Advanced Diplomacy (The Mountain King Part 2).

Advanced Diplomacy, by Joseph Wolfe (Fantasy, part 2 of The Mountain King series, from The Crowned Universe).

Missed part 1? Click here to read part 1: The Lions in the Snow.

4850 words, approx. 20 minute read.

“Where is this ekuken thing?” Deltra cursed. His red skin was turning a shade purple in the cold, and for some reason no one in Beldon’s tribe needed more than a thin layer of furs. That meant he was blending in and freezing out.

“We are close,” Beldon said. “The elders never hide it farther than the ravine. Too close to Kaldaran over there.”

“How can you be sure?” Kadin asked. “It would not be the first time they played a trick on us.”

Beldon gave a slight nod of agreement. “Wait here a moment; I do not want to risk being seen.”

Beldon disappeared down the hill of snow-covered rocks and small pines.

Deltra turned to his friend and crossed his arms. “Kadin, this is foolish. We came here to put Beldon to the test, and him and his tribe have been testing us instead.”

Kadin fussed with the knot holding his long blue hair. “We are their guests, we follow their laws. What else can we do?”

“If not for the pass being too dangerous to cross until spring, I would say we leave. Beldon does not know our ways. He is a tribal feynar; he does not know common courtesy much less court manners.”

“How many of our enemies have court manners killed?”

Deltra shook his head. “It does not matter if Beldon is the best fey king who ever lived if he cannot take the throne. You know physical warfare; I know political warfare.”

“Political warfare is nothing but polish on a sharp sword.”

Deltra crossed his arms. “If you believe that, why did you bring me here at all?”

“Because: nobles like shiny things.”

Deltra huffed. The only thing more irritating than Kadin’s words was the fact that they were often right.

A snow owl hooted in the distance. That was Beldon calling them forward.

“Good,” Deltra said. “The more we move the better. I am half frozen to death.”

They stepped out of the rocky cleft and down the hill following the sound. Beldon crouched at the bottom of the hill, looking into the ravine. Deltra gasped. The rocky drop looked like a god took an axe the size of a river and cleaved the mountainside in two.

“Fah Rellion,” he breathed out. The ravine was equal parts beautiful and deadly.

“Afraid of heights?” Beldon asked.

“I have never been this high up before.”

“Not true–our camp is higher up. Just not so close to a drop.”

“You know what I meant,” Deltra growled.

Beldon pointed to a rocky step about halfway down. There, sitting atop a round stone, was the wooden charm they were sent looking for.

“I thought you said the elders never placed the charm in the ravine.”

“Never farther than the ravine,” Beldon clarified. “But this is the farther down I have seen it. They must have had Emmerit put it there.”

“What about the others?” Kadin asked.

Beldon sniffed. “Darro and his brothers are cowards. They will wait for us to claim it and attack us on the way back.”

“How do we avoid that?” Deltra asked.

Beldon smirked. “We do not. Come on.”

Deltra froze, not due to the cold. Beldon started to free climb down the snowy mountainside, and Kadin joined in without a word.

“Come on, Deltra,” Kadin said.

“Can you two get it? I can…keep watch up here.”

“Darro is not coming here,” Beldon said as he placed his feet down on a thin ledge. “There is no need to keep watch. And this will be much easier with both of you helping. Look.”

Beldon pointed to a section further down, the last stretch of free climbing needed to reach the charm. It was solid ice.

“Someone will need to be let down on a rope, and I do not know about you, but I would much rather have two strong feynar holding the other end rather than one.”

Deltra grimaced. Beldon made a good point. And it was not fair for him to wait around while they did all the work. He flapped his hands about to get his blood moving, then followed them down.

“There you go!” Kadin said. When Deltra set foot on the ledge with him, Kadin gave him a firm pat on the back. Deltra panicked and grabbed onto Kadin’s arm.

“Do not do that!” he hissed.

“Well, at least I know if I do you are taking me with you.”

“What else are friends for?”

“Come on you two,” Beldon prodded. “Follow me down to the next ledge. We can drop the rope there.”

