THE ASSASSINS - SECTION 11

 LEGEND OF NEVETSECNUAC - THE ASSASSINS - SECTION 11

 

Lord Wutenzar Thuxur Marrog Zhon, true to his word, in the ensuing months had spared no expense in the effort of exonerating Sorgun Dufo.

Before long the news reached them that Lord Wutenzar’s able men, through their persistence and prodding, through bribes dispensed covertly, and despite the fact that Lord Wutenzar Thuxur Marrog Zhon had no jurisdiction or influence in Fukken province, had brought down the barriers of stiff opposition to finally uncover the hidden facts (evidence) pertaining to this case.  What's more they had managed to procure irrefutable proof of Sorgun's innocence and used this to force the local authorities to reopen the investigation.

It so happened that Sorgun's father, Kerek, in his shame, had indeed forced his daughter-in-law Linnsar to commit suicide then, after writing a letter of confession and begging forgiveness from Sorgun which he left in his study to be discovered, had taken his own life with one cut to the throat.

 Fortunately for Sorgun the trusted Steward Alec, who had discovered the bodies when Minakos came to call the next day, managed through his quick wit and sharp eye, to sneak a peek at the contents of the letter over Minakos’s shoulder as latter broke the seal and read it.

The Steward Alec had been constrained however, perhaps out of fear, to keep his tongue when Minakos with his false exclamation (shriek), declared that the content had pertained to him and that it had only been about an insignificant, trivial matter- then crumbled it and cast it into the fire.

 

01- ESQUIRE MINAKOS VIDART

The ambitious Minakos, seizing this rare, golden opportunity, from then on had conspired to buttress an ironclad case against his own nephew Sorgun, who had disappeared, to convict him of many grievous crimes, foremost being patricide.

 With his suspicious nature Minakos had kept the steward in line with his close scrutiny and insinuated threats as he spread damaging rumors (hearsay) and bogus accusations same time planted incriminating evidence to support his fabricated version of the events leading up to the now perceived case of multiple murders and abduction.

Rumors fanned by Minakos' hirelings spread quickly far and wide, that Sorgun in a jealous rage, had killed them both and kidnapped his own son, legitimate next beneficiary, as a hostage to be used if he was threatened.

At the corrupted inquest Minakos' testimony directing all blame towards Sorgun was corroborated by others who he had surreptitiously bribed or intimidated.  As they dragged Sorgun's name through the mud he quickly became the most hated, despised criminal in the history of the Fukken province.

 Leaving nothing to chance, Minakos bribed many of the key officials to exert influence on the Magistrate Kokos to pronounce the appropriate guilty verdict despite the absence of the accused. 

02- MAGISTRATE KEKOS

Aside from covertly hiring a number of experienced thugs to comb the province and assassinate his nephew, Minakos Vidart so far as to lavish rare gifts on the provincial Governor Toku, under the pretext of asking, as the future head of the Dufo clan, his invaluable help in quickly putting an end to this shameful, scandalous episode.

 The underlying motives of this request had positively confirmed the Governor's suspicions about this case, but he pretended to consider the matter further to extract more benefit from Minakos.  In fact, Toku had carefully weighed the untold rewards he could reap from granting the incumbent Esquire his wish against the unlikely repercussions of enacting such an irregular procedure.

 In the end, when he deemed, he had wrung enough out of Minakos, he had reluctantly agreed to turn a blind eye to justice and pressured Magistrate Kokos to forgo the normal procedures and expeditiously wrap up the case.

The indignant steward Alec, having served the clan practically all his days, out of fear for his life and with nowhere else to go had swallowed this great injustice done to the rightful heir of Esquire Kerek Dufo and, painful as it was, maintained his silence.

03 -STEWARD ALEC

 At the inquest Alec was further   constrained to mechanically parrot the slanderous, erroneous accounts leading up to multiple murders, as dictated to him by Minakos.  He'd sporadically choked on the words but delivered them just the same, then Minakos Vidart on to serving his new, shrewd master, who had readily seized all power and had assumed the title of Esquire even before the case was settled.

