The Empress of Beasts, page 10
part #13 of The Wandering Inn Series
“If that jerk Lism wins, I swear, Olesm’s banned from the inn.”
She wasn’t sure if she was serious. And she wasn’t sure what she would feel if Krshia lost. Erin clenched her sweaty hands. And then, just when she was turning to Lyonette to suggest getting Mrsha a snack—the doors opened.
The murmuring crowd went so quiet, it was as if someone had cast a [Silence] spell over them. It caught the eight Drakes off-guard. They paused, staring at the sea of faces.
It was, perhaps, one of the few times Liscor’s Council had ever been at the center of so much attention. Nervously, they came out, stopping just behind the line of [Guards] who obligingly made way for them. Then reformed as the Councilmembers hurriedly waved them back into place. Erin heard a voice, murmuring, and then someone cast a spell.
The voice that boomed across the plaza came from Ulseil Greenscale. Not that even a third of the crowd knew his name. He coughed, heard the echo and winced, and spoke.
“Excuse me. Good evening. Liscor’s Council has tallied the votes for this year’s election which will replace the current Council with a…democratically elected group of eight for the next two years. The votes have been checked and verified by magical spell, so I am pleased to announce total authenticity of the results!”
He waited. If it was for applause, it never came. Ulseil hesitated and then went on, tripping over his words.
“So, therefore, I’m pleased…again…to announce the results of the election!”
Another pause. There was some half-hearted applause. Someone shouted.
“Get on with it!”
Liscor’s Council turned and glared at Relc. The [Guardsman] pretended to be scanning the crowd for the shouter. Grudgingly, feeling as if there should have been…drums…yes, perhaps drums, or trumpets, Ulseil went on.
“Ahem. People of Liscor! By popular vote, we are pleased to announce the new Council is…”
In the crowd, Lyonette’s head rose and she narrowed her eyes with the senses of a [Princess] sensing a trap. Erin just looked blank.
“Popular—? Why’d he say—”
But then the words came, overriding the confusion.
“Raekea Silversmith, Elirr Fultpar, Krshia Silverfang—”
The roar of sound deafened Erin and made the Council flinch backwards. Gnolls were leaping for joy, literally! The Drakes in Lism’s camp were shouting—he was sagging against his nephew, and Selys was punching the air. Krshia was laughing, beaming as the other Gnolls hugged each other—
“—and Lism Swifttail, Alonna Swiftwing, Jeiss Sielmark, Tismel Lischscale, and Zalaiss Holmfyre!”
The noise of the celebrating crowd suddenly went still. Heads turned back to the stairs. Erin blinked.
“What? What did he say?”
Her words were echoed through the crowd. People were murmuring, staring.
“What? But some of them were running in the same district!”
“Lism and Krshia? What?”
Ulseil spoke up, his voice carrying across the plaza. The [Merchant] beamed at the staring crowd, sweating as he clasped his claws behind his back.
“The Council has decided to choose the most popular candidates to take the Council seats! No official backing was ever given to the proposed districts! Thus, this was deemed the fairest and most equitable distribution of seats! Based on the popular vote! Congratulations to the new Council!”
No one applauded. No one even moved. Ulseil’s smile faded. He hesitated. Councilmember Yalla stepped forwards.
“Thank you! You may disperse!”
Obviously, no one did. Okay, some of the Antinium Workers and Painted Soldiers gathered around Yellow Splatters to one side where he and Klbkch were watching began to walk off, but he called them back. And everyone else was still. Liscor’s Council held their breath. Erin exhaled hers. She looked at Lyonette, indignant.
“They can’t do that! That’s cheating!”
“They just did. It’s clever. And the only move they could make. It might be bad, though. Let’s get to the inn, Erin.”
Lyonette looked around. Erin was blank.
“Why? What’s…”
And then she sensed it. [Innkeepers] might not have been [Princesses], who had a healthy fear of mobs and an understanding of mob mentality, but the class was similar enough. Erin could sense and hear the confusion of the people around her. Silently, she pointed and she and Lyonette tried to move through the crowd, Mrsha clinging to Lyonette. And around her, people began muttering.
“Krshia and Lism?”
“Three Gnolls.”
“Not by district? Then—who won each district?”
“Three versus five.”
“Who’s this Tismel guy?”
