LEGEND OF NEVETSECNUAC - ON THE WAY TO THE CAPITAL - SECTION 29

Disaidun Agripe was brought before Zunrogo in a distraught state, crying bitterly and trembling like a leaf; but as soon as she was released from Tizan's iron grip, she turned to,  with fire burning in her eyes, unflinching, meet Zunrogo’s icy, stone gaze, then in resounding (evocative, ringing, decisive) voice  beseeched Zunrogo to be merciful, to spare her and not inflict this disgrace upon her family.

01-DISAIDUN AGRIPE 4 JP

Tizan, missing this entirely, looked at the captain expecting him to be furious but, with a cruel half-smile on his lips, Zunrogo was shamelessly sizing her up from head to toe, mentally undressing her with his eyes.

Turning his attention to Tizan momentarily, Zunrogo snapped, "What are you standing there for?  You are dismissed!"

"Yes sir." Tizan responded sharply, “Sorry, sir." 

As he whirled about on his heels to face the door he stole a brief, sly look at the quivering, terrified, distraught woman.  Outside the cabin he shrugged dispassionately, a broad smile on his lips, “Why not?  She is a looker.  Some savory dish…Bon appetite, Captain.”  

Then his face darkened, and a sinister grin painted his face, “Very interesting…  I guess he's not infallible after all.”

Still sobbing, Disaidun Agripe contemptuously watched out of the corner of her eye as Tizan closed the door tightly behind him.

Zunrogo, not in any great hurry, strolled to the cabin's porthole and stared out at the dense veil of congealed mist and fog.  He felt like he was floating in a cloud that obscured everything.  He reflected on how the tasks he had assigned to Tizan would take him at least a couple of hours to conclude, ample time for what he craved.

“Perhaps,” he thought, “it might relieve this oppressive boredom. It might even be entertaining in the slight, to toy with this captive mouse for a time.”

                                                                                  ~

 

Few moments after Tizan had left the room and she was certain that he was long gone, Disaidun Agripe abruptly ceased her dramatics, straightened her posture and then with a callous (uncaring) hand brushed the imagined dust off her skirt, as she waited patiently for Zunrogo to speak.  When no sound came forth, she briefly glanced at the door then asked, "Don't you trust him?"

"Why should he know everything?" Zunrogo answered truthfully, continuing to stare out the porthole as if distracted.

“Not a trace of fear in her voice,” he noted his back still to her.

“We'll see about that.”  His eyes narrowed.

"I suppose," Disaidun shrugged.  Surveying the room with avid interest her eyes rested on Zunrogo's magnificent sword with its jeweled hilt.  She rubbed her arm, the arm she could use if needed to effectively wield that sword in her own defense.

02- DISAIDUN AGRIPE JP 5

"He needn't have been so rough," Disaidun Agripe let out a plaintive grunt as she contemplated how best to edge closer to the weapon.

"He wasn't."  His back still to her, Zunrogo knew instinctively where her gaze rested, and he grimaced coldly.

 "Sit down," he ordered in a stern voice.

"Don't mind if I do."  Disaidun abandoned the risky plan and, swaying her hips, she sauntered in the opposite direction and sat herself boldly in the most comfortable chair, his chair, and rested her hands demurely on her lap.

"Now suppose you tell me why I was summoned here then," she indignantly demanded, a faint, seductive intonation hiding under her arrogance.

To try to get some emotion from this hardened, unsentimental warrior would be a real challenge.  Oh, but she loved challenges.  All men, no matter what kind, sooner or later had always succumbed to her charms.

She remembered her latest triumph (challenge), just before she came on board, and a fleeting smile crossed her lips as she thought of him.  “Yes, it had done a lot to boost her confidence even further and, what's more, it had been done right under her unsuspecting husband's nose.”  She shivered slightly as a special thrill coursed up her spine.

“But hadn't that clenched the deal, made the conquest of her prey even sweeter?  He coveted her affections despite the absence of his manhood.  He coveted her because he knew, as the half-brother of her husband; he could never openly claim her.  He craved her because, though many despised his kind, she did not.”

"Why aren't you afraid?" Zunrogo asked dryly, suddenly breaking the deliberately prolonged silence.

"Why?  Should I have a reason to be afraid?  Are you not just going to maul me or something?" Disaidun answered alluringly, suggestive in her coquettish shyness.

"Don't be so impertinent," he barked then half-turned.

His fiery gaze burrowed through her, making her flesh crawl.  "Only fools have no fear."

The awful threat implicit in his icy tone instantly sapped all the courage, the confidence, the arrogance from her.

As if mesmerized, Disaidun Agripe in that instant came to believe him capable of most horrific, vile acts.  Moreover, he had no weaknesses; he was immune to it all.

 A sudden, potent fear gripped her chest and made her heart palpitate wildly.  Yet, strangely enough, at that same moment she felt irresistibly drawn to him.  He awakened in her a strange set of conflicting emotions. “No, she'll never succumb to the likes of him; not ever again!” 

Summoning up all her courage and will to withstand the overwhelming pressure, she bit her lip and looked angrily away.  She will remain defiant to the end.  

“He did not scare her, not one bit!”

“Good,” Zunrogo allowed himself an inward smile. “I hate easy conquests.” 

Softening the expression on his face, he allowed a warm smile to reach his lips as he walked across and eased himself into the next (less comfortable) chair.  His tone as he subsequently addressed some non-committal issues should have disarmed her, but he could see that she was wary of him now and was fighting with all the resistance she could muster to remain vigilant.

03- ZUNROGO TUGO- JP  17

 Unknown to Disaidun, this pleased him more.  His voice was superficially polite, but stern he asked, "First tell me, is he for real?"  He kept the question purposefully vague to test her wit.

"Yes, he's legally my husband (spouse)."  Disaidun understood and responded truthfully.

“Stupid woman,” he scoffed. “You needn't have gone to such lengths.  You were set up to succeed with that despicable eunuch Zohuj Kez whether you had married his half-brother or not.”

Though Disaidun was studying him astutely she could not tell in the least what was playing through his mind, and this unnerved her once more.

Zunrogo’s demeanor unchanged, he tested her with another seemingly innocuous question,

 "What about the child?”  He knew the answer already.

“Tait is not mine.  Ceroz, my husband, lost his precious former wife in birthing it."

