Last Knight (The Champion Chronicles Book 2), page 4
“You came alone,” Prince Tarcious growled.
“Of course, Your Imperial Highness. I would never think to include others in our meetings.”
“That is not what I meant. Your instructions were to find the King Slayer and bring him to me. Were my words not clear enough?”
“It is a large empire and finding a single man amongst the millions is near impossible.”
“Maybe a demonstration of my power is in order,” Prince Tarcious said.
Hibold took an involuntary step back and lifted his hands as if they would protect him.
Prince Tarcious let out a boisterous laugh and held up his own hands. “I do not need more than these to snap your skinny neck. Why would I waste my precious power on killing you? I still find your skill-set useful.”
Hibold took his first breath in almost a minute. “How will your powers of killing help me find this man?”
A brightness flashed across the prince’s face. For a moment, Hibold saw something in the prince that wasn’t dark and full of death. It was the excited eyes that he would see in his own young boy. Not for a minute did Hibold think that the prince wasn’t full of evil, but it occurred to him that maybe he wasn’t completely evil. Just mostly.
“The power of the wizard is more than just for killing,” Tarcious said. His voice was light and full of energy as he spoke. “It is just that the power of killing is the easiest. The harder powers are those like moving objects from one side of a room to another or controlling the power of nature. Or finding a single man in the middle of the empire. Killing powers, though.” The prince’s youthful and excited face was overcome by a wicked, evil smile. “They come easy. And with each utterance of a spell, the power grows. And the next one becomes that much easier. As long as the power doesn’t kill you first. You see, each spell cast takes just a little bit of your life force to cast. If you use a spell that is too powerful, then you will die. Your life force will be extinguished. They say that is why there are no more wizards left. They grew in power, and kept desiring more. And then, eventually, they tried a spell that they were unprepared for and died. Very few wizards ever died of old age. They were either slain by their own hands. Or,” the prince paused to shrug his shoulders. “They died from others’ hands.”
Hibold shook his head and said, “I do not know of wizards. Other than what you have told me. I know of myths and legends. Scary stories for children, but nothing more.”
“Then you must learn.”
Hibold lifted an eyebrow. “I have no desire to learn the craft of the wizard!”
“And if you did try, you would die trying. Wizardry is not something that you pick up, it is something that you are born with.”
“Oh,” Hibold exclaimed softly with a raised eyebrow. “Is your brother a wizard, then? Is that why you have him imprisoned?”
The prince snarled. “You will never mention such a thing to me again. He is imprisoned because he is an impotent leader. Nothing more.”
“But he could be?” Hibold pressed. He knew just how far he could push the prince, and that limit was almost reached. But this was one thing he needed to know and file away, just in case.
After a moment to ponder his answer and to consider how much he wanted to reveal to Hibold, the prince said, “Wizardry is passed only through families. Ability varies by person. But yes, only through your family lineage can you become a wizard.”
“Then all emperors back through history could have been wizards?”
“If they knew how to train and learn the craft, then yes. If Emperor Shardan could have learned what I know, then he would have conquered the whole world, not just this little part of it. But the world of wizards was taken away nearly five thousand years ago during a great war that encompassed the races of men and elves.”
Hibold chuckled. “You speak of children’s stories. There are no such thing as elves. Magic I have seen and I still have a hard time believing it. But little elves? That I do not believe.”
“They are indeed stories, but ones that are based in fact. They are not little people who have magical powers to play tricks on children. They are truly a race of beings, similar to you and me. But also different in so many ways. For one, all elves had the ability of wizardry, not just a select group. The most powerful of them lived for ages, because through their magic, they could not die. Immortality.”
“Is that what this is all about?” Hibold asked. “Immortality? To live and rule the empire forever?”
The prince shrugged. “It would not be so bad to have such power. But no, that is not why. But if that is a benefit, then so be it. But the truth is…”
The prince paused for a second and looked deep into the eyes of Hibold. He knew little about him, other than he was obedient and unafraid to ask questions. The thin man had served his brother for many years, but was just as eager to serve him. There was so much information and knowledge that needed to be kept secret in order for him to follow through with all of his plans. If anything was revealed too soon, before he was ready, then he would not have the power to stand up against his own army.
But eventually he will need help from a handful that he could really trust.
“How can I trust you?” the prince asked.
“You can have my word,” Hibold replied with a smirk.
“You have served me well, and I would like to reward you. You have done nothing to give me reason not to trust you.”
“But you do not.”
“Of course not. I cannot risk it.”
“I have yet to go running to your brother to let him know that you are slowly poisoning him. I have not called upon the army to slay you because you are in the process of usurping the empire from your brother. I have yet to stab you through the heart, when I know I could.”
“I would cut you down before you had the chance to finish the thought,” the prince growled.
“I have seen your magic, and seen the life drain from your face after you cast your spell. You are vulnerable and weak. A young boy could cut you down. But I have not.”