Deltra waited so he could watch both Beldon and Kadin go, then followed their path one more time, matching the hand and foot holds they found. The next ledge was much larger at least. Beldon pulled out a thick rope from his pack and reached for Deltra’s waist.

“Wait, I am going?”

“Either that or you have to lift,” Beldon pointed out. “Which part do you think is harder?”

“I was thinking one is safer.”

Beldon chuckled. “I could go, but how safe do you think you will be if you return to my tribe without me?”

Deltra sighed and nodded. Beldon tied the rope tight; Kadin watched with far too much delight.

“Next time, it is your turn,” Deltra warned.

“Sure, sure,” Kadin said. “Now, off you go.”

Deltra tugged at the knot, but the real test would come when his weight was on it.

“Just lean back,” Beldon advised. “Keep your feet on the side of the mountain the best you can so you stay orientated properly.”

Deltra essentially had to lean back into the abyss, but there was no better way. Fah Rellion, keep me safe. With that silent prayer, he leaned back, but panicked and bent his knees when he started feeling the fall. His legs slipped out from underneath him; the rope went tight and his chest smacked into the ice.

“Easy!” Beldon called down.

“I slipped,” Deltra grunted.

“It is alright, we have you,” Kadin said. “Get your bearings; we are lowering you down now.”

Deltra did that the best he could as he was slowly lowered to the ledge with the stone and the charm. What felt like forever was probably just a minute, and his feet were back on solid ground. He took a breath before picking up the charm, noticing it was on a rope like a necklace. He slid it over his head, then looked over the ravine. Though the top of both sides were bare, partway down, pines grew forming a natural line. Above that line, just a couple small pines, then nothing. Not even the trees want to be up this high.

“Ready?” Beldon called down.

“Ready,” Deltra called back.

A second before the rope went tight again, Deltra noticed something move, further down the ravine but on the same side he was on. He could only make out a blur of something black before his feet lifted off the ground, and he turned back to the mountain rock to focus on keeping himself balanced.

“Got you!” Kadin said as he grabbed Deltra’s forearm and pulled him to standing on the ledge.

“Thanks,” he said.

Kadin squinted his eyes at him. “Something wrong?”

“Just saw something black moving in the distance, over there.” He pointed to where he had seen the movement, but there was nothing now.

“I do not see anything,” Beldon said. “I would have noticed.”

Beldon started climbing back up and Kadin followed. Deltra waited for a moment before joining them.

When they made it back up, Deltra was no longer cold. His blood pumping hard and Adrenicka rising in his veins had warmed him up fast. He thanked the gods for that; without the strength and agility granted to him by the fey magic, he may not have made the return climb.

“I think I nearly died three times back there,” he complained.

Kadin gave him a firm pat on the back. “That is what makes it fun!”

“What did I say about back patting?”

“Quiet now,” Beldon warned. “No need to make it easier for Darro to find us.”

“What will happen if he wins?” Deltra asked.

“Shame for us. Honor for him,” Beldon answered. “The fact that you two are outsiders makes either one worse than usual.”

Deltra sighed out a long breath in a white huff of hot air. This is ridiculous.

“So what is the plan?” Kadin asked.

“There is no way to stop Darro from intercepting us,” Beldon explained. “So we will fight.”

“We will fight? That is the brilliant plan?” Deltra asked.

“What else?” Beldon mumbled the question.

“We could try to sneak back into the village. Or maybe you two distract him while I make a run for it. All we have to do is get there with it, right?”

Beldon glared at Deltra. “Sure, if you want to take the coward’s way out.”

“I do not think it a bad strategy to run from a foe you cannot beat.”

“So we beat them.”

Beldon’s tone indicated the plan was final, so Deltra stopped arguing and started stewing. He had been training with Beldon and Kadin, but he felt that he had gotten worse at sword fighting, not better. Beldon grew up fighting the elements and the Kaldarans. Kadin had been in multiple fey wars. Deltra grew up learning only a bit of knife fighting, pick-pocketing, and if absolutely necessary, public speaking.

