Chapter XXV: Banquet

As we approached the palace Marco kept getting progressively more nervous, suspiciously so after a point.

"Why so twitchy Marco, you wanted by the crown or something?" I ask teasingly.

He stops for a second "Wha-" and quickly shakes his head "Of course not!"

"Then why do you look like you are about to start shaking like a leaf?"

He shifts uncomfortably "You see the thing is..." he starts and then says loudly and dramatically "We really should hurry up, you could be late!"

I blink, alright dude if you don't want to tell me then don't, there is no need to make a circus of yourself.

Followed by the still hesitating Altmer we make our way back to the palace. The moment we enter I feel something moving in the air through my connection to the wind and quickly turn to see a shoe flying toward Marco's face.

The impact is so crisp and perfect that I get the sudden need to applaud whoever threw the piece of footwear, an urge I indulge of course.

Not long after I notice a rather pissed off looking young woman in maid's clothing strutting toward the poor lad.

She walks over to the groaning Altmer and puts her shoe back on while glaring at him "What do you think you are doing here you dog?!"

Marco smiles shakily "Oh, hey there Marie! It is lovely to see you."

"It is lovely to see me, is it?" she asks sarcastically "What did I tell you about coming to the palace?"

"...Not to?" His smile would be blindingly bright if it wasn't for the quiver in his voice.

"Yes, that is what I told you. So what in oblivion are you doing here?"

I choose to interject "That would have to do with me I am afraid."

Her head snaps to me "And who the h- oh, why would you associate with this dog sir mage?"

Such a swift change of attitude, gods I do love being untouchable "That is between the two of us I am afraid, though I am curious what he did to earn your wrath."

She blushes slightly and gets angry at the same time "I am sure you don't need to waste your time with my stories sir, just please make sure that he doesn't bother any of us if he has to be here."

My smile promises great pain as I say "Oh I will make sure he is a good boy." I notice Marco shiver in the corner of my eye.

Marie returns the same non-verbal promise of violence "I am so glad to hear that sir, a good day to you."

I help the young mer up and ask "So what is the story there?"

He scratches his head "Weeell... I may or may not have seduced three of the palace maids... at the same time."

"Ambitious" I snort "And idiotic." he winces.

He sputters "Well, I am a mer with a big heart, who could ever blame me?"

"A big love for getting beaten up more like." Davos snarks.

Before he can 'defend' himself deeper into the hole he was digging, I say "Just make sure to keep control over whatever beast you imagine you have inside of your loins, you are associated with me now and I will not have you ruining my good name." Davos almost falls over at the mention of 'my good name' "Or I will be teaching you how to fly again."

Marco turns serious immediately "Of course! I am the perfect image of restraint."

My disbelieving look was all the commentary I needed for that statement.

We made our way to the palace steward's chambers and were quickly let in by the guard. Inside sat a young brown haired Nord scribbling something down "A moment please" He says without looking up and finishes up whatever he was writing.

Finally, he raises his head "Ah, High Enchanter it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Ingvar Firebeard the steward of the palace."

I incline my head "The pleasure is all mine."

He nods quickly, and I sense that he is rushing through the greetings almost on instinct, he quickly proves me right "I do not wish to be rude but I am drowning in work at the moment so if you would kindly state your business promptly I would appreciate it."

"Of course" I point to Marco "This is the nephew of Viarmo, the headmaster of the Bard's College."

"I am aware." The slight glare is quite telling of his opinion of my new companion.

"Right, I need him to be able to enter the palace during my stay."

I can see the mental shrug in his eyes as he asks "Reasons?"

"Personal tutelage." I surmise.

He looks at Marco "I see you finally decided to make something actually useful of yourself."

Marco huffs "Not all of us are born into a cozy position Firebeard."

Ingvar's eye twitches "I may be the son of the hold's steward but I work harder than any other to prove myself worthy of the trust given to me by the King. Something that cannot be said about you, you useless womanizing brat."

"I'll have you know I work just as hard on my art!" Marco fumes.

The young steward huffs "Yeah, sure. Say that again when you aren't leeching off your uncle at nineteen summers old."

Marco looks just about ready to blow, but my raised hand stops them "While I can understand that the two of you have a shared history I would appreciate it if you solved it on your own time."

