Teal woke with a start and panicked.

He was sitting in a chair, and he was thoroughly chained to it. In fact, it was a chair designed for this very purpose, to bind and hold a prisoner without any prospect of escape. Its wood was strong, sturdy and most likely reinforced with metal bolts in the joints from the way his immediate attempts to shake free failed. A strong, thick piece of metal rested over his neck, preventing him from moving his body forward. His arms, lying on the armrests of the chair, were secured in three different places, as was his legs, each limb bound to the front legs of the chair as well. Another thick piece of metal covered his lower body.

He couldn't move. Someone had gone to great lengths to ensure that he wouldn't be able to escape.

Teal closed his eyes against the sun streaming through the long windows to his left and breathed deeply trying to regain some calm. His heart was pounding in his ears. He was trapped and a prisoner. He possessed superior strength that much was true, but even he had limits, and he doubted if he tried to tip the chair over, it would break.

He breathed two long steady breaths and hoped that the stories of the Emperor and his men were true, and that he was indeed a reasonable and understanding man who would appreciate what Teal had done for him.

The previous night came to him in flashes, and he recalled he had not been handled roughly but had been taken care of. His upper body had been washed and his shoulder was now free of darts. It was bandaged and, at present, was only a dull throb.

He took stock of the room. It was simple yet comfortable with a bed in the corner, a chair and table near the twin doors at the entrance. Large windows on the opposite side of the room looked out into the center of the estate. The windows, he noted, had bars, but this wasn't a dungeon room or a cell, and while they weren't at an official palace, such a residence would surely still have the means to hold prisoners in less than comfortable accommodations. It was Teal's only reassurance that maybe his situation wasn't as dire as he first believed.

The sun's rays shifted a good distance on the stone floor before three men entered, two of which were heavily armored. He nervously watched their every move. One, Teal recognized, as the man he had spoken to when he had first arrived. The second, bulky but with striking good looks and a foot taller than the other two, was there just to exert a domineering and frightening presence. That was until the three men were followed by an additional twelve soldiers who lined the walls of the room. Teal blinked. It was not that surprising really. It was in the human nature to fear what they didn't know.

The man at the front narrowed his eyes and ignored the additional chair that had been placed directly before Teal for him to use. "Please excuse the precautions," he said, waving at Teal and the chair that held him. "I think you can appreciate the necessity."

Teal's eyes fell to the metal that trapped him and when he spoke, his voice shook. "I can assure you, they're not necessary.”

"I'll decide that," the man intoned in a non-fuss manner.

Regally dressed in dark green slacks and a short sleeved fitted vest that came down to his thighs, the man addressing him was tall and well-muscled. In contrast to his clothing, he sported a soldier's history. His arm bore a soldier tattoo that began on the inside of his left palm and travelled up the inside of his arm. He had intelligent brown eyes, chestnut hair and a day's shadow on his jaw. He was certainly the kind of man that if Teal saw in the street, he would do a double-take. In second thoughts, Teal wouldn't need to do a double-take because he was sure he would never let a man like this out of his sights in the first place.

Teal saw the man notice his appraisal, and his cheeks began to burn when the man raised an eyebrow and uninhibitedly, let his eyes run over Teal's body with more scrutiny as well. The man suddenly rose to his feet and started to walk around him.

"The silky, silver hair, and the natural black streaks in the sides. The muscular form of a warrior that allows for fast and rapid movement. Elegant shoulders and strong arms that while smaller than the average man in the Empire, are said to be capable of ripping a person's head off."

The man paused at Teal's back. Teal hated such open analysis. He stared at the wall before him, frustration filling his body.

"Your skin," the man continued. "Hulenian's see less sun due to your mountainous mist, but there is a distinct difference.” He walked round to face Teal and leaned over the chair to stare him straight in the eyes.

Teal frowned. How did the man know he was from Hulena?

"Eyes the color of a cerulean ocean which the legend states can only be satiated after a feed on human meat. You are a Lombock, are you not?" he asked.

Teal glared. "Yes."

A fleeting slice of shock washed over the soldiers in the room as if they had hoped their suspicions were false.

The man stood up straight, took a step back and sat down on the chair before Teal, and quite conversationally he asked, "How is it that the Lombock have been living inside the Empire all this time, and it has not been reported?"

"They aren't. I mean, it's just me," Teal replied. "My parents found me when I was baby, abandoned, and took me in." He was eager to move the conversation in another direction. "Where's the scroll?" he asked. "It's very important. Brelen insisted that I hand-deliver it to the Emperor."

The man laughed, in an almost delightful way. "The Emperor is not here," he said merrily. He placed his hand inside his clothes and pulled the scroll Teal had painstakingly brought with him. It was still sealed. "Do not fret. I will personally see to it that it gets delivered."

Teal's scowl only deepened. "And who are you?"

"My name is Jale," he replied simply. "One of the Emperor's personal advisers, among other things."

Teal reassessed his situation. He had never been in the presence of someone so close to the Emperor before. The sudden realization of where he was, the calibre of the people he was in the presence of, and the number of soldiers in the room to protect Jale just in case those legends were true, hit home. No wonder he was bound to the chair.

He swallowed uncertainly. "It still doesn't matter. I must personally see to it that the scroll is handed to the Emperor."

