Skyvenom: Chapters 26-27

Here are your chapters for this week.

-

Chapter 26

It took a full day for Theo and his allies to be placed in their rooms, which was more due to pomp and politics than logistics. There seemed to be entire wings of the grand palace available for guests, so they had an entire suite of rooms. They were the nicest Theo had been given in Deuxan... except for the fact that Senka was sitting in the middle of the floor, shoving a lamp into her mouth.

"Senka, get that out of your mouth."

"Nuh-uh!"

"Here, give me that..." Theo stepped forward and tried to take it from her. "What are you even doing?"

"Eatin' bugs!"

Theo sighed, then noticed that Fiyu and Nauda only looked confused, not disgusted. He realized that he had heard an English word that included a semantic ambiguity that must not exist in their languages: Senka wasn't eating insects, she must be chewing on listening devices.

"You mean there are constructions designed to listen to us?" he asked.

"Uh-huh. Not from in muh mouth, thuh."

Nauda took a step forward and frowned at the slobbery lamp. "You mean that thing is here to spy on us? What do we do, destroy it?"

"Nuh-uh."

"If we destroy the listening devices, they'll know we're on to them and place more." Theo rubbed his chin and glanced around the room, which was loaded with cantae-bearing objects that could hide a bug. "We don't want to play ourselves as naive, but we don't want to seem too savvy, either. Fiyu?"

"I understand." Fiyu vanished as she raised her sphere of stealth and waited until they stepped inside along with her. She remained quiet until Senka returned the lamp to its place and flew in to join them. "Senka, have there been such spies in past rooms?"

"I checked, but didn't find any. This type of thing is difficult to craft." Senka folded her arms and glanced around the bubble. "I wouldn't try to tell a lot of lies, since they might catch on, but if we have all our real conversations in here, we should throw them off."

"But who is spying on us?"

"The better question is who isn't. Accilonia might be pretending to be above the fray, but they're nervous about this too. Massive courts from other continents don't show up every day, so this could be profitable or destructive for them."

"That's what we should talk about." Theo rose into the air enough to sit on his cantae, since they needed to discuss their strategy in greater detail, plus he wanted to run the newest developments by Senka. "First, the Demon Court approached directly, claiming that they were willing to abandon Esaire and support us instead."

"Did they mention the Teraeves family?" Senka asked.

"They did, but that doesn't prove anything. So has everyone, down to the Armeau family when all this started."

"Listen, I'm not an expert on Deuxan politics these days, but I've heard things while wandering." Senka rubbed her eyes, which were already looking a bit bloodshot. "The Demon Court is too big to be entirely a tool of Vistgil. My guess is that he's just manipulating and influencing them, like the Landguard."

"That's unfair," Nauda said. "The Landguard has plenty of its own problems, but they're still fundamentally defending Tatian. If they do Vistgil's dirty work, it's by accident, not tracking down his enemies."

"That's not what I heard when it comes to outsiders. Didn't you all flee them for months before you met me?"

"There's no point comparing," Theo interrupted. "I think we can assume that if the Demon Court learns enough, the information will get back to Vistgil. That's why I played dumb, though there's no guarantee that was enough. It all depends on how closely he's paying attention to every individual scheme he set in motion, and we just don't know that."

Nauda accepted this reluctantly and Senka was too weary to needle anyone further. As the silence extended, Fiyu spoke up uncertainly. "There is also the Mercury Court. Have you heard of them?"

"Oh blook, that's the Siblings!" Senka shook her head rapidly. "Look, I don't know what's going on with them, because they don't follow the usual pattern of Vistgil's outsiders, but I don't think it's worth the risk. For all we know, the others die because they aren't good enough and the Siblings were the first to pass his test. They have way too much power not to have cut a deal with Vistgil or someone similar."

"Who exactly are the Siblings?" Nauda asked. "People from Theo's world, I gather, but what does that actually tell us?"

"All I know is that they established the Mercury Court and made it an empire, a while ago. Three of them haven't been seen in ages, not since I started waking up, so there are tons of rumors, but I wouldn't trust any of them. But at minimum they have Emperor Dave, and he's a Bu... beyond Dominion."

Theo winced. "Emperor Dave."

"You know him?"

"No, it's a very common name on Earth. But whoever he is, he isn't afraid of attracting Vistgil's attention."

