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Tafel yawned and stretched her arms out over her head. She opened her eyes and blinked a few times before tilting her neck from side to side, causing cracking sounds to ring out. With a grunt, she climbed to her feet and shook her legs out one at a time. Her eyes squinted as she took a look around, and she blinked upon seeing a group of kneeling people. They were the lords, and they were all bowing their heads towards Lindyss, who was sitting on a rocking chair while knitting.
Tafel raised an eyebrow at the sight, and for a brief moment, she considered finding an elemental or fairy to parasitize—in dragon terms—her body, so she could have someone to monitor things as she slept and inform her when she woke up. Then again, she wasn’t like Vur; she liked her privacy.
“Good evening, sleepy head,” Lindyss said, turning her attention onto Tafel. “What’s the matter? You look like you have something to ask.”
Tafel scratched her head. “I was just wondering whether or not Vur’s elementals watched him when he used the bathroom.”
“What?” a sharp voice asked from the green, starlike rune on Vur’s body. “What kind of dumb question is that? Of course, we do!” Zilphy appeared on the ground in the form of a green boulder with its sticklike arms crossed in front of its face. “Don’t you know when assassinations happen the most? When the victim is off guard.” Zilphy raised an eyebrow. “Do you know when people are off guard the most?” The green elemental nodded. “That’s right, when they’re relieving themselves.”
“I see,” Tafel said, her expression and voice neutral. She turned her head away from Zilphy and faced Lindyss before gesturing towards the kneeling lords. There were five of them: Ashley, Jasmine, Magnus, and the Earth and Water Lords—who Tafel still didn’t know the names of. “What’s with them?”
“They want to join the Extreme Heat Clan,” Lindyss said.
“Oh.” Tafel nodded. “So, why are they kneeling?”
“Because that’s the proper posture for begging,” Lindyss said.
Tafel blinked. “You’re making them beg you to join?” She swept her gaze over the lords, but they didn’t seem offended by anything Lindyss had said. In fact, Magnus had even raised his hands and clasped them over his head when Lindyss spoke about proper posture. A furrow appeared on the demon’s brow when she noticed the ground was burnt and bloody, something she would’ve realized much earlier if she had taken a closer look. “Did you … do something to them?”
Lindyss rolled her eyes. “All of you have ears and mouths,” she said to the lords. “Answer her.”
The lords exchanged glances with one another. After a while, all of their gazes settled on Magnus while the Flame Lord glared at Ashley. Eventually, Magnus let out a sigh and turned his head to look at Tafel. “We had an exchange of knowledge with your companion, and she overwhelmed us. It’s only natural for us to look up to her and beg her to take us in.”
“Only natural, huh?” Tafel asked and turned around to look at Vur. It made sense. People loved following Vur around after he showed off his strength. Even powerful people like Mary had chosen to make friends with Vur. Tafel’s eyes widened, and her horns glowed with a silver light as she prepared a portal. “I’ll be right back. I forgot about something.”
Lindyss furrowed her brow as Tafel skipped through the portal and disappeared from the residence. The cursed elf swept her gaze over the kneeling lords before shaking her head. Vur and Tafel loved beating people and claiming their territories for themselves, but they didn’t have a single ounce of responsibility inside of their bodies. “As you can see,” Lindyss said and gestured towards the portal closing beside the sleeping dragon. “They’re not very interested in their subordinates. If you join the Extreme Heat Clan, you’ll be under my jurisdiction.”
***
Several elves stood with their heads bowed, their hands clutching at their cloaks—which were massive leaves. They were standing underneath the shadows of four giant trees, so massive that the elves could barely make out their trunks in the distance. The leader of the elves gulped before he looked up and whispered, “Malvina, Queen of the Forest, may you bless me with your presence?”
The other elves raised their heads as well, peering up at the branches of the massive trees. Their leaves were shaped like lily pads: large and fat to soak up as much sun as possible. The leaves on one of the trees rustled as if something had been startled. Then, more leaves rustled as if something were running along a branch. A few seconds later, the whole tree began rustling.
Flames appeared above the elves, and a beautiful bird’s head materialized within the fire. The bird head squinted at the elves for a moment before advancing, the rest of its body blossoming into existence behind it. With a thump, the phoenix landed on the ground and stared at the elves looking up at her. “For what purpose have you little people called me here?”
“Our homes were destroyed,” the leader of the elves said, his voice still barely a whisper. “Our residence taken from us by a dragon from another tower, we were too weak to stop it.”
“Dragon?” the phoenix asked. “Why have you come to me? Elves were spotted on the dragons’ floor a while back; I know you’ve already informed them of this news.”
“We seek vengeance,” the elf said, his eyes narrowing. “We wish to slay the dragon, and I’m afraid we cannot do that without your assistance.”
“Do you speak on behalf of all the elves?” the phoenix asked, tilting her head to the side.
The elf’s eyes widened. “I am the elven prince,” he said, his voice louder than before. “If the prince is not qualified to speak for all the elves in this tower, then who is?”