“Um hmm,” Chari said, her eyes not leaving his face in the dim light. Glowby came over and began floating around behind Chari’s head, flickering in agitation. Aiden made sure not to look at him, but he didn’t like it. He didn’t like keeping secrets from his friends. Yes, Glowby was his oldest one, but it still bothered him and he wished he knew why he felt so strongly about speaking of it.
Aiden felt his eyes return to looking ahead of the group, trying to downplay what had happened but he knew Chari watched him for several moments longer before moving back over by Ashrak. He’d have to think about this. One thing he had learned is counting on people was important, and hiding things from them worked against that. Maybe he’d have one of his one-sided conversations with Glowby about it when he had the chance.
Whenever that might be.
It was about half an hour later that Aiden could see a large, dark opening ahead and suspected they might be coming to the end of their journey. As they approached, another large, barren room lay before them with a sturdy set of doors on the opposite wall. Above the doors was another mural with the same golden figure as before. However, this time, it was holding its hands in front of its face as if kissing them. It made Aiden ponder. If one were to see the two figures together, it would resemble someone blowing kisses or releasing something precious.
Approaching the doorway, Romald knocked in a specific pattern, a small hatch opened which he spoke into, murmuring quietly to whoever was behind. The moment passed, and Romald stepped back as the doors swung wide, showing more stairs up and out of the darkness.
Aiden didn’t see anyone beyond and suspected they had ascended out of sight. Romald held them there for a while longer, finally gesturing to them to follow him as he led them up from what Aiden was now sure was an escape tunnel.
They stopped for a few moments at what looked like a large wall with a small door facing to the left next to it. At first, he thought they may be passing through the small door but shortly after another man dressed in dark clothing stuck his head out and nodded. Even as he did so, the large wall began to slide silently into the floor.
“We thought it might be more difficult to break down if it dropped into the floor,” Romald explained. It was obviously heavy and whatever mechanism was lowering it was not fast. “So many people like to have their secretive doors open and close in a normal fashion, but you can tap along walls and find them too easily. This? Not so much.” He patted the top of it as it became level with his waist. “Quite thick, I assure you. Made to feel like the regular walls of the castle and it secures quite well. And, even if they found it, they would have to break through it like a wall.”
He turned, smiling proudly and bowed toward the room beyond. Clearly a throne room, the opening was hidden by a large tapestry which was moved upwards and out of the way. The teeth of the wall stuck up several centimeters and posed a small tripping hazard which Aiden eyed. The image of him tripping and falling flat on his face flashed through his mind, and he took extra care to step over the blunt teeth before proceeding into the room.
Duke Valeran preceded them all, walking toward the main area directly in front of the thrones and bowing to several people occupying the dais before him. The rest of them followed though at a slower pace, bowing as they came even with the Duke. All except Romald who walked up the few stairs toward the seated woman and her entourage.
“My beloved,” Romald said, kneeling before the statuesque woman and taking her hand, tapping his lips to her knuckles. “I have brought them as you asked. They are well, though I can tell they have had their challenges in arriving.” The sides of his eyes wrinkled slightly in amusement as he smiled. “Duke Valeran refrained from telling me the gory details, preferring instead to not elicit your wraith. I would say he was a wise man if it didn’t rob me of such a juicy story.”
The woman nodded consideringly before she stood and embraced Romald, kissing him gently before turning her odd blue eyes on the rest of them. Romald stood and escorted her down the steps toward Valeran, who was watching her with a curious expression. It was almost a look of sadness, though one which the woman did not return. Her face was almost a perfect mask of grace and poise, and if anything her eyes were the picture of calm. Aiden suspected she didn’t miss much.
“Valeran,” she said softly, taking Valeran’s hands and holding them as she spoke. “We are quite pleased you are here, though we did not expect you. The players were too clever in calling for this meeting, using several favors that painted us all into a corner. Truthfully, Romald was not even sure we were able to get you notice this meeting was taking place. None of his couriers ever reported back.”
“Do not worry, Emraldi,” Valeran said, suddenly looking strangely nervous as the Duchess took his hand. After a few moments, he took his hands back before continuing. Aiden noticed one of her eyebrows flickered ever so slightly. “Ahnarad did indeed get at least one of your messages. I have it with me, in fact.” He blew out a sigh and frowned. “They did try to make sure I was not here. We’re trying to figure out if they wanted my eldest here, or not at all. Either could be their goal.”
The Duchess paused for a moment in thought and Aiden couldn’t help but study her. She fit the very definition of the word regal, and her statuesque looks were complemented by her pale skin and long, midnight dark hair. Despite their differences, he could see the family resemblance her and Ahnarad. However, where one was warm and personable, this woman was controlled to the point of being frightening.
“There is more information, now that the players have arrived.” She finally breathed out, her eyes blinking once slowly. “Truthfully, Romald has been in his element since we learned of the Ducal Council and their obvious attempts to keep you from it, but we are sure we are not seeing everything. Dragging your eldest or my sister here was one possibility, but they know we are allies. I would not just allow them to take either of them and truthfully we are on an island. They could not hope to gather a large enough force to do anything here my people would not hear about long before they could come close.”