They traveled over snowy rocks for an hour when Beldon suddenly held up a hand. “He is here.”

Not even a second later, Darro and his two brothers sprang out from behind the rocks, flanking them on three sides.

“Well called, Beldon,” Darro said. The feynar’s bright orange hair was mostly hidden underneath a brown cap, his dark blue skin peeking through around his neck and face where no furs covered him. “You really think you can beat us in a fair fight? Not with that weakling red-skinned one you have with you.”

Deltra bristled at that, even worse because Darro was right.

“Hand it over and save yourself the beating.”

Beldon’s answer was drawing his wooden sword. All the other fey did the same.

“Very well, more fun this way.”

Kadin laughed. “For once, we agree!”

Deltra turned to fight the one coming at him from his side, a feynar almost twice his size. He blocked the first two sword strikes but lacked the confidence to try counterattacking. He backed up again and again as Darro’s brother continued his relentless assault. When he bumped into Kadin, he had nowhere else to go, so Deltra lashed out with a strike.

The feynar blocked and grabbed Deltra’s sword arm, then threw him hard to the ground, the layer of snow doing little to cushion the fall. Deltra felt the odd mixture of Adrenicka rising and the wind knocked out of him.

It was now three against two; Kadin and Beldon were quickly overwhelmed. Darro pressed his wooden sword against Beldon’s throat.

“Tell your outsider to give us the charm.”

Beldon grunted, but said, “Do it.”

Deltra took the charm and handed it over to Darro’s brother. They cheered and laughed as they sprinted off back home.

“It is my fault,” Deltra said as they trudged through the snow.

“Darro knows our weakness,” Beldon explained. “He and his two brothers have grown up here on the mountain. They are strong, and they know how to fight on the rocks.”

Deltra knew he was the “weakness” Beldon referred to. At least the feynar was kind enough to say “our” instead of just pointing the finger.

When they returned, there was a brief ceremony honoring Darro’s victory, and harsh words from the elders for Beldon and his outsiders.

As sundown arrived and the biting cold swept in, Deltra and Kadin huddled close to the fire in their small tent. Beldon had been called away to deal with a “matter that did not concern them.”

“Beldon can handle losing pretty well at least,” Kadin said as he set another log on the fire. “Going to be a lot of that before we make progress in Fallavon.”

Deltra sighed. “Because of me?”

Kadin looked up at him. “Deltra, there is no one else I would rather have here with me than you.”

“I doubt that. A trained soldier would have been a lot more help today. I am just a ‘weakness’ to be accounted for. I wish we could just test Beldon, find him to be our new king, and take him back to Fallavon where my skills could be of some use.”

“Maybe that is the problem.”

Deltra shook his head. “Our entire plan is the problem?”

“You said we are here to test Beldon, but maybe Beldon is testing us.”

“And I am not passing.”

“I would not be so sure of that.”

“How could you call my performance today anything but a failure?”

“You climbed down the ravine instead of just letting Beldon and me go. And you did not run away when you knew you were outmatched by Darro’s brother. You held your ground.”

“Gave up my ground is more like it,” Deltra mumbled.

The tent flap suddenly whipped open, Beldon on the other side. “Come,” he said.

“You sound half out of breath,” Kadin said as he stood. “What is this about?”

“Kaldarans.”

In the cold dark of night, on top of a hill and peeking over a rock, Deltra, Kadin and Beldon spied five dozen Kaldarans ascending the mountains, a line of torches cutting through the snow.

“They have been looking for our village for quite some time,” Beldon explained. “Must have been one of Darro’s brothers who was spotted.”

Deltra thought about the shape he had seen in the pines. “How do we know it was not one of us?”

“Because Darro and his brothers were shouting and cheering like fools on their way back,” Beldon snapped out the word. “There is a reason we live as nomads, always ready to move to another part of the mountain. They have found our home a couple of times before.”

“Then why not pack up and move?” Kadin asked.

“In the night with feylas and children?” Beldon fired back. “The Kaldarans know we cannot do that. That is why they waited until night to come.”

“Then what now?” Deltra asked.

