The Doom of Kings_ Legacy of Dhakaan - Don Bassingthwaite [37]
Ekhaas’s ears quivered with fury as she marched. “Incredible,” she snarled at Ashi, walking beside her. “Once we ruled an empire that spanned this continent, and now we have to fight to be recognized as a nation by these … these …”
“Chaat’oor?” Ashi offered.
“Chaat’oor!” Ekhaas said.
To one side of the street, a stick-thin merchant raised her voice as if offering her opinions as much to the Darguuls as to the other Thranes around her. “Darguun? A nation of goblins? What filth! Flame forgive me, but you can’t civilize the uncivilized—Treaty of Thronehold be damned!”
A murmur of anger rose from the Darguuls who had heard and understood the comment. Ekhaas bared her teeth. “Uncivilized?” she said, her voice rising. “Maabet, the vaults of the Kech Volaar hold records and artifacts of a civilization that was old when your ancestors were splashing around in boats trying to get here!”
Ashi took Ekhaas’s arm, urging her onward. “You’re going to start a brawl. You know not every human thinks of goblins that way, Ekhaas.”
It was all Ekhaas could do not to shake her friend’s hand off. “Really? Did you ever wonder where that word or where the names you call our races come from? Before humans came to Khorvaire, we called ourselves dar—the people. Hobgoblins were ghaal’dar, the mighty people. Bugbears—what kind of name is that?—were guul’dar, the strong people. Goblins were golin’dar, the quick people.” Her ears bent down. “And they were the ones that humans met first. Your people mistook the name of our smallest race for the name of our entire people, and they didn’t even get that right. Now many of us use your names for our three races instead of our own. Even I do it!”
She gave a bitter little laugh. The rant and the admission left her feeling drained. Ashi patted her shoulder awkwardly. “You know,” she said as they turned a corner and the lightning rail station came into sight, “if I’m going to be in Darguun, I should learn to speak more of your language. Ghaal’dar, guul’dar, golin’dar … does ‘Darguun’ mean something in Goblin?”
“The land of the people.”
“Does Darguul mean the same thing as guul’dar then?”
Ekhaas laughed again, but this time with genuine humor, and stood straight. “No. It just means someone from Darguun.”
“Ah,” said Ashi.
The duur’kala smiled. “And do you remember back in the watch station, when you said shaat’aar instead of chaat’oor?”
Ashi nodded.
“A shaat’aar is a kind of sweet bun with honey cream in the middle. They’re different.”
Above her scarf, Ashi’s eyes lit up with a smile. “I’ll say.” She jerked her head back in the direction of the arrogant merchant. “I’ll bet she hasn’t had honey cream in her middle in a long time.”
Ekhaas’s laugh was so loud it brought the Thrane guards’ heads—and Tariic’s and Vounn’s—around. Ekhaas, still chuckling, just waved at them.
Fortunately, the members of House Orien who were the staff and crew of the lightning rail system found a customer’s money more important than their race. As soon as the soldiers of Thrane had delivered their charges, the station master saw to it that Tariic, Vounn, Ashi, and the other important members of the delegation were settled in the station’s private lounge while water and food were brought for the common soldiers. Tariic had rented three private lightning rail carts on the northward journey and left them at the station for the return trip. While these were brought back around to wait for the next coach running south, the station master apologized profusely for their rude treatment at the hands of the port officials, insisting that House Orien would lodge a complaint.
They were enjoying a lunch of spicy Thrane cuisine when the shriek of a whistle signaled the arrival of a lightning rail coach. Flamekeep was the terminus of the line; the