“Northwest side. Silvershine street and that area. Lots of [Merchants] living there.”
“Oh.”
“Popular vote? But the election was by district!”
The crowd murmured. They weren’t sure how to feel. Was this a good thing or a bad thing? However, some of the people in the crowd, those who had voted for candidates who’d lost, like Beilmark, knew exactly how they felt. And like magnets in a sea of iron, they began polarizing everyone.
“Hey! I bet Gnolls took more than three districts! That’s why the Council made it a popular vote!”
“What? You’re insane.”
“Oh yeah? Why did Lism win and Krshia?”
“Maybe because he was the better candidate, you egg-sucking lizard!”
“Who said that? Who said that?”
Confusion turned to anger. The Council took one look at the crowd and retreated further behind the line of worried [Guards]. Relc started cracking his knuckles, looking happy.
“Everyone stay calm! Disperse! This is an order!”
And Councilwoman Yalla was only fanning the flames. Drakes and Gnolls began shouting questions at the Council. Some began picking fights in the crowd, doing the traditional foreplay to the actual fight in getting angry enough to take a swing at each other.
The audience was turning into a powder keg. Krshia looked around. Lism was already shouting at his supporters not to do anything rash—just yet! But into that moment anything could trigger the detonation. And that one thing came from the Human who would have been voted most likely to do just that. But she was also fairly good at what she did.
“We won!”
A voice exploded from the crowd. Erin shouted it, her [Loud Voice] skill drowning out an order from Councilwoman Yalla for the [Guards] to disperse the crowd. The [Innkeeper] waved her arms, shouting for attention.
“We did it! Krshia! Hey, Krshia! We won!”
Erin smiled around, beaming as if she couldn’t see the angry faces. She threw up her hands and did a little dance with Lyonette and Mrsha next to her.
“We did it! Lyonette, Mrsha! Selys! You won! We did it! Huzzah!”
She ran around in a circle, forcing people back. And then Erin turned. She tried to do a cartwheel and fell over.
“Ow! Lyonette, you do a cartwheel! Mrsha! Aren’t you proud! There are Gnolls on the Council!”
She grabbed Mrsha and tossed the Gnoll cub up. Mrsha stared at her. But then—she smiled. The Gnoll nodded. Erin caught her and looked around.
“We did it. Krshia won! And so did Raekea and Elirr! Mr. Cat-Gnoll Guy is on the Council!”
“Mister Cat Gnoll Guy?”
It was hard to throw a punch after hearing a line like that. And some people began to smile. Gnolls were nodding as Erin put Mrsha down. Yes. They had done it, hadn’t they? Forget numbers. There was a Gnoll, no, Gnolls on the Council.
And in the space she’d made, Erin smiled. Genuinely, shaking hands with Gnolls around her, and Drakes. Asking who they’d voted for.
“Did your guy win? No? Sorry! But hey, you voted! And that’s what counts! Who’d you vote for? Krshia? No way! Me? I can’t vote. Hey Mrsha, do a cartwheel!”
Laughing, she helped Mrsha do one, holding her stomach. And someone else did one, an older Gnoll, laughing with delight. Erin blinked at the woman, but then Gnolls were laughing, bounding forwards with commendable agility despite their age. And the Drakes began smiling too.
The tension in the crowd dissipated like static grounding itself amid genuine relief, happiness. It was over. You could cry foul, but was that a mature thing to do? People began shaking hands, smiling. The Gnoll who called one Drake an ‘egg-sucking lizard’ got punched in the face. But by and large, the anger was fading.
Erin breathed a sigh of relief. So did Liscor’s now-former Council. Relc just sighed and stared at his fist. Erin looked around and saw a group making their way towards her.
“Krshia!”
Everyone turned. Erin raised a hand and was engulfed in a huge hug. Krshia growled with delight, crushing Erin and laughing. Elirr swept Mrsha up and Lyonette smiled as Selys appeared, ruffling Mrsha’s fur. Erin was released finally and gasped for air, laughing. She looked up and Krshia was smiling at her.
“Miss Erin, you have helped us do it. We have won.”
“Yeah. Yeah! I mean…”
Erin’s face fell. She looked at the Council, tiptoeing back through the doors of city hall. Krshia smiled, and there was some reserve there.
“Yes. It seems it was not all it could have been, yes? But you said what was true. We won.”