"And you stepped in, seizing the opportunity to fill the vacuum in his destitute heart and home." Zunrogo curtly cut her story short.

Then, grimacing wryly, he asked, "How did she die, again?"

She looked him straight in the eye.  "It was heart failure, I believe."

"That's how the coroner's official report read.  How did she really die of?"

Before she could indignantly demand what, it was, he was insinuating, he cut her short.

"Tell me, do you care at all what happens to either of them now?"  His voice was cold.

Disaidun shrugged, seeing no point to her denials, "Not particularly."

Smiling tightly, she then reached for the tea, "May I?'

"Help yourself.  And don't worry; it's not been tainted with the deadly ‘Sschrofik’ blossom."  Zunrogo studied how she struggled to keep her composure and failed, as her face turned ghostly white, and fear enlarged her pupils.

 "Only a slight touch of ‘Yourek” has been added." He indifferently, intoned.

 When she threw him a questioning look, freezing in her gesture, he added, "The truth drug.  You're not afraid of the truth, are you?"

Settling back in his chair, Zunrogo gave a short laugh and noted how she debated with herself whether to respond with a witty, convincing feint or a curt remark to put him in his place.

By then she had come to detest him. Disaidun would have wrung his neck if she could.  He was not there to arrest her, though, because of that she was certain.  What's more, she knew a squeeze play when she saw one.  Unfortunately, she could not figure out his angle.  What was it that he was after?

"You may serve me one as well."  Zunrogo decided to let her off the hook.

“So, he was just bluffing,” inwardly she heaved a deep sigh, “The nerve of him, asking me to serve him!” 

He was watching her closely and noted with some amusement her momentary outrage, followed by sound reasoning, subsequently, how she vacillated on whether to do as he bid her.

“She could accidentally knock the pot off of the table.”  In her defiance she had, for a spell, entertained an apt rebuff; but relenting, quickly aborted that snub also.  Besides, her throat was parched, and she had been craving some hot liquid ever since she had ceased all that emotional outburst, crying and pleading, in short, splendid performance. 

In the end she gave in and poured herself a cupful then, after a brief hesitation, poured one for him as well.  Her inbred (ingrained) manners took root as she offered it to him with a courtly flourish, "I can take the truth if you can."

His stone gaze deliberately pierced her to the quick and he inwardly savored how her hand trembled slightly as she stubbornly held the cup out to him when he did not move, right away, to take it from her.  She could have given up and placed the cup back onto the table, but she had a point to make.

"Thank you," he finally accepted it.

Seething in anger, she lowered her head and drunk the tea in quick repetitive sips to hide her irate thoughts.

In contrast, he took several prolonged sips then, with deliberate slowness put the cup down, his eyes glued to her all the while.

Her thirst sated, she looked up, unflinchingly meeting his stone gaze.  "There is no such thing as the truth drug, is there?" she asked.

His response was delayed.  His face showed nothing as he disregarded her question altogether, "I called you here because you may be of some use to me."  He lied, "And because I believe you are quite capable.  After all, you have succeeded, where others have failed, have you not?"

"Capable of what?" Disaidun’s coy laughter registered her nervousness.  She swallowed hard and lowered her eyes away from Zunrogo's stern gaze.  Then, raising them again she narrowed them instinctively as she studied him boldly, looking for any trace of deceit or lechery in those cold, gray pupils. 

What did he want from her?  But the wall he set up was impenetrable.

Zunrogo, surmising this, smiled again with a strange glint in his eyes.

For now, his sole requirement of her was to learn who dispatched her on this assignment, even though he suspected she would be ignorant of this, having been covertly approached by someone acting as an agent.  He was confident, none the less, of his ability to deduce who this mystery man might be from the gleaned bits and pieces of information from her.

Still, he was in no great hurry.  He rested his intense scrutiny on her briefly then, disinterestedly, looked away.

This put Disaidun Agripe more at her unease.  She hung her head.  “He's toying with me.”  

She decided to push, to get some answers.  "You say I may be of some use to you?" she investigated his face and demanded.  "But, if I were to do your bidding, what would I get out of it in return?  Will you release me unharmed to go on with my way?  Or am I destined to perish like the rest on board when it’s all over?"

So, she understands more than she lets on.  

Gripping the edges of the small table Zunrogo menacingly leaned across, his breath brushing her face and his expression suddenly hard, uncompromising.  "You are hardly in a position to bargain, Missy."

His cold, gray eyes again burrowed into Disaidun, eroding in an instant all the confidence she had fought so hard to maintain since that first episode when she had come into the room. But then unexpectedly, his expression softened once more and, with a broad grin, he leaned back.

"Certainly, you will be spared.  You have my word on that, Miss Jepipi.  I would not dream of obstructing you further."  He answered her with a cold voice that belied his warm, disarming smile.

Disaidun Agripe’s (Jepipi’s) surprise was clearly marked on her face.  "How do you know my code name?" she asked.

"I have my resources.  I trust you have completed your recent assignment with due expedience and satisfaction?"

Even though she knew that the attempt was futile, she met his gaze unflinchingly and flatly denied it, "I don't know what you're talking about.  I'm through with all that now I'm a happily married woman.  I lead a simple life, the kind I've always wanted."

"Oh, come now!" Zunrogo threw his head back and laughed, "A simple life?  That's hardly your style.  You're contradicting yourself; happily married indeed!"

His countenance suddenly became stern as he added in an icy tone, "But your secret is safe with me, Miss Jepipi, so long as you cooperate.  Now tell me, how much longer do you intend on keeping up with this farcical charade?"

His cold insinuation visibly startled her.

Clearly, she was done with her husband, but why hadn't she discarded him yet, why this ambivalence?

"Are you infatuated with him?" Zunrogo's question echoed in her mind.  "Granted he is good looking and rather well off."

04-DISAIDUN AGRIPE JP

“How much does he know?  He knows an awful lot already, as if he can see right through me.  Unnervingly, he seems most capable of deciphering my innate feelings, my innermost thoughts, even before I, myself, become aware of them.”  Disaidun Agripe took a shuddering breath and, after studying Zunrogo from the corner of her eye, turned her head away.

“He’s really beginning to terrify me; I must stand firm, must defy this overwhelming sense of panic.” 

