While Squad Leader Rybak’s men drifted off towards the main gate of the Situ estate, Marak ordered his men into a tight column and marched them towards the mansion. Lord Marshal Grefon, with the distinctive yellow and green plumes and gold trim on his helmet, stood on the porch by the front steps conversing with his two Lectains, whose helmets were adorned with only green plumes. Each Lectain commanded three Cortains who were each responsible for three or four squads. The officers watched Marak’s squad approach and stopped talking when Squad Leader Marak halted the column and saluted the Lord Marshal.
“Squad Leader Marak reporting as ordered, Lord Marshal,” recited Marak.
Lord Marshal Grefon’s face frowned as his eyes roved over the assembled squad. “I thought Squad Leader Tagoro was handling this detail,” stated Grefon.
“Squad Leader Tagoro has been assigned to duties in the fields, Lord Marshal,” Marak answered the unspoken question. “Squad Leader Rybak is handling the main gate and road.”
“Very well,” Grefon remarked. “Lord Ridak and myself will be personally greeting each Lord and Marshal as they arrive. You will assign one man to each Lord and one to each Marshal to act as liaisons. They will have their own aides, but your appointed men will be responsible for whatever they need during their stay. Two of your men will remain on guard outside the Meeting Chamber, day and night, and two will remain on guard inside the chamber. You will remain with me while I am in the chamber and supervise your men when I am not. Squad Leader Rybak’s men will take care of the mansion entrances after the last Lord arrives, but your men are responsible until then. Arrange the schedules of your men and make sure they know the penalty for failure in their duties.”
“As you command, Lord Marshal,” recited Marak.
Grefon returned to his conversation with the Lectains as Marak issued orders to his men. Security provisions were never this severe at previous meetings and Marak wondered if the Lord Marshal was expecting trouble. He smiled a bit as he realized that Rybak’s men would have to share in the duties, after all. He also wondered what orders were issued to Cortain Koors. The Lord Marshal expected Tagoro to be here instead of himself. By the time Marak finished issuing his orders, the Lord Marshal and his Lectains were gone from the porch. Marak led four of his men into the mansion which he had entered only once before and that was six years ago when Lord Marshal Grefon accepted his request to join the Army.
Marak marveled at the grandeur of the mansion as he led his men towards the meeting room. The floors were made of fine, polished marble and the high ceiling was painted in a grand scene of Lord Ridak strolling through a lituk orchard. Tall, marble columns supported the next floor and a wide, carpeted staircase wound its way to the second level after splitting into two separate staircases. In between the columns were pedestals with carved busts of men, only one of which Marak recognized as Lord Ridak. He assumed the others were the Lord’s Situ ancestors. On the far right wall of the massive entry foyer stood the large double doors to the Meeting Chamber. It was in this room that Grefon had accepted Marak’s petition. The two selected men immediately took up positions on either side of the doors and Marak led the remaining two men into the chamber.
The Meeting Chamber was completely done in dark wood. The floor consisted of smooth wooden panels and the ceiling sported large wooden beams that were carved in the same pattern as the large wooden columns that lined the walls. Between the columns, large tapestries, depicting battle scenes in which the yellow and green forces were conquering armies wearing different colors, hung on the wall. At the far end of the room was a massive marble fireplace and over it hung a portrait of Lord Ridak. The center of the room was filled with a huge wooden table whose dark wood was so finely polished that you could see your reflection well enough to shave. There were enough chairs around the table for Marak to seat his entire squad for dinner.
Marak posted the last two men beside the doors and returned to the entry foyer. Marak was halfway to the doors leading out to the front steps when an elderly woman with gray hair stepped in front of him.
“My, my,” she smiled as she looked up at him, “if it isn’t young Marak. Don’t you look decked out to impress the women?”
Marak looked down at the diminutive woman dressed in the traditional staff garb of a pale yellow tunic with the broad embroidered belt and an embroidered lituk tree inside a green circle on her left breast. His face broke into a wide grin as he recognized the Lord’s Minder. Flora had taken charge of Marak when he and his mother arrived at Lituk Valley. Marak was only six at the time and he was hysterical for days while his mother was dressed in slave browns and assigned to the slave shacks. Flora took it upon herself to soothe the small boy and she had been his only friend in those early days. Five or six years old was considered old enough to take the Vows of Service and everyone else treated him with scorn for acting so hysterical. Only Flora offered him comfort and Marak had not seen her in years.
“Flora!” exclaimed Marak. “You are as beautiful as ever.”
“So, you have the tongue to impress the ladies, as well,” blushed Flora. “You’ve turned into a mighty handsome man, young Marak, and a Squad Leader already. Oh, I’ve seen you occasionally through the windows, but to see you close up like this brings joy to my heart. Your mother must be proud.”
Marak’s face turned into a deep frown at the comment. “I would not know,” Marak replied bitterly. “I only see her from a distance. I would love to just talk with her and hold her hand.”
It was Flora’s turn to frown as she studied him. “I have never been one to contemplate disobedience,” Flora finally said, “but a young man should be able to visit with his mother, even if she is a slave. I suppose there are people who resent a slave’s boy being in the Army, but when you make Cortain you will be able to speak with her whenever you are off duty.”
“Should we both live that long,” remarked Marak. “I will speak with her soon. I must.”
“Marak,” cautioned Flora, “do not jeopardize your position for this. I am sure your mother is proud of you and it would kill her to know her son is also a slave. Bide your time, young warrior. Time changes many things, even people’s attitudes.”
Marak saw Lord Ridak and Lord Marshal Grefon heading for the front doors and nodded to Flora as he made his own way to the porch. Lord Ridak was a bull of a man, broad in the shoulders with thick arms and legs and a rusty brown mop of hair on his head. His floor length cape was similar to the Lord Marshal’s except for the length, half yellow and half green with a large embroidered lituk tree in a circle. Marak exited the mansion as two of his men held the doors open for the Lord and Lord Marshal.
The excitement on the porch was building as in the distance an approaching Lord and his escort could be seen. Lord Ridak strained to see which Lord had arrived first, but the distance was still too great. Marak’s men formed a corridor as stable hands, dressed in the green tunics that were standard Situ garb, gathered to take the arriving horses.
“Your cousin, Lord Wernik, and Marshal Cadam of Stony Brook,” announced Lord Marshal Grefon.
Lord Ridak smiled as the impressive column of soldiers wearing the green and yellow colors of the Situ Clan rode forward. Stony Brook was home to the mines and quarries of the Situ Clan and Lord Wernik was the oldest ruling Lord under Lord Ridak’s colors. Two squads of Stony Brook warriors rode on horses sporting blankets of green and yellow and showing the crest of the lituk tree. Holding their lances pointing skyward and gleaming in the morning light, the column of soldiers filled Lord Ridak with pride.
Lord Wernik showed gray hair under his headband and helmet, which was adorned with the green and yellow plumes. He grinned openly as he approached the front of the house. Marshal Cadam held a dark and foreboding glare as he glanced around at the placement of soldiers present. His black hair and goatee clashed with the gay yellow of his uniform. All Situ armies were dressed the same regardless of which estate they came from, except the Lord Marshal and Lord Ridak, who had gold trim signifying the head of the Situ Army and the head of the Situ Clan.