"Why do you disturb me so, Mornok. You know I am busy with the affairs of are Emperor," the chancellor said to the guard as he entered his chambers.
"I am sorry sir, but Seer Parcavik has requested a few moments of your time. He says he has urgent news that cannot wait. It's in regards to helping the Empire and well sir," the guard stalled sort of fidgeting.
"Well spit it out Mornok I haven't got all day," the Chancellor said disgusted with having to deal with such limited intelligence.
"He has brought a human to see you sir," the guard finished quickly in an attempt to be done with the situation quickly.
"A human, what, how, why, errrr," the Chancellor growled as he pushed by Mornok and out into the hallway.
The Chancellor hastened his pace down the hall to get to the group of visitors. He was very intrigued with the recent change of events.
"You take great risk in bringing this", he said as he nodded towards the stranger. You could almost hear the venom as the thought of the stranger stung his tongue. "I hope your reasons for such brash actions are justified," the Chancellor said he studied the stranger.
Chancellor Cavacik had worked with his assistant for many years, so he had little doubts of his rationale for bringing this stranger into his midst. His act was a mere ploy to show the stranger of his tenacity toward his own kind if their course and rationale for such actions was not well thought out.
Furthermore, he wanted the stranger to know in no uncertain terms of the consequences of rash or irrational behavior.
This tactic might have worked on a normal person, but the Chancellor could not know the depths of the man that stood before him. An unruly spy, perhaps the best he would ever see, as well as a highly decorated assassin of the council. This man was all of these and more, much more.
He could not know his tactics were wasted on the stranger, so he continued.
No answer was forthcoming from Parcavik. He merely nodded toward the guards.
The Chancellor got his meaning and said nothing more to him. He instead turned to Commander Skorn and Mornok. "You and you follow us. You will be stationed outside my room. The rest of you will remain guard here. If the stranger attempts to leave without myself or my assistant, you are to kill him. Am I understood," Chancellor Cavacik said in a stern almost hissing voice?
All nodded their understanding of the situation.
"You and this human will follow me to my quarters. There we can talk in privacy," the Chancellor said to his assistant.
The assistant merely nodded. The human did nothing or gave any indication that he was aware of anything that the chancellor had said. He merely followed the assistant giving absolutely no concern for the situation.
In truth both Parcavik and Commander Skorn were impressed by the actions of the stranger. He in no way appeared to be an idiot, although his act was one that could be considered idiotic. So, if he was not an idiot, he clearly understood what was going on around him.
Skorn knowing a bit more about fighting and the tenacity of resolve that it took had a clearer picture of this stranger. He was fairly confident that the stranger's course of action was well thought out and he had little doubt that information that he would be able to provide would be worth sparing his life.
He was however concerned about one thing and that was why was the stranger plotting this course? Why was this stranger coming forward now and did it have something to do with what all of the seer's were trying to keep hushed?
Before he left the hallway to follow the stranger down the hallway he whispered to the guards. "Be ever vigilant, something tells me this stranger is not one to be toyed with."
The commander then nodded to the guards and made his way down the hall.
"You risk much too get to me," the Chancellor said to the stranger as the door shut to the outer hall.
"And why do you presume that it is you I wish to see," the stranger said in a calm cool response.
The Chancellor laughed at the zeal and vigor the human possessed. He was confident, perhaps overly so Cavacik thought to himself.
"OK, then fair enough. You risk much to see Emperor Ravacik then. Is that better," the Chancellor said with a patronizing tone.
"That is a good start, but I am hoping in the end my ideas on how to help the Dylonian Empire will be heard by he who truly leads the empire," the stranger said thru somewhat grinded teeth.
He was playing his part well.
"The Emperor speaks for the Empire, I am not sure what you have heard but I can assure those accusations are falsely given," Cavacik retorted in mock anger.
