The carriage pulled through the eastern gates of Silvergate, went through the market district and the noble district, and stopped at the fountain in the palace courtyard.
That trip was interesting, it’s the first time I have seen another city.
Prince Veyne got out of the carriage accompanied by his brother and Fredrich.
“Isn’t it odd how they did things?” the youngest boy said.
A servant walked over to them, “Young prince, Master Eric and young Lord Fredrich. I will accompany you inside,” the man stated before grabbing bags out of the carriage.
They walked together up the stairs towards the palace doors.
Prince Veyne patted Eric on the back before speaking, “We could always suggest father makes some changes to the city.”
Eric laughed then replied, “Sure, it’s worth a shot.”
Fredrich, walking beside them, spoke, “I can’t say if he will listen or not, but it’s definitely worth trying.”
All three smiled at each other brightly as they walked into the palace.
***
A few years of trying to suggest changes to father… he hasn’t listened so far.
Maybe today will be different.
Prince Veyne and Eric exchanged blows with wooden swords near the fountain.
Eric’s footing caused him to trip slightly, and a swing from Prince Veyne hit him solidly in the arm.
“Ow, Brother, that hurt!” Eric shouted, gripping his upper arm.
Prince Veyne shook his head side to side before speaking.
“You have to watch what you are doing with your feet.”
Prince Veyne then smiled and rubbed Eric on the head before he spoke,
“You’ll get it, don’t worry. Took me a while too.”
Fredrich walked into the courtyard holding a large stack of books and waved at them with one hand.
“Why do you always have so many books, Fredrich?” Prince Veyne asked.
Fredrich smiled and replied, “Well, unlike you. I am not the heir to a throne; if I want to be useful, I need to learn as much as I can.”
Prince Veyne laughed and then spoke, “Yes, not like your family is wealthy anyway.”
Fredrich laughed back and replied, “Not the point, and you know it.”
The door to the palace opened, and out came a servant. He walked up to Prince Veyne and spoke,
“A message from the king: Your request has been heard, but no action will be taken. I suggest you focus on your studies and being a child; leave adult matters to the adults and enjoy the naiveté of youth.”
The servant then bowed and went back into the palace.
Eric threw his sword at the ground, before shouting, “This is bullshit!... He dismisses us just because we are kids!”
Prince Veyne walked over and placed a hand on Eric’s shoulder before replying,
“It is very annoying. We will have to try to prove to him our ideas are good.”
Fredrich nodded then spoke, “True, your father is unlikely to argue if we can provide evidence.”
They smiled at each other and nodded.
***
I’m twenty…nothing has changed and nothing convinced father…
I can’t stand this anymore…
Prince Veyne was polishing his shield on the steps outside the throne room.
Eric rounded a corner wearing armour as well. He spoke,
“I’m done training with the guards. What is your plan for the day?”
Prince Veyne stopped polishing his shield and looked up. He rubbed his head while speaking,
“I don’t think I can stay here… I’ve been thinking about it for a while; I might go and become an adventurer.”
Eric quickly scowled at him and then replied, “Great, so you get to run off and have fun as an adventurer and I’m left to take over the kingdom!”
Most would be happy with this.
Prince Veyne sighed deeply then spoke, “Look, we are not children anymore, and most second-borns would be thrilled with this.”
Eric frowned and shook his head before replying, “True, many would. But I’m not a thinker like you. If I can’t hit a problem … I am not much use.”
He took a pause and sighed before continuing, “How will that go? ruling somewhere like this?”
Prince Veyne furrowed his brow. He then stood up and placed both hands on Eric’s shoulders as he spoke,
“Look, you are not dumb. I am sure you will do great.”
After speaking, Veyne had a gentle smile until Eric pulled back and broke from his grip.
“No, I won’t do it … If you leave, I’m going to be an adventurer too… fuck this place,” Eric said, stomping his feet.
He is still such a child…
We can’t leave this place in the hands of the five noble houses…
Prince Veyne walked to the step and sat back down; he put his head in his hands to think for a bit.
