Court of Snakes: This Desert Cage

Warfare - The Tavern | August of the Third Year

"At least one good thing came from this," The King muttered over a blueprint of the palace. "At least it's not winter yet. Fighting in the cold is the worst."

"Right," Terran laughed. "Are you solid on a plan?"

"It's as I said before. You, Perseus, Parisa and I will circle around the back and blow a hole in the throne room. From there, we hunt down Talbot. He won't dare try and walk through hundreds of my soldiers. We'll have him trapped like a rat."

"I still need to find the thing that's on the papers my parents left me."

"Well, read it. Let's hear it."

Terran pulled the paper from the envelope in his vest pocket and read it. "Truth lies with loyal friends. Loyalty comes from being true."

"Oh!" The King gasped like he had heard something obvious. "The people, Terran! Of course. If we overthrow Talbot, how do you know the people won't think you a tyrant as well? We need to get the people's support! A few extra hands with swords in them couldn't hurt either when we're storming the castle. My plan is to go to the Atsa park, make a statement and an announcement, and then strike."

"Lexus."

"Yes?"

"What happens if I don't want to be Sovereign?"

The King turned to look at Terran with shock in his eyes. "What do you mean, you don't want to be Sovereign?"

"I'm not the right person to do this. Talbot spent the better half of two years terrorizing anyone with skin a shade darker than an egg and I don't know if it's right for my pale face to be the one that leads the people. We need someone who's familiar with both worlds."

"Are you suggesting Parisa?"

"I'm suggesting Parisa."

"Hm." The King scratched at the bristle that had begun to grow on his jaw after days of unrest. "You'll have to do the convincing, Terran. Either way, they need to see you're alive and that you stand with her. Most of the people will recognize your face and with the cards in your hand they'll associate you with me, which is good. I've been good to them. I'll gather all the men I have, and we will go with you. Now, get out there. You, Perseus, me, and Parisa. They'll see that everyone is upset with Talbot and it will inspire a revolution."

Terran dashed out of The King's office into Parisa's temporary room. She had not yet woken up and Terran paused for a moment. He felt bad for deciding to wake her. After waiting for only a second longer, he knocked on the door. "Get up," he said. "We have some motivational work to do."

Parisa rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up. "What kind of work?"

"Get in your armor. We need to go have a conversation with some folks. I'll be back in ten minutes."

Terran stepped down the hall to Perseus' room, which had been a spare closet only hours ago. He was up and awake, already fastening his armor. Terran knocked on the door and said, "Good. You're up. We're going to the park in Atsa to try and gather more followers."

"I can't do that," the captain replied, curtly.

"What?"

"I can't be seen in public with you. If Talbot catches wind of that, I'm done for if you lose."

Terran leaned on the doorframe and let out a long sigh. "We won't lose."

"You're positive?"

Terran drew from his deck. The VI of Wands was what rested on the top. After looking at the card for a moment, he said, "We have reached an important milestone. We've harnessed our strengths and talents and have made it through chaos. Yes, things are... messy, but if we believe in who we are, we'll make it to the finish line."