RavensDagger

  Chapter Two Hundred ay-Five - Casus Antibelli

  “Hello,” the grenoil Cold-Blooded Politi said. She was half a head taller thaher two, which meant that she reached about my nose i. I imagined she was taking the lead because she was their leader, being a politi and all.

  Not that I really knew enough about politiment.

  “Hi,” I said. “e on in, the water’s nid warm and cozy.”

  Awen scooted over to the side, even though there lenty of room for everyone in the warm waters, and after just a moment of hesitating, the three grenoil dipped into the bath. They sighed, obviously quite pleased. “I was not expeg to meet a harpy, a bun, and a human here,” the grenoil dy said.

  “There aren’t that many grenoil in Goldenaldeher,” Amaryllis said. “I’m Amaryllis, Amaryllis Albatross. These are my friends, Awen Bristlee and Broccoli Bunch.”

  I waved at the three grenoil, my hand spshing out of the water to do so.

  “Hello Lady Albatross,” the grenoil dy said. “And Lady Bristlee and Bunch as well. A pleasure. I’m Sylvie Robespierre, and zese are my panions, Chloe, who is a secretary at ze embassy, and Lucrece; she’s one of my greatest friends in Goldenalden.”

  “It’s good to have friends when you’re so far from home,” I said. “It makes it less lonely, and you know you have someoo rely on if you he help.”

  “It does help,” Sylvie said with an agreeing croak. “I must admit to a certain level of curiosity, it is not often zat we meet so many non-sylph in Goldenalden.”

  Amaryllis leaned back against the smoothed stones around the edge of the bath. She slid her talons through her feathers, straightening them out where I’d been pying with them. “We’re here for the summit. I presume that it’s the same for you?”

  Sylvie nodded. “It is. So, zis is a political meeting zen?”

  “All meetings are political, once you exert a certain amount of power,” Amaryllis said. “But I don’t think this has to be anything like that. Though, I would love to chat about the summit. I do have an agenda to push, after all.”

  Sylvie chuckled, a raspy ugh that sent ripples across the water. “Of course. Well, I suppose I ’t bme you f. What agenda are y to push, exactly?”

  “We want to avoid war,” Amaryllis said. “And we’re trying to discover those responsible for spurring oions gatheriowards a war that no one sensible wants.”

  “Is zat ze opinion of all ze harpy?” Sylvie asked.

  Amaryllis shook her head. “No. It wouldn’t have been possible for Raio create this narrative if the foundations for it weren’t id out already.”

  “Rai?” Sylvie asked.

  I decided to pipe up, to help Amaryllis since she was the only oalking. “He’s this big meanie who’s been trying to trick everyoo attag each other. He started trouble here in Sylphfree, and in Port Royal and even in the Harpy Mountains. He’s very dangerous. We know that he’s destroyed some dungeons already, and I think that maybe he's trying to cover for that by fermenting war."

  "Fomenting." Awen corrected. "It's 'fomenting war.'"

  I blinked. "Really?"

  "Ze little dy has ze right of it," Sylvie said. "But zat is quite ze accusation ... it stretches pusibility to its limit, and perhaps beyond,” Sylvie said. She turo her friend, Lucrece, who nodded once. Sylvie’s brow rose at the firmation. Did Lucrece have some sort of social skill?

  “Is it truly that impusible?” Amaryllis asked. “My family is one of the rgest producers of airships on Dirt. We stand to profit handsomely if widespread war breaks out, simply by ung new warships to bolster our navy and replenish any losses." She looked the grenoil square in the eye. "Since I am willing to throw all that away, it should give you some idea of how seriously I sider the threat presented by Rai."

  "It would certainly indicate you sider zese accusations to have merit," Sylvie agreed. "Perhaps you would be willing to share why you are so vinced?"

  "Of course," Amaryllis nodded. "Our first enter with him was when he sent me on a cartographic mission that resulted in me nearly being kidnapped, which he tried to pin ores. Then, at a ball in the ing Kingdom, Rai caused an explosion that killed multiple members of a sylph delegation ... Obviously you see how that might spark a war between our two nations. Lastly, we believe he likely killed multiple dungeons around the Kingdom of Sylphfree, which I suppose is not directly likely to cause a war, but certainly speaks ill of his character."

  Sylvie sat ba the water and regarded Amy for a long minute.

  I started to fidget, despite myself. Awen looked a little nervous, herself.

  “I’m irely sure I believe you,” Sylvie said. “Are you really so altruistic zat you’d e all ze way to Goldeo stop a war zat would help your family profit?” Sylvie asked.

  I nodded. “Of course Amaryllis would. Under all the meanness and huffing she has a heart of gold. Besides, it would be wrong not to give it our all to stop something as awful as a war. So many i people would be hurt. If we don’t do what we to help, then we’re in a small way responsible for them being hurt.”

  Amaryllis huffed most mightily. She really couldn’t take a pliment.

  “But let’s presume zat I do believe you,” Sylvie tinued, “How are y to stop zis war from happening?”

  “Well, we have a tn,” I said while raising my hand out of the water. My poor fiips were getting all wrinkly. “First, we’ll meet with the grenoil, the cervid, the sylph, and the harpy delegations to ask them nicely not to go to war and to expin that it’s not a very hing to do.”

  Sylvie stared for a moment, then started to giggle. “I zink I see. Do go on.”

  I only had my index left pointing up. “Well, the st part is to beg really really hard for people not to fight. Maybe we even find Rai and, like, arrest him or something. A lot of the things he’s done caused big misuandings, and he should at the very least apologize for those. He, he also caused people to die, which is... it’s bad.”

