This venture through the castle seemed unnerving unlike the last. The maids, butlers and guards had all seemingly vanished, no doubt preparing something for the grand meeting that was about to happen. It wasn't a long walk to a large wooden door where the other Rangers stood speaking to each other in low-pitched voices. Before Randall and Patterson could share greetings with the others, silence enveloped the hallway as Lecca placed both of her hands on the wooden door.
An entourage of knights had fallen behind the Rangers and the door let out a loud groan as it swung open. As rays of sunlight filled the hall, Randall received a tap on the shoulder from Green, and promptly, his carbine was given back to him.
It was now obvious that the destination was a throne room. Between the stained-glass windows and the golden ornaments strung about the room, a man, woman, and younger male, all wearing regal clothing comparable to the clothing King George III wore stared upon them from the end of the room.
Slowly the group walked to the center of the room. Under the rays of the sun and the dimming light of an orb above the throne, all the knights except Lecca and the Rangers got on their knees. Lowering the hand his head was resting on, the king straightened himself and looked imposing as he spoke to the Rangers directly.
"Greetings Holy Knights from beyond, welcome to the Kingdom of Yondel." He said in a low growl.
Captain Thompson took a short and heavy breath as he looked to either side of the room. Knights adorned in their prestigious armor waited, while what looked to be men and women in large brown cloaks eyed him and the others. Thompson stood a bit dumbfounded. He was unsure how to address the King, but luckily enough Lecca stepped forward and placed her right hand over the center of her chest seemingly saluting.
"Your highness, I have arrived with the Holy Knights that come from beyond this world."
"Sweetheart I told you to address me as father." He said in turn catching Randall and the others off guard. They did not expect this meeting to entail a more casual conversation.
"Your highness this is a formal meeting. I will only call you in such a manner behind private doors." Leccamaradel seemingly forced out the words.
The king let out a sigh as he motioned a robed man to step forward. "Are these the Holy Knights?" He questioned.
"Indeed, Your Majesty. You may recall several of them before we escorted you and your family to safety." The robed man bowed slowly as he asked the group to step forward with the Princess. With no other choice they followed the request and stood at the midpoint of the room, just close enough to provide a conversation with an indoor voice.
"The fuck is this shit?" Richard murmured gaining several shrugs from the Rangers around him.
Standing from his seat the king began to descend from the throne. His purple-red garments were highlighted in the growing early morning sun. Two knights wearing red uniforms flanked the king as he approached the men that came from beyond.
"I once again welcome you Holy Knights. My name is Aldrecht Spell Shaldrect. As you may know already, I am the king that presides over these lands." His voice was commanding as he continued to walk towards the men. "You all may be scared, confused, unnerved. During the passage of time a great many deal of Holy Knights have descended upon these lands to serve a greater purpose. I would like for these knights before me to introduce themselves."
Looking between each other an obvious air of mistrust in the king grew. With his hand the king ordered the man to start from left to right. Randall was the first to start and all eyes slowly descended onto him, especially the careful gaze of the Princess.
Unsure of how to respond, Randall laid the groundworks of how they should introduce themselves, and in succession in a randomized order, the men introduced themselves ending with Staff Sergeant Baker.
The king calmly blinked as he stared at the men. His eyes carefully inspected every inch of their body's making some of the thirteen unnerved. From their boots to their helmets, he finally made a conclusion as he spoke to them. "You are truly strange people. I would like to ask: what are your lands like?"
With everyone's attention being turned to Thompson, the captain let out a loud sigh as he pinched his nose bridge and mutely complained about not being ready for "diplomacy". Eventually he steadied himself as he released his temperament, "Listen I'm about to lose my temper over this shit, so I would appreciate if you would cut the formalities and give us a damn explanation of why we're here. We were stuck in a middle of a war, and I hate to say, but I'd much rather be in the middle of that than right here."
One of the two knights that escorted the king stepped forward as his hand flew to the hilt of his sword. "Hey bastard you will show his highness some respe-!"
Without hesitation the Rangers sprung their weapons up and formed a tight circle with their barrels pointing every single direction. King Aldrecht simply raised his hand and the knights around that were about to respond to the sudden act of aggression seemed to freeze as the king lowered his hand.
"I do apologize for what has occurred. After all what use is a solider if there are no wars." Quick on the uptake on how these 'Holy Knights' moved so quickly to defend themselves, he continued while avoiding the formal introductions, "To put it bluntly there is a shadow war being waged between newborn countries. Due to this the Demon lord has attempted to make his move and is threatening our domain. The only choice we have left is to establish a party of heroes and Holy Knights to counteract such a force."
The room turned cold as the sun broke the early morning clouds. The orange haze now illuminated the entire hall. Randall stood quietly as he contemplated the words spoken by King Aldrecht. Much to his dismay, being thrown into a shadow war being waged by what looked to be 14th century citizens was not on his bucket list. As he looked up towards Thompson, he once again spotted the Princess staring at the king with cautious eyes.
"Captain?" Green nudged Thompson's shoulder snapping him out of his light stupor.
"Your highness even if we fight with what is viewed as technologically advance gear and military doctrines, it will be quite impossible for a group of seven let alone some heroes to fight some demon lord and his army." He explained as he lowered his rifle. "I am glad you chose someone capable to deal with this situation rather than some angsty teenager, but you must understand even for soldiers like us, this is quite the undertaking and will be impossible without the proper recourse."
"Naturally compensation for your actions, much like the heroes, will be available, yet I must inform you due to these events we are managing a growing economic crisis." The king merely nodded, being a bit dismissive about the worry of compensation. The men noticed this as Aldrecht continued his speaking point. "Civilian and governmental initiatives are in place, so there'd be no worry to fret about such problems. All I ask of you is that you and your men assist us in these trying times."
Now with the ball in their court, Thompson ended the discussion as he provided an opportunity to recess, "Thank you for your consideration. Me and men are not just ready to jump into the middle of another war, but we will discuss this in private."
"O-Oh such wonderful new-" The king attempted to answer.
"But let it be known that neither me nor my men will swear allegiance to your kingdom." Thompson cut him off. "And once we find a way home, we will not hesitate to leave."
Making the proper assumption that the summoning they had just went through was more than advertised by the king, Thompson kept an 'out' just in case the situation grew beyond their capabilities. The threat of a so called 'demon' lord was something to not be trifled with, but with the display of there being a shadow war happening between kingdoms, so called "Heroes" were just being used as political pawns and their "Holy Knights" could be nothing than mere bodyguards.
Something that did bother him was the obvious presentation the king and his followers had put on. This was likely not their first time summoning a group of individuals, yet there was an unease in how the king presented himself. It was as if his predecessor had refrained from teaching him about the proper etiquette for dealing with those not from this world.
"Aldrecht I believe it is time to let these knights retire for the early morning." Out of all people to speak, Princess Leccamaradel took the initiative of the voice of reason for the opposing side. "We have much time to discuss such future parleys."
Aldrecht watched the princess with careful eyes. Randall was confused between the interaction of the king and princess, surely there would be some bad blood due to the nature of their respective titles, yet there seemed to be a clear divide between father and daughter. "Very well. We shall recess this meeting. Leccamaradel, would you care to escort these knights to their temporary residency?"
The Princess placed her right fist over the center of her chest an gave a curt but unrefined bow, "Yes, your highness."
Publicly Available Information: Current Holy Knights:
Captain, Oliver Thompson
1st Lieutenant, Kevin Patterson
Staff Sergeant, William Baker
Sergeant, Mike Randall
Sergeant, Zachary Malkovich
Corporal, Anthony Richard
Private First Class, Jacob Green
Private First Class, Jonas Simon