Though I hated to admit it, that was one thing about Elaine that made her better suited for the job. Her infatuation with me made it much easier to spend a large portion of her time watching my mental condition. Even so, George was a quiet lad and he hadn’t shown too much in the way of youthful recklessness yet. I was quite sure that in his place, and at his age, I would have been a poor fit for the job.
George was trying to inconspicuously pick his nose when I spoke to get his attention. “George, are you sure you want to spend all day following me around?”
He glanced up before answering, with a face almost devoid of expression, “Nope.”
His honesty caught me off guard. The boy had a combination of frank honesty and sarcasm that, when mixed together, often left people puzzled. I didn’t mind though. I had been an arrogant young man myself once. Most would say I wasn’t too far from it even now. “Glad to hear it,” I responded with a grin. “I feel much the same way.”
His lip twitched into an almost awkward smile, which I took to be a good sign. Without further ado, we took the teleportation circles, and soon we were standing once again in the Traveler’s Pinnacle. I led him up the stairs to take in the view from the highest balcony. Before we reached the top I sensed the presence of another person, a guard or messenger at a guess, based on his clothing. Stepping out, we saw the man standing near the edge, taking in the view. He turned back as he heard us on the stairs.
“Your Excellency, I have a message for you from the King,” he told us, adding a deep bow of respect.
I gave George a sideways glance before answering, “The balcony is rather an odd place to send a messenger.”
The messenger blushed with embarrassment. “I was told to wait for you at the teleportation circle, mi’lord, but I could not resist the urge to look out from the pinnacle.”
“No harm done. Anytime I use that circle it is because I am coming up here for a look, so you might as well wait here. The view is certainly a cure for boredom,” I said with a smile. “How long have you been waiting?”
“Since daybreak, mi’lord.”
“Give me your message then,” I told him. Dawn had been three hours ago.
He straightened as he performed his duty. “The King requests your presence at your earliest convenience. Being aware that you might not check the message box until late in the day, he sent me and several others to wait at circles you might use, to deliver that message to you as quickly as possible.”
Technically, the King of Lothion didn’t have to ‘request’ anything. Given our long relationship and the fact that I had played kingmaker in setting James on the throne however, he tended to be very polite when it came to ordering me about. Still, his reason must be fairly urgent if he hadn’t wanted to wait until I checked the message boxes this evening. I walked over to the stone wall and looked out between the merlons. “Come enjoy the view with me for a moment, and then you can take the circles back to the palace with me. I’m sure you don’t relish taking the stairs all the way back down again.”
The messenger let out a grateful sigh. The stairs leading up were hundreds of feet in length before reaching the room with the teleportation circle. The final stair we had just taken was less than twenty five feet.
The view was spectacular, as usual.
“I’m glad one of the messengers found you so soon,” said James, as we retreated to a private chamber to talk. Whenever possible, he preferred to meet with me in less formal settings. Neither of us was entirely comfortable with the nature of our relationship in public.
Once the door was shut and we were truly alone, I stepped forward, and ignoring his outstretched hand I embraced the man who was something of a surrogate father to me. “Don’t be so damned formal,” I chided him.
Relaxing, he finally ended the hug with a solid thump on my back. As we parted he spoke again, “I wasn’t quite sure where we stood.” He was referring to our last argument, over the nature of our ‘aid’ to the Kingdom of Gododdin.
I gave him a dour look. “That was business, even if I do think you were wrong. We’re family after all.” Technically James was my uncle, but the relation was through his wife. In reality I felt a kinship to him more because of my childhood and my close friendship with his son, Marcus. “What did you need?” I asked.
James had a curious expression on his face, somewhere between boyish grin and subtle embarrassment. “It actually involves Gododdin. Your knights have done such a remarkable job driving out the undead, that King Nicholas has found the time and wherewithal to make the journey here.”
I raised one eyebrow. “He came here? How much warning did he give you?” I had only met Nicholas once a few years back, when we were ‘informing’ him of our intention to cross his borders to fight the shiggreth. At the time he had been desperate for aid, so permission wasn’t a problem.
“Almost none,” said James with an audible cough, a sure indicator of his annoyance. “Presumably this was to ensure there would be little chance for assassins, or other enemies to attempt to waylay him. He arrived with only a small escort.”
With a light laugh I replied, “That’s as may be, but I’m sure he had more reasons than that.”
“Certainly he also hoped to catch me off guard; to see what he might learn from an unexpected visit, though he cannot afford to damage relations between our nations. It is a fine line Nicholas walks in arriving here unannounced,” James stated bluntly.
“I’m certain he still needs to court your favor, unless he is a fool, and I certainly didn’t get that impression the one time we met,” I said, by way of agreeing with him. “You still haven’t told me how this applies to me,” I finished.
James grimaced. “He wants to meet you, to thank you for the work the Knights of Stone have done for his country. He is also hoping you’ll give him a tour of the World Road.”
“I should have known!” I exclaimed loudly. “I thought we agreed I wouldn’t be giving any more ‘tours’ until next year.” I was a bit annoyed. Although I understood the need to show and explain the purpose of the project, in order to drum up interest and maintain firm support amongst the nobility, James had agreed to leave me alone for another year before setting any more ‘visiting dignitaries’ in my lap.
He held up his hands, “This isn’t just any diplomat, Mordecai; this is the ruler of Gododdin.”
“Only because I’m still patrolling his borders,” I snapped back, “otherwise either the shiggreth would have taken them all, or Dunbar would have annexed them.”
James smiled wickedly at me as he answered, “You were the one who wanted to take the high road and restore him to his throne. As I recall, I wanted the support of your knights in claiming Gododdin for Lothion.”
I glared back at him, attempting to use the stare Penny used to burn holes in me when she was angry. Unfortunately, I had never come close to perfecting the look. “The Knights of Stone were not created to invade and conquer,” I shot back, repeating my argument from years past.
“Then you’ll just have to face the consequences and entertain our guest a little bit. It shouldn’t take more than a few hours of your time to satisfy him,” said the King of Lothion, as he firmly drew his verbal trap shut.
I had been outmaneuvered. “Alright, have it your way. When would you like me to start my dog and pony show?”