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 - THE STATE OF THINGS - SECTION 32

 

 At some distance from Hecun’s contingent, Mouro and his two guards, traveling ahead on the major highway, by nightfall had already checked in to a long-established inn and were, indulging themselves in a fine feast and a good measure of the local wine. All during dinner Mouro had been staring at the young waiter, one of the groups that were tending their table.  His exceptional good looks, fine features and delicate mannerisms drew Mouro out to the point of infatuation; discretely at first, but after a flagon or two of wine, Mouro had flirted more openly (uninhibitedly) with the young man.

01= MOURO KERR

One of the guards, called Dag Diez, found this rather amusing, joined in the fun but the other, called Kade Luir, having some scruples, found the show most distasteful. Soon as he could, Kade Luir therefore asked to be excused and retired early to his room. After divesting himself from his travel garments, Kade Luir had just slipped under the covers when the other guard Dag Diez staggered in, curses and complaints on his breath.

Ranting and raving incoherently, Dag finally settled down, "That Mouro!  Just because he's in charge, where does he get off!  The gall he has, ordering me around in that manner!  I'll show him!"

 Dag Diez slammed his fist into the door, his face dark with anger.  "He's too much!  I'm not even tired."  He was striding to and for across the room now, rubbing his burning fist.  "Am I less deserving than he?  There's nothing amiable about his...eh?"  Dag sheepishly threw a glance at his companion, who had indifferently shifted and turned his back to him.

"Besides, why should I retire when I haven't even had my fill yet?  All because he wants to indulge himself in perverse pleasure.  Was I crowding him, or something?"  Huffing, he plumped himself into the chair.

After a moment's silence, his mood had changed, "Yeah, he always did like them that way best.  He toys with people’s lives; he likes to play games and moreover, always have be the alfa dog, the domineering one…"

Kade Luir, feigning to sleep with his face to the wall, ground his teeth in anger, or was it jealousy?  He was so incensed with Mouro, and this intoxicated fool that he had to struggle to contain his bursting rage.

"Did you see how annoyed the innkeeper was?  What a sight to see!  That old sourpuss squirmed like a pig back there."  Dag Diez slapped his knee drunkenly and roared.

"But he wouldn't dare openly say a word against it.  He didn’t have the guts!  Even if Mouro hadn't flaunted all that money around, the greedy wimp knows enough to keep his trap shut and his tail tucked between his legs.  He knows enough not to stick his bulbous nose into trouble.  How else would he have lasted so long and prospered so? Boy you are a sound sleeper.”

“Yes sirree… Not by being stupid, that's for sure!  Yes, he knows enough to keep out of trouble."  Dag Diez rose and went over to the other bed, shaking Kade Luir, who was feigning sleep.  "Hey, this is no time to be sleeping, I'm talking to you.  Open your eyes!  Are you making a mockery of me?"

Finally giving in, and checking his anger, Kade Luir pretended to being awakened. Then shaking his head and yawning, he exclaimed that he was still (groggy) tired and demanded that Dag be brief with whatever it is he had to say.

"Bah!  Who needs you?  Go back to your precious sleep if you like." the obnoxious Dag retorted in a gruff voice and waddled back to his chair.

02- DAG DIEZ

Before long he was singing the same tune to himself.  "That's right; he knows enough to keep in line.  He knows that ones Like Mouro, rich wastrels that they are, are too dangerous to be trifled with and deadly to offend.  I'm not sure, but Magistrate what's his name is, he might even be a distant relative."

Kade, now exasperated, sat up and resorted to fine reasoning to persuade the other to get some sleep.

"Sleep… Sleep?  Why should I?" rowdy Dag snarled as he ignored the drooling down his mouth.

"Eh, your kind will never understand."  Dag idly fingered the copper water pitcher.

"Imagine him having all the fun and not me!  I… stranded here with the likes of you!"  In a burst of anger, he hurled the pitcher violently against the wall above Kade's head.  Luckily there was very little water to spill.

Wiping the spray from his face, Kade Luir clenched his fists, not obliging Dag with a fight.  Quietly reclining again, he turned his face to the wall and remained that way, unresponsive to the vile, disgusting slanders, muttering and provocation of Dag.

