by Dakota Krout
“Pardon my intrusion.” Dale tried to match the formality, and suddenly realized that he had no idea what to call them. While he had amazing insight into the Dark Court of the Elves, He had little to no idea how much would translate to Human politics. “Um. Your… Highness?”
The man sighed, “Please, I am really trying not to be discourteous, but if you are here to stare like the others were I would really like you to leave. I want a nap so badly that…”
Dale rallied, slipping into his most politically professional mindset. “No, I am here to introduce myself and discuss matters that require our combined attention. My hesitation was due to not knowing the proper title to address you. My name is Dale, Duke of the Huine nation, Baron of the Lion and Phoenix realms. I am the owner of this land.”
The man at the table blinked, a fast motion that turned slow, as though he were fighting to keep his eyes open. He opened his mouth to reply but was saved from answering by the other table occupant smoothly taking the reins of conversation. “Hello and welcome. Please, be seated. I am Crown Princess Marie of the Phoenix Kingdom. This Is Crown Prince Henry of the Lion Kingdom.”
She continued, introductions complete. “Thank you for taking the time to offer your respects as soon as you were able, and please join us so that we may discuss the issues you bring. Also, please be aware that neither of us have slept since the rumors of war have begun, so our meeting must be a short one as we still need to find an area to sleep.”
Dale sat down, “I can take care of that. I have quarters in the temple right now, and there is plenty of space available. A stone building, easily defensible,” he nodded at the nearby guards as he mentioned this, they obviously appreciated the gesture, “which is well-appointed and spacious. I hope it will serve until we are able to find sleeping arrangements more befitting you.”
Prince Henry waved away his concerns, “That will be wondrous, I have slept on nothing for long enough that anywhere is enough for me. I’d take a stable. Or the dungeon.”
“Agreed.” Marie intoned tiredly. “Thank you.”
“Please, think nothing of it.” Dale looked between these two, they were nothing like the other Nobles he had met thus far. Was this the difference between main and branch families? “The first thing I need to bring to your attention is that I currently have the Barons Adams — one from each of your Kingdoms — under lock and key.”
That woke them up, sharpening their gaze as they worked to keep their emotions in check. Marie spoke first, “May I ask… why they are under arrest?”
“Currently just being held, pending your judgement of course. Their first actions upon entering this area were to accost anyone nearby that happened to look their way. They had someone — at least one person — whipped for not knowing how to address them properly, my guards are still looking for him, as they told me he was being held for some reason.” Dale looked at the stony faces of the Royals.
“And?” Henry explosively sighed. “Until we come into our own inheritance, we cannot change the laws of the Kingdom. They have the right to act like the entitled snobs that they are. So, their people will eventually revolt and potentially overthrow them. There is less a chance if these selfsame snobs reach the B-rankings, I suppose. Dale, every Noble is master of his own land until they break crown law.”
“They also set their guards on me and threatened me with execution, if that means anything to you.” Dale offered, aghast at the casual acceptance of random beatings.
Henry caught his breath and looked at Marie, she shrugged. “Well,” Henry was glancing around, “what do you want to happen to them? Executing them, or even beating them, would start a war with the Baronies that we could ill afford right now.”
Dale shook his head, “Nothing so drastic. I want permission to create my own charter, a set of laws that visiting nobility will need to follow, else I can punish them. I intend to build this area into a city, and I don’t want people to think they can show up and attack my people! I would also like you to order them to follow my laws, on my land at least.”
Marie chuckled ruefully, “Your people, huh? Well Henry, we have been wanting to change the way peasants are treated, and he is offering this to us on a silver platter. If his area prospers we can use him as precedence for change.”
Henry nodded, “I’m with you. Sounds interesting, Dale. Since you already have an honorary title, I can make it a real title and bind your authority to this land. Unless superseded by my Father’s direct orders, I name you Baron Dale Phantom of the Barony Phantom.”
“As do I, Crown Princess Marie, name you Baron Dale Phantom of the Barony Phantom.” Marie laughed and looked at Henry, who was squinting at her. “It is contested land after all.” She turned her attention back to Dale, “I would like to see the charter you propose and offer my services to help fill potential, ah, gaps in your laws that others may attempt to take advantage of.”
