The Zombie Tournament

Act 45 : Small Skirmish

“To influence? Is that match fixing?”

Zeno Gunnar’s eyes squinted. For such knowledge that was explained, the young knight feels in distraught and shriveled in disgust. Minopia’s competition is sketchy from the very beginning and nobody could refuse on its superficial means. The five business moguls of Minopia might be the true felon of such tricky cooperation. They shared a chunk of profits from the country’s main entertainment on board, divided its compelling revenues and wrestled within happiness of moneymaking that they devised.

Against Zeno Gunnar’s query, Damon shrugged slightly,”It is, Zeno. I’m sorry to inform you, but many of us were desperate enough to escape and gone suicide because of failures.” He sulked. Tanya Rushdi agreed to the half-zombie’s tantrum, even adding a frown for her own nods to the answer.

“Yeah, I’m second to Damon, Zeno. We can do nothing but to win, and there’s only one for every chapter of the game.” She said,”How can we not getting stressed out by that?”

“For that reason, we have to stay sane, so here’s myself and laughter all day long! Hahahaha!” Frank Terino followed, putting a loud guffaw in the end.

Fun and games of zombie collection has turned sour to the young knight’s ear. Indeed, it has been in mind for weeks to the man. He never had a thought of being stuck here for eternity. A win is ensured, he motivated himself for days straight, but a number of knock-out in the past has revealed of how strong their contender truly was.

However, the end of tunnel has appeared before them. A moonshine glows has welcomed them on arrival to the northwestern regions of Minopia. Kamara’s necklace is in Zeno Gunnar’s hand for a showcase of their findings. Queen Aldana will never be pleased on their results, but having none on their hands could do nothing for exchange, as much.

“Are you sure we’ll be fine, Zeno? She’s demanded us to keep her alive, remember?” Damon darted his glance to their captain, hoping for a resolution from his part,”I wonder if she’ll actually punished us after this emerged.”

“Don’t worry, She’s all knowing to our activities. There’s no way for her to make us handicapped.” Zeno Gunnar assured.

Frandemulo’s intricate hip-and-gable roof is on sight. None of desert scorpions and earthworms that were prowling below their grounds, as far as Zeno Gunnar could observe by white aura’s extensive supervision. It could be merely designed for that day’s amusement and trivial matters to come up against. Indeed, that was also a first in line for zombie scorpion to be summoned, hence Juno Rumondor’s decision to stash some of them for research.

(drap-drap)

Conversely, there should be a commotion to appease ahead of the city gate. Frandemulo’s blue armor soldier were in ranks before the waygate entrance. They have been standing there for hours, the young knight suspected, since some of the struggled ones could be seen across the back of their solid formation. Either a horde of assailants has arrived on the scene, for them to be pummelled as they performed in duty and getting injured because of them, or another city’s battallion has been close to their grounds prior to Zeno Gunnar’s group disembark. Against one way or another, their tridents has been in prime for quite some time and was lighted up on the tip by a surge of electricity that entails.

“Hey-ho!”

A sudden yell has emerged from the square-formation of their force. Their captain has observed Tonado’s group intention to approach and assembled an attacking stance on the spearhead of their small army. There are no exact subsequent counter-act from their ranks, nonetheless, manifested a stream of suspicion across both axis of the group.

“We’re here to meet Queen Aldana! Don’t attack us, please!” Zeno Gunnar howled from the distance.

The young knight rested both arms to the hilt of black swords. No matter of what its outcome would be, a knight has to stay prepared for battle at all cost. He preffered peaceful encounter, anyway, but their response will be unknown until a weapon goes in yield from Frandemulo’s side.

(drap-drap)

“Hey-ho!”

A command from their captain occurred, and their weapon returned back to neutral position immediately. The line of gunner on the rear put their firearms to relax as they left the trigger alone to the bottom. In a short second later, trident-warrior on the central areas of their formation started to break it away by marching to the front. Over one-line horizontal square arrangement of their ranks, the trident-warrior’s action has created two vertical rows of defense and a widened gap in between, with which many of them goes in sync at the same time to the front-line afterwards.

(tap-tap-tap)

“The Queen has expected all of you in her palace. Please, follow me.”

A person in similar tone to Aldana Hotel’s doorman was beaming when Tonado’s convoy getting close to the entrance. He wears a red hat and blue uniform for choice of attire.  Naturally, there was nothing to do otherwise, since Queen Aldana herself that called them to enter by the presence of the hotel’s doorman ahead.

“What’s going on here?”

In his mumble, Zeno Gunnar raised an eyebrow to the drastic occurrence of Frandemulo’s landscape. There are wooden-crafted buildings everywhere in the past. Golden and silver temple of Frandemulo were never situated at the center in some ways, because their whole appearance has been terminated alongside most of the city’s architecture without trace.

Only one building was intact and spotless ahead of them. A vertical castle, in a glance, because of the structure’s four level floors that appeared upon the very position of the two temple’s location a day before. It was constructed in mixtures of wood and stone, stacked upon the mounds to stand higher than the rest of the city’s ground. Similar pattern of hip-and-gable roofs were intertwined with each partition of the building’s levels.

“That’s our Queen’s palace.” The doorman pointed at the castle,”She will be at the main hall of the bottom floor, so you don’t have to rush yourself upstairs.” He explained.