''We have a saying in my world Chancellor. Never kid a kidder, never steal from a thief, never try to kill an assassin, and never ever try to deceive one practiced in the art of deception. You lie and I know your words a falsehood before they are spoken," the stranger said as calmly as if he were talking to a small child.
The Chancellor was on the verge of exploding, the anger was so well etched upon his face.
The human had pushed the envelope in this conversation in an attempt to get the Chancellor off his game, but he did not desire a confrontation at this point. Not for reasons that he feared the outcome but more to the point that he feared that him killing two seers would severely impact his ability to negotiate with the Dylonian's.
Parcavik stepped into the situation and helped to diffuse it even though the diffusion was brief it was just what it called for, "you speak of not trying to deceive he who is practiced in the art of deception would that be you or are you the kidder, the thief or the assassin," he asked somewhat jokingly.
"Yes," the stranger answered with confidence.
"Uh yes to which one of them," the assistant asked somewhat confused.
"Yes," the stranger delayed the next part somewhat before continuing, "to all of them," he said with somewhat of a Cheshire grin written upon his face.
"Oh," the assistant said failing to hide the uneasiness he now felt.
"A most excellent resume let me assure you, but you have still failed to provide any reason as to why we should let you live. Please enlighten us with your wisdom of the situation. If your words, please me I will see that you get to meet the emperor but if I am not satisfied," the chancellor did not finish the sentence but rather let the threat hang.
The chancellor was not about to let this pompous human come in here and dictate things to him. He would show this stranger a thing or two about diplomacy.
"Very well, I was hoping to relay this information to the emperor himself but since it is your job to determine if I may even see him and you desire more information. I will attempt to provide it," the stranger responded.
The human pointed to the seat in front of him "May I," he asked.
"Please do," the chancellor responded attempting to regain some of his lost composure.
Cavacik then took the chair opposite from his guest. The assistant stood as there were no other chairs in the room. In all truth he was not too fond of sitting with so strange an adversary so close, so Parcavik stood diligently off to the side saying nothing but watching the matter with great interest.
"You say you desire information so I will tell you what I know and then most importantly I will relay to you exactly what I can do to help you," the stranger said in a tone that exuded confidence.
The chancellor nodded.
"First and foremost, we understand that you intend on waging war against the council and the worlds involved within the council. Most specifically the Briar Elves of Minlas and the Plutonian Empire," the stranger stated as a matter of fact.
"That is hardly a stretch; I think every member of your council believes it to be true and they are fools if they do not. You will need to do better than that I am afraid," Chancellor Cavacik responded.
"I also know that Emperor Ravacik is no longer in charge of the empire. The fate of the empire now rests in the charge of Muskavalcic," he said to now a very surprised Chancellor.
"How can you know of this, no one outside the council, heads of state and production managers in key areas know anything about Muskavalcic," the chancellor responded.
He tried but failed to hide the concern he now felt.
"I overheard the emperor a few years back when he was at the Chulak mining facility. It was when one of your current ore managers was not meeting production quotas," the stranger said with a smile.
Again, the chancellor frowned.
"But how," his assistant responded. He stopped the line of questioning as the Chancellor gave him a look leaving him with no doubt as to his participation in this conversation.
The stranger elected to answer the question. "As I indicated to you before I am a spy, it's what I do and I am quite good at my job," he answered with a smile.
"And what do you know of Muskavalcic," the chancellor asked.
"To be honest I know very little. What I do know is that you still have no answer to the councils advanced armies," the stranger guessed hoping this was still the case. He then continued, "You have the manpower to possibly handle the situations, should your military might be able to get through the magical defenses of any of the empires associated with the council. We both know that getting through those defenses, however, has been the bane for your people," the stranger said without being to smug.
The chancellor nodded. "And you have a cure for that problem is that what you're saying."
"Mayhap that I do," the stranger responded.
"And you will provide me that information," Chancellor Cavacik questioned although in truth he suspected that he already knew the answer.
"I know you think me not such a fool to give out information that would lose me any tactical advantage I may hold," the stranger responded in kind.
