fine. The political implications can’t change what I want to do. Are you willing to help?”

  “Absolutely.” Zerel confirmed, “I’ve been trying to find humans in need of transition care for years.”

  The other girls tried to cheer up Hilda as they moved into the Fortress. Pnning started immediately for their upcoming road trip. Dawn had no reason to object to Hilda’s request to depart as soon as possible, and while Ademhill was abuzz with preparations to send their first group of settlers to Dé Cyon, Zerel had already discussed this possibility with Chron as well as her deputies. The cn needed more allies, and if the DuSonde duchy was a possible ally, then sending Queen Zerel as envoy would be worth the effort.

  At first, Zerel thought the problem would be her need for an escort. She wasn’t dumb enough to travel alone through the heart of the Empire, and she wanted to have her own people avaible in case of any emergencies, which was even before she had to consider the cn’s worries about losing their queen. She had correctly guessed that the pn would need to involve secretly smuggling Dawn, given her monstrous nature, but Zerel was surprised to hear that they could openly bring a handful of cn members along. The reason was less than savory, though; Hilda expined that most people would let them by with a cim about business reted to her position, and in a pinch, she could excuse the goblins as prisoners or sves to anyone who decided to be particurly difficult about it.

  At least Hilda seemed as uncomfortable about the strategy as Zerel was.

  The following two days were busy with meetings, supply coordination, and staffing disputes. Ramel wanted to come, but Zerel overruled the head witch on simple grounds. Dé Cyon was a very defensible position - amusingly comparable to fantasy strongholds from earth’s fiction - but with Ramel’s presence, any extended assault would be suicidal without powerful magic support. Zerel almost regretted her part in developing the theories Ramel used to develop her magic, since she wasn’t quite sure that her mentor should have been trusted with the power she could bring to bear. There were a few acres to the southeast of Ademhill that had been gssed the st time Ramel put on a show of force.

  Chron insisted on a squad of a half dozen goblins with at least one other magic user, though, so once again Isra would be accompanying her queen. The remainder were regur hobgoblins, though there was a heated discussion about bringing Tabree. She was a strong combatant, but ogres were generally considered a sign that the empire needed to assemble an extermination force, so she was dismissed as a possibility. A few others who were just beginning their ogre growth stages had to be dismissed for simir reasons. It might be months, if not the better part of a year, before they returned.

  On the afternoon of her first day in Ademhill, Hilda came to Zerel with a request, “This might sound nosy, but I want to see how you make the hormone potion.”

  Zerel gave Hilda a dirty look, “Why? You wanna learn how to make it yourself?”

  “Kind of, but I really want to see if I can help improve it.”

  “Are you even an alchemist as a hobby, Hilda?”

  “No, but I was a chemical engineer.”

  It was a confounding revetion for the queen, “why didn’t you tell me that a week ago? We just made another batch!”

  The next morning, with a few other witches in attendance, Hilda showed Zerel a few ways they could improve their process. One was a suggested setup for vacuum drying that they could only assemble a brief proof of concept for, but Ramel said she’d work on it while they were gone. More notable was a simple precipitation and filtering process Hilda suggested that was uded by the entire coven for making the taste much more bearable. Hilda said it was the least she could do given her need to appropriate the work they’d already done. She promised that she’d spend time thinking through other improvements now that she’d seen it.

  Otherwise, the second day was mostly spent assembling their pn to conceal Dawn. She would be riding in a rge covered wagon, warded against both regur and magical prying eyes. Dawn briefly argued that she could see through the wards just fine, but the other girls found her objection humorous, since if anyone could see through the wards they’d put together, it would be her. She did receive a dozen apologies since there wasn’t a suspension, though, dooming the serpent woman to a long, bumpy ride.

  On the morning of the third day, they had everything they needed assembled, and having sent for an extra quartet of workhorses from Thraes Hold, they finally started their journey. As they wheeled their way out through the fortress gates, their audience felt like every goblin in the cn to Dawn, Hilda, and the girls. Zerel knew it was only about half, but it was certainly a spectacle. They went directly to Thraes Hold to access the southern tip of the imperial road network. It was where they pnned to head north from, and the residents of the frontier town gathered to watch the passing of the strange entourage.

  Before they completely passed, a runner came from town with a message to Hilda and Zerel. Count Vasi recommended they inform Beacon and any rger towns of their approach at least a half day in advance, given his own mild panic at their unannounced appearance. Zerel thought it made perfect sense, but Hilda seemed only to begrudgingly accept the advice before sending her own message back to the count.

  When Zerel asked what the response said, Hilda rexed into the seat of the wagon with a ruthless grin, “Snitch at your own risk.”