It had been almost dark by the time they returned to Fundis. Jamie and Alex could both see that Jack was a little annoyed at their lateness, but he was experienced enough and wise enough to keep his annoyance to the odd facial expression and a couple of resigned sighs.

As the de-facto head of their household, it was his job to see that they arrived at appointments on time and in good order. They were not the only ones who didn’t want to go to Fionor. Jack just wanted everything to go smoothly.

Despite his sense of organisation and promptness, Jack is the last to arrive in the garden the following morning. Everything is organised, small chests of clothing for the day standing ready, but Jack now seems to be running late, leaving Alex and Jamie to simply stand and wait for him.

“Come on Jack,” Alex calls. “We’re late enough as it is.”

“Sorry, My Lord,” Jack mutters as he arrives at last. “I needed to make sure the staff knew exactly when we were due to return tomorrow.”

“No, you didn’t,” Jamie tells him with a smile. “You just don’t want to go to Fionor today.”

Jack simply replies with a shrug that gets a sympathetic smile from the two noblemen.

“Ready?” Alex asks.

Both men simply nod in agreement as they position themselves amongst the baggage. They are travelling light, but there are a few essentials that each man needs for a night away.

“Two quick steps,” Alex reminds them. “I can’t see all the way to Fionor.” Alex closes his eyes, visualizing their destination and they shift. The mid-point of their journey is an isolated clearing, high in the mountains to the west of Sulis. There’s dense forest all around them and no sign of human life anywhere between them and the mountain peaks that surround them. Alex takes a moment to re-orientate himself and they shift again.

The corner of the embassy garden in Fionor is very much the same as the one in Fundis, as indeed are half-a-dozen other similar locations across the continent. The gardener looks up from across the lawn, slightly startled by their sudden appearance, but familiar enough with their mode of travel to recover quickly and acknowledge their arrival with a simple bow before returning to the weeding.

Jamie shivers slightly at the drop in temperature. The sky is a dark overcast and there’s the clear threat of rain in the air, a rare occurrence here in Fionor. Down here on the southern peninsula it is usually dry, bright and cool. Today seems more brooding and unpleasant.

Jack darts off towards the house immediately, Alex and Jamie following at a more leisurely pace. Two servants appear on the path, walking quickly towards them before they are half-way to the residence, off to gather their luggage and bring it back to the house. The layout is very similar to the Fundis embassy, but on a slightly smaller scale. Jamie and Alex stay here only when necessary. Fionor isn’t home and they have little need of guest rooms.

“This feels like an omen,” Jamie suggests as they reach the house. He indicates the brooding sky above them. “A gloomy sky for a gloomy place.”

“Well, we’re only staying for as long as necessary. I intend to be back home tomorrow. I suppose we need to stop in Tanis on the way back?”

“Yes, I promised mother that we would at least see her for lunch. You know how much she is always complaining about never seeing us.”

“Well, we’ll try and sneak away from the meeting as soon as practical. If we get an early start in the morning we can have several hours with your family.”