As soon as the house servants come to your chamber and inform you that the feast has begun, you make yourself present. As you enter the dining hall, you come across Judas. His face looks saddened for some reason.
"What is wrong with you?", you ask, sounding concerned.
"It is nothing, m'lord", he says, clearing hiding something.
You decide not to press him any further and take your seat at lord Dollis' right hand.
The feast was prepared well. A large wooden table, completely obscured with food. At the head of the table sit you at the right, lord Dollis at the centre and his son, Daedalus at the left. On your side of the table, your advisors and soldiers have been ordered to seat themselves and on the lord's side, his counselors and three daughters.
"Good people", lord Dollis greets his guests.
"I have taken the liberty to invite lord Alexander and his people to my annual Aurora festival", he tells his guests.
"Please, eat, drink and be merry!", he says, seating himself and beginning the eating.
Before you, lie huge dishes of meat: oiled chicken, stretched pork and beef, hog head, mackerels and Salmons, cods and shrimp and finally, loafs of bread and beaten, soft grain. And surely no good meal is served alone. Lord Dollis has his servants pour wine in each goblet. You decide to try the meat, eating oiled chicken and stretched beef at the same time. You find it different from that made in your household. You then turn to the shrimps and salmons, digesting them with bread and wine. You have had this before, but the way in which the salmon had been roasted amazes you. Finally, you cut a piece of the hog's head and eat. You taste a bit of sourness at first, then a sweet flavour dominates your taste buds. You drink down your goblet of wine. Now you see why lord Dollis is so big. Such food must be eaten whole, no scraps for the street dogs!
"Lord Alexander", the lord Dollis calls to you, after watching you gobble down the last of the wine.
"Yes, m'lord?", you answer.
"How did you see the food?", he asks you.
"Quite exceptional", you answer, "worth the whole trip!", you exaggerate.
Lord Dollis laughs at your compliment. At that moment you remember something. The earlier scuffle with Fredricklyn and the story he had told you rushes to your memory.
"Lord Dollis?'', you call to him.
"Hmm?", he answers, "why was your cousin not allowed at the feast?", you question him.
He stops chewing.
"I thought that had sunken to the bottom of the sea by now", he answers with a small grin.
"Fredricklyn is my cousin by marriage, cousin to my wife. He is a man who is unable to hold his liqueur. He is a drunk and often embarrasses me and makes a fuss at my feasts. I do not like him and so I have forbidden him to come here today and cause you any disrespect as I am sure he would of", he explains.
"How do you know that he was forbidden?", he asks you, picking up on something.
"I had to duel him at the front. I apologise that I nearly ended him", you explain.
"Oh no!", he sharply states.
"You could of ended him for all I care! My wife is gone to the Him and I would wish that he be gone as well, but of course I cannot kill him."
"Lord Alexander, let us discuss something else", he says to you, changing the subject.
"I am sure you wish to know the real reason I invited you here", he says, putting away his plate and turning to you.
YOU ARE READING
The Black Raven: plot of the three swords
Historical FictionLord Alexander has just come to the throne of Portswater, a province in the west known for aurens in times of trade, but steel in times of war. He thinks that being a lord isn't too complex, but what he doesn't know is that there are those cunning...