 The steward's fear of Minakos was so great that it took a great deal of persuading and reasoning   by Lord Wutenzar Thuxur Marrog Zhon's agents to get at the truth.  When Sorgun surrendered and was placed in custody, Alec had retracted his former testimony at the retrial under Magistrate Kokos and moreover confessing to his impropriety (misconduct), revealed the true contents of the letter Minakos had destroyed.

This, however, instead of clearing Sorgun, was quickly overturned as it had been the case with other submitted irrefutable evidence as dubious dispositions. Esquire Minakos' supporters arguing the case successfully had the steward's testimony thrown out, discredited as hearsay from a presumably deranged mind, overwrought as he was proclaimed to have been by the tragic loss of his former master.

 On top of that, Alec was accused of now maligning   his present master because of his recent chastisement over a rather despicable, of course fabricated, incident.  The Magistrate, however, had seemingly shown leniency in view of the steward's insanity and passed a sentence of only ninety hard strokes for Alec’s false deposition in court and had him sent away.  Shortly afterwards, the steward's sudden, suicidal death was pronounced as a matter-of-factly at court as just recrimination.

Meanwhile, Lord Wutenzar Thuxur Marrog Zhon on his way to the Capital Channing, was apprised of the developments in Fukken province through his fast couriers and able spies.  Reaching the Capital, the Lord's first initiative had been to directly petition the Metropolitan Censorate to appoint an independent commission to oversee Sorgun Dufo's case, pointing out the irregularities and the gross miscarriages of justice in its handling.  Being bogged down with more pressing issues, however, the Censorate underestimated the depth of the corruption, summarily ordered the Provincial Governor Toku Neron, to investigate the case once more.

04- PROVINCIAL GOVERNOR TOKU NERON

 The Governor Toku Neron, who had pressed for the previous judgment even in the absence of the accused, simply went through the motions instructing the Yeko Prefecture to conduct a new investigation.  On the sly, Toku lost no time in informing Esquire Minakos of the pesky interference of Lord Wutenzar Thuxur Marrog Zhon and demanded the Esquire use his ample resources and part of the vast fortune now at his disposal to do a more thorough job on the (conspiracy) cover-up.  Meanwhile, in view of the petition and newly presented evidence, the death sentence on Sorgun was temporarily postponed until the successful conclusion of this third judicial inquiry.

Esquire Minakos' sources in (Imperial Capital) Channing had all independently confirmed these dangerous developments; furthermore, they had unilaterally reported the Lord's unyielding persistence and his relentless stand on this issue.  Every avenue had been exhausted, they claimed, but Lord Wutenzar Thuxur Marrog Zhon could neither be bribed nor intimidated. 

Esquire Minakos' tentacles reached far and wide, right into the very jail in which Sorgun languished.  Still, he could do very little to harm the scholar, let alone stage another suicide, as Sorgun had been, from the first, closely guarded by the Lord's competent men.  Neither could Minakos, despite his best efforts, reach the child Kundrick to inflict injury or kidnap him to hold as hostage to break Sorgun's defiant will.

Esquire MInakos did the next best thing and, by once more underhandedly dispensing generous bribes, had gotten Nuer of Yeko prefecture to collude with the Magistrate Kokos.  They both simultaneously submitted another detailed report stating that no injustice had been done; in fact, there were no irregularities whatsoever in the case under review.  Furthermore, pretending that it had just been obtained, they had furnished their report with more indisputable proof and had asked that, without any further delay, the Magistrate to be allowed to mete out justice to the guilty party.

When word reached the Lord through a good friend that the Censorate was now considering overturning   the Lord's protests, Lord Lord Wutenzar Thuxur Marrog Zhon at once wielded his power and influence to secure an audience with, and promptly memorialized, the Throne. 

