When Zael finally stepped off the Convoy and into the fresh late-morning air, he took a deep breath and held it for several long moments.
"Thank the gods," he said after exhaling. "We're finally here."
"Don't be a crybaby," his sister responded. "It was only a week. We've both been on longer trips than that."
"Not cramped up the entire time, we haven't."
"I didn't think it was that bad."
"You've always been able to sit still and read all day. I can't. Drives me insane."
Sari rolled her eyes. "Should we flag down a carriage?"
He recoiled at the suggestion. "No. We're walking. I need to stretch my legs."
"I don't think you realize how big human cities are."
"I'm perfectly aware. Saw the walls coming in just fine." They hadn't held a candle to the towering, polished-black defenses of Ochreclast, but the closer the Convoy had gotten, the more he'd grown dumbfounded at how the squat stone perimeter just… went on and on, like the human lands themselves. He wondered even now if his eyes had been deceiving him. How many people lived in this city? More than all the demons in Keresi territory combined? "But I don't think you realize how badly I don't want to be stuck in another box."
"For twenty minutes?"
"Yes."
"Such a baby," Sari tutted. "Let's go find a directory then."
"Directory? Just ask someone." His eyes quested around before his gaze sharpened on a target. "Hey, you there! Human. I have a question for you."
A brief, productive conversation ensued with one of the humans just outside the busy train station platform, and in short order, he had secured directions to the Adventurer's District. For some reason, Sari was giving him an entertained look as they left.
"You're terrorizing the local populace again, brother."
"What? How so?"
"For one, take your hand off your hilt."
He looked down to see his hand was indeed resting on the leather handle of his sidearm. He blinked in surprise.
"And stop scowling," Sari said. "And looming. I know you're in a bad mood because of all the traveling, but you're scaring the civilians."
"I'm not scowling. Or looming."
Normally he wouldn't care how he was perceived by random humans, but seeing how he and Sari were here in Meridian as representatives of House Keresi, he knew appearances mattered. He loathed politics, but he couldn't ignore them, particularly in foreign lands. In that regard, Father might have sent Sari along to be his minder rather than the reverse.
"You really should put away your axe too," Sari added. "Especially if we're not taking a carriage. Our tattoos and uniforms are already making people uneasy. Nobody this far south is used to seeing"—she paused for a second as she picked the right word—"traditional demons."
Yes, he'd noticed that; he wasn't blind. They'd made it out onto the streets from the train platform by now, and while the capital of the human kingdoms was more diverse than some of the cities they'd stopped briefly in, none of the other demons he'd seen were in high noble's garb—garb which was closer to human military uniforms than the ridiculous frippery human nobles preferred—nor did most even have facial tattoos. Certainly not the complex designs that adorned his and Sari's faces.
So they stood out. People were swerving in wide arcs to avoid them.
"I'm not putting away my axe," he said after debating the idea. He didn't care if plainly bearing one's weapons wasn't common in human territory—so long as he wasn't breaking local laws, he refused. It would be only a slight exaggeration to say that he would rather walk around missing his trousers. A warrior was more than his weapon… but only in the sense that a person was more than their arms and legs.
Sari sighed. "Then at least stop scowling at everything that moves."
"I'm not scowling," he said, scowling at her. "Stop making things up."
She shook her head. "Let's go find you an early lunch. You're going to fight whatever poor fool looks at you wrong next, I can feel it."
Zael felt rather like his little sister was belittling him… but his stomach rumbled at the suggestion, and maybe he had been wearing a mean expression, because the woman he'd asked directions from had scurried away a little too fast for him not to make note of it.
Sari snickered, but at least didn't tease further. "I want to ask about all those ridiculous rumors, too," she added after a few more seconds of walking.
He nodded in agreement. He and Sari had been making utmost haste toward Meridian, so while they might not have been going out of their way to track down the current gossip, it was impossible to not overhear conversations. And the buzz in the human kingdoms was absurd indeed, even by the standards of how nonsensical rumors could become anywhere in the world.
When he'd inserted himself into one of those conversations, he'd received such bizarre explanations—about 'voidbeasts' and the return of the Sorceress or maybe intervention by the gods themselves—that even Sari had dismissed everything they had heard. That said, there was usually a kernel of truth hidden within even the most fanciful gossip, so he'd been curious to arrive in Meridian and find out what had actually happened. Surely the local citizenry would have a better report. Not a truly accurate one, of course, but more so.
