Kindly edited by @CollinHarrison4

King Victalica stood patiently outside the gate to House Tarvakian. It was oddly pleasurable, not something he had expected. As King, forbearance was not on his list of virtues. Yet, now that he was playing at being a merchant, cloaked in guise, he found it strange and wonderful not to be noticed. It was as if the world was anew, a fresh egg to be cracked and cooked as he saw fit. Unburdened by title, he was a nobody and made to wait. He tried not to smile at the freshness of it all.

"House Lancker?" Victalica heard Filgot's question on the other side of the gate, a voice he knew well. "I know no such house and no meetings are scheduled."

"He claims he is known to you," one of Tarvakian's guards said.

Victalica found the intrigue exciting. He couldn't remember the last time he played anything but king. Traveling without guards was refreshing, just two unknowing porters behind him. Boys really, thankful for being overpaid to haul one chest in their decrepit wagon. Commoners who thought him one, though bowing to the profit he provided. They probably snickered behind his back about the fool who paid too much.

The gate opened and Filgot stepped out, hiding the house beyond, as expected. "Sir, I know not your house, nor the meeting you claim is expected."

Filgot's eyes widened when Victalica briefly exposed his face from inside his hood, a glimpse hidden from all others.

"Mayhap, it has been forgotten, good sir," Victalica said, enjoying his part. "It was made long ago in traded missives. Could you not query the owner of the house?"

"House ... House Lancker." Filgot stumbled over his words. "Aye, it has come back to me, sir. An error on our part, I assure you, nothing meant to offend." His discomfort was clear, for he knew what this meeting could mean. "A moment of time, please, and I will gather owner Tarvakian."

"I will be content to wait inside," Victalica said. "There is no need to straighten things on my account." He indicated the chest that the porters had lowered to the road. "Mayhap, there is someone to help me with this?"

Filgot cringed, a reaction to what the meeting meant for his future. A shame, since he had been most useful. "Doni, Trala, heft the chest and follow behind," Filgot ordered two of his guards.

"The House is not set for visitors," Doni warned.

"Owner Lancker is aware," Filgot said. He motioned the two guards to hustle. "Sir, if you will follow me." Doni and Trala groaned as they lifted the chest. That brought a snicker from the departing porters.

"Am I done, sire?" Filgot whispered.

"My sorrows," Victalica replied. "Your duty to me is done. My hand is forced, and it can't be helped."

Filgot straightened, his shame hidden behind a wall of duty. "I will leave you in the meeting room, sire. It will take a few minutes to find owner Tarvakian."

"No words prior," Victalica warned. "I'll not have him gathering others. He must be alone." Things needed to be said, and Alliette would make it difficult, nay, impossible. The king needed to speak, not the father.

"Aye, sire," Filgot said.

Victalica waited alone in the meeting room, his hands grasped behind his back as he examined the paintings composed of colored dots. Amazing to the eye and, he assumed, time consuming. House Tarvakian had generated many new things, some beautiful, some functional. He was astonished by what happened when collars were removed. It was strange how loyalty grew and the resulting chaos held in check. Not what he envisioned at all.

"This is not a meeting day, sir," Tarvakian announced with some anger. The door closed harder than it should. "My house adheres to strict schedules, as you were most certainly informed at the gate. I have no idea how you..."

Victalica turned, his smile bright with humor at Tarvakian's expression of horror mixed with the confusion of the unknown chest he had to walk around.

"Your Majesty," Tarvakian said with a deep bow.

"Is your man Filgot just outside, Heralic?" Victalica asked, signalling for Tarvakian to end the bow.

"Aye."

"Call him in," Victalica said. "My time is limited, and he will speed through your denials."

"My denials?"

"Call him."

Tarvakian looked confused as he returned to the door and brought Filgot in. Victalica chose a chair and indicated that Tarvakian should sit as well. Filgot remained standing. It was unfortunate that Victalica would have to end what was for the man.

Victalica removed a few sheets of folded paper and handed them to Tarvakian. "Filgot spent too much time at the taverns, rolling bones and such. Those are his debts I acquired. Now they are yours to administer as you see fit."