"Could that be because the emperor has the power to fight Vistgil?" Fiyu asked. "He and the other Siblings clearly have personal power, and they have an empire behind them."

"If he's that reckless, I'm not sure I want to get anywhere near him." Theo folded his arms as he considered the risks, then shook his head. "It could just as easily be the Siblings working for Vistgil, or trying to use the Demon Court to destroy the Siblings. Either way, I think we need to keep our heads down and learn everything we can. They might try to target you next, so be cautious if you're approached."

Nauda groaned and leaned back against one of the Deuxan couches, which put her just at the edge of the stealth sphere until Fiyu extended it. "So we're going to play more politics, huh? I understand about the armistice, but what happens until that ends? Are all the Strongholds going to be joining sides?"

"More likely they'll all want to get a piece. War can be profitable, if you aren't directly involved."

"How can it possibly be profitable? Even if this convocation avoids excessive destruction, it has to cause more harm than good."

"It's still a zero sum game, some will just benefit." Theo shrugged. "Some will get rich selling sublime materials and armaments to all sides involved. Others might fund one side, hoping that they'll defeat their enemies. If you have a rival Stronghold near your court, it's in your best interest to see them fail, because it will weaken them for all other conflicts."

"Ugh. I'll do my best to make us look like a good investment, but I hope the politics don't get too complicated."

"Are there any of them we can trust?" Fiyu asked. "I mislike how I know so little about all these courts that will be approaching us."

"I don't know a nlerm thing." Senka flopped onto the floor and closed her eyes. "These local courts are too small for me to remember. Hopefully too small for Vistgil, too, but you can't be sure. I'll leave all that up to you."

They lapsed into silence. For all that they'd established their strategy, not much had changed: they still needed to gain support while being wary of movements from their opponents. Theo felt as though he was walking blind toward the edge of a cliff: it was possible that he was still far away from drawing down massive retaliation, but it was equally possible that the next step could take him over the edge.

"In the large room, they said that we would 'negotiate for support' from the local elders," Fiyu said. "Does that mean many more meetings?"

With Senka out of commission, the others looked toward him instead. Theo was reluctant to talk about his past experiences, since he wasn't sure how managed they had been, but it was true that he'd spent time on Deuxan. In fact, it had been during a simplified version of such court wars that he'd first encountered Brigana. He'd actually caught her attention after impressing her during a competition of some sort, which had been overseen by a Stronghold.

"There may be some backroom negotiation," Theo said, "but they liked to make a show of things here. It's very likely that we'll be called into duels at some point - not to the death, but if we look weak and a Stronghold decides it isn't worth supporting us, it's the same thing. They can judge us by whatever standard they think is relevant, so we'd better be prepared."

"But I assume some will just be decadent," Nauda said. "The Silver Gourmand talked like he's more interested in sublime food than fighting."

"The decadent ones could be the most insidious. We have to take it all seriously."

Theo was tempted to say more, but he would just be reiterating what they already knew. His companions were intelligent and didn't need to have their hands held throughout the entire process. That didn't mean they were ready, but lecturing wouldn't improve their position.

First they got a night of sleep, which they sorely needed, and Theo had to admit that the Deuxan silk beds were comfortable. After that, it was announced that there would be a competition at the end of a Deuxan week, but no information was given about what it would be.

So there was nothing he could do but return to his soulhome and get to work. Theo was still eager to continue soulcrafting his basement, but it wasn't as joyous as before.

Chapter 27

After everything had seemed to move forward too quickly for so long, the Deuxan schedule finally reasserted itself: they didn't want to rush, even into war. Nauda had actually been slightly underestimating the amount of time they had, because in Accilonia they divided everything into nine day weeks for some reason. Then five weeks in most months, and nine months per year.

She'd had time to soulcraft, but not to learn anything about their culture or history. That might be fine for Theo, but it left her feeling adrift.

There was no sense moving about to talk to people, however, not with a deadline impending. In fact, she was supposed to change into her Deuxan robes within the hour and go to the first real conflict, which remained unknown. That was why Nauda was currently in her soulhome, soulcrafting away.

Where the others were able to build their Authority floors one room at a time, Nauda had the difficult task of doing much of it at once, along with a new floor. She'd finished the bridges to her staff chamber as well as the next floor there, which meant all of her attention was on the unification of her life and death towers. The supporting sections were finished, but she was still working feverishly on the brick archway that would unite the rest.

