Chương 46: A Seat At The Table

"Velkaryn." Dorian Vey said the name without flourish. That alone made Roy pay attention. The emergency council had convened less than an hour after sunset, once Mira had finally conceded that Velara could sit upright for longer than ten minutes without threatening her own recovery. The Reeve occupied her usual chair at the head of the council table, although almost nothing else about her looked usual. Fresh bandages disappeared beneath the collar of a borrowed shirt.

Her complexion remained pale, and every few minutes one hand drifted unconsciously toward her side before she seemed to remember that doing so hurt. Edric stood rather than sat; Orion had claimed the wall opposite him. Aurelia was beside Garrick and Talia near the end of the table, clean enough that someone had apparently forced her to wash the blood off before coming.

Aegis stood behind them in human form, arms folded, his expression carrying the particular kind of silence that made Roy suspect he was one wrong sentence away from recommending they solve the problem with lightning. Dorian rested both hands on the table.

"Most people simply call it the Glass City. Velkaryn is the formal name." Torvin Bale grunted.

"As though we needed another reason not to say it." Dorian ignored him.

"It sits within an old volcanic region north and west of here. Caldera, obsidian caverns, old lava tubes. The city itself has been built into and around them for generations." Roy pictured it despite himself. Bellhaven was timber and tidestone, crooked streets climbing from the water, roofs built like inverted boats. Velkaryn sounded like its opposite; black stone beneath more black stone.

"I've read about them I believe," he noted.

"A dark elf civilization, right?"

"Very good," Dorian nodded.

"But not exclusively. Do not make the mistake of hearing Velkaryn and imagining every person there has pointed ears and dark skin. They trade. They employ outsiders. They adopt talent when it benefits them." Edric's expression hardened.

"And their military programs are even less particular." That brought them back to the reason they were here - the Silencers. Dorian glanced toward Edric.

"The city is known for Nightglass." Roy had heard the word before, usually in the same tone people used for rare metals they would never actually own. Dorian continued.

"Not ordinary volcanic glass. Their better grades are worked to interact with Weave."

"How?" Orion asked. Dorian gave him a small smile.

"If I knew every detail, I would be substantially richer." Edric answered instead.

"Enough ways to be troublesome.

"Weave disruption. Suppression. Enchantments that remain stable longer than they should. Blades designed for Awakened targets." Roy looked at him.

"Nightglass can shut off abilities?"

"Some forms can interfere with them."

"That wasn't my question."

"And that is the answer you are getting, because I am not pretending to understand their material craft. No one here should be pretending they understand the material fully." Dorian inclined his head.

"Painful, but fair." Aurelia frowned.

"Then why didn't my attacker have any?" Silence - it was the first question Roy had wanted answered too. If Velkaryn possessed a material famous enough for Edric to mention its anti-Weave applications, why send a Silencer carrying an ordinary dagger? Dorian's expression suggested he had been waiting for someone to ask.

"Because then we would not be having this conversation." Aurelia blinked. Dorian gestured toward the dagger lying wrapped in cloth near Edric.

"That weapon could have been purchased in Bellhaven, or fifty other towns. The clothing was unremarkable. Your attacker was not visibly dark-elven."

"Neither was the one who attacked Velara," Edric added. Dorian nodded.

"Correct. Had either been carrying a Nightglass blade, we would have found ourselves asking only one question."

"Why Velkaryn attacked us," Roy said.

"Exactly," Dorian tapped a finger against the table.

"Assassins can come from anywhere. A Silencer carrying mundane steel who enters under concealment, kills the target, and escapes leaves almost nothing useful behind." His gaze shifted toward Aurelia.

"The entire reason we have this lead at all is because you happened to see the attacker's Class before it vanished." Aurelia leaned back.

"So they thought no one would know."" If they were from Velkaryn." Velara spoke for the first time. Her voice was weaker than Roy was accustomed to hearing, but not uncertain.

"We are not declaring guilt because one Class points in their direction."

"No," Edric folded his arms.

"But there are not many places nearby that deliberately train Silencers."

"How many?" Garrick asked.

"One." Garrick glanced toward Talia.

"And you said they take people from other races?" Edric nodded.

"Their program cares whether you can perform the work." Dorian smiled without humor.

