by Noah Layton
In contrast to the knowing, peaceful expression on Artrix’s face, as well as that on the face of his wives, the younger elf’s face was much more stern, almost bearing a scowl as he stared back at me from dark eyes grafted deeply into his face. His blonde hair fell to his shoulders, framing his sharp, angular face, where he looked down at me from a height several inches taller than my own.
‘My son, Ralos,’ Artrix continued.
Of course – first in line to the throne, no doubt.
It wasn’t often that I found myself being looked down upon by men in this world, unless I was making dealings with a centaur or coming face to face with Rook’s troll bodyguard.
I wouldn’t have minded it, either, if he hadn’t acted the way he did.
We shook hands, his grip feeling a little tighter than it needed to be, which I automatically returned. I hadn’t even shared a word with this asshole yet, and already he was giving evil eyes.
Two can play at this game, motherfucker.
I resisted the urge to break his hand. If it came down to it, a parent would always put their offspring before anybody else, no matter how much of a dick they were.
Only then, looking him in the eyes, did I realize who it was that I was meeting.
The second-in-command with the stern, tough expression from our original dealing with the bluestone.
Obviously he was being primed for leadership one day.
The final member of the group, a female sun-elf, stepped forward from Hesia’s side on the right.
She was in her mid-twenties, standing tall, the same height as Artrix’s wives, a few inches below myself. Her golden blonde hair and her tall, slim frame made her look like a freaking supermodel; her slight, pretty face had an intimidating look to it, but in a second I realized the kind of girl she was – if she were back on Earth she would be chewing gum and clacking her enormous fake nails over her phone screen, scrolling endlessly.
‘And my daughter, Mariana.’
I didn’t know whether to go for the handshake or the kiss on the cheek, but the moment Artrix said those words I went for the lightest handshake possible.
Her silently judgemental face could only be outdone by her brother’s as we shook hands.
What a charming duo.
‘Your imp can ferry the wagon of yours to the stables, where your horses may indulge in dinner.’
I turned to look over at Alorion and shot him a wink. He looked confused for a moment, then nodded in realisation, took the reins of the horses and set off, guided by a sun-elf guard.
‘This is an impressive home you have,’ I commented genuinely, returning to Artrix. ‘I’d love a tour of the place, if you have the time.’
‘We shall, but later this evening. You are the guests of honour this night, and you shall be treated as such. Let us begin the festivities.’
Artrix and his family led the five of us from the tree to the eastern section of his large tribal lands. With every step that we took in following them I scanned the entire area obsessively.
Artrix had taken full advantage of using his totems to re-structure how the land was laid out; we passed a large section of houses which moved onto farmland, livestock grazing in a field outside of a series of well-kept barns, as well as something that showed the true power of his homegrown fighting force – a barracks with a training area.
Right now these areas were empty, for as we passed by each section we found ourselves in the midst of groups of more sun-elves, all dressed in a more relaxed ceremonial attire than those we had seen during our initial meeting.
Many looked our way as we headed towards our unknown destination.
That wasn’t to say that all had their guard down, though. Considering the size of the barracks I had no doubt that many of the sun-elves were well-trained in combat, if not all of them, and as I looked towards the perimeter and the guard towers that lined it, I could still see the armored guards with their bows in hand, surveying the wilderness for signs of an attacker.
Were they always this cautious? Seeing so many guards at the ready began to make me think that I was being seriously lax with my security back at our land, even with people on watch every hour of the day.
I had more than a few questions on my mind, but they were all set aside as we reached the clearing that would be our base for the evening.
Chapter Seven
An array of tables were set out upon the large area of trimmed grass that lay before us. Situated in the centre of it all was a tall object, measuring almost ten-feet in height. Covered by a large sheet, I had little doubt that it was the statue that had been constructed out of the bluestone we had sold.
‘Any ideas on who it is they’re commemorating?’ I whispered to Lara.
‘Not a single one. An ancestor, perhaps? Or a fallen soldier?’
‘That’d make sense. The security here is tight as can be.’
We followed Artrix and his companions through the centre of the clearing, passing amongst the tables and beneath the long, sunset-shadow of the cloaked statue before we reached a longer, raised table sitting atop a podium.
I couldn’t help but feel like we were sitting at the main table of a wedding.
I prayed that I wasn’t out of the loop about this being some kind of elaborate marrying-off ceremony.
We all took a seat, with Artrix sitting to my left and my wives to my right. To my admiration, they all held their faces with a calm control and kept their cool, despite the fact that they were all hiding weapons on their persons.
Once everybody had taken their seats, Artrix stood.
Every member of the tribe went quiet. I exchanged a look with my wives.
‘It is an uncommon day,’ Artrix began, addressing his people, ‘when a sun-elf of this tribe comes to stand by the side of an outsider. Even greater still, it is an oddity that this may be done upon his own land, before his own people, and without weapons drawn.
