“Well, if you need a pointy spear in the future, the captain knows where to find one.”

  The captain’s eyes grew wide, and he hid a laugh behind a cough.”

  The commander said, “Control yourself, captain.”

  And the elf snapped to attention, eyes focused and peering in all directions for possible dangers.

  I almost challenged the Commander to hold his words when addressing my personal guards, but it would have undermined him and lost whatever small ground I had gained today.

  He turned back to me. “Do you still intend to return to Keelwell?”

  “I do, as soon as the preparations are completed. I will depart here after our meeting to fulfill my commitment at the Silverworks guild. I would then like a tour of the locations where the other promised assistance is being made or gathered. Beyond that, I am open to suggestions.”

  He sat up straighter. “I am accustomed to being an advisor to the crown and formerly also to the crown prince.”

  “And I would deeply appreciate that advice to continue. I also understand that in this role, you report to me officially. And while I am personally invested in my own safety, your first duty is to the crown. If I give you an order that in your conscience as Commander is contrary to the safety of the King or the King’s father, I expect you to execute your conscience.”

  He lifted his chin. “I would do nothing else.”

  “I believe you, Commander. My words were not to challenge your honor, they were to assure you of my own.”

  And he understood what I was saying, what I meant.

  “No matter what the consequences?” He asked.

  “We all must live with our decisions. I cannot state that there would not be consequences if you disregarded my orders. But that which is right must prevail over order. So yes, no matter the consequences.”

  “We understand one another.” He said.

  “I am glad,” I said. “Is there anything else, Commander? Do you have any advice for me as I wander the kingdom like a human tourist in the King’s gardens?” I had heard one of the elves down the table from me say that very thing during dinner last night, and I was pretty sure it was not meant as a compliment.

  “I saw how you responded to the threat presented to you by the King. Others saw it too, along with your restraint. I suspect you will be safe in your travels today. It will take time for your enemies to build a plan to ensnare or eliminate you. Elves are a patient people. As the oldest of the good races, we have an amazing capacity for beauty, justice, and works of magic. We are also old, prideful, and can commit acts of injustice by manipulating our own arguments to justify our desires. Be wary.”

  “In addition to the enemy of us all, I have succeeded in creating enemies among the humans, dwarves, and elves as well as the goblins, necromancers, and others I am yet unaware. I can only do what I believe to be right, just, and compassionate.”

  “And that, Seneschal, is your duty.” The Commander said with conviction.

  He turned to the captain. “Have you chosen your core guard?”

  “I have them in mind, Commander, but we have only just returned. I have yet to discuss such things with the Seneschal.”

  The commander turned to me. “Do you trust this captain?”

  “With my life and the life of those whom I am sworn to protect,” I replied.

  He turned to the captain. “You are promoted to Royal Captain. You need not seek approval from the Seneschal for your daily duties and actions. You are accountable to him and to me for your ongoing success, however. Is that understood?”

  He snapped to attention again. “Yes, Commander.”

  The Commander rose, and I followed suit. He reached out his hand. “We do not shake hands as elves. In fact, we do not tend to touch each other unless it is required. It is part of our cultural tradition. However, I believe humans do this as a sign of respect. Is that correct?”

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  I clasped his arm with my own. “It is, and I thank you.”

  He nodded to me, turned, and walked out the door. A guard by the door closed it and turned to look at the others in the room. All eyes were wide with surprise.

  “Well, Seneschal. You made a favorable impression on Commander Devdan Ilthuryn, the Dragonslayer.”

  It was my turn to raise my eyebrows. “His title is dragonslayer?”

  “Among many, many other titles. Yes.” Leomys replied. “And that went well. Unexpectedly, well.”

  I walked over to my desk. Bella, maybe a heads-up next time I face down a man capable of defeating a dragon.

  You were fine, you big baby. There was maybe only a twenty percent chance he would have killed you to preserve the King’s honor. She said.

  Twenty percent? One in five chances? I blurted out to her in my mind.

  He had his mind shielded. It could have been one in four. But what matter? You survived, and he likes you. Not enough to keep from killing you in defense of the kingdom, but still. It was a win.

  I settled into the chair. It was quite comfortable. Like most things Elven, it was wood and cloth. At least this chair had decent padding.

  “When did you want to depart for the Silver forges?” The captain asked.

  “Well, Royal Captain, I presume you have some work you need to do while here at the Lodge?”

  “Only five or ten minutes worth, Seneschal.”

