Bottled abyss redrum hor.., p.4
Stormsworn, page 4
“Jacob does have a fair point,” Mali said.
Alice poked him in the arm. “I don’t think it’s so much a concern about your curiosity, as your ability to bring things up no one wants to talk about. Kat needs the alliance with Karn. We all need the alliance with Karn. Mali, would you kick him under the table if he goes off on a tangent or unwittingly starts an argument?”
“I would be happy to.”
Jacob smacked his lips and looked between the pair. “I’ll be on my best behavior. Even Miss Penny would think I was just sitting through another lecture.”
Alice laughed under her breath. “Maybe don’t fall asleep at the dinner table, though. If you can help it?”
Mali led them into the wide courtyard with the ornate fountains close to the hall. They didn’t turn north at the intersection, as Alice expected, instead going farther east until the Forest Giants loomed over them. Only there, at the edge of the woods, did Mali change direction, heading south onto a short street with an almost immediate end.
But where the shadows were thickest, a small path angled off to the southwest. They followed it for a time, the path barely wide enough for them to stand shoulder to shoulder, until the outskirts of the city flanked them once more.
Mali walked to the iron-banded door of a cabin built of multi-colored stone. Smoke billowed out of the chimney on the second floor, casting odd shadows across the ground before it dissipated. Round windows gave them glimpses of what waited inside: a busy shuffle of chefs and servers.
“Is this a restaurant?” Jacob asked.
“Oh dear.” Mali’s lips drew down and she shook her head. “I’m afraid the alliance is done after failing to keep your curiosity in check.”
Alice failed to choke back a laugh. She slapped Jacob’s arm and grinned at him.
Mali reached out for the door and gestured for them to enter. “And yes, Jacob, it’s a restaurant. Not one used every day, but a restaurant nonetheless.”
Alice’s amusement shifted. “Is this for diplomatic dinners and negotiations?” She peered through the doorway. “Mali, how underdressed are we?”
“You’re fine. Arun usually shows up in riding leathers. The servers will be impeccable, but they’re used to the rest of us. You’ll fit in.”
Those weren’t the most reassuring words Alice could have imagined, as cotillion had taught her the idea of showing up to a formal dinner underdressed was akin to setting your home on fire. But cotillion was from another time, and some days she felt like Ancora was on a different world altogether.
Her worries almost evaporated when she saw a chef working a stewpot, dressed in the same kind of tunic she’d seen in the stables. Two of the chefs wore white jackets and hats like the staff at some of the finest restaurants in Ancora, but she’d never actually eaten inside one of those establishments. Sometimes, when they were lucky, the chefs would sneak leftovers out to the Lowlanders who had dared to enter the Highlands. She had good memories of those nights, a meal pilfered with Jacob’s help in the late of night. Oh how angry her mom would have been had she known.
Jacob squeezed Alice’s hand, drawing her attention back to the room. Something sizzled on a large flat grill near the corner of the room, steam and smoke rising into a hood that angled up into the chimney they’d seen outside.
One thing was for certain—there was far too much food for only four people. That brought another question to Alice’s mind.
“Mali, how many people are joining us tonight?”
She glanced up as if counting to herself. “Four or five. And that’s only if Arun brings a guest. He tends to do that. Sometimes I think he does it just to throw me off.” She waved the thought off. “You know how politicians are. You prepare yourself for one thing, so they present something entirely different.”
A chef harrumphed as she brought a cleaver down in a series of quick strikes through thick root vegetables. “You know better than that, Mali. Arun couldn’t stick to a map to save his life, much less a plan so simple as dinner.”
If the spread before them was a simple plan for dinner, Alice wasn’t sure she wanted to know what a complicated plan for dinner was.
“You three take a seat. We have bread and spiced butter, if you’d like a snack.”
They’d barely finished sliding into the chairs at the short rectangular table before a pile of rolls and butter thumped down in front of them. Alice didn’t even get a chance to thank the server before he vanished, reappeared with a tray of water glasses, and disappeared again.
