Chapter Eleven
The rest of the ride passed quietly. We soon reached the gates of the Paladin village. Again, I marveled at the pure white arches, and the massive buildings. “You there! Halt, By the order of the Kings Guard!” Came the gruff voice from one of the guards. We stopped, and let them in.
“Alright, you know the procedure. Markovitch is on the loose, and we have to check every wagon train for him.” The guard said.
I heard Bakar burst out laughing. “Looking for Markovitch? Well, you found him. He is in the back wagon.” He said, with mirth in his voice.
The guard jumped up, and his sword was sheathed in holy light. “What do you mean?” He roared.
“Just go check.” Bakar said.
“But, I hope you aren’t scared of blood.” Cynthia finished for him.
The guard called over two other guards, and they crept slowly into the back wagon. There was a brief pause, and then a manly scream of terror. I almost laughed. The guards went running out of the wagon, only to throw a piece of paper at us, before waving us along the road, towards the Kings palace.
“Well, that was fast.” Cynthia said.
We burst out laughing. They rushed our wagon train through the gates, with just a few shouted words. The wagon train rumbled up the pathway until it reached a magnificent wall.
In front of the wall, there were two guards. I looked up. The wall was over three times our wagon stacked on itself. There were four layers of walls, getting each taller in the last. In the very center, there were massive spires coming up from what was most likely a castle.
The guards ushered us into The first wall. “Halt! Who...” The first guard started to say.
“Brought in a bounty, Jacob. Move aside.” The captain said gruffly.
“Which one?” Jacob asked, in a bored tone.
“Stand aside Cadet, I know you are still on probation. Now get out of the way.” The captain said, and pushed past Jacob. We followed him.
The pathway to the second wall in was paved with coarse stone. On either side were walls, covered in slits, probably for archers. There was an iron drop gate at the second gate’s entrance.
These guards gave us no trouble, and we walked past the second wall. The pathway to the third wall was much more elaborate. This one was paved with marble, and there were no walls keeping you in. Instead, there were lush green pastures, with several horses in them.
Bakar stopped. “Hey, that’s interesting. They keep their stables right between the third and fourth wall as a pasture. This way, if there is a siege, they can reach their horses in time, while in the castle. Also, it must be helpful in deterring small time robbers. While a robber who is extremely confident in himself may try to enter the castle and steal horses, a rookie robber would hesitate to rob a castle.” Bakar said.
The guard captain raised his eyebrows at Bakar. “You are very observant. Everything you have just said is quite true. But, you missed one fact. If we are ever under siege, and run out of food, well, horses are edible.” He said, turning green when he said edible.
Bakar nodded, and we resumed walking. The guards at the third gate were no trouble either, and we walked through it as well. There was a huge white castle in the middle of a large garden. The castle had several tall spires, and several colored glass windows.
The gardens were filled with apple trees, and tall grass. The grass was neatly trimmed, and many clumps of it were left purposely tall to form grass statues. A lot like the ones made with bushes on Earth. The trees provided a nice shade, and also smelled heavenly. The guard captain noticed our longing expressions and laughed. He gestured for us to stop, and walked off the path to a nearby tree.
He grabbed four apples, put one in his mouth, and walked back onto the path. He lifted the hand holding the apples towards us, and gestured at the hand holding the apples with his other hand. Cynthia grinned, and reached for one. I reached out and grabbed her hand.
“Hey! I’m hungry here! If you aren't hungry, let me eat at least.” She snapped at me.
“That’s not it Cynthia. The thing is, these are the king’s apples, and we have no right to eat them, unless offered to by the king himself. The captain of the guard would obviously have these privileges.” I said, and looked at the guard captain.
Something like approval flashed through his eyes, but his expression didn’t change. “You are quite right young man. Malek, I told you to stop using that test on everybody that entered the castle long ago.” A deep, but mellow voice said.
Malek dropped to his knees, and bowed his head. “My liege! I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there!” He said, in a panicked voice.
I looked around for the voice, and spotted a young man, not much older than us, standing in between a few of the trees smiling. He was dressed in purple robes, with gold engraving.
“Down, you idiots! Kneel down!” Malek hissed through his teeth.
I snapped to my senses, and also dropped to my knees. Two corresponding thuds proved that Bakar and Cynthia did so as well.
The young king laughed. “Get up, Get up. Now, Malek, Why have you invited this merry band of adventurers here? Is it for a bath? Because they look like they need one!” The King said.
