Book 5: Chapter 37
“Oh? Interesting things, you say? What kind of interesting things?”
Eleniah shot Kay a look from his side, visibly scolding him for using an adjective that could be misinterpreted, or in this case, interpreted exactly the way Kay meant it.
“What I was most interested in was learning about the fascinating bird creatures to your territories.” Immediately replied. He’d already had this line planned out ahead of time. He wasn’t going to lie to the man and tell him he’d heard great things about him, and he really was interested in the birds. “The description I received was enough to catch my attention quite keenly. They’re animals with the top half of a large bird and the bottom half of a large shark, yes? How are they not considered monsters?”
“Oh, yes, the scale-birds are quite interesting to those who’ve never experienced one. They are exactly as you describe, and like most creatures there are both monster versions and regular animals of the species.”
Ignoring the smug tone at that last section, since Kay knew that was not how that worked, he kept asking questions. “Are they completely aquatic or do they land occasionally? How do they breed?”
The duke failed to keep the small frown off his face as he answered. “I’ve never known one to be on land at any point, and I have no idea. You’d have to ask some kind of druid or other nature specialist for that kind of information. How has your stay in the Isles been so far?”
“Oh, it’s quite nice so far. The sights are wonderful, there’s delicious food here that we don’t get often back home, and the dungeon was quite entertaining!”
Once again Duke Karmondur couldn’t keep the scowl down. “That is wonderful to hear,” He raised his voice an octave, trying to sound like he was interested. “Have you managed to accomplish everything you came for?”
Kay had the man pegged at this point. Karmondur was a schemer, but he wasn’t any good at it. He obviously had people doing the real work for him or he’d never have been able to be the thorn in Alahna’s side that he had been for so many years. Kay had no intention of actually telling him anything useful, but it would be fun to string him along a little. “Oh yes, we’ve managed to be quite productive.” Kay wanted to sneer at the elf when he perked up with an excited look in his eyes. Instead, he kept the large boisterous smile he’d affected in place. “Eleniah was very happy to get to spend some time with Queen Alahna after so many years, and we had quite the time while she showed me around where she grew up.”