When the old servant said his master was “expecting” the convoy, it didn’t mean he was waiting with open arms to receive them. Instead, the servant led them through the gate into the courtyard then stopped and turned to face them.

“Stables’re thataway,” he said, pointing to a smaller side gate. “Just go out, turn right, and follow the wall. Planning to stay the ‘ole night?”

Sergeant Tamharu, having been given the order to take the lead, said, “We don’t wish to inconvenience Master Ligish, but if he has places for us to bed down, it would certainly be appreciated. We can use the stables if necessary.”

The old man grunted a laugh. “The Master’s poor but ‘e ain’t that uncivilized.” He turned and started trudging toward a doorway opposite the one we’d entered. “Well, follow me.”

“Dismount,” Sergeant Tamharu called. “Private Ap, leave the cart here. Then you, Private Miljan, and Private Danijel care for the horses. Everyone else, let’s go. Mages up front with the captain and me.”

The servant led them inside the castle and through a few corridors.

The interior wasn’t as bad as Xerxes expected it to be. Apparently, only the extremities of the castle were suffering from rot, although it was still possible to catch whiffs of mold and mildew. The east side of the place had guest rooms. Sergeant Tamharu split everyone up between them, with officers sharing one room, mages another, and the soldiers split up between the other rooms.

The old servant disappeared at some point.

Xerxes, Gandash and Bel surveyed their room, within which were four beds, some wardrobes, as well as other random furniture pieces such as tables, chairs, and the likes. There were tapestries on the walls, a few rugs, and some lamps as well. The room was cozy without being cramped, even if it did smell quite dusty. Bel even sneezed.

Gandash lit the lamps as Bel and Xerxes distributed their traveling packs.

A few minutes later, Commander Ishki stuck her head in the door. “Mages, change out of your traveling attire and get into your uniforms. The real work starts soon.”

“Yes, sir,” the three young mages responded. Mages weren’t soldiers, but they did have uniforms for formal occasions.

“Ladies first,” Xerxes said, stepping to the door. “I’ll wait out here.”

“Right,” Gandash said, face flushing a bit as he hurried to follow.

Outside in the corridor, Xerxes elbowed his friend and said, “You should have stayed.”

“Shut up.”

Ten minutes later, the door cracked open and Bel stepped out.

She wore a robe of overlapping layers of magenta and blue cloth. The neckline was low, but not excessively so. A headdress of overlapping golden leaves covered her forehead, and both of her wrists were bound with bands of gold decorated with green and blue jewels. She had also applied blue eyeshadow and painted her mouth red. It looked more like Isinian garb than fashion from Od, but that was the trend among mages. After all, the Academy was located in Isin.

“Wow,” Gandash said, then snapped his mouth shut and tried not to look awkward.

“You really clean up, Bel,” Xerxes said. “Even took time for makeup. In only ten minutes?”

“Your turn,” she said.

Xerxes and Gandash hurriedly threw off their traveling clothes and changed into their mage attire.

Their overlapping robes were of green and orange, with ornamental girdles of gold and leather, plus white, cylindrical hats decorated with gold. The Mage Parliament allowed for some measure of individuality, and thus, Xerxes wore his hat tilted to the side, and also rolled up his sleeves jauntily. Meanwhile, Gandash added leather bracers to his outfit.

When they emerged, Captain Ishki was waiting for them along with the stooped servant and two soldiers. Apparently Sergeant Tamharu was to stay behind.

“This way,” the servant said, and he led them through more corridors until they reached the castle’s great room.

As soon as they entered, they saw Master Ligish seated at a wide table. He was middle-aged and wore the frilly clothing one would expect of an Isinian tradesman or merchant. His outfit wasn’t particularly fashionable, and it hardly seemed to fit him, draping over his stooped frame in a way that made it hard to tell if he was fat or skinny.

Standing, Master Ligish smiled and said, “Welcome, Captain Ishki and company! I hope I didn’t rush you!”

“Of course not, Master Ligish,” the captain said, brushing past the servant. The mages and soldiers followed her as she approached the table.

There was something about Ligish’s accent that stuck out to Xerxes, though he couldn’t place exactly what it was. The man didn’t speak like someone from Fal. And based on his dark hair and eyes, he couldn’t be from Od. But at the same time, he didn’t seem Isinian. Of course, even within the borders of Isin, there were different accents and slang words. And that wasn’t to mention there were other corners of Manneid that weren’t controlled by any of the three kingdoms, and had traditions and cultures that went back generations. In any case, the man’s speech patterns didn’t seem to fit anything that Xerxes was familiar with.

“I put out a bit of a spread,” Master Ligish said, gesturing at the table. “Nothing quite as extravagant as the Mage Parliament is capable of. I hope you don’t mind. Please, sit wherever you’d like.”

Captain Ishki took the seat of honor, and everyone else sat according to seniority, with Bel taking the next seat in line, Gandash second, and Xerxes third. The soldiers sat at the end of the table.

Spread out before them was enough food to feed fifteen people, as well as ale and wine. All of it was decidedly plain and simple.

“I don’t expect you to trust me,” Master Ligish continued. “Please have your mages check for poison and the like.”

“Seer Bel?” said Captain Ligish. “Can you do the formalities?”

Bel tapped into her mage sight and looked over the food. “It’s all clean,” she said a moment later.

Master Ligish smiled. “Please, eat first. Then we’ll discuss the matter at hand.”

Xerxes poured himself water and took some lamb, flat bread, and diced vegetables. Of course, he surreptitiously checked everything with his own sight first. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Bel. Rather, their training called for them to exercise such caution at all times when on missions.

At first, everyone focused on eating. Then Master Ligish and Captain Ishki engaged in some small talk, discussing current events in the kingdom and Mannemid in general, and the weather.

“Did you notice the meteor shower last night?” Master Ligish asked.

“We did,” Captain Ishki answered. “Unusual for this time of year.”

“Indeed.”

A few minutes later, the captain apparently had enough of the chitchat.

“I’ll forgo bringing out the official paperwork,” she said. “As you know why we’re here.”

Master Ligish nodded. “I do. I assure you, these charges are completely ridiculous. I suspect they were concocted by Master Korash of Castle Korash. He’s been trying for years to undermine me.”

“Regardless, formalities must be complied with. We’ll need to do a full inspection of your work facilities, and the castle in general.”

“I would expect nothing less. When would you like to begin?”

“Now, if possible.”

A look of surprise appeared on Master Ligish’s face. “That soon? I’d hoped to throw a banquet of some sort for your men.”

Captain Ishki gave him a tight smile. “I’m sure you’d prefer us out of your hair as soon as possible.”

“In that case… I suppose we might as well start now.”