LEGEND OF DEATH'S ASSASSINS

CHAPTER 17

Lucas’s words hung on the air for some time. Negev could feel them pinching his bones, driving a heat through every part of his body. His fist was also twitching and deep down, the King just wanted to pick something and throw. It pained him that the messenger was right. He had focused so much on, Moseroth alone to care about the world outside. But he would not admit it, no, not in front of anyone. He had messed up, and that was his cross to carry. Maybe the disappearance of his family was a bitter blessing in disguise. If his wife and daughter were still around, he doubts if he would have paid any attention to the kingdom.

“Why have you kept this from me?”

“Oh,” Lucas laughed and threw the scroll he was holding to the floor, “That’s because you have been blinded by your wealth, old friend. How deaf you have become. Do you know how many times I have called you to order?”

“Silence!” King Negev shouted, and his resonating voice seemed to shake the pillars.

The servants that were working in the hallway had disappeared, and surrounding them now were the black mail palace guards. Even though this was just an ordinary misunderstanding, the palace guard had their faces behind their helmet. Each of them rested their hands on the hilt of the sword lying in wait on their waist. One wrong move was all they needed to tear Lucas to shreds.

“I am the King, Lucas, in case you’ve forgotten. You don’t call me to order. I call my subjects to order.” Negev walked towards the messenger, “And because I gave you the liberty to speak, doesn’t mean you should rigmarole your blabbermouth like an idiot.”

Lucas breathed in, but did not break his gaze with the King. The discomfort on his shoulders were eminent but have nothing to do with fear. Lucas was much smarter than that. Negev have known him for a long while. The man was being himself, and even though the King was pissed off, a part of him was happy to have someone by his side who would tell him the truth, at least.

“If you’ve chose to continue to hide in the shell of your ego, why then do you seek the piecing fingers of humility? You wanted the truth, this is the truth. You are not just stubborn, Negev, but I think you are insane.”

The King’s guards did not like the sound of that. One of them walked towards Lucas to cease him, but the King lifted his first finger and the man stopped in his wake. Even behind the dark mail and helmet, the anger that was beginning to burn in the eyes of the King’s guards, seemed to heat the place. There were about five of them, with Dark mail and chains and with sword that was twice as long as a giant’s hand.

“Take a good look at your precious garden.” Lucas gestured, “How beautiful it is. Gracious sun, shimmering down and bringing life to all there is. One glance and one would think that the world is as beautiful as this fleeting display of wealth and fame.”

“The truth, Lucas.”

“Oh, the good old truth,” Lucas laughed, but frowned almost immediately, “Perhaps, you should take a time and leave these walls. Have you seen the streets of Alush, or Ezion or the outskate of Kadesh? When was the last time you even left the comfort of your palace?” he hurriedly picked the scroll he had thrown on the floor initially and pointed to the brown pages

“Here,” He continued, “The corn and the wages of the people are dropping. And here, it says that the people will not survive another winter if we continue to impose such great a tax.”

“This is business, Lucas. I am the King of Moseroth, not the emperor of Midgol. These affairs are matters of the capital. Why should I worry about other city when my state is in a good hand?”

“See your problem?” Lucas chuckled, “You are too full of yourself. You brag so much about our noble city that you forget how dependent we are to other nations.”

King Negev nodded. That was the truth in its raw form. It tasted bitter and the way Lucas had presented it, he was finding it hard to tell if he was the one with the ego and rude behavior or Lucas. The nations around provided them with corn, wool and other cash crops. Even though the people of Moseroth were rich in their natural resources to mine gold, they needed the help of other countries. They were a small group of people, which made it easier to rule, plus, not everyone in Moseroth was young enough to work on the mine field. The people also have to buy labor outside.

“So,” The King turned and waved his hands to dismiss the guards who were still engulfing them. They were a bit reluctant, but none of them question his orders. They all bowed and left the King at the mercy of Lucas’s non respectable tongue.

“What does that imply?” The King asked and sat down on the concrete seat built out from the marble floor.

Instead of replying, Lucas started to laugh. He was pointing at the departing guards and almost choking in his own laughter.

“For a moment, I thought those guys were going to chop off my head,”

“But that didn’t stop you from waggling your stupid tongue, did it?”

This time, the King joined in the laughter. It felt good. Since his wife passed on and his daughter was cast with a sleeping spell, Negev could not remember the last time he had a good laughter with a genuine friend that always watches his back. And the memories that came with it was also something Negev would appreciate for the rest of his life. He had known Lucas even before he could barely say his own name. They had grown up together. While Lucas was just a noble—born into a wealthy family—he had no royal blood, but Negev’s father had accepted the man into the royal court, for his profound skill in literature and economics.

“Good old days,” Lucas said and took the seat next to the King.

“Yeah, it was pleasant then,” The King nodded, “I miss the weight of my own head. Now it seems as if the burden of the Kingdom would crush me with its weight.”

“Ah, tell me about it,”

The servants that have been sweeping earlier on had resumed again. Perhaps they had decided to continue their work when they saw that there was no cause for alarm. A music could also be heard, playing somewhere in the palace. It sounded like the palace’s orchestrator, he must have begun his music class for the men in the court. Their instruments perturbed the morning and told stories of the soul. But however solemn and alluring the music sounded, it was nothing compared to the solitude and serenity of sitting down in the King’s garden and watching the petals of flowers fall from their branch, as pollinating insect hovered around, from one flower to next. The summer sun also contributed to the splendor, if the King was good with brushes, perhaps he would have painted his emotions with colors.

“It’s getting worse, my lord and King.” Lucas finally broke the silence, “And if we don’t act fast, I wonder how long we would survive.”

“How much grains do we have in store?”

“Just a handful to last the next few months or days.”

“But,” The King turned his attention to Lucas this time, “Do you have any idea what could have caused the decrease in production?”

Lucas stared ahead as if choosing his words carefully. It was a habit that has become a reflex arc.

“Can’t say for sure. But for the flying rumors, it’s hard to say, my Lord and King.”

“You never seems to amaze me,” The King spread out his hands on the chair’s back, “I never knew you as one to disturb himself with what people are saying. What kind of rumors got you intrigue?”

“A strange one, my Lord. There have been rumors of war, coming from the far side of Terah.”

“Terah?” The King chuckled, “Terah cannot be at war. The boarders are blessed with fertile land and the people there are just too busy with the farming hoe to give a care for swords and arrows. They are not known for violence. These rumors are certainly what they are.”

“I thought so too, and it made sense why the rumors would be true,” Lucas hugged himself as if suddenly cold.

The King did not look at his direction, but from the corner of his eyes, he could see now, how time had brought the other man to a stage where gray hair now grew in his ears.

“Heard a merchant some few months back,” Lucas continued, “Says the event in Terah was like nothing the world has ever seen.”

“That depends, especially since the people of Terah are way too timid to spill blood.”

“Yes, my lord. They still maintain their culture, at least, those Terahnians who are still alive by the time I got this message, still upheld the ways of their fathers. But this enemy is way bigger than any of us. No one knows what this threat is yet, but statistics from the former report has showed that, nearly two third of the Terahnians have been wiped out.”