Diana observed the two noblemen in silence as the sampled the appetizer in front of them. Despite the quality, there was quite the selection, even if that selection mostly consisted of dried foods. There was meat, the same that Hlapven had determined to be bland, but it was in limited supply in relation to some other foods.
Diana could see four different types of cheese, sloppily cut and easily the most fragrant it naturally attracted the attention of those high class individuals. They started with the pale yellow variety, the reason most likely being that it was closest, chewing and letting it sit before making a comment. Diana couldn't really say she had much experience with cheese sampling, and she couldn't tell if enjoying it with wine was a common practice here.
"Hmm. It's a little dry."
"I would say flaky." Hlapven inspected another piece closely. "It doesn't appear to be moldy."
"I would avoid serving this kind."
Merndil reached for small chunk of an orange cheese, plopping it into his mouth and chewing as if he wasn't concerned. He tilted his head as he moved the pasted dairy product around his mouth with his tongue.
"Not bad, not bad. Hlapven?"
"It is certainly better than the last type, but it still feels like it lacks a certain richness to it." Hlapven moved another slice of it into his mouth and chewed once more. "I would think this level of quality approaches the base line of what can be served."
"I was thinking along the same lines."
"Might I suggest the two of you try that cheese with one of those thinner pieces of hardtack?" Diana couldn't call it a cracker, her experience with it revealed it was far too dense and lacked that flakiness that made a cracker. It would probably be better with cheese though.
Merndil didn't bother to respond, only picking up the ingredients and placing them in his mouth. An audible pop from inside his mouth indicated that he had not waited for the denser bread to soak, something which caused a slight frown, but it was soon replaced with a visible expression of surprise.
"That's pretty good."
Diana bobbed her head, a silent 'your welcome' to the implied 'thank you'. "It might prove to be a good idea to have your cooks make a lighter and flakier version of hardtack so people aren't put off by the toughness. I've found that combining a few of the ingredients on that platter can create a tastier result than if they were separate. I would avoid eating the meat with the dried fruits though."
Diana was speaking from her limited experience in stacking meats and cheeses on crackers for snacks in her grandfather's pantry.
"I will keep it in mind. Hlapven?"
"It pains me to say that this tastes good. . ." He seemed almost defeated, almost. There was still a trace amount of resentment hiding in his eyes. He didn't like to admit that this 'commoner food' was appealing to his tastes, but Diana could not raise the victory flag yet.
- - - - -
"Food's here, at least the first round. Got sum booze too." Manama walked out of the kitchen balancing five separate plates on her arms. "Diana sweets, your sandwich is gonna hafta wait a few more minutes. A salad for you, one meat egg mix, one quiche, and one bowl a stew. I got a cloth and utensils 'ere." She slid the dishes around the table, Satie receiving her salad first. "Aaaaand the drinks. I got a few shots of some of the god stuff in the back. These ones are beer and rum, but I ain't gonna claim their too great. I'll crack open the good stuff on the next round, I gotta few barrels of wine from one of my daddy's friends."
"Thank you madam Manama."
"Oh you tease!" Manama flapped a hand as if she was embarrassed. "Manama will do just fine. I don't subscribe to the whole respected owner routine. I've had enough a that with my Daddy's friends as it stands." Manama flicked her turquoise hair to the side as she headed back towards to the kitchen. Diana wondered where her new 'workers' were. Surely they would be able to help with this, wouldn't they?
The opening door answered her question for her.
"Mistress Manama, we have returned with the ingredients you have requested."
"Oh thank you sweeties. Did you introduce yourselves to the neighbors?"
"As was our intention, Mistress. We have also taken the liberty to make our position known." Bije set down one of the barrels he was carrying on the counter, freeing up his posture to bow to her.
"Oh Bije dear, that wasn't necessary."
"No, Mistress Manama, it very much was. It would prove disastrous if they found out we were slaves at a later date."