Every time the work shifted from design to brute soulcrafting, her mind wandered. Even though she hadn't been able to learn much about the local cultures, she was growing much more accustomed to Deuxans and their different ethnicities.

Most were pale, but those from the eastern courts tended to have bronzed, almost metallic skin. In the south hair tended to be silver, whereas golden hair predominated in the north. There were also textural differences she hadn't noticed at first: some had hair as straight as Fiyu's, while others had hair that looked straight at a distance but behaved more like metal wire. She hadn't been able to determine if that correlated with any particular families or regions.

Accilonia itself was a diverse environment that brought Deuxans from all across the continent. She'd done enough exploration to learn that they had two gates in the city: one to Slest and one to Siata, which surprised her. That also meant the Arbaian noble was unexplained, not that he needed to justify himself.

Even amid all of that chaotic variation, she eventually learned to pick out the visitors from other continents. The key wasn't the other traits, but their eyes. Most of the Deuxans at Anguedan had metallic eyelashes that gave their eyes an interesting rimmed look, but the effect was subtle. That trait varied across Socirro, then even more on other continents.

The soulcrafters from the Mercury Court all had lines of metal around their eyes that could actually glimmer in the light. Most also had a line that projected onto their cheek or brow, which varied depending on their own ethnic groups. From what Theo had said about the Demon Court, underneath their masks they probably had two or three projections.

Did any of this particularly matter? No, but it left Nauda feeling less alienated while she was struggling in a foreign world.

She forced her mind back to the task: making a significant difference in her soulhome. After looking over her bridge and then to the gap, Nauda threw down her tools and stood up. It just wasn't possible: if she tried to raise it now, that would be rushing. She wouldn't make that mistake again.

Instead she looked over her supplies and ran her fingers over the corporealbottle, which was her other important asset. If she ever found an appropriate material, that could instantly strengthen part of her. But she had been talking to Fiyu about Corporeal Floors and the possibility of injuring herself was just too high. Until she found the right sublime material, it was just a tiny container for cantae.

Accepting that this was what she had for now, Nauda left her soulhome and changed into her Deuxan robes. She emerged into the main area of the suite and found Fiyu waiting for her - the other woman was still wearing her Ichili robes and twitched slightly.

"Nauda, do you think I sh-"

"No, you're lovely like that," Nauda said. "They all want to get our measure, so we might as well show ourselves as we are. But considering they probably don't respect Tatian very much, I figure it doesn't hurt to dress up."

Fiyu smiled and it seemed like she might say more, but at that moment Theo emerged as well. He wore his usual armament coat but he'd added a Deuxan scarf. Nauda realized that she'd seen some of those around Accilonia, so he must have picked up on the fashion. For someone who could be so indifferent to details, he could be sharper than expected.

"Be ready for anything," Theo told them. "I doubt the very first event will be a violent one, not after the armistice was announced, but there's no way to be sure."

They didn't have long to discuss their plans before a steward arrived to escort them. Instead of being guided through the palace, they were led to a balcony where a sleigh awaited them. It was far more elegant than their own sleigh, but Nauda thought it was actually less comfortable. This one was designed for looking impressive in the city and lacked all the modifications they'd made over the years.

Would their own sleigh impress anyone, or would it just antagonize Esaire? Then again, she doubted he could get any more antagonized.

Their ride took them to one of the estates that dominated an entire hill and deposited them in a large walled garden at the top. Large tables had been set up, covered in utensils... and yet there was no food visible. Nauda identified the man who had called himself the Silver Gourmand before he appeared to greet them.

"There you are! The Armeau contingent has already arrived, so we can finally get started." He clapped his hands to draw attention, almost before they'd gotten out of the sleigh. "Everyone! There have been so many claims made about our guests, some have been skeptical about their travels. Well, let me tell you, I'm not skeptical, I'm hungry!"

This line drew polite laughter from some of those watching. Nauda glanced over them, trying to remember every noble and family she'd been introduced to. The only one that made herself obvious was the Slescan queen, who sat in one of the back chairs. No sign whatsoever of the Arbaian Authority, which might not be surprising if this was about food.

