172: Tree
Dashing outside, I had no trouble finding Crisplet. The statue was massive, and it was in the same location we had the Lily statue that was now missing. My presence got Crisplet’s attention immediately, but this time he didn’t bring the statue down.
As I was slowly approaching it, I really took it in. The statue easily reached the height of the roof. The tree itself wasn’t just made of ash, but it was ash, coal and fire. Every leaf was made of flame. The dark bark, which had shades of black and white over it, was fractured, showing the roiling flames in the core. Then I noticed the figures that Crisplet was working on.
They were clearly not all done yet, but at the base of the tree lay Lily. On the opposite side, leaning against the trunk, was Hari, I was sure. The details were not there yet, but the shape of the body was unmistakable.
Looking up into the branches where Crisplet was currently working, looking down at me, happily shooting off sparks, I saw Alira in her human-like form. However, her arms were mostly wings, and all the feathers were made of fire as well.
Near her was another shape of a male. It was hard to tell from where I was standing, but if I were to guess, I’d say it was Milo. Even higher, I saw three more shapes, all much closer to the top of the tree: Jen, Liane, and myself, with Liane being the lowest of the three.
Looking around, though, there were two statues missing: Sylverith and, most importantly, Crisplet himself.
“Where are you?” I called from the base.
Crisplet looked up at the figure that I assumed was going to be me, shooting off an ember at it, so I tried to get a better angle to see it. Sure enough, there he was—the crude shape of Crisplet sitting on the figure’s shoulder, made purely of fire.
“I love it!” I called out.
Getting a burst of sparks in response.
Turning around, I saw Milo, Archie, and Lord Fellwood all standing at the entrance. They didn’t seem as shocked as I was, but I had to guess they saw it coming in.
“Crisplet, I’m going for my meeting now. Did you want to keep working on this?” I asked, looking up at him.
“He’ll be fine. I’ll be with him. You can keep going, Crisplet,” Liane said from behind me.
I jumped at the sound, not even having known she was there.
Crisplet just gave off a burst of sparks and went back to the statue, forming more branches.
“Wait, have you been watching the whole time?” I said, turning on Liane.
“Since you ran past me in the foyer? Yes,” she said.
Letting out a sigh, “Fine. Let’s get this meeting over with.”
“Come on, this one shouldn’t be so bad. The Fellwoods deal with a lot of merchants and the commerce side of government. They are worth being on good terms with. You could get some good deals,” she said as we made our way over.
“Liane, I’m the worst person to be talking business like that, and since when do you care about nobles?” I said, wondering who this person was.
She just laughed. “I care about food more, and if you want bulk stock, this house is where you get bulk stock.”
I saw Milo discussing something with Lord Fellwood on the stairs, but they stopped as soon as they saw us approaching.
“Greetings, Lord Ashmoon. It’s a nice name you have chosen,” Reginald said, bowing.
“Thank you, and just Trevor, please,” I said.
I was unsure if I was supposed to bow or not, so I was trying to see what Liane did, noticing she didn’t bow.
“Uh, shall we go in?” I said, leading the way.
I was heading towards the dining room because I really didn’t know where to go and was just about to reach the door when Archie interrupted.
“Sir, I have prepared a table and tea for you all in the sunroom, as per the request.”
“Thank you, Archie.” I changed course, walking past the Sylverith statue towards the back of the house.
“These statues are truly remarkable,” Reginald commented.
“Thanks. Crisplet has worked very hard on them,” I said happily.
“That tree out front, is it going to be stone like this one?” Reginald asked.
I just shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. That’s new today.”
Liane laughed from behind us. “Lily’s statue is on the roof right now.”
“Of course it is…” I muttered.
Opening the door to the sunroom, I saw that Archie had set up a table overlooking the rear garden. On the table sat a teapot with three cups.
“Thank you for accepting my invitation, Trevor. I’ll admit my intentions have changed since setting this meeting, as information around you is travelling faster than any of us could expect, it seems like,” he said.
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“So it seems,” I said bitterly.
“No, this isn’t a bad thing. Initially, I set this up to learn who you are, and I am still curious, but since then I’ve had the Alchemist Guild attempt to have me not trade with you. You were responsible for the first ever dragon in the capital, and if I’m not mistaken, she is living with you?” Reginald inquired.
This comment was confusing, though, so I had to ask.
“You would have seen her, right? She would have come out to the foyer just before I did.”
He just shook his head. “No one came out before you.”
I could have sworn she went that way, but perhaps she went into her room or the study instead. Oh well.
“But that does answer the question,” Reginald laughed.
“I’ve also heard your friend is starting up a cafe in the nobles’ market, and you’ll be providing speciality items for the shop, which is where I think we can have a positive relationship,” he said.
“Not concerned about House Valrith then?” Liane asked.
Again, Reginald just chuckled.
“No, not at all. Times are changing, and it’s better to be on the right side of those changes, which is why I would love to do business with you. As you likely already know, I have ties with most of the larger merchant groups in the kingdom, while we run most of the logistics and security for those goods,” he explained.
Part of me wanted to stop him and get Milo for this, but I felt that would be rude. Plus, I’d follow the rules we set out for the other meeting: listen and don’t agree.
