Page 59 of The Sundered Realms

Silly, since she was the same person with a piece of paper and without. Nevertheless, it made a difference, and Vhannor had gotten it for her when he could have kept on as they had before arriving at Embhullor. He might not see her as a little sister—thankfully—but he was still doing everything he could to make sure she didn’t have to be dependent on him and could stand on her own.

That would probably require her to stop exerting effort to not gawk at everything from the popular wide straw hats to the forested mountains in the distance, but the way to the government building took them through an alley full of dumplings. Liris was surrounded on both sides of the street, each storefront offering variations on the same fare, steamed in different shapes with dipping sauces.

“What’s the difference?” Liris asked. “Those two have identical menus and prices, and the smells blend together. How do people choose?”

Vhannor’s expression was amused. “You’d have to try them to compare. Maybe you’d like one better than the other.”

Liris paused. “Did you lead me this way on purpose? Is this the only way to the government building?”

“Yes and no.”

“Oh.” She took a breath, but her nose just filled with the scent of food she’d never tried before. “This counts as a distraction, doesn’t it?”

Vhannor’s face tightened. “Yes.”

A test. Of course. Liris glanced once more at the closest dumpling shop with longing and sighed, focusing. “All right. You never mentioned why Princess Nysia was sure Otaryl would welcome you even without a demon portal.”

After a moment he answered, “I saved one of their highest-producing mines from a demon portal some years ago. Representative Hyorem at the time was the overseer and credits me for his good fortune. He’ll be more amenable to me than anyone else we might meet with, and Otaryl couldn’t turn down my overture without tipping their hand.”

That would do it. Despite this realm’s small size, Otaryl was wealthy because of their gemstone mines: they could export small items easily without taking away from import capacity, and those items were so valuable they could afford to buy imports. Losing a mine would be a disaster.

But that very precariousness meant they ought to be in favor of the Coalition of Tethered Realms.

Just then, Vhannor took a turn that revealed a massive courtyard with an enormous building inside. Unlike the twisty turns they’d been taking, the castle was entirely square, only a couple of stories tall.

“Converted abandoned temple, now a government building,” Vhannor said.

“Abandoned?” Liris queried sharply.

“Lots of places were abandoned after the Sundering,” Vhannor reminded her quietly. “New religions rose, but many faiths were shaken. If any government pressure was brought to bear in this case, it was long enough ago that no one is complaining about it.”

Liris didn’t need the reminder. Serenthuar had organized its populace in the aftermath of the Sundering more effectively than any other realm. She knew better than most that no one complaining didn’t mean there wasn’t a problem, and the one thing they knew already about Otaryl was that it had a problem.

Her impression didn’t improve inside, as a functionary led them through halls decorated with pre-Sundering artwork: calligraphic scrolls, paintings of monks at work in backgrounds that no longer existed, shattered once-sacred urns. It wasn’t stifling in exactly the same way as Serenthuar’s oppressive marketing, but Liris couldn’t shake the feeling that the message here wasn’t necessarily better. It’s not erasure if we acknowledge what once existed, even if we destroyed it. The end justifies the means.

Representative Hyorem’s office was much the same, with new furniture at odds with the old walls. The representative himself was younger than she’d expected, probably of an age with Vhannor—long hair tied in a tail, delicate glasses. A slight, serious man who worked with knowledge only, not muscles.

In Court Methilari Vhannor introduced her as his partner, which she should have expected but sent a small thrill through her chest nevertheless. For her part, Liris followed the appropriate etiquette forms of bows and arranging set greetings in a logical order, easing the business of small talk until they were all kneeling on pillows across a low table in the center of the room.

“If I may, Vhannor, you look bemused by your partner’s competence,” Representative Hyorem observed.

“Appreciative, more like,” Vhannor said. “This is our first diplomatic mission together, and even knowing what her training consisted of, I had not yet seen it in action.”

Liris kept her satisfaction off her face. So her focus had drifted in the market, but here, where it counted, she’d impressed him right off the bat. That was a passable start for her first actual opportunity to put her life’s training into action.

She could do better yet.

“Oh?” Representative Hyorem raised his eyebrows. “With a new partner and a foreign dignitary watching, that was especially well done, then. Noble training?”

Unless—did he suspect her? He didn’t even know she was of Serenthuar.

Or did he?

Liris smiled and bowed her thanks. “Something of the opposite. I was not raised to believe any individual is more important than me, so I am not unduly concerned with differences in rank.”

“How interesting,” Representative Hyorem said. “I admit, Vhannor, I am nevertheless surprised you would bring someone new with you. I had assumed you wished to speak of subjects requiring a higher clearance.”

He called Vhannor by name? No wonder Princess Nysia had tapped them for this mission.

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