Ceril didn’t even attempt to control his sneer when Shin finished his pitch. “An Alliance. With you.”

“No, that’s not what I said.” Shin continued to fiddle with the lure on his long bamboo fishing rod, his voice light and conversational despite his companion’s grudging tone. “I said we should enter talks to form an Alliance. Big difference.”

“Oh is it now?” The elf scoffed as Shin cast his line, the baited lure soaring deep into the lake with a soft plunk. “Clearly crawling up from the gutter gives you some sort of insight truly civilized peoples lack.” He gave an arrogant sniff. “Also, you’re doing that wrong.”

“Really?” Shin settled down on the ground, his fishing pole steadied between his legs as he languidly closed his eyes. “You’ll have to teach me.”

The princely prisoner huffed. “Fine. Here’s another free lesson for you. See that over there?” He paused for a moment, then snapped his fingers at Shin. “Are you watching?” The kobold cracked an eyelid, and Ceril pointed towards a perfect circle shimmering above the water just beside the dock. “That’s a Fishing Node. You have to aim for those.”

“Golly,” Shin replied. “That sounds tough.”

“Hmph, maybe for a fur brain, but nothing is too tough for a Proud Oaken Elf! Watch this, and try as hard as you can to learn something.”

“I’ll sure try.”

With that, the elf gathered up his line and awkwardly tossed it towards the Node, missing badly on his first two attempts but managing to graze the circle on the third. He puffed out his chest at his accomplishment, craning his head back to preen for Shin’s sake. “You’re not watching!”

The kobold cracked an eye again.

“Good. Now there’s no way you’ll get the next part, so just sit there and be amazed at the skills I am heir to.” Ceril clumsily took his fishing rod between his hands, foot tapping restlessly as he stared at his lure inside the Node. Within a few moments he seemed ready to give up, his meager patience already running dry, but his motion to throw his rod to the ground was interrupted by an obnoxiously loud claxon and the appearance of a cartoonish exclamation point. “Ah! Ahha! Watch! Watch this!”

Shin cracked an eye open again.

Ceril hunkered down into a steady stance as a large bar with a doodle of a fish at the top appeared over the Node. The fish began to slowly bob up and down the bar as the elf began to jerkily rotate his fishing rod, trying to keep a small bubble centered over it. Apparently, it was harder than it looked. “Mrph, just gotta…Shit! Gods!” Ceril swore as his attempts grew increasingly erratic. “Fuckin’...Ugh!”

“Mm.” Shin closed his eye again. “Having trouble?”

“Shut up! You–wait, no! Grah!” Ceril threw his pole to the ground as the minigame bar vanished, a gratingly judgmental tune plinking out of the Node. “That didn’t count.” He pointed an accusatory finger at Shin. “You distracted me.”

“Whoopsie.”

The elf snatched his bamboo rod back up, apparently unwilling to admit defeat. His second attempt didn’t go much better, and the third was somehow even worse, but on his fourth attempt he finally managed to keep the bubble locked onto its target long enough for the Progress Meter to completely fill. “Hahaha, yes~!” The elf thrust out his tiny prize for Shin’s adulation, presenting his miniscule trophy as if it was a fish-shaped diamond. “You see now? Do you see now.”

“Sure do.” Shin held up a thumb, his eyes still closed. “Way to go.”

“I thought so!” Ceril dumped the fish back into the lake, the System-spawned creature vanishing before it hit the water. “So tell me again, oh kobold who knows so much about the world, how my people would get anything from joining this ‘Grand Alliance’ of yours.”

“Again. Not join.” Shin tapped a finger to the side of his nose. “Talks. Just talks.”

Ceril frowned. “What’s the difference?”

“The difference? How about ‘everything’?” Shin’s fishing rod twitched, so he smoothly rose to his feet. “Is that different enough for you?”

The elf scowled. “Why do you always take an eternity to say what you mean? Why can’t you ever just state your stupid ideas plainly?”

Shin carefully held steady, feeling the weight of the fish whose attention his lure had caught. “For the same reason that talks of an Alliance are better than actually creating one.” He gave his rod a sharp upwards jerk, precisely timed to his target’s solid bite. “It’s more interesting.”

“More interesting?” Ceril’s long ears drooped slightly as he watched Shin gracefully shift his fishing rod left and right, countering the fish’s attempts at escape. “I don’t follow.”

“It’s simple.” Shin inched his fingers through the taut fishing line, giving his foe less and less room to work with. “Once formed, that’s all an Alliance is. But a possible Alliance? That could be anything.” He pulled back, the bamboo rod bending almost completely in half as the fish was dragged closer. “Maybe it will work out. But maybe not! Maybe one side plans to betray the other, or maybe third parties are involved. Who knows? It’s all very mysterious and exciting, isn’t it?”

