[hider=My Hider] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRT3FOOk9ZI [/hider] "What do you mean she's coming here?" Ge'es said, coldly - there was fear in his tone. "How? Only I know how to weave through the void. Bah. Head-Enchantress? More like-..." He felt a prick on his neck, then peered down the length of the house the men had refurbished into a tavern. It was homely he thought, in fact, even the King had come to see their new abode to show a sign of faith, hence why he was even here. There was little else to do now so each and every man was un-armoured, well dressed and jolly. Drink and song was flowing aplenty. Though there was an avid complaint about a lack of women. Ge'es had taken to occupy the far booth so he could sit by the fire in a high-bank chair. "So when is she arriving, then?" Enid sneered and laughed, tapping his fingers against the wide table as he sit across from the advisor. His crown was tilted on his brow; being the one he pilfered from the throne room of the Northern Kings no less. "What? Not a fan of my Queen? Go on, finish your sentence." The King nodded, grinning stupidly. Ge'es just grinned back, standing he bellows to the tavern. "All hail Queen Hei'ann! Queen of magic and icy rage!" He raised his mug and laughed aloud, his tone was in jest as the rest of the Knight's soon realised after a brief silence and then the tavern broke out into an uproar. The music went even louder to compensate. Enid seemed to find it deftly amusing, slamming his hand into the table whilst rolling his head back in laughter; which just spurred the men on further by example. The Magus grinned and sat down, taking another draught of the northern mead the men had taken a great liking too. The uproar ended gradually as everyone else returned to their loud discussions. [hider=My Hider] https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=TRT3FOOk9ZI#t=5073 [/hider] "She will be here this evening." Enid paused, pointing at him. "Keep your tact and do not cause another faux pas." The King's tone was stern and he knew not to question it, thus bowing his head obediently. But this was a time for jests and amusements, so he pushed it some. "One must admit she did start the first-... brawl? I would call it a brawl. She flung a spell at me that nearly tore me asunder!" Ge'es quivered his lips, he still felt the pain of that day. Enid smirked triumphantly. "And in her defence, I will add that it was you whom provoked her into doing so. You did not need to have a battle of the ages in my damn Throne Room. I had nobles crying out for -both- your executions." Ge'es laughed wholeheartedly, making the King snicker. "The noble council cries out for everything and gets nothing. So why did you chose to punish no-one?" The King just shrugged, pointing at the ceiling before taking another deep draught of the mead. # "I could not be bothered, really. Plus I have to sleep with the woman; if I tried to have her arrested I would, for one, fail. Then end up with a scorned, fiery brunette in my covers. I think I would prefer to leave my bed warm and happy rather than on fire. Or not at all." Enid sighed, rubbing his eyebrows. "Women."Enid rolled of his tongue. Ge'es couldn't help but agree, snickering loudly. He quaffed from his mug. "Can't say I envy you for that." "That is because everyone woman you have designed to court ended up either running away to the distant realms of who-knows-where or died horrifically." His pause was meaningful and he sounded more like the friend he used to be than the King he knelled before years past. "You really need someone... plain. It will counter-balance in the right way, I am certain. Not that I will help you - last time I tried the council scolded me for 'interfering in un-Kingly business.'" Enid grunted, taking a look around the noisy tavern once more - Ge'es followed his gaze as the silence lingered between them to notice that the cards and dice had been put out. The trusted and tried old games never failed and it caused more than a few curses or forced drinks. By now he was sure they had already conquered this drink, though the tingling in his fingers and swimming head quickly proved otherwise. His gaze met the King's for a moment as he leaned back in his high-bank chair. "Maybe." "Maybe what?" "Maybe I should try, after we're done here. If we're ever done here. It seems hopeless, really. Our kindred tried eons ago and failed. What has even changed?" He sensed Enid's pride building up and probably a speech to come. "Because I am leading us this time. Because the conjunction is about to trigger and -then- we act. Once-... what am I saying, you already damn well know what we're doing. If not, we'll have to wait another godless age for it to happen again. Which won't happen." He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "We've already lost our homeland and now we're stuck in a dimension one man and one woman can traverse out of because of our ancestors being utter cretins." "We trusted 'gods' once. My father told me that on his death-bed, of all the Spirits and their grand plans. Now half of them are mad and the other half are deranged beasts. With, what, the one's that linger here uncorrupted?" "Indeed. We've one, now. You saw it-.. her... whatever it was." "I believe you remember me removing her from that insufferable prison, no? Only to put her into another one." "I would say it was willing, really. She didn't argue - or speak, or do anything. All she did wa-..." Ge'es interrupted him, with a half laugh. "Touch your face and make you fill your pants!" The King was not pleased with the comment as he threw a punch and missed spectacularly. "Bastard. I was already near death at the time - I still feel the blade slices everywhere, too. It was-... it was an ethereal moment. We -need- them to do what we've worked so hard to do. None of these primitives will understand and we need a large staging ground. This was the first stop, now we