Manama frowned, discontent with Bije and his counterparts' defeatist attitude. They were slaves, true, but she had no intention of treating them as Lord Kelly had. "Alright then, cooks to the kitchen and waiters to their stations, we have important customers. Bije, dear, feel free ta take a seat by the door and do whatever you want, just be prepared for the evening rush tonight. Methinks it's gonna be a doozy."
Bije bowed once more while his 'coworkers' got to stowing the groceries away. Diana could see that none of them were smiling, despite the apparent increase in their living standard and change in the way they were treated they were still slaves. Diana couldn't really come to a firm conclusion on what exactly her thoughts on the matter were. She still held the stance that slavery as an institution wasn't morally justifiable, but she knew that the population growth strategy they had planned out relied heavily on the import of slaves. They had plans to free those slaves as a 'reward' for work, but it did little to change the fact that they were going to be reliant on it.
"Those are the slaves of the lord I was talking about previously. They were forfeited to Manama and her son as remuneration for their damages."
Merndil nodded as he grabbed his utensils. "I had my suspicions, but I wonder why that was allowed. Is the slave trade not banned within the confines of the Sanctum?" He scooped up some of the meat-egg mix onto his fork, blowing on it to cool it down before putting it in his mouth.
"The way it was described to me is that while the transfer of people as a transaction is forbidden, the transfer of slaves as property as a means to recoup damages is not. They do, unfortunately, qualify as property. Supposedly that makes them subject to the confiscation laws as well." Diana didn't bother to veil her contempt for the practice of slavery, it wasn't an uncommon position amongst the nobility.
"Confiscation laws . . . That reminds me, Prince Merndil. Whatever happened to that brother of yours? I seem to recall he entered the recent tournament?" Hlapven had the courtesy to wait for Merndil to finish his bite.
"He won four matches before being eliminated, far less than what he was expecting. Apparently one of the elites from the Seventh army knocked him out, so he didn't seem to upset about it." Merndil stopped talking for a second and rested his thumb on his bottom lip. He was trying to get a grip on he aftertaste of the food. "If anything, he seems excited to have found someone else from the Empire in his bracket. He seemed to be convinced he was the adopted son of Marshal Arrelois."
"That old man was harboring another child?" Hlapven put his fork down before putting the food into his mouth. "Doesn't he have enough trouble with his heir?"
"I'm not surprised you didn't know about it, from what I heard the boy has a reputation as a recluse. But yes, he has raised a separate child as if he was blood. It was a favor to the man who saved his life, it would seem."
Hlapven pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking. "My father's territory border's Marshal Arrelois' planet. I feel ashamed for not knowing this."
"Don't sweat it, I myself only learned this information relatively recently. It came up over the break when we held one of our meetings." Merndil picked up one of the small glasses of alcohol, this one a rum, and poured half of the contents into his mouth. He swished a bit, trying to really get a taste for it, before frowning and shaking his head. "Speaking of our good friend Arrelois, it would seem the new battle tactic he has drawn up is nearing completion. Now you must understand I am saying nothing directly to you here, but I would think he would like to have an army with a leader not yet exposed to his new tactics to practice with. Your father should have one such army at his disposal, no?"
"I will relay this information at the earliest opportunity."
"What information? I only remember talking with my loyal vassal about the goings on of the Empire's military while preparing for a party."
"Of course, I must have been mistaken." Hlapven finally put the food in his mouth, his expression instantly turning to one of reluctant surprise.
Diana was one hundred percent certain that was a conversation she wasn't supposed to have overheard, which she took as proof that Merndil trusted her to keep a secret. The fact that Hlapven hadn't raised a flag either hinted that she was slowly winning him over.
"Going back a bit here Lord Merndil, have you any intention to invite your brother to this party?" Diana was thinking about furthering her ties to this powerful family. "You dubbed him a warrior savant, right?"
Merndil raised a brow as he brought another fork-full of food to his mouth. "I cannot say I had any intention to, he has a tendency to ignore such invitations."
"I see. Well, I hope you might consider asking him regardless. We, that being Donovan and I, have established connections to some fairly high-profile individuals in the military academy who are going to be in attendance this time around. He may find them interesting or enlightening, and I promise at least one of them will be up for a duel."