The chancellor expected this response but said nothing. Instead, he sat there looking at the stranger hoping to somehow coerce or scare the stranger into divulging the information. Deep down he knew this trick only worked on the weak and this stranger appeared to be anything but weak.
The human sat there arms clasped and bound, lying securely in his lap. Not moving, not blinking, and most importantly not giving any indication that he was affected in any manner by the chancellor's most recent tactic.
"Your comments have intrigued me, but the emperor is a very busy man, you will have to do better if you intend on seeing him. I will present your current information to him and your request to see him. I can tell you he will be intrigued by your proposal but in the end, I would not bet on him seeing you. Are you sure there isn't anything else you can tell me about your plan to help us," the chancellor asked of the stranger?
The stranger reached his hand up to his mouth extending his index finger across his lips. He continually brought his hand out to a forty-five-degree angle and then back tapping his lips giving the indication that he was trying to make a decision.
Finally, the stranger spoke again, "Let me say this. There are places on Minlas where the council and its races have stored an ancient book of spells. I can gain access to the specific location that houses a particular text. I can also obtain said text which if it somehow find its way into your hands. Well, the gains would be immeasurable."
"Hmm, and what could these texts do for us," the chancellor continued in his line of questioning.
"It is a magic that is most probably beyond your ability to comprehend. I will explain no more at this time. Hopefully the emperor will elect to meet with me," the stranger said hoping that this last little bit of information would make the Chancellor feel compelled to engage in a future conversation.
"Interesting, very interesting," Chancellor Cavacik said as he stood and began to casually stroll about the room. In truth he was extremely excited about the possibilities that the stranger offered. He was completely correct in his assessment of the council's superior magical advancement. It was the one crutch they had never been able to overcome.
If the stranger was serious about his capabilities, then this problem may very well be solved. The only question that was nagging him was why this stranger was willing to betray his people. He was sure the emperor would want more details about that situation. He however was willing to talk to the emperor on his behalf.
"You have given me sufficient information. I will relay this information to the emperor in hopes that he will talk with you. I will warn you that he will want significantly more detail in your meeting. For example, why you are willing to betray the council and your people, that would be just to start of course," the Chancellor said with a sly smile.
The stranger nodded indicating his compliance.
"Very well then I will go see the emperor. I cannot promise this will be easy nor may he even have time to see me right away. This entire process will take days or maybe weeks. I will have you assigned to one of the visiting dignitary suites on the third floor," the chancellor responded.
"Parcavik will begin this process immediately", Cavacik said as he pointed toward his assistant.
With that his assistant gladly exited the chambers.
"I am to be a prisoner then," the stranger asked of the chancellor.
"Think of it as being a guest with restricted privileges," he replied with a sly smile. "I assure you I can make things more uncomfortable for you, but it is not my desire to start our business partnership in that manner. If that is what we are truly starting here, agreed," Cavacik asked of the human.
The stranger nodded. He had expected as much or less to be honest. For the time being he would continue upon the path he started when he crested the wall of the city a few brief hours earlier.
"If you will come with me sir, I am going to take you to the holding facility on the second floor. I will then attempt to discuss things with the emperor. Once Parcavik has your final accommodations I will have him transfer you. Once I am done and secured a visit you will be sent for, understood," the Chancellor questioned of the stranger.
The stranger nodded, he did not like the situation, but he was alive, and they were willing to listen so this was as much as he could have hoped for.
~~~~~!!!~~~~~
October 8, 2017, it had been more than a week since the stranger had seen the Chancellor and his assistant. He was being treated well but he was still very irritated by the delay this situation was causing his plans. He smiled in spite of his surroundings; it was all a necessary evil he thought to himself.
The tumblers of the door pulled him from his thoughts. Someone was using a key to access the door leading to his room. Perhaps now we will get somewhere he thought to himself. A moment later the chancellor entered his temporary quarters to see him eating his lunch.
