Lahmizzash led his guards, (the reunited ten), out of the servant's quarters. King Settra and the two brothers were absent from the courtyard, all likely on some business. The guards still toiled away at clearing the courtyard, but the space was getting respectably large. One of Settra's skull-faced hierotitans loomed over the destroyed walls of the palace. It held a large stone slab in one hand. The soon-to-be tabletop, Lahmizzash assumed. He remembered Pellon, his own hierotitan and the rest of his army, which remained mingled with Settra's troops somewhere about the city. Now was not the time to gather them, however.
He led his men out the front of the palace- his own palace now, come to think of it. Well, his when King Settra was not here, anyway. Numas was not Khemri, to be sure, but Lahmizzash did not particularly relish the administrative responsibility which came with power. But as a vassal landed by a thankful monarch, there was certainly no avoiding it. Best to get started.
"I need five of you to transport and assist Acolyte Khant this evening," said Lahmizzash to his guards. Five immediately stepped forward, one being the guard which had posed as Lahmizzash during their deception earlier today. Lahmizzash handed his Khant-tipped staff of office to him. "You are to do as Khant requests, but return by sunrise tomorrow."
He looked directly into the bare eye-sockets of Khant. "We have a multitude of mysteries to unravel, but some are more important than others. Foremost, seek a means to return speech to the people. In similar vein, develop the ritual requested by King Settra- the means to awaken the common people. Of lesser concern are the questions surrounding the Erased Name and the empty burial houses, but if you stumble upon something useful, by all means collect it."
"I understand," said Khant. "I will go now. Take me into the southwestern part of the city."
The five guards trotted off out of the palace grounds, five trotting corpses, their temporary leader a talking skull. Lahmizzash watched them go, realizing how mundane such a thing seemed now, and it was only a few days since his awakening into this undead Nehekara. This new existence seemed a nightmare due to how macabre everything appeared, but in the same way that the fear of a dark room is eliminated with a candle, the present could be made into something grand, something truly good, despite the undeath, perhaps even because of the advantages it provides. The shambles of the kingdom was in the dark of death, but King Settra was a growing light, kindling to reveal the wonders within. This new life was a miracle of opportunity that could be welded into whatever one might wish.
King Settra was likely to reveal his vision of the future tonight. There seemed little other reason to gather his court for a banquet when none of them could eat. But it was a tradition, it was how things were done in Nehekara, and the current undeath of its aristocracy would not stand in the way. It would be a formal affair, and while King Settra would want to dictate his orders and philosophy to his subordinates, he was sure to be intent on the interactions between them, as well. A state dinner was an excellent medium for an observant ruler to gauge his followers and their relationships.
As the newest member, and likely now the highest ranking, Lahmizzash would be under intense scrutiny, not only from Settra, but from all the others, as well. Anyone rising in rank can be resented, as those who are surpassed can sometimes harbor illogical jealousies. A sign of weakness or foolishness in Lahmizzash could make him seem someone who could be removed through subterfuge. During his reign in Khemri, Lahmizzash had known many rivalries between his courtiers, suffered with patience the thinly-veiled jibes between opponents. They could be useful, they could be annoying, but they were mostly a waste of the monarch's time. Lahmizzash was intensely interested in avoiding involvement altogether. He had enough to do and enough to deal with already- he didn't want anyone targeting him as a political rival.
A formal dinner amongst political people was an exercise in subtleties- except one wanted everyone to know what one wanted them to know, but with finesse. Too blunt and you are seen as a fool, unless you already had a reputation for being especially crafty, and then one could do something any which way and people will go through loops of second guessing to figure it out- he must be lying, but it is so obvious that he is lying, so he isn't lying, unless he wants me to think he's not lying but actually is… and so on and so on. Lahmizzash had no such reputation, so he would need to play the game like everyone else.
Foremost, he needed to look the part: the appointed king of Numas. He examined the clothing he was currently wearing. His armor was scuffed, but that could be polished quickly. The problem was the clothing. Most of the fabric in his house's blue and gold was dirty and worn. Somewhat because it was stored in his tomb for centuries, but mostly because he had traveled the desert, explored the underground, scuffled with ghouls, and waited in ambush in Numas. There was some spots of ghoul blood here and there, too. No, this would not do. But he had no replacement items. Anything in his color would be in his tomb in Khemri, and there was no new fabric made or traded in Nehekara currently.
Were his own colors even a good idea? The blue and gold may be House Yak'reb colors, his own ancestral colors- but they were also Khemri colors. Colors from a dynasty which ruled Khemri when Settra did not. Lahmizzash did not think King Settra would see any threat in the blue and gold, most likely he expected it, since he knows Lahmizzash had no other options. However, it would also not send any particular message to anyone else, so it would be a wasted opportunity. He could raid Ubaid's family tomb for clothing- the red and gold of Numas. Lahmizzash Yak'reb ruled Numas now, in King Settra's name, so why not wear Ubaid's old colors? No, that was a terrible idea. To show up in the same colors as the recently defeated betrayer? Lahmizzash may as well show up with "I am the next Ubaid" written on his chest.
Perhaps he would just need to go in his stained rags as they were. The grime of battle and effort might send the right sort of message. I take action, you don't want me to act against you. But Lahmizzash did not possess an imposing physique, nor the ruthless reputation of someone like King Settra. People may look upon him as a ragamuffin, an upstart too uncultured to realize the need for proper clothing- someone to scheme against and bump off. The opposite of what Lahmizzash wanted. No. Doing nothing was not an option.
He let his eyes wander the late afternoon horizon. They lit upon the unmistakable outline of a grand ossurary, the angular steeples recognizable, even if half fallen and collapsed. That would be where the local nobles and poor aristocrats of Numas and the surrounding countryside would be buried. Wealthy families, but not wealthy enough for a private tomb. That place would be filled with heraldry of all sorts. Lahmizzash could go there and take what he wished. Grave robbing? No! He was King of Numas now, so, technically, it was already his.