Erin nodded. She wasn’t as happy as she’d acted; like Krshia, she felt stung by the ending. Even so—she waved at the crowd.
“I wasn’t about to let them start punching each other. Mrsha’s here. So. What happens now?”
The Gnoll [Shopkeeper] blinked at her. Then she looked around. Everyone was staring at her. Selys, Elirr, Raekea, Beilmark—and Krshia’s look of surprise told Erin she had no idea. But it only lasted a moment. Then she turned and beamed at Erin.
“We have a party at your inn, of course! We have some gold remaining from the funds—let us celebrate! And tomorrow—tomorrow, we shall see what being on the Council is.”
“Yeah.”
Erin smiled. Then she turned and waved.
“Alright! Celebration at my inn! First drink’s free!”
And the cheer to that came from everyone but Lyonette. People began leaving the plaza, exclaiming, hurrying to tell the news, upset or vindicated or looking for that drink. It didn’t matter. The results were the results and no one was going to burn down the city hall looking to change it. History had been made and the winners—
Krshia. Elirr. Raekea. The Gnoll [Armorer] looked dumbfounded by her position.
“Me. A Councilmember. I can’t believe it. I hammer metal. What will happen to my business?”
Elirr laughed, his grey fur blowing in a faint breeze as he carried Mrsha back towards the inn.
“You should have thought of that when you ran, Raekea!”
“Yes, but I didn’t really think I’d…I mean, I hoped, but—a Councilmember?”
The Gnoll smiled with delight and amazement, shaking her head. On the other side of the square, Olesm turned to his uncle. Lism was smiling, albeit with the same reserve Krshia had had. Olesm paused.
“Congratulations, Uncle.”
“Thank you, my boy. I think…no, thank you. We couldn’t have done it without you. I’m a Councilmember. I never thought I’d see the day. Me. A [Shopkeeper] on Liscor’s…”
Lism trailed off. Olesm blinked. There were tears in Lism’s eyes. The Drake turned and looked back at city hall. Then he wiped the tears away, turned back briskly to Olesm.
“Ancestors! We need to celebrate! Everyone, to the Tailless Thief! Peslas will have to open his stores for all of us! Where’s Wing Commander Embria? We have to talk! And—Jeiss! Alonna! Where are the other Councilmembers? We need to make a speech to all these people who helped us get this far! And—dead gods, I’ll have to share the Council with Silverfang?”
Lism uttered an oath. Olesm hesitated. He forbore pointing out that but for the Council, it was likely that Lism wouldn’t have been elected at all. His emotions were too mixed to let him celebrate. But he relaxed as he saw his uncle’s happiness.
The Drakes were celebrating, not as exuberantly as the Gnolls—it was hardly a landmark victory for them—but with good cheer nonetheless. Especially the ones who’d voted for Senior Guardsman Jeiss. The Drake was in the center of backslaps, handshakes, and a few unsolicited hugs. He was turning, smiling, when a furry paw reached out and people paused.
“Congratulations, Jeiss.”
Senior Guardswoman Beilmark, his partner and opponent—if not by district, then by party, looked at Jeiss. He froze.
“Beilmark. I…”
The two partners regarded each other for a moment. Jeiss bit his tongue. But it was Beilmark who smiled and shrugged slightly.
“You won, and I didn’t. I’m partners with a Councilmember now. Which means I’ll let you do all the paperwork, yes?”
Jeiss paused. And then he laughed. He reached out and they shook hands. The crowd sighed, and the two nodded to each other. If they had more they wanted to say, well, they’d do it later. Like adults.
——
“We won! We won! Celebration! Get the cake! Get the ice cream! Party!”
In her inn, Erin Solstice jumped on a table and the room erupted into cheers. Drassi was besieged at her bar, and the staff were taking orders like there was no tomorrow. The inn was heaving, Erin was beaming as she turned to Klbkch, who had come in with Yellow Splatters and Pawn—
But the story wasn’t about her. Tonight’s story was about the victors. Krshia could hardly drink but for all the people coming up to her, whom she thanked, or who wanted to ask when she’d do what she’d promised on the Council, or perhaps would she consider…? Elirr was similarly besieged, although Moore and Mrsha were keeping the worst at bay, Moore by his presence shielding the Gnoll, Mrsha by waving a fork when the crowd got too thick.