“We will be forced to fight, and if we win, we move in the daylight,” Beldon said. “But they number over sixty; we have about half that in strong fighters.”

“But you won the last time this happened?” Kadin asked.

Beldon scowled.

“So, you have never been this severely outnumbered. But you must have some plan for defense.”

“Shoot at them with arrows, and when they charge our positions, fight them blade to blade.”

Kadin shook his head at that. “You will not have enough time to muster the Adrenicka needed to overwhelm their human magic. Not only that, but wooden fey blades against human iron? Once they close in and start using Technique, you will fail.”

“What else would you suggest?” Beldon hissed.

“Do not fight them,” Deltra put in.

The other two fey looked at him.

“I already told you we cannot pack up and run,” Beldon growled.

“Do not do that either. If you cannot fight them and you cannot run away from them, then you must try diplomacy.”

“You ever tried diplomacy with a Kaldaran?” Beldon spat out. “The only diplomacy they understand is on the end of a blade.”

“That is exactly right,” Deltra said. “But Kaldarans also serve Kaldar, the god of chaos and blood sacrifice. Their raw strength and reckless courage in battle would have conquered the world if they were not so busy conquering each other.”

Beldon and Kadin looked at each other, then back at Deltra. “What do you plan to do with this knowledge?” Beldon asked.

Deltra was not completely sure, but he knew the best way to deal with Kaldarans was to find a way to pit them against each other. Without another word, he vaulted the rock and moved towards the incoming humans. The cold that bit at his fingers and toes did not bother him so much now. He had work to do.

Getting as close as he dared, he listened in on the company of Kaldarans.

“You think these color-skins have any good loot on ‘em?”

“Nah; they are primitive, don’tcha know? We’re here for fresh blood sacrifices. But do not underestimate them.”

“Do I hear hesitation, Danawk?”

The one called Danawk, a tall Kaldaran with a cloak of black feathers and skull charms hanging from his neck, suddenly turned, dagger in hand, plunging it into the throat of the one who had asked the question. The Kaldarans all paused to watch, then nodded along in approval.

How can I get them to do that again? Deltra wondered. This Danawk was clearly a Kaldaran priest, one of the few higher ups in the savage kingdom. Beldon had rescued them from one in the cave when they first arrived. That one had a gold serpent eye amulet; Danawk had a bronze skull amongst his charms hanging from his neck. Maybe a different level of priest, but one nonetheless. That was a desirable position in Kaldaran. The ones who performed the blood sacrifices were never the ones being sacrificed.

And being able to legally murder someone who disagreed with you was considered desirable amongst barbarians. Deltra also knew a few nobles who would not mind that power.

When the company marched several dozen paces farther into the mountain, Deltra moved in the moonlight, quickly stripping the corpse of the dead Kaldaran and donning his garb.

“What can we do to help?”

Deltra jumped at the voice and turned to see Kadin and Beldon standing there.

“I thought I was dead!” Deltra hissed.

“You clearly have a plan; we want in on it,” Kadin said.

Deltra thought for a second. This could be easier with a little help. “Count to five minutes, then create a distraction. Do not give yourselves away completely, but make sure you get the attention of their leader.”

Beldon and Kadin nodded, then moved to the other side of the rocks where they could approach without being seen.

Deltra finished his disguise, then moved closer and closer to the back of the Kaldarans. There was fresh blood on the tunic and part of the cloak, but he had put some of his own furs back on to hide it. Now he just had to slouch to hide his height as he melded into the back of the company. He quieted his breath the best he could, praying his pounding heart would not give him away. But even in the quiet of the snow-covered night, the Kaldarans were boisterous enough to cover his approach. He was on borrowed time–someone would notice his red skin eventually.

“Tawnin, keep yer bow ready,” Danawk barked. “These color-skins could jump out at any moment. Fire back at them but only a single volley, then charge them and watch them collapse.”

