As the sun rose, the cloaked man left the small town and made his way to the road to Blackbarrow, he made sure to leave before the couple woke up as to avoid staying any longer than he already had. Little did he know a scout had seen what he did to the bandits and would report to Newgate what happen, this would ultimately lead to the destruction of Smallcrest.
Back in Blackbarrow the guard had taken the young woman to the fields and told her everything she needed to know for her mission. Reluctant to do so the young woman had no choice if she wanted to save her children, she too would find out what happened to them once she served her usefulness to Garnet.
"So all I have to do is find out if the 100 missing guards are amongst the enemy ranks or even imprisoned there? If I do that you will leave me and my children alone?" The woman asked the guard who was escorting her to the gate of Blackbarrow.
"Correct, get us that information and not just will we leave you and your children alone, you will also be handsomely rewarded for your cooperation. The baron will make sure you never have to worry about money for the rest of your life, that is how important this task you have been given is. It is in your best interests to not let the baron down." The guard replied.
The young woman set out leaving the guard behind as she made her way across the fields, honestly she was terrified of what awaited her in The Desolate Plains. The rumours of what lurked within the cursed lands was known to even little children, nobody willing went there with the exception of runaway slaves or criminals trying to escape being caught. The young woman on the other hand had no choice but to go there, lest she wanted her children to be killed, or worse, by the baron and his guards. She continued to cross the fields that separated Blackbarrow and The Desolate Plains until she finally reached the cursed lands. Steeling her resolve, she crossed the border into The Desolate Plains.
"Do you think she will try to make a deal with Royland to save her and her children?" A guard asked the baron.
"She is not foolish enough to risk her children's lives for a chance of actually getting to speak with the God's warrior. It's obvious that she is a spy and will be killed on the spot before she can utter a word, that or the creatures dwelling there will killed her. Her only option is to avoid everything and complete the task we have given her." Garnet with as he sipped his wine and ate a grand meal, "However, we cannot rule out the possibility that she will try to make a deal with him. We will get the truth out of her, if we suspect she did make a deal with him then we kill one of her children in front of her. Wait we make her kill her own child! Either way they will never see the light of freedom again, they will either become slaves or training dummies."
There was a knock at the hall door and a guard entered with two children. The children were confused and scared, it seemed like they had been crying as well. Garnet dismissed the guards and looked to the children.
"Please take a seat, would you like something to eat?" Garnet said to the children, without even waiting for an answer he snapped his fingers and two female slaves left the room to get food for the children.
The children reluctantly took a seat, but never once took their eyes off Garnet. The citizens of Blackbarrow knew, if the baron was talking to you then you look him in the eyes and answer his questions. There was silence in the room until the two slaves entered the hall with two silver trays. Garnet motioned for the children to help themselves to the food before them, as he too turned his attention back to his own meal. Seeing this the children begun to gulf down the food, it was clear that they had never had such extravagant meals before. Garnet let out a little chuckle before he set his knife and fork down.
"You know you don't have to be in such a rush, there is more than enough food and nobody is going to take that food away from you."
The eldest child slowed down and was the first of the children to speak, "What happened to our mother?"
Garnet dabbed his napkin on his mouth and cleared his throat, "You see children, your mother was caught stealing. As much as I don't want to do anything to a struggling single mother of two children, I can't exactly let this go unpunished. It would set a wrong example for others, and they will think maybe they can get away with their crimes also. You see the dilemma I have?"
"Our mother will never steal! She is an honest woman, who works hard to look after us! You lying!" The youngest child shouted.
"Children; you have to understand that a parent will do a lot of bad things in times of desperation; more so if they have children that are depending on them. Once I heard the reason she was stealing from her own mouth, I decided to make her an offer. I would clear her name of the crimes she committed and give her enough gold to live a comfortable life with you two, if she would do me a small favour."
"What kind of favour did you need her to do?" The eldest child asked Garnet.
"Nothing serious, I just needed her to go check something for me and give me a report once she returns. In the meantime, the kind guard that brought you two to me volunteered to look after you for the duration your mother is gone."
"Will you really clear her name of the crimes she committed and reward her with enough money so we can live comfortably?" The eldest child asked Garnet.
A smile formed on Garnet's face and he was forced to compose himself, lest he wanted to expose himself, "500 000 yhtas will be yours and your mother's name will be cleared the second I get my report from her. You have the word of Baron Garnet."
The children were escorted to the guard's house once they finished their meals, it was here that they would discover just how devious and cruel Baron Garnet and his guards were.
While all this was happening, the children's mother who was unaware of her children's circumstances had gotten to Royland's castle and was caught by a patrolling golem. The golem's initial thought was to crush the woman before she had a chance to do anything. The golem raised his fist and was about to slam it right into the woman, which would have turned her to paste, when Dahk stopped the golem. The woman was frightened and couldn't move, she thought for sure she would be killed, instead Dahk picked up the woman and led her to the stone throne.
"Is this the intruder I sensed Dahk?" Royland asked the stone golem.
"Woman found sneak round castle, Dahk bring woman to you." Dahk said as he pushed the woman in front of himself.
The woman fell to her knees, looking up she saw Royland still seated in his throne, "Please, please have mercy. I had no choice, my children, my precious babies, I couldn't, I just couldn't.", the woman could no longer hold back her tears.
Royland stood up and walked towards the weeping woman, extending his hand he helped her to her feet and gave her a handkerchief, "Do not weep, tell me what is your name?"
Stunned by the so called demon of the blaze's kindness, the woman stood dumbstruck for a brief few seconds before she was able to speak, "Giselle; It's Giselle."
"That is a lovely name Giselle, why don't we have a seat and then you can tell me why you have tried to enter my castle without permission."
Royland dismissed Dahk and guided Giselle to an empty hall. He stretched out his hand and aimed it at the centre of the hall. Flames burst to life where he had pointed, within seconds a stone table with two stone chairs formed with a fireplace situated not too far from it. The fireplace burst to life and a glass of water appeared on the stone table.
"Please take a seat and make yourself comfortable, once you feel ready we can begin our talk."
Giselle could not believe her eyes; this man had just created all this just by stretching out his hand. She had no idea how he did it, but she was completely convinced now that this man was without a doubt sent by the Gods. Giselle took a seat on the stone chair and took a sip of the water, it tasted like no water she had ever had in her life. It soothed and calmed her, she no longer felt tired and the pain in her feet from long hours of work had completely vanished.
Placing the glass back on the table, Giselle looked Royland in the eyes with a serious expression, "I need your help."
YOU ARE READING
The King's Game - Blackbarrow Arc (Part 1)
FantasyA warrior named Royland is sent by the Gods to bring peace and unite the realm by erasing humanity. The King, backed by a mysterious man, however doesn't seem keen on being erased and has instead united the realm to take the fight to the Gods. What...
