Page 15 of The Ivory King

Umeris stroked a long clump of white hair as he studied me intently. Kenton and his father bobbed their heads in agreement. And then there was Jassin, sitting there in a rich tunic of soft green with tailored trousers and boots crafted by the dwarven leatherworkers of the Witherhorn.

“My lord Aelir, this meeting is not about your plans to dismantle the menagerie and turn all the bloodthirsty beasts that reside within it loose on the good people of Renedith,” Jassin began, then was cut off, most shockingly, by Kenton.

“That is a falsehood that is being fed to the city elves to keep them fearful and unwilling to close the gates of that vile place of cages and broken spirits. The beasts that live within themenagerie are dying slow deaths at being behind bars. I speak with them! They lament their imprisonment! I would sooner die myself than simply throw open pens and leave them to die in the heart of the city. Why must you continue to spread lies and disinformation to the people of Renedith?!”

Jassin shot to his feet, his jowly face red with rage. Dyffros stood as well, his hand reaching for his bow, only to recall it was resting in the corner, a sign of goodwill, and not slung over his shoulder.

“I bid you both sit,” Umeris barked, then slapped a hand to the table. The goblets of chilled ice wine jumped at the impact. “The beasts in cages are not of import.”

“They are!” Kenton shouted. His father gave his arm a tug and then sat as his son seethed but also returned to his seat.

I stood up. All eyes shifted to me aside from Jassin, who was still mottled with rage. His sight was locked on a goblet in front of him, but his wide ass was in his chair once more. Few bickered with Umeris Stillcloud. That joy was reserved for me.

“Let us state once and for all that no creatures that are caged will be freed like alley cats to wander the streets. Kenton and I will personally take on the task that each beast to be released be returned to its natural environs. I shall see a notice printed and handed out to every soul in Renedith, so whoever is spreading these falsehoods will be quieted. Now, may we return to the discussion of bandits?”

“But who will pay for these notices and the hauling of over a hundred beasts to the furthest reaches of Melowynn?” Jassin demanded.

“I will,” I barked at my wit’s end with the man. “I shall pay for the printer. I shall pay the cost of taking each poor beast home. Does that ease your mind?”

It was not that I did not understand Jassin and his monetary concerns. I did. I’d been taught well by my tutor andgrandfather. I knew how a large vills worked. He was the vills overseer. It was his job to fret over gold and where it would come from. What I did not understand was his venom for the wood elves who were graciously offering to help us for a mere pittance. How one elf could so despise another simply made no sense to me. It was like hating a part of yourself, for we were all kin.

“Yes, it does,” Jassin huffed as he sat back in his seat.

“That pleases me to hear. Now let us discuss bandits…”

At midday we left the great chamber, Jassin thundering off in a huff of muttered curses aimed at young men and foolish elders with radical ideals.

My grandfather had chosen to pay the wood elves a small stipend to cover their costs for arrows, bows, and supplement days lost to preparing for the upcoming winter months. To say that I was shocked would be a severe understatement. Jassin had asked, with much less verbosity than before, where the gold would come from.

“It will come from the closure of the damn menagerie,” Grandfather had spat, his tangled silver brows telling me that he was not feeling well. “We shall place that job on the shoulders of the two who fought for it for so long. Let the complaints from the peoples of Renedith when they find the menagerie closed fall on your shoulders.”

“But Grand Advisor, Lord Aelir just stated that he himself would pay for—” Jassin had begun to argue timidly but arguing just the same. Grandfather was not in the mood at all.

“And I have decreed otherwise. Now, we shall dispatch several squads of our city guard to accompany Dyffros back into the Verboten woods. There they shall gather the wood elves andthen strike out to track down the bandits hiding in the Glotte. This meeting is now dismissed. Aelir, I will see you later today before the evening meal. We have much to discuss before we leave for the capital.”

“Yes, Grandfather,” I replied, my sight locked on Kenton, who was so happy he vibrated.

“Thank you, Grand Advisor, for taking the humane course for those beasts in the menagerie. Danubia shall look kindly on you for your compassion,” Kenton had said as he rose. Dyffros agreed.

“What your goddess thinks of my actions is of little import. Ihdos, the god of wisdom, led me to the most intelligent decision. Gold saved on feeding wild beasts shall go toward securing the vills’ imports.” Grandfather slowly got to his feet, casting a look around for his personal guard Jaska. With his guard’s aid, he limped off, his grip tight on his guard’s arm. I worried about the old bastard and his now constant battle with swollen feet.

“You two have made no friends in the vills overseer,” Dyffros commented as we watched Jassin storming down the hall. “I would advise you both watch your backs, for he harbors a hatred for those who differ from him in any way or best him in any way.”

“He is a petty, toxic man who is best ignored,” Kenton said and began rambling about how grand it was that the animals would soon be freed. Grand yes, but a massive overtaking that would require input from all the races of Melowynn. Thankfully, in four days I will be mingling with dwarves, pixies, yeti, human, and Sandrayan delegates at the king’s celebration.

“I am not sure a wise man ignores the asp slithering about his feet, my son,” Dyffros commented sagely.

“I am making a list of staff who are to be let go when my grandfather steps aside. Jassin resides at the top of the list.” Mystomach growled. “My apologies. I awoke late and had no time to break my fast. Shall we visit Widow Poppy and see what she is baking?”

“I am sated from the bread and cheeses in the meeting, so I will retire to my room to pen a missive to send to your mother so she can begin recruiting volunteers,” Dyffros announced, giving his son a hug and me a polite bow, and then walked off.

“Your father is a regal man. A true credit to his people,” I said after Warden Wilder had disappeared around a corner.

“He is what I aspire to be,” Kenton proudly replied. Then his stomach rumbled. “I should have availed myself of the generous offerings during the meeting, but I was too angered to eat. I know that hatred is a dark emotion that both of our gods state we should avoid, but by Danubia’s grace, Jassin is a hard man to not dislike.”

“Yes, he is, and I long for the day when he is sent packing. Sadly, his skills at overseeing the vills are vast so finding another to replace him will be difficult.”

“His son is a viable choice to replace him, and he is wed to a dwarven man who serves on the natural preservation society of Melowynn as well as the counsel of mining interests. Corrigan has led the fight to find less disruptive ways of flushing mining extracts from the Witherhorn mines into Lake Tolso.”

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