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Chapter 26
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Benedict feared that the people would lose their faith in him as fast as they had been prepared to have any in him at all. He had ordered night guards to patrol and curfews to be put in place but still, these assassins roamed freely, invisible to the soldiers. Their training far exceeded anything that the army had been given. Benedict had ordered Tordor to find someone to train an elite group within the army to fight, and move under cover of darkness as the assassins did.
Hester continued with her visits and charitable work. In many ways it was as if nothing had changed. She had not seen Dargo since the night that Benedict had overthrown the kingdom. She wondered if he had been caught and imprisoned or even put to death. It was always a possibility. Nevertheless, she still looked for Dargo wherever she went when she left the palace, hoping
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Hester cleaned her face quickly before stepping outside into the bright sunshine. She hoped the guards noticed nothing amiss. Then she climbed onto the horse cart and told the driver to go to the next orphanage.The rest of the day passed too slowly for Hester. Her mind was on Dargo. She missed him and seeing him again had reminded her of just how much she missed him. She repeatedly felt for the parchment he had inserted in her dress sleeve. She longed for a private moment to be able to read it.The children at the orphanages she visited had to bring her back to the present many times during the day as her thoughts wandered.When she finally returned to the palace that evening she was exhausted. She had spent the rest of the day trying to spot the guards Dargo had told her about. She could not tell them apart though. They were clearly well trained and discreet. They obviously blended in with the people.Hester’s thoughts detoured to Dargo as well. He was clearly a man who was connected
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Benedict was silent as he digested all that Hester had told him. “What would you have me do?”“Let me go your Majesty. My daughter has ignored your terms. She has not come back until now and nor will she. Holding me captive serves no purpose anymore.”Benedict stood and approached Hester until he stood beside her chair. Hester cringed inwardly not knowing what to expect. Benedict stood over her and she leaned back in her chair to look up at him. His clear blue eyes betrayed nothing but, in his face, there was something she could not quite describe. He remained calm and betrayed nothing to her but when he spoke Hester realized there was more to his actions than he had ever dared tell her.“I apologize for keeping you here. I will think on what you have said. Perhaps you are right. Perhaps my reasons have not been honorable after all and I have been selfish.”She opened her mouth and then closed it as what Benedict said struck home. She looked up into his eyes searching anew for somethi
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Muhay was silent as he stared into her eyes. Then he leaned down and kissed her again. A soft, lingering kiss. Alexa did not react at all initially but then despite herself her tongue crept forward seeking his. Their tongues met and their kiss deepened as their breathing increased and hearts beat faster. Alexa felt a wave of emotion crashing through her and then Muhay’s mouth was gone. “Is that what you want?” he whispered.Before Alexa could answer he stood quickly and held out a hand to her to help her up as if they had not been locked in a passionate kiss moments before. They gathered their klakoes and climbed the dune. The aroma of desert rabbit and gluksa reached them and they ran down the dark side of the dune to where Peter sat waiting with their meal. They ate in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.Throughout the meal Alexa stole glances at Muhay but he remained focused on other things and made conversation as if nothing had happened between them before dinner.Peter and
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Hegre cried when Arinia told him their father was most likely dead. He was quiet for a few days but then picked himself up and continued. After that he asked about their father less and less frequently until Arinia could almost believe that he had put the thought of their father being dead behind him.He seemed to immerse himself in the farm spending time in the fields and with Bollo. He fed the horses, brushed them, learned to ride and milked the cows. He proved very adept at farm life. But Arinia did not realize it was Hegre’s way to deal with the loss of his father.Sometime after Arinia bought the farm, they were awakened one night by the sound of the horses whinnying and neighing in the barn. Arinia and Hegre met Bollo downstairs with a lantern.“Something is not right Lady Arinia,” Bollo whispered. He held a sword in his hand. “I must go and see.”“Wait here Bollo. Stay inside. We are ill equipped to deal with robbers.”“We cannot merely wait for robbers to steal all we have Lady
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“I did a geological study and found Alymcyte in the rock.” Semore paused as he absorbed the surprised glances that passed around the table. “I thought it was just small quantities but there are actually caves midway up Mt. Almall where I found big veins of Alymcyte running through the mountain. There is more than you could ever imagine could be found in one place.” To emphasize his point, he extracted a rock twice as large as his fist from his robe pocket and placed it on the table. Semore’s audience gasped in disbelief. The rock was enormous by standards of the availability of Alymcyte. “How much is in Mt Almall?” asked Raeme. “It is hard to say,” replied Semore. “But I know there is one cave where the floor, walls and roof are all Alymcyte.” Silence fell upon the group. That amount of Alymcyte in one location was unheard of. The implications of its value were astonishing. “We shall never have to charge taxes on the kingdom’s people again,” Benedict whispered as he stared at the