It would get so much worse with them able to do anything…
Fuck… I have no choice here… do I?
Prince Veyne sighed, and with his hand on the back of his head, he stood up and walked back over to Eric.
“Ok, I will stay… But I expect my little brother to back me up and hit the problems I can’t… yeah?” Prince Veyne said sincerely.
Eric cracked a small smile as he grasped onto Prince Veyne’s hands.
“That is a promise, brother,” Eric said.
***
These years have been terrible… not sure if staying was the right choice.
But with Father ill, dealing with day-to-day matters occupies so much of my time.
Fredrich walked into the council chambers with a stack of papers, put them onto the desk and sat down.
“We have various requests from the five houses along with others from various merchants,” Fredrich said.
Prince Veyne sighed and began looking through the stack and signing documents as he went.
At least when I’m the actual king one day… not steward… I can make changes.
They dealt with requests for several hours until a servant knocked on the door.
“Enter,” Prince Veyne said loudly.
Opening the door, the servant walked in with a sombre expression as he spoke,
“Prince Veyne, you will need to come with me…”
They walked down hallways until they reached a lavish room.
Inside, three well-dressed nobles, two priests and Eric on his knees, crying over a skeletal-looking man laid in the bed.
A priest stepped forward and spoke, “Potions have not helped, and no healing spells we have tried seem to work… he would briefly improve, but within a day he was worse.”
The priest paused a moment before continuing, “I do not think he has long; the princes should be allowed time with the king.”
Those in the room bowed and left Eric and Prince Veyne with the king.
I’m not ready… I want to make changes… but not because of this…
Collapsing to his knees, he and Eric held each other as they sobbed.
***
The coronation and church confirmation are over… I’m finally the king…
King Veyne stood from the throne and nodded to Fredrich and Eric, who followed him out of the room.
They walked together and got settled in the council chambers, joined by two nobles.
King Veyne announced to the group, “Now that the administrative stuff is out of the way, I think the first thing we should address is the state of the healing clinics”
People are so overcharged for these services that most normal people can’t access them.
One of the nobles spoke, “Since we have not met in person, I am Lord Valcrest, and he is the Lord of Durnhal. We are curious to hear what you propose.”
Fredrich riffled through some papers and handed one of them to King Veyne.
He looked over it before replying, “The change I propose is gradually lowering the cost of healing so that adventurers and commoners can more easily access it.”
Lord Valcrest considered for a moment before replying, “That is fair; we will have to cut down on food subsidies for the poor then… Our family can’t afford both.”
This is illogical… this should be perfectly affordable… Fredrich checked the numbers.
“That doesn’t make sense; we checked the numbers. It should be perfectly doable.” King Veyne stated.
Lord Valcrest smiled and replied, “My King, it is your right to do as you wish. I am only letting you know my house’s finances. I am very familiar with them.”
King Veyne looked to Fredrich, who only gently gestured confusion with his hands.
“Ok, well we can’t cut the food subsidies; that will do more harm. What do you propose, Lord Valcrest?” Said King Veyne.
Lord Valcrest thought for a few moments, then said, “A more affordable solution may be to lower the prices for the poor but allow the price to be at the discretion of the cardinal… that way they can recover costs from the more wealthy?”
That is not ideal at all…
But it at least means the poor could access healing.
King Veyne thought for a while before he replied, “Fredrich, do you have a better solution?”
“Sorry, my King, not without time I don’t,” Fredrich lowered his head after speaking.
King Veyne sighed and spoke, “Very well, Lord Valcrest, your solution will do for the time being.”
Lord Valcrest bowed and nodded in response.
***
These negotiations never get any easier…we are prepared well for this one, though.
Fredrich and King Veyne sat in the council chambers and waited.
“They should be here shortly, and we can begin,” Fredrich said with a slight smile to King Veyne.
King Veyne took a deep breath and nodded lightly to Fredrich.
A short while later, the door opened; Lord Valcrest, Lord Corantis and Lord Merrorwyn entered and took their seats at the table.
