Geinwortelparadijs: Riddles from the mountains chapter 2: Entrance of the king
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The door opens and a guard walks in followed by stately looking tolv, obviously the king. "good day people"
The cunicul, Miss Stansalil and Lady Kyliries make a bow to the king, the cuniculs bow being very ungracefull.
Two more guards follow him in while he walks behind the desk and the cunicul takes a piece of paper and a quill, with which he begins making notes.
"So this is the group that will go look at our water problem"
He looks over the group "So I see that my dear captain has send one of his newest specialsts along to protect you. And a scribe for the report. Very good"
Then he looks at miss Stensalil "hello miss, who are you and what will your contribution be?"
She kneels "I'm miss Stensalil Sire. I'm an engineer specialised in rock and will go along so we can start solving the problem fast if it involves a technical solution. "
The king smiles friendly at her and starts thoughtfull "Very good, very good" then sounding a bit enthusiastic "I hope you will come tell me personally about the plans you will be making on this trip. I'll be very interested to hear about them"
Then he looks on and notices the faery.
"So Vladimir, your leaving now also? I hope you at least finished the other work I asked you to do, discreetly... Hmm, then now I do have to attrackt a new surgeon for my staff"
He frowns a bit and seems in though for a moment and then looks a bit confused about what's going on for a moment, eyes gazing around till they stop at the jar and the glasses.
"Weren't you thirsty? They made sure you had something to drink,feel free to drink the water. I asume you all had the time to introduce each other already, I had expected you would have had a drink with that."
"Now where were we..
Ow, about to get you on your way, do you still have some questions or can we go right on in sending you on your way?"
Miss Kyliries bows graciously as the king offers them the water, she pours some water from the pitcher into a glass and takes a sip.
"Thank you sire, I will do everything in my power to protect these people as I have been chosen to do so. But if you don't mind me asking, won't our mission purely be investigation? Forgive me, but that seems hardly dangerous enough to warrant protection from a bladesinger."
There comes a smile on the kings face
"This is your first private assignment isn't it? You will travel into an area that is suddenly stricken with a severe water shortage. Who knows what the lack of water can do with their brains, they might even attack those who come to solve the problem just to get your water. And this mission is to see what can be done, if you have the power to improve the situation on your own
that will most likely be better then to come back after which a second mission has to travel again the whole distance, and that's quite far I can tell you." His tone turns stern "I hope you are aware how far my influence reaches."
Miss Kyliries makes an other bow before the king "Of course sire, you speak wisely, as always. I am honoured that you would send me on such an important mission. I'll make sure we don't come back until we've gotten to the bottom of this mistery."
The faery raises his eyebrows just before looking up from reading some notes lying on desk "I will be back, don't worry, I like this place. Aparantly the ones that put this team together thought they had to send a doctor along. Seeing that it's the bladesingers first mission, she's the only one to protect us and she's freaking out already, they might not be wrong!"
Vladimir's words make the cunicul halt in his note-taking for a moment and twitche strangely before writing on as if nothing was amiss.
"Maybe I'll find some interesting cases on this trip." continues Vladimir as he gets shot with a nasty glare by miss Kyliries.
"I did no 'freaking out'," she hissed quietly, "Now if you'll just cease talking about 'changing' my face, I'm sure we'll be able to get along excellently."
"I wasn't talking about changing your face, I only asked why your hair is covering it!" Vladimir sighs deeply and mubles" 'You speak wisely as always' Does she even know the guy? How does he come up with these people?"
After letting it go for a minute the king loses interest in this dance determining the pecking order.
"Well, you can see if you can find some agreement on factors that make somebody look good or not. Time enough for that when you're traveling."
He then pulls on a heavy golden chain that goes into his vestpocket and a bunch of key's come out. He looks at them and picks one and uses it to open the top drawer of the desk and takes out some papers and a yellow candle which he put's on a candlestick.
"When you go on an important mission you need to carry some documents as proof when you run into officials. And you have to sign some legal documents."
"Miss Kyliries, I asume that as this is your first mission on your own you haven't signed the royal responsibility release yet? Then you will all have to sign one of these"
And he puts five similar looking documents next to each other at the edge of the desk that have 'Hereby I accept all responsibility for my actions while executing the royal commands and release all right to accuse the Royal Court or anybody linked to this to be responsible.' written on them and the markings for where the signer needs to put his name, the date and his signature
"The pen is at that corner, please sign those."
Then he takes an other document with an other text on 'Here by I send a mission to discover the course of the water problems of the river Owetter and organize a solution. Anybody asked for their support to fullfill this specific goal is obliged to assist them as well as they reasonably can if shown this letter.
The following people are hereby send:'
"And please put your name under this so you will have some proof of your mission. Does any of you need sealwax for your signature?"
The king sits back a moment in his chair to see everybody write his name and sign.
