“And she didn’t believe you?” asked Tamar.
“Worse,” sighed Garl. “About a year after the terrible incident, Karaza convinced the queen to allow him to mount an expedition into the world of the humans to search for the king. He promised to use his magic powers to locate the king if he lived. She granted his wish. When Karaza returned, he was unlike his old self. He claimed to have found the grave of the king, proving his death, and therefore my dishonesty. The queen was incensed that I continued to believe that the king was alive. I was stripped of my title, thrown out of the Society of Mages, and banned for all time from stepping foot in the city of Morada.”
Chapter 26
Defending the Accused
Tamar ushered the two soldiers into his office and closed the door. He walked across the room as far away from the door as he could get and motioned for the two soldiers to follow him. They dutifully obeyed.
“I am going to say something to the two of you that must remain confidential,” opened Tamar. “Can I trust that you will not repeat what you are about to hear?”
“There is no need for such a question,” responded Lortar. “You know us better than to ask such a question.”
“I hope that I do,” replied Tamar, “because what I am going to ask of you, some would call treason.”
“I cannot believe that,” Fengri shook his head. “You would never commit treason. I have never met a more loyal officer.”
“It will not be treason,” confirmed Tamar, “but some will call it that. Can you see a mission through to its end while being called a traitor?”
“If I believe in it,” nodded Lortar. “The fact that you believe in it already says a great deal to me. What is it you want us to do?”
“Read this,” Tamar said as he handed a copy of the scroll to the soldiers.
Lortar and Fengri read the scroll together. When they were done they returned it to Tamar.
“What is that scroll?” asked Fengri.
“It is a copy of one of the Prophecies of Kieran,” answered Tamar. “Do you understand what it is foretelling?”
“The prophecy is clearly stated,” replied Lortar, “but why are you showing it to us?”
“Have you heard the rumors of the rebirth of Angragar?” asked Tamar.
“Of course,” nodded Lortar. “Everyone has.”
“Well the rumors are true,” declared Tamar. “The first Prophecies of Kieran stated that when Angragar was reborn we would enter the Time of Calling. Does this make any more sense regarding the scroll that you have just read?”
“It does,” shrugged Fengri, “but I am still missing the connection.”
“There was a report of an attempted assassination of the queen,” explained Tamar. “The supposed assassins are two young women that come from another land. They are twins. They are of the Kieran line, and they are the age of the lost princesses.”
“But if these are the princesses of the prophecy,” frowned Fengri, “why would they try to kill the queen?”
“I don’t believe that they did,” answered Tamar. “I think it is a ploy by someone else to have the princesses executed, thereby destroying the prophecy. I am sure that you both know of my special association with the queen? Well I have been forbidden entry to the palace on the orders of Karaza.”
“Of the Society of Magic?” gasped Lortar. “You choose some powerful enemies, Tamar. I have never trusted that man. What do you want us to do?”
“I plan to get the princesses out of the prison so that they cannot be executed,” declared Tamar. “I need your help. I will not lie to you. This mission could very well mean the death of all of us, but I believe in the Prophecies of Kieran. I have always stood to offer my life in the defense of Elvangar, and that is exactly what I am doing now. Will you aid me?”
“Without question,” nodded Fengri.
“Count me in,” agreed Lortar.
“Continue with your duties while I gather some more men,” Tamar said. “I will call for you shortly. Be prepared for battle.”
Fengri and Lortar saluted and left the office. When they opened the door, Rattal was standing outside of it. Tamar saw him and beckoned him in.
“Close the door,” ordered Tamar. “We need to talk.”
“I found my sword,” Rattal said scornfully. “I thought you would want to know.”
“Your sword?” Tamar asked innocently. “Had you lost it?”
“I am no fool,” sneered Rattal as he crossed the room to stand in front of Tamar. “I may not have seen you hit me, but I know it was you.”
Too fast for Rattal to react, Tamar pulled his belt knife and held it to Rattal’s throat.
“Ah, but you are a fool, Rattal,” Tamar smiled menacingly. “If you plan to shadow someone you should at least have the skill to do so without being noticed. Let me explain some facts of life to you. The queen fancies me as a potential husband. That is why she has sent you to follow me. Given the circumstances, ask yourself who will prevail if the queen must decide that one of us must die and the other must live.”
“What are you talking about?” Rattal asked nervously as he realized the truth about the queen’s motives. “Why would one of us have to die?”
“Because that is where this game will end,” replied Tamar. “Do you really think it logical that she would reward you if you found nothing to report about me? And would she then reward you if what you did find out about me dashed her dreams of matrimony? There is no way that you come out a winner in this game, Rattal.”
“I have little choice but to follow the queen’s orders,” retorted Rattal.
“Not exactly true,” smiled Tamar. “I am still your commanding officer. I can give you an order that requires your extended absence from Morada. If you are willing to accept such an order, this issue between us can be forgotten by all.”
“I cannot just ignore the queen,” frowned Rattal. “Even if you ordered me out of the city, I am duty bound to see her first. She will cancel your orders.”
