Meddling in Foreign Affairs

Chapter 8: Tselzo

The rest of their journey was almost silent. Dismas walked at a comfortable but fast pace, and Byulat alternated between speed walking and a slow jog to keep up. He seemed to be irritated at Dismas and didn't try to start up another conversation, even when they stopped to sleep the first night they spent in the tunnel.

Dismas tried to entertain himself as he ate by watching one of the reptiles climb up the wall before jumping and somehow gliding on flaps of skin on its sides to catch a bug that was flying out of reach. He supposed that they might be there on purpose, to keep the number of insects down, and began to think that he might have seen some of them in the corridors of Dragstyenost.

"How long do you think it'll be now?" Dismas asked when he could no longer bear Byulat's silence.

"Well, you insist on moving quickly, so a day and a half, like I said earlier. But do not think of this as a good pace for longer journeys, because I am not certain I will be able to keep this pace for a longer distance. The only thing driving me right now is my hatred of elves, and growing hatred of you."

"Hey, there's no need for that! I'm just trying to get us there quickly so that we can get to the elves and find your friend, so that I can continue my life as normal. Moving quickly is really in your best interests too, so I don't know why you're complaining about it so much. We'll be on a boat soon, so you'll be fine."

"I know, Rowell. That does not mean that it makes me dislike you less. You are simply annoying. And the fact that you are right makes it worse."

"You are such a spoiled brat. What even is your job back in Byezbordyu?"

"I am a weaponsmith of the Oruziye Clan. In fact, I am quite skilled for my young age."

Dismas stared at Byulat for a moment. "That's actually a pretty useful skill to have. I wish I could do something like that."

"Maybe if you put aside thievery and settled down, you would also acquire a useful such as mine."

"Nah, that seems like a lot of work. I'll stick with what I've got, thank you very much. I've got other people around to do the boring jobs like making weapons."

"Fine. Refuse to accept that someday you may have to actually act your age. I no longer wish to discuss this with you. Good night." With that, Byulat got in his sleep system and turned away. Dismas decided there wasn't anything he could do but also go to sleep.

Byulat didn't talk to Dismas the next morning as they prepared to leave. And he didn't say anything as they started walking. Or as they were walking the whole day. Dismas was bored, but figured that irritating Byulat would be worse for him in the long run, so he also stayed quiet.

Only when they stopped did Byulat decide to say something. "We will arrive tomorrow."

"That's good, I'm starting to get sick of this tunnel. It all looks the same and it's incredibly boring. Other than those little reptiles that eat bugs, those are fun."

"They are called lurosara," Byulat said as he finished eating and went to sleep without another word. His tone indicated that he was angry that he had to talk to Dismas, and that any more talking would just make him more angry. Dismas wondered whether it was possible to die of boredom as he fell asleep. He figured if probably wasn't, but if it was he should be very careful because he was probably close to dying.

About halfway through the next day, or at least as close as Dismas could tell since they were in a tunnel and he hadn't seen sunlight since he was in the market with Dyomahai, they saw a significantly larger amount of light ahead. Dismas hoped that it was Tselzo, simply because he liked to use his vocal chords and Byulat wasn't willing to have conversation. About a half an hour later, they came to the exit of the tunnel. The corridor that it came to was smaller than the ones in Dragstyenost, but was still clean-cut and dwarven-made. Dismas just stood in the tunnel entrance looking around until Byulat walked past and started going to the right.