The Petal Throne Month Two
The Chaos Cycle
No one gets near my daughter, especially vampire Scum!
Church of Magicology (We have had enough of mealy mouth rulers!)
Never Trust an Elf. I'm not so sure about anyone else either!
Let's go and Steal Soddy’s Elephant!
Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.
A Day in the Life of Rahvin – a Mockumentory
When you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn?
Twiggs Barkhaven: “The former home of Aurora and Rahvin is for
sale. The key selling point to the house is that the bedroom has never been
used.”
As the
ladies sipped their drinks Twiggs entered the main room in King’s Tree. Most of
the ‘guests’ seemed to be in good humor waiting patiently for the Elf Lord.
"I can't wait to hear this story." Stated Lorelei sarcastically.
Twiggs did not smile and his look was cold, "Ladies I would like to
formally welcome you all to Namarustha.
I must say this is some good news as far as I am concerned for we always
welcome new converts.”
“Your Kings
will be most gratified to know that you are safe. They are going to be upset
that you are now elves but I am sure considering the large numbers of other
people who have been or still will be changed, they are all going to be angry
with me anyway. If you need, want or
desire anything at all you have to do is but ask. Each of you has been questioned and told the same basic
story. You were taken by mercenaries
and hidden in some secluded place in the world. You were changed into elves and felt my call. You broke free and came here, my
congratulations to all of you, especially the two of you who killed the Nylss
Vampires in the escape, a very dangerous thing to do and quite an
accomplishment.
Now as to
why you are here. For some reason my
ceremony with my Head Wife had a backlash here that I am uncertain of. It
started changing certain people into elves!
When I returned I put out a call for all elves to return, since I was at
that time looking for the kidnapped Estelle! Each of you has broken away from
your kidnappers and ended up here. I was unaware you had even changed.”
There was a
knock at the door and Thistle answered.
He whispered quietly for a few moments and then dismissed the
messenger. He turned back to Twiggs and
relayed the news in a whisper. Twiggs
nodded gravely. Turning back to the ladies Twiggs continued, “I apologize for
the interruption. It seems as if Rahvin
has made an attempt to steal my child.
What’s worse is that it appears he has gotten closer than I feel
comfortable with. Aurora was found
inside Namarushta. She had the body of
an elf but was clearly a vampire.
Security has captured her proving Nylss raiders can’t go anywhere but I
am afraid we are going to have to make some changes. I realize that you all may want to return to your kings and your
countries but I believe it may be best if you spend a little time here as our
guests for your own safety. Indeed you may discover that becoming elves has
changed your viewpoints on your old countries entirely. Your new elven bodies
will take some getting used to and a little time with us can save you a great
deal of trouble later, particularly in the current political environment.”
“Also you
should be wary for Rahvin is trying to trick everyone into attacking the Dark
Lands without Declaring War officially and thus violating their own laws. Worse he is sowing dissent among them. At the best of times the rulers don’t
cooperate fully, with him ‘guiding’ their thinking, the alliance, which started
out so powerful is already falling apart.
Soon they will be looking for someone to blame for their failures and
with the conversion of so many people to elves I am the most easily considered
at this time. Add to that this attempt
to steal Arase and he is certainly trying to live up to his attribute of
Chaos.”
“Now that
you all have broken free from your captives and found your way here. I fully expect to be blamed for your
kidnapping and of course your showing up here as elves is just the proof they
need for it to become popular opinion.
I imagine that soon Ravhin will be sending ‘rescue teams’ into
Namarushta to save you. He may even
claim that was why Aurora was here as well.
He will of course do all this at the request of other countries just as
he attacked Tpsolei at Damien’s request.
Heaven forbid the vampires should do anything of their own accord nor
take responsibility for their actions.
For this
reason and others I have put Namarushta on high alert. The army has stepped up their random patrols
and invaders will be killed on the spot.
King’s Tree has been enhanced so that it can now protect itself as well
as elves. The forest and the animal
brothers have been put on alert and I have seen to several ‘special’
protections to make sure that each of you is kept safe. These protections are even stronger around
Arase and they will all be in effect before the end of the day.”
Thistle had
sat quietly thinking, “We haven’t gone to this much trouble for anyone but the
Dark Lord before. You said that the Dark Lord was trapped in that other
dimension until he could find a new body.
Could it be that he has found one?”
Twiggs
stopped dead in his tracks and turned to stare at Thistle. Breeze quietly spoke up from his side, “We
have been greatly concerned about Arase’s safety. Now that I think back on it Ravhin did get a lot of support from
the Dark Lord for the tournament. The
Dark Lord knew he was going to do his ceremony. Perhaps he used that opportunity? There was no need to corrupt Rahvin as he is already
soulless. Even by Ravhin’s own
admission the Dark Lord once coveted the vampiric powers. The Dark Lord is after a new body and a
vampire’s body is a great deal more powerful than your average humans. Ravhin was a loud mouth before but now… well
now he is showing signs of being a master schemer.”
Twiggs
nodded thoughtfully, “I believe that the two of you have a point. Ravhin is showing all the signs of becoming
the next Dark Lord. Very well, from
this point on Nylss vampires are considered agents of the Dark Lord and are to
be killed immediately in Namarushta.
Further Nylss mercenaries, be they hired by Extensive or some other
country, are considered agents of the Dark Lord unless they can prove they are
not by using an authorized agent of the Towers of the Plains. Right now the only such agent in Namarushta
is Sir Roderick. And by the way, ‘Get
out of Dungeon Free’ cards are not valid in Namarushta no matter who signs
them. I’ll not have that Chaos
inflicted upon us.”
Twiggs
turned back to the table of ladies, “I will be wanting to speak with you each
privately after you have had a chance to settle. I find this to be a great opportunity to learn about each of your
home countries and cultures and I am very interested in what you may want to
gain from this. Until then please try
to relax and feel welcome, I have tried to anticipate your every need but if
you do need something else please feel free to ask.” At the obvious dismissal everyone but Thistle and Breeze left
some were talking quietly between themselves. One such was Tylaa talking to
Lorelei but Twiggs only caught part of that conversation. “… if you believe all
of that…”.
As the door
closed Thistle muttered, “We are in a lot of trouble. We have already heard that several rulers are being affected by
the changes and they are NOT happy about it.”
Breeze added in a worried tone, “Betred is furious. He has already severed diplomatic relations
between Talashtek and Namarushta but he is still conversing through Extensive
unofficially as CEO however, he has also made several threats along that line
as well. Our spies tell us that he has threatened complete and total war
against our people. He has only recently started to consider the consequences
of what a complete war would mean. We must remember that Betred, when angry,
makes foolish mistakes, when he starts to scheme and does not telegraph his
punches is when he gets truly dangerous.”
A knock at
the door announced the arrival of Sir Roderick, “Your majesties, Queen Elaine
of the Towers of the Plains has sent a message.” Sir Roderick handed the note from his Queen to Twiggs and Twiggs
read it slowly and carefully before placing it on his desk. “I will have an answer for her before
nightfall. However, it doesn’t look
good. My powers aren’t built to turn
elves into humans they are built to turn humans into elves. I regret that the ceremony is having such a
profound affect on the all the people of the world but I honestly can’t say I
am sorry that tree killers are becoming elves.
The Towers peoples are our allies and I will do what I can to help
them. We will help the Talasthekians as
well if we can but we must tread carefully there. Betred will be even more furious and will lash out blindly. We can expect more bombs.” Just then another
knock came at the door.
Thistle
answered and received a report from one of his men turning he came back to his
seat, “More bad news your majesty. It
is believed that Ravhin has talked to Jarod and Sirron and convinced them of
his innocence. They have suspended the
curse over him.” Roderick laughed but Thistle continued, “There is a solid
chance that they are going to be sending, ‘rescue parties’ to save the
women. My guess, Ravhin realized when
they escaped they would come here and then convinced the others we were behind
the whole thing.” Twiggs sat looking
around thinking quietly then he turned to his closest friends and advisors,
“Sir Roderick, please inform your Queen that I can not reverse the affects of
humans turning into elves. Our powers
are not built that way. Assure her
though that we will do whatever we can to help her and her citizens affected by
this event. Also warn her about the
curse the Dark Lord thrown on the Cy Clan for Month 3. Advise her that the Dark Lord rarely limits
his destruction to just one country. Thistle, we were already expecting an
attack. Prepare for aerial attacks. Get as much info as you can on the Atlantian
ships. I doubt if they will come for us
but we will be ready.
Sir
Roderick, you have experience in the realm of being changed into an elf. Would you organize the new comers and see
that they get settled? Rebecca and
Breeze can help you.” The meeting
lasted a short while longer as the group worked out their details. When it broke each went about their tasks
somberly. The forest was gearing up for
another great battle and each in their own way remembered how close to death
they had come in the last. This time the dangers would be more profound than a
mass of zombie killers. Twiggs reflected, each battle was bigger, more complex
and harder fought than the last. The violence was escalating and it appeared
there would be no end in sight.
A few hours
later Twiggs walked into the dungeon cell that held Aurora. Thistle followed a short while later. The chief researcher came forward and
delivered his report. “Sir it is as we
feared and it is not. She has no soul.
She has been completely corrupted.
Further, it is of her own free will that this change was done. It is our belief that had this change been
forced upon her against her will your Majesty’s magic would have reversed the
effects, but we are not certain of that at this time, for we have had only a limited
time to research her case.”
“Physically
she is not all that different from most beings. She has incredible regeneration abilities and a ferocious
appetite for blood. Given her elfin body human blood is distasteful but elven
blood seems to be a suitable alternative to her. Although Tree of Life drink does have an adverse affect on her it
is not as bad as the other human vampires we have examined. We have a few more tests we would like to
run…” The researcher trailed off as he saw Twiggs look.
Twiggs spoke
coldly. “I am sure you have done all
that could be done in this amount of time but the testing is done. She has become more of a problem than we
could possibly afford to have. I will
perform one more test and we shall see what happens.” Thistle gestured at the research staff around Aurora’s gagged
form and they fled as Twiggs raised his staff.
A bolt of greenish silver energy shot from his staff and slammed into
Aurora. For an instant her body was
outlined in the greenish light and her eyes shown with an intense pain and
anguish and even regret then she was gone.
Dust drifted down from where she had been. “Bottle the dust and see that it is scattered to the winds. I will leave no chance of her being
resurrected. Send Rahvin a
message. ‘If you try that again I will
come after you no matter where you are hiding. Stay away from my child.’ Then
see to the defenses. Aurora got far to
close and I don’t want that to happen again.”
Twiggs' turned and left as the researchers
scrambled to do his bidding. Thistle
watched his leader with concern and then smiled as he turned to one of the lab
assistants. “Do we have any itching powder?
I think Rahvin needs some ground sunflower seeds mixed with itching
powder.” The researcher looked a little
surprised but quickly gathered up the required components in an urn.
Thistle
hadn’t even gotten to the throne room when he was suddenly facing his Platinum
representative. “Your majesty I must
protest. These demands are outrageous. You cannot hold Extensive responsible for
the actions of a foreign king, especially not Thimhalen. They are insane!” Twiggs stopped and stared at his Platinum
rep for a full minute as the man twisted in obvious discomfort. Twiggs voice was cold, “Those are not
demands. That is what will happen if
the Boggins reach Namarushta through Extensive facilities. I firmly believe the Boggins are back
because Corman went and found a nest of them not because they are heralding the
return of the Dark Lord as he claims.
The Dark Lord never left, why would they be heralding his return? However, Corman is going to claim that they
escaped through Extensive transports and towers. All baggage coming into Namarushta is being searched and we are
using special items and Boggins sniffing animals to make sure that Corman isn’t
sneaking anything in.”
“HOWEVER, it
falls on Extensive to make sure that Corman can’t blame them for his
actions. It should not be that
difficult for such a great Enterprise. You tell Skragg to get that mess cleaned
up or I will take a personal hand in matters despite the wishes of his CEO and
the other rulers! At the very least I demand an immediate replacement of the
quarantine be placed back on Thimhalen, the one Damien broke. If Corman claims Extensive is letting the creatures
out then it is within Extensive’s responsibility to keep that from happening
especially if it is affecting business in other countries. I am sure Elaine will be happy to shut his
towers down until he complies, especially if I make a strong enough case with
her. While Betred is demanding reparations for my latest ceremony, tell him the
reparations will be much higher and more long lasting if HE allows the Boggins
to escape!
The rest of
those items are just expenses for exterminating the Boggins IF Extensive allow
them into our country. They aren’t
invulnerable. They aren’t
intelligent. They are barely more than
pests. Due to there ‘plastic bodies’
they have a distinct odor even when they don’t have horrible scent glands. You kill them when they arrive and when they
go into hibernation you hunt them with the best trackers available and finish
them off. The only problem with
Thimhalen is the total lack of control on anything makes it difficult to hunt
them.”
The Platinum
rep spoke a little to harshly in response, “Then why did they drive the elves
from Thimhalen if they are no more than pests?” Twiggs was cold. “They didn’t drive the elves from
Thimhalen. The elves left Thimhalen for
a lot of reasons. The Boggins were a
minor part of that. The insanity most
likely was a bigger player.” The
Platinum rep nodded carefully, “Very well your majesty I will see that things
are put into position in case Corman actually does claim the things you say he
will claim. Good day and remember.
Business is Business.”
As the rep
walked away Twiggs silently finished the quote, “Except when it’s monkey
business.”
Prologue
Once Upon a Time, there was a little
boy who became King. No one ever
thought he would do so well in life.
This little boy was from a poor family in the harbor town of Laigas, in
the Kingdom of Tlashtek Heights. His
mother was an unwed innkeeper, his father a Dark Elf of noble blood who had
gotten drunk one night on too much wine and forced the beautiful innkeeper to
his bed. The little boy never met his
father.
One day, the little boy was walking
home from the docks when several merchants’ sons suddenly confronted him. They teased him and made fun of his
appearance and his lack of gold. The
little boy got angry, but he was too small to fight the bullies, and they
easily pushed him into an alley and beat him.
Through his tears, the little boy said,
"You can beat me now, but one day I'll be the head of a major
multinational conglomerate with business interests in every city in the
World. One day, I'll own you!"
His tormentors laughed, then went to
their homes to look up the word "conglomerate."
The little boy did grow up, and used
what little he could save from his wages to buy a small patch of land near the
city. The land was almost worthless for
crops, but it could be used as a home for pigs. One day, the little boy -- who was not so little anymore, was
chasing a pig that had gotten away during slop time. The boy followed the pig to a cave on his property he had not had
the chance to explore.
After catching the pig and taking it to
the butcher, the boy wondered about the sparkling walls of his cave. He spoke to a visiting dwarf who was staying
at the inn. The dwarf immediately
wanted to see the cave, and the boy showed it to him that very night. On the spot, the dwarf made a very generous
offer for the boy's cave, but our hero was paranoid that someone would try to
cheat him out of his little plot of land and the sparkling cave burrowed
through it.
Instead, the boy formed a corporation
to exploit the resources of the cave, maintaining controlling interest while
selling shares on the open market. He
also leased the mineral rights to his shares, and soon the gold was rolling in.
The boy, now a man of means, invested
wisely, and soon was able to force several of his early tormentors out of
business. He invested even more, won
more than he lost on the market, and a short while later, challenged the King
of Tlashtek for his crown.
And won that too.
And so, the boy eventually founded his
multinational conglomerate, and began to make his way in the world as King of
Tlashtek Heights.
Then the trouble really started.
Chapter One
The electric blue rug clashed with
cream color of the divan over which it was thrown; indeed, the color of the rug
was so...jarring...as to clash with everything else in the room.
Except for the rug, the room was
tastefully and expensively decorated.
Marble floors, polished teak walls covered with exquisite hand-made
tapestries showing the history of the kingdom of its earliest beginnings to the
present. All the furniture in the room,
including the massive, hand carved oaken desk that dominated the room, was of
the finest quality, befitting a king.
It was the throne room after all.
"He knows you have designs on the
throne," said the man seated across from the rug. He was human, of medium
build and height, and wore a tunic of red silk. He was holding a drink in one hand, a pipe on which he
occasionally remembered to draw in the other.
The rug twitched. There was a deep sound reminiscent of
someone shredding their nails across a slate board, in slow motion, about three
octaves lower than normal. Two big,
blue, hairy feet swung out and over, thudded onto the marble floor. The rug sat up. Again, the slate board noise, recognized now as laughter,
emanated from deep within the blue fur.
"And I know he has designs on MY
throne," replied Skragg, Emperor of Shennu. He walked over to a sideboard,
and poured himself a drink. The Red
Baron, still seated, exhaled a thin wisp of smoke and chuckled.
"Perception is Reality," he
quoted. "Most of the kings believe He already controls your throne through
Extensive." Baron puffed on his
pipe, his eyes twinkling. He enjoyed these debates with Skragg, almost as much
as the demon did.
Skragg knocked back his drink and
poured another. This time his laughter
was much louder, seeming to vibrate off the walls. "It suits me, in this time and in this place, to allow him
to take the lead. I am a demon; I am
timeless. What do I care for the petty
interests of a mere mortal? Besides,
with him on top, he draws most of the fire and I can concentrate on my own
goals and desires." Skragg drank
his second drink with the same gusto as the first, then actually did cause the
walls to vibrate with an ear splitting belch.
Baron almost thought he saw fire sputter in the demon's mouth before it
was closed and the vision was replaced by a toothy grin. Skragg poured again, this time for both of
them, before he continued.
"If giving him my throne will aid
the cause against the Dark Lord in this time, in this place, then I do so
willingly. He would not have it
otherwise."
Baron accepted his drink, and nodded
his assent as Skragg's words.
"Besides, it is not your true throne, eh?" He toasted the large blue ape with his glass
and continued. "It's not your intent against the Dark Lord that concerns
him. It's those unstated goals that
keep him awake some nights. It is bad
enough to have to plane and scheme against the Dark Lord, be he acting as Dick
Helmet, the Liege of the Dark Lands, or in his guise as Twiggs, the so-called
Lord of Life. But to reserve resources
so that you can protect yourself and your people; indeed, to protect the very prosperity
of the Petal Throne against an ally who may turn at a moments notice -- it is
just inefficient."
Skragg belched again. "You use too
many words and you talk too long; you Tlashtekians should learn to speak more
plainly. He is concerned of my
motives. So be it. There is little I can say that would
convince him otherwise. Besides,
concern over my motives keeps him honest.
That is good for me, and even better for you."
Baron puffed on his pipe and
considered. They have had this debate
several times over the recent months, and there had been no clear winner to one
point of view over the other. And, in
truth, it did not matter. Skragg would
always be Skragg, while the King would always be the King -- they just did not
see things the same way.
"So," said Baron, "We
continue as we have before. Rule #99 -- 'Trust is the biggest liability of
all.' He does not trust easily, and plans for the future where you too are the
enemy, and not his friend."
Skragg nodded. "This is how it
should be. He is a formable opponent;
this will keep us both alert for the other.
He need not fear my presence or my absence -- as many gains have been
made with my help as without. He can
stand alone if need be."
Baron knocked the remains of his pipe
into a crystal ashtray. "Shennu
will continue to follow Tlashtek?" he asked.
Skragg nodded. "It is the best
course for the present time. 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend.' I can't remember where I heard that, but it
applies here. Shennu will follow
Tlashtek until it is not time to follow. In the meanwhile we both reap the
benefits of our association."
Baron bowed slightly to the Emperor,
who curtly nodded his head in return.
It wasn't the sort of friendship that corporate mergers were usually
based on, but it was enough.
-----------
The object of Baron and Skragg's
discussions was at that time lying two floors above them in the vast Palace,
prone on a firm mat while a Nameless One kneaded the muscles of his shoulders
and back. Clad only in a light sheen of
body oil, Betred, King of Tlashtek and the Chief Executive Officer of Extensive
Enterprises wasn't just getting a massage; he was Scheming.
To most Tlashtekians, Scheming was akin
to a daydream; a practice of asking "What If?" and then answering the
question, usually with your self in the starring role. Betred had taken Scheming to a whole new
level -- to him, Scheming was an Art Form.
Betred had developed the technique shortly after being named Duke of
Laigas, and had been a devote practitioner and explorer in the Art of Scheming
ever since.
For Betred, Scheming wasn't just the
practice of asking "What If?"
Scheming was the art of disassociating one's mind from the present, and
not only projecting into the future, or the past, but into alternate timelines
as well. The talented masseuse from
Shennu kept his body anchored and occupied in the here and now, while Betred
sought out the answers to questions that were already history in another
dimension.
He wasn't always successful; indeed, he
more often failed than succeeded.
Projecting oneself into your own future was a relatively easy task --
nothing more than the through analysis of trends. Even this was not an exact science; it was easy to predict the
actions of a mob, but individuals ruled this world, and those individuals did
not always follow a logical path. Or
their logic was not your own. Action on
emotion could be predicted, in time, but was a more difficult and dangerous
task.
Even so, moving one's mind around a
problem in your own reality was child's play to seeking the answers of alternate
realities. Betred believed that each
major decision made by a major player split reality into all possible trends
for that decision. For example, Betred
had once glimpsed the reality where the Dark Lord and been truly defeated at
the Battle of Tlashtek. Unfortunately,
this had resulted in his alternate's demise a short time later. Since this particular reality was therefore
of no use to him, Betred discontinued his musings regarding that battle and
concentrated his Scheming on matters of a more practical nature.
Sensing the King was no longer noticing
her ministrations, the Nameless One ceased kneading his already relaxed muscles
and concentrated on monitoring the King's breathing and movement, and insuring
there were no interruptions. The King's
Scheming Room was as sound proof and temperature controlled as modern building
techniques could make it, and the lighting was controlled to insure little
outside stimulation once the King was actively Scheming.
Betred felt has if he was
floating. He concentrated on the
problem at hand, glancing at and discarding possibilities faster and faster
until he arrived at the cusp of the decision he was looking for. This part was easy, as he had been down this
path before. "What if, the
restrictions against Extensive's power did not exist?"
This was a wide branch, and Betred
quickly Schemed through a million subtle alternates until he reached one that
allowed his mind's eye to observe what he wanted. Betred considered the result.
Is this what happened? Is this
reality close enough to my own to be a predictor? Betred wasn't sure, but time was running out. Scheming in such a manner was dangerous; the
body eventually realizes that the mind is on a trip, and the body cannot live
without the mind -- not in any manner Betred wanted to live in any event. Soon the Nameless One would begin the
stimulation exercises that would bring Betred back into his own present.
He quickly settled on this reality as
close enough to his own for observation purposes. He traveled its length quickly, not following any
sub-alternates. Wait a minute! What was that? Betred uttered a curse; in his Scheming Chamber, the Shennuian
masseuses observed the small spasm that ached the King's back. She decided that she would begin the recall
procedure early, and undid her garments in preparation.
Twiggs had done what? Betred cursed again. He began to feel the subtle stirrings of the
recall procedure as the Nameless One began to caress his body, calling for his
return. He looked again down the
alternate path he had chosen. Yes, he
decided, there is time.
Betred raced down the path, observing
the outcome of the alternate Twiggs' actions.
He was a devious and sneaking bastard!
But, so was Betred. Actually, if
it weren’t for that damn green blood, Twiggs would make a fine
Tlashtekian. Betred continued to
observe how his own alternate handled the misfortune that settled upon him as
an effect of Twiggs' actions. This
alternate was not successful; back up, chose another sub-path. Ask another question.
The Shennuian masseuse was naked, her
firm body glistening in its own sheen of perspiration and scented oil. She felt a mild panic as the body of her
King did not react -- the recall was failing!
She rolled the King over onto his back, and held him close, sharing her
warmth with the still form. He was so
cold! She would have liked to bring up
the fire for warmth, but fire caused light, and they still needed the dark
soundless void to bring the King's mind home.
Only after the mind had returned could light and sound be allowed.
Betred quickened his pace. He knew time was short; he could feel his
mind's earning for home. One more
pathway. He watched an alternate who
was only mildly affected by the results of Twiggs' ceremony. He carefully memorized everything he could
about the scene, marking it in his memory. He now knew where to return when he
could do this again; no time would be wasted searching for the proper
path. He felt his body's call and was
powerless now to resist. He set his
mind for home.
The Nameless One felt her King's
return. This trip must have been successful, his mind's return into this
reality had resulted in a powerful climax.
Swallowing carefully, she raised her head.
"Your Majesty, I may turn up the
fire now?" she asked with a sly smile.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Later, Betred sat at his desk in his
private study. This room was part of
his private chambers. It was just as
luxurious as the Throne Room one floor below, but more personal. These furnishings were less ostentatious and
more functional, the chairs less ornate, more comfortable. It was in this room, and the adjoining laboratory,
that Betred accomplished most of his daily tasks.
The King was dressed in fine robes of
Shenniuan silk, the cuffs and collar capped with Nylss fur. He was drinking a cup of Tlashtekian Coffee
laced with a generous dollop of Thiblebee Honey while he reviewed the reports
put together for him by his night staff.
Tlashtek and Extensive employed almost as many Nameless Ones to work the
night shift as they did working the day.
The report Betred was reading was a
summary of the events that had occurred around the Petal Throne world while had
slept. Some of the news was a few days
old; it was difficult for reporters and spies to stay active in the more
rambunctious parts of the world. Betred
set his mug down to reread with a bit more attention an account of Twiggs'
latest ceremony. He was working out the
details of this report with the results of his latest Scheming when there was a
knock at his chamber door.
"Come," answered the King
absently, still reading and musing. A
gentle clearing of a throat and he looked up into the face of a Nameless One he
didn't recognize. Most of his private
staff was set, but every now and then replacements were rotated through so that
secondary staff would be familiar with the routines Betred preferred should a
primary staff member be out sick or have the day off. All members of the vast corps of Nameless Ones were thoroughly
screened by both Skragg and the Red Baron; Betred had little to fear from his
own staff.
The Nameless One carried a gold tray;
on the tray was the King's breakfast.
Betred focused more out of habit than need and noticed the faint trace
of the Heat Metal spell designed to keep his food just the right temperature on
the trip from the kitchens. Just a few
more tests, Betred thought, and this will be another item for Extensive to
market. Imagine, being able to keep
your food warm throughout a meal -- maybe even cook it right on the plate, and
faster than using fire pits. I wonder
what I should call it. Why not call it
a hot plate, Betred answered himself. That's what it does....
The servant placed the tray down on
Betred's desk and lifted the lid with a flourish. Betred glanced down at the food, then up at the Nameless One who
had brought it to him. The Nameless
One's smile was broad and genuine; he obviously didn't know something was
wrong.
"You are?" asked Betred.
"Sam I am," replied the
servant.
Betred looked back down at his
breakfast. On the fine gold dinner
service was a slab of green meat and two runny green eggs. Namarushtain fare, no doubt, thought Betred.
Betred sat back in his chair. With a smile to show that he did not blame
this Nameless One -- he had only delivered the food after all -- Betred said,
"I do not like green eggs and ham.
I do not like them, Sam I am. I
do not like them on my desk, I would not feed them to a pest. No, I do not like green eggs and ham, I do
not like them, Sam I am."
Sam Iam nodded, and made a slight bow
of apology. "My Lord Skragg
commanded I bring this meal to you, Your Majesty," he explained. "His Lordship said that this meal was
to be a test, and that Your Majesty would not hold a humble servant responsible
for the timing."
Betred smiled. "I'm sure that's not all he said."
Sam Iam nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty. His Lordship said that he would hold ME
responsible if I did not deliver this meal, uh...pretty damn quick." Sam I am bowed again in embarrassment.
Betred chuckled. "You have done well, Sam Iam. Skragg's bite IS worse than his bark, but he
rarely eats my staff. Not without my permission
anyway. You have the antidote?"
Sam Iam reached into a pocket and
produced a vial of an amber colored liquid.
He unstopped the bottle and poured half the contents into the remains of
Betred's coffee. He held the remaining
antidote at the ready.
"His Lordship's instructions were
clear, Your Majesty. Should you have
difficulty, you have the option of terminating the test by drinking your
coffee. I am also instructed to stand
by to administer the antidote myself should you be unsuccessful and become
unable to end the test yourself."
Betred nodded his understanding. He knew that this test would not be lethal
in any event, but if he failed, he would be feeling ill all day. Of all the days for a test, Skragg picks
this one. Betred shook his head in
disgust. Skragg sense of timing was
only good for Skragg.
"All right, let's get this over
with," he said. Betred cleared his
mind as he picked up his knife and fork.
Cutting a good-sized piece of ham, he placed it in his mouth an chewed,
appearing to savor the taste.
He was actually activating his inner
Token. Using his Invention and
Tinkering abilities to analyze the individual properties that formed together
to become a ham steak. His Token had
been put to the test in this manner before, several times in fact, ever since
Betred had taken Kristiana's potion.
The Token sought and identified what he needed to know, but this skill
alone was not enough to neutralize the poison that had ruined a perfectly good
breakfast by turning it green, among other things.
Betred tapped into the Reform Object
abilities of his Token, and began to use them in conjunction with the Tinkering
Skills. This is how one made a Token
more powerful than the original -- through the combination of abilities and
then trial and error testing of application.
Soon, he had identified and analyzed the poison. He took steps to enhance the natural
properties of the ham he had swallowed, at the same time applying enhancements
to his body's ability to identify and fight harmful substances. In this manner Betred had learned to
neutralize poisons and even heal wounds and illnesses.
It was done. Betred reached for a napkin and politely spat into it a small
amount of saliva that contained the poison that had been in his first bite of
ham. Now came the harder part.
He reached for his plate and lightly
placed his hands on the food it held.
With the analysis of what he had eaten fresh in his mind, Betred
projected his Token into the world outside his body. A golden glow formed, first around his hands, then expanding to
cover the ham and eggs on his plate. He
concentrated for a moment, then smiled when the affect was completed.
Betred removed his hands and looked up
at Sam Iam. The servant was grinning,
complimenting the King's success.
Betred looked back at his plate.
His breakfast was now the proper color; all traces of the poison had
been Tinkered away. Additionally, and
just to see if he could do it, Betred had Reformed the ham steak into a juicy
Talshtekian mutton chop.
"Very good, Your Majesty,"
said Sam Iam. "I will report your
success to His Lordship."
"Tell him the test went well, but
I am still concerned about the time involved.
In battle or debate, I'll have to be able to do this much faster. Still, a success. From inanimate objects to organics -- animation can not be to far
away, eh?" asked Betred.
Sam Iam nodded, unsure what his King
was talking about. He turned to
leave. At the door he turned again and
asked, "Shall I have them come in at the usual time?"
Betred was engrossed in his breakfast
and had already returned to reading his reports. He looked up, nodded, and waved his assent. The Palace morning routine was almost set in
stone. The Nameless Ones watched from
their posts, and when the King was almost done with his meal, that would be the
signal for the morning briefings to begin.
The King finished quickly, and was
pouring himself a fresh mug of coffee when the door opened and Sam Iam ushered
in the Red Baron and Skragg. Once
confidential matters had been discussed, Cyber La'Top would be allowed to join
them.
Because of this day's importance, the
morning business was handled quickly.
Once La'Top had joined them, Betred authorized certain proposals,
officially vetoed others, and signed the necessary documents.
Skragg, Baron and Betred ended the
meeting chatting amiably about the day’s events. La'Top, who was as close to the inner circle as any Cy Clan could
be, was free to join in, but usually said nothing. It was the way of her people.