This time, armed with all the proof exposing the most recent dirty dealings of Esquire Minakos, the Governor General, Provincial Governor Toku, Prefect Nuer and Magistrate Kokos and the whole host of others, he proposed that the Board of Punishments intervene directly.  His proposal was accepted.

Chinzo Doken, the Minister of Punishments, took personal charge of this most grievous matter.  After reviewing all the documents and submitted pertinent evidence, old and new, Chinzo Doken became duly concerned at the apparent widespread corruption in Fukken Province.

 It so happened that the central government had been for some time considering the appointment of a Commission to expose the bad elements which were sapping, crippling the strength of the nation. 

The courtiers advocating change jumped at the opportunity to exploit this case and pushed for more severe measures and tighter controls to make the border provinces more accountable to the central government.

 All involved were, without exception, summoned to the Imperial Capital to be interrogated at length by the Grand Council with the cooperation of the Board of Punishments.

Since murder was at the root of this matter, it was decided that, in order to get at the true facts, the only alternative was an autopsy on the deceased. 

So, after an internment of nearly four years, the corpses of Esquire Kerek Dufo and his daughter-in-law Linnsar Dufo were exhumed and brought to Capital Channing for a second, more thorough, examination.

Fortunately, due to the arid, cold climate of Fukken Province, the bodies were remarkably well preserved.

05- MINISTER OF PUNISHMENT, CHINZO DOKEN

The autopsy was conducted under the watchful gaze of Minister Chinzo Doken and his competent assistants.  A careful, rather fastidious examination by the coroners took into consideration the angle of the cuts as well as the previously overlooked minor lacerations, bruises and internal injuries.  Their findings tallied perfectly with the facts as related by Sorgun.  Their report concluded that Esquire Kerek Dufo and his daughter-in-law Linnsar Dufo's deaths were both due to self-inflicted wounds, therefore a suicide.  Sorgun's innocence was established once and for all.

When the Grand Council and the officials on the Board of Punishments cross examined Esquire Minakos Dufo, Governor Toku, Prefect Nuer, Magistrate Kokos and the rest they all, after being subjected to torture and interrogated at length, one by one pleaded guilty and confessed to their part in this grievous conspiracy. 

All were severely punished, jailed for life, demoted, stripped of office or exiled after confiscation of their property according to the degree of their involvement in the crime.  This, in one stroke, rooted out (purged, eradicated) the long existing corruption in Fukken Province.

Minakos, for tampering with evidence, and murder of the steward Alec as well as his purposeful manipulation and misdirecting of the facts, perjury, intimidation, extortion, bribery and corruption of government officers among a host of charges, received extreme due punishment.

In the public square of Fukken Province he was quartered by four oxen.  His immediate family, consisting of his wife, Dijek, daughter Mirek aged seven, and son Enkaz aged three years were stripped of all wealth and power, given the tattoo of the criminal on their left cheek, then, with only the clothes on their back and a bag of dry grain, were driven out of Fukken Province then Wenjenkun forever.

Soon after being entirely exonerated, Sorgun was re- installed in his rightful position in Fukken Province.

                                                                                  ~

 

(END OF SECTION 11)

 

THE ASSASSINS - SECTION 2

 LEGEND OF NEVETSECNUAC

THE ASSASSINS - SECTION 2

Brandt, returning   to his quarters in exalted spirits a brief time later, was surprised to find Duan seated on the bed fully clothed, carefully wiping his blade clean.  When Brandt   advanced towards him to tell of his findings, something in Duan's demeanor told him that, the other (Duan) already knew. Yet, how could he?

Refusing to believe what his brain was telling him; Brandt   parted his lips to speak. Instantly the words froze on his tongue however, when Duan briefly stayed his hand and ejected coldly, "You were careless to have spared them."

DUAN

"What? Have you, but how?” Brandt   asked in bewilderment, now noting the blood-soaked rag in Duan's hand.

Duan snorted in disgust and went on with his cleaning.

