Page 101 of Morel Dilemma

“We’re just business partners.” Rylana nodded thanks to Vilma when the half-gnome brought her usual latte with two cookies perched on the saucer. Today, they were white-and-brown checkered and half-dipped in chocolate.

“That’s a relief,” Tassani said after ordering tea for himself. “After witnessing him up close the other night, I wouldn’t want to irk him overmuch. I know he could have done much more than knocking elves off the rooftop. Those who were burned could easily have been incinerated.”

“He did suggest we shouldn’t kill anyone. He doesn’t want to get kicked out of the city and lose his diner.”

“That being the primary reason a dragon would refrain from utterly annihilating enemies,” Tassani said.

“It’s his reason for things. Jildarin generally looks favorably upon elves, from what I’ve seen, but if you start hostilities in or on his diner, you get what you deserve.”

“Most decidedly.” Tassani’s tea arrived. He picked up a cookie and saluted her with it before popping it into his mouth.

“What will happen to the elves who tried to kill Sylin?” Rylana asked. “Was the ringleader among them, or were they taking orders from an elder from that ambitious family?”

“The latter, I gather, but they’ve resisted my attempts to learn through questioning. Those who live in the enclave and have ties to the Shaldonas haven’t been forthright with answers either. Of course, one can’t use magical interrogation methods on members of such an important and distinguished family.” Tassani sighed wistfully.

“I know someone who could arrange a delivery of a large serving of enchanted morels.”

“I doubt that would cause them to grow loquacious and truthful.”

Rylana sipped from her latte. “You don’t think people doubling over in the lavatory are moved to blurt veracities?”

“Obscenities, more likely.” Tassani swirled the tea ball in his cup, and earthy odors that mingled with the scent of anise wafted into the air.

Was that the preferred elven blend that Brella had accused of tasting like dirt? Maybe she’d deigned to carry the tea despite her distaste for it.

“Do elves swear?” Rylana asked.

“When the occasion warrants it.”

“Has there been a lot of swearing in the Garden of Confinement these past few days?”

“A tremendous amount, yes.”

Tassani appeared more satisfied than remorseful, so Rylana decided not to feel guilty that she’d come up with the plan to incapacitate the elves. It had to have irked him that so many of his troops had disobeyed him, even if their orders had come from above. Had he been more amenable to taking instructions from that ambitious family, they might have approached him directly. Rylana was glad he’d remained loyal to the queen and that he hadn’t been one of the elves angling for Sylin.

“Do you think,” Rylana asked, “that those elves with that particular allegiance will be removed from duty or—even better—shipped off to a remote jungle island from which they’ll never escape?”

“I do not think that, no.”

“Is it likely they’ll continue to be a problem for Sylin if she remains in Tranquility?”

Tassani sipped from his cup as he considered his answer. “The fact that she didn’t return to the south with the queen to assume a role in the elven court and train to become the heir to the scepter is probably a point in her favor, at least in their eyes, but… as long as she exists, they will see her as a threat to the succession plans they’ve had for years. Decades. Even if she isn’t interested in becoming the next queen… Fareesa may choose her for the position, regardless, assuming she’ll change her mind.”

“She’s killed a lot of elves. Your people wouldn’t accept her as their ruler even if she agreed to do it, right?” Rylana recalled asking him something similar before, and he hadn’t promised it would be a deal-killer, but she found that hard to believe.

Tassani waved a vague hand. “Her lack of an upbringing in our culture might be more of a sticking point. As I believe I mentioned before, we like and respect warriors.” He smiled at her over the lip of his cup.

“Even assassin warriors?”

“We prefer those who honorably dispatch their enemies, but, from what I saw the other evening, I suspect she can fight openly as well as by springing from the shadows at someone’s back.”

“She can.” Rylana knew that from her many sparring matches with Sylin and hadn’t been surprised by her rooftop knife handling. What had surprised her was that the queen had received training at some point, enough to handle herself in the chaos of battle with aplomb. “I don’t think Sylin will ever agree to be anyone’s queen though.”

“Mm,” was all Tassani murmured.

Rylana shook her head, distressed for Sylin that the Shaldona-aligned elves might yet harass her. Or outright try to end her life.

“It’s also possible that Queen Fareesa, not being geriatric herself yet,” Tassani said, “will wait to see if Sylinesla has children and if she can establish a relationship with them. Perhaps she would offer to have them raised and trained in the elven way.”