It had been a couple days since Jerry saved Tiberius's life. He and Tu'Xanz had come up with a plan weeks ago for him to visit the king and after the last attack it seemed that they were running out of time. The numbers of the attacks was increasing and soon it wouldn't matter how powerful they were, they would still be overrun sooner or later. Tiberius feeling that something wasn't adding up to him said that he would go with Jerry to the king to corroborate the attacks, to lend credence to their complaints. Jerry, Vrkane, and Bengala each carried packs loaded with the weapons Tu'Xanz forged for the king's army. The trek to the castle was going to take them close to a week. Jerry was surprised to find out that the fort he was told to go to was no longer there. It had grown over the last thousand years to become the capital city, with the palace being built up over the years to become the sprawling wonder of architecture it is today.
Tiberius used this time to observe Jerry and his pets. He couldn't understand this man. What made him tick? He had already discerned some weaknesses in his fighting capabilities from watching him spar every night, but his adaptability overcame a lot of his deficiencies. His strength and endurance allowed him the time to learn while in the middle of battle. All of this tied into a sharp mind with a brilliant intellect made him a very dangerous enemy. Tiberius still didn't understand his motives though. He still questioned why he was saved by them. Jerry was very friendly with Tiberius and asked him to join their sparring matches every day. Tiberius had to admit he was surprised that he was learning and gaining in ability just as much as Jerry and his pets were. He was still uneasy around those animals. The female seemed kind enough, but the male didn't trust him and made it very evident by his hateful stares and guttural grows he continuously sent his way. It took him some time to understand that when their eyes lost focus they were communicating telepathically. As a military commander the strategic applications of having more people like Jerry and his pets wasn't lost on him. He understood even more now why the kings of the different kingdoms wanted to militarize this power. But he was ignorant of how to do it. Figuring that out was second to his most immediate concerns of what happened with his men. He planned on speaking to his second Stephenos Trembore. Stephenos had better have a good explanation for disregarding his orders. Lord Archibald usually stayed at his family's estates in Alturio. As soon as they reached the capital he would search out his lord and find a way to capture this being.
Jerry didn't trust Tiberius, but he made sure it didn't come through when he talked to him. He tried getting Vrkane to play along but he didn't understand deception and it's subtleties. Bengala gave Tiberius the benefit of the doubt, allowing him to prove his intentions to her. Everyday Jerry checked in on the Walax family to see how they were fairing, three days into their travels and no attacks had come yet. This was suspicious in itself seeing as the attacks came almost every other day before Jerry's defeat of Tiberius. Jerry suspected that Tiberius was the only reason the attacks had ceased. He could feel Tiberius's men following their progress but remaining well out of sight, and they had yet to try and contact Tiberius in any way that Jerry could discern. He tried to get Tiberius to conversate with him to see if he could get any information out of him, but Tiberius was very tight lipped. The only time Tiberius seemed to say anything was when they were sparring and only then it was to point out what Jerry was doing wrong. As much as he hated to admit it Tiberius was an excellent teacher and in the short week long trip to the castle he had improved tremendously.
On the last day before they reached the capitol city one of Tiberius's men finally approached them and gave him a letter. After reading it he put it in his pocket and continued on as if nothing happened. He knew to expect this little meeting for a couple days now. Every time he went off to relieve himself he found the little notes scribbled in the dirt that his men left, and he made sure to swipe them away so no one else could find it later. But he noticed Jerry didn't show the slightest hint of surprise that his man walked into camp. The message was from Stephenos saying he was with Lord Archibald at the palace. This was perfect seeing as that was Jerry's destination as well. They could have walked on thru the night and made it to the city after dark, but Tiberius still hadn't found a true weakness that he could exploit, and time was running out. The wolf and tiger left to hunt for dinner as was their norm, so Tiberius went outside his comfort zone and started a conversation.
"So what will you do after you have delivered the weapons to the king?"
Jerry stopped gathering wood for a fire to look over at Tiberius out of the corner of his eye, "I'm looking for someone", he replied, not wanting to volunteer too much.
"I am very familiar with the capitol maybe it's someone I know, what is their name?"
"I don't know their name here, I'll just recognize them when I see them." Jerry was curious to see where this was going, Tiberius was obviously searching for something, but what?
"Well I hope you find this mystery person." Tiberius said with a chuckle, trying to seem sociable and amiable. The smile he had on his face was so forced that it seemed as if holding it there was causing him excruciating pain.