Disaidun did not even notice the first effects of the ‘Yourek drug’ as it infiltrated her brain, causing the emotions to act with that small bit of control missing.  Such were its subtle effects that, as one sunk deeper under its spell, one was not even aware of one's loss of inhibition, or of its inevitable suppression of all normal censors.

Just then a thought, an idea flashed across her mind and, turning her curious gaze back to him she wondered, “Was he the same covert figure who had mysteriously appeared in my bed chamber in the dead of night and approached me with this unusual assignment?”

“No,” she quickly answered herself. “His voice, his manners, even his gestures are all so different, so wrong and Zunrogo is far leaner and taller than he.  Could he then be my anticipated contact?”  Again, the answer was negative.  “He didn't use the secret password for identification, and he hadn't responded when I posed the coded inquiry earlier.  This is proof positive of a leak.  When I do meet the contact, I must warn him of this infiltration and of the dire repercussions that are possible from this Zunrogo.”

Just as she, eyeing Zunrogo suspiciously with her guard up, was about to put a question to him, his abrupt, pointed inquiry startled her anew, "I trust that you have the letter, from…well we won't mention any names or titles, in your safekeeping?"

Disaidun Agripe threw him a furious, forbidden look as if to say, “No!  You can't have it!”

But strangely, he seemed not to be anxious about it at all, nor did he press his inquiry about its exact whereabouts or make the least attempt to seize it by force.

Having directed (turned) her concentration to the letter, Zunrogo, subsequently (in short shrift), through his artful manipulation, guided her into revealing to him all the pertinent information about the covert contact, to determine who it was that had dispatched her on this assignment.

When after a spell he had pieced it all together in his mind, the unexpected result took him totally by surprise, for his calculations had revealed the most unlikely candidate, one with an obvious conflict of interest and the one farthest from his mind.

While Zunrogo kept on the outward pretense of a grueling exchange to conceal his surprise, he quietly contemplated on the side, how best to confront this culprit in the future.

“Yes, armed with further proof, he would first humble him, grinding his nose into the dirt where he would squirm like a pig.”

Zunrogo looked away, suddenly delighted at all the prospects that had availed themselves, to him.

“This assignment,” he inwardly gloated, “has thus far provided me more advantages over my most ardent foes than I could have ever dreamed of.”

"Tell me", he abruptly asked Disaidun, "have you read the contents?"

"You know it’s sealed," she let out without thinking.

 Then, lowering her head she pursed her lips and grumbled, "Besides, it has been made perfectly clear to me that if I tampered with it in any way, it would mean my death."

 Coyly inclined her head, Disaidun Agripe looked away.

In fact, this had been a bone of contention with her.  Sensing the letter's grave importance, she had fought hard against her nature not to sneak a peek inside and see what all the fuss was about.

"Oh, come now, surely a resourceful girl such as you would not rest until your curiosity is satiated?  You mean to tell me that you made no attempt at all?"  Zunrogo could not resist his desire to further beleaguer (needle, pester) her.

"Think what you will," first was her initial curt retort then, realizing she had been manipulated; Disaidun expelled her breath and vehemently protested her innocence.

Inwardly Zunrogo was laughing up a storm, scorning her naiveté, her utter stupidity.

As it were, Disaidun Agripe had sealed her fate from the very moment she had accepted this assignment of securing the letter within her safekeeping.  It made no difference whether she had tampered with it. 

“Fool, you are just an unwitting, doomed courier, like so many others who preceded you.”  He almost pitied her.

Zunrogo’s ardent investigation thus far had uncovered that, within last two years at odd unspecified intervals, the task of safekeeping the letter had fallen on varied (diverse) individuals with covert sponsorships (backing, patronage).

Zunrogo had only recently identified, with some measure of certainty, the patron from the lethal sorority that had masterminded it all.

The secret organization (club) was none other than the most feared covenant fraternity, The Black Molochs.

The carefully procured couriers, the moment they’d outlived their usefulness, methodically perished/disappeared without a trace, severing the only weak link outside of this clandestine brotherhood. That is how The Black Molochs, had until then, avoided detection (exposure).

05-LANCE DIOSTIN JP  7

But once Zunrogo had discerned that Lance Diostin was the member of Black Molochs, that’s what had clued him in from the start; that, and the indisputable proof that the expandable courier was on board this vessel.  After that connection had been established, it made perfect sense why Lance Diostin was in such hot pursuit, to intercept them.

Zunrogo had never bought the advocated perception that, Egil Viggoaries, albeit furtively, gave any credence to superstition. Nothing, nothing at all (disconcerted) fazed that villain.  Typically, contrary to the fostered, erroneous belief, Fradel Rurik Korvald was not the bulls-eye target here, though it had no doubt served the Eunuch's purpose, as well as Lance Diostin’s, to on the sly, advance that cause.

 “Yes,” Zunrogo congratulated himself. “I’ve had had a significant breakthrough in these last few months.

 But even though the letter was as good as in his keeping, few details still needed to be ironed out. For one thing he did not entirely trust Disaidun’s husband, the Official Caroz Agripe, a supposed official on the way to taking up new post. Of course, Caroz had been thoroughly checked out and reports cleared him of all suspicion; however, Zunrogo still had his qualms about him. For one thing he was way too soft and cowardly despite his superb physique; it could all be a ruse, a good cover-up, to throw off suspicion. Zunrogo would devise an effective plan later to properly test him (flush him out); if he proved otherwise, he’d be then quickly disposed of. His wife Disaidun Agripe could be manipulated into playing a big part, a kind of borrowed knife; in setting him up and affecting his eventual demise. Meanwhile Zunrogo, not being privy to the covert identities of the rest of the Black Molochs, his next course of action could be placed in jeopardy; given that for all he knew, a Black Moloch affiliate, could have already infiltrated this vassal, going about all this time, totally undetected, keeping an eye on things while working to undermine him (Zunrogo). Once this impediment was flushed out and eradicated, his next course of action would then be, is to defeat Lance Diostin and take him alive so as to extract the desired information from him before his sure demise.

Competent as Zunrogo was, he was not entirely certain he could manage this daunting objective alone and so, considered enlisting Tizan’s help. That might be the key ingredient for his eventual success.  Afterwards he would decide on what to do with Tizan.

