"There is more news, Armin," Tedis Oliren said.

Armin paused and looked up. He had finally gotten around to eating something, instead of letting his restlessness drive him to just pace and think. Carefully, he set down his bowl and sat up, giving her his full attention.

"What news?"

They weren't alone, but the only other people present where what they would consider close political allies. It was an informal lunch meeting hosted at an estate of House Iriesen, and a rather casual affair by the standards of the Eternal Dark's elite. People were sitting around, talking or playing games, some going in or out of the large parlor, and Vares had promised to have a show arranged for later. Probably another tournament of exhibition matches from their best fighters. They had a tradition for that, an almost ritualized thing where he was pretty sure the fights were rigged (assuming it counted as rigged if everyone knew), designed to let them show off their moves and keep a balance between wins and losses.

But Armin had more important things to worry about right now. As Oliren sat down on the armchair opposite him, their hostess pointedly moved his bowl back toward his hand and shifted closer beside him. He gave Vares a distracted nod, gaze focusing on the letter Tedis held.

"The Empire has definitely won their fight," Tedis explained, holding out the letter to him. "We were expecting that, but this is confirmation. The king who'd been made Champion fled the city, along with some Order of the Sun Temple knights. They used our tunnels to do so." She ignored the sudden sharp looks from Vares and two others close enough to hear the conversation. "The local commander sent a strike force into the tunnels, and they guided the Empire's response, but didn't join them to fight. Apparently, the fleeing men escaped. We also have confirmation that Prince Tim of the Starlit Hive is commanding the Imperial forces in Prekan. And we have this." She folded out the paper, revealing a second letter. "To Armin, from the Imperials."

Armin took both letters, quickly reading through them. The first was basically what she'd said. He spent a bit more time with the second. It was co-signed by Mars, something that surprised him a little. Clearly, he'd missed a lot of things while he was down here.

Reading the second half of it again, he felt his guts twisting uncomfortably. Madris was going into Esemen, alone. I should be with her. She didn't like to take people along for things like this, but he could keep up with her. He was good at hiding his presence and his shadow abilities complimented her psychic ones. They'd worked out how best to use them together years ago.

"An issue, Armin?" Vares asked, briefly setting a hand on his knee.

Armin gave her a small smile, but he couldn't help but look at the others. He knew the affair between Vares Iriesen and himself was not exactly a secret. It wasn't like it would hurt her reputation, except perhaps to accuse her of having too close ties to outside forces. He was rather sure that even Madris probably knew, or at least, one of the Oliren had probably mentioned it in a letter, he supposed it might not have reached her yet. Armin wasn't really sure what to think of that, and was just as happy to delay that conversation. He still preferred to avoid public displays in general. Vares, on the other hand, seemed to like marking her territory in front of others, if in subtle ways.

"Not an issue," he said. He glanced around, then lowered his voice. "Madris has gone into Esemen. I suppose we will have to wait to hear from her."

Tedis, who had also leaned closer, looked up sharply. "She has? Beyond the border regions?"

"Don't worry too much, my friend," Vares said. "It's Madris. If she set her mind to it, she can manage it. The Esemen are not going to find her."

Armin nodded, agreeing with her. "Prince Tim also asks us to investigate and keep a close eye on Clasen," he added. "The rulers of Prekan must have found out about the tunnels and acquired a map from somewhere. The simplest explanation is Clasen giving them the information. We need to see what else he might have given away."

The others exchanged a look. "Well, we can certainly try to confirm that," Tedis said, sounding a bit doubtful. "We need to discuss what else we can do to keep an eye on him. It's not like we haven't been trying."

That was, unfortunately, true, if not understating things. Lucas Clasen had proved to be a persistent thorn in their sides. He clearly had allies and contacts in the Eternal Dark, and Armin wasn't sure they had identified them all. He suspected most of them must be 'inherited' in a way; from other psychics who'd sided with him and Honor Sazatore, or diplomats or agents from Esemen, most likely. It wasn't quite the same level of access and acceptance he had, but their allies were also a lot more present and active in the Eternal Dark than Madris was.

Their change in military procurement was already showing results. Apparently, prices had fluctuated wildly and now it was getting harder to find anyone to sell necessary equipment to the army. To compensate, the soldiers were responsible for acquiring more of their own, which both made their gear more variable and also meant an increased burden as they had to go out and hunt monsters and use their materials to craft armor or weapons. His contacts said there was growing unrest among the troops, even though most probably weren't personally affected by this change yet.