Ingvar deflates back into his previous professional demeanor "Of course, please forgive my outburst." He writes something down on a slip of parchment and hands it to me "He is to show this to the guard if he isn't with you, and if he persists in his womanizing ways he will be thrown out, invitation or not."

I leave, followed by Davos.

Marco stays behind for a moment and says "Thanks Ingvar."

"Out." The Nord says 'calmly'.

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(General pov)

The time for the banquet arrived quickly after they were done with their business with the steward.

It was being held in the throne room which was now filled to the brim with chairs and tables almost turning the opulent palace into a Nordic drinking hall yet still somehow retaining its original elegance.

The Thanes and their cliques were slowly filling up the hall, with the host already being present. High King Torygg looked as dignified as a young and fresh ruler can, and perked up when Reyvin arrived with his group.

Reyvin gave the King a bow and he was quickly signaled to take a seat close to his own, as this was a banquet held in his name.

"I am glad you didn't decide to 'forget' this little gathering like most mages tend to do." The King said jovially.

Reyvin smiled "Well, I am still young and not yet completely tired of everyone. Wait a couple of years and no party will see me."

The king chuckled "Oh if only I could do that."

"Oh how heavy is the crown." Reyvin said drily causing the Torygg to snort.

They continued with their idle chatter until Torryg decided to ask "I see you have Viarmo's nephew with you. Already making connections?"

Reyvin merely shrugged "You never know when a favor here and there can come in useful. I am counting on me bringing him here being looked upon as one."

The King nodded "Prudent." and then gave him a slightly impressed look "I am honestly surprised that you care enough to do this, I know I said already but mages rarely care about the opinions of others."

The Dunmer took a swig of some very high shelf mead and said "Well to be fair I was raised in a household of high standing, so I did have some lessons in these things." Then quickly shaking his head added "Not that I like politicking its just that it gets me something for doing nothing so there is no reason not to."

Deciding to change the topic he asked "Is the target of your affections going to be visiting tonight?"

The King immediately blushed and with a barely controlled voice said "Yes, she will."

"Oh?" Reyvin raised a teasing eyebrow "And who is she? You never did tell me plainly."

"Her name is Elisif" the bashful Torygg quietly said and added dreamily "She is by far the fairest woman I ever laid my eyes upon."

"Elisif the Fair then?" Reyvin asked chuckling at his inside joke.

The King's eyes widened "Yes, that is what she will be called! You truly are a better advisor than I hoped."

Reyvin merely rolled his eyes at the young man's childishness.

Their conversation was interrupted by Erikur approaching the high table "A good evening my King" He bowed and turned to Reyvin "And to you Court Mage, I hope that our little... altercation earlier didn't sour any possible cooperation."

Reyvin shrugged "Honestly, at this point I consider insults and threats to be some kind of Nordic greeting so no, there are no hard feelings."

Both the Nords he was conversing with chuckled awkwardly, but made no attempt to correct him.

The trio of young men were soon joined by the other Thane of the city, Bryling "Fair greetings to you honored friends, and Erikur."

Erikur bristled, while the king wisely decided not to comment.

Reyvin had no such compunctions however and snorted into his drink, almost spilling it "Dear gods, I have heard the two of you speak only twice by now and you already seem like an old married couple to me."

Both the thanes glared at him, but the King could be seen thoughtfully scratching his beard, completely ignoring the glares now pointed in his direction.

A crisp laugh distracted them as Sybille suddenly appeared in her seat, cup in hand "I keep telling everyone that but they just have to keep at it. I swear the tension between them can cut the white gold tower."

Bryling, always the patient one said "I see that you have all indulged a bit too much with the mead if you think anything of the sort could ever happen."

Erikur immediately agreed "I am not so tasteless as to have anything to do with this woman."

While they were sputtering their denials, Reyvin used his slowly developing mental senses to probe their thoughts and saw that something was definitely being hidden there, but there was nothing concrete so he would just have to shelve those thoughts for now.

He did share a quick look with Sybille, but she merely smiled conspiratorially and said nothing.

Curious.

The male Thane cut off the line of conversation "In any case I came up here to make amends if needed, I wish you all a pleasant evening." and left for his table.

Bryling quickly followed suit.

