FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE (105 page)

     Ray and Clover understood that the king’s hands were tied. It took Serene slightly longer to accept the fact. But finally, she realised that kingship is a form of leadership and all forms of leadership is practised by the setting of examples. So, the king’s hands were indeed tied. 

     “Information _ Your Highness, we are close to getting of this of what we seek, but we need more time; so is there any way to delay the trial
?
” Ray asked.

     “No. There is no way. The law on this issue is clear. I have ordered the trial to be conducted on the 19
th
. All three of you will act as prosecutors. Minvian Sky Proest of the Royal Guards will be assigned to you as your legal advisor and co-prosecutor, but Minvian Iddell; you will be the primary prosecutor for the case. I am sorry I cannot buy you more time. The eyes of the whole kingdom are upon us,” explained King Patrum.

     “Understand _ we do of this, Your Highness
!
” said Ray.

     “What is the latest information that you have managed to get out of her, Ray
?
” King Patrum asked.

     “Information _ of this, we have found out that indeed there is a mastermind and that he is a very rich and powerful man; and that he dresses in elegant clothes and is always surrounded by bodyguards. Lord Destiny _ he calls himself of this,” Ray answered briefly.

     “Information _ additional of this is that Lord Destiny is after the throne of the kingdom, Your Highness, and he believes that he has such rights so as to claim it or take it by force,” Clover added.

     King Patrum’s jaw dropped in surprise. For a short moment he was lost for words.

     “But that is ridiculous. I ascended to the throne without any challenge whatsoever. There was not even a single objection or doubt. I was the elder of my father’s two children and my brother had made it clear he had no intentions whatsoever to become king. My uncle had died 50 years ago in the Alliance War along with all his sons. There is no one left in this bloodline but me and my brother. So who could this mastermind be
?
” King Fulmar said disbelievingly.

     “Identity _ whatsoever is his of this, this Lord Destiny person is well-placed within the government, otherwise he would not have the money, power or even opportunity to come up with and execute such plans, Your Highness,” expressed Serene.

     “You are right, Minvian Genox. It could only be someone well-placed in our government,” agreed the king.

     King Fulmar tapped his fingers on the armrest of his chair. Ray leaned back on his chair and stroked his goatee. Clover and Serene, as usual, sat upright in perfect attention.

     “How is it going with the hunt for Dawn Breven
?
” the king asked.

     “Posts _ none of our observation of these have reported any sightings of the assassin yet, Your Highness, but perhaps it is still too early to judge. Informants _ of these, I have recruited a fair number in all the villages and towns that we expect she would be travelling through, so I am quite confident that sooner or later we would be able to track and recapture her, Your Highness
!
” assured Serene.

     “And what about this Shadow Deathmerchant Clan
?
When do you think they will strike again, Serene
?
” enquired King Patrum.

     “Strike _ they probably would not be able to do of this anytime soon, Your Highness, since they have lost a significant number of their assassins. Months _ it will probably be a few of these before they can be strong enough to strike again, Your Highness
!
” answered Serene.

     “I hope you are right, Minvian Genox. These assassins are a thorn in our sides. We have much bigger problems to deal with. The latest intelligence points to the Serpentians trying for another raid soon. The Aridytes, meanwhile, have begun attacking villages along our western borders again. I need all my soldiers focussed on addressing these two issues, but this Shadow Deathmerchant Clan and the Verbena Romar affair are too serious to just push aside at the moment,” expressed King Fulmar.

     The issues of Serpentians and Aridytes were never of much concern to Ray, but seeing as he was for that moment already a soldier, these issues have become too important for him to disregard.

     “Intelligence _ how reliable is it of this, Your Highness, concerning the Serpentians
?
” asked Ray.

     “Very reliable. I have lost almost a dozen of my best scouts getting this information. Infiltrating Serpentian strongholds is not easy. And kidnapping highly-ranked Serpentians for interrogation is not easy also. I have just made the children of 11 families, orphans. Sometimes I wonder; is this crown on my head a gift or a curse
?
” answered the king.

     “Neither _ it is of this, Your Highness, just a heavy responsibility, that is all,” said Ray in consolation.

