Board Thread:Roleplaying/@comment-24685738-20170804175219/@comment-5543592-20170805004219

Up they went the private road, which grew steeper as the hill did. This wasn't meant to be traveled by foot, but taken on horseback, so that the animals would bear the strain. Stables and houses for servants, groundskeepers, and royal guards rose up every so often, humble sights on the vast stately grounds. Abruptly, the hill leveled out, and they walked beneath an archway that abscured their view of the sky.

Then the palace was before them. The Royal Palace of Taneth rose in front of them, going up and up and up. It was a behemoth of smooth marble, a glistening monolith to the glory of the current ruling dynasty. Their shoes clicked on the polished granite surface, so smooth and fine they could almost see their reflection in it, which stretched out all around them, and direclty ahead to a long set of stairs that led up to palace doors forged from what appeared to be ebony enlaid with gold. Four statues were constructed along the stairs, to each side. Immediately, next to the bottom of the stairs, were statues of resting horses. Behind them, higher up, built into the wall of the palace, were two enormous depictions of Taneth's legendary rulers.

The statue left of the stairs was a young man, in his late twenties. He had handsome, lean features, which combined with an arched browline and a grin to give him a mischievious appearance. His eyes were cast down towards those who approached the palace, almost as if he was watching those who approached, and was planning best how to laugh at them. He was dressed in a sort of cloak, and turned away from the viewer, so that his whole body was obscured by the cloak and the palace wall, except for his hands, one which could be seen clutching the grip of a sheathed the sword, and the other proudly holding a bow. A hood was pulled down over his face, as if to hide his head, but could conceal the edges of the crown resting above his brow. Beneath the statue the word HONOR, FRATERNITY, and LOYALTY were engraved into the marvel, one atop of the other, in huge, blockish letters.

The statue to the right, was that of a woman. Unlike the cloaked man, she did not conceal herself from the viewer, instead standing proudly before them, hands upon her hips. She was depicted as older than he, in her late thirties, and boasted beautiful, distinguished features, with a similarly arching browline set atop a hear-shaped face, a chiseled nose, thick lips set above a prominent chin, and almond-shapd eyes. Her gaze was set high above the viewer, as if she was looking into the distance. She wore an entricate dress which clung a shapely figure, that had design upon design engraved into it. Had it been worn by an average-sized person, it would've looked like poorly stitched nonsense, but carved into a marble statue it was a masterful work of art. A jeweled crown, larger than that of the man's, stood magnificently atop her head, as if just placed there. Below her the words DUTY, JUSTICE, and, PERSERVERANCE were engraved.

Here, inside the palace grounds, the guards were scarce, except for two up by the doors into the palace itself. Servants were milling about the granite grounds, tending to gardens and other attractions the palace's immediate area offered, paying the group little mind

Taeris shoved the wrapped sword into Ollie's arms. "Open it." He ordered in town far harsher than probably intended.

Perhaps he had been wrong. They'd been harassing he Legion to try and turn them back. There was no war here. Only a slaughter. It was Crash all over again, only now on a larger scale.