Theft, Murder, and Crystals Page 22

  That was the trouble for Groth, it seemed. He could never quite understand his own motivations. Then again, society moved too quickly in the Toplands. With such short lifespans, humans needed to do everything as fast as possible. Groth would never die. He had lived amongst people who would live forever. Building a house might take a hundred years for a Stonemar community. Drafting the plans for it would take even longer. There was no need to rush. No impetuous urgings to get things done. Deliberation took a long time, but with that luxury of time came certainty.

  Groth, living in the land where decisions must be made instantly, he no longer could deliberate. So perhaps that was why he found it so hard to understand the choices that he made. Even his snap decision to become the emissary for Elias had been spur of the moment. What choice did he have? If he didn’t act, Elias would have chosen someone else.

  Screams ahead interrupted Groth’s thoughts. He glanced up to see half a dozen men, armed to the teeth with axes and adorned with fur armor, rushing towards his cart. These brigands were to be expected.

  Groth gingerly leaned Erice aside, as not to disturb her and merely stood tall atop the cart. The men all ceased their charge at the sight of him.

  “Go now,” Groth said. “And live long lives.”

  The men, with fear in their eyes, quickly stepped aside, disappearing into the woods. Groth sat back down and chuckled. Travel was much faster when fights could be avoided so quickly.

  “More?” Erice mumbled as she slowly roused from her sleep. “Did they run?”

  “Fast, as rabbits,” Groth said.

  “Next time I get a turn,” she whispered. “Can’t go hogging all the fun.”

  Groth nodded at her. “I will wake you the next time.”

  “Good,” Erice said as she laid her head against his stone body. “Good.”

  Groth stared ahead. They would be at the border soon. And then after that, their journey would be downward, into the underground.

  “Do I look on edge?” Erice asked Groth as they walked through the busy streets of Ioalisk. Thousands of snake people were everywhere, sliding to and fro, just as occupied with their day to day business. No one paid any mind to Groth, which was nice for a change. Stonemar were more common in snake territory than in human, and the two races often intermingled.

  “You look at ease,” Groth said. He was lying a little but saw no reason in making her any more tense. The large population of hissing, potentially deadly creatures was unnerving when one was so weak like a human. Wielding magic would help, but not against such a large group of creatures.

  “Don’t lie to me, I stick out like a sore thumb here,” Erice whispered. “I didn’t realize it would be…crowded.”

  “Serpentines breed at a much higher rate than humans. It is fortunate that they do not care for the sun,” Groth said.

  “They’d overrun us if they did,” Erice concluded.

  “Excuse us,” a team of serpents said as they pushed past Groth. They were carrying buckets full of crystals and were wearing the clothes of miners.

  “Wait!” Groth hissed back. The snake speech was considerably easier to utter than human languages, even with his enchantment.

  “Yes?” one of the asked, turning to face Groth.

  “You mine these crystals? Who runs the operation?” Groth asked.

  “That would be Queen Loxxian,” the worker replied. He pointed to the large underground castle in the center of the cavern.

  “I thank you,” Groth said, giving the customary bow to the snake man.

  “And I you,” the worker replied before slithering off to join his comrades.

  “I understood most of that,” Erice said. “But the dialect is different from what I was taught.”

  “I thought your Sun bestowed you all language,” Groth said as he began to make his way to the castle.

  Erice laughed at that. “He provided the light that shined upon the many books on language my mother forced me to read.”

  “You have a storied past, yet you keep it quiet,” Groth said. “Why is that?”

  “I prefer people not to know my secrets,” Erice replied. “My upbringing was nonconventional, full of strangeness that would lead people to make conclusions about who I am.”

  “And so, by sharing your stories, you damn yourself in their eyes?” Groth asked.

  “Something like that,” Erice said.

  “I too know of being judged by assumptions,” Groth said. “I will not ask.”

  They stopped at the entrance to the castle. The castle itself was made of green bricks, with several spires rising high in the sky. There were no walls, for what good would walls be in an underground fortress? For an enemy force to make their way into the castle, they would first need to breach the entrance to the cavern itself, which was heavily fortified.

  Once Groth introduced himself and his companion as emissaries from the Toplands, they were quickly ushered into the throne room, where the Queen awaited them. Prophets had told her of such a visit today, and so she was eager to see them.

  The golden doors to the throne room opened up as Groth and Erice entered, accompanied by a host of elite soldiers. These men were adorned in golden scaled armor that covered their entire bodies from top to bottom. Each wielded a halberd, raising their polearms high as they escorted their guests.

  The Queen was larger than anyone else that Groth had seen down below. She was nearly 20 feet in size, coiled up so that she rested comfortably in the center. Her hood was adorned with many jewels and studded diamonds, like how the humans wore earrings.