"Oh, what's the use?"  His anger spent, his energy consumed by his temper, Dag Diez had finally consented to sleep.  "I might as well get some rest.  Of course you wouldn't take me on!  You know you'd lose.  You just look competent, but you're soft!"

As he pulled up his covers, fully clothed still, he muttered to himself, "And tomorrow, tomorrow, we'll see.  Eh, let him enjoy it while he can…ha, ha, ha!"

Dag’s sinister laughter grated on Kade's nerves.  “Won't he ever shut up?”  But the obnoxious filth kept pouring from Dag’s mouth well into the night until; finally, after several loud belches and yawns, he drifted into a deep, snoring slumber.

Unable to get any sleep Kade Luir tossed and turned then, sitting bolt upright, fixed his brooding gaze on the door, contemplating going after Mouro.

 But what would be the point?  What could he do anyhow?

"He's always preening (grooming) himself like a prize goose," the drunkard Dag stirred in his sleep, "but we'll see.  We'll see how much longer he'll enjoy this privilege."   He snorted a couple more times then rolled onto his other side and began snoring even more thunderously than before.

                                                                             ~

Mouro, meanwhile, after changing his clothes, had patiently waited until all the activity had abated outside his room then, bolting to his feet and with the sealed drum of fine wine tucked under his arm, he headed for the door.

"Don't wait for me, now."  He half turned to address the young waiter, Ted. “I’ll be a while; best you try to get some sleep." Stealing across the deserted dining hall in the dark, he quietly slipped outside and entered the stables.

Leading his horse by the reins, he walked the beast some measure away to the edge of the forest.  At this safe distance, he then vaulted into the saddle and galloped through into woods, disappearing in the paths among the thick foliage.

 He continued to press his fine mare for speed over hedges and ditches as man and mount covered an incredible distance in but a short time.  Finally, he arrived at his destination, the deserted ruins of a temple, hidden among the towering cliffs and ancient cypresses.  Dismounting, he led the mare cautiously across a dilapidated stone bridge spanning a bottomless chasm.

The sentries on duty at the other side were relieved to see that they had accosted Mouro.

03- GUARDS ON DUTY

Hecun, after the formal greeting, asked, "I am indeed pleased to see you, sir, but I feel constrained to inquire what purpose brings you here at this hour.  Were we not supposed to meet at the Magistrate's offices?  And where are your guards Kade Luir and Dag Diez?  I hope nothing untoward has happened to them."

"The guards… Oh no, dear old friend, they are sound asleep and dreaming of the girls or man back at the inn, no doubt."  Mouro's informal greeting put the Head Bailiff at ease.

"I know you're a stickler for protocol, but out here?" he clapped Hecun on the shoulder as they walked to a more private corner of the compound.

 "Let us dispense with the formalities of office.  I'd rather address you as in the past, eh, Elder Brother, if it’s all right."

He waited for Hecun's nod of assent before resuming, "As for my reason for (stealthily, covertly) coming here, I've taken these great pains in hopes of delivering you from an anticipated dread predicament.  Why else?  Tell me, are your water rations not depleted?  That's what I thought; I would have been greatly surprised if they hadn't.  Let's see your map."

Mouro sketched a line of route on the parchment Hecun provided.  "Now, if you start tomorrow along this shortcut I've indicated and, upon reaching the fork, keep to the left for about a day and a half, you should without much difficulty reach the modest inn I'm thinking of.  There one can have their fill of drink and gorge on generous portions of deliciously prepared meals at a fraction of the normal cost which will, no doubt, also please the men.  The proprietor is a bit eccentric, however.  Advise the men not to stare or make any rude remarks about the ugly scar on his face.  No one knows to this day, I suspect, who inflicted it on him many years ago but, if you keep on his good side, he'll lavish you with hospitality, the like of which you have never before experienced.

"But tell me, Elder Brother," Mouro looked at the encampment about him, "surely you had more men than this when you embarked on this journey."

"Two hundred to be exact," Hecun nodded.  "Along the way we suffered several setbacks.  Some were killed and others tried to desert and were appropriately punished but it would take too long for me to go into that right now."  He hoped that Mouro would press him for the details.

"Quite right, we can discuss at length all that later.  We have more immediate concerns we need to address now." came Mouro's disappointing response.

"I'll say this, however," Hecun could not hold back, "along the way we even had a run-in with Zonar but, oddly enough, he opted not to engage us or attempt to free the prisoner."