“That would normally be true,” nodded Tamar, “but you will be denied access to the palace today. The queen will not be able to fault you for your failure to check with her.”
“I was already denied entrance,” sighed Rattal. “Where will you send me?”
Tamar sheathed his knife and walked to his desk. He scribbled a note and handed it to Rattal.
“It is a nice position,” smiled Tamar. “You will be in charge of inspecting all of the outlying defenses. You will be gone from the city for some time. No one need know anything about our little discussion here. Is that acceptable?”
Rattal frowned and nodded silently. He turned and left the office. Tamar waited a few minutes before leaving his office in search of more soldiers to stand for the princesses.
* * *
Eltor watched Caldal position himself in the busy market. Caldal selected the intersection of the two busiest aisles of the market. People moved by him in every direction. Eltor smiled and started running towards his friend.
“Caldal,” shouted Eltor, “have you heard the news?”
Everyone turned to see what the excitement was. The passersby slowed at first and then halted as Eltor stopped in front of Caldal and talked loudly.
“The Prophecies of Kieran are coming true,” declared Eltor. “The lost princesses have returned to Elvangar. I have heard that they are already in the city.”
“Here in Morada?” Caldal asked excitedly.
“Yes, yes,” Eltor replied excitedly. “At last the Time of Calling has come. How great this day is for Elvangar. To imagine that we would live in the Time of Calling and witness all that the great Kieran prophesized come true.”
“Let’s go find the lost princesses,” Caldal said excitedly. “There will be great jubilation in Elvangar tonight.”
At that, Eltor and Caldal ran off together. The crowd in the intersection and beyond began to buzz with a thousand conversations. People asked what the Time of Calling was, and who the lost princess
es were. Not many elves had the answers to those questions, but everyone was excited that something great was happening in Elvangar.
Not far away, at the library, Anija was looking at the collection of old scrolls that were maintained for the public. It was a historical section that offered the public copies of major historical documents. From the dust on the shelves, not many elves cared to read historical documents. She found the section set aside for the great Kieran. There were copies of poems that he had written, and copies of many of the laws he passed as king.
Anija looked around to see if anyone was near before pulling a copy of Garl’s scroll out and placing it on the shelf. She placed it right next to a copy of the earliest of the Prophecies of Kieran. Anija smiled inwardly and started to leave the library. Before she could exit the building, she heard a woman talking to the librarian.
“Where can I find the Prophecies of Kieran?” the woman asked.
“That would be in the historical section near the back,” replied the librarian.
Anija grinned and left the library. As she walked down the short flight of steps, a dozen people were rushing up them. None of them were running, but they were all walking as fast as they could without appearing to be in a hurry.
* * *
Volox walked into the meeting room of the Council of Elders. He stared briefly at the empty chair where his good friend Vitalora should be sitting. Malid sat at the center of the table tapping his fingers anxiously. Behind him stood Karaza, Head of the Society of Magic. Volox had not expected to see the mage in the meeting. He frowned deeply as he sat down in his assigned chair.
“Now that we are all here,” sighed Malid, “we can get this nasty business out of the way.”
“Nasty business?” asked Volox. “Have I missed something?”
“You will be informed in due time, Volox,” replied Malid. “I would like to call this meeting to order.”
“That is not possible,” objected Volox. “The chamber is not empty of spectators.”
“Karaza is the Head of the Society of Mages in case you didn’t recognize him,” Malid sighed heavily. “He is the one who called this meeting.”
“I do recognize the distinguished mage,” Volox nodded politely to Karaza, “but I am also familiar with the rules of this Council. No spectators are allowed to observe the proceedings without the authorization of the full Council.”
“Karaza is not a spectator,” scowled Malid. “He is representing the queen in a serious matter.”
“Oh?” retorted Volox. “It must be a very serious matter indeed for the queen to interfere in our proceedings, but since when is the Society of Mages a substitute for the queen?”
“There has been an attempted assassination of the queen today,” snapped Malid. “This body has to hold a trial of the accused. Why are you bringing up such petty rules?”
“An assassination attempt?” gasped Volox. “This is unheard of. By all means we should commence a discussion about this immediately. I request that you clear the room of spectators so that we can begin. I know the rules may seem petty to you at the moment, but the rules were put in place for sound reasons. Let the esteemed Head of the Society of Mages wait in the adjoining room where he will be available when we need to call on him.”
Malid seethed with anger and smashed his fist down on the table. Karaza shook his head and placed his hand on Malid’s shoulder to calm him.
“I do not have any problem with waiting in the adjoining room,” announced Karaza. “Let the rules of the Council be adhered to. I am sure that your deliberations will be swift. There is only one verdict that you can bring in a situation such as this.”
Karaza turned and left the room. Malid glared at Volox, but Volox appeared not to notice as his eyes scanned the other members of the Council to gauge their reactions.
“Very well,” sighed Malid as he stared at Volox, “let this Council session begin. Are there any objections?”
