The relatively short trek seemed to last forever, and my unease only grew with each step I took. Could my Empire already have collapsed so quickly? What could possibly have happened in the short time I’d been away tending to my Realm to make things take such a turn for the worse? Tási sensed my mounting concern and gave my hand a slight squeeze of reassurance as we climbed the steps into the Palace.
“It might not be bad news at all,” she tried to comfort me. “There could be any number of reasons why the King needed to leave ahead of schedule.”
“Name one,” I challenged her.
“I can’t,” she reluctantly confessed after a moment. “But that doesn’t mean there isn’t one.”
“Thank the Gods you’re back,” Broda exclaimed as she came out to greet us. “We’ve been looking all over for you.”
“What happened?” I asked her urgently. “What went wrong?”
“Wrong? What makes you think something went wrong?” Broda replied.
“If everything’s fine, why did the King leave ahead of schedule?” I asked her in complete confusion.
“We agreed to terms over the summit,” Broda explained. “Once everything was taken care of, my uncle felt it would be best to start negotiating with the rulers of Lorida and Íforn as soon as possible. Our situation will be somewhat precarious until we secure their place in your Empire, so we decided to begin that process immediately. He wanted to say farewell in person, but when we couldn’t find you, he asked me to offer his goodbyes to you in his stead.”
I hadn’t even imagined that the discussion over the coming meeting with the two monarchs would have been resolved so quickly. It seemed almost inconceivable, but I should have known better. That word simply had no meaning as far as I was concerned, as my past should have reminded me. The impossible was a regular occurrence wherever I held any influence, and the difficult was simply an everyday event.
“What were the conditions you settled on?” I asked her, with a sense of relief.
“We will be hosting, the King was quite insistent on that,” Broda replied. “He will let us know the exact day to expect their arrival, but my uncle is hoping to have everything in place so that the summit occurs in about two months’ time.”
“Is that long enough for us to be ready?”
“Venna believes so,” Broda smiled back at me. “She made it to us in time to relay your little bribe. My uncle thought that it just may be enough to coax the others to agree to come along. If not to actually join us, then at least to see the upstart with the temerity to blackmail them so brazenly.”
“Brazen is my middle name,” I finally retuned her grim
“I’ll bet it is,” Tási mumbled under her breath.
She was still holding my hand, so when I heard her little jab, I sent a tiny ball of warning into her as she stood by my side. Not enough to truly cause any issues, but more than enough to let her know that she was on thin ice, and when I felt her body stiffen in response, I knew that my message had been received.
“That’s cheating,” she whispered.
“Not if you’ve been warned about it in advance,” I whispered back to her. “And you have.”
Evans left as soon as he knew there was no danger, interrupting our furtive discussion. Once we learned that the King’s unexpected departure didn’t portend any threat to our Realm, his presence was no longer required, and he rushed back to the Garrison, ostensibly to see to his duties there. While I had no doubt that was the case, I also knew that he sought to escape any further prodding from me regarding his relationship with Hollyn.
Once the First Marshal was gone, and with my fears allayed, I decided to conclude my tour of the Realm with one last stop. It would be a visit that was long overdue, and quite possibly the most productive destination of the day. So, with a great deal of anticipation, I sought out Ridge to see what he was working on now that the Palace had been completed.
We located the elemental and his assistant rather easily, as he was building the wall that formed the bulk of the fortress around the Palace. He noticed us as we approached and set aside the heavy block he was about to drop in place when I walked up to him.
“Well done, Ridge, you’re moving very fast,” I complimented him.
“There is still much more to be done, Sintári,” he replied in his typical gravelly baritone.
“Do you intend to finish the fortress now?” I asked.
“Yes,” he replied. “And then we will move on to the defenses along the canyon before moving to the top of the cliff and building the guard towers there. That will complete most of your fortifications. Once we finish those, I will begin work on the structures above the valley.”
That last item was quite ambitions, and even at Ridge’s steady pace would likely entail years of work for him. The plans for the flat plateau above the valley included an entire city, surrounded by a ring of lookout towers. It was envisioned as the site for a major city, with literally dozens, if not hundreds of structures designated for that massive area.
“Would it interfere with your efforts if I dismissed you briefly?” I asked him. “I promise to call you right back, but I need to test something out.”
“That should not cause me any problems, Sintári,” he responded flatly.
Ridge was definitely not one who required much in the way of formalities, so I simply nodded back to him and cancelled the Spell that held him in my service. After waiting just a moment for the magic to dissipate, I cast Summon Elemental again, and once he yielded to my will, Ridge rose from the ground at my feet once again.
Ding!
“Thank you Ridge, that was very helpful,” I said gratefully.
“I am here to serve you, Sintári,” he replied as he resumed his work.
“What just happened?” Tási asked as we moved away from the construction zone.
“I’m not quite sure yet,” I replied. “But I think I just confirmed a theory of mine. I’ll let you know once were back in our quarters.”
