“I’ll leave you to it,” Fulco said as he bowed and walked out the door. “Let’s get cleaned up and rest, shall we, lads?” Garett suggested, turning to face us. Everyone nodded at his command and headed off to the bathing area Batch had spotted previously. “But, what of Edryd, Master Garett?” I asked. “He’s being taken care of. Quite possibly by that young maiden who was just here, I might add,” Garett said.

Lucky bastard, I thought, relieved to hear my friend was probably in excellent hands.

The air outside might not have been as cold as it was at Codrean, but the stone walls made for excellent insulators from the sun’s heat. After a quick shower, Bernar took the bed next to mine and plopped himself down, locking his fingers behind his head as he let out a heavy sigh. “Not going to try and light this bed on fire, too, are you?” he asked mockingly. “I’m pretty sure I’ve learned my lesson already. Thanks,” I replied with a sarcastic grin. He gave me a thin-lipped smile, nodded, and turned onto his side.

First, the Master told us that important figures were in the area, and then Fulco made it seem more grandiose than I initially thought. What’s really going on? I tried to piece it all together, but when nothing made sense, I closed my eyes and returned to the endless dreamscape again.

The following morning, I woke to the sound of a rooster off in the distance. I looked out from the window beside my bed and saw a large crowd gathering around the doorway by which we had entered the castle the previous evening.

The sun was just rising over the side of the high wall, and a few beams were entering the room, gently caressing some of the beds and stone tiles in their paths. I rubbed my eyes, trying to clear the need for sleep from them, and noticed a few around me were doing the same.

Garett walked in just as I mentally prepared myself to get out of bed. “Rise and shine, daisies,” he yelled with evident sarcasm, stirring some of the others who were still asleep. He was already in full harness. His jerkin smelled of lavender and looked almost as good as new. I scurried out of bed in a rush, only to find my jerkin cleaned and hanging at my bedside.

It’s so clean. Almost as if there was never any blood on it, I thought as I also caught the lavender scent on my jerkin.

As I put my gear on, I kicked my brother, who had somehow slept through Garett’s booming shout, to get out of bed. “I’m up, you daft little…” he didn’t finish his sentence, instead, he threw a pillow at my face, hitting me square in the nose.

I caught the pillow mid-fall and swung back down at him, aiming for his head. “Then get out of bed already, you lazy fuck-nugget,” I said jokingly. He stuck his tongue out at me, and for a moment, I wondered whether I was the older brother.

Batch and Irun were having some trouble getting into their attire, but that was quickly remedied when Garett used a bit of his mana to pull down the top part of their jerkins, which had shrunk a little due to the cleaning.

Nice going, I subtly lifted my thumb to the two of them with a shit-eating grin.

After a few minutes of hustle and bustle, brushing and tying hair up, getting jerkins, boots, and hose on, everyone was ready and formed up. Batch, Irun, Roburn, Bernar, and I all stood at attention in the front row. The Master looked out over everyone and quickly checked to ensure none had weapons on them. “We’re not allowed any weapons inside where we’re about to go, so I’m just making sure no one was dumb enough to forget that,” he said, almost as if reading all of our thoughts.

“We must go, gentlemen,” Fulco said as he stopped in the doorway. “Right this way,” he gestured, directing us out of the room and down the hall to the right. The Master went first, then Bernar, Garett, and the rest of us.

Fulco led us back down the same hallways and halls as we had come through the previous evening, and I still couldn’t shake the awe. Every time we walked down a hall, I’d notice something different about it. A new painting, carving, or something of the like. It was all so new that it took me longer than expected to take it all in.

“What do you think all the commotion is about?” Batch asked with a bit of nervousness. “I wish I knew, but I guess that it’s going to be important. Otherwise, we might not have needed to be here, let alone with so many important figures walking about,” I replied.

I had already been thinking about that since looking out my window earlier that morning. Nevertheless, I had failed in getting the answers I wanted. Batch noted the worried look on my face, sighing quietly as he shook his head.

After a few short minutes of walking, Fulco stopped and turned on his heel. We weren’t expecting a man of his stature to move so eloquently or quickly, so we ended up paying close attention to him without being instructed to. “Through this doorway, you will be in the presence of various leaders from all around the Continent,” he said with a grandiose air.

I’ve never seen anyone from outside our country besides Mom, and I barely remember her as it is, I thought, feeling a sense of nervousness come over me.

Fulco turned his attention to the Master. “I’m certain your Synners will know how to behave themselves in the Council Room, Master,” he said, looking for reassurance. “Of course, my good Fulco,. Although I will only take a handful with me,” the Master confidently replied. “Ah! All is well, then. In that case, we may enter,” Fulco breathed a sigh of relief.

