Lexi squinted up at the towering sentinel that stood outside her door, her hands resting on her hips.
"Hey bozo," She called up with a mischievous glint in her eyes as the enormous head swiveled down to regard her with a mixture of surprise and amusement, "Why do I feel like I know you?"
The sentinel wheezed slightly, his colossal hand moving to his side, retracting a dagger and offering it to Lexi.
Her eyes flicked between the intense stare of the sentinel and the enormous weapon as she frowned for a moment before suddenly, it dawned on her.
"Oh! You were the one who was encouraging me to murder Narcissa!" she snickered as she reached up and patted the tip of the blade, "Sorry bud, it's still too heavy for me to do much of anything with, unless you know of a way to make me as big as you."
The sentinel wheezed in a way that resembled disappointment as it returned the blade to its side.
"Perhaps you'll get the opportunity to skewer the bitch yourself again sometime soon, hmm?" Lexi grinned up at him in sympathy.
"Sooner rather than later I hope," the sentinel answered, his voice a strange deep grating sound that was entirely otherworldly, taking both Lexi and Aoife by surprise.
"Well holy fuck you can talk!" Lexi mused.
"I prefer not to." He answered, shifting slightly, "The beings here do not interest me and I have a penchant for disposing of those that irk me."
"Noted." Lexi answered warily, "Would it irk you to take me to the library?"
The wheezing noise returned as it peered down at her.
"Do the Djinn interest you little one?" it asked almost curiously.
"If that makes you feel better then sure," Lexi answered as the sentinel hummed thoughtfully, "I'm sick of being in this room and I could do with a little light reading if I'm honest."
"Half truths are just as dangerous as lies, little fleshling. You should know that Eromaug is not a force to be taken on by yourself."
"Did I ask you to cut him down for me?" Lexi snapped, "Didn't your mother tell you it was rude to eavesdrop?"
"I was born of stone and a bored Daemon lord. I don't have a mother, just a creator.."
"Well you were still born, so I mean…technically your creator was a mother…" Lexi sighed before continuing in frustration, "I don't know why I'm even debating the semantics of parentage with you."
The sentinel's wheezing laugh followed as she rolled her eyes.
"Look, can you take me or not? I'd rather not wander on my own and bump into something that I can't take on by myself."
After staring at her impassively for a few moments, with Lexi's stomach tying itself in knots, the sentinel finally answered.
"Very well. I owe a Djinn that resides there a reminder of my displeasure so I will accompany you."
"Wonderful. I'm taking Aoife too." Lexi said, jerking her finger to where Aoife stood staring up at the sentinel incredulously, "I would rather know that I'm in good hands if I pass out on the way."
"Then perhaps you should take the dragonspawn with you." The sentinel rumbled, "I cannot carry you. Your fleshy body would become liquid in my hands."
"Nice. Thanks for the image."
"You are most welcome." It wheezed in response as Lexi turned to Aoife.
"He's on his way." Aoife answered before Lexi even had a chance to open her mouth.
"One of these days I'm going to have to get you to explain exactly how you do that." Lexi said thoughtfully, catching the alarm in Aoife's eyes and wishing that she hadn't said that in the presence of the sentinel.
"It's not difficult," Aoife answered with a forced ease that only Lexi picked up on, "He was asked to fetch me some supplies so I'm assuming that he'll arrive soon."
"Well that's disappointing, I thought maybe it was some witchy mumbo-jumbo that you had going on." Lexi snorted with a wink to Aoife, who laughed in response.
"I don't think talking to dragons is in my skillset I'm afraid." Aoife answered regretfully with a twinkle in her eye.
"The dragonspawn should hurry. Now I am impatient to see this Djinn." the sentinel huffed as it flexed its arms out and made its way from its post outside the bedroom into the corridor, peering down the long stretch expectantly.
Lexi and Aoife shared a look, stifling a snigger as they moved to join it, struggling to contain their own amusement at the sentinels behavior.
They didn't have to wait long before Orynn's figure appeared and the look of surprise on his face at the image of the expectant sentinel and the two women stood next to him was enough to tip both Lexi and Aoife over the edge as they erupted into giggles.
"You walk slowly for a dragonspawn," The sentinel huffed at Orynn who chirped in indignation, "I do not know, nor do I care, what you said, dragonspawn. Let us leave. Now." The sentinel continued before turning and lumbering off at a pace that must have been slow to him, but forced the three of them to walk at a pace that had Lexi feeling a little breathless after a short time.
As they made their way to the heart of the city, the pace became too much for Lexi and she stopped, her legs clearly shaking.
"Oi! Bozo! Wait!" She shouted between breaths after the hulking form. It paused briefly and glanced back at them, frowning in what could only be described as irritation as it gestured towards Orynn.
"The dragonspawn will carry you. I will not wait. My hands ache to squeeze the neck of a Djinn." It rumbled as the passing Daemon's regarded the four of them curiously.
"Fucking charming," Lexi mumbled as Orynn chirruped reassuringly and scooped her up in his arms, "We should have just sneaked out. I bet he wouldn't have even noticed."
"Impossible." The sentinel rumbled as it scanned them quickly before turning and continuing along his path.
Lexi grabbed hold of Orynn's neck as if her life depended on it, the movement of her body against his chest pulling on the edges of the wound and making her wince slightly as he hurried to keep up. If it wasn't for the numbing properties of Aoife' salves and balms, Lexi had a feeling she would be far more uncomfortable than she was.
Eventually, the sentinel stopped in front of an impossibly large and ornate building that looked as though it had been snatched straight out of a fairytale. Huge columns lined the outside with several balconies on different levels, all accented with gold and Lexi couldn't help but stare in awe at the sheer size.
"Why does everything here have to be so big?" She wondered aloud as the sentinel wheezed in amusement.
"Perhaps it is things in your world that are impossibly small," answered an almost fully incorporeal figure that had materialized in front of the doorway before them, the faint outline of his features barely visible.
"Where is he?" The sentinel rumbled as the figure tutted loudly.
"As rude as ever, my friend. The one you seek should be hiding somewhere within but I respectfully ask that you try not to destroy too much of the inside this time. It's such an unnecessary clean up afterwards."
The sentinel grunted in response before breezing his way through the doorway and disappearing into the darkness beyond, leaving Lexi, Aoife and Orynn standing awkwardly in the entryway.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" The Djinn mused as its eyes dragged over them, seemingly sizing them up, "The Sentinels never bring visitors, which means that you three must be of some importance."