“And you think I should trust you?”
“Yes, I think you should. You need someone to watch your back after you cast your spell. Someone who won’t cut you down and give the empire back to your brother.”
“Indeed, you have proven yourself trustworthy as an admirable servant for carrying out my commands, but I do not think that you have earned anything more than that,” Tarcious said warily. “I will need more than your word in order to keep you alive past this conversation. It would be easiest for me to slay you now and dispose of your body. Only your wife and son would ever miss you. And I can only image that they really would not miss you terribly. I do not have need of your services other than what I have already asked of you.”
“But can you go out into the city or into the country to serve out your justice, or to follow through on your commands? You have your soldiers and your servants that will do as you order without question. But that is all that they do. They do what they do less for loyalty and more because they fear you and fear for your lives.”
“Fear is a big motivator,” Tarcious said.
“Fear stifles,” Hibold countered. “Fear doesn’t bring loyalty, it only brings obedience. I am not feared; therefore those that follow me do so out of loyalty. Not to me, but to the empire. I can get your soldiers and servants to do more than you ever could. I can get them to act out of loyalty. And that will bring you what you desire. Fear might bring results, but at a great cost. Wars are won on the battlefield, but I have proven that kingdoms can fall without a single loss of life. The kingdoms of Thell and Karmon will fall without a single centurion being killed. I have set things in motion that will allow the empire to finally stretch to the east coast without war. You only need to march your armies to the east and the land will be yours.”
Tarcious glanced to a map of the continent which showed the stretch of the empire. The only parts that were not marked as part of the Taran Empire were the two small kingdoms on the far eastern coast of the continent. He knew the terrible cost of lives that a campaign of war caused as many hundreds and thousands of men still died each year to conquer the barbarians to the north and to keep the tribes of the south at bay. And that was why he had enlisted the services of Hibold in the first place. The power of lies and deceit, and gold, could be much greater than that swung by steel. But like steel, the power of gold only lasted for so long. What Hibold didn’t know was the work he did to gain land for the empire would not have stayed with the empire without subduing and conquering the people. An army was easy to defeat, but to win the people was truly the toughest of battles. Prince Tarcious envisioned a million centurions marching through the mountains to conquer Karmon. No amount of Karmon Knights could withstand that might. The battles would be bloody, but in the end, his army would stand victorious. But unless he followed that army up with thousands of Tarans to take over the farming, hunting, and everyday menial tasks of life, an invasion would not work. They were not enemies, nor were they a threat to the empire. They currently had open trade with them and that couldn’t change.
Plus, the real reason why he needed a foothold in Karmon was to gain access to the Ark of Life. And an invasion would force the hand of the one who is currently guarding it. The foothold needed to be quick and silent and sure. And certainly that was in the skill set of Hibold.
“Your pet Neffenmark is dead, and Admiral Hester, whom you invited into your little plan met a likewise, but much more painful demise. The garrison that Neffenmark was supposed to help establish will not happen, so we may need to proceed down a different path.”
“Admiral Hester is dead?” Hibold asked, eyes wide. “He was quite the accomplished sailor. A brilliant tactician on the seas.”
“A failure in the end,” Prince Tarcious declared. “You will send a delegation back to South Karmon to reestablish relations. It seems their impetuous queen sent Admiral Hester and his troops back before the garrison could be established. I doubt the queen would be so willing to set up a garrison like Neffenmark would have, but we can try.”
“And if that doesn’t work?”
“Like I said, we will go down a different path. But we need to make sure they think we are still friends. I do not want them looking over their shoulder while we come up from behind to stab them in the back. We need to be friendly.”
“Very well, shall I go myself?”
Prince Tarcious rubbed his chin for a moment. Although Hibold would be just the right person to head up such a delegation, he would be needed elsewhere. Plus, he needed to keep an eye on the man. He could trust Hibold only so far and the closer he stayed to Tara City, the better. In the end, he shook his head. “No. Not you. We have many fine emissaries who will be able to do this simple job. Of all my brother’s failings, the one thing he was good at was building up his network of spies and emissaries. The palace is crawling with them. Pick one. Anyone. But I will hold you personally responsible for his success. Clear?”
“Of course,” Hibold replied.
“Now, as for you, I will need you to go to Iseron.”
“Iseron?” Hibold said with a furled brow. “A bit of a backwards city. The eastern province is a bit remote and rough. I would probably be more useful on the delegation to Karmon. My skills are more suited to that endeavor.”
“No, I need you in Iseron,” Tarcious said impatiently. “You will find him there.”
“Who?”
With no more patience left, he was done with the conversation and it was now time for Hibold to leave. With clenched teeth and incredible control of his emotions, the prince replied, “The King Slayer. The boy from Karmon. The one who were supposed to deliver to me.”
“How do you know he’s there?”