     There Serene and Rod were, back again at Courthouse Fallsene on the
19
th
Morning of Fourth Month of Dry Season
. But this time Serene left Rod at the observer section and walked on to the prosecution desk where Ray, Clover and Sky were seated. All four minvians sat themselves down and began cross-checking each other’s notes. Serene looked around. All the furniture in the courtroom were properly repaired and repainted, leaving no clue as to the chaos that she, Rod and their comrades had created on the 16
th
.

     Ray was a little nervous. He scanned the courtroom from front to back and took in the chaos that it was in. Journalists had gathered at the observation section, writing out secret notes on their pads while soldiers, Elementhars and Royal Guards alike, eyed them with distaste. It was no secret that the journalists took a very sympathetic view of Verbena Romar, citing that she was just a scape goat and that she was framed by power-hungry soldiers to cover up their incompetence. But the soldiers saw Verbena as the instrument that contributed to the deaths of many of their friends and colleagues; a willing instrument of evil who of her own right was as dangerous an enemy as any Serpentian or Aridyte warrior.

     Ray’s eyes shifted to the defendant’s desk. Ray could see a team of serious and sophisticated-looking gentlemen in their mid-thirties and early forties, to which he had no doubt, were experts in their chosen field. And that was the nature of the problem, the true cause of Ray’s nervousness, actually. This, the practice of law, was their chosen field, not his. Two days of tutoring by Sky were hardly enough to even cover the basics of courtroom protocols, let alone to win a case. Sky kept assuring Ray that it was all about the evidence but somehow Ray was still sceptical. Evidence needed to be interpreted and it was the interpretation of the evidence where a legal solicitor’s skills was applied. Not to mention the ever irritating loop-holes and hidden clauses in the law that seemed to pop up out of nowhere to send the best of intentions to hell. The courtroom was a battlefield Ray was unfamiliar with and the defendant’s solicitors were opponents that Ray had no prior experience battling.

     Clover, on the other hand, was calm and focussed. Her mind was diving deep into the notes and law manuals in front of her. The whole realm of Farhayven was lost to her. Nothing existed except for the laws and by-laws, rules and regulations and also rights and privileges. This case was important to her personally, for it was an opportunity for her to impress her father, to prove to him that she too can afford serious contributions to Free Falls just like the rest of the Genoxes.

     A side door to the courtroom opened and five female Royal Guards marched in with Verbena Romar in the middle. Immediately there were loud jeering voices from the small crowd of soldiers who sat on the prosecution side. There were quite a few wolf whistles as well, for Verbena looked quite attractive in her grey formal dress, though all of them came from civilian men seated on the defendant’s side. Verbena took her time to sit down gracefully. Her face exuded calmness and confidence, and also a dash of arrogance.

     The jeering becomes louder. A Royal Guard shouts out for silence and order.
Thud!
Verbena’s eyes open wide. Her eyes turn dazed and unfocussed. Blood flows from her lips. After a simple exhale of breath, she slumps forward and her upper body falls flat on the desk in front of her. There is a handle of a dagger protruding from her back. Someone shouts the shocking words ‘She is dead
!
Somebody killed her
!
’ The jeering ceases immediately. All eyes fall on Verbena’s slumped body. The feeling of shock engulfs the courtroom. Eyes open wide. Jaws drop. Every one seems frozen in time.

     Ray’s eyes jump from Verbena’s dead body to a well-built man dressed in an elegant brown long-coat who is seated several rows behind her. Something seems odd about this man. He is not frozen in shock like the others. He is calm and composed; much too calm and composed in this prevailing circumstance. Instinctively, Ray stands up, shouts the word ‘assassin
!
’ and points to him. All eyes fall on the man with the brown long-coat. All the soldiers in the courtroom stand up and draw out their daggers. The man in the brown long-coat smiles. He returns Ray’s stare, pulls out a dagger and sends it flying towards Ray. Ray thrust his hand forward, and sends out a portion of soul energy that wraps itself around the dagger in mid flight, forming an encasement of hardened earth. The dagger falls harmlessly to the ground. Ray’s instinct is to return the favour with a Pebble Dart Spell, but decides against it as he may miss his target and hit an innocent bystander. Clover, Serene and Sky get up off their seats and draw out their daggers. The soldiers close in on the man in the brown long-coat. The man in the brown long-coat stands up, bows courteously, affords a sly, fake-looking smile and then disintegrates into a pile of dust before their very eyes. Then the pile of dust swirls and flies out of every opening that the courtroom has. Every one freezes in shock once again.

