The hall we entered would have taken my breath away, if I’d had any. It had two long tables against the left and right walls, so it looked like more than a hundred people could eat in here at once. The ceiling was high, held up by what I assume was flying buttresses my civil engineering friends would sometimes joke about. It was built like a Cathedral, but it didn’t contain anything I recognised as religious. A stylized dragon adorned banners hanging from the ceiling. Wales had a dragon on their flag, and while I couldn’t bring the image to my mind, I think theirs was red. This one was blue, against a black background.
I had managed to become the leader of the pack as we entered the hall, as the servant I had been following didn't pass the threshold. I was awed by the decorative suits of armor next to the door, and the artworks that were centered in between each of the huge columns that supported the vast ceiling. While I couldn’t quite make out the man I was here to meet, what I found myself drawn to was the long blue carpet in front of me, and how it ended just short of the throne at the far end of the hall.
Confidence was never my strong suit, but I took some solace in how I kind of look like I belong here, as my armor was based on similar suits to the ones now flanking me. Steeling my resolve, it almost felt like I was breaking through a literal wall as I started walking down the carpet. As soon as I started walking forward, the two suits of armor started escorting me down the hall, and it was a good thing I’d prepared myself as it took all of my self control to not jump a foot in the air. As my progress on the carpet reached a quarter of the total distance, I could now make out that the man who was sitting on the throne at the end of the hall was alone. He was beckoning me to approach, and with this atmosphere I assume this one is going to be more formal than my last audience with battle grandpa.
I focused on my silver plumb bob to maintain a straight back, as it was about half the hall’s length when I realized none of the other three had passed the threshold with me. I still had quite the distance to go left, but I wasn’t focused on it. My mind was racing as once again these same bastards hadn’t given me even a crash course on how to be respectful to nobility, especially not ones with fancy thrones and a crown twice the size of the last one. I decided what to do just as the end of the carpet was nearing. I would try and recreate what Cole had done for battle grandpa. I dropped to a knee, posing like a superhero landing, but with the normally extended arm over my chest.
As I did so, the tension I felt was shattered when laughter burst out from behind me, but because I hadn’t bowed my head I could see the noble infront of me seemed both relieved and pleased. There was basically no actual conversation, with Cole coming up and pulling me to my feet, telling the guy on the throne my name along with two other sentences I couldn’t comprehend. When he pulled me back the way we’d come, the living armor didn’t follow me back out. As we passed them the two chuckleheads were still laughing. Daniel was barely maintaining a suggestion of decorum by holding his hand over his mouth, meanwhile Archibald had his hands firmly on his gut, almost doubled over laughing. When we exited the hall, I was trying my best to give Cole an incredulous look, he returned it with no answers, and only a seemingly pale face. He only dropped me off with Tommen and some girl I hadn’t met yet, and returned swiftly to the hall.
Now that I was closer to her, I could see that the girl was more accurately a young woman. She didn’t look exactly happy to see me, but she didn’t look unhappy either. Assuming I remember correctly, during the middle ages the correct way to greet a noble woman you’ve not met before is to kiss the back of her hand. When I offered her my hand, palm up, she seemed confused. It was only when Tommen said something to her that she took my hand and I could bring it briefly to the bottom of my visor. She was speechless for a second, but Tommen pushed her lightly and she said what must have been her name, Natasha. Looking around, there didn’t seem to be any new people to meet, so I stepped over to the chair I had been sitting in before, and I let myself fall into the seat.
~~~
Natasha wasn’t expecting the supposedly brutish and impulsive Soulsteel that had struck down a Greater Wyvern to conduct itself with the chivalry of a knight. Of course, it then had promptly dropped itself into an expensive leather armchair like a bag of potatoes, so she was right back to feeling conflicted if it would be a good influence on Tommen, even if her opinion of it had increased.
The Soulsteel had been removed from the meeting early, and she couldn’t guess why. When she asked one of the footmen if they were free to leave, they told her they had the duke’s permission, but to stay on the estate until Master Cole found them. That answer didn’t make it sound like the Soulsteel had done anything wrong, per say. Perhaps it had been discourteous somehow?
“Tommen, Do you want to see what I put your design to use on?”
“If you mean the pendulum, I just copied down what Creighton made.”
“He made it? Why did he make a Pendulum of Balance?”
