It's not that it makes my stomach a bit flopsy to gaze all the way up there, mind you, Flint told himself. I just don't want to spoil it all by going and looking at it every single time I walk into the room.
Most of the courtiers had arrived, Flint saw, but the Speaker himself was absent, as was Tanis. 'Sure as a hammer is heavy, he'll be late,' Flint grumbled, shaking his head so that his beard wagged back and forth. Figuring he was on his own for a while, he moved away from the gathered elves, leaned against one of the pillars that lined the chamber, and waited for court to begin.
Courtiers, opulently attired in long tunics of green, brown, and russet silk embroidered with silver and gold thread, stood in groups around the hall, their quiet voices echoing in the upper reaches of the Tower. Much of the conversation, Flint realized as he stood by the pillar, centered on the Tower guards' inability to catch the tylor.
'How difficult can it be to locate one twenty- or thirty-foot monster?' one old elf complained. 'In my day, the beast would have been slain days ago.'
The elf's companion sought to mitigate the elder one's ire. 'The forest is large and magical. The Speaker should form a special troop, with a wizard and the best-trained men, to track, corner, and slay the beast.' The old elf nodded his agreement.
'Everyone's an expert,' Flint muttered.
Porthios's friends Ulthen and Selena, the woman's slender arm entwined around the elven lord's waist, glided by and took up a position on the other side of the pillar. Selena's eyes, the dwarf saw, were constantly on, not her companion Ulthen, but Litanas, Lord Xenoth's new assistant, who stood with the adviser at the foot of the rostrum. Flint moved over a foot or so, hoping they wouldn't see him. He knew Selena, Litanas, and Ulthen were part of the group of elves that didn't want outsiders in court, even though the blond Selena rarely failed to gush over Flint's 'wonderful dwarven artistry' when she saw him.
Selena's cutting voice came clearly to his ears.
'Well, Litanas told me that Tyresian threatened Xenoth if the adviser didn't stop throwing impediments in his way. But Litanas didn't know exactly what the argument was about. I think Xenoth hides things from Litanas, which just isn't fair because Lord Litanas is one of the most intelli-'
Ulthen tried to quiet her. 'Selena, your voice…' he said.
'Oh, Ulthen, leave me be. Anyway, Litanas said…'
Ulthen grimaced, and Flint realized that the young lord probably heard 'Litanas said' a lot.
'Well,
Ulthen's voice was growing impatient. 'Oh, Selena, don't be ridiculous.'
Her voice rocketed to a screech. 'Ridiculous! How safe do you think it is, to have people coming in from all over, on the same trails that the tylor has made so dangerous?'
Ulthen-and Flint, on the other side of the pillar-had to admit that Selena had a point. Perhaps that's what this announcement was all about. It would almost certainly be the first time a
Just then the gilded doors swung open, and the Speaker stepped through, followed by Laurana. The reflected sunlight that filled the Tower shimmered off his green-gold robes, and Solostaran walked with regal grace into the chamber. Flint made his way toward his friend.
The Speaker was greeting various courtiers, exchanging pleasantries, but Flint noticed immediately that there was something odd about the Speaker today. If the Speaker of the Sun had changed at all in the twenty years that Flint had known him, then the dwarf was unaware of the differences; the Speaker stood as straight as the Tower itself, his face still as timeless as the marble of the Tower's inner walls. But today, though his eyes were normally as clear and warm as a midsummer's day, there was a troubled look in them.
'Master Fireforge,' the Speaker said as he turned to see the dwarf standing patiently beside him, not wishing to interrupt the Speaker's conversation with the courtiers. 'I am glad you could be here.'
'I'll always come, should you ask it,' Flint said. For the first time, he noticed a faint wrinkle in the Speaker's smooth brow, beneath his gold circlet of state.
The Speaker smiled at the dwarf, but the expression seemed wan. 'Thank you, Flint,' he said, and Flint was slightly surprised. It was the first time he could remember the Speaker calling him by his first name in a formal setting. 'I fear I'm going to need a friend such as you today.'