While I trusted my guards completely, and I knew that they would undoubtedly learn a great number of my secrets as they served so closely beside me, I wasn’t going to simply give everything away to them either. So, I held off on pulling up the message I had received until after we returned to our chambers and we were finally alone.
“I had been gaining proficiency in my summoning talent while I held Ridge and his assistant here,” I began explaining to Tási. “But that stopped once I reached 39%.”
“I think that passive means won’t allow me to advance any further than that,” I lied, knowing full well that my Manipulation talents continued to advance beyond that point, but that was a secret that I wasn’t about to divulge to anyone—not even Tási.
“So, I dismissed Ridge and resummoned him to test my theory.”
“I assume that it worked?” Tási asked.
“Let’s find out,” I replied as I opened up the UI.
You have reached 40% proficiency with the Spell, Summon Elemental, and have gained the ability to summon beings from the Air sphere in addition to Earth elementals.
“Wow!” Tási exclaimed as I read the message aloud. “I wonder what they can do?”
“I have no idea,” I replied. “That’s all the information I have right now, but unless they can help build the defenses or do something else useful, I’m not sure that it’s worth slowing down Ridge’s efforts to summon one.”
“How would that slow him down?” Tási asked.
I realized that I had never told her how much more difficult it had been to summon a second elemental, and how even more challenging binding a third would be. Or the disastrous consequences that would occur should I fail. Venna had been the one who stood by me when I summoned Ridge’s helper, and I had never explained the process to Tási.
“After the first one, it’s harder to summon each elemental,” I told her. “Summoning the second one wasn’t too difficult, but the third will be much harder. If I fail, the creature will most likely
attack me, and I don’t want to have to deal with that, so I’d have to dismiss Ridge’s helper if I want to even try.”
“But what if it can help somehow?” She prodded me.
“I’ll ask Ridge what he knows about Air elementals later,” I decided. “If he can tell me anything useful, it might be worth the attempt. If not, then I think I’ll let it wait until he’s done with the defenses before I try. I’d like to have those finished before I slow him down any more.”
Unfortunately, while Ridge knew a great deal about his counterparts, the Air elementals, he was not aware of what limitations would be placed on them as summoned creatures. Apparently, Ridge’s capabilities as a free elemental were quite different than what he was permitted to do once I had bound him, and we surmised that the same would be true of any spirits I summoned from the other elemental spheres. So, without anything firm to rely on, I decided to wait until he completed the Fortress and the rest of the defenses before dismissing his assistant and summoning the new elemental.
Over the next weeks and months, Venna and Broda worked together to direct most of our efforts in preparation for the coming summit. They seemed to mostly focus on ensuring that the Palace itself was ready to host the large number of functionaries that would undoubtedly accompany the royals on their visit, and with the chamberlain’s help, directed the stonemasons and carpenters to complete the finishing touches on the many rooms and quarters that we would need to both support and house the multitudes we were expecting.
Their cause was bolstered by the arrival of two more caravans of new settlers. The first came from Dhel-Ar and was full of the recruits that the King had promised to raise for us. Nearly all of them were either skilled crafters or trained soldiers, and they immediately improved both our production and defenses.
The second caravan came from the east and underwent a great deal of scrutiny as that was the direction in which Olóra lay. Our attention to this fact was rewarded when Khorim uncovered the third assassin hiding amongst the many refugees from that land’s xenophobic policies. Unfortunately, King Gilfri had apparently learned his lesson from the previous two failures, and the blood clause in this assassin’s contract caused him to lose his life as soon as we discovered him. Whatever foul magic had been used to kill the assassin rendered him beyond the powers of normal resurrection, and I was tempted to raise him with Death’s Embrace to question him.
“Don’t,” Venna halted me as I approached his shattered body.
They had brought me to see the corpse as a simple formality, and I thought perhaps bringing the killer back might yield more answers for us, so I was puzzled by her reluctance.
“He will know nothing more than the other,” Venna explained when I looked at her questioningly. “Likely even less since the two previous failures. You’ll only waste the magic of the rod for the day and prevent yourself from being able to bring back someone worthier should any mishap occur.”
It was an interesting point she’d made, one I had failed to consider for myself. I would have to drain all three charges from Death’s Embrace to raise the piece of shit who had come here to kill me, leaving me with no means to bring anyone else back should there be a need. However unlikely that might be, it was simply not worth the risk to waste all the rod’s power on scum like him. So, instead of questioning the most recent assassin, we were left with merely searching his body for clues.
Unfortunately, all we discovered during our inspection were the same assortment of blades and a stuffed coin pouch just like with the others. After the last assassin was caught, I had decided on a more modest bounty for any future boons and had the contents of the killer’s purse divided equally between the Realm’s treasury and the unit that had uncovered his presence. Even with the reduction, the sum of over fifty Talons that Khorim’s men had to divide between them was a tremendous fortune, and they were more than satisfied with their reward.