Volox shook his head and smiled at Malid.
“Earlier today,” Malid began, “the queen asked to speak to two prisoners. The foreign girls, named Mistake and MistyTrail, were escorted to the throne room to meet Queen Alycia. They were searched for weapons, as any prisoner would be before meeting with the queen. After a short while, the royal guards heard the queen screaming. They rushed into the room to find Queen Alycia on the floor writhing in pain. Mistake and MistyTrail were standing and making no attempt to aid the queen in her time of distress. Mistake was heard to tell MistyTrail to release the spell. Evidently she did and the queen recovered enough to state that the girls attacked her magically. The prisoners were immediately taken from the throne room and incarcerated. We now must hold a trial to determine the fate of the accused. Are there any questions?”
“Did anyone witness this attack?” asked Volox.
“I just stated the sequence of events in their entirety,” replied Malid. “This is a rather simple matter, Volox. I do not know what your agenda is here, but we could all do without your foolishness. The queen would like to see a speedy execution of the assassins. It is up to this body to provide that for her.”
“I see several problems here,” declared Volox, “and I do not think well of your characterization of my objections as foolish. This august body is the highest court in the land. We should never make life and death rulings in a hurry without knowing all of the facts. Are there any elders here who would disagree with that statement?”
Volox made a point of making eye contact with each of the other elders. All of the elders shook their heads except Amber and Malid.
“All of the facts have been presented,” countered Malid. “There is no mystery here. The foreigners tried to kill the queen and were stopped by the guards. It is that simple. There is really nothing to discuss.”
“Why did the girls try to kill the queen?” asked Volox.
“I have no idea,” scowled Malid.
“What spell was used to harm the queen?” inquired Volox.
“I don’t know,” grumbled Malid.
“If the magical spell used had the capability of killing the queen,” questioned Volox, “how were the guards, who have no magical skills, able to stop the attack before the queen was killed?”
“What is your point here, Volox?” demanded Malid.
“My point is that this body must have all of the facts of this case before we condemn two young women to death,” declared Volox. “So far, we have no motive. We have no witness to the attack. We do not actually know if a magical spell was used at all, other than some guard’s second hand testimony that the queen in a moment of pain said she was being attacked. There are many questions here that must be answered before we kill two innocent people.”
“You are trying to drag this out for some reason,” Malid said suspiciously. “What are you up to?”
“I am after justice,” stated Volox. “We are being ask to condemn two girls to death. Is it too much to ask that we actually have the case presented to us properly? I am not talking about making a big production of this, but all of the witnesses are right outside this chamber. The girls are in a prison not far from here. The royal guards are at the palace not far away. The queen is also in the palace. Why can’t we hear exactly what happened? Why are we being rushed into this? Can not our prison hold the accused a few hours longer?”
“Volox is right,” interjected another elder. “I find it highly irregular that we are being rushed in this serious matter. Even if all of the facts presented so far are correct, it is not a clear-cut case of assassination. Certainly for one of the girls in any event. One of them asked the other to stop. Do we kill both of them?”
“A good point,” added another elder. “The queen said the girls were attacking her magically. She didn’t say the girls were trying to kill her. Why not? I think we need to have questions answered before I can vote to kill these two girls.”
“I propose that we gather all of the witnesses that have pertinent information on this event,” stated Volox.
“I would like the queen to be included in that list.”
“The queen is in shock,” Malid shook his head. “She is in no condition to testify. She is not even accepting visitors or well wishers.”
“Perhaps we can leave her off the list for now,” conceded Volox, “but we can certainly start with the others.”
Murmurs of approval rippled around the table and Malid conceded that he would have to produce witnesses to get his conviction.
“Very well,” sighed Malid. “We will break for one hour while I gather the witnesses. We will start promptly in an hour, whether all of the members are here or not. I give you fair warning.”
Malid rose signaling the end of the session. He stormed out of the room and shook his head at Karaza. The Head Elder waved for Karaza to follow him and then walked along a corridor to his office.
“That was quick,” remarked Karaza, “but you do not seem thrilled by the outcome.”
“We haven’t started yet,” complained Malid. “Volox got the other elders to agree to the need for witnesses.”
“Witnesses?” scowled Karaza. “What witnesses? There was no one in the room except the accused and the victim. Are these elders such fools that they will let assassins go free?”
“No, no, no,” Malid shook his head. “Volox just likes to act as if he is important some times. I will bring the royal guards in and let them answer questions. Then Volox will have nothing to complain about. It is only a short delay. What can it matter?”
“I wonder,” pondered Karaza. “I think Volox is up to something. Can you restart the meeting without him? Does he even need to be involved?”
“I said that we would restart promptly in an hour,” answered Malid. “Any member who is not there will not be missed by me. What are you planning? Or don’t I want to know?”
“I was merely wondering if Volox didn’t show if your meeting would go easier,” shrugged Karaza. “I do not know how meetings of the elders are run. If you will excuse me, I think I will go for a stroll. I will be back in an hour to wait for the verdict.”
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