The crash drew immediate attention. Heads snapped up, and the once chaotic argument fell into an abrupt, stunned silence. Every eye in the room turned towards the source of the commotion. Silly o'l me! Rheka’s desperate attempts to hide me only made matters much much worse. I felt a wave of panic as every single person stared right at me. It was an all too familiar feeling. Calling them pissed would have been underselling it. Well then. It was showtime. Time to improvise.

"Put your foot down!" I shouted down from the balcony. Aimed directly at the King. My strategy was to double-down. If I acted with enough confidence surely I'd get through with this. I also sort of meant it. This whole situation seemed irrational to me.

The King blinked, his eyes wide with disbelief. I was probably the last person he'd expected to disturb the conversation. For a split second, the room remained eerily quiet, like everyone had forgotten how to breathe. Then, all hell broke loose. The advisors, already on edge, were now practically foaming at the mouth, shouting incoherent demands and pointing at me like I was the damn villain for saying the obvious. They hated him for telling the truth.

Urs let out a muffled snort, trying his best to cover up that grin of his threatening to break through. The guy looked like he was about to fall over from trying not to laugh. Visla, on the other hand, just wore that smug little smile, as if she’d been waiting for something like this to happen all along. An all too familiar expression. This moment really drove home the fact that she was Rheka's mother. And then there was Vrintas, who barely reacted at all. He just sighed, as if to say, Of course. Why am I even surprised? I wasn't sure if he was enjoying the moment or not. Maybe I had gone overboard. But I had to commit. There was no back. This was my moment to make an impression.

"Even if you eliminate thousands of infected people, there could be dozens more long gone. Still spreading that sickness around" I continued, leaning over the balcony like I had some authority here. At this point, I had to believe my own words to survive this mess. "Burning a town isn't a solution. It's just lazy. And desperate."

The advisors erupted again, shouting over one another, their faces filled with outrage. One of them even jabbed a finger up at me like he was trying to curse me from across the room. Real classy. The King, though, didn't join in. He just rubbed his temples like a man who’d lost track of the argument hours ago. Maybe he had. Maybe that’s why I had to step in, save the day and stuff. Yeah, right.

"Enough!" The King's voice finally cut through the chaos, echoing off the stone walls. Everyone froze. Mid-shout. Mid-gesture. Like puppets whose strings had just been yanked. The King adjusted his posture, no longer slouching over the table but rising to stand firm. It seemed like he grew for a second. His expression was unreadable, but his exhaustion was more than evident. "Leave. All of you. Now."

For a moment, no one moved. Then, like a dam breaking, the advisors all scrambled to gather their notes and shuffle out of the room. Despite his manners a King's word was law. And even in their anger, they probably knew better than to push it. That was a win for me! Argius - 1, Advisors - 0. See you later, suckers.

Meanwhile, the brats stayed up at the balcony, watching the whole scene unfold with wide eyes. For a moment, it looked like Tavrin was about to shout something smart from up there, but one sharp look from the King sent the three of them backing off. Rheka shot me a quick, half-apologetic smile before Zilra began to push her and Tavrin out.

As the last of the lot finally filtered out, the heavy doors closed with a dull thud, leaving just me, Vrintas, and the King in the vast room. The silence thereafter was almost oppressive. I could hear my own heart beat in my ears. It was by every definition of the word awkward.

Great. Now what?

I glanced over the balcony edge. The drop wasn't deadly, probably. But there was nothing in this world that could get me to leap over the edge. I needed something a little more... safe. My gaze shifted to the door behind me. Should I go back through there? The others are gone. How the hell will I find the way?

As I thought over my options a loud voice dragged me right back out of my head again.

"I cleared out the room. Fly down here so we can get on with it." It was the King's voice, sounding more tired than commanding. I peered down at him, half-expecting a smirk. There wasn’t one.

Fly? Well uhh.

"I'm afraid I can't." I said. My voice shaking as I looked down. The drop seemed to stretch below me without end. It was far more intimidating than it had any right to be.

The King let out a sigh and made his way over to the wall directly under the balcony. "A dragon afraid of heights. Enk be damned."

The King raised his hand, and a faint hum filled the air as light gathered around his palm. With a swift, casual motion, he struck the wall offset to the left beneath the balcony. I felt a shockwave ripple through the stone. Next moment it cracked apart as if it were nothing but brittle wood. The wall caved in, debris tumbling down to form a rough incline. It was a slide of sorts - smooth enough to descend, but jagged enough to remind me just how easily he could’ve flattened me instead. What kind of spell that was I didn't even want to know. My heart just raced as I stared at the makeshift slide, half impressed, half terrified.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

The King lowered his hand, looking up at me with a half-smile that bordered on smug. "There. You can either take the royal slide or keep making excuses. I'd prefer not to stand here all day."

I swallowed hard, glancing from the slide to the drop below. My feet felt like they were glued to the floor, but I forced myself to move. One hesitant step, then another, and before I knew it, I was inching my way down the slope. The rough stone scraped against my scaly feet, and every jagged edge made my heart skip a beat. I was just waiting for it to crumble beneath me. Despite my usual luck, it held.

Vrintas didn't look all too surprised. The old man had probably seen this a hundred times over. Just another day in the royal palace. I thought, as I gathered myself to figure out what I'd say next.

