Book 2: Chapter 43 (1/2)

“Won’t you reconsider, Vur?”

Diamant’s voice floated up from Vur’s arm, causing him to turn his head away from his meal. The elementals that composed the Gemstone Merchants Clan didn’t need to eat, but after finding out their new clan master did, they had bought everything they could get their hands on. Vur swallowed a lump of yellow fruit that he didn’t know the name of. “I’m not going to pay tribute,” he said and wrinkled his nose. He glanced up at Stella who was sitting on his head with a tiny notebook in her hands. “It didn’t taste good.”

“Okay. Mangos are off the list,” Stella said, crossing out an item on the page. “Next, you have to try the lychees.” She gestured towards a plate of red fruit with her quill.

“I know that you’re the new clan master,” Diamant said, “but you’ve never run a clan before, have you? And it doesn’t seem like you’re from around here. Why not delegate all your tasks to me so I can preserve the integrity of the clan?”

“I’m the ruler of a kingdom,” Vur said with a snort. “I can run a clan.” He bit into the lychee like it was a small apple, crunching through its rind and seed. He chewed for a bit before nodding. “It’s sweet and bitter. I like it.”

“Lychees are good,” Stella said with a nod before drawing a circle in her notebook. “But you’re supposed to remove the rind and not eat the seed.”

“I’m sure you’re a great ruler in the kingdom you came from, but you really don’t understand how dangerous the dwarves are,” Diamant said, his voice pleading. “I can guarantee the prosperity of the clan. We’re already one of the richest. Wealth will continue to accumulate as long as you don’t do anything to irritate the dwarves. Please.”

“No tributes!” Vur smacked his runed arm with his opposite hand, causing Diamant to yelp. “Stop asking.”

The door to the room they were in opened. Stella tilted her head at the intruder, a stout boulder with stubby arms and legs. “It’s not time for the new fruit,” she said.

“The tribute dwarves are here,” the boulder said. “Should I invite them inside?”

“No,” Vur said as he threw a few unpeeled lychees into his mouth before standing up. “They won’t fly as far if you do.”

“Fly…?” the boulder asked as Vur walked past it, leaving the dining room and entering a lobby of sorts. He had traveled with Diamant to the main headquarters of the clan. When he first met Diamant, he had been teleported to one of the clan’s rare-creature-gathering points.

The boulders and rocks saluted Vur, staring at him with unblinking gemstone eyes as he marched to the entrance of the headquarters which also happened to be a mountain—the very mountain Diamant had formed from. Three dwarves were waiting at the base of the mountain with disgruntled faces. Their expressions turned to those of confusion when Vur stepped outside.

“You are?” one of the dwarves asked. His face was green, and his nose was purple. “Where’s Diamant?”

“I’m Vur, the new clan master,” Vur said, crossing his arms over his bare chest. Since Tafel wasn’t around, he saw no reason to wear his armor.

“The new clan master?” the green-faced dwarf asked. “I haven’t heard anything about a new clan master.”