Garion followed the red hooded person into the winding torch lit corridors. As they passed though the dusty castle. Garion took a mental note of the fact that the darkness was not caused by lack of windows. But rather every window had tightly drawn curtains. At last the came to a great wooden door inn the west wing of the castle. The servant raised a gloved hand and loudly knocked on the door. The servant the gestured for Garion to head inside. As he crossed the threshold into the room he heard the door close quickly behind him.

Garion looked up to fined six pairs of eyes fixed directly upon him. He recognised three of the people, all of them where sat around a circular table in the centre of the room. From the amount of occupied chairs it was clear he was the last to arrive. From the abrupt silence he guessed he had interrupted a conversation. And lastly from the fact nobody around the table would look him in the eye he guessed that the topic of the conversation had been himself. Garion approached the empty chair and sat down.

As he sat the hunchbacked man with the greasy hair he had come to know was the duke cleared his throat. “Thank you for finally seeing fit to attend the cancel, Mister Greensleeves.” He croaked in a voice like a frog making sure to place a particular empathsis on Garion's Title. “Wizard” Garion said bluntly. The Duke looked shocked, as if nobody had ever corrected him before. “The Correct Phrasing would be Wizard Greensleeves” The duke furrowed his brown digesting his own words “Wizard Greensleeves” he croaked “with your arrival i will begin this council meeting”

Garion looked around the table and the council members. The duke cleared his throat, took a drink from a golden goblet set out on the table in front of him and began to speak. “Let meeting 704 of the high council of King Robert of Brackenfall Kingdom Begin. Chair of this meeting is Myself James Duke of Brackenfall and Voice of The King” He Gestured to himself. King Robert. He gestured to the king. King Roberts huge form was slumped back in a chair. A soft snoring was drifting across the table from where he sat.

“The Secretary of this meeting is Lady Foxglove honoured guest of the House of Brackenfall” The Duke Croaked. The large lady from the feast the night before sat to the other side of the sleeping king, She was hurriedly scribbling away on a long parchment with a long feather quill. She nodded in acknowledgement. Small puffs of blackish smoke with exhaling from he nostrils as she concentrated on he task. “Inquisitor Rika the representative of Blackcity Confederation.” The Duke gestured to one of the strangers around the table. The man was clad in black leather armour. As Garion stared at the armour, he realised with a slight amount of horror that it was not leather armour but was rather made from multiple layers of flayed human skin. He shivered but he didn't let it show to the group. For the first time he felt Jezta’s tiny feline form move subtly in his hood. It would seem the familiar was paying attention to the conversation going on in the room.

The Inquisitor nodded to the group not taking his eyes off of Garion. Garion met his gaze until the duke introduced the next two strangers. “Captain Thorne of the dragon slayer guild.” a man sat beside the inquisitor waved a had to the table. His armour was made of scales, the dragon-slayer guild like the inquisitors had a tradition of using the skin of the chosen pray as there armour material too it would seem.

“Mariana Thorne also of the Dragon slayer guild.” the duke Croaked again gaining a gesture of acknowledgement from a small woman no older the Garion in the chair to his left. Her armor too was made from dragon scales, although her scales where much less colourful then the captains. “and finally we have Wizard Greensleeves, Court Wizard of King Robert” Garion raised a hand in acknowledgement.

“first we will begin with an agenda of everything we will be discussing at this meeting, there aren't many topics this morning so i hope you may all be back to you duties soon” The Duke croaked in his frog like voice.

“Today We have two item on the agenda, Firstly we have a new inductee to the council who must formally take his oath to the king” he gestured towards Garion. “After this we shall receive reports from the Black city and Dragon-slayers guilds respectively.” he finished and reclined back in his chase seemingly allowing his scribe to catch up with her notes. A familiar rotten egg smell followed the small puffs of black smoke across the room. The Duke nudged The King who was sleeping in his chair. The king started awake. His knees banging on the huge table and caused it to shake in its place. He looked around the groups and took a moment before her met Garion’s eyes. And began to speak in a deep reverent voice.

“Garion Greensleeves Wizard of the order to you agree to serve as Wizard of King Robert the fifth?” The King Asked Garion. Garion pondered the moment. Oaths could be a harmful or valuable thing. One of the first teaching of his teenage years had been about not to take oaths without first thinking. After awhile he concluded that The King Seemed trustworthy. “I do indeed my king” Mutter Garion to the group. The king looked to the duke “is that all you need from me uncle?” asked the king, with a nod from the group he leaned back in his chair and fell back to sleep.

Th duke cleared his throat and began to speak, “let the record show Garion Greensleeves is Now Wizard of Brackenfall” Croaked the duke, Glancing over to the meetings scribe who after a few more words nodded for him to continue. “Inquisitor please give us you report on the confederacy's current affairs” the duke croaked before he himself reclined back into his chair. This time The inquisitor in the skin leather armour back to talk from under a bushy black moustache.

“Good morrow, fellow honoured council members” The Inquisitor said, his accent was unfamiliar to Garion but as the main spoke Garion felt Jezta tense up in his hood. “Today i can report that this years taxes have increased by 30 percent, production in the capital is up by 5 percent and crime rates are at an all time low. I brought with me today our donation to the kingdoms territory. This is all a have to report.” the inquisitor finished clearly having memorized the statistics from a small piece of parchment on the way to the meeting. The duke seemed satisfied with this and seemingly had no question “Next we shall hear from Captain Thorne. Please do tell us some good news Captain.” the duke croaked.

“Alas good James. I do not” said the captain, “as you know most of our agricultural territories outside of the capital have been suffering from waves of dragon attacks in the last four years. I am saddened to report we our still struggling to understand why the dragons are attracted to our kingdom.” the Capitan looked towards Garion “Maybe the Honourable Wizard could lend a hand in investigating such a matter?” the Captain asked the group at large. The woman with the smokey nostril snorted “i do see how he could help” she muttered, clearly not writing her snide remark down. The Captain either didn't hear her or chose to ignore her instead waiting for the Duke to speak. “certainly you may have access to the wizard, if he so wishes.” the Duke croaked in answer. The captain smiled and gestured to the girl beside Garion “Dearest sister would you liaise with Wizard Garion on behalf of the guild, i have other matters to attend o in the coming weeks.” the Captain asked the girl in the armour beside Garion. “are you certain that's wise?” asked the inquisitor. I thought better of you then to trust witches Thorne” spat the insuisitor, this brought a smile from the smoky lady as she scribbled it down eagerly. “I see no harm in allowing a fully qualified slayer to make her own decisions inquisitor.” The captain said a honest threat of violance laid under in words as he spoke. the inquisitor backed down. And the tension in the room dissipated.

“Agreed” Croaked the duke “the slayer Mariana Thorne shall remain in Brackenfall council as an honoured guest until such time as she chooses to leave” the groups all nodded in agreement. All apart from garion who was unaware of anything of the dragon-slayer guild. The all anxiously stared at him. After he eventually nodded the duke cleared his throat. “with that i declare this meeting of the council finished”