Backroom Dealings

The room Ashton was standing inside of was dark, no candle or magic crystals to brighten its hold.

Only moonlight beaming through the sill Ashton walked through revealing the particles of dust flying in the middle of the room.

Through the pitch black, Ashton could see the spines of books and chairs turned upside down atop a table.

[This is a reading room of some sort... How has uncle inherited a castle through his blood and never visited it.]

Ashton dragged his fingers against back of the books on the shelf as he stepped towards the door.

He was cursing the Albert lineage for not treasuring such a strong strategical position.

[If uncle has never visited this castle, that goes beyond his own inaction. It means his own father never brought him here either... a cycle probably tradition within his house] 

Without information on the castle layout Ashton was maneuvering around it based on the information he would eavesdrop from the servants.

He found the kitchen with chefs preparing a multiple course meal, and an interesting conversation.

"I can't believe his lordship actually started such a war..." A young man dressed in the white button upped uniform of the chefs, but without the tall hat they take pride in.

He was saucing the prepared plates of food, adding the finishing touches and making sure the aesthetics would please the lords and ladies.

But an older chef with a wooden leg smacked him outside the head with an open hand.

"This is why I don't allow you to cook! You can't be trusted!" 

The old chef brought a towel to his forehead and wiped his sweat. "Instead of doing what your told, focusing on your work and making good eats, you rather gossip and speak ill of the most powerful people around you."

"Master Eio, you know this isn't right! There war is a sham! Besides Lord Albert has allies that could crush not only this meager army, but the west itself! Like the Wheys!"

"HA! Robert, I admit Shaun Whey is a powerful man, but don't tell me you buy into that crap about his brat."

Robert slammed the spoon in his hand down onto the plates he was curating, as the glass shattered and the sauce splashed into the air like a sea wave crashing into a rock, "None of that matters! We both know what this rebellion truly is!" He shouted.

The rest of the chefs within the kitchen stopped what they were doing and looked as Robert's face was smashed against the shattered glass on the table.

"Sir Gideon! Forgive this boy, for my sake?" Master Eio, waddled on his uneven legs and pleaded with the knight gripping the back of Roberts neck.

"Eio get back! I came to see what was taking his lordships next course so long, and I find out it's because this peasant is inciting discord." 

"I'm not inciting discord!" Robert squirmed under the hands of Gideon trying to break free from his palm. "It is the rot and corruption of the viscount that sows dis-" 

Gideon lifted Robert's head and smashed it back down against the table knocking him out cold.

As his limp body fell onto the floor Gideon turned and told the knights behind him to take him to the cages.

Ashton was intrigued, he wanted to know what corruption Robert was referring to.

Roberts's feet were dragged along the floor as the first-class knights each hooked their arms under his. 

Ashton followed along only half a step behind the knights, matching their footsteps to his own, even matching their breathing and the way they swung their arms.

The hallways they walked in lacked pride.

The corridors were naked of art, no tapestries on its walls, or vases full of budding flowers.

Only silence and the weight of betrayal.

The damp staircase they descended, spiraled into an even dimmer atmosphere.

The dungeon revealed its suffering.

The imprisoned, not begging for mercy but for their execution to finally become.

The knights carrying Robert handed him off to the lone warden of the dungeon, a third circle mage who is more of torturer than watchman.

Ashton stood right beside the staircase and watched as the knights left.

He listened to the sound of their feet until they faded, then finally, without any warning, drove his sword through the back of the mage dragging Robert.

His blade took the heart of the mage, his sword was under his spell and unseen by the prisoners.

All they witnessed was a line of streaming blood, floating in the air and their demon spitting it out as he fell onto his back and became swallowed by the floor.

Ashton released his spell, the hovering blood in the air became dressed over a sword, and despite his face hidden under a mask and his body shrouded under a cloak, the prisoners all called out to him.

"My lord! please help us!"

Ashton looked around and noticed the people behind bars were nothing but bags of bones and casted paralysis on all 20 of them simultaneously.

He was here for only one man, the others were pitiful but they would be rescued soon.

After all of the prisoner's heads fell down and they could no longer yell and risk discovery, Ashton bent over and slapped Robert awake.

He opened his eyes to a masked assassin standing over him, a sword ripe with blood and yellow eyes staring through him.

Robert was stricken with fear, but he challenged Ashton.

