Page 366

On the first level of the arena, Ashlynn and Nyrielle had returned to the crowd of people after the second battle between condemned men and the Mongrel Horde.

Tausau had brought so many of his progeny that there would be a total of six battles before they had all received an opportunity to fight and feed.

Not all of the opponents for the later matches were condemned criminals.

There existed a few brave souls who were willing to risk their lives for the opportunity to claim victory over a powerful vampire.

Perhaps some of them understood how slim their odds truly were, but many who had come thought that the ’weaker’ vampires of Tausau’s Mongrel Horde represented an opportunity to claim a once-in-a-lifetime victory.

Within a year, people would remember that they had slain a vampire, but the ’mongrel’ nature of the vampire would be long forgotten. By the time they realized that the members of the Mongrel Horde who would fight trained gladiators were among the strongest of the horde, it was too late for regrets.

Rather than watch these tragic battles play out, Ashlynn took the opportunity to progress her own plans for the evening.

As much as she would have been content to spend the entire evening at the railing, sheltered from the press of people by Nyrielle’s wings, she’d put too much work into tonight to let go of her plans now.

The crowd’s excitement over the Mongrel Horde’s victories had created the perfect atmosphere for introducing potential allies to Nyrielle, and she’d arranged for several of her most promising contacts to be readily available.

Little would be truly concluded tonight, but Nyrielle’s impressions of the people she introduced her to and the plans they proposed would determine who they would meet with in the following days to form more formal agreements.

With a gentle touch to Nyrielle’s arm, she guided her lover toward a group of wealthy people from the Scaled Clan who had become increasingly familiar over the past several days.

"Nereida," Ashlynn said warmly as she greeted the woman that Heila had befriended on their first trip to High Fen City. "I know that you’ll be joining us in High Lady Erna’s box when it’s Heila’s turn to fight, but I wanted to introduce you and your husband Beilan to Mistress Nyrielle," she said smoothly.

"Mistress Nyrielle," Ashlynn continued. "Nereida is a good friend of Heila’s from our first visit and she’s been very welcoming since we arrived.

She even helped to find someone to make my hat," she added, tugging at the brim of her emerald green witch’s hat.

"And her husband Beilan is someone else who may become a valuable partner for the Vale of Mists.

He trades mostly in rare and luxury items from all across the continent. "

"Your Eternity," Beilan said, bowing deeply for a moment before the tip of his tail twitched in surprise when his wife didn’t imitate his gesture. Instead, she reached out and took Ashlynn’s hands in her own, clasping each other’s wrists as though they were old friends.

"It seems that my Nereida has left me far behind," the serpentine merchant said, chuckling as he straightened up. "When she told me that she’d befriended a ’lady-in-waiting’ of the next Mother of Trees, I wasn’t certain that I believed it, and yet, here we stand.

I’ve been completely eclipsed by my wife’s radiance these days. "

"Your wife has excellent taste in companions," Nyrielle said lightly.

"You won’t find me arguing that!" Beilan said with a hearty laugh. Reaching out, he fetched a goblet of wine from a passing servant and raised it in a toast to Nyrielle. "To the companions who brighten our lives."

"Flatterer," Nereida said softly as she thumped lightly on his tail with the tip of her own tail. "Please don’t mind him, praise falls from his lips like leaves from a tree in autumn. After so many years of buttering up his customers, I’m afraid the only words that can be trusted from his mouth are insults. "

"I haven’t found him to be that bad," Ashlynn said, stepping in before the couple could say something that Nyrielle might misinterpret.

While it was true that Beilan was a consummate salesman, he was also a frank and honest businessman when it came to the balancing of scales and the exchange of interests.

"Master Beilan, perhaps you can explain to Lady Nyrielle the problem you were discussing with me the other day about a lack of industry in the Vale of Mists. "

"This, um," the serpentine merchant said, hesitating to broach the topic of the Vale’s shortcomings in front of its powerful and imposing ruler. When he arrived at the arena tonight, he’d been full of confidence and his tail swung in wide arcs as he claimed the space around himself, distancing others until he could have his turn with the powerful Blood Princess.

But now that he stood in the shadow of her dark wings, he found it very difficult to begin the proposal he’d spent days preparing.

On the floor of the arena, the iron gates opened yet again, this time to admit the chained figures of Savis and Tausau. Cheers erupted from the audience as they beheld the perfection of Savis’s muscular physique, glittering like the moon under the lights of the arena.

From the floor above, deep-throated howls rose from the section of the arena where the Black Wolf Brigade had been seated. Though some were furious to see their commander shackled to the sire of the Mongrel Horde, others shouted their approval.

"This is how men should fight!" one Golden Eyed soldier shouted. "The younger brother may be weaker but he can still carry a shield for his older brother!"

"One to kill and rend, the other to catch and defend!"

Who said it first was impossible to say but the chant caught on quickly with the crowd, soon echoing across the arena as the brothers walked toward the center to prepare themselves for the appearance of their opponents.

"You don’t need to worry, Master Beilan," Nyrielle said with a teasing smile, pulling the serpentine merchant’s attention back from the interruption of the crowd and the spectacle that was about to begin in the arena.

"I won’t bite. I’ve already fed," Nyrielle added, tracing a finger along Ashlynn’s tender neck and sending a shiver down the young witch’s spine. "I know the Vale of Mists lacks many things that it once had. Tell me what you see as our challenge and how you think we should address it."

"Since, since you’ve asked," Beilan said, his tail twitching nervously.

On the arena floor, the second iron gate shuddered open, revealing six strong champions wearing gleaming, ornate armor and carrying a wide variety of weapons.

They seemed to come from every local clan, whether they represented the Scaled Clan, Clan of Painted Masks.

.. even the toad-like Muckin’s seemed to possess a toxic champion carrying a powerful bow and a quiver full of arrows that were certain to be tipped in the man’s own venom.

None of these men had been condemned to die but all of them had reached a frustrating point in their careers.

Their fame echoed through the city for days after a victory only to fade to whispers when the next champion delivered a victory that was just as stunning.

Now, they’d come here to gamble their lives against the chance to achieve a victory like no other or to die at the hands of the greatest opponents they would ever face.

"Just tell her," Nereida said, wrapping her tail around his and giving her husband a reassuring squeeze. "You’ve spoken with Lady Ashlynn already and she brought you here. If she didn’t value your words, you would have been forced to bid instead of receiving an invitation."

"Well, when you put it like that," the serpentine merchant said, raising himself up a few inches higher. He’d spent days discussing this matter with Ashlynn. If it weren’t for the friendship that his wife had nurtured with the Willow Witch, Heila, she might never have trusted him enough to develop a proposal this bold.

There was a saver proposal that he’d prepared, one that carried much lower risks, both in terms of business and a much lower risk of offending the powerful Harbinger of Death.

But... glancing at the six men walking out onto the sands to face near-certain death for a chance of everlasting glory, Beilan redoubled his resolve and prepared to make the boldest pitch of his life.