Zunrogo had been informed that the letter had always been kept in an airtight pouch of waxed leather.  The seal itself was indistinct but bore unique properties, not the least of which was the fact that it was laced with a deadly poison and a trick pin embedded cleverly within it, all to discourage unwarranted tampering.

“You have no inkling at all of what it is that you're carrying, do you?” he threw Disaidun (Jepipi) another cursory look.  “It’s just as well that you curbed your curiosity out of fear of reprisals, at least it has prolonged your life this little bit, long enough for me to...,” Zunrogo smirked and eyed her wantonly.

                                                                                              ~

 

 

(END OF SECTION 29)

 LEGEND OF NEVETSECNUAC - ON THE WAY TO THE CAPITAL - SECTION 28

With a blank stare, Zunrogo followed the figure of Fradel Rurik Korvald exiting the room with Tizan in tow.  Unexpectedly, his thoughts drifted to his earlier concerns, as he continued to stare at the closed door, long after they had departed.

01- INCRIMINATING  lLETTER - JP

Until that day when he had been secretly assigned to recover the incriminating letter, he had no inkling, none, of its existence.  After the clandestine meeting, smartly, he had stalked the cloaked figure and observed him disappear into the Prime Minister's residences, hence, confirming the source of the orders.  Now, as always, he never undertook any assignment or initiated the least action until he had completely grasped the real score.  This sound measure had delivered him more than once from a perilous end.

Five weeks… that's how long he'd ardently pursued this case on the sly.  That's how long he'd been given but, through his vigilance, he had finally made a tactical breakthrough.  His discreet, painstaking investigations had eventually borne fruit, and he had uncovered some rather intriguing facts concerning Lord Shouzi Yozdek.  He had learned, for instance, how His Lordship for the past two years had been blackmailed by some very powerful person or group on a serious score.  He’d foolishly perhaps brushed aside   the fact that, His Lordship during these last two years, must have assigned others far more capable than he, and had only now sought his services, as a last resort. Nonetheless, he’d been flattered to be regarded highly enough by P.M. Lamont Gudaren who was in obvious collusion with the Lord, to resolve this dire, consequential matter.

Zunrogo smiled, thinking instead of how the successful conclusion of this task would reap him, untold benefits.

 Of course, speculating on the contents of the letter, he had considered bringing this to the attention of Sovereign Zakhertan Yozdek; but he would have to be a real fool, and a dead one at that, to so much as try it.  Besides, why should he forfeit this golden opportunity to curry favor with those of real consequence, just to gain an uncertain reward from the Sovereign, whose actions had always been unpredictable at best?

He reflected further on the day he had made the breakthrough but since then, despite his tries, he had still not obtained positive identification of the blackmailers or the co-conspirators.

Each time he had made great strides and seemed to be on the verge of a discovery, his sources would mysteriously dry up, and all incriminating evidence would vanish without a trace into thin air.  Moreover, possessing an analytical mind these otherwise disheartening setbacks only confirmed his long-standing suspicions and his strong hunch.  Sometime prior, through inductive reasoning, he had arrived, with a measure of certainty, at just who it was that was behind it all and, once he had a grip on that fact, he had charted a decisive course which inevitably led him to this set of circumstances.

That had been the reason he had petitioned to be assigned to the task of affording Fradel Rurik Korvald safe conduct on this last leg of his journey.  He knew that this ingenious cover as the guide and protective escort to the illustrious scholar would better enable him to attain this goal.  That had also been why he had insisted the moment he knew that Tizan book passage of this vessel instead of, one more suited to transporting a noted scholar.

Suddenly a note of uncertainty infiltrated his thoughts.  As it became more pronounced his mind vacillated (wavered) once more.  “Was it wise of him to go at it alone?  Could he cope with the magnitude of it should things go awry?  What about the dire repercussions either way?” 

A deeper concern at once darkened (clouded) his face.  “He had been given assurances and sound reasoning, yes, but what real guarantee, what leverage did he hold should P.M. Lamont Gudaren did not live up to his promise and chose instead, to dispose of him permanently shortly after he had procured the letter?” 

P.M. LAMONT GUDAREN

Fresh concern just then knitted Zunrogo’s brow. “He had not taken any one into his confidence, not Tizan, not Gaos Zunkur, not even… and so, he had no one watching his back.    What if His Lordship Shouzi Yozdek, shrewd man that he was, were to strike out independently of the Prime Minister to initiate his (Zunrogo’s) demise soon after his completion of the assignment?”

 

                                                                              ~

 

After Fradel Rurik Korvald was promptly ushered (deposited) into his room Tizan, showing reluctance to leave, insisted on recounting to the scholar the list of essential provisions he had taken pains to procure during Fradel's brief absence from the room.  With a certain amusement, Nevetsecnuac (Fradel) discretely noted Tizan's underhanded aim.

True enough, after Tizan closed the door tightly behind him, he quickly produced the key he had stolen and locked the scholar in.

"This is for your own good." Tizan shouted with forced sincerity from other side of the door.  "I bid you peaceful rest now, sir!  Try not to be too concerned about what you may hear later on, especially tonight."

 Tizan, gritting his teeth, grumbled noiselessly, contemptuously. “So put up with it, wretch!  If it were up to me, you'd be transported bound and gagged, strapped to a horse's ass, all the way to the Capital.”  His wicked mind (on) entertaining many other, viler, despicable scenarios, he next sported a broader (wide) grin and quickly strode away.

Nevetsecnuac on the inside, quite unconcerned, shrugged, and then strolled over to the porthole to stare out at the dense fog.  Suddenly however, a slight trepidation brushed across his face, and he shook his head. “If only he didn't need Zunrogo, to gain entry into the Capital.”

Unfortunately, Nevetsecnuac had been informed at the last port how, due to most recent unsuccessful assassination attempts on the emperor’s life, for bad news travels fast, all points of entry to the Imperial Capital, for an indefinite period, would remain heavily guarded and closely monitored. More importantly, any access to the inner segments of Channing would be severely curtailed. These ardent (extreme) restrictions, the intense scrutiny, could, at any time, expose Fradel Rurik Korval (Nevetsecnuac), as an impostor. Conversely, with a well-known personage like Zunrogo Tugo vouching for the authenticity of Fradel’s credentials, a smooth and timely ingress (way in, entrance) would be assured. Zunrogo was made indispensable for yet another reason: as Nevetsecnuac true prowess was so truncated (curtailed) under his pseudo identity, Zunrogo’s protection would be an essential deterrence for any other future attempts on the scholar Fradel’s life.