Brandt   meanwhile curtailing the feeling of derision and dread that had suddenly overtaken him, walked over to the dressing table that divided the two beds. From a jar he poured out some water into a cup and took a swig to quench his sudden thirst.

 Then with a disdainful air, going over, he sat at the edge of his bed, inwardly seething with rage and, cogitating, questioning the air on how long Duan had been at the scene. Concealed by the night’s shadows, he had witnessed it all, passing judgment on him with those condescending eyes or being entertained by his no doubt deemed soft-hearted approach and incompetence. Then the moment his (Brandt’s) back was turned, the cold-blooded assassin had, without thought to repercussions, struck again, leaving a bloody trail in his wake.

He threw a cursory glance at Duan; the latter was lost in a world of his own. It was as if Brandt   did not exist at all. He only shared his space; Brandt   was a mere trifle, an insignificant bug, a pest to be tolerated.

For how long, that remained to be seen.

Still, Brandt knew by instinct, that Duan would not strike, not till the task was completed. Pending that time, Brandt was resolved to endure all the scorn and mockery and allow Duan to bask in his superiority.

 

After a while when the task (of cleaning) was complete Duan, putting his sword away, reclined with his head on the pillow and closed his eyes in respite, leaving Brandt   still seated at the edge of the bed with countless unanswered questions.

Duan’s mind, currently, briefly took stock of the evening’s activities, before succumbing to sleep:

 “As far back as he could recall he had always possessed a most remarkably retentive memory. On this night, his initial (preliminary) probe within the restricted area of Sacristy, beyond Scroll- rooms and so-called libraries, had been a wasted effort. But then his subsequent, successful breach of the impenetrable vault at the Abbot Boqast Tizanzenn’s private residence had been, rather, fruitful.”

Duan shifted his body slightly as he tallied up the abundant pertinent information, far more than anticipated, at present cramming his brain. “It was all laid bare in those secreted scrolls- meticulously chronicled lists and countless subversive activities, courtesy of the Abbot, undoubtedly registered for posterity, in that laughable cryptic form.”

“A most definite noose around their necks; but why log such deleterious proof?”

With a wry grin he shook his head. “Men’s arrogance has always been their undoing. Admittedly, some of the past conspiracies had been extraordinary, bordering on genius, superb feats that had furthered their cause.  The accounts of scheduled drops, the elaborate network of men, each knowing only so much, going only so far, all carefully designed to ensure anonymity. That is why this brilliant organization, the perfect scheme to sustain the Traitor and the other, had thus far eluded for over twenty years or so, all the expanded efforts of the emperor, the local governments, secret agents and countless assassins and more.”

A contemptible, sinister smile briefly brushed his lips. “This den of loyalists will duly be extinguished when first the other more important matter is settled.” He snorted.

“He was close, he could sense it.”

In truth he had been looking forward to the impending mortal combat with the infamous Lord. 

That at least had a certain promise of thrill, a feat that had been so hard to attain lately as no other quite measured up to his competence (martial aptitude). He, nevertheless, quickly stifled his perverse ardor.

 “At present he had left things at the Abbot Boqast Tizanzenn’s residence and private compound just as they were, (seemingly) untouched. Nothing will warn them of the violation.”

Duan’s thoughts reverting to Brandt, for a brief spell he inwardly wondered “how much longer he would have to nursemaid this utter fool, who almost foiled his plans. Still, it was a minor inconvenience, nothing serious to be reckoned with; in fact, it served his purpose well.”

Duan inwardly scowled, as he ruminated (cogitated) on how he had disposed of the dismembered bodies in the most ingenious places; these parts would not be discovered till long after their departure of this abominable den of traitors.

 A fleeting baleful leer registered (materialized) on his hard face, as he envisioned the certain future bedlam and the ruffling of those preen feathers of the Abbot Boqast Tizanzenn’s.