She was referring to Zulf when she said this, but she had a feeling that the others would probably be up for it as well.
"High profile? I apologize if this offends you lady Diana, but I am not quite sure I believe you. Might I ask their names?"
"I would prefer to keep that a secret until the party actually starts, telling you before you meet would ruin the fun."
"Then their nationality? Surely you can divulge that." Hlapven didn't mind Diana's teasing. It was common practice to have a mystery high profile guest to entice attendance.
"That would make it obvious, but I suppose telling you they are from one of the Great Powers. I know for a fact that one of them has claimed first place in the individual tournament a few times." Diana was pretty sure that would immediately reveal Trebar as the one she was talking about, but she gambled on the chance that there were other such individuals from other nations.
"Hmm . . . I will bring it up with him, but I can promise nothing."
"Thank you." That was all Diana could really ask for.
The kitchen door opened again, Manama was out with another plate of food. "Diana sweets, here is your sandwich. Still a lil hot, and the eggs are probably a lil runnier than normal, but it should taste jus fine." Manama placed it down gently in front of her. "Looks like you drank the rum first. Thoughts?"
"I am afraid it was not to our liking."
"A cryin' shame, but I didn't really expect much. I'll get the wines out next, my new workers just brought in the most recent shipment, n' I bet I can snatch enough of it for a feast if I pay a lil premium."
- - - - -
"Well I must say, Madam Manama, the quality of your cooking has surprised me greatly." Merndil, a little bit fatter than when he entered, complimented the chef. "I wouldn't dare say it is on the level of an imperial chef, but it should prove satisfactory to those willing to try. Can I trust you to cook for more than a hundred people should it come down to it?"
"Only a hundred? Not to brag sweets but the usual evening rush has me cooking for double that. I can't say anythin about getting all that food out at once, but I should be able to manage cooking in piecemeal. We are doin' individual orders for the party right?"
"Yes, that is indeed the case." Merndil stood up, unfastening a coin purse on his belt. "Now, about the payment."
"The meal today was on the house, no need for that."
"I was not referring to today's meal. This is a down payment for services rendered at the party. I will give the final sum upon the conclusion of the event, however I feel obliged to provide an initial amount of capital so that you may secure a sufficient quantity and quality of ingredients."
This was no longer Diana's problem, and she naturally turned her focus to something more pressing.
"Lord Hlapven, how was it?" The suspicious look was back, but he wasn't hostile. "Was the quality of the food to your liking?"
". . . surprisingly so. That one meat, the, uh," he was blanking.
"The Meatroll?"
"-the meatroll. I haven't tasted anything quite like it before."
'Victory!' Diana allowed herself this one little internal celebration. He wasn't avoiding conversation, and he wasn't hostile. She could say with some degree of confidence she had swayed him to her side in certain aspects.
"I understand that her father deals in the trade of that particular good, a specialty I believe. Should you ever feel the need to purchase it for your own private consumption, I am certain she would be willing to introduce you."
"I - I will have to take that proposition into consideration." Hlapven eyed the plate that held Donovan's dinner. Evidently he wanted to try it, but now was not the time. "What is it that you want from my liege?"
Oh? So he was just going to ask it outright? Diana supposed that fit his general attitude and demeanor, but she couldn't say she expected it.
"Would you believe me if I said that I did not know his status until I sat next to him?" This was probably the best route. "To be honest, I am not entirely sure what I would want out of him. He only offered to sponsor this party after hearing my situation." Diana lowered her voice so as to not draw attention. "If anything he seems to think I am doing him a favor by taking this load off of his shoulders, he seems to have grown tired of hosting them himself."
Hlapven shot Diana a sidelong glance. "That sounds very much like him. Can I trust that you will not become an enemy?"
"I could ask you the same. I am not exactly in a position to make enemies out of one of the premier empires." Diana drank the last remnants of her juice. "I have no desire to act in a hostile manner to either you or your prince. I only wish to enter into a relationship of mutual assistance."
