The Nilfs arrived a little later than the estimated time, but since the gates were closed, they had to stand in front of them for a while.
"Hito soyyyyy?"
Mitch apparently decided to mock the Nilfs by playing the village idiot who can barely speak.
"Open up! We are envoys of the Nilfgaard Empire!"
I nestled myself against the wall and listened with a chuckle as after hitting the gate a couple more times the chief representative of the Nilfs shouted those words.
"Kukoi kukoi umperiai?"
I snorted quietly.
"Open up!"
Chief Nilf had not given up hope of easily getting into the fortress and although I had not given such a task and even on the contrary asked to let them in, but I was not going to interfere with a little fun. At least not until the entertainment had crossed a certain boundary.
"What do I have to open?"
"I say, messengers from Nilfgaard, to Lady Enchantress Jennyfair of Wengerberg!"
"The Enchantress?"
"Yes, to her!"
"And what do you want?"
"Open the gate!"
"Why?"
"Talk to her!"
Nilf began to shout louder, apparently he had less patience. But it's all right, let him stand a little while, in front of the gate...
I quickly contacted Ciri.
"Ciri, question, is it your principle to meet the Nilfs first?"
"No... why?"
"Now, wait, I'll start the broadcast, so listen carefully, maybe you'll hear something useful..."
Saying that, I plugged my girls into the conversation as well, as well as Triss and Ian.
"...Mitch I think it's gonna be another five minutes of mocking your father's men."
And this shot did not disappoint me, he continued his mockery of the Nilfs pretending to be shallow. This drew laughter from all the girls, who knew that Mitch is actually quite erudite. So watching him at this point, or rather listening to him mock, was just very enjoyable.
"How many times?! Open the gate!"
О... Nilf's nerves are shot.
"I'm not a goalie. I don't open gates."
"You're an uneducated hillbilly. Why have you been bugging us for so long?!"
"What's that like? Driving? I don't think there's a horse under me."
Mitch played confused and totally misunderstood and honestly, at this point, I wanted to scream: I believe it!!!!
"Shut up and call someone who can open the gate!!!"
"You don't have to yell. We've got a lot of them here. Hurry up and get that one."
I decided to take pity on the Nilfs, and as I quickly climbed down from the wall I noticed Mitch's face change a little as I approached, but I quickly gestured for him to take it easy. Then I gave him a thumbs up and after that he relaxed a little.
"Who's there?"
"Who are you?! We're here to see Mistress Enchantress Jennyfair of Wengerberg! Open the gate!"
"You talk to me! I didn't ask who! I asked who? Or are you an uneducated redneck who can't tell the difference between the two?!"
I didn't even try to hide my mockery.
"How did you..."
Nilf gasped with indignation.
"...I am Captain Sir Kurcht of the Nilvgaard Army, Third Division!"
"Uh-huh. wait!
"What?!"
"Uh, yeah. I'll go to the Enchantress and see if she'll let you in or not. Whatever Madam Enchantress decides, that's how it'll be!"
I grinned as I stepped away from the gate, heading toward the building Ian was now in, but she didn't wait for me to reach her.
"David, that's all well and good, but come on, let them in."
"Are you sure?"
I froze in place without even thinking about turning back toward the gate.
"What else is there to do? If they want to talk to me, let them talk to me."
"Suit yourself..."
I shrugged and turned around.
"Ian, don't you want to play the bitch in front of them?"
Ciri's voice was full of anticipation.
"Ciri, what kind of language is that?!"
Ian was outraged to the core by such expressions on the part of her pupil. Ian was indignant at the way her pupil had spoken.
"Why are you snorting?"
"Cen, Ciri's a big girl, she's already found a man, so she can talk the way she wants."
Triss' voice was lightly mocking her friend. But it was clear from her tone that she didn't mean to offend her, only to jab her a little.
"What are you teaching your kid?!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"
Ciri couldn't keep silent when she was called such names. It was understandable, who would be pleased to be treated like a child. But there was not only indignation in her voice, but also a touch of mockery.
"What?"
"Ian, if I'm a child, what are you? An old lady?"
"Ciri..."
The sorceress' voice was threatening. She was a girl, after all, and she didn't like being addressed in such a way. She was a girl, after all, and this was not to her liking, though she had a hint of amusement and mockery in her tone as well as Ciri's.
"...be careful what you say. After all, this old woman, as you put it, is a sorceress and may well turn you into a frog... Not for long, just for a week, so you learn your lesson."
"Yeah, yeah. Dangerous sorceress, so you don't want to mess with the Nilfs?"
There was still a touch of mockery in Ciri's voice.
"What are we going to do with you?!"
Ian showed a slightly contrived indignation, though immediately after she switched to a mockingly businesslike tone.
"What do you want from me?"
"Just so you can greet them the way you do... arrogantly, haughtily, contemptuously. Speaking through your lip, remember your past, when you were in aristocratic circles and..."
Ciri spoke quickly and with a lot of enthusiasm in her voice.
"I hear you..."
