Evereena:

Evereena looked up at the sound of trampling feet and was surprised to see a dozen guards moving towards them - guards she had never seen before.

Huh?

Without any fanfare, they marched up to Aragon. Two grabbed his shoulders, and another put some oversized chunky handcuffs onto him.

Aragon looked befuddled.

"What- what is going on?"

"The king has ordered your arrest for scheming to commit a crime." said the guard who appeared to be in charge.

"What?"

"So just come along with us." said the guard.

They started to drag Aragon away. Still utterly clueless about it all, Aragon let this happen. However, Eleanor gathered her wits, stepped over and planted herself before the lead guard. She tried to make herself look as imposing as possible...

Eleanor, you're a head shorter than the guard. And about half his weight. I don't think you are intimidating him all that much.

That was what Evereen thought. But at least the guard stopped.

"What is the meaning of this? Aragon hasn't done anything to deserve this!"

The guard smiled slightly. Quite obviously, he wasn't the least bit concerned.

"No, but there is credible evidence to strongly suggest that he was going to use one of the slaves for an Ashrend ceremony."

Aragon looked horrified and was unable to produce any reply.

Eleanor gasped, paled, and stood in shock; presumably, her [Emotional Control] was working overtime.

Evereena just went - And what the hell is an Ashrend?

Old man Kracher was frozen to the spot. As was Lena.

Evereena, looking at their faces, decided they didn't know what that was, either.

Eleanor: Damage Control Mode

The only ones that looked as if they might be willing to do something were the Misfits. They exchanged glances and moved towards the Aragon and the guards. But, as yet, they were keeping their swords tucked away.

Fortunately, Eleanor at last managed to take notice of the Misfits.

Oh shit, and what are the Misfits going to do?

She managed to overcome her shock and stammer out some commands.

"Kids! Please, don't try anything! I sure we can work all this out back in the town!"

The kids stopped moving. The guards snickered. The boss guard said: "That's right, kids! You may be fast and strong, but we have the edge in practice and ability, so do as the little lady says, OK?"

So the guards led Aragon away, leaving everyone else standing around, still trying to understand what was happening.

Shit! Gotta keep the Misfits under control! Otherwise, this will be an even bigger disaster.

And what the hell is that jerk Kalitran doing?

They had known each other slightly from their teenage years since, after all, who else would the nobility socialise with if not each other? Certainly not the unwashed commoners.

Eleanor remembered certain 'incidents'.

Yeah, he always was a bit of an arsehole - oops, better not say that in front of Lena, I might destroy my image - but shit, that's not the point!

What is he thinking?

The Treasurer, flashback to the previous day:

"You want to execute Aragon?"

"You want to charge him with planning to do an Ashrend ritual?"

Keep my cool here. I need to reason with the madman.

"You realise he is just about the last man likely to do such a thing? I mean, you must remember what happened twelve years ago. He lost his best friend, who might have presumably become his first girlfriend, to one. It's affected him so much; he has been running away from his life for a decade or so."

Kalitran took this outburst calmly.

"Of course, I remember all of that. Considering the circumstances, it naturally made a big impact on anybody with any connections to royalty."

"Then why pick him?"

"Because he is the perfect target for my scheme, to get the public to surrender all sense of their own morality, at least concerning the running of our country, and invest it all into me. Executing a perfectly innocent man, in fact, a man who is demonstrably moral and good; well, after such a thing, they have no choice but to shut off that part of their brains. To transfer to me the right to make such decisions. Me, who is their King! The one who is the best suited to guide them!"

Kalitran was starting to get a bit excited here. The Treasurer felt like face-palming, but he refrained.

Well, I suppose if it works, then fine... But-

"But what if it doesn't work? You could end up with your rule irretrievably damaged. Remember, deep down, your right to rule depends on their collective decision to give you that right."

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

"Yeah, I know that even if the last King didn't. But it's a worthwhile risk. I think I've got a pretty good chance. After all, everyone knows this kingdom is doomed, anyway. And the only other contender is the old King's daughter. Who has nothing like a power base or backing from powerful interests."

Sigh.

"Oh, all right. I suppose. But, it is still a risky manoeuvre - Aragon may not be all that known to the public, but he is well known in the guards..."

"No problems! The guards that support him are no more than about a third - and I've already sent most of them to the wall."

So, that explains the somewhat unusual guard assignments lately!

"The rest of the guards will go along. And I've handpicked a small group for the actual arrest and execution. With a bit of bribery and money, they are more than happy to follow along."

"OK, what do you want me to do to start the process?"

At least, if it goes all to hell, I should be safe.

The Treasure, in the present, as Aragon is still being escorted back to the town:

The King was in his office, leaning back on his office chair, the two front chairs' legs up in the air, with the Treasurer standing respectfully in front of the desk.

"Sire, the guards have been ordered out, and they should have Aragon in their possession now."

"Good, good. We now need to release the news to the public at large. Of course, the execution has to be as soon as possible to prevent any opposition from arising, so we will make it tomorrow midday, as planned. And we need to add as much propaganda to the news as possible; give the people no chance to start thinking for themselves."

"OK, sire. Hopefully, that should work. Hmm, but won't many of them remember the past incident?"

"Some will, but it was hushed up as much as possible, right? Suppressing the actual details of the Ashrend ritual has been a public policy of every kingdom within a thousand kilometres of the Slaver society."

"I guess so... But what if Aragon makes a public vow that he has no intention of hurting Lena's orphans? After all, it is already publicly known that he has vowed to look after Esther and daughter."

