Chapter 71: An Uneasy Alliance

Immediately, Kothar began to run across the deer's skin, heading for one of its forelegs, he slid down the deer's leg, grabbing onto hair as he fell to slow his fall. All the while the deer trotted along, which added an element of danger to Kothar's traversal off the deer, as he swung to and fro while he slid down the deer's leg.

The tall, lush grass whipped by as Kothar clutched at a hair near the deer's hoof, grabbing it tightly as the deer walked by the stream. With a deep breath, Kothar let go of the hair, hurtling toward one of the strands of grass and landing on the inner part of the 'v-shape' that a blade of grass made.

He slid down the blade of grass, landing neatly on his feet on the soil below, which to Kothar, appeared as slightly damp, distinct circular pieces of rocks, interspersed with decomposing matter, and smaller clumps of aggregated silt and clay.

Everywhere he looked, he could see thick white roots snaking across the ground, the nearby plants made the most of the damp from the nearby stream.

[What now Silane?] Kothar asked, he had some idea of what she wanted to do, but it was difficult to be sure now that the AI had emotions of her own, and a penchant for exciting new ideas along with that.

[Now, we build a tree house!] Silane exclaimed. Silane outlined her plans for what would be Kothar's new residence with her overlay.

[That might just do it.] Kothar gave a low appreciative whistle, and looked about for a suitable tree to create his new home.

He spotted a willow-like tree, with vibrant foliage that drooped over the stream, its roots meandering around the banks of the bubbling stream.

Walking through the tall grasses, Kothar remembered his father, and wondered what had become of Eclat in the short time he had been away.

On the peninsula that arched out around the bay that Newport was nestled within, on the tall mansion built there, in the style of Balin, two men sat across from one another, in a cosy study.

An unaware onlooker would have thought the two men father and son, they were so alike in appearance. Tam's usually close-cropped hair had grown to his ears since the beginning of the war, but as always he was still clean-shaven, revealing his strong jaw.

Tam sat straight up in his chair, with the air of a fiercely military man, still in his dark blue armor, but with a fine blue cloak to accompany it, with silver flowers picked out all along the edge in honor of his late wife.

Anteris sat across from Tam, behind his desk, while he shared Tam's strong features, especially the piercing blue eyes as well as the straight proud nose of Ursten royalty, and the strong jaw, the resemblance ended there.

Duke Anteris had a rough beard of white stubble, and his unkempt mane flowed wildly around his shoulders. He wore the plain white shirt of a sailor, along with hands studded with jeweled rings.

He gave off the appearance of a pirate lord rather than a Duke, who ruled his own city. Many would say there was little difference between the Dukes of Newport and the pirates who roamed the seas, especially with how he chased down those foolish enough to neglect paying him his dues.

"Well, out with it man, what the hell is the newly appointed Grand Marshal of Ursten doing in my little city." Anteris finally broke the silence that had been brewing, slamming down his decanter of Dragon's Breath to emphasize his point.

"Well, your Grace, I'm here because your little city isn't so little after all, and Ursten has great need for your shipwrights and craftsmen, especially in light of the recent war." Tam spoke respectfully, but his arms remained crossed his chest and he made no move to bow or offer any other gesture of respect other than referring to Anteris as 'Your Grace'.

"Hahahaha, your words say one thing, but your body language says 'Get in line, or else!" Hahahahaha." Anteris guffawed loudly, slapping his knee. But now a steely look crossed his face, and his blue eyes now smoldered red with a fiery glow.

"I meant no disrespect, but you must understand our position. While the offer we sent with Kothar was partly a ploy to get him out of the city, King Rotan is more than willing to uphold the offer he made, even though Ursten is no longer in such dire straits, he wants to show you his goodwill." Tam said his hand caressing the hilt of his curved blade.

"You mean your goodwill. You know as well as I do, Rotan is now king in name only, he would roll over and play dead if you commanded it. And what else could he do, few remain on this isle of ours who could challenge you." Once again, Anteris' eyes smoldered with a fiery glow, and an intangible pressure began to fill the room.

"You being one of them." Tam returned Anteris' savage grin with one of his own, revealing his shining teeth, and as a faint aura began to glow around the two men, the entire mansion began to shake.

The pressure in the room palpably increased, and the pair of guards stationed outside the door to the study prompt passed out and fell to the ground with a clatter. The desk between the pair began to splinter and crack, before suddenly, the glow in Anteris' eyes subsided.

The faint glow around Tam also faded away, and slowly the mansion stopped shaking.

"I guess I shall uphold my ancestor's greatest desire. And Grand Admiral sounds to be of an equal rank to Grand Marshal, someone needs to keep you in check, puppeteer of Ursten." Anteris offered Tam a gnarled hand, his tone still slightly hostile.

"Of course. I only give the King the advice I think that would benefit the kingdom most. You are most welcome to keep me in check. Anything for Ursten." Tam gave Anteris a narrow eyed stare, a faint smile dancing across his face.