Little Moon Town

Adma has taken me to a different part of the castle. She leads me to a small washroom and lets me clean the blood off myself. While she does that, she takes my cloak and tells me she'll have it cleaned by the castle staff, and gives me a change of clothes, but its kind of a smock.

We head deeper into the castle. A much nicer part. We walk down a hallway lined with soft velvet carpet. I catch glimpses of things as we walk past. The royal colors are violet and that has heavily influenced the aesthetic.

Their crest also appears to be some type of bird. A Lula bird, maybe? They seem to love those things. So much so, that they hunt them for sport.

We turn down a hallway that's wide enough for ten of me to walk comfortably shoulder-to-shoulder, and find ourselves face to face with a door that, from the floor to the ceiling, must be at least thirty feet tall. There's no way - that must be too heavy to even open! Surely there are no thirty-foot-tall humans that need to be accommodated?

We walk up to the door. It's the gaudiest contraption I've ever seen. Ornate, gilded, and every inch of it covered in grave inscriptions of what I can only imagine is some type of human body-horror sideshow. Or illicit bathhouse encounters. Or both.

"Samina Vectos, open."

As she spoke the words, the golden gates swing open for us, revealing a path into a large room. I see lit braziers and pillars and a big old chair at the far end with some old geezer in it. This is the 'king' I've heard so much about. Yay.

"Do you have a corestone?" I ask as we walk down the miraculous and overdone hall. All I can think of as I look at the absolute lavishness of the materials used to build this place is that some humans starved to death so this could happen.

"Yes," she replies. "Samina Vectos. Master corestone of Wind. Named for the cold chill of the earth."

"Is that like, ancient language? Is that the same language that the Guardians speak? Do you know it?"

"I can't speak Guardian," she blinks. "Now shut up, let me do the talking."

She pushes me down on the shoulder, forcing me to take a knee. She looks at me knowingly and nods her head. "Good," she whispers. "Stay there."

The old coot in the chair with the fancy hat raises his arms in a big circle over his head in greeting and then spreads his fingers out as he further outstretches his arms to the sky. 

Adma crosses one arm over her chest and bows quickly. "My lord."

"Lady Adma, what brings you here? Weren't you just here only an hour or so ago?"

"My lord, there has been an unexpected development. Do you remember that which we spoke of to Paznos three months ago?"

I keep my head down so I can't tell what facial expression he's making. I'm just staring at the purple carpet like a good boy.

"It has happened, my lord. The forces of the Flamekeeper have made their attack. The colony of Nephilim on the moon are besieged, and they have sent this child to warn us and to bid our aid."

"You jest!" the king exclaims. I look up and I see he has risen out of his chair in disbelief. You know its a big deal when you can get a king to get off his ass.

Although, I have no idea what she's talking about. Is she coming up with a lie to give me a cover?

"Well, surely we must make any and all attempts to thwart the Flamekeeper!" the king muses, stepping away from his throne and stroking his chin. "What does this child want, then? And how can you be sure he's telling the truth?"

"I forced him to show me his wings in captivity, my lord. There is no doubt he is Nephilim." 

A blatant lie. She did no such thing to me. So she is covering for me...thank god. I might rather die fighting than show my wings to a nasty human. 

"Incredible!" he gasps. "So you saw them...remarkable...just remarkable..."

He starts stepping toward us, a morbid curiosity crossing his eyes. "I bet they are beautiful. I've only ever heard stories. Oh, but the stories..." 

"I would love to show them you as well, my lord, but since I have already done it today, I will need a long time to prepare them again. I am still young, my lord." I am making it up as I go. Anything to get him off my case. 

"Yes, yes, of course. Perhaps another time, yes?"

"Perhaps." If I had it my way, I'd never see him again. 

"Well, then. Stand up, boy. You may speak freely. I recognize you as a messenger of the Nephilim."

"Thank you sir. Lord. My lord sir." I bow my head. This is not the time to get tongue-tied. Get it together, August!

"We, uh...two of us, traveled here in a...do you have Arcanics here?"

The king looks at me with his beady little wing-craving eyes. "Arcanics? Why, of course. Why wouldn't we have Arcanics you silly boy! We invented them!"

Wait, really?

"Okay. I did not know, my lord. We, my partner and I, were sent here to visit the earth shrine, and then to report back to Little Moon Town. To help against the invasion, my lord. It is of utmost importance."

"Aahh-ha! He said it! He really did! Little Moon Town! So it's true, Adma! The little Nephilim people live up there in a place called Little Moon Town! Aaaah!"

I want to punch this guy.

"I'm certain that would lead to your beheading, August."

Sola, where are you when I need something useful?

"I'm here for the ride, August. Plus, my code prevents me from directly interfering with your destiny."

Are you suggesting that it's my destiny to be infantilized by this pig king?

"I'm not sure. I told you I was pretty bad at foresight, didn't I? If you survive this encounter, we'll know for sure it was supposed to happen. Oh, but I can tell you the history behind Asterius' royal sigil, if you'd like. I was there for it!"

"My lord, I recommend we heed this child's tale. If it must be so to thwart the Flamekeeper, I shall take this child to find his accomplice and I shall see them safely to the earth shrine. Do I have your leave, sir?"

The king shifts his weight. "Do you have to be the one to do it? It would bring me most displeasure to not have you at my beck and call, Lady Adma. Having to deal with that Donovac for everything would be so...agh!"

Adma plays her hand. "Sir, in matters of the Flamekeeper, am I not your most trusted servant? I would be glad to leave this task up to one of my lesser, but the thought that inadequacy may lead to the Flamekeeper's triumph..."

"Yes, yes, excellent point. But I expect you returned to me in no more than two days! If this takes any longer than that, then I am afraid it is simply out of our hands!"

"Then I shall be here, ready at your service, on the morning of Thursday," she attests. 

"Shoo shoo, then. The sooner you resolve this little mess, the sooner you'll be back."

"My lord," she bows, as she pulls me by the collar and drags me off.