The Questing Game f-2

by James Galloway

  He glanced at the messages, and it didn't take him long to put the pieces together. "You wish me to deliver these?" he asked. "These are addressed to the heads of all the noble houses."

  "Yes, I do," she said, looking right into his eyes. Keritanima had the feeling that this Chamberlain may be worthy of a little trust. He had shown signs of compassion towards her, so he wasn't like the usual Eram servant. Her father had probably hired him in haste after she had his first set of advisors and servants killed off, and she hoped that he would be what she thought him to be.

  "I think I can arrange the time," he said slowly. "Would right now be too inconvenient for her Highness?"

  "It would be perfect, my Lord Chamberlain," she smiled. "There's no need to wait for a response. Just deliver them and move on."

  "Perhaps her Highness would be kind enough to tell me if this has anything to do with the army of Vendari that marched in last night?"

  "Do you really want to know?" she asked with a dangerous smile.

  "Ah, no, nevermind," he said. "I'll deliver your messages, your Highness, personally." He gathered them up and neatly stacked them, holding them in the crook of his arm. "And may I add that I look forward to serving her Majesty in the future," he concluded, just before turning and walking towards the door.

  And that was why she kept him alive.

  After sending the Chamberlain off to do his work, Keritanima drifted down to the kitchen for breakfast. In the kitchen, she happened to cross paths with the buck-toothed rabbit Wikuni, Jervis. She hadn't so much as seen him since getting off the ship, and that fact had nagged at her just a little bit over the months. Jervis was her father's best spy, and it seemed logical to her that he would put him to work watching her again. But then again, he had failed twice now trying to keep up with Keritanima, so it was possible that her father had taken him off her tail because she knew him too well. Which was indeed the case, but because of his experience, he would still be the best person to take on the task of countering her. Not having to step around Jervis had made things much less complicated for her.

  "Jervis," she said in some surprise. "I haven't seen you in a long time. Where have you been?"

  "Stormhaven, your Highness," he replied with a fluid bow. "Your father had business for me to attend there."

  "So much the better for me," she winked.

  "So I've heard. You've tied the Palace in a knot, your Highness. You really should try not to cause so much trouble."

  "I haven't done a thing, Jervis," she smiled.

  "And the Queen of Sharadar is a Bruga," Jervis said calmly.

  Keritanima laughed. "Well, I may have done a little here and there," she admitted. "It's just been lucky for me that my father started seeing invisible friends."

  "He absolutely insists you're doing that to him, Highness," he said. "From what I know of Sorcery, it's entirely possible. I told him as much."

  "He's wearing a magical charm that prevents my Sorcery from affecting him, Jervis," she said calmly. "I can't do anything to him."

  "And you know because you tried?"

  "I know because he told me so," she said evenly. "I don't need magic to get under my father's skin, Jervis. All it usually takes is one defiant remark, and he's screaming at the top of his lungs and chewing on the furniture. I'm making sure he feels my displeasure over being dragged back here against my will."

  Well, I assure you that he's feeling it," Jervis confided. "Quite a large breakfast, your Highness."

  "I'm the designated waitress, Jervis," she winked. "This is for Miranda, Zak, and Binter too."

  "Where's Sisska?"

  "She went to visit family in Vendaka," she replied. "She felt that Azakar was suitable protection in her place while she was gone."

  "She has good sense," Jervis smiled. "I've never seen a human that could hold his own against a Vendari before. The boy's a marvel."

  "He's appreciated, Jervis, believe me," Keritanima assured him. "I need to get back to my room. I'll see you later."

  Jervis bowed to her, and she carried breakfast back to her room.

  The waiting was the worst part. She had to be where the noble heads could find her, because she knew they'd be coming to talk about her message. To pass the time for that, Keritanima had Miranda go out with Azakar with a message for Ulfan. There were two men that absolutely had to die today, the sooner the better. The first was Field Marshal Kubran, the commander of the army. Without him, the army would be in disarray, and she needed the army to be in disarray right now. The second was High Admiral Yath, commander of the navy, and she wanted him dead for the same reason. Both men were recent appointees by Damon Eram, and she didn't trust either of them to calmly accept the new order of things. She couldn't touch them before, because the stability of the army would help keep Damon Eram on the throne, but now that was no longer a restriction. She had had the military liaisons and the lower generals and admirals killed the first time, to keep her father from getting any ideas and restricting the capability of the military without destroying its ability to pose a threat to the noble houses. Now she was going to crush the head of the snake.