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Benedict was silent a moment and then he sighed. “This city makes me sad. The people make me sad. Disappointed. I would think they would be grateful for the changes which are being made but the more I hear change is wanted, the more I see a city of people content to sit around and complain about their fortunes or lack thereof while they blame everyone else.” “Yes they do, your Majesty. It is a cancer.” “Are you unhappy with my decision lady?” Hester coughed briefly, smiling as she did so. “Your decision was not mine to make. Why should I have an opinion?” “We know about Gelyn’s involvement with Atomas lady. ‘Tis no secret.” “That’s right. It is no secret. But it was not her fault that Atomas all but kept me as a buffer between the people of the kingdom and himself. He strayed long before Gelyn. To her credit, she was able to make an honest man out of him. His philandering became exclusively reserved for her after he met her. I no longer had to be embarrassed by a string of girls,
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The night passed too slowly despite Hester trying to make it go as fast as possible by drinking too much and socializing with everyone she knew. Finally Breeger interjected in one of Hester’s conversations with an old friend. He asked for them to excuse Hester and linked his arm through hers. He led her away into the garden which his guards had ensured was private. It was better than his office.The night air was cool and Hester welcomed the cool evening breeze on her skin. It had a sobering effect on her. They walked a bit in silence before Breeger stopped and seated himself on a bench in the garden and indicated that Hester should be seated.She sat next to Breeger reluctantly.“You look tense lady.”“Not at all Breeger. I am enjoying myself. Meeting old friends. But your suggestion that we have a talk has made me curious.”“I see,” Breeger replied. “I am glad you are enjoying yourself. It must remi
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Benedict paused for a moment. “Yes. Sadly it haunts many people. I think people in higher society more than most. I am sure I have contributed to it as well keeping you in the palace as I have done. I wondered if I should let you go and live outside the palace after all. It has been on my mind all evening since I gave you a ride to the party.” “Perhaps being kept here has prolonged my loneliness but it was there long before your decision to keep me here. If I were free to leave it might be lessened. But I questioned the fundamental reason for my loneliness. I came to the conclusion that it is the absence of a significant other. It has been so for a very long time.” As Hester spoke, she recalled Dargo’s desire to press her to make plans to leave Atomas so he could marry her. She remembered her anger at him then and realized now how foolish she had been. What a difference a few hours had made in the rest of her life. While she loathed Breeger and did not wish to do as he wanted, she k
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The city of Kyrshom was never the same. The lava had destroyed much of the city and it would never be rebuilt. The walls that had been built naturally from past eruptions were destroyed and partially covered by the new lava flow. They could no longer serve as natural protective walls. The lava had flowed through the city all the way down to the cliff where it had poured over the edge and buried the harbour. The ramp that had previously been built was partially destroyed and could no longer serve as an access to the city without considerable repairs which would take a long time. Many residents moved away and the life and culture of Kyrshom seemed to have left with them. People feared another eruption of Mt Almall and did not wish to lose what little they had left. Hope sparked briefly for the revival of Kyrshom as the lava cooled. People discovered Alymcyte in the cooled lava and there was a brief “Alymcyte rush” before the price offered for Alymcyte fell through the floor. It was so
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Eesa seemed to consider then replied in a hushed voice. “Thank you for your kindness sir. I am new and I am particularly interested in meeting men if you understand?”Breeger smiled. “I do indeed understand Eesa. But perhaps you would prefer to meet only one man if he makes it worth your while?”Eesa looked at Breeger in disbelief. “You would like that? You can do that?”Breeger smiled. “I assure you that I can.”“Then let us discuss it further somewhere more private. Perhaps tomorrow after your party?”“Perhaps tonight after my party?” Breeger pressed.“As you wish,” Eesa replied.Breeger explained to Eesa where his villa was and he left, very happy at the prospect of seeing Eesa again.After the party that evening Breeger took Eesa back to her home and she invited him in.Breeger was keen to start his new affair with Eesa and did not sa
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Firing continued strategically but damage was much less now as the attackers had moved out of the path of the catapult. The fires in the small trenches were doused and the attackers advanced further only to be stopped by new fires in new trenches. A co-ordinated retreat was being made by the army. They would ultimately retreat to within sight of the palace where another large trench had been dug and would be fed by oil from two sides to keep the fire burning. One army advanced and the other retreated. Neither side noticed the sky lighten with the approaching day. Then, just before dawn, a new quake struck. It was brief and violent. It was as if the earth heaved and men were thrown to the ground as the quake increased in strength. Then it finally subsided and all was quiet for a brief moment. In hindsight that moment seemed to last forever. Then an explosion tore through the predawn air and the earth shook knocking everyone to the ground. People screamed and shouted looking around des