“I brought you all here to discuss a matter I believe has the utmost importance,” King Veyne announced.
Those in the room sat and watched King Veyne calmly.
“These battles that are being held with the slaves cannot continue,” King Veyne said.
Lord Corantis stood and spoke, “I understand, my king, but we have already stated that we are unable to agree without a suitable replacement… the other nobles would be in an uproar.”
Taking a few steps as he continued, “You can’t expect my family to take the financial burden and shame, surely?”
King Veyne sighed, and said,“I understand your concerns, and to address this, Fredrich helped me come up with a solution.”
Gesturing to Fredrich before King Veyne sat down.
Fredrich coughed to clear his throat, holding paper he read from,
“I looked through the royal library; I discovered a spell that can create constructs that would be a suitable replacement for the fights.”
Lord Valcrest spoke up, “I am familiar with this spell. It is not possible… It requires a large amount of Mana and Orbs to sustain the constructs.”
Fredrich nodded and replied, “We are aware; this is why Eric volunteered to take a party into a dungeon and retrieve what we need.”
Once he is back… we will win this… he is a very capable warrior.
The nobles considered this for a while as they sit back down.
Lord Corantis spoke, “Well, it isn’t ideal, but if you manage it. I’m sure I could get the others to agree to it.”
King Veyne smiled, then replied, “Good, glad you agree.”
The group discussed other matters on the day-to-day running of the city for a few hours until a knock at the door interrupted them.
A guard entered and spoke, “My King, we have news about Eric and his party.”
King Veyne stood up and smiled before speaking, “Ah, is he back with the orbs?”
Why does this guard look scared…
“No, my liege, I am afraid things did not go according to plan,” The guard said, looking at the ground.
King Veyne snapped at the guard, “Spit it out, boy … what is it!”
The guard jumped back a moment, then replied, “The party couldn’t find what they needed and so delved deeper into the dungeon… the scouts only found this finger with Eric’s royal ring on it.”
No…
King Veyne collapsed into his seat, and his head fell into his hands.
He was a great warrior…
Looking up with his face red, King Veyne shouted, “He can’t be dead; get a search party together and look for him!”
After this, the guard ran out of the room.
After several moments of silence, Lord Corantis stepped forward and spoke,
“My liege, I will pray for your brother; we should deal with this another day.”
King Veyne slammed his fist down before shouting, “No, things will stay as they are. I don’t care, right now.”
He got up and stormed out of the room, slamming the door, making his way up to his room where he opened the door and entered.
Pacing for a while before opening his closet and staring at the large, well-polished plate mail.
I should have been with him…
***
Walking down the corridor and sighing, King Veyne caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, bags under his eyes, wrinkles and skinny arms.
Let’s get this meeting out of the way.
He pushed open the council chambers door and took a seat at the table with Fredrich.
“What must we address today?” King Veyne asked.
Fredrich stood and spoke, “We have a request from the Lords to change the structure of how the adventurer guilds are ranked; they state they are currently too easy and it’s leading to an excess of wealthy adventurers.”
King Veyne sighed and leaned back in his chair before speaking,
“Will denying them cause bigger problems?”
Fredrich replied, “Yes, most likely, my liege.”
I will not be responsible for more mistakes like Eric…
“Approve it; what is next?”
They went through several other general requests.
“Next we have Lord Raeth wanting the upper guild to be oriented towards noble requests specifically,” said Fredrich.
This is all so pointless…
“Unless you can see some way of dealing with this better… just approve them all,” King Veyne said before sighing deeply.
Fredrich furrowed his brow and responded, “Short of executing the five houses, I don’t see a solution… they are too influential.”
“Ha, very good joke Fredrich. I am going back to my room,” King Veyne stated, sounding disinterested.
He snapped his fingers at one of the servants, who then ran off.
King Veyne walked to his room. Once there, the servant was waiting with a glass bottle containing a brown liquid.
He grabbed it, pushed open his door and slumped by a chair facing the open closet.
Swigging from the bottle, he sighed, staring at the armour.
Haha, it’s almost funny… I don’t think I could bear the weight of that armour any more….
