The Great Hall in which Janica stood was well named. Two rows of thick pillars supported a distant roof, each pillar covered in veins of gold that branched upward like tree's and coiled around the pillars otherwise smooth surface. The guard took a long while to pace along the deep red carpet that travelled the entire length of the room; from huge double doors to the raised platform on which the King and Queen's thrones sat; the Queen's was empty, as it had been for ten years since Queen Patricia's passing. Guard's walled either side of the walkway in the kind of shiny, polished armour that was only really good for show, and not for combat and with long-hafted halberds slung over their shoulders. Tall, stained-glass windows let in plenty of light, while simultaneously depicting several of the King's great victories and battles in a suitably glorifies manner. One particularly bold, central window depicted the man in his prime simultaneously beheading a lion and putting an armoured boot to use staving off an onslaught of human foes, while several barely-dressed women watched on in awe.<br/><br/>Few really believed the King's reign had been quite the spectacle told in stories - though the Bards were often obliged to tell the tales - but some small truths remained. When he was merely Prince he had waged several of his fathers wars, and expanded the influence of his Kingdom significantly. Once crowned he remained a powerful and successful figurehead; regarded as a fair, powerful King. Away from his throne he was notoriously willing to use his position and wealth to his own ends. The palace was renowned for being filled with young, attractive females, and his fondness for carnal things and opulent surroundings saw him frowned upon by the Temples. It was good, then, that he could pacify them from time to time with gifts such as the tablet he was about to receive.<br/><br/>The King was watching curiously, though his pose didn't admit as much. He had one elbow propped on the high arms of his golden-coloured throne and his head resting against the fist at the end of his arm. Sharp eyes etched into a  face that had faded from it's former handsome look watched the woman stood at the far end of the hall with far more interest than the guard pacing along his carpet and toward the base of his pedestal. The guard wisely fell to one knee, capturing the King's attention in order to deliver his message.<br/><br/>"Your majesty, may I present Lady Janica, who offers you the lost Fifth Tablet of Sorkanth as a gift to please your greatness." He bowed deeper still, and swung an arm back to invite the girl to approach herself. She'd been given fair warning; act as though the tablet was a gift, even though she stood to be paid extremely well by the royal court... Who struggled to hold their purse strings shut, when they saw potential gain in standings to be snatched. The King righted himself, the neat crowned resting skewed atop his skull as he turned his attention more acutely to the beauty approaching him... Oh yes, she'd do quite nicely!<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>