Azadei chuckled, and Evendiss sighed and rolled her eyes. "Let's get this going."<br/><br/>The negotiations with the guards went fairly quickly, and soon they were escorted inside Muminofrah's temporary home, out to a large barge, behind the building. A gangplank leads up from the quay to the deck of the pleasure barge. Brightly painted and trimmed with shining gold, the barge’s polished wooden planks gleam in the sun. Toward the stern of the vessel, painted and gilded columns support a silken canopy, shading a pyramid-shaped dais heaped with cushions that rises from the barge’s deck. Sheer curtains between the pillars stir slightly in the weak breeze along the canal. The barge is inundated with courtiers, guards, slaves, and servants. Wealthy citizens and members of the local aristocracy sit upon cushions on the deck, beneath huge parasols held up by eunuchs. A lion is tethered to each of the four corner pillars, each watched by a guard holding a huge whip. Scantily clad slaves move silently through the gathering, bearing trays and pitchers of refreshments for the guests.<br/><br/>At the heart of this sits the guest of honor. A heavyset woman dressed in revealing silks and wearing a gold headdress lounges atop the pyramid, almost lost in the vast mountain of cushions. This is Her Excellency Muminofrah of Sothis, Fan-Bearer on the Right Side of the King, and personal representative of Ruby Prince Khemet III.