Chapter Two Hundred and Ninety-Four — To the Victor, the Spoils
Chapter Two Hundred and Ninety-Four — To the Victor, the Spoils I don’t know why, but I sorta expected there to be something after the fight. Maybe not like a party or anything, but at least an opportunity to chat and relax. The nobles in the stands above dispersed to talk in clumps, Fransico left after giving Amaryllis a downright mean glare, and then Augustus escorted Caprica out of the arena.My friends and I followed after her because there wasn’t much else to do, really.Caprica waited for us in the corridor just outside of the arena proper, her guards standingat either end, as attentive as ever. “I suppose that was a grand success,” she said.“I hope so,” Amaryllis said. “It’ll mean that, unless the main harpy delegation shows up between now and the summit, I’ll be representing the Harpy Mountains.”“You’ll need to do more than just show up,” Caprica said. “Do you have a dress for the occasion?”“I have something suitable,” Amaryllis said.“And do you have anyone that can assist you at the event itself? A secretary, at the very least. You’ll want to study the reports on the other delegations, and you need to submit your text, prepare a speech for the opening, a main argument speech, and a closing. The closing speech will be tricky, you want different versions of it to respond to different likely possibilities.”Amaryllis huffed. “I know that it won’t be as simple as showing up,” she said.“It will certainly not be that simple,” Caprica said. “This summit is supposed to be a grand diplomatic event. Especially between Sylphfree and the Harpy Mountains. The... failure of the diplomatic meeting at Fort Sylphrot is putting even more pressure onto this event to be a success. And I think that your lord Francis isn’t the only one who wishes for war. We have more than a few generals and nobles who would be eager to do more than parade around.”I puffed my cheeks out as I let out a big breath. “We’ll have to convince everyone not to start anything.”“It won’t be easy,” Caprica said.“Nothing’s ever easy,” Amaryllis said.“Huh?” I asked. “A bunch of things are easy. I guess this might not be one of them, but I’m sure if we share the work it’ll get done!”Caprica chuckled. “Well, I suppose at least you won’t have to do all the work on your own. I should have some free time in the coming day or two, maybe I can stop by your inn and assist you.”I clapped. “That would be super! We could have tea, and have a study session. I’ll have to ask the innkeep if we can have more cushions.”“Cushions?” Caprica asked.“Don’t encourage her,” Amaryllis said. She gestured to Caprica. “What about the rest of the day? I can’t imagine it’s much later than noon.”Caprica glanced up, towards where I imagined the stage was. “I should rejoin Gabrielle. She mentioned wanting to tour the city a little. She very rarely leaves the palace, and while I’m worried that it might put her health at risk, I don’t want my sister to be raised entirely in isolation.”We started for the nearest staircase, back up to the parts of the arena that were better decorated. Amaryllis and Awen surrendered their borrowed gear along the way. I had sort of left my bucket and mop behind at some point.“You mentioned that Gabrielle is a little sick a few times,” I said. “Is it bad?”“It’s not great,” Caprica said. “But it's under control. Sylphfree has unmatched medical facilities and the best doctors on Dirt. Our medical and healing arts are second to none, and that’s in large part thanks to the same affliction that Gabrielle has.”“Huh?” I asked.Caprica nodded. “It’s not a secret. Quite a few members of the royal family grow up feeble, with fainting sicknesses or ill-health. In the past a few have passed away far too young. I have a great-uncle who poured a considerable amount of wealth into shoring up our medical facilities and building great schools to study and experiment with the healing arts.”“That seems nice,” I said.“He was moved when his sibling passed away from a wasting sickness,” she said somberly. “When the schools started paying dividends in the form of a healthier populace, the military started to see the potential as well. It became... well, suffice to say that in Sylphfree, the most honoured sylph after the royal family are the paladins, followed by the brass, and swiftly followed by those who dedicate themselves to medicine and healing. It’s seen as a very acceptable alternative to military service, though a costlier one.”We made it up to the floor above, and found Gabrielle and the rest of Caprica’s guards waiting there. The girl grinned wide and stepped closer. “You did so well!” she said.