  “Blessed guests, come and sit,” the queen said, gesturing to the bright red cushions on the ground. Wine and food had been placed on a tray by the seating. Groth had no need for food, of course, but he hoped that Erice would eat and drink. To refuse hospitality would be rude.

  “I thank you,” Groth said as he sat on the ground, crossing his legs somewhat. It was an awkward position, as he normally just rested on all fours, but he wanted to obey her words to the letter. This was more than just a friendly greeting, it was a game of sorts. As long as he could avoid offending her, she would have no leverage above him during the negotiations. It felt good to have something meaningful to do for once.

  Erice sat as well and helped herself to the wine. She had no hesitation in eating the meats and cheeses set before her. Groth was thankful for her aid. Or at least her hunger and thirst.

  “My seers spoke of your coming a fortnight ago,” Loxxian said as she loomed over them. “But they did not mention a Stonemar and a human. How curious a group.”

  “Queen Loxxian, I speak as emissary for Lord Elias of Glimmer,” Groth said. “My name is Groth and this is my guard, Erice. We have business to discuss with you.”

  Loxxian nodded. “It is appreciated that you are not coy, or worse, that you do not try to lavish me with words. What do you want?”

  “We wish to purchase a stake in your mines here, the ones that harvest the Luminous Crystals.”

  Loxxian tilted her enormous head. “Such a strange request.” She extended herself forward a little, so that she was closer to Groth. “Why would foreigners wish to buy crystals? They contain light, do they not? Are torches not sufficient for toplanders in the night hours?”

  “Is business meant to be discussed to such detail?” Groth replied. “I should very well ask the secrets of what you do with your profits of the mine.”

  “Discretion of course, should be honored,” Loxxian said. “But a stake in my mines does not come cheap. Permission to export from my lands costs even more. My seers said you would not have the money, but you have something else that I want.”

  Groth said nothing. He merely waited for her to continue. There was no reason to counter yet, an offer hadn’t been formally made.

  “You are sharp. I will give you that,” Loxxian said, breaking the silence. “Most speak rapidly and hand me much rope so that I may hang them with it. You hold your peace. The seers told me that you possess an Elect. On
e chosen by our High Prophets.”

  “That is true,” Groth replied.

  “Such a curious custom of ours,” Loxxian said as she looked at her hands with a mild air of boredom. “To take others and train them to be sorcerers and magicians. What do you think of what we do?” she asked, pointing to Erice.

  Erice struggled to get the words out but managed to hiss out a coherent sentence. “I think you do what is natural to your people. As do all cultures.”

  “Hah, you do not wish to offend,” Loxxian said. “Be honest.”

  Erice shrugged. “I don’t get it. You give immense power, but you also steal a child from his parents. I think it is cruel.”

  “As do I!” Loxxian said. “But there’s not much to be done about such a tradition, is there? No, I think not. At least when the high priests are in command. But such a curious custom has earned us many enemies. Especially amongst the humans.”

  Erice nodded as did Groth. There was a reason the Serpentine people lived deep beneath the surface, in a strange realm that was hostile to most living creatures.

  “So, what then do you wish of us? If gold is not sufficient,” Groth said.

  Loxxian’s hood flapped a little as she chuckled. “I want what everyone wants, I want to be in Glimmer.”

  “There is no chance of that happening,” Groth replied.

  “I suppose not,” Loxxian said. “At least, not right now. But I must insist upon furthering my own goals. If you have a powerful man backing you, a man from a great city, then he must have the ability to pull strings. Can’t he simply snap and allow me entry?”

  “You know full well the laws of the human lands. Your vile practices have earned your races fate,” Groth replied. “You must stay beneath, as all of your people. Glimmer will never accept your kind. As a Stonemar, I can say that even my own existence is barely tolerated by the humans.”

  “But they do tolerate you,” Loxxian replied. “Enough to at least allow you to live there. Glimmer is a wonderous city and I have heard many stories. My skin-changing spies tell me tales of its splendor. It is a place ripe with opportunities.”

  “Then have your skin changed and live as a human,” Groth replied. “Fantasy has no meaning in this conversation. You and I both know that you cannot live above the surface as a Serpentine.”

  “I want a squadron of my loyal followers placed into the city,” Loxxian said. She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “Your Lord will sneak them in, give them residence and allow them to conduct their business unbothered by the city’s guards. My prophets have told me this is within your power. Then, and only then will I be willing to discuss selling you this mine.”

  Groth scoffed at that. “Do not be so bold to try and pretend as if your mine has any true value. Luminous crystals are worth little more than copper pieces in these lands. You mine not for crystals but for gold and gems. These crystals are just so common that you make a fortune off of selling them in bulk.”

  “Indeed, they are somewhat worthless in my homelands,” Loxxian replied. “You can see them everywhere, in the homes of all Serpentines. Stores sell them at every corner. But they must have some value to your master, or else you should not be here at this moment. And that means the price has gone up significantly since your arrival.”

