The floor of the tent was covered with a luxurious rug. It had intricate maze-like patterns along the edges and the interior depicted a flowering tree. It was soft under Yuriko’s feet and she spent a moment enjoying the sensation against her bare toes. But that wasn’t to say that she ignored the occupant of the room.

If Rhox was a fairly young snakekin, the Commander was certainly an elder. His scales were a faded black and grey, though the diamond pattern across his skin was still distinctive. He was seated cross-legged on a cushion, in front of a low table and wore a loose, white robe. His slitted red eyes stared at Yuriko intently.

“Welcome,” he said softly. His tongue, forked like a snake’s, flicked out as he spoke.

“Thank you,” Yuriko said with a nod.

“Please, have a seat.” He gestured to a spot across the low table, where a grey cushion had been placed over the rug. There was only one cushion.

With a nod, Yuriko folded her legs as she sat, though she didn’t unstrap her pack.

“I am Otlaca of the Ahas Clan, Commander of Forgestride Enclave, and I bid you welcome to our humble camp, foreign Elder.”

Yuriko blinked in surprise.

“Foreign elder?” she couldn’t help but blurt out. “Ah, I am Yuriko Mishala Davar.”

Otlaca nodded and looked pointedly at Rhox who had just entered.

“Indeed, my subordinate reports that you have the power of an Elder. Is it a mistake?”

Yuriko smiled wryly. “I’m not sure of the term, so I cannot determine its accuracy.”

“Ah, of course.” Otlaca shrugged. He gestured again to Rhox, with his fingers twisting slightly. The other snakekin gave a short bow and left. “You must have had a difficult journey, considering the state of your…” he waved a hand at her clothes “...attire.”

His fingers were long and slender though there seemed to be an extra joint there. No fingernails either. The scales protected the ends of the digits so there was no need for nails?

“Oh, of course,” Yuriko said neutrally. “I’ve been lost for nearly two Seasons.”

“Indeed.” Otlaca raised an eyebrow. “That is a long time to be lost in the Labyrinth.”

“Oh, no, I’ve only been in the Labyrinth for a…” Yuriko tilted her head in thought. “Huh, I’m not sure how long I spent in the Labyrinth. A few weeks, for sure. Before that, I was on the Kogasi plane.”

Otlaca’s other eyebrow rose. It was intriguing to watch since he didn’t have any kind of hair at all. The top of his head wasn’t smooth. It had a couple of small fins in line with the edges of his eyes. His eyebrows were actually thicker and darker scales.

“Interesting. Kogasi, you say? Hmmm.”

Yuriko rubbed her chin with a finger and shrugged. She honestly didn’t know what else to say.

The tent flaps opened and a couple of snakekin--oh, one was a lizardkin, distinguishable from the other by a crest on the head and actual claws on their hands and toes--came in. Each of them carried a tray inside, one with bowls and dishes, and the other with cups and pitchers. They knelt beside the table and laid out the platters and bowls between them.

A bowl filled with some kind of white grain was placed in front of Yuriko. Three platters filled with bite-sized meats were placed between the two of them.

The first was of thinly sliced, roasted pork. Another was cubes of brown meat, beef, sitting on some kind of dark brown sauce, and the last was sliced fowl. Chicken, Yuriko thought, placed on a bed of leafy greens.

The aroma made Yuriko’s mouth water uncontrollably, and her tummy growl rather loudly.

Then the two servers placed a stemmed glass to her right and filled it with a dark red liquid. A couple of narrow sticks were placed next to her bowl.

Why were there no spoons or forks?

Otlaca picked up the sticks placed beside his bowl, positioning them between his thumb and forefingers, and somehow managed to manipulate it to open and close. He gestured to the food.

“Let us share a meal in friendship.”

“I see. Thank you,” Yuriko managed to respond.

She observed how Otlaca manipulated the sticks to pick up the small slices of food and how he delivered it to his mouth. Even more interesting was how he picked up the white grains. She was deft enough to mimic how he did it after those first few moments.