***
King Veyne sat on his throne, leaning back, face looking at the ceiling.
How old even am I? forty ish right?
Being a teenager feels so long ago…
King Veyne sighed and looked down at the nobles arguing in front of him: Lord Valcrest, Lord Durnhal, Lord Corantis, Lord Merrorwyn and Lord Arvendel.
“This adventurer some claim he single-handedly destroyed the Demon Lord; this is obvious nonsense,” Lord Valcrest stated.
“Yes, but we do know he killed the royal guard sent to deal with him,” Lord Corantis said.
“None of this matters!... We have to deal with him somehow,” Lord Arvendel exclaimed.
We should deal with him if he is making the city worse…
“We know that, Arvendel; contribute something useful. What should we do first about this Bryan?” Lord Merrorwyn said.
The doors to the throne room creaked open.
“King Veyne, we need to take back control of the lower districts,” said Lord Valcrest.
King Veyne, on his throne, looked frustrated but looked over at the door and saw the man in black armour stride in casually.
“We are busy, whatever it is… it can wait,” King Veyne announced.
The man, walking tall, said, “No, your reign is over.”
Who does this guy think he is?
The nobles stopped bickering, and all stared towards the man.
The guards all lowered their spears and pointed them towards the man as he approached the king.
King Veyne’s anger spread on his face before he said, “Arrest this man!”
Guards shared side glances with each other. One guard turned his spear to point at King Veyne.
One by one, the others followed suit.
This is flat-out treason…
“What in the hells do you think you are doing!” Furious, King Veyne stood from his throne.
The man stopped at the steps before the throne.
"You lost this kingdom when you stopped running it properly."
Who the hells is he to say that?
Two guards stepped forward and grabbed King Veyne by the arms and started dragging him away while the others rounded up the nobles.
“What should we do with them all?” the guards asked.
“Dungeon,” the man said plainly.
A look of fear crept onto the faces of both the nobles and King Veyne, who shouted.
I don’t understand… what is his motivation here?
“Why do this!... Just for the power?”
The man tilted his head at King Veyne and said, “No, you ran this city inefficiently… too much waste”
What?
King Veyne was stunned for a moment, but as he was dragged away, he shouted, “Get the fuck off me… I’m the king!... Why are you listening to whoever the fuck that is!”
***
Overhearing the guards… it was that Bryan who did this…
This lunatic is actually going to execute the five houses…
The crowd erupted into cheers as five nobles and King Veyne were led onto the stage and forced to kneel before wooden blocks.
Once tied to the block with ropes, King Veyne looked up and could see Bryan standing on a podium by a wooden stage.
In the square below was a large crowd gathered around the large wooden platform.
A man in a black hood stepped behind the noble on the far left and gestured to Bryan with the axe.
King Veyne looked around. The Lords of the five houses were on blocks next to him, and Fredrich stood at the bottom of the podium Bryan was on.
“Sir, you are expected to speak here; it is the custom,” said Fredrich.
After sighing, Bryan stood up straight, stepped forward and spoke loudly to the crowd.
“With these men gone, the city will run much more smoothly.”
That was his speech… really?... This guy is very strange.
The cheers of the crowd lowered to a whisper as people turned to each other and muttered.
Bryan spoke again, “Executioner, we should begin.”
After this, the executioner glanced at Fredrich standing behind Bryan's podium before swinging his axe down on the first noble.
King Veyne sighed and looked at Fredrich, who was covering his face.
Hopefully he looks at me… I need him to continue what we wanted to do…
The executioner swung for the second noble, the thud making King Veyne flinch.
Fredrich lifted his hand briefly and made eye contact with King Veyne, who gave Fredrich a nod.
Hopefully he survives and does what we couldn’t.
The third thud sent shivers down King Veyne’s spine, as large steps could be felt approaching behind him.
King Veyne looked up at Bryan only to notice that he was staring back.
Getting rid of the houses is a good step… please let Fredrich advise you.
The axe came down with a thud into the block.
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End of Volume Two
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