“Gilfri will know of the invocation of the assassin’s blood clause,” Khorim opined. “With two such failures, he may not only be reluctant to send another, but will also very likely have a hard time finding anyone willing to take the risk.”
“Do you have any information from Olóra?” I asked him. “Have your sources been able to tell you anything?”
“The King keeps his secrets close, I’m afraid,” Khorim lamented. “The few I’ve found who are brave enough to talk know little of his plans. They are only able to tell me of his continued harassment of any non-elven people within his lands, and the growing hostility towards even those who dare to have dealings with them.”
All of this was already quite well-known to us, as the same story had been told by nearly every refugee that had come to us from that Realm. Tale after tale of the harassment from Gilfri’s men that had sent them fleeing from their homes, desperate to find somewhere safe from his tyranny. In this regard Gilfri’s xenophobia was a boon to me, as I benefitted by receiving a large number of very skilled people who were more than eager to help build my Realm. In fact, this most recent caravan had been the largest to reach us by far, and brought over two-hundred new souls to our lands.
Between the two caravans, we were able to not only fully man the Garrison’s defenses, but also began assigning troops to both the still unnamed fortress and to what my companions had begun to refer to as The Imperial Palace, at least when they thought I wasn’t listening too closely. The chamberlain was also relieved to receive several of his former staff members into his service, and finally had the makings of a true Palace organization under his control.
The caravans that came to us were not the only ones to provide us with boons during that time. Faine and our people at the outpost on the trade route regularly bargained for us with the passing trade caravans for the many items we still needed that were beyond our ability to produce for ourselves. She procured an almost unlimited variety of things to meet our needs, such as spices and spirits not only for both the upcoming diplomatic summit, but also for our own daily use. Fabric and cloth for both common clothing and Birt’s fine garments came to us alongside nails and bolts and hinges to supplement the output of our own forges. In short, anything she thought we might need, Faine bought from the caravans that sought shelter in the safety of her outpost.
With all the new help, and plenty of supplies, our preparations for the summit went even faster than we had anticipated, so when we received word from Dhel-Ar that a date had been set, we were more than ready to receive our guests.
20
The arrival of the heads of state was planned out much as the dwarven King’s had been, with both Venna and Broda meeting the monarchs once they’d arrived at the Palace. As much as I would have liked to have seen the looks on their faces as the royals passed by the honor guard that we set out for them, I decided against another clandestine flight. Although Bane and I had many more chances to practice our flying, I was still very uncomfortable clinging to his neck for dear life as he flew so high in the air. Besides, I had a different plan in mind for him this time.
Instead, I settled for observing their arrival at the Palace from one of the high balconies that overlooked the main Palace gates. A large green banner with my sigil on it draped down from the towering heights above the arching doorway, presenting a rather grand spectacle for our visitors. The presence of representatives from all our various military units with their different colored capes only enhanced the grandeur of the display we had so carefully arranged, and I regretted not being there in person to gauge their reactions. I soothed myself with the knowledge that, if this summit was successful, it would be the last time that I let myself bend to the old traditions of this world. The alliance would allow me to declare myself openly, and once I did, I would begin establishing my own set of protocols. But at the time, I was stuck observing from far above. So, when the escorts for the visiting delegations came into sight, I settled in to watch their approach.
Immediately, I realized that something was off—instead of the three delegations we had expected,
there were four distinct groups filing towards the Palace gates. Alarm bells sounded in my head for a moment, but I quickly stifled them when I saw that no one below seemed to share my reaction. I realized that if the unknown group had not only failed to raise their suspicions, but gotten past Field Marshal Evans’ scrutiny, they were likely not the threat that I’d initially feared they might be. Still, my curiosity was stirred, and I peered down below to watch as the procession made its way to the doors of my Palace.
The King of Lorida, wearing the red colors of his noble house, was easy for me to spot as he approached Broda and Venna first. This was as I expected, since the order that they would be received had been another carefully negotiated point. Far out of the range of my hearing, a brief exchange of pleasantries ensued below before the King and his retinue were escorted inside by members of the Palace staff, clad in the matching livery that Birt and Wenda had been able to finish for us with the aid of a few seamstresses that were also in my employ.
Next to be greeted was Queen Líann of Íforn, who was also easily identified by her forest green garb. The fact that her colors almost matched my own caused us a small bit of trouble, but Birt had made sure that the outfits we wore at the reception that night would not mirror each other’s too closely. In fact, he had sworn to outdo his elven counterpart, and put the Queen’s somewhat legendary beauty to the test.
Broda’s uncle should have been the next to be received, but instead, a blue-clad figure climbed up the stairs and was greeted by Venna and Broda. It was difficult for me to make out too much from so far away, and I struggled to identify anything other than that the person in question was a female of smaller stature. The interaction between them seemed quite relaxed, so I felt reassured that my earlier apprehension regarding our unknown guests was misplaced.
I would have continued to observe the dwarven King’s arrival as well, but my clandestine spying was interrupted by Tási as she burst onto the balcony.
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