"I do not mean to offend, but how do you plan to do that?" Hlapven pinched the bridge of his nose. "From what I have gathered, you are not particularly wealthy, nor do you appear to have great fame or influence. You seem to be a nobody, which is arguably worse than an enemy."
Diana pondered how she was to answer such a question. "We are wealthier than we look, and less influential than you think, less than nobodies but allies nonetheless. We have our methods, be they economic, diplomatic, or military, and we can probably provide a solution to any problem you might have even if we are unable to provide the means to solve it at the moment."
That should cover the bases. Nothing was a lie, but she didn't reveal anything important. Diana was really trying to sway Hlapven to her side here, having judged him to be a 'favored subordinate'. Hlapven's word could probably be used to influence Merndil's decision making in the future.
"That doesn't make a whole lot of sense."
"It wasn't supposed to, at least not if you don't know what Donovan and I are capable of. Unfortunately it is not in my best interests to tell you what I know." Diana began to twirl a few strands of hair. "But enough about me, what do you want from Prince Merndil?"
"Me?" Hlapven seemed taken aback. "I would never ask anything of him!"
"Oh come now, I am no fool and neither is Lord Merndil. It would be infinitely more suspicious if there was something you didn't want."
Hlapven sighed, slightly ashamed. "I only wish to guarantee the future of the Empire. Things back home are, well they aren't great." Hlapven's hushed his voice and began to whisper to Diana. "There is a succession crisis happening right now, between the crown prince and the third prince. I personally am on the crown prince's side of the conflict, but my father is very much not. He advocated for my sister to be his bride as a political move."
Diana kept a straight face on the outside, but inside her mood had soured. She didn't know how to navigate a succession crisis.
"I see. . . I will keep that in mind moving forward."
"Please do, and if you wouldn't mind could you please try to bring any important matters that are ailing him to my attention? He has a tendency to take on the burden alone, so I would like to mitigate his stress if I can. I am ashamed to admit it, but he seems far more likely to inform you of such issues than me."
"I can do that." Diana saw an opportunity here. "Would you be able to do something for me in turn?"
"That will depend on what you ask."
"May I have a sample of that metal, Seahrdrin? It doesn't need to be a particularly large amount, perhaps only a finger size chunk of both the refined product and the ore?"
Hlapven stared at her for what felt like a very long time. "Is that it?"
"There may be more requests in time, but for now there is nothing more I feel the need to ask for. You see, Donovan has this fascination with metals and their properties, and I am fairly certain he has never seen Seahrdrin before."
Hlapven nodded, satisfied with her answer. With that he dropped to a knee and lifted up his pant leg, revealing a thin dagger strapped to his leg. The sheath extended into his boot, a decision which Diana thought was likely to be uncomfortable.
"Here, I have twenty more like it at home. You'll have to wait a while on the ore, but this should keep him happy for now, right?"
"It will be more than enough, thank you." Diana accepted the dagger by wrapping a napkin around it. She didn't want to cut herself with it, it looked sharp.
"It's been a pleasure young man."
"The pleasure has been mine. I wish you luck tonight." Merndil turned back, grabbing his overcoat from Satie. "Come now, Hlapven. It is time we return to the dorms."
cakeonfrosting YO! YO! YO! Cake here, back with another update! Go to the glossary and you should find two new entries (WOW) both of which are turrets. They are 4 meter diameter, so pretty large, and both are to be mounted on the Pegasus, and on future designs.
Further news - I have started a wiki for this book, primarily because I have anticipated the glossary for this book is going to become far too cluttered. Additionally, I wanted to have a nice little place yall could go to look up specifics or see nice little background morsels that just don't fit within the story structure. I am pretty sure that Fandom allows for people to edit/add pages, so it would be nice if one of you who potentially knows how this stuff works can help.