"Velkaryn has many prejudices. Incompetence ranks remarkably high among them." Torvin snorted.

"Is that supposed to make me like them?"

"It was not intended to," Dorian's expression sobered.

"I have negotiated with their merchants for years; occasionally their officials. You learn certain things." Roy leaned forward.

"Such as?"

"They dislike uncertainty," Dorian considered the wording.

"Bellhaven bargains. We haggle. We bluff. We make agreements, complain about them afterward, and somehow still drink together." Oren Halvern made a quiet sound that might have been amusement.

"Velkaryn records everything. Exact quantities. Exact language. Exact dates. A trade disagreement that Bellhaven would resolve over three loud conversations becomes a documented grievance there."

"Pleasant," Orion said.

"They would consider themselves civilized."

"And us?" Dorian looked toward him.

"Flexible." Roy laughed once.

"That was diplomatic."

"I do occasionally practice." Edric pushed off the wall.

"The diplomatic version is less important than the strategic one. Velkaryn is larger than Bellhaven. Better supplied; better equipped; more Awakened; more trained military classes. On top of that, they have spent a long time ensuring every small settlement around them understands that." Aegis finally spoke.

"So they threaten everyone." Edric glanced at him.

"Not openly."

"That sounds inefficient." Roy closed his eyes for half a second. Edric, somehow, continued.

"They trade, they negotiate, and they maintain agreements. They do not generally march soldiers into neighboring towns."

"Because they are kind?" Aegis asked.

"No," Edric's answer came immediately.

"Because everyone already knows what happens if they do." That quieted even Aegis. Edric looked around the table.

"It has been that way for years. Nobody wants open conflict. Velkaryn has no reason to absorb every fishing village and timber settlement around it, and none of us are stupid enough to give them a reason to prove they could."

"Cold peace," Oren murmured. Edric nodded.

"Something like that." Dorian rubbed a thumb along the tabletop.

"And until today, nothing in my dealings with them suggested it had changed." Roy frowned.

"You've traded recently?"

"Of course."

"With everything happening here?"

"Especially with everything happening here," Dorian's smile returned.

"Prosperity is when one should trade." Roy should have expected that answer. Dorian continued.

"My latest correspondence was irritatingly normal. Questions about lake metals. Preserved fish. Timber rates. Nothing resembling a threat."

"Then why are we assuming they care?" Torvin asked.

"We aren't," Dorian reached inside his coat, removing a folded letter.

"That said, they knew about Greenbind." Roy's expression changed. Across the table, Aurelia straightened. Velara looked toward him.

"How?"

"That is the interesting question." Dorian placed the letter on the table. Roy reached for it, then paused.

"You told them?"

"No," there was no humor now.

"I very specifically did not." Aurelia frowned.

"Why?"

"Because Greenbind is new," Dorian looked toward her.

"And because I am not inclined to introduce a novel drake-produced material to Velkaryn until I understand what they might do with it." Aurelia glanced toward Roy. That was unusually cautious for Dorian, which meant something in itself.

"Greenbind has existed as a meaningful trade good for what? A month?" Dorian asked.

"Approximately," Roy said.

"And yet one of their last inquiries made reference to Bellhaven's access to a plant-derived structural resin with unusual adhesive properties." Roy stared at the letter.

"They have someone here."

"Possibly," Dorian tapped the page.

"Or someone passing through. Or someone speaking to someone who speaks to someone else." Talia leaned forward.

"We don't know how?"

"No," Dorian said.

"And that matters. I am confident enough to say information is reaching them. I am not confident enough to invent the route." Roy looked around the table.

"If they knew about Greenbind that quickly, then they know about us." Nobody answered; they did not need to. Aegis was not subtle; neither was Shale. In reality, very few of the drakes were actually good with a low profile. Aurelia's face tightened.

"They could have known right up until the attack." Orion's hand settled against the handle of his axe.

"What are we doing about it?" Edric answered.

"Nothing." Orion stared at him.

"Someone tried to kill our sister… And your Reeve."

"I am also aware."

"So we're going to sit here?" Edric's expression hardened.

"We are going to watch." Orion pushed off the wall.

"We know where the Silencers come from."

"No," Edric's voice cut through the room.

