Shalin, p.26
Shalin, page 26
She also confessed that her relationship with him had never been better, and they actually spent time now discussing matters of the kingdom, and in the midst of it personal subjects as well.
Her information didn't offer many direct clues to the Consortium's dealings in the kingdom, but Ireni's skill at reading between the lines pointed to a lot of details that hinted at the criminal organization's influence. Following up on those clues actually netted them the Consortium leader that managed things in Haraldar.
Unfortunately, before they could capture the man he vanished into the wind, all trails leading to him going cold.
However, it was the kingdom's financial records that finally gave Dare and his family the break they'd been hoping for from the beginning, discovered about three and a half months after Celicia first began working with them.
Dare, Leilanna, Ireni, Marona, Lily, and Buttercup had been going over vast amounts of raw data on the operation of the Haraldan economy, from the smallest transactions to kingdom-wide trends. They were looking for signs that the Consortium, likely through their legitimate front the counting houses, was manipulating markets to make a profit.
“Believe me,” he'd told his skeptical wives and consort. “They'll be doing this. Drug dens and brothels are chump change compared to the money they can make by controlling markets. Driving down the value of goods in cities and regions, or monopolizing goods and services and price gouging. Petty crooks rob rich people, criminals with true power and influence siphon wealth from an entire populace through dishonest trading.”
Ireni, knowing his experience from Earth and how national or even global market manipulation there made white collar criminals insanely wealthy, was quick to agree. She'd probably been waiting for him to suggest it in the first place.
“Also, these business tycoons will have a squeaky clean public image,” she said. “And they'll be handling so much money that higher ups in the Consortium have to deal with them personally, at least through handlers. A direct line to people who could lead us to Malin.”
While good in theory, like with the other higher ups in the gnome kingpin's shadow organization they were having a hard time finding details on these people, let alone ways to get at any of them for questioning. However, in the search they found something even better.
“Huh, that's weird,” Lily said, furrowing her brow.
Dare, who'd been pacing while reading an account on grain sale and distribution in the southern regions, moved around behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, resting his chin between her long ears as he looked down at the paper in her hands. A list of auction items delivered from a port city in Elaivar.
A quick perusal didn't reveal what had drawn her attention. “What is it?”
She pointed to one of the lots. “Look, 1,337 arrows.” She pointed to another. “1,337 pounds of dried meat. And here, 1,337 epind hides.” She flipped a page. “1,337 Boarite tusks, 1,337 bowstrings, 1,337-”
“Who's the seller?” Dare cut in, eagerly reading the details on one of the lots she'd pointed out before she could answer. “Is there any other information?”
That drew Ireni's and Marona's attention and they looked up, while Buttercup and Leilanna had already made their way over to join them.
Lily frowned, tugging on one of her silver pigtails as she flipped to the front page. “Here's the contact info for all the sellers.” She tilted her head back, looking up at him at an awkward angle through her large wire-framed glasses. “What is it?”
Dare grinned, heart soaring. “That seller is putting up some leet items.” At her blank look he laughed and leaned over farther to kiss her soundly upside-down. “It's a joke I had with Marigold. We were going over some finances and one of the requests from our smelters was 1,337 pounds of ore to round out a previous shipment. I told her that was a leet request, and she didn't get it.”
“I don't get it either,” Leilanna said.
“It's from Earth,” Ireni replied before he could, joining them with Marona. “1337 was what Dare and others would say in some multiplayer games as slang for elite.”
Lily stiffened, her confusion vanishing as she settled on the pertinent point. “You think this might be a message from Marigold?”
“I think so,” Dare said, hugging her close and letting out a sharp breath in relief. “Especially with all the items this seller put up . . . arrows, meat, hides, tusks, bowstrings, ingredients to make speed food. All stuff that points to me in some way.”
“But why would she think you'd be looking through auctions from Daliry region on items that came from an entirely different continent?”
“She's probably been putting them up wherever she can. These just happen to be the ones we found.”
“Here!” Marona burst out, pointing. “Phoenix Shipping out of . . .” She frowned. “Argent, the Silver City Beneath the Dome on Brelia continent.”
The other women gasped and Dare cursed under his breath. If they were going to investigate this lead they'd have to go to Argent.
Brelia neighbored Shalin, so it wasn't exactly on the other side of the world, but it still required a sea voyage of almost two weeks. That, or finding a Phasewarper who knew the place and was high enough level to jump continents, or some other means of getting there.
“Damnit, Marigold, why there?” he muttered.
“Maybe it's where Malin's keeping her,” Lily suggested. Her eagerness was undimmed by the distance or challenge of getting there. “At the very least it's a tie to her, and a clue for us to follow in finding her.”
“Although it would be nice to be certain before we go all the way there.” Dare frowned and perused the information on Phoenix Shipping.
“I'm pretty certain,” Buttercup said. “I mean, Phoenix Shipping? As in the name of our lost home? And with all that stuff you told me about the running joke with Marigold, I'm sure of it.”
Dare looked over at Ireni and Marona, getting their opinion. “One clue tying this to you may be a coincidence,” his noble consort said. “Two seems far less likely.”
Ireni nodded.
