Chapter Eleven

Mel-Darion escorted Rayne and Gideon through the doors of one of the smaller golden towers, Inaleth followed close behind after dismounting from her armored panther. The entryway opened up into a main hall, but compared to it's gold exterior, the hall took on a more nature appeal. The grassy floor stretched down the hall, a marble, spiral staircase stood at the end, vines wrapped around the railings. Two hallways across from one another near the entrance curved around, and the walls were lined with oak bark. Gideon was taken aback by the layout.

"I don't quite understand what your home decorator was thinking. Why not have the inside be gold as well as the outside?" he asked quizzically, running his fingers down the oak.

"We are not barbarians. We still recognize where we all started in the beginning when this world was created." Mel replied, walking to the spiral staircase and traced his fingers along the railing lightly, the vines shifting in response to his touch as a bud sprouted from it. The bud slowly opened petal by petal, revealing a dark shade of purple at the tips, but it gradually faded into a blood red in the center, yellow specks sprinkled on each petal. Mel very carefully plucked the blossom from the vine, turned to Rayne and in one swift motion, settled the flower into her hair. He swept his fingers down the strands of her hair, a soft smile displayed on his lips. Gideon's chest tightened up again at the sight, and even though he closed the door to that pain, it continued to knock.

Rayne pushed his hand away, taking the flower and placed it back on the vine. Upon sensing this, the vine began to merge with the plant until it was once again connected to it.

"Flowers don't win me over, Mel. Now, where are you taking us?" she asked sternly, and Mel shrugged, sighing in defeat with a sad smile.

"A man can try, can he not?" he cleared his throat, ascending the stairs as the others continued to follow, "I will be taking you to see my father, he would be preparing a campaign of sorts at this time. He would have the answers that you seek." he stated.

"A campaign? Did something come up?" she asked, a hint of worry in her tone, but Mel simply smiled at her.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with. Ah, and here we are." he came to a stop at the top of the stairs. A single wooden door stood in front of them, shadows paced in the gap beneath it. Mel-Darion knocked three times before entering into a large stone carved chamber. A stone table settled in the middle of the room with several stone chairs surrounding it. Documents and maps were spread out on the table, with a dagger stabbing through one if the maps. At the far end, the stone walls were cut off by an opening that revealed a great view of the city below them and the tree homes passed the gate. Two elves stood beyond the doorway. The elf on the right side of the table wore a bronze breastplate with dark green design of a tree engraved in the center. His long platinum blonde hair was partially tied back as the rest rested against his lower back, complimenting his light skin tone and emerald eyes. A thin bladed longsword was sheathed on his belt, the scabbard leather with golden leaves stitched in. The elf opposite of him wore a formal dark green robe with white trimming, the same tree stitched on his left breast in gold stitching. His brown hair was free compared to the many others they have met already, the loose strands framing his soft features, his eyes reflecting the golden touch just like his tower walls.

The elf in the robes bowed his head gracefully, his thin lips lifting slightly into a smile, but his golden gaze swirled with confusion when Gideon followed in behind Rayne.

"It has not occurred to me that Rayne worked well with others." his voice soft, yet held power behind it, made Gideon straighten up in his presence. Rayne on the other hand was still casual as she stepped further into the room. The elf in the armor nodded his head to her, yet did not pass a single glance toward Gideon. Rayne tapped two of her fingers to her chest and brought her arm around in a small arc in front of her toward the armored elf, a small smile played on his lips.

"I would like to get down to business if that's alright with you, Adkas?" Rayne pressed on as she circled the table toward the maps, fingering through them until she placed a map that was buried beneath the pile above them all and was scanning it over. Inaleth closed the door to the room, her back to it and Gideon shuffled aside, keeping his distance from the group of elves, but his eyes set on Rayne and he studied her. He watched her shoulders relax, and her blonde hair waver around her delicate cheeks. She traced her fingers over the parchment, her eyes focused. Gideon was lost in his thoughts that he didn't take notice that Mel-Darion crept to his side.

