18 - Council

So sorry for the late post for the $5 tier. I completely forgot. I have set reminders for myself to keep this from happening in the future

“...So as I mentioned before, your majesty, not much information of value.”

“Not much of value?” said Hallbjorn. “Not much of value?! You moron, they basically confirmed that they are planning to wage war on us!”

The king’s face was turning red with anger and incredulity at Bragi’s analysis of the conversation. The Dwarven guard had led Elise back to the council chamber, and then proceeded to recite the entire conversation with the Drow from memory. He even did different voices to denote the different speakers. Elise and a few of the other council members had to hold back laughter when he tried imitating Elise’s high helium voice.

“Be glad you have a good memory or you’d be down in the mines!” said the king. “Return to your post!”

Bragi left the council room with his head down, leaving just Elise, the Council, and a pair of deaf messengers in case the king needed to send word anywhere. The king sighed and put his head in his hand. He took a deep breath, then slammed his fist down on his stone armrest, cracking it.

“Why did it have to be right now, of all times? Damn the ghouls and their damned goddess and her damned prophecies!”

“Your Majesty, I have something to say regarding this situation,” said Elise. 

“What?” the king snapped. “Sorry, sorry. I need to calm down. Give me a moment. Does anyone have any good news?”

Right on cue, another messenger dwarf arrived and hurried to the king with a note in her hands. The king read it, and for a few moments, no one moved. No one even dared to breathe. Then, the king crumpled the note and slammed his fist down on his armrest again, shattering it. 

“The other ghouls got away,” he growled. “They had a secret tunnel leading to our morel orchard, and they collapsed it behind them as they retreated. DAMN IT!”

“Your Majesty, I’ve changed my mind,” said Elise. “I believe it’s best we save this conversation for another time.”

“More bad news then?”

“Not news, persay. Just some thoughts I had.”

The king glowered at her. “And you think these thoughts would worsen my mood.”

“Not necessarily, but-”

“But what? Out with it already!”

“I think it’s something best discussed when we’re all a bit more rational.”

“You think I’m irrational right now?” 

Contrary to how he had been speaking before, shouting and spewing curses, his voice turned quiet, and his expression was blank. The tension in the room reached its peak as he stared at her and Elise worked up the nerve to say what she knew she had to.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” she said finally. “I think you are irrational right now.”

He stared at her for a few moments more, then jumped to his feet.

“Dammit, you’re right. I need to go hit something. Nobody leave!”

The entire room was silent as he stormed out the door, and they breathed a collective sigh of relief once he was gone. Elise had never seen him quite so angry before, but she had been around him enough to know that she had said the right thing. He was a fiery man, but a self aware one, and he knew that he had to step away when he got too heated lest he make a mistake.

With the tension gone, the Council members were able to relax a bit, and started talking with each other. They all conversed in groups of three or four, and in whispers as if they didn’t want anyone else to hear. Elise heard everything of course, and was severely disappointed. The ever-bickering Council seemed to finally be of one mind, and that one mind was to attack the Drow before the Drow could attack them. 

Elise had known that something similar could happen, but she hadn’t realized it would be so unanimous. She was suddenly much more nervous about making her proposal. The ceiling in the Council chambers was much lower than it had been in the dining hall. She wouldn’t be able to fly safely out of their reach if they got riled up, which left her with the option of escaping out the lone door, which was guarded by the eight members of the strongest division in the Dwarven military, the Royal Guard. 

“What do we do about the Fey?” whispered a dwarf.

Elise focused in on the one who had spoken. It was Solvi who, like Josef, was a [Council Elder, lvl ???]. In fact, most of the Dwarves on the Council were the same, with only four still with their original merchant or warrior classes. Solvi was a prominent member of her most vocal opposition, and he was speaking to Josef, the leader of that faction. Josef noticed her gaze and sneered at her.

“What will we do about the Fey?” he repeated loudly. “She has behaved herself so well until now, but no doubt she’s harboring thoughts of treason after realizing she could be worshiped if she joined the ghouls.”

“I am not,” said Elise. “I would never betray the kindness the dwarves have shown me.”

“Right,” he said sarcastically. “Then I’m sure you didn’t believe a word of that nonsense they were spouting about us taking their homes.”

Elise remained silent. She knew it would be incriminating, but she couldn’t bring herself to lie so brazenly.

“I thought so,” scoffed Josef. “The king’s perfect little pet, but only until she meets a ghoul, and now she’s ready to turn coat.”

“I am not going to turn coat!” said Elise.