     Several moments later, the courtroom was abuzz again with chatter. Everyone looked at each other with the same confused expression on their faces.

     “What
?
How
?
He just...,” said one of the Royal Guards.

     “That is impossible
!
” shouted another.

     “Possible _ is it of this to do that
?
” both Clover and Serene asked simultaneously as they turned to look at Ray.

     “Possible _ of this, I… I… I am not sure
!
” replied an equally confused Ray.

     “Elemental Sorcery _ is it a new type of this, one that has yet to be discovered
?
” asked Clover.

     “Know _ I do not of this,” replied Ray.

     “Assassins _ of this, how many groups are there
?
Skill _ perhaps this is a new of this that the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan has developed
?
” speculated Serene.

     “Know _ I do not of this,” replied Ray again.

     “Assassin _ of him, what happened and where did he go
?
” asked a limping Rod Sayson as he joined Ray and the others.

     “Know _ I
just
do not of
this!
” replied Ray in a loud, frustrated tone.

     Everyone became silent. Somehow Ray’s frustration triggered a sense of disappointment in everyone. Of all who were present in the courtroom, Ray was the most knowledgeable in Elemental Sorcery, or sorcery of any kind, as a matter of fact. So when the ‘expert’ said that he did not know, it killed everybody’s sense of security and hope. But the fact remained
!
Ray just did not know
!

     “What are we to do now
?
” asked the leader of the five female Royal Guards, an exevian in rank.

     “Do _ of this, what can we now, except to report to the king that Royal Secretary Verbena Romar is dead,” answered Ray in a surrendered voice.

     Everyone turned to stare at the lifeless body of Verbena Romar. The dagger in her back was pulled out and she was placed lying on top of the defendant’s desk, with her body facing up. If one ignored the stain of blood from her lips, one could easily assume that she was resting in deep slumber. There was no frozen expression of pain or agony on her face. There was only a graceful serenity expressed on the lifeless face of the beauty who conspired to assassinate a prince.

     A gentle breeze sways the bushes and blows the leaves outside Courthouse Fallsene. A swirling pile of dust comes together and forms into the man in the brown long-coat. He turns around, takes a look at the courthouse, smiles in triumph, turns around again and walks away...

SKY’S DARK PRACTICES

     The cheerful Fallsian sky beckons the senses on this breezy morning of the
20
th
Day of Fourth Month of Dry Season
. King Fulmar Patrum looks out a large open window in his study room, taking in the beautiful view of the distant green mountain range with its streaks of white waterfalls. Prince Eagle Patrum stands at the adjacent window, supported by a pair of crutches, and looks out at a river of Royal Guards executing marching drills. The left leg of his pants is cut and his heavily bandaged calf is clearly visible. Minvians Ray Iddell, Clover Genox, Serene Genox, Sky Proest and Convian Rod Sayson look at the pair of father and son, waiting for either one of them to speak.

     King Patrum turned around and sat on his favourite chair. The prince, however, continued to watch the soldiers below.

     “The assassin disintegrated into a pile of dust, Minvian Iddell, is that what you said
?
” asked King Patrum.

     “Yes
!
” replied Ray.

     “But that is impossible
!
No one can just turn into a pile of dust
!
Was it some kind of illusion
?
Or maybe a new form of Elemental Sorcery
?
” King Patrum asked disbelievingly.

     “Elemental Sorcery _ it was not of this, Your Highness
!
Power _ it was a new form of this that none of us were familiar with,” Ray answered firmly.

     “This is really unwelcome news
!
” said the king.

     Sky cleared his throat politely, not because he needed to but rather to grab everyone’s attention.

     “Your Highness
!
If I may, I would like to suggest engaging the services of a Channeller. Perhaps a Channeller could help us unlock the mystery of this new assassin,” he suggested.

     “A Channeller
?
This is a highly unorthodox method, Minvian Proest. I am sorry, father, but I must object
!
Channellers follow no Reception. They are neither familiar with the ways of nature nor are they morally righteous. At best, they are conmen and at worst, they are worshippers of demons
!
” expressed Eagle.

