Blue Core, page 74
part #1 of Blue Core Series
By the time she dissolved the stage, the crowd she’d left behind was in higher spirits and better cheer than she’d seen in years. A little bit longer and she was back into manor, where she took a moment just in case Blue had somehow missed what was going on. He seemed to be distracted enough at times that she couldn’t be sure he’d caught the meeting with the Ells, and Shayma would probably want to know about it. So far he’d been pretty responsive when she addressed him directly, so she invoked his name and invited Shayma to join the discussion.
Shayma popped into existence a few minutes later, just outside the door of Iniri’s office. The guards didn’t even twitch, which was probably a bad habit to get in to. Admittedly, proper palaces were warded against teleportation, but that just meant that anyone who could bypass it was a real threat.
"I missed a speech?" Shayma asked, waving as she came in the door but still not looking quite as cheerful as usual. "Blue says it really stirred everyone up. Also you want to talk to my parents?"
"Yes, to both." Iniri replied. "The speech was mostly to tell people about the army and about moving the city. The reason I want to talk to your folks is I need trusted agents and I think they fit. But I don’t want to do that behind your back, especially since you’re effectively royalty."
"Royalty?" Shayma blinked.
"Your Class is Noble Trickster," Iniri said dryly. "That’s not merely a label. Usually nobility classes are a specific rank, like mine, but since your position is unique I wouldn’t expect yours to develop the same way."
"Oh." Shayma looked taken aback, which amused Iniri since the fox-girl had been acting as if she had noble status for a while. She just hadn’t realized it.
"Anyway, I hope you don’t have any objection. Considering you’re their daughter, Blue might have first claim on offering them a job."
"No, that would just be weird." Shayma grimaced. "Blue thinks so too. Also that he doesn’t really have a way to communicate with them or even tasks they could do. Though he does want to make them some gear." Her dour look flashed to a smile for a moment. "Aww, that’s sweet, Blue."
Iniri suppressed a grimace. The only thing she’d seen Blue make aside from the Primal Sources was a gods-damned Artifact and she didn’t like the idea of him handing those out like candy. If he was going to, though, the Ells were probably reasonable enough recipients.
"They should be here soon," Iniri said, waving at the doorway. "For what it’s worth, by the way, I don’t think you missed much with the speech. My Skills did a lot of the heavy lifting, and since one of them is a Blue-given Skill I don’t know that it would affect you."
"I have noticed some things not entirely affecting me," Shayma agreed, then stopped as Sienne and Giorn were passed through the door and went down on one knee.
"You may rise," Iniri said, just in time for Shayma to hop out of her seat and pull first one, then the other into a hug. She felt a small pang as she watched, even though her own parents had died long ago. The Ells were truly lucky that their family had survived the invasion and aftermath intact.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Sienne said after Shayma let her go. "What is it you need from us?"
"Actually, I thought I’d offer you something to make up for the fact that your daughter wound up bound to and pregnant by a Power." The moment it slipped out she knew how gauche it was to say, but apparently she still had certain things at the back of her brain.
"Pregnant!?" Both Giorn and Sienne stared at Shayma.
"You didn’t tell them?" Iniri asked curiously.
"It’s not what you think!" Shayma held up her hands. "It’s not an actual baby, it’s a dungeon seed and will let Blue expand elsewhere."
"My poor heart can’t take this." Sienne muttered, then looked abashed "Sorry, Your Majesty."
"No, no, I feel the same way when dealing with Blue and Shayma." Iniri smiled. "Please, sit." The three fox-kin all took chairs, though Giorn comically outsized his, and looked at her expectantly.
"Sienne and Giorn, as you can imagine I am lacking in higher-level Classers that I can trust. I’m sure most of the ones here are fine citizens, but that is not the same as empowering them to act in the Crown’s name." The two fox-kin exchanged a glance.
"Are you suggesting some sort of title, Your Majesty?" Giorn asked.
"Crown Marshall." Iniri didn’t try to lead into it. "We don’t exactly have your records here but I know Shayma personally, and Cheya has no qualms about your reliability." The [Spymistress] was off on one of her errands, but they’d already discussed the Ells in depth. "The fact that you, in particular, didn’t come to my attention speaks well of you." She nodded at Sienne. "Void users are terribly dangerous."
