The moment dragged long, sunlight catching on the enchanted metal. Stathis could hear the large enchanted whatever-it-was buzz away, a low thrum in the air. The soldiers were all tense and ready to fight, Stathis trying to ready her stance in case they charged. They were on grass, the ground compact and dry, making it easy to balance. Janaxia would be at risk though, her skills unsuited for such a close melee.

‘It would be a shame to have to exert ourselves in a fight, would it not?’ Janaxia’s voice was calm and relaxed from behind Stathis, seemingly unconcerned about the danger of violence. ‘And I’m sure you would rather not be contained within a siege. At the least, I would expect you to prefer not fighting – rather more chance of collecting your pay that way, no?’

The axe shifted, just slightly, Stathis reacting as well, turning away slightly, ready to defend herself. But it didn’t transform into an attack, instead it came up and rested against a shoulder, the haft knocking against a pauldron.

‘Talking may be preferable to bloodshed, but I’m not inclined to trust those who truck with demons. Or bear demon-blood themselves.’

‘Hmph.’ There seems no need to cast aspersions upon me simply because of my appearance! How rude. ‘Considering the circumstances, then perhaps courtesy would be wiser?’

At least Janaxia hadn’t introduced herself with her full name and titles – being allied to a suddenly-appearing demon army was one thing, a suddenly-appearing demon army and the threat of undead would just make things even more complicated!

‘Don’t know if you want to be talking about wise – you seem pretty lacking in anything heavy. No catapults or anything to bring the wall down, and I’m not seeing any supply train. I guess you could be scooting back somewhere to get food, but you’re running pretty slim on fighters. If I wanted to, I think I could break through. Mind, there’s feck all around here, so it would be a chase, and then you might win. So I think I’ll sit tight and pretty behind a wall you can’t break through, see who starves first.’

Janaxia bridled, her hair flaring ominously, before Stathis stepped in the way. ‘If we could try and resolve this without fighting? Sieges are shit to be in from the defensive side – a breakout is risky, so you’re stuck here, and it doesn’t look like there’s much food locally.’ Everyone she could see was a fighter, armoured and armed, with a distinct lack of civilians around – there must be some support staff somewhere, and probably a few smiths and other crafters, but no one to do farming or other work. ‘Having to boil up dried meat and leather is crap, so maybe if we skip the insults, and figure out how to make everyone play nice? I’d rather get through this without any hassle.’

‘Well, you just turned up out of nowhere, you could just fuck off back to wherever you came from?’

Janaxia drew herself up. ‘We have our own desires and orders. But I found it doubtful that you are responsible for that barrier spell? You may have command of the common fighters, but whoever has raised that is truly in command, I would surmise? Or, at the least, they are somewhat responsible for keeping you alive. Queen Zarazonnia has sufficient magical might herself to…’

Stathis coughed, the sound echoing unpleasantly around inside the helmet, managing to silence Janaxia. It would probably be helpful not to reveal the precise scope of Zarazonnia’s power at all!

‘If we could arrange a discussion with whoever has final say here? I would assume that you are the military commander? It looked like the Silver Wolf badge, but a bit different – are you one of the sister companies?’ His badge was on his breastplate, a bit battered and worn.

‘We split off few years back. They wanted to stick to the safe routes, guarding merchants and the like. Safe, but boring and low paid. Thought we’d find something a bit more dangerous, better paid. We’re the Silver Fangs.’

‘My, how utterly original.’ Janaxia’s tone was cutting. ‘Are you sure…’

Stathis cut her off, not wanting to risk her offending the man further. ‘So shall we go talk? And with the wizard or whoever is in charge here? If we can come to an arrangement, then we don’t have to deal with all the problems of fighting and a siege and so forth.’

You do seem intent on taking all the fun out of this.

‘So, let’s go try and sort this out? In a less violent way, preferably?’

The other soldiers were still tense, ready to fight despite Stathis’ words. Although Janaxia was stood outside of her line of sight, hopefully wasn’t doing anything that might start a fight.

The air rippled, then a silver line appeared, a figure stepping through it. They were wearing a heavy robe, the cowl covering their head, thin skin stretched over a pale hand, holding a complicated-looking staff, the stout wooden haft surrounded by strange offshoots and lumps, the wood so pale white it looked almost like bone. Along the smooth surface were lumps of brassy metal and gems embedded into it, sparking with stray bursts of clear light at random. The robe shrouded their form, but they looked quite short and a little hunched over. When they spoke, their voice was shaky, stuttering oddly over words.