"You are drooling." his voice low, yet there was a hint of humor behind it. Gideon cleared his throat, shifting his eyes away from her.

"I wasn't actually," he argued, but he brushed the back of his hand against his lips regardless, "she was like this before at the town we saved." he kept his voice low as well, even though he kept himself a fair distance away, he was afraid of disturbing her concentration.

"Saving a town? Now that is news to me." Mel-Darion folded his arms in the sleeves of his robe, contemplating Gideon's words. Gideon felt the need to argue with him, but he couldn't find it in him to do it since the elf was not wrong. From the information he had gathered about her, she was ruthless, deadly and her heart was filled with greed. But perhaps that what she wanted the world to believe?

Mel-Darion glanced at Gideon out of the corner of his eyes, and the knight had once again began watching Rayne in silence, but his blue eyes gave off a glimmer that he recognized all too well. Admiration.

Adkas stood at her side, eyeing the map she had pulled out and his eyes narrowed.

"Why are you paying Xerath a visit?" he asked, and Rayne pulled out the gold pouch that Gideon gave to her nearly a week ago now in Cassandra's tavern. The clatter and clinking of the coins filled the room, and Adkas let out a deep sigh. "I see you have not left the path you have maintained all this time, that is indeed unfortunate." he stepped away and walked over to the open space to glance out at his home. The commotion of the market below them was peaceful to his ears, yet he still felt a deep dread within. Rayne pushed the pouch aside, uninterested in it as she continued tracing a path along the map. Gideon finally made his way over to Adkas who continued to stare out.

"Lord Adkas, would you by chance have any kind of intel about Xerath? Aside from the stories that were passed down over the years." Gideon asked, and Inaleth had followed close behind him, steam almost visibly coming from her ears.

"Know your manners, human." she hissed, and Gideon looked back at her, holding his ground.

"I don't know your customs, but if Xerath is as dangerous as he used to be, we need to take care of this before it possibly escalates." he shot back at her, staring her down. Rayne glanced up at him, looking between them and moved her gaze over to Adkas who did not move or speak up.

"He's right, Adkas." Rayne spoke up, and Gideon looked to her, finally able to agree on something, until her next words shut him down, "Maybe Mel can teach him a few things while we discuss this matter." she said, and Gideon narrowed his eyes at her, his breathing quickened as his anger slowly rose within him. Mel-Darion was shaking his head already.

"I am not, what is the human phrase? Ah, teaching an old dog some new tricks." Mel stated, and Adkas finally turned to Gideon. He gestured toward the map Rayne was working with.

"If you are here together with Rayne, then we all will discuss this now. As to the customs of my people and our culture, I blame that on your King and his father and every King before him for not properly teaching you. Maybe then the tension between us would not be so..." his words faded as he dwelled on how to finish, and Gideon nodded.

"You're right." he said, and Rayne looked up at him, a little surprised considering all of the bitching she heard from him until now. "Maybe if we had learned a few things about who you are and how your home came to be, things between us would not be as hectic as it is. I will admit I was not keen on coming here, but from what I have seen in the very short time traveling to see you, your people work hard and your home within the gates and outside them amongst the trees..." he stopped, a light in his eyes that was similar to what he had when they were in the canoe, "It's beautiful, and I'm displeased that it took me until now to see all of this, but I thank Rayne for giving me this opportunity." he finished, and Rayne stopped her finger in the middle of the map, returning her gaze downward. She's received thanks before when completing her missions, but a thanks for something like this? A memory flashed in her mind, but she blocked it out. She didn't want to open that door again.

Adkas looked at Gideon in a new light, slowly nodding in approval and turned towards Rayne.

"Your task is to kill Xerath, but why now?" he asked, and Rayne stood up straight, her brows furrowed together as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"That's the thing I'm still trying to understand myself. As we traveled, I've tossed around in my mind about this mission, and there are some new questions that I need answers to." she said, folding her arms as she continued to massage the bridge of her nose. Gideon looked to her, feeling a mix of surprise and a little let down. Why did she not bring this up with him? An emotion tugged at his heart, but he chose to ignore it.

