“Stay your hand!” Mert gave a quick shout to the council as Phorsten reached for his weapon and Urleno jumped to his feet with cutlass in hand. “This is the envoy from Fife.” The creature stepped beside Mert and offered a partial bow to the table before him.
“I am the envoy for the Yjagtari or Beastmen as you deem us.” The sorcerer’s voice was deep and commanding. When he spoke, he sounded as if he was speaking directly behind each and every member of the audience. “I am the Speaker of the Charred Pelt. I was summoned by your Stoutkin and sent at the behest of the Pale Ram himself.”
“Cut him down before he worms his way towards one of us.” Varmos ordered Urleno.
“If I had wished you dead there would be a herd of our finest Newbred at your outer ring. I offer a simple agreement: Accept the Yjagtari as a kingdom equal to that of your Empire or Imperium and we shall send twenty of our dakarminari to aid in your defense.”
“Defense against your hordes, fleamonger!” Phorsten pushed his chair aside and strode towards Mert. “How could you summon this beast into our council?”
“I ordered him summoned, Bronzegear.” King Kaelden’s voice froze the dwarf in his tracks and invoked the ire of many in the crowd. “The Yjagtari seek refuge, above all, from evils far greater than themselves. Their actions were in appeasement to these forces and to seize holdings to justify their request for recognition.” Kaelden turned to address the council as a whole. “As you know, we of the old clans are proud and holdfast to our beliefs. It took much to summon us to this summit and old friends long separated to see that we Stoutkin are not the only people that have endured suffering. This council was a chance to learn from past mistakes and my kin in the Firsthold may not yet see the truth in my words but with time the True Iron clan and Whitemane clan will rally behind these words. I have seen the destruction of the beastmen’s holdings over the water as we made passage here. Their countryside is as ravaged as that of-”
“This is deplorable, Stoutkin.” Varmos scowled at Kaelden and reached for a scroll gingerly held by a starcharter. “I decree that the Imperium of Man will take no part in assisting these heretics. The creatures enlisted the aid of Ogmire in hunting our clergy and many of my personal starcharters were caught in the chaos brought on by the brutes’ raiding.”
“For this, you must understand, I take no pleasure in admitting is truth. The ogres served valuable as hunters of the faithful to weaken the numbers of men. However, the Pale Ram does not work with the Ogmire anymore. He saw them cut down in droves after the Fall of Fife. Our numbers are pure in the eyes of beast and man.” The Speaker clacked his jagged nails against his walking staff and his long oily tail flicked the loose gravel on the floor.
Most of the council eased back into a seated position and Kaelden beckoned the Speaker to sit at the table. Captain Urleno kept his sword trained on the lumbering beastman. The Speaker gave a series of slow blinks towards the human and gave a low crackling sigh. “Would you listen to your kin and accept my right as the representative of the kingdom, as you would call them, of the Yjagtari?” Urleno pressed the blade’s tip just below the center eye of the beast and slowly parted the fur away to tap flesh.
“Your hordes cut down innocent civilians. The ogres hunted specifically for our devout, be them of Archaos or Yessendrir. There were no prisoners. There was no forgiveness.” The Speaker pinched the sides of Urleno’s blade and flicked the cutlass aside with a single precise movement. Urleno froze as he processed the horrors the beastmen had committed and the weight of their invasion struck him. “We cannot negotiate with these monsters.” Varmos gave a swift nod and a single clap.
“We shall put the matter to a vote. If the vote passes, the,” Varmos sifted his mind for the most diplomatic term, “envoy will stay.” General agreement was heard throughout the council and Varmos volunteered himself to vote first as it had been his grand idea. The archduke gave a swift no to the vote with Urleno following in suite. Mert and Kaelden confirmed their support having initially reached out to the beastmen.
“What about you, lad? Your people have lost the most for the longest from these raids.” Mert was speaking to the stoic Plainstrider. He craned his neck back and gave a low cooing. This was followed by nervous scratching at the table.
