Meet this stranger.

"You're late!" Candy exclaims. "You missed all the cool stories. Sorry, but Kyle's throat is all sore, so no repeats."

"I suppose I am late, yes," the man says while stepping his way into the room.

"Or you've arrived precisely when you've meant to," you joke.

His teeth show behind his beard as he chuckles. "Maybe." His eyes look over all those around the table. "Ah. The queen is back."

"I didn't expect you to make an appearance," Barkis says. "Though I'm not so surprised by your rude arrival. This is the Demon King Kyle Warren here beside the queen, and very important subjects have been discussed in your absence. And yet again, you fail to introduce yourself."

"You're hardly older than me, Drev, yet you speak to me like my senior," the stranger says. "Well then. You can call me Ealdorman if you wish. It's not my name, but I stuck with it long ago. I think it's fitting, isn't it?"

He doesn't sound as old and wise as Barkis, though if he's a Chairman too, he must be powerful.

Beela, seeing that you appear rather confused, speaks up. "Ealdorman is one of the oldest members of our order. A mysterious man, if I may say, though a talented mage us younger members look up to," he says. Though younger is technically accurate, he himself is still a middle-aged man. "It's a welcome surprise to see you here, sir. I wish you could have heard Kyle's fantastic tales of Earth."

"I have heard of such a place," Ealdorman says. "But I was busy. Either way, I did come because I wish to speak with Sir Warren here, but it's something more personal, so I didn't want to interrupt the actual meeting."

A seventh. I wonder how many more there are. This one almost gives me a grandmaster vibe, though it seems the Circle doesn't have a position like that. Maybe it's just the stereotype. An old man wizard. Him or Barkis I could definitely see leading some kind of mage's guild. But I guess he's just another one of the Chairmen, and now he rolls in here after everything like he doesn't even think it's strange. To be fair, all these people are bizarre.

"Then I belief this meeting is officially over," Okawa says. With a gentle sigh, she lowers her feet into her sandals below the table, and she finally stands up tall. She plucks one more grape from the bowl in front of her to take for the road. "Lest this continue longer than need be, descending into rambling rants of nonsense."

"Okawa is a cruel mistress," Ealdorman explains. "But a mistress nonetheless. Don't mind her coldness. She's simply tired of the world's bullshit, including mine."

"But not mine!" Candy shouts, now laying flat on her back in the center in the table.

"We will certainly stay in contact," Lady Sulta says as she stands as well. "But we must be careful. This Elok Daven has been plotting for ages, and I hesitate to say that his ears could be anywhere."

Ealdorman nods and points to his chest. "Even I could be a spy." Then from within his robe, he retrieves a letter, in which he hands to you. "All right then. A good meeting, everyone. Be safe on your journeys home."

"Would you like a hand heading home?" Sulta asks you and your party.

Confused, you take the letter and stow it away, and before you know it, Ealdorman is already heading off along with many of the other Chairmen. "Oh. Yeah. That's would be great."

"Aw. Nothing went wrong," Niki says.

"... You wanted something to go wrong?" you ask.

"I don't know. Just a little!"

"I'd like to know a little more, but I think that's all we're getting. That Ealdorman guy though," you say quietly to your allies. "Why me, and why not at the meeting then?"

Sulta, overhearing as she approaches, places a hand upon your shoulder. "He's an odd man, and an old man, but a wise man, so don't let his demeanour fool you. Come. Let's get you home. You're likely tired from all that speaking, and the intensity of the Chairmen."