Chapter 124: Calanthe Has Something on Her Mind
Arthur clearly heard a murmur of conversation ripple through the hall. It seemed that on other occasions, the Queen preferred to increase the pressure rather than so lightly change the subject as she was doing now.
He thought for a moment and said:
"Because before entering Brokilon, I had just helped them defeat a group of elves who were staging a surprise attack, and I rescued one of their companions from the jaws of a forty-meter-long giant centipede."
"Later, the rescued dryad described to Eithné what I looked like during the battle, and she suddenly became very reasonable."
He did not mention that Maria was the dryad he saved, as he didn't know how Cintra viewed the matter of the Red-headed Kite.
Calanthe nodded:
"A forty-meter-long giant centipede. You almost make me want to see its magnificent presence with my own eyes."
While she didn't directly refute him, her flat tone clearly showed the Queen didn't quite believe it.
In fact, some of the other ministers standing in the hall simply burst out laughing.
"Forty meters? Why didn't he just say a hundred meters?"
"Exactly, since he doesn't have to prove it, I could say the same!"
"Maybe he dug up a few nests of centipedes, and they totaled forty meters."
...
The mocking voices swirled in the wind, and the hall filled with hostility.
Maria, who had been kneeling to the side, suddenly trembled and stood up:
"Arthur is not lying! I can testify!"
A voice sneered:
"What has become of this country when common tricksters can wander into the great hall?"
Another person chimed in:
"If you ask me, it's a systemic problem. Look at Temeria, Aedirn, Kaedwen you don't see this nonsense where the Kings hold power."
"What? You say Demavend spent 300 crowns on aphrodisiacs last year? Never mind, then."
These voices were like flies, just loud enough to be heard, yet impossible to pinpoint the source.
Calanthe's fingertips tapped erratically on the armrest, her brow furrowing and then smoothing out. She looked at Maria and asked gently:
"How do you intend to prove that the giant centipede Arthur killed was truly forty meters long? Brokilon is over a hundred miles from Cintra, you know."
"That won't be necessary, I brought the evidence with me."
Maria spoke, drawing something from her waist. A white rope appeared in her hand. The rope was about the thickness of a thumb and emitted a faint white glow, clearly not an ordinary object.
Maria held the rope high, displaying it around the hall, before addressing Calanthe:
"Your Majesty, to convince these Lords, perhaps you should summon your court mages and have them tell you exactly what this object is."
"Hmph, I don't think we need to summon those bookworms."
Mousesack stood up with a smile, surveying the room:
"Although I have resided on Skellige for years, I have served the High Queen for more than twenty. Surely, my magical competence and integrity are trustworthy?"
The old Druid had handled countless difficult problems for Cintra's nobility over the years, giving him significant influence. Whether willing or not, those caught in his gaze nodded in agreement.
"Please hand this magical item to me. I need to study it thoroughly to know what it is."
The old Druid first verified that the rope in Maria's hand was indeed what she claimed, then narrowed his eyes and studied it carefully for a long time before concluding:
"This thing resembles an animal's sinew, but it's been constantly saturated in magic, making its strength much higher."
"Hmm, it's not fully dried yet, so it was likely only recently removed."
"Hah, that pungent smell… I know what it is!"
The old Druid gave his solemn verdict: "This is the sinew of a giant centipede! Back-calculating from the length of the sinew, the centipede's body length must have been at least thirty meters long."
This caused an uproar in the hall. Someone exclaimed in astonishment: "There are truly monsters that large in this world?"
"Why not? The double-cross demon Alzur summoned once destroyed half of Maribor City. Its size couldn't have been much smaller than this."
Others were skeptical: "Centipedes don't have sinew, do they?"
"Calling it a giant centipede is only because it looks like a centipede; it doesn't mean it actually is a centipede this thing is an authentic magical creature from another sphere." Mousesack chuckled, casting an inquiring glance at Calanthe.
Calanthe subtly raised her right hand, granting the Druid permission to perform magic in the hall.
Mousesack raised his short staff and tapped the sinew, muttering: "In the name of nature, I command you: using magic as clay, complete the skeleton, drape the flesh, and reveal the true form!" He chanted the spell three times. Magic surged from the staff, and the sinew hovered in the air, its surface light suddenly brightening. Threads of light stretched outward from it.
The sound of the ministers sharply inhaling echoed and bounced between the walls and columns, eventually dissolving into a chaotic murmur.
The previously somewhat spacious hall was now occupied by a massive centipede, outlined in glowing threads, lying silently on the floor. Its tail stretched toward the palace doors, and two enormous chelicerae pressed against the tiger skin rug beneath the throne, towering even above Calanthe's head the sinew itself was clearly visible within the left chelicera, connecting bone and muscle.
"My heavens, if this thing moved, it could probably smash the city walls down!" A white-bearded old noble reached out to touch the centipede's limb, but his hand passed right through.
The old noble's muttered words, however, annoyed a general standing nearby. His short hair and beard were snow-white, yet he maintained a sharp, capable look: "Old friend, have some faith in our city defenses! I personally oversaw the reinforcement of those walls; even a trebuchet can't breach them!"
Faced with the old general's rebuke, the noble disregarded it and continued to express his pessimism:
"This thing is a magical creature. You can't judge magic by ordinary standards."
He then smoothly changed the subject: "Alas, a great Northern kingdom, and its capital walls can't even withstand a single monster's attack. What has become of this country?"
Koglgrim couldn't resist interjecting: "Sir Evan, the monster Alzur summoned was called a Vukodlak. It's completely different from a giant centipede. Furthermore, even the Vukodlak only destroyed the buildings within Maribor City, but it couldn't shake the walls."
"Fine, fine. Young people nowadays, so stiff-necked. Not a single one understands how to respect their elders." Having been corrected twice, the old noble felt his pride smarting and began to rely on his age.
But his earlier remarks had clearly disgusted Calanthe. The Queen did not pass up this chance to strike at a dissenter:
"Sir Evan, the man who just spoke to you is a Witcher, and one of the very first batch of Witchers at that."
"If we're talking age, you should address him as your great-great-great-grandfather, at the very least."