“What kind of second-rate reception is this?” Saela grumbled as she stared upwards at the peaks which towered above them, facing away from the breeze as a thin frown stretched across her lips. “Not a shred of formality.”

Nina shrugged as she examined the stonework which made up the front of the castle. The fifteen or so minutes that they had been left waiting on the gravel had given her plenty of time to examine the intricacies, and now she had resorted to picking out her favourite parts. From what she could see of it, that was, as what she guessed was the back two thirds or so of the structure must have been embedded in the solid rock behind it. Maybe the interior penetrated even further into the mountain than that, but she didn’t hold any hopes of ever finding out. Much of the castle would be forbidden to them, and she certainly wouldn’t be given a free rein to explore either.

Perhaps the two towers which flanked the front wall were her favourite feature. The one to her left was round with snaking streaks of black running through the dark stone, while bas-relief patterns of different abstract shapes littered the lower floors. Higher up, above the few modestly sized windows below it, a wide screen of glass and steel seemed to stretch from floor to ceiling for an entire floor. The panoramic views of the town that it provided must have been breathtaking, and Nina had already made a mental note to ask Svanda to take her there. If she was allowed to or not was something that she would just have to cross her fingers on, although there also seemed to be many more windows even further up. The tower was eventually rounded off by a row of squat crenellations at the very top, although she couldn’t make out if there were any finer details from where she stood. At least it was a feature shared by the imposing square tower to her right, although besides a few similarly shaped windows, it was about all that they had in common.

Carved of the same stone, the right tower was functional. It didn’t feature any massive windows which might have been a liability in a time of conflict, instead reinforced by giant steel plates which were riveted into the rock. At least whoever designed them had taken consideration into their appearance; the largely square plates that were taller than Nina were arranged in an orderly fashion, while there was still room for decorative flourishes of steel around the windows. Saela’s comment that it was ‘like putting a dress on a pig’ had made her chuckle, she’d admit, but it didn’t mean that she shared the same perspective. It wasn’t as fancy as the round tower to her left, sure, but it had a certain air to it that left her in an uneasy awe.

The fact that both towers stretched some ten storeys above her also played a significant part in that.

“Oh, finally,” Saela said as Nina examined the section of stone which stretched between the two towers above the doors. It was plain in comparison to what flanked it, but the many regularly-set windows were framed by black steel which reached to the windows both above and below. The continuous metalwork created a lattice of black which seemed to reinforce the entire structure, but despite finally being up close, they still reminded Nina of a somewhat eerie collection of eyes which acted as the guardian of the town.

The crunch of gravel underfoot reminded her that there was also a new set of eyes for her to worry about. Clad in a simple grey robe which hung down to his ankles, a man with a messy mop of black hair stood before them, a thin yet weathered face directing his small dark eyes in their direction. Sizing them up for a moment with a dismissive expression, he rather-noticeably rubbed the sleeve of his robe over his badge before turning on his heel and setting off towards the strip of grey slate that he had appeared from.

“Follow me, outsiders.”

Saela shrugged before setting off after him towards the right side of the castle, Nina following behind. Careful to step only on the jetstone pathway beside the slate, they followed him up the stairs while being all too aware that he was paying attention to where they trod. Unlike the jetstone and white marble paths which had only a single path, the grey slate spread out to cover the space in between the central and side doors, the subsequently forming wedge allowing a Qualified to enter either. In this case, the man stepped towards the smaller door before pausing in front of it, turning to wait until the pair had caught up. It was strange, Nina found, that the three were essentially walking together yet not allowed to tread the same route. Half of the doorway was occupied by the streak of jetstone which disappeared underneath it, while it was mirrored to its left by slate. Maybe strange wasn’t the word; stupid would probably have been more appropriate, but she wasn’t about to insult their hosts before she had even walked through the door.

Hopefully Saela had come to the same conclusion.

“Open the door.”

Nina opened the door and was about to step through when the man strolled past her, arms folded behind his back as he did so. Fighting the urge to say something about his lack of manners, she followed him through while remaining on the jetstone path to find that they were now inside a narrow corridor. Maybe a semi-corridor would have been a better way to explain it after she took a quick glance around them, because she soon realised that it was simply an extention of the main hall. Instead of leaving everything open, however, a series of white arches ran down the entire left side of the passage that they stood in, a chest-high fence segregating them from the larger space. It felt more like a viewing gallery than a corridor, and the incredible sight beside them was blocked by a reminder that it wasn’t for them.

Intricate silver chandeliers hung above the cavernous space which must have been at least three storeys high, while white marble columns wrapped with steel shot up from the edges of the central marble path. Paintings, some of which must have been some six or seven meters tall, lined the opposite wall. Depicting a wide range of scenes from nature to what must have been Daerx Clan family members, Nina could only assume that they were matched by more which hung above where she stood. Past the few attendants in grey which scuttled about the room, she spotted the matching passageway on the other side. Her attention didn’t linger on it for long, however, as her eyes were drawn to the trio of staircases which sat at the end of the room. In the centre sat a wide and imposing flight of white marble stairs, steel railings stretching up each side in a flowing floral pattern, while it was flanked on each side by two smaller versions. Both flights were of grey slate, which wasn’t surprising to her anymore, and while they were tasteful, they nowhere near as impressive. At least Qualifieds could walk through the space, she thought ruefully. Such an astonishing welcome sat seemingly within reach, yet at the same time she knew that she would never be able to step inside it.

“Neat,” Saela murmured as she stepped in behind them, her desire to step on the slate so that she could walk up to the railing obvious. It seemingly wasn’t the first time it had happened though, as the man turned to face them with a glare before shaking his head with evident distaste. The dismissive gesture caused Nina to think that Saela might just try it to see what would happen, but then again, Svanda had been adamant about where and where not to step. Very adamant, when she thought about it, and so she wasn’t about to see what the logic behind it was.

“Don’t even dream of it,” the man said as he continued down the corridor, not even bothering to see if they were following. “Considering that your feet would be a stain on the great hall, being able to see it is a gift in itself that you don’t deserve.”

Nina felt a steady stream of rage begin to well up inside of her, but it quickly evaporated as a chuckle escaped from Saela’s lips. The reaction seemed to surprise the man in front of them too, as Nina noted the slight misstep in his stride. Turning, she saw that Saela now strolled down the passage at a leisurely pace, her hands behind her head as she ran an eye over each passing detail. Her expression now constantly swung between mild interest and ignorance, and Nina found that Saela had essentially become impossible to read by the time they reached the end of the corridor. At least there was no door this time, but instead an archway which led to a staircase that spiralled upwards.

“Laugh at me again and I’ll send you to the hanging press,” the man finally said as he paused in the archway, turning to face the pair. Nina tried to keep her face at a blank expression with only moderate success, but Saela somehow seemed to be completely unfazed. Svanda had told them not to rock the boat, yet they were already on the verge of doing so before they had even made it to their room. They would need to have a talk about everything with Svanda in finer detail, she concluded, or else they would land themselves in much hotter water than they could cope with.

“Laugh at you?” Saela asked with a wave of her hand. “I wasn’t laughing at you. Nina’s pants were just riding up her ass.”

Almost choking as Saela’s words reached her ears, Nina wondered if her face had turned as red as his.