“Chaos and confusion seem to be what they are trying to elicit,” Romald said, stepping forward. “The charges they have brought forward, while serious, have no hope of achieving anything.” The small man turned, nodding toward Aiden. “Your very open trial saw to that. Certainly, they can revisit the argument, but it was rather public and rather well documented.” Romald bowed toward the Duke then. “Compliments to your man for that plan. Quite ingenious.”
Valeran nodded though no one said the name, Aiden’s thoughts immediately went to Count Viridian. Sometimes he forgot the man was supposed to be playing the role of an enemy and was a significant state secret for the Duke. To Aiden, he was just an uncle who had scared him nearly to death once.
“Of a more serious concern is what happened on the Skywitch, but even that is not going to be much of an issue.” Romald continued. “The weapon you scared us all half-to-death with was clearly there since, well, forever.”
“How can anyone know?” Valeran interrupted starting to pace. “I thought it was just an odd floor ornament, myself.”
“Your Grace,” Romald bowed though he tried desperately to hide his smirk. “Trust me, your ships have been well cataloged and studied. As long as no one tries to steal them, they are not terribly difficult to get spies onto. That is my specialty after all.”
The Duke scowled at that but didn’t comment. “So that’s it then. No chance of them actually doing anything. Have they made any other demands since they’ve been here?”
The Duchess shook her head slowly. “No, but I am certain it is only a matter of time before Duke Brun will demand all of his rights back as well as being granted the power to breathe underwater or fly, whichever he fancies at the moment. He has just arrived, and even he requires some time to build up the energy to be obnoxious.”
“Or demands about his son,” Valeran said dourly.
The elegant Duchess let her eyes flicker over to Ashrak,
pausing for a moment before speaking. “Ah, then things have changed there? You seem to be protective of the boy?” She walked toward Ashrak and began to pace around him, almost as if examining a prize horse. Chari’s eyes got wide and she closed ranks with him and looked as though she was about to speak but remained content to glare.
Emraldi tilted her head and a slight smile fluttered across her lips as she transferred her gaze to Chari. “Then the reports are true. Could it be a spawn of Brun may not be a ravening killer they all seem to be?”
“I’ve killed,” Ashrak said a bit defensively, uncertain what to make of the cold appraisal she was giving him.
Duchess Emraldi laughed, a sound like silver bells floating in a quick moving stream at the answer. Aiden thought the sound beautiful, but also chilling because the mirth never reached the woman’s eyes. “Oh, killing isn’t the issue, scion of Brun. The real question is, did you ever enjoy it?” She stopped in front of him, her eyes locked on his with an unblinking intensity.
Ashrak managed to stare back into that intimidating gaze for only a few moments before looking down and shaking his own head. “No, not really. No one sane does, but I had to survive.”
The Duchess breathed out softly, then almost bowed to him. “Exactly the point, Lord Ashrak Brun. Therefore, you shall also have my protection while you are here. Your father shall not have you if you do not wish it.”
Ashrak looked up in baffled surprise, his look of confusion mirrored on more than a few faces but they only exchanged glances. Aiden wondered what would have happened if Ashrak had said he enjoyed it. He knew his friend enough now to know his life was anything but simple, but he wasn’t a cold-blooded killer.
“Now, please follow Romald to your rooms. The Welcome Ceremony will be held tomorrow evening and since it is my turn to host the council,” she paused, a twinkle of mirth in her eyes, “we will hold it at Zertenan’s Welcome House. Quite a fitting place for it, I think.”
Valeran frowned and quirked his eyebrow as he eyed the woman. “Zertenan’s? That’s a rather odd place for the ceremony?”
The Duchess nodded as she ascended the few steps back to her throne. “Of course, it is. What better location to get someone to reveal their masks than such a place, dear Valeran. But can you stay a bit longer? I believe we have things of state to discuss.”
The Duke seemed a bit nervous about the idea but agreed nonetheless. Aiden watched him as they followed Romald out of the huge, ornate throne room. Welcome House? He had no clue what that might be. Perhaps a place that served tea? It didn’t sound right, though. There was something about the way Valeran was looking at the Duchess when she said it that made him think it wouldn’t be simple.
He shrugged. They would find out soon enough. Perhaps it would be fun.
Chapter 21
The building was huge. Far larger than anything he had expected. It rivaled the already bloated castle in Terek but without the walls around it. Instead, it sat like a huge monolith on the side of a rather large hill. From a distance, it actually looked smaller than it was when Aiden got close because instead of numerous smaller buildings it seemed to consist of one huge blockish slab with a few other blockish slabs jutting out from it.
The entranceway was actually about halfway up the building and was reached by a richly decorated bridge inlaid with reds and golds. It was lined with huge flags that flew and fluttered in the breeze, situated on tall poles instead of strings and the buildings and streets leading up to it were equally gaudy affairs, full of moving bodies and hawking callers desperate to get their attention.
