As the afternoon passed, the mercenaries and soldiers in the courtyard were gathered up and escorted away. Some headed out of the city, heading up north, while others were ushered into hastily constructed barracks. Dark Suns and Lunar Watchmen were offered free places in inns and even a few families opened their doors to welcome in the heroes who would save their lands. The sun was still high, and the streets were littered with stalls of vendors attempting to sell drinks, food, and sweets to any who passed by them. The mercenaries were the ones who took part in most of the festivities, though. The Watchmen were busy making preparations for the night - by morning, most of them would be gone from this place and back into the forests. The Dark Suns were doing the same, many of them heading off to Ezdenah to scout out any threats in the neighboring nation.

Eline sat on her throne, her cheek pressed into the palm of her hand as she looked boredly at the assembled nobles and rich merchants. One of them was bowing and talking and acting the part of a humble citizen, the fat man dressed in clothing that would be in style in Conjuska, though he was clearly an Aeribissian. She had stopped paying attention some time ago, but as a glass of wine was pushed into her free hand, she glanced up to look at Aziz staring down at her, an eyebrow raised. She let out a sigh, and turned her attention back to the noble who had lost her interest, and tuned him back in once more.

"--ther more, some of us do not approve of the usage of these mercenaries, none of which have the wellbeing of Aeribis in their sights!" he exclaimed, waving his hands in the air for emphasis. "They are only in it for the money. You'll bankrupt the kingdom if you pay the ridiculous amounts that you've promised them all! What's more, you've invited those fiends, those 'Children of the Dark Sun', into our capital! Into your very palace! What is stopping them from killing you, killing all of us, in our sleep?"

There were some mumbles around the room as nobles and merchants agreed to his statements. At the sides of the room, and on either side of her throne, Eline's elite guard, the Black Knights, stood, white swords unsheathed, tips planted on the polished floor. None made a move nor a sound, as if they were statues. The Queen took a sip from her wine, allowing the man a moment to calm and compose himself. When he was breathing evenly again, she smiled. It was a smile that one who knew how the world worked had, one that held no warmth, only some sort of sick amusement that only the smiling one could understand.

"You think that, do you?" she asked, her voice calm and even. The man nodded once more, confidently. "Well, let me put it this way," she continued, giving a glance to Aziz. The dark skinned man nodded. A look of confusion went through the rich men gathered, and then suddenly one of the knights around the room was holding the noble who had spoken against Eline, his arms wrapped beneath his, hands locked behind his head. The others stumbled away, shocked,while Eline continued. "[i]I[/i] am the monarch here, correct? This is my land. The wealth of Aeribis is mine to spend as I wish. Even so, so few of them will survive that my wealth won't even take a dent. They are shields and swords for my generals to throw at the enemies to soften them up."

The knight's grip on the man tightened, causing a small cry of pain to escape him. "As for the Dark Suns, they won't be in my land for long, and even if they were, my eyes are everywhere. So do not be worried for my well-being, Lord Harvey." She waved a hand, and the knight dropped the noble down to the ground. "You are all dismissed," she said, sweeping her cold blue gaze over all of them. "Oh, and one more thing." The men turned to look back at her, some fearfully. "Never question my decisions again."

---

The next morning came early for the mercenaries, most still hungover as soldiers stormed their rooms and barracks, ordering them up. Orders were barked, ranks were formed, and sluggish men and women were shoved out of the city to head north towards the border with Arlejj. Watchmen and Dark Suns had already left the city, leaving homes that had been opened up to them without a word. The city was ablaze with activity as guardsmen and soldiers said goodbye to their families and readied up their gear to head south. Merchants were packing away stalls, blacksmiths were loading up materials, cooks throwing together rations.

Of course, all of this was a world away from the going ons of the palace. Eline, Aziz, and the four commanders were all situated around the long table, enjoying their breakfasts, as the special group in their rooms prepared themselves for the day ahead. Vladimir leaned back in his chair, the legs creaking beneath his weight, and he waved a hand through the air, scoffing. "Bah! You're all thinking too far into this," he said, gruff voice booming through the dining room. "I'm ready to believe that these little cults are summoning demons and such, but there is no way that any of them have summoned a spirit!"

Stonewall slammed his fist on the table, causing the nearby silverware to rattle, his glass nearly spilling. "You think my men liars?" he asked the fenrir, glaring darkly at the massive creature. Balor opened his mouth to say something, but Aura reached over to grip his arm, urging him to keep quiet.

"No, I believe them to be terribly misinformed," Vlad responded, raising one of the knives to pick at the spaces between his teeth. "Before you go on shouting, let me tell you there is a vast difference between a spirit and a demon. You humans may believe them to be similar, or even the same, but I can guarantee that they are not. Demons serve gods. Spirits, however, are like gods. Alone, they could not usurp any of them. Together, united, though, they are far more powerful than any of the gods. Even when separate, even those monsters deemed 'greater demons' wouldn't be a match for a spirit. If one of them were to summon and bind one, it would be the end for all of us."

The rest of the room was quiet. Finally, it was broken by Balor, who was rubbing his temples idly. "Then we will simply have to hope that whatever your men saw, that it was just some sort of demon enslaved to the witch's will. And we will leave it at that." There was a collective muttering of agreement between the six. "Alright then, I suppose we must all be getting ready. Vladimir, would you mind going to gather up our men? The servants should have gotten them up, so you just need to tell them to report to the courtyard." He nodded, a grin on his face. Aziz shook his head, already imagining what would soon be happening.

As the beast left, the humans all looked back and forth between each other. Aziz glanced towards the doorway, and mumbled, "I do not trust that man." Eline merely chuckled, and took a sip of wine. "As for them, do you think they'll be able to handle what their being thrown at?"

Balor and Stonewall nodded. Aura made no move to say either way. Eline just smiled. "They'll do what needs to be done, even if it kills them," the Queen reassured him. "They're all here because they are the best, or at least claim to be that way. The same with the wolf who just left, and all of you. Aeribis will be fine, because we have the best at our disposal. Now, we should go outside. They won't want to be kept waiting."

---

After a rude awakening from Vladimir, who proceeded down the hallway that contained the rooms of the seven warriors, shouting while banging together a pair of shields he'd ripped from the wall, kicking in each of their doors. Once he was sure that they were all awake and ready to go, he tossed the shields to the nearest guards, and proceeded off towards the courtyard.

Once everyone was assembled, the four commanders, Aziz, and Eline all stood in a line before the seven. Eline looked a sweet and small as ever, though now she had a small glint in her eye. Aziz was at her shoulder, as always, while the commanders all stood stoic and silent. There were no speeches, no attempts to alleviate tensions. Eline merely reached out to shake all of their hands, and then was escorted away by Aziz. 

Balor looked up at Belrend, gripped his hand in a firm shake, and said "Good luck" before heading off on his own.

Major Stonewall gave them all a low bow, then exited without a word.

Vladimir took a sip from a foul smelling flask, then gave them all a wave. "Hope you all make it back," he said, sounding strangely serious, then he too was gone, leaving them with just Aura Valerian, who took up a position in front of them all.

"Any last words before we head out, say them now. Otherwise, I want all of you to get to the southern gate. We'll be heading out east towards the shore, the port of Maron our destination." She stood there, with her hands folded behind her back, waiting.