I note that Nicholas certainly doesn’t sound like he thinks the encounter is a ‘pleasure’. And from the pinched expression on Lord Torrent’s face, neither does he.

  The newcomer has very pale skin, grey eyes, and oddly-coloured hair – shades of blue that look like the ocean under a cloudless sky. I wonder whether, just as Titanbends apparently often have purple eyes, perhaps Torrents have blue hair. Or maybe people in this world have a wider range of hair colours – it’s not like I’ve seen a wide enough selection of people so far to know one way or another. Of course, it might be dyed instead.

  He’s wearing opulent robes, sea blue to match his hair, and covered in silver embroidery that looks like waves and water droplets. It’s dotted with colour-coordinating gemstones – he’s probably wearing enough wealth to buy a new car back on Earth, straight out of the showroom. I eye the embroidery more closely – given that Nicholas’ robes’ embroidery focussed on animals and he’s a Tamer, perhaps I should interpret the waves and raindrops along with the man’s name – Torrent – to indicate that his family has a Class linked to water. That would be interesting to see in combat – I can always use inspiration for my Water-Shaping.

  “Lord Titanbend,” the man sneers and his eyes rake over the rest of us derisively. “And entourage.” his sneer grows a little as he takes in my Bound. “I thought you had finally accepted that beasts have no place in a palace.”

  “If that were true, I fear that it would be far emptier than it usually is,” Nicholas answers, the mild tone to his voice belying the sting in his words. “It is indeed…kind of you to greet us, but I have to wonder how exactly you knew we were coming, Roland. Or is this a…happy coincidence?”

  “How could it be anything but a happy coincidence?” Lord Torrent answers, his tone sounding like it was aiming for innocent, but missing by a mile. Whether that’s intentional or not is another question – my head is already starting to hurt from the clear double meanings of their words, but, like learning manners, this is something I’ll need to get used to.

  Nicholas hums, sounding unbothered, but I can see the tension in the hands he folds behind his back. Whoever Lord Torrent is, I suspect that he’s one of the enemies Nicholas has talked about previously.

  “It is indeed a coincidence that we are both at the palace at the same time,” Nicholas comments lightly. “Tell me, Roland, what brings you here? Business, pleasure, or perhaps a mix of both?”

  Torrent smiles, cruelty in the corners of his mouth and the flash of his eyes. It’s been a while since I saw such an expression, but it’s a hard one to forget once seen.

  “Ah, both. Most definitely both. I have been summoned here for a trial of peers.” He pauses dramatically, lifting one hand to cover his mouth. “Oh, but did you not receive the same summons? Should you not already know that?” His tone is as fake as it gets – he’s enjoying this and isn’t afraid of showing it. From behind, I see Nicholas’ jaw clench; so does Lord Torrent and the light of cruelty in his eyes just brightens. “But what am I saying? Of course you already know,” Torrent continues, lowering his hand to tuck it with the other in his voluminous sleeve. “It isn’t as if you might have caused an offence which would necessitate a trial of peers now, is it? I’m sure Ionith’s message was…misinterpreted by his scribe.”

  “No doubt,” Nicholas grinds out, his jaw clenching once more. “Now, Roland, it’s been such a pleasure to see you again, but I’m sure that you have more important affairs to attend to, and we must settle into our rooms. I shall see you for breakfast, I presume?”

  “Perhaps, perhaps. Of course, it depends on when the King wishes to begin proceedings. But then, I suppose we shall still break fast together – it is only the accused who may have to stand apart and hunger for what he does not deserve.”

  “Of course,” Nicholas echoes even as I see his hands clench once more. He then releases them and dips his head briefly. “Lord Torrent.”

  The other lord also dips his head, though I notice that the movement is stiff and unwilling.

  “Lord Titanbend.”

  We sweep past the group and I sense Torrent’s eyes lingering on me. I guess that the guards are obvious; I’m the only one who sticks out. Still, I’m rather glad that he didn’t speak to me. Given his general unpleasantness, I was happy to follow Nicholas’ direction to keep silent.

  “What was that about?” I ask Nicholas when we’ve walked for a few minutes in silence. Torrent isn’t following us – unless he’s able to evade both my senses and those of my Bound – so it should be safe enough to talk. I’ve already made several conclusions of my own, but I’d like to hear Nicholas’ take on it too.