just need to-... you know." "I do. I think it folly, but we are still missing vital components and the conjunction is nearing. It's very near." "You sense it, do you?" "Not per-say. More... it's inevitable and everytime reckless Queen's tear the world asunder to meet their husbands, it only makes it worse. Coming here with as many people as we did was extremely risky. You didn't even tell them the risk; we all just followed blindly." "Because I told them too. Everyone was sick of waiting; the people cried out to me to do -something- this time. Not so we could run away again. Once we've gotten every piece of what we need, then they'll remember me as the King that stood his ground; one that said no and fought back." "It was why I followed you, indeed. That and I would dare say you are some fool of a friend I made, Prince." Ge'es sighed as he reminisced, smirking bitterly. "Your father hated me to the end, too. He hated everything." "He was a bitter old man. But he knew what he was doing - we built up, he entrusted me with the plan. His plans, not mine; I would of botched this if not for his guidance." Ge'es went silent, as did the King whilst the tavern raged on around them - drink flowed, cards piled up and the odd man that couldn't hold his liquor collapsed to the floor only to be dragged out by his comrades for a cruel punishment to the weak - which was probably going to be something hilarious; the men had a humour for things like that. Two mugs were set down onto the counter by one of the other Knight's, bowing to both the King and the Royal Advisor. "My Liege, Your Excellency. Mead for you. We're nearly down to the last barrels in this place; I'll send the men out tomorrow to search for more - think this will lay us by for today, at best." He glance behind him at the conclave of men drinking to their hearts content. "Maybe not." Enid smiled, taking the mug after downing the other. "Indeed. True you are. Have the men on-duty search for it. Divert a patrol or two to start ransacking the town. Do not burn anything down, Captain. We've already had a few fires and they were annoying." The Captain nodded, bowed and then departed to go do as he was commanded. "Bottoms up, then." Ge'es said, going to down his other mug to then start dishing into the other more than eagerly. * By evening the tavern was even louder and the amount of drunk men in one place was staggering. Enid lay his head on the table, groaning and Ge'es stared gormlessly at the fire, half asleep. It was safe to say the mead, now completely dry, had made felled the Knight's of Red and Black. The only thing that roused the King from his nigh slumber was the sound of the door opening and the rattling of a chain; he knew full well what that was and then looked at his advisor for support - it was not answered. "You... bastard. Damnations." The King grabbed onto the edge of the table and pushed it out the way, locking the passed-out Magus into his chair awkwardly then made his way over to the door. Before even taking a few steps he saw her, crowned and dressed up as ludicrously as most aristocrats were. The Queen was short of stature and thin, dangerously thin - he swore she was like a twig half the time but her violet eyes, smooth visage, flowing brown hair and a dangerous smile was all that he wanted to see. Her garb was a icy-blue dress with the odd spikes coming from the shoulders that acted as pauldrons but probably made going through doors awkward, he seemed to conclude dumbly in his head. The rest of it was golden embroidery of the puffed up and rather tactful attire of the Queen, it almost looked as if the thread and cuffs were silver but he knew it was just thread; his wife had a thing for silver thread. Everything had to be that colour or of moonlight or she was not pleased, for accessories at least. The past few years he had learned that when buying her clothes or jewellery. Not that it stemmed the fire in the little icy Queen of his. "You're drunk." She said, with a stare that made him want to keel over. "... We were celebrating-..." He paused to hiccup into a hand. "...your arrival! And here you are with such... lovely company. Did you have to bring all of them? I-.. It was dangerous." The Queen face-palmed and looked back at the royal handmaidens and namely the -entire- council of Magi that were looking at the drunken stupor of people in the place with disgust; it was hard to please Mage's that did more research than anything else. "You disgrace yourself, husband. We can talk tomorrow. Point me in the direction of my quarters and -I- will do your work for you, pompous oaf. Where's Ge'es? I want him with me t-... oh, of course." She spied the drunken man in the highbank chair, making her want to facepalm again but it would likely upset her make-up balance too much - she already had a subtle hand-print on her face. In Enid's great wisdom, he went to go run a knuckle down the woman's cheek, which she didn't refuse but the stare she gave him had more venom to kill a man. "I-... missed you." She sighed loudly, going to knock his hand away subtly. "And I you. Now shut up, stop grovelling and point me where I need to be. Unlike some, I have work to do." Enid rolled his head back and shouted for a Knight, just in general - he bellowed so loudly it silenced the room which was already getting more and more quiet, due to the presence of nearly twenty or so delegates and cabinet members - even drunk Knight's knew not to upset such people in the aristocracy. An armoured fellow eventually marched up from the other room where the men whom did not partake in the consumption of alcohol decided to reside. He kneeled before the King and Queen then just followed the Queen's orders as the world went blank. [i][b]The King of the Riders of Red and Blank, head of the Aristocracy and Sovereign of the Hunted fainted. Ge'es woke up at the thud, only to faint as-well - falling face first onto the floor after hitting the booth. [/b][/i]