Raelus to Ekilore ; Expedition
Ladamer Vanhaussen
Raelusian Palace Throne Room
MORNING
"...This does not bode well, Ladamer." the Raelus King mused through the vibrations pulsing through his body.
His pacing back and forth across the majestically large throne room walls had gone on now for a least several hour. Hours that slowly began to work on the ever patient nerves of his loyal Lamapourean aide.
"My Lord, you fret so easily." Ladamer said, arms folded as he quietly calculated his lordship's form. "Surely the summons is of noble affairs. Anyone in your stature should no more than expect invitationals such as these..."
"But why from Ekilore?!" He yelled, throwing his hands up as his revolutions had made him face the elf once more. "Why would monks of Ekilore require
my solicitation at such an event?"
Ladamer, with a soft sigh, walked back over and retrieved the letter from the palace throne, where it rested for most of Calason's dreadfully prolonged fit. He skimmed it over for mere seconds, one of the hidden bonuses behind having decisive elven eyesight. The messaged played in his head much slower than it was read on paper. Ladamer knew it would be a minute before he had gathered the message in its entirety, so he stood in his usual place beside the palace chair and folded his arms in thought.
Ah yes, ... he murmured under hushed breaths.
Now then, Lord Calason. Allow me to gauge the severity of this situation ...
The message, having finally processed in his minds eye, began playing back to him as his train of thought provided a smooth voice-over:
What seemed like a long-winded message, only lasted about thirty seconds when met with Ladamer's quick registration. The letter in itself was by no means a threat or an order, merely another strongly urged plea of attendance from a human; requests of which Calason had no trouble sending Ladamer off on in the past. What was it about a summons from a monk or an Ekilorian man that caused his King to squirm and display such flimsy action? The answer was one that definitely needed further explanation.
"Are you somehow familiar with the Ekilorian's, King?" He asked with his calculating tone. The question made King Calason falter, causing a bit of alarm in his advisors ever so striking facade.
"...No..." Calson answered after a brief moment of hesitation. "No, it's nothing of the sort, Ladamer ..."
Ladamer, dressed in his everyday draperies, trotted over to Calason and stood by his side. "If there's something that troubles you as to why the Ekilorian's would request an audience with the ruler of Raelusian people, then--"
"I told you, there's nothing! Just a fit of panic is all!" His King grew quite defensive.
"Then why the unrest? The sweat forming over your mantle, or the throbbing from your temples? Does the privledge of duty excite you to this magnitude? Or is there something you're not--"
"I shall ride out in one weeks time!" Calason yelled more loudly than necessary. With a quick flick of his wrist, he acknowledged his aide. "Prepare my steed and armour, make sure they are well nourished and prepared for my descent from Raelus ..."
Ladamer rolled his eyes, something that very quite often happens when dealing with most of the rash decisions his King makes. His mind momentarily raced over to the ship burnings of old that granted King Calason his infamous title. He brushed the thought off with distaste as he spoke.
"King Calason, you and I both know there can be no preparation for your stead. King's are seemed lowly and frail, should they ever leave the confines of their countries. The letter asked that you perhaps send a envoy, someone who could relay the message back to you once the audience was met."
Ladamer knew exactly what he was doing. The king was unnerved and vulnerable, any sense of probing and trying to lead Calason to the right conclusion would definitely prove to have his benefits, should the right option be chosen, that is.
It didn't seem to get through to Calason what Ladamer considered. He took another sigh and pushed harder. "If only you had someone to call on for tasks such as these. Someone who you knew could be entrusted with the knowledge of foreign affairs ..."
Calason was the type of person who didn't quite know when he was being toyed with, unless it became obvious through voicing the deceit to him personally. Ladamer knew just what to say, and how to say it, to get his King to do whatever it was he so desired.
It took him a minute, as he reclined in the satin feel of his throne, to gather the face of someone worthy of such a duty. Ladamer had no choice but to wait for it, though, seeing as any further clues would blatantly give away who he really had in mind.
It usually didn't take him THIS long ... he would have taken the hint, or at least have caught on to it, by the time Ladamer had even begun addling him on.
Come on ... will you just say it al--
"You'll be my envoy!"
FINALLY! King Calason snapped underneath Ladamer's unimpressive glare to his lordship.
Still Ladamer at least had to
PRETEND he was shocked, lest he end up giving away his ulterior motive. With as much emotion as a mime at a one-man festival, he mused, "Oh! Me, my lord? But... but whoever will uphold their duties as your Palace Advisor in my stead?"
Calason's mind was set, hopefully the answer to his next question need'nt require much goading. "It will be fine, Ladamer! I'll have my best men, well as far as
best goes, anyway, to uphold your duties while you're away."
There was still one last matter to have Calason address though, the bonus addition to what Ladamer really had intended all along.
"I-I'm flattered by the concept, my lord ... but..." his eyes trailed off, as if in worry (Ladamer was quite the actor today, as much as he secretly despised using such treacherous tactics on his own King). Still, it needed to be done to assure the safety and defense of Raelus during what was sure to be a long trip by sea.
Calason became frantic. "What? ... What is it, Ladamer?"
Feigning a smile from parsing his lips, Ladamer spoke up again. "It's just... someone of courtship is only to be held accountable to represent the King in matters involving Knighthood and the like. I'm but a militiamen, in charge of disbanding your troops ..."
