Chapter 271

Ainz sat at the table, it was far from the most luxuriant of things, even at a guess it was only slightly more expensive than what a modestly successful merchant could afford. Though it had a smooth shining polish, it was unadorned by precious metals or artistic designs, flatly put, it was nice but only one jump up from common, unique and noble only in that it was long enough to host the whole assembly.

The same went for all the furnishings, the chairs were polished and cushioned, but devoid of unique artistry, the tapestries were locally made, and a somewhat 'crude' representation of peasants learning new skills rather than masters at work.

There was however, one thing which set the hall of the Wolf King and Wolf Queen apart.

On the far end of the hall there was a crackling fire, and, up above, many windows allowing the room to be flooded with light during the day. Along the wall, as the evening was settled, there lay many candles which bathed the room in a dancing shadow, casting an orange glow. The smell of roasting meat wafted into the room from where it was being prepared, almost as though one's own mother was preparing the evening meal only a few paces away.

That was the spirit of the hall of the Kingdom of Carne. Home. The whole feel of the place was one of familial intimacy, and, at the head of the table, the Wolf Queen and her husband rose to their feet. Their cups held aloft to the sea of guests, Enri's smile was a glowing warmth, given to each one who sat near or far from the head, Ainz couldn't help but think it was as if his own mother were about to toast him.

"To a short fight, a long peace, and all our bright futures." She said it simply, it was no elegant speech. But while she said less than a great orator might have, she meant it more.

And so when the rest of the table echoed, "To a long peace and bright future." It was hard for the most cynical of lords or ladies to not mean it, at least in that moment.

'If this is the tenure of their rule, they will be popular monarchs, and not just here.' Ainz made a mental note, and settled in to enjoy both the meal, and the next few days while the other leaders arrived to journey onward to Arwintar as one.

The long journey carried the delegation of the Holy Queen and the Frost Queen over fine rolling countryside, through peasant towns, and to small castles, their stops along the way remained amiable, and between the two along the way, the dragonid and the human sought to resolve a thousand petty disputes of trade goods and the flow of travel.

Sometimes they were successful, at others the pair could not quite agree. It was during one such evening that they returned to a commonly broached subject from their letters, but not asked in person until the present in the country home of the Re-Estize royal family. "How are my humans doing in your Kingdom?" Queen Calca asked.

"Well enough." Neia answered, her tail dancing at her back. "I have had some trouble with a particularly tenacious poacher not far from my capital whom we suspect is human. But that should settle down once I've made it my private reserve and bought the area from the ones who own the land now. Other than that? They do fine, the land is good for farming and their produce under Duke Astraka is feeding a great many people."

"I suppose it helps that they have a human lord." Calca said with a twinge of frustration when she looked away from her counterpart.

Neia sat back in the chair and reached for her goblet. "Bigotry is a problem on both sides of the border." As Calca's words were as close as she could come to a true apology, so too were Neia's as close as she could come to conciliation.

"It's almost enough to make a common enemy desirable, to help erase the past." The Holy Queen remarked and reached for her own goblet while her son fussed a little in her other arm.

Neia said nothing, not right away. When she spoke it was with quiet iron in her voice. "That may sound nice, but there lies the difference between you and I, Holy Queen. You spent your life in the palace far removed from the common soldier. I was a common soldier. War is work, ugly work filled with filth and fear. A thing like what you say is the stuff of nightmares. May its horror never come."

Calca looked away, chastened, down at her son who fussed briefly, then she drained her cup in a gulp and brought her infant to the breast to feed him and said, "I did say almost."

"That you did." Neia said and finished her cup with a brief swig to pair with her concession.

"Almost what?" Queen Renner asked when she entered the room, prompting the pair of royal guests to rise to their feet to greet their host.

Zesshi's sprint went down to a jog, not for want of energy or strength, but because for the first time in her life she could actually 'enjoy' the sheer size of the wider world. Within mere hours of her departure, she repeated herself. "You have got to get out more, Zesshi!" But what she once said with irony, she now said with conviction. The wind and the trees, the grass of the fields and the babbling of the river called to her… and when she passed through a clutch of trees, pausing to take from some of the hanging fruits, their wide trunks and high boughs called to her.

'My elven side asserting itself…' She realized, and clamped down on it with loathing that roiled in her gut. Without thinking about it, she slowed to a walk and reached up to change her hair, ensuring that her ears were covered. 'If only she'd let me cut them off…' Zesshi thought, recalling her childhood. 'I was just trying to cut the rapist parts off…' Her answer to her mother had earned her more hugs than swats when the one time guardian of humanity yanked away the knife from her daughter's hands.

She recalled vividly the frantic way the valorous woman ran her hands over Zesshi's in the wash basin, removing the red blood from every tiny finger. The trembling, shaking hands of a dedicated parent lived long in Zesshi's mind. 'I haven't thought of that in years…' The half elf realized and tried to put it from her mind as she drew closer to the distant town.

'Maybe he's here… maybe not. Either way at least I can say Raymond is probably worried.' Zesshi's brief reflection on her traveling companion troubled her to no end. 'To him at least, I can say 'sorry'. But I have to know, and he's hiding something.' Zesshi's certainty was coupled with a dark distaste that came out in the way she clenched her fist as the town loomed closer, the walls were pathetic, and the guards even worse than the walls.

But as it wasn't an enemy position and the gate was now open, she walked right up to it just as a young couple set out. They wore bright, cheerful smiles and waved to her with enthusiasm. He had a rough, peasant beard that wasn't quite well trimmed for want of a mirror, she wore a simple single piece dress that flapped a bit in the breeze, and both carried polished walking sticks worn smooth by time, and packs on their backs with patchy bedrolls up at shoulder level. "'Scuse me, have you seen a blue haired swordsman with a sword come through here today?"

