4. The Emperor's End part 2

Lodtrack ran quickly along the walls, his sword drawn and shield ready; the Dasso Elves were no joke, not even Lodtrack was sure he could catch them, and he didn't know how they would fight. All he had heard was that if you were a target, nothing could save you. Facing them head-on would put him at a disadvantage.

They were too elusive, but he had seen how they separated; catching one would be enough to find out who and why they had sent assassins after him and the emperor. He traversed the upper parts of the wall, noticed the magical barrier they had formed as soon as the arrow was fired, and all exits were guarded; no matter their tricks, they couldn't escape without being seen. Lodtrack entered the watchtowers without finding anything. When he searched the kitchens, initially he didn't notice anything strange, but he felt like he was being watched; he took a kitchen knife and threw it at a wall—something diverted it before impact.

"Invisibility?" Lodtrack prepared his sword and managed to block the impact of a blade; he had seen it clearly, a shadow moving at great speed, "no, it's something different."

"Exactly," said a deep, dark voice; the accent showed he was a forest elf "now die in the name of the Elven King."

"Fight face to face, coward," Lodtrack managed to deflect another blow and another. He tried to strike the shadow with a slash, relying on his swordsmanship, but the elf dodged the attack and caused a cut on Lodtrack's leg. It had barely grazed his skin, but it caused a sharp pain, as if it burned him from the inside.

"It's a poison originating from the Dilitus trees, so dangerous that a mere touch would be enough to kill a normal person," explained the elf, emerging from the shadows and revealing his appearance "although, with your physical condition and thanks to the shallow depth of the wound, you might survive... unfortunately, your king won't be as lucky."

Lodtrack thrust his sword and grazed the elf's face; he stumbled and rolled on the ground to get up, but Lodtrack quickly approached and put the tip of his sword on the elf's neck "checkmate, you son of a bitch..." Before Lodtrack could kill him, he felt a deep cut in his arm. A burly elf kicked him, and Lodtrack fell to the ground; he couldn't move because of the poison, barely maintaining consciousness.

"Qe gam esai katesvi," said the burly elf, who seemed older than the elf Lodtrack had fought "Prépi qe fýgem…" The prince entered the room and slashed the burly elf's arm. The elf screamed "Bastard."

The other elf threw his knife, but Prince David blocked the impact and made a desperate slash, cutting the elf's torso.

"Why do I feel a great pressure on my body?" Lodtrack took advantage of his confusion to run his sword through the elf's abdomen. The elf fell to the ground, unconscious from his wounds and the pressure generated by the prince's sword. Lodtrack stared at him.

"What?" the prince asked him.

"You must go, this is dangerous," Lodtrack scolded him.

"You should see your face; it looks like you could die with a breeze..." David saw the burly elf approaching from behind, "watch out." Lodtrack turned and blocked the elf's attack. Although the impact knocked Lodtrack to the ground, the elf shifted his attention to the prince.

"Paneis," the elf struck the prince, making him stagger. He took an arrow from his quiver and plunged it into the prince's leg, "sýnto paneis." The elf got up, looked at his companion, and when he tried to carry him, Lodtrack launched a stab from behind that pierced his neck. The sword protruded from his neck, staining the floor with elven blood.

"Not so fast, you bastard... this is for the emperor," Lodtrack pulled out his sword and prepared to behead the elf.

"Pígani so Argos," the elf cursed as his eyes gleamed just before Lodtrack sliced his neck. His head rolled on the floor. His lifeless eyes stared at Lodtrack; a chill ran down the guard's spine "Katar ma..." The elf's eyes turned completely white.

"Finally, you shut up," Lodtrack looked at the prince, who had started to pale. He gathered all his strength and carried the prince in his arms, descended as fast as he could, and reached the courtyards.

"Lodtrack!" Leonor and Versert ran to his aid. The princess screamed upon seeing her brother's state and Lodtrack's, "what the hell happened there?" Lodtrack collapsed, Leonor grabbed his friend, and the prince fell to the ground.

"I'll explain later, now you have to go to the kitchen and see the injured elf. We must interrogate him as soon as possible..." Lodtrack lost consciousness due to the potion.

Several days passed before Lodtrack woke up. Leonor was talking to Versert in the same room as him as he began to regain consciousness.

"Is it confirmed?" Leonor asked quite worried. Versert nodded.

"It's been 24 hours since his heart stopped. We'll start with the preparations for the funeral," Versert paused; Leonor still seemed overwhelmed by what they were telling him. "You should go back to Gramorg as soon as possible... as soon as Lodtrack regains consciousness, you'll have to leave. You have to give Lord Fender the tragic news, and the city must mourn for three weeks."

"The... emperor... died?" Lodtrack weakly asked; both looked at him.

"Yes," Leonor replied.

"How do you feel? You slept for three days," Versert asked with a weakened voice.