“We did what we had to do,” Amaryllis demurred. There’s no denying the smug aura around her though.“Would it be insulting if I said that I didn’t expect Caprica’s new friends to be such talented warriors? All three of you,” Gabrielle said.I shook my head. “We only barely won, I think. That was tough. If we were actually warriors, then we would probably have done much better.”“I’m not so sure of that,” Caprica said. “You all fought in rather strange ways. I’m particularly impressed with Awen’s glass magic. It seems tremendously useful.”“Awa? Oh, it’s nothing special. I hope I’ll be able to improve it as we continue to level and grow stronger.”“So you three really do intend to keep growing?” Caprica asked.I blinked. “Should we stop?” I asked in return.She chuckled. “Most civilians will eventually make it past their first tier if they find something they truly love, and focus on it. I think most of our forces reach the top of their second tier eventually. But you all sound like you want to go far beyond that.”Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.“I don’t see why more people don’t,” I said. “It’s not hard, is it?”“It’s time-consuming,” Caprica said. “And more importantly, requires that one travels and reaches more and more dungeons, not to mention increasingly dangerous challenges to level efficiently.”“I guess it’s not something for a complacent person to do,” I said.She shrugged. “It’s admirable that you want to grow more personally powerful, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Now, we could stand here and chat, or we could be more efficient with our time. Gabrielle, I don’t recall eating out with you in a long time. Would you rather return home or stay with us for a meal?”Gabrielle sniffed, eyes rolling ever as she placed her hands on her hips. “Obviously I want to go with you. I’m not twelve, Caprica.”Caprica eyed Gabrielle up and down. “I don’t know. The way you were jumping up and down and cheering earlier, I think I could be convinced to believe that you were.”The little sister’s cheeks reddened and her wings flapped furiously behind her. “Capri!”Caprica grinned back at us. “We should all go. My treat, to celebrate your grand victory today.”“Thank you!” I said.Augustus greeted us by the exit. He made sure to shake everyone’s hands and welcomed us to fight at his arena whenever we wanted to. Judging by the number of nobles still milling around, our little fight had attracted a lot of attention.I imagined that in a place like Goldenalden, where royalty was honoured, having two princesses visit someone’s establishment and come out looking pleased would be great for business.Caprica’s guards ran out ahead a bit and formed something of a wedge leading to the carriage, that was, until Caprica waved over one of the guards who had more feathers on his helmet. “We’ll walk down the street a little. Take in the air, window shop, then likely find something to eat along the way,” she said. “Could you do a wide formation, please?”The guard bowed, then spun and made a few quick gestures that had the other guards dispersing into an even wider net.Gabrielle didn’t even seem to notice all the motion, she was too busy taking in the street.It was a bit weird, hanging out with some new friends while being aware from the periphery that we were constantly surrounded. The worst thing was that it felt rude not to speak to the guards. Some seemed really nice, and when I smiled at them they smiled or nodded back. They were people too, and they obviously deserved to be befriended just as much as anyone else, but their job got in the way of that.“Broccoli?” Awen asked.I snapped out of my thoughts and gave her a quick side-hug to tell her I was fine. “So, are we going to get fancy food, or are we going to get fun food?”“Fun food?” Gabrielle asked.“You mean food we... like?” Caprica asked right after.Nothing so simple,” I sniffed very haughtily and as fancily as I could. “Well you see, dear princesses, normal food is just food that’s meant to be eaten, as all food is. It can be tasty or not. Fancy food is all about the presentation, being all nice and prettiful, but fun food, now that’s food that’s meant to be fun to eat!”“Sometimes I wonder how I became friends with you,” Amaryllis muttered.Ignoring Amaryllis' interruption, I went on: "I don't think they have hot dogs or hamburgers here.”“You eat dogs?” Gabrielle gasped, hands over her mouth.I shook my head so hard my ears swapped together. “No no, I’m a vegetarian. Hot dogs are like... sausages placed in this piece of bread, usually with condiments on top.”"Eating sausages doesn't sound very vegetarian," Gabrielle pointed out."No, they're not for me, I just like them. I wasn't always vegetarian.""Oh." Gabrielle gave me a weird look. "So, these hot dogs are basically sandwiches?"I held back a pout. “Nevermind that, I’m sure there’s some sort of junk food sold around here. There has to be.”