     “Concur _ I do of this with Prince Patrum,” supported Ray.

     Clover nodded her head in agreement. Serene and Rod, however, sat still because they were undecided on the issue.

     Sky looked at Ray, shook his head and smiled. Then he looked at Prince Patrum and lowered his head slightly. But he never gave the prince the same look that he gave to Ray. Finally, he turned to look at King Patrum

     “Baseless accusations
!
Pure, unfounded fears
!
Your Highness, I urge you to consider all available avenues while investigating the true identity of this mysterious assassin. This information is too valuable for us to be without,” he said.

     King Patrum sat in silence for a while, immersing himself in deep thought.

     “Do you know of any of these Channellers, Minvian Proest
?
” he asked finally.

     “I know of one, You Highness
!
” answered Sky.

     “Minvian Iddell, can you sense demonic powers
?
” asked the king.

     “Sense _ I cannot do of this unless it is very strong and very close, Your Highness, but the Vanguard Jewel can,” replied Ray.

     “Very well, since we have very little choice in the matter, I am willing to go along with it, but only this one time
!
” decided King Patrum.

     “Father
!
Are you sure
?
” asked Prince Patrum.

     “It is harmless to try, Eagle,” said the king.

     “But would we not stain ourselves with sin
?
” asked the prince, obviously showing signs of belief in Reception.

     King Patrum was silent. He stroked his beard in deep thought. All looked eagerly at him.

     “Very well, then. Minvians Iddell and Clover Genox, you will accompany Minvian Proest to engage the services of this Channeller person. Bring along the Vanguard Jewel. Should you feel that the Channeller is fraudulent, arrest him. If he calls upon demonic powers, kill him
!
But if by some chance he has some clean, unstained powers; then let him be. Pay him what is owed to him for the information on this so-called ‘Mystery Assassin’, this assassin in a brown long-coat; and the three of you report back to me as soon as possible, is that understood
?
” ordered the king.

     “Understand _ we do of this, Your Highness
!
” replied Ray and Clover.

     King Fulmar shook his head. He could not believe that he had authorised the engagement of a Channeller.

     Sky smiled smugly at Ray who gave him a cold stare in return. Clearly, Sky was getting to be annoying, as far as Ray was concerned. Clover felt the same way as well. She did not like his arrogant, elitist attitude.

     “Respect _ with all due of this, Your Highness, the situation is not all that bad; for we have actually made progress, although slow, but firm progress. Traitor _ we had found of her, and she has been removed before she could do serious damage. Information _ of this that we have, we are now aware that Your Highness has an enemy who schemes to steal the throne. Assassins _ of them, they are no longer a threat to us for at least another six months while they try to recover and recruit new members,” Clover said, trying to see the positive side of things.

     “Yes, I suppose you are right, Minvian Genox. But with this Mystery Assassin, we are dealing with an entirely new element, one which we have no understanding of. And this concerns me deeply. The saying goes ‘Better the devil you know than the devil you do not’. What if this assassin is not unique, and there is an army of them out there
?
They could pose a very serious threat to the kingdom’s security,” expressed King Patrum.

     “Opportunity _ Your Highness, may I suggest that we take of this to recruit and train more soldiers,” she suggested.

     Prince Patrum sat down next to the king and nodded his head in agreement.

     “This sounds like a good idea, father
!
We have lost quite a number of soldiers to the Serpentians. The Royal Elementhar Pond has lost a significant number as well. Let us take this opportunity to replenish our warrior ranks, before another crisis hits us,” he said.

     “Very well, Eagle, Minvian Genox. The recavians and I were discussing the same issue in our meeting yesterday. We came to the conclusion that we need to recruit 2000 soldiers, but now, I think we may need 3000 instead. Eagle, please make the necessary arrangements. Assign and transfer suitable candidates to replace the Sollenthars who were killed so far,” instructed the king.

     Prince Patrum gave a slight bow to acknowledge his father’s instructions.

     Serene shook her head slightly and wore an expression of confusion on her face.

     “Respect _ with all due of this, Your Highness, and I know it is not my place to say, but I was told that the actual figure was more like 9000, would 3000 be sufficient to strengthen our defences
?
” she questioned.