After several minutes, she did clear her throat to interrupt.
"Your Majesty, if you are going to
get to the Temple on time, you had better begin your preparations now,"
she said in a soft lilt. She nodded at
her fellow advisors. "Lords Baron
and Skragg also need time to get ready."
"Very well," replied
Betred. "Gentlemen, I'll see you
all at the Temple." As Skragg and
Baron rose to leave, Betred called, "Baron, one moment please." La'Top and Skragg left the room while Baron
waited for the door to close.
"Yes, Your Majesty?"
Betred walked over and clasped his old
friend on the shoulder. "Skragg
and I were a little hard on you last night, when we were discussing the latest
batch of foreign intelligence. We may
have been a bit too arrogant and did not recognize your contributions over the
years. I want you to know that without
you, Tlashtek would not be the power she is today."
Baron bowed his head slightly. "Thank-you, Your Majesty. Your apology is unnecessary, but your
thoughts for my welfare are most welcome." Baron smiled. With a
twinkle in his eye he added, "Besides, after today, I doubt you'll be
allowed your usual arrogance --- wives usually don't put up with it!"
Betred chuckled along with this
friend. "You are correct, friend
Baron! Perhaps my bride will put the
diplomatic polish on my hard edges that you have always said I needed!"
Baron laughed, and headed for the
door. "I'll leave you to your
preparations, Your Majesty. Although I
won't be able to say it then, you do have my best wishes for happiness as well
as success." He exited the chamber
before Betred could reply.
Chapter Two
There is a Legend. But of course there is -- there are
many. This particular Legend speaks of
a Sleeping Princess. Honored for many
years by the Dwarven People, this Princess labored on the behalf of all of
Petal Throne, providing sage advice and items of magical power; knowledge and
magic that bolstered the causes of the righteous and kept evil at bay. The Princess was beautiful of both body and
spirit, and soon became a threat to the Dark Lord who desired her for himself.
But the Princess' protections were too
powerful, and many who were willing to give their lives in her stead loved
her. So the Dark Lord sent out his
curse, and the curse caught the unwary Princess and made her sleep as if
dead. Some say this was caused by a
spinning wheel, some say it was the result of a poison apple. All agree it was the result of the Dark
Lord's intent.
As with all curses, there is an
antidote. The Dwarves know this to be
true, and the means to bring this about are the Legend of which we speak. To awaken the Princess from her seemingly
eternal rest, someday, a Prince will come.
This Prince must be of noble lineage and proven ability. He must slay the Dragon, a proven enemy of
his people. He will arrive astride a powerful white charger, a noble steed.
And, of course, he must be a Prince.
Only the Chosen Prince may approach the Seven Guardians and chance to
awaken the Sleeping Princess with Love's First Kiss. Only then, may the Prince and the Princess live happily ever
after.....but this is only Legend.
Or is it?
----------
Six sleek white vehicles approached the
Temple of Tlashtek in the Inner Circle of the great city bearing the same
name. They were enhanced Livyanu
Haulers, stretched longer than was normal, and obviously designed to carry
people of great prestige in luxurious comfort.
At Betred's request, Extensive had approached Plymouth, a renowned
Hauler designer, who had taken the contract to design these vehicles exclusively
for the King of Tlashtek and the CEO of Extensive Enterprises. True to its nature, a slightly less
expensive model was currently being built for sale through Extensive outlets
throughout Petal Throne. Betred
intended to make a gift of the first production models to his fellow rulers in
celebration of his wedding.
The vehicles glided to a stop in front
of the marble steps to the Temple. The
second vehicle in the caravan bore Betred's personal crest, the shield of
Tlashtek superimposed lightly over the double and inverted EE of Extensive
Enterprises. The stretch Haulers rear
doors stopped perfectly in line with the red carpet that cascaded down the
steps of the Temple.
First, a platoon of Nameless Ones
leaped out of the first and third Haulers.
They were all dressed in black, and wore miniature-mirrored shields over
their eyes. They surveyed the scene for
a moment, then nodded at the tinted windows of the King's Hauler.
James, the King's personal driver,
exited the vehicle first, holding the street door open for the Emperor of
Shennu and Vice-President of Unusual Operations for Extensive. Skragg stepped out of the vehicle, his
electric blue fur oddly complimenting the suit of black Shennuian silk. He unconsciously pulled at the white tie at
this throat. Betred called this
ensemble "black tie and tails."
Skragg called it uncomfortable.
Sam Iam stepped out of the opposite
side of the driver's compartment and held the door open for his King. Without betraying the nervousness he felt,
Betred stepped out of the Hauler's large passenger compartment (it would have
to be large to hold both Betred AND Skragg)onto the red rug. He straightened his own suit, similar to
Skraggs', but all in white, and looked at the assemblage waiting on the steps.
Standing a few steps up from ground
level was Gnosrt Gnosrt, Regent of the Kingdom of Mu Languan Aa, and the home
of the Dwarves. Behind him were several
select members of the Dwarven High Command, some Betred recognized, some
unknown to him. This was not
surprising. Although the King had
visited MUA only a few weeks previously, that was ample time for some members
of the High Command to have fallen out of favor and be replaced. Cyber La'Top was in deep conversation with
Gnorst; the conversation died out as Betred and Skragg, surrounded by the
mirror-eyed Nameless Ones approached.
La'Top gave the private hand signal
indicating that all was not well.
Despite weeks of negotiations, the protocols for this ceremony evidently
still had not been ironed out. Skragg
stifled a mild groan. Betred just
sighed inwardly. With the Dwarven High
Command involved, he had expected this.
Adopting the neutral tone of her
calling, Cyber La'Top made the formal introductions, even though everyone there
already knew all the key players. The
forms had to be observed.
Addressing Betred first, La'Top said,
"Your Majesty, may I present His Excellency, the Regent of the Dwarves,
General Gnorst Gnorst Gnorst....." La'Top duly recited all of Gnorst's
titles, from memory, for several minutes.
Finally she turned to Gnorst.
"You Highness, may I also present
His Prestigious Majesty Betred, Duke of Laigas, Chief Executive of Extensive
Enterprises and King of Tlashtek Heights." La'Top inhaled deeply; it was quite a lot of protocol to expel in
one breath.
Betred nodded to Gnorst, who bowed in
return. So far, so good thought he
thought. Let's see how this goes. "I present myself to you, Lord Gnorst,
as a suitor for the hand of the Fair Princess Kristiana, who sleeps unjustly in
yon Temple." Betred had spoken in
High Dwarf, not the easiest of tongues.
But, the forms must be observed.
"But," protested a high,
squeaky voice hidden by an large volume of beard. "The forms must be..."
"Observed," finished
Betred. "I understand. Legend requires that Lady Kristiana's suitor
meet several obligations."
Betred nodded at La'Top, who recited,
"He must be of noble lineage and proven ability." Betred reached out his hand and a Nameless
One handed him a Tlashtekian Codex, especially prepared for this event. Without a glance, Betred handed the Codex to
Gnorst. "My credentials," he
said.
Once again, the bearded squeak
protested. "The forms require...."
The squeak was silenced by a grunt and glare from Skragg.
Betred continued quickly, "As
agreed, I present in credentials in writing, following the traditions of my
people and the practices of my profession.
This is as acceptable as the oral citation, is it not?"
Gnorst accepted the Codex and nodded
his assent. "As agreed, Your
Majesty, this is acceptable."
Clearing this throat, he intoned, "the applicant is of noble linage
and proven ability -- his father is of a noble line of elves known to us in the
histories, and his abilities as Chief Executive of Extensive are known to
all." Gnorst looked relieved that
the first hurdle had been crossed with minimum difficulty. He nodded at La'Top to continue.
"He must slay the Dragon, the
enemy of the Dwarves," recited La'Top.
Before Betred could answer, the
Squeaker voiced another objection.
"I see no Dragon hide here, no proof...." His voice failed him
further as he noticed Skragg absent mindfully playing with a flint lighter and
eyeing his beard speculatively.
Betred was ready for this one. "Dragons have not attacked your people
in over 100 years -- not unless bidden by one whose control they could not
counter. In that time, has not your
King been your own worse enemy? And
now, your king can no longer plague you.
Is this not true?"
Gnorst looked over at the Squeaker,
expecting another objection regarding form.
The Squeaker remained silent, not noticing the Regent's glance. Instead he was nervously watching over his
shoulder at Skragg, who had silently stepped behind the crowd of dwarves and
was now nonchalantly holding a lighted torch.
Betred stifled a laugh. "Well?" he asked, pitching his
tone to indicate discussion on the criteria was over.
Gnorst gulped. Quickly, he said,” The King was our enemy,
'tis true. Granite is dead; the Dragon
no longer plagues us. The candidate
passes."
La'Top intoned the next criteria: "He must be a Prince..."
Gnorst raised his hand. Betred could see the beginnings of
embarrassment show on the Regent's face, at least the part of his face that was
visible through his thick gray beard.
"Ahem," he began.
"Surely this isn't a
problem?" asked Betred. "I
have presented my credentials; my qualifications and ascension to the Throne of
Tlashtek are well documented."
"Yes, Your Majesty," agreed
Gnorst. "No one in their right mind
doubts you are King, but you see....you are King of Tlashtek. You hold no princely title granted by my
people."
Betred considered this briefly. He had hoped that being King of Tlashtek and
CEO of Extensive would be enough. But,
this wasn't the first time he had been shown that being King was not always
enough.
"I understand that the High
Command has been having some cash flow problems of late," ventured
Betred. "Perhaps I can
assist. Is not the region known as the
Mines of Moldavia for sale?"
Gnorst nodded eagerly Tlashtekians may be good at making money,
but no one beat the dwarves at being able to smell it coming their way.
Betred held out his hand toward La'Top,
who placed a scroll sealed with the King's personal mark in it. He handed the scroll to Gnorst. "Herein you will find my letter of
credit for the full asking price of the Moldavian Mines. If I understand your heraldry correctly,
ownership of this province entitles me to a Princensorship, does it not?"
Gnorst held the scroll reverently and
nodded. Even the Squeaker did not
object. Gold was gold, after all, and
all of Petal Throne knew that a letter of credit bearing Betred's personal seal
was as good as having coins in your pocket.
Tucking the scroll away on his person,
Gnorst regained his composure.
"There is one other matter, my Prince, that is required." Gnorst stated the requirement
apologetically. Skragg could no longer
contain his laughter; the demon was so engulfed he had to sit down. Even Cyber La'Top's mouth twitched as she
unsuccessfully attempted to suppress her smile.
Betred was stunned. "You can't be serious." Gnorst and his entourage nodded. Skragg continued laughing, despite the glare
Betred tossed his way. "Did you
put them up to this?" he asked the demon, who was too engulfed in his own
guffaws to do more than shake his head.
Abruptly, Betred spun on his heel and
strode back to his waiting Hauler.
Arriving before Sam Iam was aware of his King's intent, Betred yanked
open the door and entered the vehicle.
James was already seated at the controls. "once around the block,
James, and stop at the rear of the Temple," Betred ordered
disgustedly. "And not one word! Step on it!"
The Hauler moved off quickly, soon to
be followed by the rest of Betred's procession. The Nameless Ones were always quite miffed when their charge took
off on his own like this, but at least he didn't do it near as often as he used
to.
Skragg, finally in control of his
laughter, looked at Gnosrt. "You
will pay for this, you know. I don't
know when, or how, but he will get you back.
But I admire your balls -- it is a good joke for such a serious
day!"
Gnosrt attempted to look innocent. "What can I do? The forms must be observed."
Skragg chuckled. "Of course they must."
"He will come back, won't
he?" asked Gnorst.
"Oh, he'll be back," answered
Skragg. "That's why you'll have to
pay. See? Here he comes now."
The six custom Haulers were, in fact,
returning. This time, instead of riding
in the comfort of the passenger cabin, Betred, King of Tlashtek, rode astride a
mighty white Charger, as was required by the Dwarven legend. Although James drove as carefully as he
could, it was a wonder the King didn't fall off.
"Yep," said Skragg. "A good joke. Man are you gonna pay for this....."
----------------------------------
The room was hushed; the orchestra had
not yet begun to play. Sunlight
streamed through the skylights of the Temple of Tlashtek and reflected of the
crystal sarcophagus set on the marble altar.
Occasionally, a passing cloud would alter the rays of the sun, causing a
prism effect to dance across the floor and off the polished gold stature of
Tlashtek that usually dominated the room.
But not on this day. On this day, even the representation of the
Great God Tlashtek, From Who All Blessings Flow, Amen, was dwarfed (no pun
intended) by the crystal sarcophagus and its occupant, the Princess Kristiana.
Although drawven blood did course
though her veins, Kristiana's appearance was human, the product of mixed relationship. The Princess was far older than anyone else
in the room, yet she still radiated a youthful beauty. Her shoulder length black hair glistened in
the sunlight, and lay against pale white skin that looked like unblemished
silk. She wore a multicolored ankle
length gown of an unknown material, and despite years of sleep confined in her
glass coffin, her lips were still a ruby red color, luscious and full.
Betred approached, appearing more
confident than he truly felt. All the
forms had been observed; even the Sqeaker's last minute objection against the
King's tux. After some minor debate, it
was agreed that MUA would have yet another General, in the form of their new
Prince, Betred, who now wore a High Command General's uniform that had been
hastily Tinkered from his white tie and tails.
At an order from Gnorst, the orchestra
began to play softly, and the Seven Guardians parted to allow Betred closer to
the later. As he gazed down at the
sleeping Princess, the King felt uncharacteristically giddy; his heart was full
of joy and for the first time since his first ascension to the Throne of
Tlashtek, his mind free from concerns.
All that mattered was Kristiana, a woman he had never truly met.
Betred nodded, and the Seven Guardians
(do you really need to have their names recorded here?)raised the sarcophagus,
freeing the Princess from her coffin, but still inert on the marble alter.
Betred came closer still, amazed at the
beauty of the woman. Kristiana was
roughly the same height as he, or would be standing up. Perhaps just a mite shorter. She was a petite woman of almost perfect
form; small breasted and tight waisted.
Her beauty almost concealed a firmness of muscle, and Betred noticed
that despite being a Princess, her hands were those of a worker, strong and
callused. Knowing the dwarven culture,
Betred was sure Kristiana was comfortable wielding either a scepter or an axe,
depending on what the situation at the time demanded.
Taking one hand in his, Betred swallowed
the lump in his throat and bent, kissing the Princess lightly but fully on the
lips. He closed his eyes and let his
Token flow...
------------------------------
Kristiana had been asleep for many,
many years. Despite this, she did have
some awareness of what had happened to her in the meantime. She knew, but could not react, when her
coffin opened as it had several times previously; this one was not the first to
attempt to remove the Dark Lord's curse.
Kristiana could sense to air currents
moving around her, and could barely hear music. She existed in a dream world, floating, desperately hoping she
would finally be allowed to return home but powerless to assist in the effort.
She felt a light touch on her hand, and
suddenly, lightening coursed through her mind.
She recognized this touch! She
raced through her memories, seeking to identify the magic that radiated from
this one's touch.
It was her own! She knew this magic -- she had assisted in
its formation. The Prosperity
Potion! But, it had changed -- subtly
altered, but it was not the same magic she had placed in that vial so long
ago. The magic was stronger, more
mature. It had worked on itself, at the
behest of its user, and become something more than it had been originally. Kristiana felt the beginnings of arousal,
and fought to know more.
The kiss! She tasted of his lips and set her mind to analyze what she found
there. This was the one! She could feel it. It was like putting on warm socks on a cold winter's night when
your feet had gone numb --- the slow return of feeling to the toes, first as
needles and pins, then the wonderful feeling of warmth.
Something was amiss! She sensed another presence, a warm green
fuzzy feeling she knew shouldn't be there.
As soon as the kiss began, she knew her rescuer was half-elf,
half-human. But this was different;
this was something that was growing, forcing its way into the fibers of her
Prince's very being.
It was just what she needed! This was the life force of the elves, freely
offered to her by her Prince. Accepting
this from her rescuer, she could adapt its dangerous properties of unwanted
control and use it to accelerate her recovery!
True, her Prince's kiss was enough to
begin the banishment of the Dark One's curse; but his kiss, coupled with this
life force, would allow her to recover in hours what would normally take
weeks. And since she was not of elf
blood herself, she would be immune from the taint of the elf life force. Strong enough now, she set herself to the
task.
Kristiana, Princess of the Dwarves,
awoke. In her hand, concealed from
view, was a small seed.
------------------------------------------
Betred felt the sudden increased
pressure in his hand. The Princess'
grip was bone crunching in its intensity.
Betred open his eyes in surprise as he felt the woman he was kissing
respond with more passion that he had ever imagined. He broke contact with her lips and began to straighten from his
position bent over the sleeping Princess.
Kristiana's eyes snapped open. They were a shade of blue that was
indescribable. Letting go of Betred's
hand, she reached up with both arms, grabbed the King by his shoulders, and
pulled him back down into another passionate kiss, holding him tight.
When she finally came up for air, Kristiana
whispered softly into her rescuer's ear, "You had better use that Token to
enhance your stamina --- it's been a really long dry spell!" Chuckling softly, she nibbled playfully on
Betred's ear, then turned her face to his for yet another long kiss.
---------------------------------------------
A Cultural Interlude
Perhaps an explanation is called for
here. Despite the legends and tall
tales to the contrary, the Princess Kristiana was not chaste. Although human in appearance, and a member
of the royal class, she was raised by dwarves.
The Dwarven people are a boisterous, lustful and fun loving race. Although longer lived then their human
counter-parts, they tend to live in the present, and have no understanding of
the human concepts of propriety. If
they wanted a drink, they drank, if they wanted food, they ate, if they wanted
love....well, you get the idea.
Let's put it this way. Nowhere near as sex starved as the elf race,
they did last longer when they did get around to it. And yes, the King of Tlashtek was able to add some new
enhancements to his Token that day.
------------------------------------
Betred and Kristiana were perched on
the alter, sharing a smoke and discussing the awakening. The High Command was demanding to see their
Princess, but the Seven Guardians, aided by the mirrored Nameless Ones, held
them back.
"Lover, I've got some tricks to
show you," Kristiana teased, making Betred blush slightly. "But
first, we have to discuss this."
She showed Betred the small seed that was a waste product of the
Awakening. "Someone with Forest
Elf blood has taken a dislike to you, my husband." Although not yet formally married, Kristiana
was knew the Legend and was aware of what the Forms of the Awakening called
for.
Betred examined the small seed without
touching it. "Twiggs. He's the
only one I know with the power to attack me directly in subtle
fashion." Noticing his bride's
puzzled expression, he explained.
"Twiggs is the King of Namarushta, the so-called Lord of Life. I've suspected for many years that he is, in
fact, the Dark Lord or holds the dark one's spirit and is unaware. We've just concluded a treaty of no
aggression -- I don't know why he would attack me in this manner if not for the
Dark Lord's corrupt influence. He will
pay for this," concluded Betred.
There was no trace of amusement in his voice.
Kristiana smoothed his brow. "Are you certain this Twiggs is your
attacker? And I wonder why I know not
the name -- elves are long lived, I should remember him from before the
curse."
Betred gently kissed Kristiana's
hand. "Thanks to you, my love, his
attack had failed. But we can't let him
know this. Do not be surprised on what
I might say or do in this matter..."
Betred was cut off as the Red Baron approached.
"I beg your pardon, Your Majesty,
but your presence is needed. The High
Court convenes even now. The Church of
Magicology," said Baron.
"Can't it wait?" asked the
King. "The wedding ceremony has been delayed..." Betred jumped a bit as Kristiana pinched him
playfully. "...but we can move forward with the rest of the ceremonies
now."
Baron shook his head regretfully. "We can proceed with the wedding if you
order it, Your Majesty, but it is by your own Ruling that when the High Court
is called, nothing short of an attack on Tlashtek or Extensive takes
precedence. If you reverse your
decision now, it will add credence to the Church's claims. Skragg has already departed to prepare."
Kristiana elbowed Betred. "What's up, lover?" she asked.
Betred made introductions.
"Princess Kristiana, betrothed to the King of Tlashtek, may I present His
Lordship the Red Baron of Tlashtek, my Chief Advisor and Minister of the
Interior. Baron, the Lady Kristiana,
Princess of the Dwarves."
"My lady," bowed the Baron.
"I apologize for this intrusion."
Kristiana sighed, looking over at the
High Command, who despite the efforts of the guards, had managed to move ever
closer to the alter.
"Betred," she said, "If you must go, then go. I might as well deal with this mob, and it
has been a long time since I've eaten.
I might just devour a beast or two while your dealing with this Church.
We can formalize things later, my husband. You can't get away from me
now!" she added with a chuckle.
A shared kiss, and the couple went their
separate ways, Kristiana to deal with the Dwarven High Command, and Betred to
deal with everything else.
As Betred and Baron walked to their
vehicles, they discuss the attack Twiggs had made on the King. That the Elf Lord could control those with elf
blood was well known, that he would attempt to exercise that control over
Betred had always been suspected. What
came as a surprise was the timing; Twiggs and Betred were supposedly allies --
well, if not allies, then at least nonbelligerent.
The King ordered that messages be sent
demanding explanations and reparations be paid. He ordered the borders closed and diplomatic relations severed
with the Kingdom of Namarushta. He then
composed his mind to deal with the Trial of the Church of Magicology.
---------------------
Another Cultural Interlude
As many people know, the concept of
justice is difficult to understand, much less implement. Even the King of the
Chaka Forest, who claims to serve the Attribute Justice, has had difficulty
defining and defending his views. Why then, should justice is Tlashtek be
simple?
King Betred, as part of his program of
Enlightened Prosperity, has decreed that Low Justice shall be contracted out to
the Cy Clan. Since the Cy Clan serve
Justice, this would seem like a simple solution; however, we have already
determined that Cy Clan definition of Justice is fluid. As with most esoteric and Attribute driven
concepts, Justice is what Sirron says it is, just as Honor is what Harpin says
it is and so on.
Betred realized that this could happen,
so he wisely decreed that High Justice would remain under the jurisdiction of
the King. The High Court of Tlashtek
hears two types of cases; crimes against the state or the Royal Family (this includes
Betred's advisors, but not, for some reason, the rest of Tlashtekian Nobility),
and appeals from Lower Courts that interest the King. The right to appeal is automatic, but the High Court chooses what
it wants to listen to and what it doesn't.
Tlashtekian High Court trials follow the ancient model of "guilty unless proven innocent." The King is Judge, there is no jury. If the defendant is cable of using magic, they are not allowed personally participate, but are allowed to appoint a defender of their choice, as long as this defender is not a member of the King's inner circle, or a magic user (this includes clerical types of magic.) Another king may be a defender, as long as s/he meets the criteria.
In the case presented below, charges
were brought against certain members of the Church of Magicology in low
court. Because of the implications for
the Crown, Betred has taken interest in this case, and the Cy Clan decision was
appealed to the High Court.
Cyber La'Top serves as recorder and
legal advisor to Betred. Skragg sits on
the Bench as Extensive Representative.
King Sirron, serving the Attribute of Justice, is usually invited to sit
as an advisor, but his attendance is never expected. The decision remains
Betred's.
The Red Baron, as Minister of the
Interior, acts as the Accuser (Prosecution.), representing the Kingdom of
Tlashtek Heights.
Here then, is the transcript from the
Trial of Magicology.
----------------------------
Betred: "The Court will come to order. Lord Baron, please present the Court with the charges against the
Accused."
Baron:
1.) Pae Peasant found posting
traitorous material
2.) Wicaeloth Peasant inciting to riot
posting malicious propaganda
3.) Grilanyth Peasant inciting to
revolt, inciting to riot
4.) Sevoakath Merchant penetration of
extensive files, leaking of business information, junior priest Church of
Magicology, inciting to riot, posting traitorous material, malicious propaganda
against several rulers, urinating on the new palace!
Betred: "The defendants are
considered Guilty until they prove their innocence. Are any of you magically
active or capable of using magic to influence the court?"
Pae: Anyone can USE magic you
incredible imbecile! How did you ever get to be a ruler? You sell magic items
at inflated prices do you not? Those that can pay your overly exorbitant fees
can use magic. Hence I can use magic."
The others say, "Yeah, that's
telling the tool. We been allowing this guy to rule us? He uses magic maybe he
should disqualify himself? How much magic are you carrying or using today? We
request a new trial due to the bias of the judges and jury. No fair trials here
right?"
Betred: "I shall rephrase -- can
the accused perform magic without the aid of components or other items?"
Grilanyth: "Rephrase this!"
Pumps his thumb into his fist! "We are not magicians and we have no
clerical powers. We don't serve your stinkin Attributes. We believe in the
empowerment of the individual. I also notice you have no problem loading the
court with your stooges and magic is OK for you to use so you can influence all
who watch. We again demand a FAIR and HONEST Trial! You already say were Guilty
and you are intent of persecuting us so why should we even try to cooperate.
Murder us and prove you are exactly what our Church says you are!"
Betred: The Court instructs that as a point of law, all who stand accused
before the High Court are considered guilty and the purpose of their trial is
to provide a forum for the accused to defend their innocence. The Court accepts your answer regarding
magic use and in accordance with our law and traditions grants you the
opportunity to defend yourselves against the charges brought against you. After you have made your case, the Accuser
will have the opportunity to make his.
We will then decide the case. You
may proceed.
Wicaeloth: "The Church instructs
you that you are more than overstepping your authority. You are Proven Guilty
by your own actions and the purpose of this Trial is to show everyone that you
are nothing more than a power mad hypocrite. Nice of you to accept that we are
not liars, unfortunately you are. Does this mean you will punish yourself? Our
Case? We posted the truth and you got mad. Now you will say we tried to
blackmail or bribe you to give a semblance that you are the injured party. We
don't want your money. When can we have a Fair Trial? We notice you keep
avoiding that answer?"
Skragg: "You think you have
nothing to lose and will play on our fairness and generosity. Betred gives you
the chance to make an explanation so that he may judge the worthiness of your
claims. In Shennu you would already be
disgraced and would be suffering the
torments of the law in which death would be a welcome relief. Betred only
permits you this for the sake of religious freedom. I on the other hand have no
such tolerance. If you continue to provoke this court I will add this to your
punishment and I promise you that your religion will not save you of the
consequences. Now either prove your case with the same respect Betred has shown
you or I will end it now! You may think your church has authority over us but I
assure you
if it does you will not be available to
confirm it!"
Betred: "The Court acknowledges
the Emperor Skragg's comments. Do the accused have anything of substance to
offer to defend themselves of the charges they face?"
Grilanyth: "Very well. I submit
that you are not Betred. It appears to be that your 'green' is showing. Your
looking more like a Namarushtian elf than you used to. Some people believe you
to be an imposter placed here by Twiggs and aided by a secret treaty between
Twiggs and Skragg to take over Extensive. I submit that Jaul serving Twiggs
killed the real Betred in the catacombs! If that is so then you have no
authority to be running this court!"
Betred: "Order! Order! There will be order or I will hold this
trial in closed session! Skragg, please
sit down, you're scaring the press.
Baron, put that sword away -- I am capable of defending my own honor in
this Court! Please, everyone, take your
seats. I find it interesting that the Accused turn to the time worn strategy of
countering their accusations with accusations against the Crown. This is usually done when they have no
defense and are grasping at straws.
However, since it serves MY purposes, I will respond to your ridiculous
charges.
Betred: I am Betred of Laigas. I
am the King of Tlashtek. I am the CEO
of Extensive. And, I am the rescuer of
the Princess Kristiana, her betrothed, and it is our wedding that this Trial
intrudes upon. Do you expect that a
person of such high prestige as the Princess Kristiana would accept an
imposter? Would an imposter have even
be able to wake her?
Betred: As for my appearance, it is
true that "my green is showing."
I am half-elf and I have never denied this. I have recently participated
in some strenuous activity required to Awaken the Princess Kristiana. So, indeed, my blood is up, as they
say. Still, why should the color of my
skin be of any matter to you? You claim
to serve the power of the individual.
Is that each individual, or only those that look like you?.
Betred: I am King of Tlashtek.
That gives me all the authority I need to run this court. I do not need
to hear from the Accuser...your own words convince have convicted you. Here now, is my sentence. You claim that your church serves to people
in celebration of the individual. You
claim you do not need the Attributes the people of Tlashtek serve. Very well, I pronounce on the Church of
Magicology the Curse of Poverty. The
Blessings of our Lord Tlashtek and the Prosperity he brings are forever
forbidden to you. Your crops and your
women shall be barren from this day forward.
You will lose by your own hand all that you have previously earned, and
eke out whatever existence you can by your own individual effort -- no one will
aid you, provide you comfort, or give you rest. By the power of my Token I do
invest this Curse upon the Church of Magicology and all who serve its
teachings.
<Recorders Note: King Betred was glowing a golden color and
radiating heat as he pronounced this Curse.
After a moment, his color and temperature returned too normal>
Betred: Release the Accused to their fate. Do nothing to harm them or their families or possessions. Their fate has been brought upon themselves. This Court stands adjourned.
By
Rabbay Ariaye Spiritual Leader of the newly formed Church
of Magicology
Well, I think people are responding to the Sirron, Elaine and
Jarod’s calls for "family values” After all look at all the money they
spent on a tournament last move just so others could attack, rob and steal. Who
suffered for it? YOU DID, the backbone of the world and salt of the land. You
people that support these leeches and I don’t mean just Rahvin, in their
struggles for power and wealth, at your expense.
We have
decided that you should know who and what they are without having to listen to
their propaganda. The Church is not affiliated with ANY country or current
ruler. We are a charitable organization that has grown to serve the least and
to tell you of the crimes of those who consider themselves your betters!
(Although they seldom are!) We exist to serve what they call the ‘peasant
class’, and we feel this is a more honorable and useful title than any they can
lay claim to!
Truthfulness:
Rulers View: Always tell the truth if it suits your purpose, unless you are in
court for something as small and insignificant as arm deals to some unstable
country like the Nylss, in which case you may always hide behind some Cy Clan
law that was designed to protect Shennuian drug dealers who turn their friends
in, or you can always get a sudden 24-hour case of Green Sickness disease where
you selectively forget all the bad deeds that you've committed in your business
dealings where you fleeced the suckers out of their savings, you can even
include that prostitute you had a meeting with yesterday.
OUR
VIEW: In the Church of Magicolgy we will expose the hypocrisy and
bald-faced lies of non-member countries that have not accepted our standards of
Justice, Morality and Freedom for all, and shine the Real Light of Truth
upon their infamous dealings. We will not wait for Sirron to waffle and tell us
when ‘maybe’ someone did something wrong. We will expose their deals. For
instance it is well known that Betred through Extensive paid the Dwarf High
Command to have Granite assassinated! We received this information through
Sirron, the dwarves and Twiggs. This is Mr. Generosity and Prosperity himself
who is going to bring in a Golden Age? How about Mr Greed? Mr. Murderer, Mr.
Start –a War and watch them kill each other off so I can add to an already
outrageous Wealth that he could never use? He will most likely claim that he
gives large amounts of wealth away but we know how he disguises his Charity!
Loyalty:
Always be
loyal to your friends, your country, your boss, your constituents, unless of
course, some backstabbing will get you that new castle you wanted to get for
your daughter in Tlashtek Heights. Even be loyal to your mate, even though she
can't cook worth beans and misuses other vegetables when you’re not around
playing with that high priced mistress or call girl.
