Chapter 53: Chapter 48 – Breakfast with a King

"Out of all civilized races, dwarves and orcs are probably tied for the top spot in how few luxuries their leaders allowed for themselves. Both races were known for heavy pragmatism, and often eschewed ostentatious displays of wealth for more practical items instead." - Garth Wainwrought, socioeconomics professor at the Levain Institute of Higher Learning.

 

As morning dawned the next day, Cal found herself headed towards the royal castle behind Aelfried and Roslin. The old dwarf had mentioned to her that the king himself would have liked to have her presence for breakfast this morning, with an informal discussion hinted at. When she queried Aelfried, he professed that he had very little to do with politics in general, and most ministers were content with his neutrality, and thus left him in peace.

 

"Dat's outwith me remit, lass." Said the old dwarf. "'pends on wat da high heids yin think"

 

"I get your drift." Cal replied with a nod. "One reason I left was because I had no interest whatsoever in politicking."

 

The old dwarf guffawed at her answer.

 

They walked together towards the royal castle - one of the buildings built outside the mountains, in this case atop the tallest of the mountain peaks -, which to most would have looked more like a large military fort rather than the castle where a king lived. Two dwarven guards in decorated, yet highly practical armor waved them through the main gate of the castle, the gigantic double doors made from adamant steel opened to allow them entry with the aid of some unseen mechanism.

 

Where most royal castles would have gleamed with opulence - though to be fair, Cal was only truly familiar with the imperial castle at Al-Shan -, the castle in Knallgant looked far more somber. Instead of tapestries and artistic decorations, the dwarves decorated their castle with war banners, suits of masterwork armor, and various weapons of war - all of which were well maintained and highly functional - that hung on the walls. The few paintings Cal saw were either scenes of triumph or portraits, which depicted dwarven kings and heroes of old.

 

They found the king at a balcony that provided an amazing view from the mountain top, where he sat next to his queen and their two children. To her surprise, it was the king who stood up and bowed in greeting when he saw Aelfried come in, a gesture his family followed. Cal, he gave a firm shake of the hand, before he gestured for them to be seated. Roslin already made small talk with the king's children, from which Cal could tell that they were already well acquainted.

 

"I am pleased that you chose to accept my invitation, Grand Marshal Ambervale." Said King Utgard Stahlfaust as he gave Cal a polite smile. It was obvious that the invitation was because he wanted to speak with her, since he had her seated to his right.

 

"No reason not to, your highness." She replied politely, and sampled her tea with a tentative sip. The tea was strong and laced with liquor, which made for a taste she quite agreed with. "Though I do wonder what you seek through this 'informal' talk with a retired woman like me."

 

"Oh, nothing dire, Dame Ambervale." Said the dwarven king with a kind smile. "I believe I am quite aware of what type of person you might be, especially after that… awe-inspiring bout in the arena three days ago."

 

Utgard gave a pointed glance to his grand-uncle as he said that, who had busied himself with the king's children, as he regaled them with tales fantastical, often to the amusement of the queen.

 

"I would merely like to ask for a small favor, Dame." Said the king as he helped himself to a crisp pastry fresh from the oven, which oozed with molten cheese as he bit into it. "You see, Knallzog used to be one of Al-Shan's trading partners in the past, but we had to cease those activities when the civil war made it too unsafe for traders to go there."

 

"And now that the war is over, you probably would like to resume the old routes." Cal added for him, to which the king nodded. She also tried one of the pastries set on the table, and found that she picked one with a flaky, buttery crust, with a filling that tasted like cuts of pears, stewed in sugar and some spices. "So you probably want me to deliver the message or put a good word in I reckon?"

 

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"The latter would be plenty, Dame. I had already sent an envoy once we received and confirmed the news that the civil war had ended, but I reckon he might not have reached Al-Shan until spring at the earliest." Explained the king, as he offered Cal some unusual confections that looked like semi-transparent pink cubes which were dusted with fine sugar. "If I may ask, it is true then, that the new emperor of Al-Shan is the grandson of emperor Azeef Haroone?"

 

"He is, yes. Xain would be the last of his branch until he gets some kids himself, as the usurper was quite thorough with the rest, I fear." Said Cal somberly, as she chewed on one of the confections. She found that it was chewy in texture, and tasted sweet with a floral tinge, interspersed by some nuts embedded within. "He plans to follow through on his grandfather's plans, now that it's far more feasible to do as we rebuild from the war."

 

"I had met with Emperor Azeef personally before, when I was still a prince." The dwarven king said, his tone sad and nostalgic. "He had grand ideas, his mind on the welfare of his people first and foremost."

 

"Many would say, that the late emperor was too kind a man to be born in the position he was in." Cal lamented.

 

"That he was. He was a kindly soul, with none of the political cunning or ruthlessness one would have needed to even have considered such reforms." Said Utgard in agreement as he sighed. "I had warned him then, as a friend, that his ideas would have tread on the toes of many, and that he should exercise caution, but he was always too trusting, was he not?"

 

"That he was." Cal admitted. "It beehoved me not to speak ill of the late emperor, but the man who took his life… was probably the man he trusted the most in the world. It was one reason we struggled so badly in the first decades of the war back then."

 

"He trusted many whose interests disagreed with himself, and those took advantage to remove others who truly supported him." The dwarf king plainly stated. "In all honesty, I was quite surprised that the civil war lasted so long, or that Sharif even lost in the end. The reports we had indicated that he was very thorough with the coup."

 

"That he was, we barely had any support, and the first two decades of the war was more of us fleeing from one place to another than fighting." Cal reminiscenced. "It was not until a generation had passed before we managed to garner support and started truly fighting back against him."

 

"To be completely honest, Dame Ambervale, I have to admit that your retirement left me with questions." Utgard admitted bluntly, as he offered Cal more tea, which she accepted. "I do not mean to pry, but as a king, I must inquire whether it was a sign of possible further unrest in Al-Shan or not."

 

"An understandable stance." Cal answered as she sipped her tea. "And I will be honest in return. My decision is a personal one. Much like your granduncle, your highness, politicking and the life of a noble isn't for me."

 

"I also personally knew everyone who served as ministers, and they were people who I had trusted with my life before. I am confident they will do the country right." She continued with a sigh. "They would have little need for just another killer like me, not in the days of peace to come."

 

"I can feel that you still had burdens you left unaired from how you spoke, but I shall not be rude and pry about that." Replied Utgard in understanding. "I thank you that you had indulged my curiosity. As a token of thanks, I had my chef prepare a gift basket of his finest pastries and confections for your pleasure."

 

"Why, your highness, that's very kind of you." Replied Cal with a genuine smile on her face.

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