The dying king opened his eyes and said, “Listen to my words, for I’ll only speak of them once as I fear my time has come to an end.” His eyes stared forward as he spoke, in a trance. “God has shown me a vision of our kingdom’s future. It is one not plagued with useless infighting and petty threats. It is one of glory.”

His trance broke, and he stared directly at one of the women to my left. “My daughter, you will take up my mantle as ruler and become the Queen of the kingdom. And from there, you will unite the whole continent under our banner, creating a new empire that will span generations.”

“How can I do that,” the woman asked. She and the king had no relation. Her jawline, sharp and angular, matched well with her petite facial features but had a distinct juxtaposition from the king’s rounded face. Humans had grown taller over the years due to mass genetic alterations before birth, but her height still looked odd on a woman. If I stood next to her, I would have to tilt my head up. She had light brown skin, much lighter than my own, and green eyes. The guard had spoken about a princess's coronation earlier; she must be it.

“You and the four lords called to join you must conquer the other eleven kingdoms developed across the continent. To do this, God has bestowed upon all five of you here abilities of great power, each unique to your position here in court,” The king said.

“What are those abilities? I’m not sure what you are referring to,” the princess said.

“My mind has grown hazy over the last few days, so I can’t remember them, but I had Reginald write down all of my ramblings from the visions for your use later. I know you will make me proud, all of you,” The king replied before breaking into a fit of coughs that made his whole body tremble. I took a step back, as did the others except for Reginald and the princess. The king’s coughing stopped, and he sunk deeper into the bed.

We will leave the king to rest and head to the small council room to deliberate,” Reginald said before shouting at the door. “Evankeil! Evankeil!”

The fearsome guard from earlier who had sent Kible running burst through the door with his hand on his hilt. “What is it, my lord?”

“Send for the physician to check on the king. I must direct the princess and her retinue to the small council room. Also, tell Master Bertram to bring the king's scrolls directly to me in the eyrie,” Reginald said. Evankeil rushed out to issue orders to the guards in the hall while Reginald stood up and brushed the dust off his pants. “The five of you follow me; we have much to discuss.”

Reginald started toward the door, and the others, closer to the bed than I, followed close behind him. I stepped aside to allow Reginald to pass. Better to take up the rear and keep everyone in my range of vision. One of my male team members bumped into me, sending me staggering back.

Before I could react, he said, “I’m so sorry! I’m still getting adjusted to this place, you know.” He stuck his hand out to shake mine, and I hesitated before ultimately shaking it. If he were on my team, I needed to keep things cordial. It is better to put up an affable front so that later on, I can move with the freedom I'm accustomed to. When I tried to recoil from the handshake, he pulled himself closer and draped his arm over my shoulder.

“Let go,” I grunted.

“I’m just trying to introduce myself, don't be a bore. I’m Oswald.” Oswald looked young, and I had been young once, so I knew the smugness that came with it. He constantly squinted as if his eyelids weighed a ton, and his lips curved upward in a permanent smirk. His hair had been cut even lower than mine, and he looked like a skeleton with his wiry frame. I couldn’t help but be wary. He had been imprisoned just like me, and who knows what for. I shoved him away from me. I made a note to add him to the list of people I disliked. The list had increased over the last couple of days.

“You’re no fun,” Oswald said. He pretended to pout for a moment before rushing to catch up with the rest of the group. I followed silently. Reginald led us down the spiral staircase to a lower floor than where I first began. He and the princess walked shoulder to shoulder as they conversed up front. Behind them, my other two teammates followed close behind. I had been too focused on the king, and I hadn’t taken notice of either of them to the extent that I should have. Focus is everything. Missing details would be my undoing if I allowed my mind to fixate instead of taking in my whole environment. It had been a problem on the chessboard, but unfortunately, this game didn’t allow you to resign.

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My male teammate behind Reginald had a rather large build, almost the same height as the albino man. His light brown hair carried down his back, longer than either of the women in our group. He had a plain face from what I could remember. My other female teammate, I remembered even less about. She had bronze skin that looked tanned rather than natural and blonde hair that defied gravity and created a short, tangled mess of her curls.