We laughed, and stood up. Malek stood up as well. “No, King Cormac, I did not bring them here for a bath, even though they need one. They are here because they brought in the bounty for Markovitch.” Malek said, almost reverently.
King Cormac burst out laughing. “And here I though you lost your sense of humor! Good one Malek...” Cormac started, but trailed off.
“You’re not kidding are you, Malek?” The King asked.
A young guard burst through the fourth gate, and ran up to us. He looked at Malek. “Sir! The scientists ran the tests, It really is Markovitch!” The guard said.
He looked around, and saw the King. He started to fall to his knees. The king’s hand shot forward, and held him up. “Blast it, how many times do I have to tell you guys not to kneel? It’s not like I’m much older than you.” He said.
The young guard nodded shakily, and ran out of the courtyard. Cormac turned, and gestured for us to follow him. He went into the large castle, and so did we. The floor was made with red wool, and the walls with marble.
There were paintings of many warriors, mages, and kings covering the walls. We followed him through the halls, to a large room with a domed top. It was actually rather plain, with only dark marble as the floor, and no design on the walls.
In the middle of the room, there was a large gold throne, studded with rubies. The king sat down in the throne, and looked at us. “Lace, Cynthia, and Bakar, It has come to my attention that you have brought in a top class bounty- Markovitch, a top class slaver. The bounty on his head is no small fortune, as I am sure you know. Now, to discuss the bounty.” He said.
“Will you have a single person speak for your crew?” He asked in a formal voice.
Bakar and Cynthia looked at me. I sighed. “I will speak for us.” I said resignedly.
“Very well Lance, there are several things that must be discussed. The first, the bounty was set for one hundred thousand gold coins.” He said.
I heard Bakar choke. “That’s enough money to start, run, and make large profit from a duchy.” Bakar whispered to me.
I thought about it. With the one hundred gold coins we got from the slavers, we could already live here as just slightly low class citizens. And, since we were only visiting, we didn’t really need much more than that.
“Now, I was thinking that the bounty was slightly too low on him, so maybe one hundred and fifty thousand gold coins is more appropriate?” The King continued.
I gulped. I opened my mouth to thank the king for his generosity, but paused. I thought back to the run down area of town. The one with all the thieves, and falling down homes. Immediately, I knew what to do. “My King, I thank you for your gracious offer, but I must decline your offer of increasing the amount of gold to my own party. However, may I r
equest that the extra fifty thousand gold is donated to help those who cannot afford to fix their homes in the lower sectors of the city?” I asked.
The king looked extremely surprised. He sat there, frozen in place for a minute. Then, slowly, a smile creased his face. “Lance, I find your current terms…unacceptable.” He said.
“Wha-, Wait! Why…” I started. “Because you under credit yourself too much. Here are my terms. One hundred thousand gold to your party, fifty thousand to those in need in the lower sectors of my city, and I put you three in charge of a duchy whenever you happen to be around.” He said, sounding pleased with himself.
I looked to Bakar and Cynthia. They nodded slowly, grins creasing their faces. I turned to the king. “I accept my liege.” I said, once more in a formal tone.
The king grinned. “Excellent.” He said.
“I apologize for all of the formalism. The scribes who were recording this demand it.” He said with a playful sigh. I assume you were going to return to earth now?” He asked.
We nodded. “I’m afraid I must ask you to stick around another two days, so I can have a formal ceremony crediting you with dukedom in Slavia.” He said.
“Slavia? You mean there are other kings around?” I asked, surprised.
He laughed. “Of course, remember that Terra is a mirror dimension of your planet, Earth. It is the same size. There are probably over 500 Kings across the world now, but maybe 3 on this continent. I rule Slavia, and you will be announced official Dukes of Slavia in two days. One day to tell the people, and then on the second day, we will have a ceremony.” He said, sounding pleased.
Bakar groaned. “You mean we have to stay here another two days without being able to do anything?”
The king laughed. “Well, you could always join a sparring match with the guards, read in the library, or go play around with the mages, and do whatever the mages do.” He said.
I grinned. “A library? Does it have spells in it?” I glanced at my snake wristband. “Or maybe a book or two on magical artifacts?” I asked.
His grin grew wider. He rang a small bell. A servant came rushing into the room. “What can I do for you my liege?” She asked.
“Melissa, please bring Lance to the library.” He said.
“Hey, Isn’t this the group that killed Markovitch?” She asked.
King Cormac sighed. “How did that get out already? And Melissa, your role is not to ask questions. You shall not pester Lance with questions, just bring him to the library.” He said.