  The first noble head to reach her was none other than Sheba. She was wearing a gown that was buttoned up the wrong way, and her hair was still damp. She was only wearing one shoe as well. It was clear that she had literally run over when she received the message, and she held it in her hand like it was a live snake. "Kerri, are you nuts?" Sheba demanded after barging through the twenty Royal Guards at her door and intruding on her quiet. "You have to be as crazy as your father!"

  "That remains to be seen, Sheba," she replied calmly, going back to the book on comparative theology she was reading. "I hope the message wasn't too difficult for you to understand."

  "I'm about to spank you, you little brat," Sheba growled. "I understand what it says, but I understand what it means a hell of a lot more."

  "Then you'd better choose which side you intend to be on," she said calmly.

  "You're a first class bitch, do you know that?" Sheba snapped.

  "I'm my father's daughter," she replied calmly.

  "You're going to break Wikuna over your knee, girl! There will be civil war!"

  "Then you'd better have a good supply of gunpowder handy," Keritanima said bluntly.

  "I don't believe this!" she raged. "Could you just die, so you'd stop making my life hell?"

  "Not until after you decide," she said, closing her book and looking up at the panther Wikuni calmly. "If it helps you come to a decision, Sheba, those ten thousand Vendari that marched in here last night-"

  Keritanima was interrupted by Binter and Sisska entering with the largest Vendari that Keritanima had ever seen. He was nearly a head taller than Binter and Sisska, wearing nothing more than a simple kilt of homespun wool and a crossing pair of bandoliers over his scarred chest. His build was every bit as massive and imtimidating as Binter and Sisska, but he had a large, wicked scar across the top of his snout. Keritanima had seen him before. He was sashka, the subject kinglet of Vendaka, the ruler of his people who answered only to the throne of Wikuna. Keritanima stood immediately in his presence, and grabbed the hem of her skirt to curtsy to him, but he held up a tremendous hand to stop her.

  "The Queen of Wikuna does not bow to those below her station," he said in a bass voice that was quiet, but held tremendous power within it.

  Sheba gaped at the humongous Vendari, then remembered herself and curtsied to him deeply. " Sashka," she said in awe. "She's not the queen."

  "Her coronation is a mere formality," he said disdainfully. "The Vendari will follow Damon Eram no longer. We stand behind Keritanima-Chan."

  "But that's treason, your Majesty!" Sheba protested.

  "Treason is a relative concept," he stared back at her with those dead black eyes. "We feel that Damon Eram has committed treason by neglecting his duties and persecuting his subjects. Wikuna suffers while he sits on his throne. Niece Sisska has described Keritanima-Chan to me. She is honorable,
and will serve Wikuna more faithfully than her father. Damon Eram no longer has honor in the eyes of Vendaka."

  Sheba rocked back on her heels. That was as good as a death sentence. "Just how do you intend to get him off the throne without dropping all of us into hell?"

  Keritanima looked wildly at Sashka. Such directness hadn't been part of her plan, but she already had begun to realize that with the Vendari solidly behind her, there was no need to be coy or indirect about what she was doing. "It's very simply, Sheba," Keritanima told her. "There is a law, a very old law, that gives the nobility the power to forcibly abdicate a king. That law was repealed about three hundred years ago, but my father recently repealed the repeal, during his attempts to remove all the blocks keeping him from using his power against me. You don't know much about Wikuni law, but when that happens-"

  "The original law is reinstated!" Sheba finished in surprise. "That's sneaky, Kerri!"

  "You will address her as Her Majesty," Sashka said stiffly. "Do not dishonor the Queen of Wikuna!"

  "My apologies," Sheba said instantly. "Your Majesty."

