Snakes and Ladders-19

Chapter 19

We head to the breakfast together arms linked and I’m feeling just awash with wonder at her. Hell with the whole thing, this world and all of it but mostly because Shaya loves me and thinks I’m beautiful.

Feeling beautiful has done huge things for my soul.

We get escorted not to the food hall but to the dragon’s quarters and both Shaya and I look at each other as we enter. There’s several tables set up and it’s low on servants but high on the Sage-Commander’s troops and while everyone’s dressed as comfortable as we are there’s tables set up that are being covered in gear?

“Welcome I hope you two are well rested.” She smiles at us. I grin but I’m blushing too, Shaya too and she’s got the cutest blush.

“Yes I’m…we’re much better thank you.”

“Good, we’ll be eating soon and then we’ll go over the mission briefing.”

“Mission Briefing?”

“We can’t allow these attacks here to go unanswered and those bat creatures are far too dangerous to leave in the hands of the enemy.”

“Okay…I agree, we can’t leave this alone. If this was just a test attack how many more are there and how bad is it going to get?”

~I am eager for this, I do nor like sharing my skies with such creatures.~ Bhlaze thinks out to us. It’s strange there’s this feeling you can tell when he’s talking to all of us.

“First we eat while things are being readied, please help yourselves.”

It’s literally that. There’s a few things made like condiments and sauces and something like a pesto? But the rest is these little hibachi like pots and platters of raw meats and organs as well as vegetables. And fruit.

I’m not used to this part of the way that some of the Sylvan’s eat. I watch Shays pile this bloody raw super thin sliced red venison and strips of liver…then she adds this chili paste and coffee powder and then smoked salt and eats it with tomatoes in these lettuce wraps.

The others do something like it too and me…I’ve gotta cook mine a bit at least but the other stuff’s great like the stuff to go with it. Actually it’s a lot like Mongolian or Korean food while Shaya’s got this whole almost Ethiopian thing going on with hers. It is fun to watch her tidbiting Bhlaze with some of her food.

I’m also glad not to be alone in my not going for the raw stuff there’s a few others and Kyte’s there too. We actually drift together as we sort of graze. I look at her as I’m putting rabbit? On the grill. “You look better, how’s the leg?”

“Healed thankfully Erendae…my other hurts though.”

“They’ve had no right to treat you like that Kyte. You’re a credit to your people for working as hard as you have.”

“I was just trying to make up for my shame of barreness.”

I set the meat on my plate but set my plate down. “Kyte, there’s no shame in that. None. Look at me.”

She looks at me and there’s still so much hurt there. “How many children are without homes? How much goodwill could you make from adopting out of your station, or clan or even your ethnic…”

“I…I…”

“You have to give it some though honey. It’s one way to have the family you want.”

“But my family home…”

“Lied and pushed you and don’t want you to show them your stuff.”

“My stuff?” She looks down at herself…slender, thin, waif like but what’s there isn’t really body fat but muscle. She is not curvy… “I don’t have stuff.”

“No, not that silly but you are a role-model to young women all over Skywood and likely a few other places. But they don’t want you to shine because you might give them ideas.”

“I would?”

“If you were back to a young noble girl wouldn’t you hang off the words and deeds of someone like you coming along on Skywood?”

She’s quietly fixing her plate…there’s a few tears. Then she nods. “I have to do better, Be better.”

“Kyte, just be yourself. I’ve a feeling that it’ll be more than enough.”

“Erendae…?”

She moves and hesitates. I cross the gap and hug her. God she hugs me really tight and shakes a bit.

It takes me back to mine…I’ve been trying not to think about them even if mine are all moved out and have lives of their own. I cry and sniffle a bit too. Homesick really for the first time in my life. But I’m able to deal…being on the road I’m used to missing them and missing out.

I can feel Shaya and Bhlaze there in me. In my mind and heart. Sharing themselves with me against the hurt. It helps and it’s so sweet too. Shaya’s spiritual hug and that feeling on Bhlaze’s muzzle up against me propping me up.

But there’s something else giving me strength, Kyte….

Yeah…

Okay she might be hundreds of years old and all sorts of other stuff but right now…right now it feels like I’ve got this hurt and confused Sylvan teenager here in my arms and more than ever it touches that place inside of me. My parts are finally matching my maternal self that honestly I’ve always had.

She’s there sniffling and then turning red from crying on me all embarrassed. “I’m sorry it’s just…It’s just…you’ve been better to me than my own blood.”

“Hey, blood doesn’t mean family Kyte.”

“Yes…I guess…you kicked my butt like a big…….”

“Big sister?”

She nods, sniffling more.

“Done and done.”

She hugs me really tightly and I hold her close. It’s so strange feeling what I did through Shaya and Bhlaze’s eyes and picking up that the others approve of this through them.

“Better?” I ask her.

She nods into my chest. “Erendae…”

“Yes?”

“By the gods your boobs are huge.”

It get’s us laughing until I realize the whole room is laughing and then I’m really suddenly self conscious about them.

Sometimes having the biggest breasts in a thousand miles has it’s trials.

~Actually Erendae, you have the biggest breasts most likely in the star system…certainly the realm.~ Bhlaze chimes in and…oh…that was public telepathy.

“Bhlaze!”

