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 10

 LEGEND OF NEVETSECNUAC - ON THE WAY TO THE CAPITAL - SECTION 10

Nevetsecnuac rising to his feet, under the sparse light of the moon extended his search this way and that to determine the angle, width and depth of the pit; he subsequently, tested the stability (soundness) of the encircling walls as his palms and fingers carefully pushed or prodded for that anticipated (planned) future climb. In the end the outcome of his findings (investigation) had proven bit disheartening.  It would be nearly impossible, a most daunting task, to scale the precarious walls without any outside help.  The structure was a marvel of engineering, designed such that it deterred any means of escape.  Even if these unfortunate victims had, with incredible agility, been able to stack up vertically, without the right versatility the acrobatics would have been sill rendered fruitless, if not, hastened them to their death.

The question now remained whether Nevetsecnuac could succeed alone (single-handed) where, jointly all these trapped wretches, had failed.

01- NEVETSECNUAC ANALYSING THE PIT

“It would be a challenging feat;” Nevetsecnuac pensively looked up at the sporadically visible moon at the night’s sky, as the coy moon intermittently peeked out from the clouds: “but certainly not impossible.” He with a sly grin, tapped (rapped) his chin, having already conceived (concocted) a plausible plan.

 Subsequently, getting right to work, he first cleared the ground of any dangerous debris and, utilizing the available means setting the stage for his astute engineering feats that would generate constructive outcome, he next proceeded with the unnerving and relentless climb.  Even then he slid back few times, losing some ground (of the ascent) when the walls of the structure had abruptly collapsed or unexpectedly caved in.  Nevertheless, undeterred by these setbacks, he’d eventually succeeded in reaching the midway point, though the worst traps were yet to come.  Precariously clinging to the protruding rocks, with his free hand he dug up the exposed tips of hardy roots that had overtime, fortunately, had extended (grown) thus far; taking hold of these for anchorage, he nimbly (dexterously) overstepped the sharp cutting edges imbedded in the next layer then, agilely hauled his body upwards towards the seemingly unreachable mouth of the pit.

When he finally emerged outside, thankful that the moon had just then taken refuge behind some dark clouds, he squatted and regulated his breathing.

His thoughts, however, unwarranted, steered to the trapped victims within the terrible pit.

Who were they, to be so brutally imprisoned in an open grave, that they also warranted such elaborate traps? Why hadn't they been simply killed, then disposed of in shallower pits, holes, or crevices, likewise others, with much less trouble?

 What circumstance necessitated their slow, spiteful deaths? And what of those remnants; the shattered beams, the broken pieces of earthenware that at one time must have held provisions, the corroded pewter jug.

“Now, there's the real culprit!  “Nevetsecnuac sullenly (morosely) shook his head.

The exposed evidence, all too clearly, had shown that it had once contained a certain, tainted wine. There were some unmistakable traces of its permanent, unmistakable odor left on the inner rim.

Nevetsecnuac knew all too well, that this was the worst kind of deadly insect's poison, one that paralyzes the intended victims and, causes a prolonged, weeks, sometimes months of, lingering, excruciatingly painful death.

“Since the effects are not immediate and do not manifest themselves until sometime later, it must mean that some vital information, or something of equal importance, had to be extracted from the prisoners.  They were fed false hope before the final treachery came to light.”  As he absentmindedly reflected, his hand checked for the key.  Relieved to see that he had not lost it in the climb, he grimaced wryly, “Perhaps, one day, it will prove instrumental in unraveling this mystery for me but, for the time being, I best deal with this more pressing matter.”

Wishing to examine at first hand the point of the road that was being so closely guarded, a point he would be forced to traverse before long, Nevetsecnuac stealthily advanced towards the sentries.

“Hmm, it’s an ideal spot for an ambush.”  Nevetsecnuac, after scrutiny, thoughtfully nodded. For not only did the monitored road lie perfectly sandwiched between two hills, (it cut through uncompromising cliffs,) but also, strategically balanced rocks on their crests could, in an instant, be dislodged to trap any prey, leaving no option for retreat or advance.  In the worst-case scenario, the intended target could be annihilated altogether by the properly timed avalanche.

“He…” Nevetsecnuac inwardly queried, recalling Deizvor ' reference to the one they awaited.