"I see we have been treating you well," he said as he looked at the meal the stranger was partaking.
"Well, it's not prison but I wouldn't go all the way to well," the stranger said jovially. He was not about to let the Chancellor think his stay had impacted his ability to function. He had after all been through far worse for much longer, he thought to himself.
Cavacik nodded his understanding. "Well, if you are ready to meet the Emperor, he is ready to see you."
The stranger nodded as he picked up the last biscuit type piece of bread and ate it.
He followed the chancellor back around to the back of the building, then up three flights of stairs and then out to the front of the large chamber that accounted for the entire middle of the top floor of this building.
The chancellor held out his hand to the stranger, "if you would not mind waiting, we do have certain protocols that need to be observed."
The stranger nodded his understanding.
The chancellor opened one of the large double doors enough so that he could enter the room and then disappeared shutting the door behind him.
The doors were quite beautiful. Were they made of pure ivory he thought to himself? He took a few moments to familiarize himself with his surroundings. It was always good to have an idea of what was going on around you should you have to make a hasty retreat.
In looking around though it would be almost impossible to make an exit from this place without the proper equipment. He had requested his sword and pack back. His sword was of course denied but they did fetch his pack and secured it with his sword. Both were locked in a detention room somewhere within the facility, but the stranger had no idea where.
He had rationalized to himself long ago that this was a mission in which he may not escape from and that he would only try should the mission fail, and his life be of forfeit.
He was definitely not to that point; in fact, it may have been going better than expected. He almost smiled in spite of himself.
Within a few minutes after the chancellor had entered the chambers the door opened, and a small female exited and made her way over to the stranger. "The emperor will see you now," she said in a soft hissing type voice. She kept the door opened for him until he entered the chambers.
She did not follow, he noticed, but rather she shut the door after his entry, leaving herself outside of the chambers.
Chicken he thought to himself of her failure to enter. I guess Lizard would be more to the point, probably taste like chicken though, he chuckled to himself.
He then entered the chambers. It was a very large room with high vaulted ceilings. Immediately in front of the room was a large rectangular table.
The room was eerily quiet. The stranger suspected this was not normal but was more likely due to the fact that the information they expected to hear was confidential to many that would normally have been in attendance.
The stranger walked past the table and up onto the platform. On the platform were several plush chairs and small tables. There were bookshelves that lined the walls within the room mostly along the back wall and the outer portions of the platform.
It left the middle of the room wide open for visitation. The emperor and chancellor were on chairs in the middle here having a somewhat heated debate about something.
The stranger cleared his throat. "I hope I am not interrupting anything, but I was told you were ready to see me now," the stranger said to both the Dylonian's in attendance.
"Of course, please do come and sit down." It was clear from his tone that the emperor was not pleased, and he considered this meeting a disturbance.
Or it was clear that was the point he was trying to portrait to him, the stranger thought to himself.
He nodded and slowly advanced toward the two lone remaining figures. As he neared them the emperor gestured toward the chair off to his right.
The stranger sat, saying nothing. He returned the stare of both figures in attendance. When it was obvious this was getting nowhere fast the emperor broke the silence.
"Chancellor Cavacik tells me you know things that you shouldn't," the emperor said to the stranger.
"I know what I know from years of planning and skills utilized that are beyond that of most normal men. I will not apologize for what I know but rather I bring this knowledge to you in hopes that it will benefit us all," the stranger responded.
The emperor paused again staring at the stranger. Very cryptic this man was, the emperor realized the chancellor was right in that this would be no easy acquisition of information. They would most likely know only what this man wanted them to know and little else. It was obvious he would forego little information in their attempts at scheming him, so he decided to utilize a different tactic.
"I believe the chancellor has already revealed to me what you know and based on that I have questions. Would you mind if I asked them of you," Emperor Ravacik asked of the stranger?
"That is the purpose of this visit, is it not," the stranger replied. His voice was in a matter-of-fact kind of tone and not one that was intended from disrespect.