"The Nine Worlds Feast may not be one of the Three Masterworks, but it is a rich and worthy part of soulcrafting." The Silver Gourmand walked from one side of the garden to the other as he spoke. "It is one of the only chambers that appears in every world, and every culture worthy of the name. A truly excellent enhancement chamber, improving every capacity in subtle ways. To that end, judging a soulcrafter's feast is an excellent way of judging their worth."

"Is this predicated on the assumption that we'll open our soulhomes?" Theo asked. He smiled politely, but Nauda knew his internal spikes were activating. "That's a significant request."

"We have nothing to hide." Esaire emerged with his allies to stand on the opposite side of the table. Nauda noted with alarm that he had several new Authorities with him.

"You aren't the first to feel that way, so our ancestors found a solution." The Silver Gourmand stepped to the table and flourished a fork, which Nauda realized only then was a spirit tool. "This allows you to bring forth a portion of your Nine Worlds Feast for others to sample. Now, admittedly, it will remove a small fraction of your strength. But I assure you, if you show me something worth eating, you will be richly rewarded."

Fiyu's mouth was set in a tense line and Nauda rubbed her back to reassure her. They had known that they might have to make concessions, and giving up a little of their Nine Worlds Feast wasn't an absurd request.

Theo looked like he was going to refuse, but when he stepped closer to Nauda, he only spoke tersely into her ear. "Buy time. They probably won't think about Arbai, but delay it if you can."

She blinked in surprise, but nodded. Did he know more about how this contest would happen? In any case, there was no more time to talk, because the Silver Gourmand was eagerly gesturing everyone closer to the tables.

"Now, where can we begin except with Deuxan? I must say, I have no idea what you will have to show me. Won't you step forward? We only need one sample from each side, but you're welcome to give more if you think you have worthy flavors for me."

When she moved to the table, she was given one of the spirit forks. Esaire and all of his allies were already moving into their soulhomes, so Nauda stepped into her own.

The fork wasn't immediately intuitive, but it couldn't be incomprehensible. Just in case it held some trap, Nauda walked to her garden first and touched the fork to one of her Deuxan fruits. A piece of it disappeared and she felt some of its power disappear into the fork, though not an unreasonable amount. Nauda headed into her life tower and climbed the tree to the second level, where she'd rearranged her Nine Worlds Feast in a wheel.

Once she'd tapped her other Deuxan ingredients, she returned to the physical plane. The plate in front of her was also an armament... Nauda tapped the fork against it and the foods she'd cut out of her feast immediately appeared there. Unfortunately...

She looked back to the others and found Theo soulcrafting. Fiyu hovered nearby, holding another fork distastefully.

"Fiyu, I lost all my older Deuxan foods in the Chasm," Nauda whispered. "I know you might not want to, but can you help?"

"Very well." Fiyu entered her soulhome and emerged with some of the sublime foods they had eaten on their first visit, then added them to the plate.

When Nauda looked between her plate and those prepared by Esaire's faction, she had to admit that it wasn't much of a contest. They had a huge amount of food, not only strong but artistically positioned on their plates. The visiting nobles began sampling them, murmuring and offering more commentary than Nauda had ever imagined food would require.

She looked closer at the Silver Gourmand, however, who tasted a small portion of both sides and then settled back with a thoughtful expression.

"Settle down!" he eventually called, waving both hands. "The first plate is complete, and how could victory not go to our local soulcrafters? Truly a dazzling variety of foods... even dishes from the Demon Court, unless my palette is much mistaken. You have taken the lead!"

Esaire's allies cheered and congratulated one another. But while they did so, the Silver Gourmand speared one of the fruits on his fork and raised it toward Nauda. "Did you grow this yourself?"

"I did," she answered quietly, bracing herself for insults. "I haven't had much time to work in your world, but I'm developing my foundation."

"It's really quite good. There's an earthy flavor I'm entirely unaccustomed to, but it suits Deuxan fruit. I couldn't fairly give you the point, of course, but it's quite admirable."

Nauda had no idea how to feel about that. Before she could decide, Esaire spoke up. "Let's do the Siatan plate next!"

The crowd murmured agreement and it seemed that the Silver Gourmand was happy to go along with this suggestion. As Esaire settled sublime foods onto the plate, Nauda realized that this part of the contest was basically rigged. Esaire had definitely never been to Siata before, so he must have been warned about the contest and gone through the Siatan gate to purchase sublime foods.

