Chapter 204

The two Tangleleafs walked over to the end of the table where Master Routil Tangleleaf was setting down his papers while Tarklin took the opportunity to come greet us.

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes," I said to him.

He smiled wide and my high Charisma saw the relief in them as he held out his hand for me to shake. I took it and returned the gesture before he turned to Cecilia. "It looks like your status as an adopted elf has come out. How did Lilith take it?" he said with mirth in his voice.

Cecilia smirked at him. "She knows everything, Tarklin."

His smile suddenly grew stiff and he turned back to me to study my expression. "And how did she take that Cecilia?"

She patted him on the shoulder and laughed. "Better than expected, though I'll bet we have a lot to discuss later."

He let out a breath and relaxed a bit but his smile still looked a bit forced to me.

I laughed. "Don't worry. I'm not that mad, especially considering some of the things I've learned since we last met. And considering the meeting we're about to have, you'll have plenty of room to help me out of the bind I've found myself in."

He grinned at me again, this one looking much more natural. "I suppose we'll have to find out. Master Tangleleaf wouldn't tell me anything about this meeting, only that I was required to attend. You didn't get yourself into too much trouble I hope."

Cecilia nodded. "Oh tons, luckily not much that will get on the Queen's bad side. Take my word for it though, from everything I've found out about her, it'll benefit you to help Lilith out as much as you can here."

Tarklin suddenly looked at her seriously and she nodded in return, then as if the moment had never happened a grin spread back on his face. "Sounds like we do have a lot to discuss later then, but it seems we're about to start."

The eight of us took a seat on one end of the long table across from the elves. The only elf that sat on our side was Tarklin who was seated on the far end next to Cecilia. A lot of the focus and curious stares were on me, though there were more than a few who looked over at the three Pantharians in our group.

"Let's begin, shall we," Routil Tangleleaf said. "Last night Miss Lilith Baphomet here, told me that one of her friends killed the King of Torlimal yesterday, may I ask which of the people you've brought with you was the former crime slave in question?"

There were lots of whispers of surprise and shock but none of them looked angry or upset. Even Tarklin looked caught off guard by the news, it seems the knowledge hasn't fully spread yet despite the pantharians being freed and the far-off explosion in the castle.

"Silva," I said gesturing to her, "was the one who killed the King. I am not upset he is dead, his death in fact freed one of my lovers and her sister, as well as their aunt and all other pantharians. I did not order her to do so though, she did it without informing me of her intentions. She removed her crime slave collar herself and took the opportunity to kill him. She also killed Sir Noreth, the head of the guard, as well as the small number of guards there in the room with us. We were told the meeting would be a secret so we're not sure if anyone else knows that we were there."

Silva simply nodded in response and didn't add anything.

"Do you intend to recollar her?" the female elf in dark red asked with a dangerous tinge in her voice.

"No," I replied. "She's my friend, I only purchased her from her prior master to protect her and bring her with me. I have only known her for a short time however, I met her less than a month ago on our trip here. Tarklin was with me at the time," I said nodding in his direction.

Nealli Tangleleaf cleared her throat. "For the record please refer to Mister Tarklin Silvergrove by his full name."

I frowned. "Ah, sorry, my mistake. I meant no disrespect."

"Who are the others in the embassy that you chose not to include in this conversation?" Routil Tangleleaf asked.

"A few of my friends believed they would not have anything to contribute to this conversation and two of them are pantharians that Lorriene's friend smuggled out of the Slaver's guild when their collars were destroyed." When I paused Lorriene took the opportunity to jump in.

She bowed low and then sat up straight. "I wish to ask for assistance in smuggling them to the Northern Greens. I have worked with a Mister Tillik Sageblood in the past to transport other pantharians that I've gotten away from their former masters. Now that the collars are gone it may make things easier but I expect many people will be working to recollar any pantharians they can find."

"Sageblood?" The male elf in purple asked.

"Minor house, under Summerland," the male in dark red quietly responded to him.

Routil nodded. "That will be fine. We'll contact someone from the Summerland house to take them and make contact with the Sagebloods. Let's get back on track."

Lorriene bowed again. "Thank you, Master Tangleleaf."

He nodded but continued without further acknowledgment, "Tarklin Silvergrove, last night Cecilia of Silvergrove asked me to shelter Lilith Baphomet because she was important to you. Do you wish to disclose in what way she's important to you?"

The male elf in purple who hadn't said anything yet started snickering.

"I'm afraid that matter is held in secrecy under the Queen's authority," Tarklin responded seriously. The elf in purple that had been snickering stopped.

Routil raised an eyebrow. "You swear by your house?"

Tarklin nodded. "I do. I recently talked to the queen about Lilith Baphomet when I delivered Sera Faelyn Morrister to the Northern Greens. She agreed with me that the situation with Lilith Baphomet should be treated delicately and just before this meeting Cecilia of Silvergrove confirmed some of my suspicions to be true. I can confidently say that Lilith Baphomet is of special interest to the Queen. She stopped shy of extending full protections but I think it is in our best interest to treat Lilith Baphomet as if she had been for the moment. She's of strategic importance."

Suddenly the entire room turned to face me. I wasn't entirely sure of the full context but I could tell that this was a big deal. It sounded like the elves would back me up at least but I'm not sure how far their protection would go, would they refuse to hand me over if someone came looking for the kingslayer?

