Between a Ravine
"Good evening, Derrick. I trust you have been well?"
"As to you, Galdar. I have a proposition for you."
That was the first exchange Derrick have proposed between himself and one of his three current guests for his luncheon. And despite how much honey one could apply to a polite exchange between two individuals, he could only hope that his guests could share the same sentiments between each other, as a rift began to form across the dining table, with him strewn across it. The atmosphere was thick with anticipation, and nearby restauranteurs watched as the guests tensely sat as still as statues. Derrick considered himself tall for his species, but the three in comparison, well, dwarfed him (hahah..). A peculiar group they made, two large human males, a lanky but athletic half elf, and him, a dwarf who honestly would pass off more as a short but prim scholar-type if not for his beard. But despite his status, he admittedly felt a bit downsized in comparison to the three. But he shan't let them take away his importance. He brought them there, and they were there because of him. It was about time he asserted himself as the de-facto mediator.
"I-"
"Excuse me Derrick, but care to explain the reasoning behind sharing a luncheon with this dissentful excuse of a guard?"
That was Galdar. One of the current heads of the town guard, interested in participating in the upcoming politics of Mythrite. An in front of your face type of fellow who displays every emotion a bit too outright.
"Well, I concur. I do indeed have a problem with the idea of you superficial bastards leading the people, as it seems to me that you're less for them."
And currently in a angsty war between himself and the caravan guard captain.
"No offense, Beau."
"None taken."
The insultee turned insulter was Ascella, the current leader of the Caravan Guard. Harsh, tough love-esque. Not his type, admittedly. And Beau, who calmly sat next to his comrade, simply listening to the two captains squabble, as he stroked his mutton chops, and a frown. But to be fair, Beau never exactly was a man who smiled, so he may as well be amused at the sight of his younger compadre's disdain for the Caravan Guard captain. It was admittedly rather enjoyable to watch the two argue, if not for the fact that Derrick needed the two cooperating in order for his plans to succeed.
"Scuse' me, sirs and madam. Welcome to Tryssee's, what would you like to order?"
All heads proceed to turn towards the waiter that finally came up towards the party. Perfect timing! With this it allows for breaking up some of the discord without the two potentially placing their malevolent energies for each other towards him. And he'll hopefully get some words in there as well.
"Food is on me, feel free to enjoy yourselves, as thanks for your work in keeping this town safe."
A pause..
"Give me a beer."
"Ay. Same here."
"As do I."
Derrick sighed. It was going to be a long afternoon. Perhaps he too will grab a drink as well to get through this.
Surprisingly enough, despite the messy introductions, the luncheon went fairly smoothly. Asides from the occasional taunt or insult thrown, the jovial atmosphere of the restaurant grew to be infectious, and led up to some great communication between both sides. At the end of it, it seems as though the town and caravan guard would be willing to try getting along, and Beau may have even gained a powerful ally in Ascella. He should be satisfied, happy that it was he that brought unity to the security of the town. Slowly but surely it was a matter of time before his true plans fell into fruition. He now had to execute upon the next step.
At the witching hour, when only nightsky and candlelight lit the pathways, Derrick began to move, walking past the shops and inns, music and jovial cheering beginning to die down, as only guardsmen and drunkards (and in some cases, a mix of both) roamed the streets, and the lofty homes of Charlamaine Hill. Finally getting to the meeting spot of the previous messenger, he waited patiently. Not soon after getting to the stump, a figure in the shadows begins to form.
"Derrick Lawgrizzle. Are you finally ready to give me your answer?"
"Yes, indeed. I wish for you to send for the Lord's Alliance."
I feel like there is an interesting story here that is buried behind unnecessary establishing dialogue and description. The core of this story appears to be Derrick's attempts at easing the tensions between the Town Guard and Caravan Guard over a very stressful lunch, all while furthering his secret plans behind the scenes. This is a very good story concept, and has the potential to be very tense and interesting. However, all of that was condensed into the final two paragraphs and makes up just under 200 words. Your dialogue was good, and did well to establish the important characters in the vignette. There were times where I wasn't sure who was speaking as I was reading, but it was made clear eventually through Derrick's comments on the character and their role in Mythrite, in the conversation, etc. It also does well to establish the relationships between the characters and the ideas of the story. This is especially aided by Derrick's thoughts, which are well written as the "narrator" of the story is very clearly Derrick himself, and any text outside of dialogue is clearly his thoughts and perspectives (in other words, a good close 3rd person perspective). I feel like your paragraph transitions could use a little bit more work, ensuring that you have the strongest words at the start and end of your paragraphs to better pull the reader through the story. However, I think the largest issue with this piece is that nothing really happens. You talk about something happening, but I want to see it. You talk about your protagonist taking an action, making a decision and doing something, but don't show it. The meat of your content is the luncheon with Galdar, Beau, and Ascella, and Derrick attempting to get them to work together and stop being so childish with their disputes. But in reality that's maybe 15% of your story, with the rest being jabs and banter between the dinner guests; Derrick is barely even able to get a word in from what we can see, then a few sentences later he's solved their dispute and made them allies seemingly out of nowhere. That's the part I want to see: Derrick taking action into his own hands, finding an even ground between the assailants before him in a tense moment, putting himself in the crossfire and risking his neck to further his plans. In future pieces, try to really assess what your story is and where the important beats are, and make sure to give those beats the time they deserve.