Chapter 44 - 43: The Mayor’s Proposal
Kael had expected a cell.
After all, when half a dozen armored guards arrived at your inn room and escorted you without answering questions, there were only so many outcomes you could predict. A prison. A courtroom. Maybe even a silent back alley with a shovel already waiting in the mud.
He did not expect to be brought to a mansion.
"This isn’t a holding facility," Kael muttered under his breath as the heavy gate opened.
"No," Officer Marrek replied. "It’s the mayor’s estate."
What the hell is going on...?
They passed through a corridor of tiled flooring and into a wide receiving chamber with high windows and sunlight pouring across polished wooden furniture. There was nothing grandiose—no velvet, no golden statues—but everything was well-crafted and well-maintained.
Kael stood waiting.
Then the door opened.
A woman entered, dressed in charcoal robes with silver trim, the Matgorat seal embroidered over her left shoulder. She moved with confidence but not arrogance. Her hair was tied back. Her eyes were sharp. Older, perhaps in her forties—but her posture and presence gave her the air of someone far more powerful than her surroundings suggested.
"I apologize for the sudden summons, Mister Kael," she said without preamble. "My name is Lysandra Halweir. I am the city mayor of Ginip, on behalf of the western regional court of House Matgorat."