passages all about them? Did they trust even the Empire's thickest walls to block each secret exit? Had these cats helped kill Faye herself? It would certainly explain why their saviors continued taking to murdering anyone associated with saving her.
As if answering questions just then, the enormous portal opened again. Elucia—Throgday looked fit to stand tall enough for himself now—glided in and landed near what should have been his armchair, carrying at least twenty people with him, and that included slaves not wholly
soothed by the expressions and masks they wore.
S'kar Master raised up his mask in time to bow to Heshwarrr just entering the chamber, the yellow eyes beneath it empty of comprehension. Throgday bowed. Where S'Kar could control matter around himself and extract life, no power had yet proven capable of relieving him from those shackles. When he tried without much success to do so, he turned away into the gloom and left Heshwarrr with scant dignity.
The assembly spent a few minutes settling down and falling silent. Whoever led them took a seat on Throgday's small chair, where he spoke quietly: "You are satisfied now?" His voice shook but never halted, although only stitched fabric covered the oracle's jaws.
Throgday nodded with his large hands hanging over the sides of his head. His relief colored the chamber light green; his emerald hue shone through when he said, "Yes."
Sharacter, tired and cramped by his long flight, walked slowly forward to sit beside the others, seeking comfort against the pillar where he could rest elbows on his knees, chin atop hands. Sitting, he peered about in silence at this gilded desert of metal furniture, wood floors and glass walls until the sight of something green calmed him completely. One boot dangled off its foot to tick against the tile. Grinning despite themselves, the king raised his helmeted eyebrows to demand what this knight wanted.
But something or someone quickly scurried behind one pillar to investigate his suit a little more closely, as eager to find that blade as the tiny buzzer on Sharacters back had revealed itself to be once Throgday pointedly probed it. Its hiss stabbed pain into his neck, giving him reason to bang his own helmet against the pillar in consternation and demand help for a spell already put in place earlier by the Zuzarar Warrior whose expertise lay precisely where they most urgently needed to
converse. Anyone who paid attention and understood what to look for might tell Throgday more directly, if with nothing but gibberish in response. A trained army might simply see the wind pass above his throne during talk, sniffing the breeze as surety that only one was there, and standing in place awaiting command. And surely someone would notice that more ships landed on various streets beyond Elucia's massive set of swinging glass doors. With such overwhelming things going on in his surroundings and not truly to feel the light scent or touch of Valke in this chamber while indoors anymore... perhaps Elucia had brought them safely home. Or... perhaps they'd brought Sharacters ship all the way from Ishtävir and returned, deliberately half landing among the jumbled pavilions for final battle with the witchchild of Fume, hoping Elucia might allow Valke sanctuary inside while she destroyed a world whose warlocks could raise any of their comrades out of lifeless limbs.
As soon as Sharacters left a sinking sensation reminded him, and one cold enough to remind Throgday that living off plants had its limitations; so it struck him and chilled