In
the Church of Magicology we will show you how to get along with your fellow man
and woman and to treat each other with the respect and dignity each person has
as a right, not as a privilege of greedy and grasping power mongers. We will
not mouth the Attribute Loyalty like Galebolt but will actually promote the
word for what it actually stands for. To say, “I serve Loyalty.” Is
nothing if you do nothing! We will be loyal to you. We will not be bought or
swayed by the grandiose schemes of the rapacious and greedy.
Respect for Elders:
Yes,
especially if you are one. After all,
those who want respect are usually older and more powerful than the ones they
demand it from, even if it may not be deserved, right Harpin? It certainly pays
in money and power to get the younger generation to kiss major hoop and it
certainly makes you feel good to have toadies trembling to your every whim.
“Just bend over page, this won’t hurt a bit, you should feel honored. Show me
the respect I deserve but you yourself deserve none as a human being.”
The
Church of Magicology will weed out the Butt Kissers and liars who graduate to
the hire levels of government not through competence but because they have
their lips firmly glued to some ones backside. We will expose corruption and
favoritism in high places and we will watch dog every ruler and deliver
unbiased and open commentary on the most horrific offenders. We will point out
to you the Elders that really deserve your Respect because of the
work they have done to raise the awful burdens of your existence.
Respect is earned not demanded as a
right of privilege!
Charity:
Only when there's a photo opportunity to get you in the paper so that
everyone will think what a really swell guy I am. Then take it all back in
hidden taxes, tariffs and raise the prices on goods that people need just to
survive! A Gold piece for a loaf of Bread? Scandalous!
The
Church, unlike many so-called Churches will give out real Charity to all
that need it. We will aide you with the respect and dignity you deserve and we
won’t do it in front of Tlashtek cameras with Extensive reporters painting the
pictures to puff up our own egos! We also promise we won’t tax the money back
from you again, you see because we can’t! We are not your overlords. Look at
Betred for example. Does he really need all that money? How much have you seen
him hand out to truly demanding charities when he is not posing?
Promiscuity:
Only when there's no photo opportunity to get you in the paper, have as
many mates as you want. Play musical beds. Only mouth the words, Love, Respect,
and Commitment to appease the low moral codes of the masses. Take whomever you
want and wherever you want and when your appetite is appeased toss them aside
like so much garbage! Heck you don’t even have to use the opposite sex. The
motto here is anything, anywhere at anytime and if that wasn’t Dark Lord
philosophy then you tell me what it was Mr Barkhaven. We saw what you did with
your last wife after all she did for you! Your not exempt either Mr Vampire
Ironblood with your kidnapping attempts.
The
Church will not and does not promote Promiscuity. We will shut down
demeaning brothels, close thieves guilds and end assassins halls. Gambling
Casino’s will be a thing of the past for we will promote the DIGNITY of the
individual first. Slaves in Livyanu in a supposedly good and lawful land will
feel the weight of our opinion first! You pimp of the Dark Lord. You say the
evil one is gone but we know he is alive and well in his replacements! We will
name names Rahvin, Twiggs, Betred, Skragg, Sirron, Galebolt, Karen, Corman and
Damien.
Performance of One's Duties:
Don’t do
anything for the people/ Do things for yourself and tell them it’s for their
own good. You will improve and change things some day but it takes time. Give
now so I can give you paradise later. Fear all the others around you. There can
be no peace between us for they have not the ability to comprehend my VISION!
We will perform our duties now!
We will not put it off. We will reach out the hand of friendship to other
countries, to people like us who have been fed the same lines we have heard.
The Church of Magicology will find the cause of the Green Sickness and we will
bring it to light! We will expose the horrendous tax laws. We will expose the
corruption; we will search out the evil ones. We will ally with other rulers
who feel as we do. We will change the WORLD for the better, starting today! How
long have these rulers held power and while we suffered and died how much
stronger have they grown? Want proof? Look at Betred, his city destroyed, he
has all that wealth in his palace and yet people suffered in slum conditions
for at least a year before he started to rebuild. Then he destroyed it all
while he went to Shennu to sing and dance with Skragg while the city burned.
Now he rebuilds and you can have a new house back but guess what? He owns the
land suddenly and your renting it. He confiscated all the lands of those he
killed and squeezed out the others. Meanwhile he pats himself on the back and
goes to steal the dwarves lands. That is a Performance of Duty we can live
without!
So do you
wish to follow corrupted rulers who go through the motions and involve you in
endless strife and wars? Do you wish to continue without someone watching and
exposing their evil deeds in the honest light of Truth? We do not! We are the
Church of Magicology and we will take in the homeless, the poor, and the
destitute. We will help you get Justice, we will find the Truth and we will
give you back some control over your lives. Do you really want peace? Then we
will help you get it.
We are
currently training priests in a secret location because as you may understand
many rulers are trying to close us down. Soon a priest will arrive at your town
to give spiritual comfort. He will be one of us! He will live on the same food
you live on; he will live in the poorest of houses if he has one at all. He
will aid the sick and the weak. Watch and wait and if you are sympathetic to
our cause and you have had enough then join with us. Together we can make a
change. Bless you all.
Betred incensed at the Church has
collected several of the people that have been posting the above message in his
Kingdom.
The Trial of Magicology:
1.) Pae
Peasant found posting traitorous material
2.) Wicaeloth
Peasant inciting to riot posting malicious propaganda
3.) Grilanyth
Peasant inciting to revolt, inciting to riot
4.) Sevoakath
Merchant penetration of Extensive files, leaking of business information,
junior priest Church of Magicology, inciting to riot, posting traitorous
material, malicious propaganda against several rulers, urinating on the new
palace!
Betred:
"The defendants are considered Guilty until they prove their innocence.
Are any of you magically active or capable of using magic to influence the
court?"
Pae: Anyone
can USE magic you incredible imbecile! How did you ever get to be a ruler? You
sell magic items at inflated prices do you not? Those that can pay your overly
exorbitant fees can use magic. Hence I can use magic."
The others
spoke. "Yeah, that's telling the tool. We been allowing this guy to rule
us? He uses magic maybe he should disqualify himself? How much magic are you
carrying or using today? We request a new trial due to the bias of the judges
and jury. No fair trials here right?"
Betred:
"I shall rephrase -- can the accused perform magic without the aid of
components or other items?"
Grilanyth:
"Rephrase this!" Pumps his thumb into his fist! "We are not
magicians and we have no clerical powers. We don't serve your stinkin
Attributes. We believe in the empowerment of the individual. I also notice you
have no problem loading the court with your stooges and magic is OK for you to
use so you can influence all who watch. We again demand a FAIR and HONEST
Trial! You already say we’re Guilty and you are intent on persecuting us so why
should we even try to cooperate. Murder us and prove you are exactly what our
Church says you are!"
Betred: “The Court instructs that as a point of law,
all who stand accused before the High Court are considered guilty and the
purpose of their trial is to provide a forum for the accused to defend their
innocence. The Court accepts your
answer regarding magic use and in accordance with our law and traditions grants
you the opportunity to defend yourselves against the charges brought against
you. After you have made your case, the
Accuser will have the opportunity to make his.
We will then decide the case.
You may proceed.”
Wicaeloth:
“The Church instructs you that you are more than overstepping your authority.
You are Proven Guilty by your own actions and the purpose of this Trial is to
show everyone that you are nothing more than a power mad hypocrite. Nice of you
to accept that we are not liars, unfortunately you are. Does this mean you will
punish yourself? Our Case? We posted the truth and you got mad. Now you will
say we tried to blackmail or bribe you to give a semblance that you are the
injured party. We don’t want your money. When can we have a Fair Trial? We
notice you keep avoiding that answer?”
Skragg
entered the room and nodded to Betred as he took his seat on the bench as well.
“Excuse my late arrival, if it please the court, for I have been very busy of
late. I could not help but overhear the comments of the defendants. If I might
be permitted to address them?” Betred nodded in agreement and Skragg looked at
the four criminals steadily. “You issue demands for a fair trial. You are
indeed getting one that is more than fair to criminals such as yourself. If we
were the blatant evil you say we are, we need have no trail at all and could
have just beheaded, crucified, or even skinned you alive.” Skragg’s eyes glowed
redly for a moment and his voice was chilling.
“You think
you have nothing to lose and will play on our fairness and generosity. Betred
gives you the chance to make an explanation so that he may judge the worthiness
of your claims. In Shennu you would already be disgraced and would be suffering
the torments of the law in which death would be a welcome relief. Betred only
permits you this for the sake of religious freedom. I on the other hand have no
such tolerance. If you continue to provoke this court I will add this to your
punishment and I promise you that your religion will not save you of the
consequences. Now either prove your case with the same respect Betred has shown
you or I will end it now! You may think your church has authority over us but I
assure you if it does you will not be available to confirm it!”
Betred: "The Court acknowledges
the Emperor Skragg's comments. Do the accused have anything of substance to
offer to defend themselves of the charges they face?"
Grilanyth: "Very well. I submit to YOUR court that you are not Betred. It appears to me and anyone else who cares to notice that your 'green' is showing. You’re looking more like a Namarushtian elf than you used to. Many of the people believe you to be an imposter placed here by Twiggs and aided by a secret treaty between Twiggs and Skragg to take over Extensive. I submit that Jaul, while serving Twiggs, killed the real Betred in the catacombs! If that is the truth then you have no authority to be running this court!" Immediately much discussion broke out amongst the viewing crowd.
Betred: "Order! Order! There will be order or I will hold this
trial in closed session! Skragg, please
sit down, you're scaring the press.
Baron, put that sword away -- I am capable of defending my own honor in
this Court! Please, everyone, take your
seats. I find it interesting that the Accused turn to the time worn strategy of
countering their accusations with accusations against the Crown. This is usually done when they have no
defense and are grasping at straws.
However, since it serves MY purposes, I will respond to your ridiculous
charges.
Betred: I am Betred of Laigas. I
am the King of Tlashtek. I am the CEO
of Extensive. And, I am the rescuer of
the Princess Kristiana, her betrothed, and it is our wedding that this Trial
intrudes upon. Do you expect that a
person of such high prestige as the Princess Kristiana would accept an
imposter? Would an imposter have even
been able to wake her?
Wicaeloth: “Interesting that you chose
someone who just woke from a long sleep and never saw the real Betred only the
imposter. Grasping at straws? Closed
session? All those would certainly suit your purpose. What difference to her if
you are an imposter. You have her now and everyone knows that you are bribing
the Dwarf High Command. Is not one of the charges that we raided Extensive
documents? Well we did and with then we can expose your cover-ups! As for your
claims of would an imposter have been able to awaken her? The answer is of
course! My proof? In Bragging Rights the Dark Lord told Artuneys that the elves
had put Kristiana to sleep. Your ‘green’ is showing again Betred. With the elf
king backing your play it would have been easy to awaken her with his power!”
Betred: As for my appearance, it is
true that "my green is showing."
I am half-elf and I have never denied this. I have recently participated
in some strenuous activity required to Awaken the Princess Kristiana. So, indeed, my blood is up, as they
say. Still, why should the color of my
skin be of any matter to you? You claim
to serve the power of the individual.
Is that each individual, or only those that look like you?”
Wicaeloth: “The original Betred never,
ever showed any signs of being a Namarushtian elf! Now you try to claim you
have been all along? Why do you continue to lie when so many people know your
true past? You are not the Betred you were. You think to blame this on new
powers and a new ceremony. We do not believe this. We will find the proof of
what you are false King. We will be loyal to the King you have murdered and
usurp the Throne on. Kill us for we are loyal and you will not silence these
accusations with our death. Eventually they will bury you!”
Betred: I am King of Tlashtek.
That gives me all the authority I need to run this court. I do not need
to hear from the Accuser...your own words convince me and have convicted
you. Here now, is my sentence. You claim that your church serves the people
in celebration of the individual. You
claim you do not need the Attributes the people of Tlashtek serve. Very well, I pronounce on the Church of
Magicology the Curse of Poverty. The
Blessings of our Lord Tlashtek and the Prosperity he brings are forever
forbidden to you. Your crops and your
women shall be barren from this day forward.
You will lose by your own hand all that you have previously earned, and
eke out whatever existence you can by your own individual effort -- no one will
aid you, provide you comfort, or give you rest. By the power of my Token I do
invest this Curse upon the Church of Magicology and all who serve its
teachings.
<Recorders Note: King Betred was glowing a golden color and radiating
heat as he pronounced this Curse. After
a moment, his color and temperature returned to normal>
Betred: Release the Accused to their fate. Do nothing to harm them or their families or
possessions. Their fate has been
brought upon themselves. This Court
stands adjourned.
The
accused made several comments after the trial in which the press observed. “We
fear not poverty nor Betred’s futile curse for we are poor and live no better
than those who serve these rulers anyway. How can his curse make us poorer? We
live amongst the very people he starves and kills with disease and hard work
every day. His words are just so much hot air!”
“Let us say
though that he is successful. If he destroys our means to help the poor it only
shows the truth of our comments in his courtroom. It is only a matter of time
until others note that he is a false usurper and pull him down from his throne.
Betred and his filthy money will not stop the word of truth nor dissuade us
from doing our jobs. We find it interesting though that he has never said
straight out that we are wrong. Notice he asked questions but never made a
definite statement of innocence? If we were really ‘Guilty’ as he said he would
have proof of it. Having none he pronounces his curse and tosses us out. We
laugh at his curse. He hopes his curse
will kill us where no one can see rather than do the deed himself in front of
witnesses! What difference does this make? He either kills us now or kills us
slowly later. He still has not given proof that we are wrong. If we were why
doesn’t he show his proof like an honest man?
Several days Later this notice was posted on the front
gates of each palace in the Petal Throne World.
From
the Church of Magicology to the Rulers
Be
it hereby known throughout the lands that we are bringing a lawsuit against the
False Betred of Tlashtek, self-styled CEO of Extensive Enterprises. We hereby
submit that the person who calls himself Betred is a traitor and in an effort
to silence his critics he has pronounced a curse upon the innocent peasants of
the world that share a belief in our religion. This means that this curse will
affect your people that believe as well as us. It will especially effect those
in the Nylss where are religion is based. Already the Nylss has undergone two
unfair curses and now Betred levels a third! Is this Justice? If you wish you
might join us in a civil action to recover damages and to expose the slander of
the self styled CEO of Extensive. We hereby petition you to join together and
force the imposter from his throne. Those who do not stand up for Justice,
Truth and Freedom of Religion will surely be counted as our enemies and enemies
of Justice. Consider wisely and do the right thing.
Granite:
"Hey, Twiggs, what does this message on the metal plaque at the entrance
of the tunnel say?"
Twiggs
(smiling): "Walk in single file down the corridor, keeping to the left.
"
Granite :
"Okay, me first... " (Gnomish message ‑ Twiggs didn't know Gnomish)
Sirron watched the majestic
view from the balcony of Galebolt's castle and was truly astounded as the
gleaming colorful sunlight slowly traversed across the room. The sunset in the
Jelgai Mountains was truly an awesome sight and one seldom seen in the Forest
Lands of his country. Sirron had much to reflect on in the negotiations that
were taking place in this very palace. The curse on Rahvin seemed to be having
the desired affect but now the negotiations had taken a most ominous turn.
Rahvin knew that Jade was here and if he was behind the kidnappings might she
not again be a target. Jarod should not have let Rahvin know. It amounted to a
betrayal of trust. Sirron decided he would have to take steps to keep her safe.
What bothered him more was he had a
feeling of danger as well and he suspected it was part of the symbiote. The
symbiote seemed to have imposed several changes on him. He thought with some
embarrassment about his sudden strange attractions to the opposite sex and they
seemed to be just as fascinated with him! It would seem that this would be as
good of a time as any to investigate into that matter as well. Due to recent
events, quick actions needed to be taken to make sure that the situation with
Rahvin and the Dark Lord would be under control. Now that those steps have been
taken it was wise to try to take the opportunity figure out and deal with his
internal matters.
He had first noticed this change in
behavior a couple of months ago when his appetite slowly grew. He had been
known to eat his fair share of food but never to such an extent as was shown in
the Towers tournament. It was from that point that his sexual arousal began to
change as well, the need to find pleasure among the opposite sex became an
almost mandatory need. But it was also at this time that he found out that his
problem was Elvin, placing the source of his current troubles on Twiggs
Barkhaven, King of the Elves. It appeared that the symbiote that had somehow
taken up residence in his mind had some very unforeseen and disquieting side
affects!
He first began to slowly sit into
the lotus position, arms placed upon his knees with his four index fingers
curved, pointing towards each other while the thumbs completed the circle. The
presence of spies over watching his suite was easily detected upon his arrival
into these chambers but he never bothered to worry about them since they had no
ill will towards him.
While he did not wish others to know
what he was about to do he also suspect they would be unable to find out. His
examination would be mostly internal and not visible to those who watched the
physical world. There was no prayer, no sound or even a mumble. Sirron began to
go into a meditative state, only focusing his mind on his breathing and slowing
it down. Having made his mental preparations He began to traverse his own mind
wading through memories and impressions that always seemed to surround him in
this present time trying to find something that should not be there or was
changed.
Knowing that his problem was Elvin
in origin, he tried to examine Voice closely but was not surprised when he
could discover no sign of the Mental Impression of it. He suspected one of its
powers might have been to foil Cy Clan thought and to confer the ability to
hide its presence from them. It appeared this could be true. Since Twiggs was
known to have been concerned with Gerrain as his enemy and would have taken
steps for his next ceremony to block the Cy Clan King’s powers. Ever since he
had joined with the symbiote, it had proven to be an asset more than a danger.
Even though it was Elvin in nature and was created by Twiggs to be used in his
own ceremony. Sirron
had no intention
of harming the sentient symbiote, only as
last resort. Perhaps his recent ceremony had unleashed hidden powers within the
symbiote when he used it as his token? It had been after all, been designed to
be a part of Twiggs next ceremony. It’s lack during that critical time would
have most certainly caused Twiggs more problems in his last ceremony than he himself
would admit to.
Sirron had instead, unwittingly,
stolen the component and used it in his own ceremony but maybe it was not as
good a fit as it should be? He had used a basically unknown and untried
component and he was learning just how dangerous that could make a ceremony. To
learn more Sirron had contacted with Oshimo and asked him to see what Ashla
might know of his problem. Oshimo had stated that he would have Ashla join him
at
Galebolt's
castle. He had also sent word that Rahvin had increased his raids against the
dwarves in hopes of procuring water. It had been unsuccessful to date. He also
warned of a possible threat in Thimhalen but details on that appeared to be
sketchy. He did say though that the Thimhalen threat could have very dangerous consequences
for Sirron.
Sirron decided to contact `Voice'
directly. "Why can I never see you? Why are you tampering with me? I
suspect you are behind much of what is happening and I want to know why."
To his surprise `Voice' responded taking her usual form as a young elfin girl.
She looked at him with her large green eyes and sat down in his mind facing
him. As they both floated she spoke like the tinkling of bells. "You
cannot see me unless I permit it," She spoke haughtily, "I do after
all like some privacy! What you call my tampering, I call improving. If you
would stop to truly put yourself in my position you would understand. You and I
share this body. On it's own it is fragile and easily hurt or killed. I am
strengthening it. I increase your Health, make your bones and teeth stronger,
and speed up your reflexes. Someday I will have to make you smarter as
well!" She finished impishly smiling.
"Well, that explains the large
quantities of food you have made me eat, it does not explain these sexual
urges." Sirron observed. "Would you like to explain just why is it I
seem to have such an enormous sexual appetite? It really is disturbing that I
am attracted to and bedding almost every woman I see and most seem to respond
all to readily. For instance even Mondragon’s wife made advances at me recently
and she is twice my age and married! This is not just inconvenient it is
dangerous. While she is a handsome woman, I feel that it is a bit much that I
was willing to accept her advances! Luckily, this time I was able to
refuse!"
`Voice laughed merrily, "I
thought it was humorous but you have to understand that it is part of the
powers I have and relates back to what I was telling you. Procreation is a
natural part of Survival! Twiggs is after all Lord of Life and elves have a
hard time bearing children. He certainly made that clear in his latest
ceremony. Part of my powers was to help aid in that."
"You seem to forget that I
myself am not a full elf. Nor do I have any wish to be one"
Sirron added.
A smile slowly appeared on `Voice's' face as Sirron continued. "I am a
half elf and that is my race. But I am also a Cy Clan Ranger trained under
monks. In other words I am not Twiggs and have no desire to be. Would it not be
prudent then to adjust your powers to combine with mine rather than change me
into something I have no desire to be? Even a merger of powers would probably
be much more beneficial than just forcing these changes upon me, especially
without my knowledge!"
"Complain, Complain! I don't
ever hear you thanking me whenever I heal you or IMPROVE you and you certainly
don't seem to mind that I do not bother to ask your permission, like that time
you were whipped by Kalain! I bore the pain of that and you were able to
stoically resist because you felt nothing." Stated Voice angrily.
"Nor have you ever heard of me
trying to remove you, which would probably hurt me but kill you. I see you have
that Elf conception of trusting no one while I believe that the benefit of the
doubt must almost always be extended." Sirron replied hotly "I took a
chance on you for one must take chances to be able to search for the good in
others. I cannot view everyone as being guilty first but must always presume
him or her to be innocent until proven guilty. Back to the issue at hand
though, these sexual urges cannot continue. Is there a way that our powers can
change or combine so that these conflicts will never ever occur again?"
The `Voice' spoke seriously.
"You have no conception. While you see me as a person with a free will, I
am not that at all. I am a created CONSTRUCT designed to perform certain tasks.
I was designed to do certain things for a HOST! While you are not the host I
was designed for it still does not mean that I can just turn it off! That is
like me telling you to stop thinking! I was given a certain amount of
intelligence to perform my tasks so
I can
complete them." "Consider this carefully. You are a half elf. In
order to complete my functioning properly you have to BE an elf. I have no
control over this. It is what I do! Twiggs put much thought in my design and
the top creators and magicians of his realm were used in this task. I think you
have no idea how much in resources, time and talent were expended to make me.
Twiggs had certain abilities and protections he incorporated to improve what he
was! Would you under those circumstances give your creation the ability to NOT
perform what he wanted done?"
"Now you may understand why
Twiggs was so angry. I am a prototype. Expensive and Unique, with a specific purpose, built by elves for elves. Your
half elf side made you compatible. Gerrain as a human would not have been.
Another reason I suspect he chose to die in
your favor. If he could not oppose the elves successfully he wanted a King who
could at least understand and work with them. Remember when he sent you it was
for the express purpose that you acquire me! He must have foreseen the need for
Twiggs not to have me and for you to get this power. Twiggs might have been
aware that shape changers would someday play a part. If he were transformed
from his elf form to something else he would want the ability to return to his
form! Would you have not built that control into such a creation as I? Would
you give that creation the control to override those basic imperatives? I
suspect NOT."
"Many things I can do for you,
but I must do them in accordance with the basic rules I was built with. I have
no free will or power to override what has been done. Asking you for permission
would be useless for I have to do it with or without your permission. I have a
survival instinct inbuilt and I am linked to your life in a relationship closer
than any married couple can ever have! I must do my best for you in every way.
However, as
Twiggs has
quoted before, `it may not be in a way that you want."'
Sirron thought for a moment,
"Voice can you lie to me?" Voice looked at him. "If I said `Yes'
you would freak wouldn't you?" She stated amused. "Think before you
ask, would Twiggs construct me with the ability to LIE to him? However, he
would recognize that there might be times when it would be in his best
interests for me NOT to tell him certain things. Let us look at it this way. If
he had been changed to fight a return to elf hood, he would not want me to tell
him that I would change him anyway. So I have a capacity to lie if it is
counter productive to what I MUST do. Under normal circumstances though I must
be forthcoming and not lie. Insidious isn't it? I could be lying but it must be
in what I consider to be your best interests as an elf despite whatever opinion
you hold. Are you beginning to get any conception of the type of planning a
King must do and Twiggs is a highly successful King. When I was made all the
knowledge and experience of a nation was used to create me. I may someday
become obsolete but Right Here, Right Now I am the Ultimate creation of a
highly advanced race."
Sirron shook his head and awoke from
his trance. Since the symbiote was hardwired or
programmed to do these atrocities to him whether he wanted them or not it
seemed to be fruitless to try to force it to do something it could not. Sirron
had no choice but to utilize his Cy Clan powers to attempt to slow down or
control the process as much as possible.
This was risky though since the symbiote was built to block out Cy Clan
powers, Sirron couldn’t use his powers directly on it. Failing to find a
solution to the problem he decided that he would take a walk and ponder the
problem further. As he was heading out of his room a hasty messenger almost
crashed into him in the hallway.
Sirron spoke, “Relax and calm down. You seem to be worried. Has something of importance taken place that
you must forget that Cy Clan are always calm even in the face of emergencies?”
The Messenger spoke quickly, “But? I am not a Cy Clan, I was just coming to let
you know that Galebolt is calling for a joint meeting of the rulers that are
presently here for the inquest.” Sirron nodded, “Of course, I somehow sense
that this is not about the inquest itself?”
The messenger nodded gravely, “That is correct, sir. It seems that reports are flooding in that a
large numbers of the worlds population are undergoing changes…” Sirron spoke
calmly as the page hesitated, “Go on.”
The page suddenly blurted, “They are turning into elves! Anyone with any elf blood in them could be
affected.”
Sirron was intrigued, perhaps this
had caused Voice to act and flip a switch so to speak. “Inform Galebolt that I
will be there quite soon.” Sirron was the first to enter the room once more. Only hours before the rulers had been
debating about how to deal with Rahvin and his actions. Now all of a sudden while attention was
turned to Rahvin, Twiggs had again become a problem. Between the subtle dealing
of the Elf King and the heavier but Chaotic dealings of Rahvin, the turmoil
would only increase. He quickly sat down and began to try to communicate with
Twiggs.
But in the end the discussion would
only provide information with no solution.
It seemed that Twiggs had not purposely created this problem at least
according to his comments. Sirron was not so sure he believed the Elf King. He
was known to lie when it suited his purposes to do so. The incident appeared to
be an outgrowth of his recent ceremony.
But seeing as others were changing into elves Twiggs believed that it is
for their own good that they should be recalled to Elf territory for their
protection. As a result, Sirron had contacted his advisors to have the Chaka
Forest declare an area near the border between the Dwarf Lands and Chaka Forest
as a designated special territory for those that were turning into Elves to
live and be protected by Ashla and a number of Cy Clans.
Of course Ashla had to be rerouted
from her meeting with Sirron to discuss the symbiote but it seemed better that
she handle the needs of those turned to elves first. When Sirron had asked to scan Twiggs mind to show that the Dark
Lord did not possess him, Twiggs had not only declined but had laughed at the
thought. Sirron had also requested to be allowed to examine Twigg’s child Arase
for the same reason. Twiggs had not been amused and his cold comments left
little doubt that he would let any ruler approach. Sirron dropped the issue.
Soon the other rulers and several of
the advisors from different lands were drifting into the room in talking
groups. Many of their faces showed concern over the recent events. What was to be done soon became a lengthy
debate once more as ideas were submitted across the board. Messengers came and went to each of the
leaders to provide whatever information they could about the current situation
and to seek further information for their own sources.
Rumors were abounding, including
ideas that the DL could in fact be Twiggs, Rahvin or Arase the new elf baby.
Somehow all the considered actions failed to resolve any of the rumors or
provide a sound resolution to the current situation. Some of the more militant
members appeared to advocate a war like posture, including the so-called King
of Peace! Sirron could not see himself going to war with so little real
information to go on but nonetheless any information regarding the DL’s
emergence had to be taken seriously, including the idea that Rahvin might have
a hand in the DL’s possible return later.
To clear his mind of these problems and the one that he was trying to
resolve earlier he decided to take a break from the decision locked Council and
take a walk out in the city.
As he entered the hallway he
encountered Jade Pearl Advisor to Emperor Skragg of Shennu. She was scheduled
to meet with Jarod and Estelle in private shortly to give further testimony.
She politely acknowledged his presence with a low bow and spoke softly “Are you leaving so soon? It would appear
the Council lacks a decisive leader that they can support.”
Sirron: “I do not believe a war is warranted here. We cannot act on
rumors alone especially when in war many people die. Still the rumors about the
DL cannot be ignored as well and that I suspect is the larger issue that they
appear to ignore. Cy Clan care little of outward appearance. What difference an
elf body or an ogre when it is the mind inside we see? The change that turns so
many to elves, which seems to include me as well, I cannot get them to consider
since it is not of their will. Perhaps there will be many people that may well
come to like such a change but I am one of those that would like my half-elf
blood to stay half-elf.”
Jade looked at him steadily and
thoughtfully. “Excuse my impertinence Lord of Justice but I think you dislike
more the fact that the Elf Lord may acquire power over you. Form is nothing but
a convenience, an elf form is as good as another and better than most. Like
many around us, you look at the consequences of this turn of events. In my Land
we have a Curse that is pronounced. ‘May you live in interesting times.’ You
and I live in interesting times for the world cares not and things must always
change. Do not fall into Gerrain’s trap of becoming too complacent that you do
not realize what affects your actions will have on the world. Can you not look
at the benefits you have gained from the change? If you cannot stop a change
then why should you worry over it? I must depart now for my meeting. Fare you
well King Sirron, we will meet again soon.” Jade bowed deeply
Sirron left the castle but waved
away the guards that Galebolt had suggested for his protection since he didn’t
know his way around. He thought deeply on what Jade Pearl had said to him. Jade
was a strange woman but he still could not put a name to her strangeness. He thought
of her words. He could either take action himself, like Twiggs and others. He
could accept the consequences of those actions or he could do nothing. If he
did nothing then he should not worry about it further. He smiled for Jade had a
most unusual mindset for a human. It was almost Cy Clan like. The question she
had raised came back. Maybe he was not as helpless as he thought. Perhaps he
just needed an opening. Opportunities could come in the smallest of
circumstances and if Twiggs could use Sirron’s power and link might he not be
able to do the same? It would bare some thought but the dangers of this could
be very great.
Many visitors to other countries,
especially the Ruler’s were chaperoned from site to site and
festivity-to-festivity. Due to the current crisis Sirron would have had many
guards and functionaries around him and would have been carefully diverted from
one safe area to another. The Jelgai was unusual in that they did not seem to
care if he did walk about. This was refreshing in many ways. Cy Clan were well
traveled so he created little interest and was able to observe the everyday
life here. He entered the market place. The stalls were rough-hewn wood and not
even painted. It was not real colorful but it was crowded. Much of the items were
sold from the back of wagons pulled by strange hairy beasts. The beasts stood
only about two feet high but were at least four feet long and looked something
like a fish with four feet and a long tail. Course hair long and sparse grew
from scaly armored hides and he noted that they had large mouths filled with
jagged teeth. Sirron was interested and approached a young farmers daughter who
was selling buzz berries from the back of the wagon while her farmer mother
observed proudly.
The child was tiny and delicate with
brown hair and large brown eyes. She was only about 4 or five years old but
seemed to be bright and Sirron smiled inwardly at her sharp childlike mind that
saw everything as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ with no shades of gray. It was refreshing as
well. He spoke to her calmly in the normal Cy Clan manner by first bowing
slightly. “Greetings Citizen. I am considering purchasing your wares, what cost
do you place upon them?” The little child surprised him by bowing deeply in
response. She had obviously been well trained to recognize a Cy Clan Master for
her bow was perfection.