‘Well, this is something of a surprise! I had a suspicion that I might receive some guests, as the sister waxes into the house of rising fire, but an army of demonic origin was outside my calculations. But time, time is wasting, drifting away.’ Part of their staff detached, a slender rod of bone or wood floating around him, another spark of light arcing between that and the main body of the staff. ‘Well, come along, come along.’

Stathis slowly lowered her sword, risking a look around to see how Janaxia was faring. The throb of her hair had faded to a less obviously magical tint, and there wasn’t magical energy flaring around her hands, which was probably a good sign. Her clothing wasn’t as sultry as normal, her skin mostly covered, admittedly by the fake-armour, complete with a cleavage cut-out to show her tattoo.

‘Captain, come with us. And a few of your best men, just in case. Some form of violence may break out. This one looks skilled.’ The detached rod of wood flew over Stathis, making her dodge it, just in case, before it arced back to him. ‘Well, come along, come along.’

He turned, more light spiralling around the tip of his staff as he walked away. Stathis sheathed her sword, but kept one hand on the hilt, her shield still strapped in place. The man with the axe likewise kept it resting on his back, still ready to fight. He gestured at two of the other soldiers, who took their place a slight distance behind Janaxia, somewhere between “escorts” and “guards”.

The wizard walked away, his gait shuffling and half-limping, the staff needed to support him. The rod continued to float about, darting around the air, Stathis keeping a wary air on it. As they walked around the courtyard, Stathis could see the magical thing set out there, spurs and spikes jabbed into the ground, lines of power running between them – it wasn’t like anything she had seen before, with wires running between all the bits, softly thrumming. She looked at Janaxia, hoping some telepathic discussion might be forthcoming, but there was nothing, Janaxia just looking at the magical arrangement with a magisterial disdain. Likely because she also had no idea what it actually was, but at least some clue or hint might be helpful.

The wizard muttered to himself as they walked – it didn’t sound like any sort of spell, but more like he was discussing the state of the magical effect with himself, or arguing about it, trying to determine if it was working as well as it could. He didn’t mention anything that might reveal what it actually did, his steps uneven as his staff stabbed into the ground.

At one edge of the courtyard, partially covered by an outcrop from the battlements, was a large tent, the cloth walls looking very patched and repaired, with uneven and heavy stitches. Inside, Stathis could see an equally-battered table, laid out with magical gear, larger versions of some of the things that Hakara occasionally pulled out for her spells, odd lumps of crystal attached to cogs and other mechanisms. A large parchment covered one wall, some grand design drawn onto it in heavy black ink. Stathis couldn’t make out what it was meant to be showing, or if it even was showing a physical thing, or some kind of conceptualisation of a spell. The walls of the tent appeared un-reinforced though, meaning that they could cut their way out if they had to.

The wizard gestured, the tent flap peeling itself wider open, before going inside and sitting down heavily on a much-abused and patched leather chair, sinking into the thick cushions, still holding the staff. Despite it being daylight, a stone hanging from the ceiling started to glow with clear white light, dispelling any shadows within the tent and making Janaxia hiss.

‘Come in, come in. You are invited. That’s vampires, isn’t it? But neither of you are vampires. I think? You are a little dark, and most don’t wear as much metal, do they?’ He gestured at Janaxia and Stathis in turn. ‘What brings such an infernal horde to my door? I was expecting great doom and calamity, but not until…’ He squinted at the parchment. ‘…Seven, carry the four, take the eight… Three more years, approximately.’

I fear this individual may be insane. He certainly appears devoid of sense. Despite her words, there was a polite smile on Janaxia’s face as she nodded at him.

With the six people all in the tent, then it was quite cramped, close enough that going for weapons would degenerate into a lethal and brutal brawl. Although if Janaxia conjured up her darkness, then that might create enough confusion to help them get away.

‘It’s been a long time since I’ve seen any Sethans!’ He looked at Janaxia. ‘A fine example of the breed. Some of your kind are prone to rather odd shapes, occasionally rather far from the standard form. Or some unpleasant skin mottles. But you could almost pass for human, if it wasn’t for the horns!’ He tapped the top of his cowl, making a dent the fabric. ‘And the hair, of course, but that can probably be hidden. Does it react to magic?’ He clicked his fingers, motes of magical energy falling around his fingers, before flicking them towards Janaxia. She gestured herself, darts of magical energy streaking out from her fingers, not quite fast enough.

The motes of light all struck towards her hair, sinking into the red forelock. The colour pulsed once, a bright flash of red light being emitted.

Stathis heard a mental growl, as Janaxia raised her hands, nails looking very sharp. She raised her voice, trying to diffuse the spark of tension. ‘My comrade doesn’t appreciate being experimented on.’

