Down In Rain

Passing Duty (3)

My father, Lockley, used to tell me that in due time the truth would reveal itself to everyone. Any secrets, any lies, any deceit would become transparent if it was given time to fester and grow into something that the eye could see.

He would compare it to a cut usually. Stating that a single tear of skin would be unnoticeable even to the most keen-eyed people. And that with time, if left unchecked, the wound would grow in size to color itself in dark crimson and sickly green. Eventually rupturing itself open and catching the attention of the wounded.

Once the course of a wound reaches its finale, the victim will inevitably wonder how they got the injury in the first place. It doesn't matter whether or not they act on that human curiosity or not. They will understand that they got hurt in the first place, and the seeds of possibility will be sowed. Then action will be taken in some way, shape or form.

Even subconsciously.

He said that very idea of something taking place without someone's knowledge will always be upsetting. As we like to be in control of as many things as possible in our lives.

A wound may not always upset someone, but a lie surely will be upsetting. No matter how tender, how appealing that lie was, a lie will remain a lie. No matter who told it.

I always used to tease him about how bad he was at describing his beliefs and ideas into analogies. They were ridiculous sometimes. He was right about this advice for sure. Lies will always be lies at the end of the day, and I'll trust that information till the day my heart stops beating.

Dima, Day 1, 12:08 PM
Tamantha and I stepped inside of the town hall, its front rug now soaked in the rain from our sudden appearance. We both stood in a very nice looking foray with 2 hallways on the left and right, and in the middle a set of mahogany stairs led up to a set of double doors. It was quite nice. It had a very homey feeling to it, like going to a grandparent's cottage.

Paintings littered the walls, with notable council members and various objects taking up the wall's abundant space. I recognized one painting of the top councilman, a man who crowned my father as a hero of the city, Jeremy Henwick.

He used to be known as the Co-Executive Of The Council, but I learned recently that he's now Director Of Attain's new government group: The Eyes Of Attain. I don't fully understand why he left his original position. Though I can assume he made the group idea and simply wanted to be the leader. It doesn't seem to be too out of line with the things I've heard about him. Though most of them are definitely wrong, like accusations of bribery and corruption. Too barbaric and too ridiculous for a man who fought alongside my father.

I heard the distinct drone of voices behind the double doors at the top of the stairs. A royal servant quickly approached us with a towel in hand to help us dry ourselves, and within moments we were dry from the rain outside. He must have heard us come in, the doors did open and shut unusually loud.

The servant spoke with a relieved look on his face,

"You two must be Mr. Diligent and Miss Tamantha I presume?"

I planned to reply to the man and took off my visored helmet. The formation of steel making a slight shifting sound.

"That's correct. Do you know if there's a certain room we need to go to exactly? I'm assuming it's the one at the top of the stairs, but I just want to make sure."

The servant seemed taken aback at my straightforwardness. He replied respectfully,

"Yes sir, you're correct. The meeting will take place right up those stairs with the double doors. I assure you the council will be with you all shortly. They're still quite busy with a meeting of their own. There is drinks and refreshments while you're waiting, so please enjoy."