Neph paused before opening the door and looked back at Valor. Sighing heavily he leaned against the wall and rubbed his face. “Valor, I’m not sure exactly when it happened, but I realized as I talked to Jala that I actually do respect you and it’s possible that I even like you as much as I do Jala. That isn’t something that is easy for me to admit and I hate the words I’m spewing right now, so when I offer you the courtesy I usually reserve only for Jala, don’t comment on it please. Just accept that I consider you a friend and don’t make me regret it.” He pushed off the wall once more and nodded curtly as he stepped out into the hall.
Normally he would have responded with profanity or rudeness, but he couldn’t find it in himself to do it today. Tomorrow he would be back in Delvay, and he would lose them both again. He swallowed heavily at the thought and wondered if Jala realized how closely she had echoed his own thoughts on the matter. He hid his sadness better than she did, but it was still there, and there was no way he would part ways with his friends without their knowing how he truly felt. The world was filled with chaos right now, and he had no way of knowing if he would ever see them again after they left Delvay. Things were too uncertain to know if any of them would survive that long.
*
“Three Magebreakers, twenty archers that I could count, and about two hundred swordsmen. At least ten of them were full Elder Blood.
This won’t be an easy fight,” Vaze informed them all from his seat at the table.
Jala nodded slowly, her gaze moving over the map of Valemuir in front of her. Glancing up, she caught Neph’s eye and motioned toward the map. “This map is confusing,” she informed him as she slid it toward him.
Neph grinned and nodded at her. “That’s because most of the city is actually inside the mountain. It’s confusing because it is built on levels,” he informed her as he pointed to the largest open area on the map. “This is the area above ground. The main wall is here, as well as a few buildings that are used for curing meat or brewing. The snow cats have dens there as well, but I doubt the Rivasans have left any alive.” His finger slid across the map to the first level of the city. “The main housing is here as well as the barracks. The entrance to House Delvay is along the Northern wall. Some of the other houses have multiple layers as well, but House Delvay is the only building in Valemuir that extends all six levels below ground.”
“So, in order to take the city we have to gain control of the courtyard area somehow and move through layer after layer of several different houses,” Valor said with a frown.
“If the Delvay had wards against Shadow magic that would be the only approach. I only found one part of the city that was protected from my magic, however, and it was only a single room in House Delvay,” Vaze said with a smile. “So my idea is to start on the lowest level of House Delvay and work our way upward. With that approach, we should keep the element of surprise on our side for quite a while. With luck we might even manage to take a few of the Pure bloods out of the picture before the real fighting erupts.”
Jala nodded thoughtfully, her eyes once again on the map. “Aside from House Delvay, which houses on this map extend the deepest into the ground, Neph?”
“The storage rooms go four layers. The ones on the east wall are food and the ones along the north wall are weapons and crafting materials,” Neph replied, moving his hand from area to area as he spoke. “Other than that, House Zengael is the largest building. It goes four floors as well, but doesn’t cover as much space as the storage areas or House Delvay.”
“Do you want to take more with us, Jala?” Valor asked with a raised eyebrow.
Jala seemed to consider the question as she looked from Vaze to Zoelyn and then to Neph. “Ten Elder Blood could be a problem,” she murmured and leaned back in her chair. “I don’t want to take Sovann or Wisp. I might have, had Wisp not told me this morning she was pregnant, so that kind of puts a stop to that. I don’t want to endanger their child,” she exhaled deeply and drummed her fingers on the table, then looked over to Vaze. “Do you know where Sovaesh is?” she asked thoughtfully.
“The last I heard from him, he was in Rivana trying to track down another Changeling,” Vaze replied with a shrug. “All right, then. That only leaves one option,” Jala sighed and smiled at Valor.
“Who?” Valor asked in obvious confusion.
“Dresharn and Jail are needed in Sanctuary and Nigel and the Three Sisters are guarding Glis’s borders. Wisp and Sovann are out of the question and Shade is negotiating with the Blights. Sovaesh is busy, so I really have limited choices when it comes to Elder Bloods that can help us. I’m going to summon Vosha and we will take Dray with us as well. That gives us seven pure blood and two Bendazzi on our s ide. So, nine to their ten. I think we can pull it off,” Jala explained with a shrug of her slender shoulders.
“Vosha is only a boy and Dray has no experience with fighting. Zoelyn is going as a healer and you neglected to count the twenty archers and two hundred swordsmen in your calculations of even,” Neph pointed out with a smirk. He shook his head at her with amusement and couldn’t help but feel a bit of pride that she had so much faith in her people.
“Vosha may be young, but he is a young dragon and he was raised by Dresharn and the Three Sisters. I have no doubt he knows how to fight,” Valor pointed out with a smile and nodded to Jala. “Might I suggest we take Foster as well. He is Elder Blood as well, and his Earth crafting could come in handy underground.”
“That works,” Jala agreed with a smile and winked at Neph. “I didn’t count the others because I know we can handle them without too much trouble. It’s the ones that have strong magic that worry me.”
“So I will have Vosha summoned here and find Foster,” Valor rose from the table as he spoke and smiled at Jala. “Should be an interesting day,” he said with a smirk as he headed for the door.