“I don’t know. The sylph are notoriously prudish, it’s possible that they don’t like the idea of such frivolous food,” Amaryllis said.“We’re not prudish,” Caprica said... prudishly. “I’m sure we have plenty of fun food.” She waved the same guard captain over, and asked him if he knew where we could find fun food. He looked completely stumped for a moment, that was, until one of the younger guards cleared his throat and said that there were a few places some blocks over.So off we went, chatting about this and that and nothing at all while pausing in front of windows to stare at the stuff within. I don’t think any of us failed to notice the small entourage of nobles snooping about some distance away, coincidentally always going the same way we were. I’m pretty sure that most of my friends didn’t notice that the city guard patrolled the same street six times in the space of half an hour. I think they were pretty much just going around the block in a big circle by the end.The next blocks over had more shops, though they catered towards a less distinguished crowd. The clothes were more utilitarian and clean, and the things behind the windows had less silver and gold trim on them.At long last, we found a restaurant where a very flustered young sylph lady made space for us, then shyly presented us with a menu. There were all sorts of wraps and sandwiches for sale, usually with goat meat prepared with sweet sauces and a few salads that had more bread and cheese and sauce in them than veggies.We ate, we laughed, and we teased each other over every little thing.It was nice to unwind after such a stressful day. And we’d need all the relaxation we could get. Things had reached a maximum level of complication, and I had a feeling deep in my tummy that things wouldn’t get any easier for a while.
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Chapter Two Hundred and Ninety-Five — In This Solemn Hour
Chapter Two Hundred and Ninety-Five — In This Solemn Hour “Everything is terrible and I hate my life.”I glanced up from the paper I was reading to stare across the room.Amaryllis was standing over her desk. It was a desk that Mister Jared, the innkeeper, had brought in with the help of a few manservants.Mister Jared had been nothing but nice since we arrived at the Dewdrop Inn. I think having Bastion escort us over had helped a lot, though he did seem like a good and friendly person from the start.Having two princesses show up at his door though? That had really made him pepped up and excited. I was pretty sure that any one of us could ask him to draw twelve baths in a row and he’d do it all himself with a smile and a spring in his step. Asking him for a desk or two so that Amaryllis’ paperwork could stop crowding the dining table had been easy.“Are you okay?” I asked, setting aside mental tangents about nice innkeepers.Amaryllis wiggled her wings at the desk. “This,” she said. She groaned then started pacing.“Uh, yeah, that,” I agreed.She nodded her head, and I was pretty sure that we had communicated something that I didn’t mean to.“But besides... that, are you okay?” I asked again.She huffed an irritated, tired huff of frustration. I wasn’t sure if it was aimed at me or the papers. “This is a lot more complicated than I thought it would be,” she finally said.I was happy that she was back to using words. “It’s all political stuff. Aren’t those usually pretty complicated?”“Yes, of course. But... well, as loath as I am to admit it, I suspected that I would have a much easier time with all of this. I grew up in the Harpy Mountains, I studied Sylphfree’s politics as a hatchling! This should all be stuff I know!”I nodded. “You’re doing just great,” I said.She puffed out her chest and placed talons on hips. “Oh don’t patronise me, Broccoli, you don’t have a clue what’s going on here.”It was my turn to huff. “Well, I’m trying to help, that’s all,” I said. I took a deep breath. I didn’t want to start arguing with her. We didn’t need that, and it wouldn’t be productive at all. “I’m sorry I can’t help you more. But that doesn’t mean I can’t help you at all. What’s the matter right now?”“It’s,” she started, then waved her wings at all the papers again. “All this. It’s too much.”“Exponential complication,” Awen said. She was sitting on a big poofy chair next to a bay window at the end of the room, a large tome on her lap that nearly hid her entirely.