"I do wonder what their game is." Reyvin muttered.

A bit too loudly as he heard the King sigh. "Their goals are as mysterious as the n- eight divines."

A slip of the tongue or a test? Reyvin chose to completely ignore the implied subtlety "So, curious of my opinion of my distant supremacist cousins are you?"

Torygg narrowed his eyes "If you wish to be so blunt about it, yes."

Reyvin shrugged "They had my father killed, you can conclude the rest."

A faint smile graced the King's face as he returned to his drink.

Sybille cut in dramatically "Ah, to be so easily forgotten. Woe is me!"

"Oh please." Reyvin rolled his eyes "You couldn't care about the topic if I forced you to."

She merely nodded happily and returned to the... wine? she was drinking.

Torygg raised an eyebrow "I see that the two of you already got to know each other?"

Reyvin nodded "Of course, if we are to be colleagues we might as well make sure to know how best not to step on each other's toes."

"There you go again with your oddly specific expressions." Sybille said a bit intrigued.

A mere shrug was her answer "I am a poetic mer, what can I say?"

"Right, poetic." Her voice dryer than the Alik'r.

While the 'higher ups' were having their talks, Reyvin's two followers were enjoying some free high quality service while they could.

"So, how did the two of you meet?" Marco asked Davos excitedly.

Davos took a sip of wine "He hired me to kill overly curious brats."

Marco snorted "If you don't want to tell me then don't, no need to come up with absurd stories."

Davos stared at him while playing with the butter knife in his hand, twirling it dexterously and saying nothing.

Realization slowly dawned in Marco's eyes "Why are you so open about it then?" He asked fearfully.

Davos shrugged "You will be following us for quite a while if my hunch is right, and will obviously end up in less than 'heroic' situations. I don't want you to make problems when we are in a pickle."

The young bard looked at him in surprise "But why would you trust me with that information?"

Davos' smirk was extremely relaxed "Because Marco, you blab you get the stab as it were."

"Oh." the young mer gulped.

The banquet lasted for a couple of hours, after the meal was done the musicians arrived and it turned into a proper party with Nords singing and dancing like they were in a tavern instead of a palace.

Once Elisif arrived Reyvin had a fun time teasing Torygg into asking her for a dance, it took a good ten minutes of goading but the King gathered his courage and left for his glorious conquest.

As he left Sybille quipped "Not going to ask me for a dance oh dear colleague of mine?"

Reyvin rolled his eyes and offered his hand "Well then, would the lady grace me with a dance?"

"Gladly" She smiled.

They danced for a while with Sybille attempting to tease him, expecting the usual reactions from a teenager but much to her surprise, Reyvin merely teased back.

After the song was finished they sat down for a drink and Reyvin shared some gossip about the goings on at the college.

Some time later their conversation was interrupted by a 'drunk looking' Erikur "Ah if it isn't the mer of the hour!"

Reyvin greeted him with a polite smile "And if it isn't the Thane himself."

Said thane proudly rose his chest "Indeed, 'THE' Thane."

He offered Reyvin a cup of mead and took one for himself "I know I already said it, but I hope we can work together, come let us share a drink."

Reyvin took a look at the cup and smiled, picking it up and clinking it against Erikur's. They both took a deep swig from it and Erikur's smile turned a bit feral behind his friendly mask.

Reyvin smirked back and a ring appeared on his left hand and let out a gentle green glow "Right spicy this drink" He said as he happily stared at the now very worried Thane "I think I might want more."

Erikur gulped "Fuck."

"Indeed" Reyvin smiled "I don't know what gave you the idea that such a shitty concoction would even have an effect, but I will count this as a promise of a favor from you... unless you want me to react in a more apropreate manner?"

The Thane nodded quickly in defeat "Right, of course."

"Ta ta!" Reyvin waved happily and returned to his conversation with Sybille who was now glaring at the Thane's back, he was positively surprised to see an ice spell fizzle out of her hand when he decided not to escalate the situation.

"So protective already." He smirked.

She merely rolled her eyes and said jovially "Oh please, I can't have the honored position of court mage threatened by the likes of him."

Reyvin nodded "In any case, you still have my thanks."

"Another dance then?" Sybille asked.

"Of course."

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Can I please have a crumb of stone m'lord?

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