The emperor nodded indicating that he has accepted the statement for what it was and nothing else.
"You have knowledge you shouldn't, and you have been places you were not invited. This we know. You do not seem an idiot to me, yet you risk much in your endeavors here not trying to keep from being captured but more as if that was your intended goal. You know what to say and when, so you have calculated your actions. It is obvious you are not here to harm me or thwart our progress toward the Desmonian Council, so I guess my first question is why are you here? I shall warn you this question has been troubling me since I was informed of your situation nearly a week ago," the emperor said he sat up on the end of his chair.
''You are correct on all accounts of course. As to why, I can offer only that the possible ends that will result from helping you more than justify the means from which my actions are derived," the stranger said once again in his cryptic manner.
The emperor thought he understood but, on this point, he needed to be sure. "Clarify your meaning sir," he said in a somewhat disturbed tone.
"In a word sir revenge, that is why I offer to you my services," the stranger responded to Emperor Ravacik's request.
The emperor slowly stood and began to pace the room his hand upon his forehead as he rubbed his greenish reptilian skin.
This thoroughly repulsed the stranger as did all things about the Dylonian's but as he had reminded himself many times over the last few weeks his actions were necessary so he must endure.
"Tell me of this revenge, whom is it directed too and why. I am sorry if I pry but certainly you can understand. You have a gifted tongue, and I cannot simply take you on your word. I will need proof and time to research before I can blindly request your ascension into our plans," the emperor said with a small bit of hope in his voice.
"I lived in a small village in the realm of the Eerikye (Scorched Earth). Its name was Aberdeen. The Eerikye, once a peaceful race they have recently turned into roaming bands of rogues and mercenaries. They now take what they want and act how they want. Personally, I believe there is a greater and more diabolical story behind their recent transgressions but that is quite immaterial to our story. The stranger said as he attempted to conceal his emotions.
Both Dylonian's were caught up as the stranger quickly spun his tail as they awaited eagerly for him to continue.
"As you have surmised, I am a spy for the council, I have been such for over forty years. One of the best, if I say so myself hence my longevity and tenure in this position; at any rate I had learned of the increased aggressiveness of the Eerikye and I grew concerned.
I went to the council and requested that they do something about it. Unfortunately, I got the bureaucratic nonsense of not being able to get involved with a race that is not bound by the council's law and thus they could not help.
After receiving this bit of news, I returned to Scorched Earth to meet with my family. I tried to convince them to leave the realm of the birdman, but this had been their home for longer than any could remember, and they were not open to leaving. In fact, most of the inhabitants of the tiny village had no other experience outside that of the hamlet they called home so you can understand all were reluctant to leave," the stranger stopped and stood up and walked over to one of the bookshelves.
He was not looking for a book, but he had to pause in the delivery of the story as its outcome was all too real for him. The grim seen in which he was about to portray to the two people in this room, two people that he had just come upon an acquaintance with was still all too fresh upon his mind. The pain it caused him was all too real despite the fact that it had happened over a year ago.
The stranger somewhat reluctantly turned back to his hosts and continued his story.
"Their reluctance to leave caused me great concern. It was about six months after I had left Scorched Earth that I received a message from one of my dearest friends Syrus, a mage of notable reputation throughout most parts of Minlas and even beyond. He requested that I come home to Aberdeen immediately. I knew this was serious as my friend would never ask me to abort my mission and come home unless it was a matter of utmost urgency," the stranger stopped as pools of water now rimmed his eyes.
The stranger began again in a voice that now cracked with dismay. "I arrived in Aberdeen a meer week after being notified by Syrus. I arrived at night.
"The entire place was burned to the ground its people, my people, were burned, hung or murdered by other various but equally horrifying means. I walked down our street and into our house which mostly still stood. I entered it to find my immediate family slaughtered in a place they felt safe," the strangers voice was changing as he told this story but still, he continued.
