Chapter 846: Beneath the Dome

The transport finally descended low enough for the seabed to become visible beneath them.

The central dome surrounding the Myrrhvale castle had its own entry point built directly into the lower structure, large enough for several transports to pass through at once. Their vessel slowed as it approached, slipped through the reinforced opening, and entered a sealed chamber on the other side.

Water drained away from the outer section while enormous mechanisms locked the entrance behind them. By the time the transport came to a full stop, they were sitting inside a dry chamber large enough to hold several vessels without any of them getting in the others' way.

Trafalgar looked through the window before standing. More than twenty soldiers were already waiting outside, spread across the chamber with weapons ready and enough discipline that none of them looked particularly relaxed despite there being no obvious danger.

A few watched the transport itself while the rest kept their attention on the entrances leading deeper into the castle.

Lyren was the first to step out.

By the time Trafalgar and Rhosyn followed, he was already waiting beside the platform.

Trafalgar took in the chamber properly as soon as his boots touched the floor. Several docking spaces ran along the walls, all of them built for the same kind of transport, and the complete lack of merchants or cargo workers made the purpose obvious.

This wasn't part of a public port.

It was a private entrance reserved for the castle.

Along one side of the chamber, thick windows looked directly into the dark water outside the dome. Trafalgar walked past one and glanced through it, catching distant lights from the outer parts of Meraval and almost nothing beyond them.

They were very deep.

If something went wrong and they needed to leave without Myrrhvale cooperation, that was already going to be a problem.

'If we ever need to get out of here on our own, I'm probably depending on Rhosyn.'

Her dimensional abilities were the only reliable option he could think of if the exits were sealed. Unless the castle had another Gate hidden somewhere inside.

House Morgain had one tied to the Council, so it wouldn't surprise him if Myrrhvale had something similar.

'And if they do, Lyren was never going to tell me five minutes after I arrived. Fair enough.'

The soldiers reacted once Trafalgar and Rhosyn were clearly visible.

Several recognised the Morgain crest almost immediately, and low voices started moving through the chamber.

Lyren heard them too.

"They're here as observers," he said, loud enough for the room to settle. "The arrangements were made recently, so most of you haven't been informed yet."

He looked across the soldiers before continuing.

"They're guests of House Myrrhvale and under our protection while they're here. Treat them accordingly. I don't want either of them having to wonder whether they're welcome every time they walk through a guarded door."

That quieted most of the murmuring.

A few soldiers still exchanged words among themselves, but Trafalgar didn't bother listening. A Morgain arriving inside another Great Family's castle during a succession crisis was going to generate gossip regardless of what Lyren said.

Trafalgar looked around the chamber once more. "You really weren't exaggerating about the size of this place."

Lyren glanced toward him. "You've seen the transport chamber. Give it another hour before you decide whether I exaggerated."

Lyren gestured toward the exit. "Come on. I'll show you where you're staying before we deal with the official part."

Trafalgar and Rhosyn followed him into the castle.

The first corridor beyond the transport chamber was wide enough for a dozen people to walk beside one another, with guards placed at every major turn. The architecture changed quickly too, practical metal and stone giving way to pale walls, deep blue sections, and silver worked into almost everything Trafalgar could see.

Chandeliers, railings, door frames, pillars, even decorative edges around paintings carried the same polished finish.

Rhosyn walked beside him quietly, taking in the layout without making it obvious.

Once they climbed the first long staircase, she lowered her voice.

"We should learn this place while we can. Entrances, turns, stairs, anything that could matter later."

Trafalgar glanced toward her. "I've been doing exactly that since we got off the transport. The windows were the first problem."

"What did you decide?"

"That getting trapped down here would be extremely inconvenient."

Rhosyn looked toward the corridor ahead.

"That's one way to put it."

"There could be a Gate inside the castle. I wouldn't be surprised if there was, but I'm not expecting Lyren to hand me a map of every emergency route his family has."

"No. And even if he trusts you, that would be stupid."

"Exactly."

Trafalgar lowered his voice a little more. "Still, keep paying attention. We're protected guests, sure, but Lyren didn't ask us to come because everything inside his family is safe and under control."

Rhosyn nodded. "I wasn't planning to take the word protected too literally."

"Neither was I."

They continued upward.

The castle had far more floors than Trafalgar expected from seeing it outside. Staircases split toward separate wings, while servants, guards, clerks, healers, and workers carrying sealed boxes or stacks of documents moved constantly through the halls.

There were already hundreds of people in the sections they'd crossed.

Across the entire castle, two thousand at any given time suddenly sounded completely believable.

Trafalgar passed another silver-lined archway and looked around.

"They really like silver."

Rhosyn followed his attention. "I've noticed."

"They're committed to it, I'll give them that."

The castle was mostly blue, white, and silver, and the wealth behind every detail was difficult to miss. Myrrhvale culture had never struck Trafalgar as particularly modest anyway, and considering slavery was still openly accepted throughout much of their territory, old ideas about status clearly ran deep here.

Lyren eventually led them onto one of the upper residential floors.

The corridor stretched far enough that Trafalgar couldn't see the end clearly, with large rooms lining both sides and tall windows looking out over sections of the inner dome.

Lyren stopped beside two doors.

"These are yours. I put you next to each other, and the other invited observers are farther down the same corridor."

Rhosyn looked toward the distant end. "How far?"

"Far enough that you won't have to share breakfast unless you want to, but close enough that nobody can complain I'm giving you special treatment."

"That sounds deliberate," Trafalgar said.

"It is. I'd rather keep unnecessary contact to a minimum until you've actually met everyone."

Lyren gestured toward the rooms.

"Leave your things inside. We won't be staying here long."

Trafalgar opened his room first, found a large bedroom with an adjoining sitting area, and dropped his bag beside one of the chairs. Rhosyn did the same next door, and within a few minutes both were back in the corridor.

Neither bothered unpacking.

There would be time for that later.

Lyren was still waiting where they'd left him.

"Ready?"

"Yeah. You said there was something we had to do before moving around."

"The formal recognition." Lyren's expression became more serious. "You'll both appear before Ithanne. She'll explain exactly what an observer is allowed to do, what counts as interference, and what happens if either of you crosses that line."

Trafalgar studied him. "Considering what you asked me to come here for, that sounds slightly inconvenient."

Lyren looked at him for a moment before the corner of his mouth moved.

"The rules matter. You should listen to every word she says."

He started walking, forcing them to follow.

Then, without turning around, he added, "Of course, rules only become a problem when someone can prove you broke them."

Rhosyn looked toward Trafalgar.

Trafalgar looked back at her.

Lyren continued ahead as though he'd said nothing unusual.

"Come on. Ithanne doesn't like being kept waiting."