Deltra moved through the pack towards the front. The bronze skull on Danawk’s neck was his symbol of priesthood; his most prized possession. If he could take it without Danawk noticing right away, he could sow suspicion in the group, and that could lead to a bloodbath. Then again, it would be a feat of pick-pocketing glory to take it without the priest noticing, but maybe with Kadin and Beldon’s distraction coming–

–coming a few moments too soon.

The Kaldaran company stopped and turned to the noise, a stick snapping in half somewhere in the darkness. Deltra was only halfway to the front, not close enough to Danawk to take the necklace. That was a fast five minutes, Kadin!

“What’s that noise?” Danawk growled. “You there, go check it out!”

Deltra’s blood turned cold. The company had parted; Danawk was talking to him.

“What’s the matter with ya? Is snow packed in yer ears?” Danawk approached, and his anger slowly turned to confusion. “Lift up yer hood.”

Deltra mustered all the wisdom and political knowledge he could, hours and hours spent playing people against each other, of spinning tales to get him or the noble he worked for out of trouble. Years and years of practice and action all distilled in his mind in those few short seconds.

And he decided to punch Danawk square in the face.

The Kaldaran priest tumbled to the ground, his hands shooting up to his noseand blood oozing between his fingers.

“Kill him!” he called out as he reeled.

Deltra jumped on him and ripped the idol from his neck, then rolled out of the way just in time. A sword came down and took a chunk of Danawk’s foot with it.

“Kill him too!” Danawk wailed.

Deltra grabbed one of Danawk’s swords, the leather gloves he stole protecting his fey skin from the metal. If word ever made it back to Fallavon that he used non-enchanted steel, his honor would be stripped and he would be as much an exile as Beldon was.

But out here in the rock, the blood, the snow, there was no honor. Only Chaos. Only Kaldar.

The Kaldaran who had accidentally cut Danawk’s foot turned to defend himself against his own kin. That bought Deltra a couple extra seconds as he thought of one more piece of chaos he could throw in–literally. He hurled the priest’s necklace, causing a few dozen Kaldarans to rush to it, and fight over it.

The next best thing would be to run, but Kaldarans always killed cowards. He was safer charging in, forming an unholy alliance with the one who struck Danawk and covering his flank.

Within seconds, the line between friend and foe was shattered. It was every man–or fey–for himself. Whoever was left standing would be the new priest of Kaldar.

One Kaldaran rushed him, and the two met blade to blade. Deltra followed up with a move Kadin taught him. He shoved the Kaldaran’s blade out of presence with his own while he brought around his pommel and slammed the Kaldaran in the face. The man collapsed.

Seconds went by in a flash. Deltra looked around in a panic, wondering when the blade he didn’t see would end his life. But the Kaldarans were too busy fighting each other, and when someone saw him alone and charged him, he fought and won. Adrenicka pumpied through his veins, speeding up his hands and his brain, compensating for his novice sword skills.

But there was also human magic, powerful and deadly. Another Kaldaran rushed him, his blade flashing orange with Technique, and Deltra heard the word, “Sunder!”

He narrowly moved out of the way as his sword was cleaved clean in two. The Kaldaran’s Technique-empowered blade landed only a shallow cut on his knuckle. Deltra grunted as his skin hissed and bubbled from the touch of steel. The next strike would have been the end of him, but one of the Kaldarans took advantage of the distraction and killed his own. Deltra pulled a bone dagger from his belt and dove in, killing the Kaldaran who had just saved his life.

At length, there remained Deltra and two Kaldarans standing, one of them holding the bronze skull.

“At last!” he crooned. “Priesthood is mine. Kneel before me.”

The other Kaldaran did; Deltra remained standing.

“You want to challenge me for it? You will make a good blood sacrifice.”

Deltra removed his hood; the Kaldaran looked surprised for only a second, then laughed.

“If not for yer color, I would say ye serve Kaldar well. I must kill ya, but I am a merciful man. I will let you live for another day, if you come back with me to Kaldaran so I can sacrifice ya on the altar there, dontcha know?”

“Good fighting by your side,” Deltra said. “But it is over now.”

The Kaldaran looked confused, then surprised. He collapsed; an arrow stuck in his back.

The one still kneeling got up to run, and an arrow hissed through the air and brought him down.

