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Tafel nodded at the group of men gathered before her. Most of them were middle-aged plump men. There were one or two who were relatively young compared to the rest. They were all nobles, the ones that had surrendered to her. There was only one noble who hadn’t. After he was thrown through a portal into a mob of angry peasants, the other nobles were practically fighting each other to be the first one to express their loyalty. With these people under her command, she had control of nearly the whole Holy Roman Empire. She had pulled out the map, and the nobles shaded in the areas they were responsible for. For some weird reason, there were a few parts of the empire that were separated by large chunks of land belonging to other powers.
“First things first,” Tafel said, crossing her arms over her chest. “The most important objective is my mission. I’m looking for five people. Put finding them above all else, even the peasant rebellion. They’re really easy to tell apart from the common person. One of them is a little girl with glasses. She’s very violent and has an expanding shield. Another one is a skeleton. If you see a walking, talking skeleton, that’s him. Another one is a red dragon. If you see her, don’t provoke her. The fourth one is a woman with red hair and black armor. She’s always wearing the black armor. And the last one is a man with golden eyes. Chances are, he’ll be shirtless, and his body is filled with tattoos. Also, he might have four arms, but he usually walks around with two. Oh, he can also turn into a blue dragon.”
The nobles exchanged glances with each other. One of them raised his hand. Tafel pointed at him. The noble cleared his throat. “If we find one of your companions, how do we contact you?”
“That’s simple,” Tafel said. She opened a portal, and all the nobles flinched. She rolled her eyes at their expressions and pulled out a bunch of necklaces. They were crude, made from simple ropes and stones. “I had some inspiration from someone and made these necklaces. If you send mana into them, I’ll be able to sense it and open a portal beside you.” She cleared her throat. “I know none of you can sense mana for whatever reason, but I found a solution to that too. Take this plant”—she pulled out a common weed—”soak it in boiling water, and put the necklace inside. The mana leaking out of the plant should be enough to trigger a reaction.”
The nobles exchanged glances with each other again. A different one raised his hands. After Tafel pointed at him, he said, “Those are common weeds. They’re magical?”
Tafel nodded. “They’re more magical than any of you, that’s for sure.” She handed the necklaces to a nearby noble. “Take one and pass the rest down. I trust you can find the plants for yourself? They were everywhere when I went looking for them.”
Another noble raised his hand. Tafel pointed. “I might have a lead on the little girl with the expanding shield,” he said. He continued when Tafel raised an eyebrow. “You see, the Ottomans have taken Belgrade from the Kingdom of Hungary. I’ve heard rumors that a little girl had led the charge and punched down the fortress walls with a shield in her hand; however, I didn’t believe it at the time. I thought it was a rumor the Ottomans were spreading to make themselves seem invincible, but since you brought it up, there’s a possibility the Ottomans do have someone like that in their army.”
Tafel’s eyes lit up. “You’re promoted,” she said. “Tell me more about the Kingdom of Hungary. Where did the Ottomans go next? Well, who are the Ottomans?”
The noble nodded, happy with his promotion; though, he didn’t know what benefits came with it. “The Kingdom of Hungary is right there on the map,” he said and pointed southeast of the Holy Roman Empire on the shaded in map that Tafel had brought. “The Ottomans are to the south of them. To be honest, some of us have already prepared some troops in case the Kingdom of Hungary was conquered and the Ottomans eyed our lands next. However, after taking Belgrade, the Ottomans reinforced it and left to attack Rhodes, a fortress in the south of their lands. They should’ve arrived there by now. Sieging Rhodes should take a while, at least a few months.”
Tafel inspected the map for a moment before nodding. “Alright, does anyone else have any leads on the rest of my companions?”
“By walking, talking skeleton, do you mean a literal skeleton?” a noble asked after raising his hand.
“Yes.”
“As in, made of bones and only bones? Not just a skinny person?”
“Yes. He might be wearing armor or clothes, but he has no eyes nor flesh.” Tafel furrowed her brow. “He also likes playing practical jokes involving scaring people to death, and if you let him, he’ll try to convert you into a believer of my aunt. Her moniker is the Corrupted One.”
“How about names?” another noble asked. “Do these companions of yours have any names? Perhaps we’ve caught wind of their deeds but not their characters.”
Tafel counted with her fingers, lifting one every time she mentioned a name. “The skeleton goes by Mr. Skelly, err, also Nate. The red dragon is Prika. The shirtless man is Vur. The black-armored lady is Mary. The little girl is Alice.”
The room fell silent as the men dug through their memories. One of them raised his hand. “The red dragon, Y Ddraig Goch, is the symbol of the Tudor House. Henry Tudor, also known as Henry VIII, is the King of England. His coat of arms bears a fierce red dragon. Is it possible the red dragon you’re looking for is related to him?”
Tafel rubbed her chin. “You’re promoted.” She nodded. “Where’s England?”