章 288: Long Live the…
After a long night of vetting and making sure no one else in the castle was an elf, the two gnomes and the pirate slept in and only dragged themselves into the banquet hall for a late lunch.
The decorations from the day before were still hanging proudly along the walls as a reminder of the new regime. Waiting for them at the table were Ravenna and a coherent Alaron.
Without Cafer's guidance, no one had given him
a sedative. However, Gnomic guards flanked the new Emperor making sure he was safe from himself and others.
Alaron scowled at the king, pirate and advisor as each of them entered, but they ignored his quiet tantrum.
"Greetings, Your Majesty," Cafer bowed before the boy.
"Might as well call me a marionette, oh mighty puppet master…" Alaron muttered in response. The gnome wisely pretended not to hear him.
"Nice of you to join us, gentlemen," Ravenna dipped her head but did not stand. "I suppose you have finally recovered from last night's celebration."
"The celebration is not what got to us, Councilwoman," Xander told her as he massaged his jaw. He whispered something to a servant and she went to fetch him something for his pain.
"Then what has gotten you three looking so ragged?" Ravenna noticed that in addition to Xander's injuries, Cafer walked stooped over and Baak looked like he would fall back asleep anytime.
"There was an incident…" Cafer responded gruffly.
"Please sit down and enlighten us," the former duchess offered. Her bright red wig was fashioned in small ringlets around a large bun. While not a natural human hair color by any means, it was the closest anyone could ever remember her having.
Taking their usual seats, the men surveyed the plates of food before them. The others dug in while Cafer explained.
"His Majesty the Emperor had two visitors last night. They nearly abducted him too. If I had not been present… if we had not been present," the advisor corrected himself after receiving dirty looks from the other two. "We spent the rest of the night shoring up our security and preparing for war."
"War?" Ravenna's eyes widened. "So the rumors are true then?"
Cafer was surprised by her question. It seemed she had her own sources of information. Shaking his head slightly, he realized that in her mingling the day before Ravenna had gathered more than compliments on her dress.
"Possibly. We cannot be too careful. Especially since the intruders were not human. They were elves."
"Elves!" Alaron was suddenly interested. So it had not been a dream! In his haze the night before, he could have sworn that someone had tried to save him. It had to have been Brinn and Alvar. "Did you catch them?"
"No," Baak responded as gravy dripped down his chin, "and they would have made nice replacements for my lost treasures too..."
"How did they even get in?" the boy played dumb.
The pirate received the requested medicine and gulped it greedily before answering. "It seems like they have been here quite some time. Funny that you did not know, Your Majesty, since one of them was pretending to be your sister…" The accusation hung in the air like a fog.
"Where's Mairwen?" Alaron deflected. His words were wrought with concern.
Xander shrugged. "Gone with the former Emperor. I believe they are with the ones in the desert. Do not worry, Your Majesty, I will let you know when I find her." The pirate cut his eyes toward Alaron and winked.
The boy stood angrily from his seat, but Cafer, who was sitting to his right, intervened. "That's enough Captain Xander. Do not anger the Emperor."
Looking at the gnomic guards, Alaron sank back into his seat in resignation. The pirate did not seem interested in continuing his attack either.
Baak was amused. "I guess we will keep you around a little longer, Cafer. You have not yet outlived your use."
"Thank you, my King," the advisor answered through gritted teeth. They all fell into a short silence as Cafer finally took a bite of his meal.
His gravy seemed somewhat watery, and it was slightly sweet. It had been a long time since he had tasted the flavor, but he would know it anywhere. It was nightingale. Someone was trying to kill him.
Cafer had to give the culprit credit. Somehow they had slipped it into the meal without it eating through his food or plate. They had studied the poison well, but not the victim. Whoever tried to harm him did not know that gnomes were immune to and even enjoyed nightingale's properties.
Cafer's eyes narrowed. This was the second time today that things had been off. Earlier that morning, a large light fixture had nearly crashed on him as he passed. Had he not stopped suddenly to fix his belt, the large chandelier would have skewered him. At the time he had written it off as an accident, but now he knew better.
'Someone is not fond of me,' he thought as he continued to eat his doctored meal.
