The streets were crowded as Minirtha navigated them. There were a lot of people out today, hopefully a good sign. Perhaps they are about since the Queen is here, she thought to herself. She headed the way to the palace she had walked the past two days she had been in Obstanus. She turned the corner and looked. There, on the two poles between the doors that led into the marble palace, were the royal standards of the Kingdom of Hyperal. The Queen was in the palace today and holding court with the people. Finally, Minirtha could go before Her Majesty and get her audience, or at least she hoped. Apparently she was not the only one who needed to see the Queen, as the line out the palace doors was quite long. She wondered if she would be able to get inside today. She took her place and prepared for a long wait.
The hours were long in the hot sun. Sweat rolled down Minirtha's topless form. Fortunately, since she was only clad in her loincloth and thong, she stayed in her state of near-nudity. She had prepared, however, bringing along her water sack filled with cool liquid. Her years of traveling and the life she spent among the barbarians trained her to go long periods in conditions like this. As the time went by, the line grew nearer and nearer to the palace doors. She was afraid they would close at any moment as the sun began its descent down towards the dusk. A palace guard came out of the door and began to count the people in the line. He looked at each one before pausing at Minirtha, looking at her carefully. She was armed with her axe and sword after all, and this may look bad in trying to enter the palace. He soon turned to the people in line behind her.
"This woman is the last one who will be allowed entry today," he said to them as he pointed at the redheaded warrior. "The rest of you may leave and return tomorrow to try."
MInirtha breathed a sigh of relief. She would get inside today, at least, even if there was the possibility she would have to spend another night in the city. But that could be worried about when the time came. Her mood was better as she continued her wait. Before long, she found herself standing beside the guards who waited by the palace door. A signal of a gong ringing was heard from inside as the sun's light was almost gone. You may enter now woman, providing you remove your belt and surrender your weapons to the guard inside the door, she was told. She complied with the request, passing off her items as she entered into the long entry hallway of the palace and was now out of the hot outside air.
She walked the red carpet running down the entire length of hallway leading towards the purple curtains that no doubt led to the throne room. Candles lit the entire passage and Minirtha looked into the many alcoves along the walls. Each of these alcoves held a marble statue, each of a man dressed in robes that told of nobility. All looked deep in thought to her, as if they were pondering great mysteries. These must be the former rulers of Hyperal, immortalized in these statues. To the warrior woman they all appeared to be men of great wisdom, and the looks on all faces portrayed them as being viewed in a positive light. Perhaps this would allow her to fair well with the currency monarch. She entered into the throne room, ready to lay it all out.
She entered into the bright throne room, illuminated by several skylights. All around attendants were lighting candles, no doubt to prepare for the coming night. The large room was mostly empty, a vast stone floor stretching. This room was mostly devoid of furniture and the open floor should allow for plenty of people when the Queen addressed her subjects. On the opposite side of the room stood a golden throne, surrounded on both sides by a total of twelve powerfully-built women. All stood, wearing helmets and apron of gold, All were topless, their arms crossed over their breasts. All were quite strong; no doubt in Minirtha's mind that these were the Queen's bodyguards. But they were not the object of Minirtha's attention.
Upon the golden throne sat the Queen of Hyperal. Though she was sitting, Minirtha had to guess she probably stood close to her own six-and-a-half feet height, perhaps a bit taller. She wore the jewel-encrusted crown of her kingdom, placed atop her head of gray hair. Though this gave her an appearance of advanced age, her face did not seem to fit there. It was smooth, free of age wrinkles but with the occasional line of stress running along it, her tanned skin showing she spent time out of the palace and in the sun. Her sharp brown eyes told that she was decisive and confident of herself, one who belonged in power. Overall to Minirtha, she appeared that she was still a great beauty as she had no doubt been in her younger years. The Queen wore a purple dress, all the way to the floor and covering her entire body save her head and hands. The dress appeared to have quite a bit of padding, not allowing the redheaded warrior to see what Her Majesty's body was like.
Minirtha approached the throne and bowed down to the Queen, just to be safe and maintain the etiquette that most monarchs expected. The Queen looked down from the throne upon her, no doubt wondering where the practically-naked woman had come from. After a few moments of carefully looking at Minirtha, seemingly deep in thought, she spoke.
"State who you are and where you have come, as well as your business," she said to the warrior woman in a tone that seemed familiar to Minirtha's ears.
"My name is Minirtha and I am a native of Carg. I have come before you, Your Majesty, to ask that I be granted passage by you to enter the Forbidden Heavens."
This statement caused the Queen to rise up slightly from her seat. The Forbidden Heavens was the name given to a giant walled city that was home to the temples of the gods and goddesses worshiped by those in Hyperal. The only inhabitants were the priests and priestesses who maintained the temples and appeased their deities in proper fashion. The only other person who could either enter freely or give passage for entrance was the kingdom's monarch. Being caught in the city without royal approval would lead to seven years of forced labor in the mines in the deserts to the south. Surely this woman from Carg was not looking to act simply as a tourist.
"You had better have a good reason for wanting to enter the Forbidden Heavens," the Queen said. "Outsiders of my kingdom do not gain entry and I have not issued a single pass in over three years. I demand to know your reasons."
Minirtha knew the Queen would want an explanation, and she had originally not wanted to give the true details of the mission she had been hired to undertake. She originally planned to say she was hired by a king in a distant kingdom to search for a long-missing golden idol that was rumored to have been plundered to Hyperal around 500 years earlier. The Queen of Hyperal was said to be fair and willing to repatriate artifacts to their homelands, so she may be willing to allow her passage. But something about the Queen's brown eyes told that she would easily see through Minirtha's lies and more trouble would be caused. Minirtha hoped for her fairness and level-headedness would allow the monarch to listen to the truth.
"Your Majesty, I am acting as a hired mercenary for a duke in the Kingdom of Torran. Roughly one year ago, a raiding party attacked his estate while he was away on royal business. The possessions that were taken he does not care for, but the invaders took off with one of his sons and one of his daughters. The son they took happens to be the heir to the dukedom. The last time the party was seen with the prisoners was by merchants traveling in your realm. They said they turned at a crossroads towards the Forbidden Heavens, and were led by a man in robes indicating he was one of the high priests. I believe that they are within the walls there and I am to retrieve them and see them home."