  “Then we will depart in fifteen minutes. Oh, as you work out guards, I will bring nine back with me to join the personal guard. I suggest you have them fully decked out in Elven Silver armor and the best weapons. Make them veterans you trust with your life because they will all see action in a few days. All the human guards will be wearing Dwarven Copper armor designed in the style of the First Empire’s imperial centurions. I wouldn’t ask Elves to wear that armor unless you think it appropriate.”

  “The personal guards will wear whatever you require.” He responded, “But, I think they would be most comfortable in silver.”

  “I have an idea about that.” And I shared my thoughts.

  He nodded his head when I was through. “That could work, and it would build a bond among the guards. I will see to it.”

  He saluted and departed.

  I stood and told the guards, “I will return to my homestead. Send the captain along when he is ready.”

  There were six guards in my study upon my return. It appeared that half a dozen guarded each side of the portal. There were more guards patrolling throughout the growing and reshaping home. I made my way back to the kitchen and sat down for a quick meal. I was sure the elves would put me through the paces for several hours, and I wanted to get some food and water in me beforehand.

  I never did get a tour of the homestead, although I spent a lovely fifteen minutes with the mother of the warden family, who remembered me as a baby twenty years ago. She shared memories of our visit, of the heavy storm and the strangeness of the new moon. “It was quite a memorable evening!” She declared.

  A new moon? That was odd and worth asking my mother about. The last new moon we had was the harbinger of an invasion and Twilight a few days ago. They marked momentous changes. What my mother could have wanted here in the Elven Kingdom on such a night was beyond me.

  Captain Leomys returned, and we set off for the guild of Silver Crafters, one of the most prestigious guilds in the kingdom. And despite being human, they were about to share their deepest secrets. Or, I was hoping they would.

  Learning how to make Elven Silver alongside Dwarven Copper would be amazing. Both are equal in magical versatility. Silver was ten times more expensive than copper, but copper was so inexpensive that the ten times increase wasn’t that dramatic. It might be important at a coin exchange, but with magic, there would not be a price difference based on the magical metals, just on appearance or perceived value.

  Dwarves seemed to have an edge over elves with their armor, and elves over dwarves with bladed weapons. To enchanters, both were considered equivalent regarding most other applications. Regardless, to me, both arts were stunning, and I was excited and anxious all at the same time.

  But given how excited and nervous the masters were to have me join them when I arrived and found them all lined up to greet me, I had nothing to worry about. I spent four hours with them, the first hour was just discussion and instruction. They carefully probed my knowledge and awareness of their tools and methods. It took a little while for us to form a solid awareness of vocabulary and methods. I spoke Elven and Ancient Elven nearly flawlessly, but nobody knows all the words in a given language, and their terms were highly specialized and different from human and dwarven terms. But their methods, once we got into the actual production of Elven Silver, were very similar.

  There were several secret ingredients, and none of them overlapped between the two magical processes. It would not be difficult for me to keep the processes clear and distinct.

  The Silver Crafting masters were very deferential, and not how I expected them to behave. I was certain that if I were still just an Elfkin, even a nephew of the King, their behavior would not have been as polite and respectful. I earned some early respect by submitting myself to them and their judgment. That was very unlike an elf. And like professors and masters everywhere, that deep respect for the art and desire for wisdom is respected, even if deep-rooted biases are present.

  They praised my little successes early on, but as we got into the actual labor and my master quality forging and jewelry craft came through (no doubt helped by my prodigy trade skills), their praises shifted from superficial to genuine.

  “Your master craftsmanship certainly comes through. We have never had a student learn so much and master it so completely in all our years of working the forges.” One master Silver Forger remarked.

  And if my forging and shaping skills were good, my jewelry craft was far superior. At the end of the four hours, I had four Elven Silver rings produced that shone with an inner light. I added five sockets to each of them, and they asked me to demonstrate my stone whisperer technique.

  They donated ten, 14pt elemental gems, two each of emerald, ruby, sapphire, topaz, and tourmaline. They wanted to watch me make them come alive with powers. I chose to make one ring that summoned elementals of each type and the other more offensive, with a choice elemental spell from each gem. I had done this many times over with Dwarven Copper, but they did not know that.

  At the end, a group of them huddled together and had a brief conversation.

  The guild master of Silvercraft, an old elf who did not join me in either instruction or production but watched diligently from a raised podium over the forging floor, walked up with several of the other masters who had spent the morning with me.

  “Seneschal, I hesitate to ask, but there is a favor the guild would ask of you.” His name was Grand Guildmaster Rennyn Caibalar.