Mali reached for a roll and dropped it on her plate. “Don’t wait. Get them while they’re hot. You won’t regret it.”
Alice handed a roll to Jacob before grabbing one for herself. She watched Mali tear the steaming roll in half before using a wide spatula to smear butter across its face. Alice mimicked her, surprised at how soft the butter was, making it easy to feel the small lumps of spices embedded throughout.
When she heard the word “spiced,” she’d thought it might be a festive thing, like they had in Ancora for special occasions. But most spiced Ancoran food ended up sweet and candy-like. This smelled rich and savory as the butter melted into the crusty bread.
Jacob stuffed nearly a quarter of the roll into his mouth at once, and Alice grinned when he sank back into the chair. “Oh, wow.”
“I told you.” Mali bit into her own.
Alice held the roll up to her nose, taking in the aroma with a deep breath before tasting it. There was a richness to the roll, a burst of yeast and rosemary and something earthier she couldn’t quite place. To say it was delicious would be an insult, and that was before she’d fully enjoyed the chewy texture.
“Why don’t we have this in Ancora?” Alice said before taking a drink of water. “These are amazing.”
Mali was about to respond when the front door opened, and laughter preceded the new arrivals. Arun entered first, his dark eyes sweeping the room like Jacob had seen many soldiers and sailors do as the war escalated. Drakkar followed behind him, and Jacob blinked as the Cave Guardian’s cloak fluttered in the breeze before the door closed behind him.
“Drakkar?” Alice asked. “What are you doing here?”
He gestured to Arun. “Our host invited me. We had a long discussion about the best feed for Walkers, which, of course, led to a detailed talk about the hatcheries in Karn.”
Mali groaned. “Not another one.”
“It is truly quite fascinating. Walkers in Cave are raised underground, which I believe may be why their eyesight is keener in dim light.”
“Exactly.” Arun walked to the far side of the table and gestured for Drakkar to take a seat. “Here in Karn, our hatcheries are all in the Gray Woods. They are in shade much of the time, but it certainly isn’t as dark as the caverns beneath a mountain.”
Drakkar slid into the chair opposite Jacob, and Arun sat at the end. “You would have to speak with some of the breeders to learn the finest details, but they optimized the light and heat for each egg clutch, depending on species.”
“And it’s truly controlled by the number of torches?”
“Or the size of them. That can also mean firepits as well. Once the Walkers are old enough, you need not worry about them wandering into the coals and injuring themselves.”
Mali blinked at the pair. “Try the bread, Drakkar. I don’t know if you have anything like it in Cave, but you should taste it.”
Drakkar took the offered basket before passing it to Arun.
“Still warm. Excellent.” Arun smiled at Mali. “I promise we won’t discuss the raising of Walkers in captivity the entire meal.” He turned his attention to Jacob. “I understand you were quite the attraction for our tinkers. Lata couldn’t stop talking about the work on your leg or your understanding of biomechanics on our walk here.”
“Is she joining us?” Mali asked.
Arun shook his head. “No, no. I wanted to spend time with our Ancoran friends. Drakkar was a happy encounter in the stables, so I invited him as well. His son is part of our alliance that has remained in Midstream.”
Alice relaxed into her chair just a bit as Arun formally called Karn part of an alliance. Of course, that calm was shaken by his next comment.
“I understand Lady Katherine wishes to ensure our alliance is strong.”
Alice glanced at Mali, who immediately put her hands in the air.
“I didn’t say a word, Alice. Archibald might be famous for his spies, but don’t underestimate the number of people listening to you in Karn. They’re curious, and chatty.”
Arun offered a warm smile. “It was only by accident you were overheard in the library, Alice. One of our older residents in a nearby aisle.”
It was a convenient explanation, but it made a lot of sense, too. There were few people in Ancora who enjoyed gossiping more than the elders. And that was truly saying something when compared with the flurry of rumors that used to filter through her school every day.
“And Kat was worried it would be Jacob causing trouble,” Alice said.
