Lion Head Mesa pretium

backdated to may 20, early morning

before dawn germanicus sought @Glaukos. the pharaoh had asked for a posting at the rooms of the princesses. that was where he had expected the young soldier to be spending his days.

today he would meet the tribunus in the red dirt outside the palace, nearer to the lake. he stood tall as he waited.

It was easy for Glaukos to stay vigilant while on duty. The palace made him nervous. The task of guarding the princesses was an easy one so long as he remain silent and unbothered - and for the most part, he was ignored by the fellahin following their own duties.

He was relieved for a short break eventually. Someone mentioned to him that Germanicus waited, and without hesitation Glaukos moved to meet him outside - invigorated by the opportunity to be away from his claustrophobia.

Glaukos saw the older man and marched to where he waited. Imperator, he greeted roughly, and waited for orders. Maybe something had been discovered about the murder and they could head home soon.

"soldier." germanicus began a slower stride along the lake's edge. "i want you to stay in akashingo for a time. the pharaoh has asked it. and his son will need a personal guard."

he did not expect glaukos to take lightly to this. "he plans to install another queen at the end of the mourning period. when that is completed, you may return to mereo. consider this your finishing tour before you return."

Glaukos had not expected this. He had been so focused on getting through his guard shifts that he hadn't anticipated being placed here for an extended stay - although prior to the murder of the queen he had asked for exactly that. It was different now. He has been within the palace and felt the weight of the walls around him.

There would be no refusing this order and he knew it. Whatever unease he felt, Glaukos kept hidden from his superior as best he could.

Understood, he answered as level as possible. Has progress been made in regards to to first queen? The man wasn't all that interested but the longer their conversation went out here, the less time Glaukos would be suffering inside.

Is it suspicious that they mean to replace the queen so swiftly? Perhaps it was all a scheme, or Ramesses could have been part of it all.

glaukos was heedful. germanicus silently admired how far he had grown from the brash mountain-sized boy into a honed soldier with his own mind.

"it is. that is how queens are torn down from their thrones. an aspiring woman seeks to replace her and thereby have her own sons follow ramesses as pharaoh. in this instance, the woman treva and the man sayf are my first suspects. but all of them had access to her rooms in any moment, including pharaoh."

he was silent for a moment. "progress will be slow until the time of mourning is lifted. for now the palace is under scrutiny. a murderer of royals would know to be careful."

Glaukos listens intently to what his master shares. This place, for all of its tunnels and all of its containment of stone, is strangely open; that the queen was so accessible was suspicious to Glaukos, though he was slowly understanding that the fellahin were intended to serve in many ways, so that availability made sense as well.

The man was focused in his thoughts for a moment and did not immediately process Germanicus' next words. He interjected with a thought of his own: I have seen the way they work in service of their leader, even in their mourning. One of the slaves has a young charge and I wondered if it was their own kin, but they do not look alike. He was speaking of the child Nazli, of whom he had not met directly.

He only mentions this as another loose-end to consider. If the fellahin serve the Pharaoh in every possible way, then their children are most likely royal blood, and that would be a strong motivating factor. One that Germanicus has no doubt thought of himself.

Allowing the slaves to... move freely like this, the implication goes beyond that, to frequent royal pregnancies swept under the proverbial rug; —to me that invites disaster. What a strange place this is.

germanicus was quiet for a time. 

"they are not slaves. they are something more dangerous. each fellahin worships him in their own way. they are free to leave and very few choose to depart. he has built a guard around himself. that is the violence of his actions."

"but you are correct," he went on. "the definition of hierarchy inside akashingo breeds its own chaos." it was why he had clung so tightly to the arrangement of his own ranks.

Glaukos drew a sharp inward breath when he was corrected.

If they were free to leave, he wondered what empowered them to stay. There were many places one could find a home and ample freedom; he had found it for himself without even wanting it, and yet these people came in droves to serve one man.

He would never understand it.

Is there anyone you wish me to speak with, or apprehend? It would give him some real purpose. Something beyond watching and waiting, becoming some kind of obelisk affixed to the wall to watch as a gargoyle over these people.

"not yet. but i want you to keep an eye over lady sokha and the fellahin, sayf."

he had a suspicion that two would be detained once his investigation was complete.

he looked at the young soldier. "should sokha move or seek to leave the palace, then you will take her captive."

These names he committed to memory. Out of everyone in the palace currently, Glaukos had only been mindful of the pharaoh and had limited contact with anyone else; not that he'd met Ramesses at any point, but it made sense to keep the leader in mind.

For now he recited Sohka's and Sayf's names in his mind, and would be sure to keep an eye out for them. Understood, he acknowledged.

A part of Glaukos hoped there would be more struggle involved. He was bored in this palace and wouldn't admit to the obvious regret he now experienced in the posting; it was necessary for his advancement within Mereo, so he'd tough it out.

For now, Glaukos awaited dismissal.

"if either of them seek to leave akashingo on more than a royal errand, stop them."

the eagle nodded. glaukos was dismissed.

and the shrewd sungold eyes turned back, watching long shadows fall from the mesa's edge.