by Ian Rodgers
Oh dear.
Chapter 13: The adventurer’s night
Here we are, the day of reckoning! Heh, sorry, just wanted to give the event a touch more awe. It was the day of the long awaited Adventurer’s Advent Ball, a huge event that would be held in the castle’s opulent ballroom, but the fever pitch of excitement had spread to the rest of the city. Adventurers from all over the kingdom, and even some beyond, have traveled to the guild’s main branch to party it up. Of course, a handful of the highest ranked members had been invited alongside the various other high profile guests to attend the main party here in the castle. It was intimidating to have to be in their presence. I could feel their power pushing down on me thanks to my unique senses.
Right now though I was being carried into the main foyer where the guests were mingling near my owner, and already we were getting appraising looks. I too returned the appraisal, examining the outfits being worn by the guests.
I was probably biased when it came to that particular subject, but I had to say that my owner was without a doubt the most beautiful girl attending!
She wore the powder blue and milk white gown from the other day’s dress-up with her long hair kept loose but tied by a pair of purple ribbons to ensure the strands do not fly this way and that too much when she danced. Silver and gold jewelry bearing the emblems of the Divine Family decorated her in a tasteful fashion. Her necklace with charms shaped like a golden dove, silver lily and silver bolt of cloth were prominently visible, while a badge with the scales of justice was pinned to her chest and a second, slightly larger badge with an image of a straight sword on it rested down near her waist on the right, where a sheathed blade would normally hang. As she was not yet an adult and a noble woman to boot actually wearing a sword would be a faux pas, so aristocratic girls tended to wear a badge with a sword image on it to honor the Knight-God. Or so Rene had explained when her grandson showed off the designs.
With a faint scent of lavender soap lingering from her bath and lilac perfume gently spritzed on her, Princess Liliana descended like an angel onto the room. Her steps were cautious, but why wouldn’t they be when she’s in those pointy heels?
I too was dressed up in a snappy little black bowtie. Renard had wanted to make me a tiny suit to wear, but it would only fit my bipedal form, and it was easier for me to just stay round and spherical unless I had to dance, so the idea for dressing me up was scrapped. Still, he did insist on the accessory, which I admit I liked.
The entire royal family of Varia was accompanying us, King Tiberius leading the way with Queen Amdora on his arm. The king was wearing the same ceremonial outfit he’d worn during the holy day a few weeks back, while the queen wore an expansive cloud of silks and cloth and ribbons. It was a dark blue dress with purple and gold trim, and her stern face was graced with a serene smile as she politely greeted the various well-wishers alongside her husband.
Little Julius was looking around nervously, dressed up in an adorable black and dark blue uniform. A ‘tuxedo’ as it was called by Renard. He also had accessories bearing the marks of the Divine Family, but instead of being made into necklaces or badges, they were silver and gold buckles on a thin belt. He was being escorted by Rene Bluemont and his personal maid, the two of them in charge of the youngest child and heir to the throne. As for the princess and I, we just had Orleen with us as an escort.
The area holding the Adventurer’s Advent Ball was an extremely wide room with a vaulted, arching roof and art work dotting the walls. It served as both a dance floor and a mingling ground, with groups that entered stepping down into the area splitting off to find allies or acquaintances. Here and there servants in primly starched uniforms wander about with trays laden with drinks and tiny nibbling food.
I looked around the room, noting the placement of the dozen or so Dire Swords standing guard, as well as the numerous guests and serving staff wandering about. While not as nervous as her brother, Liliana was still hesitant to wander too far from her parents, and was hovering about nearby. As a result, she ends up drawn into a couple of conversations and introductions. One such example was rapidly approaching, in fact!
“A thousand greetings and a hundred blessings, King Tiberius,” a short and stocky individual exclaimed with a bow as he approached us, flanked by two men.