"I gathered myself in spite of what I saw and repeated my investigation, continuing my search for other family and friends I knew, but the result was the same. It was then that I cursed the Minlavian Council Leaders for their refusal to act. It was on that day I vowed revenge against those who let my family die and did nothing," the stranger said as his voice rose as anger now replaced the pain that had welled up within him only moments earlier.
The emperor nodded toward the stranger and then walked over to the chancellor. After saying something to him the chancellor nodded and then moved as if to exit the chamber.
The stranger was definitely intrigued by this new development as he watched Emperor Ravacik make his way back over towards his chair.
"You have told me why you have decided to go against the Minlavian Council and in truth I am inclined to believe you but admittedly it is my nature to doubt so I have sent Cavacik to research the situation. For you see we have spies everywhere and even though it may be difficult for us we will be able to find out if you speak the truth", the emperor stated without emotion.
The stranger nodded his understanding.
"I must say I was intrigued on why you would go against the Minlavian Council, but I was more interested in knowing how you are going to accomplish this task. I will hear your assessment of our situation and then how you are going to help us resolve those issues to defeat the council and the races of its members," the Emperor asked of the stranger.
There was no sincere apology no deep concern in his voice but rather only a let's move on with how this is going to benefit us. If there was ever any doubt in his relations with the Dylonian's it had fleeted in that second as he had poured his heart into the story of losing his family and the Emperor listened intently. When it was over the Emperor began anew with the second phase of his query.
Even he who was often at times a heartless and calculated killing machine would have shown some emotion with the story he just told. Yet these two beasts that sat in front of him did so with only interest in the outcome and its benefit. They did not feel for him nor his people. It was as he expected.
This angered him greatly, but he knew he must let this past for now.
Shaking the feelings from his mind he continued with the second phase of his plan. "Let's start first with your current situation. It of course has nothing to do with military strength or of your military might as those characteristics have always been an asset to your empire. You are too be commended for that," the stranger said through almost clenched teeth.
Starting his story with a compliment to the Emperor would hopefully put him off his guard somewhat; at least that is what he hoped.
"Nor does the real problem lie in war strategies or planning although I have read this to not be a strength of your race yet neither has it been a great weakness. I think you and I both know that your real problem is lack of the ancient magics. You have yet and mostly likely will never find a race of people who will help you develop the ancient magic within your race as they know all too well your zest for domination. You are therefore relegated to your seers who are formidable in one-on-one combat but with a serious lack of crowd application. They lack the potent magical offense necessary in a sustained war. It is hard to dominate a world if you cannot get your soldiers close to any real action," the stranger said quite smugly.
The emperor nodded and sort of growled.
The human smiled as he knew he had played his cards, both of them, perfectly.
"Well, that is your dilemma and I think we both can agree upon it, but I am here to help you," the stranger paused a moment before continuing. "There is a magical administrations facility. In this facility lies an ancient text written by the great wizard Merlin. So destructive are the spells contained within its pages the council relegated it to this secure facility. Few know of the text and fewer still know of the facilities existence and fewer still know of its location," the assassin said with a bit of a smirk.
The emperor tried but failed miserably to maintain only partial interest as he moved to the edge of his seat. "And what prey tell do these spells do," he asked of the stranger.
"If rumors are to be believed some rearrange the molecular structures of most types of metal. Even large bodies of metal can be demolecularized in a matter of minutes. Some have destructive cold capabilities others are of fire and others still are based in the ancient arcane language. Complex, are the spells and very destructive is their nature," the stranger said as he smiled a devil's grin.
"With magic no longer a bane for us we could sweep our armies through each realm upon Minlas that is a member of the Minlavian Council and then who knows," Emperor Ravacik said smiling.
He then paused and his smile disappeared as he looked at the stranger. "And you want nothing in return for doing us this favor," he questioned the stranger in a somewhat doubtful tone.
"There is one thing you will have to promise me before I get you the ancient text," the stranger said in a serious tone.