Reading the documents for a moment, Lady Kyliries smiles at the fact that the king absolves himself of all negative involvement. Of course, he would not have to worry, since she would make sure that nothing untoward would happen on this mission.
She writes her name down in graceful handwriting and adds her signature in flowing, curving lines. Then she takes the wax candle,though not before touching the flame with the palm of her right hand where observant people can spot a tattoo in the form of a sun, she is about to drop some wax onto the document when teh king interrupts her.
"So so miss Kyliries, do you have the ambition to marry up into my family that you want to put your mark with the royal wax? I think this moment just before going away that's not really the best time"
The king takes an other, blue candle out of the drawer and hands it to her with a friendly smile. But on a absolute tone:
"This will be more suited for you"
Flushing a deep red, she quickly sets the candle back on the table.
"I'm terribly sorry your highness. I hadn't really noticed the colour of the candle," which was true, since she was more focused on the flame.
Vladimir looks a bit confused: "Don't Ralri knights get that very nice multi-coloured sealwax in there equipment anymore?"
Lady Kyliries keeps her head down while she takes the new candle and presses her ring in the wax.
Then she turns to swiftly to Vladimir.
"Of course Ralri knights get..." she bites at the small Faerie angrily, but she suddenly stopped, then continued in a softer voice, "Yes. I guess I had forgotten about that in the commotion. I think this'll do now though." She shifted a bit uncomfortably and paused. "Uhm... I.. I'm sorry about yelling at you. I suppose you didn't deserve that."
"Although I still won't trust you anywhere near my face," she said, although she smiles a bit when she said it.
Miss Stensalil get's in queue behind miss Kyliries. When it's her turn she writes down her name in straight letters that could have been printed. And even her autograph has something of an drawing made along a ruler. But now everybody can know her name and surname, Meinozsé Stansalil, as she writes them both. She smiles satisfied when she finishes the last line of her autograph and takes a few steps to make room for others. The cunicul uses this moment to sidle over and sign his document with an elaborate yet efficient flourished signature saying 'Lepus'.
Vladimir walks out of the room giving the vosje the opportunity to move over to the documents. She seems to concentrate quite intently while writing her name and her signature is a little shaky but who looks can clearly read the name she writes 'Fhianna Chol'.
A couple of minutes later Vladimir returns carrying a large, brown, leather bag. He walks towards the desk, flies up and lands on it. He takes one of the papers and drags it to an empty corner of the desk, there he opens the bag and takes a small pen and a little jar of lightblue ink out of it. He puts the jar on the word "Date" and himself (on his knees) on the word "signature". Slowly and concentrated he starts to write his name, making sure that it's big enough to fit the rather large document. After he did the same with the date he moves on to the signature. There he writes some mysterious looking signs. Then he gets up and puts the ink back in the bag.
To finish his signature he takes a purple candle and a silver stick out of the bag, with the candle he drips some wax next to the signs, then he shakes the silver stick and one end unfolds like an umbrella. The unfolded end is about as large as the kings ring. Vladimir presses it in the wax. The seal is a beautiful decorated example of fine faery-jewelcrafting. Looking pleased Vladimir puts his things away and sits down again.
Now everybody is done signing the king gathers the five documents and checks them. Then he lights the candle and then takes the last document and the pen and puts a really big impressive signature on it. Then he takes the candle and drops some wax on a corner of his signature and presses his sealring in the wax. Blows over it and rolls it up. He then opens an other drawer and takes a small scrollcase and put's it in.
Then he stands up and holds the scrollcase out to Meinozsé making her blush.
"Please take care of this miss Stensalil. You all will most likely be needing that."
She seemingly freezes for a moment before she moves to accept it with slightly trembling hands.
"I'm very honourd you have chosen me for this sire" And she bows deeply.
"Ow, and an other small thing"
says the king as he takes a not so full looking pouch out of the drawer and hands it also to Meinozsé
"Some money to cover your expenses on the road. Not to much but you are on a job, not a merry outing so it should be enough if you finish your work in good time."
The sight of the money pouch also being held out to her manages to redden her even more. And as she takes the pouch faint muffled jingle of coins against each other tells about her shaking hands when she takes it.
She is a bit speachless now and just looks from the scrollcase to the king and to the money pouch and back again.
The king, not waiting for her to compose herself again
"Is there anything else you want to discuss before you will go?"
As nobody reacts does he grabs the 5 remaining documents and puts them in the drawer and locks everything away again
"Well, as you seem to have no further questions I will send you on your way. Please follow"
The king and his guards walk out the door where you find a fourth guard and the king and all but one of his guards lead the way. The last one following behind everybody.
The walk goes through a couple of corridors that are all on the first floor.
