Hera closed her eyes as the runes lit up; when she opened them again, they were in a completely different place. Instead Of being in a small room where she barely could stand up, they were now on top of a circular platform inside a massive hall. There were about 8 doors leading to different rooms, but this central area had nothing besides the circular podium. As Hera looked around, she could see more runes on the floor, probably part of the teleportation spell. As far as she was aware, things like that were extremely mana hungry and would require very precise spell circles and casting for the teleportation to work properly. Having a place like this made things a little easier since they could anchor the locations to each other. However, even this would be, at most, a safety measure. It wouldn't change how much mana you needed to cast a spell nor how difficult it was to make it work.
After processing all that quickly, Hera felt her stomach turning. She heard about how teleportation could make you feel sick, but she never expected that it would make her feel like someone was playing hacky sack with her organs. For a moment, she even got worried that everything was in the wrong place. But after a quick check, her heart, lungs, and stomach seem to be where they should be. There wasn't a way for her to check the rest of the organs, but if the big ones were there, the rest should be there too.
"Ogryn, what the hell is going on? You teleported us somewhere, and I really don't think this is just about… dinner," Hera had to stop herself from speaking anymore since her stomach was struggling to keep the drinks she had at her dad's down.
"You're not wrong. And I'm sorry for being sneaky about it. I'm not sure if I can explain what was going on, but we need your help. Or at least your opinion," Ogryn tapped Hera's back, trying to help her.
One of the doors opened, but Hera was too focused on herself to notice the noise. Only when the king of Boothudurn spoke did she realize they were no longer alone, "I do apologize for bringing you here like this, Hera. What we're discussing today is something we thought it was best to keep as a secret."
"What?" Hera tried to raise her head, but everything started to spin. She was at the same time feeling like she was one drink away from blacking out and having the worst hangover of her life.
"Ogryn! I told you that you should give her a potion before teleporting. The runes are set to understand a dwarf's body, not a human one," Risli's voice came from the same side as Rutigan's, and soon she got close to Hera and passed her a potion, "Here, drink this, child. It tastes horrible, but it will help with the dizziness."
The healer passed a small vial with a greenish-purple sludge that looked like the kind of thing that would be found near rotting bodies. When Hera opened the cork, she realized that, despite its appearance, it smelled like bubblegum. Hoping it would go down easy, she chugged the potion that tasted like a mix of cheese, mold, cement, and spoiled milk. She was about to throw up, but Risli covered her mouth with her hand and used a spell to calm her stomach. Everyone waited for a few moments before Hera could move again. The potion worked like a charm, despite the horrible experience.
"Thanks. I hate everything, but thanks," Hera sat on the floor, trying to get her bearings, "Can anyone tell me why you guys tortured and drugged me just to get me here?"
Risli slapped the back of Hera's head, "Trust me. If we wanted to torture you, there are way better ways to do it than this."
"It was a joke," Hera rolled her eyes and touched her necklace just to make sure that Daskka was still with her. From what she knew, because of the legacy, she could never lose the necklace, but it was her first reaction when something unexpected happened. And since she didn't call the snake out for this dinner, there was a part of her that was on edge.
"A very bad joke," Risli scoffed.
"Risli. It's fine. We know that she didn't mean it like that," Rutigan got closer and helped her get up, "I'm sorry for all of this. Things are not exactly calm lately. Follow me. We have a meeting room here where we can have a proper discussion."
The king guided Hera and the others through one of the doors to the side. Beyond it was a hallway that seemed to be in the middle of construction. About 4 meters in, the carved brick walls stopped, and Hera could just see the raw rock of the mountain. They entered the only door in that hallway, which led to another small room with yet another door. Ogryn closed the outer door and locked it before opening the other one. There was a round table with 10 seats, but only two people inside. Naka and Kahala. After everyone left the smaller room, Ogryn locked the door and activated a soundproofing spell around the entire area. Rutigan told them all to sit around the table. Hera took a spot between Risli and Naka, even if she was a couple of chairs away from the guard captain.
"Okay, it's nice to see everyone, but can someone please explain to me what is going on?" Hera asked as she sat down.
"Of course. You deserve to know why we called you here," Rutigan sighed, "I'm sure you are already aware of some of the… changes going on in the MAZE. I mean how the guild, or more specifically, the humans are starting to treat everyone else."
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"I am. And for what it's worth, I don't think they're doing the right thing. I agree with the checkpoints somewhat, but I can see they are not using them properly," Hera nodded. During the trip back from the Charring Wastes, she and her friends were stopped at each doorway. It was just a quick check-up that barely took a minute for them to go through. However, when it was Adriel's turn, it became a whole thing. People would act like he was a criminal even if he had all the proper paperwork, and on one occasion, they even demanded he deactivated his drones. Part of the inspection was a scan of the boxes, which already showed that there wasn't anything dangerous inside, but despite that, they still demanded Adriel to show what he was carrying himself. Only when Helena stepped in and told that all the boxes belonged to her and they were clearly overstepping what they were doing did the people responsible for the checkpoint step back.
