Len sat nervously in at Balar's side. She wasn't nearly as prepared to be this much at the center of things as she'd thought she was. Something about the whole situation seemed more... dangerous, for lack of a better word, than she'd been expecting. Keseryn seemed even more uncomfortable, having spent most of her life with just her parents and never coming close to a anything like this. She was hiding it better than Len had expected, but the frantic darting of her eyes was more than a little bit of a tell. Keris, to Balar's right, was doing even worse. The woman had had any number of rugs pulled out from her today, and it was somewhat understandable that she wasn't prepared for the stakes that this night was bringing.

  "Wow, you've got quite the crowd," Cammie whispered into her ear, getting the slightest jump out of her. "You know, I could just slip over there and kill the both of them. Wouldn't cost me a thing, would save us a ton of time, and would get you what you want faster."

  Len wanted to snap at the creature that looked like a girl, wanted to express outrage at the very thought of it. There was the obvious fact that it wouldn't do her much good to have them eliminated before she got the challenge and would just throw the city into further chaos. That, however, was the lesser issue. If she really was willing to just let this chaotic little creature run rampant to solve all her problems, she'd be no more effective at this whole thing than that poor sod who Cammie had taken over before. It wasn't enough for her to get through this situation intact, she needed to do it under her own power. She'd already failed at that once and was kicking herself for not restraining the shade further, but she wouldn't allow it to happen again.

  "Good people, loyal subjects!" Boomed the shirtless man at the front of the table. "I, your Head, am pleased to announce that great things are coming our way. Why, I've just finalized the start of relations with the Demon Army. Before long, we'll have greater forces at our disposal and be able to crush the Banished once and for all!"

  There was a general murmur of concern, but no one spoke up directly to challenge the declaration. Balar wore a pained expression but didn't say anything either. Len considered speaking up herself but didn't feel that it was time yet. Balar hadn't been very clear on how they'd be able to pull this off, and she got the feeling that a lot of it was on her, so she just accepted that for the moment, waiting was the best option.

  More guests filed in to fill places and every no and then, the Head would bizarrely repeat his declaration that he was pleased to announce great things that were coming. Slowly, the whole affair took on an even more surreal feel than it had at the beginning. Whatever was going on in the Head's... head, was a bit less coherent than Len had initially assumed. He certainly seemed entertained by the adoration that he was getting. There was no particular demonstration that the cheering was for anything he was announcing. Rather, it seemed to be more about the fact that HE was saying it. A dark suspicion was starting to form in the back of Len's mind that this was all just a repeat of what Astrid had going on. The ramifications of THAT little chestnut would've been especially concerning and Len wouldn't really have known where to start with it. Bit by bit, though, she began to notice the faces of the cheerers.

  Many seemed genuinely enthralled by the performance, more than content to watch their leader prance and preen, with little requirement of substance. There were many others, though, that seemed to be weirded out by the experience, unclear why so many were desperate to hear more of the inane ramblings that this man had to offer. Some cheered loudly when they thought his gaze was turning their way, others barely managed a smile even when he was looking directly at them. It didn't seem to bother the Head much, he just ploughed along with his rants all the same.

  It was at about the point where he was cheering that his latest trade deal was going to be the biggest and best trade arrangement that had ever been made in the history of their city that Len realized who he reminded her of. The entirely inappropriate bark of laughter that escaped her mouth right as the Head's speech hit a crescendo was enough to draw a slight blush out of her, even as her contempt for the man reached new heights. Well, maybe there'd be a bit more catharsis out of this event than she'd expected. At the start, she'd just been planning to suffer through and maybe get in just enough one-liners to get the man to do something stupid. Now? She wanted to see him ruined more thoroughly than shed wanted for any man except one. Which reminded her, she'd really need ask... what was her name? The next time they crossed paths. She might have lingered on the fact that she'd forgotten the name of her other half in this ridiculously awkward swapping situation, but then she remembered that she'd openly mocked the Head by laughing at him and that meant that things were about to kick off in earnest.

  "And what," said the Head with a surprisingly steady voice, "pray tell, is so amusing, dark elf?"

  "You mean besides the fact that you're clearly not wearing any clothes?"

  That brought a round of confusion from everyone present, even Balar, who looked at her as if she'd suddenly burst into flames. She smiled, relishing the moment.

  "What are you-" he began.

  "Oh please, you're on the verge of a panic attack, and you know it. Do you expect me to play along with this little affair any longer, or do you want the big kids to talk for a minute? Cassius, dear, let's hear what you've got to say on this situation."

  Balar was sputtering in confusion and terror while Cassius looked at her with a hatred she'd only seen a couple of times.

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  "What is the meaning of this, Head?" he asked the nearly apoplectic leader. "You allow your guests to speak to you thus?"

