It took about three quarters of an hour, as the man was now able to check with his messing apparatus he had taken out a few times, folding the seemingly moveable parts of it, something to twist and make the fin stay in place, and the fin itself so that it did not break off when being put in the pouch or something else of that matter, before he had finally arrived close enough to see various people and soldiers, dressed in golden armour, adorned with black cloaks fluttering in non-existent winds, covered in golden helms that covered the faces, the masks being filled with big holes through which, somehow nothing was able to be discerned, not even the intent of the guards, most of which seemed to be around the rank of a titan, or on the verge of breaking through to there.
These soldiers stood in circles, some talked, some fought in training, preparing for something most would not dare imagine, causing some chaos but not daring to hurt the gold of the city, instead opting for duelling in one of the only non-golden places within this great city, others marched around, others flew unsteadily with ones that were more steady leading them, and some rare ones hid behind golden pillars upholding statues of the soldiers fulfilling great deeds, such as slaying dragons, devouring monsters, untangling tangled tentacles, making artifacts, taking down a being that seemed to simply be a gigantic woman, covered in elaborately made clothes, but those behind the pillars had often taken the masks off to eat their lunch, mainly meat and a few potatoes.
This gave the man a slight smile as a few of the soldiers tried to stop him from entering the place he had so brazenly entered without a hint of hesitation, not that they came far with that, simply turning around to join a few others that were already acting out a naked dance, only their genitals covered using the masks, still not see-through despite the wide holes on the visor.
Following this the few that had not instantly moved, some even having teleported themselves as it had seemed, took a few steps back and for the most part just allowed him to pass through, not exactly keen on being embarrassed to such a degree and expecting their queen to hopefully be able to deal with that jokester that was now slyly laughing, his mouth covered with a fist and sounding a bit dry.
As such, without any meaningful resistance the man covered in a tattered cloak and with the long braided hair, covered in sand as much of his clothing was as well, entered the castle, pushing open the great doors made of gold and intricate art adorned with silver and black ornaments, creating a spiel of the rare materials and the most common of colours that many would see in the deepest depths of the darkest of nights, the colour separating the burning balls known as stars from each other, the colour we fear and the colour of life-giving earth, the colour black.
The inside of the castle was covered with statues on all sides, some made to look honourable and almost regal, covered in long cloaks, many holding pieces of paper with writings he did not know but could still read through the intent of the original writers, some holding pieces of meat and other food, in the process of eating, their facial muscles aligned as such, often showing curved, overgrown, imperfect teeth as well as unkempt hair and stubbles longer than even the mysterious man's, some covered in expressions of fears, others kneeling and holding onto each other, staring at something in pure terror, but most often, there were statues of terrified looking priests with golden robes and various different patterns, some with shaven heads, some with balding ones, others without either, but all looking as if they were in pain, aside from a single one that seemed at peace, holding what seemed to be a broken blade.
Other than that there were various paintings, most often made of gold and engravings, there were some things that resembled street art, not that it seemed all that important, mainly names he did not know the meaning of, places he did not care about, perhaps a part of the past the queen was intent on remembering more than other parts of it, similar to how others kept diaries, just etched into eternal metal that did not rust under normal circumstances, though it was practically worthless in this place where there was simply too much of it.
Watching some of the art and touching some of the statues, admiring the facial expressions that the man knew to be very close to real life, he took a few more twists and turns, added in to make ti more difficult for normal people to find the hall of the king or queen, though this place had never once been occupied by a single king, only by one queen, someone that had ruled for many centuries now, the golden queen, lady crisis, a forsaken lord, the one of flame and gold.
He pondered upon those words, talking silently to himself, taking out the dial a few more times and flicking the fin up and down as he felt the reassuring weight of the brass it was made of, resulting in, as everything else in this place, a golden look, before he finally saw the queen, sitting silently atop a throne made of gold, fashioned to look like flowing flames, dancing along her and so lifelike they almost seemed as if they were still dancing after having been encased in their eternal golden picture the woman was now seated on, the seating place itself being rather flat to allow for, well, sitting, without stabbing the lower regions.
Entering the room that had no doors, looking around at the wide hall filled with pillars and empty space, knowing full well this would produce an echo when he talked, and slightly looking forward to that, the female on the throne quite interested in the man that had just appeared before it, he finally talked, his voice rough and dry, not having been used in a long time, slightly of a higher pitch, as if it had ignored his interaction with the merchant that had sold him his new sun-dial, the echo bouncing through the room but quickly after being extinguished when the queen's eyes began to burn with a golden flame, finally letting him get a good look of her.
"I am here to ask a favour."