Doors and doors

Thanks for reading! This blog shouldn't be taken too seriously. I don't always put a lot of thought into the entries; they are merely a way for me to: (a) test out a few jokes (b) work on dialogue and scene (c) develop the world of Korin, where my fantasy stories take place and (d) appear busy while I eat lunch, so I can avoid human interaction. Feel free to let me leave a comment or critique. 

Shonfiddylchamevven led us behind the bar to where a stack of old kegs was piled against a wall. He ducked behind them, and I saw a door that had been hidden. It was a stout thing, thick, ancient-looking wood reinforced with iron bands. Merrick's brother fished in his pocket and produced an enormous ring of keys. We waited while he searched through them, holding a few up to the weak light and immediately discarding others. 

"I know it's here," he said, somewhat apologetically. 

"I'm impressed that you were able to handle that taunting without killing seven or eight people," I told Broo Fang Tane while we stood by. "Perhaps you are one step closer toward having full control of your anger."

He gave me a meek, half-hearted smile, but said nothing. 

"Ah! This must be it!" Shonfiddylchamevven held up a key that looked no different than any others, then inserted it into the lock and twisted. I heard a click and the door parted from its jamb. He grinned and pushed it open, revealing a ten-foot cube with another stout door on the other side. He walked up and began fiddling with the keys again. "I know it's here somewhere," he mumbled.

"We might be here a while," Seymuhr said. "Perhaps we should have brought a chair with us."

"Safety first!" Shonfiddylchamevven called cheerfully. "This passageway leads almost directly into the queen's audience chamber. We cannot simply allow petitioners to walk in on her."

"Of course." 

After a few more minutes, he exhaled loudly, put a different key into the doorlock. "Fortunately, she doesn't get many visitors this way."

He pushed the door open, revealing another cube and another door.

"Bones of Barnok," I whispered, then added, louder: "What do you do when the matter is urgent?"

"There are only a few more," he replied, then returned his attention to his key ring. "I could have sworn I left them in order." 

I leaned against the wall, which was made from smooth, cut stone, and thought about what I would say to Pheadra if and when we finally got our audience. I was still slightly upset at learning of Merrick's Ministry of Human Preservation from Merrick, and not directly from the queen. I had had plenty of dealings with her and thought our relationship was more cordial than it would be with an average subject. Surely someone responsible for chronicling the history of Korin, as I was, was worthy of such a confidence? I wondered if I had been an unwitting participant in the MOHPs agenda in the past. 

"Here it is!" Shonfiddylchamevven sounded triumphant. I held my breath but released it after he opened the door to find another cube that differed from the previous two in that it contained two stout doors. "Let's see," he said. "Which one is it again? The left or the right? I always forget..."

I glanced at Tane, who looked lost in thought. I tried to adopt his attitude. Patience, it appeared, would be an important trait today.