Unfortunately, when he and Sari tracked down a tavern to eat at, the barmaid who served them relayed almost exactly the same story. And when he expressed doubt over the whole thing, the woman seemed nearly offended—there was apparently nothing to doubt, because the entire city had been able to [Inspect] the twentieth-elevation monsters slithering through the sky… and had all also seen the even more powerful spells that had peeled those beasts apart like insects.
The barmaid, for her part, held the adamant position that it had been the gods who had intervened—no disrespect to the Sorceress and her legacy, of course. Several other nearby tables chimed in, and around them, an argument picked up. Even a week later, it remained a topic that ignited like dry kindling. As made sense considering the sheer insanity of the event.
When Zael left the tavern with his sister at his side, he immediately asked her, "So what do you make of all of that?"
"I have no idea, honestly. The timing is kind of suspicious, though?"
"What timing?"
"From the sounds of it, it happened the night before Father sent us away."
He digested that. His brow furrowed as he tried to understand what Sari was implying. "Did he… know something?"
Sari was quiet for a while. "It could easily be a coincidence. But he did hurry us off without any good reason why. Even if Cousin Nysari has been missing for a long time, what would warrant the Primus sending two of his children across the world on such short notice? It's obvious that something more is going on."
"What something, though?"
Sari again took a while to respond. They strode through the streets in silence. Zael was hardly unused to city living, but the number of both people and carriages streaming across the thoroughfare was borderline unbelievable. He'd seen fewer ants crawling atop kicked anthills.
Since they were in the Adventurer's District now, one out of three passersby wore a badge, and people weren't swerving in wide berths around them anymore. He even caught glances of other tattooed demons, though of course none in traditional noble garb like him and Sari.
The district showed more and more signs of damage the deeper they walked, confirming the devastation that had hit the city a week ago. Not that Zael had ever doubted that something had happened, considering the hubbub. Just the details.
"There's no reason to speculate," Sari finally replied.
"Sari, all you do is speculate."
"Rafael will know what happened. We can ask him. Making theories without reliable facts is an exercise in futility."
"It's never stopped you before."
"Maybe I'm learning," Sari replied dryly. "I should be praised for my personal growth."
Zael ruminated over the topic himself the rest of the way to the Adventurer's Guild Headquarters, but by the end, he'd shrugged his shoulders and come to the conclusion that he was overthinking things… even if overthinking rarely turned out to be an issue of his. But he couldn't imagine how the timing related. They were here for Nysari, not anything connected to Duke Caldimore and his insane ritual to crack open the world. Honestly, if that had been the case, Zael would've been much happier with his current orders.
The Adventurer's Guild Headquarters was a massive stone, brick, and glass building that he and Sari admired for a minute before walking inside. After introducing himself to the receptionist and providing proof of identity, he and Sari were politely escorted to and left in a plush waiting room, assured that the Guildmaster had been informed of their presence.
There was one other person inside. A male human adventurer. Slumped in his chair with arms crossed, and with shadowed eyes and messy stubble for a beard, he looked like the spitting image of what Sari had been teasing Zael himself about earlier: all glower, his bad mood obvious… and clearly dangerous.
Zael could recognize a man spoiling for a fight. The green badge on his chest indicated orichalcum-rank—ninth or tenth elevation, respectable for even a grown demon of the First Blood. If the man was on the low end of that category, he would still be stronger than Zael, who was closing in on ninth elevation. Ten levels off from eight hundred, to be exact.
On seeing Zael, the man's sour expression deepened, and he made no attempt to avert his glare. Zael met the hostile gaze evenly as he pulled his two-handed axe off his back to set it aside before taking a seat with Sari. If he weren't in foreign lands, he probably would've risen to the silent provocation. Instead, after making it clear he wasn't intimidated no matter the green badge the man wore, he broke the mutual scowling contest.
Sari, having noticed the whole thing, activated a privacy artifact. Zael spoke before she could.
"What's his problem?" he asked.
Sari considered the question thoughtfully, as she did most things. "Half the Adventurer's District is in ruins. It's not hard to imagine any number of reasons he would be upset. It's obviously not because of you specifically."
Zael shifted in his chair. In that light, maybe the sour attitude was more forgivable. His own agitation stemmed from unexpectedly long hours of travel, not having his home attacked… and possibly his friends or guildmates killed.
Except even so, that was little reason to be glaring balefully at anyone sharing a room with him. Zael sensed more animosity in the man's gaze than could be explained by anything as simple as recent events. He had an idea why. This wouldn't be the first person in the human kingdoms to look at him askance for his obvious demon heritage—only the most aggressive about it. He shrugged and dismissed the man from his mind.