"I appreciate you telling us. And there was never a doubt in my mind that you were not among those who are the problem. That being said, The more time passes, the more brazen some of the humans become. It reached the point where we started to fear for our people," Rutigan explained.
"Did something happen? Did someone do something with anyone who lives here?" Hera asked with a worried expression.
"No, they haven't. But the treatment of those traveling to other rooms has been less than ideal. We get judged and treated with prejudice by some. If that were just some small groups and situations, we wouldn't be that worried since that seems common for humans. But when the people in power started acting like this on a larger scale, we need to consider the worst," Rutigan continued but stopped when Hera chuckled.
"Do you find this funny?" Naka asked.
"No, not this. It's the fact that King Rutigan is telling me that we should be careful with other people. It's kind of funny," Hera turned to the king, "I mean, you were the one who was excited about meeting the humans. We had to explain that things might not be all sugar and rainbows. Everything you said was always so peaceful and even naive that it's weird seeing you act like this."
Rutigan chuckled, "Yeah. The irony of the situation has not escaped me. After we joined with the guild and the rest of the MAZE, I spent most of my time learning politics and words the other kingdoms and the other races would do. And history does not bode well for a situation like this."
"Yeah. But there is something else, isn't there? I mean, People are freaking out because of the attack. It's expected, but I don't think you guys would react like this just because of that. Something else must have happened for you to be this worried," Hera looked around.
"About a month ago, some people came to my house and started asking about my items. How I make them, how many I have, and a bunch of other questions about the armors we use. I sent them off running, but that started to bug me. I asked Silah, and she told me that some people came asking her the same questions. Naka overheard our conversation and told the king her worries," Kahala explained.
Hera looked to the captain, waiting to hear the continuation of the story, "When I heard them talking, I considered for a moment what would be the first thing I would do if I was going to attack a city. Figuring out what kind of arms they could use would be one of my first steps," Naka turned to Rutigan, "I would also like to add that I'm still not sure if we should be sharing those kinds of things with her. You can say that she was one of us as much as you want, but the reality is that she's not. She's a human, and I'm skeptical to believe that her allegiances would be with us and not with her own people."
"My dad is living here. My friends are living here. You guys saved my life. Trust me when I say that if someone is going to attack you, I want to be here fighting with you guys," Hera told the captain.
"I know you have your reservations, but I do believe that Hera is someone who wants to be by our side. Or at least that wants the best for our people. Even if I'm a bit surprised with your determination to fight alongside us," Rutigan smiled at Hera.
"I agree with that. She might have been a part of your guard, but I'm sure you didn't spend that much time with her. She helped me heal many people during the months she was stuck here. And that was after her shift with the guard," Risli added.
"She was a pain in my ass, but without her idea about molds, I wouldn't have finished the ornament I was working on ever since…. Either way, she showed me that and didn't even ask for a reward. If I'm being honest, at the time, she could have even asked for my best work and I would have given it to her," Kahala took a sip of the drink in front of her.
"Wait. Really? Can I still ask for it?" Hera turned to the armorsmith.
"You can, but not to me. The captain here has it now," Kahala nodded to Naka.
"Nevermind," Hera sighed. Still, she might be able to ask Kahala to put some blades on her boots. If she could have it as a part of her court, it would be much stronger since the glide function was something she never wanted to get rid of. Another option was to learn how to do something like that herself, but that would probably take much longer to do.
"I still don't agree with that, but I know when I've lost a vote," Naka looked back at Hera, "Don't get me wrong. I don't think you are a bad person, and it's not like I don't trust you. I'm just not willing to put the fate of our entire civilization in your hands."
Hera understood why the captain of the guard was so hesitant, and she had to agree. There was no reason to believe that Hera would choose dwarves over humans. But for Hera herself, that wasn't even a question. Even if that sounded mean, very few people amongst the humans actually mattered to her, and among those who did, most of them were living in Boothudurn. Then again, if things got too ugly, she had no idea if she would stay to protect the people here. It was more likely that she would grab Eridan and her friends and just run away. It would be very selfish of her, but that was the truth of the matter. Still, it was one thing to be willing to fight in a war, another to figure out a way to protect them.
"Then can we start with the meeting?" Rutigan asked and got a nod as a reply, "Very well then. I want to discuss with you today how we can ensure that the guild and the humans won't become our enemies. And, in a worst-case scenario, figure out a plan to fight against them," the King paused and just stared at the cup in front of him, "And I pray to the mountain that this plan is never necessary."