Calason pondered this, since it was most certainly true. What was he to do about it though? There was a dreadfully massive amount of work required to upgrade Ladamer's status into political affairs and out again upon his return.
Seeing his lord's plight, Ladamer invoked a third session of leading his King along. "If I may, my lord?" Calason nodded his response. "There are ways to have me accompanied by guardsmen, as to show my bump into becoming a member of the courts..."
This got his attention. "Yes? Go on."
"If you granted me courtship, and kept me in charge of militant affairs, you'd have no obligation to complete the necessary paperwork that ties along with it. All I need do is have a few guardsmen in tow, who'd proudly wave your banner as they introduced me as your advisory..."
King Calason was skeptical, sure, but he had to admit that Ladamer had found a pretty clever loophole to the laws of the court. Surely no one would dare, contest Ladamer being giving military and political control in Raelus. It'd certainly raise eyebrows, but if anyone deserved the promotion, it'd be him most definitely.
"Ladamer Loure Vanhaussen. Militant Advisor and Political Aide to King Christian Calason of Raelusian Knightship ..." King Calason played Ladamer's new title out loud. The thought of it all almost made Ladamer want to cheer, but he'd never do that, not in front of the King at least. "The name will have to do for the moment, and the ceremony in the courts will take place upon your return.
Ladamer nodded, "A wise choice indeed, lord Calason. The townspeople will hear news of the courtship with open hearts and ears..."
To this, Calason also nodded. "As they should ... I'll have the men prepare you the finest ship the Lamapoureans can muster. You'll leave within the week..."
This actually managed to raise an eyebrow on the loyal advisors forehead. "...But, sir... the day is Friday, the week is almost over?"
Calason reclined in his chair once more, eying Ladamer with latent prejudice. "Then you'd best prepare yourself, Lamapourean." He squished and molded the letter of the monks into a petty ball and tossed it aside, landing somewhere indiscriminately behind the palace throne.
"You played your way into courtship ..." Calason mused with squinted eyes, making the breath in Ladamer's throat catch. "Congratulations... let's hope the goading on and deceit was worth it..."
With one last flick of his wrist, he shunned Ladamer away, proving something Ladamer had (until now) never thought possible. Still, Ladamer followed suit and exited the Throne Room with earnest, keeping his upright stance as he treaded out.
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Sunday
MORNING
En Route to Ekilore
Many Lamapourean men and humans had joined Ladamer on his journey to meet the audience of eunuchs of Ekilore, as per King Calason's request. After what transpired on that previous Friday, Ladamer wouldn't dream of asking for anything of the sort, he could more than likely do it himself. That is, if his promotion into courtship wasn't just a ruse from his King, whom as of late had exhibited incredible prowess in distinguishing Ladamer's deceit from nonfiction. Perhaps Ladamer was getting too easy to read? Was his infamous cunning becoming so meager that even the readable King Calason could interpret it? The thought almost drove Ladamer insane; it would definitely be a moment before the elf felt he was ready to forgo any negotiations between militant rebels again. Looks like it'd be a lot more fighting than talking from here on in.
Most if not all of Ladamer's belongings dressed the huge hull of the vessel. Clothes, herbs and foods, even crates containing canisters of his special acupressural needles, lased with the venomous poison they were known for. Whatever he didn't feel the need to story would be placed inside the ship by crewmates or nameless guards he knew supposedly take up the task. So instead of doing much labor, he stepped onto the ship and awaited his departure, which luckily came shortly after.
The the trip lasted well under two months time, seeing as the captain followed Ladamer's advice and avoided the Sea of Storms. The first leg of their trip took them through the Traders Waters, named unimaginably due to the mass amounts of mercantilism that passes through its avastments. Once they'd made their first day-long rest in Old Zealand, they continued their expeditition towards the rapid waters surrounding Arawaga Hills. They instead traveled along the length of Shinguo, passing the capital, Zhongshen, past the sanded range that was Shizabaku, and into the Deep.Blue towards Ekilore. All of which took about a good month and a half, and they arrived at their destination just at the stroke of midnight that would be the day of the meeting.
During that time, Ladamer took it upon himself to bring along reference material to study, based upon where they were traveling, and what stops they'd make along the way. He'd completely memorized the customs of the people of Old Zealand and Zhongshen, all of whom struck him as odd compared to life in Raelus. Shizabaku definitely caught his attention once he'd learned of the exotic desert-life that inhabited most of the land and surrounding areas, kind of like the woods behind Old Lamapoure.
It came as no surprise to him when he came in full-view of the Oculus Tower and its massive marble exterior. The rumors definitely held true, in that it was as never-ending as the skies themselves, and you couldn't tell where the top was just by a glance. Eager to take a look inside, Ladamer had his shipmates dock the boat and he hurriedly ventured inside. Judging by the vast number of ships already docked ahead of him, he'd imagined he was already dreadfully late, so he blemished into the crowd of individuals already talking to the Ekilorian eunuch already.
After a rough journey to the top of a hidden observatory, Ladamer definitely found himself in uncharted territory, so to speak (it was definitely on the map), and the characters around him looked as if they'd been summoned to this area for the same reason.
The actual reason though, was indeed its own mystery.