Inta and Entoma found themselves placed into a simple room, it had a bed of stone with white webbing laid over it as a kind of mattress, soft to the touch, there was a wardrobe of stone carved into the wall itself with a stone 'pole' embedded into the rock. The entire room was unchangeable, unmoving, and the whole place clearly hollowed out expressly for visitors. It was, however, coated in a thick layer of dust.

The scorpionman escort made no apology for that, and in fact he said nothing at all when they entered. It was only when he was about to close the door behind them that he said, "You have guest rights." Then the door shut and they were alone without getting the chance to ask what that was supposed to mean.

"They're not the most hospitable people here, are they?" Inta asked rhetorically.

Entoma however, took it in stride as she went and flopped herself down on the webbed bedding. "I don't know, there's a certain spartan charm to how little they say with their mouths, he had no hostile pheromones, and he even seemed calm, I think this was as close to friendly as he gets. It's probably true for most of them." Entoma explained and stretched herself out, completely at ease.

"Don't you think this is odd?" He asked as he waved his arm around the room, gesturing to the stone table, stone chairs that had to be slid into, and even the bed on which Entoma lay.

"What?" She asked.

"These are sized for us. Not beastmen. Not ogres. Not minotaurs or anything else. There are no enchantments here that I can feel, so why us?" He asked.

Entoma sat up a little, propping herself up on her elbows, the webbing sank a little beneath her, "That's a good point. They weren't expecting us. Maybe they've had past dealings with the west that weren't violent? Or maybe they have more rooms set up for beastmen?"

"I doubt it, even that path to the throne room, it wasn't meant for ogres or trolls or anything like that to be able to get through. And beastmen don't tend to send smaller members of theirs out for serious work. All the stone cuttings we saw showed larger and more intimidating beastmen kinds. Nothing of any of the smaller ones. This place must live in almost total isolation." Inta suggested and went to sit down at the table.

Entoma shrugged, "So what if they do, if they're insular, they're not hostile, and if they're not hostile, we can talk to them, and if we can talk to them, we can convince them."

Inta chuckled, "You say that, but remember the… what was it you told me they were called, 'The Six Great Fools'?"

"You mean the ones from Mict'aratz and the Tlalmok Empire?" Entoma asked, to which Inta nodded.

"Yes, that was them, if I recall, one of them is still in the house of the Pope helping take care of Freya." Entoma remarked, "Why?"

"Their people wouldn't believe anything until they sent their own investigators. The Tlalmok still haven't sent their notice of surrender, or we wouldn't be here," he thrust his finger down on the center of the table for emphasis and finished by saying, "so I can only assume they didn't believe the very people they sent to confirm the truth. There's no guarantee we'll succeed with this. None at all." Inta said with a sharp shake of his head.

"We'll still try." Entoma protested, "You don't think I can do it?" She asked, her many eyes centered on the vampire.

"It's not that." Inta said, waving a hand back and forth in front of him in protest, "If anyone can, it's you, but don't forget that this place isn't Nazarick, they may not believe you, they may reject us, and if I have to, I will drag you out of here to keep you safe. I-I won't let you risk yourself."

"You think you can make me leave?" Entoma asked, torn between annoyance and joy at his resolute concern, she sat up in the bed and put her feet on the floor, she waited out his silent contemplation until she couldn't any longer and stood up. Then she went to him and put her golden metal hands on his shoulders.

"If it comes down to it? Yes." Inta said. "I just… I just know I could. I'd carry you out of here over my shoulder or under one arm like Momon did Evileye in that play Pandora's Actor put on.

"I won't let anything… not anything, ever… ever happen to you." He said with the utmost resolve and raised his two eyes to meet all of hers. "Do you understand me?"

"Inta…" Entoma said, as the desperate edge came to his voice and he bit his own lip with his own fangs and dripped blood down his chin where it dripped with a steady…

Tap…

Tap…

Tap…

To the stone floor beneath their feet. "You are like gold to me, and my life is poor without you… call me greedy if you want, tell me I can't do that… I will bear our Lord's wrath for failure, but I won't let a single scratch mark your body. Forgive me?" He asked and forced a shaking smile up toward her.

"Ask me that question if it comes down to it, but I won't fail, so you won't have to try anything so dramatic. Nothing at least, that Pandora's Actor would insist on putting on a play over." She managed the joke with some effort, and his smile firmed up a little, she then ran her golden thumb over his lip, wiping the blood away, and the wound was already gone before her finger finished the motion.

"Hmm, I thought we were going to have an argument there for a moment." Inta remarked and stood up.

Entoma looked up at him in return and said, "I think we were about to but… it's hard to be mad when someone is greedy in just the right way."

Inta chuckled a little and looked over her head to where the bed waited.

"If we're not going to fight… then should we go to bed?" He asked.

"Bold of you to assume I'm ready to sleep." Entoma answered with a coy look over her shoulder toward the waiting webbing.

"Bold of you to assume that's what I meant." Inta answered.

They went over together in step, and neither slept until hours later.