The Book of Terrus: A Land of Sunlight

Chapter 20 - Darenel Tremaris

"Jath!"

Lhara's call went unanswered; Jath was already long gone from the restaurant. Other patrons on the porch turned in their seats to stare, eyebrows raised at the sudden outburst. Reyson, Yidu, and Lhara were left standing awkwardly with Kiiss's contact, Darenel Tremaris.

Reyson was the first to act. Stepping up to the table, he cleared his throat.

"I apologize on behalf of our colleague, Lord Tremaris. Since it appears that Jath will not be joining us for dinner, shall we place our orders?"

The abrupt shift in Reyson's speech and demeanor – from his usual gruffness to polished and polite - reminded Lhara of Izzy Ven's reference to the swordsman having once been a nobleman of Goran himself. That didn't make her any less uneasy about Jath's sudden exit though. She was still looking back over her shoulder when Darenel answered.

"...Yes, of course. Ladies."

Stepping around the table, Darenel slid out a seat and offered it to Yidu. Reyson did the same for Lhara, and soon they were all seated beneath the ivy-laden porch trellis, considering hand-printed menu cards and pretending that everything was perfectly in order.

For Lhara, nothing was in order, but the most pressing concern was what to do about her meal. Although she could read – more than most of the folk of Trosk could say – her skills were rusty, and the letters of the menu were small. At The Giant's Shoe in Trosk, she would have just asked Yelaina what her da had cooked for dinner that day. Lhara was pulled away from her squinty-eyed study of the menu when she heard Reyson say her name.

"...one of the mountainfolk, who joined us shortly before the Uprising at Utunma. And this is-"

"Yidu," Yidu was quick to step in and introduce herself. "From Moaan."

Darenel inclined his head, then frowned, politely curious. "Please forgive my ignorance, but do southerners not have trade surnames they go by as well?"

"We do. I just wasn't old enough to have started a trade yet when all this rebellion first began. I guess you could say that I'm a Factionist by trade, like General Vinie BlackPearl."

"Does that not make you Yidu BlackPearl, then? Seeing as you and your general share the same trade?" asked Darenel.

Yidu opened her mouth as if to disagree. Then she took on a thoughtful look. The corner of her mouth quirked upward, pleased, and slowly she nodded.

"Yas...I suppose it does. Alright then, my name is Yidu BlackPearl."

"A pleasure to meet you, Yidu BlackPearl." Darenel's right hand flashed through a brief gesture which Lhara wasn't familiar with; pressing the tips of two fingers to his lips before showing them outwards toward Yidu. No response seemed to be required, and it was just then that the hostess who had met them at the door reappeared. She moved so smoothly and silently, Lhara startled when the woman spoke behind her.

"Has everyone here seen something on offer that catches their interest?" the hostess asked. "I am happy to come back later if you wish for more time."

"No need," said Reyson. "I know what I want."

Rather than struggle with the wordy menu anymore, Lhara just listened to what Reyson ordered and asked for the same. The woman's placid, polite expression never faltered as she went around the table, except when she leaned in to take Darenel's order. Her bright white teeth flashing in a dazzling smile, she wrapped long, red-painted nails so far around the edge of the menu as to 'accidentally' brush against Darenel's fingers when he handed it to her. Lhara may have been from a tiny village in the middle of nowhere, as she was becoming increasingly, painfully aware of, but she knew flirting when she saw it. By Lhara's estimation, the hostess wasn't wrong to find Darenel Tremaris attractive either. There was something slightly off about his beauty though; a hollowing of his cheeks and a dullness of his dark blue eyes that gave the man the slightly wasted air of one who had been ill on and off for a long time.