“Honored Sir, we sell by the pint or
the quart whichever you prefer. The cost of a pint is 5 copper pieces and the cost
of a quart is 10 copper pieces. I you purchase a crate which is 16 quarts it
will only cost you 150 coppers.” Sirron looked at the berries carefully and
they were recently picked, clean and ripe they were obviously part of a small
farm. “I have little use for a crate but perhaps if you would deliver the your
good s for me I would be more than delighted to purchase all of your wares. I
would of course give you ample payment for your trouble. I am also new here and
desire some information. Those strange beasts that pull your wagon, for
instance, what are they?” he handed the Mother a handful of gold much to her
astonishment with orders to deliver it to Extensive with his Platinum Account
Number. The Mother was astonished.
The girl laughed quietly at her Mother
and was proud of her sale. She smiled brightly at Sirron. The beasts are called
Gridels and are native to the Jelgai. The Giants who ruled this land created
them here many years ago. They were used as hunting dogs and can be quite
fierce. After the Giants were overthrown they ran wild in packs. We eventually
caught and tamed them and now find them very useful. However, be wary of their
bite for they are fierce creatures. I am not sure we can safely deliver all
this to where you wish, though.” The child looked sad and the mother was trying
to quiet her. Sirron motioned the mother back and spoke again.
“The delivery is not far away and
you will not find it inconvenient or dangerous. Why should you be so concerned
for that? You obviously traveled safely to here from your home and I would not
ask you to travel far to deliver a wagon of berries.” Sirron spoke suspecting
the answer. It was soon confirmed. “Forgive my daughter Cy Clan Master for she
is young. Her father was a half blood elf and suddenly changed and went crazy
one night. He complained loudly that he could not bear to live amongst dead
things and found us repulsive! He broke free despite our attempts to stop him
and fled into the forest insanely screaming that he must return to his master.
Our child was greatly affected and fears for her father.” The mother suddenly
broke in with tears in her eyes. The child spoke swiftly, “I have heard that
the Elf King steals children. He is evil. He stole my daddy. I wish my daddy
could come back and the elf king is punished for his crimes.” Sirron looked at
her and could see the anger and hatred she had for the Elf King. It was pure
and innocent and he suddenly perceived, well deserved. Sirron spoke calmly.
“AS YOU WISH SO BE IT!” He abruptly
vanished.
When Sirron appeared again he was
facing Twiggs in his Throne Room at King’s Tree. Twiggs glared at the Cy Clan
King. “What are you doing here? I should have you killed!” growled Twiggs.
Sirron bowed in respect. “I come to warn you Mighty King. You may kill me if
you wish to do so or you may consider my words to you and I will leave.” Sirron
waited calmly. Twiggs looked at Sirron warily. “You come to warn or threaten? I
have received many threats of late Cy Clan. I am in no mood for further threats
from you or your trouble making kind.”
Sirron looked at Twiggs gravely
without fear, “Warnings are many times a threat or they would not be warnings.
I tell you this. A child told me that you have stolen her Father. He is now an
elf. Whether you did this willingly or unwillingly the damage is done. Whether
you did this in a good cause or bad it is done. The child will grow without her
father and the last memory they have is he is a raging hateful animal. They
must now struggle on their farm to try to survive without a husband and father
to train them. You are guilty of this on a worldwide basis. They have asked me
for Justice and I grant it to them freely on behalf of all the lives you have
ruined in your lust for power!”
Twiggs looked at Sirron in disbelief
and contempt. “You dare pit your powers against me when I was fighting the Dark
Lord? I who risked all to banish an evil so terrible that many shudder at the
mere mention of his name? Yes some people were hurt but compared to what was
accomplished it is little.”
Sirron nodded, “You did indeed
perform a great service. I honor that fact and thank you for it, for I know the
price you paid, but you were not the only one to pay a price. I recognize that
fact and hence my warning to you. You have done grave damage. Make it Right or
suffer my curse. I tell you this Elf King, how will you feel when your daughter
is the one affected and pulled from you as the girl’s father was pulled from
her? For I will give her the Justice she asks. You have only a short time to
consider for that is the power of Mercy that I give to you. ” Twiggs roared in
anger and the guards rushed at the Cy Clan King. Twigs leveled his staff and
fired but the bolt passed through the Vanished King with no affect. A search
was made but no sign of the Cy Clan could be found. The Child Arase slept
peacefully in her quarters as Twiggs thought.
Sirron had reappeared back at his
palace. Oshima who had grave news for
him quickly greeted him. “Your Majesty. Councilor Estelle has arrived despite
your orders that she go to Namarushta. She states she has resigned her position
and taken a new position with King Rahvin of the Nylss Mountains and no longer
serves our country! She has brought with her the kidnapped advisor of Shennu
Jade Pearl. She states she does this to prove the righteousness of Rahvin’s
cause. Both are currently being held under guard until you can deal with them.
Sirron
followed Oshima to the main hall where Estelle, Jade Pearl and a number of Cy
Clan were over watching the two of them to make sure no CHAOS would occur. Upon entering he could see that Estelle was
standing while Jade Pearl had been offered a seat in the hall. As he moved towards his throne he looked at
Jade to see if any damage had been done to her. Jade understood Sirron’s look
and returned a nod, which quietly informed him that she had not been harmed or
mistreated. Sirron looked at Jade strangely.
“You seem to have some powers of foresight. Most interesting for I see
you’re correct. We do meet again…and quite soon it is.”
He then
turned his attention towards Estelle. He could see that she had yet to
understand the events that had unfolded which had caused her father his death.
Sirron spoke quietly to his advisor. “Oshima has told me that you wish to
speak. Something about proving Rahvin’s
innocence in the kidnappings?”
Estelle spoke with no trace of emotion
showing in her voice, face or stance.
“Since you miss the obvious so much I thought it best to explain things
at length to you so that there will be no misunderstanding between us. First I
can no longer serve you. You are leading our people down the road to
destruction. I have hereby resigned my position as Advisor in the Chaka Forest
and have taken on a new position in the government of the Nylss. It is on their
behalf that I have come here at Rahvin’s request. My reasons for doing so are
numerous and I suspect you will never understand them. I will not go into them
here. I will though deal immediately with the matter had hand. Rahvin wishes me
to tell you that your Justice is a corrupt and weak thing.”
Sirron
was not shocked by this revelation. He had seen the signs coming and although
he had yet to look into the future, he could easily tell that Estelle would
continue down a road she should not have taken. He listened gravely as she
continued the words of her Shadowy master. “You and others accused My King of
Kidnapping and levied penalties without first looking for facts. Your Justice
is little more than vigilantism! You allowed others to commit crimes against us
and your so-called alliance was worthless. Rahvin gives you this final warning.
Beware lest you suffer the fate of Jarod the Peacemaker! He has had me deliver
you Jade Pearl for two reasons. The first is to show you that he can easily get
to anyone he chooses. He need not hide his actions, but chose to do so for his
own reasons. The second is to prove that he has no need to take her. The real
culprit as is well known now is the Evil Elf King you seem to deal with so
much.”
Sirron: “That is not your only reason. You mouth the
words of Rahvin but your hatred comes from another source. You are a flawed
person for you let emotions color your Cy Clan training and it will cause you
great harm in the future. I care not how Rahvin speaks it. The kidnappings were
a criminal act no matter how many or how few he performed. Jade’s kidnapping is
just another injustice done with your very hands and masterminded by him you
serve. His return of her proves nothing of his innocence and certainly adds
more to his guilt and your own. Rahvin got the Justice he rightfully deserve
and probably requires even more for the blood of many is on his hands. That
will come in it’s own time just as Twiggs will pay for the crimes he has
perpetrated.”
Estelle
looked with disgust at the King. “You
continue to speak and use the word ‘justice’ as if you truly understood what it
is but where is your justice for the killing of my father? Your Justice is only
for a selected few it seems and does not appear to be very reliable or
noteworthy. While my father spoke of emotional control he also stated decisions
must be made from the heart. You are more monster than Rahvin for you have no
heart at all, just an over powering arrogance and greed for power. You will not
admit this even to yourself.”
Jade
continued to observe quietly saying nothing as Sirron and Estelle spoke. For Cy
Clan they were both locked in an emotional struggle that neither could hope to
cope with. Sirron wanted Estelle to understand why he had to do what he did,
that he had little choice in the matter. Estelle would never accept that view
and would never forgive Sirron for the death of her father. The hatred she had
would never end until she had destroyed them both no matter what the
consequences. Sirron would keep trying but in Jade’s opinion it was a false
view that did not match the facts. It was not her concern though and she said
nothing.
Sirron had
continued to speak. “You’re father was
a powerful king with a good grasp upon the concept of justice, but he never
fully understood its form and meaning.
He knew that his actions throughout his life forced him to create many
enemies, too many of them, to the point that he had to die to protect the
people of Chaka Forest as any good king would have done. He preferred to die
upon capable hands rather than an outside force.”
Estelle: “You continue to speak excuses! You still
mouth words to ease your conscience? Have you learned nothing from this last
month? The Kings do not easily rise up against even an obvious enemy like the
Dark Lord! How long has he existed and his crimes were more than what you would
consider my fathers to have been! My Father understood more than you give him
credit for. Under his rule there was peace and plenty for all. You with your
inept attitude and disorganized views are more chaotic than Rahvin is! Does
this bring you joy ‘Mighty King’,” she stated sarcastically. “You are more of a
menace to society than Rahvin himself. With your link to Twiggs you are the
next toady to the Dark Lord. Hail your new Master the Lord of Evil, Twiggs
Barkhaven.”
Sirron shook
his head sorrowfully. “Hatred blinds
you and will cause you to perform more and more evil. I only continue to speak
the truth. Gerrain chose to die at my
hands and it was his choice. I could not have changed that if I had wanted to.
Understand this once more, he died of his own free will by my hands. He trained me himself, he sent me on the
mission Cyber Estelle, and his powers would’ve foretold the coming of me to
Kinghood. Should he have known that I
was incapable or my view of justice ill he would’ve resolved the situation then
and there.”
Estelle spoke
coldly. “I grow tired of your excuses.
It is always the same thing you repeat. If I was not convinced before what
makes you think I will be convinced now? Why don’t you drop your efforts to
convince me and TRY to deal with the realities and more important matters of
this situation? What are your words to Rahvin and what of the curse that you so
thoughtlessly placed upon him? How will you make recompense for your errors? ”
Sirron spoke
calmly. “Since you wish to drop the
matter then I will give you my answer. I cannot speak of the other kings but my
part of it should have been relinquished.
I continue to learn about the powers that I have attained as a Cy Clan
and my training always will continue.”
Estelle was
at first surprised and then nodded in agreement. “What? That is your answer?” Seeing no change in the Cy Clan
Kings face she continued. “Of course it is. Again you waffle and pretend
nothing of consequence has happened. You are an ostrich Sirron. You bury your
head in the sand and think you are safe. A King is the head of his country and
the country the body. Can you live without a body Sirron? Bury your head and
think it protected. You will never see the predator that will rip your body
apart.”
Sirron
changed the subject. “Did you not know
that a council was presently held to investigate into the matters of the
kidnapping?” Estelle was not caught off guard.
“Of course I did! Jarod told Rahvin everything and we saw the part each
and every one of you played in this. What has that to do with anything? You personally are still guilty of cursing
Rahvin when he was innocent.”
Sirron: “You may have known of it but I doubt you
understand what it all meant and what the outgrowth has been from it. Rahvin’s
supposed spy network would’ve gained that information easily and the results of
our discussion most promptly. The
Towers did investigate for us and will handle the matter further to see if the
information Rahvin has provided is truthful in nature or not. As more information is revealed and lends
itself to expose the true culprit of the crimes, justice will prevail. Since Rahvin was not FULLY guilty the powers
contributed towards the curse has receded.
Once again you follow what you feel led by your false emotions but not
of reasoned thought like a true Cy Clan should. The powers of justice work in a
way that those understanding true justice would be able to view and
comprehend. Should Rahvin have
cooperated with the investigation when I asked for it he would’ve saved himself
much discomfort. What he brought upon himself was Justice but tempered with
Mercy he did not suffer as greatly as you pretend. We made sure of that. Let us
hope your Master learned his lesson.”
Estelle spoke
emotionlessly again and would not be led back into an argument about her own
motives. She continued to present Rahvin’s side of the argument. “Rahvin was acting under the stated and
accepted mercenary principles which must be upheld. If he gave out the sources of his dealings, his business would
crumble. These principles have been set down by Extensive and all Kings have
been agreeable to them. Rahvin had a contract to perform this action. The
Contract states that the principle wanted privacy. You COULD have checked with
Betred or your local Extensive people! You do have Platinum Service do you not?
They could have told you such a contract does exist! This is all the ‘PROOF’
Rahvin needs to present. What you did was a blatant and unprovoked attack upon
his country. While you are a more powerful King now, power is not everything.
Lesser Kings have beaten more powerful Kings before. All it takes is brains.
Your argument is worthless.”
Sirron spoke
harshly and out of patience. “Has he
not done that in the end? He was
betrayed by the source of his so-called contract. He gladly turned our
attention towards it when he finally realized the strength of those who wished
justice. As for you? You now swear
under the flag of a king who acts in such a fashion. You have disgraced your father’s name and wasted the time spent
by him trying to teach you the ways of justice. Leave now. Your position
of councilor is now hereby revoked.
Your allegiance has switched and hence you are no longer Cy Clan. You will be treated from now on as a
foreigner. I give mercy in that I will
not strip you of your powers for your wrongdoings.”
Estelle spoke
acidly the disgust and hatred in her voice clear to all who watched. “Such wonderful ‘Mercy’.” She laughed
scornfully. “You dare not touch me for I am a messenger from another country.
To harm me would bring so much down upon you that others in this country would
see you as you truly are. Mouth your words of Justice and Mercy and know that
you still cannot take a decisive action. Rahvin will not forget the damage you
caused and you still owe us. We will soon be repaid. I believe the Dark Lord
will be arriving here next month? The effects should be interesting.”
Sirron had
enough and his patience with the stubborn woman was at an end. “You are to
leave at once. Know this though on
month three there will be a moment of silence to pay our respects to Gerrain
for what he has done. Should anyone wish
to cause problems here in Chaka Forest or try to come to the praying session
uninvited it will be a considered a disrespect and I will make sure justice is
served.”
Estelle
glared at the King. “You use my fathers memory to raise yourself before his
people. You sully his name and honor! Then you should know this. You may have your silly prayer but it will
not protect you from the Dark Lord. Now you have made this a challenge. Rahvin
will be there.” She turned to Jade and spoke, “Skragg is also invited. While my
Master and yours do not always agree they still respect each other.”
Jade nodded
thoughtfully, “I have already received my invitation from the Master of
Disaster, Dick Helmet. I would not dare to refuse that invitation, for the
consequences could be deadly. I will also accept those of your Master as his
guest as well on behalf of Extensive. I believe Betred has shown an interest
and may well attend.” Jade turned to Sirron. “I think you will discover that
this party will not be stopped Lord of Justice. Know you this that the Dark
Lord has reserved the Extensive Enterprises Facility on your Land for his
party. You cannot interfere on that Land lest you break your own treaties. May
I suggest that you still have time to avoid any unpleasant consequences of this
visit if you do as the Dark Lord requested of you? If you chose not to that is
your choice of course, but I see no LEGAL and JUST way you can prevent it.”
Estelle
smiled brightly at Sirron. “I’ll see you at the party I am sure and I will be
next to Rahvin. You will realize he is more a man than you will ever be and
that you will never have me. I wish you well at the party Sirron the Ostrich!”
Sirron looked at her intently and
smiled a slight smile “Rahvin a better
man? I do not believe that is the case and will go to great pains to show
you. In the meantime I would be happy
to grant you your wish. As You Wish it, SO BE IT!”
Before
Estelle could respond she disappeared, banished back to the Nylss and the beast
she had chosen. Jade smiled grimly and
looked at Sirron. She spoke calmly. “I hope Rahvin enjoys his new queen and his
party but it may not be quite as he envisioned it. I suspect you are both due
for some surprises.” Sirron just smiled.
“The opportunities for travel are what I like best about being a
Warlord. After all one should try new things and dining out is a big part of
that.”
The Vampire King
Jade Pearl
had arrived in the Jelgai Range to visit with Galebolt. She had been especially
chosen by Skragg to stand in for him since Rahvin as well as others would be
closely watching the Emperor. The Jelgai was considered to be a low prestige
place where things seldom ever happened and it suited her purpose nicely. She
was here to discuss the ‘Rahvin’ situation and possible steps they might wish
to take concerning his recent activities.
Her sedan chair carried by eight stalwart men worked it’s way along the
finely rune crafted trail to Galebolt’s palace where this meeting was to take
place.
Jade
Pearl was a small delicate woman only four feet tall and had very long, soft
and smooth hair. Her face was expressionless with large soft Jade colored eyes.
Her skin was very pale for a Shennuian and hence her name after the fabulous
gem. Jade was a very quiet woman and not given to flamboyance. Calm, diffident,
controlled and reserved she was the type of secretary that Skragg had to have.
Her boss was both temperamental as well as demanding and Jade had survived a
long time in her position. Others had not. Her manners and demeanor were
impeccable. She was surprised that Galebolt was outside awaiting her and a red
carpet had been officially rolled out. He was obviously surprised to see her
step daintily out of her chair.
“I
thought Skragg was coming.” He blurted in surprise. Jade formally bowed in respect. “Please excuse my impudence; My
Master believes it would not suit your purpose if he were to come directly
himself. He thought you might wish also to question me on the attempted
kidnapping and he thinks that a first hand account would be better than his
second hand one. He sends his respects but states that especially Rahvin and
his cohorts closely watch him. He did not wish to cause you additional trouble
by leading him here. He states this will give us time to plan quietly.”
Galebolt
nodded thoughtfully. He was only
slightly taller than Jade Pearl and was amongst the smallest of the Kings, even
Granite the deceased dwarf king had been taller than he. Many had compared him
to a girl and he had taken much abuse as a child by the larger knights. He had
gone into the priesthood of his people and was known to be a great scholar but
that won him little of the respect of the other Kings. Galebolt nodded to Jade, “I see. Your Master
is as usual correct and I see the wisdom of his sending you. You are welcome on
his behalf of course. I have yet to receive replies from the other rulers I
have contacted. If they do not appear in a reasonable time then we will make
our plans without them. “
“Normally
I would have Tylaa escort you but she has also been a victim and we have not
been able to trace her as yet. We suspect Twiggs quickly traced Estelle. He has
the ability to discover elves swiftly, if not him then Sirron most likely
located her with his mental powers. I have other advisors though and I think my
Science Advisor Mondragon will make an excellent replacement.”
Jade bowed,
“You honor me beyond my small station. I have heard much of Mondragon for he is
amongst the most prolific of the inventors. I would be honored greatly if he
would deem to guide me.” Galebolt was satisfied and quickly passed her off to
the old man in the black robes and the brilliant Flame Gem on a gold chain on
his chest. He motioned her forward and led the way to a series of rooms. Her
luggage had already arrived and had quickly been packed away for her. Jade
Pearl’s face showed nothing.
Mondragon
spoke in his deep voice, “I will allow you some time to rest and refresh
yourself. If you need assistance just pull the servants call and your requests
will be seen to. You will understand the King will be busy with several other
rulers and of course as only advisors we will have to await their convenience.
I leave you to your rest.” Abruptly he turned and departed.
Jade
nodded and carefully shut the door but did not engage the lock. She walked
examining the room and then went to where her books and case had been set up.
Taking a book entitled ‘Philosophy of Shangzi, The Rule of Shennu and how
Emperor Skragg brought order from Chaos!’ She turned to the balcony and seating
herself comfortably in lotus. She began to read quietly. The observer watching
from the hidden portal in her room was a member of Tylaa’s spy network. She
would also act as Jade’s servant. None of Skragg’s people would be allowed to
move freely here. She took Mondragon’s viewer to see what the girl was reading
and saw:
Legalism holds law as the supreme
authority. There are three components to Legalism: fa (law), shi (legitimacy),
and shu (arts of the ruler).
In Fa Skragg educates us thusly: The Law.
Previously, in Shennu, the law was pretty much at the discretion of the
ruler. No one was really sure what the law was, since the ruler could make and
change the rules as he saw fit. Supposedly, this was to give the ruler the
opportunity to show benevolence in certain circumstances. But obviously, this
system makes for easy corruption.
In Legalism, the law code is written
out and made public. All people under the ruler are equal in the eyes of the
law. In addition, the system of law runs the state, not the ruler. The ruler
and his ministers are simply parts of the state machine. A machine which will
ideally run so well that no matter how unworthy the ruler is, the laws will
still keep the state going. Laws are enforced by strict reward/punishment.
With Shi Lord Skragg shows us our
position: Legitimacy of Rule. Unlike
other philosophies, which seek out the wise and virtuous to rule, Legalism puts
the emphasis on the power of the position, not the person filling it. Legalism is
a pessimistic philosophy--while conceding that it would be wonderful to have a
sage for a ruler, the reality was that there just aren't many sages around. The
practical thing would be to have a system where even an average man could rule
and the state would stay intact. Keeping order is the first priority.
In other words, whoever is ruler is
powerful because the position holds power, not because the person possesses any
special qualities.
What Skragg instructs us on Shu: Discussions of morality and human nature are
irrelevant in Legalism. Benevolence has no place in ruling a state because
unless a strong, strict hand rules people, they grow lazy and disrespectful of
authority. Policies based on benevolence might work for the short term, but
inevitably lead to disorder and failure.
Legalism disregards the
past--conditions were different back then, so what worked back then will not
necessarily work in the present time.
Pitfalls to avoid while running a
state: Skragg tells us to be wary of putting too much trust in ministers and
concubines. He also warns greatly about
offending more powerful states. Other
chapters discuss techniques of ruling.
"Two Handles" talks about the
power over reward and punishment as the key to staying in power. If the ruler
lets go of this power, he puts himself in danger of losing order in his state.
Rewards should be rich and certain so
that they will attract the people.
Punishments should be severe and
definite so that the people will fear them.
Laws should be uniform and steadfast so
that the people will be familiar with them.
Consequently,
the sovereign should show no wavering in bestowing rewards and grant no pardon
in administering punishments, and he should add honor to rewards and disgrace
to punishments--when this is done, then both the worthy and the unworthy will
want to exert themselves.
However, he also cautions us that the
punishment must be REASONABLE and should fit the crime. It should never be
overdone nor under used for both ways can lead to anarchy. The law must be
spelled out with a graduated scale of punishment so that an appropriate
punishment is chosen to fit the crime. Laws should not be one size fits all.
This leads to unification and trust.
“Sheesh!”
thought the spy. “That Skragg was one wordy Son of a Bastiage and she couldn’t
believe anyone would want to read this stuff to relax! Those Shennuian people
must be brainwashed or something!” She continued to watch and suddenly giggled.
Word was that Sirron was looking to recreate the view of Justice! She wondered
what he would make of Skraggs view.
Jade
Pearl appeared to be studying the book closely but in actuality she was aiding
Skragg in his ceremony. Much like the
recent journey books in use in Tlashtek, books and papers could now be a
communication channels to Skragg or those he designated. She was, even as the
watcher observed her, in communication with the large ape.
“Master,
I have arrived safely and with no further attacks by the Vampires. I have met
Galebolt and he is waiting to see if the others will arrive for the summit. My
belongings were of course searched under the guise that they were putting them
away for me. Even now I am under observation by Tylaa’s people and Mondragon.”
Jade Pearl continued to read pushing her thoughts through the book. “ She heard
the ape chuckle.
“Very
well, let them look, they will see nothing. I have talked to Jarod and he
should be there shortly. He will oppose our aims I am sure but it may be
possible to convince him. I have as yet heard nothing from Elaine or Sirron but
I suspect that in their own interests it would be wise for them to show. Expect
them. What do you know of the Church of
Magicology?” The ape spoke chaotically changing the subject.
Jade
Pearl was used to the sudden whims of her Master and responded without
hesitation. “It started out as a little
known Bipars cult under the rule of Zozan.
The Traders clan in the Nylss recruited many of the priesthood for they
are well traveled through all the Extensive facilities. The cult has been a fairly poor and is a
very low profile religion with only limited acceptance in many local peasant
villages but not in the main city. Rumor has it that recently the Cult was
given several very large financial donations by Mar of the Dark Lands as part
of the Dark Lords wishes if he did not return right away. The cult saw this as a sign of Dark Lord
repentance and Artuneys Sendant who reports to a Spiritual Advisor in hiding
now nominally leads it. It was felt that the advisor should hide for the rulers
of this world would most likely see the cult as a threat and would attempt to
eliminate its head.”
Skragg’s
thoughts were touched by rage, “One of their priests approached Betred. They
wanted him to start a publicity campaign on their behalf. In return for large
donations, bribes, they would offer him good publicity. Betred of course
refused their attempt to blackmail him and informed me. Neither did he accept
their contract. The priest was not happy. Now they have started to circulate
flyers and posters that preach sedition against the crown rulers in
retaliation. Many of their lies could be believed and we may have to put down
scores of peasant revolts at a time when our plans are doing so well. “
“Master,
these people are dangerous. Betred would have been better off paying the bribe
money. The money is nothing. Good publicity is a must in his position. It is to
late now. We must declare this church as outlaw and send Cy Clan to arrest
them. Their priests should be executed, terribly, as traitors and many rulers
should immediately ban them as soon as possible. Betred must contact the other
rulers and get them all to agree. Do not take this threat lightly.” Jade Pearl
stated calmly.
Skragg
appeared amused, “You know me so well. It was my first thought as well. I have
sent a message to Betred and will try to convince him. If I were you I would
also use the opportunity to bring this to the others rulers attention while you
are there. I will release counter propaganda as well. I shall speak more on
this with you later.” The book on Skraggs side was closed and Jade arose and
placed her book back in the bookshelf.
Jarod should be here soon and she walked out her door and down the hall.
She was not surprised to see Mondragon coming quickly up the hall. The watcher
had obviously summoned him.
“It
is not wise for you wander these halls unescorted child.” Stated Mondragon
diplomatically. “Rahvin I am sure has not given up on acquiring you so that he
might discover the secrets of your Emperor. Still there was no harm done this
time, for I was sent to bring you to Galebolt and Jarod who are even now
conversing. Word has been received from
both Sirron and Elaine that they will attend although both seem to desire a more
passive view than that which your Master espouses. Still, I must ask you that
if you wish to move around, that next time you summon an escort.” He looked at
her pointedly.
Jade
Pearl bowed deeply. “Please excuse my rude and thoughtless behavior. I will
follow your request most closely next time.” Mondragon seemed satisfied and led
her into the Throne Room where Galebolt and Jarod were discussing Skragg’s
original letter to them. Jade began to listen carefully as Jarod was speaking
quietly to Galebolt who sat listening intently as well.
Jarod: “We must not be hasty in inviting the chaos of war. If we are to
throw our peoples into a meat grinder we only serve to help the aims of those
such as Rhavin. He IS chaos. For every soldier and protector that dies in
battle against him, Rhavin's numbers will only swell. Vampires are not a force
to be trifled with and if we are to react like the jerk of a knee then we risk
dooming ourselves to threats unseen. We should first turn our eyes towards
protecting our people and deterring Rhavin from attack.”
“He used the
Towers of Tpsolei to attack us for the sea-lanes were too well protected and
the air was buzzing with my squadrons of great hawks and their riders. We
should remove this avenue of attack from him. I propose that we tear down the old
towers and replace them with new ones, ones that can be regulated to prevent
armed forces from overrunning an instrument that can be used for peace. Towers
should only be used for peaceful trade and travel, not underhanded assaults.”
“My advise to
Skragg, is that before he or any other jumps up and objects, we need not worry
about lost profits and lawsuits from Extensive. We shall fortify the current
towers until the new ones are in place. The new towers will in no way stop
Extensive from contracting out barbarian hordes, it just means that we can
defend ourselves better as the horde arrives unarmed. If our own armies need to
traverse through these towers, then they must get the permission from the land
they wish to arrive at. Since Rhavin and the others will be using their
outdated towers, Skragg and you Galebolt will not be restricted from your
attack. Can we reach an agreement that defense and prevention to preserve the
peace should be our primary concern?
Jade Pearl
waited until Jarod appeared to have finished and the silence lasted for a short
bit then she bowed to them both as Galebolt made the introductions and
explained that she was to be the spokes person for the Emperor of Shennu. Jade
with head bent in respect spoke quietly to Jarod. “Excuse my ignorance on
matters of peace Mighty King, for I know little of it. My Master takes a more
pragmatic view of the situation. He thinks of Rahvin much as a spoiled child
who must be spanked for his bullying and temper tantrums. He states if a child
is not disciplined it does not learn right from wrong. In this case Rahvin is a
King. How do you intend to discipline him without attacking his country? For if
we do not show him what lines NOT to cross he will continue to do so as he
finds it profitable. Also what of the other woman he has stolen? Who will he
take next? Twiggs child? Kristiana? Breeze, Lorega, or Rebecca even Elaine
herself? What woman will be safe from his grasp? Would you leave them there in
his evil hands? You buy Peace at a heavy price but we have other options
besides war.”
Jade
looked at both Kings gravely. “If you would not use war, why not embargo?
Petition Extensive to intercede on our behalf. If this is not enough, Why not
put a curse on him. We have many Kings and a curse upon the gold he took would
be most efficient in effect. Or base the curse on the killing and crimes he
committed and this would also have a powerful affect.” She looked at Jarod
calmly. “You have power over water. His people need to drink, crops need water.
He needs water for industry. Deprive him of these until he repents and makes
restitution! Backed by Sirron’s Justice and Elaine’s Miracles you would be sure
to have a powerful affect on his lands and people for there is no blood where
there is no water. With all Kings acting in concert Rahvin can soon be brought
to heal. Skragg the Emperor of Knowldege freely offers this gift as part of his
contribution and is willing to act as Advisor on this Matter to whoever you
designate as the leader of this incident.”
Jarod
spoke, "I will agree to an embargo, but not to the extent you wish. How
can we justify punishing civilians, many who are innocent? If I am to sever
their water supply, we must have an agreement on humanitarian relief. But I do
not see how we will accomplish our aims. Vampires do not require water and
Rhavin does not strike me as someone with compassion for his people. While the
peasants die of thirst, Rhavin can continue to thrive. We must strike him in a
tender spot. “
“You raised
an interesting point with a curse. With this many kings it is strong magic. Why
not close his borders and place the curse instead on his people. We can spoil
Rhavins plan. If the blood of his people is inedible to him and he cannot
receive other food sources he will slowly wither. Extensive has shown us time and again that Barbarians will do
anything for a price. I propose we contract them into a defensive role. Force
them to protect the peasant population of their own country while barring them
from acting in offensives. If our quarrel is with Rhavin then let us separate
him from his barbarian hordes. I see no
need to sacrifice our troops in a bloody offensive when we can simply bottle
him up within his borders and dig in.
Galebolt
spoke warmly, “I think Jade makes more sense than your plan. I can see why
Skragg keeps you around or did this come from your Master? At any rate Jarod
you say put a curse on the blood of his people. Is that the same as denying his
country water? His people will either flee from his land or revolt. We cannot
afford the long period your lesson will take. Also if Rahvin cannot feed from
his people he will replace them with ones he can feed from. Would you invite
another attack?”