 

                                                                                   ~

 

 When Tizan reported back, Zunrogo immediately dispatched him again with a new set of commands.  Then, as if on second thought, he called Tizan back just as he was headed out the door and instructed him to bring the woman named Disaidun Agripe to him at once.

"Sir?"  Tizan was perplexed.

"You heard me!"  Zunrogo turned his angry back to Tizan.

“Since when had Tizan ever questioned my orders, however bizarre?  All right, given these circumstances, I'll overlook it this once.”  Zunrogo grimaced coldly, his back still to the door.

As Tizan assented and sharply turned to head out the door, his face assumed a strange, baffled look.

03-TZAN JP

 “Now, what would the captain be wanting with her; granted, she was ravishingly beautiful, but this was hardly the time for Zunrogo to be indulging in such frolic?”  With a strange gleam in his eye, he reached out to unlock her cabin door then stepped in briskly to survey the room.

Being a particularly dark day, the room was scantily illuminated by the oil lamp and, through the flickering light, Tzan spotted two figures casting long, wavering shadows on the far wall.  The husband was hugging (embracing) his wife as he whispered something into her ear, presumably soothing words, in his feeble attempt to ease, to arrest her fears while she clutched to him; both were standing also, protectively before the sleeping baby lying snuggled in its blankets at the far corner of the bunk bed.

Tizan strode across and stood glowering venomously at them as his smile quickly turned into a scowl of hatred, "Oh what a perfect picture you two make.  The loving devoted couple.  Too bad it’s about to be shattered… Ha, ha, ha!” This made them quake more because Tizan’s careless words had portended (foretold) the dreaded catastrophe that obviously awaited them.

"What do you want from us?" Despite his attempt to suppress it, the man's voice shook (quivered) in fear, as he demanded.

"Oh, from you nothing yet,” Tizan turned to the woman and, grasping her arm in a steel grip, yanked Disaidun Agripe forward (towards him), tearing her away from her husband's embrace.

The woman inwardly shuddered and cast a pitiful plea-gaze at her husband, silently imploring him to do something, to rescue her from, perhaps a fate worse than death. But how could he defy an Imperial guard and live to talk about it. The child, as if sensing the danger, suddenly woke just then and started to screech and bellow.

"Shut that brat up, or else", Tizan growled and turned, showing his clenched fist to the husband, threat implicit, that he would do it for him, if the squalling nuisance was not quietened at once.

The man abandoning his defiant aim, compliantly turned and picked up the baby and protectively cradled it in his arms; but when the crying did not cease, fearing for his son’s safety, he pressed the infant’s face to his chest to stifle the noise.

 "Hush Tait, hush child.  Hush."

"Husband, please help, oh, save me!" Her eyes, issuing silent-pleas were again directed at her husband, as the hot tears coursed down her cheeks, wrenching her husband’s heart and causing him to clench his teeth in anguish.

“He couldn't just let her be taken away, not like this.  He may never see her again!”

 His struggling wife Disaidun Agripe, meanwhile, had dug her heels into the plank floor, but was still being forcefully dragged towards the door.

 Determinedly, her husband was about to put down the gasping child and regardless (heedless) of the consequence, rush to confront (tackle, defy) this Imperial brute, when Tizan half turned, his menacing grin all too explicit,

“You just try it, old man, I dare you to!” 

These unspoken words rooted the husband to the spot. He was only a civic (public, municipal) official, but even if he had been studying martial arts or had served in the military, what real chance would he have now, going against an elite Imperial guard?  Cowering, he lowered his gaze to the floor, “Maybe, just maybe they just wanted to question her?” He reasserted inwardly, trying to calm his fears. “Although, for what reason, he could not phantom?”

 Long after they had gone, however, he continued to pace the floor to and for, senses deadened as if in a mad daze. The tragic picture of his wife’s eyes pleading, her fruitless struggle, and her silent accusation, permanently etched on his mind's eye, haunted his eyes, ears and soul to the bottomless abyss while remorse, like a long needle, kept mercilessly jabbing and jabbing at his heart.

“What kind of spineless man was he anyway?  How could he have allowed his precious, virtuous wife to have been taken away from him like that, without the least struggle?”

“Yes, he knew he'd constrained his fury, wanting to protect his child, still, was that reason enough?” He shook his head, his brain searching desperately for more altruistic rationale, any hidden noble motivation to absolve (forgive) him for his cowardice.

DISRAUGHT HUSBAND 3

“The Imperial guard ruffian was too powerful; besides he had been armed and had others backing him up.  What can one man do to counter this grave injustice against a murderous army of brutes?

Maybe, just maybe, all they wanted was specific info, and so, sought to interrogate his wife. Again, he tried to ease his conscience from the intense, gripping shame, by reasoning with the same barefaced lie; but try as he might, the naked truth, stubbornly, blatantly gripped his heart and wrenched it.  No, there was no getting around it.  Each time he tried to deny it the brutal reality of it still snuck in forcefully and struck him to the very core of his being.

Cowardice, he was guilty of cowardice.  He was a useless piece of offal… And as his due punishment there would be, for the rest of his life, no reprieve, no absolution for him.   

Intermittent, persistent flushes of anger, shame, regret and then outrage washed over him, made him feel consistently smaller, smaller than a maggot, slime, a slug.

How would he face her?  How could he ever right this wrong?  His imagination ran rampant, and waves of sickness and disgust consumed him once more as he quietly sobbed, his body trembling and convulsing.

Subsequently, he jumped up and, like a trapped animal, paced the room to and for once more, stopping only to pound his fists on the cabin wall. When he noticed the profuse blood which now oozed from lacerations of his hands, beyond caring, he simply wiped them on his shirt, staining it with crimson streaks!

 

                                                                               ~

(END OF SECTION 28)

 LEGEND OF NEVETSECNUAC - ON THE WAY TO THE CAPITAL - SECTION 11

But wait," Zhadol held up his hand, "let me give you another good example of Dwengzur’s powers.

