Author Games: A Knight's Valor

Task Seven: A Knight's Decision [SF]

♛ THE TASK

Ladies and Gentlemen, the time has come for certain truths to come to light. Seven of you remain and it is you seven that will decide the outcome of this story. So far, you have faced the challenges of the tournament without fail. You have shared laughs, faced obstacles, made friends and watched them go.

But now the tournament is over.

It has been approximately a week since the King was murdered. The kingdom mourns every day still, but the beloved ruler has finally been put to rest. You remain in the castle, wandering the halls, helping where you can, and slowly separating yourself from those few knights who remain. One of you is false. One of you is a murderer. However, the Traitor you see in every dark shadow and around every corner may not be as easy to find as you think. Knights, it seems that even the coldest and cruelest of people still have hearts, and to prove that, the Traitor has left for you valuable information about a threat much larger than themselves.

The Traitor has revealed that they are not the vicious mastermind we thought they were-but a pawn of someone in the Royal Court. They are a small piece in a much larger puzzle, blackmailed into doing the bidding of another entity-a darker entity-one that lurks the hallways of the castle with grief on their face but none in their heart.

In this task, you will be approached by Roland Delmere. Whatever you are doing, however you are grieving, you will stop. He has an offer for you, one you cannot refuse. To act as the King's Mercy one final time and bring the King the justice he deserves.

You will be escorted back into the tower, up the long stairs and back into the room, where two people will be awaiting you. Two members of the Royal Court have been arrested under the suspicion of masterminding the entire operation. There you will find His Majesty, Prince Johnathan and Her Grace, Queen Melinda. Both have the motive. Both have the opportunity. And the Traitor has confirmed that one of them is, without a doubt, the mastermind.

This will work very similarly to the Mercy task. Take your time to interview both parties. Learn their stories, their alibis, and make your decision. If you get stuck on how they would behave or answer certain questions, you can always PM this account and we will try and help you the best we can. By the end of the entry, your choice must be clear. Who blackmailed the Traitor? Who organized the murder of a King?

♛ WORD COUNT

The word count for this task is UNLIMITED

♛ DEADLINE

The deadline will be May 3rd, at 8:00 PM U.S Central Time. This will give you (roughly) eight days to complete your entry.

♛ BALLOTS AND SPONSORSHIPS

All ballots and sponsorships have been suspended from this point forward.

♛ NAME THE TRAITOR

Just like in Task Five, we will give you reasons as to why it could be either party. The choice, however, is up to you. You can also search back through the previous chapters for both hints that we've given and hints that we've hidden. Remember, though, some of these hints point towards the Traitor. Only a few point toward the true mastermind.

Queen Melinda- A beautiful queen but an intimidating one. With a penchant for vanity and a clear dislike for the other maidens at court, our Queen is certainly not one you'd want against you. She's already made her way through two husbands and seems to have an unusual fascination with the male knights at court. Has someone else stolen Her Majesty's heart, or was the crown simply ripe for the taking?

Prince Johnathan- Deceived the realm so that he could participate in the tournament. Has showed a distaste for his late father's choices and has been heard saying that "things will change very soon". With a very cold personality and the potential to be cruel, perhaps this dark-haired prince might be the deceptive Traitor we've been searching for. Is this the classic case of a boy who couldn't wait to be king?

♛OTHER

This is the semi-finals, and only three people out of you seven will advance from here. Two byes will be given in the place of scores this task and the third will be voted upon shortly afterwards.