“All this is deemed necessary to trap but one man. Fradel Rurik Korvald, Me? …Surely not. Perhaps it’s some well-guarded, despised official.”  Though he knew better.

Suddenly, another equally poignant question intruded into his mind. “But who’s behind all this… Whose command are they following?” 

His curiosity piqued, Nevetsecnuac sought to learn more and so hazarded to eavesdrop on the sentries.

02- GUARDS- SENTRIES

 Unfortunately, their idle chatter led to nothing specific or useful.  Since it would be imprudent to confront them now, Nevetsecnuac turned his attention instead in the direction of the just then manifest thin coil of smoke. His eyes trailing it, before it was promptly extinguished, at once caught a furtive (stealthy) movement at the mouth of a yawning cave, well tucked in the crevice of the next rising hill. “Splendid, “Nevetsecnuac retreated, edging away from the sentries to further reconnaissance.

Following a beeline, he crept swiftly but stealthily towards the dark cave, his eyes straining to catch the subtlest movement, his keen ears registering the minutest of sounds.  As the incessant, howling winds drove the laden clouds away to the east, the Earth was illuminated periodically again by the teasing, silver rays of the full moon. Taking special care with cover at such times, Nevetsecnuac eventually halted in-close-proximity to the cave's mouth; he squatted and then pressed his ear to the ground.  From the reverberations he speculated that more than a dozen horses and well-armed men were stationed within.  The cave was undoubtedly large enough to hold them all, along with a running underground stream.

“What would necessitate such force?” With a puzzled expression, he inwardly queried.  Intuitively feeling its importance to him, however, his pulse quickened with excitement and in anticipation of resolving (unravelling) this new, intriguing enigma.

By now the wind had spent its fury and, as the last leg of twirling debris settled lazily about, Nevetsecnuac gazed up at the dark canopy speckled with brilliant, twinkling stars hosting the moon. He eyed the heavily armed, formidable-looking sentry, well concealed, virulently guarding the entrance of the cave, and then deliberated on his next, viable course of action. Before Nevetsecnuac could act on it, however, two officious looking men suddenly emerged from the cave.  Crawling nearer still, Nevetsecnuac looked about sharply and perked up his ears to eavesdrop.

The bearded one, who was addressed as 'Commander', had just dispensed his brief instructions to the guards when, noting that the sky had cleared and the wind had tapered down to a pleasant breeze, turned to the officer at his side and proposed, "Would you like to accompany me on a bit of a walk for some fresh air, Lieutenant?"

"I'm at your disposal, sir." the other immediately responded.

Nevetsecnuac, who could not have asked for a better opportunity, turned his attention away from the sly grinning guards and trailed (tailed) the two officers as they strolled to a distant scenic spot. 

The Commander and his chief officer, confident they had reached beyond the guards' hearing range, finding a suitable spot, comfortably seated themselves on a huge, smooth boulder.  They were soon engrossed in a serious whispered conversation. 

03- COMMANDER ZHADOL AND HIS LIEUTENANT YENNIC

Quite undetected, Nevetsecnuac crept quietly to the nearest cover then, scaling an ancient tree, perched himself on a high branch that loomed within earshot.  He strained his ears to overhear the subject of their sudden heated exchange.

"Sir," the stout Lieutenant adamantly addressed the bearded Commander, "how reliable is this sorcerer Dwengzur, anyhow?  Has he never erred in his predictions?  I fear His Excellency may be making a fatal error in trusting him.  I mean, what we really know of him, other than that he's a native of that cursed country Korion."

“Again, Korion…” Nevetsecnuac's attention was piqued.

 Narrowing his eyes, he mused, “That's Zonar Kuntzu's Country; most curious indeed!”  However, feeling that it was too premature to speculate, he again lent an ear to the Lieutenant.

"I've met others from that State he claims to be from, but they are nothing at all like him.”

“He doesn't even speak with the same dialect. Moreover, until five months ago, he was virtually unknown to us.  Foreigner that he is, how could he so quickly, so effectively have penetrated essential layers of security and, despite his ungainly presence, have wormed his way into Her Ladyship's good graces?  It’s baffling, to say the least, how he's been elevated to such a position of trust that, ostensibly, he's even won the tolerance of His Royal Highness."

