Yvall entered the war room and saw three men, as well as Kobe, seated at the large table in the center of the room. The three men were King Quincy’s finest knights: Thatch Reric, Garth Marns, and Oswald Feldy.
"Hello, knights," Yvall spoke in a stern tone. "I'm sure Kobe has already briefed you on why I've gathered you all here today."
"No, sire, he has not," the knight Thatch said.
Yvall sighed, glanced at Kobe for a moment, and then back at the men. "I have brought you all here today for a conquest, one that at first listen may seem impossible, but I believe can be completed with all of your help."
The three knights' attention was focused solely on Yvall as he spoke. "What kind of conquest, sire?" Oswald asked.
"I wish to slay all Goliaths of Vallta."
A coldness beset the room, the name Goliath echoing out and reaching the knights' ears.
"Sire... why?" Garth asked with a baffled expression. "Why risk your life against those beasts?"
"Under oath to my father, I am unable to explain my conquest's purpose, but I promise it is one of infinite importance," Yvall said.
Oswald stood out of his chair quickly. "I simply cannot do that, sire. I cannot embark on a mission I know is impossible. Perhaps if the order was to slay one, I would oblige, but to defeat all of them is suicide."
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An angered expression crossed Yvall's face, and he spoke, "If you cannot follow through on these orders, then resign now!"
Yvall and Oswald stared each other down for a moment, then Oswald said, not out of fear of Yvall but fear of the Goliaths, "I resign."
Yvall's head slowly turned to Garth.
"I resign," Garth said with a dreary look on his face.
Then all heads in the room turned to the knight Thatch who, for a moment, thought upon the conundrum before him. Finally deciding, he said, "I resign."
Kobe sat with an astonished look on his face. "You were supposed to be the best, most fearless. Does that title mean nothing!" Kobe yelled as the three walked out of the room in single file. But before the final knight, Thatch, walked through the doorway, he stopped and turned to Yvall.
"Sire, I would feel utterly useless if I did not offer a smidgeon of help to you on your conquest," Thatch said with dedication.
Yvall and Kobe listened, intrigued.
"My grandmother, Nobaba, she knows of the Goliaths. She has a great interest in them. If you're searching for info on them, she would be the first to ask."
Yvall and Kobe thanked Thatch as he walked out. Then, both sat around the war room table and discussed.
"The finest knights are truly that afraid of the Goliaths?" Yvall said.
"They've been sent on conquests before to defeat them. It's the reason I did not brief them on your mission and its contents. Those men have allowed their brethren to enter the Goliaths' domains, and those men have returned without those brethren. Facing one is already an insurmountable task; to face them all is suicide," Kobe explained, a cold look on his face.
"Has there ever been anybody, anybody at all, who has ever tried to slay them all?" asked Yvall.
Kobe responded, "I'd like to show you something, Yvall."