"The Ell family inheritance helps us avoid the normal issues of void Affinity," Sienne said. "But Crown Marshall? I’m not familiar…"
"Neither of us are from Tarnil originally," Giorn added.
"It isn’t used often," Iniri said. "Mostly in times of crisis like this when we don’t have a government to carry out the Crown’s will."
"Wait, then how does Blue know what it is?" Shayma frowned, head cocked and ears twitching.
"How does Blue know anything?" Iniri favored Shayma with a wry grin. "At this point I’ve stopped being surprised by things like this."
Shayma snorted, but the usual amusement wasn’t there. Whatever had bothered her earlier still was on her mind, which was fairly unusual in Iniri’s experience. Shayma tended to shrug things off, so this really had to be something. She’d left it alone before, but thinking about it more maybe it was her business. Not as a queen, but as a friend, something she’d almost forgotten ever since they’d taken shelter with Blue and events had proceeded apace. Shayma’s parents being there could be good or bad, depending on what the issue was. She’d just have to be careful not to push too hard.
"What happened, Shayma?" She asked. "I know I called this meeting for you," she nodded at Sienne and Giorn, "but Shayma has been grumpy since this morning." The two older fox-kin turned to look at their daughter in perfect synchronization.
"It’s not anything dangerous or world-ending," Shayma sighed. "I just…" Her tail lashed once, shoulders sagging and ears drooping. "Ansae’s been listening to Blue talk to me without telling us."
"Ansae?" Sienne arched an inquisitive eyebrow
"Just an ancient dragon Power that hangs out with Blue," Iniri said, enjoying the stares that got. She wasn’t entirely certain who Ansae was yet. Given how old she was, she could be any one of a dozen legendary dragons from the other continents who hadn’t been confirmed dead. None of them were Powers, last she’d heard, but that didn’t mean anything. History recorded at least three dragon Powers, starting with the Silver Woe, so it wasn’t too outlandish to think Ansae was one too. "So the problem is that she was spying on you two?"
"I thought we were friends," Shayma sighed. "I don’t know why she’d do it, and I don’t know why Blue isn’t more upset."
"I expect it’s because he and Ansae aren’t friends." Iniri said, contemplating Shayma. She understood a little bit of why Shayma was so bothered. To her, a couple of weeks of spying on an ally was nothing. But spying on a friend? "Shayma, I suspect Blue isn’t that upset because he would have done the same thing. You realize when you first showed up, I had Cheya look into your background so I could be sure that you were safe to be around." Shayma made a face.
"Really?" She asked, incredulous. Iniri nodded, and Sienne added her own thoughts to the conversation.
"Dear, people like dragons and Powers…" She looked over to Iniri for a moment, eyes hooded in thought. "They’re like rulers. Any sort of power, of any type, draws the unsavory sorts who want to use that power for their own purposes. From aristocrats to demigods. Those who wield that power have to temper any personal relation with caution. In a way, for them anyone they don’t know is like a wild beast. You may want to trust your horse, but you’re still going to keep an eye on her to see whether she’s sneaking out of her stall."
"I’m a fox, not a horse," Shayma muttered.
"The point is," Giorn said. "When you’re dealing with such powerful people, you have to expect that sort of game. If you want to be friends like...like normal, I guess, you have to be completely on their side. Which I guess means Blue has to be completely on her side too."
"Or she on his," Iniri amended. "Which may be entirely possible, given that she’s lairing in Blue somewhere already." Shayma scowled, but nodded reluctantly. Iniri didn’t think she’d really taken the argument to heart, not just yet, but it was a start. Besides, she did have business she wanted to get on with.
"Back to the discussion," Iniri said. "A Crown Marshall is my personal agent. Messages that can’t be carried otherwise, or rendering aid that only a high-level Classer can. I’ll freely admit that one reason is because of Shayma. She represents Blue, and given how deeply my interests are entwined with his I’ll need someone to go with her on some occasions who can keep necessary secrets or bear necessary authority." Not to mention that if Sienne and Giorn were representing her, Shayma might be slightly more mindful of Iniri’s prerogatives than she otherwise would.
