OathBlade (Wattys2015)

68. Eat, Drink, And Be Merry*

Elery left the meeting feeling more hopeful than she had in some time. Vydel split from the group, as did Dakkan and left Isandel and Nyph to find something to do with themselves while the leaders redistributed their group to achieve a more manageable size.

"Will Great Spirit join?" Nyph asked.

"She dislikes the underground," Elery said. "I'd not subject her to it if she prefers to sleep."

"A shame. I enjoy her presence, especially in this place." Nyph looked around before focusing her attention on the scattered lantern stones hanging from the high ceiling. "A poor substitute for stars these glowing stones make. I look forward to when we leave this place."

"You aren't alone," Isandel said.

"It won't be much longer," Elery assured them. "This is our last moment of rest. We should take it while we're able."

"Of course, Princess," Loix spoke up, prompting her to turn toward him. "The world is at risk and you heathens lead the way. By all means...relax."

Isandel snarled and slammed his tail against the ground. The dry dirt cracked under the impact. "So the miserable coward shows himself."

"Coward?" Loix laughed and spread his arms. "That's rich coming from the beast and his whore." He walked toward them. His lips curled into a snarl. "He must bed you well to make you turn against your own kind."

Elery crossed her arms. "My bedmates, if I had any, are not your concern. Your presence here, however, is my concern. When last we met you not-so-subtly threatened my friends and I. And correct me if I'm mistaken, but when it came time to defend Ildaugh, you hid. You ran like frightened pithyrits once the path was clear. I'd hoped that would be the last I saw of you."

"You should be so lucky." He stalked around her, eyeing her as a predator would eye its next meal. "Oh no, I'm not dead yet Princess. I remain very much alive." He stepped closer and Isandel growled louder, nearly masking the man's voice. "Let's hope you stay in similar condition."

Elery flexed her fingers and reached for her sword. Though she had not brought it with her, it appeared at her whim and her fingers clasped around the hilt. She drew it from its sheath and spun to face him.

"What is the meaning of this?" A man's voice echoed from the street several paces away. "You would draw your sword against your fellow knight?"

"It's all right, Father," Loix said, not once taking his gaze away from Elery. "Merely a friendly jape, nothing more."

"A friendly-" Isandel began in a menacing growl.

"Of course," Elery replied. "No harm intended."

Loix slapped a hand against her back.

For a moment it looked as though Isandel would rip it from his body.

"It certainly doesn't seem that way," the man said as he and three others approached. "That...beast beside you looks ready to tear my son to bits."

"He's temperamental," Elery said. "Mind him not. What brings a dignitary to a meeting place of warriors?"

Loix's father's companions gave a loud harrumph while the balding man himself adjusted his rumpled black coat. The embroidered crest pinned to his bosom drew her eye. It was a gold-trimmed shield bearing a whispit sapling at its center. "Do you mean to insult me, Princess?"

"I mean to know what brings a group of Suthrian dignitaries here, nothing more." She stood with her back straight and chest out as she sheathed her blade. "And one with nothing to hide would happily answer."