“Today is our last day in Pirun.” Defon said, poking his head into the room where Lord Daron and Lord Kardo were lodged. “Make your preparations accordingly.”
“I thought the banquet was a dinner?” Lord Daron asked.
“Yes it is, and none of you should be caught with wine or beer. We leave tonight. I wouldn’t want anyone drunkenly wandering into the bush.”
“Alright. Thank you Lord Defon.” Lord Kardo said. “We will meet at the banquet.”
Lord Defon left, a few minutes his muted voice could be heard in the other rooms, telling the others not to drink or eat too much.
“Lord Kardo, a penny for your thoughts.” Lord Daron said. “What do you think of Ganz?”
“I think he is a fool.” Lord Kardo said with a wide smile. His full white beard made him look like he was delivering a complement.
“Undoubtedly, someone has found new magic, I doubt it is ganz, the man looks like a fashion boy.”
“Well he is good looking, but I’m not sure that reflects on his intellect” Lord Daron said.
“If he was smart he would spare us the platitudes about making Pirun the greatest kingdom in Gan.” Lord Kardo said. “His naivety is almost childlike.”
“He could be lying to us.” Lord Daron said.
“I could hear his heartbeat. I could hear the blood pulsing through his veins. That man truly believes what he spews.” Lord Kardo said.
Lord Daron inhaled. Of course, Lord Kardo must have spent the previous night writing acoustic spells while he was sleeping. Not that it mattered, heartbeats didn’t always flutter when people were lying, especially if they were very good liars.
“We need to remain diplomatic throughout the duration of this excursion.” Lord Kardo continued. “When we return back to Aku’anda, we will discuss at length what to do next.”
“One thing’s for sure, we need to discover the new magic he has before we do anything.” Lord Daron said.
“We shall see.” Lord Kardo said.
Lord Daron did not enjoy himself much at the dinner, The nobles of Pirun were extremely talkative and indulgent. Most of them were from royal families, spoiled from childhood and were mostly ignorant and/or out of touch. Ganz was visibly irritated by their presence and it became very clear that the first banquet did not include them for a reason.
An hour into the banquet, Lord Defon announced their departure. They exchanged greetings and exited the throne room, where the banquet was taking place. Lord Daron was grateful to step out into the courtyard at the divine level. He again marveled at how it looked at night. Jet coaches began to dock at the edges of the courtyard, Lord Daron walked to one, accompanied by Lord Kardo. The jetcoach carried them to the city floor where they moved to hovercoaches and rode out of the city.
The Hovercoaches moved slowly, about the speed of a jogging human. They could go very fast but on uneven ground such as routes between cities, a fast moving hovercoach could hit anything, be it physical or magical that could cause a fatal accident.
So the hovercoaches, lined up in a caravan, inched slowly but consistently towards Aku’anda in the dead of night. Lord Kardo and Lord Daron were in the same coach, the hovercoach seating was extendible to a queen size bed. Upon invoking an unwritten spell, a few sentences long they extended the bed out and went to sleep.
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The following morning there was a short break and freshening up, Lord Daron found himself in a conversation with Lord Defon.
“Ganz is extremely dangerous.” Lord Defon had said. “The Nobles of Pirun have already been poisoned. They’ll be dead in a few months.”
Lord Daron’s shock made him falter.
“Your substance analysis?” he asked
“Yes, I initially thought to use it for the food, obviously. But I kept detecting poison in the nobles. I dared to look, and behold, the entire nobility. The men and women, all poisoned with Arcanite”
Lord Daron cringed. “Arcanite? They will all pass away suddenly in their sleep.”
“Yes,” Lord Defon said. “He is extremely practical even in his cruelty. Most of them will not think to check if they have been poisoned. They will feel no pain or discomfort. They will simply be gone when the time is right.”
“What was your reaction when you found out?” Lord Daron asked
“I stared at him in shock and he met my gaze. He knew what I knew, and he didn’t care.” Lord Defon said. “I half thought we would have to fight our way out of there. I was already starting to regret letting the Sungans leave early.”
“Why have you not told anyone else?” Lord Daron said.
“I have told Lord Kardo earlier this morning,” Lord Defon replied. “I’m just not sure how to break the news to everyone, including the people from Seyrule and Navon.”
“He allowed us to leave.” Lord Daron pondered.
“It is possible he truly has no interest in expansion.” Lord Defon said. “Regardless, he is ruthless and is an expert in subtle threats. Thinking of him sends chills down my spine. The first thing we need to do when we arrive at Aku’anda is to double the funding for military wizardry.”
“Oh my” Lord Daron said, clutching his chest. “I haven’t witnessed interkingdom war in my lifetime.”
“Neither have I, Lord Daron, even though I am much older.” Lord Defon said. “We have had peace for almost a century; true peace. Ganz is… he promises to ruin everything we and our ancestors have worked for.”
“The Sungans will want to attack. We could excuse his hostile takeover of Pirun, but the blatant poison of its nobles will send them over the edge.” Lord Daron said.
“That must not be allowed to happen.” Lord Defon said. “The Sungans are foolish. Their wars with primitive tribes have warped their concept of how destructive warfare has become.”
“Exactly. Warfare magic has become too powerful.” Daron said.
“A gross understatement.” Lord Defon said. “Back in the Days of Aku’ander himself, we know how many hundreds a single mage could obliterate with a single spell. Imagine what is obtainable now.”
Lord Daron could only sigh.
The rest of the trip was uneventful and filled with idle conversations, Neither Lord Defon, Daron, Or Kardo talked about the noble poisoning to anyone else.
2 days later they arrived at Aku’anda and Lord Daron got to go home for the first time in over a week. His entire family was home this time, His first Daughter, Kemi, His first Son, Dodi, and his last child, a toddler named mani. Kemi was newly married and was an accountant at a large paper making establishment.
Much to his chagrin, she was extremely brilliant but put none of her intellect into magic, she used only the most basic day to day spells. Dodi on the other hand was a magical prodigy. At just 16 he was already familiar with thousands of spells. Some 3 pages long in complexity. His dream was to become a warfare mage, which Lord Daron was still trying to wean him off of. Mani’s talents were still yet to be seen, but Lord Daron was hoping she would be like her mother: a Doctor.
Lord Daron was welcomed home and given food. Real Aku’andan food. He relished the taste and once the kids had gone to play he talked to his wife about what had happened. He shared everything with her.
“I think Lord Defon is right.” She concluded “Warfare wizardry should be the priority as long as Ganz remains prime ruler of Pirun. Ganz could attack anytime.”