  "Let's stay away from majesties until I'm officially wearing the crown, sashka," Keritanima asked. "That's why I sent you that message, Sheba. All it takes to abdicate a king is three quarters of the noble house heads stating before a priest of Kikkali that the king is no longer fit to rule. The other twenty-eight noble rulers also got messages. No doubt they're hastily dressing right now to run over here and ask me if I've gone insane." She looked around. "But with sashka openly supporting me, we don't have to be roundabout with this. I think it's time we moved into the Hall of the Sun. The others can talk to me there, when I'm absolutely surrounded by a host of Vendari supporters. Let's let them see who they'll have to face if they're not going to support me."

  "Your Majesty has a firm grip on the subtleties of politics," sashka told her gravely.

  "This is about as subtle as a cannon in a ballroom, your Majesty," Keritanima replied with a toothy grin.

  "Sometimes brute force can be more subtle than the cleverest thief, your Majesty," he replied. "It is all in the application of that brute force."

  "Your wisdom humbles me, sashka," she said sincerely.

  "Let us withdraw to the Hall of the Sun, then. Sisska, return to the host. Have a hundred of my finest warriors assemble, and bring them to the Hall. You speak with my voice."

  "As you see fit, uncle," Sisska replied respectfully, then she bowed to him and scurried out quickly.

  "Sheba, straighten yourself up. You look like a harlot with ten customers."

  "Well, excuse me," she huffed, putting a hand to the misbuttoned dress. "I'm afraid your message put me out of sorts." She looked at her feet. "Can I borrow a pair of shoes?"

  "I think I can find something to match that dress. I may have to stretch them a bit to make them fit you. You have feet like a duck."

  "Excuse me for not being a primadonna," Sheba snorted.

  "Is this a friend of yours, Majesty?" sashka asked curiously.

  "It's a rather bizarre friendship, sashka, but I'm about as close to a friend as Sheba has."

  "Fine, then. I will not punish her for her disrespect, if she addresses you as a friend."

  Sheba gave the massive Vendari a startled look, then lowered her eyes quickly. To stare a Vendari in the eye was to stare down death, and few Wikuni could face such things.

  "Sheba has some rough edges, but there's some hope for her," Keritanima winked.

  "I'll show you some rough edges, Kerri," Sheba replied before thinking, balling up her fist.

  "Temper temper," Keritanima teased. "Let's get you some shoes and make you a bit more presentable, and we'll go to the Hall."

  "Don't you want to get dressed, Kerri?"

  "I am dressed, Sheba," she said, motioning at the plain, simple dress she wore, something a servant would wear.

  "But you look like a servant."

  "A Queen is but the servant of her people, even as they are subject to her command," sashka said in a powerful voice. "That Keritanima-Chan does not try to raise herself above those she commands speaks much for her honor."

  "Uh, Kerri, about this message," Sheba said uncertainly. "I don't think I'm stupid enough to side against you."

  "Then you are wiser than I first thought," sashka told her bluntly.

  After making Sheba look more composed, Keritanima walked with sashka, Binter, Sheba, and the twenty Royal Guard from her apartment to the Hall of the Sun. The Hall was empty and dark, but the huge Vendari monarch wasted no time ordering that the candles be lit and the doors be opened. Keritanima didn't speak, not ready to tip her hand just quite yet. Her father was holed up not two floors away, and if he got wind of what was going on, he could bring a host of army regulars to the Hall to eject her before the Vendari arrived. After the Vendari arrived, she wouldn't care a whit about what he tried to do. One hundred Vendari could hold the Hall against five thousand Wikuni for a month. But it turned out to be a short wait, for not five minutes after they arrived, a hundred calm, stoic Vendari marched into the Hall. They were universally huge, with their kilts, leather harnesses, and various wickedly maintained oversized weapons of many types. Sisska organized them to stand at the walls and observe, to be living reminders of the power that the one who commanded them possessed. Riding along with the Vendari were a confused Azakar and a very elated Miranda. Miranda knew exactly what was going on, and it made her smile.

  There was going to be a new ruler in Wikuna by sunset.

  Miranda took Keritanima's hands and grinned cheekily at her, then hugged her happily. "It looks like this is it," she said.

  "I hope so," Keritanima said calmly.

  "What's going on, Kerri?" Azakar asked.

  "Not much, Zak," Miranda grinned. "We're just taking the crown from Damon Eram, that's all."

  Azakar gaped at her for a moment, then he laughed. "Well, I knew this was going to happen eventually," he chuckled.