Raekea had disappeared with her husband, and the other Gnolls who hadn’t won were either getting drunk or joining the celebration, dancing, eating, or just talking. It was a night to remember. Which made it somewhat ironic that Erin found Selys sitting alone by the bar. The Drake had won, and she’d been an instrumental part of the victory. But it was the Gnolls’ night.
“Hey, good looking! Mind if I buy you a drink?”
Erin slid into the seat next to Selys. The Drake stared at her.
“That’s the worst—no, wait, Hawk and Relc are worse. But that’s pretty bad, Erin.”
The young woman grinned and Selys edged her stool over. The two sat together and Drassi slid Erin a drink, Rufelt-style across the bar. She missed. Erin sighed. But the shattered cup reformed itself on the ground! The drink did not, and a shamefaced Drassi went over to refill it.
“Sorry.”
Erin looked at Selys, smiling. The Drake shrugged.
“Hey, work on it.”
“I mean, sorry that the Council were jerks. Do you think the Gnolls won more than three seats?”
“Honestly, Erin? I’d bet every gold piece on it. They’re all Drakes and…well, let’s just say I don’t think they wanted to help Krshia’s side. Maybe we took four seats. Or…five? Either way, it’s done. Krshia can argue against it, but the Council does get to choose! I guess. Maybe if there’d been a riot—”
“Sorry. But Mrsha was there.”
“Yeah. No, I think it’s fine. I mean, I wasn’t running. I’m just worried…”
“…That you don’t have enough seats?”
Erin looked worried. Selys nodded. She gestured at Krshia, who was toasting with a group of Gnolls.
“Krshia will obviously have to figure it out, but it’s three to five if you’re just going by species. And all the Drakes who were elected were in Lism’s camp. Well, more or less.”
“Which means they’ll vote against letting the Antinium help?”
Erin’s face fell. Selys paused.
“Probably. Maybe? I don’t know this Tismel and Zalaiss too well. They’re both wealthy, though; safe picks in their districts which is probably why they won their votes. Tismel’s head of the Cobbler’s Guild, and Zalaiss is a [Merchant] in the guild. Safe picks. But they’re both in Lism’s party. Jeiss and Alonna are actual friends of his, though. Either way, they’ll probably be against some of Krshia’s ideas. It’s—I don’t know, Erin. She’ll have to figure it out. I’m just a bit worried.”
The [Receptionist] sighed. Erin nodded. Then she paused as Drassi came back with her drink.
“[Cobblers] have a guild?”
“Of course they do, Erin. With two different species’ worth of feet in Liscor? I bet he doesn’t even make shoes anymore. He’s probably rich. And see, that’s the problem. There’s no way Tismel will be on Krshia’s side, right? So if Lism just overrules her, what was the point of all this? Did the Council steal a seat? Two seats?”
The Drake gripped her glass tightly, frustrated. Erin hesitated.
“But you did win, Selys. Be happy about that.”
She gestured at the inn. Selys just shook her head. Then she turned to look Erin in the eye.
“I don’t know. Did we win? Can we win if it’s not complete, Erin? If it’s just a little victory? How can I feel good about it when I know—we deserved more? We did, and they cheated.”
She had tears in her eyes from the pure frustration of it. Erin paused. And she took a long drink from her mug before replying slowly. She looked around the inn, at all the faces, at Numbtongue poking his head down the stairs and deciding to go back to his room, at Ceria making ice cubes, Yellow Splatters heading up with a small keg Erin had given him from the bar, Ishkr smiling as he went round the tables—and she smiled too.
“It wasn’t fair. And you can be mad. But tonight, Selys? Be happy. Because there wasn’t a Gnoll on Liscor’s Council yesterday. Tomorrow, there will be.”
She looked at the Drake. The [Heiress] paused. Then she looked up. She slowly raised her glass and clinked it against Erin’s. And then Selys smiled.
“You’re right about that.”
She drank her cup down, ordered a Firebreath Whiskey, drank it, and kept smiling. Then she went to go cuddle Mrsha. Erin sighed. She took a sip of her drink at the bar and let the alcohol sting her mouth for a moment. Then she turned off her [Immunity: Alcohol] Skill. She sighed as she flushed with a bit of heat, and then raised her cup. She beamed at Lyonette, who’d come over.
