Return to Jorgaldur

“Well, ambassador, can you give me an explanation?”

The leprechaun’s tone showed suppressed anger, and was radiating a fearsome aura. His interlocutor, a level 82 human, was scared. In all his time there, he had never been in a situation like that.

It is true that there had been problems and disputes, but never hostility. Up to now. It was the second time he had seen the generally affable leprechaun angry. On the previous occasion, he had been somewhat intimidated, but he had never imagined that, at that time, the leprechaun was only a little irritated.

However, when hearing Maldoa’s report after meeting the elf, the leprechaun had become furious. That elf could be the key to defeating an enemy of all living beings, but the kingdom of Engenak had acted selfishly, and had put her in danger.

He knew that the death of the prince could cause problems, but it wasn’t enough to make a kingdom react in that way, to invest so many resources in obtaining the presumed culprit. It wasn’t only the reward, but their efforts to promote it and the agents they had sent. A few were being watched inside Narzerlak, and they were likely to be arrested and expelled at any moment.

There was no doubt in his mind that knowing that the elf was important to them had aroused the greed of the nobles and royalty, and they had seized the opportunity. They wanted to find out what was important about that elf, and how to take advantage of it. In fact, the reason they hadn’t been told was precisely because, despite being allies in that war, they didn’t trust them.

The prince’s uncle noticed how beads of sweat ran down his back and face, despite the fact that he was using a handkerchief to dry his forehead.

“I don’t know what you mean, dear counselor. What is the reason why you had summoned me?” the ambassador tried to buy time.

The leprechaun frowned. He was used to these maneuvers, to the game of half-truths, of half-lies. However, this time, he was too angry.

“It’s not a game, Krufil. We’ve known each other for a long time, and this matter is too serious. What you’ve tried to do we regard as treason, an act of war. Do you think we don’t know what you have tried to do it because she is important to us? That everything else is an excuse? You don’t even know why she is important. That she’d be of no use to you.”

“Then, why didn’t you explain it to us? Aren’t we your allies?” the ambassador accused.

He didn’t know how to get out of this mess, so he went on the attack instead of answering the accusations. It was a tactic that used to work.

“That isn’t the important thing,” sighed the leprechaun. “But I’ll answer you anyway. It’s simple, we can’t trust you. Can you assure me that the information would be kept secret? That it wouldn’t reach all the nobles one way or another? That it wouldn’t reach the ears that should not reach?”

“Of course…!” he wanted to protest.

“Krufil, I’ve already told you that it’s not a game,” he interrupted. “We both know you can’t. That some nobles have contacts with forces that you can’t control. Anyway, all of that is irrelevant right now. What’s at stake is whether we break any relationship with Engenak. You know perfectly well that I’m not speaking only on behalf of Narzerlak. Stop diplomacy or half-truths. Right now, you can only answer with facts.”

The human gulped. The threat was more than serious. The forces that made up the alliance were very powerful and numerous. Just banning all trade would put them in a difficult position. If they decided to take other actions, it could be the end of Engenak.

“What… do you want…?” he gave up.

“To begin with, withdraw the reward for her. You better do it discreetly, we don’t want there to be more interest in her. We don’t care if you consider her dead or captured, but they should stop talking about her. No more attempts to get close to her, investigate her, or anything. From now on, for you, she doesn’t exist. Do it in a way that doesn’t generate suspicion. Have I been clear enough?”

“Yes,” the ambassador agreed.

Immediately, the leprechaun left, although that didn’t mean that they didn’t have him under surveillance, something that he took for granted. He also assumed that he wasn’t the only one they would have supervised. What he didn’t understand was what was so special about that elf, but they had made it clear to him the dangers of trying to find out more.

He never would have expected them to go to that extreme. That the entire alliance would have decided to act. That all those beings would protect a simple elf. What he was clear about was that ignoring the warnings wasn’t acceptable. Now, the problem was how to convey that information quickly and without arousing suspicion. He didn’t know what would happen if he made a mistake, but the ambassador didn’t want to find out either.

So, he gave the orders that allowed his authority, as putting the agents in the area into hibernation. Then, he sent information that the elf had probably died, and decided to quickly return to the kingdom, as he had to speak with the king and, above all, the prime minister in person. He couldn’t trust other channels to send that information.

It didn’t take long for the waters to calm down, for the reward to be withdrawn. Many rumors arose about the elf being captured, dead, or that it had all been a mistake.

In any case, the kingdom of Engenak refrained from any other movement, since their fear was great. It wasn’t only for the kingdom itself, but for their privileged positions in royalty or nobility. It was one thing to go to war, and another to risk their privileges. Besides, they were aware that, without knowing it, they had placed themselves in a very delicate situation. That for a long time, they would be watched with closer lens.

Whether whoever shouldn’t put their sights on the elf did it or not, was something that nobody knew. They hoped that it didn’t happen, that they hadn’t discovered or assumed that she was someone capable of fighting corruption directly. That she was the Friend of fairies. One of their most powerful weapons was surprise, their enemies’ ignorance of her threat.