31 Mistaken for the Culpri (2/2)

As Zarz continued his fit of giggles my eyes found Luca's and it seemed the same light bulb lit up inside his head as the one in mine.

There was just one final thing to confirm now. ”Hey, Zarz...”

I waited for the giggling to stop before I continued.

”I recalled you saying something about colors... what exactly was this leader wearing?” I asked.

”Something like that,” Zarz pointed at the drow leader's cloak.

The drow leader grabbed the edge of his cloak with a hand. ”I think not. This is made from shadoweave cloth. Only a drow can withstand the enchantments we've placed in them.”

Zarz's eyes lit up at the mention of the shadoweave cloth. ”Shadoweave, huh... The only way you could make one of those...”

He glanced over at me, but as he tried to speak, I stopped him with a hand. ”Whatever it is, you can tell me after you explain what the last kidnapper wore underneath the black cloak. I assume you noticed it while he was stomping around like an idiot.”

Zarz nodded. ”Of course, I noticed. They were blue and green in some kind of feathery patterns...”

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At Zarz's words, four people spoke up at the same time. It was me, Luca, Varda, and Edo, and all of us had the same annoyed tone in our voices. ”Roselle!”

”I'm going to murder that little mudstain a hundred times over,” Edo growled.

”Let me help you, Edo,” Varda was rubbing her hands together like a villain with an evil plan. ”I've always wanted to drown that pixie in a mudslide.”

Ashley elbowed Luca lightly on the shoulder. ”I take it you all know who took your elf friend?”

Luca nodded. He didn't react the way the other two did but he was frowning. ”He was the commander Dean replaced... He left us to die during our last mission with him.”

Unlike the rest of them, however, I was actually smiling as I was recalling Sun Tzu's words, All warfare is based on deception...”

Finally, we knew who took Aura. Now we needed a way to find him and his cronies, and it was time to flex my negotiation skills.

I walked closer to the stone chair where the leader sat.

”Looks like we were wrong to accuse you... please accept my apologies,” I said, bowing slightly.

”Manners... I didn't know you Mudgardians actually had any,” the drow leader joked.

”Yeah, well, we do...” I answered without taking his bait. ”We also know what it looks like when you're down in the dumps.”

The drow leader's eyes narrowed despite his ever-present smile. ”Whatever do you mean?”

I pointed to the shabby leather tent. ”That's not a place I would choose to live in if I was the leader of a mighty clan.”

Then I pointed my thumb behind me to the corridor leading out to the arena.

”We took the scenic route on our way to save Luca,” I continued. ”What I saw tells me your people have had it rough these last couple of years.”

His smile wavered. It seemed I struck a nerve.

”Thank you for your concern but we're doing fine,” he answered flatly.

”Are you though?” My eyes glanced over to his assistant and the shabby white healer's gown she wore underneath her shadoweave cloak.

His eyes followed my gaze, and it was seconds later when he finally responded. ”What are you proposing.”

”Thom!” the knife-wilder raised her voice. ”These people killed our cousin!”

The leader, whose name I now knew was Thom, raised a hand to silence her.

”My cousin, Enna, speaks true. You have wronged us... why should we listen to you now?” Thom asked.

”Because my brother beat you fair and square...” I nodded over to Luca. ”And from what I understand of drow culture, a loss can still appease your dead cousin's soul as long as you put your heart into the fight.”

Thom leaned back in his chair and raised his right hand's forefinger to his still smiling lips. ”You've studied our culture?”

”I've got resources,” I answered while in the back of my mind I thought about my awesome backup back in Mudgard.

Thom tapped his fingers on his lips for a long while before he said, ”Well, tell me what you propose.”

It was now or never. I took a breath and said, ”You and your warriors come work for me, and I'll make sure your fallen clan comes under the protection of Great General Darah.”

My companions reacted to my words just like I thought they would.

”Um, Dean, can you even make a deal like that?” Luca asked, sighing as he did.

Varda was shaking her head. ”This is a bad idea, Commander...”

”Their drow, Dean,” Edo snarled.

I raised a hand to stop their whining. ”The enemy of my enemy is my friend, not my enemy.”

I recited the wise words of the ancient Chinese philosopher, Sun Tzu, with a steady voice.

”These are not the same drow our Trickster Pavilion is at war with,” I answered. ”And they have just as much cause to hate the Scarlet Moon as Aura and her brother do.”