Summoned to a Shattered World

Birthright Chapter 31 - Housekeeping

Elmidath looked out at the ogres from the window, the hulking creatures were lazing about in the garden beside the manor, and frowned. "Damn things will be eating me out of house and home soon enough. I kind of hope they end up dead while we're hunting down this warlord, I don't think I can afford to keep them if they survive. Things are only just starting to get back to their proper order around here, the last thing I need is these oafs messing the place up."

I snorted. "What happened to not wanting to get them killed?"

"That was before I realised how much it was going to cost." With a little flourish, she turned away from the window. "I'm not saying I actually want them to die... just that it would be convenient."

"You should relax more." I reclined on the couch and looked up at the ceiling. "Aren't you happy about your new alliance?"

"Our new alliance, and I'm moderately satisfied with it. It's just that as soon as whoever he decides to send gets here, we'll be back out there, hunting through the wilderness for a warlord who may or may not even still be around here."

"What makes you think he might not be there?"

Elmidath threw up her hands in frustration and dropped into one of the chairs. "Because he failed in what I hope was a major invasion. There's no guarantee he's even alive, let alone still here."

That made sense, it hadn't occurred to me that we might be going on a wild goose chase. I suppose I couldn't expect demons to stay loyal after such a disaster. "Should we even be trying to hunt this guy down then? Sounds like it might just be a waste of time."

Elmidath sighed. "Much as I'd like to stay here, we can't risk leaving this other Demon Lord alive to threaten us in the future."

Whichever path we chose, there was the risk of disastrous consequences, but I suppose it was better to be proactive. If we were destroyed in the field while pursuing him, then things would likely have gone as badly if we'd stayed home. If that was the case, then we may as well try to destroy this threat before it could cause any further harm. Having to commit to such an important decision made me nervous, but there was nothing else for it. I'd just have to suck it up and own the choice we went with.

"Okay, fine. I agree. Let's track down whoever was behind this attack. At least we have the ogres to help when it comes to the actual fighting." I hadn't yet seen them in combat but I assumed they'd be an asset, they certainly looked imposing. "Any idea how we're going to find this guy?"

Elmidath shrugged. "There's not a lot out there, it should be easy to track him. Especially if he still has any of those Tertiums with him. Any other questions?"

I shook my head.

"Good, now that that's settled, I'm thinking of going down below again. Care to join me?"

The thought of going back there didn't exactly fill me with joy but I suppose it was worth seeing what they were up to. "Sure."

The walk was as long as before but now that we knew what was down it made for a much more relaxing trip. Not having to worry about Elmidath's uncle or the bomb around my neck didn't hurt either. In fact, compared to last time, it was practically a stroll in the park. Minus the sunlight and fresh air. Who needed those, anyway? When instead you could be stuck in a series of dark, claustrophobia-inducing tunnels.

It occurred to me that I could have had Elmidath make the first half of the journey on her own and then teleported to her, but I doubted she'd appreciate that. I don't think she liked being down here anymore than I did, having to go on her own would probably just make it even more unpleasant. It didn't strike me as a smart move, particularly considering that we'd so recently had a falling out.