Talechaser ~ Trap

[annarti.livejournal.com]

Title~ Test
Author~ Annarti
Disclaimer~ Still mine
Notes~ Talechasing challenge for 19 March 07. Also, I'm at uni typing this directly into LJ, so I have no idea how many words it is. Pretend it's in th region of 2k XD

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'Majesty?'

'You're aware it is polite to knock before entering the king's office, correct?'

'Special clearance,' Nolryn said with a shrug and a grin, sliding an opened bottle of palace brew onto his father's desk.

'That would about cover it,' Mithé agreed. He rested back in his chair and took a swig of the amber fluid, then tapped the neck thoughtfully against his chin as he frowned at the papers in front of him.

'What's happening?' Nolryn asked, bracing one hand on the desk to eye the papers himself.

Mithé sighed and cleared his throat. He shuffled his free hand through the sheets littering his desk, then picked out one and handed it to the prince. 'That pretty much sums it up. It's a letter from Empress Shizaaqa. What do you make of it?'

Nolryn's eyes flicked to Mithé's with a momentary look of fear. He knew what a loaded question that was, however casually the king had asked it.

Mithé took another swig as he carefully watched Nolryn's face, his frown deepening as his eyes ran over the foreign words on the page.

'Hang on...' he began carefully, tapping the page with the neck of his bottle. 'Two diplomats? I am translating that right, aren't I?'

Mithé nodded.

'I'm not quite following. Why has Shizaaqa imprisoned two diplomats?'

'You remember those spies who got caught about two years ago?' Mithé asked.

'Vaguely,' Nolryn answered with a slow nod. 'I think I was in Llayad when most of that was happening.'

The king shook his head. 'It's still happening. We sent four diplomats up there to get them out.'

Nolryn nodded again, realisation growing on his face. He waved the sheet of paper out. 'And these are two of the four.'

'Mhmm. So what's your reckoning?'

The prince flicked at the piece of paper, scanning his eyes over it again. 'I still don't understand why they were imprisoned. I know Shizaaqa doesn't think particularly highly of diplomats, but why would she imprison them?'

Mithé shrugged as he held the bottle to his lips again. 'To prove a point, make it clear she's not releasing the spies either, she was getting sick of the issue and made it go away in the easiest way possible, because they made fun of her dress sense, who knows? I'm not sure she knows herself why half the dungeons are down there.'

Nolryn paused and flicked his eyes up again. Mithé could almost see the cogs turning behind them.

'If we don't know why they're down there, then it makes it a bit difficult to negotiate...' He trailed off into thought again and slowly reread the letter. '"No amount of talk will release them,"' he read in a murmur. '"They have dug their own graves and will remain there until the gods see fit to judge them."' He took another swig from his bottle, pausing as his eyes fell on the huge map of Thyllaeth on the wall. Already he seemed to be judging distances and time.

'This is an Own mission, isn't it?'

Mithé grinned as his son reached the same assumption as he had. 'Indeed it is. Negotiations clearly aren't working, I've given up trying to guess what Shizaaqa's thinking, so you're just going to go up there and break them out.'

The prince's eyebrows shot up. 'What? Are you quite aware of what you're asking here, Majesty?'

Mithé held up his palms in defence. 'You don't have to find them, just get them out. I've got people up there finding out exactly where they are in the dungeons. It's up to you to get them out though.'

Nolryn just stood there, his mouth partly opened. 'Assiraz dungeons,' he blurted finally. 'Assiraz. Majesty, I wouldn't know where to begin breaking someone out of our dungeons, let along Aeia-damned Assiraz!'

The king shrugged. 'That's something you'll work out when you get up there.'

Nolryn shook his head and sat down on the edge of the desk, drumming his nails against his glass bottle. 'Someone is going to die,' he predicted. 'Probably you as soon as you mention this to Rau.'

Mithé sighed and rested back in his chair, arms behind his head. 'That's a risk I'm willing to take.'

Nolryn cocked an eyebrow, then twisted around and began sifting through the related papers on Mithé's desk. 'What have these spies found out that has you willing to risk the Own to get them out?'

'It's not what they've found out so much as what they know about Raykin. I can always send more spies up there to find things out, but once Kazin knows something I'd rather keep from them, there's no taking it back.'

'How do you know they haven't talked already?' Nolryn asked. 'I've heard about what they do in those dungeons to make people talk.'

'Shizaaqa would have either released them or had them killed if she'd gleaned any information from them.'

'Hmm.' He tipped his head back and finished off the last drops of his beer. 'You're sure you don't want to go up and negotiate them out yourself?'

'Quite sure. I'm tied up with enough down here.'

'I figured as much.' Nolryn sighed heavily and swung himself off the desk.

'Thanks for the beer,' Mithé said with a grin as his son headed for the door.

Nolryn rolled his eyes as he closed the door behind him. 'I'm not telling Rau!' he called, his words muffled through the heavy oak. 'That one's up to you!'