Right now it's just a skeleton, but here's the link https://dead-star-dockyards.fandom.com/wiki/Dead_Star_Dockyards_Wiki
Diana observed the two noblemen in silence as the sampled the appetizer in front of them. Despite the quality, there was quite the selection, even if that selection mostly consisted of dried foods. There was meat, the same that Hlapven had determined to be bland, but it was in limited supply in relation to some other foods.
Diana could see four different types of cheese, sloppily cut and easily the most fragrant it naturally attracted the attention of those high class individuals. They started with the pale yellow variety, the reason most likely being that it was closest, chewing and letting it sit before making a comment. Diana couldn't really say she had much experience with cheese sampling, and she couldn't tell if enjoying it with wine was a common practice here.
"Hmm. It's a little dry."
"I would say flaky." Hlapven inspected another piece closely. "It doesn't appear to be moldy."
"I would avoid serving this kind."
Merndil reached for small chunk of an orange cheese, plopping it into his mouth and chewing as if he wasn't concerned. He tilted his head as he moved the pasted dairy product around his mouth with his tongue.
"Not bad, not bad. Hlapven?"
"It is certainly better than the last type, but it still feels like it lacks a certain richness to it." Hlapven moved another slice of it into his mouth and chewed once more. "I would think this level of quality approaches the base line of what can be served."
"I was thinking along the same lines."
"Might I suggest the two of you try that cheese with one of those thinner pieces of hardtack?" Diana couldn't call it a cracker, her experience with it revealed it was far too dense and lacked that flakiness that made a cracker. It would probably be better with cheese though.
Merndil didn't bother to respond, only picking up the ingredients and placing them in his mouth. An audible pop from inside his mouth indicated that he had not waited for the denser bread to soak, something which caused a slight frown, but it was soon replaced with a visible expression of surprise.
"That's pretty good."
Diana bobbed her head, a silent 'your welcome' to the implied 'thank you'. "It might prove to be a good idea to have your cooks make a lighter and flakier version of hardtack so people aren't put off by the toughness. I've found that combining a few of the ingredients on that platter can create a tastier result than if they were separate. I would avoid eating the meat with the dried fruits though."
Diana was speaking from her limited experience in stacking meats and cheeses on crackers for snacks in her grandfather's pantry.
"I will keep it in mind. Hlapven?"
"It pains me to say that this tastes good. . ." He seemed almost defeated, almost. There was still a trace amount of resentment hiding in his eyes. He didn't like to admit that this 'commoner food' was appealing to his tastes, but Diana could not raise the victory flag yet.
- - - - -
"Food's here, at least the first round. Got sum booze too." Manama walked out of the kitchen balancing five separate plates on her arms. "Diana sweets, your sandwich is gonna hafta wait a few more minutes. A salad for you, one meat egg mix, one quiche, and one bowl a stew. I got a cloth and utensils 'ere." She slid the dishes around the table, Satie receiving her salad first. "Aaaaand the drinks. I got a few shots of some of the god stuff in the back. These ones are beer and rum, but I ain't gonna claim their too great. I'll crack open the good stuff on the next round, I gotta few barrels of wine from one of my daddy's friends."
"Thank you madam Manama."
"Oh you tease!" Manama flapped a hand as if she was embarrassed. "Manama will do just fine. I don't subscribe to the whole respected owner routine. I've had enough a that with my Daddy's friends as it stands." Manama flicked her turquoise hair to the side as she headed back towards to the kitchen. Diana wondered where her new 'workers' were. Surely they would be able to help with this, wouldn't they?
The opening door answered her question for her.
"Mistress Manama, we have returned with the ingredients you have requested."
"Oh thank you sweeties. Did you introduce yourselves to the neighbors?"
"As was our intention, Mistress. We have also taken the liberty to make our position known." Bije set down one of the barrels he was carrying on the counter, freeing up his posture to bow to her.
"Oh Bije dear, that wasn't necessary."
"No, Mistress Manama, it very much was. It would prove disastrous if they found out we were slaves at a later date."