“In that case I say it's worth the risk of hiring a Phasewarper,” he said firmly. “This isn't a matter of the Crusade, it's a matter of Marigold's and Marcus's safety. We've been preparing to act the moment we had any clue about their location, and now we have it.”
“I agree,” Ireni said. “A portal to another continent will cost anywhere from 100 to 1,000 gold, depending on the Phasewarper and how hard up for cash they are. A small price to pay to get our loved ones back.”
Marona absently nibbled a lock of hair, a surprisingly adorable habit for the stately noblewoman that he only saw in private around the family when she was focused deeply on her work. “This has always been our highest priority. I think the Crusade will understand if we put everything else on hold to pursue it, or at least as much as required for the job.”
She smiled slightly. “And as an added benefit, there's a good chance that the daughter of Malin Meadowbrook will have intimate knowledge of her father's organization. If she's willing to help us it could be a pivotal turn in this war.”
Lily bounded out of her chair, paper raised overhead. “Let's go to Argent, then! Were finally going to save Marigold and Marcus!”
◆◆◆
Dare, Leilanna, and Koru immediately took a portal to a Crusade safe room in Tarthal'althalar, the port city closest to Brelia in Elaivar. They wore the illusions of a wealthy high elf couple, looking to vacation in the Silver City beneath the Dome, accompanied by their bovid porter.
Although winter was in full force in the far north of the true wilds, in southern Elaivar it was much milder, especially on the coast. He could even believe spring was just a month or two away.
And even if it was still a bit cold and rainy, Tarthal was still a breathtaking sight after their snowy, utilitarian home of Independent.
All the kindreds of elves went out of their way to make their cities beautiful. They weren't necessarily wealthier than any other race, although their tendency to be rational, orderly, and delay gratification lent itself well to prosperity. But their pride compelled them to be as outwardly perfect as possible.
Which was all a long way of saying that Tarthal was the fanciest port city he'd ever seen. The buildings were painstakingly crafted of quality materials with the finest workmanship, and there was no sign of rust, mold, or other damage from the sun or briny sea breeze.
The streets were well designed and clean, squared cobblestones of uniform size and thickness laid with a perfect fit, showing no sign of cracks or other damage. The high elves, wood elves, and dusk elves strolling them wore clean, finely made clothes tailored to a perfect fit.
And in spite of the fact that fishing had to be a major industry here, there was no smell of fisheries or fishing vessels in the air. For that matter the dock workers were neatly dressed and orderly, working with quiet precision.
By every appearance it was a perfect place to live, peaceful, prosperous, and welcoming.
“I hate this fucking place,” Leilanna said, looking around with a scowl.
Dare turned to her in surprise. “What?”
“Elvish cities,” she elaborated, waving at their surroundings. “These assholes spend hours elaborately carving their door frames and windowsills, gild their doorknobs, whitewash or paint every other month. And let's not forget washing their clothes after every trip outside.”
Her plump lips twisted as if resisting the urge to spit. “Then they go into their perfect homes, walk through their perfect receiving rooms where they entertain guests, and sleep on a straw pallet after a meal of gruel.”
“Really?” Koru asked, sounding skeptical as she took in the prosperity around them.
“Okay that might be a slight exaggeration,” Leilanna admitted. “But point to any elf on these streets, and I'll wager a thousand gold to a pisspot that their standard of living is much lower than their apparent standard of living.”
She waved around again. “Think of Cordery. We worked hard there, improved ourselves and worked towards prosperity, and in so doing created a beautiful city. Even in Ind-” She cut off and looked around warily before continuing. “Our current home may be utilitarian, but it's very well designed and serves its function as well as possible, and people live comfortably there. Meanwhile most of the elves here focus all their effort on superficial appearance, rather than improving themselves and their lives and having actual good results.”
That was an interesting perspective; was that why Astellar had been such a beautiful place even as it was going to shit, and Alina's family had been so embarrassed about its appearance rather than its poverty?
But it couldn't be as bad as she said, could it? He cleared his throat. “On Earth there's a saying, “fake it til you make it”. Or another one, “dress for the job you want, not the job you have.”
His dusk elf wife snorted, illusory aristocratic high elvish features derisive. “That's all well and good, but elves mostly just do the faking part, and don't actually try to make it or go after the job they want. They're all flash and no cash, all style and no substance.”
“All muscle and no strength,” Koru said with a nod.
Dare shrugged. “Even if that's true, working hard to make the place look nice is at least better than it looking like a slum. If they're prioritizing that over working at other pursuits for a prosperous life that's probably a bad choice, but it's better than doing nothing.”
“I guess,” Leilanna said, not looking convinced. She briskly changed the subject. “So should we check the market district first, or look at the most prosperous trading companies and see if they have a Phasewarper to hire out, or can at least point us to one?”
He grinned at her. “We're looking to spend a large amount of gold on a specialized service. Is there some place stupidly wealthy people in this city would go to make such requests?”
She brightened. “Actually there is! A refuge . . . I've never been wealthy enough to go in one.” Her breathtaking features clouded again, and he got the feeling she was irked that her noble heritage hadn't given her access.