     King Patrum smiled. He was not surprised and neither was he offended. Both she and Clover had access to ‘privileged’ information after all, being daughters of an orgavian and a recavian respectively.

     “Well, you are actually right, Minvian Genox. The recavians did come up with a figure of 9000, but our treasury could only afford 3000 at best. With trade slowing down due to choppy seas and increased pirate activities, our economy has suffered slightly. And we are still spending a large amount of money to rebuild the towns and villages that the Serpentians had ruined in their raid. There is no point in recruiting 9000 soldiers if we cannot afford to pay their salary, is there, Serene
?
” replied the king.

     “Ignorance _ forgive mine of this, Your Highness
!
” apologised Serene.

     “There is nothing to forgive. I appreciate your efforts. It shows that you care. And more importantly, it shows that you are thinking
!
” the king pointed out.

     “Gratitude _ of this, I am full for Your Highness’ praise,” replied Serene.

     Seizing the opportunity, Rod spoke his heart. He had to anyway, for he did not want to see a close colleague die unnecessarily.

     “Respect _ with all due of this, Your Highness, and I
too
know that it is not my place to say, but there is a minvian in the dungeons here who has been convicted of insubordination and desertion. Pardon _ what if Your Highness do of this to him and reinstate him
?
Experienced _ he is extremely of this and brave too, for I can attest to that since I had served with him before at Fort Eastguard,” he said.

     “Ahh
!
You mean Minvian Sayvion, do you not,
Convian Sayson
?
” asked the king.

     “Correct _ it is of this, Your Highness
!
” answered Rod.

     “I am sure that he is an excellent soldier and a brave warrior, but unfortunately my hands are tied in this case. Minvian Sayvion’s transgression is too public and too severe to pardon. A pardon would send the wrong message to the other soldiers, making them think that they too can behave like him and go unpunished. Military discipline would crumble. Chaos would ensue. No, Convian Sayson, I cannot pardon the minvian. We must show the masses that we abide by the codes of justice, and that no one is above the law,” explained the king.

     “Understand _ I do of this, Your Highness
!
” said Rod with a disappointed tone.

     The study room was silent for a while. It was as though the very room itself was mourning the death that would befall Thorn Sayvion.

     “Are there any issues left to discuss
?
” asked King Patrum.

     Clover nodded her head and cleared her throat.

     “Issue _ there is one of this, Your Highness
!
Compensation _ it is of this for the family and kin of our soldiers who died during the Serpentian raid and by the hands of the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan,” she answered.

     “Thank you for reminding me, Minvian Genox. Yes, there will be compensation for the family of our fallen ones. Eagle, make arrangements to pay one year’s full salary to the dependants of our fallen soldiers, on top of the pension that they are already receiving,” instructed King Patrum.

     “With pleasure, father
!
” acknowledge Prince Patrum.

     “If there is nothing else, you are all dismissed
!
” said the king.

     Ray, Clover, Serene, Sky and Rod stood up, bowed and left the study.

     On that very night, somewhere near the eastern edge of Shadow Forest, Dawn sat exhausted behind the trunk of a huge tree. She was hungry, cold and wet from the downpour earlier on. She felt like collapsing and falling asleep. Her body shivered badly and her lips were bluish in colour. She knew that she was close to getting hypothermia. The temptation to give in to her exhaustion was very strong. But she fought against it. She forced herself to get up and went searching. After awhile, she found all the items she was looking for.

     With her hunter’s knife, Dawn dug a small trench in the ground. The width of the trench was approximately one and a half times the width of her fist, with its depth two and a half times and its length eight times. She made sure the two ends of the trench were shallowly sloped. Then she laid some waxy leaves and a few flat pebbles across the bottom of it to cover the damp soil. She broke all the deadwood that she has managed to find into short pieces, about half the length the trench she had dug. After that, she took out some dry kindling from her bag which she had collected several nights before. She had wrapped the kindling with some waxy leaves when she had collected them so that they stayed dry from the rain. Then she took out her flint rod and with her knife, she sparked a tiny flame. She placed the kindling into the middle of the trench and added wood to burn. She made sure that the deadwood were short and she placed them only at the centre of the trench. A few moments later, she had a small fire going that was burning in the trench and not exposed above the ground. This was what was called a concealed fire, something that she had learnt from her uncle a long time ago.