“Was Juno Rumondor summoned here before us? He’s our true leader, and I’m assigned for this sole mission only.” Zeno Gunnar exclaimed. In regards to his query, the doorman bowed.

“No, The Queen has learned of the other group’s tragedy, so she appointed you as their envoy for the current objective.” He muttered, then going ahead of them to slide open the main entrance of the castle, before suddenly disappeared under a white smoke afterwards.

Tanya Rushdi shook her head in response,”Another petty show from our humble hologram! That door is automated, yet he puts an effort to pretend it’s manual.” She pouted.

The Queen has been seated to the end of the castle’s main hall. There are no other rooms to comply with, only a stair behind her throne to scale upwards whenever a visit to the upper-side room is required. Her solid stare intimidates any guests that brings a foot to visit. It generates a grief of shudder for mischief-makers before the ruling leader of Frandemulo.

Zeno Gunnar, however, was benign and appeared calm despite a spark of glare from the Queen. Instead of being afraid, the strict exercise of Numonia’s knight provided them with confidence in whatsoever form, mainly to diminish their own qualms before their opponent’s desire.

“Welcome, Zeno Gunnar. Have you gotten something on the journey?”

Queen Aldana puffed a vapor from her cigar. Her white gown’s bottom was dangling in rhythm to the feet’s stroll. It is a formal occasion, indeed, for her to utilise one of the highly-maintained dress among many. The Queen’s casual walk to her subject’s position goes identical to their latest encounter in Aldana hotel. She wobbles a bit, sometimes almost drown in sewn-up flower motifs of the dress. It smears non-elegance manners to her rather-courtly wardrobe, yet she never faltered to them and keep on doing her best to survive.

Before the queen, Zeno Gunnar took a kneel. He brings forth Kamara’s necklace on top of his palms and placed it upon the head,”Here, your Majesty. We’ve been tracking her in Ofta, but there are nothing left other than this accessories.” He kept his head lowered down beneath. Nobody dares to lay a gaze to the Queen behind him, as much, mainly due to their strategy to avoid spilling out their beans straight away.

“Ah, this is my present for seventeenth birthday of hers. How could you locate it better to my dear daughter’s actual position?” She took the necklace from Zeno Gunnar’s palms,”You must be lying to me, Gunnar. Don’t think anyone could deceive me this way.” The Queen taunted. Of course, it plays no big deal to the man’s stature, as the young knight suddenly gazed upon her eye-to-eye.

(....)

No words intact to Zeno Gunnar’s unwavering glance. This is a key to absolute truth in knight’s school of Numonia. A person’s lie will be overlooked if that certain pretender provides one stern look to both eyes. No wonder, a regular guy’s falsehood brings a psychological fear instilled, therefore eyes’ both pupils shrunken feature will follow.

After a few minutes in toe-to-toe stare battle, Queen Aldana eventually giggled in defeat,”Alright, you passed the test. I’ve known everything from the beginning, Zeno Gunnar, and all I asked to you was to save her, correct?” She clarified.

“Yes, that is precise. We don’t have to carry your daughter here at all.” He answered,”I was putting those ‘take her back’ speech because of the situation, but there’s no requirements for her to return.”

Queen Aldana gasped, placing her palms over the lips,”You are so smart, Zeno Gunnar. You have acknowledged our family issues, apparently. Did she indicated anything about it to all of you at some point?”

“Yes.” Zeno Gunnar answered in brief,”She doesn’t want to have relation with you anymore, but still grateful for you to rescue her regardless.”

“It’s practically fine. I’ve never put a strain to her decision anyway. It’s her method to flourish, so why do I have to complain about it? For your reward, I will send my concierge to your aid soon.” She snapped her fingers to the air,”John, Please handle the money for me, alright?”

Suddenly, the doorman’s hologram appeared close to the young knight’s torso. He furled an arm to the chest to bend slightly down in curve. For the remaining ones that still goes free, the doorman utilized it to hold his hat for the bow.

“At your service, Ma’am.” He replied.

However, there is something odd that happened and left in question to the man, so the young knight raised a hand to interrupt,”Your majesty, may I have one question?” He asked.

 Queen Aldana laid her gaze to the young knight, for she was wondering on the sort of query that the man wished to bear,”What is it? I will tell you the answer as much as I known about.” She replied.

“What’s happening with your country? Is there someone that harrassed it somehow?”

Her lips quivered to Zeno Gunnar’s question that follows. Queen Aldana moped herself under the palms, clenching it for a bit of time to drain some tears out. The holographic doorman offers her a tissue to snort out the snot, to which the Queen accepts and smile in return.

“We’re under siege by Militistaro a day before, Zeno Gunnar. They cut our access for Ofta’s groceries and deployed around 200 soldiers out for such mission. Their Generals has delivered a number of skirmishes to our city, as well, but I found no Minopia’s federal police in response.”

She sobbed in weeps afterwards. The young knight has other questions to follow up, yet Queen Aldana’s current situation is unfit for them at the time. The doorman hinted to the door’s direction, in addition, so that the visitors could leave her alone for some time.

Any other way, their objective has been fulfilled. Twenty thousand virtual dollars was spent primarily on debts, hence Frank Terino’s jubilation as they depart. None of ill-feelings to their inaction, even a gruesome persona non grata to their status for their failure to bring the Queen’s daughter home, for their leader herself to grant them a handsome reward nonetheless.