What Is Done

Chapter 7 - Iliquinal's Game

The elf that Tranelis and Beinorin had a short chat with welcomed us inside the stone built manor. We left the horses outside, Tranelis informing us somebody would take care of them. Inside, the walls, ceilings and floors were lined with polished redwood. That made me frown. Most Elven buildings are made from solid stone for the sole purpose of preserving nature. It seems like Iliquinal didn't take too kindly to elf morals. We stood in a foyer of a two-floor house. Stairs curled up either side of the room and a mezzanine that split into hallways between them on the second story.

"Welcome, High King Laverne and friends. My name is Nico Candlekeep. I'm the personal butler of Lord Iliquinal." Nico had a goofy smile and off-balanced stance. His dark brown hair was choppily cut short. He reminded me of Laniss. "I'm sure Lord Iliquinal will be glad to hear you're here. Please follow me."

"Are you the only servant of this entire estate?" Essaerae requested an answer from him upon seeing no other domestic help in the manor. Neither Sellion or I had seen anyone else besides Nico.

"No, I am one of two. The maid prefers to keep out of sight of guests." He said as he took us down one of the halls on the main floor. The manor wasn't decorated very outrageously. A portrait of an unrecognizable someone here and a vase on a small table there. Nico stopped in front of a pair of twin doors and politely asked us to wait for a moment. Nico went inside for a moment. When he came back out, he led us inside.

"My Lord, may I present High King Laverne of the city of Arün and the nation of Elven Guard."

The study had a sturdy oak desk in the middle of it, contrasting to the interior walls of the building. Behind the desk was a large window with a view of a few fragile looking trees. Lining the walls of the sides of the room were bookcases with storage compartments underneath. Most of the shelves were covered in books, there was a deer skull on one of them and some unidentifiable specimens in jars of formaldehyde on another. Iliquinal sat at the desk, resting his chin on the top of his layered hands. There were many papers scattered on the desk in front of him. He held a bored expression.

"High King Laverne Ingerman, Captain of the Guard Sellion Dunes and Champion of Arün Essaerae Mala, what a pleasure." Iliquinal leaned back in his chair, smirking. He knew things about us that someone who'd never met us before today wouldn't know. Suddenly, I had suspicions. This man was probably someone we didn't want to cross. "I was beginning to worry when you didn't return my letter, Your Highness. But it seems you've come to give me your answer in person. Hurrah!" he cheered, throwing half-balled fists into the air. Iliquinal had shoulder length black hair, emerald eyes and pale flesh similar in color to mine. He wore a dark gray cape over his midnight blue robes.

Sellion was drowning in thought. It was obvious when his disposition changed. He had a certain expression dedicated to thinking. It is similar to his poker face. People only learn to discern the two once they've known him a while.

"Hello, Lord Iliquinal," I greeted him fairly. "To appoint your letter, my answer is yes. I will allow the elves of Cärrish into Arün if the worst happens," I stated candidly.

"You're one of them?!" Sellion interrupted me, unable to contain his hunger for an answer any longer. As soon as he said that, the building began to shake violently. Iliquinal ducked under his desk. Nico stood in the doorway, holding onto it for dear life. Sellion grabbed Essaerae and me, pushing us to the ground for safety. "Get down!" A couple of Iliquinal's jars fell to the ground, shattering. They sent shards flying. Essaerae used her shield to block all three of us from getting glass lodged in our flesh.

When the shaking stopped, Iliquinal spoke, "Oh dear." He poked his head over the edge of the desk. "What a mess. It's too bad I cannot tell when they are going to happen. That would be nice." My suspicions grew with his words, and what Sellion had said earlier.

"I will clean it tomorrow, my Lord," Nico bowed to his master. Iliquinal nodded as a thank you.

"You see? That's what I have been losing sleep over. It's been getting worse by the week." Iliquinal sat back down in his comfy armchair, "Anyways, Your Highness, this can't be the only reason you've come all this way. You must have some reason other than simply coming to give me your answer in person." Sellion's question had been put aside and ignored.

I pulled a piece of paper from my shirt pocket and showed it to Iliquinal. It had sketches I had Jericho make of the relics. "Have you ever laid eyes on any of these? A powerful relic of the Gods might be causing all these quakes."

Iliquinal's pupils grew smaller from being flabbergasted and his unconvincing tone gave Sellion all the answers he needed to tell he was lying. He frowned. "No, I have not." Iliquinal glared at Sellion. Sellion can't read minds but he knew Iliquinal was lying. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach that he was, too. If so, he's quite bad at keeping a straight face. "If you're here to stay a bit before heading back to your hometown, could I get your help with something tomorrow?"

"What do you need?" Essaerae asked him, oblivious to the concerns of Sellion or me. I wasn't here to help this smug bastard with keeping his town in line.

"We recently acquired a prisoner sneaking into the Hul'dra Woods. He is one of the horned men. Except he refuses to speak on why he was here. Perhaps your sadistic friend here could beat it out of him for us?" Iliquinal smiled, clearly speaking of Sellion.

I was in no place to say no if we wanted Iliquinal to host us for the night. I didn't want to play his games, but it seemed like I was getting roped into them. "We could try?" I suggested, not knowing if Sellion was up to the task. "In that case, we will likely be here for a week or two."

"Sounds fine. For your help, I'm willing to give some supplies and money to you and your lower ranked friends." Iliquinal said, insulting Sellion and Essaerae. They both loured at him. Rain began pouring outside as the sun disappeared from view. "Have you eaten dinner yet? I'd be happy to host your meal if you haven't."

"We did," I stated. "It likely was not as good as your home cooked meals."

"Ah, I see. You'll have to wait until breakfast then, unless you want something else to munch on. For now, Nico will show you to your quarters." Nico began to show us out of his master's office when Iliquinal gave an order. "Sellion, you stay." Essaerae and I followed the butler out. He informed us the maid had brought our belongings to our guest bedrooms. I was glad to finally get some sleep from it being a long day.

---

When everything was quiet, Iliquinal said to Sellion, "Yes, I'm one of them."

"Oh, really? Wouldn't have guessed, Sellion sarcastically said, playing dumb. Sellion knew exactly what he was.

"Let me be clear, Cedric Ingerman, or should I say the Half-Blood Prince?" Iliquinal slowly stood, still having his fingertips touching his desk. "I have absolutely no intention of giving you what that boy wants."

Sellion gawked at Iliquinal. He was right. "Why?"

"It's mine and I don't want to give it up. Besides, you would never find it." It's hidden in a place that doesn't exist anymore. And they left their guard to protect it by its lonesome.

"Is that a challenge? I love a good challenge."

"I'm not about to give into the demands of that pompous, spoiled brat you call your king. To think all the great men in the Ingerman family led up to whatever that is." Iliquinal made an empty, implied gesture with a single hand while keeping the other hand balled into a fist.

"King Laverne is a man, not a thing. Oh, and there's one thing you should know about him." Sellion explained to him. "He always gets what he wants and what he wants are the relics of Averis and Azriel."

"Not this time," Iliquinal stared at Sellion with dislike. He knew all about the man who was the dog for the High King of Elven Guard. "Cedric, the brat has you on a tighter leash than you may think."

Sellion turned to leave the room, headed to bed. "Well, Iliquinal Abadda, I may just have to force you into giving it to us. Would you be willing to, now?" Sellion looked back at Iliquinal. There was hatred in his eyes. Iliquinal never thought the color purple could ever hold such malice. Iliquinal sensed savagery writhing in his soul, begging to come out. Sellion grinned from ear to ear, his smile containing malicious intent, indeed. "Or do I have to kill you?"