saluted then looked Jared up and down quickly, appearing
agitated.
"Greetings Takoba" the man. “May I ask who is the
boy?"
"Greetings to you Captain. I
need to take him to The Council chamber .” He put his right hand on Jared's shoulder
reassuringly.
"Who is he?" the Captain asked
again , looking
nervous.
"Wait
here" Mordalayn said quietly to Jared then gestured to the Captain
to step to one side. He spoke quickly and rapidly in the man's ear.
The soldier looked at first surprised and twice glanced over in
Jared's direction. He nodded at whatever Mordalayn was saying and
then signalled to two of the other guards who had been watching
them.
"Take
the Takoba and the boy to the council chambers" the Captain said,
staring intently at Jared.
The two soldiers the Captain
had nominated as escorts moved silently in sync to step either side
of them. They began walking to a large wooden and ornate door. The
Captain said something to another officer who glanced with a
shocked expression at Jared. Mordalayn put his hand on Jared's
shoulder and gently nudged him forwards. As they approached it the
door on the left hand side swung inwards with a groan and hit the wall with a loud bump. The
guards moved, one taking up a position to the front of them and the
other to the rear. They were expressionless.
The corridor on the other side
of the door was dark and Jared's eyes took some time to adjust to
the gloom. Some way ahead of them was a brighter area that looked
like a larger room. The guard at the front marched quickly,
Mordalayn keeping up easily, Jared stumbling along briefly as he
tried to increase his step. The walls either side seemed to
be made of jagged rock but it
was very dark and Jared couldn't really see.
They came into a brightly lit
area that took Jared's breath away. Hanging from the ceiling was a
huge chandelier like a
crystal tree hung upside down. The jewels in it glittered with a
dazzling display of white light, cut with flashes of rainbow
colours. The floor was paved with what appeard to be white marble
and in the centre of the room in a circular pattern below the vast
chandelier was a dark, ruby red pattern of tiles. There were
various soldiers and people moving about, one or two wearing white
and gold robes, like priests. Doorways in arched frames led away in
several places, via little flights of steps.
"Stand here" Mordalayn said as
they arrived at the centre of the room. The two soldiers took up
position either side on one of the dark tiles while Mordalayn
turned around and stood behind Jared. " Don't be scared and don't worry. This is a short
journey" he said gently. Jared felt his stomach lurch slightly as
the tile began to move. The circular pattern of other tiles,
identical to the one they were standing on, then flowed around and
one at a time lined up in front of theirs. With no sound at all the
tiles formed a line and then theirs moved forward. The tile in
front of it slid underneath and replaced it in the first position
and every time they cleared a tile the one ahead slid back to take
its place.
They
moved towards a large gap between two small flights of stairs.
Again the corridor was dark and at the end Jared could see bright
light. As they entered the dark tunnel the tile they were standing
on lit up slightly, illuminating the space around them. The walls
here were smooth and black as ebony. Jared felt slightly scared but
stood still as Mordalayn said. The tile continued on, its successor
silently replacing the space it left as they carried on their
journey. After a few minutes of travelling the tile reached the lit
up area and Jared could see there was a vast wooden table in the
middle. It seemed that wherever he was, the people here did not do
things on a small scale. There were no doors and the room was dome
shaped with only the table and the entrance they had come from. As
the tile they were on stopped, the soldier at the front stepped
clear. Jared glanced over
agitated.
"Greetings Takoba" the man. “May I ask who is the
boy?"
"Greetings to you Captain. I
need to take him to The Council chamber .” He put his right hand on Jared's shoulder
reassuringly.
"Who is he?" the Captain asked
again , looking
nervous.
"Wait
here" Mordalayn said quietly to Jared then gestured to the Captain
to step to one side. He spoke quickly and rapidly in the man's ear.
The soldier looked at first surprised and twice glanced over in
Jared's direction. He nodded at whatever Mordalayn was saying and
then signalled to two of the other guards who had been watching
them.
"Take
the Takoba and the boy to the council chambers" the Captain said,
staring intently at Jared.
The two soldiers the Captain
had nominated as escorts moved silently in sync to step either side
of them. They began walking to a large wooden and ornate door. The
Captain said something to another officer who glanced with a
shocked expression at Jared. Mordalayn put his hand on Jared's
shoulder and gently nudged him forwards. As they approached it the
door on the left hand side swung inwards with a groan and hit the wall with a loud bump. The
guards moved, one taking up a position to the front of them and the
other to the rear. They were expressionless.
The corridor on the other side
of the door was dark and Jared's eyes took some time to adjust to
the gloom. Some way ahead of them was a brighter area that looked
like a larger room. The guard at the front marched quickly,
Mordalayn keeping up easily, Jared stumbling along briefly as he
tried to increase his step. The walls either side seemed to
be made of jagged rock but it
was very dark and Jared couldn't really see.
They came into a brightly lit
area that took Jared's breath away. Hanging from the ceiling was a
huge chandelier like a
crystal tree hung upside down. The jewels in it glittered with a
dazzling display of white light, cut with flashes of rainbow
colours. The floor was paved with what appeard to be white marble
and in the centre of the room in a circular pattern below the vast
chandelier was a dark, ruby red pattern of tiles. There were
various soldiers and people moving about, one or two wearing white
and gold robes, like priests. Doorways in arched frames led away in
several places, via little flights of steps.
"Stand here" Mordalayn said as
they arrived at the centre of the room. The two soldiers took up
position either side on one of the dark tiles while Mordalayn
turned around and stood behind Jared. " Don't be scared and don't worry. This is a short
journey" he said gently. Jared felt his stomach lurch slightly as
the tile began to move. The circular pattern of other tiles,
identical to the one they were standing on, then flowed around and
one at a time lined up in front of theirs. With no sound at all the
tiles formed a line and then theirs moved forward. The tile in
front of it slid underneath and replaced it in the first position
and every time they cleared a tile the one ahead slid back to take
its place.
They
moved towards a large gap between two small flights of stairs.
Again the corridor was dark and at the end Jared could see bright
light. As they entered the dark tunnel the tile they were standing
on lit up slightly, illuminating the space around them. The walls
here were smooth and black as ebony. Jared felt slightly scared but
stood still as Mordalayn said. The tile continued on, its successor
silently replacing the space it left as they carried on their
journey. After a few minutes of travelling the tile reached the lit
up area and Jared could see there was a vast wooden table in the
middle. It seemed that wherever he was, the people here did not do
things on a small scale. There were no doors and the room was dome
shaped with only the table and the entrance they had come from. As
the tile they were on stopped, the soldier at the front stepped
clear. Jared glanced over
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