  “Not here,” Nicholas tells me shortly, his tone harsh. A moment later, he sighs and when he continues, his tone is softer. “We’re almost in our rooms. We will talk there.”

  He’s right – it’s only a few more minutes before we arrive in a wing of the palace which is bustling with activity. We enter the wing through a door decorated in carvings similar to the embroidery on Nicholas’ robes – and since my work this afternoon, mine as well. Beyond the doors, people are quickly moving between different rooms off the corridor, their plain grey clothes indicating that they’re most likely servants.

  Nicholas evidently sees my curious gaze as he answers the question that’s burning uppermost in my mind.

  “All the rooms beyond this door are part of the Titanbend apartments,” he tells me. “Once any listening enchantments have been removed, including those that have been accidentally left while the rooms have been aired out, this will be the only area of the palace, indeed, the whole city, where we can speak freely without a Seal in place.”

  “Good to know,” I sigh. “Though there seem to be rather too many rooms for just our small number,” I observe.

  Nicholas shrugs with his hand as we step through the intricately-carved door.

  “Remember that we have come with a rather reduced entourage this time. Normally we would have come with at least thirty attendants, possibly even forty with both of us here. Besides, not all of the rooms are bedrooms.”

  He gives me a brief tour of the place, ignoring the people around us. I find it harder to do so since every time someone passes Nicholas, they bob a quick bow, sometimes almost dropping or spilling whatever they’re holding in the course of doing so. It makes me rather uncomfortable but, in light of our earlier conversation, I try to follow Nicholas’ lead.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The wing is definitely comprehensive with everything from bedrooms that equal the one Nicholas gave me back at his manor to barracks for the soldiers, to servants quarters for if we’d brought our own servants with us. I don’t know where Sarran will be staying – it seems a little unfair for him to be forced into the minimalist servants’ quarters when there are several luxurious bedrooms which will be ready and vacant. But, ultimately, it’s not my business. On the other side of the corridor, there are several non-sleeping rooms, including workshops, sitting rooms, a small library, a large, empty hall which is apparently for martial arts training, and even a kitchen. But what grabs my attention is the large dining room with a table packed with food and a pile of carcasses in the corner.

  We finish the tour at that point – all of us are hungry. The guards don’t eat, but I saw that they had food waiting for them in their quarters for afterwards. The food must have been under some sort of enchantment – the hot food is hot, the cold food is cold, and things are still crunchy and soft which should be so. But when I use Inspect I don’t see anything – perhaps it disappeared when we sat down at the table or something. Probably just as well – I hate to think of what might happen if food remained hot as it went through my digestive system.

  Eating in silence, we wait for the chaos to die down. Finally, there’s a thudding sound and Sarran enters the dining room. He looks tired, but satisfied.

  “All is prepared, Lord Nicholas, and the basic wards are engaged.”

  “Good,” Nicholas answers, his shoulders relaxing a little for the first time since we arrived in the palace. He looks over at me. “The basic wards prevent external probes from entering undetected – they sacrifice defence for detectability. If you hear a loud chiming sound, it means that someone is attempting to get through the wards and you must be wary of what you do and say until it falls silent again.”

  “I understand,” I tell him, though I’m not all that happy about it – I’m back under the eyes of Big Brother, it seems. Abruptly, I miss the country estate which wasn’t covered in listening enchantments. At least, I don’t think it was.

  “Have you swept the rooms yet?” Nicholas asks Sarran.

  “Not yet – I will start here.” So saying, Sarran closes his eyes and focusses. A moment later, a prickling sensation rolls over my skin. He opens his eyes again and walks over to the table, picking up Nicholas’ goblet and tipping the contents into another. The original goblet disappears, perhaps going into Sarran’s Inventory. Nicholas scowls.

  “The temerity of them.”

  “I suppose they felt that a listening charm would be best placed close to the source of what they wish to listen to,” Sarran comments dryly. Nicholas hums.

  “Is that the only one in this room?”

  Sarran once more repeats whatever he did before; I feel the same prickling sensation.

  “There are no more,” he reports. “Not in here, at least.” Out of interest, I use Inspect on the room, seeing colours all over the place, but nothing that particular stands out at me.

  “Can I have a look at that goblet?” I ask curiously. Sarran glances at Nicholas but when he nods, he pulls the cup out of his Inventory. I use both my normal Inspect on it and my new Inspect Item.