Manama frowned, discontent with Bije and his counterparts' defeatist attitude. They were slaves, true, but she had no intention of treating them as Lord Kelly had. "Alright then, cooks to the kitchen and waiters to their stations, we have important customers. Bije, dear, feel free ta take a seat by the door and do whatever you want, just be prepared for the evening rush tonight. Methinks it's gonna be a doozy."
Bije bowed once more while his 'coworkers' got to stowing the groceries away. Diana could see that none of them were smiling, despite the apparent increase in their living standard and change in the way they were treated they were still slaves. Diana couldn't really come to a firm conclusion on what exactly her thoughts on the matter were. She still held the stance that slavery as an institution wasn't morally justifiable, but she knew that the population growth strategy they had planned out relied heavily on the import of slaves. They had plans to free those slaves as a 'reward' for work, but it did little to change the fact that they were going to be reliant on it.
"Those are the slaves of the lord I was talking about previously. They were forfeited to Manama and her son as remuneration for their damages."
Merndil nodded as he grabbed his utensils. "I had my suspicions, but I wonder why that was allowed. Is the slave trade not banned within the confines of the Sanctum?" He scooped up some of the meat-egg mix onto his fork, blowing on it to cool it down before putting it in his mouth.
"The way it was described to me is that while the transfer of people as a transaction is forbidden, the transfer of slaves as property as a means to recoup damages is not. They do, unfortunately, qualify as property. Supposedly that makes them subject to the confiscation laws as well." Diana didn't bother to veil her contempt for the practice of slavery, it wasn't an uncommon position amongst the nobility.
"Confiscation laws . . . That reminds me, Prince Merndil. Whatever happened to that brother of yours? I seem to recall he entered the recent tournament?" Hlapven had the courtesy to wait for Merndil to finish his bite.
"He won four matches before being eliminated, far less than what he was expecting. Apparently one of the elites from the Seventh army knocked him out, so he didn't seem to upset about it." Merndil stopped talking for a second and rested his thumb on his bottom lip. He was trying to get a grip on he aftertaste of the food. "If anything, he seems excited to have found someone else from the Empire in his bracket. He seemed to be convinced he was the adopted son of Marshal Arrelois."
"That old man was harboring another child?" Hlapven put his fork down before putting the food into his mouth. "Doesn't he have enough trouble with his heir?"
"I'm not surprised you didn't know about it, from what I heard the boy has a reputation as a recluse. But yes, he has raised a separate child as if he was blood. It was a favor to the man who saved his life, it would seem."
Hlapven pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking. "My father's territory border's Marshal Arrelois' planet. I feel ashamed for not knowing this."
"Don't sweat it, I myself only learned this information relatively recently. It came up over the break when we held one of our meetings." Merndil picked up one of the small glasses of alcohol, this one a rum, and poured half of the contents into his mouth. He swished a bit, trying to really get a taste for it, before frowning and shaking his head. "Speaking of our good friend Arrelois, it would seem the new battle tactic he has drawn up is nearing completion. Now you must understand I am saying nothing directly to you here, but I would think he would like to have an army with a leader not yet exposed to his new tactics to practice with. Your father should have one such army at his disposal, no?"
"I will relay this information at the earliest opportunity."
"What information? I only remember talking with my loyal vassal about the goings on of the Empire's military while preparing for a party."
"Of course, I must have been mistaken." Hlapven finally put the food in his mouth, his expression instantly turning to one of reluctant surprise.
Diana was one hundred percent certain that was a conversation she wasn't supposed to have overheard, which she took as proof that Merndil trusted her to keep a secret. The fact that Hlapven hadn't raised a flag either hinted that she was slowly winning him over.
"Going back a bit here Lord Merndil, have you any intention to invite your brother to this party?" Diana was thinking about furthering her ties to this powerful family. "You dubbed him a warrior savant, right?"
Merndil raised a brow as he brought another fork-full of food to his mouth. "I cannot say I had any intention to, he has a tendency to ignore such invitations."
"I see. Well, I hope you might consider asking him regardless. We, that being Donovan and I, have established connections to some fairly high-profile individuals in the military academy who are going to be in attendance this time around. He may find them interesting or enlightening, and I promise at least one of them will be up for a duel."