She tried the brown cubed meat first. It was indeed beef. Well-seasoned beef at that. The flavours blended wonderfully, and perhaps it was a tad bit too salty, but when she took a mouthful of the grains, it absorbed the salt and sauces, wonderfully balancing the entire mouthful into a resplendent harmony. She couldn’t help but close her eyes and moan.

“Delicious, no? I’ve been stationed in Forgestride for a decade now. Without an excellent chef, it would have been unbearable.”

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“You have foodstuffs delivered all the way from the surface?” Yuriko asked. “This tastes fresh.”

“Nothing of the sort,” Otlaca laughed. “I’ve a man who can restore freshness to dried meat. And the sauces do wonders to mask the initial dryness. If anything, the rice is the one we are in short supply, but it's easy enough to transport.”

“The grain?”

“Yes.”

Yuriko ate a bit of the rice without anything else. It was bland and sticky. She tried the other platters, finding the pork tangy and the fowl outright spicy. It was all delicious though. But then again, she’d been subsisting on plain roasted meat, forest vegetables, and redbone stew.

“I suppose you’re wondering why we have a base camp here,” Otlaca said after she’d taken the edge off her hunger. He took a sip of his drink.

Wine, she thought. Water had not been provided.

“I suppose.” Yuriko shrugged. “To be honest, my only concern is to return to Rumiga.”

“Ah, your home plane?”

“Yes.”

“In what nation?”

“Oh. The Eternal Empire of the Righteous Order.”

“You're a Verdanian? Ah, that explains your accent.”

“Hmm, well,” Yuriko fidgetted. “We don’t call ourselves that.”

“Oh? Ah, of course, you call yourselves Imperials.” He chuckled. “Well, there are other empires in the myriad planes and since your leader is called the Verdant Empress, then…” He shrugged.

“It makes me uncomfortable to be referred to that way.”

“My apologies then,” he offered easily. “Still, you’re a very long way from home and I’ve heard of no Ver--Imperial merchants visiting.”

“That’s because I’ve come here by accident. I was swept by a Chaos Storm and found myself here. Well, on the Kogasi plane at the other end of the Labyrinth.”

“Kogasi plane…you’re certain? How do you know it’s called that?” Otlaca’s gaze sharpened.

“Yes, I’ve learned of that name from an Obsidian Shard.”

Otlaca’s eyes narrowed as he peered down his glass. “You’re remarkably free with information, Elder Yuriko.”

Yuriko felt the corner of her eye twitch. “Er, please don’t address me that way.”

“Oh, then how may I address you?”

“Just Yuriko is fine.”

“Very well.” Otlaca took another sip but he stared pointedly at her untouched glass.

She mimicked him and took her glass by the stem and took a cautious sip. Bitter.

Something must have shown on her face since Otlaca said, “This is the finest wine in camp. Though I must admit, it’s not the best Lucenti can offer.”

“It’s fine,” Yuriko said while trying another sip. It coated her tongue and rose up to her palate, giving her a heady feeling. When she swallowed, it felt warm in her tummy. After she took the polite sip, she returned the glass to the table and continued to eat. The bowl of rice quickly disappeared along with more than half of the meat.

“I’ve never experienced a Chaos Storm out in the Primordial Sea. You must be incredibly powerful to do so.”

“Just lucky.”

“Ah humility, a rare trait from a…an Imperial.”

Yuriko shrugged.

“Hmm. Well to answer my earlier point, we have this camp here to harvest the devilbeasts’ Ivory. You’re lucky to have come across my subordinates when you did. The Beast Tide had just started, but let me tell you now, the numbers you’ve fought are but a trickle to the true numbers that will assault us come a few days.”

“Isn’t it strange for you to fortify here then? There are numerous passages and it seems like you’ve blocked off several.”

“That’s the truth. Those fiends from Vizugmon City monopolize the Beast Tide! Only devilbeasts from the Labyrinth produce Ivory, and they would deprive the rest of us if they could.”

