Two Ends of a Dead Knot

When did you two become such good friends? I guess I never should've worried that you wouldn't get along.

She's different. We met each other in the Rhodes Island canteen.

Oh, is that why? At the canteen—

Ah! So you're the red-haired lady who makes great Ursine and Siracusan food!

......

Back on topic. My Arts can conceal my movements. I'll go and find Zima first; it won't be hard if Rosa's coordinates are accurate.

Rosa reports that the situation in the quarantine zone is in flux. It's possible that Zima's base of operations may have moved. Go ahead and check it out, but come back if things don't work out.

Mm-hm.

Why can't we go together?

Pavlovich's people control the mobility layer passages since the lockdown. We'll alert them if we go on together. You have to wait here.

This area is outside Katorga Raion, and all the workers know me. If anyone comes over, just tell them you're with Lyudmila Ilyinichna.

Understood, but it's best not to be detected. We'll stay hidden and wait for your signal.

When you see Zima, see if she's hurt, if she's gotten thinner—

I'll do my best.

......

No patrols? That's different from the reports.

Sonya's camp should be just ahead.

...If you don't want me to talk to Matvey, I won't. You want to be by yourself, I won't bother you.

But holler if you need someone to talk to, okay?

I'm here for you. Don't put everything on your own shoulders.

......

What the...?

Rosalind—

Don't yell. It's me.

Huh?

You told me to find you if I ever needed help, didn't you?

So I came.

The comms equipment looks good.

So you've dealt with the thugs from within the wall, and you're preparing to leave.

No wonder I didn't see a soul on my way here.

The thugs on the ground might be done for, but the ones on the walls are still up there. We have a tough fight ahead of us.

Are you ready for it?

We have to think we are. I don't have time or energy to ask every one of them what they think, but the fact that they haven't stopped training is enough.

I'm not questioning any of you. Based on what I know from the outside, it's a miracle that you're alive at all, much less united and fighting.

What are they saying out there?

That it's His Majesty Pavlovich's little kingdom, and he alone decides what lives and what dies within.

The nobles don't care anymore. After all, this plate is going be discarded like cutting away a piece of rotten flesh, along with everyone on it.

Hmph.

That's how Ursus is, how it always has been... yet those who are abandoned end up struggling to survive.

Amiya didn't want us to have too much contact with you. I never knew you were so sentimental.

It's not about sentimentality...

Let me put it another way. On my way here, I saw someone huddled by a campfire crying, being comforted by someone who was smiling. Their arms were bandaged, and they were as dirty as the snow on the ground.

Some were chatting, some were holding steaming cups of water, some were roasting things over the fire.

They've been through so many things in a place like this, yet they didn't look like they're in pain. Really, they looked like they were looking forward to tomorrow.

They had nothing but the hope in their hearts. I've seen this scene before, the same expressions on faces before, in...

......

Thanks for sharing.

But we're really short on supplies. Every day might be our last. This cup of tea here could be too. If you don't want it, I do.

...I've told you all the important parts. Anything you want to know before you leave?

Is there anything I can help with before I go?

Well... maybe it's a dumb question.

But do you think maybe you could use your Arts to get these students out the way you came in?

The mobility layer passage is very narrow. We could maybe get a few dozen out in a night, but you have hundreds... Besides, There is only one way to the passage.

They are bound to notice your move of this size. If the students get caught out in the open, even with my Arts, we won't stand a chance once those thugs start raining fire down on us—

Forget I said anything. Should've known it wasn't so simple.

Other than that, is there anything I can do?

I thought you were going to ask me if I wanted to escape with you.

Didn't bother. You're not leaving.

Damn straight.

......

......

Actually, there IS something you can do. You said you came in through the mobility layer. I take it you're familiar with what's down there...

......

Talk about bad luck?

I guess you're in here by accident. You don't look like the kind of man who would associate with the elements here.

Ah... yes, you're right. This was quite an absurd accident.

What are you doing?

Just memorializing fallen friends.

I'm sorry. You look sad. I hope I'm not interrupting you.

Oh, it's perfectly alright. I'm used to being interrupted.

Be my guest, sit down by the fire and get some warmth. There are roasted potatoes, if you're hungry... what's your name?

My name is Lyudmila... but my friends call me Crownslayer.

......

...That's a cool nickname.

Have you... slain any particularly important crowns?

Sadly, not yet. But I've seen many tyrants, or should I say, leaders.

The first was in Ursus. She was a remarkable woman, one of the most remarkable I've ever met. She was powerful, and a charismatic leader.

