Chapter 6

Damus walked behind Xelos and his Order of Valor and through a large doorway into the dark cave. Next to him was his friend of fifteen years Sutarr. Damus watched as Xelos walked in with his thin sword contrasting his larger build. He was obviously muscular and battle-hardened.

He knew Xelos’ plan, and he didn’t like it, but he didn’t voice his opinion. His defiance would be a declaration of war to Xelos, and the ruthless tyrant would have him killed. So silently he marched, his orders were clear.

They came into a long hallway and were forced to stop by a large creature at least seven feet tall. His body was a jumbled mess of tree branches, vines, and the occasional dead leaf. Damus didn’t panic knowing that Xelos had probably faced far more powerful creatures.

The beast spoke in a coarse voice “In accordant to ancient traditions you must leave your weapons here.”

Xelos turned to them and nodded his head. Each of them pulled their weapons off their belt and handed it to the monster.

“The Council of Champions is waiting. You may enter.”

Xelos bowed his head and said in a rich voice “We thank you for letting us join the meeting. Will one of the Nu kings be joining us?”

“I’m afraid not. Certain events have focused their attention elsewhere. But a detachment has been asked to assist in security.”

“That’s a shame. I was looking forward to seeing Hingai again. I’ll make sure to think of your kind in my talks.”

They walked through the doorless entryway and into a large torch lite room. There were a dozen monsters off all sizes around an encirclement of square tables.

Xelos found his seat towards the center of the circle and his Order of Valor stood at the seats beside him. Damus and Sutarr stood behind them to act as guards, even though Xelos was far stronger than them both.

They waited until everyone began to sit before taking their own.

A large black dragon was the first to speak his voice rang loudly through the chamber “My name is Drovix, I am the ruler of the Shattersky Dragon Clan. Thank you for joining us Mr. Xelos.”

“It’s a pleasure.”

“We called you here to recognize that humans are a threat. We would like to ally ourselves with them and avoid conflict.”

“How are we a threat to such powerful beings, and why would you choose to talk to me?”

“Don’t play dumb your pathetic human. It’s well known that you hunt and kill us.” Another beast growled this one was as tall as Damus. It had a human face and a beastly body. Damus concluded from his research that this was a Manticore.

“Those are some wild accusations. I assume you have proof of me doing this.” Xelos responded.

Drovix spoke, “We have witnesses that managed to escape your bloodletting.”

A birdman spoke next with a voice of ice “You hunt my people as a sport.”

A Minotaur spoke afterward “You have killed many of my kin as well, and most suspiciously you have imprisoned even more of them.”

Xelos spoke “That is a lie. I would never attempt to fight a Minotaur or a Valravn. As for the rest of the hunting, I was raised by the Sasquatch King Hingai for fifteen years, I have been taught to respect the land and its peoples.”

“Then I urge you to find out who has been hunting down the beasts and convince them to stop. There are many who see that as a declaration of war, and we wish to avoid wiping out a species.”