Across the room, several other foreign guests now looked pale. One even fled.
The Spiremaster nodded slightly and said, "Now that the trash has removed itself, let us begin the real banquet. You may all mingle freely."
With a wave of his hand, two long platforms appeared, laden with exquisite food and drink. Round tables materialized across the hall, each carved of rare stone and set with crystalline goblets. There were also musicians—masked men and women with strange instruments that sang with etherial tones—who began to play a graceful, haunting melody.
Dancers moved like silver flames across the floor, twirling and shifting between the guests. Now, the hall truly began to resemble a noble banquet—opulent, mysterious, and thick with unspoken power.