Jarod
spoke, “As I have just informed your
envoy, I see no problem in cursing. Cursing his gold has a certain poetic
justice to it. I am not ruling out the severing of the water supply, but I
wished to avoid placing the hardship on the peasants. Can we find a way that
would strike directly at Rhavin and his inner circle? Do not confuse my desire
to examine all options as an unwillingness to take a stand. If there is no
preferable option to force, then I will order the Atlantian military to act.
But, if we can preserve the lives of our soldiers and limit the risk to
civilians, I will choose that over warfare.
Jade spoke
questioningly. "May I ask what
form will your curse take? Your power is water and you have the largest fault
against him. If you do not use your power as the initiator against him then
what will you use? Will you throw sand in his eyes? You have to get very close
to do that and he will be wary. It would be dangerous for you to do so.
However, if you agree, I think a list of our requests to him for retribution
would be the peaceful way. If he does not comply then make your curse. Is this
reasonable?"
Jarod nodded
in agreement. “This is reasonable. After much consideration and discussion with
my advisors, I have determined our best course of action should be this.
1) Establish a well dug in and reinforced
military blockade of all of
Rhavin's borders. Sever towers links, place
air squadrons on alert
for Splud intercept duties.
2)Sever the water supply momentarily and
issue an ultimatum. Demand reparations in monetary forms and order the
immediate release of
anyone held against his or her will that is a
citizen or permanent resident
of a country participating in the action or
their allies. Give him one
hour to comply with ultimatum. (Forces on
high readiness at this
point)
3)If ultimatum is not met, sever all water
flow, drain wells and
cisterns, evaporate ground water and that
stored in canteens and
other storage devices and remove all cloud
cover. Be ready with rescue
parties to liberate
captured women. Issue warning that if they are harmed attacks will be made.
4) Begin siege of territory and repel any
attacks.
5) Determine further plans of action,
including order of battle,
tactics, etc.
The Atlantian
Peace Force will supply a large number of landships, particularly those
equipped with long range batteries and light attack ships for rapid response
duty to weakened lines. Line troops will be provided to bolster defensive
perimeter but WILL not participate in offensive action at this time. Special
forces will be on standby to assist in a rescue operation at the approval of
the council of ministers. Flights of war hawks and archer riders will be based
behind the lines to intercept incursions by Rhavin's forces. All military
deployments are subject to final approval when an agreement is made.”
Jade observed
Jarod steadily for several moments.
"For a man of peace you seem to have a love of vast armies and
large troop movements. Have you considered the logistical problems of your
plan? The cost? How will you enforce your ban since Crystallu occupies a large
portion of the Nylss border. Queen Karen will never consent to the violation of
her country and she has powerful allies. We can't include her in our
retaliation because it clearly states that she and Corman were hired as
mercenaries against your country. As far as we know as well, they took no part
in the kidnapping of advisors. In point of fact Corman lost an advisor as well.
“
“Remember we
are going after Rahvin for kidnapping not for destroying your city. If you wish
retaliation for that you must look to Damien or more obviously the Dark Lord to
gain satisfaction. I am sure Sirron will require you to adhere to the laws of
Justice and Mercy in respect as he will attempt to promote the most peaceful
resolution in respect for your views. I still suggest that no troop movements
be made at all, for I believe it will gain us little when measured against the
possible consequences of the outcome. It is of course up to you but my Master
has no intention of moving his army to the Nylss and leaving his country open
to a mercenary attack by Corman or anyone else Rahvin chooses to hire."
The meeting
broke up with little agreement on the army but the curse was put into effect.
Several days past as the curse made itself felt and Rahvin reacted to it. Harsh
were the words that were exchanged amongst several of the Kings. Accusation
followed denial followed accusation as Rahvin raged at Elaine and then Sirron
and finally Jarod. One delegate decided to enter secret negotiations with
Rahvin as a consequence.
A page
informed Galebolt of the arrival of his sister Elaine in the company of
Sirron. He watched them warily as they
approached. Sirron was obviously entranced with Elaine and seemed to be a
trifle to familiar in Galebolt’s estimation! He had heard the stories of
Sirron’s wenching and that he had been caught in Elaine’s bed with the
notorious Lorelei! He quickly and smoothly moved and separated the two. Elaine
smiled at Galebolt and spoke quickly.
“I have good
news brother. I have just talked to Rahvin and he has agreed to release Estelle
with compensation to Twiggs. He claims that he does not have the others but
delivered them to Twiggs on a mercenary contract. Now in retribution he will
join me on an attack of the Dark Lands and will allow us to each take a part of
it in recompense for our losses if we will lift the curse. I will pay him as
mercenaries. It appears we have already won!”
Galebolt was
stunned at his sister. Had Sirron suddenly turned her into a brainless idiot?
He was more diplomatic though in his response. “Interesting news my sister and
great will be your prestige over such an accomplishment but I must admit to
some trepidation in this matter.” Jade looked peacefully at them both. “Rahvin
is a known liar Elaine. He twists the truth to escape his punishment. While I am glad to see the curse has made
him wary, I suspect his talk of a Dark Lands attack is a diversion. He points
like a child at the Dark Lord and tells you this one is so much more evil than
he. Surely you would wish to go smite such a one and leave a lesser one in
peace? He still seeks to avoid his punishment and to divide our power.”
“The Lord of Knowledge, Skragg, Emperor of
Shennu so instructed me of several events you should be chary of before my
arriving. If it pleases you both I would serve you tea and we can continue to
discuss my masters wisdom. Jade summoned a servant and soon tea was brought.
She carefully poured into each cup four evenly spaced amounts of tea into each
cup. “My Master has sent this special blend of a tea he calls Oolong. This
particular blend is known as ‘Black Dragon’ and has several healthful
properties.”
“Many
seemingly little things have strange properties your Majesties. One such is the
Church of Magicology. Where the tea is helpful and serves a purpose. This Cult
carries a deadly poison hidden in its depths. My Master informed me that this
group recently approached Betred demanding bribes. If there demands were not
met they stated they would release word that he is evil to the world. Betred
refused this strong-arm tactic and the Church in retaliation did release a
document of blatant lies and untruth. My Master believes that this Cult should
be destroyed before it ferments Chaos, Destruction and Rebellion amongst the
more gullible of our people. We have discovered that it appears to be linked
with the Dark Lord.”
“Another
such gem of warning was concerning Rahvin. He is Chaotic and he is Evil. To
trust such a one to keep his word or to tell the truth is foolhardy. According
to my Master, Rahvin offered this same Dark Land’s deal to Twiggs. Twiggs it is
said refused the deal immediately. If the Elf King is wary of this deal then
why should we be willing to accept it as well? We have much to be concerned of
with the Dark Lord and if he is likely to return as the Master thinks what will
he do when he discovers what we did? Beware of angering nations that are more
powerful than your own. Skragg believes this is a trap that Rahvin has agreed
to perform for the Dark Lord to weaken us. Be chary My Lord’s and Ladies.” Even
as they reflected Jarod joined them. He did not appear glad to see that Jade
had been talking to Elaine, Galebolt and Sirron before he could reach them with
his views. His task would be harder.
Elaine
spoke softly, “Attacking Rahvin isn't really the wisest idea. We can keep him
under raps... possibly manipulate him but we have to be careful. We're walking
a thin line between defending right and abusing our lawful good status.”
Jarod
nodded as well, “I have also had some further words quietly with our friend
Rahvin. Rahvin talks of a lack of evidence as well as proof. He hides behind
legal semantics, I propose we cover that avenue and use his tactics against
him. At this time I propose a lawsuit be filed against Rahvin for the
kidnappings and participation in the attacks on Towers border and Tpsolei as
well as any other suspected actions. I have already some damning evidence. Rahvin
has admitted once again that he has Estelle and that he had the intent to
kidnap Kristina. He denies a move towards the others, but knows of their
location, making him an accessory after the fact. We've caught him with the embargo, but what do you say we make it
legal?” Seeing no takers he continued quickly to make his point.
“I
believe that the lawsuit will not be necessary, but I am negotiating with
Rahvin to assist in the return of the missing women and in having him
participate in an inquest where he can clear his name. Also, I am currently
striking a deal for the invasion of the Dark Lands. I would like to formalize
our treaty before this and would like it if the Towers and Chaka would
participate in this deal to split the Dark Lands into thirds. If you’re
interested I have further details on our negotiations that I will share with
you.” Elaine had been about to speak but she quickly stopped in shock looking
at Jarod. Rahvin had been secretly negotiating with them both to do the same
thing. She was suddenly wary. Only Galebolt appeared to notice the sudden
change in her attitude and he nodded to her in perfect agreement.
Jade
Pearl shook her head in negation. "My Master states that if you are
satisfied that you have completed your punishment on Rahvin and wish to
withdraw your curse. Then he will abide by your final decision. He will however
chose NOT to be a part of this deal. I thank you for your time and attention
and will now withdraw." Jarod did not appear surprised but answered back quickly.
“Then
I have been saved the trouble of even asking your master. Does this also mean that he will be shirking
away from any benefits given to him by the invasion? Does he wish to be
excluded from the inquiry into Rahvin's actions? Should I conclude that he does
not wish to assist in the return of the captured women from his land? Begging
the pardon of your master, what has he contributed to this operation so far
aside from your excellent advice? I ask out of curiosity as to how your great
master operates.”
Jade
Pearl looked steadily at Jarod. “My Master did indeed give advice. Advice you
seemed inclined to ignore or belittle. This is of course your prerogative. He
will pursue the matter of the stolen women on his own. You will recall he
originally called this meeting to allow you all to act in concert, another
thing you seem to have forgotten. No matter. In all honesty, my Master feels
your attack on the Dark Lands is futile and foolish, especially for one who
supposedly embraces peace. You seem inclined to use your army too much for our
comfort. I say this to you. Words provoked Rahvin to destroy your city. The
Dark Lord may or may not be gone but has a long memory. I remind you he has
four times your power and four times Rahvin's power! Beware the anger of
countries that have more power than you!"
"Let us say that you ARE successful in invading his country while
he is otherwise occupied. You will have to garrison a swamp full of Monsters!
Let us assume that you will gain the riches and land without a fight. History
and Fact have proven that if Rahvin can attack you then how will you fare
defending both countries even if you divide it up? If the Dark Lord reappears
and raises the dead in every one of your countries what will be the result to
you then?"
"I must request that you pardon me if I choose to not involve my
country or my Master in a war we know cannot be won with the methods you chose
here. The gain will not be worth the price in my opinion. You ask me if I will
lay claim to the 'benefits' of your Dark Lands campaign and my answer is a
respectful 'No'. You will attain no benefits but many liabilities since you
have not made an official war declaration. If you are officially at War with
the Dark Lands, should you not make your demands known to them first to give
them the chance to avoid war, rather than make a sneak attack when you think
you can?"
"I suspect Rahvin has suggested this to you in an attempt to
break up the power of the curse and to get out from under. I do not care to dance
to Rahvin's tune and will not ally myself with one who cannot be trusted. You
ask if I give up on the rescue of the kidnapped women? The answer is that I
will not let Rahvin guide the inquiry, especially when he may well be the one
behind it all."
Sirron
spoke calmly, “Jade presents interesting points Jarod. Taking over their land
may be excessive. Would not a peace
keeping force to maintain goodwill be a better option?"
Jarod
spoke haughtily, “Let's not dabble in semantics, Sirron. We both know that any
peacekeeping force has the same effect as an occupying army. Whether I say I'm
peacekeeping or whether I say I'm their to maintain the
peace until they can self-govern, I
still have an army in their land acting as a police force and I still have my
own advisors calling allot of the shots. While I am open to hitting the Dark
Lands to free the people, I begin to suspect it is too ambitious at this time.”
Jarod
looked thoughtful for a moment and then spoke carefully. “Allow me a chance to
apologize to you and your master, Jade. I'm afraid frustration took a hold of
me momentarily. I believe you misunderstood my intentions, but in doing so you
have lead to a revelation. My intention was to free the lands of the DL and
capture as many of his advisors as possible in order to hold an international
inquiry under the eye of all kings. I wished to see his magical artifacts
examined by a tribunal of wizards from all lands and I wished to keep the peace
in the Dark Lands until such a time that the people could govern themselves
freely. Rahvin wished to engage in a military action, but he needed the curse
removed to do so. I saw an opportunity to take responsibility for a people
enslaved by darkness.”
“Your words
have, however, raised some concerns which have struck a chord throughout the
commonwealth. The DL's possible return and revenge do pose a significant threat
to the people of Atlantis, one that offsets their concern for the people of the
Dark Lands and one that even offsets their desire for the peace that would be
established. Therefore, as I have neither seen nor heard any support for this
plan from any other king, I cannot take such a step in good conscience.”
“I still ask how you
intended to proceed in the Rahvin situation. I offered many plans of actions,
as did you. Those were debated. In the end all that was agreed upon was the
curse and the blockade by my troops that prevented water shipments. I did not
wish to be drawn into a long siege where only the innocent peasants truly
suffer. That is why I have made a definite agreement with Rahvin to remove the
curse, facilitate the return of the captured women (none of which came from my
land, but I feel responsible as a member of this informal coalition to help
return), and to establish a tribunal which will seek the truth of the situation
and either clear or condemn Rahvin. It seems odd to me that there is no support
for this from other kings. Does your master prefer to cause further suffering
for Rahvin's subjects instead of actually retrieving the women?”
“So, rather than debate
these issues further, I will offer this proposition to all King's of Petal
Throne. Rahvin, myself and any other king that is interested in the truth, will
be participating in an inquest to determine the true nature of the events that
have transpired since the beginning of hostilities with Rahvin and his people.
All King's who wish to participate, PEACEFULLY, may present evidence, question
witnesses and participate in the final ruling. All of these actions must be
taken in good faith, under the flag of truce. This is not a witch-hunt. We are
not here to condemn Rahvin, but to establish the truth.”
Jade
looked at Jarod politely. "No apology is required, for are we not
discussing plans and the limits each is prepared to go to in them? Each of us
is guided by what we deem as permissible or not. We each work in limitations
that the situation presents." She moved to pour tea for Jarod. “Come
forgive my thoughtlessness and lack of courtesy and be comfortable for I am not
the Emperor and I have further questions to submit to you.”
"If I understand you
correctly you wish to create a Board to Investigate the recent crimes. This
board would be made up of selected members and they would decide the Guilt or
Innocence of Rahvin or determine a culprit. You will invite all kings to be a
part of this Board or to send a representative. Who will head this
Confederation? Who will determine the Rules it wishes to govern by? It appears
you espouse a beginning World Government. Many countries will not accept such a
body and I suspect will not take part in it."
"You do this to
determine the truth or lies of Rahvin. I say to you how many times has he
changed his story? He is like a lawyer, shifting stories depending on whom he
talks to. He does this to one to see which story you will believe and then to
another with a different line. I know Vampires kidnapped me on the orders of
their King. Out of his own mouth we know he kidnapped Estelle. Read again the
words we received from Rahvin. Did Estelle seem like she was willing? In last
months report he started the fight between Harpin and Damien in which Brittany
was killed. He did so deliberately so he could destroy your city unopposed. The
"BATMAN" issue has yet to be resolved as well. Did he not also
directly threaten you, Elaine and Sirron?"
"All of this is fact, written in the Archives of Shennu for
all to see. I need no Board to tell me if he is Guilty. I need no Trial to know
he is Guilty. My Master will not allow Rahvin to escape or delay with lies. If
you let the Vampire King go without making this clear to him and he escapes
your wrath on half-truths and lies then he will laugh at you and do more. His
lesson needs to show that world opinion and fact will hold him accountable
until he proves his own innocence based on the facts and evidence that we have
shown. Once he proves it then restitution can be made from the ones that framed
him! I believe you will find that he has not been framed and that it is
convenient to him to breed mistrust and deceit. For has he not personally
admitted to us all that he was instrumental in taking Estelle, even if you
chose not to believe my testimony at all?" Jade finished calmly and took a
sip of tea.
Jarod
turned away and later decided to open a further dialogue with Rahvin for it
seemed to him he was making little progress. He mentioned to Rahvin his
problems with convincing his allies and told him that Jade Pearl seemed to be
the most steadfast against their plans to attack the Dark Lands. Rahvin was
interested in the information of course. Now for the first time Rahvin
suspected who was the prime mover behind this curse. Skragg, of course, and the
Shennuian emperor had sent Jade to the Jelgai to meet with the others. That
Skragg was clever, he had known Rahvin would watch him and had sent his advisor
to do the work. To bad, for him, that Jarod had now betrayed her presence
there. He smiled to himself as he listened to Jarod mumble his silly
platitudes. Jade Pearl had proven most
adept at diplomacy against him. She would be a welcome addition to his group of
advisors when she had been properly ‘disciplined’. Jarod had continued to
babble filled with his own self-importance.
Jarod
continued earnestly. “I must take time to reconsider my commitment to the
original plan. The odds are severely stacked against me and any of my allies in
holding any captured Dark Lands areas and the odds are stacked against you and
your allies in taking the land. Far too much risk exists for my country and people
to proceed blindly. This does not, however, void our first agreement. I will
remove the curse and I will assist in the retrieval of the captured women. I
will assist you in uncovering the truth and clearing your name. If you require
assistance in rebuilding following the curse, an agreement can be made. Let me
know. I must discuss this situation with the other kings of the land and from
there we can determine whether this plan stands a chance.”
Rahvin spoke
harshly. "You wimp out on another agreement!!?? You are setting a bad trend, are you gutless? Surely you could work out a deal with your
allies and fellow rulers to help hold the Dark Lands, and the taking of the
Dark Lands would be MY problem, not yours.
I would be very wary of flip flopping on any more deals less you lose
Prestige or piss someone off. You
waffle worse than Sirron now!!!" The two quickly parted after exchanging
several more harsh comments.
While Jarod
was gone during the rest break, Sirron moved towards Jade to discuss the
ramifications. What astounded him though was that she appeared to be immune to
the charm of the symbiote and he felt the same about her. He wondered at her
powers. What did she have that the other woman did not that could resist the
Elf Lords power? Jade spoke to him first while he was still pondering the
mystery.
"Excuse my impudence, Lord of Justice
but do you really think it will be possible for a peace keeping force to
maintain control in such a land?" Sirron looked startled at the question.
"Wouldn't they be easily controlled after the land has been...attacked?
Most of the fighting would most likely be in opposing the initial attacking
force." Jade shook her head in polite denial of Sirron’s view.
“It is my
Master’s opinion that the monsters will remain in hiding in the swamps and pick
off stragglers for a while. They will await the DL's possible return. I suspect
the 'attack' Rahvin makes will have the appearance of fighting with little
reality. The 'Peacekeeping’ force will be the most vulnerable target after
that. I have attempted to convey this to several of the delegates when Elaine
brought this up initially. Galebolt would have followed her blindly but now she
is more wary. However Jarod seems to have tried to push this in a not so subtle
manner. Have you influence with him? This may be a time for you to use
it."
Sirron looked
at her warily. "Influence meaning in what way?" Jade smiled. "I
do not mean for you to force him with your mind powers, if that is how you took
it, I ask you to excuse my miss explained idea. I meant that he seems to value
your advice and wisdom and perhaps you should make it clear to him how you view
the current circumstances. For instance, would Rahvin be willing to have
Estelle come to us unchanged and give her testimony uninfluenced by his vampire
powers? Would this not tell us much? Surely you will know if she speaks the
truth?" Even as Sirron thought of this Jarod returned. He quickly spoke to all from some distance
away.
“My fellow
delegates I have been in contact with Rahvin. It is my belief that the first
step in gaining some sort of trust with understanding and ending this situation
with the captured women and the blockade is for us to negotiate an inquest. We
will put aside the Dark Lands attack for now since I am getting no agreement in
it.”
“I am asking
for little from my fellow kings. I ask only for you to arrive in good faith and
with integrity. All will be allowed to present evidence to a panel and all will
be allowed to cross-examine. This inquest will not pass any legally binding
judgment, nor will it pass a sentence of guilty or not guilty. The purpose of
the inquest will be for a peaceful discovery of truth. Since no one is bound to
any rulings, how can any king object to allowing Rahvin to attempt to clear his
name and allow him to be questioned? If, when this inquest is concluded and
Rahvin is believed to be responsible, then I will cancel any agreement
regarding Dark Lands invasion. If he is not guilty and you still insist on
taking action than I will not be able to support you, but I will not takes
steps to interfere for any side. My
question for all of you is, will you agree to attend an inquest into the
actions for which Rahvin is accused? If you need time to discuss this you may
continue and I will be available to answer further inquiries. Thank You.” He
then moved to confer with several others.
Jade looked
at Sirron with a startled look. "I did not realize that Jarod was holding
direct discussions with Rahvin as well. Which means now that it is very likely
that Rahvin knows we are here. That is very unwise for now he knows I am here
as well. " Sirron nodded as well. “If you wish to depart immediately I can
escort you to the Chaka Forest. Galebolts Security is untested.” Jade bowed, “I
am unable to take advantage of your most gracious offer. My Master is most
demanding and requires that I complete my tasks here. If there are obstacles I
am expected to work through them. I do have some questions for Jarod though if
you will permit me?” She bowed and walked towards Jarod and spoke quietly.
"What
would be the rules of this inquest? From where will come
it's authority? For without authority what use is it? What rights
would members who take part have in 'Veto" powers? For there must be a
check set on the judges as well. Who will preside? Who will punish and insure
all is done properly?"
Jarod spoke
quickly. “Though this is open for negotiation, here is how I see the inquest:
1) The Panel of Judges: A panel of judges
will reside over the proceedings. Their purpose is to maintain order in the
courtroom, to hear all the evidence and to right a report based on their
findings to be presented to all kings of PT. The panel will have a
representative from Tpsolei, Chaka Forest and Towers (tentatively), with two
other positions to be filled by representatives from Skragg's kingdom and
Twiggs'. No judge will have more power then another, though the Chaka
representative will be allowed to act as Chief Justice and speak for the court.
2) Rules of evidence: Any evidence can be used
by either side.
3) Veto Powers: Since there is no legally
binding ruling created by this inquest, there will be no veto powers.
4) Punishment: This inquest is a search for
the truth not a trial. If based on the evidence, the powers involved wish to pursue
punishment, that is their own prerogative and is outside the bounds of this
case. This inquest will not condemn or support any action taken by any king
following the conclusion of proceedings.
5) Authority: The authority of this inquest
comes from those who participate. By agreeing to attend the inquest, all kings
recognize the authority of this inquest to conduct proceedings and will not
attempt to interfere. Any king who attempts to interfere with the proceedings
or attempts to enter false evidence will have himself and their evidence
excluded from further proceedings.
6) Peace: All in attendance of this inquest
are expected to do so in peace. There will be no tolerance for acts of
aggression or attacks. Without peace and good faith, this inquest will not
work. It is therefore asked that all kings respect these guidelines. “
“So as a
result of this here are the actions I have decided that we should all take in
this matter and I sincerely hope no one will obstruct this peace plan.”
1) The
Curse's effects are suspended, but the curse will remain in place and ready in
case of treachery.
2) A team of vampires and Atlantiens will be
dispatched to attempt a rescue and safe return of the captured women.
3) Rahvin will stand before the inquest.
4) All talks for lifting the curse to
facilitate Rahvin's invasion
have been suspended.
5) Estelle will meet with, you Jade Pearl and
I to enter evidence to Rahvin’s innocence at the inquest.
6) The curse will be removed at such a time
when Rahvin has been proven innocent by the inquest and the captured women have
been returned by the rescue team.
Jade
nodded calmly. “I see. From this wording you seem to feel that Rahvin has
presented you with fact enough that he is indeed innocent. Unfortunately? I
have not seen those facts nor I believe have many. Based on these rules I will
attend as an observer and a witness. Lord Skragg, offers his apologies but will
be unable to attend due to the press of business. You will please excuse me for
if I am to meet with you and Estelle then I must prepare, but I find it strange
that I am suppose to enter evidence that will prove Rahvin’s innocence when I
don’t believe he is and that you are sending Atlantians and vampires to rescue
a woman he has supposedly taken.” She turned and Sirron watching looked at her
and then Jarod. He had a premonition and it was all bad!
Jarod
was pleased. “Excellent. Please send
Lord Skragg my thanks. Hopefully his example will be heeded by others.” He
finally felt that he had made serious progress in getting Jade to stop opposing
this and at least offering to support his plan. He would continue to work on
the other delegates. He spoke again to
Sirron as Jade departed. “For the
record, I do not expect people to enter evidence for or against Rahvin. I only
expect them to enter evidence. I do not believe that Rahvin is guilty or
innocent. I only know that he has been screaming his innocence and I decided to
force him to put his money where his mouth is.”
Sirron
shrugged, “Sure I will attend the inquest if it doesn't conflict with the time
schedule. When and where?" Jarod
thought for a moment. “I think on my ships would be the best place. We would be
safer with a moving command center I trust.”
Galebolt listening in the background mumbled to Elaine. Yeah and this
glory hound gets to grab the Prestige and can act like he is the boss of us
all. I got a wakeup call for Mr. Jarod. He hasn’t earned that privilege. It
should be in Sirron’s country because this is a legal matter!” Elaine motioned
him to remain silent. “Don’t make waves brother. Who ever hosts this will be a
target.” She admonished grimly.
A short while
later an Extensive agent approached Elaine as well as the other King’s and
handed each a parchment. The information was of special interest and it read, “
The country of Namarushta has just issued this memorandum to Extensive. We are
forwarding it to all clients so they may be aware of the change in policy!”
Twiggs
Barkhaven Platinum Service Holder:
"From this point on Nylss vampires are
considered agents of the Dark Lord and are to be killed immediately in
Namarushta. Further, Nylss mercenaries,
be they hired by Extensive or some other country are considered agents of the
Dark Lord unless they can prove they are not with an authorized agent of the
Towers of the Plains. Finally, 'Get out of Dungeon Free' cards are not valid in
Namarushta and will not be honored!
I'll not have that Chaos inflicted upon us." The document was
signed with the seal of the Elf King.
This
immediately caused some discussion amongst the various delegates. Surprisingly
once word had gotten out as to the location several other countries had sent
delegates to monitor the situation and to speak as well. Marla Doates had arrived from Crystallu and
was taking on more the look of a Namarushtian Elf, while Flypaper Gillespie had
also arrived. Captain Red from the
Spouting Mountains had also arrived on behalf of Damien. Harpin as usual
appeared to be clueless and had sent no one.
It was not
much longer after that when Estelle arrived escorted by four Vampires. She was
turned over to Jarod personally and four Atlantian bodyguards. Sirron protested
this stating that Estelle was a noble of his country and should be under his
control but Jarod stated he had made the deal and had to abide by his agreement
to be responsible for her. Sirron was not happy about this but his intuition
told him not to make an issue of this. He was allowed to meet with Estelle
under the watchful eye of the guards though to insure that she was unharmed.
The meeting was short but hostile.
“Greetings
Estelle,” stated Sirron, “I trust you are well and that by now you have learned
why I was forced to take the path that I took.” Estelle now a full noble
Namarushtian elf looked at Sirron her elf features betraying nothing. Her look
was cold and disdainful. “I understand better than you why you did what you
did. If you want to know if I have forgiven you a month later I am sure we both
know the answer to that question. My appearance and life have changed radically
has it not? My attitude I assure you has not. The stolen elf symbiote you carry
affects you does it not? I am more beautiful than you had imagined. I can see that you still desire me. I warn
you that it would be foolish of you to indulge in your appetites with me, for I
doubt you would survive it. I have heard you have made demands that I should be
returned to you after you cast me away. Should I be flattered? Perhaps you have
come to your senses since Rahvin acquired me and you suspect he may use me as a
weapon against you. “ Estelle laughed harshly and with disdain and loathing
apparent in her every move. “I can see now why Rahvin has such disdain for you,
compared to him you are a small puny thing. He will feed on you and discard you
like the garbage you are.” She turned her back and Sirron saying nothing walked
away.
A short while
later Jarod accompanied by Jade Pearl walked down a hall to the meeting room in
which they were to have their first interview with Estelle. They entered the
room accompanied by the usual Atlantian guards. Estelle turned from the opened
window to face them and spoke softly. “You will understand that as an elf I
have an aversion to enclosed human spaces. They can make me physically ill. I
was forced to open several windows and I hope this will not inconvenience
you? Also your guards to my elfin
senses are offensive in a personal way. Must you really have them in here on
what is supposed to be a polite and private conversation?” She looked at Jarod calmly.
Jarod nodded
in sympathy, “I am aware of the problems encountered by Namarustian elves
especially in contacts with Humans and human made items. I see no reason the
guards will have to be in the same room with us. As for the windows it does
seem like a pleasant enough day. Will Jade Pearl be a problem to you, for I do
wish to make you comfortable. You are not on trial here.”
Estelle
nodded and sat down in the comfortably upholstered Jelgain chair. “My Thanks
for your courtesy. Jade Pearl, obviously, has used her time wisely and has
prepared her self for my presence. She is indeed suitable and you will be as
long as you do not come to close to me. I am prepared to testify if you have
questions.”
Jarod
motioned for Jade to sit down near Estelle so he could easily watch both of
their faces. Perhaps by having both close together he would be able to more
rapidly discern the truth in the latest incidents. When both were comfortably seated near the window and looking at
him he began his questioning. He looked first at Estelle. “Are you under any
type of coercion?” Estelle laughed harshly at the question. “Of course I am
under coercion. I am a loyal subject of
the Chaka Forest people. I am now also an elf and that means the elf lord
himself has ties to my will as well. I am here now because Rahvin was coerced
by you to send me here. Rahvin kidnapped me so I was coerced to go to him. Don’t you think it interesting that I am
prize worth acquiring by so many?”
Jade smiled at the answer. Jarod though was
determined and not amused. “You are here because I wish to determine what
happened to you and what it is you desire, not because I intend to force you
into the clutches of people you find odious or distasteful. You could attempt
to be more cooperative for I am doing this for your own good.”
Estelle
shrugged, “How can you truly understand my position unless I make it clear? You
are a King, much the same as any other. You make rules and laws that coerce
people every day. You are supposedly determining the course of action of the
people behind the curse and so while you have great power your actions when you
exercise that power will force others to acknowledge and deal with that power.
I have spent time in Namarushta under the ‘care’ of its King. If I have learned
nothing else I have learned the more power a person has the bigger affect on
those around him. We can see the truth of that today with so many people being
turned into elves.”
“Does being
turned into an elf bother you?” said Jarod leaning back comfortably. “Estelle
smiled brightly at the King, “Not at all. Outward form matters little to the Cy
Clan. The inner mind is much more important due to our abilities. Did you not
wonder why Cy Clan very seldom marry outside their race? It is one of the
reasons we do not. I sense the question though you wish to ask. “Was I
kidnapped by Rahvin? I will give you the truth of it for your records. Several
vampires did break into my rooms to kidnap me. I did not resist the kidnapping
though either. King Sirron had sent me to the elf King because he felt I needed
a change of attitude. I saw no reason to remain under house arrest there and
calmly walked out with my kidnappers and was taken to Rahvin who was curious
why I went willingly. By now I am sure our conversation is common knowledge.
Let us say I see little difference in the forms of coercion but found at least
that Rahvin’s acquisition process was much more honest in it’s attempt.”
Jarod sat
back thinking, “Then you would prefer to go back to Rahvin?” Estelle smiled
again, “I would prefer Sirron’s death even more and then I would return home.
