“I think someone should eat a few of them and see how they like it!” Abernathy snapped.
“Would such a meal interest you?” Questor asked.
Ben stepped forward impatiently. “I’m not asking what you think about what they did. I’m asking what you think about helping them.”
Abernathy was appalled. His ears flattened back and his glasses slipped askew on his nose. “I would sooner bed down with fleas. High Lord! I would sooner share lodging with cats!”
“What about the fact that the trolls have forced these people into slavery?” Ben pressed.
“It seems clear to me that they brought it on themselves!” his scribe answered stiffly. “In any case, you have far more important concerns than the G’home Gnomes!”
Ben frowned. “Do I?”
“High Lord,” Questor interrupted and stepped forward. “The Melchor is dangerous country and the Crag Trolls have never been the most loyal of the King’s subjects. They are a tribal people, very primitive, very unreceptive to intervention from anyone not of their own country. The old King kept them in line primarily by staying out of their business.
When he had to intervene, he did so with an army to stand behind him.”
“And I have no army to stand behind me, do I?” Ben finished. “I don’t even have the services of the Paladin.”
“High Lord, the G’home Gnomes have been nothing but trouble for as long as anyone can remember!” Abernathy stepped over to join Questor. “They are a nuisance wherever they go! They are cannibals and thieves! Why would you even consider helping them in this dispute?”
Questor nodded in agreement. “Perhaps this kind of request is one best refused, High Lord.”
“No, Questor,” Ben replied at once. “This is exactly the kind of request that I cannot refuse.” He looked at the wizard and the scribe in turn and shook his head. “You don’t understand, do you? I came into Landover to be King. I cannot pick and choose when I will be King and over whom. I am King now and always and for everyone who needs me. That is the way it works with monarchies. I know that much from the history of my own world. A King must proclaim and administer the laws of the Kingdom fairly and equally to all of his subjects. There can be no favorites; there can be no exceptions. What I would do for the Lords of the Greensward and the sprites and nymphs of Elderew I must do for the G’home Gnomes. If I back away once, I set a precedent for doing so the next time and the time after that and so on any time it seems convenient.”
“But you have no support in this, High Lord,” Questor argued.
“Perhaps not. But if I am successful in helping the gnomes, then I might have that support the next time out. The gnomes have given their pledge, which is one pledge more than I had before they made the journey here. They deserve something for that. Maybe the others will pledge as well if they see that the throne can be of use even to the G’home Gnomes. Maybe they will reconsider their position.”
“Maybe cows will fly over the castle,” Abernathy grumbled.
“Maybe,” Ben agreed. “I’ve seen stranger things since I arrived.”
They stared at each other wordlessly for a moment.
“I do not care for this idea at all,” Questor said, his owlish face lined with doubt.
“Nor I,” Abernathy echoed.
“Then we agree,” Ben concluded. “I don’t like it either. But we are going anyway. We are going because that’s what we have to do. School’s out, as the saying goes. It’s time to face life in the real world again. Now let’s have the gnomes back in here.”
Questor and Abernathy bowed in acknowledgment and left we room muttering to themselves.
Thee G’home Gnomes returned with protestations of good intent spilling forth. The furry tree sloths were a favorite food of their people, Fillip insisted. Yes, the furry tree sloths are quite delicious, Sot agreed. Ben cut them short. Their request would be granted, he told them. He would go with them to the Melchor to see what could be done to gain the release of those taken by the Crag Trolls. They would depart Sterling Silver at dawn. Fillip and Sot stared at him, then fell to their knees before him, groveling in a most disgusting manner. Ben had them removed at once.
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