“Ivory, you say.” Yuriko muttered. “What purpose does it serve you? Surely, you can grow more than enough food?”

“Food? You’re mistaken.” Otlaca said flatly, “Ivory is necessary to strengthen our Geists. Without it, we languish in weakness.”

“Geist,” Yuriko muttered. “How you manipulate Animus?”

“Indeed.” Otlaca snorted. “You Imperials have your own system of growth and power, and we have our own. Huh, I know most humans do not have a Geist, so Ivory does nothing other than feed you.”

“Huh.”

“You’ve collected a fine set, have you not? Hmm, if I may be frank, they’re wasted on you.”

“Oh, and what would you suggest?” Yuriko asked with an edge in her voice.

“Sell it to us,” Otlaca said firmly. “We’ll pay the market price for any you’d care to sell. Oh, I’m not forcing you, of course. Hah haha. That would be foolish and shortsighted. No, no, don’t scowl at me.”

Yuriko said, “I’ve found that stewing Ivory and partaking of it satisfies my need for food and drink for an entire day. Quite useful provisions, if you ask me.”

“A single Ivory will sell for a hundred Denari. That’s more than enough to pay for two weeks’ worth of rations.”

“I suppose, but I haven’t exactly been to a market in the past couple of Seasons.”

“There is that, hahaha. Anyway, it’s not as if we’ll lack for Ivory in the near future, so there’s no need for any kind of coercion,” he insisted. “The Beast Tide will provide enough. Now I understand you’re eager to make it up to the surface, but without a competent guide you’ll likely become lost.”

“Oh, then will you lend me a guide?”

“Of course, but we cannot spare people until the end of the Tide.”

“Which means I’ll need to wait here, huh?”

“You’re free to go if you wish. No one will keep you here.”

Yuriko shook her head, “I see no issue with waiting until the end of the Tide. A few days, you say?”

“For the full might of the Tide. For it to recede, why, it might take a week or so.”

“I suppose that’s not too bad,” Yuriko muttered. She had taken another sip of the wine, which she shouldn’t have, from how the heat radiated inside her. “Uhnm do you have water?”

“Oh, of course, of course.”

He signalled to an attendant who promptly left and returned with another carafe and glass.

As they finished their meal, Otlaca continued to regale her with tales of Vizugmon City’s harsh edicts. Yuriko listened politely to the old man, knowing that, of course, he would say that. While she and Masa hadn’t talked much, the cat-kin woman told her to be wary of the Ahas clan and the Reviled. They had attacked the other woman’s Delver team without warning, after all.

“Vizugmon City’s territory holds most of the Labyrinth entrances. They will not welcome anyone who hadn’t registered in their Guildhall. You’re an irregular and I’m sure you won’t have an easy time getting past their checkpoints. Hrmp! They claim that anything that comes out of the Labyrinth is theirs by right. But they don’t stop all of the devilbeasts that come out. Bella plane is filled with devilbeast descendants! And what’s worse is that those things don’t have any Ivory, yet are just as dangerous as the originals!

“Ivory strengthens our Geist, which in turn makes us stronger and allows us to live longer. Look at me, how old do you think I am?”

“Er, in your fifties?”

“Hah, no I’m already near my first century. Those Chaos burned cats don’t want the rest of us to grow stronger. They prefer to keep power to themselves!”

As Otlaca drank more wine, he grew more animated and spewed more rhetoric. The food was all gone by this time and Yuriko started taking more sips of the beverage. She grew somewhat lightheaded and it spread a pleasant buzz but it never lasted more than a few seconds. If the drink had been sweeter she would have drunk more of it.

“Otlaca, tell me,” Yuriko asked when he paused to take a breath, “Why did your warriors attack Masa’s team unprovoked?”

The elderly snakekin’s eyes sharpened as his mouth snapped shut. For a timeless moment, she thought he would explode in anger.