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Samnom knew that no-one in this compound was his friend and he treated them all as the enemy as he wandered through the compound calling out Gelyn’s name.Two more encounters with guards in the compound left the remaining guards assured that they were little or no match for Samnom. One guard stepped forward to meet Samnom.“We do not know where Breeger or Gelyn are. They went to the King’s ball and never returned. Breeger is wanted and the king’s men have searched the compound already for Breeger. He must be hiding somewhere else.”Samnom thanked the soldier and left. He made his way to the palace where he was stopped at the gates.“I seek no fight. I simply wish to see the lady Gelyn. My name is Samnom.”The guards looked concerned and conferred with each other a short distance away. Then one walked off towards the palace while the other returned and asked Samnom to wait.A while later the guard ret
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The air by the East wall was thick with dust as the sun approached the horizon. A clear sign that the army beyond the walls would actually strike at sunrise. Benedict left his chambers and made his way to the East wall. He was greeted by the watch commander whose face was grim. He bowed and greeted Benedict. “Your majesty.” His body language said what he dared not say. They were hopelessly outnumbered. Benedict greeted him and made his way to the edge of the wall. He was right. The army of the Kelnians had approached the walls as near as they dared before daybreak. With the first sun’s rays, their strike would begin. Benedict looked along the top of the wall. Boiling pots of oil stood ready to be poured on the army below. Archers were ready too and Benedict was assured the catapults were ready too although he was not sure if they would be effective since he believed that the Kelnians were now closer than the minimum range of the catapults. As he looked down he saw the arrangement o
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She could not tell Alexa for it would alert the men with them. Hester waited until they turned the next corner in the passage. Alexa looked back as always after turning a corner. Hester followed them around the corner and then stopped as soon as Alexa had looked back. She turned and ran back around the corner and into the dark. She had no torch but there was only one path in this passage. If she collided with a wall she just had to find the right way again and then continue on. She prayed for Alexa to forgive her for not saying goodbye.At the next corner Alexa turned and realized Hester was gone.“Hester is gone!”The men in front of her stopped and looked back. “We can’t go back Alexa. It’s too dangerous now. Others will be coming through here soon enough and if she has fallen they will find her.”“But she could be dying!” Alexa insisted.The men looked at each other. One volunteered. “I&rsquo
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“You seem to be full of excuses King Benedict but yet have no proof of anything you say. Assassins killed our masters you say but they escaped. Atomas body was not burned you say but you cannot produce his body. Atomas women have left you say but where is the proof? I truly believe that you have lost control of the kingdom King Benedict. In all the time you have been king, you have failed to eradicate the Black Cloaks. I think it is time that we should do your job for you and relieve you of the task of ruling this kingdom.”“I ask you to please reconsider your threat Olnoy. I have come here today in peace. There have been a series of unfortunate events which have happened at this point in time. However, if you will decide to at least try and trust me, I will show you what I say is true.”“I think letting you stand out here and lie to me is enough. Letting you give me the bodies of our masters simply adds insult to injury.”Ben
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“He had it coming. Besides, if he had been freed and allowed to voice his opinion, he would not have voiced it in favour of us.“ “Of that much I am sure,” Benedict replied. He would have to explain the death to Talek. There was not much else that could be done. Benedict insisted that they make their way to the mine first before returning the bodies of the masters. Tordor agreed. Melonor had not returned with news from the mine and both Benedict and Tordor suspected that he must have met with misfortune. They instructed the soldiers with the bodies to wait at the East gate for them and rode to the mine with a small number of soldiers. On the ride up they found out why Melonor had not returned from the mine. He lay dead beside the road, killed by an arrow through the heart. Benedict and Tordor surmised that it was an assassin ordered to stop word of the situation at the mine getting back to Benedict. They doubted that anyone would try to stop them now but cautioned the soldiers to
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Tordor agreed. He knew it was a war they could not win. He left to order the bodies prepared for burial.Benedict looked over the city. His thoughts turned to Hester and Harbem and Alexa. He called one of the guards and told him to fetch Harbem from the dungeons.Harbem was ushered in some time later. His hands were still chained and Benedict ordered the chains removed. The guard removed them and left. Benedict indicated that Harbem should be seated. He poured two cups of wine and handed Harbem one.“Perhaps we can make a deal Harbem.”“I am prepared to listen your Majesty.”“There are ten thousand men outside the walls of the city. This morning, two of the three masters who led them to the gates, were murdered in audience with me. I have no doubt Breeger is behind it, but that’s beside the point. Those men outside the city will march and wipe out this city. I will need every man to defend it. Perhaps now is the
