23rd
The Meeting with Edris
We came to a complex towards the southern end of Orindale that fell within the shadow of a very real castle that loomed amongst a scattering of tall trees. The complex was surrounded by a stone wall about six feet tall and inside was a large building that was also built out of stone blocks with at least three floors. On the grounds around the building were a number of other soldiers. Some were practicing their swordplay with wooden swords while others were practicing archery with bulky crossbows and simple bows. There were only a few windows in the building and many of them were shut with thick wooden shutters, but there wasn’t any glass covering the open ones. We were heading towards steps that led up to a pair of doors perhaps eight feet tall, made of thick wood and bearing a symbol of a tree encased within a circle.
My captors led me up the steps while a few of the men halted their training to get a good look at me and my apparently strange clothes. Through the double doors we went and into a long hall that was decorated with colorful banners and lit by torches spaced evenly along the walls, more evidence that I was far removed from the world that I knew.
At the end of the hall we entered a large circular room with wide pillars spaced around it that held a balcony above on the second floor. From the balcony hung more banners of red, blue and green, each depicting a different battle scene or standard of the realm. There were two long wooden tables arranged on either side of us and a table in front, set horizontally with chairs behind all of them, much like a dining hall.
An middle aged man dressed in a long sleeved white shirt was seated there, writing on some paper with a feather pen and ink bottle. An empty plate sat beside him on the table with a few scraps of food left on it along with a half full glass of dark wine. On the chair next to him were his weapons, a long sheathed sword and small dagger attached to a thick brown leather belt. He looked up at us as we approached.
“Well, well. What have we here?” he asked, eying me suspiciously.
I went to speak but the guard on my left cut me off. “We found ‘im in the tavern constable, saying strange things an’ causing a commotion. I think he’s crazy.”
“Crazy?” I said loudly. “You’re the ones who are crazy…” a shove from the other guard cut me off again.
Edris waved his hands at them to stop and sat back down. “Have a seat.” he said, gesturing to one of the men to get me a chair. “Let’s start with a name. I’m Edris and you are?”
“Derek is my name, Derek Johnson. I’m from Pennsylvania, in the United States of America, but you probably don’t know where that is do you?” I replied, with sarcasm in the last bit.
“No, I’ve never heard of those places. I assume you’ve never heard of Orindale either?” he said. I shook my head. “Well then, how did you get here?” He was looking at me curiously, examining me for some clue.
I slumped in the chair and shrugged my shoulders figuring this wouldn’t help my situation, but decided to give it a go. “Well, that’s the strange part. I woke up here…”