But her ideals were too distant, and her methods too idealistic. That's why she failed. Maybe it's not quite fair to call her a tyrant. She was just one of the many who fell by the wayside.

The second was in Siracusa. She wasn't even a leader when I first met her. She was a good person, and an unlucky one.

She became a leader after a strange twist of fate, and tasted power before she realized the importance of responsibility. I was worried she would go astray, but we're destined to go our separate ways.

You've seen a lot. I envy you. I've never even left Grypherburg.

As for the third, I've only ever heard his name and deeds.

I've never seen him with my own eyes—until now.

......

Who sent you? You don't look like one of Witte's.

Don't bother guessing. I'm not after you.

What an experience it is, to come back to Ursus after all this while, only to experience something as crazy as this. I guess the State Council's freaking out right about now, trying to get you out without causing a scene.

Perhaps. Or perhaps someone wants me to die in here quietly.

I don't know. I don't think it really makes a difference whether I'm here or in the palace.

The commoners hate you, the nobility looks down on you. How do you even manage that?

When you try to change something, the people whose cake gets moved do all they can to oppose you. People take turns opposing all the different decisions you make.

Never mind... you wouldn't understand.

I wouldn't. You sound like you think you're doing your best to govern your country. How did Ursus end up like this, then?

You said you've never left Grypherburg? You should. Go out there, and see what this empire of yours really looks like under your rule.

That's enough!!!

I don't need your ridicule... don't think I don't know what's wrong with the empire. I want to change it too.

You don't know how hard I've tried. No one does. But what can I do, if no one ever truly supports me?

So what? Are you saying it's everybody else's fault, and you're just a sweet, innocent little tsar?

You want your suffering people to empathize with how hard things are for you, when you don't even understand your own responsibility?

Fine. You're right, I'm a terrible tsar. What are you waiting for, then?

Kill me already. Fulfill the wishes of the nobles who want me dead, and make the commoners who hate me happy.

Then you'll no longer be a little girl who gave herself a stupid khuyovy nickname, but a true crownslayer at last.

Snap out of it, svolotsch!

Killing you would be easy, but what would that achieve? You think Fyodor matters? Not even a little bit, I tell you.

Every kid in Ursus has heard the story of how the tsar put down the Great Rebellion at the age of ten. Do you think they know what kind of mudak sits on the throne?

Do you think your deeds bring glory to the name Fyodor? You don't understand your own responsibility, yet you're complaining as though everything under the sun is doing you an injustice.

You're simply a kid who never grew up, living a lie that all the people around you keep spinning for you.

Yebat—

Are you really mourning the people you saw die? Tragedies like these and much worse happen every day in Ursus. Do you really mourn them?

If you really want to save people, go back to where you should be, find a few decrees that do the right thing, and put your signature and stamp on them.

Is it so hard? The question is, do you really want to do it? Do you know what the right thing is?

......

I regret inviting you to my campfire.

I don't like to be vulgar, but there are always people who want to make me angry.

Thank you for the invitation, Your Imperial Majesty.

I pray your generosity will reach further.

Where are you going?

None of your business.

Don't worry, you want to keep indulging in your little game here, that's your choice. I won't tell anyone.

There's just one thing I'll say...

If you were really trying so hard to bring about change, then the palace wouldn't be the only place that's still lit at night, while the rest of Ursus put together doesn't have enough candles to illuminate Grypherburg.

......

I know you're there. Show yourself.

Your Imperial Majesty.

...Why am I not surprised that you followed me here?

Your will and that of Chairman Witte was to avoid any further disturbances arising from your disappearance.

We therefore had to remain hidden.

And? What's Witte planning to do with Katorga?

That is not for us to know.

If you wish to speak to him, you should return to the palace with us immediately.

You want to bring me back, quietly put me in a car, then put me back on that chair.

I'm telling you, no.

You should understand your own situation.

You are too young, and too willful, compared to the old tsar.

Idi na hui! Do not compare me with a man who's been dead for ages! Get out of my sight!

I'm not leaving. I have things to do. I am not a mannequin for Ursus to display in the shop window.

Tell Witte that if he wants me to leave here, he can come pick me up himself.

They're gone...

Over here!

You ran into workers on patrol?

If 'workers' are people dressed like policemen and carrying machetes and sticks, then yes.

You ran into Pavlovich's people? But this isn't Katorga, they shouldn't—

It was a few guys in worker garb that helped us hide. But they left in a hurry, and I didn't get any information from them.

