Somehow Joey had hit a nerve. The other man looked uncomfortable. “Diopside says we should talk to the River, see if we can find a better resolution. He says he’s talked to the other Elders present from Green Sword Honor, and they may not be strong advocates for bending the rules in this case.

Annoyed, Joey thought to Emerald, “You do seem to have a way of making friends wherever you go.”

The reply came, “I will learn to be as pleasant and cordial as you, perhaps. I don’t trust the River either. I might almost choose a fight at seven to one odds instead.”

With life and death in the balance, this might not be a good time to be distracted by questions about the ‘River’ if it wasn’t going to help them. But did they have any other choices?

The human hosting Malachite spoke up. “I see you’re hesitating. If you don’t want to ask the River, and you still like the idea of resolving precedence issues with duels, you could challenge me to a duel. You would be the challenger, and I would choose the weapon. We would both be identically armed.”

Joey smelled a rat. “Why would he suggest that when he’s already won?”

“Good question, actually. He doesn’t know about my most recent discussions with the River though. I think the duel is our best bet.”

The River was something you could talk to? But there wasn’t much time to think right now. He studied Malachite’s human. He had big muscles, as if he worked out at the gym. He wore a tank top, as if to show those muscles off. There was something unpleasant about his blue eyes. He would be a formidable opponent. Probably he would choose a weapon to take advantage of those muscles. Joey had done a good deal of fighting, but was not a bodybuilder. He was not eager to wager his life on a duel of unknown terms.

Joey turned to Jake. “Let’s talk to the River.”

Although they had almost finished eating, he noticed a platter of barbequed chicken on the table and his mouth watered. He said, “I’d like to wash up and have something to eat first. Maybe even get a good nights sleep.”

He was pretty sure this old house had plenty of bedrooms. All the Riverfolk slept here sometimes.

He refused to think about the old memories. Only Emerald had experienced them, so trying to understand them might make him flip again.

“Don’t you even wonder why I didn’t want to talk to the River? Think about it. You can retrieve some memories if you try.”

Reflexively Joe tried to remember memories that he had never experienced. Then something clicked inside his head, and he was Emerald again. He had tricked the human easily enough. He couldn’t remember that much about the River, but he knew he didn’t trust it.

He turned away from Jake and told Malachite, “On second thought I accept your terms, if the other members of the Green Alliance will agree to accept the results of such a duel.”

The man smiled broadly, though there was something nasty and twisted about the expression, and he had a squint in his left eye. “We’ll duel with longswords and no armor.”

He seemed pleased with himself, as though a trap had snapped shut around Emerald. It wasn’t quite clear why. Longswords were not commonly in modern use for humans in this area, so neither of their hosts would know much about them. Emerald was a Warrior, trained in all kinds of weapons used on all sorts of worlds. He was actually pleased that the duel would require the Elders to rely on their own knowledge rather than their hosts’. If Malachite was not even a Warrior, he would be at a great disadvantage. Even if he were, the terms were as even as he was likely to get.

The helpless human voice in the back of his head said, “That was too easy. They’ve tricked you as easily as you just tricked me. Look how Firkin is smiling. He should know nothing, but he had a hand in setting this up before we arrived.”

The mayor was indeed smiling broadly. He said, “Of course I have nothing to do with any internal disputes among members of another faction. Yet since my host does own this house, perhaps we could have the honor of escorting you downstairs, where we have a private Dojo suitable for settling this dispute.”

As he beckoned Emerald towards a staircase, it occurred to Emerald that he had suffered as much from their relationship gone wrong as the human. Clearly he had been set up. Emerald was often considered abrasive and hot tempered by his fellow elders, but had never been stupid, and had thousands of years of life on which to draw.