“Yes, that night Dwengzur provided us with yet another demonstration, chiefly for Egil Viggoaries’s amusement.  A reluctant volunteer was chosen to sit before him, then Dwengzur, with a great, mysterious air, muttering incantations, place both thumbs on Lenny’s"

"Not the Under-Secretary Lenny Sukzor?" Yennic broke in, grabbing Zhadol's arm in excitement.  "Not that old sourpuss?"

Commander Zhadol jerked his arm free.  "Everyone over twenty-five is old to you." he scoffed disdainfully.  He was stalling, searching in silence with knitted brows for a way of retracting this damaging slip.

Yennic was not about to let it pass that easily and fixed his intense green eyes on Zhadol.  "Now don't change the subject.  It is him you're referring to, isn't it?"

01- COMMANDER ZHADOL AND YENNIC

Zhadol hemmed and hawed as his face twitched nervously but he soon saw the pointlessness of any denial.  Biting his lip, he cast down his eyes and gave the barest nod of affirmation.

"But this is astounding!" Yennic gloated maliciously, easing himself back.

 "What do you know?  To think that all this time, I, and everyone else were so completely duped.  To think that he’s…."

"Now, Yennic, I needn't warn you of the consequences." Zhadol ejected sternly, authoritatively glaring at Yennic.

For a fleeting moment there was such hardness, such blood-curdling coldness in Zhadol's pupils that Yennic, caught by surprise, a small shudder passed through him.  He dared not taunt the Commander any further and at once wiped off the leering smile from his face.

 "No, of course not," Yennic responded hastily then in all seriousness.  "I swear on the graves of my forefathers, I'll never breathe a word of this to anyone.  But please do go on.  Tell me about the demonstration."  He urged Zhadol on, trying his best to play down the incident but the Commander's silence was unnerving.

"Unless, of course, you'd rather talk of something else..."  His eyes looked past Zhadol with an effort and focused on the distant dark sky.

 "How brilliant the moon is tonight in the company of all those twinkling stars," he added thoughtfully, with a meaning, of course, entirely different.

His clumsy attempt to draw out his jealousy amused Zhadol. “How predictable you are…  How absurd.” In silence Zhadol stared at Yennic, who appeared to be lost in thought.  Still, his body, tensing like a bowstring, betrayed him.

 As Zhadol studied the Lieutenant a cynical smile brushed his lips then, nodding, he volunteered the information Yennic was thirsting to hear.

"Yes, Dwengzur placed his thumbs on Lenny’s forehead like so," he said, demonstrating the placement on Yennic.  "Then he uttered more incongruous, incomprehensible incantations.  Within seconds, Lenny’s eyes glazed over, and his head dropped.  Most interestingly, however, Dwengzur's hair had just then turned completely white then it reverted to its original fiery red color, and he straightened up to reveal his findings.  Dwengzur not only told of what motives lay in Lenny’s heart, but also of the desires and inhibitions that lurked in the dark recess of his unconscious mind.  Armed with this knowledge, Egil Viggoaries then ordered Dwengzur to bring Lenny around.  All the sorcerers had to do was simply mutter some words, blow once on Lenny 's face and Lenny revived instantly with no recollection whatever of what had happened.  He even asked Dwengzur, with some apprehension, when the demonstration would begin."

02- LENNY SUKZOR (1)JP

"That must have been a riot!" Yennic laughed venomously.  "I don't suppose you'll impart some of that dirt (on Lenny) to me?”  Yennic fished for details.  "No?  I thought as much."  Disappointed, he pursed his lips.

Zhadol suppressed his annoyance and continued, "When Egil Viggoaries confronted Lenny with the knowledge Dwengzur had gained, all of it proved quite accurate.  Extremely embarrassed, poor Lenny didn't know which way to turn.  He probably wished there was a rock somewhere that he could crawl under and die.  Egil Viggoaries, with his insatiable appetite for cruelty, played it to the limit, making Lenny squirm time and time again.  I don't have to tell you how he brutally toyed with Lenny and how he shamelessly enjoyed himself at the Under-Secretary's expense."

"I would have given anything to be there to see that upstart squirm like a stuck pig." Yennic voiced without reservation, his cold, unsympathetic reaction.  He had made no secret of his intense dislike of Lenny Sukzor ever since the Under-Secretary had publicly spurned and humiliated him.

Zhadol, on the other hand, had had no serious clashes with Lenny and, therefore, neither liked nor disliked the man.  However, he respected the Under-Secretary's strong character, his sense of justice and his frank, no-nonsense manner.

Yennic noting the strong disapproval in Zhadol's face, the threat implicit in his silence, quickly checked his tone and mumbled, "I don't suppose that Dwengzur got too many volunteers after that."

"No, he did not." Zhadol replied mechanically.  Something else was preying on his thoughts.

"Still, such tricks are very useful."  Yennic grimaced coldly as he stole a malevolent look at Zhadol.  "One could reap untold benefits and gain a serious advantage over one’s foes.  His Royal Highness was, no doubt, profoundly interested in this?"

"Precisely," Zhadol nodded distractedly, turned to look directly at Yennic and stiffened his posture.  "More importantly, Dwengzur can study the juxtaposition of the planets and constellations and predict future events.  Unfortunately, however, his predictions augured (portended) more trouble."  He shook his head, "We'll have to indefinitely postpone our trip to Yaguzer."

"But the arrangements have already been made!" Yennic's initial reaction was to protest vehemently.  "What kind of trouble?" he looked up to ask.  "Why can't we…"

"This is quite serious."  Zhadol gestured to freeze Yennic's query and explained, "Three days prior to our leaving Channing I’d acquired a disturbing piece of news from Egil Viggoaries."

"And you waited until now to tell me about it?" Yennic interrupted indignantly.

"I held off because", Zhadol looked away.

"Because you didn't trust me, is that it?" Yennic, fuming, finished the sentence.

"No, not at all," Zhadol countered morosely (petulantly).

03- COMANDER ZHADOL

 "I had to use extreme discretion, and this was the first available moment we have had that I could safely broach this subject with you.  You see, Dwengzur has read something vitally important in the stars and, through Egil Viggoaries’s influence, gained a rare, private audience with His Royal Highness Zakhertan Yozdek.  At this point, I'm told, Dwengzur gained Sovereign Zakhertan’s confidence and informed him that there would be, yet another assassination attempt quite soon.  When pressed, he even predicted the exact timing of it."

