King Odokar was reading a letter from one of his thanes, it described some interesting visitors who sought to make a partnership with his tribe. He sighed in his bed, the pain in his body was manageable but a constant torment to his waking moments. He grimaced at the ever-present notification of his victory at Corvinna. Odokar was trampled into a mangled mess by a stampede of burning horses. They could not move him far, and so they commandeered the governor’s villa as his place of rest. He was in and out of a coma for the first few months, many were not sure if he was going to pull through, but he did; his recovery was slow, but he was getting stronger by the day, and he could almost walk while breathing.
While the king was down, the months that followed were troubled to say the least. Some of the tribes proceeded to pillage the surrounding countryside, and discipline within the tribes became difficult to maintain. Aurestes took advantage of the situation and after making his son Caesar, proceeded to persuade a few of the outlying tribes to join and leave Odokar’s camp. The deal that he made was slowly being reneged on, and the lands that were promised were slow in coming. Aurestes dragged his feet to recognize their conquests and acquisitions, and the tribes were filled with tension bordering on the unmanageable.
When Odokar was well enough to manage meeting the chiefs of the tribes, the situation improved for his armies, but it did not solve the issues they faced. Aurestes was posturing in such a way that made it clear that he did not intend to keep his end of the bargain. Odokar was in a tough position, which was being made weaker by his slow recovery. The only good news was that talks with the Salians were proceeding well. The King’s musings were interrupted by one of his honorary dwarven guards approaching him.
“My lord, a priest, and a pilgrim have come to see you.” Odokar gave his consent and sat up in bed to see his visitors. There stood before him two men in cloaks, one in the traditional garb of a vagabond cleric, and the other man dressed as a simple traveler.
“Great King of the Longbeards, we have traveled a long way to meet with you. I am Father Fidelius, and the man to my side is Gaius Aurelius. We are grateful that you have taken the time to meet with us. My companion would like to make you an offer.” The priest bowed and made way to allow Gaius to be easily seen by the king. “Lord Odokar, I am of gens Valeria, and the head of my family, who represents a majority of the senate at Rumelia, has sent me to offer you aid with the mutual problem of Aurestes.”
The king’s attention was grabbed: “What exactly do you propose that I cannot do myself? That snake has conned a few of the weaker tribes into joining him, but it has little lasting impact on my position. Frankly, I tire of your people, I am considering just burning the countryside and taking the treasures out of this miserable country. I don’t see how help from members of the defeated can benefit me.”
Gaius made a gentle smile as he said: “My good lord, if you had the desire or the goal of pillaging this land, I could not stop you, but seeing as how you have not done such a thing; I think the odds of that occurring is diminutive at best. No, what I propose is something I think you can appreciate. In my opinion, the proposal is most pleasing. What mine and a few of the other patrician families want is to see Aureste’s head on a stake and his son removed. What we are willing to offer you is the chance to be king.
Odokar’s eyes narrowed in puzzlement: “I am already a king; how can you offer to recrown me?”
Gaius then chuckled: “You are indeed King of the Longbeards, but you would also be King of the Rumelian Heartlands; the new title would be something like Odokar, King of Hitalias and of the Longbeards and Rumelians. A nice title, no? This last campaign was a massive defeat, in more ways than one, Nepitus did not simply lose a fight, but he proved how weak our armies have become. We realized something in this failure, even if Nepitus were to return from his exile, he would not be able to stop another invasion. However, if you were to become the king of this land, we would not need fear a second incursion.”
Odokar was interested, “Why offer this to me exactly? I am wounded and you could always ask some other king.”
“We have had incursions from the Wergoss, Wendalii, and Hussack peoples, and now your Gossic armies have also attacked. Of all of them, only you have shown a minimum restraint on the plundering of cities. Being frank, I don’t think we are going to have a better opportunity for peace, by waiting for another invasion and hoping for a better candidate. If you accept the deal, it will prove that you can be reasoned with; that in turn would show an ability to be our king. So do you accept?”
The King of the Longbeards considered the proposal: His original reason for invading was to secure better lands for his people, and a defensible position against the Hussacks. If he becomes king not only would he have the lands, but he also no longer must worry about a Rumelian counterattack. The only problem with the deal is the Rumelians themselves, can they be trusted? It was a difficult question to answer. He decided to think on the question and asked the two men to be given a night to think it over. He then asked for the two guests to be given proper a proper welcome and a place to rest. Gaius and Father Fidelius then left the King to his thoughts.
