“That said,” Beleg rumbled, “we need help too. There are just the three of us, and this is a job for an army. Yahaestra is quite possibly the worst place in these lands to do what we intend, but we have little choice of our own. We are looking for friends of ours and can take little or no action until we determine where they are and how to get them free.”
Grivallt’s eyes narrowed, “They are slaves as well then?”
Dain nodded, “They are.”
“The Master has no Tehynshin slaves,” he replied back. “Nor do I know of any being held here for the auction. I am sorry, but I do not believe your friends are here.”
“Well…” Beleg chuckled, “the thing is, they’re not Tehynshin.”
Now it was the Ylveryans turn to look at each other and share in a silent conference. It didn’t last anywhere near as long as Dain and Beleg’s nonverbal discourse but based on the variety of looks the two shared, it was far more fulsome and possibly a bit more argumentative.
This time it was Virryn who took the lead, a concession she had likely won which was probably the cause of Grivallt’s unhappy face. “We know of these other slaves. They are not the Master’s, but they are here for the auction tomorrow night. We have heard that the Master is interested in the one who is of the new moon. He has been looking for one of them for several years now.”
“You don’t think…” Dain asked Beleg.
“I do,” the big man snarled. “Kersath.”
“Yes,” Grivallt said, “How did you know his name?”
Kre finally caught up to what was going on, “You mean Kersath is going to be auctioned off? What about Ortho and Gnore?”
“Those are not Ylveryan names,” Virryn said with a frown. Her eyes darted to Grivallt and though it seemed impossible, his unhappiness became far more evident. He gave a small shake of his head, but Virryn chose to ignore it. “You must mean the two dweorvkin that are among those to be auctioned.”
Kre’s companions both gave a small sigh of relief, and he immediately empathized with their concern. Just knowing that the two dweorvkin were alive was reassuring and it meant that they weren’t at all too late.
“The bowl’s power will not last much longer,” Virryn whispered to the group. “Already it does not sing as strongly as before.”
Dain nodded, “It should rest, as should we all. I must return to the party in any case. I hope my prolonged absence has not been noticed.” He turned to Grivallt and held out his hand despite the Ylveryan’s look of pure unhappiness. “I believe we can help each other, but we have to be honest with other and trust each other, or none of this will work.”
Grivallt looked Dain up and down and then glanced over at Virryn who nodded enthusiastically. “I shall have no peace unless I agree.” He paused, took a deep breath, and then nodded once, as if mentally preparing for what came next. He took Dain’s hand and the two pulled each other to their feet. “We are in this together, for better and worse.”
“All right,” Beleg rumbled, his face now completely serious, “here’s what we do now.”