Chapter 366: What the Vale Lacks
On the first level of the arena, Ashlynn and Nyrielle had returned to the crowd of people after the second battle between condemned men and the Mongrel Horde. Tausau had brought so many of his progeny that there would be a total of six battles before they had all received an opportunity to fight and feed.
Not all of the opponents for the later matches were condemned criminals. There existed a few brave souls who were willing to risk their lives for the opportunity to claim victory over a powerful vampire. Perhaps some of them understood how slim their odds truly were, but many who had come thought that the ’weaker’ vampires of Tausau’s Mongrel Horde represented an opportunity to claim a once-in-a-lifetime victory.
Within a year, people would remember that they had slain a vampire, but the ’mongrel’ nature of the vampire would be long forgotten. By the time they realized that the members of the Mongrel Horde who would fight trained gladiators were among the strongest of the horde, it was too late for regrets.
Rather than watch these tragic battles play out, Ashlynn took the opportunity to progress her own plans for the evening. As much as she would have been content to spend the entire evening at the railing, sheltered from the press of people by Nyrielle’s wings, she’d put too much work into tonight to let go of her plans now.
The crowd’s excitement over the Mongrel Horde’s victories had created the perfect atmosphere for introducing potential allies to Nyrielle, and she’d arranged for several of her most promising contacts to be readily available.
Little would be truly concluded tonight, but Nyrielle’s impressions of the people she introduced her to and the plans they proposed would determine who they would meet with in the following days to form more formal agreements. With a gentle touch to Nyrielle’s arm, she guided her lover toward a group of wealthy people from the Scaled Clan who had become increasingly familiar over the past several days.
"Nereida," Ashlynn said warmly as she greeted the woman that Heila had befriended on their first trip to High Fen City. "I know that you’ll be joining us in High Lady Erna’s box when it’s Heila’s turn to fight, but I wanted to introduce you and your husband Beilan to Mistress Nyrielle," she said smoothly.
"Mistress Nyrielle," Ashlynn continued. "Nereida is a good friend of Heila’s from our first visit and she’s been very welcoming since we arrived. She even helped to find someone to make my hat," she added, tugging at the brim of her emerald green witch’s hat. "And her husband Beilan is someone else who may become a valuable partner for the Vale of Mists. He trades mostly in rare and luxury items from all across the continent."
"Your Eternity," Beilan said, bowing deeply for a moment before the tip of his tail twitched in surprise when his wife didn’t imitate his gesture. Instead, she reached out and took Ashlynn’s hands in her own, clasping each other’s wrists as though they were old friends.