An Audience with the Warrior Queen

Alayna seems to have brought about forty of her soldiers with her - a nearly equal division of men and women. While you've certainly known women to don armor and fight in battle (Trina, of course, being but one example), you have never seen an army where women made up half the ranks. Of course, this is but a tiny part of her forces, but you get the feeling that they are representative of the whole.

Another surprise comes when Alayna's guards lead you to the large red tent on the left rather than the center; it seems that Alayna's strategic cunning extends even to how she lays out her encampment. Any assassin or spy would naturally assume she was in the centermost and largest tent.

The guards at the flap, again a man and woman, stand aside as you approach. Sir Calloway enters first, and you follow him in. "My Queen, I present King Xavier the First of Elyssia, come to bid you welcome," he says with a short bow from the neck, and stands aside.

Your eyes take a moment to adjust to the darkness within the tent - something else which you are sure is the result of deliberate planning, to momentarily disorient those who enter. It suddenly occurs to you that in all your time as a King, this is the first time you've had an audience with a Queen; you've met other Kings and their equivalent, and you've certainly met noblewomen, but this is your first Queen. As you quickly become accustomed to the darkness, the image of Queen Alayna swims into focus.

The stories are true; she is magnificent to behold. Her hair catches your attention first, a bright coppery red which makes her appear wreathed in flame. Her eyes are blue like the deep mountain lakes, and they look you over appraisingly, as if she is also comparing you to whatever stories she has heard. You realize that you half-expected to see her naked, as all the stories of her riding into battle describe her as such, but she is draped in a heavy and ornate red robe which covers her completely except for her face - and it is a face as lovely and exquisite as any you have ever beheld. You sense a limitless strength within her, a quality which says to any who look upon her, "This is a Queen."

Alayna rises from her ornate wooden throne to greet you; she is tall for a woman, perhaps a hair shorter than you are but not much more. "You honor me, King Xavier," she says in a smooth, liquid voice, deeper than you would have expected. "I am Alayna, also called the Warrior Queen, but my purpose here is not to make war; rather, I greet you in peace."

"I am delighted to hear it, Queen Alayna," you say with a slight bow of your head. "That being the case, you and your people are invited to join us as we celebrate the tenth anniversary of our kingdom. The Mountain Gate shall be opened for the duration of the festivities, and I would be pleased to have you at my table for the feast tonight."

"By all means," she says, as if she had been expecting the invitation. Her eyes flutter over to Duncan and Ferdinand, and then to Trina, where they linger for a moment. Then she says, "I am sure your advisors would like to see our camp, so that they may advise you about me later, as advisors will do. General Theresa will escort them. Then, you and I may speak privately." She pauses for a moment. "Perhaps we should dismiss the guards as well, and speak even more privately."

She's given you a choice, and the obvious response would be to dismiss Trina and show that you have no fear of meeting with Alayna alone. However, you have seen this sort of ploy before when dealing with other rulers and lords who sought to dictate terms of engagement - Duncan has advised you that this is something you especially must watch out for, as a commoner-turned-monarch.