{-Noa-}

Sometimes he wondered why Aymer actually agreed to let him join these meetings. They weren’t boring, but all he did was listen.

And he definitely didn’t beg to be a part of this just so he could listen.

Aymer, as the lord of the region the meeting was being held in, sat at the table’s head. Noa sat in the chair closest to his right, one technically meant for a wife or son—neither of which Aymer had. The other nine chairs were reserved for the other nine lords of Ilatenes, who surprisingly were still maintaining somewhat-civil conversation.

“What, exactly, did you say this thing was?” Aymer asked, slowly. He looked nervous—a lot more than usual. He had that blank look, too, when he thought of the possible arrival of misfortune.

“Well, the reports varied,” the third lord replied. “Most said it was some kind of beast.”

“A beast?” the seventh questioned. “That’s awfully vague, you know. Even for you.”

“That’s all they told me!” he defended. “A beast.”

The tenth sighed. “We’re here for an ambiguous beast? What’s supposed to make any of us believe it’s not simply a wolf or a fox?”

“Oh, my land’s reports said it wasn’t a wolf, at least,” the second lord chimed in. “They said it was bear-sized. Lacked fur, too, but it wasn’t a person. It was shadowy, you see.”

“Shadowy!” the fifth spat. “Shadows don’t move! My bet is that they were drunk and encountered a bear.”

“You’re implying that all of us are experiencing multiple cases of drunk men encountering bears?” the sixth said in a deadpan tone. “I know you’re an idiot, but did you really presume the rest of us were as stupid as you were?”

There went their civil conversation.

“Ah, but at least I’m not—”

“Both of you,” Aymer sighed. “Don’t do this. Not now. Not today. We have more important things to do than bicker amongst us.”

A mumbled agreement between the fifth and sixth just barely seemed to be a reassurance that they were listening.

Aymer continued, slowly, a kind of tone that suggested he didn’t want to know the possibilities. “Were there anything else similar between the encounters?”

The other nine lords glanced between each other, though none said anything.

Then, after a moment, the ninth said, “Mine weren’t as bad at first. They really could’ve just been foxes—no one saw them, either. Then citizens started encountering them and they seemed to get bigger with each of the reports that were sent in.” A few others murmured agreements.

“Anything else?” Aymer pressed.

Another pause, though nothing came out of this one.

“Then we shouldn’t treat this lightly,” he mumbled. “We should tell the people that this is a threat we will keep an eye on, and that they should be wary of it until we know exactly what it is.”

“With all due respect, we shouldn’t unnecessarily stress them, either,” the fourth lord pointed out. “Ilatenes is full of commoners, farmers—they aren’t warriors. They don’t know how to face serious threats, nor to handle a possible one. We shouldn’t trouble them until we know for sure there’s something to be troubled over.”

The sixth nodded. “I agree. You think about her every time some little thing like this crops up, as if they’re all the same.”

Barely loud enough for the two closest, Aymer defended in a near-whisper, “I can’t let that happen again. We ignored a threat once and see what happened.”

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“One territory lost two minor lords and a handful of villagers,” the sixth remarked. “Something that happens plenty already. I’d say you might need it a little more—harden you up a little. Apparently you’re just as clueless as you were when you came into this position.”

“I…”

Noa resolved to be Aymer’s voice instead. “No matter what, we can’t ignore it! Who knows how big of a problem this can become? Do you really want to wait and see? Put everyone at risk?”

“I think I liked you better when you were just a kid hiding behind your mother,” the tenth grumbled. “You’re probably more emotionally driven than Aymer is, and we need less of that, not more. A kid like you should have more important things to do, anyway, than sitting in on meetings that you can’t understand.”

“I understand them perfectly well!” Noa argued. No one would see that he wasn’t more than a kid if he didn’t give them a reason to believe it. “This is the safety and well-being of all of your people that you’re putting on the line here. Sure, it could just be a bear, or a fox, or whatever. But what do you think the people will say when they know that you excused a serious threat that got people hurt?”

Slowly, Aymer returned from bittersweet memories, though no better off as he’d been at the beginning of the meeting. “Perhaps we can find a compromise, in order to secure the safety of our people. We can tell the other minor lords to be wary of the possible danger and they should be able to keep it from the general public. Then we can combine all of our efforts into figuring out what these things are and how we should handle them.”

All of them shared a few mumbles amidst each other; how they understood each other when Noa couldn’t was something beyond him. He could tell something by their tones, though. They started out sounding dismissive, or perhaps even a bit mocking. Then one or two spoke up and gave way to more considerate mumbles. Then, finally, they seemed to reach an agreement.

With the collective nods of all the others, the second lord declared, “We’ll consider your proposal a little more.”

“Consider?” Noa repeated, unable to hide a bit of disappointment. They’d sounded like they had such a productive conversation, but still the only thing they guaranteed was consideration?

“We all have tomorrow together anyway,” the tenth pointed out. “Let’s walk away from this, try to gather the information we can, and come back with clear heads tomorrow morning. We’ll come up with our final decision then.”

Aymer looked to have no more energy in protesting. Quietly, he said, “This meeting is adjourned. We will meet again here tomorrow morning. If you need anything during your stay in Silvium, don’t hesitate to tell me.”

Slowly, all of the nine lords got up and left.

Noa noticed something else, though, in Aymer’s sulking. “Is there something else you’re worried about?”

“I can’t wait for them,” he murmured in a near-frantic way. He abruptly stood up and walked to the window, stood there a minute, then took to pacing the length of the room. “This is too important to wait until tomorrow morning. Something serious could happen before then. I—I can’t let anything like that happen again. I don’t even want to risk the chance.”

“I… think everything might be fine, for a day,” Noa said carefully. He stood up as well but didn’t go much further from his chair. “At least here, they’ve been happening for a week or so, right? Ours are more like foxes and there’s a big jump between a fox and a bear. It’ll probably be fine for a little bit longer…”

Aymer shook his head. “That’s not considering how long news will take to get to them. They’ll all need to return to their territories before they can make proper warnings. Who knows what this threat will be by then.”

“But telling nobles now wouldn’t really make a big difference, either.”

“A minute.” Aymer glanced at Noa before quickly turning his attention back to the floor. “A minute is all it takes to make a difference.”

Noa considered saying something else—to give a reassurance—but he knew it wouldn’t matter. He sighed. “I can go out and tell them, if you want?”

“That’s an even worse idea!” Aymer quickly denied. “I can’t have you out there. Not with things as uncertain as it is. You’re staying right here, where I can see you, and where someone can keep you safe…”

“I’m not the same little kid anymore!” Noa pointed out. “Please, I want to do what I can to help. I can take care of myself. Let me do something!”

“I can’t let you. What if you end up getting hurt? Or worse? What am I supposed to do then? How am I supposed to face your mother after agreeing to something like that?”

A moment of silence, then, “She never would’ve blamed you.”

Aymer let out a sad chuckle. “Well, she’s had six years to think on it. That’s plenty of time for her mind to change.”

“What if I just went to town, then?” Noa prompted. “Someone will still be able to keep an eye on me there. No one reported any of the monsters in heavily populated areas. Then that way, I can talk to the nobles here, and someone else can go to all the others. It’ll be quicker, and every minute counts, right?”

“I… suppose. There’s enough soldiers out there, one will always be able to see you. Alright, you can go. But you need to be back by dinner—no detours.”

Half surprised that it worked, Noa managed a small smile and assured Aymer, “No detours, I promise! I’ll get straight to work.”