The Umiran Amulet

Chapter Five: In For A Penny...

They spent half an hour or so walking around, speaking to the various nobility that stopped them. Alastar masterfully spun lies about who they really were, but for the most part, it was boring small talk. While the Octan nobility certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves, the twins had yet to meet a single Undari that had indulged in the available wines or champagnes, at least not enough to loosen their tongues.

Alastar.

Alastar fought not to jump in surprise when his twin suddenly spoke. You're not asleep for once?

Of course not. He could almost feel Cary's frown. You really think I could SLEEP in a place like this? No, don't answer that. Look around.

Alastar did.

What am I supposed to be seeing?

The guards. Notice how many of them there are?

Alastar frowned, then. There did seem to be an unusual amount of guards stationed around the ballroom, easily twice what he had ever seen at any of King Sirius' parties. Overkill, he murmured in response. I think maybe you really were right about something going on here. This has to be every guard in the palace!

Yes. And it's going to make things very difficult for us. Since you haven't had any luck yet getting anyone to talk, even with that persuasive charm of yours, I think we're going to have to sneak out of here and do some snooping.

I think you're right, Alastar agreed. Hard evidence would do better to back up our claims than hearsay, anyway. Something with the Undar royal seal should be enough to prove its authenticity too, show it wasn't forged.

Right. Let's find Benny. If his story telling at the inn last night is any indication, he should be able to provide a pretty good distraction for us to get out of here.

Alastar looked around. It took him a few minutes to find their short mage friend, but eventually he spotted a mop of copper curls surrounded by a crowd, and made his way over to Benny.

Benny, for his part, was having a blast chatting up the other guests. He was somewhat shocked to find even a few of the Undari were listening in on his long-winded explanation of the stories about the constellations.

"You appear to be quite the scholar," one of them remarked when he finished. "There are very few who are familiar with the ancient tales." He gave Benny a chilling smile.

Benny gave a nonchalant shrug in return. "If it's about the stars, I want to know it. Even if it is just made-up stories of how our ancestors saw the world."

"Excuse me gentlemen," Alastar interrupted. Benny was never more grateful to hear that voice—something about his audience was starting to give him bad vibes. "I need to borrow my friend for a bit, so if you don't mind?"

"Not at all," the Undari noble said, gesturing for Alastar to lead Benny away. They made a beeline for the refreshments table. Benny snatched up a glass of water and drained it in three gulps.

Alastar watched in surprise. "Are you all right?"

"That was amazing timing," Benny said. "Something about that guy was making my skin crawl."

"Glad I could be of service," Alastar told him with some amusement. "I'm afraid I didn't come looking for you just to rescue you, though."

"No?"

"Look around," Alastar murmured. "There's an awful lot of guards here. Far more than we typically see at royal functions like this."

Benny frowned. "What are you thinking?"