"Filgot?" Tarvakian said as he examined the papers. Filgot dropped his head in answer.

"You did not believe I would allow my daughter to live where I did not have eyes, did you?" Victalica asked as if it were obvious. "I know what Filgot knows. But, know it was under threat of becoming property. His loyalty was difficult for my son to crack. He almost chose the collar."

Filgot only nodded, his eyes fixed on his boots. A proud man brought low in an instant. A shame for one such as him. Vices burn deep scars, especially in good men.

"The King knows all?" Tarvakian asked of Filgot. The tone was measured, yet scented with anger.

"Aye, sir," Filgot said, looking up. His eyes were on the verge of losing their water, though he was still too proud to let them flow.

"Out!" Tarvakian said, holding up the debts. "You will be called before the sun sets. There will be no words to others."

"Aye, sir," Filgot said, then bowed to the King before exiting the room. His shoulders were less square, his pace less confident. A waste, though the king's guilt faded as need displaced it.

Tarvakian threw the papers into the corner of the room as if they were cursed. "Am I ruined as well, sire?"

"Nay," Victalica said, shaking his head. "I find my daughter's smile worth more than my palace, and your son seems to please her with ease. And our grandson, well, there is his happiness to consider as well. It is not why I am here."

"You will allow them to live in a free house?"

"I will allow her to live in a free house that pretends it is not," Victalica said. "Best if all remains as it is. You have done well with your ruse, and it fits your house," he chuckled, "and your profits. Your doings have grown mine larger as well."

"Why tell me now, sire?"

"None will ever hear of our next words." Victalica ordered.

"As you command, sire."

"A missive has come for you from Kelton," Victalica said. He reached into his cloak and withdrew a tightly rolled piece of white cloth. He raised his other hand to stall Tarvakian's words. "Filgot has kept me well informed. I have placed myself between you and Kelton, though Kelton does not know it."

"You know where he traveled, sire?"

Victalica sighed. "Aye, Heralic. I know the risks all believe they have taken." He handed the cloth to Tarvakian.

Tarvakian took the cloth and unrolled it on the small table between them. "All-Father, is that blood?"

"Aye," Victalica replied. "Though it is the cloth that surprises me most."

"The cloth?" Tarvakian asked absently as he began reading. Victalica decided not to respond, feeling he had let that observation slip. The bloody words soon erased Heralic's desire for a response. "He warns me of what you may know."

"The boy has a talent for smelling things out," Victalica said, nodding. "Filgot's usefulness faded quickly after my reading."

"You did not see him after he returned from the Nagada," Tarvakian said, looking up from the message. "He is no longer a boy."

Victalica sensed some anger in the words. He dismissed it as a man who has discovered he does not control all he imagined. Justified, yet useless. "There is more." Victalica gestured to the message. He desired to get to the meat and not waste time on perceived slights.

"He desires arms," Tarvakian said as he read. "It sounds as if he has joined a war."

"Started one," Victalica corrected. "In the place of demons, where none are supposed to journey."

"There are no demons," Tarvakian said.

"But there are, Heralic. Know that these demons make Barrenkee and his ilk look like angels. I cannot tell all, but you must accept that Kelton does not fear them enough. He has set things in motion that will ripple across the seas."

"You mean to allow me to help?"

"Nay," Victalica replied. "No help can be sent from here. None. To do so would bring war to these shores from many lands. There is a reason it is called the Dark Isle and few ships moor there, forbidden to most. It is an agreement between Kings that cannot, and will not, be broken."

"I have heard nothing of such a thing. Do any of the council know of this treaty?"

"None," Victalica replied. It was hard to discuss intelligently while only feeding partial information. A must, so it was done.

"Why tell me of this?" Tarvakian asked, his frustration apparent. "It would be best to let me live in ignorance. I see Kelton as family, and now you tell me I must ignore his plea."

"Ignore, nay," Victalica said. "I tell you help cannot come from here. No land ruled by a king will allow such a thing." He smiled while his words penetrated and the solution appeared in Tarvakian's eyes.

"Queens are not party to this agreement," Tarvakian said.

"Aye, they are not, and never will be."