"We know where one nearby government trains Silencers." Roy spoke before his brother could.

"So they get to control the tempo? If this was them, they gather information for weeks, decide when to strike, nearly kill Velara, stab Aurelia, and then disappear. Our answer is to wait until they choose the next move?"

"Our answer is not to tell a city that can crush Bellhaven that we are accusing them of attempted assassination without proof."

"Then gather proof."

"We will."

"Quickly." Edric stared at him.

"Yes, Roy." There was enough steel in the answer that Roy stopped. Edric looked between both brothers.

"I understand why neither of you likes this. You want someone to hit because your sister bled, and you hate letting an opponent act while you react… But if Velkaryn is responsible, then rushing into confrontation is exactly how we turn one clandestine attack into an open conflict we cannot win." Aegis tilted his head.

"You keep saying Bellhaven cannot win." Edric looked at him.

"Bellhaven cannot." Aegis smiled faintly.

"I am not Bellhaven." Every eye at the table shifted toward him. Aurelia spoke softly.

"Aegis."

"I did not suggest anything."

"You were about to."

"I was considering options."

"Consider quieter ones." Aegis looked offended; Roy almost smiled despite himself. Edric did not.

"Even with you, I would prefer not to discover how much Nightglass they have designed specifically for dragons." That erased the smile from Aegis's face. Maybe fear was not the right word, but it certainly piqued his interest.

"We increase patrols," Edric suggested." We watch who enters and leaves. We review recent arrivals. We quietly compare records. Dorian continues to trade as normally as possible." Dorian inclined his head.

"If they are watching us, I would rather they not know what Aurelia saw." Velara nodded.

"Agreed." Orion sat back down. He was livid, but convinced that dissatisfaction was currently safer than action. Roy understood the distinction. Torvin looked toward the siblings.

"There is still another question." Roy glanced at him. Torvin's gaze moved from Orion to Aurelia, then toward Aegis.

"If this started because of them, what exactly are we supposed to do?" The room went quiet again. Aurelia's expression changed, prompting Torvin to immediately lift one hand.

"That wasn't an accusation."

"It sounded remarkably close." Torvin sighed.

"Before they appeared, Velkaryn had little reason to care what happened here." Roy could not entirely disagree. Dorian looked toward the ceiling.

"They cared enough to buy our goods."

"That is not what I mean." Velara rested both hands carefully on the table.

"If Velkaryn considers Bellhaven more strategically important because of our relationship with the siblings, that is something we must account for." Orion's jaw tightened.

"And what do you want us to do about it?" Velara answered immediately.

"I don't know." If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. That took some heat out of the room. It was not a great answer, but at least it was honest.

"We are not asking you to leave," Velara continued.

"We are not asking you to hide the drakes. I doubt either would solve the problem now even if you agreed." Dorian nodded.

"If they have been collecting information for a month, that horse has left the stable, traveled three counties, and established a family elsewhere." Roy looked at him.

"Useful."

"I thought so." Velara continued.

"What Bellhaven can do is acknowledge that whatever brought today's attack, your family prevented it from becoming significantly worse. Many people are alive because of Aurelia. On top of that, the fire would have consumed far more of the town without Aegis' intervention." Aegis looked pleased. Aurelia looked relieved he did not say anything. Velara turned toward Orion and Garrick.

"And people were protected while our own guard was divided." Garrick shifted awkwardly. Torvin rubbed his face.

"So we pay them." Dorian brightened.

"Now we have reached a topic I understand." Roy immediately became suspicious. Dorian looked toward him.

"How quickly can you rebuild several damaged structures?"

"No." Dorian blinked.

"I haven't offered a number."

"You smiled first."

"That is prejudice."

"That is experience." Even Velara's mouth twitched. Dorian placed both palms against the table.

"Bellhaven requires repairs."

"Bellhaven always requires repairs."

"Bellhaven currently requires them before rain enters several businesses." Roy shrugged.

"Hire builders."

"I intend to."

"Then why are you looking at me?"

"Because builders require time."

"So do I." Dorian smiled.

"Less." There it was. Roy leaned back.

"How much 'less' is apparently worth money."

"A great deal of it."

"You are being very generous with your wealth all of a sudden."