“What’s that?” I asked.She glanced up from her book. “Suppose you start with a small, simple problem. It has one variable, only one thing to keep track of. If you add a second variable, however, you must track not only the two variables, but also the relationship between them — three things you must keep in mind. If the variables increase to three, then the number of things to track increases to seven-""Wait," Amaryllis interjected before I could wrap my head around that. "I only counted six. Three variables and three unique pairings that each yield another interaction.""There's a seventh interaction because all three variables could have a trinary interaction." Awen paused. "I think.""Hm," Amaryllis leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "Now that I think of it, couldn't interactions also trigger more interactions that don't otherwise occur? Some kind of cascade?"Awen frowned. "It might depend on how you philosophically model the concepts of variables and interactions. I haven't studied this that much.""Uh ..." I trailed off.She shifted back in her seat. “Alright, imagine... imagine fuel for an airship.”I nodded for her to go on.“If you’re the quartermaster in charge of fuel for one ship, then all you need to know is how much fuel that ship needs every time it comes to port. You also need to know how long the ship’s trips are so that you have enough fuel waiting for it when it arrives. That’s one factor-the ship’s fuel-and two variables-how much it needs and how much it used.”“Alright,” I said. “That sounds pretty easy.”“Yes, because it’s just one ship. Now, add in oil consumption as well. That’s a bit trickier, but you can probably guess how much it needs every trip, so it’s just one more little thing to keep track of.” Awen licked her lips. “Now, let’s say that you also need to keep track of rations onboard the ship. And it’s a ship that has passengers. It doesn’t always have them both ways. Now that’s three things to keep track of, right?”“I guess so, yeah,” I said.“Now, add another ship. You’re not just keeping track of fuel and oil and food for one ship, but two. Plus, maybe those ships can trade those things on the go, or the number of passengers and how far they travel changes depending on which of the two ships arrives at port first.”“Uh,” I said.“Now instead of two ships, make it thirty. Also, you need to keep track of crews now. And the ships can trade crewmates between each other. Oh, and there’s another small port that they can use sometimes, but they won't tell you if they do or not, because visiting that port is technically illegal. Also, you need to keep track of repairs and maintenance schedules, but you only have a limited number of mechanics and they all need to work on each ship for a different amount of time. Your goal is to make it so that each ship is ready to leave port as quickly as possible with the right amount of fuel, oil, food, enough crew onboard to work the ship, a good load of passengers and cargo, and that the ships are at tip-top before they leave.”My head was spinning and my ears were wilting like unwatered flowers. “Huh?”“Exactly. It’s a lot of stuff to keep track of, and every added factor makes it exponentially more complicated. That’s Amaryllis’ problem right now.”I glanced at Amaryllis. She was staring at Awen, a little shocked. “That’s... yes. Exactly right, and succinctly put.”Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!“That was succinct?” I asked.“It would have been if you didn’t need a whole analogy to make sense of it,” Amaryllis said.I closed the book I’d been reading. It was a history book, something that I didn’t often read back home, but this one was about harpy clans and it had talks about magic and politics and romance and all sorts of neat things. Learning about world history back home would have been way more engaging if there were more dragons involved. “Alright, so everything’s getting too complicated.”“It’s not getting too complicated, Broccoli. It was complicated all along, I just didn’t know how complicated it was.”“Right, a ‘good old days’ problem,” I said. At her confused look, I explained. “People often say that things were easier in the good old days, but things were just as complicated back then, it’s just that we don’t know all the things that made it complicated.”“Strange, but alright,” Amaryllis said. “I need a good speech for the summit, something that will make sure that everyone there takes me seriously.”