"You know of Yanda," Tarvakian said.

"All that Filgot knows," Victalica said with a nod. "Would she be willing?"

Tarvakian smiled. "Filgot has not told you all, if you need to ask."

"Spies are not perfect, reluctant ones less so," Victalica said, adding a shrug. "I am sure he held back much."

Tarvakian continued reading, his eyes widening again. "There is mention of a tea," Tarvakian said, looking up.

"Ah, his gift to you," Victalica said. He went into his cloak again and retrieved a small bag. "My sorrows, Heralic. His mention of it intrigued me, and I sampled some." He smiled as he handed over a bag half full of leaf. "He does not lie about its quality, so I have absconded with half, for which I will gladly reimburse."

Tarvakian took the bag, opened it, and sniffed its contents. "A fine smell to it," he said. "I would happily gift it to you, sire."

"Nonsense," Victalica said. "I must make amends for what I have stolen." He stood and moved to the chest and lifted its lid. "Here is the coin Kelton mentions; the captain took none for he is well compensated." He lifted a homespun bag heavy with coin, then placed it back on the much larger pile of coins that filled the chest. "And the rest is my amends for the theft. Mayhap, you will find a good use for it."

Tarvakian stood, the surprise on his face was delicious. It reminded Victalica of when his children were small and he treated them with something they found amazing. A pleasing memory of when smiles were always honest things.

"He asks for bows," Tarvakian said. "This will buy him thousands."

Victalica raised his palm, a false gesture of ignorance. "I know not what use you put to your profits."

"Why?" Tarvakian asked. "Can I know that, at least?"

"I am getting older, my friend," Victalica said, his voice becoming sincere. "A choice is upon me, and I lean toward the awful. Like many men, I am a greedy animal at heart. If Kelton finishes what he has started, the choice can no longer be made poorly, for it will not exist." He smiled. "I desire him to be what a king cannot: a good man."

Heralic stared at the cloth message, wondering what horrors had driven Kelton to create such a macabre thing. There was always a purpose behind what Kelton did, perhaps this time it was the desperation Heralic had sensed in his words. He looked at the weave of the cloth and its dye. The King seemed concerned with its provenance, though Heralic saw nothing but his house's lack of participation. The weave wasn't tight, the quality too poor for his house.

It would take more time and evidence to deduce the king's motives. Heralic sat back, then remembered Filgot's debts. The only thing not a surprise this day.

"The King is gone, sir," Filgot said as he reentered the meeting room.

"These debts are larger than you indicated," Heralic said as he retrieved the papers that he had tossed into the corner - a performance he was oddly proud of. "It is a wonder he left them to me and did not sell you to recover his coin."

"As I told you, drink and my purse did not do well together in the past," Filgot said, his face red. "I will pay as agreed,"

"Aye, you will in time, and your loyalty has earned you many years to do so," Heralic said. "Debts are promises and must be kept." He sighed. "At least now we can end one of our many ruses. No more worrying about the King not knowing about me knowing. Ruse upon ruse, it is hard to keep track." He smiled. "In truth, it is good to know the King allowed our free house, better now that it is in the open between he and I."

"Was a reason given, sir?" Filgot asked.

"Aye," Heralic replied. "Gather the family, and bring water for tea." He held up what was left of the pilfered tea. "I am told this is a fine leaf."

Heralic sipped the tea, his tongue falling into a bliss it didn't know existed. South Allyander Kelton had named it, yet heaven would be a better name.

"It is good, father, really good," Zello said.

"Aye," Alliette agreed. "I can see my father stealing such leaf." Yelvin sat on her lap, fighting her for a sip. She granted it, her hands struggling with his to make it a small one.

"It would be worth more than the crogerts to trade in such a leaf," Vasco said, his lips barely able to pause sipping to speak.

"Aye, it would," Heralic said, then smiled. "Kelton wrote that I would enjoy it. A gift, whether or not house Tarvakian can help." His smile faded. "I sense it is a great risk if I read our king correctly."

"Father would not drop coin if he did not see profit from it," Alliette said.

