Chapter 2: Chapter 2
"Your tale captivates me, Parvus. An entire society living in a hranfisk skeleton? How could it be that my scouts had not laid eyes on it before?"
"Probably didn't have a stryx half as sturdy as Veleda here," the Rikarisk replied, patting the old-timer on the flank.
The two of them rose out of their bow, and for the first time since they'd arrived they could take in the spectacle around them. In the ten plus nights they'd been gone, the blade-tail magicians had not only laid their sorcerous foundations, but raised an entire perfectly-circular room of mud and sandstone seemingly out of thin air. As was traditional, Tessellata and her council had moved in first, and the colorful fabrics which had once raised their tents were now hung, tapestry-like, from every pillar and wall. It was truly a throne room fit for the Eald of Ealds.
"Your honesty is a breath of fresh air out of this stuffy court. But what is this complication you speak of?"
Tessellata looked so earnest that Parvus had to catch himself before he went off into another one of his rambling stories. Straight to the point, that was best. "Well, the short of it is: we were shortchanged. We ran out of food five days in, and if it weren't for that flittermouse rider from Hranfal, we'd have starved."
"Oh? How odd. Did my armicusta not--"
"She did, but we didn't realize we were out until we hit the halfway mark."
"That is most peculiar. Please, if someone could go fetch her for me?"
One of the miscellenous Kteinein in the room bowed his head and hurried out. A few minutes later, the quartermaster strode in, her head and tail held high. Then she spotted Parvus standing before the throne, 100% alive, and her pupils widened like she'd seen a ghost. He swore he could literally see the stripes bleach out of her fur.
"D-domina eald, great echoed be your name..."
Tessellata raised her paw, and the councillor fell silent.
"Parvus here tells me that he received only 5 days of food for a 10 day round trip. What say you to this accusation?"
"There must've been some mistake! Some error in calculating his beast's weight, or he traded the excess to bandits-- the sharp-snouts are prone to profit, you know--"
"You dare raise such serpentious slander against our allies? This cub has done more for our young nation than your blood-ken ever will. Guilty or not, you do the skorpion sash a terrible disservice. Turn in your badge of office and leave my sight."
The now ex-quartermaster unclipped the clasp from her cloak and laid it on the floor in front of her, still murmuring obeisances. She crawled backwards on her belly towards the door, but Parvus caught her throwing a glare at him for just the quickest second before she exited the throne room for the last time.
Tessellata leaned back into the Alabaster Throne, like she hadn't just ruined a Kteinein's life in front of her whole court.
"How curious. There is now room in my court for a new councilor. How would you like to become lead flyer of a brand new scouting division?"
Sure beats serving drinks all day, Parvus thought, as he picked up the brooch and pinned it to his waist sash. It wasn't like he had a choice, anyway. That was the thing with these blade-tails: a question was always just a statement in disguise."I'd be honoured to."
"Then I hereby bestow upon you the esteemed skorpion badge, and name you Parvus Primus. You bring great honour to your ken, and to Audacia."
"For Audacia," the curia intoned, briefly bowing their heads in unison.
Wow. That was... wow. Never in his life would he ever have imagined a Rikarisk sitting on a Kteinein council, and an iyr no less. But that was what the whole treaty thing was about, wasn't it? Equality for all, and that.
"What should I do now, Domina?"
"Rally a flock of fast and eager fliers, and train riders willing to explore the farthest frontiers of this land. Broker treaties with the scattered folk you discover, and bring trade, diplomacy, mutual alliance back to Sicitur. You will have the full fortune of the treasury for this task. Now go forth and build us a nation."
*
"'Parvus Primus'! Oh, that's rich! First you disappear for ten days, and then the quartermaster crawls out of the... the throne room... and her badge... oh Nokt, you're serious."
That was his mother: ever the supportive type, really.
"Well, well," Aurantia continued, as the two strolled through the budding marketplace. "Like dam, like son, I always say."
"You've literally never said that, ever."
"I just did, didn't I? One, please," she said to a nearby merchant. Shinies changed paws, and she pressed a chunk of dried mystery meat into Parvus's mouth. "Here. For making your mother proud."
"Oigottufiemoridurs..." he mumbled, before chewing and swallowing. "I gotta find-- mmmm, that's really good-- more riders for the division now, though. Any recommendations?"
"Isn't it? I swear I've been keeping this old mane in shinies since the day he first set up here. Hmmm, Tessy's got every member of the werreken running patrols with me, but you could always ask around the other Rikari. Did she mention a retainer fee of some sort?"
"Ehhh... no."
Aurantia barked out a laugh that made a few nearby cubs jump. "Ha! So she wants you to assemble a werreken for free, in essence. Typical Eald'a'Ealds thinking everyone on the ground's a sucker. Take my advice: You can either find strong flyers or cheap ones, but not both at once. I really wouldn't want to be you right now! Good luck!"
His mother skipped away, probably off on another exciting mission. Parvus sighed. All the other Rikari he knew also happened to be the ones who had chased him around and made fun of him while they were in the creche. Who among them would ever want to work for him?
No, skorp the thought! He was the first Rikarisk ever to sit on a Kteinein curia, and no way was he going to let Tessellata down. He'd just need to, well... look harder?
*
"Hi, uh, excuse me. Can I help you?"
The dark-furred Kteinein leapt about six feet in the air, her tail puffing out like a bottlebrush. "Sorry, sorry!" she cried, backing away from his mount.
If he didn't know any better, he would've guessed she was trying to steal Gioia. Not that she would've gotten far, of course, considering that she had been fiddling with the surcingle and not the bridle. As he hauled himself up into the saddle, he couldn't help but notice that she was still sneaking glances over her shoulder at them. Not in that thieves' 'sizing up the quarry' way, though. This seemed more sincere, almost yearning.
"Gioia is what we call a 'courser'," he said. The blade-tail's ears perked up. "Bred to be light and fast, yet sturdy. She's bonded to me, and won't take anyone else for a rider, even if you tried."
"We don't really have stryx where I come from."
"Where's that?"
"Maraxwar."
Ah, that volcanic area to the southwest where all the obsidian was coming from. His mother had run multiple patrols there, guarding traders as they hauled carts of the 'black glass' along the new routes.
"My werreken will be running another open riding workshop next sunfall. Maybe we'll see you there?"
"Maybe you will."
The blade-tail turned and strutted away, clearly trying to look cool, and promptly smashed snout-first into a trader's cart. Parvus cracked the reins and took off before the yowling match could start.
What was he thinking? A failed stryx thief for a future scout of Sicitur? No, surely there had to be others out there, right?
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