Chapter 36: Chapter 36 – Scolding Lectures… (Intermission 2, III)

Dunal took us to an area of the palace where a large door rested. A few guards stood on each side and moved out of the way as we approached. This whole area was beautifully decorated to the royal standard and looked like a place where many important meetings took place.

After a swift knock from the butler, a voice replied, “You may enter.” When the guards opened the doors, Dunal led us in.

The room was huge, many times larger than the entirety of the guest wing. At the end, there was a raised platform where Edmund was comfortably seated upon a throne. There was also another man there who looked like he was sweating his balls off. That must be the duke. More guards dotted the edges of the chamber with their weapons at the ready in case things went sour. Below the platform, about a dozen well-dressed nobles stood, both men and women, and by the looks of their high-quality attire, I could tell their pockets were lined with gold.

When we were noticed, the room went quiet, and everyone turned their heads, shifting their gaze toward us as we walked up to the platform.

“Great, you’re all here… please, stand here.” He pointed to the area next to him on the platform, opposite where the duke looked like he was about to cry. A plethora of muttering erupted between the nobles when Edmund cleared his throat to get their attention. “Hush!” He put his finger to his lips, and the nobles stood to attention, and a deafening silence filled the room. “Now that everyone is here, I can finally get down to business.” He got off his throne and moved to the crowd; a serious look filled his face. “What the fuck is going on? I left you all a perfectly running island… I returned to a giant steaming pile of horseshit.”

“Your grace,” The duke interrupted, then he was silenced with an intimidating wave of a hand from the prince.

“Shut up! I didn’t give you permission to talk. If you interrupt me again… I’ll have your head on a spike.” Edmund threatened before continuing, “The twins lost their town to goblins, and from what I’ve heard, they came to you on countless occasions for help to regain it, but every time you came up with excuses. Then to top it all off, you have allowed one of the royal guards to turn coat and ravage the land with his band of bloodthirsty bandits. Now, speak.” He waited for a response.

“Your Grace… I was not aware of the issue. This is the first time I have heard about it.” The duke replied, bowing his head.

Artos and Atreyu were both fuming like a volcano right about now. The prince turned to them both for a response.

Artos stood forward and bowed his head, “Your grace, we have sent countless letters to the duke asking for aid. I am sure Dunal here can back our claims as some were directly handed to him.”

Dunal stood forward, “Your grace, I can confirm what Lord Krossa is saying is true.” To which he received a thankful nod from the twins.

Now all sights were set upon the Duke, who seemed even more flustered, “It’s not true. They lie.”

“Dunal has served my family for countless years. Longer than you were milk in your father’s ball sack. You have run my Island into the ground… now explain to me why those bandits are still alive?”

“Your grace, we didn’t have the men… there was no way we could have faced that many bandits.” The duke replied.

“Bullshit!” Edmund shouted, “I am certain if you stamped this nuisance out at the beginning, it would never have been this big of a problem right now. You are relieved of your post as Duke and shall now revert back to being a lord. I will assume command of the Island once more and fix this mess you’ve created. Now get out of my sight before I change my mind about cutting your head off.” He turned to the other nobles, “None of you helped the twins though you had the men and finances at your disposal. The Krossa family have been prominent members of the Royal court decades before your families were just ordinary peasants. Things will be changing around here from now on, and those of you who decide you do not want to cooperate, will be stamped out of power, and put back on the streets where you belong… Is that understood?”

There were no objections from the nobles, who just dropped their heads in shame. Artos and Atreyu grinned as their honour had just singlehandedly been restored amongst the elite of Nasrock.

“With that done, we need to discuss how we’ll take care of the bandit problem. They number in the hundreds and have begun attacking the eastern villages.” He turned to the twins, “I know you’ve just reclaimed the mine, and with this horrible weather raging about like it is, how long will it be before you can muster a force?”

Artos nodded, “Your grace. We just fought off an army of goblins, so we’ll need a few months at least before we can pledge any men. Besides, there’s another more serious problem that Ali’Creed and Lanakis here can better explain.” He pointed towards me.

All eyes in the room settled on me. It felt slightly unnerving that everyone’s attention suddenly shifted to me, making me feel a bit awkward. I removed the helmet, so my face was visible. “Erm… yeah. So… there’s an evil entity hell-bent on turning everyone into afflicted undead creatures. The goblins we encountered at Krossa village were actually running away from it when the village miners accidentally stumbled upon their nest. The entire thing was a giant misunderstanding. We’ve taken control of the town once more after a few giant battles, with most of the goblins not wanting peace, but the ones that do are still there and will be cooperating courtesy of Lanakis, a powerful goblin caster.” I pointed to Lanakis, who removed his hood to reveal his green face.

The people in the room began to panic and mumble between themselves seconds before turning for the entrance.

