Checkmate

Black Knight

"Come in, Lio."

I shut the door behind me as I entered Leader Iola's chambers, setting down my notebook and writing implements on the small table by the door.

"Tea." Leader Iola held out a steaming cup she had just poured from a jug as I approached, taking another for herself as we both settled onto the comfortable armchairs in the corner of the room. 

"How did it go yesterday?" I asked her, curling my fingers around the cup to warm them.

She smiled.

"First day, so everyone is being civil, friendly even." She adjusted a cushion and leaned back. 

"So no drama?" I enquired, raising an eyebrow. She shook her head in response.

"No drama. Then again, these are the milder Clans. The others get here this afternoon." She smiled slightly. "That's when the fun will start."

I knew what she meant. The Clans who had arrived early were friendlier and more open, as ours was, usually the ones called upon to mediate and keep things calm. I wouldn't have been surprised if their earlier arrival had been a carefully orchestrated move so that they had time to prepare and brace themselves for the others. 

"We might have an advantage, thanks to hosting in Vargas." Leader Iola smiled a little impishly. "It's such an effort to get here, most will be too tired to do much more than small talk and eat for the first few days. By the time they're recovered, we'll have a headstart."

I laughed.

"Clan games, My Lord?"

She inclined her head.

"Clan politics is a game." She sipped slowly. "You have to be a good strategist to play."

I raised my cup to her in acknowledgement and sipped at the mildly herbal liquid. 

"For instance, why do you think Vargas is hosting in Galae, not in Valen, the Clan stronghold?" She looked at me enquiringly.

"I was wondering that myself." I admitted.

"Strategy." She stated, counting off as she continued, "It takes time to get here and you will need time to recover. That's enough to cool off the hotter heads and get the mediators prepared. And it's a fortress, as I'm sure you noticed during your exploration. Easier to contain and monitor, easier to manage who comes in and out. Then there's the obvious." 

"You mean Galae itself." I knew what she meant immediately. 

"It's unlike any other settlement in all the Clans." She took a long drink from her cup before setting it down. "Unlike anything the OutClans have seen. Everyone will be intrigued by Galae and its inhabitants. And I'm sure that's what the Clan Leader is banking on." 

"They selected Galae deliberately." I said slowly. 

"Quite deliberately." She stated with firm certainty. "And of-course they're cagey about Valen anyway."

"Has anyone from our Clan been there?" I asked curiously. From what I knew, there wasn't a whole lot of information about it in the Tomes, adding to the mystique that was Vargas.

Leader Iola shook her head.

"Galae has always been their 'outside face', so to speak. And you can see why." She gestured vaguely. "The place, the people. You have to admit, they're very distracting."

That word conjured him up immediately. Those eyes, that face, that body, that throaty laugh.

Distracting. You can say that again.