Reginald continued, “This gives us access to most goods incoming into the city by road or the port, and allows us to ensure quality and supply. If the rumours are true, and you intend to be opening a food business, then I’m sure we could come to an arrangement for stock.”
“That would certainly be useful. However, Micca is in charge of the shop there, so all business dealings would need to be done through her. As for myself, there are items I do use in bulk, but we can discuss that later. For a backup method, I was wondering if you have methods of ageing goods at all?” I asked.
I knew that Sylverith said a rune might be able to do it, but it couldn’t hurt to have a backup plan, and someone close to all the merchants felt like the perfect person to ask besides the chefs tomorrow.
“Ageing? You mean for alcohol?” he asked.
“Something like that,” I said.
I decided not to be totally open about it. He seemed nice, but as Liane said, don’t be so trusting.
“Well, usually specialised runescribes make the barrels for them. However, there have been incredibly rare magical items that have time aspects to them that have popped up over the decades. They are few and far between, so I wouldn’t count on getting one of those,” Reginald responded.
There was silence between us for a while.
“I have to ask, since I don’t find you to be very politically motivated, but are you aware of what House Valrith is attempting to do at the moment?” he said.
This question caught me off guard. I didn’t know, but that said, how do you respond? Do I pretend that I’m aware so it doesn’t seem like I’m clueless, or just let it be known…
I apparently was caught in this dilemma for too long because Liane spoke up again.
“We’re aware of them trying to put Trevor as a throne candidate, in an attempt to drive a wedge between him and the royal family. However, as anyone who has ever met Trev is aware, he most certainly doesn’t care about that.”
“Yes, that is evident. They are also trying to restrict your purchasing power at alchemist shops, with the hope that the adventurers’ party he travels with feel pressured to leave him behind,” Reginald said.
Liane just burst out laughing, didn’t even give it a response.
“That’s what I expected as well. I’ve chosen the right side, it seems,” Reginald said with a smile.
“Isolating Trev won’t work the way they hope. You can’t bribe a dragon with potions, and Lily doesn’t listen to anyone so there’s no bargaining there, or even Crisplet, who would sooner watch the capital burn than leave Trev behind,” Liane laughed again. “Not going to happen.”
“As expected,” Reginald said.
I didn’t really know how to take all of this, I gripped the arm of the chair tightly in an effort to stop my hands from shaking.
I of course knew that the Alchemist Guild would cause problems—that was told to me from the start—but hearing that they intended to try to not only drive a wedge between me and the royals, which I didn’t really care about, but drive a wedge between my friends…
That’s ridiculous!
“Does this mean they are going to try to bribe Micca as well?” I asked.
Reginald looked at me, but it was Liane who responded. “Yes, but don’t worry about it. She will not turn on you.”
I could feel my cheeks getting hot as anger built inside me. Who were they to go after my friends?
“That’s not the point. You’re my friends. Surely there is something we can do about it?” I said.
I had basically forgotten Reginald at this point, just looking at Liane.
“Don’t worry too much about it, Trev. It’s why Hari went with Micca today. He might look dull from time to time, but he’s well versed in court political nonsense,” Liane said calmly.
Reginald nodded. “Yes, as a Lindberg he would have been trained extensively in political manoeuvring. You are in good hands, Trevor. Don’t worry yourself, and don’t do anything rash.”
I looked at him, confused. What did he think I would do?
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to accuse. I heard the rumours of the adventurer party in the south who crossed you and came to an unfortunate accident in the wilds,” Reginald commented.
I stopped. Unfortunate accident… “He’s not dead, is he? I heard he just got attacked?”
Reginald nodded. “Correct, he wasn’t killed. Although, if my sources are correct, he’s no longer an adventurer at the moment, and their party broke apart. He left on a personal mission and hasn’t been seen in a month.”
“While we have you, and you seem to be open with the information, besides House Belwyn, who else is taking the side of Valrith in this?” Liane asked.
“The remnants of House Havenel have been taken in by Valrith. Although there are very few who have escaped the dungeons, and I believe House Greyrock has been in talks with them several times. A lot of the minor houses are trying their best to stay neutral in all of this in the hope they can rise from what’s left,” he said.
“You speak as if it’s a foregone conclusion that this will result in those houses no longer being in power?” Liane asked.
“Of course it is. What are the end results here? The king sides with Trevor and gets powerful allies. The king stays neutral and allows another distant kingdom enough time to come over and make a play on Trev’s life, causing his friends to cause untold destruction, and they’ll come in for clean-up. Or he chooses the opposing side and causes untold destruction to his kingdom. The man is lax sometimes, but he’s no fool,” Reginald said.
“Could have fooled me, seeing the way things are run out of the city,” Liane muttered.
Reginald sighed. “Yes, that’s regrettable, and I believe this has come as somewhat of an eye-opener to him, although it won’t fix what’s done.”
“Anyway, I shall leave it here today, and I will seek to have an audience with Micca. If you need anything in large supply, just let me know. I will endeavour to source it for you,” Reginald said, bowing as he stood up.
He was just about to walk out of the sunroom when I made a decision. I should have waited for Milo. I know that…
“Wait! Sugar and salt. I need a lot of it,” I said.
The smile on Reginald’s face shifted. It was almost scary, as if talking business had changed his demeanour entirely. I knew I should have waited for Milo.