"Ah, but Voice of the World vows are never absolute; there is always plenty of wiggle room to get around them. Even if it might take a lot of effort, if we play to that sort of doubt, there should be no problem."

Oh shit.

I think there might be a slight problem.

"Ah, sire, perhaps you weren't aware; after all, you didn't get the public announcements of the Misfits vows, but, you see, all of the vows connected in any way to the Misfits are at 100% strength. They have no wiggle room whatsoever. And, 100%, implies that the Voice of the World had some expectation that the vow would succeed. Or maybe it will help in some way. Whatever."

Kalitran, it is too late to back out now:

Fuck. Did he say 100% vows?

Actual 100 percent vows?

Shit, why didn't I hear of this before?

He got a cold feeling creeping up his back.

This changes the risk factors quite a bit.

He leant forward fast enough to produce a thump as the front chair legs hit the ground. He was no longer in a relaxed state, not at all.

Think! Can I back out now... Damn, I can't. I can't show weakness or hesitation in front of my people.

What do I do?

"Treasurer! Just how important do you think this 100% shit is?"

"Ah, sire, I don't have any idea. The strongest vows I've ever heard of are about 30%."

"But, still, most people probably don't have too much idea about these 100% vows; after all, I didn't."

"True. Maybe it won't matter?"

Yeah, perhaps it doesn't matter - but wait - what if Aragon makes a public vow that he won't hurt the orphans? To everyone. Will he think of that?

Shit! Will the others think of that? Like Eleanor and Lena? Or...

"Right, Treasurer. We need to allocate more guards, of course only using the ones that haven't had any contact with the slaves, and get those guards to separate the group into smaller groups. Ensure Lena and the orphans are isolated as one group and the Misfits as another group. Don't allow any communication between them. Oh, and also isolate Esther and her daughter. And, definitely, don't allow Eleanor any contact with them. Nor, of course, with Aragon."

"Possibly a good idea, sire. Although arranging enough guards who are not sympathetic to them will be difficult - hmm, it should be possible. With some extra payments."

"Do it. And, that blasted Eleanor woman, we must keep her under tight control. Assign a few guards to 'protect' her house, making it difficult for her to wander around as usual. And, I know, for the execution, get her up on the platform with me, yourself, and the few officials this kingdom still possesses. Make it look as if she agrees with our decisions. And, of course, this allows us to keep close track of her. And, that's an idea, make sure that the Misfits and the others are also in the audience - don't want to lose track of them, either."

"OK, sire. I suppose one cannot be too cautious. Although I can't see how Eleanor, or any of the others, can possibly be of any danger to you."

True. She's just a woman without connections. And no known combat abilities.

"Right, see to it." said the King, "Oh, one more precaution: offer Aragon some fine wine. Tell him it is to soothe his nerves or something. Or whatever. Just get him sufficiently drunk so that he doesn't think about making any vows himself sometime overnight."

"That could be a good idea." said the Treasurer.

Then, conscious of the need to maintain the facade of being an obedient commoner, he hurried off to see to his just-imposed duties.

Eleanor:

While Aragon was dragged off as fast as possible, the others were still milling around at the bridge site.

Control. Keep my control up at all times.

Right. What do I need to do now?

The others are just plain bewildered, but Esther looks shocked and horrified.

Sigh. What a mess.

"Esther, I'm sure things will be worked out..."

Damn, nobody is believing me.

"What is this Ashrend ritual thingy, anyway?" said Drayden.

Shit. Why do I have to explain it?

She looked at Lena, but Lena looked just as bemused as anyone else.

Obviously, she has never needed to learn about such things. Just like me, before twelve years ago.

Eleanor straightened out, took a deep breath, then spoke:

"An Ashrend ritual is a means of abusing the slave collars to an extreme extent. It allows the abuser, who can't be a slave themselves, to get a tremendous boost to their Voice of the Word attributes. They become formidable opponents. Unfortunately, it is a very unstable process. It has unfortunate side effects. For example, the slave that it is used on will soon die. And the effect on the abuser only lasts until the slave's death. And, generally, the abuser goes slightly insane by the end of it. Needless to say, if someone uses the ritual twice, they go even more crazy."

The Misfits thought this over.

"So it is an abuse of the slave collar system? Then if it's not an original function of slave collars, where did it come from?" said Drayden.

"Well, the details are mostly unknown. The assumption is that some evil genius managed to get just the right Voice of the World attributes in the right areas to program their own feature onto the top of the slave collar system."

Eleanor paused here, then added, "May he be endlessly reincarnated as a dung beetle and spend eternity eating shit!"

This was spat out so viciously that she sprayed a bit of saliva onto Lena's arm.

"Oh - Ah..."

Lena blinked in surprise, then casually wiped it off. "Never mind."

"You mean, it is possible to use the System to create new stuff like that?" said Drayden.

"Sure. Although it is extremely rare, and, in this case, the original person that made the ritual can't have been very good since it is so unstable."

"Ha- ah! In other words, he programmed it wrong! Didn't do enough beta testing and probably didn't have enough domain theory to see where his mistakes were!"

"Sorry?" said Eleanor.

"Oops, forget that bit; I was remembering my digital electronics design hobby from Earth."

"Oh, OK."

“Also, if I remember correctly, the Order Lock Expiry for grey-collars is considered to have also been programmed on top of the original slave system - but never mind that!” said Eleanor.

Esther and Evereena still look shocked, Lena isn't much better, and the Misfits are not very stable themselves, so what should I do...

This question was rendered moot by the arrival of another bunch of guards, who split everybody into separate groups and escorted them back to their accommodation.