“As if we would believe you. I say we put down the beast before she can betray us.”

“Josef, you’ve gone too far!” said Magnus, the leader of the pro-Elise faction. 

He was easily the fattest dwarf Elise knew. His chair at the Council table had to be made custom to fit him, because he was too wide to sit comfortably between the armrests of the standard seats. He was also famous for his ability to drink all of the other Council members under the table if he chose. He was a good man, and kind, usually, but Elise was not as thrilled as she could have been about having him as her chief supporter.

“Too far?” asked Josef. “If anything, I haven’t gone far enough! We should have left her down in the Dungeons with the ghouls she loves so much. Or better yet, we shouldn’t have taken her in in the first place.”

“Josef, are you blind?” asked Magnus. “I know you see the Rune of Fate as well, and I know you know it can’t be faked.”

“Actually, I don’t know that,” countered Josef. “She’s a Fey! They defy common sense! For all I know, she’s laughing right now at how well she’s got you all fooled. Even if the ghouls didn’t worship them, everyone knows you should never trust a Fey!”

“She has been nothing but helpful and generous since she’s arrived!” argued Magnus.

“Helpful? Generous? How? She’s done nothing but enjoy our hospitality and skirt responsibility for three months!”

“What else could she have done? You and your idiots have been so adamant about her never so much as sniffing a piece of power that she hasn’t even been in a position to take on any responsibility!”

“Good! If she had any power, I’m certain we’d all be dead already!”

“If you fools weren’t so stubborn, we could be on the surface right now!”

“The surface? You really think that thing will lead us to the surface?”

“That thing is a sign from the gods! Whether she leads or follows, we are destined to emerge from these miserable caves sooner than later.”

“Enough!” boomed another voice. 

It was Sindri, the leader of the small faction that the king believed was on the fence about Elise. He was youngest of the council, and one of two members sporting a beard with not a single gray hair. He had become a Royal Guard at age thirty, and the leader of the Royal Guards at forty, and a year ago when he turned fifty, he finally qualified for a seat on the Council. His skill and charisma had already earned him a small following among some of the less strongly opinionated Council members, and the other faction leaders were quite wary of him.

“Shut up, Sindri,” said Josef. “Your beard barely reaches your belt.”

“And yours gets covered in drool when you sleep, you old codger,” retorted the younger dwarf. “This conversation isn’t productive.”

“Stay out of this, Sindri,” said Magnus. “You may be skilled, but you have only been on the Council for a year. You do not have enough experience in running the kingdom.”

“You aren’t running the kingdom right now, you're just arguing like children, and as the one among us who was most recently a child, I believe that makes me the most qualified to participate.” A few of the other dwarves snickered. “I don’t trust the Fey any more than you do Josef, but you’re being ridiculous. We’ve seen what she’s capable of. And if she’s managed to fool all of us so convincingly… well, we never stood a chance.”

“So you’re just going to give up?” asked Josef. “Let her do as she pleases until the kingdom is ruined?”

“I did not say that,” said Sindri. “But we can’t just execute what could be an innocent creature, and a sign from the gods because you’re too paranoid.”

“Paranoid?! You think I’m paranoid? You’re not paranoid enough! When has there ever been a helpful Fey? When have the ghouls ever done anything but try to kill us all? For gods’ sake, they killed your brother, Sindri!”

“Leave my brother out of this!”

“Why should I?! They killed mine too! They even killed the queen! Every time we let our guards down, someone dies! I’m not going to sit around and wait patiently for our species to end, just because it might be different this time!”

“And yet, sitting around is all you’ve done,” said Sindri. “When have you ever done anything but sit around and shout your opinions at anyone who’ll listen. It’s because of you that we can never get anything done?”

“Yeah, you thin-bearded bastard!” agreed Magnus.

“You too, Magnus. You say you want to return to the surface, but all you’ve done is argue with Josef. You haven’t made a single preparation for what you say is inevitable. In fact, I heard you recently refurnished your house.”

“Young man, you are pushing your limits!” said Magnus. “I had a full beard before you even got your first stubble! You call us fools, but all you’ve done since you’ve gotten to the council is sit on the fence while the rest of us had real discussions!”

Elise sat in the middle of the table, nonplussed as the discussion devolved into what she had come to understand was a standard Council meeting. Well, not quite standard. They were all still on the Beard-Related Insults portion, and hadn’t moved on to the Throwing Things At Each Other part. If it went on for much longer, it would, but thankfully, Hallbjorn returned right as Magnus was reaching for his cup of mushroom liquor.