That wasn't the only thing, of course. Clasen had managed to torpedo a few other bills and decisions, though none as important as that. He had apparently persuaded some dark elves to basically harass the ambassadors from nearby dwarven states to retire to their homes (although Armin was pretty sure they had at least been considering it before already). His faction seemed to want to increase tension at the eastern borders of the Eternal Dark and possibly to provoke a war there that meant they wouldn't turn their attention west. Unfortunately, a lot of people who were generally in favor of the Eternal Dark becoming more active and involved in the world stage would also want or even only be in it for some expansionism, so houses Oliren and Iriesen's political allies might be pulled away to join that camp.

It still left him feeling like another shoe was about to drop. Maybe this was it, now, or at least part of it. Armin cursed that he hadn't thought of the tunnels the dark elves had dug over the centuries and how they might impact this brewing conflict. To be fair, he hadn't expected war to break out where it had, though.

"Why are you all looking like your favorite mount died?" Another woman asked, stepping closer. "We're here to enjoy ourselves. This new war is regrettable, but I'm sure Armin's people have it well in hand."

"The news did confirm the Empire has held its own," Tedis said. "Insightful as ever, Ferdis."

Her tone was faintly sarcastic, but Epiren didn't notice, or, more likely, chose to ignore it.

"It's not that I don't sympathize," she said. "We all wish for this conflict to be resolved quickly. But we all — no offense, Ulaven — should not get too focused on it to the exclusion of other issues. Conflict is brewing in the east, too. My matriarch has already had to call up some of the reserves we'd usually send to the government and increased patrols. And some people have even started vandalizing civic buildings or painting on barracks."

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Armin folded his arms. As far as he knew, Ferdis Epiren was not closely related to her house's leader, but she was the favored protege of said matriarch's niece and heir. There was a reason she was in this circle and she would know what she was talking about. And House Epiren's main territory was located to the east, at an important trade route but also an important strategic position close to the dark elves' eastern neighbors.

"Are they protesting for more rights or better conditions?" Vares asked. "Your house's recent edicts should have prevented that."

"Not everyone is happy with the prospect of dwarves or gnomes getting more power," Epiren curled her lips slightly. "I'm sure those protests were from reactionaries who feel their own influence will fall. Too late if you ask me, we've been part of this little show for a while now. Others are calling for war. Surprisingly, some of the more well-integrated dwarf or gnome women too."

Armin knew it wasn't exactly about giving them power, more like removing barriers that had already existed. It was a good trend that some houses — Oliren had been one of the first, but not the only one — were no longer holding captives. Armin wouldn't pretend it was just out of idealism. Not that it would be a bad marker for a political faction, though.

And how long has it been since the last major war? he mused. The captives taken are probably mostly 'well-integrated' and freed by now, if not dead. That makes any remaining ones expensive, right? He tried not to frown. Is that why some of these blockheads want to capture new ones?

"They just want war with whoever is convenient?" he asked.

"Some do, some have specific grudges or ambitions." Epiren sighed. "I can't claim I don't understand it. Our house could make a good profit from it."

"You'll profit more from increased trade in the long term," Tedis reminded her.

"I know," Epiren said, sounding annoyed. "I'm here, aren't I? I know this little group isn't in favor of fighting to the east." She looked at Armin again. "Although I've heard no firm promises of what we might gain from joining any fighting in the west."

"Hopefully, it won't be necessary," Armin said calmly. It wasn't the first time he'd been challenged on that, even by supposed political allies. "But the Empire can offer a lot. Improved technology for agriculture and production; and if you get friendly enough, for war. Didn't you enjoy the new printing presses, Epiren?"

The delegation Empress Regina had sent had brought alone some printed books, as well as schematics for a proper printing press. Armin had seen enough of the dark elves' wood-print printing to recognize the differences. The houses allied to his hosts had seemed quite taken with it. Most were still working on building their own — it was apparently somewhat tricky, and labor-intensive to get the blocks for the letters right — but they should be patient enough for it.

"True, it is something," Epiren acknowledged. "It all depends on the price."

"The Empress wants your friendship, she will not demand you join them in war at any cost," Armin said. He tried not to sound annoyed. It wasn't exactly the first time he'd said something like this.

"Regardless, we need to be careful of public sentiment turning against us," Vares said.

From there, the conversation continued, but it didn't feel like they made any progress. Mostly, it was just rehashing points they had already discussed before, and he suspected might discuss again.

