RAY VAN CAMARO

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When my unit and I, accompanied by Old Man Marcel, arrived at the Capital, we stopped at a post office so I could write a letter back to Gilead. To my surprise, there was a letter waiting for me.

“Are you sure this is for us?” I asked the post office worker.

The worker read the envelope. “It says, to Colonel Ray Van Camaro. That’s you, is it not?”

“Yeah, that’s me.”

“Then it means it’s for you.” The worker shoved the letter into my chest. “Take it. I’ve got work to do.”

The letter was from Ilias.

Dear Colonel,

How was the trip back to the Capital? I bet you and the others are exhausted and itching to go home. You have a mountain of evidence against John so I don’t doubt your ability to beat him in court. I heard his family is strong and wealthy, but I don’t think that’s enough for him to beat you. Just hurry up and come back.

Anyways, let’s move on to why I wrote this letter. I had been thinking of the leviathan recently—I don’t know if you learned the news on the road, but the white whale has been identified as the legendary leviathan known as Moby Dick. Everyone is still surprised something so dangerous taught itself jynx.

You said before that if I had any ideas on defeating it, I should tell King Arthureus. I still think both sides of the country should attack it together, but you said before that this isn’t possible because there is no way for us to contact each other. I may have thought of something. Instead of going around, over, or through Headrig’s Pass, why not go under it? Digging earth is easier than cutting stone after all, though the digging might attract the wyrms dwelling in the nearby mountains.

Sincerely yours, Ilias

PS: Hi! This is Jaime, I just wanted to say hello! Bring two more swords, I want to carry three!

“What does the letter say?” Kaiser asked.

“It’s just Ilias being Ilias—and Jaime goofing off behind him.”

After dropping off our luggage at the Green Dragon, we made our way to the dungeons underneath the Iron Keep to show where John was going to be staying.

If this was the first day we had him in chains, he would be babbling but he’d learned that he couldn’t talk his way out of any situation with us.

The giant door to the throne room was guarded by two soldiers who wouldn’t let us through. We just wanted to let King Arthureus know about the trial as him attending would boost morale. However, the guards were insistent that we should come back tomorrow as the king had apparently just written and signed a hundred letters and was finishing up a meeting with his council.

One of the Royal Guards approached us. Half of his face had been burnt and what remained seemed like it was melting off. This memorable visage belonged only to Wrath.

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“What’s this?” Wrath asked, resting his hand on the pommel of his sword.

“Ser—” one of the guards whimpered before being interrupted.

“Wrath,” the Royal Guard corrected. “I’m no Ser.”

“Wrath, they’re asking for an audience with the king.”

The knight shot a glare at me and the five companions behind my back. “Let them through. I’m sure King Arthureus can spare a couple of minutes for them.”

“Of course.” The guards bowed as they opened the doors to the throne room. “After you.”

Old Man Marcel couldn’t help but marvel at the architecture of the Iron Keep. Its glistening walls and painted windows were something this old dog hadn’t seen before.

The soldiers closed the door behind us and continued to stand at their posts. Wrath led us to the meeting room where council members made their exit.

King Arthureus was in the corner of the room pouring himself a cup of wine while watching the city through a nearby window. He noticed Wrath standing by the doorway and sighed annoyingly.

“I just finished signing letters and went through two hours of meeting to figure out what to do with this damn whale,” the king said, “what is it now?”

Wrath gestured towards us. “They want to see you.”

Arthureus downed the whole cup and squinted at us. “Oh, Colonel Camaro. I’m surprised you’re still in the Capital. Am I going to have to write you up for deserting your duties?”

“I hope not, Your Grace,” I smiled. “I’m back here to fulfil them.”

“Back here? After two months? That means you were only in Gilead for a couple of days.”

“Three days.”

King Arthureus looked behind me. “Your men look like they want to stay home.”

“You can say the same for me, Your Grace. However, things came up and I want to ask for your justice.”

“Involving what?”

“Involving Colonel Armstrong.”

“There are five Colonel Armstrongs. You’ve got to be more specific than that.”

“Colonel John Armstrong—in jurisdiction of Rockbell. I can’t reveal any details, but we’ve already taken Colonel Armstrong into custody and he’s waiting in the dungeons for a trial.”

“If he’s here, then who’s in charge of Rockbell?”

“Brigadier Bjork from Seraphim. I know Rockbell is part of the western region, but I had to take percussions to make sure that place is safe. The settlements near the mining town are not to be trusted.”

“I’ll oversee it this one time as, knowing you, it’s for a good reason. So why are you telling me this? You don’t need to ask for my permission to take a case to court.”

“I know, Your Grace. I came here to ask you to be one of the judges.”

A trial had three judges overseeing a case. The one in charge of ordering the court was whoever had the most seniority. For a case to be closed, the three judges’ decisions must be unanimous.

King Arthureus rubbed his chin in thought. “I haven’t been a judge in years. I’ve also heard some rumours that people think I’m soft. This is a good opportunity to show everyone I’m still capable and involved with ruling. I can also inspire soldiers to not commit any crimes. Yes, yes.” The king’s face brightened up in excitement. He snapped his fingers, though the sound it produced was flaccid. “Colonel, how many days do you need to prepare for the trial?”

“We just arrived in the Capital. Five days from now, if that fits your schedule, Your Grace.”

“I was hoping we could do it in two. But, you did just arrive and I can’t expect you to organize a case in half a day. And to be fair, Colonel Armstrong needs an attorney to make this fair. I know his family will want to know about this.” King Arthureus gave instructions to Wrath. “I want you to let Steward Caine know the situation. Have him and Gluttony visit the Armstrongs and escort them here if they want.”

Wrath bowed. “Of course, Your Grace.”

The king then looked at us. “Have you found a place to stay?”

“We have. The Green Dragon.”

He shook his head. “Wrath, find six soldiers and have them accompany Colonel Camaro to retrieve their things from this inn.” The king turned to me. “I’ll have one of the Royal Guards wait for you in the throne room and escort you to your temporary apartments.”

Wrath gestured for us to follow him out of the meeting room.

I approached King Arthureus. “Do you remember Ilias, Your Grace? He told me you gave him the alias Prince Of Dawn.”

“How could I not? He was amazing during the last phase. We’ve had our eyes on him.”

I handed him the letter. “He has a suggestion on how to deal with the White Whale.”

As we followed Wrath back into the throne room, the king’s erupted laughter echoed down the halls. The Royal Guard had us wait at the entrance of the Iron Keep, returning with six soldiers that were ordered to do as we told.

It took us just under an hour to gather our things and come back to the keep. Waiting for us in the throne room was Sloth. He sluggishly brought us to our rooms and had the soldiers organize our belongings.

Sloth yawned the entire time, scratching his mess of a head every now and then. Out of the Royal Guard, he and Wrath were tied at best representing the virtue that was their namesake.

Sloth, even in his military armour, looked dishevelled and sleepy.

Wrath’s half-burnt face always looked vengeful.