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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7410765" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 155Konstantin quickly stepped in and began making introductions.  The old man was Administrator Tamrek; the woman to his right Arcanist Javerin.  Both offered only neutral stares as their names were given.  By contrast, the gnome, who Konstantin introduced as Gavelmaster Ostrick, bowed his head in greeting and regarded them with a sly smirk that suggested he knew more than he let on.Once the Circle had been introduced, Konstantin in turn presented each of them to the waiting wizards.  He gave their full names except for Xeeta, who he introduced as “Xeeta of Li Syval.”  Glori thought she detected some subtle reaction at that, a hint of shared significance.  From what Xeeta had told her of the cult that had raised her, and the obvious connections to what had happened in the Silverpeak Valley, she could guess as those associations.  But they’d already gone over all of that during the long interviews that had followed their immediate arrival in Severon.But it was clear from Bredan’s manner that something had changed, at least for him.  He stood rigid during the introductions and barely waited until the last was made before he stepped forward.  But Quellan, perhaps also sensing his friend’s explosive mood, spoke first.“Thank you for meeting with us,” the cleric said.  “We thought that it was important to…”“We want answers,” Bredan interjected.  “No more bull.”“Ware your tone,” Javerin said.  But Tamrek shifted a hand in what must have been a signal, for Konstantin quickly added, “We will tell you what you want to know.  But please, be seated.  There is no need for shouting or rude behavior.”The companions came forward and took the seats that faced across the table at the wizards.  Konstantin came around to join them, taking the seat to Ostrick’s left.Glori was quick to take the chair to Bredan’s right, even as Quellan seated himself at their friend’s other side.  It was a gesture of support, though the need to keep the suddenly volatile young man under control was definitely also in their minds.  As Glori pulled her chair back she caught a glimpse of something else; there was another person present in the room.  The watcher was on the highest tier that circled the room, behind the last row of padded benches in the gallery.  He stood in the shadow of one of the curving buttresses that rose to support the ceiling.  He was wearing a coat that partially concealed his tunic, including the insignia stitched into his collars, but she could guess who he was from the colors he wore.  The presence of a representative of the King at this meeting inserted an added significance, and she wished again that they could have taken some time to talk and consider the consequences of what had happened before pushing this meeting.  On the other hand, the wizards did appear to be off-balance, at least at the moment, so maybe Bredan’s instincts were correct.“We were relieved to learn that you had been recovered safely,” Konstantin said once they were all settled into their seats.“You used me and my friends to take out Pentar and his organization,” Bredan said.  Glori could just hear a soft sign from Quellan on the warrior’s far side, but her attention was focused on the wizards.  They were good at controlling their expressions—all save for Ostrick, who continued to look mildly amused—but she could sense the intensity coming off them.“They were terrorists,” Javerin said.“They may very well have been,” Quellan said.  “But we haven’t been given enough information to judge.  There are powers at work here that we do not understand, and that is why we have come to you.”“We did urge you to be patient,” Konstantin said, his tone conciliatory.  “And not to pursue dangerous—”“I’m done with being patient,” Bredan said over him.  “I want answers about what’s going on here.  It’s all connected… Pentar, what’s been happening to me… even all that business with the war and Kavel Murgoth is connected, somehow.  I deserve to know what you know.  And if you won’t tell me, I’ll seek those answers elsewhere.”“We are not accustomed to being threatened in our own stronghold,” Javerin said.  But her anger had already ebbed, and she and the other wizards were quick to turn their attention to Tamrek, who was obviously the senior figure present.  Glori shot a quick look up at their unintroduced guest up in the gallery, and noticed that he too had shifted, betraying a suddenly increased interest in the proceedings.Bredan seemed to pick up on that as well, for he focused an unblinking stare at the Administrator.  Finally, Tamrek gave a slight nod, a signal that had Konstantin turning back to them again.  The wizard folded his hands together in front of him on the table and took a deep breath, as if to gather himself.“I told you before that I was sent to find you specifically,” Konstantin began.“I remember,” Bredan said.“What I didn’t tell you was who sent me.”“I assume that the answer to that is connected somehow,” Bredan said.Konstantin straightened, and a hint of the edge that had suffused the attitude of the other wizards appeared in his manner.  “What we’re about to tell you is confidential, and not to leave this room,” he said.  “This is not merely for our convenience.  The secrecy is for your own safety and that of others, as you will soon learn.  There are only a few individuals within the kingdom who know this information.  The King and a few of his agents, and a few high officials in the leading churches, including the church of Hosrenu.”Glori resisted the urge to look over at Quellan.  Her eyes did flick briefly up to the gallery, but nothing had changed in her view of the royal observer.“Once I continue, the five of you will be added to the circle of those who know,” Konstantin went on.  “If you share any of what I am about to tell you, the consequences will be immediate and severe.  Do you understand and accept these conditions?”“You’re asking me to swear an oath without knowing what I’m swearing to,” Bredan protested.“Nevertheless, you will swear––all of you—or this meeting is over,” Javerin said.There was a moment of silence that stretched out between them.  Glori looked over at her companions, her friends.  Kosk looked distracted, and Xeeta determined.  Quellan looked concerned, but Glori knew that he would not be able to resist the lure of new knowledge, or the mystery that the wizard had evoked with his words.  Maybe that had been deliberate, she thought.But her focus was on Bredan, who continued staring across the table at the wizards.  “I swear that no one will learn of your secret from me,” he said.  “Is my word sufficient, or do you require blood?”Glori had an image of him summoning his huge sword and laying it on the table in front of them, but the elder wizard spoke, the first words he’d offered since the start of the meeting.  “You are bound to us, now.  Your fate shall be tied to ours, such as it shall be.”</blockquote>

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