"Huh, just how big is this castle?", the young man thought as he walked down the hallway on the third floor of the building. Samuel had been staying at the magnificent palace since last night. A change in his work schedule had allowed him to join this odd get-together a little earlier than what was originally intended, but he didn't mind. Although he had been there for a while, he had yet to meet any of the other guests. The Duke of Zhima had not traveled straight from his homeland but instead had arrived from a long and tedious business meeting with one of the countries nearby. That said, he had been on the road for a few days since and all he could think of once he arrived at his host's castle was getting some sleep.

Realizing that the sun was already well over the horizon was what startled him awake that morning. It was embarrassing to be up so late at someone else's home. But Samuel wouldn't have worried as much if he had known that there were not that many people in the castle to begin with. "Maybe everyone else is still asleep?", was what he tried to assure himself with. Who knows, maybe they were just elsewhere.

Something caught his eye after he turned a corner towards the stairs. Outside one of the large stain-glass windows he noticed two carriages leaving the palace steps. 'Looks like more guests have arrived.', he mused. Deciding it was best to go see who they were, Samuel headed downstairs.