"My wealth?" Dorian looked genuinely offended.

"I am discussing Bellhaven reconstruction funds." Roy stared. Dorian held the expression for another heartbeat, then sighed.

"Yes, some of my wealth."

"That is more believable." Dorian leaned forward.

"Roy, I will happily pay your family what you consider a small fortune if doing so saves me from paying what I consider a large fortune."

"That sentence worries me."

"It should comfort you."

"Why?"

"Because our interests align," Dorian began counting on his fingers.

"Emergency craftsmen. Rush materials. Temporary business relocation. Storage. Lost operating days. Lodging for displaced residents. Additional labor because everyone with two functioning hands is suddenly worth twice what they were yesterday. You can perform in a day what conventional rebuilding crews might need weeks to accomplish."

"With materials and transportation."

"Provided."

"With the right to refuse anything structurally stupid." Dorian smiled.

"Expected."

"Triple normal construction cost." Oren coughed; Torvin turned sharply; Dorian merely raised an eyebrow.

"Triple whose normal construction cost?" Roy smiled.

"Mine."

"You do not have a normal construction cost."

"Then this is an excellent opportunity to establish one." Aurelia covered her mouth while Orion looked suspiciously toward the wall. Dorian stared at Roy for several seconds, then slowly smiled.

"I missed this."

"I didn't." Dorian leaned back.

"You are becoming unpleasant."

"Kaelu says I'm improving." That changed something. It was slight, but Roy saw it. Dorian's smile remained, but his eyes shifted. Roy narrowed his own.

"Dorian…"

"Kaelu mentioned you recently. He wanted to discuss the status of his work arrangements." Roy already knew where this was going; he did not like hearing it here anyway. Dorian continued.

"He and Kiana are considering moving." Torvin frowned.

"Moving where?" Every eye slowly turned toward Roy. Roy sighed.

"Our settlement." Torvin stared.

"You're taking Kaelu?"

"No," the answer came sharper than Roy intended.

"Kaelu is not a chair."

"I didn't mean—""He and Kiana came out to look at the land. They liked it." Dorian nodded.

"Kiana particularly." Roy glanced toward him.

"You knew?"

"I knew enough to ask."

"And?" Dorian shrugged.

"Kaelu was irritatingly responsible. He wanted to know whether relocating would affect his ability to continue working in Bellhaven." Torvin looked genuinely alarmed now.

"He can't just move." Roy's eyes narrowed.

"Why?"

"Because—" Torvin stopped. That was apparently harder to answer aloud - but Oren rescued him.

"There are practical questions," Oren adjusted the papers in front of him.

"Property. Contracts. Outstanding obligations. Tax assessment. Business arrangements."

"Fair," Roy nodded.

"If someone owes Bellhaven money, they don't get to erase the debt by moving ten miles away." Oren nodded.

"If they own property here, ownership remains unless transferred."

"Obviously."

"If they operate a business here—""They keep following Bellhaven's rules while operating here." Oren paused, then nodded.

"Yes." Roy looked toward Torvin.

"But none of that answers the actual question… What happens if people begin choosing the settlement over Bellhaven?" Roy looked around the table; no one seemed particularly eager to say the answer. Aurelia finally did.

"They're allowed." Torvin frowned.

"That simple?"

"Yes," she looked almost surprised he had asked.

"They live here because they choose to live here." Torvin gestured toward the window.

"Bellhaven survives because people work."

"So will we."

"That is exactly the problem." Roy leaned forward.

"No. That's the problem you don't like." Torvin looked at him. Roy continued before irritation could turn into an argument they had already had in other forms.

"Kaelu moving doesn't make his work disappear. He still intends to work here. Kiana wants land she can farm successfully. We have land."

"With dragon soil." Velara spoke.

"Bellhaven cannot prevent residents from leaving." Torvin looked toward her.

"I didn't say 'prevent'."

"No," her expression remained tired but firm.

"But we should say the principle clearly before we start burying it beneath procedures. People are not Bellhaven property." Oren nodded slowly.

"Obligations can follow them."

