One morning, Dred sat in a round table made of mahogany along with other men and women of the Sord council. Lords from minor houses under the banner of House Sord are gathered in a meeting, discussing what to do during the King's absence.

"The king left the capital", a middle aged man said with a raspy tone.

"So it seems", a young woman of more or less twenty, replied, her voice deep and regal.

"This proves a great chance for us to take the throne, Lord Vant", another man replied, his voice sounding confident. "The capital is only guarded by Lord Mippen of House Slint, a minor house in the capital. He can be easily swayed, my lord."

The other men and women in the council were silent, but they were nodding in agreement with the confident man's suggestion.

House Sord had always eyed the throne. They believed that they deserve the throne after their contributions to Illain's rebellion against House Angr a decade ago. It was their house that donated troops and weapons needed to besiege the former capital of House Angr, Stalsrod. It was also them that executed many of the coalition's enemies, which are mostly Klustr's heirs and generals.

Vant, wearing a black crown stood from his seat and raised an arm, causing the murmuring and chatter in the council room to stop.

"An invasion will not happen", Vant said coldly.

His words sent shock into the members of his council in the room.

"But my lord--!", an old man exclaimed.

Vant only flicked his finger and Dred understood what he meant.

Dred stood up from his seat and cut the old man's head clean off, and his body fell, spilling blood on the floor. He wiped his sword with the dead old man's clothes and sheathed his blade.

"Thank you, brother", Vant thanked Dred for his clean execution.

The council is left silent as one of their members just got executed on the spot.

Vant cleared his throat, catching the council's attention. "As I was saying before the...unfortunately dead one cut me off...", he paused. "No invasion will happen.", he repeated.

Everyone in the council is very confused by the lord's statement. The king is away from his capital city, this is the perfect chance for an invasion! Not to mention the fact that they have the troops and siege weapons to do so. They wanted to give Vant a piece of their mind, but they fear facing Dred's blade.

"Tine", Vant called and a woman with voluptuous physique appeared from the crowd beside the council table, all eyes are on her as her breast and bosom jiggled as she walked.

"My lord?", Tine asked with a sultry look on her face.

Dred sighed in annoyance as he already knows what's going to happen next.

"Dred", Vant called.

"Yes, brother?", Dred asked.

"I'm sending Tine to the royal capital, Solsari.", he paused.

Before Vant can continue. Dred had predicted what his older brother's order would be.

"I'm to act as guard to her during our journey and while she..."persuades" the lord in charge of Solsari, yes?", he continued.

Vant said nothing and nodded instead. He plans to use Tine's womanly charms to seduce the lord stationed in Solsari in the King's stead. If not to rebel, then Vant at least intends for Lord Mippen to defect towards him and provide him easy passage to Solsari. The commonfolk are increasingly getting dissatisfied with King Illain's rule due to the high taxation rates, the constant crime in the city, it's all getting out of hand.

"The local lord in Solsari, Mippen, is known to be a patron of the brothels in the city", Vant told to the council then looked at Tine, raising her chin to meet her almond brown eyes. "And you, my dear", he paused to kiss Tine in a lustful manner, coiling his tongue around hers and the council just sat there and watched. "You're going to make all of this work.", he whispered to her as he pulled away from the kiss.

"Your manners are befitting of a brothel patron, brother", Dred said sternly and tugged Tine away from his brother. "Is that all? If so, I'll prepare for our journey", he added.

"That's not all, dear brother.", Vant replied. He then pulled out a banner of House Sord, a gold skull impaled vertically by a gold sword with a green background. "Divios shall know who the true king is", Vant said "true" with heavy and intense emphasis on the word.

Dred took the banner from his brother and left the council room and went on to prepare for the upcomong journey.

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An hour of preparation later, Dred and Tine are in the gates of Banem, the seat of House Sord. The city is located in the eastern regions of Divios. It lies near the borders of the center and eastern regions. The ride from Banem to Solsari is a relatively quick one as the road that connects the two cities is a trading route, thus the road is maintained pretty well.

Dred sat on the saddle of his horse, his medium length dirt brown hair flowing with the wind and beside him rode Tine, the "important" asset that his older brother, Vant ordered him to guard.

Surprisingly, the ride was quiet without any complaint from Tine. She never tried making small talk either, she's just riding beside Dred silently like a toddler that has been forbidden from eating cookies.

The ride was smooth without rapers and thieves in sight, the weather and terrain are in their favor as well. And just as the night was about to come, the two eventually arrived at the eastern gates of Solsari.

"We're here", Dred muttered softly to catch Tine's attention. "The sooner you fuck that Mippen person, the quicker we leave.", he added.

"Yes, yes, I know.", Tine replied reluctantly.

They both reached the gates of the city and they were greeted by the guards that allowed them to pass.

"Do you think that man will fold his banner because of a woman's touch?", she asked curiously.

"That Mippen is no man. He's simply a moron that was pushed into power...", he paused. "He'll probably betray his kin if given the chance to.", he continued.

