A short time later Duke Aldan sat in a boisterous pub looking out the window and across the road to another pub, The Reapers Draught, named after its infamous ale it was well known for sending its patrons to the healers. Four of his guards sat with him while another, along with Rhys were off performing reconnaissance. Whilst looking out he could hear the rumours circulating the pub.
“The King is dying, my wife told me so and she heard it from her friend who works in the castle.”
“No, there would have been an announcement for the successor. Wait who is the successor?”
“There isn’t one, well there was briefly but he’s dead. Duke Aldan and Duchess Eluna had a son but there was an attack on the road a few hours back and he’s dead.”
Hearing this Duke Aldan’s knuckles turned white, fully expressing his fury at the conversation. One of his guards was about to head over to silence them when Duke Aldan shook his head and signaled him to stay put. He wanted to hear the rest of the conversation, as much as it pained him, even knowing that Crius, in fact was alive and recovering. He needed to learn more of what the talk on the streets was. It could prove helpful in tracking down members of Nox Reges who were using over the road as a base. Having settled his men he quickly returned to the conversation not wanting to miss a single word.
“But that means, we’ll have no rulers. Can’t trust the nobles to look after us. They’ll be too busy looking after themselves so we’re bound to be invaded.”
“No, the King defeated them, but it was pretty much his last act. Hopefully it will take them a while to recover.”
“Yeah, but that’s only the west, there are other bordering kingdoms that are eager for some our lush crop fields.”
“They won’t be lush for long if they march all over them.”
It seemed like this conversation didn’t have much else to offer apart from proof that the disinformation campaign to protect Crius was working and that morale was low due to whispers regarding the kings health. He trained his ears to another group of men sitting in a dark recess a bit further away, they were using light from a nearby fireplace to shield themselves from eyes that may stare too long.
“Drax was pissing himself. I know he wasn’t scared of me, only Three but still it felt good to see that noble on his knees in front of me begging for his life.” He guffawed
“Yeah, but you lost so many of our brothers and sisters on the mission. Were we really compensated fairly?” a solemn faced companion asked.
“Their families will be taken care of. You know how the boss is. Besides, we got five times the mission rate from the slimy sod.” He grinned greedily.
“Five times, wow. Should keep the boss happy a short while.”
“Nope, One is fuming, Three told me to make myself scarce which is why I came here. I heard they already smashed up two offices. Every time it seems they’ve calmed down they flare up again.”
“Oh wow, I really wish I could see that. One is supposed to be an absolute legend in combat.”
“You might see it yet. I heard it was only the rest of the Kings working together that stopped One from storming the castle to get to Duke Aldan.”
“Aldan is just as much of a monster as One is though. I’m not even sure who would win that fight.”
Also hearing the words of these unsavoury characters, the guard next to the topic of discussion himself whispered “We may not need to hunt them all down General, simply poking the nest here could bring them all searching for you at the castle.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t think they are brave or stupid enough to attack the Kings castle. There is always the possibility that if I went to my estate in the Capital instead that they would be crazy enough to think they could come after us.”
“Sir, are you sure that’s wise? These are people that are rumoured to be able to stand up to several in the top ten of the Kingdom. If all five of their leaders come at once along with the numerous lackeys that follow them, won’t we be overwhelmed?”
“I never said it would be just us. There is a passage under the estate where I will bring some of our elites and some of the people I trust. I believe Bjorn the Bear still owes me a favour.”
“You mean the fourth ranked on the list?”
“Exactly, with myself, Bjorn, Rhys, and Cedrick they’ll regret making an enemy of my family. I’ll also bring some of the Kings guard to ensure that the politics is kept out of it and confirm that they struck us, twice.”
“And what of Lord Drax?”
“He’ll have to wait. As Rhys said it’s impossible for me to move against him without permission from the King.”
Almost like he’d been summoned by the mere mention of his name, Rhys and the other guard entered the pub, his eyes shifting gently as he scanned the room looking for Duke Aldan and at the same time any dangers. His senses drew him to the group by the fireplace before he noticed Duke Aldan’s table. He waited a moment for three more individuals to enter the building and then they all headed over to the Duke.
“General,” Rhys nodded.
“Take a seat quickly, don’t want to draw too much attention this way.”
“Well did you at least get me some ale? I’ve not had a break for two days.”
“Of course, I did. A fine tankard of warriors bane ale.”