“And a ten-fold return of respect, King Redarik,” the Varian ruler replied, bowing his head in response. I look over the man with a curious eye. This was the first time I’d ever met a dwarf. One of the races that lived alongside humanity, dwarves were a fairly decently sized people. On average, they stood two feet shorter, but were slightly wider in the shoulders with thicker muscles and flowing beards. The one before us stood exactly five feet tall, a head or so above his two guards, with coppery skin, flint grey eyes, and fiery red hair that reached his belt and was intricately braided. The two beside him had similar skin and eyes but their hair was black, and though just as delicately braided it only reached their collar.
The leader of that group of dwarves was none other than Ancestor-King Redarik Greatgold, leader of the Federation of Dwarf Clan-holds, master of Karz Thang the City of Endless Stone, and he who sits on the Buried Throne. He was dressed in an impressive suit of gold plated ceremonial armor with red and black tunic and trousers underneath. Runes were carved into the surface of his armor, and I could feel magic lurking within a number of artifacts on his person, including his crown.
The headpiece in question was a band of a dark red metal with three polished orbs of amethyst each the size of an acorn set in a row on the front with a single massive diamond carved to look like the peaks of a mountain poking into the air from the rear of the crown. Though deceptively simple, the crown held incredible power, from potent defensive wards to magic negating runes. King Redarik wore it with ease, the royal accessory augmenting his aura of nobility and charisma.
That the Ancestor-King himself would travel hundreds of miles to attend such an auspicious occasion was proof of the alliance and friendship between the descendants of Hero-King Gregor and his own predecessor.
“I am most glad you were able to make it, King Redarik. It wouldn’t have been a party without you,” King Tiberius joked, earning a grin from the dwarf in question.
“You’re right about that! And of course, it is lovely to see you again, Queen Amdora. Still as beautiful as you were on your wedding day.”
“You flatter me, your majesty,” the queen said, giving a pleased smile at the compliment. “And how is your dear wife? I’m sorry to hear that she could not attend.”
“Yes, childbirth is not the best time to be traveling,” the dwarf king said. “But she does well. We believe it’ll be a boy, our third one.”
“How are Rendin and Orrik, your majesty? Did they come with you?”
“Both are doing fine, though only Orrik made the journey with me, I believe he is currently wandering the dance floor. And who are these two adorable young ones? Could they possibly be the ankle-biters I once knew?” King Redarik turns his attention to Liliana and Julius, the two of them straightening up under his inquiring gaze.
“Indeed they are. Come, say hello, children,” King Tiberius instructed and his two offspring step forward to present themselves.
“Greetings, King Redarik. It had been a long while. I am pleased to see you in good health,” Liliana said with a curtesy, still keeping me close to her in her arms. Julius mimicked his sister, but with a short bow in place of the dress lifting bob of his sister.
“And it is a pleasure to see you both as well. Had it really been five years? Feels like it wasn’t too long ago that you barely reached my beard. And now look! You’re shooting up like mushrooms! You’ll soon be towering over me in no time,” the king chuckled.
The family chatted a bit more with King Redarik before both sides excused themselves and moved on to other guests.
After a few rounds of pleasantries with other dignitaries, we came across a group that look to be in an intense conversation. Both sides o
f the arguing people were easily distinguishable. The first was an older man in a dark green tabard and trousers, the outfit looking similar to King Tiberius’s, with the notable differences that it lacked a cape and was designed for a man much larger and heavier. Where there had once been muscle, flab and the beginnings of a portly belly shoved it all aside, though the man still looked as if he could crush boulders with his bare hands. He had thick streaks of grey in the brown hair, giving him an aged, weathered look.
He wore upon his cape an emblem of a red stag on a green field and a yellow setting sun in the background. This man wore a crown as well, though made of a pair of silver and gold serpents that coil around each other before meeting at the center of the forehead, clutching a multi-faceted emerald that practically glowed with magic. Beside him were a pair of guards who kept reaching for weapons that were not there, and an older woman who was trying to discreetly pull his arm and drag him away from the confrontation.
