Kol’Dre sat with the others, used to waiting, indifferent to how long it might take. He used the time to look carefully at the weapons the guards were carrying—the diapson-crystal-charged flash rips the Federation army routinely issued. While the Skaar preferred blades to weapons such as these, it was always wise to know how your enemies fought and what sorts of tools they employed.
His wait to see Ketter Vause was shorter than he had anticipated. When the man seated next to him was called, Kol’Dre waited a beat and then rose with him, careful to stay a step behind and out of his view. He followed the man to an open door where a secretary waited and continued through as if he and the man were together, nodding and smiling reassuringly. Just following my friend, he seemed to be indicating, and the secretary smiled back.
As he passed through the open door and into the Prime Minister’s office, he made himself vanish. The two guards standing watch on either side of the door never saw it happen. The man Kol had followed in was already moving forward to state his request when the Skaar Penetrator dropped one guard and then the other. Then he disabled the supplicant, as well. He was so quick that it was over in seconds.
Kol’Dre then reappeared and stood face-to-face with the Federation Prime Minister.
“Not a word, please,” the Skaar Penetrator said quickly.
Ketter Vause, to his credit, did not panic. He gestured at the fallen men. “Did you kill them?”
“No. I only wanted them out of the way while we talked.”
“Is that so? Well, maybe we’d better get started, then.”
The Prime Minister was a man of average height and appearance; there was nothing about him physically that would suggest he was in any way suited to be leader of the most powerful government in the Four Lands. It was there, however, in the confident way he studied Kol, and in the unhurried inflection in his voice as he spoke. But mostly it was there in the calm he exuded as they faced each other. He had just watched the Skaar Penetrator disable two guards and a supplicant in the blink of an eye, all while invisible, and it didn’t seem to bother him at all. It was immediately clear he was used to difficult situations involving difficult personalities, and he had learned how to manipulate and control both.
“I apologize for the intrusion, Prime Minister, but there was no time to arrange an appointment and I had an urgent need to speak to you quickly.”
“Then perhaps we should sit while we discuss this.” Vause was already moving to occupy the chair behind his desk. “I’m sure we can work something out…”
Kol made a hissing sound, bringing the other up short. “Stay where you are, Prime Minister! We will stand where we can see each other while we talk. Just in case you are tempted to use any weapons you might have hidden behind your desk. Turn and face me.”
Ketter Vause stopped where he was, then shrugged and came back around his desk to stand not five feet from Kol. “It is not your intention to kill me, then?”
Kol shook his head. “If I wanted you dead, you would already be so. What I want from you is something else entirely. I am here seeking an accommodation.”
“An accommodation? Of what sort?”
Kol took a moment to glance around the Prime Minister’s office. The room was surprisingly spare and unadorned. The walls were mostly bare of decorations or art, the floor bereft of carpets and rugs, and the furniture old and unassuming. Vause’s desk was cluttered with paperwork. There was a single chair behind it and two in front, but none indicating anything approaching comfort.
“You seem a no-nonsense man with a wish to get to the point. But give me a moment to explain a few things first. I assume you know of the attacks on the Troll tribes to the north? Two of them in the last few weeks?”
The other man nodded. “I do.”
“And has a report reached you about what’s transpired at Paranor?”
A long pause. “What is this about?”
“My name is unimportant, but you need to know I am an envoy for Her Majesty, Princess Ajin d’Amphere of the Skaar nation. We’ve come from across the Tiderace in search of a new country in which to settle our people, and we have chosen the Four Lands. Upon arrival, several Troll tribes attacked us, and we destroyed them as a warning to the others. Then we confronted the Druids at Paranor and they refused to hear us out. So we entered their Keep, killed them all, and caused Paranor to disappear. You will hear about it soon enough, if you have not already.”
It wasn’t entirely the truth, for the Skaar had nothing to do with making Paranor disappear. But it was better to let the Prime Minister think that all that had occurred was at their instigation.
Ketter Vause was staring at him, his features still expressionless. “How did you manage all this? You destroyed the entire Druid order? What sort of power do you possess?”
“The kind that allows me to enter a Prime Minister’s offices without invitation. Shall I tell you the rest of what brought me here?”
“I hope you haven’t come here to ask for our surrender, envoy.”
“Hardly. To do so would be an insult. And think on this, for a moment. We have just done you a great service. We have rid you of the Druids, Paranor, and all its troublesome magic. Your greatest enemy is no more. You might doubt me at the moment, but it will be easy enough to determine if I am telling the truth. Assuming I am, you are in our debt. What I seek in payment is an alliance with the Federation—mostly, an agreement that each of us will stay out of the way of the other. You do not attack us; we do not attack you. We do not meddle in your affairs or encroach on your interests, and you do the same for us.”
“I believe they call that mutual non-intervention.” Ketter Vause stood with his hands folded in front of him. “You do not seek our support against other nations?”
Kol shrugged. “We don’t require it. Perhaps there will be no need for us to act again, now that the Druids are gone and our presence is well established. We are trained fighters, Prime Minister—soldiers and warriors. We have conquered all the lands across Eurodia, far to the east. We are afraid of no one. But we would prefer to ally with our strongest neighbor. It is our intention to settle ourselves north of the Mermidon, in Troll country. It would be in the best interests of both of us if the accommodation I mentioned could be reached.”
Vause smiled. “It would seem that way. But I am not convinced you have told me everything. What are you holding back from me, envoy?”
A long moment of silence passed as Kol’Dre let the other man think he was pondering how much he should reveal. Finally, he shrugged. “We may have to do battle with the Elves. They were more closely allied to the Druids than the Federation. If we have to go to war with them, we would prefer it if you kept your distance. Non-intervention, as you’ve so deftly pointed out. A battle on two fronts is not impossible, but it is impractical. Would you be willing to agree to this request?”