The night went on, and the celebration remained mild.
Since we couldn't drink, we emptied the cup they gave us so as not to offend anyone but plain water after that.
Zephyr did a few party tricks when begged by a dozen or so children and adults after hearing about his ability from Draykos. Viela read everyone's future who could afford it. They sure were entertaining ..
To my genuine surprise, Amarah didn't even attempt to make advances towards Zephyr, kept a healthy distance between them, and acted with grace during the night.
Kind of made me feel a little bad for having those hostile thoughts, but I quickly shooed that feeling away.
We said our goodnight first, and the captains warned their respective teams not to stay too long, drink too much, or embarrasse them in any way.
Inside the Inn, we made up our beds close to each other .. It's not like we needed any privacy tonight, ..damn it.
But the night was far from over. Once made our beds as comfortable as we could, the girls and I joined Zephyr and the guys for a final round of planning.
" I know we are tired, but let's go through this quick. " He said, rubbing the fatigue out his eyes. " .. Carlos, please. "
The man mentioned cleared his throat and went over the roles of those participating in the meele, namely himself, Alexander, Lucian, Stuart, and Manata.
They already had a specific tactic that relied heavily on their teamwork.
Nifa was kind enough to draw the beast and even the terrain based on Zephyr's words that give us a little bit of insight into tomorrow's battle.
" .. I think the most important thing to remember is to avoid those husks, don't believe I'm curses, but let's not tempt faith they can pulverise us bones and all .. "
" What's this curse business about little brother? "
Following Alexander's question, we turned towards Zephyr.
" .. I'm not sure it's real, but apparently, if it's even touched by you .. you be cursed to die before the next full moons .. It sounds like some bad wife's tale, but Draykos said it never failed until now. "
" As in every single person who ever made contact with them actually died? " asked Lucian.
Zephyr just nodded along, confirming it.
It gave our strike team something else to look after during their fight.
" .. our job didn't change. Even if it didn't curse anyone as I said .. a well placed hit by those will seriously injure you. " Carlos kept a level head and continued.
" Well said .. let's just avoid them at all cost. "
" Don't you worry, young Stuart. " Zephyr stepped behind him, spooking him in the process. " .. I'll keep my eye on you lot and step in if necessary. "
His reassuring words made us all collectively sigh with relief. His power truly was special.
" Our archers have limited amount of arrows .. and depending on the situation, we should save them for the kill .. " Carlos went on.
" Hmm.. we can't exactly retrieve them during battle. " Demelza agreed with his words.
" We need to selective with our shooting. " I added.
" Don't worry that much, as long as I seem them land .. " Zephyr pointed at the red arrows. " I can get some back if needed. "
He reassured us.
" I'm going to be honest here .. we need to avoid fatigue as well. " Carlos scratched his head. " .. the thing that kill most soliders is not the enemy but time and their own loss of strength and agility. "
" We all well trained, but when it's in a tense all out fighting .. it's hard to tell how long we can last. "
The noise if the celebration came inside and filled the air our silence created, people of Hori knew how to keep the party going from the sounds of it.
" Let us not get bogged down in the details, people. " Zephyr spoke up. " I truly believe we can do it within those limits, and if we can't .. I'll just .. "
He pointed upwards.
We exchanged some looks, sharing, knowing smiles.
Yes, there is no real point of these worries. Often, we forget that as long Zephyr is around the victory practically guaranteed.
With this, he walked up next to me and led me away. " Enough late night planning, and let's get some sleep. "
" Oh wait .. Zeph, is that guy Draykos? He won't join us? " Carlos said after us.
" He didn't say anything that would indicate it, so I say no. "
" His power is not very suited against a beast like Hori. " he said that just to me. " .. plus, I got the feeling his combat experience is limited.. like yours. "
" Hahaha .. very funny. "
We changed into lighter clothes, the one set we packed, and for a while, everyone just rustled around finding their place.
" Viela sure having a grand old time. " said Nifa, somewhat envious.
" You wanted to make money, so we need to be present tomorrow. " her wife was quick to remind her.
They weren't part of the battle plans, Nifa will find a relatively safe place, and her wife will provide the perfect camouflage, blending into the surroundings.
" .. I wonder about those signal fires that man Draykos mentioned. "
Eli and Lucian made up their beds next to ours and had a conversation between themselves.
" Probably for villages they made alliances with, to signal danger or call to arms. " Lucian theorised.
" .. This place feels small like Emet did in the past. "
" Things sure changed a lot since Emet feels like a genuine city compared to here. "
They changed topics easy as breathing. I chuckled to myself.
Zephyr laid down next to me, and I took my favourite sleeping position on his chest.
" We finish the beast tomorrow, chop him up and split the remains .. we can be home night time. " He summarised our to-do list for tomorrow neatly.
" I hope it will go smoothly .. " I said, playing with the fabric of his shirt. " .. I wonder what Anna is doing now. "
Zephyr's breathing lifted my head rhythmically.
" Me too, I think we might leave all other hunting escapades after our plan bearing fruit. We shouldn't split our focus .. "
" Of course.. " I smiled.
I had a feeling he just didn't wanna leave Anna more than he had, too, considering he will have to leave for Tetra once Carlos leaves for Dharma.
This entire hunt is just an appetiser before the real crazy begins.