Turning toward the voice, my heart skipped a beat as my eyes landed on the group that had just arrived. The leader was, of course, a senator. A tall man with a chiseled chin, broad chest, and strikingly similar facial features to Victorak Sathrin.

I honestly thought it was kind of a shame for the young man. If he had a choice, I would bet that he would rather have his father's body than nearly identical facial features from the chin up. It wasn't so much that the shared features were bad-looking, but when he stood next to his father, he looked small and sickly in comparison. Something the young noble had to be aware of, as while he shuffled to the side, getting closer to the new group, he wasn't moving to stand next to them.

Just to the right side of the mountain of a man was the portly senator who invited the dark elf to the senate. Instead of looking at Senator Ponpti, his irritated attention was focused on the young Sathrin, who was all but collapsing into himself with the recent turn of events.

On the other side of the group from the fat man was the dark elf, but I hardly paid him any mind. As my focus was locked onto one of the members of their entourage, who went unnoticed by all, as she was only a servant. Except I knew her. It was White, one of my childhood friends. Sure, it had been more than a decade since the last time we had seen each other, on the very day I left our small village for the legions, but I still recognized her.

Unable to look away, I continued to study the young elven woman. It wasn't even a second after my stare started that her bowed head tilted up, her eyes immediately finding mine as she gave me a coy smile and a wink before her head lowered again. I wanted to barge my way forward to take her hand and find somewhere secluded to ask her how she ended up here. Then I came crashing back to reality when Senator Ponpti started speaking.

"Ahh, Senator Sathrin, I was wondering if you would show up, given your son was in attendance… But I am surprised that you decided to appear with Senator Drelgath and his guest. I thought you were more discerning in your company." Flicking his wrist as he spoke, the older senator tossed the sword to the younger man, who smoothly caught it and sheathed the weapon, though he didn't look particularly pleased to be getting it back now.

"You wound me, Victorus." The rotund politician said, cutting into the conversation as he held his sausage-like fingers to his chest and putting on a look of shock. "I received an invitation just like everyone else, and is it not common for friends to appear together? Regarding any concerns about the interactions between our two guests, I believe any worries should have been alleviated after their last meeting. Has it not?"

"I cannot deny that you received an invitation, though I believe it was sent out before recent events unfolded and the party date was changed." Senator Ponpti said, apparently having nothing to say on the second point.

"Glad that we can agree I have the right to be here. And in the spirit of cooperation and peace that all of us Olimpians pride ourselves on, I thought that it would be in the best interests of the Republic that the good citizens have the opportunity to interact with both the Kin and the Letairry representatives simultaneously, in a controlled environment. After all, the relations of external forces are of little interest to us, so long as Olimpia herself gets what is best for her."

"I can only applaud you for your devotion to our Republic, Senator Drelgath. With that in mind, I must endeavor to clear up the situation we find ourselves in, and request that you allow me to detain your friend's son until we have this matter settled." Ponpti's smile stretched wide across his face, and his tone was as understanding as a mother comforting her crying child. It was just that his smile never reached his eyes, and his voice was full of barbs.

The mountainous man's face twitched in annoyance and boiling rage, but he didn't have the chance to speak as the fat, greasy senator stepped forward, his body trembling as he waved his arms around. It wasn't just that his hair was shining in the firelight, but his smile looked as trustworthy as a patch of ice you could see water flowing beneath. "Senator Ponpti, this is nothing more than an argument between children. You were once young, so I am sure that you understand. Can't you let this matter go?"

"Ahh," Sighed Senator Ponpti, his voice filled with such regret that it was like he was personally pained having to continue speaking. "I would wish nothing more than to comply with your request, but I am afraid that I must abide by the traditional rules of a duel. The duel was one of honor, and it would be a mark against me and my family if I did not ensure that it came to a conclusion. As of now, this duel his yet to have one."

"Victorus," the big man snarled menacingly, waving a dismissive hand. "We were close enough to see the end of the fight, and saw you interfere. The match had long been over, and the elf was simply waiting to be cut. Let us just call an end to it here and now; there is no need to complicate matters further."

"Again, I would wish for nothing more, Senator Sathrin." At the statement, the other man opened his mouth to speak, but Ponpti continued without letting him cut in. "However, this matter involves more than just me and my family. The young Victorak here impinged on not only the Kin's honor by demanding a duel but also that of the Republic with his demands and accusations. Such a matter cannot merely be swept under the rug. There must be a conclusion… or, I suppose, he could withdraw his statement, and admit that he was wrong."

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Finally unable to keep himself still, the large man stepped forward and growled, "You play a dangerous game, Ponpti. But can you deal with the consequences if you continue to push? I would feel that you would be more concerned with your standing given the actions of your relatives of late." At the words, many in the surrounding crowd gasped in shock and began whispering among themselves.

"Sathrin, I suggest you heed your own words and take a step back." Senator Ponpti responded, his mood abruptly darkening as the air grew heavy, his displeasure becoming known to all. "Say what you will about Drelgath, but at least he has the mind for these matters. Your imbecilic rampaging will only end in a way that leaves all of us unhappy."

