* * *

Walking into King Aldred’s court, Herrik was nervous. It was his first time at court, and today he was to be part of the entertainment at the farewell feast for Viscount Merrol. Herrik mentally ran through the spells he had to cast and when he was to cast them, trying to calm his nerves. Keep focused on the task at hand, he told himself. He looked around the room, surprised at the size of it. He supposed that he should have expected it to be large, since the feast was being held there, but he was still surprised. Banners of many colors hung from the ceiling, one for each of the noble houses in the land of Raekel, where King Aldred reigned. Those in attendance at the feast were seated at long tables set in a square, leaving the middle open. They all sat on one side of the table so that they could see the entertainment, which was to be performed in the center of the box created by the tables. Lords and ladies sat together, eating and laughing and drinking. The king, his queen and their five children all sat at one table, which had been raised above the others on a dais. The guest of honor, the Viscount, sat beside the king, and was laughing at something the king had said. It seemed that none of them had noticed the arrival of the next part of the entertainment.
 

Chris