Truthfully, Aiden was terrified at the chaotic mess going on around him and stuck as close to the middle of the column of men and women he could manage.
Though Terek was full of people and beings from all walks of life, the people were generally more staid and sober than what he found here. Even the great cutter fish race festival he’d attended earlier that year couldn’t rival the levels of noise and bright color that erupted before his eyes. Here, there was even more of a mix of life, with Humans, Arakuul, Kreel and even one or two of the huge Gramon from the east lumbering carefully through the masses on whatever errands they had.
Aiden had not seen a live Gramon before, as they rarely traveled from their homes in the Eastern continent so he almost stopped walking when he saw one of the massive gray beings standing next to a small shopfront. There were all sorts of lanterns and flags whipping in the wind, hanging almost indiscriminately from the store and from the being itself. A small platform strapped to its broad back supported two humans standing on the unmoving deck and calling down to the passersby, pleading for anyone to enter the store and promising massive discounts or other favors if they would.
“Don’t stop, Aiden,” Chari said, pushing him slightly from behind as they walked. “Trust me, you don’t want to attract their attention or even give them a momentary thought they might have yours. And would you please stop staring all around? Even armed guards might not be able to prevent a stampede of them from getting to you.”
“It's just so… loud,” Aiden said, averting his eyes and trying to do as Chari asked.
“I know. The first time I came here was difficult too.” Gavin said, coming up on the other side of him. “At least Mother was able to let me see it from a distance, first. That way I could stare all I wanted without becoming a target. Markam just about had a fit since the people in Riften don’t seem to understand personal space.”
Ashrak laughed from behind, “I remember once someone actually broke into our compound and tried to sell something to me in my sleep. I was terrified! Waking up with a beady-eyed little man with flags hanging off of him and shaking you awake is not fun.” Ashrak laughed again, “he was quick, though. The guards came storming in and he looked like a small meteor jumping out of the window with the flags flying behind him. After I’d calmed down, I thought it had been great fun.”
“Were you on the ground floor?” Chari asked incredulously.
“Oh no,” Ashrak shook his head. “Third floor actually. I always wondered what had gotten into him. I mean, he had to have known it was the Duke of Brun’s compound, right?”
Chari frowned, “the third floor? Did you at least check to see if he’d been hurt or killed?”
Ashrak shrugged. “I…well, I was only eight. I didn’t even think of it.”
“Ugh, men!” Chari said, rolling her eyes.
“That seems insane,” Aiden said, startled at the thought. He couldn’t even imagine Miss Brommers at the baker's stall near Breen doing something like that. Or any of them really. But here, he could totally believe it. Everyone seemed to have a manic, almost crazed look in their eyes and he wasn’t surprised at all if one of them tried to break through the guards to get to a customer.
“More than a bit,” Gavin interjected. “You might not believe it from Duchess Emraldi and Severen Romald, but they can be equally driven and intense. I sometimes wonder if Mother didn’t steal Father away from her sister just to have a more sedate lifestyle.”
“Oh! I heard something about that,” Ashrak said, nodding at Gavin. “Though there were additional details I’m not going to repeat. Father would go on about it now and again, but I usually tried not to listen to his rants.”
Gavin shrugged. “Well, I really don’t know all the specifics, but Father was originally betrothed to Emraldi. However, when he came back to Terek, he was with Mother. She was originally supposed to become the Duchess but chose to become a Severen and marry Father instead. So, still a Duchess. I, for one, am happy. I can’t imagine having my aunt as a mother. I’d never get away with anything.”
“What does Severen mean?” Aiden said, confused at the word.
The other three looked at Aiden for a moment but Chari was the first to recover. “Oh, that’s right. You don’t know about all of that, do you? Severen means to be cut off from the line of succession. In fact, you are a Severen for Wilthorn since your brother Baron Crean will inherit everything once he
reaches age. It’s much more common here, though. They have to be diligent with the records, with all of their relationship combinations. Duchess Emraldi has three wives and four husbands. And then a few of them have wives or husbands, too. It can grow quite quickly, so they have to be very clear about titles and who inherits what.”
Aiden blinked. He’d heard Riften had odd ideas, but had never had it explained to him like that. “Does it make it easier to be with someone you love with this system? With nobles?”
“Sometimes, but certainly not all the time. They marry for contract purposes nearly as much as for affection.” Gavin clapped Aiden on the shoulder. “Be very careful what you agree to here. In fact, it's best never to even say the word yes. To anything.”
Aiden thought he was joking at first but then saw the sober looks on his other friend's faces. Even Markam grunted and nodded.
By the time they’d made it to the expansive bridge leading to the entrance of the Welcome House, Aiden was very ready to get inside. The bridge itself was easily as broad as the large streets throughout Riften and had large numbers of what looked like attendants and servants standing along each side of the rails, bowing to the guests as they walked past. Some were dressed very well, but others looked like they were wearing bathrobes or even costumes depicting fantastic characters.
The Glimmer Steel Saga, Boxed Set, Books 1 - 4 Page 55