We walked down a small hallway, where attendants scurried about carrying baskets of sheets and wooden buckets of water. Reginald led us through the corridor into a large throne room. It had large columns that rose into arches on both sides and ran parallel to each other at the back of the room. The room was spacious and had three segments. The two sides of the room, past the columns, had tables and benches. The center portion of the room had a ceiling that rose much higher and had windows shaped like stars that allowed the moonlight to filter in. The moonlight landed right on the throne at the back of the room.

“Right through here is the small council room, and master Bertram should be arriving with the notes I took on the king's visions,” Reginald said. He pointed to a small door at the back left of the room near the throne. “Wait in there for me. I must send a message to the barons to come to the city in haste.” Reginald rushed off, his sword clattering on his hip and echoing throughout the throne room.

“What a conundrum! This place is nothing like the earth. I can tell you that,” Oswald said. He walked into the room and made a bee-line for the throne. “I meant maybe a thousand years ago. They carried swords; did you all see that? You know what, I'm going to have a good time here. I’m sure of it!” Oswald sat on the throne.

“We have a job to do, or did you not get your briefing,” The princess asked. I drifted off toward one of the benches on the side to sit down.

“I just have to win a game, and they will give me a bunch of money and set me loose in the galaxy,” Oswald responded.

“That is true, but you're skipping some steps,” The princess said with a sigh. “Reginald will be back soon. We should introduce ourselves and our positions. I’ll start. I am Tamor, and I’m the ruler. I am supposed to lead the team and make decisions when we are at an impasse. If that becomes a problem, let me know.” Tamor stared directly at Oswald when she said that, but he didn’t give any reaction. He sat sideways on the throne, picking at his nails.

“Were you given the job by Mr. Greene,” I asked.

“Yes,” Tamor responded

“What made you take the job?”

“Freedom and money,” she replied. I nodded and stood up from the bench. I walked to the main foyer. It felt rather self-righteous to think I took the job for my family when in reality, I would have taken the job for any reason. The albino man and Mr. Greene taking in my family had just been the tipping point.

“I am Wesley Howard, and I am the team strategist. My job is to acquire information about other teams, relay information about our team, and make plans to increase our team's chances of winning,” I said. I made sure to repeat verbatim what Mr.Greene told me.

“Nice to meet you, Wesley,” Tamor replied. She flashed a smile. She had a nice smile.

Tamor turned and looked in the direction of the other man and woman I had yet to find out the names of.

“You can call me Anne. I’m the bishop,” The woman said. After a moment of silence, Tamor left it and looked at the biggest among us. Tamor had taken charge of our team so quick

“I’m Arsenio, defender.” His voice, a deep baritone, reminded me of Hugo, my teacher. Tamor turned to look at Oswald, the last person remaining, but he ignored her gaze.

“That makes you the attacker Oswald,” I said.

“Tis true, my loyal subject.” Oswald yawned as he said it and sunk deeper into the throne. Tamor approached the throne and stood behind it after reaching it.

“Before we start, I want you all to know that I plan on winning by any means possible. If I had to speculate, the reality machine would likely pit us against others through the war of conquest the king mentioned. I don’t know the past deeds of anyone here, and I don’t think any of us should share them. All I know Is that if you are here, you know what it means to take a life. We don’t know each other, so I'll only say two things about team rules. Everyone contributes. No individual is above the team. Fair enough?”

“Works for me,” Arsenio said as he walked toward the door to the small council room. He disappeared through the door. Anne and I were close behind him, leaving Oswald and Tamor in the throne room. Tamor wanted to lead, and I would let her. Mr. Greene had chosen her as the ruler for a good reason, even if it was unknown to me. Leadership came with a price, responsibility. And responsibilities are tiresome.

The small council meeting was only slightly bigger compared to my bedroom. In the center sat a large wooden table covered with diamond-shaped glass panels, with scrolls scattered on its top. Twelve cushion chairs sat around the table. Another door on the far side of the room hung ajar into a dim hallway. Anne and Arsenio took a seat. I stayed standing and did my best to ignore my instinct to check my anchor out again. Reginald came into the room flustered, with Tamor and Oswald in tow. He carried a bunch of scrolls tied together in a simple red ribbon.

“I’m sorry for the wait; let’s get started,” Reginald said.