Days prior, in the Ralzen Empire, Rodsgard's imperial palace...
A man of walks with hurried steps that echo commandingly off the empty yet opulent hallways around him. Despite his honed physique and less than forty years of life, his posture and demeanor convey a deeply ingrained tension. He carries the weariness of one much older, his face almost permanently creased with deep contemplation.
He is dressed in formal attire, his stiff, meticulously fitted jacket displaying an ornate silver pin that identifies him as Head General. He is none other than General Tenzin, the commander of the Empire's entire army, and one of the five de facto leaders after Belmod's death.
Tenzin's already stern expression suddenly turns troubled, his steps faltering for the the briefest of moments.
'My days grow far too interesting for my liking...'
He was the only de facto leader in Rodsgard at the time of Belmod's murder. He was obliviously situated elsewhere in the palace, in fact. Consequently, he was the first to learn the shocking news, and the one in charge of the early response to the situation. He even personally interrogated the sole survivor of the massacre – the guard called Lobe.
What he heard was categorically absurd.
Some adventuring party, not even well-known enough to attract his own involvement, killed Belmod and almost seventy of the elite guard...effortlessly. That and the guild information on their abilities would be terrifying enough, but...it's the rest of the bloody meeting's details that worry him most.
'Based on Major Lobe's account, this Mizuki was completely docile until it became impossible for his party to leave peacefully. Then, they killed or even tortured the others, before leaving threats and demands that strain credulity.'
End slavery and forego further hostilities towards non-humans, or have their cities and leadership summarily destroyed. To Tenzin, that's an ultimatum even another country wouldn't dare. Yet, nothing about Lobe's military history, nor the cursed S-rank party's behaviors and actions, suggest the threat is anything but genuine.
Making it to Rodsgard undetected, the seemingly spur-of-the-moment slaughter of the Empire's strongest warriors, the party's effortless escape after such regicide – those are not the feats of a group to be taken lightly. Unfortunately, he also can't help but doubt the veracity of the party's promised violence – destroying deeply fortified cities and executing top leadership, without the element of surprise – it's too daunting a task.
That said, he's considered the possibility that the threats and demands have another purpose, one likely rooted in misdirection or promoting civil unrest. That's why he was quick to control the narrative around Belmod's death, spreading disinformation to the citizens.
Too many guards died to downplay the carnage, even in the short-term, but he fostered rumors about the party fleeing with heavy injuries, and having used poisons and other underhanded tactics to accomplish their "assassination". In addition, he pushed a narrative where the party was believed to be hiding in terror, instead of leaving threats and demands.
He ordered Major Lobe to not spread any contrary accounts of that day without his approval, but just in case, he also found two susceptible palace guards that were stationed alone near the throne room and ensured their testimony to his version of events as additional "spared witnesses". That strategy proved wise, since he learned just days later that someone was spreading rumors in Rodsgard taverns of catastrophic death that awaits anyone who doesn't release their slaves soon.
Naturally, he knew that could only be Lobe, and he was briefly tempted to have him executed for disobeying his orders. However, he couldn't quite bring himself to do it. The young man's extremely promising military career was already likely to end from the pure misfortune of surviving Belmod's murder, and his own machinations with the two false witnesses kept Lobe's warning from being taken seriously. So, he let it slide.
Then, just a couple days ago, the other leaders of the Empire's remaining power structure arrived in Rodsgard at his behest, to address the fallout of Belmod's death. Admiral Nemo, who commands the naval half of their military, and the Empire's three highest-ranking nobles responsible for managing domestic affairs – Krandel Severus, Torin Ironwill, and Rey Palkin.
When he requested their presence by bird, he'd given them minimal details about the circumstances of Belmod's death. So, the first task was to apprise them of the truth, which included interrogating Major Lobe again.
As he expected, their subsequent discussions were...contentious. Unsurprisingly, this was in part because the empty throne represented a power vacuum that many wished to fill themselves, but there were other points of friction as well.
For one, Krandel and Rey almost immediately tried to order Lobe's execution like he'd predicted, calling the Major a useless coward. However, he made the case that Lobe remaining alive to deliver them valuable intel about the party's actions was strategically appropriate, which Torin and Admiral Nemo were quick to support. Naturally, that was only a sufficiently compelling argument because he'd told everyone the truth of Belmod's death, and by extension, the danger the S-rank party could pose.
Unsurprisingly, this lead to heated discussions about Mizuki's party, their threats and demands, and how to respond to everything. It was in the course of these debates that Krandel Severus revealed he'd already sent an ultimatum of his own to Elmesia, demanding that they turn over the S-rank party, back when he'd only heard rumors from Tenzin's disinformation efforts. In other words, when he was ignorant of their strength and under the impression that Mizuki's party was injured and fleeing in terror.
This intensified their debate about how to proceed, including whether they should try and hold Elemsia or the Elven Kingdom accountable as the party's primary supporters. Unfortunately, they'd barely started such lines of discussions, and were far from an agreement, when Lobe also sought him out late last night to deliver shocking news.