Drakkar chuckled. “To be fair, he does drag us all into trouble now and then.”
Jacob stopped buttering his bread and blinked at the table. “Sorry?”
Arun smiled and gestured to the servers gathered by the large cooktop. “We are ready when the chef is, thank you.”
“Arun, if I may?” Alice said. “You speak of us as though we’ve been friends for years. As though our alliance has always been here. What do you need from us? I don’t mean the alliance, but why ask me and Jacob here?”
Arun sat half of his bread down and took a bite of the rest. “Selfish reasons, mostly, but there are some questions I have for you that would be considered … rude.”
“I thought it was Jacob’s questions we were supposed to worry about,” Mali said under her breath.
Jacob spoke around a mouthful of bread. “Alice gets me into just as much trouble as I get her into.”
“No, she does not,” Drakkar said flatly.
It was blunt enough to stop Jacob in his tracks, and Arun let out a low laugh.
“As to your question, Alice, I wish to ask you about the Speaker of Bollwerk and the Lady of Belldorn. We have stories about each of them, but stories change over time. Spies report things with bias, and often a harmless comment is twisted into something malicious, or the reverse.”
The first course of plates reached the table simultaneously, one server delivering a plate to each person, their movements synchronized as if they were playing a symphony. Or as if they were machinery like the tables in the Wildhorse.
“A round of acidwine for the group, please.” Arun looked pointedly at Jacob and Alice. “Not too much. It can sour your stomach if you aren’t used to it. And do let the pie rest. It needs to cool for a minute.”
“What’s acidwine?” Jacob asked.
“It’s flavored by a spice harvested from the glands of an Acidwing. Before it is old enough to cause harm, of course.”
“Stronger than sake,” Drakkar said. “So mind your portions.”
Arun smiled at the Cave Guardian. “Too true, but perhaps easier for the hard conversations, yes? It can be difficult to tell the truth about your friends.”
The phrase made Alice uncomfortable. And she wasn’t entirely sure she’d call Archibald a friend. He was certainly an ally, and had done much good for Ancora, but his ambitions were lofty. Kat, on the other hand, felt like a friend. Mary had grown up with her, and Mary was more family than friend now. Even when the war was done, Mary was someone Alice wanted to keep in contact with.
She blew out her breath. “What do you want to know about Archibald?”
One server returned with five ornate glasses perched on narrow stems.
Arun tapped the side of his goblet when the server placed it in front of him. “I want to know if the offers he gives are true, or if he says only what needs to be heard in the moment. Can you tell me that? Has he betrayed your trust? Because if he has dishonored his word to a city that has suffered the likes of Ancora, I do not believe I can trust him.”
Alice looked at Jacob. “You’ve had the most interactions with him.”
“You’re better at reading people.” Jacob frowned and glanced between Drakkar and Mali. “I trust people too much sometimes.”
“That isn’t a bad trait to have,” Mali said.
If Jacob wasn’t going to answer such a direct question, she’d need to. Alice nodded to herself. “Archibald is trying to unite the continent from Ancora to Belldorn. Some cities, like Midstream, are loyal to him because of what he’s done to help them stay safe, or defend themselves.”
“And were these defenses necessary because of something he set into action?” Arun laced his fingers together, and his gaze bored into Alice’s.
She realized this was the question that was the most important to Arun, and she was glad she didn’t have to lie about it. “Never. I don’t know of a single conflict that has involved Midstream or Ancora—or Dauschen, for that matter—that Archibald helped cause.”
“He could have killed the Butcher in the Deadlands War, but he didn’t.” Jacob didn’t raise his eyes from his goblet for a time. “I don’t think that means his actions caused things directly, but they still had consequences.”
Arun studied the Ancorans before raising his goblet, his voice quiet but firm. “We all have mistakes from our past. May we work to heal the damage they have wrought.”
They all mimicked his gesture, but no one finished their acidwine in one gulp like Arun did. Alice sipped at hers, tentatively at first, until the rich flavors of a dark tea washed over her tongue and something sharp and spicy chased it.