"Are you certain of this? When is it?" Yennic gasped, stiffening despite himself.

"Quite certain,” Zhadol shrugged his shoulders, "As for when it’s supposed to transpire, that, I'm afraid, is privileged information.  No other, outside of His Royal Highness, his bodyguards, Dwengzur and Egil Viggoaries, have been informed, not even P.M.  Lamont Gudaren."

"So, His Royal Highness took the threat seriously, then.  I thought that he was inclined not to believe in soothsayers, that he barely tolerated them."  Yennic's provocative question risked angering Zhadol once more, but this was far too important info (data, material) for him to cower now.

“Have the Kozurs advanced the date?  Why haven't they informed me? Or had Zaur Stugr and the others been implicated by that cursed Dwengzur? Zhadol surely knows more than he’s willing to admit. But he’s really spooked. It’s so unlike him to be so tightlipped; but considering what’s at stake, I’ll just have to try harder that’s all.”   Yennic masked his concern with the air of disdain and skepticism, hoping to goad the commander to be more open with him.

"Dwengzur is different, perhaps the wisest one of all but, obviously, I've failed to convince you of that."  Zhadol's answer was mocking.  He was indeed angered by the other's seeming obstinacy, but then he softened, adding, "Besides, as I understand it, Dwengzur even staked his own life on the accuracy of the time he'd predicted for the assassination attempt."

"Please don't be cross with me.", Yennic used his boyish charm to disarm and appease Zhadol.  Pursing his lips together, he queried, "But if, as you say, Dwengzur cannot be killed, wouldn't his gamble be an empty show, a farce?"

"It seems that I've unintentionally misled you." Zhadol countered, smiling.  "Of course, he can be killed, but not by any conventional means.  Naturally his people keep this secret under close guard."

"Yet His Royal Highness obviously bears this knowledge?" Yennic interposed skeptically, narrowing his eyes.

"Don't forget, Yennic, His Highness was once a Field Marshall commanding our invincible armies in his glorious campaigns against Korion.  His forces penetrated the farthest corners of that state, like the wind itself."

“I know… I know rhetoric well.  Get on with it, man.”  Seemingly in agreement, Yennic impatiently nodded his head.

"During that great episode in our history," Zhadol continued in a more level tone, "His Highness must have had a brush with Dwengzur's kind, some outcast, perhaps, that had been hunted down."

Noting the puzzlement on Yennic's face Zhadol explained, "Apparently I've omitted telling you something else.  You see, when one of them breaks their stringent tribal laws, he or she is automatically cut down, condemned to be a non-entity without even the benefit of trial.  However, before the sentence of death is carried out the elders apparently grant the offender a head-start at fleeing to safety.  This, of course, is the illusion of mercy for, in all cases, the convicted one is always, quite without forgiveness, hunted down and disposed of without a trace.  It is another one of their unwritten laws, a fact of their life that no one gets to leave the tribe, willingly or unwillingly, alive.”

04- HUNTED DOWN AND KILLED

"Now, if I'm now permitted to speculate a little, one such fugitive must have fallen into His Highness' hands before their demise.  In all-probability Zakhertan Yozdek was, quite by chance, able to witness the method of execution and put the facts together.  Still later he must have elaborated on the tale while recounting his military exploits.  You know how Egil Viggoaries recollects even the most trivial of details, never forgetting anything no matter how long ago it was said."  Zhadol's eyes suddenly opened wide, "Come to think of it, that precise knowledge must be what binds Dwengzur in servitude to Egil Viggoaries and keeps him in check.  Considering his vagueness as to how he saved the sorcerer's life hmmm, but I'm straying from the point.”

Smiling, he sat back and inhaled deeply.  "Yes, Dwengzur delivered his warning to His Highness all right, but then he provided His Grace Zakhertan with an effective solution as well."

"You mean that at each instance, the assassin or assassins will now be timely intercepted and, the danger to His Royal Highness will forever be successfully averted?  Is that doable?"

“Why not, on the proviso (condition) the proper measures are implemented in time," Zhadol nodded.

"And, as I've been told, His Highness was greatly impressed and has already decided to adopt Dwengzur's plans (policies) to that effect.  Oh, and I ought to correct you on this; there is only one assassin in the prophecy, not the multitude you'd expect."

“A solitary one,” Yennic was intrigued.  Masking it, he speculated, "I suppose it was decided that only one can get through, infiltrate the security, undetected. “

“Not a bad idea, however he has to be quite an extraordinary being, considering the odds stacked up against him."

"Yes, I quite agree.  He has to be an extraordinary assassin, to say the least, to be planning a single-handed attempt on the life of His Royal Highness and, what's more, give cause for serious concern to Dwengzur and His Excellency."

Zhadol's uncanny words startled Yennic and placed him instantly on his guard.  “

How much did Zhadol suspect?  Was he toying with him, testing him? “But, after a brief scrutiny of the Commander, Yennic concluded, “No, he suspects nothing.”  And with that, his alarm dissipated in one breath.

"Zakhertan Yozdek, of course, is interested in capturing him alive."

Imagining the hellish tortures that awaited the unnamed assassin, Yennic dropped his head then shuddered involuntarily as he commiserated, "Yes, how I pity the poor wretch that will be walking into that trap."

The remark was innocuous enough but the reckless response, the unmistakable sympathy in Yennic's voice, took Zhadol by surprise.  He turned sharply and examined the Lieutenant.  “Did I hear him right?”

Yennic winced and swallowed hard.  Disregarding the Commander's questioning gaze, he grunted, "By the gods, another assassination attempt!  Won't they ever learn?"

Then, looking straight at Zhadol, he pointedly, defiantly asked, "Do you suppose it will end with his, and the other conspirator's capture?  No, that would be too easy.  The last attempt was made only eight years ago, and it was only recently that the witch hunt ended, and the strong measures were rescinded.  Now it will start all over again and we'll be cast into turmoil once more.  I wonder how many more will be made to suffer, justly or unjustly, this time to appease His Royal Highness' wrath?"

“Oops!  He'd gone a bit too far!”

Before Yennic could retract his last words or try to cover them up, Zhadol barked, "Hold your tongue!  Your words could be misconstrued as treason.  Take care with what you say and to whom you say it."  His face twitched anxiously as he looked nervously about.