"How much longer is the Gathering going to last?" he interrupted when there was finally a lull in the conversation.

"Not much longer," Tedis said. "It has been dragging on quite noticeably, hasn't it?"

That was very true, according to what Armin had heard. Although everyone he asked seemed to have a slightly different opinion as to why. That would be fine, except some of them were contradictory. His best guess was that someone was prolonging it to keep everyone together. After all, a Gathering of the Councils meant 'everyone important', or at least their representatives, would be here. It was probably good if you wanted to make important, nation-wide decisions.

"Yes, I wonder what new bill the old maiden is going to bring in next," Vares commented. "Maybe we'll be regulating the length of shoelaces?"

"I'd take those over more discussion of sewage treatment," Tedis answered.

Armin sighed. "That was embarrassing. Even gnomes know better than to build cesspools with no drainage."

"Do you have something against gnomes, Armin?" Vares asked.

"Of course not! And that's not my point." Armin paused, glancing at the rest of the room and the water clock against one wall. "But I should be going. I will need to update our allies on what we learned."

"Of course, just be back after lunch, if you would?"

Armin smiled, inclined his head to Vares and then to the others, and turned to leave. He dodged some kind of spinning toy one of the other women had thrown and watched her brother try to chase it and capture it without cutting his fingers. Then he was through the door and he hurried down the staircase and entrance hall until he found himself on the street. Armin absently patted his pocket to make sure he had the letters and set off.

The Empire now had an embassy here. It was provisional and might not last until after the Gathering of the Councils, but it was something. The mansion was guarded by a small group of Swarm Drones, who let him pass. He looked at them, then at the street again, considering. He had been alone in this meeting, because he was a citizen of the Eternal Dark and they weren't. In some ways, the arrival of this embassy had integrated him more firmly with Madris' family and allies.

It didn't take him long to find Ray in the single proper office the small manse sported. He knew the drone had been out on another social outing, but he must have returned recently. And judging by the stack of paperwork, he was hard at work already.

Armin knocked and entered, setting the letters down before pulling up another chair. "Good morning, Ray," he greeted. "We got news. You'll want to read this."

The other man glanced up, then quickly took the letters and read through them. He was silent, and stayed quiet for a moment after setting them down. "What did they say?" he finally asked.

Armin ran through the conversation again, reporting anything interesting. "I'm sorry you're stuck here while the Empire is fighting," he finished, a bit uncertainly.

Ray shook his head. He looked unruffled, although Armin was sure that was a skill he'd cultivated. "It's not the first time," he said. "I've accepted that the Hive needs diplomats as well as fighters."

"It does," Armin agreed. "And if we can get an alliance with the Eternal Dark, it will help a lot, even if they don't send us any soldiers."

"That will not be easy, and internal instability will only make it worse," Ray warned. He shook his head. "I have some news, too. We finally got some soldiers responding positively to our overtures."

Armin leaned forward. "Really? Have you learned anything important?"

"Maybe, but not because they told us." Ray toyed with one of the pens on the desk. "I think they're organizing, Armin. Removed from their officers — especially the women, maybe including a few veterans. They're starting to find more of a unified voice, or at least a few voices rather than many."

Armin paused, chewing on his lip as he thought about that. "Interesting. That could be dangerous for the dark elves in charge."

"Exactly," Ray agreed drily. "What do you do if the army goes on strike? Not like they can send soldiers in to break it up."

Armin winced slightly. "In such a case, wouldn't a government be overthrown?"

"Maybe. It takes a little more than just unsatisfied soldiers. I don't think the entire system is about to collapse, but … maybe the Houses will have a reckoning coming."

"There have been reform movements, getting disadvantaged people more power," Armin pointed out.

"Maybe, but how much of that is actually getting through?" Ray was frowning thoughtfully. "Especially to these soldiers? You were the one who told me how they were basically used as resources with no political voice of their own."

Armin shifted uncomfortably in his chair, thinking back to the meeting he'd just left and the people he'd talked to. Maybe it's good for me to get a reminder. Was I losing sight of the bigger picture?

"It doesn't mean they'll agree with everything," Ray warned. "The average dark elf soldier probably doesn't care about dwarves or gnomes' plights in the Eternal Dark. And most will still have loyalty to their houses of birth."

Armin nodded slowly. "I need to talk to more men."

"Don't we all?"

He supposed that was true.

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