Previous | Table of Contents | Next
“Volearden’s coming for a visit,” Vur said, turning his head towards the three drunken women. An endless number of bottles lay about them. They had the space in their root bracelets for all the drinks, but they couldn’t be bothered to put the empty bottles away.
“Wait, what?” Malvie asked and stood up. Instead of climbing to her feet, she fell onto her face. She lifted her head up to look at Vur while she lay crumpled on the ground. “When?”
“Soon,” Vur said. “Fern says Volearden’s getting dressed.”
“Fern?” Malvie asked. Her brow furrowed. “Are you talking about Volearden’s right-hand dragon, Fulferminis the Clawed Lightning?”
“Not sure,” Vur said and turned his attention back onto the dragon tablet. “Let me ask.”
Malvie stared at Vur, and after a bit, he turned to look at her. Vur nodded, and Malvie’s expression darkened. “Is he coming too?”
“Yes,” Vur said and tilted his head. “Why? You don’t like him?”
“I doubt there’s any phoenix out there who likes him,” Malvie said and shook her head. “He’s fast, and in large-scale battles, he loves interfering with fights. When a phoenix is about to win, he’ll appear and ruin that victory. If a phoenix is about to escape, he’ll appear and sabotage their plan. It wouldn’t be incorrect to say every phoenix who’s fought on a battlefield hates his guts; he never fights unless he has an advantage.”
“Oh,” Vur said and nodded. “No wonder why he seemed smart.”
A bitter expression appeared on Malvie’s face as she struggled to stand. “If Volearden’s coming here, I can’t remain drunk like this,” she said as she settled with sitting down on the floor with her legs crossed instead of standing.
“You drank a lot,” Erin said, stretching out the last word. “Like a lot a lot. You have a method to sober up quickly?”
“Yes, but it’s not pretty,” Malvie said. “As such, I’d like to ask for some privacy.”
“There’s plenty of unoccupied trees,” Lindyss said. Her face was completely flushed. “Find one and do what you have to do.” The cursed elf narrowed her eyes. “Or Vur can have his chat with Volearden while the three of us stay inside and keep out of his sight. I doubt he knows we’re here; Vur doesn’t include details about anything unless he’s asked.”
“Are you calling him a bad conversationalist?” Malvie asked, turning her head towards Lindyss.
The cursed elf shrugged. “Take what you will from what I’ve said.”
Malvie shook her head. “Alright,” she said. “Since expunging all this alcohol out of my body isn’t going to be a pretty sight, I might as well not do it.” The disguised phoenix turned to look at Vur. “Vur, can I ask you for a favor? If you say yes, I’ll be Tafel’s mentor for a day and answer any questions or doubts she may have about phoenix techniques.”
Vur looked at Tafel before nodding at Malvie. “Okay,” he said. “What do you want me to do?”
“When Volearden comes over, I need you to get him really, really drunk,” Malvie said. “Get him even more wasted than I am now. Rather than bringing myself back up to peak condition to face Volearden, it’ll be much easier to bring him down with your help. Oh, you need to get Fulferminis drunk too.” The disguised phoenix stood up before staggering and falling onto her chair with a thump. She looked at Vur. “How is it? Easy enough, right?”
“Why does it feel like it’d be easier to beat her and force her to teach me?” Tafel asked, staring at the disguised phoenix whose gaze was focused more on the wall than on the people directly in front of her view.
Vur turned and blinked at Tafel. “Should we do that instead?” he asked.
“You’d take advantage of a drunken phoenix?” Malvie asked and pursed her lips. “What’s wrong with the two of you? Even if you’re whispering and I’m disguised as an elf, that doesn’t mean I can’t hear you.” She turned her head and glared at Lindyss, causing the cursed elf to raise an eyebrow.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Lindyss asked.
“When kids behave like rogues, it’s usually the influence—or lack thereof—from the adults in their lives,” Malvie said. “What kind of chaperone are you? You’re supposed to be watching these children, and here you are, irresponsibly drinking with someone you just met today. It’s no wonder why they have no qualms about beating people to get what they want.”
“You don’t like how I chaperone, so what?” Lindyss asked and shrugged. “You want to fight about it? Loser drinks three bottles.”
Malvie shook her head. “Volearden and his right-hand dragon is about to arrive,” she said. “They’ll see us fighting, and that yellow weasel won’t be able to resist jumping in.” She picked up a bottle and shook it before tossing it aside once she realized it was empty. She picked up another bottle and exhaled as she used her bare hands to remove the cork. “We’ll go with your plan. We hide here while drinking, and when Vur gets Volearden and Fulferminis nice and drunk, I’ll make my appearance.”
“Even if you wait for them to get drunk, it’ll still be two against one,” Erin said and hiccoughed.
“Nonsense,” Malvie said and gestured towards Lindyss with her now-open bottle. “As a fellow phoenix, there’s no way you’d let those dragons maul me, right?” Upon seeing the cursed elf take a sip from her bottle instead of responding, Malvie’s expression stiffened. Her brow furrowed as she asked, “Right?”
Lindyss didn’t reply.
Malvie sighed and shifted her gaze onto Vur. “Remember how the plan was for you to get Volearden and his sidekick drunk?” she asked. “Well, I’m afraid I miscalculated, and it turns out I need you to fill them full of alcohol until they can’t even move.”
“And then you’ll teach Tafel?” Vur asked.
“That’s right,” Malvie said. She exhaled and sank back in her seat. “If only every dragon were as easy to negotiate with as you, the towers would be at peace.”