"As I understand it," the Commander spoke slowly and thoughtfully, "he gained his audience through Prime Minister Lamont Gudaren's Office."

"So, that's it!  He's another one of his recruits, then.  I should have suspected as much!"  The Lieutenant gritted his teeth.

Then, with puzzlement on his face, the Lieutenant looked up and asked, "How is it then, His Excellency (Eunuch) Egil Viggoaries, still trusts him and, puts so much credence in all those preposterous predictions of his?"

"You don't understand."  The Commander grimaced.

 "Things are never what they seem.  Though he has gained the patronage of the Prime Minister Lamont Gudaren and still more, his trust, in fact” Tensing up, he abruptly broke off, but his hesitation lasted but a moment.

 When he (turned) reverted his soft gaze back to his Lieutenant, he had already resolved his dilemma and was determined to confide this latest bit of privileged information to the other.

All the same, he could not resist teasing, "I may be breaching serious security protocol by telling you this but, after all we've been to each other, and I think I can trust you."

"You offend me greatly, sir, with your doubt!"  The cool retort spoke volumes.

Since the Lieutenant's voice had dropped, the rest of what he said was inaudible to Nevetsecnuac, but it did have an impact on the Commander, none the less.

Enough, in fact, to cause the older man to relent, "It wasn't meant to be” Turning, the Commander affectionately clapped his Lieutenant on the shoulder.

 "Come on now, Yennic.  Would I be here if I did not trust you implicitly?  Would I have even broached the subject if I didn't intend on telling you the rest?  How often have I confided in you in the past?  You already know most, if not all, what I've already been told in confidence.  You shouldn't take it like that; you have no cause to.  I just wanted to, maybe for the benefit of us all, stress the importance of confidentiality.  This knowledge was revealed only to the twelve of us in his coterie.  Should it come to light prematurely it will prove most disastrous, to say the least, and undermine all our efforts.  Don't think that our deaths will be swift afterwards, either.  I hope I've made myself perfectly clear, for it’s imperative that you don't breathe a word of it to anyone, not even to your immediate family, or even to the other members of your clique.  Can I have your word on this?"

Though Lieutenant Yennic was thoroughly piqued at the Commander for his gentle insistence, he knew that he could extract more by subtle means so, staying his malicious, cynical brash response and instead nodded with understanding and promised in a sincere tone, "Yes, Zhadol.  My lips, as always, are sealed.  Now, what is this great secret of yours?"

Though Nevetsecnuac seriously doubted Yennic's outward sincerity, Commander Zhadol, without a qualm, leaned forward at once to disclose the secret.

Before he had the chance to speak, however, Yennic interceded wryly, "Are you now going to tell me that Dwengzur, contrary to all appearances, is, in fact, a loyal vassal of His Excellency Egil Viggoaries and owes his foremost loyalty to him, and not the Prime Minister Lamont Gudaren.”

“Furthermore, that the sorcerer is inveigling himself into Lamont Gudaren’s good graces, as ordered, and shamming subservience in order to strengthen Egil Viggoaries’s hand?"

"That's it in a nutshell." the Commander concurred bluntly, masking his annoyance.

"I wonder just how much it cost His Excellency to buy out his so-called loyal services." Yennic sneered.

"You're wrong there." Zhadol grimaced.  "His kind can never be bought.  They have no use for money or any other worldly goods that would impinge on their unfettered lives.  No, something else binds him to Egil Viggoaries.  As I understand it, he owes his life to His Excellency and something else too, something even more important.  Unfortunately, even I am left in the dark about this."

 When the Lieutenant cast a doubtful glance at him, Commander Zhadol reasserted, "I swear, I don't know but, since he interests you so, let me tell you more about this sorcerer."  Winking at Yennic, he continued, "Now Dwengzur is notably different from other sorcerers because, as I have been briefed, he belongs to an ancient, nomadic, tribal race that dwells in the remotest, most mountainous regions of Korion, shunning all contact with civilization.  It has been said that historical persecution has caused them to adopt this way of life.  Therefore, it’s my contention that he is a renegade, but why should we speculate … Anyhow, this race is both feared and revered by the Korionese.  Why?"  He paused for dramatic effect and to augment Yennic's curiosity. 

