Two days later, out in the seas of the South Blue
On a starry night, a few meters away from the coast of the Utshani Kingdom, a small boat carrying four people were currently approaching the shores of the isolated kingdom with neutral expressions on their faces.
"Alright, since we're now within sight of our homeland, I'd like to recap some of the points that we discussed during our travels to the island." Mdomo began to address both Valerie and Hughes as he looked at the two of them.
"You will be greeted by a small group of influential people who will be acting as the representatives of the kingdom's three most prominent factions vying for power. Once you have met these influential figures, you will be led to the room that we have prepared for you in order to rest when you are not acting on your duties as a mediator. Once you have properly rested and replenished your stomachs, you will be escorted to the throne room where the king will be waiting for your arrival along with the members of the Royal Court. After you have heard what they have to say on the matter for which you have been called for, you will be free to proceed with your acts of mediation."
"Yeah, that pretty much sums up what you have told us during our trip to your homeland. But I do have a few questions related to the living arrangements for the two of us. Where will Hughes be during our stay in the kingdom? Will we be allowed to bring anyone into our room if we so desire? And should we expect the people that I will have to talk with to enter my room?"
"No one else will be allowed to enter into the room that will be provided to you while you act as a mediator, and that includes you Mr. Hughes. Even if he is the man that you have chosen to act as your security detail, he will have to stay in the closest room that we can provide for you. This is mainly because no one will trust your personal guard during his stay in the kingdom, so we, and by we, I mean the members of the Royal Court as well as the princess and I, have made that decision because of the fact that he will not be trusted by the people at the center of the conflict. And in regards to whether the room that you will be provided is only meant for you to serve as your place of relaxation for the duration of your stay on the island. This means that you will not be allowed to bring anyone into the room while you are here as a mediator."
"Thank you for clarifying that for me Mr. Mdomo."
"You are welcome Tirujaga." the talking hornbill said as they inched closer to the shores of the Utshani Kingdom.
But as the party of four made their way towards the shores of the island, a certain mercenary was observing the group with a telescope from the branch of one of the large trees located near the shores of the island.
'Hmm, it looks like my targets have brought someone else along for the delegation mission that my target is involved in. And he looks like he can take care of himself. This might complicate things just a little bit. I guess I'll have to alter some of the plans that I had made in order to get the job done.' the curly haired lion mink thought as she looked at the four people aboard the boat heading towards the island before she jumped away from the branch she had been sitting on.
Meanwhile, within the throne room of the Royal Palace
Inside a large and spacious room that was filled to the brim with a wide variety of artistic works that depicted many of the members of the royal family as well as some of the historic moments that defined the kingdom hanging on the walls. And in the center of the room stood a large throne that was capable of sitting someone with a large build without any issue. And sitting on the large throne was a lion mink with a mane that was as red as fresh blood in deep thought with a blank look on his face. He was wearing a brown knee length tunic over his muscular body as well as a pair of black sandals.
After spending a few moments in his head, the large lion mink rubbed the bridge of his nose before he got up from his throne and made his way towards one of the windows within the room.
'I really wish I could find a solution for the power struggle that plagues to divide the royal members of the family without having to resort to outside help, but alas I have hit a roadblock when it comes to bringing about a resolution to the matter of succession for the royal family. I just hope that the mediator that is due to arrive will be able to resolve the matter between us.' the king of the Utshani Kingdom lamented as he watched his subjects go about their day to day lives from below him.
Within a desolated part of the Utshani Kingdom
Somewhere out in the barren outskirts of the island was a cave that was surrounded by trees that had dried up. And deep inside the dimly lit walls of the surprisingly wide cave, a female lion mink who looked to be in the prime of her life was looking at the two other minks that were sitting on either side of her on the table made using a large flat stone. She had straightened silver hair that reached all the way to the small of her back that failed to hide the crescent shaped scar located on the right side of her face. She was also wearing a white shirt, a dark brown leather skirt that barely reached her knees and a pair of functional leather boots.
"Is it true that a human has been picked as the one who will be acting as a mediator of the talks that will be taking place in the coming weeks?" the middle-aged mink asked the two other minks sitting beside her with a stern look upon her face.
"What you have heard is true mother. A human will be acting as a mediator in the upcoming talks between the members of the royal family. I heard it while I was eavesdropping on the meeting of the members of the king's Royal Court." the one sitting to her left answered the woman's question in a neutral tone. He was a scrawny looking lion mink with unruly chin length black hair and a pointy looking goatee. He wore a dark orange leather jacket, dark brown leather trousers and a brown pair of worn out shoes.
"That idiot of a king! Why would he let the members of his Royal Court make such an idiotic decision?"
"Maybe they were desperate for time?" the other mink sitting beside the blonde haired woman remarked with a thoughtful look on his face. He was a young lion mink with a lean and muscular build. And like the one sitting next to the blonde woman was covered in dark brown fur and had a mane of black hair atop his head. The young lion mink was wearing a white shirt that was a size too small, blue shorts that covered his knees and a pair of black outdoor boots.
"Do not joke on such a matter Kutupa!"
"But I was not joking mother! I really think that they were just desperate enough to allow a human to act as a mediator in the power struggle that our families are currently in."
"Well, I am afraid that this is quite not the case, dear brother. Three of the five members of the royal court were in favour of allowing a human to act as a mediator for the talks. Although, I would like to add that they only came to this decision because the legendary martial artist that they originally planned on inviting as a mediator made it clear to them that he has no desire of acting as a mediator due to his old age, so he told them that he would send the human who was once his disciple to act as a mediator in his place."
"That does not change anything! They should have made more of an effort in order to find someone worthy of acting as a mediator for the power struggle that is plaguing us."
"I understand mother. But given the fact that things between all the factions are playing out, I would say that they made the best decision that they could make given the circumstances that the power struggle has had on our beloved kingdom. I would also like to add that the one who will be mediating the conflict is-"
"Enough! I have heard enough about the identity of the one who will be acting as a mediator! It will not change what we have to do in order to accomplish our plans to overthrow the king. We will proceed with our plans of gaining more political power while undermining my idiot brother and his faction. Now if you will excuse me, I am going to my room in order to make myself presentable so before I go the castle." the middle-aged lioness declared as she stood up from her seat and made her way out of the centre of the cave.
"Brother Hofu, who is the human that the members of the king's Royal Court decided to invite as a mediator?"
"The one who will be acting as a mediator is the one known as Tirujaga."
"What? Someone like her is going to be visiting our kingdom?"
"Yes. It will definitely complicate things for us going forward. But please refrain from telling mother this piece of news for the time being. We don't need to face her wrath right now. Am I clear?" Hofu told his younger brother, who nodded in response to what his brother said.
"Good. Now I believe it is time that we also make ourselves presentable for the meeting that will be taking place in the palace." the older of the two minks stated before he made his way to the room. And shortly after that, Kupatu also headed towards his room.