When they reached the gate, Jenn was ready to call it a day. Her feet were starting to hurt and she really would like to find a place to sit down, if not lay down, and just rest. If they had to head back to the inn they stayed at the night before, she didn't think that she'd be very happy. Though it wasn't like she knew anyone who could do anything about it that she could complain to. As while she knew her guards would be willing to lend an ear to her complaints, it wasn't like they'd be able to do anything about it. Although, she wouldn't be surprised if they offered to carry her. Something she knew she'd decline since it would only serve to draw attention to her, which was one of the last things she wanted right then.
Rather than trying to talk to the guard at the gate, Jenn merely showed them the token. She didn't want to explain what they were doing and figured the token likely meant more than just someone there to try and get the contract. She hoped that it wouldn't require a detailed explanation about why she was there, or at least not at this stage. She had a feeling this was going to be a process she'd need to repeat more than once while she was there.
The guard, however seemed like she was being overworked with her reaction. She gave Jenn a dirty look before she started grumbling something to herself that Jenn couldn't quite make out as she rapped on the gate door with her spear twice in rapid succession.
Jenn had a feeling it was a signal of some sort but doubted she'd have been able to relay it so quickly. Not that she worried she'd have to.
The gate opened up, admitting them to the palace grounds, which Jenn had to stop as she looked it over. She'd expected something along the lines she'd seen of Buckingham Palace or other governmental buildings she'd seen pictures of, but what she saw instead took her breath away.
While the thirty-foot walls of the palace had carvings over it, clearly for decorative purposes, it hid what lay beyond so much that it almost seemed like she'd walked into another world entirely. There were gardens everywhere, and Jenn had a feeling that they were meticulously taken care of, most of which didn't look like it was native to this part of the world. Jenn even thought she saw a greenhouse that had what looked like tropical plants growing in.
In a way, it reminded her of a trip to the botanical gardens she'd once been taken to, though she had to admit that this looked much more expansive than that garden had.
Beyond the gardens was a palace that almost looked like it was made out of crystal or something else that was fragile and could break if not handled carefully. Jenn wasn't sure what material it was made out of, just that it looked like if she touched it, it could get damaged easily. She also couldn't help but wonder why she hadn't been able to see it rise above the wall from the other side of the gate. At least when it was still a distance away, given how it looked like the palace rose at least five stories in the air, had columns that hardly looked like they were put in for support, but rather for the aesthetic value.
Then there were intricate carvings that looked almost like it was a mural itself. With how the colors of the material making up the palace worked with the carvings, it seemed like it told a story in and of itself. Especially where water was running off the sides, in some areas creating waterfalls where in others it created a shimmering effect that almost took Jenn's breath away again when she noticed it.
She couldn't help but wish that she could have time to examine it properly and study it so she could learn as much as she could about it. She had her doubts that she'd be allowed to do that, but with how it looked right then, she didn't want anything else at that moment. While she supposed she might get the chance to really study it if they got the contract, Jenn had a feeling she wouldn't have as much time to examine it as she'd like. Which probably would be for the better part of several days, if not several weeks.
"Uh, Jenn? Shouldn't we keep going?" Yaelish asked, nearly making Jenn jump out of her skin. She'd completely lost track of her surroundings and was startled to realize that she'd been standing in place for several minutes, the gate having already closed behind them.
"Sorry, I guess I'm just not used to seeing things like that," Jenn replied, doing her best to not look at the palace again, afraid she'd become mesmerized again and take up longer to get done what they were there for.
"Yeah, I haven't seen anything like it, myself, but with the way you were looking at it, it was almost like you were a child seeing it for the first time," one of Jenn's other guards remarked, sounding more amused than Jenn would like. Though the worst part was that Jenn couldn't find the words to argue that point. She knew she'd looked like a child there and didn't see how she could say anything without admitting that part. Which, in turn, would derail any argument she made about that subject altogether.
"Leave her alone, I mean, I'm sure I'd have had a reaction like that if I was her age again," another commented. "I mean, what is that palace even made out of? Do you think magic was used to make it or was it merely-"
"Enough!" Yaelish said gently, though her tone was clear that they needed to stop talking about the palace, or in general, Jenn wasn't completely sure. "We shouldn't look like we're new to this. Whose to say that our reactions could be used against us to refuse us the contract?"
