Andlátkyn; Vandr Sanses unin Alagaësia

Elves' Arrival

Blue was almost bursting with excitement as he watched the elves racing across the landscape, kicking up clouds of sand behind them. He bounced on his feet, admiring their bright auras as he gauged how far away they were.

He figured it to be about two miles out as Nasuada came riding in on her warhorse Battle-storm, Elva just in front of her. "Good day to you, Lady Nasuada!" He greeted, GB humming as well.

He almost jumped when he saw the wild, barely contained storm of energy appear behind the woman with a flash of orange light. It was the usual Firelady and Angela, the elemental having teleported herself and the herbalist.

"Awe-inspiring, aren't they?" Angela asked Nasuada, who flinched at her.
"How is it you always manage to be present when something interesting is about to occur?"

"Oh well, I like to know what's going on, and being there is so much faster than waiting for someone to tell me about it afterward. Besides, people always leave out important pieces of information, or whether someone's ring finger is longer than their index finger, or whether they have magical shields protecting them, or whether the donkey they are riding happens to have a bald patch in the shape of a rooster's head. Don't you agree?"
"Certainly. You can never know these things without being present!" Sinead agreed with a wide smile.

Nasuada seemed to resign as Error appeared as well, Lust, Dance, Alter, and Nightmare's boys not far behind.
"You never reveal your secrets, do you?"

"Now, what good would that do? Everyone would get all excited over some piffle of a spell, and then I'd have to spend hours trying to explain, and in the end, King Orrin would want to chop off my head and I would have to fight off half your spellcasters during my escape. It's just not worth the effort, if you ask me."
"Your answer hardly inspires confidence. But-"
"That's because you are too serious, Lady Nightstalker."

Ignoring the comment, she continued. "But tell me, why would you want to know if someone is riding a donkey with a bald patch shaped like a rooster's head?"
"Ah, that. Well, the man who owns that particular donkey cheated me at a game of knucklebones out of three buttons and a rather interesting shard of enchanted crystal."

"Cheated you?"
The herbalist pursed her lips. "The knucklebones were loaded. I switched them on him, but then he replaced them with a set of his own when I was distracted…. I'm still not sure how he tricked me."
"So you were both cheating." Nasuada deadpanned as Error slowly brought his hand to his face in amusement, Killer giggling quietly.

"It was a valuable crystal!" Angela argued, Blue sighing in disappointment.
"Besides, how can you cheat a cheater?"
Sinead snorted loudly, turning away as Dust laughed without restraint.
"I want a game night with her!"

By then they had to separate as Nasuada's guards, the Nighthawks, burst in from the tents, surrounding the leader of the Varden, the captain named Garven addressing her with a surprising amount of suppressed emotion.
"My Lady, may I please have a word with you in private?"

She glanced at everyone present, most of the skeletons walking off already before she nodded at those left to depart as well. As soon as they were beyond the human range of hearing, the captain snapped.
"Blast it, Lady Nasuada, you shouldn't have left us as you did!"

"Peace, Captain. It was a small enough risk, and I felt it was important to be here in time to greet the elves."
The man punched his thigh with a clank in frustration. "A small risk? Not an hour ago, you received proof that Galbatorix still has agents hidden among us. He has been able to infiltrate us again and again, and yet you see fit to abandon your escort and go racing through a host of potential assassins! Have you forgotten the attack in Aberon, or how the evil Twins slew your father?"
"Captain Garven! You go too far."