Since Nauda had never explored Siata either, she had nothing to offer. The Silver Gourmand didn't seem particularly upset, so this must not count against them too badly. He didn't seem particularly impressed by what Esaire had to offer, which made sense if it came from just across the gate.

"This is not fair," Fiyu said. "We have not spent much time in Siata."

"Ah, but war is not fair," the Silver Gourmand said grandly. "And there are seven worlds yet to go, yes? I believe you to be quite far from home, young woman, and I would be delighted to sample some from yours."

Fiyu reluctantly revealed some of her sublime food, which seemed to fascinate the Silver Gourmand. In any case, it seemed like the Demon Court hadn't been able to get Esaire any Ichili foods, so their dish went unopposed. Did the previous two cancel out, and did that put them slightly behind? Nauda suspected that the Silver Gourmand told the truth: this wasn't about food for most watching, but experience and power.

Most likely Esaire was going to suggest Slest as the next dish, because he would have been able to buy food for it. They could compete there, but Theo was still soulcrafting. Rather than distract him, Nauda decided to try a gambit of her own.

"Why don't we sample the food of my home world next?" Nauda suggested to the audience. "That will be a more interesting comparison: as you may have heard, Esaire ai Armeau conquered a city in my home and held it for years, growing new sublime materials. Shall we see what he grew?"

Esaire's eyes narrowed, but he didn't look angry, so he definitely had at least some sublime food from Tatian. Nauda expected to win, not that it really mattered: her goal had been to draw a comparison to the Deuxan plate, since in both cases one side had a home world advantage. She strongly suspected she had done better with Deuxan food than Esaire had with Tatian.

And perhaps it would buy Theo a little more time. When Nauda looked over her shoulder, he was still soulcrafting.

~ ~ ~

Four plates down, five to go. Theo had never cared this much about food in his life, but he found himself caught up in the contest. If he couldn't win this, then it was an indictment of all his journeys in the Nine Worlds so far.

At the last second there was very little he could add - just one thing. He trusted his companions to handle all the rest. Not only had they eaten most of the same sublime foods, he trusted their judgment and strategy implicitly. But, if he finally pulled together something he'd been working on for months, maybe he could make a difference.

Perhaps he should have consulted with Krikree and Senka instead; they were the experts at eating random things. He would have to manage on his own.

Theo examined the Arbaian crystals in his soulhome, removed one, and took one more shot at absorbing it as sublime food. Nothing. Ever since he'd learned about Arbaians absorbing the energy from rocks, he'd been trying to do the same. When he swallowed one, he only took the rock into his soulhome, just like he could any food. Yet the fact that he could do so by swallowing it meant he was so close...

Outside, they started the plate from Aathal. His companions had only average foods, but they were unopposed. Four plates left.

Wasn't his basement supposed to exist for processing materials, even in a personal way? Theo grabbed some of the energy rocks and carried them down to his basement rooms. What could he actually do that wouldn't simply replicate his feast chamber? He gathered some of his plates and other items, but though the room seemed to come together, it just provided a trivial benefit.

When he stepped out to take one of the spirit forks, he saw that they were moving on to Fithe. There it seemed like Esaire actually had some dishes from the time of their duel, so it would take longer.

Still, three plates left.

Examining the spirit fork, Theo figured out how it served to pierce sublime foods. Like all soulcrafting, it was primarily intuitive, but he was impressed by how it captured and bound the pieces before depositing them. After experimentation, Theo felt like he'd grasped some of its methods. Anything that held the general role of sublime food would work, meaning that it supported but didn't massively enhance or provide a new essence. Hmm, there was something there, he just needed to capture it mentally.

Fiyu brought up their sublime meal from Noven, which again impressed the Silver Gourmand and other judges... two plates left.

Once his room was complete, Theo stepped back out of his soulhome with one of the Arbaian rocks in hand. It was just like salt, he told himself, just a spiritual mineral. When Theo tried to bite down on it, his teeth resisted, not quite absorbing it like a rock but not consuming it as a sublime food either. He was so close, there was no soulcrafting obstacle, it was just his mental state...

Maybe he needed to stop overthinking it. Theo emitted [Navim food is Theo food] to himself and bit down.

The rock cracked in his teeth and broke apart, dissolving into his soul. More than that, with it came a rush of energy that flowed from his stomach through his entire body. It was like the sense of strength that came from eating after a long fast, except instant. After so long, he'd finally managed to eat Mundhin food.