  My normal Inspect shows that the goblet is wreathed in green, where none of the others are – that’s the sign of the enchantment, I guess. But I couldn’t tell what the enchantment actually does. Inspect Item is more helpful, but I can’t help but suspect that that’s only because of what Sarran and Nicholas have already revealed.

  “Alright, thanks,” I tell them and Sarran makes it disappear again. I look towards Nicholas. “So, can we talk about the situation earlier now?”

  “What situation earlier?” Sarran asks, his eyes narrowing.

  “We encountered Lord Torrent in the corridors on the way here,” Nicholas answers, sounding a little weary.

  “By accident?”

  “I doubt it,” Nicholas snorts. “He was almost certainly waiting for me to appear. I suspect he had someone inform him of when I came through the portal – it wouldn’t have been hard to have a servant spy on that area.”

  “He knew that you were coming, then,” Sarran muses, leaning on the back of one of the chairs.

  “Yes.” Nicholas looks at him meaningfully. “It seems that he was summoned to take part in a trial of peers.” Sarran’s eyes go wide.

  “But for a Great Lord to be called for that means…”

  “Yes. That a Great Lord must have committed a crime worthy of a private trial,” Nicholas agrees grimly.

  “So that means the King…knows?” I ask, leaning forwards. That’s certainly the impression I got from the conversation – that Torrent was dancing around outright accusing Nicholas of a crime, but stopping short of actually doing so.

  “It seems so,” Nicholas agrees, swallowing. Then he looks up at Sarran. “I will need you to contact Elia Quickquill and have her on standby. Torrent indicated that it might be an early-morning meeting so I may have need of her before normal work-marks."

  “I will go and speak to her tonight,” Sarran agreed, pushing himself away from the table. “Do you have any other instructions for me in the meantime?”

  Nicholas sends me a glance and then looks back at his manservant.

  “I’ll be up late tonight. Get a couple of stims, please. I’ll need to be at my best tomorrow.”

  Sarran frowns.

  “Can I not do whatever it is you intend to do? Stims are not a perfect replacement for sleep.”

  “They’re good enough,” Nicholas dismisses. Sarran eyes him for a long moment, then bows.

  “Yes, my lord.” He strides out of the room. I watch him go with a lingering glance, and then turn back to Nicholas.

  “Surely teaching me etiquette can wait?” I ask. “If you’re going to be put on trial tomorrow, you need to sleep – Sarran’s right about that. And is it likely to involve fighting?” I ask, recalling what he said about honour duels only yesterday and the impression it had given me about how justice works in this world. “Because if so, you definitely need to sleep.”

  Nicholas shakes his head.

  “It is unlikely that this will devolve into an honour duel if this is about the Gateway – it is not an offence against another noble, but a question of whether a law of the land has been contravened. A trial of peers is when a lord is called before a council of other lords of similar rank to explain himself and receive their censure if deemed necessary. However, it is true that we do not know what tomorrow will bring. For all I know, I will be arrested and you will have to carry out duties as proxy Lord of Azaarde.”

  “Or I might be arrested too, as party to the crime,” I point out.

  “Not if I or Elia have anything to say about it,” Nicholas asserts. “Hopefully neither of us will suffer more than a light punishment, but if there must be punishment, then I will take it in hopes that you will lead our House to a better future. Knowing at least the basics of how to behave will be essential for that purpose, and this is the last chance I may have to teach you.”

  “But couldn’t Sarran teach me? Why do you have to do it?”

  “Because I am the lord of Azaarde!” Nicholas snaps at me and then breathes deeply to visibly calm himself down. For a moment, I see the stress he’s under written clearly on his face – he’s kept it hidden well. I close my mouth and swallow, abruptly feeling even more fearful about tomorrow – I thought Nicholas was so sure that it would all be brushed under the carpet, yet here he is making contingency plans as if they might actually happen. “Because while Sarran can teach you the basics of how to behave, from what he’s seen from the outside, he cannot teach you how to be a lord as he has never been such. Markus, please, we have little enough time as it is. Let us not argue over how to accomplish what we must.” He sounds so tired that I give in. If this is what he wants to do, it's his prerogative to decide to have a sleepless night.

  “Alright,” I agree. “When would you like to start?”

  “Now,” Nicholas answers immediately. He stretches out his hand and a blue potion appears in it. “Drink this. It will help you learn faster – we have little enough time as it is.”

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