  "Who is this large human?" sashka asked.

  "Your Majesty, may I present Miranda, my maid, who you know, and Azakar Kanash, a Knight of Karas and one of my sworn protectors. He is a man of great honor. Azakar, this is the sashka, ruler of Vendaka."

  "Then we will accept him as a man of honor," sashka said magnaminously as Miranda and Azakar bowed to the huge Vendari.

  "It's an honor to meet you, king sashka," Azakar said hesitantly.

  "The word is a title, not my name, young human," sashka said gently. "I am not worthy of the honor of proclaiming myself as ruler of the Vendari, so I abandoned my name for the title of sashka when I accepted this duty."

  "I beg your pardon, your Majesty," Azakar said, his cheeks flaming with embarassment.

  "There is no need to seek forgiveness, young Knight. You did not know before. You do know now, and you are a wiser man for it."

  Azakar bowed his head eloquently. "What do you want me to do, Kerri?"

  "The same as you've always done, Zak," she smiled. "Stay near me and Miranda and protect us."

  "You have fought for her Majesty?" sashka asked him curiously. "You are young, but carry the scars of a man of many seasons."

  "He's been wounded in defense of my life, sashka," Keritanima said formally. "He has proven his honor."

  "A great honor indeed. But perhaps you need more instruction."

  "His scars come from a slaver's whip, sashka," Binter said stiffly. Binter and Sisska both had very grim views of slavery. It was a racial prejudice. "He is the equal of any Vendari in battle. His scars are a symbol of his courage, not marks of ineptitude."

  "Not any Vendari," Azakar said under his breath.

  Sashka nodded simply at Azakar, then turned to Keritanima. "It would be best if you stood on the dais, your Majesty," he said. "Let there be no doubt as to what you intend."

  "I think that's a bit strong, but I'll bow to your superior wisdom, sashka," she said after a moment. That dais was a place where only the monarch could go, and anyone he invited personally. F
or anyone else to so much as touch it was treason, and was punishible by death. "And because you told me to," she winked.

  He stared at her, then simply nodded.

  His idea made sense, in a rather direct sort of way, but the many Royal Guards in the Hall about had a fit when she approached the dais and throne. They formed up to prevent her from passing them, and Shan, the Captain of the Royal Guard, bowed even as he got in her way. "Your highness, you know you're not permitted on the dais!" he protested. But sashka was there in a hearbeat with twenty Vendari warriors, forming up behind Keritanima like a wall of death, ready to fall upon the nervous Royal Guard and destroy them.

  "You will stand aside now," sashka said in a voice promising a thousand painful deaths for the Captain. The Vendari flanking him raised their universally lethal weapons in a blatant show of force.

  There was only so much abject terror one Wikuni could withstand. Shan and the guards melted out of her path after only a short moment, and the path was clear for her.

  Just seeing that dais brought a whirlwind of emotions into her. She had labored for this moment for quite a long time, but she fully understood the finality of stepping upon it. She would be abandoning her freedom the instant she put her foot on that stone, giving up her life in service to the kingdom. All this had begun as simply an elaborate plot for revenge, but along the way her eyes had been opened to the grim responsibility that sitting in that chair would impart upon her. There were alot of things wrong in Wikuna, things that begged to be corrected, things that her father and her family line had perpetrated over the centuries. She would be safe in that chair, safe from her father, safe from the other nobles, safe from everyone that would try to kill her, but seeking its shelter carried with it a price that she worried she may not be able to pay. She would take that throne, and then the problems of her kingdom would become her problems, the duty to fix things would be hers, and the hope of millions of Wikuni would be pinned to her skirts. All her life she had prided herself on her strength. She had been strong enough to overcome a nightmarish childhood, to survive against the many who tried to have her removed, had had the fortitude to stand up against what was thrust upon her and reach for what she wanted instead. And she had been blessed in that struggle, blessed with a brother and sister that loved her, friends she could count on, experienced those sweet parts of life that had been denied to her. But her strength would be all she would have to face the challenges of standing on that dais. There were alot of things to do, alot of things to change, things she had already planned as a final way of getting back at her father that, she had discovered, would also be of tremendous benefit for the people.