“Isn’t the fact that you’re the representative enough?”She shook her head. “Not after rumours of the fight with Francisco circulate. The sylph might come to believe that whomever fights better can gain the spot as representative. I need to make it clear that I’m not just there because I’m personally powerful and somewhat well-connected. I need to make it clear from the onset that I have political acumen.”I nodded. That made lots of sense. “And that’s why you’re trying to cram every last bit of political stuff you can get your talons on into your head all at once.”“... An oversimplification of what I’m attempting, but not entirely wrong,” Amaryllis said.“You know that knowing stuff won’t make it easier to talk about the right stuff.”“I’m aware,” Amaryllis said. “This is all just preparatory. There will be questions asked, and the representatives will have the opportunity to ask their own questions in return. I should at least know enough about the desires and fears of the various harpy factions that I can make a point of bringing them up.”“And you need to sound fancy while doing it,” I said.“I’ll be going up against people who have entire classes dedicated to politics and diplomacy, not to mention entire skillsets that revolve around charisma. In that regard your own skills might trump mine once behind the podium.”I considered it for a moment, then slowly nodded. “If we’re just counting skills, then yeah, I guess. You can’t use puppetry or lightning to get your way in a debate. Well, not fairly at least. But those are just skills. You’re pretty great at this kind of stuff, even if you don’t have skills around it.”“Those skills I don’t have are a huge force multiplier,” Amaryllis said.“Then I guess we’ll have to work real hard to make up for it.”She sighed. “Which is exactly what I’m doing. And why I think my feathers will fall right off of me. This is a lot to take in. I’m dipping into sylph history too, there are plenty of books around here that touch on that. A few reports on the cervid, some on the grenoil, though not as many there. This is... a mess.”I bounced to my feet, walked over to Amaryllis, then gave her a good hug. She really needed it. “It’ll be fine,” I said. “Maybe we can start on the speech instead? Just a first draft, we can overhaul it once you learn more. Besides, how much do you want to say?”She frowned, then nodded. “You’re right. Less might be more here. A shorter, more concise speech. I can touch on the wants of the larger harpy populace, maybe mention our fears of what a war would mean.”“Not all the harpy want to avoid a war,” I mentioned. It wasn’t a nice thought, but it was true.“You’re right... maybe I can mention as much? Acknowledge that a lot of harpy are revelling in the possibilities brought on by new technologies, but insist that they shouldn't be turned towards slaughter?”I nodded along. “That sounds like a good start.”Amaryllis rushed over to a desk, muttered something rude as she brushed aside some papers to find an inkwell, then returned to the dining table and pulled out a seat for herself. She looked around, then said something very rude to no one in particular before plucking a feather out of her wing to use as a quill. She scribbled a bullet list on a piece of loose leaf.“Alright, that’s a very rough outline,” she said. “I also need to flatter the others, though not too much.”“That would take up too much time,” I said.“No, the time isn’t the issue-well, not the only one at least. If I spend even a word too much flattering the cervid they might think that we’re in a weaker position relative to them. They’ll confuse humility for weakness. At the same time, I need to praise and compliment the others. But I can’t single out any one of them. Well, perhaps the grenoil, they’re ostensibly allies in this.”“Don’t,” Awen said. “Try to keep it even. Favouring the grenoil would insult the cervid. There’s still some old animosity between the two, I’ll bet.”“Right,” Amaryllis said. “You’re pretty keen with all of this, Awen.”“My mom made me take lessons about this kind of stuff,” Awen said. “I thought I’d forgotten a lot of it, but I guess it’s all still in the back of my head.”“That’s handy,” I said. I don’t think I had any awesome secret knowledge to rely on.Awen shrugged. “It doesn’t come up very often, but it’s not bad to know.”Amaryllis scribbled a few more things. “What else,” she muttered. “Oh, right.” She bent down and added a few more lines to her list. “And a bit of... of course...”“Uh, you alright?” I asked.“Yes. Now give me about eight hours to write this, then we can start the revisions and rewrites,” she said.I held back a sigh. This was very important, to the world and for Amaryllis, so I wasn’t going to tell anyone that I found it a little bit boring.Sometimes it was hard to be there for a friend, but that was okay too!
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