Cael had barely opened the door before her words assailed him, “The King has sent a request for attendance this afternoon.”
She handed him the note, which he quickly scanned before placing it on the foyer table. She held herself dignified as always, waiting for some reaction.
“Then we shall attend, ” he offered with no attempt to control his face.
Though she had no training in the way of glass, she could read her husband like a trained agent; at home, he rarely bothered to use his training to hide his emotions.
“I’m sure he’ll pass on his reasons for renewing our battle with the Horsemen.”
“His reasons!?” she said with an angry twirl as she left the room.
Even in anger, she moves with such grace. Truly a gem
He let her walk out of the entryway while he calmly took off his jacket and hat and put them in the closet.
He followed her into the living room, his eyes patient as always.
“He is the King, what would you have me do?”
She looked at him and smiled the smile she knew he loved. The smile of teeth, eyes and ears that had started their love all those years ago.
“Yes, your right dear. Kings must conquer, soldiers must die, how foolish of me to mention it. If we didn’t resume battle with the Horsemen ever 5 years how else would we kill our young?”
He gave her a practiced smile and held his body in the way of sympathy.
“Don’t use that on me…, ” she warned.
He walked toward her, switching from the way of strength, to the way of the snake before finally putting his arms around her. He leaned in close and turned his training off.
“The Firm has taken their stance, he is the King and we cannot stop him. He has already purged the fire priests, the message is clear, no dissent is permitted.”
“He’s a butcher! He’s leading us to ruin,” she pleaded with her eyes.
“I’m working my best to find cracks in his armor, to find sympathetic parties but the people want this war. We’ve lost so many times to the horsemen, they feel tha with these new weapons we can finally push back the Horsemen and build a base on the flatlands.”
She puffed up and gave him a truly sad sag of the shoulders, “Men are fools, the mountain is our home, it’s all we need. Sending good money after bad battling these horsemen is a fool’s errand.”
“We must wait Diedre, the tides will turn and the firm will re-assess its position in time,” he stepped back with a dismissive nod and started toward the stairs, ending the argument, “we must get prepared for the summons.”
They entered the Great Hall, carved into the mountain like all the homes and buildings of the Mountain were, the Hall was as massive as any room save for perhaps the bottom floor of the Tower.
Tapestries of the King’s Crest, a Fiery Feather, hung from walls and pillars. Red, blue and gold adorned the Hall and its illustrious inhabitants, all the self-styled ‘important people of the Mountain were in attendance. Rays of light shone in from the open-air windows and sections of glass sunroof lighting up the floating motes of dust.
Cael and Deidre walked passed the merchants hanging in the back of the room and made their way to the middle of the Hall, the section designated for government officials. Ahead of them, the elite milled outlandish fineries, while the King’s guard stood in a semi-circle around the raised dais and throne.
Cael nodded to other members of The Glass; like them, he showed no physical signs of the anxiety they all shared. The King was a warmonger, and much blood was still to be shed.
A hush went over the crowd as the King entered the room. He looked like a caricature with his oversized hammer and large red cloak.
A child playing the role of King
If not for the Kai stone in the Hammer, King Dred would not even dream of being able to lift such a huge Warhammer.
The Kai stone’s magic gave small men over-sized ambitions.
The crowd waited as the King sat on the throne, his eyes like a predator maliciously scanning over the crowd. He nodded to his attendants who blew the horns and began with pronouncements.
“Kind Dred, of House Gold, protector of the Mountain and scourage of the plains welcomes Lord Callus of the Desert Kingdom Yelmen.”
Cael held his muscles in check but couldn’t help but turn his head to watch the crowd.
Twitches of the neck, stiffening of shoulders, grabbing of loved ones… they know something is wrong.
The dignitary from the desert, dressed in light white robes with pink sashes, belts, and necklaces walked through the crowd; Cael saw no fear in his body.
“King Dred,” he began, “I would like to thank you for the…”
Before he could finish the King stood up and stopped the Desert man in his tracks with a raised hand, “hold your tongue desert snake.”
The desert man didn’t flinch, Cael wondered if he was a fool or extremely brave; based on his knowledge of the desert he guessed the latter.
“Do you recall the decade of the silver war, snake?”
The Desert man held his body with confidence and held the King’s gaze, “I do.”
“Inform my people what happened in that war,” the King demanded with a wave to the crowd.
“If I recall, the Horsemen pushed your people back into the Mountain.”
“And where were the Desert men during these battles?”
The desert man started to show signs of cracking. His shoulders sagged just a tick, something only members of the Firm could spot.
Cael watched the King, his body was a mess of anger and rabid anticipation. He knew the King had received training from the Firm but he used none of it, his body language exposed to all.
“They stayed in the Desert,” he replied.
“Indeed snake, the Desert men were supposed to have flanked the horsemen but instead you left our soldiers to be routed,” the King rose from his chair and pointed to the desert man, “Your King, Trish, signed an alliance but when our scouts requested your soldiers push forward, you remained in the Desert.”
The desert man started to speak but was cut short as two of King’s guards stepped out of the crowd and grabbed him. The Beast Oudn grabbed one arm while the smiling Edein grabbed the other.
This is all wrong
There was a collective gasp as the men and women of the mountain glimpsed their future.
Oudn pushed the dignitary forward, smashing his face into the palace floor. There was a cracking sound as the dignitary’s face broke against the tile. He struggled but was held fast by the muscled ogre that was Beast Oudn. Both he and Edein looked gleefully up toward their King.
The King slowly stepped down from his dais and lifted his hammer onto his shoulder.
“The Desert snakes have been aiding the Horsemen for hundreds of years, their back channel alliances designed to keep us locked within the Mountain,” the King took another step down, “the time of the Horsemen, ” one more step, “and the Desert snakes”, one more step, ” is over!”
And with that, the King lifted his hammer and smashed all hopes for another short skirmish with the Horsemen