The entire room grew quiet, and the dwarves who had stood up in anger returned to their seats and their neutral expressions, as if they hadn’t just been at each others’ throats. The king did not look completely calm, but the rage in his eyes was now simmering beneath the surface, rather than boiling over like it had been before. 

“I see you all were productive while I was gone,” he said. “Now Elise, tell me what you wanted to say before.”

Elise took note of the positions of Council members and the guards outside the door and then took a deep breath before speaking again.

“I think I know a way for this war to end without a single casualty.”

“Ha!” said Josef. “If you’re going to lie, at least make it believable.”

“Quiet, Josef,” said Hallbjorn. “Elise go on.”

“The dwarves need to go to the surface as soon as possible.”

“You want us to turn our backs to the enemy and start digging a tunnel?”

“Josef!”

“Apologies, Your Majesty.”

The king nodded at Elise to continue.

“The Drow prophecy stated that there would be no living dwarves in the caverns within the next year. It did not state that all the dwarves would die. This does not conflict with the Dwarven prophecy of the Rune of Fate leading them to the surface. If the dwarves go to the surface, both races will be satisfied and no one will have to die.”

“Both will satisfied?” asked Hallbjorn. “I would be fine if I never had to see another stinking ghoul ever again, but they are hell bent on destroying us. Even if we go to the surface, they will not rest until we are dead.”

“I disagree,” said Elise. “I think that they will leave you alone if you leave. And if they don’t want to, I think I can convince them.”

“Negotiating with the ghouls?” said Josef. “Your Majesty, I believe she’s finally revealing her true colors. She’s utterly mad!”

“Elise, did the Drow use any kind of skill on you while you were speaking with them?” asked the king.

“No,” said Elise, trying to remain calm. “But I think that they will listen to me if I bring the proposal to them.”

“Ha!” he replied. “The ghouls don’t listen to reason. Even if you try to convince them of peace, they have more powerful Fey in their moldy holes telling them the opposite.”

“I know I can do it,” she pleaded. “At least give me a chance. Let me speak to the Drow in the dungeon again. I believe we can use them to form a relationship-”

“How will we form a relationship with prisoners who are going to die within the week?”

“If we send them back with a message for their queen-”

“You want to let the ghouls go?” asked Josef.

“Not exactly. I think-”

“I’ve heard enough,” Josef interrupted. “I think we all have.”

“Josef, this makes three warnings now,” said Hallbjorn.

“Your Majesty, you’re not seriously considering this plan, are you? This is absurd!”

“Your Majesty, as much as I hate to admit it, I must agree with Josef on this,” said Magnus. “The ghouls cannot be trusted, even if the Fated One is in charge of the negotiations. We cannot turn our eyes up with an enemy coming from below.”

“Hmmm,” said the king. “I still believe it is worth a chance. If it fails, then so be it. If she betrays us, then also so be it.”

“But Your Majesty-!”

“Josef! This is the last time I will warn you. Next time you raise your voice at me or interrupt me, I will have you thrown out. Understood?”

Josef looked as though he had just taken a bit out of a lemon, but he leaned back in his chair, and crossed his arms. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

“As I was saying, what does it matter if she betrays us? I do not believe she will, but if she does, what will they gain? She is not powerful enough to turn the tide in their favor, and she does not know enough to be a security risk.

“I see you all are dissatisfied. I do not trust the ghouls either. I do not think that they will keep their word, even if she manages to convince them to give it. However, what if it does work? We can go to the surface like we have always dreamed, and not lose another life to the ghouls ever again. The odds may be long, but it is a bet I am willing to make.”

He looked around at the room. Most of the Council was silently contemplating his words. Josef was seething, but he was at least wise enough not to voice his displeasure as rudely as he had before. Magnus and Sindri at least seemed convinced. Elise personally was shocked. She had been mentally preparing for the worst, and the current scenario was better than what she thought her best case was.

“If anyone has any last, reasonable points to make, speak them now.” He looked at Josef as he said ‘reasonable.’ “Time is of the essence if we are to use the prisoners. If not, then this will be my official decision as king.”

The Council was silent, surprisingly. Not even Josef uttered a word, the king’s glare enough to keep him quiet. A few of them were even nodding in agreement.

“Then it’s settled,” said Hallbjorn. “Elise, I will assign some guards. For now, since it seems the crisis is over, the Council is adjourned. I will see you all at the next Council meeting, and hopefully not before. Goodbye.”