'I don't understand,' Flint said.
'The bonds of friendship are strong, Flint, but sometimes they can bind too tightly.' The Speaker's gaze flicked over the crowd, came to rest on Lord Xenoth and Litanas, then moved away.
'Oh, I see,' Flint said gruffly. 'I'll just leave you alone, then.'
'No, Master Fireforge,' the Speaker said then, placing his hands on Flint's shoulders before the dwarf could walk away. A hint of a smile played across his lips before drifting away again. 'I am speaking of a different sort of friendship, that between two houses. While such ties have helped me- and my father before me-in the past, I regret the price I must pay for that friendship now.'
'But what is it?' Flint asked. What could one do for a friend that would be so distasteful?
The Speaker softly shook his head. 'I'm afraid you will hear soon enough. But tell me, Flint, that later you'll have the time to drink a cup of wine with an old elf.'
The Speaker smiled once more as Flint assented, then walked toward the rostrum in the center of the chamber. The Speaker ascended the podium, and the courtiers ended their conversations to turn their attention toward him. Where was Tanis? Flint wondered.
Porthios stood to his father's left, near Lord Xenoth and Litanas, seemingly trying to appear as regal as the Speaker, but looking to Flint more like a puffed-up young rooster. Porthios's younger brother, Gilthanas, stood to the right of the rostrum with the rest of the ceremonial guards. The guards wore black leather jerkins, glinting with silver filigree entwined in the symbol of the Sun and the Tree. It was the same symbol that had adorned the flag that Kith-Kanan had borne with him when he had first set foot within the forest of Qualinesti.
Gilthanas had joined the guard not half a year ago. He was still little more than a boy, only slightly older than Laurana, but Flint knew that Porthios had argued long and hard with the captain of the guard to gain the position for Gilthanas. Although Gilthanas did his best to imitate the rigid stance of the other guards, holding his sword before him in the traditional salute, the weapon seemed too heavy for his slight frame. Flint shook his head. He had to give the boy credit for trying so hard to be strong, but Flint wasn't exactly sure what Gilthanas seemed to be trying to prove.
Just as the Speaker raised his hands in greeting to the entire court, signaling the beginning of the proceedings, Flint was jostled from behind. He spun around, eyes flashing, to give a piece of his mind to the clumsy idiot who hadn't the sense to watch where he was going.
'Tanis!' he whispered, relieved that his friend was finally here. Tanis was breathing hard, and a sheen of sweat slicked his skin. 'What in Reorx's name are you doing traipsing in here so late?' he whispered hotly.
'Hush, Flint,' Tanis said softly, gesturing toward the rostrum where the Speaker was beginning his address.
'I thank you all for coming here today,' the Speaker was saying to the nobles gathered about the rostrum. 'I have great news to share with you, news which I hope will give you all cause for joy.
'First, however, I must confess to an ulterior motive in inviting you all here.' The Speaker smiled. 'You know, of course, that a rapacious beast has been ravaging the countryside around Qualinost. Several people have been lost to the creature, and farmers on the outskirts of the area have reported that increasing numbers of livestock have been missing. My advisers tell me this beast, a tylor, no doubt has built a lair somewhere near one of the trails from Solace. Troops who have been sent out to hunt for the monster have been unable to locate it, but they have seen signs of the beast and believe they have pinned down the general area where the creature…' — he paused- 'feeds.'
The Speaker's features softened as he looked out over the group of courtiers.
'Thus, I am asking for volunteers to join together and seek out the tylor. Because the creature has some magical abilities, Mage Miral has graciously agreed to go along.' Miral, standing by a pillar across from Flint, inclined his head, crossed his arms, and slid them far into his sleeves. 'And Lord Tyresian has accepted the position as leader of the hunt.' Tyresian's tight smile looked more like a grimace than a grin.
'I am hoping that the most skilled of you will consent to accompany this volunteer troop to the area where