She was referring to Zulf when she said this, but she had a feeling that the others would probably be up for it as well.
"High profile? I apologize if this offends you lady Diana, but I am not quite sure I believe you. Might I ask their names?"
"I would prefer to keep that a secret until the party actually starts, telling you before you meet would ruin the fun."
"Then their nationality? Surely you can divulge that." Hlapven didn't mind Diana's teasing. It was common practice to have a mystery high profile guest to entice attendance.
"That would make it obvious, but I suppose telling you they are from one of the Great Powers. I know for a fact that one of them has claimed first place in the individual tournament a few times." Diana was pretty sure that would immediately reveal Trebar as the one she was talking about, but she gambled on the chance that there were other such individuals from other nations.
"Hmm . . . I will bring it up with him, but I can promise nothing."
"Thank you." That was all Diana could really ask for.
The kitchen door opened again, Manama was out with another plate of food. "Diana sweets, here is your sandwich. Still a lil hot, and the eggs are probably a lil runnier than normal, but it should taste jus fine." Manama placed it down gently in front of her. "Looks like you drank the rum first. Thoughts?"
"I am afraid it was not to our liking."
"A cryin' shame, but I didn't really expect much. I'll get the wines out next, my new workers just brought in the most recent shipment, n' I bet I can snatch enough of it for a feast if I pay a lil premium."
- - - - -
"Well I must say, Madam Manama, the quality of your cooking has surprised me greatly." Merndil, a little bit fatter than when he entered, complimented the chef. "I wouldn't dare say it is on the level of an imperial chef, but it should prove satisfactory to those willing to try. Can I trust you to cook for more than a hundred people should it come down to it?"
"Only a hundred? Not to brag sweets but the usual evening rush has me cooking for double that. I can't say anythin about getting all that food out at once, but I should be able to manage cooking in piecemeal. We are doin' individual orders for the party right?"
"Yes, that is indeed the case." Merndil stood up, unfastening a coin purse on his belt. "Now, about the payment."
"The meal today was on the house, no need for that."
"I was not referring to today's meal. This is a down payment for services rendered at the party. I will give the final sum upon the conclusion of the event, however I feel obliged to provide an initial amount of capital so that you may secure a sufficient quantity and quality of ingredients."
This was no longer Diana's problem, and she naturally turned her focus to something more pressing.
"Lord Hlapven, how was it?" The suspicious look was back, but he wasn't hostile. "Was the quality of the food to your liking?"
". . . surprisingly so. That one meat, the, uh," he was blanking.
"The Meatroll?"
"-the meatroll. I haven't tasted anything quite like it before."
'Victory!' Diana allowed herself this one little internal celebration. He wasn't avoiding conversation, and he wasn't hostile. She could say with some degree of confidence she had swayed him to her side in certain aspects.
"I understand that her father deals in the trade of that particular good, a specialty I believe. Should you ever feel the need to purchase it for your own private consumption, I am certain she would be willing to introduce you."
"I - I will have to take that proposition into consideration." Hlapven eyed the plate that held Donovan's dinner. Evidently he wanted to try it, but now was not the time. "What is it that you want from my liege?"
Oh? So he was just going to ask it outright? Diana supposed that fit his general attitude and demeanor, but she couldn't say she expected it.
"Would you believe me if I said that I did not know his status until I sat next to him?" This was probably the best route. "To be honest, I am not entirely sure what I would want out of him. He only offered to sponsor this party after hearing my situation." Diana lowered her voice so as to not draw attention. "If anything he seems to think I am doing him a favor by taking this load off of his shoulders, he seems to have grown tired of hosting them himself."
Hlapven shot Diana a sidelong glance. "That sounds very much like him. Can I trust that you will not become an enemy?"
"I could ask you the same. I am not exactly in a position to make enemies out of one of the premier empires." Diana drank the last remnants of her juice. "I have no desire to act in a hostile manner to either you or your prince. I only wish to enter into a relationship of mutual assistance."
