Landsbyen -Into the North- An Epic Poem 51

“Are you ready, DynDoeth,” the half elf asked? “As ready as I can be,” was his response. “It is in your hands now.” They walked across the vestibule and started to enter the Great Eating Hall, when Joulupukki saw the writing around the entrance. He recognized it as Elvish. He was always quick minded and learned languages easily. With a bit of magical help he had managed to learn rudimentary Elvish in the short time that he had been in the Village. 'To All That Pass Through, Be Judged With Reasoned Head, Generous Heart and Objective Impartiality' he read. “What beautiful aspirations are those,” he said to DynDoeth. “I agree.” DynDoeth responded. They proceeded through the doorway. Joulupukki had not been in this room before and found it quite impressive. He took a moment to get the lay of the space, the tables, the chairs, the entrances of which there were three. He also noticed the Councilman sitting around a table, all but Rian. Around the peripheral of the room stood five Council Guards and five tall elves. He assumed they were Forest Elves by their size and clothing. Good for you Seileach, he thought to himself. “Aah, DynDoeth, Joulupukki,” the Councilman from the Northern Clan greeted them. Seileach turned and recognized them with a slight nod. “We will be getting under way with the proceedings as soon as Rian joins us. It seems someone forgot to inform him of the early meeting and the change of location. I will accept blame for the oversight if there are any repercussions.” Joulupukki turned toward the throne, behind it the stained glass window. The throne was beautifully hand chiseled, appearing to be hewn from a single tree. Large ornamental jewels of varying color were encrusted into the wood and spread along its surface. In the head rest was carved a sun, with the center a faceted crystal. Behind and slightly above it was a sun incorporated into the stained glass. He followed the line of the glass and throne to a place where the beams should strike the floor but saw nothing out of the ordinary. The same stone tiles covered the the entire floor, all of them showing equal wear and hundreds of years of use. “What is this all about, Seileach,” demanded Rian as he burst into the room? “Why have you changed the meeting location to the eating hall of all places?” The Erin Councilman stood up and parroted Rian, “Yes, why?” “Before you know it we'll be meeting in the latrine,” he snidely chuckled. “Who gave you permission to move my, ah, the throne back down here,” Rian demanded as the chair caught his attention. “I am the Elder Councilman here Rian. I do not need your permission. Dyndoeth requested council with me and convinced me that if we wish to get to the bottom of Joulupukki's lineage it would be necessary to have the King's,” he emphasized the word King's, “throne moved back to its original location. I agreed and consulted three additional Councilman who also agreed. With a vote of four out of six in favor of the move, the vote was carried and no further debate was required. I apologize for the mix up in informing you and the Erin Councilman but this occurred late afternoon yesterday, when fewer elves were walking the halls of the Keep and there was less chance of anyone getting hurt during the move.” Joulupukki listened in rapt silence, amazed at the fluidity of the Forest Elve's eloquent speech. The only word that could describe what he heard was 'Art'. Seileach was a verbal artist. No wonder Brian regained his seat on the Council if this elf argued in his favor. Seileach saw the tension building in Rian as he spoke to him and with a single subtle gesture Joulupukki noticed a slight change in the attentiveness of the five Forest Elves, no magic being displayed but an evident readiness to use it if it became necessary. The Council Guards seemed to notice this as well. Seileach had informed the lead guard about the presence of his own elves as a back up to the Council guard. Osviklig was happy to have the added support and welcomed the Forest Elves.