“That sounds perfect. Pass it over my would you, my throat feels like even four wouldn’t quench my thirst. Honestly, I feel like I’ve swallowed half the roads we’ve travelled in my mouth it is so dry.”
“Actually, Micah already drank it while we were waiting for you to return but there is another round on order.”
“Sorry Captain.” Micah mumbled, his head drooped and at least having the decency to look sheepish as he did so.
“I guess it can’t be helped. I’m going to have to be the kind of Captain that doles out lashes for insubordination. Who drinks another man’s ale? Seriously?” He shrugged while smiling. Seeing that Duke Aldan was looking at him ready to speak he turned “Shall I report in?”
“Please. I’d like to know how we remove this blight on the Kingdom.”
“Well, that is probably a good place to start. You remember Nathan from our academy days? He enlisted for your father-in-law’s guards after graduation and has also worked his way up to the rank of Captain. He’s here to ensure that we are making a lawful entry and to collect any evidence we may encounter to ensure it remains usable should we be called to account before the Lords of Justice.”
“It is great to have you here Nathan, it has certainly been a while, please feel free to speak up if you think anything will cause us an issue.”
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“Understood, Your Grace.”
“Not here, call me Henrick or General if you feel that to be too informal.”
“Certainly General.”
“Better. Please carry on with what you have learned so far Rhys.”
“I’ve scanned the building plus those surrounding with my earth sense spell. The building itself is considered fairly standard but underneath it is a large open space acting as what I would say is the gambling hall and then beneath that is a secondary space which from the muffled vibrations, I could pick up could be a prisoner area and a vault or office.”
“So we know what we’re walking into.” Micah chimed up “but how are we getting in? Is there a route through the pub?”
“Surprisingly, the pub isn’t the access point. It’s fully sealed off from there. They have instead opened three tunnels reaching out across the city. It’s one of the reasons it took a little longer to scan besides including Nathan. Two entry points are hidden just inside sewer access tunnels and seem to be the manned doors for guests. The third is an emergency exit from what I can tell. Comes up inside the city just past the cathedral. Looks like they would use the cemetery gates as an exit point out past the walls.”
“Good, so we have three entry points. I’ll take the cemetery exit as if they all flee that will be the route most likely to be overwhelmed” Henrick said authoritatively. “Rhys, you and Micah take the short tunnel near the Reapers Draught. Everyone else takes the third tunnel. Nathan, can I ask you split up and send one guard with each team to ensure this raid doesn’t fall foul of the Lords of Justice.”
“Yes General.”
“Okay, now everybody drink up!” he called out in cheer like they were celebrating as the bar staff brought over two trays filled with sloshing ales and as they moved away he stated in a low matter of fact tone “I want you each by your gates in twenty six minutes. We begin our assault on the hour.”
*****************************************
As Duke Aldan and his men were moving into position a procession had begun to move through the city. Not the lively, carnival type procession however, this one was much more solemn and was led by Duke Zelos. Behind him and the soldiers came the carriage carrying King Sturm and his healers. It had been a tough two months and at several moments Arien had felt close to losing his oldest and closest friend, but each time the healers had given everything to pull him back from the brink. The heart stopping episodes had become far more frequent as they neared the capital, and the last incident, barely an hour ago had taken so much from them that two of them also lay comatose beside the King.
Finally in front of the castle gates they paused as they slowly ground open, the full contingent of the King’s Guard, less those on active duty, stood in the courtyard saluting the return of the King.
The castle’s chief healer stepped forward holding out his arm. “It’s good to see you Arien.”
“You too Matteo, we could have done with your skills out there. How goes the analysis of the poison arrow we sent back?”
“Not good I’m afraid, although based on our own testing the fact the King is still with us is an amazing testament to his power and life force. We have prepared a detoxing bath and several draughts designed to draw out the poisons or to help provide sustenance to his ailing body.”
“I really appreciate this Matteo, please, lead the way and let us get Sturm on the path to recovery.”
*****************************************
Nathan stood behind Duke Aldan, the man was giving off terrifying amounts of pressure as he watched the time tick down to the hour. As the clock struck the hour he didn’t even communicate with Nathan he just propelled himself forward. The giant, thick steel door protecting the passage didn’t even cause him to pause, it's hinges screeched as they contorted beyond any recognisable shape. This was exactly why Nathan hadn’t sent anyone else to watch the Duke, even in their academy days nobody would have kept up but now, with his anger giving him an unimaginable power boost even he would be left to chase a shadow of dust. He could only shake his head when thinking of those waiting at the other end of the tunnel, they would feel a fear like none they could ever comprehend in their darkest nightmares, when Duke Aldan’s fury was unleashed upon them.
