"Sometimes, I wonder what kind of man I might've become if the blessing had never found me"
---------------
Before she could ask what he meant, the great doors burst open with a crash that echoed through the chamber like thunder. Lord Tarkun strode in, and Anumi felt her courage falter at the sight of him. He was everything the stories claimed and worse. Massive shoulders strained against a leather jerkin that bore the stains of recent violence, and his bald head gleamed with sweat despite the chamber's chill. The scar across his neck a souvenir from some long-ago battle. seemed to pulse with its own malevolent life. But it was his eyes that truly unsettled her. They burned with the fervor of a man who had gazed too long into the abyss and found it staring back.
He took his seat without acknowledging their presence, pouring himself a generous measure of ale from a pitcher that had clearly seen significant use throughout the evening. When he finally looked up, his grin was the predatory leer of a wolf contemplating a lamb.
"Lord Arzash," he said, his voice a rumbling growl that seemed to emanate from some deep cavern in his chest.
"How good of you to come here in this critical situation. I trust your journey here was enlightening."
Arzash inclined his head with courtly grace.
"Lord Tarkun. Thank you for agreeing to meet. These are troubled times, and wisdom suggests we should seek resolution before matters spiral beyond control."
"Resolution?" Tarkun spat the word like a curse. "You speak of resolution while
your family spreads lies and refuses to honor sacred treaties."
The accusation hung in the air like smoke from a funeral pyre. Anumi felt every muscle in her body tense, her hand instinctively moving toward her hidden blade before catching herself. Around the table, Urartu hands similarly drifted toward weapons.
"Strong words," Arzash replied mildly. "Perhaps you could enlighten us as to their meaning?"
Tarkun's grin widened, revealing teeth stained yellow by years of hard living. "Oh, I think you know exactly what I mean, old man. Poor Belshaz dies in his chambers, and suddenly your family claims my rightful inheritance is tainted by murder. How convenient to refuse what the treaty clearly grants." Anumi felt heat rise in her cheeks.
"We're not refusing anything based on convenience. We're refusing to hand power to murderers." she said.
"Murderers?" Tarkun's laugh was like gravel grinding in a mill.
"You accuse my family of killing your own burgomaster, yet you offer no proof, no evidence
beyond your own suspicions."
"The timing was remarkably convenient for your family," Arzash said carefully.
"Belshaz dies just as his term enters its his first months, and suddenly the Urartu can claim the position."
"The treaty is bloody obvious," Tarkun replied, his voice rising dangerously.
"When a burgomaster dies, the position passes to the other family. This has been our
law for generations."
"A law that gives your family every reason to want Belshaz dead," Anumi shot back.
Tarkun's gaze fixed on her with the intensity of a hunting hawk spotting prey.
"Careful, Elf girl. You're accusing me of murder without proof. That's a dangerous game to play."
"Is it? When everyone in town knows your family has been chafing under
Dabru leadership? When your men were seen near Belshaz's quarters the night
he died?"
"My men patrol this entire town," Tarkun snarled. "Of course they were seen.
That proves nothing."
Arzash intervened before the exchange could escalate further.
"Lord Tarkun, we didn't come here to trade accusations. We came to discuss how we might
resolve this impasse without bloodshed."
"There is no impasse," Tarkun replied firmly. "The treaty is clear, and I will not
be denied what is rightfully mine by baseless accusations and hurt feelings."
"Rightfully yours?" Anumi's voice rose despite her efforts to remain calm.
"You speak of rights while ignoring the fact that Belshaz was murdered? How can we
hand power to those who benefit from his death?"
"Because," Tarkun said, leaning forward with predatory intensity,
"the alternative is war."