Before the echo of the words faded away, Prince Tarcious released his anger. Two words were muttered from his lips and he pointed at the wall behind the emissary’s head. A small fiery ball exploded from his fingertips and struck the wall, exploding the wood into small shards, some of which embedded in the skin of Hibold. He gave a shout and fell to the ground, pulling at the small pieces of wood stuck in him.
“That was your warning,” Prince Tarcious said. “No questions. Now leave me. And do not return without the King Slayer.”
The prince turned away from Hibold, who was slowly picking himself up from the ground. He looked back down at the elegantly drawn map of his empire and the small eastern kingdoms. Soon enough, he would have the Ark, and that put a smile on his face.
Chapter Five
Conner touched the wound. There was a slimy substance that covered it and the thread that tied his skin together. The pain had subsided to a tolerable ache, but when he moved a certain way the stinging came back.
“It will take some time to heal,” Laurin said.
Conner looked at her and nodded his head, thankful that she was there to save his life. She was a young woman, maybe just a little older than Princess Elissa…Queen Elissa, he had to remind himself. She was pretty in a rough sort of way, but not nearly as beautiful as Elissa. He shook his head at himself. He needed to stop thinking about her and just put all of his past out of his mind. He was long gone and there was no going back.
“How long until I can swing a sword?”
“Quite some time…” Laurin started to say.
But Steven interjected, “It depends on how much pain you can take. It will hurt. A lot.”
“Steven!” Laurin snapped. To Conner, she said, “The wound must first heal. One week at least. Probably longer. Too soon and the threads will rip and you’ll start bleeding again.”
Conner looked around at his surroundings. They were camped deep in the woods in a very small clearing that was surrounded by thick underbrush. Tall trees encircled them, hiding the sun from view. A small fire pit held the smoldering remains of a fire. A thin trickle of smoke emanated from it. It made him think of how hungry he was.
“I need to pick up their trail,” Conner said. “How far away are we from when we last saw them?”
Steven and Laurin shared a look. Then Steven said, “Today is the third day since the attack. I gave you a drink that helped you sleep. It helps the healing process, too.”
Conner looked around for his gear, but he did not see any of it. “Three days is not too bad. I can still pick up their trail.”
“Bandits roam the forest,” Steven said. “And not just those that attacked us. We are still far from the reaches of the centurion patrols and many bands of all sorts of thieves and murderers run free. We must do all we can to avoid them and anyone else we come across or else they will kill us, like they almost did last time. Laurin and I were not careful. We strayed too close to the forest paths. We need to stay in the deep part of the forest and pick our way through it until we get past the Rijer River and to Iseron.”
“I’ll be fine. I know my way through a forest and I can handle myself,” Conner said confidently.
“Even a trained knight such as yourself cannot stand against five men,” Laurin said.
The words came out of his mouth before he thought about them. Despite their truth in general, he knew that they did not apply to him, but he said them anyway. “Knights can easily handle five men at once. They are unskilled brigands. Thieves and murderers. Not trained soldiers.”
“They’ve killed. Have you?”
Conner looked directly at Steven and his gaze did not waver. “Yes.”
After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Laurin said, “We must eat before we move again. Iseron is still a few days walk. You’ll need food to get your strength back.”
Conner glanced at the fire pit that no longer had a burning fire. “Is there meat?”
“No meat,” Laurin said. “We did not have time to hunt. But I made a stew from roots and vegetables I foraged.”
Conner smiled, trying not to let his disappointment show. Vegetable stew did not sound tasty at all. But as soon as the bowl of stew was handed to him, he realized that he was famished. And with the addition of some special spices that Laurin added, the stew ended up being delicious. Conner ate his fill, and then some. After he finished his third bowl, he wondered if he had left enough for the couple. Neither complained and seemed satisfied after the last of the meal was scooped up.
While Laurin cleaned up their bowls and utensils, Conner and Steven moved to a sunny spot in their small clearing. The foliage opened just enough for a bit of sun to break through the tops of the trees. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to comfortably warm them.
“How much longer,” Conner asked, nodding at Laurin.
“The baby? A while, yet. She is about half a year. We want to get to Iseron and settled in before the baby comes. I certainly don’t want to be stuck out here in the middle of winter.”
“So what’s the story?” Conner asked. “You said it was complicated.”
Steven glanced at Laurin, and then down at the ground. “Well, Laurin, like I said, she’s not my wife. At least not yet. We had planned to be married. I was still working up to pay her dowry that her father demanded. But we…” He turned his head as his cheeks began to turn red. “She and I just… you know. Heat of the moment kind of thing.”
“Her father threw her out, calling her a whore and all. The village wanted to burn her as a witch.”
“A witch?” Conner asked.
Steven glanced at Laurin and a sad smile fell across his face. “Yeah. My father is the village leader. He told everyone that there was no way that I could be at fault. It was her fault for seducing me and only a witch could do that. My father was trying to protect me, I know. But he just made it worse. I was to be the village leader after him and he knew that the village council would not support me if I had a bastard child.”