 Yennic's face mirrored Zhadol's fear.

Convinced there was no one about, Zhadol reprimanded Yennic severely, "You're fortunate that I know your heart, but your reckless diatribes (tirades rantings) will one day land you in serious trouble, beyond anyone's help.  More influential men have fallen for saying less."

Yennic appreciated Zhadol's concern and told him so then, used other honeyed words to placate him.  Even so, it was some time before Zhadol was calm enough to return the conversation to the subject of Dwengzur.

"That may be," Nevetsecnuac heard Yennic, back to his old self again, stubbornly counter, "but I still fail to see how a mere scholar could threaten His Excellency Egil Viggoaries.  How can he be the cause of his serious downfall, or as Dwengzur so bluntly predicted it, the cause of His Excellency's disgraceful, premature death?"

Nevetsecnuac pricked up his ears upon hearing the word, scholar. 

“Are they referring to me, or rather to Fradel Rurik Korvald?  Tomorrow morning, I would have discarded these clothes and donned scholar's garments and, in doing so, I would have blindly walked into their trap.”  Nevetsecnuac knew that he could have easily bested them all, but not without cost. 

Because he would be acting contrary to Fradel Rurik Korvald's character, disguise or no disguise, if there were an engagement, he would be forced to kill them all.  These men were merely following orders and his sense of justice and aversion to murder prevailed on Nevetsecnuac to be merciful.

05- NEVETSECNUAC

"Even if we ignore all his power and influence," Yennic's argument took Nevetsecnuac's attention away from his private thoughts, "His Excellency Egil Viggoaries is famed throughout the land for his martial skills, second only to His Royal Highness in invincibility in combat.  He could never be caught off guard or be bested by anyone, let alone by an insipid scholar.  Don't you think that this prediction is a bit too fantastic to be taken seriously?  A scholar indeed!  Why, a single breath could knock a scholar over!"  Yennic curtly and gratingly laughed.

"No matter what you say, I cannot accept (swallow) this.  Furthermore, it makes no sense to me at all that a man of Dwengzur's abilities should be so compliant.  If he really wanted to, I doubt anyone could stop him, threat, or no threat.  Why then should he stick around and, worse still, remain in the limelight, given the circumstances."

“Why indeed.” Nevetsecnuac concurred.

"Unless, of course, he harbors a more sinister purpose; meanwhile, feigning being helpless, to gain some lethal advantage." Yennic snorted.

"Your point is well taken, Yennic." Zhadol concurred, stroking his beard.

"I confess that I, too, have experienced similar qualms.  Still, Egil Viggoaries is no fool.  You know how shrewd he is."

"That aside," Yennic impatiently drummed his fingers on his knee, "if Dwengzur is as good as his claim, how did he err in the prediction of the scholar's exact time of arrival here at Cyprecox Pass?  Wasn't tonight supposed to be the time?  Though we've remained vigilant in our watch, there's been no sign of him so far, nor do I expect there will be.  If he fails to show by dawn tomorrow, we should take our leave of this god-forsaken pass and return to the Capital."

"That would be disobeying direct orders, and you well know the penalty for that."   Zhadol shook his head.  "I'm afraid that we'll just have to stick it out for another two days at least, if not more."

"I object to following orders blindly."  Yennic fidgeted in his seat then looked up,

“What if he never shows up?  What if we've missed him already because he's taken an alternate route?”

“Are you quite certain that pompous scholar would choose this desolate dirt road over the more pleasurable and scenic river route, more akin to a scholar's tastes?  His Excellency is only interested in results.  Won't he be furious?"

"Orders are orders.  We are to stay put here regardless of the consequences or rewards; any action or inaction may foster." Zhadol spoke sternly, frowning.

"However, to put your mind more at ease, I recommended before our departure that Lance Diostin be posted on the river route.  He was dispatched the day before we were.  You see that angle has been covered as well."

“Lance Diostin?" Yennic nodded appreciatively.  "How many were dispatched with him?"

"I recommended five.  Does that meet with your approval?" Zhadol responded mockingly with a wry smile.  "So now you can stop worrying?"

Curtailing a curt response, Yennic grimaced and dropped his eyes then, after a momentary pause, meekly ejected, "How can I?"  A definite vulnerability lay under his tone.

"I've been rather apprehensive about this assignment from the start."  He bit his lower lip.  When Zhadol remained quiet, Yennic continued, "I'm filled with trepidation over the precarious predicament we've been placed in.  We're doing his Excellency's bidding, but what if this were ever to come to light?"  He shook his head dismally.

"I mean, by upholding one order, aren't we committing a still worse offense?  Undermining Prime Minister; Egil Viggoaries’s aim is one thing, but..."

"But do you wish to live forever, Yennic?" Zhadol chuckled then, meeting the Lieutenant's grim stare and noting his serious unease, he stopped teasing.

Speaking soothingly, he encouraged Yennic, "You needn't be so concerned, Yennic.  Egil Viggoaries knows what he's doing.  His Royal Highness doesn't really care whether Fradel Rurik Korvald complies with the summons or not.  Really, it’s only a whim with him and now, with this new threat on the horizon, the matter of Fradel Rurik Korvald's memorial poem is the farthest thing from Sovereign Zakhertan Yozdek's mind.  Only Lamont Gudaren is anticipating the poet's arrival and, expecting serious opposition from Egil Viggoaries, has gone to his predictable lengths to ensure the scholar's safe delivery."

"A futile attempt for, as always, His Excellency Egil Viggoaries is one step ahead of him."  Yennic nodded appreciatively.

“So that explains the presence of this contingent.” Nevetsecnuac grimaced.  “They are expecting to do battle with the Prime Minister's men.  They must be planted all along the way.”

“Fortunately, I diverted from the usual routes and so escaped both this disaster and the assistance.”  Nevetsecnuac now even suspected that the alleged bandits that had attacked Fradel when they had met were in fact Egil Viggoaries's men.

“I wonder how he's been faring.”  Sudden worry momentarily creased (clouded) Nevetsecnuac's features.

“Oh, but he's in the care of Fiery Comet; he'll be all right.” Nevetsecnuac, smiling, quickly brushed aside this concern.

 

(END OF SECTION 11)                                                                                        ~