“I offer my services as well!” Henry promised earnestly.
“Me too.” Princess Brianna faded into view, sitting at the table. The guards did not appreciate this.
“Treachery!”
“Assassins! Defend the-”
Brianna yelled over them as the guards began to move, “Oh, calm down already!” The guards stopped moving, cold sweat trickling down their brow as knives glittered against their throats. “Everyone! Stand down.” Dark Elves stepped away from the guards and vanished from sight. “Sorry, they were here to ensure there were no… misunderstandings as we met.”
Henry replied surprisingly mildly, though his face was ashen. “As you did not assassinate us, I am rather pleased to meet you. It is not every day that a Royal meets a Moon-Elf, and the Princess at that if I am guessing correctly. More rare to survive the encounter…” He finished with a question in his voice.
The guards were not as pleased as the Prince pretended to be, closing ranks around the human Royals and glaring at the lounging Elf, who grinned and twiddled her fingers at them, trying to rile them up. From their prune-colored faces, she was succeeding.
Her demeanor shifting, she sat up and became serious. “I am very glad that you have granted Dale the powers of a landed Baron, he is a good man. You though,” she eyed the Royals carefully, “from what I hear about you, you are working to downplay the power of Nobles, taking away their near-omnipotent power in their own lands. I hear that you are planning to give peasants similar rights to the Noble classes, and plan to distribute cultivation techniques and abilities to them so they can live longer, as well as do more than live their lives simply and peacefully. Is this true?”
Henry looked pained, so Marie again took the lead and nodded, “Yes.” She said simply.
“Excellent. You are taking the same step that Elves took long ago.” Brianna’s lips twisted into a genuine smile, “There are risks and side effects to this plan of action. Once a critical mass of the population cultivates heavily, reproduction rates slow. At that point they will cultivate more, trying to solve the issue. Eventually, your people will not be able to survive long without a constant influx of Essence, but they will be stronger, smarter, and healthier than ever before.”
The known and well explained consequences of their plans seemed to take the Royals by surprise, but they also seemed heartened by the cheerful outlook Brianna had painted for them.
“I will have my people draw up a charter with Dale’s direction, and present it to you in a few weeks for you to ratify or amend. Is this reasonable to all?” A few glances between the humans and a nod. “Lovely. Now, if you order the Barons to apologize and make amends, they must do so, yes?”
“That is so.” Henry affirmed. “We can also order them to seek no revenge, in any form. When we are done with them, they will only be able to sing your praises, no matter how it pains them.”
Marie laughed tiredly, “I’ve been looking for a reason to put Adams on a short leash, ever since he had a maid executed for refusing his bed.”
Dale looked at her oddly, “Wait, people
can refuse orders? The way they looked at me when I told them ‘no’ made me think that orders were unconditional.”
“Only legal orders. Submitting to arrest or bowing when you have broken a law, even if it is a stupid law, is different. Rape is illegal no matter what Kingdom you reside in, and trying to use your position to force another into bed can be nothing else.” Henry had to take a deep breath to calm his emotions. The others looking at him forced him to explain, “I hate seeing my people abused. It is my duty to protect and provide for them, and every failure to do so is another stain on my soul.”
Dale nodded happily; he liked these people. “I feel that you would enjoy the company of my teammate, Tom. You have a similar manner of speech.”
“I would be pleased to meet him! The only Tom I know that speaks like me is a northern Barbarian, a giant red-haired Prince.” Henry chuckled at his memories. “Dale, while we are in town I’ll make sure to keep the other Nobles on a short leash. You likely won’t even see them for a week or so.”
Dale looked at Henry in horror, he had gotten caught on one part of the conversation. “Tom is a prince? Oh no… and I have him training with Hans. I need to leave, please make your way to the temple, I will arrange accommodations on my way.”
~Cal~
The Dani-possessed Cat stilled and looked at me, “Very much so. How are things going up above? Is that Half-Dwarf still at it?”
I looked, sure enough the Half-Dwarf was merrily swinging his pick, blasting holes in the rock face. If he continued for another few minutes he would be outside of the dungeon, and into the mountain proper.
