Night Lords

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Stonehead Arrow was now one of the largest human towns that I had ever come across. It had two major ports, several large buildings that had at least five floors and what Greatorex called a palace situated on a tall cliff that overlooked the northern sea.

'The King Shurin and Queen Jesibal reside there,' he pointed out as we walked down one of the major roads that were covered in neat paving slabs. Trees on either side had been hacked down and replaced with signs of public houses, inns and other useful information about the happenings within Stonehead Arrow. One sign mentioned a beer-drinking competition, and I noticed Brett looking at the passing sign mournfully.

'I take it you used to be a beer drinker?' I asked him. Brett nodded. 'A bit young for you to be drinking, were you not?'

'Sixteen,' he mumbled. 'I'd give anything for a drink.'

Tasha turned to face him, frowning. 'You have no need for it, and you have no thirst. Pray, tell me what you got from drinking beer. I personally couldn't stand the stuff.'

'Enough,' Greatorex grunted. 'There are things I must discuss with you before we enter the town. Now the King and Queen have ruled this settlement and some of the neighbouring counties for some time now, and so had Shruin's father before him. This place is very important for us; it's quite a safe haven.'

Ahead of us was a large wall where closed metal gates stopped us from going any further into the settlement. As we neared, Tasha gasped in delight. 'Greatorex, I cannot believe it! There are many Night Lords here,' she said breathlessly. 'At least a dozen, and they are dotted around the town.'

'A dozen?' Brett remarked. 'I take it that's a lot then?'

'In one place, yes, it is. But I mean, it makes sense,' I piped up, 'there's not a whiff of Deemons around,' I confirmed. 'It's odd, isn't it? With small villages, a Night Lord turns up, and the Deemons swarm around them, but with a buffet in this town, there are more Night Lords and no Deemons.'

We approached the entrance and glanced up. On either side of the gate, there were two large watch towers with huge flames flickering in the darkness, shining the only light in the night. We could have very easily jumped right over the gates, but Greatorex wanted to make a good impression, so we waited.

'Well, it wasn't normally like this.' Greatorex told us. 'When Night Lords first came into existence, they made a promise that when they would come across a village, they'd stay to protect it with their very life. This did work, but they realised that staying in their village attracted Deemons. So many Night Lords left. They did as you did, Petra, living along the borders of a village but close enough to help. But now the Deemons have created nests that are too big for one Night Lord, so the new way of living is through a coterie.'

Without warning, two Night Lords dropped down from the towers, landing without making a sound and approached us slowly.

Greatorex went forwards and stopped. 'Greetings. I am Greatorex. I am travelling with three coterie members. May we come into the town for a few nights? I want to teach my youngest member about where Titus was born.'

'Greetings. I am Belun,' the female Night Lord said on the right. Her raven black hair flowed like a river down her back. I noticed that Tasha was envious. Having only recently cut her hair off; I saw she reached up and gently grasped the short end of her auburn locks. 'You may visit our town for this sole purpose, though please do not interfere with human affairs or our affairs. We have the town completely secure from Deemons. There is no need to get involved.'

Greatorex held his hands up. 'I would not dream of interfering. Thank you for granting us access.'

Belun nodded. 'The One Tricky Pony inn,' she pointed to our right, 'takes in Night Lords for the day. The ruins of the battlefield are sign-posted in the town centre. You'll find a lot of us tend to train there. If you have any questions, you are more than welcome to ask any of us. We have nothing to hide. Please, enjoy your stay.'