Ceril shifted awkwardly in his spot. “I…guess?”

“Of course it is. And interesting, my good Prince, is the name of the game. ‘Interesting’ gives our zones and peoples a story. ‘Interesting’ keeps Players happy.” He gave one final, mighty pull, and then turned towards Ceril with a massive, gorgeous trout dangling at the end of his line. ‘‘Interesting’ keeps the System from deciding to barge in and decide for itself what would be ‘Interesting’.”

“Huh.” Ceril stared at the elf, thoughts working steadily behind his far-off eyes. “...huh. Right.”

“So does the idea of my Grand Alliance sound a little more appealing now, Prince Ceril.”

The captive elf shook himself free of his stupor, narrowing an eye at Shin. “I mean…maybe. Maybe a little. I’m not sure what you expect me to do, though.”

“Oh, that part’s simple.” The kobold smoothly extracted the hook from the fish’s mouth, stepping closer to his guest slash prisoner. “Introductions, that’s all.” He carefully slipped an index finger under one gill, then his middle finger under the other. “Take me to the nearest Oaken Elf outpost and introduce us as potential new friends.”

Ceril huffed, eyes defiant as he glared at Shin. “What, and just conveniently forget that you kidnapped me? And murdered all my comrades?”

“Yes.” Shin calmly met the other man’s gaze. “You should forget that I kidnapped you, and that I’m a murderer.”

The elf quavered, but it almost seemed as though he might be able to hold Shin’s stare. But then the kobold pulled the trout’s head back and up, cleanly snapping the fish’s neck. Ceril immediately flinched backwards, breaking eye contact and mumbling out a response as Disadvantage settled upon him. “Right, I…right. I, um, will.”

“Oh?” Shin kept his tone breezy as he mentally flipped through his Opportunism selection. “You will? Ceril quickly nodded, but the Schemer pressed him further. “You will what, exactly?”

“I will, um, I mean I won’t tell them.”

“You won’t tell them what.”

“I…” Ceril’s eyes flicked up, met Shin’s, and quickly went back to inspecting the ground. “I won’t tell the other Oaken Elves that you kidnapped me, or that you murdered everyone at the waystation.”

“Oh. Good!” Shin gave Ceril a friendly smile as the Opportunism effect sank into the browbeaten elf. “That’s really good, Prince Ceril. Besides, it was Red Players who destroyed the waystation, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, uh, that’s right. Of course.” Ceril quickly latched on to Shin’s promptings, eager to get past this unsettling moment. “Those damned Red Players. That’s, um, exactly why we need a Grand Alliance.” He flinched, stumbling over his words as he corrected himself. “I, er, that is, that’s why we need to talk about forming a Grand Alliance.” He glanced up timidly. “Right?”

Shin chuckled affectionately, giving Ceril a pat on the cheek with fingers lightly tinged in gore. “Such a smart fish I’ve caught. Speaking of which.” He held up the trout, still dully twitching. “Would you like to join me for dinner?”

“No, I, thanks so much, but I, erm, no,” Ceril nearly tripped over his own feet as he retreated towards the safety of the village watchtower, his intimidated brain trying to force excuses through his mouth faster than his lips could keep up with. “I’m going to bed, right, must get to bed, such an early start tomorrow, hope you understand, anyways thank you so much for–”

Shin couldn’t resist a wry grin as Mimi stepped forward, extending a chilled pouch. “I bet he really does hole up in bed,” Shin remarked, slipping his catch inside, “Though I suspect he’s going to dream about fish.”

Mimi made a little noise, the normally peppy scribe seeming almost reproachful. “I’m a little worried, though.”

“Really?” Shin raised an eyebrow, giving the air a slight sniff. “Why?”

“Well, the plan is certainly plausible, but…” Mimi trailed off, eventually offering a rueful shrug. “No matter how scared of you he might be, do you really think he won’t betray us the moment he’s alone with the other Oaken Elves?”

“What? That’s what’s worrying you?” Shin blew a raspberry. “Of course he will. He’d better, at least.”

Mimi tilted his head. “But, the plan–”

Shin scoffed, balancing his fishing rod on his shoulder. “You really think that was the plan? And the ultimate goal is standing shoulder to shoulder with Prince Ceril?” He clucked his tongue. “You’re going to have to do a bit of a better job keeping up than that, Mimi. Ceril is not the fish.”

He deftly caught his fishing pole’s hook between his fingers, waggling it cheekily at his fascinated assistant. “He’s just the bait.”