"Mr. Rurik, might I know your purpose in being here today?" Chronos asked, doing his best to distract and calm the dwarf.
His eyes lit up as he began his explanation.
"Well, I want to expand the dwarven trade with the Leighla Kingdom. Right now, we only provide high-grade weapons and armor to the royal knights and a few other orders. But if we can expand the trade to low or mid-grade weapons or even just simple household appliances I believe it would benefit both of our kingdoms.
Your people would receive the tools needed to live their lives while my people would receive the wool, food, hides and other necessities for maintaining a high standard of living in the mountains of Kharad Vorn..."
Without waiting for an invitation, he immediately launched into his extensive proposal and how it could benefit both nations.
He spoke for nearly 20 minutes like he was worried that Chronos might run off before pausing to ask for Chronos's opinion.
"I think that is a wonderful proposal but I'm not sure how those old fools in the court will take it. They hate anything that looks like it's outside of their control and several new trade channels that transport household appliances wouldn't really be worth it for them."
Several people nearby nearly choked as they heard Chronos insulting the court before distancing themselves. They'd already been distancing themselves from Rurik though Chronos hadn't found out why yet.
"Indeed, that is one of my worries, but I think I know how to convince them. All I need to do is..."
And Rurik was once again in explanation mode as his mouth rapidly fired off words as fast as he could.
During the middle of this the clerk near the door stood up and slowly walked over to them. He politely interrupted them to give a message to Chronos before the dwarf could talk his ear off.
"Excuse me. Sir, the court will be ready to see you in ten minutes. And you may want to keep your distance from Mr. Rurik. One of the counts on the court expressly ordered us not to speak with him."
"Oh, which count did that? They should know better than to torture a dwarf." Chronos stated.
The clerk hesitated as he didn't want to get in trouble with his employers but denying the heir to Duke Ulv might be just as bad. Luckily Rurik saved him from that decision.
"It was Count Dellock. He's a cruel man whose lands border my Kharad Vorn nation. For the past few years, he's been hiking up the prices on grains and herbs while trying to get us to concede some of the land near the border to him. It's gotten so bad that I came all the way here in one of his carriages just for this negotiation."
So that was why Rurik was willing to endure so much mistreatment just to have a hearing with the court.
That can't have been easy, and it explained why Rurik was missing anything that a dwarf normally used to distract themselves.
Chronos recognized the name of Count Dellock. He'd met him during social gatherings in the past. The man always smelled of money, greed, and an oily smell young Chronos had been told was copious amounts of hair wax.
"I see. As much as I'd like to continue our conversation Mr. Rurik it seems I need to go now. Oh right, here if you would be so kind I need these repaired before I leave today."
Chronos handed over the pair of steel gauntlets he normally used in combat. They had multiple new dents, several scratches, and on one side one of them had been torn open, but he hadn't had time to fix them with everything else going on.
Rurik's expression visibly brightened as he'd just received something to fill his time with until it was his turn. But the knights around the room stepped forward to intervene.
"Sir, Mr. Rurik is not allowed to have anything while he's here."
"Let me guess it's on the orders of Count Dellock?" They didn't respond but that silence was more than enough for Chronos. "Well, that's a pity. Then I'm afraid I'll have to report this to the King under the authority of Duke Ulv. Intentionally torturing an ambassador from a friendly nation is a severe violation of the knight's code and this court after all."
The knights audibly gulped as a cold sweat covered their brows.
Their purpose as knights was to ensure that everyone had a chance to speak with the court and they only took orders from the court and the king.
Now they hadn't done anything wrong by following the orders of a count within the court but allowing a friendly nations ambassador to be tortured by said count was wrong.
It was a tricky situation where if they stepped forward to stop it the count could get them fired on some charge but following his orders would result in the same consequences.
Before they could come to a decision Chronos spoke again, "Let me handle Count Dellock. By the time I leave I highly doubt he'll still be a part of the court so for now just watch Mr. Rurik carefully."
The knights hesitated for a moment before nodding and stationing two guards next to Rurik as he started eagerly removing the dents and buffing the scratches out using dwarven magic.
Smiling Chronos walked towards the door to the courtroom.
It opened as his name was called from inside. When the doors closed behind him a herald announced his presence for the court.
"Come forward to the dais." Came the King's voice.
Walking from the shadowy doorway to the dais in the center of the room Chronos was able to see the Royal Court better.
It was a circular room with seating rising up both sides and an overlooking balcony for nobles that had been invited to view the proceedings. The King sat in a throne directly in front of the dais with five well trained knights emanating the power of the fourth rank guarding him from any assassination attempts.
The power they gave off slightly distorted the space in front of the king, hiding his appearance and protecting him from illusions and mental magics.
To everyone's shock and horror Chronos knelt down on one knee and spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear him before he had been given permission to do so.
"Your Majesty I request that disciplinary action be taken against Count Dellock."