Robbing the other (Hecun) once more, of a chance to boast, Mouro interrupted. "May I make a suggestion, then?  Since there is no real danger to speak of in this province, and since that cowardly assassin was obviously issuing only empty threats, why should you continue on these remote paths?  Why put yourself and your men through unnecessary hardships?  After a brief stay at the inn, I told you about you can keep to the highway and, in less than three days’ time, you can arrive with ease at Magistrate Rue's offices.  I'll be riding on ahead to inform His Honor of your arrival.  I really should be there now, if it weren't for this detour.”

“Hmm…  Micen Do will be furious about the delay and, no doubt, demand my head on a platter upon our return.  Don't worry, though.  He doesn't scare me one bit and, besides, I know how to deal with him.  As I see it, this was unavoidable.  I had to make amends when, a few days back, it suddenly dawned on me that I had neglected to mention the location of the only well at this temple which still contained water.  Yes, brother, there is another one located here other than the two obvious dry ones you have already discovered.  I stumbled across it quite by accident some years back when I was caught in a similar predicament.  Feeling responsible as I did, I took appropriate measures and raced here over some treacherous terrain in the hope of meeting up with you tonight."

"I'm indebted to you for your concern and trouble." Hecun thanked Mouro gratefully.  "Now, brother, if you'd be so kind as to direct me there."

04-KADE LUIR

"Wait, there will be time for it soon enough." Mouro held up a hand, smiling.  "First, I've brought a surprise with me.  I know how fond you are of good wine and had anticipated that you'd be craving a good cup just about now.  If, by some misfortune, I had not met up with you tonight I had planned to leave it hidden here along with the instructions on the whereabouts of the well.  Please allow me to have the drum fetched for you now."  Mouro called for the guard.

Mouths watered and neck craned to observe the unloading of the special drum from Mouro’s horse and its transport over to Mouro.  The guards looked on with hungry, yearning eyes as they waited with trepidation for their turn to partake of the sure to be a rare wine.  They hoped there would be plenty to go round once Hecun and Mouro had had their fill.

Mouro, after a sly grin, called for a cup as he, at the same time, unsealed the mouth of the small barrel.  Filling it to the brim, he ceremoniously presented it to Hecun who received it with appropriate thanks then, politely smiling, put the cup down and called for another cup to be brought.

Filling this one to the brim, Hecun reciprocated the courtesy to Mouro and proposed, "Let us drink together one more time for old times' sake, before we are joined by the others."

"You are too polite.  All right, brother, we'll drink to your good health and to a long, prosperous life."  Mouro grimaced as he obligingly received the cup.  Subsequently, as custom decreed, each deferred the honors of first toast to the other.

After a few turns, Hecun unable to resist any longer, congenially toasted, "To our lasting friendship," before he raised the cup to his lips and was about to gulp it down all in one go when, Mouro, suddenly assuming a stern visage, in a flash discarded his own cup to the side and violently knocked Hecun's cup from his hands, spilling entire contents of the wine all over the bailiff's face and garments.

 "What disgraceful conduct?  How dare you insult me in this manner?" Mouro stormed.

 "You may be my elder, but I'm still your superior and don't you forget it!"  He shook a threatening finger in Hecun's face.

"And you stay out of this!" Mouro turned to lash out at the sergeant Tubak who, (standing by at close proximity,) aimed to intercede on behalf of his commander.

 Mouro once more reverted his menacing gaze back to the Head bailiff and, with curses on his lips, he demanded, "How dare you be so presumptuous?  How dare you behave in this outrageous manner, just because I'm kind enough to treat you with courtesy?"

Aghast (shocked, appalled), Hecun's face flushed and, even though he did not know what he’d done to offend Mouro, finding his tongue, rushed to apologize, but there was no placating (mollifying) Mouro. 

Placed on the defensive, inwardly Hecun remained most resentful of Mouro's inconsistencies, “What kind of game are you playing at?  How dare you set me up, make me breach etiquette, then make me lose face in front of my men like this?”  

Head Bailiff Hecun just wanted to squash this upstart, ungrateful vermin like a bug, but knew only too well of Mouro's hot temper and obstinate nature; therefore, he wisely opted to suffer passively and with total restraint, this heaved, unending abuse, hoping that Mouro's anger would summarily be spent (pass).