"Yes." Roy sat back; that should have solved it. Instead, it made something click. He looked at the table: The councilors, Dorian negotiating construction, Oren inventing relocation rules, Edric deciding what to share, and Velara trying to define where authority ended. He also looked at his siblings sitting in a Bellhaven council meeting because nobody had designed a better mechanism.

"This is ridiculous." Dorian blinked.

"I thought we were making progress."

"We are," Roy rubbed both hands over his face.

"That's the ridiculous part." Orion looked toward him.

"What?" Roy lowered his hands.

"We keep doing this."

"Doing what?"

"Improvising. One of you wants me rebuilding Bellhaven. One of you needs rules for Bellhaven residents who move to our settlement but still own property or work here. Then the overtly threatening one needs to coordinate security with us because whoever attacked Bellhaven might actually be targeting both of us." Edric grumbled at the remark. Roy ignored him and turned his attention to Velara.

"You gave us an embassy because nobody knew what else to call the relationship." Velara's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Roy leaned forward.

"We solve every problem separately because nobody wants to define the obvious thing." Torvin sighed.

"And what obvious thing is that?"

"We're neighbors." Silence. Roy continued.

"We're building a settlement close enough that your people can work there and ours can work here. We trade. We share roads. We respond to each other's disasters. And now there is a decent chance a larger city sees Bellhaven and our settlement as politically connected whether we do or not." Edric's expression changed first. Roy saw that he understood.

"If Velkaryn is watching," Roy said, "then appearing divided doesn't help either of us." Dorian slowly smiled.

"That is irritatingly sensible."

"I have those moments." Velara watched him carefully.

"What are you proposing?" Roy looked toward Dorian.

"You wanted a counteroffer." Dorian's smile disappeared; Roy enjoyed that more than he should have.

"I'll take the reconstruction contract."

"At?"

"We'll settle the price afterward."

"That is horrifying."

"You'll survive," Roy turned toward Velara.

"Our repayment for helping with the disaster, on the other hand, isn't coin. Instead, we want a seat." Nobody spoke. Roy pointed at the council table.

"Here." Torvin actually laughed.

"No." Dorian did not; neither did Edric. Velara leaned back despite the discomfort it caused.

"You want to become a Bellhaven councilor."

"I want the settlement represented."

"That is not quite the same statement," Oren said.

"Maybe it should be." Torvin shook his head.

"You don't live here, and you don't represent Bellhaven residents. Why would you vote on Bellhaven law?" Roy opened his mouth, but paused. That was not an unreasonable question, which Dorian noticed.

"An impressive strategy," he said.

"Request office before determining what office you mean." Roy gave him a look.

"I am adapting."

"To your own proposal."

"Quiet." Aurelia smiled. Velara looked toward Edric.

"Thoughts?"

"On security?"

"Among other things." Edric considered.

"I want a formal point of contact." Roy spread his hands.

"You already have us."

"I have whichever sibling happens to be standing closest," Edric's expression remained flat.

"If Bellhaven changes patrol routes near your territory, who needs to know? If we receive intelligence about Velkaryn, who is responsible for responding? If someone from your settlement commits a crime here, who do I speak to?"

"Orion." Orion frowned.

"Why me?" That earned a small laugh from Garrick. Edric ignored it.

"In that case, formal representation would help." Dorian nodded.

"So would trade." Torvin looked at him.

"Of course you support this."

"I support knowing which person is authorized to make an agreement before I spend three hours negotiating one," Dorian gestured toward Roy.

"He is already doing it anyway." Oren remained less convinced.

"A council seat establishes precedent."

"Everything we're doing establishes precedent," Roy said.

"That does not mean we should do it carelessly."

"I agree," Roy continued.

"So write it carefully." That bought him a moment. Oren looked down at the papers in front of him.

"What authority?" Velara asked. Roy glanced at Velara.

"What?"

"If you hold a seat, what can you vote on?"

"Exactly," he pointed at Roy.

"He wants influence over Bellhaven while openly building somewhere that might compete with it." Roy frowned.

"I don't care what Bellhaven charges fishermen for dock space. I don't care how you assign market stalls. I don't care which road inside Bellhaven gets repaired first unless you're paying me to repair it." Dorian raised a finger.

"We may discuss that."

"Later," Roy looked toward Oren.

"I care when Bellhaven makes a decision affecting us." Oren's eyes sharpened. Roy felt the answer assembling as he spoke.

