“I’m an archaeologist and have researched this area extensively. I know all about the trolls who originally inhabited these banks. As to what I want, a small monthly payment to my family of ten percent of the shipping revenue the docks take in via fees and taxes. As you’ll find if you dig into your records, my ancestors once owned the land where the major freight docks are now situated. They weretrickedinto giving it up for a pittance by a high priest of the supposed new god who said he would bless the family—but threatened tocursethem if they didn’t agree.” Vormalt lifted his chin to glare down at the gnomes.
They exchanged long looks with each other.
“Today, your family owns other quality land and has businesses in the city, does it not?” Sedgewick asked. “It seems the blessing worked.”
“The blessing was asham,” Vormalt snapped. “Your wholereligionis a sham. That you’ve deluded thousands—probablyhundredsof thousands—into not only believing it but basing their lives and cultures around it is ludicrous.”
“Neither the new god nor his Ten Righteous Ways is a sham,” the high priest snapped back. “I’ve personally received visitations and wisdom from he who looks over all those who embrace peace.”
“After how many mugs of ale?” Vormalt asked.
“I was notdrunkwhen I communicated with the new god.”
“Then you were hallucinating. If that happens frequently, you should seek medical advice.”
The high priest seethed. “I will not?—”
Sedgewick stopped him with a hand on his forearm. “Listen, Vormalt. Even if what you say is true and that your family once held land on that side of the lake—and I’d want to thoroughly investigate our history records before accepting that as a fact—I’m sure thatyourancestors didn’t gain it through rightful means. If you’ve studied the local history, you know that trolls have lived in this area for millennia and claimed the lands around the lake long before your kind settled in the north.”
“Trolls lived in the area, yes, but they’re a nomadic people, and it’s not part of their culture to claim ownership over land.Humansare different.”
“Tell me about it,” Sedgewick muttered.
Rylana shifted her weight, her thighs growing tired from crouching in the trees, but she didn’t want to stand and risk making noise. Now that the pillar had stopped its alarm, the snapping of a twig might give them away. Next to her, Jildarin wasn’t moving in the least. He could have been a statue, save for the warmth he continued to share with her.
She debated what they should do. She wasn’t sure what she had expected Vormalt to demand, but she hadn’t realized hisfamily might have a legitimate claim on land the city had been built atop. Even so, the method he was using to try to get reparations—if his demands could be considered that—was far from legal.
“This is a waste of time,” the high priest said. “That we’re here listening to you threaten us with blackmail is?—”
“A sign of your desperation,” Vormalt interrupted, though his gaze remained on the mayor. Maybe he considered Sedgewick more likely to listen—or more able to meet his demands if the gnomes agreed to them. “And youshouldbe desperate. The curse is getting worse by the hour, isn’t it?” Vormalt waved in the direction of the elven enclave and government buildings, though the trees kept them from seeing the flames from their current position. “I know how to end it, and I’m beingveryreasonable. I could demand ten percent going back for all the centuries that have passed and that gnomes have profited. I could demand the landback.”
Sedgewick sighed and looked toward the sky. “We must have time to consider your terms. I’m an elected official, so I can’t unilaterally make deals that would affect Tranquility beyond the years during which I’ll serve.”
“Deals can be made that bind a government in perpetuity. I would be happy to send a list I’ve prepared of instances when it’s happened.”
“I’ll bet.”
Faint crunches came from the woods behind Rylana and Jildarin.
“A golem approaches,” he murmured.
“Us or them?” she whispered back.
Snuffling noises came from the same direction as the crunches. That sounded more like a dog than a golem.
“Mayor?” a call came from the woods. It sounded like the lieutenant. He must not have departed after all. Or maybe he’d had ahunch there was magic out here and had gone to fetch some of their trained hounds.
“Due to my magical nature,” Jildarin said quietly, “I may have been detected.”
“There aren’t just dragons in the air,” the lieutenant called. “There’s one here on the island.”
Rylana slumped, worried she and Jildarin would somehow be blamed for Vormalt’s scheme.
22
“You should hide, Rylana.”As the peacekeepers and barking hounds drew closer, foliage rustling with their passing, Jildarin pointed toward the trees on the far side of a nearby path. “Since humans lack innate magic, they won’t be able to sense you.”
Rylana bit her lip, tempted, but she didn’t want to leave Jildarin to explain his presence. Having his mother and aunt flying around, setting off alarms, might lead the peacekeepers to be suspicious of dragons at the moment.