"Rotten dark magician! You will never succeed in your schemes! These lands master is friends with a hero that will blind and burn the darkness you carry!"

Ashton reached out his hand, grabbing Robert's chin with palm and his jaw with his fingers.

"Oh yeah? What hero is capable of standing in my way?" Ashton purposefully imitated the tone and depravity of the dark magician he talked with on the night of Judah's rebirth.

"Whey. County." Robert struggled to say the words, but he said them with certainty. 

Ashton released his grip and stood from his squat. "And what do you know of my plans? You're but a nonentity." 

Robert stood to his feet and threw a jab at Ashton's chin. "I know who you work for."

Ashton ducked under the punch and walked forward, stepping behind Robert. "You know nothing!"

Robert spun around with the back of his fist aimed for the jaw of Ashton. "You work for the greatest enemy!"

Ashton only took a step backward to avoid the wild attack. "And who would that be?"

Robert's feet started to shuffle, and he ran towards Ashton while dropping his hips. "Duke Raine."

Ashton's eyes narrowed as he side stepped the tackle and grabbed the back of Roberts neck just like Gideon had. "You mean that Duke Raine has employed dark magicians? And this rebellion is orchestrated by him..."

 "You don't even know who you are employed by? Typical dark magicians... You people are so lowly you would do anything for gold without asking why."

Ashton gripped Robert's neck with more force and dropped the voice acting. "How do you know this?"

Robert thought back to the meeting him and Eio had inadvertently heard between the dark magicians, Viscount Redsheen, and Duke Raine.

While the three had never met in person, they had communicated via magic orbs, Duke Raine's frail appearance was still burned into Robert's mind, but he remained silent.

"ANSWER ME!" Ashton shouted out with a primal emotion vibrating his vocal cords.

Robert could not only hear Ashton's anger, he felt it in each finger squeezing his neck. "I saw it."

"What did you see?"

"The meeting of your boss, his boss, and the viscount. They were on the magical orb, I saw all of them planning this rebellion."

"You saw them planning it? What was discussed? What was promised?" Ashton didn't ease his grip. He raised his sword and placed its point against Robert's back.

His emotions were violent. Every cell in his body was dancing as if he was struck by lightning, and his mind was screaming to eliminate the duke as he now had cause greater than before. 

Robert gasped from the small hole the sword put in his back, and started to choke from the hand on his neck. "Duke Raine. He told the viscount if he started a rebellion against house Albert, he would hand over ten thousand gold coins to him. He said it wouldn't come to battle because Count Albert was too proud to ask for help and too weak to fight-"

Robert started to choke midway through his recount of the meeting, so Ashton let go completely of his neck and kicked him to the floor. 

Robert rolled over from his stomach to his back and was wheezing as he took in oxygen, but Ashton swords was pointed at his throat.

Robert panted, barely finding balance with his breathing before continuing. "The duke said Count Albert's forces would be equal to that of his rebel army, and he wouldn't risk mutual destruction. He would instead seek negotiation, and that would give himself the room to move in and handle the negotiation to take what he wants."

"Land within the counts personal holdings..."

"I don't know. The duke didn't specify what he wanted, he only promised more gold would come the viscount's way through the negotiation."

Ashton lowered his sword as the pieces started to fall into place. "And where do these dark magicians come into this plan?"

"You don't know anything do you? The duke introduced the viscount to the dark magician on the call, in return for the gold he coerced him into letting the dark magicians have unchecked land under his flag."

Ashton was enlightened but still enraged. He realized the duke was not only powerful, but he truly embodied the saying, "By and means possible". 

Ashton was readying to fight a war against him without even knowing the depth of his madness. It is what caused his honest and unnatural rage. 

He believed Duke Raine was behind the attempt on his life and the fire within his colosseum.

He was visceral. He was battling his instinct, battling the desire to behead the duke in his sleep then wash his hands without remorse. But he knew that a rightful, honest, and unquestionable victory for all to see is what was needed.

[Throw whatever you can muster at me.] He thought. [I will cut down everything you have within public view to prove my superiority]

He sheathed his sword and kicked Robert into a cell, "Do not worry everyone. Count Albert and his army are on their way to weed out the insurrectionist. Just sit tight."

As he recast his hide spell, his paralysis over the prisoners broke and they shed tears of relief silently. 

No one wanted to be loud and risk a new guard appearing, they could only cover their mouths as they wept and thank Genesis for not abandoning them.