{Illustrated}
Once upon a time Pagne planned parties in a palace of fungus, now he is planning a revolution.
Success requires a cunning plan, hinging on the element of surprise, careful catering, and colourful costumes.
However, an unfortunate ser...
The speckled doors of Hereth's palace were a sight for sore, tear-swollen, eyes to be sure. Against the odds, Alphonse's contraption had made it the whole way without bursting into flame, pulling up beside Franz' carriage with a pop and a wheeze of black smoke. The guards were pointing and murmuring between themselves when Franz stepped down from the cabin, but they snapped to attention as soon as his father stepped out behind him.
Nibbs called the guards over to take in the luggage, then nudged Franz towards Saloonka and the horseless carriage. It may have made it that far without a problem, but Franz could not help the reluctance of his approach. After a few deep breaths, he went over and held out his hand for the fiend to take.
"Am I supposed to give you something?" Saloonka asked, leaving Franz' hand hanging uselessly in the air.
Feidai leapt out of the other side, hitched up the hem of her puffy sock-skin dress and kicked open the luggage compartment in her typical, churlish manner. She scooped out all the bags, and after some rearrangement, carried them over with ease. Vasherri had barred Franz from intruding on their lessons, so he had to wonder if she had taught Feidai anything at all.
"Never mind," Franz huffed and dropped his arm back by his side.
Saloonka hooked his arm around Franz' elbow and walked with him to the Palace entrance, then stopped and stared at it expectantly.
"Open." The word had barely passed the fiend's painted lips before Feidai charged past and forced the doors apart with her shoulder.
"You could stand there until supper, telling it to open, but doors don't move on their own," he replied, keeping his voice low to avoid making any more of a scene in the foyer.
"Yet it opened this time, because at least someone is doing their job." Saloonka said with an eyebrow raised, just like Vrye would do for his expressions of disapproval.
Franz felt oddly ashamed for neglecting a duty he did not even know he had, so he refrained from further comment. His father went on ahead to announce their arrival to Lord Kabech, then the mood in the room was soured further when Zaech dropped down in front of them.
The bird landed with a bounce, somersaulted in the air, then posed pompously, obviously trying to get Saloonka's attention. The fiend had missed the whole thing however, having fixed his eyes on a potted potato beside the stairs.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"I knew that you could not possibly stay—" Zaech started.
Saloonka minced straight past him, dragging Franz along behind.
"I think I saw it looking at me," he whispered and prodded at the plant's leafy fronds.
"I knew—" Zaech tried again.
This time he was stopped by a slight yelp from Saloonka as the potato rustled away from his finger. It was as if he had never seen a local spud before.