What about Zima? Did you see her? Is she and Leto alright?

Zima, Leto and the students they gathered are planning to leave the quarantine zone, maybe in the next couple of days.

Leave? Did that Pavlovich let them go?

Not the kind of leaving where you just open the door and walk out.

What are they planning? Can we help?

I asked the same question. Anyway, I'll talk to the workers on duty in the mobility layer tonight.

First, I need to try the comms equipment that Zima gave me, or those unemployed workers will soon lose electricity and heat.

Where do we try?

I don't have a safehouse in this area. We need to find somewhere more remote.

This will do.

The gear's heavy. I'll hold it; you take the headset.

Thanks.

What about me? Is there anything I can do?

Keep watch. Tell us if there's any movement.

Alright!

First try.

Can you hear me?

Hello?

(Whisper) I think I got through, but there's no sound on the other side.

Hello? Can you hear me?

No sound. I don't think it's the signal.

Not a particularly unusual occurrence. We may have to try again later.

How long do we have to wait? Can we...

Huh?

Can we go and find Zima first? Or maybe those workers you were talking about?

I just feel like we should do something. I want to help, if we can help.

Can we reach them from somewhere else?

There's a comms blackout in Katorga. This equipment will probably be useless in there.

It's dangerous to go into a direct confrontation unprepared, even if it's a localized conflict within the quarantine zone.

Rosa's report mentioned that some nobles provided military supplies to Pavlovich. Zima's group may be facing military-grade firepower.

......

I'm not afraid.

Gummy?

I'm not afraid! I want to stand with Zima and Leto—at least stop some bad guys, or crossbow bolts from the shadows!

I want to help them.

Even if it means you'll hurt other people?

...If I have to...

You hesitated. You're not a soldier, Gummy, and neither are Zima or the rest of her comrades. I would rather you not have to face conflicts like this, if that's an option.

Everyone has their own battlefields. No one's is more or less important than any other's.

I... I—

What if I told you that a lot of lives depend on what I'm doing right now, Gummy? How would you choose?

Crownslayer, there's no need to—

If we leave and try to get into the quarantine zone, and fail to get electricity to the people of Grypherburg in time—

Countless people will freeze to death in places like Odoyev, within a week.

If you stay here without helping Zima and Leto, they might get hit by a bolt, by a shell fragment... they might be in danger, one way or another.

How would you choose?

There's no need to be so cruel, Crownslayer!

Cruel? You think this is cruel?

Do you think you're doing a favor to her by hiding from her what she needs to know? Do you think you're taking responsibility by taking away her choice?

Isn't that arrogance really cruel to those who are left behind?

Hey...

......

Which would you choose, Gummy?

I—

—Why not all of them?

Uh—

...*Bzz*...

I'll help you now, once you are done here, I'm off to help Zima!

Fine.

Little Barge...

Wait, I hear a voice.

Huh?

...Snow Maiden, Great Fin...

I've never heard this voice before. He's not my contact.

......

He doesn't even seem to be forming a coherent sentence.

What is he saying?

Sounds like a bunch of unconnected words. It's weird.

'White Night.'

'Ice Queen.'

I know all the words, but what does it mean when they're put together?

Hello? Can you hear me? Can you give me any clearer clues?

Clue...

Who?

Who is this? Who am I talking to?

Lyudmila—

Hello? This is supposed to be my communications channel. How did you find it?

Who are you—

Lyudmila!

Huh? What is it?

I want to listen.

This is all he said. There is nothing else.

I want to listen. Please.

Did you figure something out?

I'll know if I listen.

...Go ahead.

...Chervonets, Little Barge, Juvenile Fowlbeast, Snow Maiden, Great Fin.

Do you remember that? You remember it?

Remember it all! Remember!

I'll say it again. White Night, Ice Queen, Dreamer, Land...

......

'How much land does a person need?'

I hear Papa's voice on the earphone!

'Fifty hectares? One thousand? Fourteen thousand?'

'No, none of those.'

How many is it, then?

Have patience, my dear Lada.

'Ivan walked a long, long way, and returned to where he began before the sun rose. He used up all his strength, and he cannot get up anymore.'

Someone will help him, right? Right?

Of course, little cub. Of course.

'The people, in awe of his perseverance, helped him up, and gave him clean water and soft bread.'

'When he woke up, he saw the path that he walked during the day, and the marks he left.'

'It was a wide, broad land, totalling...'

'The land that Ivan needed his entire life was two meters long, one-and-a-half meters wide, one-and-a-half meters deep.'

......

