After quickly putting away the table and chairs—Sarai still had to take them ho with her—the trio walked to the door.
Noble had sensed the newcor coming before he knocked. Her sensitivity had grown as well as her range, so the introduction of a new person after only feeling two other people's emotions had pricked her internal alarm.
Fortunately, the man coming was not an enemy.
"At least they had the courtesy to knock," Sarai said to break the silence. "But how did they know anyone was here?"
"I am sure they have been monitoring this place nonstop since the gateway appeared," Nickel shrugged.
"Nothing as sinister as that." Noble waved off his paranoia. "The governnt wanted to et with us, and so I said we would be here this afternoon if they wanted to chat."
"A neighborly chat, or sothing specific?" Sarai resisted the urge to wring her hands.
"It's the governnt, Fireshing, not a housewarming party. They aren't here to bring us flowers and say welco back to the Dream Realm," Nickel scoffed.
"Why don't we hear what they have to say before passing judgnt." Noble rolled her eyes.
"You already know what they are going to say, don't you?" The librarian cut his eyes at Noble.
"Fort gave a vague idea of what would likely be discussed. These conversations will have to happen sooner or later, so it is better that it happens while we are all present, don't you think?" Noble hurried her steps as another knock on the door echoed through the hall.
"We are coming!" She called, unsure if the visitor would hear.
By the ti they finally reached the door, Nickel had already donned his black mask to conceal his face. Only his eyes peered out from the thick fabric, making his presence ominous.
After a short nod from each of the others, Noble used her levitation to open one of the large, heavy doors.
A startled young man had his hand lifted for a third attempt at knocking. He lowered his knuckles and smiled amiably.
"Master Noble! I am glad you are here. I thought perhaps I might have missed you."
"Awakened Venster, it is good to see you. I am sorry we kept you waiting. It was a long walk from where we were seated," Noble explained.
Venster nodded. "Of course. And these are your associates? Ascended Sarai and Ascended Cellio."
"I guess I do not need to introduce them then." Noble nodded. "This is Awakened Venster. He works for the Chancellor and is also stationed at Ender's Deep."
"It's nice to et you," Sarai held out her hand for the governnt agent to shake.
Nickel gave a curt nod but said nothing.
"I hope I am not interrupting too much, but I would like to see if you three would be willing to have a short eting with us at Ender's Deep?" Venster's polite manner was t with a scowl from the black-clad man.
"How brief and a eting with whom?" Nickel's voice was deep, sounding more like a monster's growl than his usual pleasant timbre.
'Part of his persona, I guess.' Noble tried not to act rattled by the change.
"You can leave any ti. Master Cellio. If ti is an issue, perhaps we can schedule another day to et?" Venter's words did not match his feelings. The idea of rescheduling made him nervous.
"No, I'm already here. Let's get this over with." Nickel shrugged and strode forward.
Venster's shoulders relaxed and he nodded. "Very good. If you will all follow ."
Noble allowed Nickel and Venster to take the lead.
While the governnt spy questioned their escort, Noble and Sarai took in the state of the world around them.
My how things had changed from the last ti they had seen Crestfall!
The professor looked at the ruins around her in a new light. She hadn't spent much ti outside of the palace, but she could still rember her mad dash through the streets in the first stages of the final battle.
Those monts would be forever engrained in her mory. Now the rubble made the distinction between what was once street and building nearly impossible.
A sound in the distance caught Noble's attention.
It was…hamring?
Usually, none of the locals ca to the surface. They had self-sustaining thods of living on the cliff face, so the rubble of the ruined kingdom was left uninhabited.
Yet, when Noble looked, she saw a handful of Awakened in the distance working feverishly with so of the fallen stones.
"What are they doing?" Sarai asked before Noble could.
Venster looked over his shoulder at the beautiful baker. "What else? They are building!"
Noble squinted. "A wall?"
"The new gateway will draw the attention of all sorts of Nightmare Creatures. It doesn't have the natural protection that Ender's Deep does. So it was decided a wall must be built." Venster answered matter-of-factly.
He turned around a broken piece of ground where two sentries were waiting.
Together they pulled back a large boulder to reveal a surprising sight.
"Since when is there an entrance here?" Noble pursed her lips as she looked at the narrow tunnel.
The only way to get to the surface previously was to climb up from the chasm, fly up, or find a crevice that was wide enough to fit through.
Rubbing the back of his neck, Venster cleared his throat. "The passage has been recently dug to accommodate the changing landscape. Right this way."
Venster was right, the passage was very recent indeed, the loose dirt from the hastily cleared rock was still sifting its way to the ground. The professor could already guess how that would feel if any of it managed to touch her skin.
Noble winced. "You all go ahead. I'll et you below."
"See you soon!" Sarai smiled and waved her off before Venster could question. The redhead ushered the governnt agent forward as Noble headed around the boulder and away from view.
Even though she wanted to avoid the pain of brushing up against the ground in the tunnel, she wasn't yet ready to go flying around in front of the general public. So she chose a covert spot before "tumbling" over the ridge and floating down to the first level of Ender's Deep.
The others t her there a short while later, still brushing off the rubble from their trek. Noble greeted them warmly. "There you are!"
If Venster wondered at her sudden appearance, he didn't comnt. The amiable young man simply motioned her forward.
The deeper into the citadel they went, the more somber Venster beca.
By the ti they made it to the stone-walled eting room, the young Awakened was all business. Venster knocked lightly.
He opened the door and stuck his head into the room. "The three Masters from the palace are here."
"Please send our guests in."
Noble heard the voice and imdiately knew to whom it belonged. She hadn't listened to the man speak often, but his distinctive cadence and authority were unmistakable.
With a bow, Venster opened the door and admitted the three guests in to see their gracious host.
That host… was the Saint of the citadel.
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