The softly pulsing and glowing uloia drifted lazily from Darin's hand onto Ridahne's nose and settled there as though it meant to have a nap. Ridahne's face was priceless. She was still a warrior, and still could be a terror when she got serious or angry, and though she'd been holding herself with the proud dignity of a daughter of Azurei, the uloia was just big enough to tickle horribly. Her face contorted into a squinting, frowning mess of ink, and it was clear she was trying not to laugh. That was, until the rest of the little flying insects settled in her hair, and behind her ears, and all over her face. Her whole face screwed up then, and she gently blew a few puffs of air to try and shoo enough of them away that she could see properly--the glow was starting to glare against the gentle dim lighting of the room. 

Muttering in Azurian, she breathed, "leave me alone, or Taja will eat you!" He clearly had no intention of doing so, and was more occupied with grooming Ridahne's wavy hair. It probably did need a good brushing. "Ai!" She waved a hand across her face, gently ushering the creatures away, though they still lingered about the pair in the air around them. 

The elf grew serious again as she nodded to Darin. "You speak as if you believe we have not been found by evil people, but we have. Not tonight, maybe--we can hope--but we have. A few weeks ago, when wen entered into the borderlands, we were ambushed. A group calling themselves the Red Hand knew we were coming, because their leader and a few among them were Eluri, and they had Seen me and knew that I was with the Seed Bearer. There was another group we met some time ago who were human, and I believe they are also part of the Red Hand. They were thugs, and they were not prepared to deal with me. But this second group, they were. They knew exactly who they were dealing with. Not one of them made it out of that encounter alive, but I nearly was counted among  the dead. If Darin had not acted quickly and gotten me to help, I would not have survived." Ridahne lifted her shirt, revealing not only the hidden blade harness she always wore, but the ugly red scar where the hurled sword had bitten in deep. "I've got more than just that to show for it, but I don't think I need to." 

The implication that there were people out there who both had ill will towards the Seed Bearer, and were capable enough in combat to nearly kill an Azurei eija-alihn, was not lost on the council. A soft murmur rose among them. One man spoke up quietly. "But you said they were all dead, yes? Does that not solve the problem, then?"
Ridahne shook her head. "No. This is bigger than any one band of rogues, however capable they might be. There's more of them out there, in all the nations of Astra. That includes Eluri, and that includes Azurei. Though," she added with a dark chuckle, "they'd be fools to show themselves there. We all know how much Azurei detests [I]traitors.[/I]" There was a lot of venom in that word, though whether it referred to her own experience as a perceived traitor, or to the sins of the Red Hand was unclear. "They'd been harassing a small village up north, knowing we'd pass through there. The elders enlisted two eija and their apprentice to sort out the problem, but they had no luck tracking them down until we came. They are intercepting messages, and since they have Azurei and Eluri in their ranks, they also receive visions. I urge you to be on your guard, and to act quickly on any reports of roving bands of thugs or missing messages. And..." she added as an afterthought, "It would be helpful to sow disinformation on our plans and whereabouts, when you can. If we leave here and go south, say we went southwest. Any way you can help keep us concealed would be a great help to us."

Ridahne sighed, suddenly feeling very worn out. "Is there any part of this discussion that can't be continued tomorrow? You've had your theatrics, and now you know what you need to know. We are guests in your home," she said with a respectful bow, "but we are [I]guests[/I] and not servants. We are not here to answer your call, Council. I respectfully ask your leave to go back to bed, but I assure you, my asking is merely a polite gesture..." There was a warning tone there. If they did not release them, and if Ridahne did not feel there was anything important left to discuss, then she would march right out of there with Darin in tow, whether she was released or not. "Besides, you might find me less testy after a night of sleep and a bit of breakfast as a peace offering for keeping us up..."