Outside... there were still two plates left? Theo looked over the garden and saw that a few were looking in his direction. That wouldn't have been alarming, if it hadn't included the Slescan queen. Her compound eyes didn't give a clear direction, but he could physically feel the power of her attention.

"We should try the Slescan plate now," she said, without looking away.

"Certainly, Lady Nyuba, certainly." The Silver Gourmand gestured for them to fill the next plate, and this time Theo joined them.

Both his companions had eaten plenty of food on Slest, but he'd spent more time in noble hives, so Theo made sure to remove portions of some of the best dishes. This time they weren't unopposed: Esaire and his allies had clearly gathered food from through the Slescan gate.

The Silver Gourmand judged these much more critically than the previous plates, though he seemed delighted by both. Theo barely paid attention to him, instead returning the stare from the Slescan queen. She took one bite from the plate, paused, and then looked around the garden once before departing. He had absolutely no idea what to make of that.

"Eight plates and eight worlds!" The Silver Gourmand patted his stomach and rose to his feet. "And since Arbai is a notoriously unpalatable locale, that concl-"

"Actually, we do have a plate for Arbai." Theo glanced at his companions and they took samples of the various roots and mushrooms they'd uncovered, culminating in the glowing crystal. It might have looked unpalatable, but it had been removed by the spirit fork, so there was no question it was sublime food.

When the Silver Gourmand was presented with the plate, he laughed out loud. "Well! I have tasted many Nine Worlds Feasts, and all of those that included Arbai used substitutes. This... this is something new. Truly, this has been a delight."

All at once, Theo felt self-conscious of the intensity of his work. This was just one competition for an eccentric, so very little was riding on it. Honestly, he had mostly been focused on the Mundhin rock challenge, which he'd taken on long ago for no reason expect to see if it could be done.

Yet as he looked around the garden, he realized that his efforts might not have been wasted after all. An armored old Deuxan who hadn't participated made a grunting sound as he stood up.

"I thought you were liars." The old man looked at Theo and the others, then nodded respectfully. "To have traveled so many worlds at your age... that's worth something."

It wasn't worth his direct support, apparently, because the old warrior left. Still, Theo saw that the contest had affected the leaders and nobles who watched. Before this point, they had been seen as provincial soulcrafters who didn't know anything about the capital. But the proof of their travels meant they were far more worldly, or otherworldly, than most there. When it came time for the convocation to turn to violence again, that should count for something.

"Let us pay what we think this feast was worth!" The Silver Gourmand cheerfully rose to his feet and moved a large stack of Silver Crowns from his soulhome to the table in front of Esaire. He went on to place more - significantly more - on Theo's side of the table.

A number of others who had eaten contributed as well, not all reaching the same judgments. Still, by the time the guests had departed, Theo thought his side had received about double the Silver Crowns. Esaire took his winnings and flew off, no doubt to prepare for the next meeting. They'd have to avoid letting him get an unfair advantage next time.

"That was really quite remarkable," the Silver Gourmand said to them. "Your Deuxan dishes were a trifle disappointing, true, but that reflects only your limited opportunities in our fine world! I will have to treat you to some sublime food during your visit."

"It would help more if you fought on our side," Theo couldn't help but say. His words didn't invoke any agreement or anger, just a chuckle.

"Oh, but it would take a far more exotic sublime food to convince me to go to war again. But as you were the overall winners, I do have a reward for you. This is called a wardplate... despite the name, it has nothing to do with gustation! I was quite disappointed, believe me. But it is a potential Authority-tier material, so perhaps you could make use of it?"

Theo accepted the gift with good grace, planning to pass it to Nauda later. It seemed there was no rush to leave the garden, so he lingered a little longer. Part of him considered taking the remains of the food Esaire had shown, but he decided that would be ineffective. Such little scraps... was it possible that the Silver Gourmand somehow fused them into a special chamber, or was this all simply for his own pleasure? With Strongholds, it could honestly go either way.

"Roughly seven thousand," Fiyu said as she finished counting the Silver Crowns. "I suppose that is good, though I do not know what would be appropriate compensation."

"I don't think it cost us much strength," Nauda said, "but I do know one thing: we should really stop by Siata for lunch sometime."

Theo let himself laugh while he had the chance. They'd won the first round, but Esaire had already proved that he had more resources than them here. The second was not likely to be so pleasant.