I tumbled over the last couple of rocks and landed on the ground with a thud. The King stood there, arms crossed, looking at me like I was an annoying itch he couldn't quite reach. Vrintas just raised an eyebrow, his usual look of indifference firmly in place. Lovely. He was a lot more serious when there was business to be discussed. I get it, I get it. So many lives are on the line! Bla bla bla.

“Well, you got my attention,” the King said, his voice strained. “Now what’s your brilliant solution, dragon? I assume you have one, considering the stunt you just pulled.”

I opened my snout to respond but hesitated. The truth was, I hadn’t exactly thought this far ahead. But like any good con artist, I knew one thing for sure: Confidence was key. So, I straightened up and did my best impression of someone who actually had a plan.

"Look." I began. "Burning Rhodentum to the ground is... let’s call it an overreaction. It’s also stupid, reckless, and would probably piss off the people over in the next town if they're even paying attention. But what if instead of torching the place, we got a bit more... creative?" I pranced around on the table as I spoke.

The King raised an eyebrow, clearly not convinced. Vrintas didn’t look any more impressed, but I could tell the old man was listening. That was a start.

“Creative?” the King repeated, as if I’d just suggested we throw a festival for the people instead. “Explain.”

I took a breath. Time to make this sound good.

“Alright, here's the idea. Instead of killing off half the population, we offer them something. An incentive to voluntarily isolate themselves. We set up safe zones outside the tower, offer rewards for those who report symptoms and head there without causing trouble. Food, gold, whatever motivates them. That way, we could manage the outbreak without turning Rhodentum into a pyre.”

Vrintas stroked his beard, looking thoughtful. The King, however, looked at me like I’d just sprouted a second head.

“You think we can bribe a horde of sick and terrified peasantfolk into voluntarily locking themselves away? Have you met the people of Rhodentum?” He asked. I knew a skeptic voice when I heard it.

“As it happens, your Majesty, I have. Those lot are predictable. Offer them something shiny, and they might just jump at it.” I said, flashing my fangs. “And it’s better than chasing them down the whole tower with torches and pitchforks, isn’t it?”

Vrintas finally chimed in. Please old man give me something here. “It’s not a terrible idea. Humans often do act out of self-interest. If we can control the situation without resorting to violence, we might actually have a chance of containing these outbreaks. We could also further our studies on both diseases.”

The King let out a long sigh, rubbing his temples like he was already regretting our conversation. “And what about the ones who don’t report themselves? The ones who slip through the cracks?”

“Tracking.” I said, quickly improvising. “We make it known that anyone leaving Rhodentum recently is under suspicion. Traders, travellers - the whole lot. We subtly spread the word that if they don’t come forward, they’ll have a price on their head. A nice little bounty to make them reconsider their hiding out. It creates enough pressure without us needing to chase them down ourselves.”

It looked like the King was considereing my idea. Of course my idea, as all good ideas were - was stolen. It didn't go down like this to a T, but I remember something along these lines was implemented against the Black Plague. Back in the good ol' days. As horrible as the Black Plague had been, there were places in Europe that had barely been affected by it. And that knowledge could be worth gold here.

For a moment, I thought I might have actually convinced him with my idea. But then his eyes narrowed. “And how exactly do we stop the spread if we can’t catch them all?”

“That’s where the decoy plan comes in. We let the bloodthirsty advisors do a small, symbolic purge. Isolated pockets, just enough to satisfy them without actually burning down the city. That way we can also at least give the impression we're actively working against it. We give the nobles a target to keep them busy while we focus on the bigger picture. It’s all about balancing the scales, right?”

Vrintas gave a small nod, clearly on board with the logic. The King, however, just stared at me. I could see a mix of exhaustion and disbelief in his eyes. Honestly, I didn’t blame him. It wasn’t a perfect plan, but it beat mass slaughter every day of the year. Not that I cared much about the people there. They didn't particularly like me, but then again, neither did people anywhere else so far. To the King though, his people were most likely of the upmost importance!

The King let out one last sigh. “Fine.” He said, his voice thick with resignation. “We’ll give your plan a shot. Though I like your blunt creativity, should things go south... Well. Let's hope they do not.”

I just nodded. At this point I'd spoken enough. Now it was time for the actions to speak for me. Hopefully. Not like I could influence things much over there from here.

As he turned away, I watched him go and Vrintas follow. The old man gave me a nod of approval before I felt a knot of tension unwind in my throat. The room settled into a weary silence. It was a far cry from the uproar just minutes ago. The advisors had dispersed, grumbling and throwing glances at me as they left. I already hated them with every fiber of my being.

I was left alone with my thoughts once again. Do I tell Rheka about this? Does it matter? Maybe she had an idea to add. This sort of mischief was up her ante. The plan was far from perfect, but it was a start. The Tower Town of Rhodentum, with its infected and its discontent. I couldn't give less shits about it. Let Nightnail, Sandskin or any other bloody disease rampage through it for all I care. I only cared for the King's influence, and the power that came with it.

After my first victory here a door of opportunity had potentially opened. The door to the court's politics. Becoming one of the King's advisors. The door to becoming their peer - no. Being their equal would never satisfy me.

I had to rise even higher. All the way to the clouds.