The advisor looked around at those at the table. He could rule out Baak and the new Emperor. The former was a gnome and knew that nightingale was harmless, and the latter had been too closely monitored. Ravenna and Xander were possible suspects, but then so was any other human in the palace. He needed to be vigilant.
"Tell me about that knife of yours," Xander broke through Cafer's thoughts.
"Excuse me?" The advisor was unsure what he meant.
"That fancy dagger you used on Birger. I saw it before you hid it away. Quite a piece of art. I would love to buy it off of you. I collect mementos of that nature." Xander looked expectantly at the gnome, who scowled.
"That dagger and I are old friends. I will not part with it." The warning gaze of Cafer made the pirate drop the subject.
"What happened to Birger?" Alaron asked. There was a faint memory in his consciousness but he could not grasp it.
"The advisor killed him with a dagger," Ravenna answered calmly, not looking up from her plate.
Baak patted Cafer on the shoulder before leaning back in his seat. "Cafer is good at making problems go away. He has killed quite a few pests that have gotten in his way, isn't that right 'advisor?'" the king chuckled.
Although he was annoyed at Baak's suggestion that he was just a violent brute, Cafer could not deny that he had taken out quite a few people to get his position. The Councilman who had the position before him, a number of people who had discovered his identity, and now another Councilman had all met his blade. Why he even used the same dagger to take out that obnoxious Lord...
"Oh!" Cafer exclaimed. Ravenna looked up and their eyes locked. He knew now who was after him.
Ravenna's stood out of seeming concern and walked around the table. "You do not look well, Cafer. Is something wrong? You look like you may have a fever."
"I am immune to that poison, Councilwoman," Cafer said slowly. "You have failed twice."
Ravenna froze. Her face contorted from concern to fury. "Murderer!" she screamed as she plunged at him. From her belt, she pulled a poisoned knife--her last resort--and aimed it at the advisor.
Cafer's instincts took over and he raised the ground to trip the woman while ducking below the table like a coward. Ravenna stumbled, fell bodily over the empty chair, and landed her blade in a shocked Baak. The King had leaned away but continued to watch as the events unfolded, and he realized now that it had been a fatal error. The knife protruded from his chest having slipped neatly between his ribs.
Before she could remove the knife to make another try at Cafer, Ravenna was apperehended and held her tightly by the palace guard.
"Wha-" the king rasped, but he never finished his thought. He slumped over in his chair, unconscious.
"That should be you!" Ravenna hissed at Cafer. She strained in vain against the guards as the red hair from her wig came unbound. "You killed my son in cold blood!"
Cafer came out from under the table and smoothed his robes. "Take King Baak to the infirmary, though I fear it is too late."
Carefully, Baak was taken from the room. Cafer turned to the former duchess with disdain.
"Now what do we do with you?" The gnome stared at the woman's hatred with a tolerant grin. "You were good, just not good enough. Though after all we have done for you, I would have thought you might be more forgiving."
"You killed my son and hid it. I will never forgive you. At least now I can see him again…" Ravenna resigned herself to her death.
"We need to train our new allies," Xander offered. "She would make decent bait."
"They are not quite ready for that. We will keep feeding them animals for now… but soon…" Cafer flashed a viscous smile.
"Cafer!" Alaron was not sure what the gnome meant by 'new allies' but he did not like the idea of using people as bait.
"We will discuss this later, Your Majesty," Cafer silenced him. To the guards, he said, "Take her to her old cell until her punishment can be decided."
"You monster!" Ravenna screamed as she spat at him.
"You have not seen a true monster, but you soon will. Be ready." Cafer warned.
As the former duchess was being dragged from the room, a servant delivered a note to Cafer. He read it quickly.
"The king is dead," Cafer announced. "At least he will be able to return to the place he valued above all else: the earth." He bowed his head slightly as he gave the gnomic parting blessing. The gnome guards in the room rumbled their agreement.
There was a moment of silence.
"So… who is the new King of the Gnomes?" Xander seemed strangely unbothered by all that had happened. He sipped his wine casually as he awaited the answer.
Cafer stood straight and stared proudly at his fellow gnomes. They lowered their head and would not meet his eye.
"How delicious is that?" Xander slapped his knee in amusement. Raising his glass, he toasted his fellow fiend. "Long live the King!"
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