"I do not mean to offend, but how do you plan to do that?" Hlapven pinched the bridge of his nose. "From what I have gathered, you are not particularly wealthy, nor do you appear to have great fame or influence. You seem to be a nobody, which is arguably worse than an enemy."
Diana pondered how she was to answer such a question. "We are wealthier than we look, and less influential than you think, less than nobodies but allies nonetheless. We have our methods, be they economic, diplomatic, or military, and we can probably provide a solution to any problem you might have even if we are unable to provide the means to solve it at the moment."
That should cover the bases. Nothing was a lie, but she didn't reveal anything important. Diana was really trying to sway Hlapven to her side here, having judged him to be a 'favored subordinate'. Hlapven's word could probably be used to influence Merndil's decision making in the future.
"That doesn't make a whole lot of sense."
"It wasn't supposed to, at least not if you don't know what Donovan and I are capable of. Unfortunately it is not in my best interests to tell you what I know." Diana began to twirl a few strands of hair. "But enough about me, what do you want from Prince Merndil?"
"Me?" Hlapven seemed taken aback. "I would never ask anything of him!"
"Oh come now, I am no fool and neither is Lord Merndil. It would be infinitely more suspicious if there was something you didn't want."
Hlapven sighed, slightly ashamed. "I only wish to guarantee the future of the Empire. Things back home are, well they aren't great." Hlapven's hushed his voice and began to whisper to Diana. "There is a succession crisis happening right now, between the crown prince and the third prince. I personally am on the crown prince's side of the conflict, but my father is very much not. He advocated for my sister to be his bride as a political move."
Diana kept a straight face on the outside, but inside her mood had soured. She didn't know how to navigate a succession crisis.
"I see. . . I will keep that in mind moving forward."
"Please do, and if you wouldn't mind could you please try to bring any important matters that are ailing him to my attention? He has a tendency to take on the burden alone, so I would like to mitigate his stress if I can. I am ashamed to admit it, but he seems far more likely to inform you of such issues than me."
"I can do that." Diana saw an opportunity here. "Would you be able to do something for me in turn?"
"That will depend on what you ask."
"May I have a sample of that metal, Seahrdrin? It doesn't need to be a particularly large amount, perhaps only a finger size chunk of both the refined product and the ore?"
Hlapven stared at her for what felt like a very long time. "Is that it?"
"There may be more requests in time, but for now there is nothing more I feel the need to ask for. You see, Donovan has this fascination with metals and their properties, and I am fairly certain he has never seen Seahrdrin before."
Hlapven nodded, satisfied with her answer. With that he dropped to a knee and lifted up his pant leg, revealing a thin dagger strapped to his leg. The sheath extended into his boot, a decision which Diana thought was likely to be uncomfortable.
"Here, I have twenty more like it at home. You'll have to wait a while on the ore, but this should keep him happy for now, right?"
"It will be more than enough, thank you." Diana accepted the dagger by wrapping a napkin around it. She didn't want to cut herself with it, it looked sharp.
"It's been a pleasure young man."
"The pleasure has been mine. I wish you luck tonight." Merndil turned back, grabbing his overcoat from Satie. "Come now, Hlapven. It is time we return to the dorms."
cakeonfrosting YO! YO! YO! Cake here, back with another update! Go to the glossary and you should find two new entries (WOW) both of which are turrets. They are 4 meter diameter, so pretty large, and both are to be mounted on the Pegasus, and on future designs.
Further news - I have started a wiki for this book, primarily because I have anticipated the glossary for this book is going to become far too cluttered. Additionally, I wanted to have a nice little place yall could go to look up specifics or see nice little background morsels that just don't fit within the story structure. I am pretty sure that Fandom allows for people to edit/add pages, so it would be nice if one of you who potentially knows how this stuff works can help.
Right now it's just a skeleton, but here's the link https://dead-star-dockyards.fandom.com/wiki/Dead_Star_Dockyards_Wiki