Tine was left silent by Dred's reasoning. She doesn't understand why but she can pick up the fact that his tone sounded bitter, no, spiteful.

Soon, the sky went dark and it's finally night time, a time for brothels to open to its patrons. Dred and Tine went into alleys, the sophisticated architecture of the city slowly became less and less apparent the deeper they went into the alley. The buildings feel cramped, with one establishment immediately connected to another. As they walked, they finally reached their destination. It wasn't obvious at first because there wasn't a sign that hung but Dred saw naked women enter the building, some women even brought girls no older than nine with them. It was a truly disgusting and vile place which Dred has to stomach, his grip on his sword that hung around his waist tightened as they entered the brothel.

After they took their first steps inside, Dred immediately tugged off Tine's clothes and leaned into her ear. "Take a seat, I'll find him", he whispered. Tine nodded and obeyed Dred's command and she sat on a chair, spreading her legs open to entice some of the patrons waiting for their prostitutes.

A few minutes or so passed, Dred came back to where he left Tine, this time, with Mippen in tow. Mippen looked nothing like a noble lord, with his loose shirt and half-pulled down trouser.

"Here she is, Lord Mippen", Dred motioned his hand to show Tine naked and waiting.

"She looks...exquisite.", Mippen replied as he started to undo his trouser while guiding Tine to their room. Tine giggled at his compliment and didn't resist him. Dred followed behind the two until they reached their room at the very end of the hall. He heard the door close and immediately heard moans from both Mippen and Tine. He just stood outside and waited for all of it to finish, and the moaning died down after five minutes. Tine opened the door, wearing nothing but a silk dress wetted by her sweat.

"Is he asleep?", Dred asked.

"Like a toddler", she replied with a smirk.

Dred nodded and went inside the room, and the stench of sperm and sweat filled his nose. It seemed like the sheets hasn't been changed in a while and it repulsed him. Instead of waking up Mippen and starting negotiations like Vant ordered him, Dred unsheathed his sword and stabbed the sleeping Mippen through the skull causing him to die in an instant. Dred looked at Tine with a threatening gaze and she immediately picked up what his gaze meant. A single scream will mean her death at Dred's hand.

He searched Mippen's clothes, and as he started to look through his trousers, he felt a rough sensation in his fingers and he pulled it away from the pocket without hesitation. Dred saw a scroll sealed with the coat of...House Sord? With much curiosity, he removed the seal and opened the letter and it read:

"To Lord Mippen Splint, Ward of Solsari,

I hope this letter reaches you without any hindrance, in the moment it does, I have a proposal.

I believe His Majesty the King is a hindrance to us both and it would be much appreciated if you could...weed him out. Of course, you will be handsomely rewarded should you succeed in your endeavor.

The rewards are, but not exclusively:

• A personal "lady" that you can use to please yourself any time of the day.

• A down payment of ten thousand gold and an additional fifteen thousand should you succeed.

• A marriage with my brother and your daughter to strengthen the alliance of our houses.

I hope that you take the time to consider my offer, good sir.

From,

Vant Sord, Overseer of the East."

"Woman", he called out.

Tine turned her attention towards Dred with a raised eyebrow.

"Brother...no, father already planned this.", he paused. "We were never meant to be here. Pack what you can carry, we're going north, Bredost.", he ordered with immense urgency.

Tine had to blink twice to process what he said. Did he just...call his brother "father"? Why? However, before she can ask, Dred cut him off.

"We'll talk about it on the way, for now, let's just leave.", he urged while he put the letter in his rucksack.

Under the cover of night, Dred and Tine rode on the same horse carrying only bare essentials like rations and money. If luck favors them, they can reach Primtone, the town near Bredost, by daybreak.

As Dred and Tine rode, she took it as an opportunity to ask the question that lingered on her mind.

"Sir Dred....you called Lord Vant your father but I'm fairly certain you're brothers. Can you...enlighten me about it?", she asked softly while her hands are wrapped around Dred's waist. The light of the full moon under the night sky shining on the both of them.

He sighed softly. "I'll only say it once so pay attention.", he replied. She gulped with nervousness on what she might hear.

"Last week, I was in the library with the local archivist, Umbonet. I was helping him organize the latest books in the archive when I stumbled upon the bloodline of House Sord. I read through it and saw that my mother that gave birth to me...her partner was my brother.", he said solemnly.

She gasped in surprise and her breath was almost taken away from her. Did she just hear it right? Dred was a product of incest? Before she can ask another question, she heard Dred sigh.

"A short explanation was written about my birth. My brother...forced himself on our mother and held her captive in a tower. She immediately died after giving birth to me.", he continued.

"What in the hells...", she cursed. She was about to ask, but she felt like she should leave it at that. Instead, she tried to light up the mood. "You don't look like an inbred at all.", she teased and poked his cheek.

Dred scoffed at her teasing and continued the ride. It is still deep in the night...