'Ben...'
She sat on her heels with her back against the wall and her eyes watching the ceiling. Kypher stood across from her, leaning against the wall with his face serious, arms crossed, and head down. There was a door to her left through which Justice had entered and behind which Eliezer still slept. Ellis and Mira had gone to make ready some provisions for their eventual, seemingly inevitable journey to somewhere, and Avera had elected to assist the Wellses in their preparations, which both Dorcus and Kypher had agreed was probably for the bes
The room was dark when he opened his eyes. He blinked, his mind adjusting back to reality. The dim lighting suggested it was somewhere past dusk, but whether it was the time after dusk or the time before morning would be difficult to determine with surety. He sat himself up, throwing his legs over the side of the bed. He put his hand to his face, pressing it against his tired skin, and stopped for a moment, staring at the blurred shadows in front of him.'Well... here we are.'
They were talking in the hallway about a place she had heard of but never been, a town called Elkshire. Sometimes referred to as the "Kingsmen Capital", Elkshire was a forest town and the most prominent of the eastern region. The town itself was relatively unremarkable with two notable exceptions. The first: that the Council of the Kingsmen was seated in Elkshire and from there they judged the Kingsmen from throughout the empire. The second: that Elkshire was itself a city-state, entirely independent of Altruon and its government.It was vital that Altruon and Elkshire should remain in
He rode at the front, Dorcus to his right, and Benjamin behind them with Justice and Alexander at his wings. Avera followed behind Benjamin with Joseph and Adrien accompanying her. It was a familiar journey and one which he had been given the task of navigating. Still, he was not accustomed to it by night, and he kept his map open as they moved quickly through the forest by the fading grey of dusk and twilight.
It was early in the afternoon when Mira and Ellis arrived in the wagon filled with supplies which everyone helped them to unpack at the direction of the kindly Phia Carder, who saw to it that all were properly settled and appropriately cared for, and all was now at peace as they approached the evening meal.Jordan had left for the Council meeting that morning, as was usual, determined to arrange a meeting between the Council and their Ambassador, but he had not yet arrived back, though it was near evening.
Jordan Carder called the meeting to order and, once they had finished the formalities, they were ready to begin."Well, Ambassador, say what you will," Jordan said, smiling. "The floor is yours.""Thank you, Chairman Carder," Webber said courteously with a short bow, taking a step forward. "Members of the Council
The next morning, Jordan and Eliezer once again departed for the meeting of the Kingsmen Council, this time with Benjamin."Members of the Council, may I submit to you yet again Ambassador Webber," Jordan announced as he began the meeting, extending an open hand toward Eliezer, who stood at the edge of the platform, "and may I introduce to you, also, Prince Caliphus," he concluded, moving his hand to the left towards Benjamin. "I remind you that the Ambassador and the Prince are here as our guests for the purpose of our own benefit, and I ask that you should address them appropriately a
'Among other things...' His mind was filled with thoughts and memories of all those "other things" as he walked out of the meeting accompanied by Benjamin and Jordan.
'Oh, Timothy...'She strolled thoughtfully along, several steps behind them, pondering his state and hers.'Funny how our lives change. Funny how time marches onwards. Funny how...' she looked over to Eliezer and smiled,