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News » Gaining of Larruth: 16B
Chapter Sixteen - Part 2
A minstrel showed up wanting to meet the group. The elder human was truthfully pleased with the style Larruth showed in securing the viscount, and wanted the prince's story. With all the facts of the tale related, the minstrel started to work on a composition. Oggelly did not try to bother the man, but served him a mug of beer and worked to keep it full as he watched someone more experienced at his profession.
To keep from trying to influence the fellow minstrel, Oggelly went to bother his sister. She had dug out one of her magic texts and was refreshing herself about the dome she had cast earlier. Sylvia found herself worried earlier about the men being shot from the side by bowmen, and wanted an open cylinder instead of a dome. Oggelly was not better than Feladin at discussing magic, but had tried enough times that he could often sound like he knew what was being discussed.
Queen Lefremillion takes a stand in the background plot of our story.
Chapter Sixteen - Part 2
A minstrel showed up wanting to meet the group. The elder human was truthfully pleased with the style Larruth showed in securing the viscount, and wanted the prince's story. With all the facts of the tale related, the minstrel started to work on a composition. Oggelly did not try to bother the man, but served him a mug of beer and worked to keep it full as he watched someone more experienced at his profession.
To keep from trying to influence the fellow minstrel, Oggelly went to bother his sister. She had dug out one of her magic texts and was refreshing herself about the dome she had cast earlier. Sylvia found herself worried earlier about the men being shot from the side by bowmen, and wanted an open cylinder instead of a dome. Oggelly was not better than Feladin at discussing magic, but had tried enough times that he could often sound like he knew what was being discussed.
The king himself returned to invite the group to his castle. As they traveled to the edifice, the monarch discussed political theory with Larruth. The prince was well studied in the rules of law. He had been forced to repeatedly pay attention to certain lectures just in case his elder brother suffered some fatal catastrophe. King Livvelg was thus well pleased with Larruth during the conversation.
It seemed like the siege had been in progress for some time. The castle showed signs of many people being confined to it, but the process of cleaning was active when the group arrived. They were welcomed as heroes for managing to disrupt the confinement in a way that allowed victory for the monarch. Feladin commented that it probably was confidence and boredom in the siege that caused such a great amount of movement over the appearance of such a small party. King Livvelg agreed with the priest, but again thanked the group for arriving to manage the redistribution of forces granting him the chance at victory.
The celebration that night was a joyous occasion. The group ate, danced, and sang with the local people. King Livvelg gave control of the festivities to the group telling all the people that they deserved high honors. The monarch then disappeared into the midst of his people. He spent a good portion of the evening going with each commoner to their home and having them list their grievances. The group found the evening became more enthusiastic as each person came back from town with the feeling that their suffering would be avenged.
The next day was spent with the monarch attempting to put things back in order. He did not hold court, but moved among the rebel forces hearing pleas for mercy and explanations for why a certain person found his loyalty placed with the rebel viscount. The group was again put in charge of maintaining a normal order about the castle. They had met the royal family the night before and allowed them to direct events, but the group did their part in acting as gracious honored heroes.
Larruth informed his group to put on their best clothes the next day. The king now felt able to deliver his judgments, and he had decided to do it in grand style. While the main room of the castle had been used for dormitory space during the siege, he had a mass of servants work to clean it up the day before. The great room was a lavish display of colorful banners and bright metal.
It was a long day. The rebel viscount was forced to stand while the king listened to final pleas from the rebel soldiers. The officers and advisors were each treated separately. The common military was handled in units. The group was able to sit, but they still found the time slightly uncomfortable.
It did not help the group relax as they listened to several death sentences. The three had learned that this world did not support confinement as a punishment, but the force of the lesson came upon them that day. Each criminal had to pay for his crimes. If the culprit claimed to have the money, and the king felt that loyalty could be restored, then the criminal was interred to a secured chamber until payment was made or another sentencing made. If the one sentenced could not make payment, and the king felt that his policies would now and in the future be supported by the culprit, then a term of slavery was imposed. Death was only stated if the king felt the person would become a future threat, or that his people would not feel secure with that person still alive. If a member of the military was singled out as having committed a particular murder, then that person was sentenced to death because the common person could no longer feel secure with that person in their service. Most advisors were sentenced to death as prime conspirators who knowledgeably changed their loyalties and therefore could no longer be trusted by the monarch. The common soldier was forced to restate his loyalty to the crown and spend time helping make repairs to the king's land.
