There was no cake.
Not for Kre anyway.
Virryn swept them through the makeshift kitchens of the cavern facility, where a half score of Ylveryan slaves were putting together snack trays and platters full of brightly colored drinks. She paused only to have a very hushed conversation with the apparent head of the kitchen.
Kre could hear none of the words, but the gestures made it seem that Virryn was asking something that the kitchen matron did not wish to grant. Ultimately, however, she nodded once and Virryn thanked her.
“Come along,” she said, ushering Kre quickly down a small hall at the back of the kitchen.
“Where are we going?” Kre asked once they were out of earshot of the kitchen staff.
“Since we know where the Master is, we also know where he is not. I thought it might be good if you could meet your friend. You can explain to him what is happening, and we can get another ally in this fight.”
Kre couldn’t find any argument otherwise, so he just nodded and continued to follow Virryn through a number of twists and turns in the deep underbelly of Yahaestra.
When they finally arrived at a door, Virryn motioned for Kre to wait behind her and then she knocked softly. The door opened a moment later to reveal a large burly man, bald with scars across his face. He looked Virryn up and down and made a dismissive grunt.
“Master ain’t here,” he muttered.
Virryn nodded. “He is with this one’s master,” she gestured to Kre, “and asked that I keep him out of their way. I am saddled with him for a bit but still need to complete my chores.”
The man looked at Kre and grunted, “He stays outside.”
Shaking her head, Virryn rebutted, “Better he be useful to me than to get the break that none of the rest of us get.”
The man finally showed an emotion other than disdain when he chuckled and nodded. “Ain’t that the truth.”
He leaned down close to Kre’s face and bared his teeth, “This one’s a favorite of mine. Do what she says and nothing else, or I will break you.”
The man’s breath stank terribly. Being so close to Kre’s face, this caused his eyes to water slightly and brought on a slight gag. Thankfully, the man mistook the gag as a sign of fear and the watery eyes as a near-cry. He grinned, showing a repulsive set of teeth colored in varying shades of yellow to dark amber.
“Yes sir,” Kre stammered, hoping the response would get the man to back up.
Thankfully, it worked before Kre would have been forced to take another breath.
Virryn pulled Kre through the door and into a shorter hall with two doors on one side and one door on the other. The guard followed behind, closed the door, and repositioned himself on a nearby stool.
“Go in that room and bring me five sets of sheets,” she ordered, gesturing to the furthest of the two doors on the left. “I shall be in here,” she gestured to the single door on the right. “Make it fast.”