The irony of the charge was not lost on her. She was immediately setting her parents in a position to keep an eye on Shayma with the sort of caution that had her friend so irritated. But there was nothing else for it.
"I’m not sure how I feel about getting a job through my daughter," Sienne said dubiously.
"That’s just a bonus. Getting into the third tiers as a duo clearly demonstrates your competence, and your levels and Classes show you have more than enough individual power for the role. The only thing that might be in doubt is your loyalty, and after meeting Shayma I well enough believe you’ve put roots down here."
"Well, I say we accept." Giorn said. "I think we’re adventured out for now, with Shayma safe, and it’s not like any of the caravans are going to be coming back here anytime soon."
"I saw Duenn," Shayma added. "It was completely changed and I doubt Invin is any different. The shop is probably gone too."
"I liked the shop," Sienne sighed. "It had all my stuff." She focused on Iniri. "The Ell family is not supposed to be here. Our relationship with our parent house of Anell is…" Her mouth twisted wryly. "Complicated, to say the least, but the house of Ell, with our [Void Rapier] heritage, rising to prominence here outside of their control could result in some deep unpleasantness from our homeland."
"I understand," Iniri told her firmly, and she did. Hearing that the Ells were related to Anell, and not too distantly, was a bit of a surprise. They were a massive and incredibly old dynasty from the continent of Einteril, but their reach didn’t extend out to Tarnil so the Ells were probably fairly safe. She didn’t know exactly what had passed between Sienne and the greater house of Ell and Anell, but she could guess. Intrigue was common where nobility and Classers touched. "The Crown will protect you, and I’m sure Blue will protect you. I’m not trying to bind you to me to have a void user on my side, I assure you. I didn’t know you even were one until recently."
"Hmm." Sienne chewed her lip.
"You always wanted to break away from your family," Giorn reminded her. "Pretty sure getting official Crown protection is as good a break as we could ever manage."
"That does have it’s attractions," Sienne admitted.
"I think that’s a yes," Giorn said with a laugh. "How do we sign up, Your Majesty?"
Iniri conjured two slices of silver, shield-shaped badges with two kirin rampant and Giorn and Sienne’s names, pulling on Blue’s immense reserves to make the creation permanent. It wasn’t exactly the standard method of conveying authority, but with her new Skills it was the perfect one. She handed them across the desk, to Giorn’s low whistle.
"Looks like light but I can feel some kinetic. Permanent conjurations?" Giorn’s bushy eyebrows rose as he looked at his in consternation.
"Yes, courtesy of Blue." Iniri smiled. "It turns out dealing with a Power isn’t all bad."
"Hmmm." Sienne looked thoughtful and Shayma elbowed her.
"No, mom. That involves sex with my boyfriend or whatever you want to call him and just…" Shayma shook her head with finality. "Just, no."
"Oh."
"And you’re not helping, Blue!" Shayma added. Sienne looked uncomfortable for all of two seconds before looking at Iniri speculatively.
"...Your Majesty?" Iniri snorted in reply.
"Yes, but my relations are not under discussion here. Actually, I have something for you to do right away: ride herd on the lower-level classers pulling in our stockpiles. There have been some reports of sticky fingers and we can’t afford that once Blue pulls Meil away. We can’t afford that now. Feel free to knock any heads you need to."
Giorn rumbled a deep laugh, rattling the table.
"My family’s done trade caravans for half of forever. I know exactly what you mean, and I can sniff out careless handling with the best of them." The big man said. Iniri nodded to them, dismissing her new enforcers so they could get to work.
"Shayma, if you want to stay I still need to talk to Duke Sarthi about his…" She sighed. There wasn’t really any politic way to put it. "His issues with Blue. His son was one of the adventurers Blue killed."
"Blue says he completely forgot about that."
