Meeting the King 2

After seeing the series of images, the mist like substance formed an image of the Duke of Alcove

Aliester could not help but be surprised at how Duke Alastor looked so much like a mature version of himself.

Alastor then said. "I greet, your Majesties, the esteemed members of the Enclave. I am the Duke of Alcove, Alastor. In behalf of our Kingdom, I am seeking for the help of the Enclave as part of the pact back in the ancient times."

The message got fuzzy before the apparition continued.

"Verbena had been taken over by a witch in the guise of the Queen. Since she had charmed our king and placed a curse in the entire Kingdom. It rendered our nobility unable to rebel and knights unable to fight."

Aliester watched as the message projected how the people from Verbena became undead and how the knights had been forced to kill the people they had been tasked to protect.

"I am sending my son to inform the other Enclave members to get ready. Since the Queen did not only intend for Verbena to fall but the other kingdoms as well. So please, your Majesties, please send us aid to stop that witch."

Lennox's face was quite grim.

"I got the gist when Lord Harris had given me your circumstances earlier." Lennox's blue eyes bore on the young lord. "I never thought that the state of affairs in Verbena would be that grave."

"This is quite a problem, your Majesty. The queen did not only want to take over Verbena. She also wanted the rest of the kingdoms in the Forest of Silence." Harris said. "The nearest kingdoms here are Marjoram, Thyme and Azalea. We might be the next target."

The young lord felt a bit on the edge. He had delivered the message late so he anticipated that he would get reprimanded.

[Notice: Mission: to deliver the message to the King, Cleared.] Zarame's voice almost jolted Aliester in surprise.

Aliester bowed his head. "I had been tasked to warn the other kingdoms, but I was late. I have heard the some of the heirs were taken as hostages and the other kingdoms might already be in trouble. I sincerely apologize for the tardiness."

[Get ready for the penalty for not completing the task on time]. Zarame added as a warning.

Aliester gulped nervously. He was expecting that King Lennox would have lashed at him.

But the king did not lash out at him. He sighed while focusing his blue eyes at Aliester.

"It cannot be helped. The situation in Verbena was quite bleak. For sure, you had a hard time trying to cross the border to our kingdom, since Verbena had already been overrun by the undead."

Aliester was slightly relieved that the king did not reprimand him.

"The warning was indeed late." Lennox said while looking a bit grave. "If you have arrived on schedule we might have been able to prevent the abduction of our heirs. My son was one of those who were taken after all."

The young lord could not help but feel a bit bad. He could have warned Marjoram if the plan had gone smoothly.

The king rose and patted Aliester's shoulder. "Anyway, you have done well in giving the orb. At least we would know what had happened in Verbena and what we could do to counterattack."

"I felt that I haven't done enough…" Aliester said to himself.

"Young duke of Alcove, you do not need to worry. It is true that they had taken some of the heirs. But that Queen could not easily take our kingdoms and spread her curse."

Aliester nodded. He had noticed that when they crossed the borders, the undead were not able to follow them. It was as if a barrier was containing the curse inside of Verbena Kingdom.

"The barrier that the mage cast is preventing the curse from spreading." Aliester said. "However, it is works like a double-edged sword. The curse would only affect the ones inside the barrier."

The king somehow figured out his line of thoughts. "That would mean that people who have skills and unique abilities would lose their skills once they crossed to Verbena."

The king sat on his chair and thought deeply. "So, we could not directly intervene."

"It seemed that the reason why those spies were not able to give their report was due to the curse." Harris muttered to himself.

Ignoring the information about spies, Aliester continued. "Most of our people have been weakened due to the curse. There are only few whose skills would remain and unaffected by it."

The young lord added. "It was a struggle getting away from Verbena with sealed skills. So, it was hard for us to build a force to counter attack and reclaim the kingdom by ourselves."

He knew that asking the Enclave for help was needed. But it would have been the rulers who had to negotiate.

However, since Verbena's king was under that Queen, the vassals who were not affected by the spell were the ones to move.

"You would need the help of the Enclave." Lennox decided. "The problem is not only with Verbena and Marjoram. The other Kingdoms would have to be involved. Unfortunately, we could not simply step in and infiltrate, due to the barrier and the curse."

They were quiet for a time. The Holly decided to join in. "Excuse me, your Majesty, permission to speak."

"Yes, Lady Hallows." The King smiled when he acknowledged the witch. "I see that you have finally decided to pay your dear uncle a visit. I was thinking that you would live in seclusion after taking over the coven."

"Your Majesty, can we focus at the problem at hand?" Holly smiled awkwardly. "Let us leave the family matters later."

"Harris, our cute niece had definitely changed after becoming the head witch." The king sighed dramatically while turning towards the minister. "She is cold."

Harris cleared his throat. "Your majesty, we are in the middle of an audience. Please behave."

The king returned to his serious mode after being reminded.

Holly then said. "The young duke of Alcove was able to cross the barrier and he could use his affinity. I think it is possible for him to infiltrate Verbena without losing his skills and abilities since he had already broken free from the curse."

The king had thought for a while before his blue orbs focused on Aliester. "This is a gamble, but I really think that you may be able to rescue my son. Not only my son but the other heirs of the Enclave, if possible."

[Penalty: Rescue the King's son who was taken by the enemy.]

Aliester was startled. He thought that the king was giving him mission but Zarame labelled it as penalty.

He still has the uncompleted mission from Raiha and yet he had to accept this punishment from Lennox. It was making his head hurt.

'The difficulty seemed to have increased.' He could not help but complain inwardly.

"I will try my best to free the heirs." The young duke said.

The king nodded. "While, you will be rescuing the heirs, I will be convening with the other members of the Enclave. We will be raising an army together with the other kingdoms and wait for the heir's return to set things right."

Aliester was stunned. "How did you know about the heir?"

The blonde smiled. "The guardian spirits have given me a message about the wrong done by Verbena. Righting that wrong would only mean bringing back that child to set things in proper order."