There was a tiredness and discontent in Yen's voice, behind which she tried to hide the anticipation of such an action.
"I apologize for barging in..."
Kiwi spoke in a quiet, calm voice that read mockery.
"...but was anyone fooled by Ian's words right now? I mean, she was clearly anticipating how she was about to stomp on those Nilfs. How she would literally smear and thin."
"Kiwi ..."
One word, and Kiwi must have realized she'd said something unnecessary and no, there wasn't an ounce of threat in that word spoken by Ian. Just a promise. Not even that, there was a promise. A promise that she would remember and recall those words.
"Ian, come on, have you thought about what you're going to say and how you're going to say it?"
Triss decided to intervene in the conversation and try to save Kiwi from her friend's revenge, who could get back at her with words that would have been better than beating her. But, knowing Ian and the relationship between her and my girls, I was sure I shouldn't worry, and she'd limit herself to jokes and teasing without crossing the line.
"Outline..."
"Okay, then I open the gate?"
"Uh-huh...
There was anticipation in Ian's voice.
"I just have one question..."
"Which is what?"
Triss decided to ask me what my question was, managing to do so a split second before Ian did, so she only had to confirm her interest.
"Yeah, which one?"
"Who do I introduce myself as?"
"What do you mean?"
Ian was a little confused at this kind of question.
"Well... I am in fact the owner of the Order of Aldecaldo, which has taken the place of the Order of the Witches of the Wolf School. Which begs the question. we can't hide the fact that the place has been revitalized, just the sight of a renovated fortress should let them know that things have changed. Unless, of course, they're idiots."
I shook my head, though of course no one but Mitch and the others in the yard at the time saw that.
"Just as we can't hide the fact that there are more people here, neither can we hide the weapons, which are literally visible in some places when approaching the fortress. Of course, they will not be able to understand what these weapons are, but they must understand that they are very strange."
"Hmmm..."
A thoughtful hum from Ian's side was my answer.
"Just say Order of Aldecaldo."
Ciri stepped into the conversation.
"And they don't need to know more than that, and when it's my turn to show up in front of the Nilfs..."
Pronouncing the abbreviation of Nilfgaard Empire warriors that I had introduced, she snorted derisively.
"...then we will declare your order as an order subordinate directly to me, which will fulfill the role of my bodyguards and guards."
I nodded my head and walked back to the gate.
"Hey, open the gate!"
One of my shouts and the gates begin to open, and they do it extremely smoothly and without any creaks and extraneous noises. In general, when the natives of this world realized that such gates can be opened quietly, they just stood there dumbfounded and shocked looking at these gates. And when they found out that the gate could only be opened by a single representative of the clan...
They were blue screened for about ten minutes.
This is because the natives of this world are accustomed to massive and awkward mechanisms that, at best, must be operated by four people. In doing so, they make a lot of noises, from the rotation of the drums themselves and the clinking of the chain to many other extraneous noises.
The gate opened, and I looked at the Nilfs with a smirk.
"Which one of you is in charge?"
"I."
A haughty look was thrown at me. I only grinned.
"You follow me, your men stay in the courtyard and don't go anywhere, if they do, they'll be killed on sight. Is that clear?"
I had a smirk on my lips, but my voice was completely indifferent. I spoke in a tone that made it clear that I didn't give a damn about the squad, and I didn't see them as a significant force.
"How did you..."
You could hear the indignation in Nilf's voice.
"If you keep talking, I'll kick you out of here."
"Who the hell are you?!"
"Me? I'm the commander of the Order of Aldecaldo. That's all you need to know."
"But it's a witch fortress..."
You could hear the disbelief in that very captain's voice.
"I told you, you don't need to know the big stuff. Come on in and dismount."
The nilfs, looking around suspiciously, entered the courtyard of the castle and behind their backs, at my gesture, the gates quietly burrowed open. They slowly dismounted, and I turned around and walked toward the main castle building.
"Where to?!"
A short blow and the sound of falling armor, or rather a man in that armor, and the rustle of blades being pulled out was heard.
I froze and slowly looked around.
"I think I said..."
"Your man struck my warrior!"
"My man is following my orders."
My voice was cold, and I made it clear that the captain and his men were only a fraction of an instant away from death.
"As I said only you follow me, and if your man is incapable of fulfilling the simple demands of the master of this fortress and thinks that being a member of the Empire's army makes him special."
I give Nilf a murderous look that makes him take a step back.
"he'll be a special-- a special corpse that you will bring back to your empire.
He raised his hand as if to signal his readiness and the captain immediately backtracked.
"That's enough! I got it!"
He froze, but I only raised an eyebrow without moving my hand, then he slowly turned back to his men.
"Sheathe your weapon!"
"But..."
The voices of several of his subordinates sounded uncertain and somehow incomprehensible. They were obviously confused by such behavior of their superiors. But I noted for myself that this particular captain had a very well-developed ass sense. He had already managed to assess the situation and having listened to this feeling realized that in case of a conflict neither he nor his men would be able to escape alive.
"I gave the order!"