Jenn doubted that their reactions to the palace would make them lose the contract, but she couldn't say for sure that it'd work out like that. After all, she hadn't met whoever it was that they were supposed to meet to work out what would be expected of them as well as if the contract was still available. While Jenn had a good feeling about it, she couldn't say that how long they'd taken to get here would count against them. Though, even if they'd gone straight here when she'd first learned about it, might not have been soon enough, which was at least the rationale that Jenn had used to justify delaying their departure from Pleonths to get here. And while she knew she needed to wait until the daggers had been completed, seeing the palace had begun to sow doubts in her mind about if she really should have waited that long.
After all, she could always find another smith to commission daggers from.
Eventually they reached another wall and gate, though this one didn't seem as imposing as the first one. Nor did it strike Jenn as if it was actually meant to repel people as much as the first one was. It looked like it was more used as a backup measure than anything else. Unless it was actually used to define different areas of the palace. As with how expansive the grounds were, Jenn wouldn't be surprised if there were areas that required different levels of security clearance.
While she expected to be admitted through the gate when she showed the token, instead, the response she got was, "Wait here."
Then the guard she'd shown the token to pulled out a whistle and gave three sharp notes on it, which left a ringing in Jenn's ear. If she'd known that it was going to be so ear piercing, she'd have covered her ears the moment the guard had reached for the whistle.
While Jenn wasn't usually impatient, her aching feet were starting to wear away what patience she had but didn't complain. Partly because she knew it'd look bad, but also because she had a feeling they might get ejected from the palace grounds if she made her opinions known.
Besides, while they were waiting, it allowed Jenn time to study of the carvings on the palace. Not to mention, the fact that they were closer to the palace now allowed Jenn to see more detail in the carvings that she hadn't been able to see before. Such as what looked like unicorns frolicking in a meadow, or what Jenn took to be a meadow from the color the walls of the palace looked in that area, and even griffins in the sky, almost acting as sentinels looking for trouble to descend on.
"So, what brings you here? I certainly haven't seen any of you before, so I'd like to know how you received that token?" a voice that commanded authority said, drawing Jenn's attention away from the palace wall.
It was a woman with graying black hair and soft purple eyes who wore a uniform that made Jenn wonder if she was a high ranking individual. She wasn't sure what most of the decorations on the uniform meant, so she couldn't say what rank the woman held, just with the way the guards reacted to her, in addition to the way she spoke, that she had to have a high rank. Possibly the highest below the queen.
Which meant Jenn knew she needed to make a good impression.
"We were told that we were one of the mercenary groups you were interested in filling in for the royal guard while they're incapacitated," Jenn answered, doing her best to appear as professional as possible.
The woman looked at Jenn appraisingly before she examined all the other Silverthorns, looking like she wanted to ask 'is this it?' which Jenn didn't take as to be a good sign. Not that she was going to ask what the woman was thinking, as she had a feeling she'd only make matters worse if she did.
"Well, I guess I've seen worse," the woman finally said when she finished her inspection before turning her attention back to Jenn. "Though, I assume you're the one in charge?"
Jenn nodded. "Yes, ma'am. I'm the captain of this squad."
The woman shook her head. "You certainly don't look like you've had any kids. How did you get that rank? Your mother the leader of your company?"
Jenn shook her head. While her statement was close enough to the truth that it might as well be true, given she was the Blue Rose, she wasn't going to admit it to this woman. As she suspected that it'd only hurt her around here. "Actually, some time ago, I saved two children and they adopted me as their mother. I was told that this is the highest rank I can have until I have children of my own."
The woman looked at Jenn skeptically, though she didn't say anything more about the subject. Which Jenn felt a little grateful for. She didn't want to discuss the subject more than she had to, mostly because she couldn't say that she felt very comfortable about it.
"Well, if you expect me to obey any of your orders, think again," the woman informed Jenn. "Around here, if your boss shows up, they'll have to obey my orders, even if you were the second-in-command of your company. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, ma'am," Jenn answered without hesitation. She would have been surprised if it was any other way. After all, she had figured the palace would have its own command structure and while they were filling in for the royal guard, it would have been shocking to Jenn if they'd been allowed to maintain their own command structure.
