The air yacht moved with smoothness one might associate with a whale moving through the waters, rather than with a craft that was – of course! – sailing through the air. As it moved forward, Ambassador Gro-Belseg stood on the deck. His feet were firmly planted on the polished wood, and his right arm rested on the head of an elaborate carved cane. He was dressed, like any diplomat in his rank, in dark-blue, gold-trimmed uniform, remininscent of a 19th century cavalryman.
"The gnomes." – he said, with a slight growl in his voice. It had taken Gro-Belseg years of training, sometimes in front of a mirror and sometimes with a tutor, to reduce the growl that characterized the Orcs to a barely-noticeable accent. "They could be hiding something. They do not seem to be fond of trolls. That is somewhat suspicious."
"The fact is, Gelbag, nobody likes any goblinoids," – sighed the wizard next to him. Goblinoids was, of course, the general term for Orcs, Goblins, trolls and their relatives. "That is just a fact of life. Outside Allanea, you're pretty much screwed if you go anywhere."
"Yes, I'm aware of this," – Ambassador Gro-Gelseg said, looking at the wizard next to him with some displeasure. The wizard was short by Gro-Gelseg's standards, standing just under six feet tall, wearing a formal dark-violet robe and leaning on a staff. Only a pair of glasses betrayed the fact that he was coming from a nation that was, in fact, in possession of modern technologies. His dark-grey skin, yellowish eyes and pointed ears stood out even here, among Allaneans. "I'm fully aware of this, Azadran. But consider: will the fact that they obviously do not like trolls cause problems for Allanea? Do they have trolls chained up somewhere working in the mines? Will they, I don’t know, try to do terrorist shit against Allanean trolls? Will this idiocy expand to, say, my cousin's husband who is actually a Goblin?"
"Is this the one who is an engineer in New Gundabad?"
"Yes. The point is, what exactly does this mean? Is this really just a fear resulting from years of enmity, or is it something worse? Now, obviously, they're entitled to not let trolls in their nation. I'm just wondering – is this a minor issue, or a portent of something worse?"
"Probably just a minor issue. " – said the Gith.
"That's the likely thing. What I'm imagining is that they just have an unusual tax collection system, but it's totally possible I'm wrong and there's some totally off-the-rails nutjob slavery stuff going on. We land, and suddenly they're stir-frying a baby or something."
"Nobody is going to be that brazen. They're not mind flayers."
"Probably not – which, again, is why we must be on our toes. To speak of being on our toes… we're coming up on the Thugorp border now. All make ready."
"The gnomes." – he said, with a slight growl in his voice. It had taken Gro-Belseg years of training, sometimes in front of a mirror and sometimes with a tutor, to reduce the growl that characterized the Orcs to a barely-noticeable accent. "They could be hiding something. They do not seem to be fond of trolls. That is somewhat suspicious."
"The fact is, Gelbag, nobody likes any goblinoids," – sighed the wizard next to him. Goblinoids was, of course, the general term for Orcs, Goblins, trolls and their relatives. "That is just a fact of life. Outside Allanea, you're pretty much screwed if you go anywhere."
"Yes, I'm aware of this," – Ambassador Gro-Gelseg said, looking at the wizard next to him with some displeasure. The wizard was short by Gro-Gelseg's standards, standing just under six feet tall, wearing a formal dark-violet robe and leaning on a staff. Only a pair of glasses betrayed the fact that he was coming from a nation that was, in fact, in possession of modern technologies. His dark-grey skin, yellowish eyes and pointed ears stood out even here, among Allaneans. "I'm fully aware of this, Azadran. But consider: will the fact that they obviously do not like trolls cause problems for Allanea? Do they have trolls chained up somewhere working in the mines? Will they, I don’t know, try to do terrorist shit against Allanean trolls? Will this idiocy expand to, say, my cousin's husband who is actually a Goblin?"
"Is this the one who is an engineer in New Gundabad?"
"Yes. The point is, what exactly does this mean? Is this really just a fear resulting from years of enmity, or is it something worse? Now, obviously, they're entitled to not let trolls in their nation. I'm just wondering – is this a minor issue, or a portent of something worse?"
"Probably just a minor issue. " – said the Gith.
"That's the likely thing. What I'm imagining is that they just have an unusual tax collection system, but it's totally possible I'm wrong and there's some totally off-the-rails nutjob slavery stuff going on. We land, and suddenly they're stir-frying a baby or something."
"Nobody is going to be that brazen. They're not mind flayers."
"Probably not – which, again, is why we must be on our toes. To speak of being on our toes… we're coming up on the Thugorp border now. All make ready."