An Untitled Novel

Basil parked his truck on the inside of the gate before he and his passengers began to get out and observe their surroundings while waiting for Brayden. Strait ahead and in the center of the courtyard sat what Basil could best describe as a large castle or palace. The place looked like something that wouldn’t look out of place during the renaissance in Europe, somewhat of an equally captivating and unnerving thought for Basil as he was staring at it in the present. To the back right portion of the courtyard were two large buildings that Basil best surmised were barracks of some sort, directly to his left was one large building he figured to be the hotel he would be staying at, and scattered along the walls were numerous smaller buildings that likely ranged from storage to living quarters. The courtyard itself was vast and full of people and tents, with a large number of tents grouped towards the presumed barracks.

Disrupting their observations, however, Brayden finally approached the group and spoke in an apologetic tone. “The royal family sends their deepest regrets, but due to the size of this year’s festival we have run out of room in the inn. We have set up tents for some guests in place of a room.” Brayden said while pointing to the cluster of tents at the far side of the courtyard. Jarvis, Niles, and Jace all remained quiet so Basil interjected. “That’s alright, actually, if it’s fine I’ll just sleep in my truck here” he said as he patted the hood of the truck he stood next to. “It’s got climate control, a metal roof, and it’ll make unpacking a breeze.” Brayden paused for a moment, seeming to ponder Basil’s words, but shook his head.

“Basil, you have been chosen for a room in the inn. It’s the Akepello General here and his subjects that have unfortunately not been allocated a room.” Jarvis’s neutral expression quickly contorted and he angrily retorted “I am Kenton Jarvis, leader of the Arkepello Council, here in stay of the General and I-” Brayden looked confused and spoke over Jarvis. “The Arkepello General is not attending the festival?” Jarvis, which Basil imagined was about to have steam coming out of his ears, responded with a sharp “I am here in his stead, tell the Redcap King I am to be treated like the other powers and not to be treated with less dignity than this outsider.” Jarvis gestured to Basil. Brayden, with a face that held a scowl, replied with a calm but very authoritative tone. “You are not to question his majesty. Collect your things to be escorted to your accommodation at once.”

Behind them several soldiers made themselves known by approaching from the slight distance they had been waiting at. Jarvis remained with his enraged look, though Niles and Jace appeared more accepting of the situation. Grabbing their luggage and handing it to the soldiers, Jarvis returned one final glare at both Basil and Brayden before following suit and pursuing his fellow representatives and the soldiers through the courtyard towards the tents. Basil continued to stand there in silence, trying to conceal how humorous he found the results of Jarvis’s outburst before he turned to Brayden who was still watching the others disembark. “So, I take it the personal curiosity you had was about me?”

“Yes,” replied Brayden in a relatively impartial tone. “You must forgive me, but the story of how you arrived is a difficult one to believe. Your vehicle and clothes are certainly different, but I could easily be convinced you modified Amigosian goods to appear as yours do.” Basil shrugged. “I don’t blame you, I’m not sure if I’d believe me myself. I do have a device or two that might clear up any doubts if you’d like to see them.” Brayden shook his head. “That will not be necessary. The King has taken an interest in you, which means I am to assume you are who you say you are. Although, I should warn you, if you attempt to con the King beware of the rash consequences of doing so regardless of where you hale.” Basil nodded, “Duly noted, though I’m just here because I was invited, I don’t expect to be doing any negotiating or selling.” Brayden suddenly looked confused. “But you provided supplies to the Arkepello General, no?”

“Yeah, but that was kind of a one off favor for some friends. If something in particular is needed I might be able to look into it. When your diplomats get back to the Arkepello after this you could also have them talk to me or General Tobias.” Brayden looked somewhat confused for a moment before returning to his previous neutral expression. “Well, I expect the King will approach you to negotiate the sale of weapons and supplies, and he will likely wish to have them delivered promptly to resolve the conflict between us and the Tyrant’s army.”

“I don’t sell weapons” Basil replied, before pausing and realizing what Brayden had said. “Wait, hold on, I thought you were about to make peace with the Lizard King?” Brayden momentarily looked as if he was unsure of himself. “Yes, I was only speculating, and meant it as they were to be used as a bargaining chip. In any event, you will likely learn more if I am correct in assuming you will be attending a meeting with them.” Brayden paused for just a second, but before Basil said any more he spoke again. “That building there” Brayden said while pointing to what Basil assumed was the hotel. “Is inn, present your invitation and you will be directed to a room. You can leave your vehicle here, and you will want to go there now to be ready once food is prepared.”

