Chapter 181: Better Off Without Them
For the next hour, Ashlynn and Heila made their way slowly around the perimeter of the masquerade. Food, drink and conversation all flowed freely though some of the topics seemed surprisingly ill-informed to Ashlynn as she wandered by.
"Do you think that the Blood Princess is back looking for fighters to join her war against the humans?" One person asked, his voice as light and airy as it might be if he’d been asking ’Do you think it will rain tomorrow.’
"I hope so," an elaborately dressed man in a mask shaped like the face of an angry bull said. "My luck at the arena has been poor lately. I’ve already lost close to a thousand gold tails on unfortunate wagers this month alone. I could use a sure bet like the Blood Princess to make back a bit of those losses."
"You must be joking," another man said. "No one bets on whether the Blood Princess wins or not. They only bet on whether or not the person she defeats accepts their loss and submits or refuses and dies on the sands."
Elsewhere in, people had a different opinion on Nyrielle’s visit to the High Fen.
"I’ve heard that Lady Nyrielle has finally given up on the Vale of Mists," a serpentine woman whispered to a bearish companion from the Clan of the Great Claw. "She’s come to take a position under High Lady Erna’s rule instead. Perhaps we’ll see a proper Eldritch Lady ruling the Lower Falls by year’s end."
"It would be wise on her part," the woman’s bearish companion agreed. "No one who fled across the mountains in my great-grandfather’s era is interested in returning to their ancestral lands in the Vale of Mists. We all have lives here in the High Fen that we won’t leave behind. Lady Nyrielle has done well for more than a century, let her hand responsibility for fighting the humans to Lord Ritchel and the Frost Walkers for a time."
"You really think the Frost Walkers could hold back the human invaders?" a third person asked, wandering into the conversation. "I hear that there aren’t many of them and they barely eke out a primitive life on their frozen mountains. Hardly the kind of warriors to fight off humans and their pretend god."
"The Frost Walkers don’t have to do anything to fight the humans," the bearish man laughed from behind his silver mask. "Just stand there and let their mountains kill the humans for them. That’s why defending the Vale of Mists is pointless. The High Pass can easily be closed with an avalanche or two, there’s no reason for more Eldritch lives to be spent in a pointless war fought for..."
Suddenly the man seemed to catch sight of Ashlynn and changed his mind about whatever he’d been about to say. Seeing the direction of his gaze, the others involved in the conversation quickly busied themselves in their goblets of wine or an hors d’oeuvre snatched from a passing servant.
Despite the nervous looks of the masked guests, Ashlynn had no desire to involve herself in discussions about the events occurring in the Vale of Mists. While this period of the ball was supposed to be casual with barriers to social station lowered, Ashlynn had no way of knowing who the people behind the masks were which made it impossible to know whether or not trying to change anyone’s minds would bring any value.
Part of her yearned for an opportunity to prove to Nyrielle that she could be useful at times like this. Convincing people who thought that the Vale of Mists was doomed to fall that it wasn’t, or that the humans posed a threat to them as well was only worth doing if the people she convinced had the power or resources to do something with that changed opinion.