"I fear the risk would be our house, not his," Heralic said. Eveyin reached over and placed her hand on his, proving she shared his words and decisions. "I know where our hearts lead us, but failure would affect us all. Bellina, you have risked much already, some of it without a say. I will not do that again."

"He asks for bows," Bellina said. "I know him least, yet I know in my heart his request is not one of greed. It is for others he struggles, or it would not have been asked." She looked at Sara, a smile shared. "We are willing to join the risk on his word, and yours."

"Zello, Alliette?" Heralic asked.

"My love," Zello said, deferring to his wife.

"I tire of ignorance," Alliette said. "My father has hidden much, and now he teases with cloaked knowledge. He has my love, not my trust. Kelton has both, and if he requires arms, I say we do what we can to see it done."

"Well said," Zello concurred. "Would you deny a mother's wisdom, father?"

"Nay, I would not," Heralic replied, the shared determination filling him. "What problems do you foresee, Vasco?"

"None worthy of denying Kelton's request," Vasco replied. "The king has given coin enough for the purchase, leaving us only unknown risks which I cannot measure. I gladly ignore the unknowable for Kelton."

"Then it is agreed, Kelton is as family," Heralic decreed. "There is none here for which I would not risk all, so I will risk all for him. Filgot."

"Sir," Filgot replied.

"Gather Glenda. She has duty abroad, if she chooses." Heralic said.

"I wish to go with her, sir," Filgot said as he placed his mug of tea on the table.

Heralic chuckled. "You wish to follow the bows, do you not?"

"Aye," Filgot replied. "It is best, for the sake of the house, that the King thinks me chastised and sent away. That, and I have carried an idle sword too long. If I know Kelton, his cause is just, and I desire to be at his side."

Heralic nodded, unable to think of a good reason to stop Filgot. If Heralic were unburdened and young enough, he would be sailing with Filgot as well. It smelled of adventure. He gestured for Filgot to retrieve Glenda.

"You said my father spoke of a choice," Alliette said.

"Aye," Heralic said. "A cryptic thing that he wished to avoid. There are secrets upon secrets tied to this Dark Isle. Bloody missive, disguised king, and all I have is my trust of Kelton to lean on."

"We have become what we are because of him," Zello said. "Things grow around him, and not slowly. Now, he steers kings." Zello smiled. "To move against him is like fighting the sea; in time, the waves will pound you back. Better we move with him."

"Does he move with a vision?" Bellina asked. "I see him fixing one thing, then another. Small parts that assemble into something more. Are we nothing more than pieces he is maneuvering about?"

Vasco laughed. "Grand plans are not in him. He sees something he deems wrong and attacks it. Small, large, it does not matter. It is the wrong that eats at him. Nothing but stubborn empathy, with a mind to push it through."

"My father has steered him," Alliette decided. "He encouraged Kelton's desire to see the Nagada." She pointed at the bloody message. "Kelton is where he is because my father allowed it. Mayhap, Kelton is the piece being moved about."

"Aye," Heralic agreed, nodding. "It is my thought as well, daughter. Secret play between kings." He grinned. "Kelton has a way of moving sideways, when straight is commanded. Mayhap, the kings will all lose this game of theirs."

"You wished to see me?" Glenda said, moving into the room wearing another new dress. There was pride in her step. Her duty as liaison to Sorinnia had raised her in all eyes, and she enjoyed swimming in that pond. It earned her coin a plenty to throw at dresses, many from Sorinnia itself. New styles that would look humorous on any other older woman, but Glenda would not have it, and none had the courage to question it.

"Aye," Heralic said. "Kelton has sent a missive, a request for arms. It seems he has started a war where he should not be."

"Mayhap, the place needs a war," Glenda said, standing taller. "He is not one to shy from trouble."

"Aye, and I have been told he cannot be helped from the lands of kings. Secrets between them will not allow it."

"You need a queen," Glenda said. Heralic was both proud and somewhat fearful of what Glenda had become. She was a house upon herself, and her mind quick. Chaos unleashed.

"Aye."

"I know of such a queen," Glenda said, her smile growing. "One easily steered by her daughter's oath. Kelton will see what love buys, for his named sister will rip the hearts from those kings to see it done."