"Trade between the settlements. Roads connecting us. Movement of residents. Shared defense. Treaties or agreements with outside powers that affect both communities. If you're deciding whether Bellhaven goes to war with someone who attacked my family, I should probably be in the room."

"That," Edric said, "I agree with." Roy nodded.

"So don't make me a normal Bellhaven councilor." Velara stared at him.

"Make the settlement itself the one holding the seat." Silence again, though this one felt different. Oren picked up his pen.

"An external seat."

"Call it whatever you want."

"Representation without authority over purely internal Bellhaven matters."

"Yes."

"Voting authority when the council determines the matter directly concerns both Bellhaven and the represented settlement." Roy thought, then nodded.

"Yes." Torvin still looked unhappy, but less unhappy - which was noteworthy progress. Dorian tapped the table.

"I support it. Predictability is profitable." Edric nodded.

"I support it." Oren stared at his notes for several seconds.

"I dislike creating offices during emergency meetings." Roy smiled.

"But?"

"But I have greater disdain having no mechanism at all," he set down the pen.

"I support it." Everyone looked toward Torvin. He muttered something Roy chose not to hear. Velara raised an eyebrow.

"Torvin?" He glared at Roy.

"If five families leave Bellhaven next month, I am blaming you."

"That seems unfair." A pause… then an answer"Support." Roy blinked; he had expected worse. Then he looked toward Velara, who was watching him with clear focus.

"You understand that this works both ways." Roy nodded.

"Meaning?"

"You gain a voice," Velara leaned forward carefully.

"And Bellhaven gains someone we can hold responsible for answering." Roy thought of everything: His siblings; the cottage; the waystation; Kaelu and Kiana. A settlement that did not quite exist officially and yet had somehow accumulated problems like one. He smiled.

"That sounds fair." Velara nodded.

"Then I support the motion." Something chimed. The entire room froze as golden light appeared in front of him. It was not imagined, and definitely not private enough to hide. [Private Quest Completed.] Roy's heart skipped; he had been praying it would hold off. [Quest Objective: Gain a seat on Bellhaven's Council.] Talia shot upright, Garrick stared, Orion's head slowly turned toward Roy, and Aurelia's face lit with realization. Roy looked at the system message, then at the entire council. Dorian leaned closer.

"You had a quest for this?" Roy sighed.

"Yes." Torvin looked offended on principle.

"You manipulated the council for a quest?"

"No," Roy pointed at the fading text.

"I wanted the seat before I remembered that stupid thing existed."

"That was not a reassuring answer." Another chime. [Reward Incoming] Roy stared.

"Oh, no." Aegis leaned forward.

"Oh, yes." The Weave above the table twisted; every loose sheet of paper in the room fluttered. Oren immediately grabbed his records as Dorian pulled his wine cup out of the way. Golden strands wound together over the center of the table, spiraling tighter and tighter until light condensed into a solid shape. An egg dropped onto the wood, larger than Roy expected. It was substantial enough that both of his hands would have been needed to lift it comfortably.

Its surface looked like paper; hundreds of overlapping layers formed the shell, some yellowed, some pale, some nearly translucent. Writing covered every piece, but Roy could not read any of it. Signatures appeared and vanished beneath overlapping folds. Tiny diagrams wrapped around the curved shell. Several languages seemed to be present, although Roy could not identify any of them long enough to be sure. Dorian stood.

"What is that?" The egg rustled. Aurelia smiled.

"I think it's hatching." It did not crack. Instead, one corner lifted; then another. Strips of paper unfolded from the shell as the entire egg began coming apart in deliberate creases. What had seemed like hundreds of separate layers moved as though they were one continuous sheet following instructions only it understood. A head appeared; small and angular with its snout formed from overlapping folds. Two bright eyes blinked beneath paper-thin ridges.

Four little legs, a narrow tail, and small wings that resembled layered pages more than membrane. The final pieces tucked themselves neatly into place. A tiny drake stood in the center of Bellhaven's council table. It stared at Roy, then it sneezed. A tiny scrap of paper shot out of its nose. Aurelia laughed, Orion covered his mouth, and even Velara smiled. The creature was roughly the size of a large melon, perhaps a little longer with the tail.