Adkas inclined his head, his eyes downcast to the map of the mountain Xerath called home, "Are you questioning about continuing this further?"

"No, I'll get it done. I need to get it done." she said firmly, but Adkas walked to the table, taking the map she had been going over and flipped it over to the blank backside.

"Yet you are filled with doubt," his voice was low in her ear, it surprised even her. She froze up. Gideon watched as her body suddenly stiffened when Adkas flipped the map over, a new look crossing her eyes that he had never seen before. His body moved before his mind processed what he was doing, and he found himself standing on the other side of her, his hand on her shoulder. Rayne's head swiveled up toward him, and met his calm gaze. Her shoulders lowered, an ache in her upper back told her she had tensed up pretty hard. She could feel the pressure and warmth of his hand through her cloak and leather armor. She fortified herself and looked at Adkas with a new profound assurance. He smiled in turn, flipping the map back over.

"Aside from the stories, there is not much to say about Xerath, however, I do not believe he is the real threat here." his eyes darkened as he said that, pacing away from them now. Gideon shared a look with Rayne, as if reading each others minds.

"Are you referring to the Lord hidden away in the mountains further west from here?" Gideon addressed, and Adkas paused in his next step, his back to them. Mel-Darion who had been studying them as they discussed saw the troubled look on his father's face and he cleared his throat, drawing their attention.

"It is true that as of late, the Dark Lord has made more of a presence within our lives. We believe he is building up an immense army in his mountains as we speak." Mel shared the information while his father refrained from doing so. This peaked Gideon's interest and he rested his hands on the table.

"What kind of army are we looking at here?" he asked eagerly, and Mel-Darion tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"From what we have seen from our stance in the trees, goblins mostly. Some orcs here and there, but nothing I am sure you humans could not handle." he waved off the situation, but Gideon wasn't having it. He made his way around the table, and marched up to Mel-Darion. Though matching in height, Gideon's armor bulked him up compared to Mel's more slimmer figure with his robe. Inaleth withdrew her scimitar, approaching Gideon as he stopped in front of Mel-Darion, but he held up a hand to her, stopping her from coming any closer. He watched fire burn in Gideon's eyes. He was angry, sure, but the heat he was seeing was brighter, fiercer. He was pissed.

"Is this a joke to you? From here that is all you have seen, for all we know he might have Ogres, Undead, darker monstrosities that we have never seen before. If he has that kind of power within his domain, he won't just be coming for my home, he will trample through yours to." Gideon's voice shook with the rage he felt. Mel-Darion's face didn't shift at all, but his hands clenched the inside of his sleeves.

"My Lord, he needs to leave. He has done nothing but disrespect you since their arrival." Inaleth pointed her sword at Gideon, the tip barely scraping against his back, scratching his armor lightly. Adkas let out a heavy sigh and looked to the armored man that had held his tongue during this exchange. He bowed respectfully and opened the door to the awaiting staircase.

"Mel-Darion, Inaleth." were the only names leaving his mouth as he waited by the doorway, looking expectantly at Inaleth. Her cheeks turned a slight shade of red in embarrassment as she sheathed her weapon and stormed out. Mel-Darion held Gideon's gaze for a moment more before turning to his father and bowing deeply before leaving the chamber. The elf shut the door so the only himself, Gideon, Rayne and Adkas remained.

"Now that we got that out of the way," Adkas sighed, taking a seat in one of the chairs and gestured for each of them to sit with him, "I do apologize for my son, his mind is set in the old ways as his mother had raised him before she passed some time ago. Even now I try to fix what she had done, however he spirit is set in stone." he apologized to Gideon, but the knight shook his head, running his hand through his now slightly longer hair.

"No need to apologize, I understand where he is coming from, and I know even for me it will take time to see eye to eye." he spoke honestly, and Adkas smiled at him, nodding and looked at Rayne.

"Where do you wish to begin?"