“But that too would fall well within his plans. When a certain message of warning is dispatched by means of falcon or such, he would be at the ready then to intercept and to take full account of the direction. It would lead him directly to his prey, far quicker still. “

Already bored by the unvaried nature of things and their predictable outcome, Duan was about to drift into blissful sleep, when "Brother, should we not be taking our leave now?” Brandt’s cantankerous query violated the quiet of the room.

Receiving no response, Brandt   swallowed his rage and frustration, went over, and snuffed out the lamp, then still fully dressed noisily threw his body onto the bed. Though he too closed his eyes, sleep averted him and even after several hours of turning, tossing, and trying to make sense to himself his aggravation refused to diminish.

 In pitch darkness where imagined silhouettes danced (bopped) in the air, Brandt   again asked a question, "Brother, where did you dump the bodies?"  But gallingly, the eerie silence persisted.

Matching his inner mood, the room’s stifling air grew to be unbearably more confining, yet despite his discomfort, Brandt   refused to divest himself of his clothes and lay on the bed as is for the rest of the night, nursing a grievance, fuming and trying to anticipate Duan's next move.

 He did not know how, but he must have fallen asleep for, just before dawn he was violently shaken awake by Duan, who then rudely informed him that they were about to take their leave.

Brandt   sprang to his feet at once and hastily began gathering his baggage. Duan had already headed out the door. "Wait up, brother,” Brandt   had scant time to shout, before he too following suit, darted out the door after Duan.

Along the way curious thoughts plagued Brandt’s mind and, soon after, suspicious ones supplanted it (took root). “Why did Duan even bother to wake me up? Why had he not taken his leave, abandoning me to answer for the consequences of his vile deed, unless he has further use for me? But once the task is completed and I have become expandable, what then? Ha, that is what he thinks!”

Brandt   scoffed angrily, grinding his teeth. “We will see who'll snuff out whom in the end!”

Brandt   had hastened so much to catch up with Duan that pearls of perspiration now gathered on his brow despite the frigid morning air.  The stable hands were disgruntled at being aroused so early from their sleep, since the first rays of light had not yet reached the earth, but they dared not voice their discontent to Duan and wiping the sleep from their eyes, complied with Duan’s wishes, grumbling under their breath as they did.

Brief time later, Brandt   and Duan were seen bidding the monks a curt farewell, then holding the bridles of their horses, inaudibly (noiselessly) exiting the guest compounds and the main area. 

They passed through the just opened gates, under watchful eyes of sentry that curiously enough did not venture to question or hinder their clearly impetuous departure. Because the winding path leading from the gate was too steep to negotiate on horseback, they descended the slopes on foot, silent and self-absorbed, engulfed by that tense, eerie (somber) atmosphere, gradually diminishing in size till they were nothing more than specks in that hostile region.

Once the Temple was completely out of sight Brandt, unable to contain his curiosity (prying), yet again inquired after the fate of the two unfortunate monks.  Even then he had to ask Duan thrice before the latter finally consented to give his response.

Brandt’s blood curdled as he listened to the gory details which Duan now callously embellished. Brandt   could not conceal his involuntary shudder, ascertained now more than ever that he was riding alongside (beside) a monster, a creature devoid of (least moral conscience or conduct,) any mercy or remorse who had dared do such vile things to men of the cloth.

The resulting end was the drawn-out boisterous laughter from Duan which pierced Brandt’s ears and further grated his nerves. Brandt   sullenly looked away and bit hard on his upper lip to constrain his bursting fury so as not to compound latter’s perverse satisfaction.

                                                                                    ~

 

Meanwhile back at the Monastery, Abbot Boqast Tizanzenn had been given the full report pertaining to Brandt Dustin and Duan’s last night’s activities and their hasty, early departure.

MONK KEIR

Monk Keir was irked at having to give his report of failure. Especially since he could not rightly say how he had lost the surveillance on Duan. One moment he was there, the next instant he had disappeared from plain sight. Keir had been assigned to this task because of his proficiency (special expertise), yet he’d failed and failed miserably.  Reading scant clues, he had searched high and low, but Duan’s trace could not be had anywhere; then suddenly after an appreciable amount of time just as mysteriously, Duan had appeared back in his quarters. There was no accounting for his activities, save for that bloody sword that did not bode well at all.