Do you wish to kill him for me slowly and painfully? If not then Rahvin’s
castle is just as good a place and maybe better for he at least shows the
strength of will of a King to act!”
Jarod turned
to Jade Pearl. “I have heard little of your story. You claim that you were
captured by Vampires but escaped. How is that so? You are not as formidable as
a Tylaa, Estelle, Felina or Lorelei? Indeed your main claim to power seems to
be acting as a secretary to your Master.
You have no known magical prowess, assassin capabilities, and are not a
dangerous warrior. How is it you managed to escape when no one else was able
to?” Jade looked at Jarod calmly. “I suspect it was for the very reasons you stated.
The particular kidnappers sent to deal with me were careless. I was considered
an easy target. The one thing you did not mention was that I might have
outsmarted them?”
Estelle
laughed at the sour look on Jarod’s face. “I find it funny that it appears you
have Jade on trial here. Isn’t she supposed to be your ally against Rahvin? I
think the vampire king would find it most amusing that you distrust your own
ally more than one who was recently sent from the Chaos Lands.” Jarod spoke
sharply, “No one is on Trial here. How many times must I tell you people that
this is an investigation to attempt to discover the facts of this case? I am
not looking at the guilt or innocence of either of you I am merely seeking the
truth.”
Jade spoke
calmly. “Truth is a very difficult think to find your Majesty. Everyone makes
their own truth based on their circumstances. Everyone in this room has the
truth but no one else will recognize it. Excuse me if I chose to make this
simple. The fact is that Rahvin did indeed kidnap/liberate Estelle. He did both
things and depending on the side you are on is what you believe. I chose to
believe that both things happened because they are not incompatible. Rahvin
himself admits he took Estelle and Estelle admits she went willingly. Twiggs
states it is a kidnapping and from his view he is correct. Rahvin claims a
rescue and who can say he is wrong! Neither has lied. If you distrust my testimony you may discard it. Perhaps the
question you should ask Estelle is; does she know anything else about the other
kidnapped ladies? For is that not the heart of the matter?” Jarod nodded
thoughtfully and looked at Estelle.
The elf
rearranged her long hair for a moment before replying. “I suspected that
question would eventually rear its ugly head. You know I could have read
Rahvin’s thoughts and I could give you valuable insight into many things about
him. How convenient that would be would it not? To know what the enemy was
thinking without lie or deception. I am sure Jade knows the consequences of
that though and only voices it to educate you. If the Cy Clan went around
reading everyone’s mind and then telling everyone else what they found, then
soon no one would come near us or would kill us on site. You ask me to be your
spy against Rahvin for what you think is a good cause but the fallout to my
people would be terrible to behold. Look at it this way. Say I get up and grasp
Jade Pearl…” She suited the words to action placing her in a martial arts hold
where the smaller woman was helpless. “Then I escaped with her to Rahvin… “ She
jumped backwards out the open window with the helpless Jade Pearl in tow. Part
way down a Splud suddenly swooped around the castle and carried them both
northward into a thick mist leaving the astounded Jarod in a suddenly empty
room.
It was then
he noticed a small pouch with a note attached under the chair Estelle had been
sitting in. He remembered that she had rearranged her dress and he went and
looked at the item. Inside he found twenty pieces of silver and the note read.
“Thank You for your betrayal of Jade Pearl to me. With her gone I am sure you
will be able to persuade the others now to follow whatever plan you wish even
to our attacking the Dark Lands. Thanks again partner for helping me out.
Signed Rahvin. Jarod would have to tell
the delegates the circumstances but how could he explain? Jade had been the
most vocal against his plans. He had been the one that had let Rahvin know
where they were and that jade was a problem for him. Now it would look like he
had deliberately betrayed her to Rahvin! Skragg would be very displeased but
how could he hope to get any cooperation now? He could almost hear the sound of
insane laughter.
Twiggs Barkhaven: War doesn't determine who is
right, war determines who is left.
Rahvin, full of energy because of his frustration and anger
stalked through the corridor of his palace because there was little else he
could do. There was no doubt at all that he was under attack. The attack was
not what he had anticipated though. He had expected Jarod and his useless
cronies to do one of two things. Either wimp out or actually make an army
attack. What they had done instead was more far reaching in effect and somewhat
chilling in its implementation. It had all started with Twiggs of course.
He
had expected the Elf Lord to be somewhat put out over his supposed loss of
Estelle when he had made it public. Twiggs had not wanted this public but
Rahvin really hadn’t cared and maybe that would save him now. The fact that Estelle
had appeared to be willing to be ‘kidnapped’ had come as a surprise to him. She
could be a valuable tool if he could convince her that he was not a toady to
Sirron. Twiggs note had been concise and pointed. “Return Estelle unharmed and
with suitable penalty payment or you will be punished. You know that I do not
tolerate thieves and Estelle is under my protection.” Rahvin had smiled at the
time. He had offered to allow Twiggs to lead the forces against the Dark Lands
now that the Dark Lord appeared to have been defeated. Twiggs had looked like
he might go for the deal but had suddenly decided not to do so. He was debating
on returning Estelle when another letter arrived from Jarod, Elaine, Galebolt,
Sirron and Skragg.
“The kidnapping of Estelle, Lorelei, Tylaa,
Felina, and the attempted kidnapping of Kristiana and Jade Pearl during a
peaceful tournament under a flag of truce is inexcusable. Until you return the
women in question unharmed and uncloned we will pronounce a curse upon you and
your lands. Failure to release the woman and make restitution and a public
acknowledgement of your crimes will bring dire consequences to your country.
You have three days to respond.” Rahvin had found this note amusing as well.
Let them attack the Nylss. They would just add to his forces. Three days past
and then a week when things suddenly took an alarming turn.
The
rains had stopped falling and the wells had dried up. The cattle and livestock
were breaking out and wandering away! Drought ravaged the land and crops died.
Normally wells that had never dried out stopped producing water, without water
there was no blood. Rahvin tried to use his gold to purchase large quantities
of water but it seemed all other countries were not selling water. Crystallu
had little. Corman was willing and had tried to transport water but somehow
Jarod’s people always intercepted the shipments. All he received were bone-dry
barrels. He suspected Skragg was informing Jarod of the shipments but he could
see no sign or get proof of such interference. Many of his magicians tried to
produce water but somehow Jarod’s curse was affecting them. They could not
produce a single drop.
There
was no large-scale death yet but the situation was getting worse. The army was
weak and the Vampires were on short blood rations for it is hard to replace
blood loss when there was no water to replace it with! Even the snow and ice
covered mountains were melting and the water was being drunk by the ground
itself! No armies had massed at all. Now added to this the Dwarf High Command
was also retaliating for his raids and was causing even more trouble in the
border outposts. It appeared they had no problem getting water. Rahvin had
tried to take water from the dwarves, but whenever he was successful the water
somehow vanished and disappeared! It was insidious! If he could not stop this
soon he could well lose control of his country and nobles or be left with
nothing to rule!
Rahvin
was not pleased. He had been set up. Sure he had grabbed Estelle and had made
the run on Kristiana but he knew nothing of the others! He had made the kidnap
attempt on Jade Pearl as part of his mercenary contract for Twiggs and he
certainly had no idea what had become of Aurora either since she went to visit
the Elf King. How could he return what he didn’t have? How could he even prove
he didn’t have them? He thought for a moment. Only three Kings could be behind
this kind of trap. Betred was a schemer but was largely uninterested in this
affair. He might be angry over the Kristiana attempt but he doubted it. Betred
didn’t seem to be that kind to let his emotions run away from a profit. If
Betred was angry Extensive would be in there as well. Betred had made no
reaction.
Skragg
might be using Extensive but he suspected not. Skragg was feeding knowledge to
Jarod and company but was not using Extensive assets to do the job. He had
people watching Skragg. Skragg was pissed at the kidnap attempt on Jade, sure,
but he seemed more put out with some Church and was tearing into them. He had
not met with Jarod or any of the others at all. That left the scheming Twiggs.
Twiggs was angry and Twiggs appeared to have nailed the Dark Lord. Skragg had
said that Twiggs would be like a bear with a bad tooth after losing his one
true love or some such Drek. Maybe he thought Rahvin would be the next Dark
Lord? It looked like a Twiggs scheme. Could the elf have taken the others as
well? He growled in frustration! The frustration soon got worse.
Over
the next two days the sewers erupted and garbage unburied itself from the
ground. It was like the earth itself had decided to spew every nasty bit from
itself. All attempts to bury the rot and dung failed. flies, toads, vultures
and assorted nastiness also arrived and disease started to make it presence
felt! Death soon started to reign in the land.
Rahvin had thought to burn the offal but decided against it when his
advisors pointed out that the lack of water might well turn the whole land into
a raging inferno, especially in the high winds that were a part of the Nylss.
There seemed little he could do. First he would have to return Estelle.
He
sent a message to Twiggs promising the return of Estelle and one million gold.
In a secret dispatch he also included the following memo. “I understand you had
to make a scene but why this much? The garbage is your doing, I know, and in
the current situation with the water problem your killing people. I know I
can’t fight all that power at once but I thought since you were hosting Aurora
on this ‘secret exchange program’ that you wouldn’t be making such a big deal
about Estelle. Or did Sirron suspect and you suddenly had to cover your butt?
Either way Estelle enjoyed her trip here, now when are you going to return
Aurora and the other girls? Or do you plan to leave me hanging in the wind over
that one as well? I guess now I find out if you keep your deals or if you’re
the new Dark Lord.”
Having
completed that odious task he decided his next task should be to negotiate with
Elaine, Sirron and Jarod. He first managed to contact Elaine privately.
Elaine: "This is that chance for you to prove yourself, Jarod is
very unhappy with you, even though he doesn't admit it. I on the other hand
just want to see what you're goals are. I didn't want things to turn out
exactly like this but it will serve my purposes.”
Rahvin: “If you want to take down the Dark Lord then I'm with you there.
I have no agreement with him. Twiggs though is a slippery Son of a Slitch and I
think he set me up for this under the guise of improving my land! Some improvement.
He is the one with the garbage and rats. I sure am paying for trusting him. He
paid me as a mercenary to get those other woman for him. That included
Kristiana. I did get Jade Pearl but he must have released her and made a deal
with Skragg. I don't trust him but again he can be predicable in that when
things get this nasty you know who did it to you. Think about it, he was the
one collecting woman! Why should I suddenly start doing it unless I was paid
to? When you go up against the DL I'll be there and ready to back you, because
mine is a poor country and I’m strapped for cash!"
Rahvin
continued, "I was gearing up for a full scale invasion, my forces were
rallied, and my allies had their entire armies ready to move. Everything was
set, and the target was the Dark Lands.
Then this double curse struck, and now I cannot invade the Dark Lands
until it has been taken care of. Right
now is the only time I can be sure the Dark Lord will not be there to stop me.
If I wait I’ll probably never get another chance. You guys can't invade and
keep me locked in place, and I can't invade and keep my country in one piece.
The window of opportunity is fading fast.
If my allies and I take the Dark Lands, then you could bless the land
and rid it of the poisonous swamp waters and teach the citizens to turn away
from the Dark Lord. Or you could aid in
countless other ways without actually allying with anyone, but this stalemate
gets us no where.”
“I would do
my best at eliminating the Dark Lord's Advisors and solving my vampires’ hunger
problems at the same time. The Dark
Lands would cease to be a deadly swamp, and would become livable. The cancer of the Petal Throne would be on
the road to being healed. THAT is what I had been trying to do when this curse
got thrown on me.”
“Perhaps THAT
is why the Skragg is helping you, he is the Dark Lords ALLY and has been PAID
to protect his interests while he is under the weather? His Advisor, Jade Pearl, LIED when she said
vampires tried to abduct her... I didn't even know who she was until after all
this happened. Now you can look at your
options. You can keep the curse in
place until either I PROVE that I don't have the other women or until you kill
all the innocent citizens of the Nylss and my vampires move onto greener pastures.
OR You and your friends can try to attack the Dark Lands in which case I will
use your distraction and weakened defenses to break free. Or you guys can find
the TRUTH and end this thing SOON so I can go after the Dark Lord.”
“Your help
would be nice after the Dark Lands are invaded, perhaps you could even use a
Miracle and uncover proof that I didn't take them now so that I can strike
before Skragg moves his army in place to defend the Dark Lands.”
Elaine looked
warily at Rahvin. "It sounds good to me. I would rather have you as the
"dark" presence in Petal Throne than the DL, you are much more
reasonable. I'll speak with my allies and attempt to persuade them to
reconsider. You must forgive me if I don't completely trust your information
and wish to verify it. When it comes to marching into the Dark Lands, I want to
be VERY careful. I’ll get back with you after I have discussed this
further"
Some time
passed but Elaine appeared to drift farther and farther from a joint attack on
the Dark Lands. Rahvin growled in frustration. Then Jarod approached him! It
seemed he had liked Elaine’s initial suggestion of an attack against the Dark
Lands and wished to discuss it further. So while Elaine had pulled farther away
much, as Twiggs had, Jarod seemed to be all for it initially. He even got Jarod
to remove the water curse and at least now the normal rain was starting to
fall. Unfortunately it was falling on rotting and very fragrant piles of
garbage. Twiggs had gotten worse.
Estelle had
not been released to the Elf King. She had proven to offer excellent advice and
was highly effective! Besides he was saving her as a bargaining chip with Jarod
and stooges. Rahvin continued to try to pressure Jarod to accept a Dark Lands
attack. Time was passing when he would be forced to turn his attention to
alternatives but Jarod continued to offer hope and Rahvin was reluctant to
appear to eager. However time past swiftly and Jarod still waffled! Finally
almost at the final moment Jarod told him the problem. He could not get the
others to follow his lead! Jade Pearl seemed to have acquired high prestige for
a lonely advisor to a blue ape. They were listening to her words of caution and
he could not get the other King’s to commit. Jarod mentioned that they had been
meeting at the Jelgai to resolve the situation. Rahvin exchange hard words over
Jarod’s waffling and Jarod made it clear he was going to back out of the whole
deal unless he got some support. Rahvin severed the connection in a towering
rage and called Karen, Corman, Estelle and Moira for consultation.
Karen was
fairly quiet but Estelle calmly proposed an alternative that immediately
excited his interest. “Jade Pearl seems to be the main problem, and like me she
is no King. Of all the advisors she is probably the smartest one without a
doubt and would make a fine addition to our alliance. The big problem in taking
her is that most Kings are very wary of crossing Skragg. No matter what his
power level he is always dangerous to cross.”
Rahvin smiled
toothily. “I am not afraid of Skragg. In other incarnations I have fought him
before. He is not all-powerful. Jarod has told us where he is and where Jade is
but a full scale assault against the Jelgai to gain her is not a good idea in
our present weakened state.”
“I am not
suggesting that at all Lord Rahvin.” Stated Estelle calmly, “I am suggesting we
give Jarod everything he asked for. He wants me. Give me to him, and then he
must continue by his word to stop his curse. I will bring you Jade as a prize
if you just give me a few Vampires and some Spluds. He will expect nothing from
me and Sirron is easy to deal with. If I am successful then you will reward me
by backing me against Sirron at a time of my choosing, If I fail then you are
no worse off.”
Rahvin liked
the idea and decided to add the part with the note and silver, after all a good
toady like Jarod should be rewarded for making all this possible! He laughed
loud and long. After Estelle departed the next phase of the plan was discussed.
It was decided since none would back an attack on the Dark Lands then it only
seemed right that another site should be hit. It was Karen that suggested they
again hit Tpsolei! She put it this way.
“Jarod thinks
that since we destroyed his Towers we can’t get back in past his blockade. We
already proved we could. One of the things Elaine did make was the old Portable
Towers. I left a recall point the last time I was there. Why don’t I use it and
we will do the plan exactly like we did the last time! Jarod is in the Jelgai
and this will pay him back for his waffling and betrayal of us again this time.
After all he let Zozan attack you last time. Then he starts the curse and then
backs out on our deal when he could as easily have dealt with Jade on his own.
Who would have accused the so-called ‘Prince of Peace’ if Jade had
disappeared? Instead he left us hanging
up to the last minute and then backed out. Since he didn’t learn his punishment
the first time, he deserves another lesson in manners! I also think you should
make it known to his fellow conspirators that he was the one who betrayed them.
Let them see what dealing with him will bring. Skragg and his own allies can
then police their own! Is this not True Justice?”
Rahvin was
amused, “Excellent! However I am concerned about your change into a
Namarushtian elf. How will this affect you and your people and what can we do
to help?” Karen looked at him gravely, “A little piece of what I was is dying
each day since the Trail was sealed. My people and I are slowly reverting back
to the slavery of the Elf King. We have used all the magic at our command to
try to stop the affect and have done much research in an effort to halt the
change. It is impossible for us. The only way we would stand a chance is to
perform a ceremony of power. The component would have to be powerful and linked
with the magic that caused this change. I have appealed to Harpin who I aided
in his ceremony but received no response. I also appealed to Elaine and she has
gone to the elf King to try to convince him to stop. If we do it ourselves, we
would have to use the child Arase in a ceremony so that we could hold the
original template. Our chances of acquiring the child in time are extremely
poor.”
“Twiggs has
put up so much protection on his return that we could not penetrate his area.
Our situation is hopeless and already we may be past the point of return. You
would do well to exclude me from important information in the future and I may
indeed become your enemy for I am sure that Twiggs will eventually use my
knowledge of you and our allies against you. I will withdraw now from this
council.” Karen abruptly vanished.
Rahvin
scowled, “Well Corman, things have not gone well for us this month. Any
suggestions?” Corman nodded, “Two possible suggestions. How does Harpin feel
about Twiggs stealing another woman from him? Can we goad him ourselves or
barring that we must seek revenge on him for his betrayal as well? This time
his ally? It would appear that he might be able to force Twiggs to let Karen
and her people go. After all would Harpin not loose HONOR if he permits an ally
he has a military alliance with to be taken over by his enemy? Second there are
others affected by this change as well, Sirron, Elaine and Betred would be the
most likely ones. Perhaps they would be interested in helping us reverse it or
perhaps in acquiring the child so we could stop it ourselves. It might be wise
to approach them.”
Rahvin nodded
and immediately after the council he did just that. Again the other King’s
frustrated his schemes. Betred arrogantly told him that he had his own cure and
it did not involve baby stealing! Rahvin was interested and offered to purchase
the cure for a high price but Betred failed to accept the offer or even discuss
how it would work. He quickly came to the conclusion that Betred was blowing
hot air and wasting his time. Sirron offered nothing. Surprisingly though
Elaine did reply back. She stated she had learned much at the Elf Kings and
felt some apology was in order to Rahvin. She had tried to get Twiggs to let
Karen go but the elf king had not budged. Harpin seemed the best hope of an
ally. Surely Harpin would not let his HONOR or word fail?
Rahvin though
was surprised that Elaine did share freely with him what she had learned at the
elf kings meeting. Satisfied that at least Elaine had proven HER honor and law
were solid he agreed that he would no longer insult her and would quiet the
border between them. Corman as a result called off “Batman” as well and
pronounced he was satisfied with Elaine’ s efforts as well. She at least had
gone out and discovered much of the truth where the others had sat on their
morals!
Again like so
many others Harpin seemed to initially support the idea of the alliances
concepts. However, he did nothing about it! After the initial approach Harpin
refused all further communication. ‘So much for Honor!’ thought Rahvin. By now
he was getting used to do nothing Kings who spoke grandiose words and then did
nothing to help themselves improve the world or the situation!
It was
shortly after this that Estelle safely arrived with the captive Jade tightly
bound. Rahvin looked at the diminutive woman who gazed back at him without
fear. Rahvin spoke to her, “You of all the enemies around me lately have caused
me the most grief and trouble. You would make a good Ruler. Know this woman,
that Jarod betrayed you to me. You are hopelessly in my power and will not
again escape me. Your Master cannot protect you now. Work with me and you will
be spared. Defy me and you will be lunch for I have never bitten a Shennuian
Virgin before and would relish the experience.”
Jade spoke
softly, “I would not attempt that if I were you Lord of Vampires, for it would
be unwise. Others know where I am and any attempt to harm me could bring
disastrous consequences to your Kingdom. Emperor Skragg who serves Wisdom is a
dangerous and implacable enemy.”
Rahvin
laughed loudly, “Skragg would be a dangerous enemy. I do agree with that little
one for he does not just mouth words but acts! I would not dare to bite you for
you and Skragg are one and the same! Your secret is out and you need pretend no
longer. You are free to leave and Estelle will escort you to Sirron directly so
that you may demand Justice of him. I think we both know that we will not
depend on something that has not been proven in any way. At least Gerrain’s
Justice would have him act. Sirron is worthless and does nothing!”
Jade looked
at Rahvin and then swiftly raised her arms. The cords binding her snapped like
they were nothing on her small frame and Estelle was startled. “I commend you
on your spies, they are most effective Rahvin. I will accept your offer to go
to Sirron for I want to talk with him face to face. He did offer to save me as
Jade but I declined purposely. It seems you have proven your case. You did
indeed steal some women and Twiggs stole others. Both of you are guilty and you
each had your reasons. You have paid a price for the theft. We will say no more
of this and this matter is ended between us. I will reimburse you for my part
of the curse upon you. The fools gold your allies used will be replaced and
they may keep their profit.”
Corman looked
startled and Jade smiled thinly. “We have tests for ‘Fairy Gold” at Extensive,
Corman. I ordered the merchants to accept it from you and Karen for am I not
Lord of Knowledge. Your losses will be repaid with a 10% bonus for the
inconvenience. Is this satisfactory?” Rahvin nodded smiling and Corman also
nodded still shocked. “Excellent.” Stated Jade briskly. “It’s always a pleasure
doing business with such reasonable people. I am sure there will be other
contracts coming your way soon as well. Now if you will give me an escort it is
time for me to see Sirron. Estelle bowed and led the small woman out. Rahvin’s
face telegraphed nothing of his feelings and Corman shook his head in
confusion.
Corman McLear: “Tonight
on Extensive Enterprises News Network (EENN) they’ll air "When Animals
Invade the Home." Nothing says entertainment like a rabid Boggins in the
family home!
Corman
McLear was quite happy lately. His new ally Rahvin, that fine fellow, had
suggested that they should target the Dark Lands for their next Mission.
Inspired! Karen had already agreed as well. No one would expect the group to
strike the Dark Lord’s very own domain and the prestige would be priceless.
Then had come the bad news. Jarod and his clique had placed some kind of water
curse on Rahvin. Corman went into action and tried to ship water, of which
there was no lack of in Thimhalen, but all the barrels arrived empty! He had
tried to send sealed barrels and had even sent them magically protected and
under escort but they still always arrived empty. Magic was at work here and it
appeared to be too powerful to overcome.
It was confirmed
when he sent water to Crystallu and it arrived safely, but when Karen added her
power and tried to send it to Rahvin protected under her power as well as his
they still arrived empty! Then they heard about the garbage eruption. The situation
was getting worse. Corman and Karen thought about the problem. “The problem
seems to be water, can we send other drink like milk, wine and such? It might
not be full water but it would help,” ventured Karen quietly. “A brilliant
suggestion.” Stated Corman, “Lets test it out.” They ordered some milk and wine
from the Towers and had it sent and it worked! The curse could be circumvented
somewhat. They quickly placed additional orders to and through other countries
and specified the shipping point should be through the Towers to the Nylss.
While water was still stopped at least some beverages would be getting through!
It would buy their ally some time.
The
cost of the acquisition and shipment was expensive though and it had to be
carefully hidden so that the Jarod group and Skragg would not get wind of it.
The next phase was to try to take some of the strain off the Nylss. They
quickly set it up so that refugees from the Nylss were sent to their countries
as well. Since this group was not in the Nylss and was not attempting to steal
water it was easier to take care of them this way. The relief effort seemed to
at least be helping somewhat but again it was expensive. Then Corman hit on an
idea. “In my country we have fairy gold. We haven’t used it much worldwide. Why
don’t we pay Skragg and Extensive with that for a while? I can make it vanish
after a while. The best thing is Extensive will eventually see some losses but
it will be so widespread and hidden in so much of their business that they will
never trace what country it’s coming from if we don’t use it continuously or in
large quantities.” So they did that as well and watched and it worked. Everyone
was watching Rahvin and they never considered that his allies would take steps.
Karen and Corman laughed at the ignorance. The flow of refugees and goods
increased. Rahvin would have it hard but if he were smart he would not show the
attackers that they could survive longer than the others thought possible.
Plans to attack the Dark Lands would continue as they waited to hear more from
Rahvin.
It
was not long after that Flypaper Gillespie reported a new threat from the
interior of the country. It appeared the Boggins threat had resurfaced. A sure
sign of Dark Lord influence as usual. The danger was an ancient one and had
last surfaced when the Dark Lord had escaped from the Sacred Trail. Corman
suspected that the master of Evil had again escaped from whatever Twiggs had
done to him. He read carefully in the Ancient book of Kings.
Boggins
Boggins are
small, repulsive creatures, which look a little like stunted misshapen Orks.
They range in height from only a few inches to about two feet. They may have
tough rubbery skins in shades of green, brown or gray, or they may be covered
with hair, sometimes sparse, sometimes thick and coarse. Their eyes can be
huge, small, or even non-existent, with wide snuffling noses serving to guide
their rampages instead. They may have poisonous teeth, or spines, or scent
glands that would make a skunk blanch. They can be found in mountains, forests,
bogs or open land.
The only
thing that is certain about a Boggin is that it will have lots of razor sharp
teeth, and that it will not be alone.
Plagues of
Boggins spread across the Thimhalen lands from time to time. Their population can
swell dramatically if the Boggins come across a rich food supply, and then just
as suddenly dwindle as the food runs out and the Boggins turn on each other in
a cannibalistic frenzy. There are always some survivors who, fat on the flesh
of there pack mates, can slip into hibernation somewhere and wait for the
mysterious signal which brings them forth to breed new packs. Boggin
reproduction is as chaotic as everything else about them. Boggins can reproduce
asexually, or in a particular group they may have two sexes, or three, or more.
As
destructive as locusts, Boggins have some features that set them apart from
ordinary vermin. Boggins can learn from what they eat. If you meet a Boggin
that can string together a few words of Orkish, then you can be pretty sure
what was on the menu recently. More fundamentally, Boggins are what they eat.
Their plastic bodies respond to their diet, producing spines, poison, hair and
coloration that matches their latest meals. Boggins in a particular pack
usually resemble each other quite closely.
Boggins are
exquisitely sensitive to Elvin magic’s. It is said that a Boggin can smell
Elvin magic from miles away, and packs converge on sources of magic, playing,
hoarding, and ultimately eating whatever they can find. Legends say that the
rapacious and tiresome attentions of the Boggins are what drove the Elves from
Thimhalen entirely and now the various Thimhalen Tribes occupy the lands.
Corman
closed the book in thought. Rumor had it that the last occurrence of the Boggin
threat had been pretty well contained in Thimhalen. Now though with Extensive
travel and the amount of trade that was going on the Boggins could be more of a
world wide problem. He sure hoped that none had escaped to other countries yet
before he could warn the other Kings. He turned his attention back to other
problems. He had been talking with Karen and was concerned. She appeared to be
changing and was taking on a greenish tinge. The affect was also being felt in
members of his population to some extent. Several hundred people had changed
into elves and had been as they put it ‘Recalled to their Homeland.”
Corman
could care less. The land of Thimhalen was always in flux and somebody was
always turning into something or other. It was old news and if Twiggs needed a
few more elves it sure didn’t make much difference to him! After all he was
getting more than enough refugees from the Nylss to more than replace anything
he lost. Even as he was considering sending a ‘Thank You’ note to Twiggs Elaine
contacted him. It appeared the poor lass was troubled by the appearance of
‘Batman” in her realm. Corman chuckled. That had been a good joke and he
suspected strongly that Twiggs had been behind it. It had been easy to narrow
down the person behind it, even though they had made the purchase anonymously.
First to react this quickly one needed that Platinum service of Betreds! Corman
didn’t subscribe to that and so far only a few Kings did. That eliminated half
the King’s right there.
From
the time the arguments on justice erupted to the appearance of “Batman” it
would have taken Platinum Service just to make it work in time. Next one had to
look at the cost of such a joke. Expensive. Over and above the Platinum Service
Price who would be crazy enough and rich enough to do this as a joke? Rahvin?
Not rich enough. Neither was Sirron. Betred? Naw. Betred’s jokes were more like
sending flowers to all the woman and signing Rahvin’s name. Betred was too
cheap to do a really expensive and totally useless practical joke! That left
Skragg, the Dark Lord and Twiggs as the most likely.
Now
Skragg? Sure he might spend that much for a joke but it would have a gain in it
somewhere. The hook might not be noticeable but why would Skragg do a frivolous
joke like that. His punch lines were more like a punch in the mouth. The Dark
Lord? Sure chaotic enough but then the other shoe would always drop and let’s
face it, that joke just wasn’t nasty enough to be ole Dick. That left Twiggs as
the most obvious and likely culprit. So Elaine in return for all the
information on ‘Batman’ baked Corman a nice fruitcake with her very own hands.
Corman smiled it would make a nice addition to his ceremony!
When
he finally received the cake he was impressed. The cake had been designed in
the form of ‘BATMAN!’ It was fully life sized and the shippers had
to be extremely careful not to break off any appendages! The ingredients were
expensive and the decorations magical and tasteful. All in all it showed a
vivid imagination. He amusedly considered that perhaps Rahvin might be
underestimating Elaine’s personality. Somewhere behind all that law was a spark
of a chaotic sense of humor. If she didn’t look so much like a blonde female
warrior she would make a good queen but he still liked Karen better.
Some
time passed although that was a relative term in Thimhalen. Things happened as
usual and the inhabitants marked the time by events rather than by the clock.
Calendars and clocks meant very little to Thimhalen aristocracy. Then Rahvin
requested a meeting. It appeared Jarod had screwed up his end of the operation
again! A suitable punishment was prepared for the lazy useless sod and the
group continued on with its plans. They were a new team but they had learned
much, always have a plan B and C.
This
time though Corman had a plan of his own as well. After Karen excluded herself
they discussed the plan to hit Tpsolei. Rahvin had made it clear that he would
be going to a party in the Chaka Forest but Corman had stated he might be a
little bit late for that. This did not seem to pose a problem so it was barely
noted. You see Corman had a plan. They would hit Tpsolei all right but then he
was going to go to the Jelgai. He wanted to have a long talk with Mr. Jarod and
his toadies personally!
Corman
went down to his mages lab in the dungeons of his palace. For several days
strange music and singing could be heard. When he returned he was carrying a
small golden statue. The statue was in the form of a hand with the middle digit
proudly extended upward from the closed fist. Engraved upon it were the words:
“This Flying Fickle Finger is made exclusively for King Jarod of the Tpsolei
Isles for his constant waffling and lack of responsibility in world affairs.
May he use it in lieu of toilet paper and it may just ‘goose’ him into a real
action. However, since you have joined our alliance you do deserve something.”
Corman chuckled. He wanted to present this award personally in front of
witnesses!
Jarod was having a terrible day. Things just seemed to
have fallen apart on him with the abduction of Jade Pearl by Estelle. He had
wanted to place his own security on at the meeting but Galebolt had been
stubborn and had not let him bring his troops into this country. Unfortunately,
the Jelgai had no air force so it had been easy for Estelle to escape with her
captive and there was little that Jarod had been able to do about it! Obviously
spies had been primed as well for soon rumors were circulating that Jarod was
secretly allied with Rahvin and had been well paid to betray Jade into his
hands!