Before King Livvelg sentenced his viscount, the monarch apologized for whatever motivated the viscount to lose his loyalty. The king stated his service to the viscounty over the last few years to show that he felt himself not in the wrong. He proclaimed his actions to secure his entire kingdom. He opened up the floor to allow any to state their beliefs in his faults. Only sounds of acclamations were heard. Judgment against the viscount was then passed.
No formal meal was held after court. Larruth was called to the monarch's table to discuss his payments. The group ate in the front room of the men's suite and waited for their companion to return.
Joining his friends, Larruth said, "King Livvelg does seem to be a most honorable man. It is stated that the elves' first mother, Elva, stated that it was a crime that by the time a human monarch gained power that they were having to ready their grave. In her deformed state, the great lady lived a longer life than most, but still stated it as not being enough. I believe the statement holds for King Livvelg. He is supporting our order as it is supposed to be maintained, but his days will be finished in but a small fraction of mine."
After drinking a toast to the monarch, the prince got to business. "We will travel to the rebellious viscounty tomorrow. The king will accompany us on the journey, but once in the viscounty he will be busy with his own matters. We will have the freedom to move at will through the viscount’s castle. The king will allow a certain amount to be in gold crowns, but most of the money in the main vault will need to be spent to make reparations to the lesser people. I have thus gained permission for us to raid the quarters for the viscount and viscountess. Any clothes that will fit, or pieces of jewelry that catches your eye, should be gathered and brought to a place where the advisors can declare a value."
Sylvia stated her normal preference. "I will check the library for magic books."
Larruth smiled, then said, "It does not matter. I suspect that as long as we take only a few pieces of jewelry each, that the total value for what we claim will be agreed to be correct."
The lady smiled back at the elf man before saying, "Oggelly, Feladin, and I want it stated for the record that you have handled yourself marvelously. We are very proud of you."
Oggelly could not help but add, "We know that you would have preferred single handedly wiping out the entire rebellious army, but trust me when I say that there is nothing wrong with going with the least painful win."
"I thank you all," Larruth said as he lifted his mug, "but without my knowledge of your loyalties I would not have had the confidence to do what I did. All three of you know when to act, and when to simply hold your ground. All three of you have come to me and stated your support. I treasure the friendship of all of you, and I promise not to allow anything to tarnish my faith in you."
Aynaglitian had a headache. The recent reports from those who had met the travelers put a completely new spin on their actual identities. He first set down with the reports to find the evidence that he needed to convince himself that the travelers with Prince Larruth were the missing orange shirts. What he found confused him more than helped with supporting or denying his theory.
The royal mage was waiting for the arrival of Petham. Aynaglitian had contacted the roving witch to see what his reading of the facts were. It was his idea that the travelers were the missing orange shirts. Petham seemed his usual distant self, but must have been as lost for ideas as the royal mage because he agreed to come for a visit.
Lefremillion was with her husband when the valet brought news of Petham's arrival at the front gate. The royal couple were finished with their personal business and were simply talking about children when the valet came with the news. Dureillorshin thus was able to quickly ready himself to go and be present with the royal mage when Petham arrived in his chambers. The queen did not wait for her husband to leave before she also started making herself presentable.
Aynaglitian was surprised to see the king at his door. The royal mage turned back to look into his spell room still expecting Petham to appear. Aynaglitian did not know how the king could know about the contact, but only expected the monarch's arrival to be pure luck.
The king informed his mage about the witch's arrival at the front gate. The royal mage was confused by the revelation, but found it verified by the witch when he made his arrival. Petham stated that the castle refused his astral entrance. Aynaglitian conceded that he gave no specific order for the magic of the castle to allow movement, but felt that Petham's loyalties were known. Magic was known to be an unstable force to all present, so all let the matter drop.
The men moved to a private chamber where conversation started about the three. Petham tried to support his own arguments. Aynaglitian tried to argue that the three were who they said they were. He was heartened by the fact that the king aided his view.
The queen entered the room. She had obviously been listening for a period, because she did not ask any questions about the flow of conversation. Her attacks were direct.
"And just what would be the verdict if the three were your missing orange shirts? Would they be killed as well?"
It was on everyone's mind, but only Dureillorshin had the authority to speak. "My lady, this conversation is not for you."
"It most certainly is! I am the future of this realm. You, my lord, are to secure it. I understand that the witch has some honor by serving a purpose, but those of whom you speak are gaining more praise than all the witches combined."
Petham did not mind a lady's presence. "Queen Lefremillion, welcome. Just how much do you know about our subject?"
The queen's form stayed tense. "The decision of Prince Larruth to travel with the Lady Sylvia was a popular topic among us ladies during the Dark Days. There were two who had met the young lady, and I made certain to have a private conversation with them. Only good things were said about her."
