Throne of Blood

Part I Chapter 14

As Valrun and his men trudged through the countryside on their way to Petroas, he could not shake the nauseous feeling in his gut. The warning from Floran had struck a cord, and he was not sure why. He had no reason to fear, for his army was prepared and ready in the event of an attack. As for that bit about the Night Thorns, well, that was just outright insane. Sure, he had heard the tales from his father of a group of crazed assassins that served some imaginary being called the lord of the night, but surely there was no truth behind it. Even if they did exist, the stories of their terror had been of an age long before Valrun or his father or his father before him. He was not about to lose focus due to baseless rumors. Valrun was so tired of all the damn rumors. If he had one more person telling him he should worry about something, he would cut their tongue out.

The grassy flatlands stretched before the small team as they continued their path to the king's brother. They had been traveling for the past three days and were due to arrive in Petroas by evening. It had been a rather long journey through the boring fields that lined either side of the road until they eventually began a slight roll as they reached a crescendo with the mountains of the north. It reminded Valrun of home and how the sea would be still and slowly rise until the swirling deep formed huge waves that crashed and thundered in the open ocean.

The thought of home brought Valrun back to Esmer and their child that she carried. He longed for her touch and the warmth of her kiss. He regretted ever leaving her and could still hear her begging him to stay. But he had a duty to his kingdom and would prevail until he was assured that his brother would not cause instability in his empire.

His brother had always been a bit on the more wild side as a teen but had recently settled down upon his marriage. Melchel had always believed in the fairy tales that their father had told, and Valrun now worried that his brother had taken the stories to the extreme. It would be imperative to talk his brother down and ensure him that he had nothing to fear.

While pondering his tactic of how to calm his brother down, Commander Dade rode up beside the king to announce they were not far from Petroas now and should be there within a few hours.

"Thank you commander," Valrun said as he began to see the speck of the city out on the horizon.

"My king, if I may," Dade began humbly, "you seem to be rather far off. What exactly did Floran tell you?"

"Nothing important. Just more useless rumors," he said, letting out a sigh. Tired of the burden of travel as well as the burden of stress.

"Very well my king," Dade said, acknowledging the king's desire not to breach the subject; he dropped back into rank.

The men continued their journey along the Gold Road for about another hour as the city of Petroas began to come into full view. The Petroas Mountains lined the road to the north, sending an overpowering feeling over the group as they grew closer to the grand city with its beautiful red stone walls and houses that dotted the inside of the city.

Valrun was unsure what kind of welcome awaited him as they drew in on their destination. All he knew was that something had caused his brother to unravel, and he was determined to find out what.