"He hasn’t forgotten about Blue," Iniri said dryly. "According to Cheya he’s been agitating against Blue. Not to any great success, and I doubt that he cares, but I do. I can’t have nobility showing open hostility to our allies." In private was another matter. She couldn’t do anything about Sarthi hating Blue, especially since he had good reason, but she could do something about him stirring something dangerously close to rebellion. She glanced to one of her guards.
"Inform Duke Sarthi that I will see him now." She was at least half a day ahead of where she had expected to be, maybe even a full day, even with all the emergencies she had to take care of, so Sarthi wasn’t likely to be ready for the summons. Not that even he’d dare to make her wait.
"I’m not sure that there’s any way he can be reconciled with Blue, considering it was the son’s fault. " She told Shayma while the message was passed. "His wife died in the invasion, so I do feel for him. But that doesn’t mean I can let this go." Shayma nodded thoughtfully, her ears flicking this way and that as Blue made his own opinions known.
"Blue says it sounds very one-sided. It’s not like he’s holding the Duke responsible for anything." Iniri grimaced.
"No, it’s mostly my problem, but I suggested he talk to Blue and so far he hasn’t. Maybe with you here it’ll force…" She thought it might well force Sarthi to bow down. Blue didn’t have much of a temper but he did have one hell of a presence when he wanted to. "…something." She finished, in lieu of anything more suggestive, though she didn’t have much hope that something would be positive. As Blue pointed out, it was entirely one-sided. If a noble’s child had offended the ruler of some other country with attempted kidnapping or assassination or however it was best put, they’d be lucky to get off with their title intact. Sarthi was lucky Blue was so indifferent.
The man himself arrived not long after, the level forty-four [Deepforest Duke] still loose-jointed and lithe despite his age, but with the beginning of jowls around his cheeks. His eyes narrowed when he saw Shayma waiting in one of the chairs, but he didn’t balk or even say anything, merely going to one knee in Iniri’s presence.
"You may rise," Iniri said, and waved him to take one of the other chairs. "Please, sit."
"Your Majesty," he replied. "To what do I owe the honor of this meeting?"
"You know very well, Lehrem," Iniri sighed. "Even without Shayma here. Your crusade against Blue is both pointless and dangerous. I sympathize with your position, but it isn’t one I can share. Please, go home and mourn but stop this crusade."
"It killed my son," Sarthi said, face twisting with grief. "Torquill was all I had left! What am I supposed to do?"
Iniri took a deep breath. She was absolutely sympathetic; he wasn’t being malicious or self-aggrandizing. He was an upset father who wanted to deal with his son’s killer, but at the same time it was an absolutely hopeless proposition. Not only was it Torquill’s fault, and she did trust Blue about what the adventurers had been up to, but there was nothing that could be done to hold Blue accountable. The best she could do would be to persuade him to make peace, and that didn’t seem particularly likely.
"Go home," she said gently. "Mourn. I don’t ask anything more of you and I won’t hold you responsible for anything else. Neither will Blue, I’m sure." She glanced to Shayma, who nodded. The fox-girl looked rather upset.
"I’m sorry for your loss," Shayma said, seemingly of her own accord. She was clearly speaking for herself, at any rate, rather than Blue.
"You’re the one who killed him!" Sarthi growled, rounding on Shayma. To her credit, she didn’t flinch.
"No. Blue did, and he did it because your son was threatening him. But I, personally, am sorry for his death."
Sarthi stared at her for a moment, then his arm blurred. Inri’s hand flicked as she went to put up [Shield of Tarnil], but Shayma was faster. Her hand caught his wrist mid-slap, the skin shifted to steel, making a soft ringing noise. Iniri couldn’t be entirely certain Sarthi had used a Skill, but she was pretty sure he had and was all the more impressed that Shayma had stopped it dead.
There was a sudden feeling of pressure. It seemed to slide off Iniri, and Shayma didn’t show any discomfort, but Sarthi paled, seeming to struggle for breath. Shayma didn’t release his wrist, and her sympathetic look had vanished.
"While I am personally sorry, Blue does not have much patience for people who attack me," she warned, voice chill and far more suited to representing a Power than her normal bubbly cheerfulness. "Do not attack me again."
