The four Vrekans were all alarmingly tall, bulky and well-armoured. They looked almost ridiculous, following the casually dressed Thanatian down the road, but no one was willing to say that to their faces. They were all members of the Myst, an elite squad of Vrekan warriors with one purpose – to protect and serve their King.
After a rather silly and long-winded walk, Phovos finally stopped in front of a large warehouse. Its outsides were bare and barren, but the interior had been converted into a very basic home for four beings. She fumbled around in her pocket, pulling out keys until she found the one she was looking for. With a tut, she unlocked the heavy, metal doors and pushed them open.
“Alright, guys, this is your place.”
The tallest Vrekan, adorned in black and gun metal armour, appeared to smile, but it was hard to tell. “Thank you very much, Kyra Phovos. May I ask what this place contains?”
Phovos smiled back, then led the Vrekans inside. “Of course… Uh… What are your names again?”
The tall Vrekan’s facial expression didn’t change. “Ah, we did not tell you. I am Veralion, these are my associates and Myst-Kin, Vryas, Vakeltis and Varnavas.”
Vryas, the smallest Vrekan, wearing heavy, spiked, red and black armour, also appeared to smile. Vakeltis in his white and blue armour didn’t change his expression at all, while Varnavas, wearing some ludicrously shiny gold armour, grunted.
“Ah… Sorry…” Phovos apologised. It wasn’t that Phovos was scared of them. Clearly not. If they attacked her, she could probably easily kill all four of them. She just didn’t like any of them apart from Veralion. Luckily for her, Veralion seemed to be the leader of the small group. “Anyway, I’ll give you a tour!”
Phovos stepped inside and reached to her left, for the light switch. It flicked on, illuminating the large interior. The inside was incredibly basic. A stainless steel kitchen and dining room combo filled the eastern corner, a training area took up most of the centre of the room and a small living space, complete with four chairs and a television screen sat underneath the stairs to the upper level.
“There’s four bedrooms upstairs, one bed each, plus a wardrobe, a bed-side table, a lamp and a chest to place your belongings in!” Phovos explained. “We’ve included basic linen, if you want more than the standard pillow and blanket, you need to buy that yourselves.”
“What about food and water supplies?” Vryas asked. Phovos felt somewhat surprised. She hadn’t heard any of the other Vrekans speak before.
“Oh that? There’s a week’s supply of dry foods in the cupboards, plus milk, eggs, a handful of vegetables and a kilo of minced meat in the fridge. The water out of the taps is drinkable as is, and there’s glasses in the top cupboard over there. Anything else?” Phovos continued to smile at the Vrekans.
The four Vrekans spread out and started inspecting everything, in almost complete unison. After an exact minute of looking around, they returned to their original spot.
“Is everything acceptable to you lot?” Phovos asked. “You seemed rather unsure.”
“We always check everything. Protocol!” Vryas explained.
“Always.”
“Very well,” Phovos sighed. “You have a week to train yourselves up and work out a game plan. I’ll send details of your match schedule tomorrow. Is there anything else I can do for you?”
“No thank you, Kyra Phovos,” Veralion continued to smile. “This will do nicely.”