04- DWENGZU'S RACE IN KORION

"It’s because each one is endowed with special, supernatural powers.  They are born clairvoyant and raised collectively.  They are roundly educated in astrology, geomancy and, from an early age, are taught the ancient, secret spells and incantations by the designated elders of the tribe.  These ruling elderly Chiefs (that make up the core council) are reported to have extended their lives to least, seven hundred years.  The tribe's average life span, you see, is believed to exceed four hundred years.  This prized information is passed from generation to generation by word of mouth since nothing is recorded in writing on the off chance that it will fall into outsider's hands and be misused, with disastrous consequences.

"By the age of eight they possess many extraordinary abilities and can perform mind boggling tricks and are accredited with the innate ability to affect weather patterns.  They have never been known to suffer from any human ailments.  Individuality is frowned on by the tribe and they are not allowed to keep any personal artifacts.

“They are taught to consider themselves part of the collective unit and, when they refer to themselves, it is always in the plural; 'we would like to', 'that pleases us' and so forth.  Oh, and this should interest you, they never marry.  It is not an accepted institution with them, as the women and men are also considered as property of the group.  They fornicate once every thirty years in an elaborate public ceremony, never twice to the same mate and never within their kinship group solely for the reason of perpetuating themselves."

"You make him sound like an Immortal." Yennic scoffed contemptuously.  "And just who perpetuated this hearsay, Dwengzur?"

"At first I shared your skepticism," Zhadol smiled condescendingly then shook his head, "but no longer, not after what I'd witnessed during our secret gathering.  After a remarkable demonstration of his powers, we became converts, one and all.

"For instance, when Dwengzur asked to be decapitated, Egil Viggoaries obliged with pleasure.  Then afterwards, the headless body rose from the ground, walked right over to where the severed head had fallen, picked it up and aligned it perfectly back on the neck.  The wound fused right in front of our astonished eyes, and, within seconds, he became whole again; a living, breathing man.  No ordinary man, obviously."

The hair on the nape of Nevetsecnuac's neck rose when he heard this, and he felt an unmistakable knot in his stomach.  “Was it pure coincidence?”  He closed his eyes for a moment to dispel all illogical thoughts.

"It’s a common hypnotic trick, nothing more."

"It was no illusion, I tell you."  The Commander irately insisted, standing his ground, but his voice lacked total conviction.  Looking past Yennic, he shook his head to quickly purge the seeds of doubt that had been planted in his mind. “Sorcerer’s subsequent trick was equally amazing. This time he, after having received the slight nod (permission) from Egil Viggoaries, simply wielded his sword in lightning speed and claimed the head of the recruit Torrez, who just happened to be innocently standing by at close proximity to Dwengzur.

05- SORCERER DWENGZUR

Holding it up high for everyone to see, he then faced the head and charged him with duplicity and a minor fraction, probably a fabricated one; but it was nevertheless enough to seal his fate. The head though reluctantly, responded as if living, breathing thing and confessed to everything. Afterwards, he simply blew a fiery breath at the face, and the decapitated head was instantly reduced to ash.”

"A talking head…? Surely you were all mesmerized." Nevetsecnuac heard Yennic, just then, sneering with arrogant cynicism.

 "Yet, according to you, he bends submissively to His Excellency's will.  Why should he if he possesses such powers?  I ask you, what greater intimidation is there than death?  Why not admit that you were all duped by his masterful trickery?" Yennic unrelentingly goaded the Commander.  Yennic hoped that, if he got him all fired up, Zhadol would get careless.

"Yes, he does bend to Egil Viggoaries's will, for I've seen it.  I'd attest to the truth of that."  Commander Zhadol responded, irritated, his face flushed red and his eyes wide with anger.  He was unwittingly playing right into Lieutenant's hand.  His voice increased slightly in intensity as he added, "And furthermore, he responds without a qualm."

“Like you.” Nevetsecnuac, perched on the tree branch, musing grimaced.

"I confess that aspect has baffled me also.  What's more Dwengzur's obedience stems clearly out of fear.  I wonder what hold Egil Viggoaries has on him. “

 

(END OF SECTION 10)