After the tribe elders left, Saedis said, "Summon Rizaneth for me, Bastian. Tell her to come now!"
"Yes Sir!" replied the butler, as he left the dining hall.
Outside the hall, the tribe elders were walking away, while talking in hushed tones. No one was happy, apart from elder Astrid of course. Fal Mora and his counterparts had been outsmarted yet again by this woman. She had saved them from humiliation, which was a good thing. But then again, she hadn't told them she had this plan beforehand, and Fal Mora didn't like it when someone made arbitrary decisions. That was if this decision could be considered random, anyways.
"Why didn't you tell us about this plan beforehand, Astrid?" asked elder Peryite.
Elder Astrid ignored him, and continued walking. Peryite and Fal Mora exchanged a glance, and then proceeded to frown. Not only did this woman make a unilateral decision, she ignored his question too. If elder Peryite and Fal Mora were pissed off, then let's not talk about elder Mahkith. He was completely furious!
"Astrid, he asked you a question!" elder Mahkith intervened.
Elder Astrid stopped walking and sighed, before responding, "Is there anyone here who trusts me?"
Now, this question was a double-edged sword. If anyone said no, they'd be putting themselves in a bad light. If they said they did, wouldn't that make them hypocrites? They clearly didn't show they did!
"Anyway, I will reveal to you the plan once we leave this place. I have a feeling this house has walls with ears", she said, resuming her walk.
Elder Mahkith had to hand it to her; she was quite clever. Saedis had said the same thing. However, hearing it being said, and being on the receiving end of this cleverness were two different things. After all, none of the male elders liked being outsmarted. Without saying anything, they started following her.
Saedis was worried. The elders were plotting something. Of course, it shouldn't have concerned him, but there was a gnawing feeling eating away at his heart. And no, it wasn't a heart attack! Apparently, fat had nothing to do with it.
While he was still drinking his tea, some of the servants brought him some food. There was the usual: bread, bacon, and eggs. Served with the best wine from the continent beyond the fjords, or so he had been told, it was a heavenly breakfast. However, Saedis ignored the food in front of him, much to the puzzlement of his servants. It had to be known, for as far as the servants knew him, gluttony was suitable for his middle name. Even as his stomach complained, Saedis ignored it, and focused on his thoughts, which made his servants wonder if they had brought breakfast at the wrong time.
A few minutes later, a red-haired girl walked into the hall. She was average in height, but thanks to the leather pants she was wearing, her figure appeared alluring. She had daggers strapped to her waist, and they were sheathed in leather. As she got in, she was surprised to see Saedis staring at food. No, actually, she was surprised to see food on the table, and Saedis sitting there.
"Is anything the matter, Lord Saedis?" she asked, as she came in, and took a seat.
"Rizaneth, you're here. Good! I need you to do something for me", responded Saedis.
"Anything for you, Lord Saedis", replied the girl, called Rizaneth.
"I get the feeling that there's something in that branch of the Southern Earth tribe. Those idiots must have found out what treasure the branch is holding. Before they do anything about it, I want you to investigate what caused the brown pillar of light. Make sure you interfere with what they're doing to delay their plan. When you have managed to figure out what is happening over there, return to me immediately."
"Understood! Is there anything else I need to know before I set off?" asked Rizaneth, as she took some bread from the plate. She knew that Saedis hated it when someone interrupted his meal, but then again, he wasn't eating it.
"I haven't given you permission to touch my food!" he exploded. Saedis stayed true to his nature alright.
"I thought you were not hungry… My apologies Lord Saedis", as she said this, she was already stuffing the bread into her mouth. Of course, she knew he'd be annoyed, but watching his explosion was quite humorous.
Saedis frowned. It seemed he was growing soft nowadays. Well, the problem was that a lot of things have been happening. Then again, that sounded like an excuse. He sighed and said, "You're dismissed!"
"Yes, Lord Saedis", responded Rizaneth, before taking a large gulp of the wine in the chalice.
At any other time, Saedis would have had her head, but then today, he didn't have the strength for that. His mind was too preoccupied to bother with her. The issue now was, if he had the information from the Southern Earth tribe, what would he do with it?
Currently, he was considering using it as a bargaining chip. Since he was tired of babysitting people he thought were idiots, he could use it to get freedom from his ward in the government. This was probably a long shot, but it would be worth it. What he didn't know was, how would he do it?
Saedis sighed. Worrying about it wasn't helping at all. He decided to finish eating breakfast, rather, to start eating breakfast. As he looked at the food, he was surprised to see that everything was almost finished. He turned to look at Rizaneth, only to see her quietly leaving the hall.
"Rizaneth! I'm going to have your head!!" he yelled. However, that didn't seem to have done any good. Rizaneth left in a hurry, and then started laughing her lungs out when she was out of his sight. Her loud laugh could be heard echoing in the hallways.
After Rizaneth left, Saedis ordered his servants to bring more food. The servants did as ordered, and they brought more food. However, as Saedis started to eat, someone he had been dreading to see came down into the dining hall.