As abrupt as he was in his change of tone, Brayden quickly left to rejoin his subordinates, leaving Basil to make the deceptively long walk from the gate to the inn with a heavy backpack and suitcase. Finally arriving at the inn, and seeing a large group of people by a counter speaking with the people who’d presumably check him in, he sat down to wait for the crowd to die down. Standing near where he sat, and sticking out among the crowd were some individuals. They were of a slightly lighter complexion and were tall, not only for here, but even to Basil’s standards; with the shorter ones being around his height and the tallest in the center being considerably taller. All of the soldiers or bodyguards appeared to be carrying large blades of some form or another, each with varying ornate designs - standing out heavily from the Redcaps’ uniform mix of guns with the occasional blade. Even their clothes, made largely of leather or ornate and brightly colored cloth, stood out among everybody else in the crowd both for their designs and seemingly more primitive construction. On further inspection the individuals near the counter appeared to be part of the same group, and as Basil made note of their existence it became clear several of the group standing nearer to him were taking note of his existence as well.

Determined to break the ice, Basil decided to introduce himself. Getting up and giving a short wave, he began to state “Hi, I’m-” before getting cut off by one of the group who quickly stepped between them. While not touching Basil, his movement seemed intended to get Basil to step backward to his original seating and away from the group. The individual doing so was not exactly imposing, looking to be a very old man wearing some form of robes. Despite that, his confidence in his movement and words was plenty to get Basil slowly walking backward to his seat while they spoke. “Who are you with and what is your business?” the man barked. “Well, I originally came with the Arkepello represen-” replied Basil.

The man cut him off by making a sound between a sigh and a chuckle to seemingly emphasize his annoyance at Basil, before prompting Basil with a new question “And what is your business?” Basil, now a little less intimidated, stopped walking backward and responded with “Just introducing myself” while trying, and partially failing, to conceal his own annoyance. The man, clearly not happy with Basil’s stated intention, replied with a sharp “Don’t overestimate your importance here islander” before turning to walk away. Basil retorted “Asshole” fairly quietly. Replying before deciding on whether to mumble it quietly or state it audibly, he wound up saying it quite enough to appear as if he was not intending for it to be heard, but loud enough for his verbal attacker to hear him.

The robed man, having started to walk away, froze in place for just a second; before turning back and speaking in an angry but controlled voice. “Do not approach us again. If it were not for the festival you would be facing a severe punishment for such insolence.” As abrupt as his comment was he quickly walked back to his group, which had all seemingly already forgotten about Basil’s presence. Basil, sitting back down, suddenly heard another voice at his side. “Confident tonight, are we?” said a man sitting nearby. The man seemed to be wearing some form of jacket that vaguely resembled a suit or blazer, but was otherwise seemingly unoteable. Basil, turning to face the man, responded to the open ended question “Well, I thought we were all supposed to be making chit chat?” The man was seemingly amused. “There are always limits Arkepelian, you don’t approach a King like that.”

“Wait, that was the Redcap King?” Basil asked in a surprised voice. “No, the Lizard King, how do you not know this?” the man replied in equal parts curiosity and annoyance. While speaking, however, the man got up and sat closer to Basil, seeming to inspect him. Basil replied to the man’s question with a short “I’m a bit new here and out of my depth,” but as he spoke the man got up to sit closer, seeming more focused on inspecting Basil than listening to the words he was saying. “Basilious, the man from another world. You know, you’re a real unknown, our guys can’t make heads or tails of you, and coming from me that’s a real compliment. Though if that is your intention I fear what your plans might be.” Basil grew increasingly confused as the man spoke. “Alright, um, I guess you know who I am, who are you?”

“Spiro, Amigosian Ministry of Information. I look forward to getting to know you.” Basil smiled and extended his hand to shake Spiro’s. “Nice to meet you, I was hoping to meet somebody from Amigoso while I was here, I’ve heard stories about your technologies and if it’s okay with you I’d like to compare some notes and hear about what exactly you guys have.” Spiro had a facial expression that Basil could not read. “Very well, perhaps I can talk to you about what I am permitted to share, although given your claims I would be just as interested in seeing what sort of technology you possess.” Basil nodded. “Of course, what’d you want to see first? I got a laptop and phone with me, I came in a truck that one of the guards said looked like one of your vehicles, and I also have a PDA thing that’s certainly one of a kind.” Spiro just smiled. “Perhaps tonight. It appears they are ready to check you in, and the friend of mine who I was talking to looks like he is getting impatient.”

Upon checking in and being led to his room, for the first time since early that morning Basil was given a moment of silence to reflect on everything and unpack before he went to grab his dinner. Doing a bare bones unpacking he began to take stock of the room. The room was small with a bed that was at least visibly clean, a chamber pot, and a table with a pitcher of water. Basil opened his suitcase, laid his clothes out on his bed, assembled his previously disassembled rifle he had in his suitcase, and laid out a water filter and iodide tablets near the pitcher in a silent protest against the idea of drinking straight from the pitcher itself.