‘Hmmm. To shroud yourself in armour so, your visage must be most monstrous!’ The telepathic snigger from Janaxia was entirely unwarranted. ‘Scales, perhaps? Or maybe something even less human. Feathers, a malformed body, or maybe a tail? The Sethan type provides a wide variety.’ The hood came up slightly, enough to look at Stathis. ‘Your… leader? The type V demon is something of an extreme example. Both over-sized, and a large deviation from the norm. Six arms! And likely overburdened with magical power to sustain herself. Is she perhaps the ancestress of one of you? Or perhaps both?’

Stathis looked at Janaxia. Would Kinnevar, maybe, have, with Zarazonnia? There could be whole families in Setha that were Janaxia’s distant cousins! ‘I do not believe so, no. But we’re not here to discuss anything like that.’

‘Ah, yes. So, why are you sieiging me? There is not much out here to draw the attention of such a potent being as… Um, what did you say her name was?’

Janaxia answered. ‘Queen Zarazonnia.’

‘A regent? Most impressive. But still, I cannot think of much reason for such a being to be in a place such as this. Especially a place like this.’

Janaxia looked down at him, her hair fading back to a regular bright-red slash. ‘Oh? I took you for an educated man, Magus…?’

‘Ragrant. Tounvar Ragrant.’ The cowl ducked in a slight bow. ‘And I take you to have some understanding of the mystic arts?’

Janaxia rolled her eyes, then raised a hand and shifted her fingers about in a presumably-arcane fashion. ‘Yes, I come from a long and proud linage of those inclined towards the arcane. But I imagine you can think of why Queen Zarazonnia has come to such a place. So that should, perhaps, make this negotiation easier? As I’m sure you can understand that she is quite dedicated to achieving her goals.’

‘Hmmm. I had thought my precautions sufficient to repel any seeking spells. And yet she lacks the power to assault this place. It provides ample power for my warding barrier – those were always my speciality. An interesting standoff.’

‘She is not used to being frustrated. While you think yourself to have an advantage, Queen Zarazonnia has forces she has not yet assayed against you. How long do you think you can remain cowering behind your protections?’

‘And yet, she has yet to attack. And if she does, then rest assured, that which she seeks will be destroyed. If I am to die, then why should I allow another to gain?’

Stathis had no idea what they were talking about, but there was probably something old and magical here? She’d have to keep an eye on Janaxia and make sure that nothing too strange happened. The architecture looked old – not quite elegant and curving enough to be elven, not with the rigid stolidity of dwarven-craft, and with a lot of obvious additions to a solid core. There must be something here to have a castle, or at least it had once been the centre of a kingdom or something. And all this magical gear wouldn’t have been easy to shift all the way out here, so Tounvar must have been here for quite a while, to get everything arranged and set up. Wizards did like to set up their weird research somewhere they wouldn’t be bothered, but if he was paying all the soldiers himself, he must have a lot of money, or they had some other reason to all be here. That they all deferred to him, or at least hadn’t objected yet, made him seem to be in charge though.

Perhaps you could help? I know I may be more suited to diplomacy, but this should be a two-person operation, should it not? Janaxia sounded peevish as she made another magical gesture, this making her fingers glow with dark energy.

‘Zarazonnia doesn’t want to fight, and would prefer to avoid bloodshed. If this could be resolved peacefully, then it would avert a lot of problems.’

‘Oh? But she scarce comes fit to talk. An army of demon-kin! Even if they wish to pay homage, there is a threat there, is there not? And I have felt a shadow on the heavens of late. This is a time of prophecy, when matters long hidden come to light, and much may change. My predictions speak of this, but there is yet time until all will descend into war. The child of light has yet to declare themselves, after all.’

With sudden manic energy, he rose and went to his diagram, picking up a charcoal stick and scribbling onto the surface, drawing lines between several other scribbles.

‘No, it is not yet time. The seals will remain bound for now. Begone with you!’ He turned to the captain. ‘Allow them to leave. For now. We will be strong. So do I decree!’ More sparks of magic burst from his staff, swirling around him, sticking to his robe like embers, lingering without fading. ‘I must study this! Something has changed, but I cannot tell what…’ He seemed to have forgotten them, muttering under his breath as he studied the diagram, sketching more lines.

The captain watched him for a moment, before turning to Stathis and Janaxia. ‘He pays the bills, so he calls the shots. I’m not opening the gates, but you can climb down a rope, and I won’t even try and shoot you in the back. How’s that for a deal?’