Lightning flashed across the dark sky as thunder roared and awoke the silent night. A boy about to enter his thirteenth summer, hurried up the long flight of stone stairs. The stairs wove themselves into a cliff as each step the boy took, he ascended closer to his payment.
The foundation of the castle was rooted in the rocks that jutted into the ever violent waves that shook the rocks causing them to splash into the ocean. A man watched the young courier with his gray eyes. He leaned against the wooden railing of the balcony, that strained against his strong build, as he saw the courier disappear into the main gates.
The man turned and started the descent down the inner chamber stairs into the meeting hall. Three men rose from their chairs as they saw the man enter the hall. The meeting hall consisted of ten heavy brown oak chairs lined around a red oak long table that sat in the middle of the hall. On either side of the table were two hearths that burned brightly as the red flames hungrily fed off the freshly chopped wood.
Two guards wrapped in red iron armor paced around the meeting hall watching as the young courier withdrew a letter from inside his jacket pocket and waited for permission to enter the man's presence.
The man gestured for the courier to deliver the letter. When the courier did, he paid him one Yul and motioned for him to leave. When the courier left the meeting hall, the man sat down in his bone throne as he sat at the head of the table. The throne consisted of bones that he collected from his kills, both man and beast alike. The three men sat down after the man was on his throne.
"I have in my hands proof of the demise of the king" the man said as he finished reading the letter. "It looks like the Citadel actually came through on their promise. I will be the first to admit that I am surprised."
"My liege, can we really trust the Citadel at their word?" Thorn asked the man. He was tall with no meat on his bones. Glasses sat on the bridge of his nose while he spoke. His black hair kept short and tidy on his head. "They are our enemies and have everything to gain to mislead us."
"Thorn is right Emperor," Kieron spoke this time. His rolls of fat jiggled and got pinched between his arms. His three chins shook under his square face. His brown hair was messy as the hairs didn't know which way to sit. "Can we really trust the Citadel's assassin that they actually killed the king. Where's the proof?"
"Oh Kieron, I forgot how experienced you were in killing," the Emperor laughed. "I think your rolls of fat may be hiding some bodies."
Kieron said nothing, but Wendall spoke in his place. "I agree with them sir." Wendall was short with a skinny build. His long blonde hair sat on his shoulders. "How can we know that the letter is even sent by the Citadel or the words in the letter are real?"
"You three are my most trusted advisors" the Emperor slouched to his right with his hand under his chin. "If my advisors dont believe that the king is rotting in this earth then I give you permission to draw blades and finish him off yourselves."
Silence filled the air except the occasional crackling of wood from the hearths. The guards' heavy footsteps echoed throughout the meeting hall.
"I am the gods dammed emperor and the people of Carinbe work for me and do my bidding, no matter what that may be," he rose from his throne and paced the room. "My name will be feared in the whole of Trelos and I will not be undermined by anybody. If the Citadel thinks they can undermine me then they are gravely mistaken."
"I have a mission for you three," the Emperor smiled as he bent over the table and placed his hands on the table in front of the men. "Go summon my assassin. She will be help me fulfill my destiny."
The advisors looked at each other but said nothing as the Emperor lifted his hands from the long table. "You three are dismissed, now get out of my sight."
He watched as the men scrambled to leave the meeting hall. The Emperor slipped into his throne and sighed. The thunder continued to rumble its way through Carinbe as he slipped into an uneasy sleep on his throne. His red hair stuck to his head as the heat from the hearths caused sweat to drip down his face.
The guards paced the room without rest as the lightning flashed its way into the meeting hall. The white light flashed over a man crouched in the top corner of the inner chamber stairwell where no guards or even the Emperor knew he was there as he gathered all the information that he came for.