Brunch is served - of Rice and Potatoes

We followed the maid to the banket hall, where brunch would be served. She wore a simple brown dress. When I said hello, she answered something that Lia translated to: “She says hello too, although through an overly polite phrase.”

Even though I was told that there were, I hadn’t seen anyone in the palace who wasn’t human. At least they had looked human to me. Would I have seen the lizardman beforehand, chances were high I wouldn’t have paid much attention. I have starred a second too long at the maid’s eyes that looked like ember and her hair that glittered like strings of fine dark blue crystal. As a reward, I received a slap on the shoulder by Lia. And I daresay, it was quite a powerful one.

A guard opened the heavy double doors – guards where everywhere – and we entered a hall with a large polished table in the middle. Plenty of fine food was neatly arranged on plates on the equally noble dark wood, as well as bottles of various liquids.

I wasn’t sure if it would be a good thing if our hosts used to drink in the morning, so we could expect their perception to be diminished, or not. They would be more prone to being aggressive, so I decided that not was better.

Among the people who sat here, only Sarran was a familiar face. All their clothing made it look like a restaurant on a middle-ages market. The difference was that their apparel looked more luxurious. Large arched windows devoid of glass lined one of the walls, but not the others. My room’s windows were oriented towards the courtyard. But from here, you could see the surrounding city and green flat landscape. A river cut through the forests and farmland. Its bends were plenty and some of them had villages.

One of the people stood up to greet us. It was the lizard head guy. Lia – who told me to call her Elana here – explained to him that I was incapable of understanding what he said. His facial expression was difficult to read. It could have been something between interest and disappointment. He offered us seats in front of him and tasked Elana with translation. She shot me a glance. She would have helped anyway. And he knew this.

“This is quite a sight, is it not?” He turned his long jaw and pointed towards the windows. His croakily authoritarian voice contrasted with the fluid but resigned voice of our translator.

Whether he meant the green landscape or the city, I didn’t know. Maybe he thought a city of this size was new to us? Anyway, I wouldn’t tell him how small it actually was in comparison to modern metropoles. “It is.”

He turned his head back to us and mustered us one after another through the vertical slits of his eyes. They were red-shot. “Lord Avenar excuses himself. Were you introduced to the rules of polite conduct already?”

I affirmed that I was…

The same maid who has brought us here appeared behind us and wordlessly offered to fill our glasses. “This is fresh grape juice. Or would you rather prefer one of our plenty liquors?” I thanked her for filling my glass with the prior. She stepped back and disappeared as silent as she had come.

After eating a giant chunk of spiced meat that looked like chicken – with fork and knife, of course – he proceeded to speak:

“It is too bad you do not know how you got here. But fortunately, we know the reason. This lands of our lord, as are all the lands of the surrounding counties, are under assault. It is not a war, but a battle below the surface. Although, everyone knows it is there, even the lowest peasants. The enemy hides in a place known only as 'the hideout'. Creative, isn't it?

It has only been this night that a couple of brave heroes could escape this dungeon and bring home precious information through magical means. They themselves are currently in the hiding out there in the woods as if they were these animals that hunt them themselves! It is a disgrace!

You were sent here to help us rid our world of this plague.”

He seemed to form a grin, exposing his razor-sharp teeth. “You three are perfectly suited. Mister Sarran’s predictions of the future already helped us outwit their schemes and enlengthen our heroe's lifes. Miss Elana proved her skill in navigating the forests without being caught by any of our units. This was considerably impressive. And you, mister Tharamir, already demonstrated something exceptionally unique and unheard of. When brunch is offer, we would be delighted to see your other talent on the training grounds.”

After this longwinded explanation my two companions told me about their time here. I took a bite of spiced bread and filled my plate with rice and covered it in creamy potato soup. It was delightfully hearty. My stomach felt like it was my first meal ever.

“They arrived? Fantastic! And they turned them into something good.” Sarran mused about the food. He nearly suffocated on it several times, then gulping it down with various unknown liquids. Some smelled sweet, some simply smelled smelly. “There is no way I could go without them. When I heard that they usually don’t have them here, I asked them to import a batch or two. Else, we would only eat rice and bread... not exactly, but you know what I mean. No idea how it is with you, Tharamir. ”

This was awkward. “I really don’t care about what I eat as long as it tastes good.”

One of the maids who stood silently in the shadow of a corner of the room suppressed a grin. Could she understand us?

“Elana, what about…”

She shot him an angry glare. While she did have Asian roots, it didn’t mean a thing. Only that Sarran wasn’t quite tuned in to living in modern times.