Lore of Eternal Shadow: The Fugitive King

Chapter Seven

Alva and Penelope appeared on a grassy knoll overlooking Narbon. Alva hugged Penelope close to insure a safe transit for the both of them. Their feet were on the ground and all their limbs were intact. Alva beamed at Penelope in the new morning light.

"After tonight we'll be wed," Penelope cooed with an excited grin. Alva picked Penelope up and spun her around once. To do this despite his heavy battle armor proved his strength. Penelope giggled wildly as she looked into his eyes.

Alva grabbed the clear crystal, still glowing slightly orange light, and laid it gently in Penelope's hands. "You remember the plan, right?"

She nodded, "I deliver our master's final wishes to the Council of the Regency. If they don't comply, we'll raze the city. After that, I'll open the gate and teleport out."

"Right," said Alva, "and if you encounter any trouble, abort and escape, got it?"

Penelope nodded.

"Good," Alva stated, a hint of excitement in his voice. "I'll be gathering our armies behind those forests," He indicated to the northwest beyond the farmlands surrounding Narbon. "It's several hours' march from there to Narbon so try to keep a low profile until we get here."

Alva lowered his head towards Penelope and gently their lips met in a brief but passionate kiss. "Good luck," she breathed dreamily to him.

"You too," Alva replied. He calculated a spell. In a flash of purple light, a great black horse appeared. It appeared to be made of hematite and its eyes glowed red. Alva mounted the unnatural beast and said to Penelope, "Be careful."

"I'll be careful if you don't get yourself killed," she retorted with a smirk. They parted for their respective tasks.

***

It was early the next morning when Zicone, Lauren, Jannick, Runa, Alyssa, and Chandra entered the large columned circular building and went up the stone spiral staircase. This time they dressed more formally, mostly just in nicer and cleaner versions of what they liked to wear. The top floor was quite a ways above the entrance hall. Like the lower level of the building, there were no walls. Columns held up the roof but it was mostly open air. The top floor was tall enough to afford a sprawling, expansive view of Narbon. They could even spot the walls of the city, which seemed miles away.

"Welcome, delegates. Please be seated," said a grey haired man at the head of a long stone table in the center of the hall, "I am Yamus Aircloud Malgry." Jannick had seen an Air Elemental before so he recognized what Malgry was. Elementals were beings of energy by nature, taking a shape or an appearance for brief moments but otherwise not corporeal. Manipulating objects was hard to do in an Elemental's true form, however. It was common for Elementals to craft and inhabit humanoid bodies. Malgry's robes and hair billowed a bit here and there just as he sat: the only obvious indication that he wasn't human. "We have a few new delegations joining us today. As fortune would have it, that would mean all requested delegations have arrived. Please state your names for the Summit's record and then we can continue." Malgry was a well-respected elder in Narbon. He hosted and moderated the Summit but he hadn't done much yet to really steer the discussion.

The great stone table was populated by folk of all different appearances and dress. Malgry looked to his left, starting the round of introduction from there. Three Elementals introduced themselves in order. "I am Kelvan," spoke a thin man with thinning sandy hair, "Thane of the Elemental Kunta and Servant of the Sacred Sands." Jannick assumed this meant he was an Earth Elemental of some denomination. Zicone and Lauren explained that the Elemental Kunta was the closest thing the Elementals had to a governing body. It was a council that only met when a situation arose involving all Elementals. Elementals usually tended to their own individual affairs. For those in their natural form, that meant wandering around in the element they were part of.