The intrepid miner swung again, the force of his blow creating an opening outside of my influence, and therefore my sight. He gasped, eyes going wide. He fell to his knees, and tears sprang to his eyes. He reached forward with one hand, dropping his pick. Apparently, there was a buildup of some sort of gas, yup, now that it is in my influence I know it to be methane. The pick hit the ground and threw sparks, creating a minor explosion. Really it was just enough to throw the miner to the ground and shatter a few rocks.
He stood back up and stepped into the open area, outside of my vision. I watched for him for several moments, hearing his murmurs of glee and the pounding of his pick. He left within a half-hour or so, gleefully chuckling the whole time. I extended tendrils of influence into the area, widening my range as soon as was possible. I looked for anything that could have made him behave so out of character, but I found nothing. He must have done a very good job collecting whatever it was.
“No clue, sorry, I am going to keep training. Snowball is a little harder to control than the other Cats.”
While I was absorbing the rubble, a glint of metal caught my attention, and I looked at it closely. Aluminum? Was that what had excited him so much? There was so much aluminum in the stones and dirt that I had never bothered to give it out. Surely, it was exceedingly common, right?
I pondered on this all night, whilst repairing and upgrading certain portions of the deeper levels. When daylight started trickling down from above, and I felt the stirring of restless feet at the entrance, I turned my attention to the first group to step in. Dale and his people of course.
He flinched, looking around for new or sudden traps. “Can’t you just leave me alone? I’ve been doing what you ask, can I at least not get bothered by your incessant nattering?”
Dale looked a bit hurt at these words, I think I may have struck a nerve. “If you must know, I own the mountain. I was a sheep-herder when I found this place, and was given enough money to purchase the land for a pittance. Now, people are magically forced to listen to me when I tell them to leave.”
“You do not own me. I am a free man, and I will not-” Whatever he would not do was interrupted as I shut down the nerves running to his legs, and he bonelessly toppled to the floor. Nice, I hadn’t been sure I could do that!
Returning control of Dale’s legs, I waited for him to make an excuse to the others before continuing to talk.
“Oh, right.” I heard Dale mutter under his breath.
My connection to Dale slammed closed, only a tiny tendril of power remaining between us. If I had eyes I would have blinked in surprise.
“I can still hear you. Damn.” Dale thought with deep overtones of exasperation.
“Why should I tell you? What do I get out of it?” Greedy little human.
“No thanks.”
What the…?
“I have many, but I feel that giving you any information would be a bad deal for me.” Dale went back to trying to ignore me. That wouldn’t do at all.
“Oh, you are finally going to give up your pretense at being neutral? I bet Hans would survive, and the first time I felt you weren’t playing fair I would tell him. Then they would find a way to come and kill you permanently. My understanding is that dungeons who do stuff like that are destroyed quickly.” Dale rebutted, making me almost growl in frustration. I could tell that he wasn’t bluffing.
“Dale, look out!” Tom cried, making Dale spin around with his weapon at the ready. His team looked at him in confusion and he blushed, murmuring something about hearing a noise.
“Did you just fake Tom’s voice in my mind?” Dale thought at me.
“This is an agreeable compromise for now, I suppose. That is, as long as you swear to do nothing to distract me or create unfair situations for me or my team.” Dale sent thoughtfully. “This deal continues permanently, I assume.”
“Nope, if you think about that, I asked no question. You just supplied me with information.” Oh dear, it seems someone has been teaching Dale how to be crafty, now I was worried. “My first question is this: Do you actually have no control over me right now, or are you playing with my head to get answers?”
“Something that Dark Elves in political positions are taught early on in their career is that people can be controlled or influenced by others that are trained to do so. I tightened my aura, leaving less room for outside influences to penetrate.” Dale didn’t make it sound easy, but I was still a bit worried about this. Is that the real reason I shouldn’t create reasoning Mobs in here? Because if they worked out this method, I would lose control of them totally? Hmm. Something to think about.
“I’ve heard you talking to someone else, who is it?” Was Dale’s next question. I looked at Dani, who gave me a look that clearly said ‘no’.