Among the people shouting, the loudest was the fat attendant who sputtered and shouted, “You refuse?! This is a lawful order! To refuse is treason!”

I shook my head and waited, watching as the king looked from me to his attendant and back. He leaned forward, looking down on me from his throne. It may have been more intimidating if he weren’t staring at my beard. The large red banner behind his throne, a white crown over a star, rippled with his every movement.

“Explain yourself,” he commanded. The way his voice echoed across the chamber silenced everyone, and I detected a skill being used, one that even my wards only partially blocked.

Luckily, I had planned to explain myself, “My king, the honors I have earned from the kingdom are vast. I wear them proudly on my chest and sleeve,” I shook a few medallions at him in case he wasn’t bright. “I have done much for my kingdom, but this order would place the kingdom at greater risk.”

I stopped speaking then, watching how the tea in the king and the others reacted. I wanted to see if I could leverage their own loyalty to the kingdom to alter this ridiculous summons.

The king simply motioned for me to go on. I took that moment to look about the other higher nobility present. The houses of Eistoni, Birktoni, and Laxtoni were all nearby. Duke Laxtoni looked miserable, no doubt the fall of his seat changed his standing. The eastern duke’s face was powdered, which was odd on the tanned skin and blonde hair, but I could see he looked gaunt underneath.

Duke Birktoni looked to be a fat, jovial man with whiskers down the side of his face and a balding head with strings of red hair. He looked as if he were related to the king’s attendant.

Duchess Eistoni was a matronly woman with an upturned nose and a unibrow. While she held those same features, along with the cleft chin, she lacked the metallic irises.

“My king, the end of our age is upon us. Soon the Pestilence will gather in numbers unstoppable. I endeavor to prepare the kingdom as well as I can to meet this threat. I had hoped you would have heard the message I passed through Count Shielding of this. Should I stop now, you and many, many others, might very well be the last of their line.”

Chuckles from the crowd were my response among them, though I didn’t pay it any more regard than that. Instead, I watched the king as a smirk crept onto his face. It wasn’t the pleasant kind of smile, but one of arrogant triumph.

“Baron Shielding did notify the kingdom of this ‘threat’ two years past,” he started to answer, the emphasis he placed on the new title left no doubt in my mind that the Shielding’s prestige had paid a price for carrying my message. He pointed to my right, to where Duke Laxtoni stood, “And for two years, I stalled our enemy. What would you have me do? Turn a blind eye to their armies as they pillage Laxton Bay, enslaving our craftsmen?”

His voice was demanding, and as I watched the magical effects of the tea in those around him swelled as he spoke. Yet, the words he spoke showed me more than I think he expected.

Laxton Bay was a larger city on the coast of Sena, but it only had two main exports—fish and couches. Mirktal had an abundant coastline of their own. The Laxtoni monopoly had been part of several treaties in the past. That they attacked and enslaved the people of this Duchy first likely meant that this entire war was over couches. Maybe some other minor issues as well.

I had glanced over at Duke Laxton when that thought crossed my mind, and couldn’t help my eyes widening as this realization hit me. The king must have seen this, and the words that were about to come from my lips because he spoke again before I could respond.

“My Scouts have reported no such beasts as you claim. In fact, no one else in the entire kingdom has. I am to believe you over thousands? I think not. No, I know where your home lays. You will take up arms in defense of Sena, even if I must pull kingdom forces away from Eistoni.”

“My liege!” Duchess Eistoni cried in complaint but silenced when the king raised his hand.

“What say you, wizard? Will you defend the kingdom?” the king asked as he glared at my chin.

I pursed my lips and looked up in thought. It wasn’t polite to make the king wait, but I had all the information I needed with regards to the tea. Everyone drank it, but only the king appeared immune. Half my strategies for evading partaking in this war were useless with this information, but I wasn’t without a plan.

I answered with a smile, “Of course my liege, I would be happy to defend, yet I would desire recompense appropriate to my power.”

“What do you desire?” The king’s smug grin told me that the matter was finished.

“Thirty new couches, Your Majesty. You see, for the past century, I have been denied a single couch from your stalwart coastal defenders. Every ten years, I asked, and every ten I have been denied regardless of how much I offered.”

The king glanced at Duke Laxton, who subtle shook his head no. It seemed the duke didn’t want to discuss the matter, but the king wouldn’t tolerate it.

“Duke Laxton, why have you denied this man a couch?”

The duke scowled, an expression that didn’t do him any favors with how hollow his cheeks were, “My liege, Wizard Fargus always insults our name! He writes every single letter calling us the Raxton family!”

I scoffed louder than needed before he could go on further, “My good sir, Raxton is your family name. Your great-grandfather had a speech impediment and when he spoke of his family it sounded like Laxton. Calling your family Laxton was an insult made by his detractors.”

I turned back to the king, “Is this how men are rewarded in Sena under your rule? Count Shielding offered you fair warning of dire threat, and so have I. He loses his title, and I am shunned for being the only person alive to not insult—”

“That is enough,” the king stated flatly, his words cutting through my own through some use of a skill.

“Duke Laxton, can you provide thirty new couches?”

The duke shook his head, “I’m afraid we have no craftsmen left, and our warehouses stand empty.”

Ah, so that was what the duke’s posturing was about. He didn’t want to admit how poorly his house stood. I almost regretted it, but confirming the war was over couches took precedence.

“Wizard, what other payment do you seek?”

I shook my head, “Couches I have been long denied and couches I seek. Surely our powerful kingdom could not be suffering from a couch shortage?”

The king snarled at me, his metallic eyes reflecting the light, “No other payment? Wines? Gold? Lands?”

I went silent for a moment, then answered, “My king, it seems we are at an impasse, for I only desire new couches.”

“Then your decision is made,” the king stood and pointed at one of the men nearby, a man wearing an officer’s uniform, “If the wizard will not defend his country, we will make him. Order our troops from Eistoni borders. They can defend Freetoni lands instead.” Behind him, the banner shook as if showing anger that the man was too disciplined to display.

He turned back to me with a glare, “You will have a good view from your tower to see what you have wrought. Now begone.”

I bowed again and left in a stately manner. There were many ways that could have gone. My magic was sufficient to defend myself and I was glad it didn’t come to that. I had hoped for a better outcome but knew that there was no true way to decline participation without offending him. I just hoped I had offended him enough to send his fifth-tier assassin after me so that I could move forward with the next step of my plans.

After I had left the castle, I considered what other things I wanted to do while I was in Sena City. I planned to visit the Arcanum and maybe call a forum there so I could speak to the masters. Telling stories at the orphanage would be a good relief from my considerations and pressure of this afternoon’s summons. The market wouldn’t be open much longer, either.

Still, those things could wait for tomorrow. Instead, I walked the way back to the inn taking in the sights and sounds of the city.