“Now you have good timing,” Deltra called out.

Kadin and Beldon appeared in the moonlight, bows in hands. They completed the grim task of making sure the Kaldarans were all dead, then turned to Deltra.

“What do you mean by that?” Beldon asked. “Our timing was perfect.”

“Your distraction was early.”

Beldon glared at Kadin.

Kadin shifted uncomfortably. “I tripped, alright? Not used to this ekuken snow.”

Deltra wanted to be angry, but laughter bubbled up in him instead.

Beldon put a hand on his shoulder. “That was brilliant. You handled yourself better than any of my own. Come on; we need to go tell the elders that the tribe is safe.”

Deltra nodded, but paused. On top of a rocky outcropping, three tall shapes moved in the moonlight for just a second, disappearing behind the rocks. The bronze skull lay on the ground, the Kaldaran’s dead hand still clutching the rope it hung on. He grabbed one of the Kaldaran’s cloth sacks and scooped it up. Beldon and Kadin were too distracted to notice.

“You coming, Deltra?” Kadin called out.

Something tells me the real battle is not over yet, he thought. “Coming.”

By the light of a bonfire, Beldon, Kadin, Deltra, Darro and his two brothers stood before the elders. The lead elder, a feynar who walked with a thick wooden staff, stepped forward and tapped his staff three times on the rocky ground.

Darro took a step forward and presented the charm. “We won.”

“You led the Kaldarans right to us,” Beldon snapped.

The elder held up a wrinkled hand. wooden charms hung from his wrist and clattered gently in the wind. “It was at the ravine that our tribe was spotted.”

Beldon clenched his jaw.

“So it was us,” Deltra said.

Darro took a step towards Deltra. “And we cleaned up the mess.”

Deltra gestured to his furs. He had removed the Kaldaran garb, but his own furs were still smeared with blood. “No, we did. You are as clean as the snow.”

Darro crossed his arms. “That is clever of you, covering yourself with animal blood to try and deceive the elders. And I should warn you, outsider, the lion tribe does not take well to liars. If you are going to lie, maybe you should have all covered yourselves in blood. My brothers and I got the Kaldarans to fight amongst themselves–then we shot the rest down. That is how we beat them.”

Deltra produced the sack. Grabbing it by the bottom he flipped it; the bronze skull dropped out onto Darro’s foot. He yelped and took a few steps back.

“Dead to the last man,” Deltra said. “You are the liar!”

The elder nodded and locked his eyes on Darro. “It seems we do have a liar in our midst. He needs to be dealt with.”

Darro’s face drained of color.

“But you merely solved a problem you may have caused,” the elder continued. “Keep that in mind during your time here, son of the forest. Darro–the hour is late. You and your brothers will present yourselves to us tomorrow morning.”

“You believe this outsider over me?” he roared.

The elders turned their backs and walked away. When they were gone, Darro turned to Deltra and snarled.

“This is not over, outsider! Next time we meet, it will be black blood and it will be yours!”

Beldon stepped in between them. “Darro, you really should learn a little diplomacy. It might do some good for that empty head of yours.”

Darro fumed at Beldon while his two brothers pulled him away.

“What will happen to him?” Deltra asked.

“He will be shamed.”

“That is it?” Kadin asked.

Beldon looked at him and shook his head. “You do not understand. Darro’s chances at ever being chief are now gone. He overplayed his hand, thinking he could take credit for your victory. That was a brilliant thing you did, bringing that wretched skull charm.”

Deltra crossed his arms. “You think the elders would have bought his ridiculous story?”

“Of course not. They knew he was lying, but the word of an outsider is not respected around here. You were wise to bring proof. More than that, your brilliance saved my tribe. The elders would never say it publicly, but they are impressed with you, and they know they owe you a debt.

Deltra hid his smile. This was the first time Beldon had given him praise. He was no longer the feynar who kept getting knocked on his rear during sparring practice. He was a hero.

Kadin gave Deltra a pat on the back so firm it nearly knocked him over. “See? I told you that nobles like shiny things.”

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