The party's leader, Mizuki, had somehow infiltrated Rodsgard, tracked down Lobe, and ordered him to deliver a message to the Empire's "remaining leadership". The message being that they'd arrive at the imperial palace in a fortnight...for negotiations. The news had completely flabbergasted Tenzin, but...also filled him with a deep sense of unease.
He's spent much of his time recently pondering the potential threat level of Mizuki's party, and he's felt convinced that they're plausibly a city-level threat, but only if their apparent stealth abilities and the element of surprise are accounted for. Now, though...
'What could possibly possess them to give us all the time we need to prepare a trap in full force, then walk right into it?'
As far as he can tell, there are only two explanations. One, he has catastrophically underestimated the power they wield, and the S-rank party could actually face the Empire's full might head-on. He considers it nearly impossible for them to be such a country-level threat, which leaves the second possibility – these "negotiations" are a ploy of some kind.
If he had to guess, given its scheduling shortly after the deadline for the party's original ultimatum, they will use the alleged meeting to launch a surprise attack on the congregated de facto leaders of the Empire. Thus, carrying through on their threat to eliminate the Empire's remaining command structure if the absurd slavery demands aren't met.
Unfortunately, he can't afford to ignore the alleged negotiations completely, nor can he and the other five leaders flee the city as a precaution. Not only would that send a horrible, cowardly message, but if they don't at least appear to comply, the party may fail to show themselves at all, depriving him of the opportunity to glean critical information or maybe even capture them.
Alas, regardless of what he thinks the appropriate recourse is, it's not a decision he can make unilaterally. Not with the state their chain of command is in. That's why he's currently on his way to an emergency meeting with Admiral Nemo and the three nobles, to discuss the matter with them. Naturally, he also solicited Lobe's attendance, who he's indefinitely confined to a guest room in the palace after the news last night.
After a few minutes more of walking the hallways, he arrives at a set of heavy double doors with two guards stationed that salute him respectfully. He pushes the doors apart to reveal the war room he and the others have been using for their meetings these past days.
His eyes scan over the long table inside, finding Admiral Nemo, Krandel, Torin, and Rey already seated, while Lobe is standing in the corner of the room with a rather apprehensive expression.
Nemo is sitting with a calm, expectant expression, back straight, curly pepper-colored hair swept messily, his blue uniform and silver pin just as ornate as Tenzin's, yet distinctly less orderly. Rey is wearing a red silk bathrobe, long, black hair tucked behind his ears, his normal disregard for decorum on full display. There's a traumatized-looking fox-kin woman in his lap, his entire demeanor as though she's a piece of prized jewelry on exhibit.
In contrast, Torin is sitting nearby, his hulking frame, shaved head, and stern eyes exuding the militant discipline of the Ironwill family, studying Rey with a disapproving glare. Finally, Krandel Severus is lounging in his chair with an air of amused superiority, a disdainful smirk on his face as his eyes watch the others.
Upon him entering the room, though, they all move their gazes to Tenzin, and he nods tersely.
"Admiral...Dukes...thank you all for coming." (General Tenzin)
Krandel sneers, his voice dripping with disdain.
"That was awfully presumptuous of you, summoning us like this. Fancy yourself the next Emperor, do you?" (Krandel)
He suppresses the twitch in his eye. Throughout all of this turmoil, Krandel's sense of entitlement to the throne has been evident, pushing Tenzin's distaste for him to a breaking point.
Meanwhile, Rey Palkin groans, pulling his hands out from under the fox-kin woman's dress. He directs an annoyed look at Krandel.
"Fuckkk off, Candle. It's bad enough I had to wake up early. I'm not in the mood to listen to your self-fellatio campaign for the throne. Any more, and my desired qualifications for the next Emperor will start and end with them not being you." (Rey)
Krandel scowls, probably infuriated by Rey's unwelcome yet persistent nickname, as much as any of the other accompanying insults. Before he can respond, however, Nemo interjects, looking to Tenzin with a hint of concern in his eyes.
"Why don't we put our personal grievances aside for a moment, and hear what Tenzin has to say? I know him better than anyone here, and I can assure you, he would only call for this meeting if it was something of the upmost importance. Duke Torin, I assume you agree?" (Admiral Nemo)
Nemo looks to Torin with a hopeful expression, and the man nods gruffly.
"The Admiral is right...we must have clarity in our priorities, and our military leaders seem to be the only other ones here who understand how serious of a situation our Empire finds itself in. General, please proceed." (Torin)
Rey rolls his eyes, while Krandel looks like he's about to retort, so Tenzin takes advantage of the brief window of silence, stepping forward.
"Thank you...I'll be blunt. The S-rank party made contact last night." (General Tenzin)
Whatever misgivings some of the others were about to voice, die on their lips, and their gazes sharpen. Nemo speaks, his tone somber.
"How? To say what?" (Admiral Nemo)
He purses his lips, then looks to Lobe in the back of the room.
"Major Lobe...tell everyone what you told me." (General Tenzin)