AI Terms-Night Cafe
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- **The Campfire Confrontation**
Hirem approached the campfire where Shaz and Alex were sitting, his arming shirt clinging to him after a swim. His boots left damp marks on the ground, and his belt carried two daggers. Dropping into a camp chair, a glass of bourbon in hand, he sighed.
"Long bloody day."
Alex raised an eyebrow, her voice calm but curious. "Yes, they are. But what makes it especially long or bloody today?"
Hirem leaned back, exhaustion clear in his posture. "We lost the CCC people. They marched out en masse, led by Sir Hannah. You know that, of course. And now, we’re losing the Chad forces. Arin was at the lake—he and Tarooos told me they’re done. They’re packing up, all 70,000 of them. Sir Cantor is staying with the centaur banded pairs, the berserkers, and a few of the crazy ones."
Shaz shrugged, his tone sharp. "Good riddance."
Hirem shot him a look of disdain. "Deal with who? How? Why? This place is pointless. It's a trap. These people aren’t resilient. We’re not accomplishing anything here. I think this place might be a shadowtrap. Killing these people does no good—they resurrect somewhere else on this tier. Meanwhile, our dead don’t return. That’s why the CCC people and Chad are leaving."
Alex laughed loudly, the tone almost mocking. "They’re just now realizing this? And now Chad is leaving? It was their damn idea to fight here."
She stood, grabbing a fresh bottle. "Newsflash: anything we do in shadow is pointless."
Shaz smirked, leaning back. "You tell him, Kitten. We fight for the fun of bloodshed. Benedict taught me that."
Hirem scowled at Shaz and turned to Alex. "Alexandra, this place is a trap. The only way to win here is not to play. Leave this place. Pull up stakes and set everyone loose. Your Amber forces will do their duty to the last one. Do your duty to them and lead them back to the Jeweled Road and Amber."
Alex frowned, the sharpness returning to her voice. "Again, they are welcome to leave. You know what? You’re right. I’ll fulfill my duty to them—they’re dismissed. Let them fuck off. Go. I don’t need them, and I don’t need any sense of duty to them. From the Jeweled Road, they can find their way. And yes, this is a game. It’s fun. It’s the most fun I’ve had in ages. Burn shit down, kill some folks, keep on moving."
She lit a cigarette, exhaling smoke. "Duty... talking about an unbeatable game."
Hirem stepped closer, his voice lowering. "Alex... Come with me. Let’s leave this bloody place and find somewhere less steeped in violence."
Shaz stepped in, pushing Hirem back. "You leave if you have no taste for war. This is a place of violence, and the people here know it. They are sheep, and we are the slaughter."
Hirem straightened, glaring at Shaz. "Remove your hand from me, or we will see who is the sheep."
Shaz laughed, stepping forward. "I’ve wondered if you had stones. Maybe now is a good time to see if you’re a stallion or a gelding."
Alex stepped back, letting the tension build between the two men. She shook her head. "Hirem, leave if you can’t stand it here. I’m not done yet."
Hirem glanced at her, his tone bitter. "It’s not a matter of being done—it’s a matter of futility. That’s the trap. This place plays on the mind. I’ve felt it too. Hopeless futility. Just bloodshed. If you won’t return to Amber, at least get out of here!"
Before Alex could respond, Shaz plunged a blade into Hirem’s belly. Hirem staggered but retaliated, smashing a bottle against Shaz’s wrist and slashing a blade across his face, exposing teeth and ripping both cheeks open. Shaz tumbled back, summoning his maudu into the form of a short sword, but Hirem was quicker, severing Shaz’s hand at the wrist.
Shaz howled in shock, blood streaming from the stump. Hirem stood tall, gripping Shaz’s severed hand in one hand and a sword in the other. A dagger protruded from his belly, but he held his ground.
Alex, seated nearby, took a drag from her cigarette. "Are you two done? Hirem, you act like you disdain the bloodshed, yet you fight so viciously and brilliantly. Are you continuing until one of you is dead? Talk about futility."
Shaz growled, readying his maudu sword again, but Hirem raised the Sign of the Pattern, halting him in his tracks. Hirem’s horse trotted into view, and with one agile leap, he mounted.
"I fight when there’s a cause. There isn’t one here. Leave this place, Alexandra of Amber." With that, he galloped away into the night.
Shaz dropped his blade, summoning the Sign of the Logrus. He screamed in frustration but lost precious time as Hirem disappeared into the distance.
Alex shook her head, retrieving a cloth to wrap Shaz’s bleeding stump. Her voice was cold and commanding. "Sit still. I’ll help you until your shapeshifting kicks in."
Shaz growled, "I’ll have his head! I’ll hang him in the Black Forest of the Abyss!"
Alex didn’t flinch. "Yes, yes, in time. Now stop talking and let me stitch your face." She offered him a stiff drink before beginning her work, her hands steady despite the chaos.
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