Hallek

Patrician Jajess's dinner was a work of art.

The food sat in golden bowls or on golden trays all arranged in patterns across the surface of the table. Hallek couldn't identify most of it. To him food was a lump cooked with sauce, maybe a fried cutlet of something, with grains to go with. He had no idea what the bowl full of little blood red things in a black sauce was, or why the one bowl he identified as being full of some kind of stew seemed to have such weirdly bright colors.

“This boring stone table kind of doesn't live up to the rest of it, huh?” Hallek whispered to Shylldra.

“It's a relic from Lost Pangea. It's probably older than the palace and Balrok prison put together.”

Hallek was instantly sorry he'd said anything, though he did wonder why it was in Jajess's second house. He thought stuff like that was for waving under other noble's faces to score points. He finally decided he would never understand rich people and that was that.

The old Hallek would probably have been worried about where to sit, how to eat, the kind of thing he wasn't likely to learn growing up in Downwind. Now he couldn't make himself give a damn. Dyryl had a very similar attitude. She was wearing her leather armor. It had been cleaned and oiled, but the way the servants were looking at it they obviously didn't approve.

“Am I the only one who wore the clothes they gave us?” Hallek asked.

“Looks like it,” Dyryl shrugged. “Hey what are these red things?”

“We're supposed to wait to eat until everyone is seated.”

“I suppose that's fair,” Dyryl said, chewing. “These red things are kinda chewy anyway.”

“They're cosesaurus tongues,” Shylldra said. “You're supposed to add spices to them.”

“What's a cosesaurus?”

“You know the drepanosaurs that live around here?”

“Those little green lizards with the big finger claws that climb trees? Sure, they're all over the forest.”

“Same kind of thing except they don't have big finger claws. And they don't live in the trees they just climb them sometimes. They live way up north, near the edge of the tundra.”

“Where's the rest of them?” Hallek asked, looking around the table. “The rest of the meat I mean?”

“Oh you don't eat the rest of them,” Shylldra said. “It's way too tough. You just eat the tongues.”

“But there's got to be hundreds of tongues in that bowl!” Dyryl said. “More! Why kill all those animals for a bowl of chewy lizard tongues? I mean even if you're gonna kill'em just for the tongues I bet the drepanosaurs around here have chewy lizard tongues too!”

“They're not for eating. Well you are supposed to eat them, but how they taste isn't really the point. It's more like a kind of statement.”

“Let me guess that statement,” Hallek said. “Look at me, I'm rich enough to hire someone way up north to catch a bunch of lizards, ship them south, kill them, cut off their tongues, and cook the tongues up for dinner.”

“Something like that. I have to admit I'm kind of looking forward to them. I used to eat them all the time growing up. I don't think I've eaten any since I joined the temple.”

Dyryl snorted, but Hallek understood. It didn't matter that it was ridiculous, or pretentious, or that it was just a bowl of chewy lizard tongues. They were the chewy lizard tongues of her childhood. Hallek's childhood didn't really start until he got to Downwind but he knew all about missing things.

Krazzek came in next, wearing a cleaner black shirt and pants than they'd seen him in before.

“I hate togas,” Krazzek said. “It gets to breezy between the legs. You know this is the first time I'm going to be at one of this high class dinners not disguised as a waiter or something? This ought to be fun. Do they have the chewy lizard tongues? I always wanted to try the chewy lizard tongues.”

“Well,” Patrician Jajess said from the door of the dining room. “I'm glad to see everyone's getting along.”

Jajess too his place at the end of the table, Verris sitting beside him. Ballum took up a guard position in the corner. Hallek nodded to Verris but only got a glare in return.

“No need to stand on ceremony here,” Jajess said. “Eat, eat! Offer a prayer to the gods if you like, but don't let the food go to waste.”

“Don't have to tell me twice,” Dyryl said, reaching for the bowl of lizard tongues.

“Patrician Jajess,” Shylldra said. “You've gone through a lot of trouble to get us here. Don't you want to tell us why?”

“Business should wait until after dinner,” Patrician Jajess said, waving a hand dismissively.”

“I can eat and talk,” Hallek said, reaching for a plate of meat he was pretty sure he recognized. Or at least recognized as meat. “And I think we'd all rather hear what's going on.”

“I just do my job,” Krazzek said, spooning more cosesaurus tongues into his mouth. “These are pretty good.”

“Alright,” Patrician Jajess sighed. “I don't know what else I expected from...adventurers, lets say. Simply put, we all have reason to be displeased with the empire's current leadership.”

“Lekarik hasn't been any worse to the tribes than the other emperors,” Dyryl pointed out. “In fact if you believe the elders, things have been improving for the past forty years or so. And we've had more trouble with your men than the emperor's.”

“Same here,” Hallek said. “The emperor sent one assassin. You sent a whole army.”

