Jackal Among Snakes

Upon the reveal of the dreadful Alchemist, Alexius, the Head of Senate, leaned in and placed his hands on his knees. “Argrave. Were my envoys unclear that only two people would be allowed into our nation?”

Even as the others panicked and made for exits, that Alexius could remain so ridiculously calm amidst it all was enough to impress Argrave a great deal. He had known this man was made of stern stuff, but the Alchemist was a terror among terrors whose strength was unknown to the dwarves. Perhaps that calm came from ignorance.

“By bringing another, you’ve demonstrated that you’ve acted in bad faith from the beginning,” Alexius continued. “Please explain.”

“This grotesque mutant thing is not another person. I shudder that you give him the label.” Argrave pointed at him with his thumb, keeping his gaze on Alexius. “He’s my summoned pet. I received no such mention of disallowing pets.” His Brumesingers scampered out of his clothes. “I brought a lot of pets, you see. You might think of me as something of an animal lover.”

The Alchemist turned his head to look at Argrave as he beamed at the senate. Some of them, now that they knew there was no danger, walked out from behind their chairs or picked up wreaths that had fallen from their head during the panic. Melanie, meanwhile, was acutely aware of the dozens of weapons pointing at them from the spectator balconies.

“A pet.” Alexius took a deep breath and sighed. “Regardless of what you call it, it’s the intent behind bringing it here. An intent that doesn’t speak well of you.”

“Would you claim to know my intent before I’ve spoken of it, Alexius?” Argrave spread his arms out.

Alexius raised one hand and pointed firmly. “Willful deception betrays much about your intent.”

Argrave smiled. “A senator who refuses to lie is like a miner who refuses to dig; they won't get very far before they're replaced. Supposing I have willfully deceived you, which I'm not conceding, then half of those present must be enemies of the state.”

His joke did not receive the laughter that he’d been hoping for, but considering Alexius didn’t have an immediate response he thought the intent of the humor was displayed well enough.

"I assure you, I only brought my revolting, gut-wrenchingly hideous pet to elucidate earlier claims. Dwarven neutrality will not end because of Vasquer's intervention, nor the actions of any gods. Instead, circumstance will compel you to act. And with this abominable creature, I will prove that."

both impressed and severely worried by his continued provocations. Alexius kneaded his forehead and leaned back in his chair as the last of the others took their seats once again. Though panic had met the Alchemist's arrival, it unfolded into a gripping curiosity when Argrave explained the purpose. But most importantly… it would be compelling enough to convince some. And that was the beauty of democracy. He was not dealing with

He took note of this, dark eyes scanning the room. “Now that the deviation from normal standards has subsided somewhat, we will resume the

the guards on the gallery finally withdrew their magma weapons. A good thing, too—magma weaponry could

can

to be proud, for one.” Argrave talked loudly and domineeringly, projecting his voice as much as he could. “You harnessed the powercontained within the depths of the earth to create a thriving civilization. With Alexander’s genius, you made this dreamlike city a reality.” Argrave raised one hand up, clenching it into a fist. “But what the wise man does in the beginning, the fool does in the end. Someone

speaker followed

tamper with magma is on the level of the divine, and I lack the power of gods. Instead, I must defend my people from them. In particular, the most threatening god of all, whose endless desire for devastation motivated Alexander’s quest to descend deeper into the earth. I speak of Gerechtigkeit. He would upend the whole of

was not truly harnessing the magma of the planet’s core to end all life. If he possessed that sort of power, things would’ve ended a

would your…” the dwarf looked at the Alchemist, choosing his phrasing carefully. At the last moment, he elected to change the phrase entirely. “How would you prove any of what you say is

unamused master spellcaster reached inside himself and produced the vial of black malevolence. Even here, it seemed to radiate with darkness, spewing out tendrils that faded away as though carried by wind. “We would use this to identify Gerechtigkeit’s point of attack. Once found, we would… handle things, neutralizing the agitation he’s caused. This would require access to all of Mundi, however, for our search. And naturally, it comes with the assurance

“Current problems?”

one section of your magma moat is failing.” Argrave looked up to the dome above them, pointing upward. “The machinery that operates it can no longer effectively pump the molten rock away, and so there is an entire section of the world that is simply cut off to you. For that, you need to relearn the secrets of

Then, the questions resumed—all varied and nuanced, but the heart of them were clarifications of the answers he’d already given. He elaborated as best he could. At once, a clear rift took shape in the room. There were

Argrave's intent had been declared, he felt himself fade into the background as debate about their people’s course of action erupted. He was taken off the central platform to a witness’ bench, where Trifon already sat. Argrave recalled the Alchemist to ease the atmosphere. He'd thought himself somewhat pretentious yet eloquent. In the debate that followed, he felt he was far less of

persist underground, and their opponents combatted these words with poetic logic about their failing systems, the importance of change, and Mundi’s founder Alexander’s great emphasis

was all dreadfully slow. Hours passed before every senator in the hall had said their piece, and even that was insufficient to fully cover the issue.

filibuster this, Your Majesty,” he whispered quietly. When Argrave looked down at him, confused, the dwarf continued, “I see concise speakers taking minutes to make a point they should in seconds. They seek

concerned. “What can I do about

the Head of Senate to give you some temporary status allowing you to speak to senators. He can

didn’t need long to answer, but he took some time to let the gravity

from a wounded animal to a watching wolf. He watched and waited for his opportunity to pounce. When the debate lulled, he rose from