"I feel fine... but how is it possible? The poison should have kept me in bed for months... if I was lucky enough to survive," Lodtrack muttered.

"The unconscious elf had antidotes with him... unfortunately, when we administered them to the emperor, it was already too late. Also, the wound was too deep," Versert sobbed; Leonor had a somber expression. "I just can't bear it."

The room remained silent for a while. Lodtrack began to curse, "if only I had been faster." Leonor put his hand on the guard's shoulder and looked at him kindly.

"This is not your fault; you did everything you could, and at least you saved the prince," Lodtrack seemed to calm down. Versert wiped away a tear that fell down his cheek.

"What happened to those bastards?" Lodtrack asked.

"The big one is dead." Lodtrack lowered his gaze, stunned. "Although that's a bit obvious... the second one is in the dungeon, alive. He's been tortured constantly and confessed to some things," Leonor told him. Lodtrack demanded an explanation. "To summarize, there were 5 assassins. We only managed to kill two and capture that one. The others escaped... we still don't know how... but," Leonor stopped. Just thinking about what he was about to say disgusted him.

"There are at least a hundred dead soldiers," Versert finished. "It's a disgrace."

"Who sent them? They said they did it for the elf king, but it doesn't seem like his style."

"We don't know," Leonor continued. "It was the only thing the elf didn't disclose, and I don't think he'll say more... he's cursed. If he tries to say the name of who hired him... he'll die."

"Damn!" Lodtrack exclaimed. "So, what can we do?"

"For now, return home as soon as possible. In two days, the elf will be executed... once all the cities finish the mourning period, the empress will take control of the empire until the prince turns 20," Versert indicated. "You must start packing. Gramorg is our most powerful city, and it must enter mourning as soon as possible... a war is approaching, and we still don't know who it will be against." Lodtrack and Leonor nodded, and Versert left the room.

Leonor got up and asked Lodtrack to rest while he prepared everything for their departure. Although Lodtrack believed he could handle things on his own, he complied and stayed there. After an hour of boredom, the door opened again.

"How are you feeling?" The princess entered timidly... she was wearing a black dress, and her eyes were red from crying.

"I'm not dead... I'm still processing the emperor's death," Lodtrack replied. He also remembered the elf he had killed. For some reason, it bothered him, but he didn't comment on it. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm overwhelmed; I don't know what to do." A tear slid down Danais's cheek. "It's just... this probably means a war, and... and without dad, I don't think we can fight. My mother is not a ruler, and my brother is too... impulsive."

"I agree." The princess sobbed, and Lodtrack hurried to try to reassure her. "But... I don't think we'll start a war. We don't know who sent them... we can only wait and pray that... the gods help us. Besides... you will always have the support of Gramorg." The princess looked at Lodtrack and smiled faintly.

"Well, I have to go... I wanted to see how you were before you left." The princess approached the door and glanced at Lodtrack one last time. "Take care."

Lodtrack decided to get up, explored the room, but found nothing interesting besides some letters that Versert had forgotten there. Almost all the lords and nobles had learned about what had happened, so they sent their letters to the empress with their condolences, or worried about the future of the empire and their pockets. The lords demanded exemplary punishment for the assassin and wanted someone to blame to avenge the emperor.

He lay back down; his muscles still ached, although his wounds had healed, he still felt the burn of the poison, but more than real pain, it was a memory, one he would never forget.

Leonor entered the room "It's time... let's go back to Gramorg." They were leaving the palace; Leonor was about to get on the carriage when he noticed Lodtrack looking downcast "What's wrong?"

Lodtrack raised his gaze, somewhat annoyed "It's just that... I had never killed someone with my own hands. I'm trained for that... during the siege of the Poski Empire, I saw how Draco and the others killed hundreds... I didn't hesitate when I killed him, but I feel weird, I don't know... it's stupid."

"I don't think it's stupid," Leonor replied. "You are human, right? You can't just kill someone and expect to go on as usual. I was honestly worried that you, orphans, would be more monsters than humans."

Lodtrack looked surprised "That's the smartest thing you've said, although the orphan part was unnecessary"

"Yeah, I guess so." He looked at the sky, remembering his mother; after all, he was also partly like them. "Is there anything else bothering you?"

"The kingdom. What will happen to it?"

"I guess a civil war is always possible," Leonor reflected for a moment. "I think many lords will be bothered to see a woman ruling, but it will only be for a year, and as long as Gramorg supports the sovereignty of the imperial family, no one will dare even think of refuting us." He concluded with a proud smile.

They headed north, towards Gramorg, in a Dragonoid family carriage. Leonor observed the capital as the carriage moved away from it "Did you see the people?" he asked.

"They seemed depressed... the empire has lost its ruler; it was expected that everyone would be downcast," Lodtrack took his shield, thinking about how the prince had helped him, 'maybe he wasn't a complete idiot,' he thought, "let's hope the prince lives up to his position."