“So he’d stop falling over when walking on two legs.”
“I see. Would you like to see what I did with his designs, then?”
“Yes, please. Creighton can come too, right?”
“Come on Creighton, I don’t see why not.”
The soulsteel seemed like it wanted out of the sitting room, as even before Natasha had called its name it had stood up from its chair, ready to go. They exited by the room's western door, and then turned to take the western corridor. On their left side there was a window that led to an exterior side yard, but on their right there was an interior garden that ran the length of the great hall. She had chosen the western wing to pass through as it contained Keith’s workshop, and the second oar should be done by now.
“Keith, are you there? Is it ready yet?”
“Natasha, Are they done already? I figured I’d have some more time.”
“Hello Master Keith, I’m Tommen. This is Creighton.”
“Well met, both of you. Has Natasha told you what she and I have been working on?”
“She wants to surprise us. It’s half the fun for her.”
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“Then I'll give you guys a second to be surprised and join you shortly with the last piece. It’s already good for use, Natasha.”
“Thank you Keith. Let’s go.”
“...”
“Creighton, come on. Let’s go.”
The Soulsteel seemed to be transfixed, staring after Keith as he turned around and re-entered his workshop. Tommen had to grab its gauntlet to bring it out of its daze. The rest of the walk didn’t take long before they had entered the northern corridor, and they took the first available exit.
“Allright, it’s just over here, right in the middle of the courtyard.”
“You mean the boat?”
“It’s a rowboat Tommen, and look closer.”
“An enchanted rowboat?”
“A rowboat enchanted with flight.”
“Wait, really? Can it actually fly?”
“Yes, and unless you’ve put on a growth spurt, we can go for a test flight in it when the second oar gets here.”
“That’s so cool. It can really take both of us? And the Pendulum of Balance really helped you make it work?”
“Yes, It was one of Master Archibald’s designs, he gave up on it because without the pendulum it would flip over and dump out anything inside.”
“But, Natasha. Creighton can’t come with us, can he?”
“I don’t think there would be enough capacity leftover for him, no. Can he shrink any smaller?”
The Soulsteel seemed interested in the rowboat, and as ran a gauntlet along the engravings covering the exterior of the hull, a pair of silvery wings emerged from its back. The feathers were covered in veins of Light, Dark and Air mana.
“Is that new?”
“Very new.”
“Do you think it was responding to me?”
“No, the first thing he does when he sees a new spell is to try and apply it to himself.”
“So does that mean he’s about to take off?”
“He might, but he shouldn’t go far. He’s waiting for Master Cole too.”
The Soulsteel seemed to break out of its second stupor, and it looked around like it hadn’t seen where it was before this very second. After it turned back to Tommen and Natasha, it scratched the back of its helmet sheepishly. The wings were then folded neatly against its back, and by doing so it effectively communicated it was content to stay on the ground for now.
~~~
Inside the Grand Hall, a heated argument had broken out between the former master and the former apprentice.
“Why didn’t you tell me he was gonna have the guardian armor active?”
“You didn’t warn me it walked around without any mana sense.”
“I didn’t know it didn’t, but I would have checked if you’d told me.”
“It worked out fine didn’t it?”
“How was that fine? When it walked through the Guardian Barrier like it wasn’t even there I thought I was gonna vomit.”
“I figured it must be powerful for soulsteel after it kept me at bay, but this is incredible. A greater wyvern couldn’t have broken a guardian barrier like that.”
“I told you it had superior control in my first letter, didn’t I?”
“If that’s superior mana control then I must still be an amateur. And what would that make you?”
The argument between the two continued in petty circles, while Daniel and Duke Drake watched.
“Why do they always get like this?”
“I don’t know, but it’s not really a bad thing. I still think they have a healthier relationship than some I’ve seen.”
“It’s a good thing you recommended I dismiss my attendants, they might have fainted.”
“Once they both realize the reason you’re not mad is because the trust you put in them saving you if it had meant harm, they’re never going to let you live it down.”
“That’s why we’re going to tell them the reason I’m not mad is because of how powerful it is, and how it showed perfect fealty the first time it saw me.”
“I bow to your wisdom, my duke.”
Both conversations entered a lul, but Daniel broke the silence with an important question, only to be answered by the other three men rushing to the windows behind the throne.
“How long has it been able to fly?”
“It can what?”