That get’s them all laughing and I’m turning red. But Kyte’s smiling too, getting close to where she might laugh sometime….the smile changes the girl. I mean utterly…faeish cool and cold before just got outshone by this shy peak at this Irish beaming-smiling girl.

Hard noble to girl next door.

Shaya comes over swaying all sexy like and kisses me long and deeply in front of everyone…even lifts and cups a breast. “I love you breasts dear heart.” She whisper to me. I kiss her back right there in front of them all and love every second of it.

……………………………….........It’s not long after that the servants come in and remove the food and replace it with this table of sands and colored sands and a box that’s rattling and snarling.

The Sage-Commander waves a hand and there’s magic used and the sands become a 3-D rendered map then she walks to the box and leans down and chants and whispers to what’s inside. She opens it and this two foot tall thing jumps out from the box to land on the table and gibber-jabbers at us. It looks like someone made a gremlin and an ewok have sex…both scales and fur and fangs and claws.

It jabbers at us and give all of us the middle of it’s three fingers and jabbers some more and shapes it’s sac at us then it’s you know… pops out and it takes pee on the floor then cackles.

The Sage-Commander says something at it squeals and covers it’s sac.

I can’t help it. “What the hell is that?!” Oh god the pee reeks…like liquid crawled of of somethings butt and died like.

“It’s a Boggart, a creature of the dark fae and native to the Darklands. He’s going to tell us where we can find our enemies.”

“How?”

“Sparrow, the sample.”

One of her escorts comes over holding what looks like…a stomach.

“Is that?”

“Yes it’s one of the stomach from the bat creatures.”

Before I can ask she takes it from the ranger and tosses it to the Boggart. It holds it cradles it hisses at us then coos to it again then it takes this huge bite of the bat-haggis and starts to eat the gooey, slimy thing…

I’m really fighting the urges to barf. I’m not the only one.

The Sage-Commander starts asking it questions in a funny sounding language. It bites chews points with a claw at places on the map that form into symbols as she points a palm to the sand.

At one point they’re arguing and it’s screaming at her and grabs the bat stomach in both hands and humps it…shudders…resumes eating…someone or two behind me were retching.

~Snerk.~

Bhlaze is trying really hard not to lose it laughing. Apparently Dragons have a really messed up sense of humor.

~Yes, it comes from being more twisted as one gets older.~

~Oh shut up.~

~Snerk.~

I look at the thing and the Sage-commander takes out a chunk of shimmering? Honey comb and it freaks out reaching and saying the only think I understand.

“Gimmey-gimmie-gimmie-gimmie-gimmie-gimmie!!!”

She tosses the honey comb to it and jabbers at her screaming. She ignores most of it nodding absently at it then calls out over her shoulder. “Break the circle of salt!”

There’s a shudder the goes through it and it giggles and gives us the finger again.

“Fuuuuuuckk you-and you-and-you-and-you!!!” It grabs the honey to it’s chest and spins like a top or rather more like the Tasmanian devil and explodes in a cloud of smoke that smells…

Oh god you don’t wanna know.

We’re all gagging but the Sage-Commander and Bhlaze.

~I take it she’s old too Bhlaze?~

~No, she’s just strange. A moment please.~ He raises up in a few wing-beats the funk is gone.

Shaya’s still coughing. “Please tell me this was worthwhile?”

The Sage commander nods. “According to the Boggart the bats last prey was a veranti, and a small one so that’d put them here if their carrying goblin riders.”

“What’s a veranti?”

“A small mountain dwelling antelope.” Shaya says the asks. “Those hills could be riddled with goblin caves.”

She nods. “I know, but that’s why we needed the Boggart. These things are made and raised black arts to be sure but these are the acts of Lyam’s kind. Any mage or life-twister will have a laboratory, stables or barns for these things and that needs a certain kind of stone and the closest thing that the Boggart said had stone for building was…here.”

~Certainly in range if they had good winds.~ Bhlaze offers up.

“Exactly, and these hills around this one are crawling with goblins.”

Shaya nods. “And either they are hired on or scared into submitting to whoever’s doing this.”

“Glory too, to be a bat rider and to strike out at their enemies would be high honors with the goblins, he’d be almost a minor chieftain.” Kyte add into the conversation.

Me…I ask the big one. “So, what’s the plan?”

She looks at all of us. “Lady Shaya and Bhlaze will be our air support over the region and will hit these three goblin encampment locations with Lady Kyte and her men plus some of the soldiers here. This’ll drawn the attention of whoever’s running this place while Lady Erendae and I plus several warriors and rangers will find the real base of all of this and take him out.”

“Why me?”

“Your air ram spell will be very useful in locked doors and barred gates.”

“So how are we going to find this place exactly?”

She has this sneaky grin. “We won’t he’ll show us.”

“Show us?”

“He’s a mage of some kind guaranteed, we start hammering nearby he’ll use scrying to watch. He does and I’ll be able to track him.”

“Oh.”

“We should start getting ready, it’d be best to do this with lots of daylight left.”

“We’re doing this now?”

“As soon as possible yes. But prepared.”

Shaya nods. “We’ll return with our gear and we can make preparations.” She tugs me along with her. “C’mon Wren we don’t have a lot of time.”

I’m almost out of there when it hits and I ask Shaya. “So what’s keeping him from feeling you feeling him?”

She’s walking to her own gear and turns her head with this impish grin and a wink. “I wouldn’t be much of a thief if I let that happen right?”

Huh…wuh?