The face of the large man bulged as his veins popped out of his skin around his temples, and his jaw clenched hard enough to break rock. "There is no need to be so antagonistic, Victorus. You speak of your integrity, and yet you intervened in a duel that you yourself said was a matter of honor. You do not see us causing a commotion over that, so let us say that the young elf here lost the match, and be done with it."

"Your statement holds some truth," Senator Ponpti agreed, his disposition immediately shifting to a more friendly tone as he turned to address the fat man. And that, more than anything, sent a tremor of fear through me. "However, both of the participants agreed that this fight would end at first blood. And yet, in the moment before I intervened, I detected bloodlust from the young Sathrin, a clear violation of the duel's terms. I am so confident in my detection that I demand he forfeit, unless you want me to call upon the inquisitor for questioning. But you are right, let us not escalate matters unnecessarily. As a show of good faith, I am willing to state here and now that I will rescind my support of the Kin and take my family on a tour of the countryside if I am wrong in my assumption."

"Never!" Roared the mountain, his veins somehow bulging even more than before as it turned crimson, and he stepped forward to attempt to intimidate Senator Ponpti. He didn't even make it two steps before knights wearing the markings of House Ponpti stepped out of the crowd. Beady eyes glancing around, the land man leashed his anger, if only barely, and he ground out, "My son will not be subjected to such an embarrassment."

"Then all you have to do is concede the match," Senator Ponpti said, throwing up his arms and giving an exaggerated shrug, as if to say that there was nothing he could do about the matter. "The rules are the rules, and we nobles are nothing if we can not abide by them. After all, without our honor and reputation, we are nothing."

Even with the rocks the mountain had for brains, I saw him slowly come to the realization that there was no out for him. At least not one where he and his family came out of this unscathed. And then the fat man spoke, a small cunning smile now stretching his lips, "If you are so confident, then you would have no problem with us confirming the readings with one of our own, would you? After all, if Victorak is to be disqualified from the duel for his intentions, then we should ensure that the scout didn't have the same. For all we know, this was a plot for the elf to kill the heir of a prominent house."

Eyes narrowing in annoyance and suspicion, Senator Ponpti waved a dismissive hand after a moment, causing a rush of dread to flow through me. This wasn't going as I had hoped, and it seemed to me that my protector was losing control of the situation, if only slightly. "What need is there for that? The scout couldn't land a blow, no matter how hard he tried. We all witnessed that."

"That is beside the point, Victorus. You said that you felt bloodlust and the intention to murder. While you assumed it was from Victorak, it could have been from the elf. I mean, as anyone who looks at me can tell, I haven't exercised in years, but in my youth, I still was known to have a duel or two. And I could tell you that being beaten badly made me a little hot under the collar." A murmur of agreement rose from around us, and the feeling of unease surged inside of me. "Besides, if we are disqualifying a noble for the simple intention in the heat of the moment, that we have no idea if he would have followed through on, we should at least determine if the elf had the same intentions."

"Yes!" Shouted the dumb senator, his face becoming vengeful as he threw a burning glance at me before looking back to Senator Ponpti. "If you will not concede on such a reasonable point, I will take my chances… on a different path."

"If you are so insistent, I suppose there is no problem having the inquisitor test both of them." Senator Ponpti conceded, looking none too pleased about the point, but he wasn't the one who was going to have his mind broken open.

"No," stated the fat man, whom I started to really dislike. "That inquisitor is too close to you. Let us have the good Letairry here inspect the minds of each of the participants."

"Hah!" Barked back Senator Ponpti, his voice filled with disgust. "If an inquisitor staying in my home is impartial to me, what is the ambassador to you, given that you are the only reason he is in the city?"

"You do have a point… Aha! I just had a wonderful idea!" The fat man called, shouting and clapping his hands together, "We will have both of them scan the minds of our participants simultaneously."

"Excuse me," Kanieta said, stepping forward and entering the conversation. She wore a smile on her face, but I could tell that there was rage boiling just behind her eyes. "I could not help but notice that decisions are being made without the consent of the participants. They are the ones who will have to suffer through the process, so should they not be the ones to decide if all of it is necessary?"

"Well, of course." Said the fat man immediately, turning to the young noble and asking. "Victorak Sathrin, do you want to proceed with the inquisition?".

"Ahh…" stammered my opponent, his voice cracking a bit before he could gather his will and put on a strong front as he shouted, "Yes!"

"See, we have his consent. Hmm, but I guess we need both. How about you, scout? Are you going to withdraw from the fight, or are you going to follow through with this little test?"

I felt my mouth go dry as the attention of everyone present focused on me. Uneasy, my eyes darted around until they finally landed on Kanieta. When our eyes locked together, her eyes narrowed ever so slightly as she shook her head. She didn't want me to take the risk of the Letairry in my mind. That much was clear. Except if I didn't, it would weaken our position. Worse, it would be backing down.

To what extent it would hurt us, I didn't know. And to be honest, I didn't really care. "Yes," I said, earning a scowl from the foxkin who spun on her heels and stormed into the crowd at my answer.

"Wonderful! Simply wonderful! Now, Ambassador Heart, if you would be so kind."

"It would be my pleasure," Said a silky voice that seemed to be looking forward to the task.

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