Far from being appeased, Mouro was, in fact, further antagonized. He bellowed furiously, "Why in blazes did I take all this trouble…For the likes of you?  You're beneath my contempt!"  Scoffing, he sprung to his feet and stormed away into the darkness.

Alarmed, Hecun raced after Mouro, still apologizing. Eventually he caught up with him beyond the courtyard and, in a hot pursuit, dashed after him behind a half-collapsed tower. The moment he’d entered the full darkness, however, a hand extended from under the dilapidated flight of stairs and forcefully yanked (pulled) Hecun into the ink black crevice, where he was brought face to face with Mouro.

Hecun's fear soon abated when, in a passive voice, Mouro explained, "You can stop worrying now, brother.  I'm not at all offended.  It was a charade, enacted for their benefit."

"Whose benefit,” Dumbfounded Hecun strained to see more clearly.  "What madness is this?"

Moving out of the shadows, his hand still clasping Hecun's shoulder, Mouro smiled wryly.  "Rest assured, my faculties are intact…  I couldn't go through with it, anyhow.  Still, I had to stop you from drinking it, while casting suspicion, that the drink was spiked."

"The wine was spiked.  What are you talking about?" Hecun asked in exasperation.  "We have no enmity between us, why should you try to poison me?"

"You're not listening," Mouro snapped.  "The wine is perfectly fine; they only think it's laced with poison, and I had to play along with the pretense."

Now it was Hecun's turn to be temperamental, "Your inference to 'they"…  Just who are 'they'?  Why do you talk in riddles, or is this just another one of your underhanded ploys to make me look like the fool?  Are you purposefully trying to muddle me?"

"There are turncoats, you fool!  Renegades planted among your men."

"Are you sure?  How do you know this?  Who are they?  How many are there?  Tell me and I'll have their black hearts torn from their chest."  Hecun clenched his fist repetitively.

"I don't know who they are."  Mouro shrugged and walked away.  "I came to know of their existence myself only quite recently, but I didn't have the means to find out their numbers, but I surmise it must be over thirty.  In any case, it’s up to you to flush (hunt) them out."  Reading confusion and disbelief on Hecun's face, he continued, "You still need convincing, don't you?  Why must you always be so obstinate?  I should be furious with you for not trusting me but, oh, all right, I'll start at the beginning and clarify this situation for you, even though I'm pressed for time.”

"Listen, my coming here tonight was not accidental, nor was my failure to tell you about the functioning well. The purpose was obviously other than the one I expressed in front of the men."  He cleared his throat.  "Actually, I was instructed by Micen.  Yes, Micen Do.  Now, don't interrupt.  I was instructed by him to deliver some poisoned wine to you as part of a diabolical plot to bring about the demise of yourself and your men, saving the spies who were obviously warned not to drink the wine."

"But why would Micen want to kill me?" Hecun injected in surprise.  "I was never out of line with him.  I served him loyally for all those years and did nothing to incur his enmity.  What could he gain from my death?"

"You were only the instrument, the insignificant pawn, please forgive my saying so, who had to be sacrificed in the scheme of things.  It had nothing to do with you personally, or with your performance of your duty. “Mouro explained dismally.  "You think you mattered anything to him at all?  Your only fault was that you let yourself become expendable.  Added to that, your mission was doomed from the start, even if you had survived the ambush and other conceivable dangers on the road as you have done.  Yes, I'm well aware of the traps you've avoided all along the way in order to reach this point.  Never mind how I know."  He held up his hand to stay any questions from Hecun.  "Even the desertions you experienced earlier, I suspect, were the workings of the implanted spies, working within to assure your perilous end.

"It would have been their objective to reduce the numbers of those to be doomed way before now and, no doubt, you played right into their hands.  You would have done better, my friend, to have, just this once, acted contrary to your nature, to have made concessions and exceptions to the rules.  Your flaw, besides being too predictable, is that you're a stickler for rules and regulations.  Don't you see how much of an easy target that makes you, how much more vulnerable?  Never mind, it’s pointless to harp on that now."

"How deep is this conspiracy, anyway?" Hecun grumbled, gritting his teeth.

Mouro, agitated, turned away.  "Listen well and you'll learn the extent of it."

                                                                                ~

(END OF SECTION 32)