Chapter 4: The Meeting
Many hours have passed, and Meryl still has not yet reached her destination. She glanced up at the sky. It was nearly dark and she wondered if she was even near Britain territory.
She was in a very wide field with no inhabitants. There were a few trees and the area was quite perfect for people to put up their houses in. It was isolated from the noisiest of towns and cities.
Meryl's exhaustion caught up with her, and she decided to rest underneath one of the trees. She dismounted her mythril zostrich and tied it to the tree. Dropping beside it, she leaned back on the tree trunk and sighed.
"I wonder how far I still have to go…" She wondered.
Nightfall was already minutes away. She began to regret not bringing Jerk or Saber along with her since it did not seem safe enough to camp out alone in the dark. She would have at least felt safer if someone else was with her.
It did not take too long before she drifted off to sleep, totally unaware that someone was watching her from behind the darkness.
--
Meanwhile, at the Criterion house, most of the Criterion members have already arrived for Lestat's meeting. All of them were assembled inside the motherhouse, each one seated in the great hall. Lestat stood from his place in front and called for Shacklebolt.
"Are all of them present?" He asked.
"Yes, except for Meryl and Mamyel." Shacklebolt replied.
"I see." Lestat said with wonder. "Very well. We haven't much time. We will begin without them."
"If you say so…" Shacklebolt said before going back to his seat.
Lestat turned to the rest of the Criterions, and they all fell in silence. In a loud voice, he made his announcement.
"Fellow Criterions, you are all gathered here tonight for a very important matter. As you all should know, Urumi Kanzaki has declared war on us recently in Wrong dungeon. All we know now is that she may be strengthening her forces in order to attain her goal. We, too, must prepare ourselves for this battle."
Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the gate. Greenarcher, who was nearest to the gate, peeked out through a window.
"It's Mamyel!" He exclaimed.
"Open the gate!" Lestat ordered.
Greenarcher did as told and opened the gate. Mamyel was panting, and behind him were three unidentified knights all on black mustangs. One of them wore Mythril armor, and the other two wore Bloodrock, much like Lestat's, and Old copper armor.
Upon seeing Lestat, Mamyel immediately dashed towards him.
"Urgent news, Lestat!" He said with the expression of fear in his face.
"What is it? Calm down, Mamyel!" Lestat said.
All the Criterions had their eyes on him. He was in panic, and Lestat knew that this news was not going to be a good one.
"Urumi has merged with other chaos guilds!" Mamyel blurted out.
"What!" Lestat replied, taken aback.
"She already has the likes of Tim-o-Fee on her side. But that isn't the worst of it…" Mamyel said, pausing for a while. "Even the monsters have sided with her as well!"
"What do you mean?" Lestat asked, with anxiety taking over him.
"She has attained the ability to tame even the wildest of monsters, sir." Mamyel replied, trying to calm himself down.
"Damn!" Lestat cursed. "How was she able to learn such a skill? If this keeps up, we'll lose this war for sure!"
"Lestat!" Greenarcher's call cut off Lestat's thoughts.
He turned to his comrade.
"What is it?" He then asked.
"I believe we have company." Greenarcher replied, showing him the three unidentified knights that no one seemed to notice. "These men are looking for you."
Lestat eyed the three suspiciously and approached them.
"What purpose do you hold for being here?" Lestat asked.
"I come to challenge the leader of the Criterions to a duel." The knight in Mythril replied, and he backed away on his mustang to the open field in front of the Criterion house.
The other two knights followed but stayed farther away at the side to give space and room for Lestat and their companion.
There was something very familiar about the mythril knight for Lestat. But he wasn't in the mood to try to remember because of the problems that have been arising.
"Are you of Urumi Kanzaki's troops?" Lestat asked firmly.
"Questions are irrelevant before a challenge, Sir Lestat. I am certain that you already know this." The mythril knight said in reply.
Lestat turned to Greenarcher.
"Get me my mustang." He ordered.
"But Lestat," Greenarcher whispered, "It could be a trap."
"I'll be alright. Don't worry." Lestat replied.
Greenarcher nodded and left to get the mustang.
Lestat stepped out of the Criterion house and stood across his opponent. He pulled out a spider's silk and sulfurous ash and chanted, "In Lor." Suddenly, his eyes became enlightened and he was able to see more clearly in the darkness. The mythril knight also did the same. It did not take too long before Greenarcher returned, pulling Lestat's trusty mustang.
"Thank you." Lestat told Greenarcher and he mounted on the animal.
The mythril knight drew his war axe. The rest of the Criterions stood outside the house, watching, as Lestat drew his Viking sword and turned to the knight.
"Prepare yourself!" He bellowed.
Seconds later, both warriors were engaged in their duel.