Book One – Chapter 15

The moment Yu stepped into the common room, Bubs put him to work; work he had most definitely not signed up for — or rather, been forced to sign up for by Tria. Under the ridiculous pretext of helping him “learn the layout” and “understand the daily routines”, Bubs declared that Yu would be cleaning every single room. One by one. Day after day. And just like that, his first day was spent scrubbing the common room from top to bottom while Bubs poured the last drinks for Fallem and the escort party.

They had already finished lunch. That had been the worst of it. Bubs had simply stated that Yu had arrived too late, so he got nothing. No lunch, no breakfast — nothing. The tables were still cluttered with empty plates, the scent of food still lingering in the air, thick and taunting. There was obviously food left in the kitchen. But there was no arguing with Bubs. The mianid had given him nothing and sent him straight to work.

Eventually, the others retired to their rooms. Only Fallem remained. While various members of the escort party filtered in and out throughout the day, he lingered persistently, as if the second he stepped away, that one ker general would walk through the door.

Fallem had inquired to meet Lorien Warshaper the instant they arrived yesterday, only to learn that neither she nor the watch-captain had returned. They had left two days prior, patrolling the path, a routine the watch-captain followed with clockwork precision. He was expected back sometime before T̰́̇ͦ̀è̸̷̸̬̤̗̊_̸̵̰̦̗̒͜ȟ̗̍ͤa̶͉͉͍̭̰̅̀̈͜ͅȓ̶̶̛̦͇͙̟̈̿͒ͮ͑̋̚͡u̟͖͔̖̙͙͆̄̿ͩͧ̃̽̓̈̌̀͟͞n this night. And so, Fallem waited.

The rest of the escort party enjoyed the luxury of time. Time to eat, to rest, to recover from the arduous journey. How truly good for them. Yu, of course, had been granted no such reprieve. Bubs had made sure of that.