Now we were in the royal palace for good. The ceilings were high and where the architecture had been rather utilitarian in the treasury it was so much more here. Reliefs were running along the walls reaching from knee height all the way up to head height. They were painted in shining colors as well. I only knew such splendor from the Moon Maidens' temples. There these reliefs tended to show religious motifs or ancient legends. Some of them did here as well, a testament to the age of the capital and the palace. Others though showed much more mundane scenes. There were kings and queens of ancient times spending time with their families. I could see concerts and banquets. There were musicians and dancers. It was refreshingly lively.
The halls widened as we proceeded through them. Even the massive columns carrying the weight of the ceilings of these wider halls were elaborately decorated. There were reliefs running around their circumference as well. These tended to show scenes of nature, not just from the lands ruled by our king but from all over the world as far as I could tell. The columns themselves were pieces of art as well, their rock shaped to mimic the shape of trees beyond the reliefs. As I followed some of the chiseled branches I realized that these branches created an interlocked system of arches spreading the weight of the rock resting on them to the various columns and from there to the palace's foundations.
A slight tremor hit us as we walked along but no one seemed to mind. I half expected dust to rain down upon us but nothing like that happened. Of course, there was no mortar! The stones were held in place by their weight alone and they all had thousands of years to settle through countless tremors like this one. Not a single stone moved enough to allow a hair between it and the next one. I looked over my shoulder at the men and woman in the treasury's livery following us. They carried the strong chest with the ghoul king's head in between them. They did look a little uncomfortable and gripped the handles of the poles keeping the chest aloft at their furthest ends but none of them dared to voice any complaints. I brushed my fingers across the key I carried on a string around my neck briefly and returned my attention to what lay ahead of us.
We were approaching a grand doorway. A doorway without a door. We could hear people talking from within. We were even able to steal a few glances at the proceedings in the throne room. It seemed there was an audience in progress already. Before we could enter though we were stopped by the guards stationed there. The minister of the treasury exchanged a few words with a much younger woman standing there among the guards. She looked a little out of place there among the bulky, armed and armored guards wearing a fine dress with nothing but a metal capped staff in her hands. She is a herald, I realized. It would be her job to announce us and our request to the throne.
After a short talk with the other lady of the treasury the herald looked my way and I almost flinched. Her eyes were milky white orbs. At first I thought that she might be blind but the way she took me in suggested she wasn't. It felt as if she was looking all the way into the deepest depths of my soul as she stared at me like that. Was she using some kind of spell on me? I was tempted to look away, to avoid her piercing gaze and found that I couldn't. Only then did I realize that the guards were on edge as well, their attention split between me and the herald in their midst. Of course! You couldn't just let an armed stranger walk into the throne room like that! Of course someone had to make sure that no assassins ever got close to the seat of power.
I just hadn't expected it to be like this. Whatever this woman was doing though, it probably was effective. After all none of our kings or queens had ever fallen to the blades, or arrows of a hired murder. Finally her scrutiny let up and I could relax again as the herald turned her attention towards the audience currently in progress once more. The guards relaxed as well. Or rather, they returned to their usual state of watchfulness after this brief moment of heightened alert. I studied their horns briefly to determine if my brother was among them, since those were the only personal features visible. He wasn't. I breathed a sight of relief and tried to focus on the words spoken beyond the doorway as well, only to find that I couldn't quite make sense of them.
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Was it the architecture that distorted the voices of the speakers in such a way that they didn't quite carry beyond the grand hall? Or was that another spell effect? I could rule out neither one nor the other. Maybe it was a mix of both? That certainly would make sense. There probably was another much smaller and better shielded place for the discussion of actual state secrets but one couldn't be too careful in the end. Thus we ended up just standing there for a little while. Even with the herald's attention diverted from me once more I couldn't quite relax though. No, I couldn't relax at all. The matters at hand didn't permit it. If anything I should be on edge! Very much so even!
Finally the conversation I couldn't quite piece together ended. We weren't permitted into the grand hall right away though, probably to give whoever had been in there some time to retreat. Whoever they were, they didn't leave through the entrance we were waiting at though. Well, there probably was more than one entrance. Or did they maybe not leave at all? Why the wait then though? It was all a mystery to me. A lot of things probably were rather ritualized here at court. There probably was some kind of reason to it even if I had no inkling of it. It might have been lost to the ages as well though. People doing things because they have always been done like that. No, I didn't like that explanation. Before I had a chance to think any more on it the herald thankfully started moving. Oh, small blessings!
I straightened up, raised my head and followed the herald and the minster of the treasury into the grand hall. I didn't want to leave a bad first impression but that couldn't stop my eyes from wandering. I wanted to satisfy my curiosity as well after all. Kaele squeezed my hand one last time and let go, falling behind by a halfstep. I didn't turn to see if the porters with the strong chest followed us. I didn't have to. I could hear their steps as they matched their pace to ours. Most of my attention was focused on what lay ahead of us instead.
The grand hall was circular. That was the first thing I noticed. Our way lead us past more guards and thick, relief crested columns to the open center of the room. At the very heart a raised dais awaited us. Several steps lead up to it and the massive throne, apparently carved from the very bedrock, upon it. There were some courtiers and servants waiting in between some of the other columns. I could even spy some musicians sitting on low stools as we walked past. There were a lot more people than I had expected. The attention of most of them was entirely focused on my companions and me. My heart fluttered a little. I just wasn't used to being the center of attention like this. At the same time I started to sweat a little. One gaffe on my part and half the kingdom would know.
It took me a moment to properly realize that the big throne was empty. Sure, that was impossible to miss but the implications of the fact took a little longer to hit home. Of course, the king was leading the army. Of course he wouldn't be here. And apparently his representative at court would not be seated on the king's throne. Instead there was a folding chair made of brass and cloth set up on the step right below the dais with the throne. And rising from this chair, as we entered, was a tall and regal woman. She easily dwarfed everyone else in the room, even me. Or at least she dwarfed everyone I could see. There were no trolls or giants in attendance as far as I could tell.
I could here the herald starting to announce us to the rest of the court, starting with our guide from the treasury since she was the highest ranking member of our group. I barely paid it any attention. Instead my focus was on the woman's, the queen's face entirely. I knew that face. I had seen it not too long ago in the impossibly accurate sand images of a divine dreamscape. I knew that face like it was my own, just a little older. It was as if I was looking into some kind of mirror. My heart missed another beat.
The herald was done with introducing the old forgeborn, not only stating her name and the position she occupied at court but listing her many accomplishments and honors as well. Then it was my turn. It was as if her words were reaching my ears from very far away or through a haze. The introduction started simple enough but what followed had my head spinning. “ … Slayer of Wyverns and Bane of Ogres, their Doom. Chosen of the Maidens, their Beloved … ” It was as if I could hear the emphasis of every capitalization. What I could hear as well was the whispering of the crowd all around, in between the columns rising in volume as the herald just kept going. How could she know so much about me anyway? Had she really red my mind? Or was this some other kind of spell, some grand divination maybe, at work? “ … Lady of Caer'zoth, Ruler of the Domain … ” There was a roar that spoke of unbridled fury at this proclamation and I knew exactly who it was coming from. Still it almost made me almost miss the last of the herald's statements. “… King's Daughter, his Beloved.”