*****************************************
Despite Henrick starting the furthest away, He’d managed to cover five times the distance and arrive at the exact same moment as Rhys moving full speed. While Rhys entered with a little more subtlety Duke Aldan had blown half the wall apart, the formerly hidden passage spraying the patrons with rock and debris leaving them cut and bruised.
A momentary pause was all that Henrick took before he started to single handedly destroy the guards the establishment had employed, before he knew it thirteen of their number had been felled by his hands.
“Do you know who you’re messing with.” A tall, semi covered man called out stomping towards Duke Aldan his fist ready to release a flurry of strikes. Aldan didn’t even pause as the first strike closed in, his face skimming past it into a head butt on the bridge of the man’s nose. He immediately dropped to his knees, semi dazed, as blood instantly gushed, rushing out before the man could even raise his hands to his no doubt broken nose, leaving the floor coated in a slick crimson puddle.
“Not sure you know who you messed with” Duke Aldan spat in reply before wiping the spray of blood from his face and moving on to the next opponent.
Nathan arrived as the last three enemies crumpled to the ground. Despite the Duke’s speed and power, all of those in the employment of the club still lived. He had truly held back his power only using his fists, and a few head butts, to incapacitate them.
Duke Aldan, Rhys, and Nathan then stepped through to the lower subterranean level. Upon entry they were greeted with caged women all dressed in skimpy outfits with collars on. Clearly the organisation had intended to auction this batch of women off this evening.
“Duke Aldan?” Rhys gave him a questioning look having seen what he’d seen.
“Free them all but don’t let them leave. We may need them to testify. Is that okay Nathan?”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“Good, now find me some evidence as to who has been running and who has been using this disgusting place. We need to ensure they are all brought to justice.”
*****************************************
In one of the large estates of the Capital sat a beautiful young woman, she had deep blue eyes that sparkled like sapphires, and dark brown hair that flowed to the lower part of her back, she was wearing a slender blue dress to accentuate all her curves and a large jewelled gold pendant. She was currently sat enjoying drinks and cake with one of the other Lady’s of the Capital.
“Ah, please forgive me Sylvie but it seems some urgent business has come up” she said as she noticed a light come on over on the far wall opposite where she sat.
“Oh no, Duchess, and I was having such a good time. But I completely understand, matters of the Kingdom must take priority.”
“Please, I’ve told you to call me Esme. How can we be friends if you won’t use my name.”
“Of course, I’m so sorry Duchess Esmeray, I mean Esme.”
“Better” she smiled “now speak to my secretary on the way out and she will arrange another date for us to sit down and do this again. Maybe bring along some of your other friends and we can have a proper girls afternoon, I have a fantastic steam room and it’s just not as much fun when I use it alone.” She said beckoning Sylvie to the exit.
As soon as the door was closed a curtain fluttered like a breeze had run through it.
“Two, what brings you here so urgently. You know how important it is we bring the Society ladies round to our way of thinking. Maybe onboard a few scapegoats for some of our local activities.”
“It’s about that, One.” He paused thinking how best to deliver the news. “Duke Aldan just completely closed down our operations at the Reapers Draught.”
“Everything? Did he kill them all? Were the protection protocols triggered?”
“I’m afraid not. He has the ledgers, staff and slaves all in his possession. I hear he’s already heading back to his estate to review it all.”
A moment of silence followed and when Two was about to speak and break the silence. “please don’t , I’ve just got my home how I like it and if I lose my temper then I’ll have to start all over again. I want all four kings to launch an all-out attack on his estate, bring him before me on his knees. I want to see him beg for his life. Nobody goes against Nox Reges and lives.”
“I shall go and call in all forces now.” He bowed and disappeared with nothing more than a breeze as evidence of his movement.
Just as One was calming there was a knock on the door.
“Enter”
“Message from the Council, Your Grace.” A messenger of the Noble’s Council announced upon entering the room.
”Summarise it for me”
The messenger broke a seal on a scroll and unfurled it. “Hmm,” he cleared his throat “Duke Aldan has launched an unsanctioned raid within the city. All Lords of Justice are called to council to discuss next steps.”
“Understood, I will be with them shortly. Please inform my secretary to prepare my carriage on your way out.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”