That was
all it took. The conference had quickly fallen apart without a viable leader.
Sirron had immediately left for the Chaka Forest and had said nothing. Elaine
had been quite upset and had informed Jarod that he had a lot of explaining to
do for the betrayal. She immediately went to Namarushta on her own mission.
Galebolt was looking at him suspiciously and wanted to know when he would prove
that he was not a part of the kidnapping. Jarod was shocked. He was being
accused of crimes on circumstantial evidence! He had talked to Rahvin and
demanded an explanation. Rahvin had only laughed and stated that it was only
Justice that he suffered the same problem that Rahvin had just gone through.
Jarod was
angry. Rahvin had done exactly what Jade had predicted he would do. He had
divided the people at the conference and distracted them with a made up crime
to get out from under. He had not the power to continue the curse or restart it
without the backing of the other kings either. Skragg had been quite angry as
well. His words offered little comfort. “I don’t believe you deliberately
betrayed my Advisor to that scum Rahvin, but I do believe you did so. I offer
you the opportunity to make restitution for your incompetence. If you do not do
so in a suitable time frame, I will hold you personally responsible and will
take steps to insure my own style of justice.”
Soon
other Kings were also chiming in. Karen sent him an open letter that she also
sent to the other Kings as well. “Jarod, I am so glad you decided to join our
alliance and serve Rahvin who seems to have the power and the will to clear up
many of the problems in this world. I was curious though how this change will
affect your Attribute and Powers. I have never heard of Chaotic peace and was
hoping you could explain this to me since I like to keep track of what the
various Attributes are and how they affect the world. It is nice to see that
you do not subscribe to Elaine’s, Sirron’s, and Harpin’s intolerant views.
Besides I think we both agree that Skragg needed a lesson in manners. Bye for
now. Karen.”
Jarod
gasped and almost choked! Now Karen was adding fuel to the fire as well. Betred
was silent on the matter and obviously didn’t care. Harpin was also strangely
silent on the matter. No one had heard from the Dark Lord or Damien either.
Twiggs had also said nothing and was silent. He still appeared to be in an
insult war with Rahvin both were accusing each other of being the new Dark Lord
and trying to rally support against the other. Neither was successful because
they sounded too much alike! Neither could be trusted.
The
dwarves still had no ruler and they seemed to be launching constant raids
against the Nylss Mountains. He had tried to contact the Dwarf High Command but
he could find no particular ruler or head strong enough to get them to agree on
anything. The dwarves would be no help until they got their priorities sorted
out. That left just one place left, Thimhalen. It was not long that Corman
showed up at the Jelgai to speak with Jarod. Jarod had been packing to leave
but decided this might be a good opportunity to talk to the insane King. Corman
might even let drop some information that would clear his name!
The
problem was though that he distrusted any ally of Rahvin’s at this stage of the
game. However Corman insisted that he had to see Jarod and that he wanted this
to be in front of witnesses! Jarod expected Corman to pull another Karen stunt
and issue more propaganda that he was now a member of the Chaotic Alliance. He
thought on this for a moment. What difference would it make if he did?
Jarod
decided it would make very little. If people believed him guilty already then
Corman’s words would only give them more confirmation and it would make no
difference where he said it anyway! If anyone wanted to hear his protest of
innocence then this would be a good time to get it on record and get his side
of the story out! The best part was that if he could trip the insane King up or
get him to admit that this was indeed a setup it would do much to erase the
damage already caused. It appeared that his best move was to confront the
Thimhalen King and try to trip him up. He agreed to the meeting and informed
Extensive that he would be meeting with Corman in open discussion. Extensive
reporters were soon on site to witness the event live.
Jarod arrived at the meeting site to find a large crowd gathered
for the event and Corman entertaining it. The astrosphere was somewhat rowdy as
the crowd laughed at the insane King of Thimhalen. One of the reporters
suddenly chimed in with a question to Corman, “Your Majesty just what is your
philosophy of life?” Corman looked at the reporter seriously for a moment, "I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or
Insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for
me." He then pulled out a large pipe and stuffed it full of Hobbit Weed.
Soon bubbles were coming from the pipe and the room developed a thick cloud of
pinkish smoke with a smell reminiscent of Jelly Donuts! Jarod figured he better
get in the room quick before half the crowd passed out!
Jarod
entered the room and had several windows opened and then took his place next to
Corman. He summoned a small water sprite that entered the Thimhalen Kings Pipe
and doused the fire quickly. Corman sucking water did not even seem to notice
the change. Jarod shook his head and then took Corman’s arm and shook him
gently. When he had his bleary attention he spoke slowly to the Insane King.
“You wanted to see me?”
“You’re a
vegetarian, why aren’t you green? My award will look much better on you if you
were green you know. Yellow and Green always go together. It would match that
Yellow Stripe down your back!” He picked up and waved a strange small statue
above his head. Jarod looked at Corman with disdain.
“Cute, I
suppose your Master Rahvin put you up to this. What are you his court fool? He
sends you to make an ass of yourself? If you’re the best he has to offer then
your both pathetic. How does it feel to be a lackey to a lying, deceitful,
conniving bloodsucker? Perhaps, you
should get an education even if you think you know everything. One of the
things I have started is called a University where people can go to learn not
to show their ignorance. I think you will qualify but you will have to attend
for a long time.” The extensive reporters were quickly writing and some
snickered at the comment. Corman looked surprised and then smiled widely.
“It
SPEAKS and actually takes a stand on something. I am impressed.” He pushed the
small statue into Jarod’s hands. Jarod tossed the statue over his shoulder and
it shattered on the stone floor with a noisy crash. Corman looked angry. “You
refuse my gift?” Jarod smiled sarcastically, “Why should I accept an insult
from a little toad like you? Maybe I should return the favor and give you a
bucket of Pig Drek but since it will not improve your appearance in any
noticeable fashion why waste perfectly good Pig Drek? The gifts would be
roughly equal in value!”
Corman
sputtered for a moment in shock and surprise. Then in a surprise move he
punched Jarod, giving him a ferocious clout on his jaw and knocking him off the
raised stage into the crowd of reporters. “That will teach you to mouth off to
your betters. Now put your fists up and take the rest of your pounding like a
man.” He stepped back a pace and squared his shoulders. Jarod was helped to his
feet and many urged him to rise to the challenge. Jarod smiled at Corman and
wiped some blood from his split lip.
“Now does
that make you feel like a big man? You just struck a man with no warning and a
cheap shot. I can see where you learned so much from your Master. No? An animal
will do two things when attacked. It will run or fight. I am not running and I
am not fighting either. You play your little game of dominance and accomplish
nothing of worth. A man lives by reason and cooperation for the good of all.
You live by the rule of fang, claw, fist, sword or whatever weapons are
convenient. What have you gained? I am not cowed, broken or defeated. Prove to
the world that you are as much an animal as your Master.”
Corman
glared at the King before him. “You will not fight me? You still insult me? You
are to good to fight me? What have all your ‘nose in the air manners’
accomplished in the world except to give you the scorn you deserve. You pretend
you are better but you are nothing more than a dog to be kicked out of the way
when it snarls or threatens you. You call Rahvin my Master but we are allies in
a noble cause! Nobler than your so-called Peace!” He picked up a cup of wine
and tossed the contents into Jarod’s face and laughed as the wine dribbled
down. “You talk and talk but do nothing. To stupid to run and to weak to fight
for your beliefs. You are a fool and not worth the time it would take to kill
you.” Corman spat at Jarod who calmly side stepped it.
Jarod
wiped the wine from his face and stated bluntly. “If you are ally to one like
Rahvin who craves power as much as blood sooner or later you will either serve
him or be forced to destroy him. Rahvin wisely has no trust in you and you
should not in him. You are a tool and a fool if you think you are an equal
partner. Does not Rahvin say he is not an ally of the Dark Lord? You both have
the same delusion that will destroy you both. Rahvin does the work of the Dark
Lord. Hence he is his ally and when Rahvin, like his predecessor, thinks he is
strong enough he and the Dark Lord will fight for dominance. Only one can lead
and since Rahvin makes the plans for you he leads you already. Beware the day
he eliminates those stronger than him for his full attention will then be on
you. Rahvin will want no one around him with any kind of power that might be a
threat to use against him. The slightest word or threat will cause him to act
and act swiftly. Your hours are measured.”
Corman
tried to get to the Tpsolei King but was quickly restrained by the guards. He
glared at Jarod and turned towards the door and stalked out. He only had a
final comment. “This is not the end of this, worm. I will finish what I started
when you do not have so many people protecting your scrawny hide!” Jarod
laughed scornfully, “Which makes your deeds shine so much more brightly. You
fight someone who appears weaker than you and is what you think and easy
target. This gains you no prestige but just makes you look so much more
pathetic. I live with a few days pain for the damage you have done, you will
live with the pain of your bullying and cowardice for so much longer. Go, your
threats mean nothing to me for already the damage you caused me is gone!” The
reporters looked and were astounded that Jarod’s face no longer reflected any
injury.”
Jarod
quickly enlightened them, “In my ceremony did I not quickly erase any damage
done by Rahvin and his cronies? Why should I not be able to do the same for
myself at will? One of my powers is the ability to magically reverse damage
caused by such means in unmerciful causes!
For does not peace embody the power of healing? You cannot KILL peace,
for it always returns. I cannot be killed, much like the Dark Lord. Let Rahvin
bluster and posture and sent his fools to deal with me. I can absorb their
attacks and make myself stronger because of it. I need not sink to there
level!” Jarod nodded and quietly left but Corman had planned well. As soon as
Jarod was out of sight of the crowd and going back to his room he saw Corman
already awaiting him there.
Jarod walked
up unafraid and looked at Corman, “You have further business with me?” Corman
nodded and sat down smiling. Jarod noted a table with two cups of wine, two
chairs and a Crystallu wine decanter that was now empty with two full wine
cups. Corman and offered Jarod a drink that the Tpsolei King refused. Corman
laughed and drank both cups then leaned back and spoke warmly. “I must admit
you handled that scene quite well. Even I was impressed.” Jarod nodded
thoughtfully, “I suspected you were ‘performing’ and had some plan in mind. I
don’t know what you tried to accomplish but it seems to me you did your side
little good. What did all that posturing and posing get you?”
Corman laughed, “More than you realize I suspect. Let me give you
a bit of wisdom. Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I
have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first. First
you must entice the client with the promise of gain. Then you must negotiate
the fee, then you must deliver the goods in such a way as to insure your
customer will return." Jarod looked at the insane King puzzled. “How does
this affect me?”
Corman laughed,
“I had to entice you to meet me. You did so hoping to make yourself look good
and make me look bad. Did I not deliver what you wished? I enticed you there, I
negotiated to give you what you wanted and then I delivered you just what you
wanted, a bullying fool to make you look good. Now you have returned to me and
it is time to pay my fee.” Jarod laughed, “You truly are insane aren’t you?”
Corman smiled in
a shark-like fashion and his eyes sparkled with malice. “As Actors and Bard’s I
can play many roles that suit my purpose. Think you on this Oh King of Peace.
In Tlashtek why does a slight tax increase cost you
two hundred gold pieces and a substantial tax cut saves you thirty copper
pieces? Appearances are all and Betred knows this as well as I. I gave you an insulting item and
you broke it just as I wished you to do releasing the first part of a spell.
Since it did no harm you assumed it was nothing. I then struck you magically,
but since it did nothing but bruise you ignored it, thus was the second
component delivered! I then threw wine into your face and a third component was
delivered.” Corman sang one long note suddenly and in a cloud of vapor Jarod
was suddenly sucked into the empty wine bottle! Corman quickly closed the
stopper and placed the bottle in his robe. Adjusting his hat jauntily he
stepped out of the room and closed the door on the servants and the guards.
He waved happily to them and remarked,
“Hey boyo’s! I got tired of waiting for Jarod to show up and I am heading home.
If he does show, tell him no hard feelings, OK?” The others nodded as Corman
went down the hall. The servants and guards had never noticed Jarod entering
the room. Corman laughed, why should he place a spell on Jarod when it was so
much easier to befuddle the minds around him! Jarod had protections but not
against the Magic of the Bard. Corman sang as he headed home. “It's easier to
fight for one's principles than to live up to them.” He sang in a tenor as he
carried the second item of his ceremony home. A cake from Elaine and two
captured Kings in a bottle.
Written
by Twu Mu Chtime Shennuian Scribe
A great deal of interest has sprung
up in the new upstart rulers of the Petal Throne, Rahvin of the Nylss and Jarod
the Atlantian. When asked to provide
information upon both subjects the Light of the World, Emperor Skragg is quoted
as saying, “Jarod’s a waste of time but boy can we give you information on
Rahvin.” And so I, your humble scribe
Twu Mu Chtime was assigned to research the King of the Nylss Rahvin.
It is
my great shame that I was unable to discover much information about Rahvin from
the ancient histories of the Library of Shennu. It appears he was but a lowly Lieutenant in the ancient vampire
Kingdom. There was but one mention of
his name anywhere and it is quoted as thus in the ancient Nylss tongue, “… and
since we were without women we put Rahvin in the barrel and made the knothole
large for our use.” I am unsure of what
this means but when I read the words to His Gloriousness and Wisdom of the
World, the Emperor snickered for over two hours. Failing to find historical data I later visited the dwarves to
see if they had any listings for this notorious king.
After
a great deal of waiting and patient explaining of my cause I was able to
purchase some time with the Dwarven Historical records of the era in question
and discovered that they had a listing of all the great leaders of the world of
that time as well as their chief officers and advisors. Rahvin’s name was not among them but was
listed in a section marked humor with two dwarven runes. My dwarven guide translated one as meaning
loud mouth or big mouth but when he saw the other, a small cask of what
appeared to be Dwarven ale with a hole in it, he began laughing and failed to
stop before my time in the hall was expired.
I am still unsure of what the cask meant.
Knowing
that the elves also kept long records I contacted both Crystallu and Namarustha
in an attempt to gain access to their historical data. The messenger sent to Crystallu was refused
entry to the city and sent back to Talashtek Heights with a polite refusal
stating that affairs of state prevented any such research. The messenger sent to Namarushta never
returned. Perhaps I should have used
Extensive for my message delivery. Not
giving up hope I proceeded to the Dark Lands in an attempt to discover more
about the ancient past. Sadly with the
Dark Lord missing the Dark Lands were in utter chaos as various factions fought
for power. I did however finally
discover what the barrel with the hole in it was for and must politely decline
explaining it in this record.
Sadly with
time running short and no useful information gathered I decided to go directly
to the source. Contracting a team of
Extensive Mercenaries I was able to get into the Nylss and navigate the garbage
strewn landscape to Rahvin’s capital. I
thought at first the vampires would be unhappy with our arrival but since they
have been placed on short blood supply they were quite glad of our
presence. Fortunately, the Namarushtan
sunflower seeds worked as advertised and the Extensive get out of Dungeon free
cards were equally helpful in getting us to an audience with Rahvin. It is my great pleasure to report that
Rahvin was an immensely helpful source of information about himself. His words easily filled all 3 volumes that I
had brought with me and I had to order 10 more before the interview was
over. Rather than repeat much of his
historical rendition I will refer the reader to the officially released stories
in Month 1 and give a brief analysis here.
Rahvin
was born to the nobility of the Nylss Mountains in a long line of sons of a
Great Chieftan. There was no mention of
his mother if in fact he had one is in question considering his vampiric
nature. Rahvin was from the first noticed
to be special among his fellow vampires and quickly became very popular among
his people. He rapidly rose to the rank
of lieutenant in charge of entertainment.
He remarked fondly of those days, as people were always impressed with
his ability to ride one-wheeled devices in such big shows and with such a large
object balanced on his nose.
Rahvin
was also greatly admired by the ladies and was continually bombarded by their
admiration and affection.
Unfortunately, he was unable to explain the Nylss passage in the Great
Library that stated the Nylss was short on women in those days. He in fact became quite angry whenever
someone mentioned the barrel and even had one of his horde, a vampire of some
age and experience, disemboweled for snickering when I asked what purpose the
barrel served in his act of entertaining the horde. Fortunately, my interest in recording a day in his life was
mollifying enough to keep us from being expelled from his castle and his
country. So without further ado here is
an average day in the life of Rahvin, King of the Nylss and Greatest Barbarian
in the World.
Rahvin’s
days often run late so Rahvin takes advantage of the dim lighting that the
blizzard of garbage provides to sleep late.
Rahvin rarely awakens before noon and as we waited for his eminence to
emerge from his bedchambers we were treated to a host of very strange sounds
coming from his rooms. I of course
would never describe the sounds heard from a great ruler as sobbing but there
were some great cries of distress. When
asked about them later Rahvin said that it was merely one of his victims dieing
horribly. However, a member of my team
braved to enter his room and only later told me that he found no evidence of a
victim. Only a life-sized statue of
Aurora with a giant strap on positioned close to Rahvin’s bed. Unfortunately, the team member in question
didn’t tell me of this until after we left so I was unable to ask the great
King about it. In fact when asked about
how he felt on the subject of his queen’s death he laughed and said, “I still
have the important part of her with me.”
At this many of his servants had to quickly rush out of the room on
important errands.
After
breaking his fast on the usual virgin peasant girl, Rahvin likes to work out
vigorously with his elite bodyguards to keep in shape for the many battles he
plans on fighting. Having seen many of
the King’s duels I can safely say that Rahvin’s unique style of fighting will
be something to witness for all. Of
course with the incredible level of garbage being dumped into the Nylss by the
Namarushtan curse Rahvin spent a great deal of time in the private baths with
his bodyguards to clean up after his work out.
All of them left with satisfied grins that their king was doing his best
to serve them.
Once
his personal fitness is assured, Rahvin often spends time dispensing justice to
his people and hearing grievances. In
this regard he and Emperor Skragg have much in common for neither like to have
their time wasted by fools and the penalty for doing so is quite harsh. However, that is where the similarities end
for I could find no pattern to his justice and when asked about it Rahvin
merely laughed and replied that he did serve Chaos after all.
Once
all the petitioners have been eaten, Rahvin likes to spend an hour complaining
about each of the rulers of the Petal Throne world. He claims that this keeps his wits sharp and at the ready when he
is confronted by their wit. After the
complaints section of his day Rahvin finds solace in the studying of
entrails. I could not tell if he could
actually foretell the future or if he merely enjoyed pulling them from his
petitioners bodies, such activity usually left him with a healthy appetite so
he would release three prisoners and hunt them among the garbage strewn
landscape. After killing all of his
escaped prisoners and any locals who got between him and his victims Rahvin
would then spend a great deal of time in the baths with his bodyguards. Such attention to cleanliness is not
followed even by the elves. Once again
we were not allowed access to these events but were assured that mere bathing
wasn’t that interesting anyway.
By
this time it is usually quite late and so Rahvin throws a great feast for his
fellow vampires and retires early in remembrance of his beloved Aurora.
These
are of course the highlights of the day and there was really quite a lot of
official government work that had to be censored for security’s sake. I and my entire party made it safely back to
Talasthek and I delivered the report and my guess upon its accuracy to my
client.
Yours
humbly,
Twu Mu
Chtime
Betred to Elaine, “How much will you give me for this idol I
found?"
Elaine’s reply, “Why would I want to buy a cursed item?”
Elaine stood
at the edge of the forest with some misgivings. King Barkhaven was by and large
an enigma and as an elf capricious and unpredictable. On the one hand he seemed
to stand against the Dark Lord at every turn but his recent actions and
entirely suspicious behavior seemed to have followed his recent success. True,
he wasn't human and could not be judged by human standards but still, right was
right and could not be easily compromised. Turning to the Green Knight she
dismissed him softly, and with some misgiving he departed leaving her truly
alone. She knew that the elf border guards were on high alert and were under
express orders to kill all trespassers with no exceptions no matter what their
supposed rank. Given that King Barkhaven had recently killed Aurora when she
tried to infiltrate his kingdom as an elf it appeared that everyone should take
that warning very seriously. She doubted though that she would have to wait
long.
As if triggered by the sudden
departure of the Knight several elves appeared out of the forest where no one
appeared to have been moments before. They were dressed in the colors of the
First Ring and as they stood at attention Sir Roderick walked calmly out of the
forest and blinking owlishly in the sunlight bowed before his Queen. "My
Queen it is indeed a great honor and pleasure to see you again. King Barkhaven
has sent me to escort you to King's Tree. He regrets that he could not come to
greet you personally and begs you excuse his rudeness but affairs of state
demand his immediate attention. If you received my last reports you know of
what I am speaking." Elaine smiled, "Yes, your reports have been
invaluable and I am pleased to have this time to talk with you about the
current situation. Do you have a mount so that we can ride together or do you
need to borrow one of ours?" Sir Roderick looked surprised for a moment
and then smiled, "Uh, I am sorry your majesty but war horses do not do
well in the jungle. His Majesty has provided sufficient mounts for your party.
If you will be so kind as to follow me we can get you reequiped and be on our
way."
Elaine nodded
in understanding, “Twiggs is perfectly within his rights to decide who can and
who can not enter his country and how. Given how often the people who enter his
forest are usually there to steal and plunder I blame him not for being cautious.
Besides, since I have little opportunity to experience new things, I have
always wondered what riding one of those beasts would be like. Lead on Sir
Roderick."
Two hours later the Queen's
party was mounted and riding through the forest. Elaine was thrilled. At first
the spiders presented a fearsome presence but she soon learned that they were
all vegetarians and while they were trained for war they were surprisingly
gentle to their riders.
Their eight-legged gate allowed them a
smooth ride over nearly any terrain but what had surprised her most was when
the lead guard ran head long straight up a tree. Soon she and her entourage
were following the point guards and were racing along the branches and trees
hundreds of feet above the ground. It took some time for her to get her breath
but once she was
used to the dim light of the jungle and
the sheer drops falling away to either side of her the ride was literally
breath taking.
The jungle,
which had always seemed so close and confining after the plains of her
homeland, was really very pleasant and she found the air fragrant and bracing
to her partial elfin nature. She had never seen so much life in all her
travels. Birds, plants, animals, and insects were everywhere and the colors
were spectacular to behold and their sizes were surprisingly larger than the
norm. They ran along branches the size of roads in trees that stood taller than
some of her towers. She saw a bird the size of her littlest finger eating an
immense red flower while she saw a bug the size of her head sitting carefully
on a branch cleaning it's mandibles. Where as in her country such creatures
would flee from the caravan here they seemed attracted by it. Almost eager to
see the elves ride past.
The only
downside she had seen so far was the humidity. It made her fairly heavy
traveling clothes rather uncomfortable.
In a matter of hours Elaine was looking in awe at the largest tree she
had ever seen. The journey had been
fast and she suspected magic was involved at covering the distance so rapidly.
The tree was quite obviously the type that the elves called a Citadel tree and
she could see why they cared for them so. It was well over a mile in height and
was as big as her capital city. It stood in the clearing that was so clearly marked
on all her maps and now she understood why the elves had such a large clearing
in their forest. It was to make room
for this tree.
The tree was
simply enormous. It's silver oak branches spread out forming a canopy over
their heads that at once blocked the sunlight and at the same time reflected it
gently down into the clearing below. Elaine could see tiny ants walking along
its branches and even entering its trunk and suddenly she realized that they
were still some miles from the tree and those ants were in fact full-grown
elves going about their daily lives.
The fact filled her with a renewed sense of wonder.
The elves
respectfully waited for her to finish gazing at the large tree before moving.
She smiled at them and in their native tongue told them how incredible their
home was. They were both pleased and proud of this and continued on with smiles
of their own. Soon she reached the base of King's Tree. The Namarushtan King's Guard were lined up
in a double row in front of the gates and a long red carpet of living flowers
led directly up to King Barkhaven and Queen Breeze who stood hand in hand
smiling brightly by the gate. Even from
here though Elaine could still feel his pain and sorrow at his recent loss. He was attempting to hide it but to Elaine’s
knowledgeable gaze such deceptions were impossible.
Dismounting
gracefully Elaine scratched the spider gently under its mandibles and spoke
quiet words to it. The spider responded
with a happy series of clicks and was reluctant when she walked away
laughing. As she started down the red
row of flowers, the people waved and cheered from both around the gates and far
up in the tree itself. Each of the rows
of guards came to attention and saluted as she and her entourage walked
past. Even in the shade of the Tree
their silver dress armor sparkled and shown.
It reminded her of her own knights on parade only these men looked to
work more as a unit than as individuals. It was at this moment that an assassin
attempted to strike! A dwarf made crossbow of speed triggered with a hideous
ripping sound and five bolts sped unerringly towards the Towers Queen. The
ceremony was immediately thrown into Chaos as the guards and rulers reacted.
One guard
closest to Elaine threw himself directly in front of the bolts and they struck
him heavily killing him almost instantly! As his body hit the ground arrows
from hidden elf bows responded and the dwarf assassin was suddenly sprouting
arrows from all directions. He laughed evilly and appeared unconcerned with the
ever-increasing rain of arrows as he cranked back his bow and another five
bolts ripped towards Elaine. By now though the honor guard had closed tightly
about the visiting Queen and the bolts again did not penetrate the living wall
although another two elves fell heavily to the ground.
Twiggs glared
at the dwarf and raising his staff he fired at the assassin blowing him off his
feet. He wondered how the assassin had been able to get inside the circle of
King’s Tree in moments the reason suddenly became so obvious. The dwarf
stoically picked himself up and smiled showing Vampire Fangs. “You will have to
do better than that your Majesty.” He stated sarcastically. “My Master sends
his regrets that he could not deal with you personally but he wants you to know
that you are not as safe as you think you are. Your kidnapping and murder of
Aurora has not escaped our vision despite your propaganda. We both know the
true story don’t we. If I do not get to cause you grief today it will be
tomorrow. Such things as time mean little to us.”
The guards
rushed in and began to hack at the vampire with magical swords. It was a long
time dying and it killed three more of the guards before it finally fell to the
ground. The remains were burnt in fire and the ashes dumped into acid to prevent
any return of the fell creature. Even as the guards fought, Breeze suddenly
left Twiggs' side and rushed to meet Elaine throwing her arms around the Queen
of the Towers in a warm embrace. “Oh
Elaine, it is so good to see you, are you all right? It is so nice to have some one visit us with something other than
violence on their minds and then the occasion had to be spoiled by that odious
creature.”
Glancing back
at Twiggs Breeze dropped her voice to a whisper, “You know men. Always so serious and wanting to get
straight to business.” Elaine’s laugh
rang clear as she returned Breeze’s enthusiastic hug then turned as the
obviously surprised and disgruntled Twiggs met them at the base of the stairs. Smiling bemusedly at his wife, Twiggs bowed
at the waist and gently kissed Elaine’s hand she was surprised to feel herself
flush.
“My Lady it is
indeed an honor and a privilege to have you here safely this day. I must say to see you traveling in these
trying days is indeed a surprise and could be very dangerous for you. Rahvin is
most stubborn and determined to cause grief as well as Chaos and like the Dark
Lord predecessor before him, he sees me, and anyone who allies with me as a
target. I am impressed with your handling of the riding spiders. You learn very quickly or have you ridden
them before?” Twiggs’ turned offering
his arm as Breeze scooped up Elaine’s hand in her own. Elaine carefully took
the offered arm and the three walked up the stairs into King’s tree together.
“That was my
first time but I am a fast learner and they are expertly trained and a joy to
ride. I thought your command was only
over birds and animals. Or did it
increase with your ceremony?” Twiggs
turned a moment to talk to the Captain of the Guard who was overseeing the disposal
of the assassin and the removal of the dead. After a low conversation he
dismissed the guards before answering, “It is true that our alliance is
strongest with the Friends of the Fur and Feather but insects are as much a
part of nature as they. Zozan
originally bred these particular spiders in the Nylss. We have improved upon the design some since
then. I am pleased that you like the results.”
Twiggs stopped
just inside the gate to allow Elaine to look around. Elaine stopped with him and looked at the rather average
room. It was not as poorly done as some
she had seen but neither was it as grand as others. Yet something about it made it interesting in it’s own way. Elaine studied the room carefully for a long
moment before it suddenly hit her what made the room special. It was inside a living being. At first she had not recognized what it was
that had attracted her attention but now she knew and suddenly the room took on
a whole new look. The plain silverish
walls, the hardwood floors, the windows, stairs, everything was alive! What’s more now that she was paying
attention she could tell that it was sentient!
She heard a slight chuckle and she turned to see Breeze and Twiggs
smiling at her with amusement.
Realizing she must look like a country bumpkin she hastily turned but
before she could say anything Twiggs spoke,
“Do not be
embarrassed Your Majesty. I am sorry to
say but your one of the few of your kind who has even noticed.” Breeze chimed
in, “And so quickly too. No one has
ever figured it out this fast before.”
Elaine was strangely put at ease by their comments and began to feel
more comfortable. She turned to face
the pair, “No wonder you are so upset at Jaul.
He not only tried to kill your people but destroy your oldest citizen.” Twiggs frowned a bit and pondered a moment
before answering, “King’s Tree is not just a citizen. It is the representation of the Forest itself. It provides food, shelter, and
protection. It is a symbol. If Jaul had done as he had wanted and
destroyed King’s Tree it would have destroyed the elves as a nation. To say the least I was disappointed to find
my security so lax that they could just walk in. Things have been tightened
since then.”
His smile
returned and Twiggs continued, “Would you like a tour? It is a bit much to take in all at once but
I can show you the highlights.” Breeze
interrupted, “Twiggs, let the woman get her rest. She has been traveling for hours now and will want to clean up
before we go showing her around. Come
with me Elaine and we will get you situated.”
Twiggs bowed to his wife’s wisdom and watched, as Elaine was not quite
dragged helplessly away to her quarters.
Elaine was led
through a maze of corridors and stairs and she got the distinct impression that
Breeze was not taking the more popular ways but was instead walking through
servant’s passages and anywhere else she thought to go. When Elaine asked Breeze explained that she
was avoiding the crowds since Elaine didn’t want to be bothered after several
days of riding. Elaine expected it was
more to do with security than crowds since they passed no one in these secluded
passageways and chambers. Still, Elaine
found Breeze to be a pleasant enough companion and by the time they had reached
her chambers she actually found herself laughing at the skipping Queen of
Namarushta. Finally Breeze stopped and
smiled, “This branch is yours. Our men
will keep watch on the outside. I am surprised you brought no guards though for
these are trying and dangerous times.
Now I’ll show you the true pleasures of the palace.”
Breeze led
Elaine into the rather large tunnels into a side room, which was lined with
many smooth round stones. It was made
to look like a natural pool of water but Elaine could see from the steam rising
in little wisps that it was indeed heated.
“These aren’t as grand as the big pools in the roots but they do well
enough. You look as though you could
use a hot bath after being drug about the countryside by these men. If you like I will join you and show you how
to work everything.” Elaine had barely
nodded her agreement when Breeze disrobed. It was trifle disconcerting to the
Queen but not unexpected. Elaine joined Breeze in the pool but chose not to
fully disrobe, for after all she was not an elf and was uncomfortable
displaying her body. It was wonderfully
warm and soon even Elaine was enjoying a good bath.
Awhile latter
Breeze showed Elaine how to change the water and dry herself in the sun. Later Elaine was smiling as she put on her
evening dress and the elves that appeared to be in a mad rush not to be late
for dinner.
