Power Awakens
Chapter 22

The group had been in the west wing of the enormous keep in their guest rooms for the best part of three days when the summons came. A servant came to escort them to a suite of rooms at the centre of the keep. Petrek had noticed that Mank and particularly the Keep, was kept very clean and the light brown sandstone blocks, that made up most of the building material used in Mank was generally kept free from moss and soot.

As the servant escorted them to their meeting venue, Petrek noticed his surroundings becoming more lush and vivacious. He had never been to this part of the keep before, and he didn’t even know whom he was going to see. The boys had still not been apprenticed to anyone and Petrek and Eddick were keen to set off to the Westron Mountain Library to begin the search for answers.

Abruptly the servant stopped in from of two huge copper bound dark oak doors, the servant rapped three times opened one of the doors and poked his head round, on receiving some kind of silent signal, the servant pulled his head back around the door and indicated the group should enter.

As they passed through the double doors, Petrek noticed the Quad of Royal Body Guards stationed on either side of the doorway. The room they entered was huge, brightly lit by natural daylight, it was approximately thirty spans across in an oval shape, pictures of famous battle scenes adorned the walls, and dominating the room in the centre was a huge rectangular dark oak table almost black in colour, and obviously old, with a warm weathered look. The table had approximately forty richly upholstered chairs, finished with dark red leather on a dark red wood base. At one end of the table were seated three richly dressed noblemen, and at the opposing end of the room from the one they entered stood another Quad of Royal Body Guards resplendent in their highly polished dark black full body armour, two with their hands on sword hilts at all times, the other two with blackwood expensive crossbows held across their chests. Both Quads looked as if the were on the edge of movement but at the same time they look relaxed.

Petrek was wondering why there were two sets of Royal Body Guards when he noticed Arem, the King of the Northern Wastes, who broke off his conversation with Master Majee Nuthay, and gestured the group over.

The whole group were taken aback, all of them clearly showing their surprise on their faces, with the exception of Osakee, who just looked uncomfortable without a Weapon, in particularly without Harvester. The entire group had been disarmed on entry to the keep, with a bitterly complaining Osakee who had only given up his weapon when he had received cast iron assurances from the keeps Weapons Master.

Clearly untutored in court etiquette the whole group attempted an awkward bow to the King. The King of the Northern Wastes was a vassal king to Herrick the King of Bruk, however, he had retained the title even though the greater part of the Kingdom of the Wastes had been subsumed into Bruk in the War of Attrition over five hundred years ago. The remaining part of this Kingdom was annexed by the Morrs and although the combined armies of the Kingdom of Bruk, the Kingdom of the Wastes and the Greater Empire of Naj, had totally defeated the Morrs, Nedite, Bhagwatis and off world Necro’s, the damage to the far northern part of the Kingdom of the Wastes had been devastating, totally destroying the armies who raged against the southern allies and laying waste to the land, nothing now lived in that part of Cromus.

King Arem, as with the preceding monarchs of the Northern Wastes, were all completely loyal to the throne of Bruk, and they all shared the same governance, laws, religion and culture. The term King was almost an overstatement for Governor of the northern part of the Kingdom of Bruk.

Nevertheless, Arem was crowned a King and the boys, Eddick, Petrek and Osakee, were for the first time ever, in the presence of true Royalty.

“Ah, so this is the strange ragtag group you told me of Nuthay,” Said the King, as he walked towards the group. The King at forty six had a deep resonant voice, which carried, easily across the room. “I received a very interesting letter from my cousin the Archduke of Bowltown about a very nasty business in the West. I also have had numerous reports from various Captains and Majees concerning these young boys here. Now I have to decide what to do with you. It seems clear that I need to apprentice the boys but it maybe that I can’t keep them here for the whole apprenticeship, if what I’ve been told by my advisers is true. And its equally clear that Captain Petrek and his brother Eddick need my support in their quest for information, as it appears the answer to some very interesting questions could affect the whole Kingdom of Bruk.”

“Well I’ve decided that the boys…” Arem looked at a piece of paper in his left hand “Mort and Ainy will be apprenticed with my Royal Staff, and the boys … Tem and Jaac will be apprenticed to Nuthay and my sword master, until such time as they need to move on. Now that is confirmed, Captain Petrek, I would very much like to speak to you and your Brother before you depart for the Westron Mountains, and also the Haittee Warrior. You boys can retire back in your rooms and someone will come for you in due course. Be advised that why you are in my court I expect discipline and your behaviour to be impeccable.”

“Yes your Majesty, Sire, My Liege” stammered the boys together, as they made their way out of the rooms and bowed awkwardly yet again.

As Jaac was leaving he asked Ainy “What’s a Haittee Warrior, I thought Osakee was a Priest or something?”

“Dunno” said Ainy, “anyway we have enough to talk about, do you think they’ll keep us together? This place is massive, I want to have a chance to explore, and we’ve been cooped up in our rooms for three days, suppose we will have to wait yet again”

The servant who was showing them back to their rooms replied, “No, no young Masters, I overheard the Kitchen staff talking about you four, it seems that special arrangements are being made this day to move you to new quarters, near your new Masters, only Tem and Jaac will be sharing, and I hear even that won’t be for long”

The boys exchanged glances and provided a muttered thanks to the servant, and then they followed silently back to their rooms.