  “I have ze impression zat you have a razer simple worldview.”

  I ughed. “I prefer to call it optimistic. I’m just a small bun in a very big world, and there’s a lot of scary things out there, things that are really plicated. So I just hope that the world is a nice pce, filled with people that are friendly deep down, and who aren’t all that different from me. They just need a friend, someoo listen ahem through the worst days they’ll face, when things are hard. Seeing people actively trying to hurt each other, because of things that aren’t important? That hurts.”

  “You zink ze war would be over unimportant zings?” Sylvie asked.

  “Wouldn’t it? Nationalism, patriotism, a huge emphasis ohings that are different from the people around you, instead of the things that are simir. I think they’re all rather dumb things to fight over.”

  “Zose are what every war has been fought over,” Sylvie said.

  I shrugged. “Then all those wars were dumb.”

  Sylvie croaked with suppressed ughter. “Oh, you’re an opinionated young bun, aren’t you? I zink a few of ze lords and dies zat fought in zose wars and who promoted zem would disagree. Worse, zey might find insult in what you say.”

  “I’m not sure I agree with someone who thinks that they should be proud about that kind of thing,” I said.

  Sylvie eyed us for a moment, then leaned forwards. “Very well. Let’s say zat I enjoy your optimism. It’s certainly better zan ze way a lot of ze sylph around here zink. What exactly is your pn to stop zis war?”

  “As I said,” Amaryllis began. “We mostly want to meet with all of the representatives from the groups attending the summit and vihem to take a more peaceful route out of this current political mess. It’s in everyone’s best i, especially seeing as how this war is being spurred on by a third party.”

  “You know zat ving some of ze delegations will be plicated. And while ze delegations have some political say from here, not all of zem are all zat powerful. While I push ze Deepmarsh agenda here, and what I report back may have an impa ze choices carried out by ze king, zat doesn’t mean zat I could stop the king’s choice if he decides to push for war.”

  “Maybe not, but your word might carry just enough weight to it that it might be enough to shift the bance,” Amaryllis said. “I know that the harpy are looking to this summit with great i. If things go poorly here, that would be enough for the warhawks to push towards open flict. And if things go well and end agreeably, then that will give those who eace proof that peace be found if everyone is willing to work on it.”

  Sylvie leaned bad let her eyes close a little so that her sed eyelid could blink across her eyes. “I will ask you to do a favour for me,” she said.

  “What kind of favour?” I asked.

  “Nothing too plicated. See, if I merely listen to you because eo be in the same bathhouse, then your words will mean little. But if you assist me in some small way, zen I have a reason to report back zat I find you trustworthy.”

  “Oh,” I said. “That makes sense.”

  Sylvie nodded. “It’s nothing too plicated, just a delicate matter zat would actually help the embassy anyway, which is part of what you want, isn’t it?”

  “Awa, that sounds a bit, ah, openly maniputive,” Awen said. She’d been mostly quiet the eime we were ih.

  “Better openly zan hidden,” Sylvie said. “Besides, it is a simple thing. A shipmeined for ze embassy arrived at ze port two days ago, but it never made it to ze embassy. We’re only a hop away, and ze cargo was belled as politically sensitive, so it’s stra it has not made it to our doorstep yet.”

  “That is a little weird,” I agreed. “You just want us to fetch it?”

  “Or find out what happeo it, if it’s truly lost. Chloe, would you mig a copy of the details?”

  The Secretary bobbed her head up and down and climbed out of the bath with a spsh. I felt a little bad for her, having to leave the nice warm water so soon after arriving. Then again, we had been talking food long while. My fingers and toes were both going to be extra wrinkly.

  “I’m sure we mahat,” I said with a go my friends to make sure they were okay with the idea too.

  Awen and Amaryllis both nodded.

  “Helping a new friend is perfectly fine,” I said.

  “As long as said new friend he help and isn’t just using your innoce against you,” Amaryllis added. She didn’t o. Someohat did something like that clearly wasn’t a friend to begin with, though they might just be someohat did need help.

  “I’m gd you’re willing to assist us,” Sylvie said. “Chloe will leave ze papers with ze sylph by ze exit. Paperwork shouldn’t be brought into a bathhouse.”

  “When we’ve retrieved your cargo, where do you want us t it?” Amaryllis asked. “And how we know that you’ll actually help us?”

  “You know because oals align,” Sylvie said. "Deepmarsh doesn’t want a war any more zan you do. We’ve defeated ze cervid once before, but it was a near zing. Zeir own stupidity cost zem more zan our attempts to slow zem down did. If another war were to start with ze cervid, zen none of ze lords and dies of Deepmarsh expect us to be able to win it, not if ze war goes on for long enough, and not if ze cervid have an ounce of wisdom betwee of zem.”

  It sounded like they were more ed because of their own safety than anything else, which... was fair, I supposed. “Okay,” I said. As selfish as their reasoning was, it wasn’t something I could bme them for feeling. Heck, it was quite the opposite. “I trust you.”

  Sylvie’s brow rose. “Froup so steeped in ze darker side of politics, you truly are optimistic. I hope zat your optimism will be rewarded.”

  “I hope so too,” I said. I sighed as I stood up, warm water dripping off of me. “I guess we should get going.”

  Awen and Amaryllis rose too, and then we said oodbyes to Sylvie and her friend before leaving the bathhouse. It was hard, mostly because the air just outside of it was so much chillier.

  It was time to do some side quests!

  ***

  RavensDagger

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