“Now now I have explained all of that. And my own son killed the man responsible.”

Son. Everything clicked in Hallek's head. Now that he thought about it they did look a lot alike. And suddenly so many things make so much more sense.

“And don't you just sound so proud?” Verris smirked.

“In any case,” Jajess said, eyeing Verris warily, “the emperor needs the young ty Imperiens to secure his own position.”

“And he'll kill me when he's done. I know that. What I don't know is why I'm supposed to believe you'll be any different.”

“Because I care far less about the succession,” Jajess said frankly. “All we need to do is supplant Lekarik in the people's minds. Easily enough done with the old emperor's daughter holding the ax, married to a man who wields another weapon infused with the soul of a fang.”

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Hallek blinked as the reality of what was happening seeped into him.

“Ahah,” Verris said dryly. “I thought I saw where this was going.”

“You want me to marry Shylldra,” Hallek said, “and become emperor?”

“Don't worry about your inexperience. My friends and I on the patrician's council would handle most of the day to day work. Your marriage would be a symbol, to inspire the people of the empire!”

“Means you'll be out in front and he'll do all the work,” Dyryl said.

“I'd figured that part out myself,” Hallek said.

“And what about the tribes?” Dyryl said.

“I have no interest in you,” Jajess said. “The arrangements would continue as before. If the tribes provided assistance in stabilizing the empire during the transition then perhaps there could be further concessions.”

“Wait a minute,” Shylldra said. “I haven't agreed to anything yet.”

“And neither have I,” Hallek added. “You can't just trot me out and turn me into an emperor! Even if the Fang commands that much respect I've got as much noble blood as one of the piles in Downwind.”

“A disgusting simile, and beside the point. Noble blood can be arranged as the situation warrants.”

“Let me guess,” Verris chimed in. “You'll also announce he's your son, am I right? You have one bastard from Downwind so why not two? And I'll just fade away into the background...”

“It's the only logical step,” Jajess said. “Besides, now you can marry that merchant's daughter you've been fooling around with without it affecting my plans.”

“Well that is all very logical, father,” Verris stood up from the table. “But there's just one problem. I don't agree either.”

“You don't have a say in the matter,” Patrician Jajess said coolly.

“Hold on Verris. I'm not going to do it anyway, so don't lose your mind.”

“But haven't you figured it out yet?” Verris said, pointing as Shylldra. “If you don't marry her then I'm supposed to marry her. That must have been why he legitimized me in the first place. And I've got to be honest, Hallek, every since the two of you showed up all lovey dovey I have just loved the idea of bedding your woman.”

Orange light flared in Hallek's eyes and he snarled, but he fought the dinosaur back under control.

“And even if I wasn't sure my blessed father would have me killed now that he didn't need me anymore there is no way I'll give hand my chance to be emperor to you, just like I'll never pretend we share a single drop of blood. So I'll tell you what Hallek. I challenge you to a duel. Just like a proper patrician's son. Winner gets the girl, the plan, and the empire. How about it?”

“I'm not going to duel you over a plan I'm never going to take part in!”

“And I will not allow it!” Jajess roared. “This duel could disrupt everything.”

“Oh,” Verris nodded, placing his left hand on the whip at his side. “Oh I see. You won't allow it. Well I think there's something you've left out of your calculations, father.”

With his right hand, Verris drew his sword and brought it down on the table. There was a thunderous cracking sound and the table blew in half, sending food flying everywhere. Everyone scrambled away from the table.

“Did you honestly think I didn't expect this? Right now I'm betting there are only two people in this room—only two people around for miles—who can possibly stop me. One of them is Hallek, and if he fights me I get my duel anyway. And the other one is Ballum. Well?”

All eyes turned the corner where Ballum had stood motionless the entire time.

“Well?” Jajess said.

“I would let them fight,” Ballum shrugged. “If Hallek dies you have a son to marry the girl and no weapon. No worse off than you were before. You can continue your plan with Verris. And powerful infusions often submit to the men who killed their masters, so you might still gain the sword all the same.”

“Hah! Logical as always Ballum, thank you. I think I will allow this duel.”

“Wait a second!” Hallek said.

“Don't try and chicken out now you piece of shit,” Verris snarled. “I still haven't forgotten you leaving me beaten up in that alley. I've been itching for a rematch. Especially now that we both have new infusions. Let's test'em out.”

And that was the moment Hallek realized he did want to. Not be emperor, that idea was too big to really think about. No he wanted to fight Verris again. He wanted to see how strong Verris had become. Because he wanted to know how strong he was now. The emperor's assassin was a legend, he couldn't really measure that. And the blind rage of the ceremony to stabilize his infusion didn't count. But he'd always fought with Verris, so he could use him as a measuring stick.

Besides, the sword wanted to fight Verris too. For some reason Verris felt like prey. But dangerous prey, respectable prey.