The witch moved to obtain a lady's seat against the wall. With the billowing gown of the royal lady, a regular chair just was not workable. Lefremillion accepted the hospitality. The witch did not stop with the lady being seated, but moved to pour her some wine as well. Only when he had gained a smile from the lady did he ask his question.
"Do you truly understand our line of conversation?"
The queen could certainly accept polite behavior without having it affect her mood. "I know that my lord is wrong. There is nothing improper with support for a workable system, but to deny any test of that system is to promote stagnation. Whatever caused the orange shirts to go missing should be a watched situation, but the murder was wrong."
Dureillorshin was quick to defend himself. "I did not order the murder of Eric."
His wife was sharp in her accusation. "Then why are you considering to murder the three?"
"We just want to know who they are."
"For what purpose? They will reveal themselves at the proper time, and the established system will either be strong enough to stand or not. Maybe the witches with their inactive gods are afraid of having their beliefs tried, but I believe that She-Who-Sings-in-Trees will continue her support of my people."
Aynaglitian tried to defend himself. "Your majesty, any system that is unsupported will fail. We are merely assuring ourselves of our commitment to prevent the return of the slaughter."
"That is strange, considering that I have recently heard the tale of the slaughter also challenged. No offense to Petham, but his coven had better do better than simply identify the missing orange shirts. They had better make certain that all of their facts can be supported."
"I have obviously been attending the wrong socials," Petham said. "Since you are so well informed of the rationale behind our search for the missing orange shirts, maybe you can shed some light our immediate discussion. You see, your majesty, I proposed to your royal mage that Lady Sylvia, the priest Feladin, and the minstrel Oggelly are our missing orange shirts."
Yes, the queen did know of that premise. It was one of the reasons that she made certain to talk to certain noble ladies during the previous holiday. The conversation with Duchess Gyllailor and Viscountess Inshintait certainly gave that thought no grounds for consideration. Lefremillion however understood that men were quite able to focus on petty details.
"One, Keir Feladin is human. I believe that all of our missing orange shirts are supposed to be elf. Two, Lady Sylvia is, well, a lady. I believe that all of our missing orange shirts were men."
Petham did not mind explaining his logic. "What you miss, your majesty, is that we are dealing with a process that can completely reform a person. We have managed to keep a balance in this process, but there is no security for the manipulations of whoever has their sights on removing our authority. That person could have promised anything to our missing three. Right now he is obviously not yet ready to make his play. The actual mastermind could have put our poor gentlemen into their present forms to hold their loyalty until he comes in control of the power. The three could certainly hold the belief that they will gain proper forms at that future time."
The royal lady did not accept the argument. "That might be true if the Lady Sylvia and her companions held different beliefs than they do. Keir Feladin is proving to be a strong supporter of a recently declared goddess. Sylvia is also a strong supporter of the known gods. Orange shirts are not supporter of the gods. Oggelly is doing a good job of relating tales, and orange shirts are not known for being able to relate well to others. I thus find no reason to consider these three as orange shirts.
"I do however understand why the covens are determined to put the three in a bad light. Sylvia is quite resolved to see the end of the control of the covens. She is also very committed to ending the generating of orange shirts. Exactly how she plans to do that and secure our forest against a return of the supposed slaughter is yet to be seen, but those are the plans she has stated to both my nobles in Iylytton and Hassalatoid."
Aynaglitian had to ask, "The duchess and viscountess both believe the Lady Sylvia to be who she is?"
"They do. Each stated that she was a very lovely young woman. Both mentioned her sharp mind, and the purpose to which that mind was set. Viscountess Inshintait made it known her support for the beliefs of Lady Sylvia."
Petham rose from his seat. "Then I consider the gauntlet to have been tossed. I ask permission to leave to start my coven preparing for the challenge ahead."
Lefremillion waited for the witch to leave before turning to her husband. "You could not really believe that a man would have himself changed into a woman?"
Dureillorshin was not too happy with his confession. "We were desperately searching for answers, my lady. All possibilities had to be examined."
"Well, all the reports that I have read praised the lady. Prince Larruth definitely has no qualms about being seen with Lady Sylvia. However serious you considered the possibility of her being one of the missing orange shirts, I believe that the evidence speaks against it. No man could do what that young woman is accomplishing."
Aynaglitian felt a need to support his own ego. "She is being successful, your majesty. There are many men who gain that distinction."
The queen was unwilling to concede that point, although she did try to make it sound as if she was being humorous. "Only because we woman allow a man to have his illusions."
The plot is advancing, and in the next installment our heroes are again challenged.
Posted by TerishD on Friday, June 24, 2005 (12:00:00) (745 reads)
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