They stopped to look the odd figure of Zesshi up and down, and briefly traded a look with one another as only married couples could, asking without speaking.

"Nah, sorry lady, haven't seen anyone like that, but if he's smart he'll be leavin' here same as us, so you prolly goin' the wrong way." The taller male uttered with a brief shudder.

"Uh, why?" Zesshi asked and looked away from him and toward the town, a bit dirty and crude, it was no Kami Miyako, but there was no obvious danger to prompt their eagerness to leave, nor did she see signs of fear on the pair.

"The Kingdom of Carne, miss, ain't you heard of it? They lettin' nonhumans settle in there, an' I don't mean as like… living tools, I mean like," he shivered, "'people'. So we sold everything an' we're goin south. The border's just a hop, skip, and a jump away, goblin neighbors? Can you imagine? Course there's others, but… lotta goblins there I hear. People go up there to trade, come back with all kinda stories. None of 'em good, so we travlin' south to be safe. Lot of us are. Anyway, hope you find your friend, miss, but like I say, he smart, he's goin south where it's safe."

"Right…" Zesshi suppressed her frown, but before she could say anything else another voice carried down to her.

"Hey! Somebody ask about the blue haired guy?" It was a gruff voice, but a little dubious.

Zesshi stepped away from the couple, who took that as their cue to leave, and then she craned her neck to look up at a spear bearing guard. "Yes, you know him?"

"Nah, don't know him, but I know of him. Not many folk have blue hair, and even fewer carry just one sword and no shield… mite odd he was, traveled with his daughter, he asked about where to stay, if that's your man, he went for the inn thataway." The guard leveled his spear toward a side street, and Zesshi nodded.

"Thanks." She said, but the answer sounded wrong. 'He wasn't traveling with a child. Couldn't be… but then, the guard up there has a point, not many people look like that.'

Zesshi thought it over for a moment, 'I guess it can't hurt to look.' She resolved and with a confident and hopeful spring in her step she made her way in the direction the guard indicated.

Her feet slogged through no small amount of nasty muck, the smell of horse manure tainted the air and blended with the smell of unwashed bodies. The noise of squelching feet coupled with the babble of humans going about their business created a cacophony of noise that was equal parts unfamiliar and unpleasant to the long-isolated Zesshi. Her nose crinkled a little as she suppressed the urge to gag before entering the establishment that was marked as an inn.

'You know that thing you said you should do?' She asked herself.

'Get out more?' She answered her own thought.

'Yes, if most of the world smells like this, forget it.' She answered herself again.

'Agreed.' Zesshi agreed with herself and then approached a large, obese-looking man who slid a wooden mug across a long smooth wooden bar and directly into the waiting hand of a patron.

He looked up when the bell above the door rang. "What can I do ya for, miss?" He wore a gap toothed smile and had a grandfatherly manner about him that reminded her of an older Raymond.

It was enough to bring a little smile to her face when she said, "I'm looking for… a friend of mine. Blue hair, curved sword, fit looking man, know him?" She asked.

"Brain, sure do. He's stayin' here but I'm 'fraid he's not in just now." The old man answered and Zesshi brightened up.

"Oh, do you know when he'll be back?" She inquired, and the old man shrugged.

"Nah, hard to say, he went out after a group of bandits, tryin' to get some money fer… some things, you know, travlin' needs." The old man clammed up just a little, it was a subtle thing, his smile went a little smaller and his words more hasty, he also ignored or didn't hear someone slapping the bar demanding another drink.

"'Venturin' ain't an easy line of work, it'll pay alright, so he went out to make some quick coin, I can leave a message for him for you, give it to him when he gets back, if'n you like." The old man offered and his smile brightened again, though it hesitated to spread out as far as it previously had.

"Can I wait in his room, I really need to see him, or wait here?" She asked.

"Nope. 'Fraid I can't have people loiterin' about not buyin' nothin', an' ah ain't got no rooms anyway." He added the last part with such haste that even knowing she was inexperienced, it felt like a lie.

"I see… Okay then, ah, just tell him he had a visitor and ask him to wait for me down here." Zesshi said, and the old man's eyes never left her as she removed herself from the building.

'He didn't mention the daughter… what's going on here?' Zesshi felt the same sense she had with Raymond, that something was being concealed, hidden away. Her senses tingled as if she were about to enter a fight, and she closed the door gently behind her.

For once Zesshi felt a measure of gratitude for her elven senses and began to walk around the side of the building. The lower half was clearly a tavern, but that obviously meant that the rooms were on the upper floor. The sinking squelch of her boots would have given her away had it been the middle of the night, but as it was, nobody thought anything of the noise of one person just walking around minding their own business. 'Ugh, my hair… it's probably a mess at the bottom now… great, one more thing to dislike here.' She cursed and tilted her head up to search out the smell.

While no bloodhound, her senses wouldn't miss him if he were concentrated somewhere.

It took some walking around, but then there it was, an open window and the leftover smell of her brief dinner guest.

Zesshi looked to her left and right, people were passing by, but nobody was watching, nobody was listening.

So she jumped, her powerful legs sent her rocketing up to the second floor and with one brief pull at the window sill, she hauled herself inside, rolling once over the floor she came to her feet with a little bounce.

There, lying on the bed was a young girl, obviously a half-elf. She lay on top of his cloak, holding it tight against her body, and lost her grip the moment she saw the intruder.

For one brief moment Layali and Zesshi's collective three eyes were frozen and locked on one another, and then Layali opened her mouth to scream.