She was dressed in a dark green dress, but had a much more conservative approach to fabric, as there was much less foof and frills than Queen Amdora’s outfit. It looked wonderful though, and her gray hair was also done up in a bun.
The other party was not human. Though they were bipedal, they were much taller and thinner, with knife like ears and almond shaped eyes giving away their species. A pair of elves, one looking to be steadily growing more annoyed as he spoke with the crowned human, and the other possessing a bored expression as he watched it play out.
The arguing elf was pale skinned with blonde hair, and was wearing a silver-white toga-like robe above some kind of tight fitting light blue body suit. I had no idea what its purpose was, but it looks uncomfortable. A silk sash ties the ensemble together, while a choker of leather and gold inlay wraps around his delicate looking neck. Some sort of design was etched into it, and since I could see no magic in it I made the guess that it was an identifier of his rank or something similar.
The other elf was similar yet drastically different in his looks. For one, his skin was much paler than his comrade’s, being almost snow white. His hair was also white but with an odd hint of blue to it. He wore silver-grey armor over a similar bodysuit though that was pale red, almost pink. The way his hand kept drifting to his left hip told that he was used to having a weapon of some sort hanging at his side, and it annoyed him having to be separated from it.
I shivered as we approached, for the lazy looking elf was barely restraining a killing intent as he watched the debate. Most unsettling was that his ire was directed at both the human and the elf, who I assumed he was tasked to guard. A flicker of his eyes informed him of our arrival, and he reached out and lightly tapped the shoulder of his companion, a jerk of his head and darting of the eyes pointing out our group nearing the argument. The blonde elf flickered his own gaze over to us, and disengaged from the conversation he’s in with some muttered words towards the other human before stalking off over to us.
“Take a good look children. This is one of the representatives of the elves,” Rene whispered to her wards their royal parents prepared to meet the diplomat. “For a bit of extra credit, what do you know of their nation?”
“It is a federation of the three major elven kingdoms and lesser countries such as the gnomes of Tantara. The main force in the Domain is that of the so-called Grand Elves, one of the three elf tribes. Ambassador Roseknot is one of them, while the elf beside the Ambassador is one of the others, a Dire Elf from the frozen northern continent of Nora,” My owner whispered back.
“Can you tell me why they call themselves the ‘Second’ Elfish Domain?” Their tutor then inquired.
“Oh, I know why it is called the ‘Second!’” Julius murmured excitedly trying to get our attention. “Though the Second Domain is powerful, it is still a shadow of the fallen Grand Elfish Domain which was sundered by the same event that drove humans from Val’Narash.
“Excellent work, Julius! One of the sad but true stereotypes about Grand and Dire Elves is their excessive pride, and it leads to confrontations of all sorts. Not all of them are bad though. I know plenty who are kind and decent folks. It’s just that the ruling elite seem to be bred rude.” Rene looked over with a hint of disapproval to the elves as the conversation started.
“Greetings, King Tiberius,” the elf greeted, plastering a smile onto his face. His control over his expression was that of a master, even I could barely tell that it was fake. My owner’s father was not fooled either, though, but he gave a polite nod regardless.
“Ambassador Roseknot, it is a pleasure to see you attending our event in place of the Regent.” With his own fake smile, King Tiberius greeted the agent and representative of the distant, yet massive, empire in the east of Par-Orria; the Second Elfish Domain.
“It is quite far from Grand City to Sanc Aldet, your majesty. He and his Consort have much to do in terms of running the Domain. Though they send their greetings regardless.” If I could snort, I would, and I could sense that King Tiberius and Queen Amdora would have done so as well if it’d been permitted. Sure, the capitol of the elfish empire was even further than that of the dwarf’s capitol of Karz Thang, but magical ships, enchanted carriages, and even new gnomish airships allowed for fast travel over long distances if necessary.