‘Master Jack, of the Orakin Tribe, has kindly bestowed upon us the bluestone necessary for the construction of the statue that we unveil here upon our land today. It is my hope that we may continue such small alliances with the Orakin Tribe in the future.’
The sun-elves began to applaud – even that motion was graceful. Not too aggressive and not too quiet.
From my side, Ariadne nudged me lightly in the ribs.
I stood up and nodded my head, holding up a hand in appreciation. I had never been in a situation like this in my life, and while I wasn’t exactly one to get embarrassed, it still felt a little weird.
I had killed a guy, slaughtered his guards, stolen his possessions, sold some of his possessions to another man, told that man just what I had done, and now his people were applauding me.
Only in Agraria.
Only then, with every pair of eyes in the tribe looking my way, did I truly feel like I was beyond the point of deepness within enemy territory.
I had never felt so out of place in my entire freaking life, and what’s more is that I was sitting next to an elf who seemed to possess the ability to read my every thought.
There was no doubt how he had landed in this position of power in the first place.
But that didn’t mean his citizens could do the same, and when it came to confidence the old adage of faking it until you had it was true – so I pretended that this wasn’t the most bizarre experience of my life, and put on a face that said one thing – ‘I’m happy to be hear.’
‘Let us admire the fruits of his labour, and of our people.’
Artrix beckoned his hands to the two sun-elves that stood by the side of the covered statue. Mechanically, they brought their hands to the sheet that covered it and pulled it back, revealing the work.
It was a finely detailed depiction of Artrix, clad in armor with a spear clutched in his hand.
The craftsmanship was stunning. It had taken Michelangelo three years to craft the statue of David, and here was this thing produced in three days.
What was stranger was the
fact that it was him, though.
Artrix didn’t seem like the type to have a statue crafted depicting himself, especially while he was still alive.
Egos could be hidden, though.
I decided not to ask, instead joining in with the sun-elves and my wives in applauding.
‘Now,’ Artrix continued. ‘Let us enjoy the spoils of our land on this beautiful evening.’
From there, the humdrum of conversation quickly filled the clearing as the tables began to enjoy steaming food brought forward by an array of sun-elves who moved sharply and deftly between the tables, setting down platters of elaborately constructed meats and vegetables.
In no time the table before us was spread with enough food to feed I and my wives for a week, while the statue was quickly removed by a group of sun-elves.
My natural instinct was to be concerned about it being laced with God-knows-what, but a moment later Artrix leaned to me slightly and asked:
‘Would you mind terribly?’
He nodded to the steaming bird before me – I surmised it to be chicken, the same kind that we had recently purchased to populate the Rourke Homestead.
‘After you, please,’ I said, pushing a smile to my lips.
‘I understand the scepticisms you may have, Master Jack, but you have no reason to be afraid. Killing you would bring little joy to me, nor would it be of any use. I simply wish to build a bridge between our tribes, not burn one to the ground.’
Artrix stabbed gently at a slice of chicken on the platter before me and set it down on his plate, taking his knife in his other hand, cutting it in half and then placing it into his mouth.
He chewed delicately, then put it away, washing it down with a little wine. It had all been poured from the same bottle, something that I had seen myself.
‘But,’ Artrix continued, ‘I understand your cautiousness entirely. Please, if it is not too rude of my elves mind to request-’ He passed me his plate ‘-serve me the poison.’
He shot me the widest smile he had yet to give me, which wasn’t saying too much.
Still, there was no way that I was risking this on the guy’s word. I had just met him.
So I did just as he asked. I served him carrots and potatoes and tomatoes, and yet more turkey, all drizzled in a decadent sauce.
I returned it to him, and he began to dig in to it all.
I turned to the girls and nodded, and they set about feeding themselves.
‘I hope you will forgive me,’ I said bluntly after filling up my own plate and beginning my meal. ‘It’s not often that I get invited to a dinner like this, never mind with another tribe master.’
‘There is no need to apologise. I have told you my views on the matter already.’
‘You have?
‘In our first meeting, did I not? I have no interest in the rivalries between outside tribes. You, on the other hand, present a civility that is uncommon in this violent world of ours. That is rare, and I cannot afford to simply dismiss it. I would rather have a tribe like yours by my side than opposite me. It is a sensible manner of course for both of us.’
I nodded in agreement, and raised my wine glass.
Artrix looked at the glass in confusion.
‘Are you requesting that I drink this, human?’
‘No,’ I smiled. ‘It is a custom amongst my, uhh… People. You push your glasses together to recognise something… Good.’
‘I see…’ Artrix said, raising his glass and pressing it to mine. We both drank and set our glasses down. ‘Where does such a custom originate?’
‘There’s something I do know – in my world, a thousand years ago, knights would knock their glasses together so that the wine would splash into each other’s glasses. That way they would know that their wine was not poisoned. There wasn’t much trust, even among knights.’
‘It seems that things are not so different in this world,’ Artrix replied.