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The priest and the emissary spoke in hushed tones as they went to their designated waiting arrangements: “Father, do you think he will accept the senate's proposal?” Fidelius answered slowly, “I prayed last night and had a dream about the King. He was surrounded on all sides, and held down by the hands of darkness. His doom was certain, but the blood of the martyr fell upon him, and he was saved. Weeping messengers came from the east, and then sent a man who held a crown of gold in his hands, who then placed it upon his brow; the crown then held firm as seven stars did hold him, but the crown then was carried away by winds of fire and fell into a stagnant pool of sanguinity. Then an angel fell upon him and said: “Just as you have judged the son so shall you be judged by him”.”
“Father, did you receive a prophesy?” Gaius exclaimed in wonder.
“No, not quite but I believe the Ever-pure did send me a revelation. I am not certain if I should reveal it to the king or not. I think I will pray on it and lay the question before the lord.” The two men then separated for the evening, and each sought their own means of passing the time until the king made his decision.
It was in the later hours of the night when Father Fidelius decided to call on the king’s quarters. The king was deep in his musings when a guest was announced to him. Father Fidelius asked for pardon as he pulled a stool and sat by the kings bedside. They chatted for a short while before the priest eventually spoke of his dream to the king, the king calmly listened all the while, and the priest's tone went from nervous to relaxed as he finished. The Longbeard King silently contemplated the revelation, before he stated: “I hope you know that I am a believer in the Ever-pure, I would have you know that if what you say is false: I will have you executed for blasphemy, I neither trespass on the faith of others nor suffer trespass of mine in my presence. Do I make myself clear?”
The priest nodded, Odokar then asked “I will consider what you have said as true, and I want you to answer this question. Do you think I should accept that offer of kingship?”
“Yes, I do think you should take the offer. The fact that you took offense at the thought of blasphemy, proves to me that you will be a God-fearing king. You shall be a blessing to both our peoples. I think it is the will of the Ever-pure that you should rule; but be not proud and overbearing, nor be scheming as the snake, lest you tempt his wrath with your folly. Please I ask that you rule over us with wisdom, mercy, and justice; for as the sacred scrolls have written, the duty of a king is to be a judge over his nation.”
Thank you I will honor your request, if a king you shall ask for, then a king you shall receive. Now Father I ask that you offer me your blessings.”
The priest nodded and prayed: "My God, I pray you grant an answer to my humble blessings on this once and future king. May your heart be one of rectitude and your council ever steadfast, may your hand be guided by forthright bravery, and stayed by tender mercy. May the enemy not gain purchase against you and yours; may those who unjustly seek to persecute you, find naught but ill reward. May your line stand evermore as proper and true servants of the Ever-pure. In the name of the High Father, the Pure Son, and the Sacred Ghost, and let it be evermore.”
They had a moment of silence and the words washed over King Odokar. He felt a calm certainty develop within him and serenity emanated from his smile. The priest stood up from his chair bowed to the king and turned around. Behind the priest a man became visible, he was tall, dark, and clothed in the manner of a man from the east. The hood of his cloak was long, and he held a curved blade, which he plunged into the belly of the priest. Fidelius gasped and fell to his side in the king’s bed, Odokar cried out, and with all the speed and strength in his body, shakingly pulled a short sword from the side of his bed.
The hooded man walked forward and slashed his bloodied blade at the king, who weakly blocked the impact. The priest rolled to his back and ungracefully kicked at the assailant. His repeated strikes did little to bother the attacker, until one of the kicks struck true, and landed squarely into the assassin’s testicles. The man grimaced and plunged his blade into the chest of the priest, his weapon held tight by the bones of his ribs, became its final resting place. The king used the man’s moment of distraction, an slashed his sword across the assassin's neck, the man did not immediately die. The priest with a sword buried in his chest, grabbed hold of the assailant, and held him down, as the king plunged his sword repeatedly into the hooded man, his blood soaked the bed and clothes of Odokar’s person.
The attacker died with much effort and little fanfare. The King in pained exhaustion looked at the eyes of the dead priest, he never let go of the assassin even in death. Odokar waited patiently, soaked in the blood of two other people, and listened to the sounds of skirmishes outside his chambers. In minutes a crimson-stained dwarf, with chunks of raw meat stuck to his beard, came to the side of his bed. “My lord, the rest of the attackers, have been killed and I also killed the servants who let them in. It is to my shame that this event happened, this should never have occurred, and I will abide by whatever you decide is a fit punishment.”
“Very well, your punishment will be to investigate this event and find some proof on who sent them, I have my suspicions but it never hurts to verify.”
“Yes, my lord, what do you want me to do with the priest’s body and the emissary?”
“Inform Gaius that I have accepted his proposal and notify him of the cause and nature of the priest’s death. Father Fidelius was a fine man, and he assisted me in my hour of need, so we shall pay the funerary costs and donate a portion to his church. In the meantime, gather the chiefs of the tribes for a meeting. We have much to do and little time.”