  Groth growled at that but kept his silence. It was an unfortunate incident that Loxxian had access to soothsayers who could inform her of a bargain coming in her direction. This negotiation was not going favorably. Finally, he spoke. “Enough games. You clearly know what you want. You know that I am at your mercy. Tell me then, what your actual terms are. I will not go back and forth any longer.”

  Loxxian laughed. “Stonemar are no fun to bargain with. You could at least give me the decency of a counter.”

  “Why? You know that you have the advantage here,” Groth admitted. “There would be little reason for me to waste my breath. If I had any breath to waste, that is.”

  “Fair enough,” Loxxian said. “I am serious. I want my people in Glimmer.”

  “Such an arrangement cannot be made. Our connections in the city run deep, but the sight of snake people will cause a panic.”

  “An ambassador, that is all I ask then,” Loxxian replied. The playfulness and eagerness from her voice was gone. All that remained was a calm, calculated tone. “One ambassador who has the right to speak to the Magistrate. He must have diplomatic immunity.”

  “You do not ask a small favor,” Groth said. He glanced over at Erice, who exchanged a worried glance with him. “Glimmer follows the same laws that all humans do. Aid not a Serpentine, nor allow them into our lands. Those laws are kept out of a mutual need for survival. Why do you think Glimmer would deviate from these rules?”

  “My spies tell me that the Magistrate does whatever profits them personally,” Loxxian said. “Law and justice have little purpose in that glorious city. If I wish to establish a connection with the Toplands, then Glimmer would be the right city for the job. I have been waiting many years for an opportunity like this.”

  Groth pondered the request. He wished that he had just a small amount of time to think it over, maybe a year or two, but like humans, Serpentines moved quickly in their lives. Elias was a smart man, perhaps he would find some way to introduce an ambassador from a race famous for stealing the children of humans. Perhaps those thoughts were naivete on Groth’s part. But there was no other answer. Loxxian had nothing to gain from a simple business transaction. She would not sell the mine without this stipulation.

  “Very well,” Groth said. “We shall grant one of your people ambassadorship to the city, in exchange, you will provide us a stake in the mine.”

  “We will provide you the opportunity to purchase the mine,” Loxxian said. “One favor to us does not warrant two favors for you.”

  Now Groth held the power. He chuckled. “If your prophets sang such bold prophecies to you about our coming, surely they would have mentioned our reluctance to spend gold. You overplayed your hand, Your Highness. One favor of this magnitude is certainly worth two.”

  Loxxian laughed a little. “If you get my man to stand before the courts, unharmed, you can have the mine and all the wagons within it.”

  “That would be most beneficial to the both of us,” Groth said as he stood to bow. This was nothing more than a temporary victory. The real challenge was somehow convincing Elias that Groth had made the right decision.

  Chapter 25:

  “So, everything to your liking?” Samuel asked as he threw himself into the chair across Elias’ desk. “It was a real pain to get Koli to roll over.”

  Elias didn’t bother to look up from his papers. “Yes, it’s quite nice, Mr. Samuel,” he mumbled. “Is there something you need? I’ve quite a bit of work to do.”

  Samuel rapped on the desk with his knuckle. “You remember what I asked a few weeks ago?”

  Elias continued working. “You ask me a lot of things. Hard to keep track.”

  “About the orphanage in the Mermaid District,” Samuel said. “Remember?”

  Elias stopped from his writing and looked up. “Oh, right, right. Yes. I completely forgot all about that. I looked into the zoning laws of the MD. The good news is that this isn’t a matter for the Magistrate.”

  “How is that good news?”

  “Dealing with them is significantly more expensive and time consuming than working with individuals,” Elias replied. He dug into his desk and drew out a book labelled Ordinances and Zoning Laws Vol 23. “See, every district has different zoning laws based on demographics, function, etc., with different powers assigned to control them. So, for instance, the Magistrate is in charge of approving military areas, such as the Thunder District, where the troop quarters are. They are in direct control and so nothing can be placed without a vote. But, in the cases of more residential areas, such as the Mermaid District, zoning commissions are often elected.”

  Samuel nodded. “I’m following so far. So, you mean there’s a group of people in
charge of okaying this orphanage I want made?”

  Elias sighed at that. “Afraid not. The bad news here is that the Mermaid District has a special type of charter, giving all zoning control to one single family, who have power of decree. The Yirn family gained this power about 700 years ago, due to some clever exploitation of the legal system. Patrick Yirn is in charge, he’s the sole individual who has the power to say yes or no to new buildings being erected.”

  “So, he’s the one holding up the construction,” Samuel said. “Damn, all this legal stuff sounds quite complicated. I always thought the Magistrate did everything.”