Sari for some reason grew increasingly fidgety as minutes ticked by. Zael at first thought it was because of the glowering human, but he realized the truth within moments. She was nervous to meet Rafael. He almost shook his head in exasperation. Again, he respected Rafael, but also had several misgivings. Of all the people to idolize, why would Sari choose him? The answer was obvious, but Zael still didn't like it.
The Guildmaster in question walked through the door after fifteen minutes of waiting. Zael stood to greet him.
The other demon was of roughly equal height, meaning on the tall side but nothing unusual, though that was where the similarities ended. Demons and elves as a whole tended toward leanness, rarely able to put on the bulk some humans could, but Rafael's physique was what one would expect for a bookish individual who never lifted a weapon and had made words and ink his trade. Zael's shoulders were at least half again as broad as his, with arms thick and corded with muscles to match. Rafael walked with the smooth, refined grace of a politician, not the predator's fluidity of a rogue, and certainly not the steady solidity of a warrior.
His face matched the image in the portraits Zael had seen. Two straight horns, marking him as lowborn, and slicked-back hair. Most importantly: no tattoos. He had eschewed that tradition which even many demons born in the human lands kept to. To leave one's face bare in demon territory wouldn't be unheard of, but it would draw disapproving looks. Zael would feel naked without his own.
"Zael and Sarielle Keresi," Rafael of Vanguard said with a smile that should have been oily, since Zael had always disliked men of the sort that stood in front of him, but the Guildmaster managed to make it seem not so. And the impression was not, Zael suspected, simply because he was giving the other demon as much benefit of the doubt as he could. "I admit, I was not expecting to hear those names today. I presume your father sent you?"
Zael nodded. "House Keresi greets Rafael of Vanguard, Guildmaster of the Human Kingdoms." He glanced at Sari, who returned a similar formality… though she stumbled over it. Sari wasn't a girl to trip over her words. Zael had to stop himself from sighing. "Yes, that is correct," he continued. "According to my father, our cousin Nysari is present in Meridian, and the Primus pointed us your way to find her. We are to offer our services to her, since he believed they might be needed. We aren't fully informed why. We were sent with utmost haste."
"I… see," Rafael said after only a short pause. "I am happy to aid you in whatever ways I can, Lord and Lady Keresi. However, I'm afraid that I must see to Lord Adventurer Barrow's appointment first."
"Of course." Zael hadn't expected the Guildmaster of all the human kingdoms to receive him on such short notice, especially given the events that had ravaged Meridian barely a week ago.
At the human's name being spoken, the man rose from his seat and walked forward. The venomous look from earlier had gone nowhere, though instead of being focused on Zael, the plain dislike was now entirely pointed toward Rafael. The Guildmaster made no outward sign that the unfriendly expression affected him.
"I genuinely apologize for the delay," Rafael said to the disgruntled-looking human, sounding earnest but without a hint of groveling or sycophancy. "Recent matters have occupied my time even more than I am accustomed to. Rest assured, the plight of the Wardens is something I am not turning a blind eye to, Lord Adventurer Barrow."
The Wardens? Zael thought with rising eyebrows. If he's a prior member, that explains a few things.
From what he had heard at the tavern, the entire guild—vault included—had been essentially alchemized into nothingness during the mad Duke's ritual. Imagining how he would feel if his family's vault and all their belongings vanished, he couldn't help but be sympathetic. A devastating blow to any adventurer. Life-ruining.
Coming to a stop a short distance from the group of three demons, the human still didn't spare a glance for Zael.
"No worries, Guildmaster," he said after too long a silence. "Settling my grievances won't take more than a minute."
Zael had known something was off from the moment he had walked inside the waiting room—anyone could have sensed the human's animosity. But it was a smaller detail that put him on true high alert. The odd stopping distance… there were a few feet too many between the human and Rafael, enough to seem unnatural. Not a clear sign of anything, but combined with the rest of the situation, he noticed it immediately.
In many ways, Zael was not an observant person, but in matters of combat?
Clearly a more favorable lunging position.
A slight shift in the human's posture, and Zael was already moving. He shoved Rafael out of the way, and in that same instant, a sword appeared in the human's hands to thrust forward faster than any of those gathered except Zael could react.
He intercepted the orichalcum-rank's blade—with his left shoulder, since there hadn't been time to block or parry. The dark gray metal punched through his flesh, all the way to the hilt.
Zael didn't make a noise. Instead, he grabbed the man's hands and locked them on the handle of the weapon. He met surprised eyes with his own for a suspended hundredth of a second—and grinned, baring his teeth in a wolfish smile.
He thanked the heavens for his fortune. Maybe this trip wouldn't be dreadfully boring after all.
Then, with as much force as he could muster, he slammed his forehead into the human's.