“I would prefer something a little less visible,” frowned StarWind. “A Torak soldier meeting with foreigners might invite suspicions. Have your man walk idly through the market place and then select an inn for his midday meal. That will give us ample opportunity to speak to him.”
“So it shall be,” Lord Marak nodded distractedly as his head swung around and scanned the crowd.
“Is something wrong?” asked HawkShadow. “You appear apprehensive.”
“I was supposed to meet one of my air mages here,” frowned Lord Marak. “I wanted her to enter the palace as one of my staff. I want to keep in contact with Fardale.”
“You have mages in Khadoratung?” questioned Mistake.
“Not really,” answered Lord Marak. “Kasa sent a group of them to Chantise to start a mage school. One of them was to meet me here.”
“I could be your mage,” offered StarWind. “I mean as far as getting messages to Fardale. I can use the air tunnel.”
“As can I,” interjected Mistake boastfully. “I bet I hold the record for the longest air tunnel. Ghala is much farther from Fardale than the Sakova.”
“Thank you,” grinned Lord Marak as he saw a young fair-haired woman approaching him, “but Latril has found me. I will leave you three to do whatever it is you do best.”
Botal had his squad form a protective wall around Lord Marak and Latril as the mage joined the group. The Toraks strode across the market place and along a wide avenue towards the Imperial Palace.
“Any news from Fardale?” Lord Marak asked Latril.
“Not as of last night,” Latril answered. “I have not had a chance to check with them today.”
“What of the mage school?” asked Lord Marak. “Has a location been found?”
“Oh yes,” beamed the young woman. “We purchased an old estate just on the outskirts of Chantise. The old mansion is very large and can easily house several hundred students. The property has very poor soil, but it is extensive and affords many areas of privacy for our practice sessions with battle magic.”
“Private enough to avoid new students learning of our activities?” inquired the lord.
“Yes,” Latril nodded. “We tested it thoroughly. We can practice in peace and no one will know.”
“Excellent,” smiled Lord Marak. “You will be posing as my personal assistant while we are in the palace. You will be by my side most of the time, but you need to find a place that will allow safe use of the air tunnel.”
“Perhaps our quarters will have a window,” responded Latril. “That is all I would need to remain in contact with Fardale.”
“I suppose that we will not have a problem,” remarked Lord Marak, as the group entered a large park and the Imperial Palace came into view. “It is a massive structure.”
Latril gazed across the park at the huge white building. Her head panned left and right as her eyes sought the ends of the palace.
“It the largest building I have ever seen,” she said. “Our whole clan could reside within its walls.”
“Considerably more than the Torak clan could fit inside,” chuckled Lord Marak. “Hundreds of clans have quarters inside the building. While the smaller clans may only bring a squad with them, some of the largest are reported to have escorts of three cortes or more.”
“Have you ever been inside?” Latril asked.
“No,” Lord Marak shook his head. “I have been to Khadoratung before, but never inside the Imperial Palace. It shall be a learning experience for all of us.”
As the small Torak group passed through the park and approached the Imperial Palace, Lord Marak became aware of people pointing towards him. Lord Marak subconsciously stiffened his posture as Botal led the group through the gates and along the path leading to one of the entrances. When they reached the entrance door there was a squad of Imperial troops waiting there. Botal halted the small column and Lord Marak stepped forward.
“I am Lord Marak of the Torak clan,” Marak announced to the squad leader of the Imperial troops.
“I do not recognize your colors, Lord Marak,” the squad leader replied as he signaled to one of his men. “Please wait off to the side while I get confirmation of your clan.”
One of the Imperial soldiers disappeared through the doors. Lord Marak could only nod as Botal gave orders to the Torak soldiers to move off the pathway. The Toraks waited humiliatingly as other clans arrived and were admitted to the Imperial Palace. Lord Marak could not miss the snickers and soft jeers that were offered among members of the other clans as they passed by. After what felt like an eternity, the soldier returned and spoke to his squad leader. The squad leader approached Lord Marak.
“I apologize for the delay, Lord Marak,” smiled the imperial squad leader. “I am sure you can understand the need for security here in the Imperial Palace. I see you have one member of your group that is not in uniform. She must wear something identifying her with your clan.”
“I am sorry,” blushed Latril as she reached into her pouch and extracted a small pin of black and silver. The pin identified her as a member of the lord’s staff, and she pinned it to her tunic.
“You must wear the pin at all times within the walls of the palace,” warned the squad leader. “I will have a man show your party to your quarters, Lord Marak. Be advised that weapons must be left in your quarters until you are ready to leave the palace. There are no exceptions.”
Lord Marak nodded as the squad leader summoned one of his soldiers.
“Show Lord Mark and his party to his quarters,” the squad leader instructed the soldier. “It will be in the left wing, just past the Situ clan. It has not been marked yet.”
The Imperial soldier saluted the squad leader and led the Toraks through the doors of the Imperial Palace. Lord Marak’s mind dismissed the humiliating experience the moment they entered the palace. His eyes widened as he viewed the massive entry foyer. A broad expanse of white marble floor extended to each side as far as he could see. Many other doorways entered the foyer from outside, and Lord Marak could see groups of new arrivals passing through each one of them. Huge marble columns soared upward to hold a ceiling many levels above the entrance level.
The Imperial soldier guided the Toraks off to the left as they passed through the entrance foyer. They mounted a small flight of stairs that separated the entrance foyer from another large, open area. This new area was just as massive, but the floor was tiled in a multitude of colors. It took a few minutes for Lord Marak to realize that the floor tiles represented the clans of Khadora.
“Those doors lead to the Assembly Chamber,” announced the Imperial soldier as he pointed to the far wall, which had large red doors evenly spaced along the length of it. “Your seat in the Assembly Chamber will be at the leftmost side of the room at the rear. I will make sure that it is properly marked before the day is done. The first formal meeting will be in the morning tomorrow.”
“Show me my seat now,” requested Lord Marak. “That way if you fail to mark it, I shall know where I am to sit.”
The Imperial soldier halted suddenly and turned to gaze at Lord Marak. His brow creased as he tried to figure out if he had just been slighted.
“I know the Imperial troops must be extremely busy with all of the clans coming together,” smiled Lord Marak. “After our wait outside the palace, I would prefer to know where I should go in the morning.”
“I understand,” smiled the soldier. “The other lords do tend to give new attendees a rough time. Follow me.”
The soldier led the way across the colorful floor and stopped at the last red door. He opened the door and held it.
“I cannot enter the room and leave your men out here with their weapons,” shrugged the soldier. “You will be seated next to the Sorgan lord, Lord Quavry. The seat will have your name engraved upon it before the day is out.”