The emperor gave him a concerned look knowing full well there was an exception. There was always an exception.
"You have to promise that you will leave Tiberius alone in your conquest of Minlas or at least save it until the very end of your conquest. That way I can live my life there in peace. It is a small island in the middle of the Cygnus ocean. It neighbors the Poseidon continent, but it is well past most realms that you will be doing immediate war with. It is not a member of the council as it is a realm much like Scorched Earth in that it has no immediate concern with the goings on of the council. Promise me that my final acts of betrayal will buy the good people of Tiberius their lives," the stranger said in an almost resentful tone.
The emperor nodded. "And so it shall be," he responded in a serious tone.
He then walked to the door and opened it, saying something indecipherable to the person just outside he then returned back to the table just in front of the stranger." You have plans for securing the Ancient Text then," the emperor asked of the stranger.
The stranger nodded.
"Will I know of these plans in advance of their occurrence," the emperor asked, although in reality he already knew enough of the stranger to know the answer.
"You will never know how the ancient writings are secured as this is not important to the mission nor is it part of our deal," the stranger responded.
"I figured as much. I do, however, have one concern if I may," Emperor Ravacik asked of his guest.
"Of course," was his response.
"What if we cannot interpret the ancient spells? As we both know my people are not a magically in tuned society," the emperor said stating the obvious.
The stranger could tell that this was said somewhat embarrassingly.
"I have actually planned for that contingency as it was somewhat anticipated. You see they will need to first be interpreted before the spells will work as promised. I have a group of Gnolls that are angry with the Minlavian Council for their lack of actions on other matters concerning the Hybonian's," to which the comment drew somewhat of a growl from the emperor.
It was a well-known fact that Dylonian's hated Hybonian's second only to the Briar Elves. For different reasons you can be sure but there was a seething hate there nonetheless and the stranger was going to exploit that hate now.
"And why would these Gnolls help us, or do they know they are helping us," he asked the stranger. The emperor grinned as he thought he was beginning to understand the stranger.
"Maybe they do but then again maybe they do not. That is of little importance to our mission I can assure you. This group of Gnolls will assist me with the completion of analyzing the text. The only thing your people will need to do is supply the reagents necessary to complete the spells and to learn the spells once they have been properly interpreted," the stranger replied.
"Excellent, most excellent," Ravacik said to the stranger.
"Do you have a timetable anticipated for the retrieval of the texts in question and then for the interpretation once the book is within the Gnolls hands," the Emperor asked fearing that he was not going to like the answer from the stranger.
"My plans to secure the texts will take me about six months as there is quite a bit of strategy involved in this, you will of course play some small part in its retrieval although I cannot say what but when the time comes you will be called upon fear not," the stranger replied.
The emperor frowned, not because he would be required to help in some small part but more to the point, he was not thrilled with the fact that the acquisition of the text was going to take six months.
He however decided to let that matter drop and moved on, "and in the books interpretation," he questioned the stranger once again.
"I cannot speak for the Gnolls in the interpretation of the Ancient Text, but I can tell you that this Merlin we are talking about was one of the most intelligent and craftiest wizard to ever walk this plane of existence so you can be certain these texts will not be written in plainly in whatever the chosen language is. It could take several years before the texts are properly translated and your seers are taught the appropriate spells and incantations," the stranger responded knowing this was not the answer the emperor wanted to hear.
"Years," he exclaimed in a somewhat angry tone. "I do not think we are planning on waiting years for our assault against the Minlavian Council."
"Well, you can always go without the help of the texts, but we both know the likely outcome of that endeavor. Even if you would end up winning the initial battle over Desmonia, which I doubt, your forces will be so depleted you will not possibly be able to continue your assault on Minlas, Hybonia and other regions of the council. In fact, it may leave your people vulnerable if not done correctly and the council may just overlook the no convergence of war treaty and send every able body at their disposal to come get you. It seems a shame not to do this correctly at the expense of waiting a year or so does it not," the stranger asked although in truth he already knew the answer to this question.
