Fendros kept a stoic look to hide whatever uncertainties he had. He nodded stiffly to Lorag's instructions. The last statement made Fendros look ahead and blink. He was holding his breath.

Lorag had already walked past. Fendros still spoke one word in a low voice. "Understood."

With Lorag leaving, the meeting was all but adjourned. Janius stood up and regarded Fendros with a hand on one hip. "Good luck, Fendros. I won't pretend that it's going to be easy. I think you can do it, though."

Fendros did not respond with more than a glance. He was looking wide-eyed into space, reflecting.

[hr]
Despite his reserved frown, Rhazii stared at the door with his tail gently swaying. They could hear the sound of shoes on floorboards from within. A latch on the door slid, the door clunked, and a ray of yellow light emerged from within. The door opened to reveal a tall, bald aging Imperial man with a lit candle in one hand and the door handle in the other.

Cleanly dressed and dignified, he looked at both Rhazii and Julan with weathered eyes, settling on Rhazii. "Can I help you, young sirs?"

Rhazii looked to Julan.