“To the dueling grounds then!” Jajess declared. “We have dueling ring in the back.”

The party made its way out into the back. Hallek couldn't help noticing that Dyryl brought along the chewy lizard tongues. Somehow he didn't feel like they were taking this seriously enough. The dueling ring was a wide circle of stone set a distance from the house. Once it had been carved with pictures of great heroes, but now it was just a flat place in the ground. Hallek and Verris squared off against each other across the ring. The stars above them twinkled in the cool night air.

“Hallek,” Shylldra said. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“I want to fight him,” Hallek admitted. “Besides, this is the move that leaves the most options open. If we decide not to help out Jajess later we can always skip out. But if we have to run now to escape a duel...”

“I suppose,” Shylldra sighed. “Be careful.”

“Stop hiding behind your woman,” Verris snarled. Shylldra left the dueling ring, and for the first time since they both left Downwind Hallek and Verris stared each other in the eye.

“Begin” Jajess said. They moved. Hallek was fast. Verris wasn't slower. Their swords clashed in the center of the ring sending a gust of wind blowing outwards from the impact. Verris style had changed, Hallek noticed. He fought with one hand now, the other clutching the whip at his belt. He'd found a powerful infusion too. He still felt like prey, like a great hunt, and it took Hallek a moment to connect the image in the dinosaur's memories with the word in Hallek's.

Brachiosaur. He feels like a brachiosaur.

Their swords clashed dozens of times, neither of them scoring a hit, before they jumped apart again.

“You're holding back,” Verris snarled at him.

“So are you. What's that whip? Why haven't you drawn it?”

“I didn't want to kill you that quickly.”

“Tell you what. I'll go all out and so will you, and we'll see who lives.”

Hallek pulled in deep, calling for the giganotosaur's strength. It was a part of his own soul now, he only needed to draw it forth. His tattoos and his eyes glowed orange. Verris pulled out his whip and cracked it in the air. It left a row of dark blue sparks behind it. And then with a flick of his wrist it was swinging down toward's Hallek's head.

It felt like death. He remembered an instant from the giganotosaur's childhood, hunting a long neck with his father, and a tail swinging across that had caught them both in the side and sent them flying. That's what it felt like. It was the full force of a bull Brachiosaur's lethal hand swipe, coming down at his head. Hallke dodged to the side, but that wasn't enough. There would be a shockwave. He had to go up.

The carved stone slab that formed the dueling ring shattered like a fallen mirror as Hallek flew up into the air. Hallek tried to orient his landing but Verris jerked the whip back and it flew upwards, wrapping around Hallek's waist like a tentacle and dragging him back to the ground. He landed hard enough to crush the stones beneath him.

The whip seemed to lose its energy after that so Hallek rolled free. He had bleeding cuts on his back and shoulders, but his body seemed a lot more durable than it had been before...well. Before. Verris pulled back the whip for another blow but this time Hallek was ready. He shot forwards and slammed his left fist in Verris's gut, following up with a sword strike that would have sliced Verris's head apart along the eyeballs if the whip wielding fighter hadn't jumped back at the last second. There was a deep slice across his temple, but no permanent damage.

“Tchwaaaak!”

T'challi spiraled down out of the sky and landed between the fighters, fluffing her feathers and licking her forewings. The microraptor strutted around between the fighters like she owned the dueling arena, or the powdered remnants of what had been the dueling arena at least. Hallke and Verris stared at her incredulously.

“What is it?” Verris asked.

“She's a microraptor. She's kind of following us around? She comes and goes as she pleases.”

“Gods Hallek I want you dead but it's good to fight someone who knows what they're doing again. These noble prissyboys are all pathetic. Never last an hour in Downwind.”

“You know it's weird Verris? I almost missed you too. Shall we continue?”

“Let’s.”

“Tchwark!” T'challi flapped her forewings and strutted back and forth between them, cooing and chirping. It looked for all the world like she was trying to give the fighters a lecture.

“What do we do with it?” Verris asked, staring at the feathery little dinosaur.

“Stop!” Patrician Jajess said. “Stop right now! You'll wreck my whole house if you keep fighting. You've both drawn blood, we'll call this duel a draw.”

“And if we wanted to keep fighting do you think you could stop us, old man?” Verris glared at his father and suddenly Hallek felt awkward, remembered that this duel was supposed to be about something serious, and just because the dinosaur inside wanted a fight didn't mean he had to give it one.

Sweet gods, so he was still mixed up inside.

“Maybe he's right,” Hallek said. “Maybe...”

“Lord Patrician!” Hallek had never seen the servant who sprinted out to the dueling arena, but from the look of how exhausted he was the man must be dedicated to his job. “Lord Patrician, they're here!”

“Who's here?” Jajess demanded.

“The Birdfang sir! The Birdfang are here! They're taking up positions outside the gates!”