The Dreamfarer

31

 ╣Folco╟

They all stared at him with varying degrees of nervousness. 

"Sir..." Bryelle whispered, reaching up to fiddle with a few of her curls. "Even if we could find the Wayfarer, how could we kill him? We already made one attempt to capture him, in that human town--"

Folco's jaw clenched. "We have to find a way, Bryelle. We don't have a choice," he responded, his voice hard and unyielding. "A Wayfarer is nothing more than one of us gone wrong. It is our responsibility to fix this problem. There is no other race capable of handling it."

Cece slammed a fist down on the table, her eyes somehow portraying the depth of her rage. "We are not capable of handling it!" she argued. "Kroma was the most powerful of all of us. He used that strength to set himself on a pedestal above the rest of us, sure, but if anyone stood a chance against Dael, it was him! And Dael killed him in minutes. If you set our race against this Wayfarer, Folco, you are sending us all to our dooms."

Silence. 

Then: "Sir? I imagine that you have some sort of plan, or at least the roots of one. Will you share them with us before the rest of us pass judgment?" Sable asked.

Folco took a deep breath. "Plan A hasn't been working for me," he replied mournfully. "However, there is more that I can try." He paused, inhaling deeply once more before continuing, "I believe that I have the means to locate Dael."

Sable looked surprised, but Cece spoke up before the woman could say a word. "Okay, so let us say that you can find him. What then, Folco? We're all going to march and die before him one by one? Is that your plan?" 

"That's enough, Cece!" snapped Hune. The older man had bristled, and Cece sat back in her chair, glaring at Folco. 

"It pains me that you have so little faith in me, Cece," Folco said softly. "No, I do not plan on sacrificing every last warlock in pursuit of only one. However, this man had dragged away one of our own, and it would be unfortunate if he decides to use her for his own purposes. We owe it not only to Maeve, but also to the reputation of our race, to put down Dael before he becomes a more formidable threat against the rest of the world. I have no idea of his plans, but I know that they cannot come to fruition."

Hune clasped his hands together and looked at Folco calmly. "So you are asking us to help you think up a plan, is that correct, Sir?" he asked.

Folco nodded. "I understand how fearsome of a prospect facing a Wayfarer is," he stated, addressing each of his council members. "But Dael is shaming our entire race through his actions, and if we do not show the world that we are capable of stopping him, what will we become? What will the world become? What will he choose to do, if there is nobody that will stand in his way?

"This is our duty, and I believe that the seven of us together can think up a solution. Sheer force will not win this battle, I already know that. However, if we work from the premise of cleverness rather than power, if we get creative, we may just find a way to end him."

Cece's face was in her hands and she was shaking her head, obviously adamantly against every word he was saying. Sable, Bryelle, and Hune seemed to be pondering his words, and he was fairly sure that they would be helping him consider a solution. Jamas was as straight-faced as ever, his expression impressively blank, so Folco did not know what thoughts were running through his mind. Rudy was terrified, and the only thing Folco was sure that the man was not afraid of was flaunting his cowardly emotions for the rest of them to see. 

"Sir," Rudy stammered. "I'm sorry, but I don't think one girl is worth--"

Folco could not contain himself any longer. He stood up, his chair tipping over and falling to the ground as he did so, the resulting sound making everyone flinch and stare at him. He could feel himself seething, his chest heaving with labored, angry breaths as he glared with as much intensity as his expression could muster at Rudy.