After a short while the king enters a room that is very obviously the palace's chapel. Follow him in you see a roundish very richly decorated room with eight altars at even distance along the walls. In the roof there is above each altar a window to lighten the altar. Straight ahead are two altars, the left one is to Rally, the right one to Lark. Continuing on the right side are first one dedicated Jabodo, then one to the seasons and as last Vrazat. And from Rally on further left are Ti-mezel, Tsen and as last one that isn't dedicated to one god in particular, this one seems more as something to use when you come for an other god.
While entering Vladimir sighs."This is going to take a while!"
Just after you enters a servant carrying a tray with some bowls . One with fruit, an other with some animal fodder and there is also a piece of cheese on the tray. The servant stops a couple of steps behind the king. The king takes the bowl with fodder and put's it on the altar of Ti-mezel and put's a bit on a little smoldering fire that's on the altar and then steps back and kneels before the altar, bows his head and sits there for some time. Meanwhile two of the guards position themselves at the outside by the door while the other two kneel behind the king.
Lady Kyliries follows the kings example and she first kneels before Rally's altar and says a short prayer. Then, after she had finished, she walked over to the unmarked altar and took a bit of kindling from her pack and lighted it with a nearby candle. She dropped the burning kindling on top of the altar, burning some small things remainig from some previous offer in the proces, and said a prayer to Hesoldé, holding the two sun tattoos on her hands together.
Vladimir puts his bag on the floor and takes a box of sweets out of it, he walks to the altar of Lark,and with a little help of his wings, puts a little gift on it and sits in front of the altar for a while. He repeats this at the altars to Vrazat, Tsen and Ti-mezel where he leaves a carrot for his donkey aswell. Then he moves on to the altar to no-god-in-particular and you hear him say: "to Wramo", "to Dommila", "to Lizila" each time repeating the same ritual as for the other gods. After he has 'taken care' of all his gods he kneels on top of the last altar and you hear him pray: "Dear Vladi, have faith in yourself, be strong and be the best you can be on this trip you're about to take. Try to walk fast enough to keep up with the much larger people in this group and if you can't you might even have to try to fly distances, you no it's BS, a faery that doesn't like flying! Feel the god inside your soul!".
Miss Stensalil held back at the temple door and at first seemed intended to wait it out till she sees almost everybody doing something and while shaking her head a bit she enters.
She walks towards the servant with the tray and takes a piece of fruit from it. Once the king has finished with Ti-mezel's altar she aproaches the altar and put's her offerings on it and then steps back two steps and kneels some time before the altar.
After that she get's up and in the middle of the chappel she takes some little stone out of her backpack and with that she goes to the unclaimd shrine to offer the special looking speckeld blue stone and kneels again for a prayer and some may hear her use the name Kyralanta in her whispered prayer.
Fhianna stays outside of the temple the whole time and waits for the others to finish.
When the king rises again he looks at the group and waits for everybody to finish. Once that's the case he asks to follow and the guards take the same order as before. The trip takes you now through a corridor that has at the left windows showing the garden behind the palace.
Soon Vladimir realizes they are walking to the garden and it makes him look quite unhappy, one who lissens carefully can hear him murmer: "oh no not that, that's wors than flying.... I should have given the donkey more than one carrot!"
After a short while the king goes through a door at the left and when you follow you come on a balcony like place with two wide stairs going down at both sides. On the balcony is again a tolv from the kings staff, this one looks more important then all the servants you have seen. The king greets him with a nod of his head.
In front of you you have a grand view of the gardens and you can see very well the paterns that are made with the plants behind the pond that seems to be dug with the same mathematical precision as the garden is created and it encloses the terrace in front of you. The pond is filled by two water spewing gargoyls statues thirty meters away from you at the edge of the roof letting their water fall into a rocky creek that in contrast to the rest of the garden doesn't look mathematically created. The creeks flow into a first square pond that is nine meters wide and shares a corner with a second square of that is twelve meters wide and which shares a corner with a third square wich is sixteen meters wide. Here the two series of squares are only seperated by an arching bridge under which the biggest squares are connected.
Lady Kyliries eye's grow wide as she enters the palace gardens. She knew of the wealth of the Tolv king and she quite knew he would showcase his position, but it was still all mind staggering. The entire estate of her own family would fit several times over in the garden alone... the view certainly put her into place. Of course, she realised musingly, this was probably the whole plan behind this walk anyway.
The king lets them admire the garden stretching out further then a catapult can shoot.
"This is your last chance for questions, if none, then please go stand on the bridge and I will let you be send on your way."
Struck silent, miss Kyliries only nods to the king and proceeds slowly to the bridge, giving her eyes more than enough time to take in the splendours of the garden. She didn't even think to ask why they had to go to the bridge to be sent on their way and that the front door would be much more effective.
"I have no questions. We will do our best to come back with good news as soon as we can"
She makes a bow to the king and Lepus does something that also looks like an attempt at a bow and then they all follow her to stand on the bridge