Jacob coughed like he’d swallowed a Stone Dog spine, spluttering and immediately chasing his drink with a sloppy gulp of water. “It’s so hot! How did you—it’s so hot!”
“It reminds me of those sour candies we used to get at Festival.” Alice swirled the contents of her goblet and took another sip. “I like it.”
Jacob looked at her with absolute betrayal written across his face. “There is nothing sweet or crunchy about this. It’s just fire!”
“An acquired taste, perhaps.” Drakkar raised his glass, not hiding the grin on his lips.
“The pie should be cool enough to try the edges now.” Mali picked up her spoon and paused. “We use spoons for just about everything, so don’t expect the same range of utensils you see in Ballern.”
Jacob scraped his tongue over his teeth and almost smirked as he turned to Alice.
Alice narrowed her eyes. “If you say one thing about memorizing all the silverware at cotillion, I’m going to hold you down and pour the rest of that acidwine in your mouth.”
Jacob cleared his throat and leaned forward, focusing on Mali. “What about Sea Claw and grilled meats on the shell?”
“Hands. Well, for the Sea Claw, you smack it with the back of the spoon to loosen the shell, and it’s easy to peel from there.”
“That is why we have two sets of napkins,” Arun said. “The left is traditionally for oily things, and the right for anything sticky.”
Jacob looked down at his haphazard pile of napkins that he’d already balled up and stacked together like the remnants of an avalanche. “I see.”
Arun smiled at him. “If you could enlighten me about Lady Katherine, I would be most appreciative. She spends a great deal of time with a known pirate. The rather infamous captain of the Skysworn.”
There was a lot more to Mary’s relationship with Kat and Archibald than Arun knew, or that Alice thought he needed to know. But there were a few key things she could share that might help Arun understand why a pirate might actually be one of the best allies Kat could ask for.
“Mary’s not a bad person, Arun. She’s made choices some of us might not agree with, but I’ve seen her go well out of her way to help her friends and allies. She has the same enemies as you. Losing Ballern as a trading hub would cause the Skysworn, and all the pirates, a good deal of trouble.”
“Understandable. Buy why would a Lady of Belldorn welcome her as counsel?”
“They’ve been friends since they were kids. Since they were younger than me and Jacob. They grew up together in Belldorn.”
Arun tapped his spoon on his pie, cracking open the crust as he listened to Alice. “So they were in the center of the reconstruction. Their parents would have fought in the Deadlands War, or perhaps their grandparents. Interesting.”
“Do you know a lot about Ancora?” Alice asked.
Arun shrugged. “A bit. Some would say enough. I know it is a mountain city divided by a great wall, where the nobility is protected and those who serve them are left to die.”
“It’s … it wasn’t quite that bad.”
“It was in the Fall,” Jacob said, not raising his eyes from his pie.
Alice grimaced. “We’re working to change things. Jacob’s parents, even, and my mother. It’s … it will get better. But you know enough to understand. That kind of separation doesn’t exist in Belldorn. They have wealthy areas and poor areas, like any city, but they mingle daily. They go to the same schools, have the same opportunities.”
Mali let out a little huff. “I doubt that. Gold always buys more opportunities.”
“Sometimes. But it doesn’t stop kids from becoming friends, does it? Not all the time. They lived through trouble together, and the last Lady of Belldorn died when Kat was a teenager. Kat took the crown and had to live another life. But Mary was there with her until that happened, until she could change the way the city worked and see her friends again. But a lot can change in five years.”
Arun raised an eyebrow. “She was separated from her friends for five years? That sounds somewhat extreme.”
“I told you that,” Mali said with a glance at Arun. “She was only a figurehead until she turned twenty.”
“And she did what she could to make sure her friends were taken care of.” There were stories Mary had told Alice of those dark days. Time spent in foster care and bouncing from family to family as the systems meant to protect the vulnerable of Belldorn failed them entirely. It wasn’t her story to tell, but it was Kat who had stepped in to help Mary.