"I apologize Lilith Baphomet, but I need to reveal your secret," Tarklin continued. My eyes went wide and I turned to face him. "Lilith is a world traveler and has knowledge that is of great importance to the queen. I am not at liberty to discuss the full scope however," he finished.

I let out a breath. I had been sure that he was about to reveal something a lot more sensitive than that. I sat back in my seat slightly numb. This had been one of my secrets but after some of the things I've learned about the prophecies and my position in them, that secret was the least of my worries.

"Do you deny this?" Routil Tangleleaf asked.

"No... It is true. I am a world traveler," I replied.

There was more quiet chattering between the elves. "She replied in elvish," was one of the things I heard among their whispers. It seems they used a similar trick to the one Tarklin had, getting me to reply in an uncommon tongue without realizing it. If I decide to continue keeping the world traveler thing to my chest I'll have to be more careful about that.

Eventually the woman in dark red spoke up, "If our queen wishes it, then I have no issue treating Lilith Baphomet and her companions as if they have full protection. This does mean however that if the city comes looking for the kingslayer we would be obligated to protect them from Torlimal's army. We should make some preparations for if they decide to attack the embassy." There were several noises of agreement, it seems that Tarklin's words swayed them. I'd wonder if they were true but something tells me he wouldn't lie about that, I probably am of importance to her, just not because I'm a world traveler.

One of the elves in purple decided to speak next, "There's also the matter of the king being dead and our position on it. There hasn't been a formal announcement to the city about it yet and with the current state of the capital. I'm unsure if one will go out at all. This may be because they're still looking for the culprit but it may also be because there's infighting over the succession. The, ahem, former young king had no heirs. Normally the Duke of Kallord would be next in line for the throne but he is nearly uniformly disliked by both nobles and commoners and is currently on the other side of the kingdom. If he tried to take the throne it very well may lead to a civil war. The Duke of Torquin would be the most logical choice after that but he is an even less favorable choice for our Queen."

Routil nodded. "I agree, our choice would obviously be Marquis Saffadder, he has always been fair and favorable to us in our dealings with him as the Marquis of the territory that borders ours, but that would require the kingdom to pass over two dukes. Assuming the Duke of Kallord is passed up willingly then we would need to find a way for other nobles to pressure the Duke of Torquin to step aside for Marquis Saffadder. On the bright side, none of the other marquises would be able to make a claim against him. Our support alone should be enough even if he wasn't as well respected as he is."

"What is the Duke of Torquin and Marquis Saffadder's opinion on slavery?" Lorriene asked.

Routil's eyes narrowed at Lorriene but he answered her anyway. "The Duke of Torquin is very much pro-slavery. It is one of the major points of dispute between us and the reason for our Queen's disgust with him. The Queen ordered him never to return to the Northern Greens after he boasted about the elven slaves he keeps in his home at a party he had been invited to. Publicly, the Marquis' position is neutral but I believe he would be willing to outlaw all but crime slavery if we pushed him on it."

"What if I assassinate the Duke of Torquin?" Silva asked.

There was open shock at Silva's words. Several of the elves stared open mouthed at her suggestion and even some of the people on our side of the table including Torien looked surprised. Routil to his credit was stone-faced. Instead, his eyes trailed across everyone on my side of the table.

Routil cleared his throat. "As an ambassador of the Northern Greens, I of course cannot condone actions that would put the relationship with our southern neighbors at risk. If someone did assassinate the Duke of Torquin, it would put us in a better position to get the outcome we want. However, in no way could we offer support or remuneration for such an act. We would be obligated by treaty to report anyone who attempted to offer such a service to us. Not that anyone would be so foolish as to offer such a service to me, least of all in a public setting."

Most of the elves on the other side of the table looked awkward, a notable exception was the elven woman wearing dark red. She looked at Silva with amusement and a dangerous smile.

"There is one more thing I would like to bring up before we finish this meeting," I said.

Routil's attention focused back on me. "Of course, please do."

"There's also the matter of the Cult of Amphores. We were hunting them in Goldenhearth after the attack there and discovered they are operating here in the capital as well. Talis told me that he was able to discover that they were able to disrupt slave collars and timed it with violence around the city, leading to the riot yesterday," I said.

Routil looked over at Talis. "You're dressed as a member of the Great Library's guard."

Talis bowed. "Yes, Master Tangleleaf. I'm a follower of Sorsette and the head of her Library guard. I was tasked with protecting Miss Lilith Baphomet for the moment. I believe the riots were caused by the Cult of Amphores and that another larger riot is likely to be triggered sometime soon. I believe they had failed in their first attempt. With the animosity between the beastkin, the Tamin Church, and the Cult of Amphores, I expected violence to break out here soon even before the King was killed."

The elf's brow furrowed before turning to the woman in dark red. "Feylaria Winethorn, please make arrangements for that as well. We may be forced to abandon the embassy if worse comes to worst."

Feylaria bowed in return. "Of course. I'll make sure to alert the staff and prepare an evacuation if necessary. We'll start moving documents later today."

Routil turned back to me. "You are welcome to stay here at the embassy as long as you wish. Consider yourself to be under our protection but do not abuse it. You will have to stay here at the embassy until we can confirm no one is looking for you."

Talis bowed again. "I believe I can be of assistance in that. Allow me to talk to some of my contacts and I'll pass along the extent of what the city guard and army know about the King's assassination thus far."

Routil nodded. "I would be honored to have the church of Sorsette's assistance in this."