Dinner was a
grand event and despite being completely vegetarian it was absolutely
delicious. Some of the fabulous items
on the menu Elaine had only ever heard of and most were completely unknown. The dining hall was indeed a wide and highly
decorated area but Elaine got the idea that the decorations were more for her
benefit than the Elves for they looked distinctly of Towers banners with a few
odd touches here and there. People from
all over Namarushta attended and Elaine was interested to see that not only
elves where present. There were dwarves
and dryads and even a few humans.
Obviously the rumors of elves hating humans was not quite true. It was entirely possible that she was being
deceived but the uniforms and relaxed behavior of the people gave her the
impression that it was not an act. She
smiled and nodded at an elven nobleman who was recounting her with tales of how
tall the pineapples grew in his province.
Or perhaps it was all staged after all, she thought, just not the way
she expected.
Twiggs seemed
to be going out of his way to show her that he and his people could get along
with other species. It smacked too much of window dressing to her. Oh she had
no doubts that there were some people the elves respected and trusted, but she
did not feel that the number was great.
As if reading her thoughts Twiggs leaned forwards and whispered
softly. “Please feel free to speak to
anyone you wish while you are here. My
guards will go with you no matter what but they will not interfere unless you
are endangered.”
Elaine looked at
Twiggs solemnly. “While I do enjoy my time and the things I am learning first
hand, we both know that is not my main reason for being here. I read of your account
with Rahvin’s visit. Did you thing me dumber than him that I would not be
seeing what you intentionally want me to see?
Come we both know if I talk to anyone here they will be your friend for
with your security you would not have invited enemies. I need not waste my time
making your people uncomfortable by asking them questions that might embarrass
you or them.”
Twiggs smiled,
“I suspected as much from you. What was it you said to Harpin during your
ceremony? I find that I can now see
more clearly what lower leveled King’s are doing. That warning cost us a chance at the Darklord in Talashtek and
gave Harpin even greater power. Still,
you were only being honest and loyal.
It was Gerrain who was trying to kill me.” A shadow passed over Twiggs’
face as he remembered the last time he saw Gerrain and why. Then he quickly suppressed it and went
on. “Besides, you came here for the
very purpose of seeing if the elves could be at peace with the humans. It is one reason that I have had the ancient
elven banners unfurled. To show that
once our peoples did live in peace with one another. Even if that time was long ago.
Given your purpose here it is but a simple matter of logic to determined
why you are so interested in all of our non-elven guests. Please, feel free to talk to anyone you
wish, anywhere you wish. I only ask
that you listen to the guards when they say that you may be in danger. You are a prestigious woman and the
kidnapper may very well be interested in kidnapping you. I can not allow that to happen in my
country. As is we are in a very
dangerous situation and frankly I do not need your countrymen charging into the
forest to rescue their queen.”
Elaine looked at him
seriously. “I do admit to being somewhat suspicious of your recent actions and
I think with just cause. You have been known to want to acquire certain ladies.
I do not think Rahvin was so dumb as to cross you on this despite his arrogant
attitude, as many believe. To be honest I suspect you took many of the woman
although I am also sure Rahvin did his share with Estelle and Kristiana and
possibly with Jade. Especially considering that Jade was again kidnapped by
Estelle from Jarod.” Elaine watched carefully Twiggs face. She was soon certain
that he already known that Estelle had performed a kidnapping.
“The ladies
disappear with no trace and you wind up with them as elves under your
control. The one that you could not
control is destroyed utterly. While the
evidence points at Rahvin I would say that you were my most likely suspect
because even Rahvin would not make evidence to point at himself. So tell me, what is the official reason you
are not sending the women back to their home countries? As a second point did
you have Estelle kidnap Jade and lay the blame on Rahvin again? It would seem
likely to me that you did and if you did then you are in serious trouble with
the other Kings for you will have been the one to have taken advisors under a
flag of truce!”
Twiggs continued
formally. “They were kidnapped. If their countries were so good at
protecting them they would not have been kidnapped. Sadly, even I lost one showing I had holes in my security as well
but I hadn’t counted on a vampire threat.
Fortunately, Sirron and Jarod have been very understanding and they have
resolved that situation in their removing of my responsibility for
Estelle. Now the other ladies remain
here under my protection except of course for Jade Pearl who was also not under
my protection. They are with Rahvin and Jade is NOT here, but knowing Skragg
she will not be as easy to deal with as Rahvin supposes.” Elaine shifted her seat and looked Twiggs
straight in the eye,
“And as
hostages should their Kings attack you?
Most haven’t considered that yet but when they get over the shock of
Aurora’s death they may consider that as a warning that you are serious. Don’t try to deny it. We both know that no one does something for
no reason save Corman the Madman. Nor for just one reason alone. Speaking of Corman I recently conversed with
him and discovered that you are the culprit behind the ‘BATMAN’. Do you deny
that as well? For I notice you have skillfully still not told me if you did
indeed kidnap some of those woman? Having them as hostages may not be your
primary reason for keeping them but it had to have crossed your mind.”
Twiggs sat
thoughtfully for a moment measuring Elaine’s determination. "Since you
came in respect and ask directly for facts while others just make blind
accusations I will answer your question. It is rare that I ever explain what I
am doing because many times it is too much of a danger. First, I am not in
anyway influencing Estelle. She is
operating out of her own hate and loathing for Sirron, right now it has not
come to the point of killing him. She wants to humiliate him and make him admit
his guilt first. She has a cold, brilliant and calculating mind. I advised
Sirron to kill her with her father but he failed to heed my advice. Now he
must, like all of us, deal with the outcomes of that decision. He did not
choose an easy road.”
He motioned a
Jelgain manservant and took another drink from his ornate silver tray. “Thank
you, Flookum.” Twiggs stated to the servant who stepped back. “Did you know
that he has been in my employ for the last six years? In answer to your question
since you truly desire to know. Yes. I did take several of the women. I allowed the world to assume it was Rahvin
because it suited my purpose. Now
you'll want to know why I did it.”
“Well, it is
plainly obvious that a good chunk of the world is stealing from Namarushta. We
have never hidden that fact. It has been ongoing and rising steadily since your
people came to this world. They have made their position very clear. We have no
rights or recourse under any law. We are a product to be used and discarded. We
are not intelligent or human nor do we have feelings. We are 'dumb forest
creatures' with no rights. Yet every time we move to defend ourselves others
yell about how we are violating their rights.”
“Well
considering the ongoing situation it has gotten to the point where we can
afford to wait no more for the others to come to their senses. The situation is
much more dangerous and it didn’t take the bomb at King’s tree to make me
realize we are heading for tough times. Now with my daughter things have come
to a crisis point. So let me make the elf position perfectly simple and clear.”
His face hardened into and uncompromising mask.
“I want them
to know that I no longer care to hear their justifications for attacking my
people and taking our things. The shoe is now on the other foot. I will take
their things! Things they hold in great esteem. It started with several of
their advisors. Others will start to turn into elves like Betred who allows his
country to be a staging point for smugglers and raiders to enter our land.
Sirron is another for did not the Chaka Forest King steal from us as well? Now
they will be the soulless forest creatures and the will share in the legacy of
hatred they helped to create! I have relented on Galebolt and you because you have
acknowledged and raised a voice in our defense. I respect you for this and my
vengeance will not touch you. Tylaa will be returned, like Roderick was, to
serve as liaison with Galebolt. The others will remain under my care and may
even become future rulers of the countries they came from. We will take back
Crystallu and reunite it’s people with ours. It was ours in the past. Stolen by
that human scum the Dark Lord, It is now ours again and will remain so.”
The anger
never left his voice and the low cold tones left her chilled as he continued.
“Now they know what it is like to have their homes violated and their people
hurt without consideration for their 'rights.'
You will notice how quickly they all jumped on Rahvin when they thought
he was guilty? How quickly they dodged when I pointed out their guilt. If they wish to live by a double standard
then it is their 'right' to do so as well. We will treat them as they have
treated us. I will not tolerate the further encroachment upon my borders. That
now includes the newly reunited Crystallu Forest and may soon well include
Tlashtek and the Chaka Forest unless I see some sign of repentance on their
part. If these people continue to attack us I promise you my wrath will be
terrible. They can join Aurora in oblivion."
Elaine
considered carefully. Skragg had been correct. The loss of Arase in her bubble
had hardened Twiggs. Gone was the amusement and fun. The child had changed him
and he would be less tolerant and less forgiving. She must try to make the
other Kings see that this could lead to a war that could destroy the world. She
shuddered for she had no desire to have a repeat of the original Arase’s
mistake on her world. She decided to try to divert the conversation. “Why did you kill Aurora?”
Twiggs answer
was immediate. She was an elven
vampire. So far the only vampire types
we have seen were human. They can only
drink human blood. If they tried to
drink elven blood they would find the situation MOST unpleasant. That is how I know Estelle hasn’t been
changed into a vampire. I don’t
understand how Aurora’s body was changed but the process failed because she had
willingly given up her soul. Had she
been forced I would have been able to restore it. I was not. Given that she
was an elf, we captured her instead of killing her instantly. An examination proved that she was beyond my
help. I destroyed her to end the threat to elves. If Aurora had been allowed to continue as a vampire elf she would
have been able to drink elven blood. I
could not allow that. Now if she were
truly called to us by my power and not sent in her altered form by Rahvin to
cause trouble, we would be seeing others of her kind for they would have been
called as well. They have not been seen
and no one has been disappearing. I expect
Aurora was a one of a kind situation.
The powers aligned and altered her and Rahvin laughed and sent her here
with a story about how I kidnapped everyone including her. Just in case someone came to visit.”
Elaine could
understand the reasons but she was also sure Rahvin would not forget. Again she
started to divert the subject. “Let us talk of Batman. While I enjoy a good
choke as much as the next person it did cause me some disruption and worry.”
She stated with a slight smile. My advisors were not as amused as I was and I
had to give Corman a fruitcake baked with my own hands to begin to understand
the true story.” She stated with a smile and a small laugh. “That Corman is
totally insane. When I approached him for information he gave me two choices,
save Karen from you, or make a fruitcake. Obviously I chose the easiest way.
You should have seen me baking that fruitcake! The kitchen staff was of course
scandalized. I used Jelgain cherries, buzzberries, Harpins flour and a variety
of other things. I daresay it is the BIGGEST and richest cake in the world. He
seemed well pleased with the result. He is sad that you changed Karen though.”
The thought of
Elaine making the cake brought a slight smile to Twiggs face but mention of
Karen hardened his face again. And he said nothing. Elaine quickly moved on.
“You said the name of your servant was Flookum. What a strange name. I assume
you acquired his services from the manservants that Extensive markets. Would
you care to elaborate on this strange personage to me?”
Twiggs smiled
briefly at an old memory, "Flookum is no more strange than anyone else,
but he is no Extensive employee.
Extensive servants are useful but a good friend recommended Flookum to
me. Flookum was in need of help and I
was happy to provide it. Now he works
here at the palace and is reasonably happy." Twiggs turned to look at Flookum, "Is that correct
Flookum?" Flookum smiled thinly
and nodded slowly speaking in a firm and severely confident voice, "Of
course your majesty. Living among my
grandfather's people has been very rewarding." Elaine nodded but Twiggs frowned as if in deep thought. After a
few moments Twiggs shrugged and turned back to Elaine, "Flookum would you
be so kind as to bring us a bottle of Parthanos wine please. I think a toast is
in order for our fair guest."
Flookum nodded and left.
As soon as he
was gone Twiggs turned and signaled Thistle and spoke softly into his ear.
Thistle looked surprised and upset as he hurried out of the room. Elaine cocked her head slightly as Twiggs
turned back to her. Twiggs smiled
cruelly before he took on a more serious expression, "Another present from
Rahvin, he is really beginning to be annoying in a personal sense. I must
devise a ‘Cure Disease’ spell powerful enough to eliminate that virus.
Fortunately, you brought certain matters to my attention before they became a
problem. I owe you a debt for your
timely instruction. Flookum is a good man and I would have been loath to lose
his services. Thank you."
Elaine looked confused but a few moments latter there were
several loud crashes and a lot of noise coming from the back room. Thistle came back in looking slightly
rumpled. Twiggs smiled politely and
asked to be excused and left before Elaine could say anything. Immensely curious she followed and ducked
through the door before he could protest.
In a side room several guards had beaten Flookum into submission and
clapped him into dwarf made manacles with elf and Jelgain runes carved into
them. Two guards lay dead with their
rib cages crushed. Twiggs held up his
hand and suddenly had his staff. He
gestured at the guards and a light green glow surrounded them. They climbed to
their feet looking a little dazed but perfectly healthy. Flookum snarled and
his fangs were clearly obvious as he tried to break free and get to Elaine as
she came through the door. The guards
piled on and the dwarf crafted manacles easily held the raging beast that had
once been a peaceful old servant.
Twiggs stared at Flookum for a full minute as the beast tore
and pulled at the guards. One got to
close to the fangs and Flookum laughed as he bit into the elf and immediately
cursed and spat the green blood on the floor a look of pain and disgust crossed
his twisted features. Twiggs sighed and raised his staff again. Flookum screamed in sheer agony as a green
and silver light coursed through his body.
Elaine stood behind Twiggs and Thistle and watched as Flookum's hair
fell out and his body started to change.
His ears grew longer and his skin changed to green. His fangs though stayed long and sharp. At last the screaming stopped and
Flookum trembled as he stared at Twiggs with venom in his heart. Elaine
had heard the words he spoke next before but never with such intent. Twiggs smiled, "No my friend I will not
kill you. You did not deserve this fate
and I doubt very much that you asked or welcomed it. I am sorry but you must be a full elf now. I hope you understand." For the last time Twiggs raised his staff
and the vampire opened his mouth to scream more vile threats but a look of
confusion over came his face. As
Flookum's soul was restored to him the hate and evil drained from his face and
Elaine saw just an ordinary elf sitting on the floor wear once there had been
an evil vampire. Flookum lay on the
floor shaking for a few moments before looking up at Twiggs and saying a heart
felt, "Thank you." Twiggs
nodded to Thistle and told the guards they had done a good job capturing the
vampire. Thistle immediately began a
sweep of all palace personnel checking to see who else might have been altered.
Back at dinner
with Flookum resting under guard to insure there were no relapses, Elaine
looked at Twiggs, "How did you know he was a vampire?" Twiggs turned,
"Simple enough. Jelgaian servants are always proper and formal. It's part of who they are. Rahvin's vampires are at heart rude
beasts. He could pretend to be formal
and mannerly but it was only pretend. I have known Flookum for 6 years. In that time I have come to know his
mannerisms. He was staring at you far
too much. That and the big pointy teeth
where a dead give away." Elaine
turned, "I noticed you cured him. Was that because he had been forced to
become a vampire and did not give himself to evil?" Twiggs nodded but did not seem to be in the
mood for further conversation.
The next day
satisfied with her visit Elaine requested to see the baby Arase as she had a
present for the child. Twiggs was visibly reluctant considering the recent
happenings and the interest many of the foreign rulers seemed to be taking in
the child. Rahvin especially seemed to be very vocal in his interest. Still
Twiggs thought long and hard. Elaine was probably the only ruler he did have
respect and trust for. He decided that he would accompany her through the
Security and set the example but she would indeed be allowed to approach the
child. The security was extreme and Elaine was shocked at all the tricks,
traps, hidden doors, guards, plants, animals and magic that they passed
through. It appeared that area of the Kings Tree was even kept segregated from
the normal household staff! What really surprised her though was that Twiggs
had created a Bubble Dimension much like the Sacred Trail had been. It had one
way in and out and that way was so heavily guarded and people coming in under
such investigation that it took half a day just to get through that door alone!
Twiggs underwent the exact same search everyone else did, for as one guard
pointed out, what if the Dark Lord was disguised as Twiggs?
Elaine could
not fault the logic for even her gift was subject to a meticulous search by a
large group of technicians especially trained to run tests on each and every
possible threat. The cost to set this up had to have been enormous and the
overhead was terrific! It was overwhelming! She went through it all without
complaint though and after a long search they were finally permitted into the
presence of the child. The child was growing rapidly as most elf children did.
She was already the equivalent of a three year old. Toddler Arase was now able
to speak and had long blonde hair with crystal blue eyes. She was a calm
peaceful child and spoke little to her mentors that did not have more than a
child’s wisdom in the thoughts. She was obviously extremely intelligent and
well schooled. Arase had a large library and a Crystallu Mirror that let her
view happenings in the world. Her teachers were many of the same elite elf
scientists that had made so many of the elf inventions and gains. It was
daunting.
“Greetings
Arase, I see you have grown faster than expected. I was aware that elf children
grew rapidly but I did not think it would be this fast.” Stated Elaine with a
smile at the girl. Arase looked at her and spoke her voice extremely pleasant
and musical, “I suspect it was a parting gift from my mother before the Dark
Lord killed her. It will discontinue soon enough as time passes. I recognize
you from the mirror lessons. You are Queen Elaine of the Towers country. I have
been watching you with Jarod, Sirron, Galebolt and Jade Pearl who is really
Emperor Skragg fairly recently as part of my studies.” She suddenly looked at
her father. “I don’t think I was supposed to tell you that.” She remark in her
serious child voice. Elaine looked startled at Twiggs.
Twiggs nodded
gravely. “I was surprised she discovered it as I am the only King who really
knew that piece information. That is OK, Arase, it is too late now but I am
sure Jade will forgive you for exposing her secret. Yes, Jade Pearl has always
been Skragg. The Big Blue Apes she creates for various purposes are her decoys
and bodyguards. Jade is not human you know but is actually a Demon Prince in
disguise.” Twiggs laughed an evil laugh. “That was why I did not worry when
Estelle kidnapped Jade for Rahvin. Jade is more than capable of protecting
herself and I suspect it was all a part of the ceremony he is doing. Rahvin
will discover he has a very dangerous tiger by the tail. Instead of kidnapping
a helpless and frightened female advisor secretary he may learn he has a plus
one king who has demonic powers as well. If he tries to bite her it could
indeed kill him! Arase tumbled to the fact when she observed Jade talking to a
Skragg lackey at Galebolt's. Jade was actually feeding information to the
stooge left behind at Betred's! She was not receiving orders she was giving
them! Something the real Skragg would NEVER have tolerated. That is why the old
Emperor of Shennu Ti Peng Woi was never able to discover the real Skragg who
took his Throne! He was safely hidden as one of the Emperor’s concubines! It
certainly explained why someone like Jade would have so much power in a Skragg
style government. It also then became clear why Shennu was part of your ‘girl’
network as well.”
Arase nodded,
“Skragg has many networks and is the hub around which many things evolve. I
found my studies of her fascinating and informative. He is a member of the
alliance of evil with Rahvin and the Dark Lord. He is a member of Betred’s
Extensive. She is a member of the “Girls” network of which you, Karen, and
Brytteney used to be a part. He has a Network with the elves as well. I am
never certain whether to call her a she or he and it doesn’t seem to bother
them a bit” She finished candidly. Twiggs looked pained.
“Enough of
world affairs Arase, I am sure Elaine is not interested in covering old ground
right now. She brought you a present and will act as your God Parent if
something should happen to me.” Twiggs stated quickly glancing at Eliane who
pretended not to notice.
Elaine smiled
at the child. “Your father is always so business like when I am having such an
interesting and fun time. You’re a very smart and interesting girl Arase and I
really enjoy talking with you. We will have time to talk another day. You know
I was really hard put to discover a suitable present for you. I brought a
physical present of course but I can now see it does not suit you at all. I can
see a standard baby gift would not be apropos at this time and I will have to
change it but if nothing else my learning and time with you have given me an
excellent idea. Luckily my powers are versatile and adaptable to many needs and
I think I have discovered just the kind of present that would suit you no
matter what age you are.”
Elaine placed
the old present away and the guards watch carefully and suspiciously. They did
not like the idea of a change in presents at the last minute especially ones
that had not been searched. They prepared to respond, but Elaine her attention
firmly fixed on the strange girl before her did not notice the danger although
Twiggs hands also tightened on his staff as he looked at her as well. “A
physical present is not what is called for here. I believe that I should give
you a skill, a talent or a power that will serve you well against the hazards
of the world. I would not limit you to my Spiritual Views but I can give you
the gift of Survival Fear.” Everyone looked surprised at the pronouncement and
Twiggs cleared his throat.
“Uh Elaine
that’s all very nice but before you go tossing magic at my daughter I would
like to know just what your intent is and how you intend to implement it?” He
stated looking somewhat uncomfortable. Eliane smiled and laughed calmly.
Survival Fear is the words I use to describe a talent or effect. If Arase is in
danger and recognizes it the Talent will kick in automatically and guide her in
the best course of action to survive it. It is a small talent but useful where
danger is recognized, but it does not guarantee that she will always escape it
just enhances her ability to do so and that is all it does. As for implementing
it? It is already done ‘Miraculously’ of course so you need not worry that I
will harm your daughter. Did you really think I would want to harm a child? Any
child? Still I understand a parents concern especially considering the dangers
of the world.”
Arase smiled,
“I thank you for a very valuable gift and a most unusual one. I hope to never
have to use it but one just never knows about these things.” Twiggs nodded, “I
think it is time for us to leave now and you must finish your studies Arase. I
can see that Sulineo is here to teach you how to commune with plants today and
I think he is anxious to get started. I will see you again later when we join
you for supper. Arase nodded and saying goodbye to her father and Elaine she
went to study while Eliane and Twiggs again went through the reverse process of
searches and scans again to insure they were taking nothing back out! It took up much of the rest of the day and
Elaine retired early.
The next day
Elaine had a final and private meeting with Twiggs. Gone was the smiling Elaine
of yesterday for her face was grim and hard. She started off by speaking
quickly. “I thank you for your hospitality and learned everything I came to
learn. I suspect you will not like what I have to say but I must say it now
despite whatever outcome you want to put on it but I must be honest. Your
daughter is one of the most frighteningly talented people I have ever met and
she is only three years old. Much to talented. She ‘appears’ to have no major
Attribute power but I still fear her. I was not immune to her charm when I was
with her but a night of soul searching and reflection tells me that something
is wrong. I have no proof Twiggs but I think you should fear her as well.”
Twiggs looked
at Elaine in surprise and then some cold anger. “Are you jealous of my
daughter? Of course she is talented for look at the powers that conceived her.
We both know a joint ceremony with another Attribute can have powerful results.
We also both know that at your Power level you are guessing, for my daughter is
well protected from such magic. Let us say that you’re right though. What would
you have me do? Kill my daughter on suspicion? Could you do it? The fact that
she has potential is obvious and I don’t doubt it but we don’t KNOW if it is
for good or ill and we have to be sure before we take any steps. In the
meantime she will have the best teachers, good parents and guardians to point
her in the right way.”
Elaine nodded
not looking directly at Twiggs. “I think we both know I am not jealous of your
daughter. However, I do fear the Dark Lord and the things he can do. Perhaps it
is that fear which colors my judgment here. You are correct of course in what
you say. Forgive my impetuous talk. I should not have burdened you with my
emotions and musings. You and your daughter are welcome at any time in my
Kingdom. Let us part as friends and my blessing on you, your household, and
your people. Elaine turned and walked out to the waiting guards and was soon
out of sight but this did not still Twiggs anger at her for raising the idea
nor did it erase the fear that she might be right. Elaine did many things on
Intuition as part of her knowledge. Many times without knowing why. This did
not make Twiggs feel any better despite his reply.
Corman talking to Harpin after he failed
to save his ally:
"Your beard
looks like the hairy ASS of an UGLY ogre."
The city of Crystallu was quiet, too quiet. It was like a plaque
had struck and everyone was huddled into their houses to scared to go out and
face the world. The air was stifling. The Plague brought upon them by Twiggs
was having a terrible affect on the city and the people. For a people who had
grown away from trees and growing things the changes in them now made the city
almost unbearable!
Early on in
the plague, many had started to take their goods outside the dome and to set up
temporary encampments in the rapidly growing forest outside. Others had potted
and moved many plants inside so that the domiciles looked more like miniature
jungles than rooms. Security had become a nightmare and the steady of loss of
people to Twiggs recall was rapidly causing the breakdown of valuable city
services. Now only the strongest were left. Those with high enough prestige to
slow the ongoing plague struggled with ever decreasing resources and people to
keep the city alive. None appeared to be strong enough to stop it and that was
the saddest thing to Queen Karen.
Karen strolled
through the artistic corridors and highly polished floors of the corridors
attended only by two servants and one loyal guard. Her entourage looked more
Namarushtian than Crystalluian but they had stayed out or personal loyalty. The
halls were ghost like and very few of the people remaining could face her
squarely in the eyes knowing their fate. The beautiful city was dying, like a
proud beast and soon all that would remain would be the trees and roots tearing
apart all that had been so painstaking built! Karen’s heart was heavy as she
continued to walk.
Not able to
face the thought of all being lost to the barbarians she continued down the
hall and out the main door to the outside of the dome. The doors were wide open
to the attacking plants like a person ready for the knife to be plunged into
his heart without a struggle. The guards were gone again unable to resist the
elf call and had left their armor and weapons at their posts. Karen now saw
little need to station more. There soon would be no protectors at all and
Twiggs himself could walk through the doors and she could have done little to
hinder his progress.
The Nylss
Humans who had sought refuge here had been slowly returned to that country as
the city was changing. Karen had decided it would be too dangerous for them to
remain here once Twiggs started to take over. Why lose more than you had to?
She had appealed to Harpin and Elaine both for help but the couriers had never
made it past the Elf Lord. Whether this was intentional on Twiggs part or not
seemed to make little difference at this stage of the game. No one had been
able or willing to help. Rahvin had at least tried and so had Corman.
Unfortunately, they had not the power or way to reverse the affect either.
Karen walked
quietly into the newly grown trees and shrubs. She did not observe one of the
servants and her last guard hesitate. Then when she was out of sight they laid
down their items and vanished also in the trees. Only one servant, an old woman
who had served her for many years still remained. Glarania had served many of
the rulers and could be stubborn. It was little wonder that her loyalty had
kept her near the Queen she had helped to raise despite the pull of the forest.
Karen
wandered deeper in the woods. There was almost something peaceful about
recognizing your fate and just giving up. Karen though was stubborn as well.
She had sent Corman her final notes and the key to Tpsolei for him and Rahvin
to use. It would be her last act. She wondered how much longer she could hold
out from giving away the secrets of Rahvin and Corman. Only by remaining
stubborn could she deny Twiggs this final victory over her allies and perhaps
she would allow them enough time to survive her fate. Even as she passed under
one spreading tree a cleverly concealed Dark Lords Assassin disguised as a
Namarushtian elf struck with a spear. The servant having been largely ignored
was the first to see the danger and she quickly pushed the Queen out of the
way. Karen smoothly rolled forward and was about to scold the servant for her
clumsiness when the assassin still holding the spear dropped from the tree.
Karen wasted
little time. From her long hair a small throwing knife appeared and she tossed
it in an almost casual fashion. The assassin moved to dodge but Karen had
thrown at the foot that would have been last to move. It struck in his foot and
the assassin limped backwards spinning the spear. Even as he prepared the
poison was having its affect and reacted quickly. He tumbled to the ground in
astonishment not even having had the time to realize he was dead!
The sound of
clapping behind her caused her to turn abruptly. A Vampire stood their clapping
leaning nonchalantly against a tree. “Interesting trick that one.” He stated
calmly pointing at the assassin. “You realize why I am here of course? Rahvin
said you were really good. I just want you to know that there is nothing
personal in this. We will try to make it as painless as possible.” Karen
smiled, “I wondered when Rahvin would realize this is the easiest way to
protect himself. I hope he doesn’t expect me to just roll over and die.” She
motioned to her servant. “She is not a part of this.”
The Vampire
nodded in agreement. “The contract we have is only on you. The servant will not
be harmed. Estelle told me that you would not go willingly. I respect that. No
animal dies willingly and even the predators must be pulled down even when they
are sick or dying. Your memory will be honored but now? You are a danger to the
pack and for it’s survival you must be killed.”
Karen smiled
as well, “Estelle ordered this, and did Rahvin tell her to?” The Vampire
shrugged, “I don’t know but I suspect he did or would have if he wasn’t busy.
Estelle is very good at looking ahead and she would have seen you as a danger.
You know she serves the Nylss now?” Karen shook her head no. “I wasn’t aware of
the change but it comes as no surprise given her dislike of Sirron. Rahvin
seems to be losing advisors rapidly but seems to replace them almost as fast.
My compliments to his recruiting staff, there are worse ways to go than out
fighting. I assume my death will be pinned on poor Twiggs?” She motioned
towards the poorly disguised assassin.
“That was the
intention of course,” stated the Vampire. “This was a rush job you understand
and we had little time to prepare. Your servant was a witness we had not
counted on of course. We would have scattered a few elf things around and that
would have been that.” He shrugged, “Well things do not always work out as planned.
No matter in this. Rahvin will care not if he is discovered in this or not. We
can always say it was Revenge for Aurora’s death and I am sure you would rather
die than be slave to Twiggs and his primitive cohorts.”
Karen nodded,
“then come and let us finish this for I weary and I will welcome death. Let’s
us wish that someday Rahvin will find the same peace.” From behind Karen,
unseen or unheard by the Vampire, spoke a quiet voice. “As you wish so be it!”
Karen smiled without turning and attacked in a blur.
A short time later Jaul surveyed the scene.
Karen had put up a mighty fight. Two Vampires and four assassins had actually
died before Jaul had arisen out of the ground behind her and Struck a telling
blow into her back with his Dark Lands Blade. The dead had no reason to breath
and Karen had thought she had won. It was a fitting way for her to go. Jaul
still served the Dark Lord and the small distant message he had received had
been clear. Karen must die and Rahvin would owe the Dark Lord a favor. He had
leant Jaul’s assistance to the deed to insure that Rahvin was well protected.
By Jaul performing the action there would be some question that perhaps Twiggs
had a hand in this as well. This would link Twiggs and the elves with the
killing of the Queen of now empty Crystallu. Still, Jaul thought few would care. Karen had died but had been true to
herself at the end. The Dark Lord could not touch her. No matter there were
other souls who were not so clean. Harpin would pay a terrible price and so would
Elaine. Jaul smiled as he turned away.
Far away in
Kings Tree the last of the Crystalluian elves were being welcomed home and the
elves were celebrating. The only ones they were still awaiting were Karen and
her servant. Soon even the servant was arriving her face streaked with tears.
Slowly she told the story of the encounter and the last brutal fight. Twiggs
frowned as the others listened in shock. Twiggs spoke in a low voice filled
with anger.
“I did not anticipate
that Rahvin would seek Dark Lord assistance and destroy his own ally to get
back at me for killing Aurora. I had no reason to seek Karen’s death, as she
would have soon been one of my most powerful allies. Again I underestimate
the intelligence and boldness of Rahvin. His strike was most precise and he
has threatened my daughter and every elf with annihilation. It is now a recognized
war of survival, although we have fought that battle for a long time.” Even
as he spoke Rebecca walked calmly up to the podium with a quiet baby in her
arms and spoke. “We are honored with a new child being born today the first
of many. The curse is confirmed to be broken and the elves are restored and
can again have children. Bid Welcome to the girl child we have called Seara
for she is destined by the omens to be a powerful fighter for the elves for
she has many gifts. The child wide awake looked intently at the elf woman
as the elves cheered.