The dining room was very spacious and had four different entrances, though one of them was the main entrance. Adameus and Kaligula came in through one of the side entrances, to find Speaker Chalsey reading a book and having a glass of water. She stood up when she saw them. 'Most honourable Listener.' she greeted him, bowing her head as she spoke. Adameus nodded back.

The walls were panelled with hickory, and a large marble mantelpiece with a wall of paintings of the historic Metzengerts. Carved with angels and cornucopias, it was beautiful if slightly out of place given the darker tone of most of the furnishings in the rest of the castle.

Adameus kept his arm around Kaligula's waist right up to their chairs. Adameus took the throne-like chair at the northern head of the table, so that he was in front of the marble mantelpiece and in full view of the table and grand main entrance to the south. Speaker Chalsey had sat in the middle of the table on his right, so she was two seats away from him. Kaligula took her place on the chair just on his right. He had personally pulled the chair out for her to sit.

Kaligula folded her arms on her lap and waited for her Listener to speak. Speaker Chalsey discretely put away 'The Human Anatomy, Abridged' and looked at the Listener's hands, which he had placed upon the table, rather than in his eye. For his part Adameus smilingly looked over the beautiful women he had been lucky enough to call his subordinates.

Kaligula was very young as far as Altmer go, scarcely at her second century, so that she looked about nineteen. She was of course taller than a human female, but her young age put her about three inches shorter than Adameus, who was about six feet tall. She was as slender and delicate as she was tall, with an accompanying elegance and grace of stature and conduct. Her perfect and noble Altmer features, river green eyes and honey coloured hair had endeared her to Adameus as one of his best Silencers.

Speaker Chalsey Terefane meanwhile was a Dunmer beauty, with silver hair elaborately pinned with ebony hairpins and lilac lips over smooth pale blue skin. Her black Speaker's robes were glossy and unfortunately hid her figure, although silver bands around her arms tightened the sleeves against her arms.

Adameus nodded seemingly to shadows in alcoves. Skeletons emerged, clad in dark purple, almost black leather armour, and approached him. He called for refreshments for the two ladies at the table, and a tea for himself. The skeletons dispersed.

Twenty minutes after the cheese topped wafer biscuits and glasses of Riesling wine arrived, a slow knocking came at the door of the castle. Adameus smiled as the doors were opened and a lightly built Khajiit slowly walked in. His black robes flowed around him, and he immediately caught the Listener's eye across the main hall and the dining table. 'Speaker K'Darji' he said softly, knowing the Khajiit probably heard him. Speaker K'Darji floated into the dining room and took a seat next to Chalsey. 'My greetings, great Listener' he said finally. K'Darji's Silencer, Ularis , stood silently outside the dining hall until invited to enter, and took a seat next to K'Darji. The young Nord hardly spoke at all over the next two hours.

Over those two hours the table became heavier with light food and drink as Imperials Speaker Herod and Silencer Nereidus arrived in an ebony carriage and took the two seats down from Kaligula. Speaker Chalsey's Silencer, Bellophron (a Breton), arrived and took a seat to Speaker Chalsey's right.

Speaker Silver, an Argonian, and Silencer Equune, an Imperial, took the last two seats, diagonally opposite each other at the bottom of the table.

Starting from Adameus and going clockwise, then, the left side of the table consisted of his Silencer Kaligula, Speaker Herod, Silencer Nereidus and Speaker Silver. On the right starting from the bottom were Silencer Equune, Silencer Bellophron, Speaker Chalsey, Speaker K'Darji and Silencer Ularis.

The table of ten was competed, and as the Speakers and their Silencers engaged in conversation with each other, Kaligula smilingly participated while holding Adameus' hand under the table, and Adameus smiled over all.