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The court historian sitting behind her wrote everything we said behind his desk.
“Yes. It would be a way to instantly transport goods and people between different places. And it would cut down on travel time. Commerce would flow more freely and people could visit different cities without having to spend weeks on the road.”
“That’s an interesting idea,” the Elvish representative of Carthem said, his brow furrowed in thought. “But it’s also a very dangerous one. If the portals were not properly guarded, criminals could use them or those with nefarious purposes.”
Considering what was going on in Carthem, his concerns were valid. But I was confident that we could make the portals safe.
“I understand your concerns.” I steepled my fingers. “But I think the benefits of the portals would outweigh the risks. And we would take measures to ensure that they were properly guarded. We could put safeguards in place. Only allow vetted people to use the portals. Monitor the portals for any unusual activity. And have a way to close them down if necessary. The Department of Civil Defense has a lot of experience with this and my Second’s wife is the head of the department. She has offered to help us with this.”
“The trade routes between the Seven Clans of Darhan are well established.” lord Temujin, one of the Naga representatives, said. “But I can see how this could be useful to other communities.”
The Elvish representatives narrowed their eyes, but they said nothing. The insulted look on their faces said enough.
“I think it’s a great idea,” lady Arzaka said, her eyes shining in amusement. “Anything that makes it easier for us to trade with other communities is a good thing. The number of goods and ideas that could be exchanged would be tremendous.”
“I think it would go a long way towards promoting peace and understanding between us.” I leaned back in my chair and stared across the table. “And I’m glad you think so. Because I was hoping you would be our test case.”
Lady Arzaka’s eyes widened. “You want Gobir to be the first community to have a portal?”
“Yes, I think it would be a good way to show the other communities that this is safe and that it can work.”
And they were the most neutral party to choose to not offend anyone.
Her brow furrowed. “I’ll have to talk to the Lamido. But I think it’s a good idea.”
There was a general murmur of agreement from around the room, and my chest swelled with pride.
“I think it would be interesting to show regional diversity through the arts and performances.” Nia, the Elvish representative of Rossertham, looked up from her paper. “Have you given any thought to that?”
“I have. And if you look at page 45 of the proposal, you’ll see that we’ve set aside a section about performances.”
The representative flipped through the pages of the proposal until she found the section about performances.
“This is good.” Lady Nia said, her expression thoughtful. “I like the idea of having a variety of performers.”
Lord Temujin looked up. “We could broadcast our dances. The Andai dance has always been well-received.”
One of the Halfling representatives nodded. “We could show our magic.”
“I’m sure we would be happy to share some of their songs and stories,” the Dryad representative said.
I smiled. “There might even be a possibility to broadcast these performances to everyone. If we will work with an upcoming craftsman who has recently invented the machine, that can do just that.”
Ambassador Bennani’s eyebrows shot up. “How would that work?”
Ambassador Bennani spent most of her time in Midar, so I hadn’t had the time to speak about this with her.
“The machine sends images and sounds through the air,” I explained. “Through orbs, we can receive these images and sounds. If we place these orbs at strategic locations, we can reach many people.”
Ambassador Bennani wrote this down in her notebook. “I think we should explore that further.”
“I agree,” the representative of Lanthove said. “This could be a great way to show the other communities what we offer.”
There was a general murmur of agreement. Darith raised an eyebrow, and I nodded. This was going better than I hoped.
∞∞∞
Prince Maedras opened the door, and I walked into the room. It was a large room with a high ceiling and gilded walls. I perched on the edge of the chair after he gestured for me to sit down. Darith walked around the room. Her attention fixated on the paintings and tapestries on the walls.