He moved to the door and pulled on the lever that kept it locked. The lever clacked and thudded, and the door swung open, as my eyes opened wide. He stepped aside to the left and showed us into the Council Room. As we walked through the doorway, we saw leaders from all regions sitting around the most enormous meeting table on the Continent.

The four Lords of the Continent, King Truls Wishert of Coltend, King Mads Oden of Hjalfar, King Bashaa Ibn’Escya of Harut, and King Elhael Phrys of Caegwen, observed our entry as they stood near their respective seats.

The table’s details could be seen from afar, and it portrayed carvings of past battles between monsters and men. The gold ring that lined the table's edge was covered in runes, ancient spells for calming and harmony, good judgment, understanding, respect, and industriousness. Its frame had been carved from a solid oak tree that had once been touched by the gods, and had grown taller and broader than any other of its species.

Numerous monster heads hung on the walls, some with horns, others with ghastly mouths agape, hanging from wooden frames with their mouths spread widely and menacingly. The stained glass windows were also present, with details of rivers and forests instead of battles to remind those present of what they were gathering for.

I walked cautiously behind my older brother, and my friends followed closely behind me. Everyone was wondering just what was going to happen at this apparent council meeting. Some guessed it was to discuss trade routes, while others thought it would be about farming goods.

No one was even close; not even a little.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please be seated,” Fulco called out. The four kings sat down first at the vertices of the table. The others sat between them, mixed as they were; Harutians with Coltenders, Hjalfarians with Caegweni.

Well, this is unusual, I noted a large Hjalfarian sitting next to Batch, making his face sweat nervously.

I sat opposite King Elhael Phrys of Caegwen, who regarded me curiously for a moment, prompting me to bow as much as I could from my seated position, my brown hair falling in front of my eyes. He tilted his head, then shifted his gaze to someone else whom I didn’t dare try to identify, and nodded his head to whoever it was.

“I know what you’re thinking, but it helps maintain a sense of equality during the council,” Garett whispered, noticing my raised eyebrow as I got up from the bow.

Once everyone had been seated, the rest of the warriors and councilors sat down. I sat next to my brother, while Garett sat next to the Master. Batch and Irun were split between a Harutian warrior, and both did their best to avoid cross communication.

Truls had his wife, Queen Leona of Maeredia, sit at his right. Her beauty was angelic, to say the least. She wore a red dress with her black hair tied up in a fanciful bun. Her pale, blue eyes and perfect complexion had, in some instances, led her to be mistaken for an elf of Caegwen, though it was always quickly proven otherwise due to the lack of pointed ears.

“Your Majesties, ladies, and gentlemen,” Fulco began in a practiced voice. “Please take note of everything that will be said here today, for it may change the course of our history in this world. Feel free to ask questions, so long as they are relevant to what is being discussed. Otherwise, they will be ignored by the council,” he continued. “As the primary host of this council, King Truls Wishert of Coltend will be the one to commence,” Fulco finished, bowed, and stepped back.

Truls pushed back his chair and stood. His long, graying hair floated softly on his shoulders, while his beard was neatly trimmed for the occasion. He was not a small man, by any means, for his eating habits had caused him to be overweight. His red doublet was stretched tightly across his body, making his breathing labored even before he spoke.

His eyes were dark blue, and the bags under his eyes from countless drunken nights showed their weight. His aquiline nose had a significant bump in the middle, while the crown he wore had the pattern of the Griffin carved into it. He also wore a gold-plated necklace depicting his accolades and feats as a younger man.

“My fellow Kings, lords and ladies present,” he began with a voice of rolling thunder. “I am certain most of us here know why I’ve called this council,” he said. I looked over to Batch and Irun, each of us raising an eyebrow and shrugging quickly.

“These monsters have recently increased their assaults, emboldened by something we do not yet understand. Their numbers are also rapidly approaching undefendable levels, and we simply can no longer sit on our hands. This matter must be resolved before it wipes out our supply lines and mercantile routes,” he glanced around the room, then lifted a hand, gesturing towards where I thought the Master was sitting.

“The Synners of the Continent have been doing their best to suppress their numbers in each country. However, no matter how many of those ugly bastards they slay, the bastards keep coming back,” he said, and raised his voice a little at the last word.

“Our leading experts on the monster incursions, as well as the Synners of Codrean, believe we have found the answer to rid ourselves of these bastards once and for all,” he said with an air of finality.

Ah, so that’s what the secrecy was for, I thought.

“The Underworld has found a way to leak their monsters through portals that begin in their worlds and end in ours. Now, I know how that sounds. However, I beg you to let King Elhael Phrys of Caegwen explain it in greater detail, for he is far more knowledgeable in these matters than I,” Truls sat back down in his chair while Elhael pushed his chair back.

He glanced at me again as he rose to his feet, then over to my brother and a handful of others as if to disguise the fact that he’d done so.

That’s the second time he’s looked at me. Is it just because I’m sitting across from him? I wondered.