The double doors of the guest suite swung open with a bang, revealing the three
brothers standing like a wall of silver-scale armor. They looked Jee-shahn up and
down, their reptilian eyes lingering on the Ceremonial Blue sea-silk that now draped
over his small frame. The robes were exquisite, trailing behind him like a quiet tide,
but on Jee-shahn, they just looked like very expensive pajamas.
"Is this it?" the tallest brother rumbled, a sharp toothy grin tugging at his lip. "The
savior of our sister? He looks like a pearl that hasn't been polished yet."Jee-shahn didn't even give him the satisfaction of an angry look. He was too busy
trying to keep the heavy silver headpiece from sliding over his eyes. "If you're done
admiring the laundry," he drawled, "show me to the food. I was promised snacks in
exchange for this costume drama."
Jasmine, clutching her azure-crystal staff so hard her knuckles were white, nudged
him forward. "Just... please, don't say anything like that in the Great Hall," she
whispered.
As they walked toward the heart of the shrine, the "noise" began to change. It wasn't
just the clashing of armor anymore; it was the heavy, sufocating atmosphere of
political sharks smelling blood in the water. They reached the Great Hall—a massive
chamber where the walls were made of falling water and the floor was a transparent
crystal revealing the dark, churning depths of the mountain's core.
Seated at a long, obsidian table were the Lords of the Trench and the Duke of the
Sapphire Coast. The Duke was a man of immense girth, draped in gold-woven nets
and smelling of expensive ambergris. He was currently laughing, a sound like gravel
in a blender.
"So, where is this 'mysterious hero'?" the Duke bellowed, his voice echoing off the
water-walls. "I've traveled through three storms to see the man who stole my prize! I
expect a giant! I expect a warrior whose scars tell the history of the South!"
The brothers stepped aside, revealing Jasmine and the small, silver-haired boy
trailing behind her.
The laughter in the room stopped instantly. It was replaced by a silence so heavy it
felt like the ocean floor. The Duke blinked, his fat rings glittering as he leaned forward,
staring at Jee-shahn as if he were a particularly confusing piece of driftwood.
"This?" the Duke finally wheezed, a new wave of laughter building in his chest.
"Jasmine, is this a joke? Did you kidnap a choir boy from the northern shrines? This
isn't a groom—it's a dessert!"
The other Lords joined in, their mockery rising in a crescendo of "noise." Jasmine
looked like she wanted to melt into the crystal floor. Jee-shahn, however, just stopped
walking. He looked at the Duke, then at the table filled with exotic fruits and roasted
meats that he wasn't currently eating.
"A dessert, huh?" Jee-shahn whispered, his azure eyes darkening just a shade.
"That's funny. Because from where I'm standing, the only thing I see in this room is a
lot of loud trash that needs to be taken out.