"Grrrr," the emperor said growling at no one in particular. "I am going to have to get the council to approve this, it may take some time."
"Funny, I thought you were in charge," the stranger said quite smugly.
"You know of whom I speak," was the retort.
"Yes, I will let you deal with," the stranger paused and held is hands up like he was quoting the emperor, "the council," he said with a smile.
"Once you are satisfied with my background explanation, I will begin my plans for attaining the aforementioned schematics," there may have been more, but the stranger was interrupted as the door to the chamber opened.
Two guards entered. The stranger recognized both of the guards as being the ones that he had first met in the hallway on the first floor. These were also the guards that would later escort him to the chancellor's office and then waited for him outside, while he was in communicating with the chancellor.
He knew the ones name as Skorn, he knew him to be some type of leader for the thugs. The other his name he did not know even though he was of particular interest as he was carrying what appeared to be his bag, the same bag that he had deposited in bushes on the street more than a week ago.
The satchel was handed to Skorn who then in turn brought it to the emperor. "As requested, your majesty," Skorn said as he bowed gracefully.
"Thank you, Commander Skorn. Your promptness is appreciated as always. You may wait outside our guest will be out shortly and then you can escort him to his room," the emperor said motioning for the two of them to head toward the door.
Emperor Ravacik then brought the pack over to stranger and sat it on the table. "As I promised," he said and then turned to head back to his seat.
He paused and then turned to the stranger as if he remember something, "your sword will be given to you as you depart our fair city. We cannot be too careful," he said with a smile.
"This will of course be dependent on the confirmation of your story. That may take some time your patience is of course requested in this matter," the emperor said as he sat back down.
"I understand," the stranger said as he was digging thru his bag.
"It is all there let me assure you," Ravacik said to the stranger misinterpreting his actions.
"I am sure it is," the stranger responded holding up a hat to him. "I was looking for this however," he replied as he sat the hat on the table and then closed his pack.
While closing the pack the stranger accidentally bumped his hat onto the floor.
"Crap" he said as he finished tightening the strings that bound his satchel.
The stranger then bent down to get his cap. It was a simple task and a quick gesture as the stranger reached quickly into his pocket. What the stranger did next the Emperor would not have been able to observe even if he were paying attention, so subtle in its delivery was the stranger.
Placing his hat upon his head the stranger smiled at the emperor as if nothing had just transpired. The stranger knew better for he knew he may have just completed the very last part of his mission. He smiled at the hand lady luck had just dealt him.
"I believe we are done here," the emperor said as he hit another button on the desk. "Our guest is ready for his escort," he said into the crystal that sat upon the desk.
The two large foyer doors opened and in walked the two guards that only moments earlier brought him his pack. They were here to escort him back to his room it seemed.
The stranger turned to make his way over to the guards when the side door, between two bookshelves, opened. In walked the Chancellor.
"You have news of his story already," the Emperor asked concerned at the lack of time it took. He knew his people to be efficient, but they had little to go on. He actually only now realized they did not even know the strangers name.
"Hardly", was his response. "We can confirm the destruction of the place called Aberdeen. There were thousands of people in this town. Many different families, we were delving into all of the records when we realized that…"
"You did not know the strangers name," the Emperor finished for him.
"Yes, your majesty that is correct," the chancellor responded.
The stranger smiled as he was prepared to answer the question that was forthcoming as he had expected it much earlier than this.
"Well human what say you, how concerning your name," Ravacik asked of the stranger.
The stranger slowly turned toward the two of them. "My name is Shyler Benton, I am at your service," he said as he took off his brimmed hat and bowed deeply to both of the Dylonian's on the platform.
"The families names you are looking for are Jasper Benton's on my father's side and Dylene Mortikye on my mothers. Perhaps that will make your search easier," Shyler said with a smile.
He then turned and followed the two guards out of the room.