122. RECEPTION BOMBS: TABITHA

Eluf and Sven arrived in the Ducal Carriage to pick us up. They were stunned when we stepped out the door. It was more Gwaed than myself, but Eluf made all the right noises. I introduced Gwaed to both Eluf and Sven as she was unrecognisable as a proud, almost regal Elf. The last Eluf had seen of her was a hunched, crazy human blood alchemist. Nobody would make that connection from this striking Elf next to me.

Eluf noticed Tāoke straight away, although he didn’t say anything. I am sure he recognised him from the fight in the cave, but he didn’t do more than raise his eyebrow. In the cave, Tāoke stuck with Mutalil, giving the impression he was bonded with him. Now I have a venomous garter belt decorating my thigh. Tāoke gets around. I saw Eluf staring at Gwaed’s chest. Should I pull him up on it? We arrived at the banquet before I could really get started on the fun.

Eluf and I were announced first, and all eyes locked on us. I swear half the females in the room wanted to murder me. Eluf looked pretty dashing in his dress uniform from the Army and his array of medals and honours. Maybe the assassin is just planning to let these women loose as her distraction. We moved to the side to greet the hosts, Linne and Reiner and the birthday girl.

The reaction we got was nothing to when Sven and Gwaed were announced. Initially, there was stunned silence. Sven looked good in his carefully tailored suit. Gwaed, seemingly, towered over him, a stunning raven-haired Elf nobody had heard of before. She was actually only a few inches taller than he was, but her blood-red dress was displayed strikingly against his black suit, and he had changed his tie in the carriage for a matching red one that our tailor supplied. They looked amazing together. I am sure she had positioned Merch to enhance her cleavage, and it worked well.

Then the whispering started. The previous rumours about Sven’s dating life are going to pale to insignificance after this. Interspecies dating is an unspoken taboo. Never spoken about except in the naughtiest erotic fiction that was illegal in the kingdom. Anyone who knows even the simplest knowledge about Elves will know they would never deign to date outside their species, but this isn’t going to stop the rumours. From the small smile on Sven’s face, I could tell he was going to use this and enjoy it. Gwaed leaned over and whispered something into Sven’s ear, and his smile widened. It looked like a very intimate interaction. She definitely has some sort of acting Skill, and she has played to a crowd like this before.

I moved from greeting Reiner toward Linne, and she was just standing there with her mouth open, staring at Sven, like she had her world just turned upside down. Eluf reached up and tapped her mouth shut, saying, “Pay attention, Sis. He is all grown up now. Please meet my date Skygge from the Elemental Traders and the Comedic Rhythm.”

“Nice to meet you, Lady Linne,” I said, giving a small bow.

“I have looked forward to meeting you as well,” Linne said, reaching out to shake my hand. “I haven’t had a chance to see your performance yet, so I am looking forward to tonight. You also seem to have charmed my brother,” she glanced at Eluf, “and that takes more than good acting skills.”

“He is not easily fooled,” I replied. Then I took a chance to test her reaction. “Do you know who wants him to be the next King? That is what all this manipulation is about, isn’t it?”

Linne’s jaw dropped open again in surprise. I caught Eluf by surprise with that as well, although I could see his brain connecting the dots. Since Gwaed told me about how the Kingdom chose its kings, it seemed to make sense to me. The Duke’s lingering illness, either real or fake, Eluf coming home as the heir after a distinguished military career, and the fact they will choose a new king in the next couple of years. One of the Empire’s top assassins has an excuse to be in town, and her real target is unknown. Why send their own assassin and not just contract one or ten? Sending an assassin to retrieve some documents didn’t really make sense. This is a strike at the future King.

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There must be a significant number of Dukes behind this, possibly his own father as well. Hence the illness may be faked. Once Eluf was made king, then Linne would move into the Duchess role.

It seems nobody has told Eluf about their plans for him. His face showed shock, then calculated thought, before he shut down his expressions. I could tell his mind was racing. Linne’s shock was more about the fact that I had worked it out and revealed it. She was in on it. Somebody had leaked the plan, and the Empire had thought it serious enough to send an assassin. I wasn’t going to be there for the sibling discussion later. I wish I could be.

I winked at Linne, “It definitely takes more than a pretty face.” I said, going back to her first comment. I nudged Eluf, “Come on, dude, get your Mental shit together,” I moved him along to make room for Sven and Gwaed.

I distracted the people heading our way by flagging down a server carrying drinks. Eluf looked like he could use one.

After a couple of minutes, and before he started his second drink, he asked, “How long have you known?”

“I worked it out this afternoon. You have had a lot more clues than me. I thought you were good at this mental shit?” I teased.

“Apparently not,” he said.

“Cheer up, your majesty. At least we now know who the assassin is here for.” That sobered him up, not that he was anywhere near drunk yet. “We have incoming,” I said as my spatial awareness tracked an older, important-looking man making his way toward us with a serious purpose. He was dragging a young girl behind him. I assume his daughter or the closest eligible female in his house. The reception began in earnest.

Eluf was a bit slow getting up to social speed, so I carried him for a bit. I was a bit shameless and scandalised a few of the young women when I flirted with them. That seemed to get Eluf out of his own head and into the social game we were playing.

I kept tabs on Sven and Gwead. They had spent more time with Linne and Reiner than was socially appropriate, holding up those behind them. I assume Linne was trying to look out for her younger brother. She obviously didn’t realise that ship had sailed years ago.

As Sven and Gwaed circulated, it was obvious Sven had his own sycophants. They were both male and female of the younger generation. Sven came across as friendly and fun, and I could almost see the webs forming. Gwaed played the part of a fun-loving Elf just out for a good time. She kept up the gestures suggesting intimacy, but I saw who she picked as targets for that. She was injecting herself into the Noble society and ensuring she would not be forgotten. I didn’t know her plans, but I was starting to fear for the Noble society in Obalno.

All the while, I was scanning for things out of place, which would give a clue as to where an attack might come from. The drinks and nibbles weren’t poisoned. I made sure to test them myself extensively. The Servers all seemed to be acting normally. It was the nobles I would have kicked out for being out of place, but I guess this was normal for them.

I caught Ruku’s eye. He came as a plus one for the Comedic Rhythm, so they were way down the noble hierarchy. He was circulating through the common people who were lucky enough to get an invite. He obviously had not found anything yet.

With Wiremu outside, those spear shafts he planted were nothing more than wooden staves. I hope he had left something Ruku could use.

Knowing the assassin’s target changed my focus. Collateral damage was not my major concern. I was here to take out the assassin, preferably before she struck. Wiremu would track the attackers back to the boat, and in an ideal world, we would call the navy down on their heads. With the incompetence of the navy letting the Swiftwave back in, the ideal world didn’t seem likely. Abigail would turn up somewhere in the middle of that.

The call went out to be seated for the banquet, so we moved through to the dining area.