I and the girls continued with our meal.
The other sun-elves might not have been so observant, but Artrix was by my side constantly – the girls talked quietly to each other, but the only questions I had were ones that would offend; what they thought of these people, any observations they had made, or any concerns.
I stayed alert, occasionally nudging my arm to my side to check the presence of my sword, but otherwise decided to indulge in the food that was offered up.
It seemed that the elves had food to waste, and as I reached breaking point I watched in awe as the other elves continued to eat, gracefully but greedily. Their consumption didn’t reflect their tall, slim figures, especially when it came to the amount of wine that they were burning through.
Part-way through our meal the bluestone statue of Artrix was manoeuvred into a wagon by a group of workers, who carted it off into parts unknown.
‘Where are they taking it?’ I asked Artrix, tilting my head towards him.
‘Somewhere more… Solitary.’ He seemed to decide on the last word with a little reluctance. ‘It is somewhere that I would be happy to show you, if you should desire? I imagine that we have much to talk about.’
‘We do?’ I asked curiously.
‘If it is not too bold a request, Master Jack, I have many questions for you. And not to sound presumptuous, but I would suppose you have many yourself.’
The sun-elf master might have been able to see through me, but one thing I appreciated about him was his straightforward attitude. Even if he believed in polite customs, he tended to get to the point.
‘What about my wives? You understand that I care for their safety, right?’
‘I understand your concerns completely, but let me assure you that they will be completely safe. You do not have to trust my words, but one thing you should know about me is that I mean what I say.’
Trust was still on a wire for the time being, but if they were going to kill us they would do it either way, whether I was with my wives or not.
I turned to Santana and brought my lips to her ear, brushing her strawberry-blonde hair aside subtly with two fingers like a pair of drawn curtains.
Before I even had a chance to talk she placed a delicate hand on my thigh and squeezed me lightly, turning her head further left and moving her lips to my ear.
‘Go…’ She whispered. ‘The girls and I can look after ourselves.’
‘You’re unarmed…’
‘But they are not.’
‘Okay. Stay together, and head to the wagon if anything goes wrong.’
‘We will.’
She drew away from me, brushing her soft, full lips over my cheek gently as she did.
For all the cuts and scars and bites that I endured in this world, the soft touch of one of my wives always sent a shiver through me.
I repressed it and returned to Artrix.
‘Would you mind if I spoke to my imp briefly?’
A few minutes later I was heading through the land alone in the direction of the stables. Towards the south of the land I finally found the stables. My own were a far-cry from the impressive size of those here, comprising a small courtyard where the grass had been reduced to dried, light-brown dirt long ago by an age of animal hooves clopping against the earth.
A series of stalls that surrounded the courtyard were occupied by the strange purple steeds that Artrix and his guards had commanded during our first meeting in the forest.
In a corner, occupying their own miniature courtyard and stored in neat rows, were a series of wagons and carriages. It didn’t take long for me to spot Arabelle and Myranthia, their heads bowed as they drank thirstily from a large trough of water.
‘You two are safe,’ I said, crossing to them and patting their backs. ‘But where’s the cart…?’
I journeyed through the myriad carriages that were lined up at the back of the stables like cars in a parking lot.
Somewhere among them all I heard a low screeching, which eventually became high-pitched.
Someone was being attacked.
&n
bsp; I hurried through them, getting closer to the noise, before finally finding the source of the sounds.
It was my own carriage.
‘Hold on!’
The back of the carriage was shaking lightly. I hurried up to the back without thinking, ready to draw my sword.
I jumped onto the step at the back, pulled back one of the curtains and looked in.
For the sake of your own sanity, I don’t want to describe what it is that I witnessed in the darkness of the carriage.
All I’ll say is that it was enough for me to stagger back and press my palms to my eyes, half-screaming-
‘Oh, God! My eyes…!’
Only half of my reaction was sarcasm. The other half was legitimate, scarred terror.
I had seen a lot of incredible, weird and disgusting shit since arriving in Agraria, but somehow none of it compared to seeing a pair of imps mating – especially when one of them was my own.
‘Jack!’ I spun around to see Alorion’s head peaking out from between the carriage curtains. ‘I thought that you were at the dinner!’
‘I was, I just came to check on you.’
‘My apologies for anything that you may have seen just then… I just happened to run into Aurora, the imp of the tribe, and, well…’
‘It’s fine, bud, it’s fine,’ I said, laughing a little. I quelled it and moved a little closer, dropping my voice to a whisper. ‘Anyway, what are you doing? What about all of that low-confidence stuff you were telling me about just a few weeks ago?
‘What can I say? She has brought it out in me.’
‘And Nyah? I thought you liked her. What about that dance-thing you did?’
‘She was rather enticing, but she was playing hard-to-get, as you say. It is not only tribe masters who are permitted more than one mate in this land, Jack.’
‘That’s a fair point.’
Then, from within the carriage a sensuous call went out: