Isaac woke up to the sound of someone banging on the door to his assigned quarters. His head was throbbing and he could barely open his eyes. He ignored it for a time and the sound finally stopped. He sighed with relief for a moment as he faded back to sleep. Then the insistent banging began again but louder and more agitating.

  “That's enough! I'm coming!” He yelled as he slowly sat up straight at the edge of the bed. He tried to recall his memories of the night before. The only thing he remembered was celebrating the end of this trip with Thrawn as they drank themselves to oblivion. He was now realizing that might have been poorly planned.

  He stood up and stumbled to the door unsure if it was him or the ship swaying. He grabbed anything that would supply him stability as he made his way. He pulled the door open expecting Nathaniel to be standing there with a stern look but instead he saw no one. He forced his tired eyes open a little more as he yawned and looked around. He looked down slightly to find Thrawn standing just outside the now open doorway. Isaac reserved himself to whispering. “I thought you were Nathaniel.”

  Thrawn spoke loudly with a large grin from ear to ear. “Can you hear it Isaac? Can you smell it?”

  Isaac resisted throwing up on Thrawn the moment he started speaking. Instead he just stared at him waiting for him to answer his own question hopefully.

  “Lots of birds and distant voices.” Thrawn took a big whiff of the air “and earth. Dirt and rock in all its glory.”

  “You're gonna make me sick Thrawn.”

  Thrawn picked up a large bag at his side and threw it over his shoulder. “We're pulling into the harbor. Get your stuff together and let's get off this thing. I might just walk back home after this trip.” He joyfully walked down the hallway while dancing slightly and humming a happy tune heading for the upper deck.

  Isaac stumbled back into his room and gathered his few belongings, packed them up, and made his way to the deck. He stepped out into a blinding and baking hot sun and felt his head ache. He raised his hand to shield himself from the light and look for Thrawn. Instead the first thing he saw was the sprawling City surrounding the ship and the harbor it sat in. The city made of sand and stone seemed endless and stretched across arid hills. What the buildings lacked in height they made up in quantity. Here and there a building would be a story above the rest but he could only spot a few in the distance that had any noteworthy height. The roofs weren't slanted for rain or snow, instead they were mostly flat or in some cases rounded. The city would be a pale expanse if not for the splatter of bright colors throughout that only hurt his eyes further.

  Brightly dyed fabrics of every color were prominent. They were visible through the countless cloth awnings hanging from buildings and the thin flowing fabrics of people's clothes everywhere. The streets were lined with vibrant cultivated flowers and trees in an otherwise near desert. All of it only made his head ache more.

  He turned to see Thrawn standing at the edge of the ship looking at the dock. He grinned as he walked over carrying his bag with one arm and still blocking the sun with the other. “I thought you were ready to get off the ship!”

  Thrawn didn't respond. Instead he just looked back at Isaac with a concerned look then looked back at the dock.

  Isaac continued his approach but didn't say a word until he was next to him. “What's wrong?” He whispered looking at him.

  Thrawn kept looking forward and pointed.

  Isaac looked to where he pointed and saw where two distinct figures stood in opposition to a group of what Isaac assumed to be the city guard. One of the two towered over everyone at the dock by at least 2 heads. He was clad in a full set of heavy armor made of an opaque black material accented by solid white fabric. On his back he carried a large shield and sword and on each of his hips he carried smaller blades but probably close in size to the average human sword. All of which were made of the same black material. The figure next to him was shorter but taller than almost every other person except a handful.

  She was draped in intricate white robes and wielding a large ornate staff. Her hands and feet bore light armor of the same black material, visible beneath the hem and sleeves of her robe. Her hood was sat back revealing her face. She was an elf with golden skin and long pitch black hair that was draped down her back and tucked behind her ears.

  Isaac and Thrawn watched together for a moment until Nathaniel appeared behind them. “Am I going mad or are the two of you early to something for once.”

  Thrawn laughed as Nathaniel joined them and said “maybe you're just late for once.”

  Nathaniel smiled and rolled his eyes. “I doubt that.” He looked at the dock and they all watched for a moment silently. “What's going on here?” He asked the two of them.

  Thrawn seemed excited to gossip “Well I can't hear over the sound of the dock but I think those two are trying to get in the city and the rest simply aren't having it. They're just arguing right now but it does seem tense.”

  Isaac looked closer and sensed he wasn't wrong. The Elven woman stood a few feet behind the tall warrior, holding her staff upright at her side, and watching the guards. The warrior stood with his arms crossed and occasionally moved his head. Isaac could only assume he was speaking because his helmet completely covered his face. Only one guard appeared to be speaking to the warrior but all six of them had their hands on their hilts ready to draw their curved swords.

  “Damn it.” Nathaniel sighed.

  Isaac leaned forward to look around Thrawn and at Nathaniel. “What? Is it bad?”

  Nathaniel complained loudly while he walked around both of them to the gangplank.“They're blocking the whole dock!”

  Thrawn turned and looked at Isaac. His eyes were wide with amusement. He quickly turned to grab his things and chase after Nathaniel. Isaac took a deep breath through his nose, still trying not to throw up. Suddenly he wasn't sure if he wanted to get off the ship but he quickly gathered himself and pushed those thoughts away. He walked to the gangplank and made his way across, nearly falling in twice. Once across he went looking for Nathaniel and Thrawn.

  He found Thrawn standing at the front of a crowd starting to form watching the altercation. Nathaniel was standing much closer with a frustrated look probably looking for a moment to interject. Isaac looked at everyone and thought to himself for a moment. He decided to approach the elven woman. “What seems to be the issue ma'am?”

  She turned to face him expressionless and slowly looked him up and down. Her eyes like all elves lacked a visible iris. Just a large black pupil surrounded by a thin white outline. The inside of her pupil had various gold veins stretching from the outside to just short of the center leaving it solid black. She had a silver ornate septum piercing that hung from her nose with a thin chain stretching back to one of her ear piercings. Her ears had several rings from the bottom to the top of her ears. Isaac looked up at her, starting to get uncomfortable under her gaze. "They are refusing us passage through the city. They find us threatening I suppose.” She answered.

  Isaac looked at her giant companion and laughed nervously. “I wonder why?” He questioned sarcastically

  “It's because we are Elvera. They keep asking us to hand everything over if we wish to continue.” She pointed at her companion. “I told him this would happen but he insisted on taking the shorter path. Humans have become so paranoid in recent years.”

  Isaac could hear them arguing more clearly now. “It’s the law! I've told you that! Either hand them over or else!” the lead guard yelled.

  The knight was like a statue but his voice was stern. “No. You will step aside and by my oath my blades will remain in their sheathes until I am beyond your city. Unless I find darkness to cast down.”

  The guard looked ready to explode “What the hell are you talking about? Look. Clearly your ride is gone and you can't go back.” The guard said, pointing to the end of the dock. Isaac looked to see an empty spot where a ship must have been earlier. “You're armed to the teeth and I can't let you into the city like that. Trust me. I don't think you have much of a choice, boy.”

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  The knight responded quickly. “and trust me when I tell you this. None of you are in any position to threaten me.”

  Isaac felt a chill run up his spine and clearly the guards felt it too as they all reached for their weapons. The knight didn't move, still standing straight with arms crossed. Isaac looked at the elven woman next to him and was surprised by how calm she looked as well. The dock was starting to feel like a powder keg and Isaac reacted before he could think.

  Next thing he knew he was standing right next to the knight facing all the guards. “I think there's been a misunderstanding!” Isaac yelled.

  Everyone went silent for a moment and froze. Isaac wondered if it was from surprise or confusion.

  “Then explain.” The head guard said.

  Isaac had made a grave mistake. He hadn't even thought this far ahead. “They're with us.” He said, trying to sound sure of his own answer.

  “Are they now?” The guard put his hands on his hips. “Then where were you earlier?”

  “We were running late. That's quite common for us.” Isaac pointed to Nathaniel where he was standing only a few feet away looking very distressed. “You can ask him. We're always late.”

  Nathaniel spoke up almost instantly, sounding quite frustrated. “No! It's the two of you that are always late! Not me!”

  “Who are you two?” The guard gestured to them.

  Nathaniel tried to answer first but Isaac beat him to it. “Actually there's three of us.”

  Nathaniel shot a glance at Isaac. “Yes. Three.” He looked back at the guard and continued. “There are three of us and we're part of a delegation for today's event and your majesty.”

  “Three?” The guard asked.

  Thrawn stepped forward from the crowd and held up a hand. He didn't say anything but his face made it obvious he was enjoying himself.

  The guard sighed and mumbled under his breath. “A dwarf too?” the guard rubbed his forehead as he tried to process everything. “And how do you know these two?”

  Isaac was quick to answer again. “They’re escorts. Our security.” Isaac reached up and patted the knight on the back. “They take their jobs very seriously.” The knight looked back over his shoulder and Isaac quickly removed his hand.

  The guard looked at everybody perplexed. “You must be drunk if you think I'm buying this.” Isaac could hear Thrawn laughing behind him.

  Nathaniel opened his satchel at his side and pulled out his reading glasses. “Sir if I could have a moment.” Nathaniel approached as he pulled out papers and began to shuffle through them.

  They stood there quietly whispering for a moment as Nathaniel shuffled through documents showing them to the guard. Suddenly the guard spoke up and gestured to Nathaniel to remove the papers from his sight. “That's great and all but what does that have to do with them?”

  Nathaniel responded "I've heard the nobles of the south are fond of their Elven servants. For a prominent event like this I want my security to also be a statement.”

  The guard tapped the stack of papers Nathaniel was holding. “In all this paperwork you don't have a contract proving this arrangement.”

  Nathaniel sighed “Must I have documentation for everything? Here.” Nathaniel approached the large knight, reaching into his bag and pulled out a decent sized coin purse. He held it out to the knight but he just stood there arms crossed. Nathaniel rolled his eyes and continued to the Elven woman and handed it to her. She took it from him but didn't say a word. Nathaniel returned to the guard. “There. That was the half meant for when they were done but I guess that makes it official in the eyes of the law.”

  The guard looked Nathaniel up and down then leaned forward as if trying to look inside Nathaniel's satchel. Nathaniel rolled his eyes and sighed even harder. He reached in his bag and he pulled out an envelope and handed it to the guard. “Here's the documentation you're looking for.”

  The guard looked over everyone one last time then revealed a smile. “Looks like everything's in order. Just don't cause any more trouble.” He looked at the crowd and yelled “Move on! The show's over, get back to work!” Then he marched off followed by the rest of the guards.

  They all watched as the guards left and once they were out of sight Nathaniel started his march toward Isaac. “What were you thinking?”

  Isaac took a few steps backward trying to avoid Nathaniel’s rage. He was speechless but thankfully Thrawn intervened.

  He stepped in between clapping enthusiastically “Great work everybody.”

  Nathaniel froze in his steps now focused on Thrawn. “Everybody? What did you do?”

  “I was the back up obviously.” He answered. “But it looks like y'all didn't need it.”

  Nathaniel tried to form words from his frustration but was interrupted by the knight walking past all of them and heading straight into the city. “And where are you going?” Nathaniel called after him.

  The knight stopped but didn't turn. “I have my mission. I appreciate the gesture but I must continue.”

  Nathaniel chased after him. “No. That was not a gesture. I didn't wanna be involved but now I've paid you and claimed you were my security so you'll be just that.” He pointed to the Elven woman now walking up. “You seem to be the reasonable one. We've entered into a contract and both of you are accompanying us to the center of the city. Not to mention if that group catches you again without me you're screwed.”

  The knight turned and seemed to look over Nathaniel and ignore him completely. He looked to his companion instead. She looked back at him. “It might be good to heed his words. We are heading in the same direction and perhaps fate has found us.”

  Isaac could hear the knight grunt with anger from beneath his helm. “We will comply then.”

  Nathaniel turned back to Isaac and continued berating him. “And I hope you know this will all come out of your pay. I mean honestly. What gives you the right? From now on before doing anything I want you to think to yourself ‘what would Nathaniel do?’”

  Isaac tried to think of a response and Nathaniel waited for him. Isaac held up a finger to ask for a moment as he turned to the edge of the dock and ran. He leaned over the edge and threw up everything in his stomach. He stood back up feeling light headed and returned to his position in front of Nathaniel. Realizing Nathaniel was still waiting for a response he decided to settle on a simple thumbs up and smile.

  Nathaniel rolled his eyes then looked towards the sun for a moment. “We'll talk about this later. We have one last ride to catch and we can't be late.” Nathaniel began to make his way off the dock. One by one they followed.

  As soon as they got off the dock and past the crowd Nathaniel was looking everywhere. Isaac began to look too, assuming he was looking for the last ride he was talking about. Isaac simply saw large streets and markets lining the pale buildings and busy harbor.

  A man approached their group and addressed them cordially. “The delegation from Syagon?”

  Nathaniel spoke up immediately. “Yes! I was told we would be escorted.”

  “Of course.” The man seemed too happy for no reason and Isaac could only assume he was pretending. “Your delegation received a special invitation by his holiness himself and it’d be an honor and a blessing to escort you.” He bowed slowly and gracefully. His clothing was layers of thin silks each different shades of orange that only went down to his knees and elbows. The top of his head was wrapped in the same material with part of it laid over his neck to protect it from the Sun. He walked like he was performing and led the group to what appeared to be a small square pavilion surrounded by men in the same style of clothing but made of simple rags.

  The pavilion had railing on three sides and against the back railing sat a wide luxurious couch. The other two sets of railing were two sets of equally nice chairs on both sides. It was enough to seat seven. A small table sat at the center with a bowl of fruits, wine glasses, and a large bottle of wine.

  The man stopped just in front of the pavilion and signaled them to take their seats. Everyone looked confused but Nathaniel spoke first. “No, I have places to be. I don't have time to relax. I need an escort. Are you confused?”

  The man didn't respond but instead just smiled obnoxiously, pretended to laugh, and gestured to the seats once more. Nathaniel stepped in first followed by Thrawn. Isaac turned to the two elves that joined them. He held out his hand as an offer to help her into the pavilion. She looked at his hand, ignored it, and helped herself into the pavilion. Isaac followed behind her, a little embarrassed. The knight slowly walked up and started to duck his head underneath the front of the pavilion to get in before the man stepped forward and stopped him.

  “You might be too big sir.” The man said without changing his expression.

  Nathaniel had sat himself at the center of the couch and already poured himself a glass of wine. “He's a bodyguard. He's fine right there.”

  Isaac was just starting to settle into the chair to the right of him and enjoy an apple and nearly choked hearing Nathaniel. He turned his head to see how the knight would react but he didn't. He just slowly stepped back and stood there patiently.

  “Is there someone on the way?” Nathaniel asked as he took a sip of his drink. “We really can't be late.”

  The man turned to face them and smiled his most sarcastic smile as he flicked his wrist signaling to the men in rags surrounding them. In a second they fell into formation around them and the entire pavilion was lifted above the ground and the man disappeared below the pavilion. Everyone in the group was startled but quickly settled.

  Thrawn cozied into the couch right next to Nathaniel. He kicked both feet up on the table and leaned his head back. “Well. This is nice.”

  They were all quiet as the palanquin moved down the huge street moving towards the center of the city. Isaac looked towards their destination and saw it. A giant dome-like building surrounded by smaller but still considerably large and interconnected domes. Each dome had a spire at its center stretching upward with the center spire standing twice as tall as any other. The rest of the city was made of misshapen rocks and sand but this fortress was made of pure white stone and had golden accents throughout the architecture. At high noon it reflected so much light it appeared as a second sun on the horizon. Isaac took a deep breath and tried to calm himself.

  He turned to the elf sitting in the chair next to him. She had her staff laid across her lap and was messing with the large magical contraption at the top. “I never got your name.” She looked at him but was expressionless. “Or his for that matter?” He continued.

  She looked at the knight who was walking next to the palanquin. He didn't look back at her but he nodded as if to show his approval. She looked back at Isaac and answered him. “The name given to me was Kai-Sarel. His name is Luthiriel. We are on a sacred mission and that is all I can say.” She looked back down at her staff and continued her work.

  Isaac sat back in his chair accepting that he failed to make small talk.

  “I've dealt with humans in the past and I find you're fond of nicknames.” She said suddenly.

  “I suppose.” Said Isaac.

  “I have been called Kai in the past. You may call me this if you like. What can I call you?” She asked him.

  “I like Kai. My name is just Isaac. No nickname for me.” He said with a big smile.

  “That's a shame,” she replied, still not looking at him. “You're so fond of them.”

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