  "Oh, come off it, asshole," Len laughed. "I've seen this trick before. You're trying to pawn it off as something more clever than it really is. What do you have on him, anyway. Please tell me it's better than being caught in bed with a hooker or some debts because, buddy, let me tell you: that's an embarrassment that I'm not gonna be getting over soon. Still, it's a bit odd that you've been working on it this long. As best I can tell, Claymar only got here a couple of weeks ago. Not really enough time to have set all this in motion. Am I supposed to believe that you're so good at your job that a few weeks is all it takes to have the leader of a city this enthralled? Tough sell."

  "I have no idea what you're talking about. I am here to start a peaceful transition of power where the Kelvachians join the Demon Army while retaining much of their autonomy."

  There was the faintest of rumblings of complaint from the gathered masses. This was not the sort of thing they were accustomed to seeing at one of the Head's events. This was all too random to have been planned, and the whole point of these things was to boost the Head's ego, not insult him.

  "Oh, right, of course, just a standard day where you're commander brings in troops to start harrying desperate stragglers looking for a way to survive after being kicked out of the only home they've ever known. A situation that I'm told has become a lot more frequent in recent years. So tell me, what changed? Was it something so simple as a halfway competent manager getting put in charge of the Hovel, really? All that planning and at the first sign of competition you close the noose?"

  "Really, Head, I feel like you should have this person ejected immediately, her rudeness is remarkable even by the standards one comes to expect from dark elves. Who even granted her permission to be here? Perhaps it is a good time to put them to the Challenge."

  "If you'll excuse me," said a slightly panicked Balar, rising to his feet. "Miss Lenore Wraithwhisper is here at my invitation. She isn't accustomed to our ways and is perhaps a bit forward in her speech."

  "And why did you bring her to my feast, Tradesmaster," asked the Head, his tone dangerous.

  "I intended to offer her the chance to speak for herself to open up relations on behalf of the Demon Army. She has a direct line of communication to Demon Lord Astrid herself."

  That brought a murmur to the crowd and stopped the Head in his tracks.

  "What is the meaning of this, Cassius? I thought you were the only one authorized to speak on the Demon Lord's behalf."

  "A minor oversight, perhaps," said the man nervously. "I assure you that I speak on behalf of Commander Claymar, the only worthwhile force in the land. This... Lenore, speaks on behalf of Grenus' Hovel, a degenerate batch of failures that I'm sure you're aware of."

  The smirk of contempt on Cassius' face was almost enough to have Len leaping over the table, but she controlled herself, shot a warning look at Cammie, who'd been impishly creeping up on the man, and refocused herself.

  "In point of fact," she said calmly, "we're well on our way to becoming a proper force in the region again. If we weren't, I suspect that the man at your side, who you've probably known for several years now, wouldn't have made this sudden push for greater and more open relations. Might want to consider how long he plans on keeping you around now that his boss is coming."

  "What are you suggesting?" the Head asked, the edge in his voice sharp enough to cut the air.

  "Suggesting? Oh no, my friend, I'm outright saying that you're taking this chance to betray your people for the sake of a whatever scraps Claymar's willing to throw at you. It's not surprising, honestly, you do seem the sort. What I'm saying is that it's all for nothing. He's gonna betray you as surely as you've betrayed all these fine folks here. These poor saps that you've called here to feast to your greatness and generally debase themselves."

  "How DARE you?"

  "Mate, it's a bit embarrassing how little everyone understands the lengths to which I'm willing to dare. I mean, seriously, I've talked back to the Demon Lord herself, you think some paltry little village chief is enough to intimidate me? You're barely a blip."

  "You will shut your mouth, or I will have it shut for you," the Head spat the words, rage fueling every syllable. "I have no need to sit here and listen to your bluster."

  "Oh, I'm sorry, is the day not going like the big Head wanted? Is it too much of an inconvenience to imagine a world where someone might not fawn at your every word? Gods, people, can you imagine the smallness of a person to be that dependent on unquestioning adoration?"

  Balar had shrunk into a ball the approximate size of his chair, and Keris looked like she might have outright died of mortification. Keseryn, meanwhile, was doubled over, just barely managing to keep her laughter from escaping. Whatever she'd been expecting of this dinner, this hadn't been it, and the tone shift had been too much for her to keep her mask on.

  "Actually, now that I think about it, that really is the key issue here, isn't it? This man has betrayed you time and again, used his petty little levers of power to force out anyone who came even close to being a threat. Hell, the only reason Balar here got away with it for so long was that he brought in money. So much money that there was no way that a greedy little creature like this could pass it up. Now, of course, it's all out in the open. He put his chips on me to save all your asses and I'm not even sure I want to at this point. Still, I suppose it's worth a conversation, at   least. So tell me, Head, exactly how much DID it cost them to buy your loyalty?"