Guardian Spirit

Chapter 14

Ittook the better part of the next day to have everything set up for the following evenings party. Skander spent hours laying down spells to strengthen the walls of the building and creating the illusions to produce the sounds of a party so their guests wouldn't be suspicious of the silence.

Their guests would be met by Nala and Cheid along with the two more sensible elves. Nerduin had been relegated to staying out of the way. No one bothered to pretend for him any more. He had throw a fit about his small part, but had been told in no uncertain terms that he could not be trusted and that he would be a danger to the success of the mission. Ahnilr and Nisoen did their best to remained on amicable terms with the young noble, but even their patience was being tested by him. Only reason the two even talked to him was the fact he was a member of the High Council.

The priestess and Nisoen would greet their visitors and show them to the garden. Nala and Cheid would be there waiting. They'd spent the better part of the day finding the good hiding places and planning out what to do if someone went that way or the other.

Satisfied that they were as ready as they could be, they turned in for the night and looked forward to the next evening with anxiety.

O O O

Gareth had a bad feeling. Something was going on. Despite being allowed to join the Blades it seemed not everything was yet trusted to him. It seemed there were a great many things like that tonight.

Dayr had talked long with Monster Dunn and the others. He had been excluded from the talks. From how the others were acting after the talk it was clear something big had been announced. They were excited.

Gareth tried to pry information out of them, but he was stone walled every time and reminded to get ready for tonight. The private showing was an important one and everything had to be perfect. Gareth had his doubts, but since no one was talking, getting ready was one of the few things he could do. All he had were his own doubts so he could not send any warning to the others. What would they have thought of him? They'd have said his nerves were failing him.

O O O

Nala had settled in the garden of the villa they had been given to use. High walls surrounded the garden, though the buildings nearby that were several stories high still had a view into it. It was one of the downsides of having such an area in the layer of the city where buildings rose so high. The layer above afforded much more privacy.

The villa itself was made of white painted stone and red tiles for roofing. It stood out from the usual grey stone buildings. It had several bedrooms, a salon, a library – everything any well off individual would look for in a house. The perfect place for a supposed elven ambassador to reside in.

It also had the advantage of confining the targets of the evening into an area that would be hard to get away from. Climbing the walls would be a tall order and the only other exit was through the house itself.

The garden itself was an oasis of flowerbeds, well tended trees and bushes and green grass. Small gravel laden pathways crossed through it and there were several benches along the way to allow for a quiet rest. It was one of those benches that Nala was sitting on when Cheid walked up to her.

“Nervous?” he asked.

Nala looked up at the young man. He was dressed in practical clothes, nothing fancy. She herself was similarly dressed with her usual cloak, tunic and swords around her waist. There would be no dresses tonight.

“A bit,” she found herself admitting. “I suppose that's how things are before any major event.”

“It'll be fine,” said Cheid. “There are only three of them.”