Interlude: The Staff Holders’ Decision

 

 

 

Interlude: The Staff Holders’ Decision

 

TONUKAPOLI, who’d returned to Phon’kaven’s capital city of Crescent Moon, let out a long-suffering moan as she read the petition written on parchment paper.

“Sounds like things have taken a crazy turn.”

The sender was Dragontan’s Mayor Antelise Antik. Her petition started with a report about her amicable interaction with the visitors from Mynoghra, followed by a summary of the horrific events that came next. Then came her request for an increased budget to clean up town hall, a myriad of complaints about her work, idle gossip about the King of Ruin’s fetishes, and a strongly worded appeal urging they let her retire early. Given how chaotic the whole letter sounded, she was clearly distraught.

Sympathizing with the problems Dragontan had and the immense pressure placed on its mayor, Tonukapoli honed in on only the essential points contained within Antelise’s frantic letter. Even if her request to retire was legitimate, Phon’kaven was in no position to consider it, much less permit it. Tonukapoli made a note to send her words of encouragement and consolation, along with a large jug of ale. Then she shifted her energy to worrying about Mynoghra’s delegation.

“Those twin girls did that…eh? They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, but it’s still sad to be misled.”

Ever since she’d chatted with the girls during their meeting and the feast that had followed, Tonukapoli thought her life would be all the better if she had granddaughters like them. But peel the layers back, and what she got was something rotten to the core.

She had always believed all that stuff about being in for a great deal of hurt if you fall for evil’s beautiful disguises was just a device used in shallow fairytale storytelling. But falling for it in real life posed a serious threat that didn’t end in a harmless lesson for children. Tonukapoli was reminded of how glad she was to have formed friendly relations with Mynoghra when they did.

Sighing again, the cow-headed elder looked up from the parchment in her hand.

“All righty, ladies and gentlebeasts. Yet ANOTHER urgent letter has arrived by post-horse from Dragontan. This time discussing our all too exciting diplomatic project with the King of Ruin.”

Inside the thatched building in the center of the city, where candles mixed with a special herbal solution illuminated the area in a pallid light, the elderly Staff Holders pierced Tonukapoli with their unrelenting gazes.

“The King of Ruin…ehhhh? Truly frightening if it’s indeed trueeee.”

All the Staff Holders were elderly and each had different beast characteristics. One of them—the deer-headed Staff Holder entrusted with mediating their gatherings—groaned as they looked at the parchment Tonukapoli handed over.

Various paranormal entities permeated this world. They rarely appeared within range of mortals, but they occasionally showed themselves to wreak havoc on the world. Therefore, the Staff Holders didn’t for one minute doubt the existence of such a being, although everyone aside from Tonukapoli knew nothing about the King of Ruin.

“Your lower backs would go out if you saw it with your own eyes. You old farts might just die on the spot!” Tonukapoli teased.

“I’d rather not go out that wayyyy.”

“But what to do about this new problem? Things got outta hand thanks to a certain reckless little Staff Holder, but can we really let it continue like this?”

Despite concerns about what had happened in Dragontan, no one here held Tonukapoli responsible for it. It’d be a lie to say they didn’t each have their own opinions on the matter, but they sympathized with her because nobody knew what they would’ve done in her position. More than anything else, they just didn’t have the time to spare whining about what had already transpired.

They had reached a ripe old age as leaders—they knew a thing or two about how to push aside unnecessary, personal feelings. But even these experienced leaders struggled to come up with something constructive to say after the parchment finished making its way around the room. Mynoghra was so outlandish and out of the ordinary as an empire that it was incredibly difficult to decide how to deal with them.

After a period of contemplation, each elder began to voice their uncertain opinions. And so commenced one of the longest meetings in Staff Holder history.

◇◇◇

“TIME to finalize our decisionnnn.”

The deer-headed Staff Hold clapped their hands.

In the end, the meeting went for days until they finally decided to forgive Mynoghra’s delegation for the problems they’d caused and continue the friendly relations between their two nations.

No one was all too happy with them jumping the gun, but Pepe and Tonukapoli had already established an alliance with Mynoghra in Phon’kaven’s name. This alliance was later sanctioned by the consensus of the Staff Holders, making it formal within Phon’kaven.

Reversing that decision would call their trustworthiness into question and ruin their nation’s reputation. Furthermore, while they had various concerns, they saw the value of accepting Mynoghra’s assistance when they were being logical about it. Setting aside their gut reactions, being allied with Mynoghra was the lifeline Phon’kaven needed right now.

Problems of this magnitude could be easily brushed under the rug and forgiven.

The Staff Holders possessed the wisdom to suppress their emotions to rationally pursue what was in the best interest of their empire.

 

“Still, never did I think the day would come when we’d join hands with evil incarnate… How should we apologize to the Ancestral Spirits when our time has come…?”

“Just blame it on Pepe! It was his decision, so you’d better accept it!”

“He truly did the unthinkable despite you being there with him, Tonukapoliiii.”

“If only Pepe was a little more prudent, we’d feel more comfortable with thissss.”

“Keep your chin up… That said, you can’t call back your die after you’ve cast ’em.”

The Staff Holders naturally began bashing Pepe. Before they knew it, everyone had accepted working with Mynoghra. It wouldn’t have been strange for there to be more discord given their nation’s growing stressful situation and the shocking details contained within the reports they’d been getting from Dragontan.

But for some reason, there was this mysterious conviction among them, like a strong, unshakeable notion that friendship with Mynoghra was sealed in stone and inevitable. This feeling grew even stronger when the topic shifted to the boy they had nominated as their successor.

Not a single soul noticed the mysterious power influencing them.