The palace atrium was just as imposing and immoderate as the exterior. Doors ten men in height opened into a grand hallway, the roof supported by intricately-carved marble pillars bordering a central carpet. This trail of finest purple silk, surely the product of a number of worms beyond counting, stretched down the hall and out of sight as it wound around the corner.

Sehrti took great care not to tread any errant sand in. Almost as if anticipating him doing so, the guards had shifted to their left and right, and applied a disapproving scowl. Of course, everything had to be perfect here. Not a thing out of place, not even a speck of dust. What would the neighbours say?

If one thing kept him from bitterness regarding his father’s neglect, it was that it kept him away from this place. As a child these cavernous halls had scared him but now, they repulsed him. For all of the money and power that was on display, it was all impotent. None of it used for the purpose of being enjoyed or appreciated by its owner. The tapestries, the paintings – all set dressing for someone else’s eyes, to prove a point already known.

Kolaran moved his head from side-to-side in an undulating, snakelike fashion as he walked, trying to keep an eye on as much of the surroundings as possible. He too found them discomforting; perhaps instincts deep within him longed for the ‘canopy’ to be closer to his head. More likely it was the empty suits of armour that flanked their path: hollow custodians from bygone eras of Elfdom, one each to a pillar. The fact that there were no living guardsmen in sight was troubling to the lizard, for things so still and vacant as these could be ensorcelled to move suddenly if their master wished it.

The idea played tricks with the imagination.

“What now?” Sehrti asked, looking puzzled.

Their terminus at the end of the spiral-shaped hall was a large semi-circular alcove, which by the inward curve of their journey was likely situated in the very centre of the palace. Inside it sat nothing, save a circle of glass filling the circumference of the floor. It was an uncharacteristically plain decoration, and looked rather conspicuous. There was no door, and no other paths.

Their escort marched them wordlessly onto the glass surface, taking Kolaran and Sehrti by opposite shoulders as they began to tarry. Once they had done so however, the purpose of the strange room was explained with a single gesture – as one guard pointed aloft. Following this signal, master and servant both gazed skyward and realised that there was a hole in the ceiling of this alcove; some sort of shaft that stretched high into the upper reaches of Nahreen Palace, the dimensions of which appeared to match the crystal platform exactly.

This was the only warning they had before the hum of spellcraft rang in the air and the floor beneath their feet began to move.

---

“He is here…” The Sultan croaked, hoarsely - before shooting upright, imbued with another sudden burst of energy.

The look in his eyes was almost manic. “He is here!”