"Let's make something very clear," Jale said, leaning forward in his chair. "You will not see the Emperor. I am the closest you will ever get to the man. Once I am finished here, I will travel to inform the Emperor of what you have told me."

"The forest outside..." Teal said with sudden concern, trying to lean forward but stopped by the metal across his body. "It's not safe. You can't go out there. I was followed."

"Yes," Jale responded. "I know. Good job the Emperor isn't here after all, isn't it?"

It was a rookie mistake, Teal guessed.

Jale continued calmly, "It doesn't matter. The Emperor will be very pleased the scroll is safe. It holds some very sensitive information." He folded his hands across his lap settling in and making himself comfortable. "It would seem that you have quite a story to tell me. I am curious to know how the scroll came into your possession and I'm also curious," Jale waved his hand from Teal's head to his toes, "about you, especially when you seem to have quite a resilience to the Ashkin darts. Three darts would have killed anyone else."

Teal swallowed nervously and looked towards the windows wishing for escape.

As if reading his mind, Jale spoke again. "Let me be clear that while your current presence has certainly caused us to increase our men on duty, if you're story is true to the Empire, you are a free man."

Teal looked back to Jale in disbelief. "Really?"

"Really," Jale confirmed.

Teal glanced around the room and then down to his own lap. In the past two weeks, all his thoughts had been on arriving, standing before the Emperor and freeing himself from the scroll. Now all he could think about was escaping. He couldn’t see himself getting out of his current situation any time soon though. "What do you want to know?" he asked.

"Everything. How did you come across the scroll and what happened to Brelen?"

All eyes were on him.

"It was quite by accident," Teal started. "Brelen stumbled upon our camp one night."

"Our?"

"My friend, Cokrin, was with me."

"Where?" Jale asked.

"Near the Lailen Crossing," Teal supplied. "Brelen was already injured. He told us he had fought an assailant. He killed the attacker, but he had suffered injuries as well."

"What were the pair of you doing that far from Hulena?" Jale asked.

"We were on a trip to visit The Temple of Eternity. Cokrin had always wanted to see it. Once he returned, he was going to be promised so he knew he would never get another opportunity to do so."

"How can we be so sure that you're not the one who killed Brelen?" It wasn't Jale questioning him this time. It was the soldier who had stepped out of the crowd to address him when he had first arrived. His suspicion towards Teal was tangible. "How do we know you didn't think there might be some wealth in delivering the scroll yourself?"

Jale didn't rebuke him for speaking. He merely continued watching Teal attentively.

The accusation stunned Teal. He hadn't even thought along those lines, that he might have been suspected as the attacker, and that he was only in this for gold coin. He shifted uncomfortably on the chair.

"I didn't even know about the scroll until Brelen told me but I guess, I can't prove that," he said quietly. "You have to understand, a man came stumbling out of the forest with a message for the Emperor, claiming to be one of his men. It was a chance of an adventure, but I can assure you I did not come out of this for the better. My best friend was also injured."

He stopped then, fear for Cokrin sweeping over him. He still couldn't believe that he had left him, bleeding profusely on the edge of that small town. But Cokrin had wanted to play the hero. He had wanted them both to be heroes.

Jale crossed his legs. "Don't worry about Ladet," he stated. "Brelen was his cousin. Continue."

Teal swallowed and tried to avoid Ladet's glare. "Brelen asked me to help him get the scroll to the Emperor. He told us that I would find the Emperor here." He took a deep breath and dove into the story of what had transpired over the past two weeks, filling in how they had agreed to help Brelen who had been dying from his wounds, how they had been attacked themselves, and how Cokrin had been injured. Teal also explained how he hadn't been able to help Cokrin or Brelen as more pursuers approached. He didn't elaborate he had killed.

"And we're just to believe you?" Ladet asked again. "That you decided on the good grace of your heart to risk your life for a scroll? That you left your friend behind without a second thought?"

Teal glared back, his hands clenching into fists on the armrests of the chair. "Yes, because we knew it had to be important. Why else would men be so bent on killing one of the Emperor's soldiers, injuring my best friend who could now easily be dead as well?"

Teal shook his hands against the armrests of the chair for emphasis, the metal clinking and straining against the chair. The soldiers along the two walls twitched nervously. The worry for Cokrin came in waves, but there was another worry as well.

"Please," Teal said his voice shaky. "I need to speak to the Emperor."

"Why is it so important to see him?" Jale asked. "I have the scroll now. Aside from the Empress, I am the closest to the Emperor. You can trust me."

Teal shook his head. "I'm sorry...Brelen told me to trust no one but the Emperor."

Seeming to want to push him further, Jale turned his attention back to the scroll and began to slide his finger to meet the seal.

"Don't!" Teal cried angrily, his voice rising. This time his whole body struggled against the chair. It creaked again under such protests, but it still held him.

More nervous shuffles from behind. Jale ignored them, his face neutral. He flicked his thumb and the seal opened. Jale unwound the scroll and held it out and away from his body, his eyes on the inside of its surface, so blatantly bold that Ladet and the soldier at his back were able to see what it contained, and they both looked. There was a faint shift in their stance at whatever they spied on the scroll's surface.

Teal swore, but there was nothing that he could do.

There was only silence and then, Jale rose to his feet and held the scroll before Teal.

"It's blank!" he spat.