“Enough! Don’t even think about it.” Edmund shouted to simmer things down before motioning for me to continue.

“Lanakis here did an excellent job of blasting the tunnels to ensure the afflicted goblins, along with the creature leading them, have been slowed down. We have approximately two months before they make it through. How many did you say there are?” I turned to ask Lanakis.

“By my estimation, there was about four hundred plus whatever amount they have added to their army since then.” The caster added.

“Since fighting them, I have found they have an aversion to light and fire, thus making it hard for them to move around during the day. The darkness is where they belong, and that is when they’ll attack.” I explained.

“Indeed,” Edmund agreed, “but you do realize we would need to stamp the bandit problem out first. If I take all the men from here to fight this thing, then it would leave this entire side of the Island undefended. They’ll strike like vipers and burn this entire side of the island to the ground.”

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Artos cleared his throat, “I understand… How about this? If we muster a force in a month’s time, strike the bandits when they least expect it. I bet they’re all huddled up around their fire right now. I’m certain they don’t know about your arrival, so your royal guard, combined with what we can gather, should be enough to catch them off balance.”

“Alright, you have a month then. That goes for the rest of you. I expect you all to contribute men and resources to this battle. You know what is to come… so get out of my sight. I need to speak to these lot in private.” Edmund commanded.

The nobles bowed their heads before rushing to the door. Once they were all out the doors, they were slammed shut.

“Phew, was that too hard, or do you think it was okay?” He asked Artos.

Artos laughed, “I swear, some of them shat their pants.”

“Alright, guys, we have a few tough months ahead of us. This island needs to be back at peak performance, otherwise it’ll affect the upcoming war.” Edmund sighed.

“What?” Artos asked, scratching his head.

“Yeah… tensions are high with some of the neighbouring countries, and I have no doubt we’ll be at war within the next year. That’s why I need you to make sure the mine is operational, and a port is built near your village. I will loan you the coin to get things started. We can’t afford to have only one major port on this Island, especially with all that silver that’s going to be shipped to the capital.”

“What do you want in return?” Artos asked.

“I only ask that you sell the silver to the crown. We pay our soldiers in silver, and the Royal Mint is currently facing a shortage. We can’t have our men mutiny in the midst of war, which was the whole reason I came to this Island in the first place. When I found out what had happened, I was furious. Just before we were about to set off for your village, that snowstorm hit us like a tidal wave.”

“Ahh, don’t worry about it. News does seem to travel slow when you have idiots in charge of the only viable port on the island.” Artos shrugged before turning his attention to me. “What do you say to helping us rebuild the town and stamping this bandit problem out?”

“Seeing as I’m a shareholder in the mine, it only makes sense I help you with the rebuilding. As for the bandit problem… let’s just say I can’t wait to fight some new enemies. But before that, I want to gain more knowledge on magic and spells.” I turned to Lanakis, “You don’t mind teaching me… do you?”

“Urg,” Lanakis scoffed, “I don’t normally teach idiots, but for you, I’ll make an exception.”

Talk about a stab in the back. I had saved his life; still, he was complaining like a child. I crossed my arms and gave him a death stare like I was going to whoop his ass again when Sparky returned. From the looks of things, Lanakis didn’t give a toss.

“I don’t suppose any of you have more of that bosa?” He scoffed, turning toward Azer, silently standing in the corner of the room.

Atreyu burst into laughter, “I can’t believe we’ve turned him into an alcoholic goblin. Who’s got that on their bucket list?”

“Behave yourself.” Edmund replied, “I will be holding a feast later. All the nobles will be here with their families, and there will be plenty of bosa and fine wine to go around. Now, if you would please get back to your rooms and get ready, the feast will begin shortly. I have some work to finish before all that. I’m sure Dunal will find you some fine clothes to wear.”

We all nodded in agreement as Dunal motioned us to follow him. We were led outside the room when we noticed the duke waiting there.

“This isn’t over, twins. I’ll be back with a vengeance.” He snarled.

Artos stepped forward, “What are you going to do? I’m standing right here.” He opened his arms, inviting the duke to make his move.

The duke paused as if he didn’t know what to do, before Dunal stepped between them and interrupted, “Lord Conwyth, you have been asked to leave the premises. If you don’t leave, the guards will be forced to ‘help’ you out. That won’t be good for you now, would it?”

“This isn’t over…” Conwyth mumbled before running for the entrance while Atreyu continued to laugh his ass off.

Dunal turned to the guards, “If he returns without permission, apprehend him.” The guards nodded in agreement and saluted to acknowledge the order. “Now… I will task the maids to prepare suitable clothing for the party. Please ensure no weapons are present as the guardsmen will provide sufficient protection… and please, watch your consumption of alcohol.” He finished before taking us back to the guest wing.

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