Valor's Impasse

The Quest

Prince Allistor of Laurendia sat in the strategy room, surrounded by his most trusted advisors. The strategy room was his favourite room. Although lately he had been spending more time in there than in the field like he would prefer. A sickness was beginning to take control of his body. The doctors feared that soon he would not be able to walk. Already he had lost the ability to make fine gestures, limiting any signing to a trusted scribe that never left his side. At the moment, they were gazing at a map that covered most of the large table the six men sat around. Little clay pieces represented the soldiers of their kingdom, a bright red one signifying their king.

"Are you sure Bataaar?" The prince asked gravely.

"It has been confirmed by several witnesses your highness." The thin man confirmed stroking his oily mustache nervously. "I am... terribly sorry." The Prince gestured and the man bowed and quickly left.

The silence in the room was heavy as the men each said their prayers silently. Prince Allistor furrowed his light eyebrows and closed his eyes for a moment. All the men waited in anticipation for his next move. Finally, he opened his eyes. A single tear streaked down his pale skin from a watery blue eye. With trembling fingers, from ailment and grief, the prince knocked over the red piece.

"The King..." His voice cracked. He swallowed and tried again. "The King has fallen. Gentlemen, we must decide our next move."

The general cleared his throat. "The enemy has forces coming at our army from every available escape route." His fingers traced the paths on the map. "Despite the great-" he glanced at the Prince, soon to be king, quickly, "-loss our scouting mission was able to confirm this much. Their army is larger than we thought. If we don't surrender soon, we will lose the little men we have left."

The royal advisor to the previous king slammed his palm on the table, a powerful gesture despite his diminutive stature. "We can't just surrender! We are too proud for that."

"And where will that pride get us?" The head archer shook his head. "Our king has died; our men are outnumbered and will soon follow if we don't save as many as we can. It's not worth the fight."

"We can strike a truce?" The affairs minister offered, albeit silently.

The treasurer laughed. "A truce? And what can we offer that is more enticing than them taking everything? It would take them less time to conquer us than it would to form any kind of treaty. We are at our brink."

"Is that it then? We call our men back?" The general asked. "Tell them their brothers died in vain, that there's no hope?"

"It's a hard thing to do, but it's the smart thing." The archer replied simply.

"It's the cowardly thing." The advisor rebutted.

"Your highness what shall we do?" The advisor asked the prince. The blonde man studied the map. Everyone had their eyes on him.

"The mountains?" He finally asked.

The general answered. "This time of year, they are covered in snow at the elevation required to evade their forces and are especially prone to avalanches. We don't have the equipment, or the skill required Sire."

The prince nodded. "There is no way we can escape this without killing all our men? Not even the slightest chance?"

"None your highness."

"And Laurendia has nothing to offer. No kind of bargaining chip?"

"Afraid not your highness." The treasurer said.

The court physician and resident brewer cleared his throat. "Actually, there is a way Sire."

"What is it Bonli?"

"You can get married."

The prince grumbled in frustration. "Bonli this is not the time or place to discuss old rituals." He had no desire to get married or be in a romantic relationship. Something he and his father had fought about before.

"If your highness marries into their family our kingdoms would be bound by the covenant and our people's culture can survive."

"But they don't have a daughter I can marry even if I wanted to Bonli. This plan is flawed."

"Yes, they do sire, Princess Christan."

The prince stroked his chin. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

"Princess Christan is your age mate your majesty. However, she was cursed by an evil sorcerer." The others in the room shudder at the mention of a wielder of magic. "He said the only way for her to be freed from the curse is if she was rescued and given True Love's kiss."

The general and some other men laugh at this. "True love?" The man bellowed. "There's no such-" The prince raised his hand cutting him off.

"Do you believe this Bonli?" Prince Astor asked him.

"Sire I believe that if she is saved from her predicament, I can procure something for her ailment and she will be suitable to marry, saving our kingdom." Bonli replied confidently.

"What is this curse and how do you know you can cure it?"

Bonli chuckled lightly. "All curses are just sicknesses that have not been cured. I am the best at what I do. As soon as I can run a diagnostic on her I should be able to cure her, no matter what it is."

"We don't have much of a choice, do we?"

"I am afraid not your highness."

"Then we're doing this." The treasurer opened his mouth but before he could reply Prince Astor cuts him off. "I will not let my kingdom be conquered and I will not let my men fight a futile battle. If that means I must wed, then so be it.

"There's another thing your highness."

"What is it Bonli?"

"The place the princess is being kept in is guarded by a ferocious beast, a dragon." All the men gasp at the mention of the monster. No one in the kingdom has ever slayed a dragon. They were a rare occurrence now a days thanks to eradication of magic in the not too far away kingdom of Camelot. But stories were still told about them to strike fear to the listeners.

The prince lifted his hand and watched carefully as it trembled before him. He could already feel the energy draining from the rest of his body. "I am in no position to slay a dragon and most of our soldiers on the battlefield. We also can't leave the kingdom unguarded completely."

This time the general spoke up. "There may be a way your highness. There is one who has claimed to have slain a dragon. They call him the black knight. He is a fearsome warrior known for his heroic deeds throughout the land. He is passing through this kingdom on his way to Camelot. We could acquire his services."

Prince Astor was torn. He knew what he had to do, but he did not like the means. Since when did they get foreigners to fight their battles? If it weren't for his sickness, he would be doing it himself. Then again it was this kind of recklessness and pride that got his father killed.

"Call him in and tell him of his quest. Remind him that he will be rewarded greatly. This needs to be done as soon as possible." The general stood up, bowed his head and exit the room. The Prince addresses the rest of the room. "In the meantime, we will do everything we can to stall this war. And pray that this will be enough."

"Your highness, what about the true love?"

Prince Astor replied gravely. "There is no such thing."