"Dues," murmured Lucarius, letting his shock fall from him like so much water. Underneath it he looked... troubled. Cautious, now. One hand lifted to his face, touching his jaw in tense wonderment. "I... see." He didn't; not really. They'd both understand that. But the thought that powerful men would resort to such low drudgery for something had opened a black box of possibility in the back of his mind.
If men were all beasts than clever and ambitious men were the most dangerous kind; with sharpened senses and unerring direction, always up. Lucarius likened them to sharks, able to scent blood in the water for miles and hunt tirelessly for the source.
Is there more to gain here than I anticipated? wondered Lucarius, and wet his lips with the pale pink tip of his tongue. Smoothed his expression with a smile. "Let me put us back, then, on even footing. Magister Lucarius Silanus. Officially here as an envoy of the Imperial Senate. So..." His smile quirked cattishly up, and he winked, "If my cultural peculiarities cause anyone trouble, I must be suffered to some degree. Diplomatic immunity is quite a beautiful thing, and I'll admit I enjoy seeing the hackles rise on some of these backbred moralists. They love to hate the idea of slavery; but most slaves are worlds better-kept and better-educated than any elf you'd find in an alienage. If a few have intolerable men to master them, is the improvement in status for the majority worth their plight? And does the absence of slavery elsewhere save elves from horror?"
He snorted, as if the answer were obvious: small-minded nonsense, barely worth his breath to elaborate on. So he made an airy wave of his hand, as if to brush away that vein of conversation. "But... thank you, for the warning. I hadn't expected such gentlemanly manners."
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If men were all beasts than clever and ambitious men were the most dangerous kind; with sharpened senses and unerring direction, always up. Lucarius likened them to sharks, able to scent blood in the water for miles and hunt tirelessly for the source.
Is there more to gain here than I anticipated? wondered Lucarius, and wet his lips with the pale pink tip of his tongue. Smoothed his expression with a smile. "Let me put us back, then, on even footing. Magister Lucarius Silanus. Officially here as an envoy of the Imperial Senate. So..." His smile quirked cattishly up, and he winked, "If my cultural peculiarities cause anyone trouble, I must be suffered to some degree. Diplomatic immunity is quite a beautiful thing, and I'll admit I enjoy seeing the hackles rise on some of these backbred moralists. They love to hate the idea of slavery; but most slaves are worlds better-kept and better-educated than any elf you'd find in an alienage. If a few have intolerable men to master them, is the improvement in status for the majority worth their plight? And does the absence of slavery elsewhere save elves from horror?"
He snorted, as if the answer were obvious: small-minded nonsense, barely worth his breath to elaborate on. So he made an airy wave of his hand, as if to brush away that vein of conversation. "But... thank you, for the warning. I hadn't expected such gentlemanly manners."