The woman didn't look convinced with Jenn's answer, but she didn't say anything more. Instead, she motioned them to follow her as she walked through the gate which had opened unnoticed while they were talking.
"I assume we can expect more of your company shortly? You all don't seem like you'd be large enough to protect a privy around here," the woman remarked as they entered through a door into the palace.
While Jenn knew that they were likely heading into the palace itself, she wished she could have been able to continue gazing at the carving and intricate colors. Even though she knew that if they did get this contract that she'd be able to look at it a lot more, Jenn felt like she could look at those carvings all day and still not be satisfied.
Yet, as her vision adjusted to the change of light, Jenn found that the inside of the palace seemed to catch her interest as much as the outside had, despite not having any carvings for her to admire.
Part of her wondered if she'd be able to ever afford to build something like this. It certainly would hold everything she'd want in order to be comfortable on this world and would even have plenty of space for her family from Earth to move in if she could ever convince them of joining her on this world. At least after she returned and could convince them that she was the leader on another world, which she doubted would be very likely.
"Actually, I'm supposed to go collect more of our company once we can confirm that we were able to secure this contract," Jenn answered, wondering if Yaelish or one of the others would be acceptable to answer in place of her. She had her doubts about it as well as remembering what Yaelish had told her when they were still on the road to the capital. Not that being the only one to answer the inquiries and such made her feel any better. Especially when she'd rather be paying attention to their surroundings more than what was actually being said.
"Really? Were they in that much of a rush that they took so long to send someone here just to see if they should send more?"
Jenn was pretty sure that the woman was being sarcastic, but she didn't let it get to her. After all, she supposed that it was a reasonable assessment of what had actually happened.
"Well, to tell the truth, we were in Pleonths when we received our orders to come here, but those who were closer at our main camp were in quarantine because of an outbreak of the spotted plague. Though, we were lucky that someone knew how to treat it when the outbreak was noticed, but that quarantine should have ended not too long ago. So, once we're able to confirm we have the contract, then I'll head back to see about who can join us," Jenn replied, hoping that she wouldn't be asked to go into detail about a few points. Such as how she knew about the quarantine when she'd been in Pleonths as well as the fact that it was being treated.
"I guess no one can predict where that blasted plague appears," the woman remarked, sounding like just the mention of that plague annoyed her. "Though, what treatment? I've never heard of it before."
"Really? I caught it a while ago with the person who was treating our infection with the same method that allowed both of us to survive our bouts with the plague."
The woman stopped, her eyes showing a new respect for Jenn. Something that the woman hardly seemed like she did very often. "You survived? From what I've heard those who manage to survive the plague are hardly themselves afterwards."
Jenn shrugged. She wasn't really sure how to answer that statement, seeing as how she'd never encountered someone that she knew had survived contracting the plague without having been treated using the blue spotted mushroom method.
"You'll need to talk with our healers sometime to discuss with them how to treat the plague. It might be something that could earn you more than the contract that you're so eager to get is worth."
Jenn wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean, but she doubted that it would hurt to get both. After all, if they could earn anything extra, it would go a long way to helping out the settlement become a thriving community. Especially if they could figure out how to deal with their resource problems there.
Yet, at the same time, she knew that she needed to take this one step at a time. As she had a feeling convincing these healers of how to treat people with the plague might be a trick in and of itself, considering how the mushroom was otherwise poisonous and Jenn was pretty sure that these people didn't think of it as worth anything beyond a method to poison someone.
"Well, I can, but I'm not sure how receptive they'll be with the method," Jenn replied, feeling more and more uneasy the more she thought about it. "As it involves something that you probably wouldn't expect to be used to treat anyone of any illness. Unless you're talking about putting them out of their misery."
The woman looked at Jenn, a clear question in her eyes, but she didn't say anything about that beyond what she'd already said. Jenn wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, but doubted it'd be smart to push the subject.
"By the way, I'm the commander of the queen's royal guard," the woman said when she turned to enter into a room that was decorated almost as regally as the gardens were beautiful. "I'm Pohlea."
"I'm Jenn. And this is Yaelish…" Jenn answered, introducing every one of her guards. She wasn't sure if it was necessary, but she supposed that it would at least be good to have out of the way. If only so they'd know which of them Pohlea was talking to if she needed something from any of them. Such as where to go, or stay, for their assignments; assuming they got the contract in the first place.