"Yeah me too", was all Jerry replied and went back to his wood gathering.
As Vrkane and Bengala returned with a deer for dinner Jerry started the fire with a flick of his wrist. Tiberius flinched seeing this. Even though they had been traveling together for a week he was still unnerved to see magic done around him.
As they entered the palace grounds Jerry took a moment to admire the beauty of the architecture. The palace walls were crenelated and made of Amazonite, a deep blue-green with white striations in it. The walls were polished to a mirror finish, and every fifth crenelation was followed by a guard house. It stands fifteen feet tall and three soldiers could walk abreast along the top. The cobblestone road that lead thru the gate was made of a white limestone that lead thru the park that stretched as far as Jerry could see to his left or right. The path leading thru the park was a mile long as it wound its way toward the palace, some people on horseback passed them giving them a wide berth. Vrkane and Bengala had spent most of the trip in their natural animal forms, only changing into their human forms while eating and sparring. Jerry was able to convince them to stay in human form while in the city. They were overwhelmed at first by all the smells and the close proximity of some many bodies. As they passed thru the markets it took every bit of self-control that Jerry could share with his bonded to keep them both from ripping the people that were jostling them apart. As they wound thru the park he could feel them relaxing feeling more at home among the manicured lawns and trees that bordered the path they were on.
The palace was a white marble with black and gray veins throughout the stone. The roof was a tile painted a rich royal blue. A ten foot tall golden statue of the King's symbol stood over the blue palace doors. The statue was of a golden eagle that could be seen flying around the palace. These majestic birds grew to an enormous size, with a wing span of eight feet. Legend had it that when Alturio was still just a fort that one of the King's ancestors was saved by one of these birds and over the years the royal lines and these birds protected each other in their time of need. Anyone who was accepted by these birds were said to be above reproach and stood as an equal to the king. It was said that the king kept a golden condor in a cage in his throne room, and any criminal who could stick his hand inside that cage and not be attacked was pardoned of his crimes. Looking at the statue and then looking up to see the birds themselves flying over the palace gave you a feeling of respect for the family that was honored by nature itself. The blue palace doors were also engraved with a golden condor, having golden hinges, and a golden handle.
The doors opened as they approached, the guards on duty easy recognized Tiberius and allowed him and his companions entry. Jerry and his bonded were given second and sometimes third glances by those that passed them by. Knowing that he was going to be meeting the king today Jerry decided he was going to have his armor on full display. From the door they walked down a long hallway to the great hall. They passed to doors, one on the left and one on the right, that housed guards. The great hall was a large circle with a fifty foot diameter. At the rear of the hall was two identical curving stairways leading to the second floor. Tapestries and painting lined the walls heading up the stairs. The ceiling was a dome of crystal that let natural light filter right in and illuminate the entire hall. Underneath the stairways was a large ornate oaken door with gold hinges and gold handles. The door was engraved with scenes of epic battles long past. It told the story of this fledgling fort fighting its way to become the capitol of Alturio and the home of the kings. As they entered the hall Tiberius hailed a page to get the Chamberlain for them. As the boy took off running Tiberius looked over at Jerry to see a slightly bemused look on his face. He expected to see him staring wide eyed at all the extravagance, but he was looking at things as if they were everyday baubles. His pets seemed anxious and were looking around like caged animals trying to find a way back outside.
The chamberlain approached and acknowledged Tiberius with a nod of his head. He looked Jerry up and down but had to really crane his neck back to look him up. Jerry at a little over seven feet tall stood head and shoulders above everybody else. Vrkane and Bengala stood six and a half feet tall themselves. Jerry smiled and addressed him with a very slight bow of his head. "My name is Jerry", he said as he handed the chamberlain Tu'Xanz's letter. The chamberlain was dressed in a silver silk shirt with a high collar. He had on a black vest with silver stitching of the royal condor on each lapel. His pants were made of the same silver silk as his shirt with thick black stripes down the seams. He wore very extravagant leather boots with silver condors worked along the sides. Each condor eye sported a black diamond and the tips of his boots had silver stroll work. Jerry laughed to himself thinking he looked like a street pimp to him. "Sir Cambrian Tentsley", he replied, after the chamberlain read the letter he told them to follow him. Tiberius asked where he could find Lord Archibald and the chamberlain informed him he was with the king in the throne room.