Shingue had done better with his assignment and reported Brandt’s exchange with the monks Fayet and Muro in detail.

After their dismissal, Abbot Boqast Tizanzenn with his hands clasped behind his back, paced the length of the room to and from in complete silence, before sitting himself down with an apparent grave heart.

His trusted assistant Prior Skceno waited with due patience for Boqast Tizanzenn to speak. His own reports were just as grim, and he hated adding to his Eminence’s troubles.

“True, Muro’s cover had been blown right from the start, but his life was spared, and so did not fall prey to some accident of sorts, as it served them well to use Muro as counterintelligence without his knowing. They had allowed Muro to make certain observations and send on his reports, on regular basis (intervals) to Capital; only midway these were interrupted and scrutinized, revised then altered to appear significant yet altogether harmless intelligence to their cause.”

“They had perfected the forging of his handwriting so well that Muro himself would not be the wiser if he were ever to be confronted by (or asked to give account for) these. He was also secretly permitted to pursue his passion for inebriation as it kept him out of trouble. Lately, however, he had been more persistent with his espionage, undercover work, call it a hunch, and decidedly more determined to expose suspected proscribed activities within the monastery.  Yet after this length of time, he could not be dismissed or openly discarded without raising undue suspicion from the Department of Internal Security. Now this problem was resolved for them.” He winced when the newly (brief time ago) uncovered gruesome images intruded into his brain and he quickly pushed it aside.

“The vile assassin Duan had to have been dispatched from the Capital also, but he would be dealt with, long before he gained the chance to boast of his wicked (debauched) accomplishments.” Again, it took serious mental constraint to dissipate those disturbing images and focus his attention instead, on the matter at hand.

“The concealment must be precise and absolute.”  Skceno nodded resolutely, pursing his lips.  “Then in a few months’ time, long after the funeral and scattering of ashes, when in an annual report to the Census bureau, the deaths of Fayet and Muro are disclosed to the authorities, in preparation for the sure to be subtle inquiry, the carefully fabricated versions of their sudden demise would have to be already inserted into their personnel records, something believable and mundane, such as a fatal accident (result of a rock/mud slide) or an illness.”

PRIOR SKCENO

Skceno would not rule out the possibility of an insect bite or tainted medicinal concoction. He thoughtfully looked away. “The latter would be a more apt cause, as Muro always dabbled in these arts.”

“Subsequently, an ideal replacement would be sent from the Capital; an excellent candidate amidst the pious few that aspired to join this monastery. He must be on the lookout for that also. For the time being, he absently nodded. I shall omit rather, postpone the horrid, grisly aspects of their slaughter (murder) and instead broach the subject in a more equable light to his Holiness (Grace).”

Skceno’s intent was temporarily stymied however, by Boqast Tizanzenn’s sudden, concerned exclamation. “I cannot rightly put it,” he begun, “for there is no specific proof, no clear indication, least sign (mark) of tampering of the vault, yet I am of the opinion, my personal records have been somewhat violated, examined (or skimmed) by an unsanctioned, unscrupulous being!”

“But how can that be, Your Eminence, even I, your most trusted advisor and assistant, don’t know of the whereabouts or combination of such?”  With certain tact, he had abstained from outwardly mentioning the word vault.

“Yet there had been an intrusion, I’m certain of it!” Abbot Boqast Tizanzenn looked grave, almost angry.

“And it’s not hard to guess who?” He fell silent, pondering on his next course of action.

“Judging by the intelligence they had gathered; he could anticipate the target of the assassins’ dogged pursuit. As failsafe, he could covertly send men after them, but even before this, he must send word, to warn Stark of this imminent peril. Hmmmmm?”

 

                                                                 ~

 

(END OF SECTION 2)