“This Yjagtari has caused no harm to my ilk and his words ring genuine while possibly not completely sincere. What arid clouds carry you through that door, fur-fang?” The Speaker chuckled softly and raised his shoulders in a slow shrug. “I will allow him passage to our communion. But what do you, lord of this stone house, have to say, Phorsten?”
The dwarf shifted over the table with his large metallic hand clenched in a fist. “I was there when his people forced us from our workshops in Fife and shattered the fragile balance between the civil races. I’d sooner toss him over the palisade than allow him a seat at my table.” Phorsten cleared his throat and gave his beard a hearty scratch. “However, if the vote is swayed then I’d be willing to welcome this Speaker to our table. Era, I leave it to you.”
The fuming matron had since cooled off and been carefully observing the interactions at the table. She gave a quick glance up and down the Speaker and then spoke from the corner of her mouth to Phorsten. “If this one truly wishes to speak and not slay then perhaps there is benefit to his inclusion. I understand the weight of this choice beyond just this council but our society as a whole.”
“Wise choice.” Kaelden gave a nod towards Era and turned towards Varmos. “The Yjagtari stays on the council. Everyone take your seats.” Murmurs moved through the crowd but none dared to start an uproar while Kaelden held the floor. “Do you have a name, Speaker?” The Yjagtari gingerly found his seat at the table and scanned the other members.
“Grend. That is if Speaker will not suffice.” Kaelden pressed a fist to his chest and gave a seated bow to Grend. “Now, I must inform you of the situation that I have been tasked with. We, the Yjagtari, wish for your council to meet with us in the ruins of Fife. While counting the spoils, we noticed that the Holy Matron, herself, had abandoned an artifact. Some golden egg shaped decoration that no amount of brute force or brayanbi chanting could break through. The Pale Ram wishes to return it to the kingdoms of men as a sign of good faith. The Yjagtari do not wish to pillage and raze but we were once a weaker race and now require the proper display to obtain the attention of the larger and older races. This is why we had to raze Fife. We seek to be recognized as a true kingdom and now we have a holding despite our nomadic nature. If we are recognized, we shall provide the warriors we promised in order to defend your home and even our brayanbi and seers to aid your starcharters and perhaps help channel the raw power of the ifrits to replicate the project I heard you Stoutkin were working on.”
“What is this? Word of our project beyond the stronghold?” Phorsten tapped his fingers on the table impatiently.
“Lord Phorsten, our brayanbi are wise beyond the comprehension of most of the civil races, as they were called. They know of things both in this land and those beyond. More the reason to recognize the herds as a proper kingdom. The seers can mend your wounded in ways no medicine man or cleric could ever. We also possess a skilled warrior able to undo any injury inflicted upon his body with barely a mark in its place. If I came to this place seeking to become your adversary, I would not have exposed the extent of our warriors.” The council considered the weight behind his words and turned to one another.
“Fine. We will work with the beasts. If it will end the pillaging of the Imperium and its holdings.” Varmos stood and moved over towards the Yjagtari. He took a single step past him then spoke over his shoulder. “I am rather intrigued to meet your divine. Come Urleno.” Varmos moved through the doorway without a single word to the council and Urleno gave chase to beckon Varmos to reconsider. The starcharter cluster gave blank stares as they drifted from the meeting.
“Might I close the official capacity of this meeting, with the consent of the ruler of this house?” Kaelden turned to Phorsten who had become fixated on the slowly blinking eyes of Grend.
“Aye, you may and may all in this accompaniment, regardless of official capacity, meet glory within these halls.” Applause came from the Stoutkins in the rows overlooking the meeting and some humans followed suit. Phorsten stood and began the customary Stoutkin act of placing a single fist against the chest. The rows of diplomats quickly dispersed through the exits and deeper into the mountain fortress. The Plainstrider stood next and was escorted by a royal detachment brought by Kaelden to ensure his safety. Era pressed her fist to her chest and added a small bow towards her kin. Mert offered Grend a hand up from his seat but Phorsten grabbed him by the shoulder for an aside.
“I need you to speak with the ward you ran into earlier today. There’s something he knows that I need help with.” Phorsten opened his palm and showed the shattered remains of the messenger worm.