It wasn’t an insult not to attend this event, as more than a few heads of state were absent from other nations in Orria and Par-Orria, but the ambassador’s words held barbs in them all the same.
“Unfortunate, but understandable. It takes a lot of effort trying to take care of a bunch of crying children and selfish brats. At least when they have offspring of their own they will have obtained much experience in that matter. Regardless, I do hope you enjoy yourselves tonight, Ambassador Roseknot.” The elf’s features twitched slightly at the barb even as some bystanders snickered.
“I’m sure I can find a way to do so, your majesty. Even though there seems to more than just one kind of animal tramping around.” Eyes full of loathing fell on me and I bristled unconsciously but restrained myself. It’ll do no good to get angry at this pompous ass.
“If you’ll excuse me,” the elf said, stepping aside and walking off to go bother someone else. His guard gave one last glance back at us, or rather, me, before catching up.
“Sorry for having that unpleasantness boil over to you, my boy,” the older human said, coming over to us now that his target of anger was gone.
“It was no problem at all, King Eric.” King Tiberius responds with a comforting smile.
“You can call me ‘uncle’ you know, it won’t kill you,” the man smirked, trading a handshake with his counterpart.
Ah, I thought he looked familiar! I’d seen his portrait in the castle before, and now that I had something to compare to, Liliana’s father did have some similarities to the older monarch, mostly in the hair, both color and curls..
King Tiberius just nodded noncommittally, before taking the hand of Brune’s queen and kissing it in greeting. “Queen Sasha, it had been a long time.”
“Indeed it had, you majesty. And may I say that you have some fine looking children,” she said, looking over my owner and Julius.
“Thank you, I am very proud of them.” He may have had a passive expression on his face, but I could indeed feel the fatherly pride in King Tiberius well up at the praise. A few more minutes of genuine pleasantries commence, though it wasn’t much longer before the topic over the surly elf was breached.
“Children, I am sure I don’t need to reintroduce you to your great-uncle, Eric Thardeen Naveros, king of Brune, do I?” He smirked at the indignant look Liliana and Julius shot him.
“Ah, Baroness Rene Bluemont. It has been a long time,” the king said with a momentary flicker of panic when he saw his old tutor. She just smiled and bowed politely. She had the decency not to fuss over her old students when in public, something King Eric was noticeably grateful for.
After some more polite introductions the topic of the elf was brought up.
“What
exactly was the ambassador berating you over?” Queen Amdora inquired to the ruler of Brune, who sighed in annoyance.
“A few days ago the spoiled little witch of a daughter for a wealthy elf merchant got it into her head that she wanted a Unicorn as a pet and mount,” King Eric explained, a scowl appearing on his face. “And even though the stable masters and tamers warned her repeatedly about proper etiquette when approaching and riding such a magical creature, she ignored it all and ended up angering it. Next thing you know, she’s been impaled and we have a frightened Unicorn tearing through the streets. Now the damned merchant wants reparations for his daughter’s death! I keep trying to explain that it was her actions that caused the incident, but they refuse to listen to reason! Now I’m up to my neck in diplomacy and politics, and Roseknot wanted to give his two coppers on how it’s all our fault and we should be reimbursing the elf…”
“She died? But I thought Unicorns were peaceful,” Liliana interrupted, and the king of Brune, glad to get off that particular topic, was quick to explain.
“Unicorns are indeed peaceful, but they are cowardly and skittish things by nature. Spook them and usually they’ll just run. But if you push too hard or they smell blood, then a Unicorn becomes a very dangerous animal to handle. After all, they have a sharp horn on their head, and an uncanny ability to aim for the heart when defending themselves,” King Eric explained to my owner. “Even the best of the beast handlers and monster tamers of my kingdom have a hard time training Unicorns. It’s why most riders prefer Pegasi or regular horses over Unicorns. It takes a special person to properly raise one.”
The monarch of Brune’s words were full of pride as he regaled Liliana and Julius more about his kingdom’s specialty.