Papa...

—!

You lied to me.

...Who...?

I opened the book again when I grew up. It said, this is all the land that a person needs their entire life.

It's the size of a coffin, isn't it?

Who are you? What are you talking about?

It's Lada, Papa!

Lada...

Lada?

It's me! It's me! Where are you? What are you trying to tell us?

Tell me, let me hear your voice again...

If it's the same channel, and it's your father that we reached this time, then the one before...

Do your parents work for the same institution?

I don't know. I think so...

We'll get to the bottom of this, someday.

Did he say anything before hanging up? Other than these ten terms?

It was twelve bits.

There are two more?

Yes. The other two are 'Sarcophagus' and 'Satellite City'.

......

The first ten terms each correspond to a children's book with the words in its title.

All books that my dad used to read to me.

Somehow, I don't think your father just wants us to find these children's books.

He explained.

He said the first ten terms correspond to the first two digits of the ten books' identifier numbers. For the last two terms, we take the first character.

Digits and letters, twenty-two in total, the standard format of Ursine military installation identification codes. As for where it is—

The answer is obvious.

Sarcophagus, Satellite City.

Dur-nar, Gummy, if you're in a hurry, we can set out for the quarantine zone right now.

Mm... I was thinking about what you said to me.

I don't want to make the others worry, but I want to help. I'll find students I know in the quarantine zone, and do some things in secret.

Good. Crownslayer—

I'll come back and contact the workers who are still fighting underground once I've taken you there.

I'm sure they would love to meet our honorable magistrate.

*Cough*—*cough*—

Zima?

...Instructor?!

What are you doing here? What about the rest of the SSG? Are they alright?

Of course. It's you we're worried about.

What's with this smoke?

Pavlovich's men attacked the camp. Set it on fire and left. Said it was revenge for what we did.

Funny, isn't it? I've seen fire after fire here, and they've extinguished the one that burned in my mind all this time, the Chernobog fire.

Zima, if Chernobog makes you—

No, instructor, thank you...

Grappling with whether to face my fears when my friends are in danger... that's not like me. I'm used to getting my body to move first.

Besides, I have more than just my fists.

You mean—

'Unity.'

I used to think about nothing but leading the charge. But now... now that I know those guys are behind me, I know that we're all headed towards the same goal... I'm confident we can do anything.

What are you planning to do?

If he's resorting to burning stuff, that means Pavlovich has lost his heavy weapons.

They think they're spreading fear. In fact, they're exposing their own weakness... it's an opportunity.

We'll settle the score with Pavlovich, morning of the day after tomorrow.

I need your help, instructor.

Sure, but I thought Leto was with you? I don't see her anywhere.

After the attack, I sent her to warn our allies, and talk about coordinating our attack.

That is, if he still thinks we're allies...

Who? Who did this?!

Matvey... they—

Blyat! Mudak!

Ah, Ukusik.

'Don't cry over spilt cystymilk.' Remember?

But cystymilk's expensive! I've only ever drank it once during New Year's!

......

It won't stay expensive forever.

Antosha, if there's anything you need...

No. We have some reserves, and we've shared the loot with you.

We can't stay on the defensive, staying in camp like this... Sonya wants me to tell you that we're planning to attack at dawn, the day after tomorrow.

Our target is the wall.

......

Tell Sonya, there's no way the Unbound won't show up to strike Pavlovich.

We will hit his command headquarters. We have been planning this for a long time.

I'll have to talk it over with Sonya.

You can talk all you want. I don't answer to her. That's my decision.

But you can trust me on this...

We will not disappoint those who fight by our side.

The Imperial Guard's direct command battalion has been deployed to the outskirts of the quarantine zone. Do we set out now to welcome His Imperial Majesty back?

No. Wait a while longer.

But the Royal Guard reports that the situation in the quarantine zone will only get more chaotic—

All the more reason for us to use this opportunity to fully expose the plans of certain onlookers. Before His Imperial Majesty's precise whereabouts are announced, before we bring him back to the palace safe and sound...

Both the traitors who attempt to harm His Majesty after learning the truth, and the opportunists who choose to parley with the rebels because of the tsar's disappearance, will be stepping up their plans.

We must catch them all.

What if some of them come to their senses?

Then let us hope we will see their anxious or excited familiar faces in the procession welcoming His Imperial Majesty's return.

He has given them plenty of opportunities with those days of bargaining and probing.

It seems the malaise of Ursus runs deep.

Yes, Vasha, it does. We must hope that we are not too late to cut its tumors.