Dare bowed and offered her his arm. “All right then, my Lady, let's go check out a refuge.”
His wife immediately pivoted on one heel and started back up the street away from the port. “This way.”
With Koru following behind them maintaining the guise of a good porter, they made their way to a tall hill overlooking Tarthal. It was surrounded by a high white wall, showing just the pristine tops of buildings within an immaculately manicured grove beyond.
They had to leave the city through a gate, although the guards took one look at them and bowed low in respect, not asking their business or demanding any tax or anything of the sort.
Right, appearances made all the difference to elves.
The gate was intended for guests heading to the refuge, and the moment they stepped out of it they entered a dream. As in, the sort of flawless perfection beyond mortal capability that Dare had envisioned from the noblest of immortal elves in Earth stories.
The path was paved in gold, or at least some sort of paint, winding through a woods that somehow looked more wild than nature could actually achieve, but in a way designed to show the perfection of wilderness. Flowering shrubs, flowering trees, game trails inviting exploration. Rabbits and beautiful small deer and other cheerful woodland creatures frolicking in the undergrowth, and songbirds and squirrels flitting through the branches.
“You know they have to Tame all these creatures to get them to stick around and act this way?” Leilanna said. “Absolutely disgusting parody of real nature.”
“So they're all pets?” Koru asked, looking at a fawn frolicking around its mother.
Just beyond the gate was a cozy little inn, complete with a stables and outdoor dining patio. People who were clearly servants, wearing fine livery and many of non-elvish races, were roaming about the inn at their leisure.
“This is where you stay,” his dusk elf wife told Koru apologetically. “Servants and non-elves remain here in comfort.” Dare reached for his purse to give his orc wife some gold to pay for things, and Leilanna caught his arm and shook her head. “We get charged when we leave.”
Ah, that sort of place. Which no doubt meant the cost was going to be downright extortionate. “Do we need to check in or something?”
She grinned at him. “Believe me, they know we're here and they've already opened our tab.”
Yeah, they were going to be paying through the nose.
“I'll await your return Master, Mistress,” Koru said with an awkward curtsy, playing her role to a T. Dare would have to make it up to her that she wasn't able to join them in the refuge.
As she strode to the inn he offered Leilanna his arm and they strolled up the path leading through the perfectly wild woods. Fifty or so feet up he noticed a clearing off among the trees, all pristine grass and clover studded with wildflowers. A handful of elves lounged on a blanket with a picnic basket and wine chilling in an ice bucket, listening to a wood elf play a haunting melody on a flute.
“What exactly is a refuge?” Dare asked. “I was thinking something along the lines of a gentleman's club.”
“It's a place you can go for rest and healing, meditation and introspection,” his dusk elf wife replied. “If you can afford it. The finest food and drink, song, poetry, dancing. Rooms for socializing or rooms for solitude. Baths and massages and a petting zoo.”
“A petting zoo?” he repeated, grinning.
She grinned back, getting into the spirit of being here. “Believe me, if it's wholesome and makes a person happy, you can find it here.”
“What about . . .” He leaned close to her delicate pointy ear and whispered.
Leilanna laughed. “No, this is a place for higher pursuits.”
No one was there to greet them as they reached the gate in the pristine white wall atop the hill. Beyond it was the most perfectly manicured garden he'd ever seen, as clearly shaped by elvish hands to the tamed ideal as the woods had been wild. Paths meandered through it, with gazebos, benches, arbors, fountains, and shaded trees offering places to rest and relax.
There was a large lodge structure in the middle of the grounds, with many of the walls open to the air to provide gazes out into nature. It strongly reminded Dare of some of the buildings he'd seen in the ruins of Eldarin'lesinal, giving him a better idea of their purpose.
Leilanna subtly nudged him towards the pristine structure, and they meandered that way while he did his best to act like he belonged.
At the entry a high elf woman with raven hair down to her knees, dressed in a simple white gown, offered them a tray bearing a dozen glasses with different drinks. Dare plucked a top shelf brandy off it while Leilanna selected a dark red wine, and before he could thank the woman she withdrew with a graceful curtsy.
Leilanna lifted the glass to her lips, murmuring for his ears only as she sipped. “I love that you're a kind person who treats everyone with respect, husband, but ignore the help. Not to be rude, mind you . . . they're supposed to simply be fixtures. If they draw your attention they'll consider themselves to have failed their job, and may even be reprimanded.”
Yeah, this was that kind of place. He took a sip of the most excellent brandy he'd ever tasted, smoky and flavorful and filling his stomach with a pleasant heat, and continued deeper into the lodge.
A trio of wood elf ladies strolled past, inclining their heads to him and his wife. They nodded back and passed without a word spoken.
Leilanna led the way into a library with the outer wall completely made up of windows, giving the place a bright cheery glow with sunlight filtered green through the branches outside. Looking around, she plucked out a book of poetry and settled down on a reclining couch, taking another sip of her wine and setting it on a conveniently placed table.
As Dare selected a book on the history of Marogia and settled on a couch across from her, a dusk elf man in a simple white robe bearing a tray with a paper and pen atop it pranced into the room. After a brief perusal he went to Leilanna first, offering the tray with a bow.