Its surface looked like parchment given shape, except the paper flexed like living tissue rather than tearing. Lines of ink moved faintly beneath its body, though not words Roy could read. The little drake looked around the council chamber. Dorian's expression changed, which Roy noticed immediately. The merchant had gone completely still. Then slowly, very slowly, he began to grin. Roy did not like that grin.

"What?" Dorian looked at him.

"You fortunate bastard." Roy pointed at the drake.

"What is it?" Dorian stepped closer.

"Unless I am badly mistaken?" His eyes shone.

"A Pact Drake." Nobody reacted. Roy looked around.

"That means something to someone?" Dorian laughed.

"It means something to me." He studied the creature with naked fascination. The Pact Drake sat, its tail curled around its feet"Rare. Extremely rare," Dorian continued.

"They are associated with agreements. Records. Promises. Written knowledge." Roy looked at the creature; the creature looked back.

"Useful for filing?" Dorian stared at him.

"You have just been handed a magical creature capable, if the old accounts are even half accurate, of preserving agreements… and you ask whether it files?" Roy shrugged.

"I have a lot of papers." Dorian ignored him.

"They are said to remember what was agreed, not merely what was written. Contracts. Testimony. Ownership. Debts. Maps. Plans." Oren was now paying considerably more attention.

"Accurately?"

"That is rather the point," Dorian leaned closer, though he did not touch the drake.

"Some accounts claim mature Pact Drakes can identify contradictions in agreements. Unclear obligations. Terms that two parties believe mean different things." Roy's eyebrows rose.

"Can it tell if someone's lying?"

"No idea, but the older stories go further. Agreements reinforced by consent. Proof preserved even if documents are destroyed. Notifications when terms are breached." Torvin looked horrified. Dorian looked delighted.

"But those are stories." Roy glanced at the drake again.

"Meaning you want to buy it."

"Desperately." Aegis laughed from behind them. Roy looked toward him.

"You're enjoying this."

"Immensely." The Pact Drake stood, then did something stranger. Its tail flattened, its wings folded inward, and its legs tucked beneath its body. Roy watched as the creature collapsed into itself in a series of rapid folds. Pages slid across one another as the entire drake compressed. Three seconds later, a ledger lay on the council table. Plain brown cover, thick spine, and no visible writing. Roy stared; Dorian's grin widened.

"Oh, that is excellent!" Roy touched the cover and the ledger shivered. Aurelia leaned over the table.

"Do it again!" The ledger unfolded. Four legs popped free, then the head. The Pact Drake shook itself and sat. Aurelia made a delighted sound. Roy looked at her.

"You're naming it." She blinked.

"Me?"

"You named the others." She leaned closer; the little drake tilted its head toward her. Aurelia studied its folded wings and the lines of text moving beneath its pale surface. Its tail curled like a strip of parchment. Aurelia smiled.

"Quill." The tiny Pact Drake chirped. Roy sighed.

"Fine." Quill climbed onto the nearest stack of council papers. Oren looked deeply alarmed.

"Please do not let it eat those." Roy frowned.

"Does it eat paper?" Dorian shrugged.

"I sincerely hope not." Quill curled up on the documents. Within seconds, it looked perfectly comfortable. Roy stared down at it, realizing how eventful this evening had suddenly become. Talia had gone unusually quiet. Roy looked toward her; she was staring at the place where the system messages had appeared.

"That was your private quest." Roy frowned.

"How did you—""It literally said private quest." Garrick leaned toward her.

"You're thinking what I'm thinking." Talia nodded. Aurelia looked between them.

"What?" Neither answered immediately, but Roy understood a second later. All the siblings had one - private objectives the system had specifically forbidden them from sharing. And until now, none of them had known what completion actually meant. Talia looked toward Quill. The tiny drake yawned atop Bellhaven's records. Garrick swallowed.

"So." Talia nodded slowly.

"Our quests might have rewards too." Quill folded one wing over its nose as Roy looked around the council table. At Bellhaven, at his family, and at the first formal seat belonging not to the town. Then back down at the impossible little creature sleeping on top of the paperwork that had created the position. Somehow, Roy suspected the council had just become considerably more complicated.