The Kazar capital was undergoing a very hard time, in their house Torden, Fraymon and their father Kailer were held, they felt like hostage, and they surely were, alongside everyone across the centre of the capital
By the first light of day, nobles and merchants were allowed to roam the streets, not leaving their walls, but they did not do so, most if not all of them stood by the castle of the king, awaiting in front of its closed doors, knights and guards refused their requests to meet the king
"Let us in, we wish to speak to his highness" said a merchant to the knight in front on him
"Wont the king speak to us, we have a right to know why are we being held here"
In his office the king sat, one hand on his forehead, eyes staring at the table checking the leftovers of that ball of smoke that was used
"Is the culprit really inside these walls here? Did we wrong him by taking him prisoner?" King Gerdon said to himself
"Even if it is not the Great reader of the Varish, those slaves were sent by his king, they wish to start a start civil war in here, he deserves what happened to him," said prince Rafam
"Yes, but who is stupid enough to fall for it, and why would the Vikings follow their lead when they are bitter enemies?" said King Gerdon
"Wither it was one of the Varish, or one of us, blaming him is the safest option we have, to prevent an internal conflict" replied prince Rafam
Sighing the king laid his back on the chair and stared the ceiling "I guess without any of those Vikings we can't find the full truth yet," said King Gerdon
"Worry not, we won't leave any house unsearched, any carriage unopened, they will be brought to justice, sooner or later" said prince Rafam "For now, you need to calm down the people"
Outside the castle wooden doors, noble houses, merchants, self-assigned knights and many others protested in a big crowd, the doors opened as they went silent
The king stepped forward with a reassuring look on his face, standing right beside him is his heir, Rafam
"My people, I am deeply apologetic for what has happened in the last couple of days. All I ask of is to be patient and await us to resolve it," said King Gerdon
"What happened to the Varish's Reader!" someone yelled from the crowd
"Wont you tell us the fate of that murder, they were his slaves after all, why are we the ones paying for his crimes," said another
The crowd broke into chaos once more
"Calm down, he is undergoing investigation," said King Gerdon
"Investigation?! He should be executed in public" said one hiding with a rob not showing his face "declaring war on the Varish is the only correct response. You pathetic coward"
"Who Said that!" a knight shouted angrily "Who dares to speak to his highness like that"
"Me" said the man in the rob, for a moment the King saw him, he was one of the Vikings, but he had blue paint all over his face, he had a look of a murder drawn all over his face
It was merely a moment, but it was clear what was happening, the man threw a spear the moment he spoke the words, he stared at him with anger, hate, disgust
The sharp head went through the crowd heading to the chest, the prince was shocked, but he couldn't react at all, the speed of it was abnormal
SHREEENK!! One of the Sigel knights that held a shield sign stopped it in the air right before the kings' eyes
The man did not stop there, he pulled out a sharp human made hammer, and started cutting through the crowds
"Stop him!!" shouted the prince "Catch him now, do not allow him escape nor death, he must come alive no matter how many limbs he loses, no matter how many of you die"
The guards and knights carved a path through the scared crowds that ran around like rats, blood was all over the place, they followed him through the alleyways
Left and right, he ran all over the place bumping through some guards and pushing down boxes, he reached a dead end, facing a wall and backed by the knights and guards
"Resign and you shall be escorted unharmed, he stopped movement
"Now, hold up your arms straight and walk back"
He walked back without raising his arms
"I said raise your arms!!" yelled the knight
He stopped, he straightened them slowly, the guards felt as if they were being watched from behind, some heard some sound above the roof, and when his palms were finally visible, the same ball was held in one of them
"No—"
Bom!! From the king's point of view, he saw the same smoke as the other day, it reached for the sky, and covered the land. Both him and the prince had their eyes wide open
"Don't stand there go check it! now!!" said king Gerdon
Torden saw it as well standing all the way in the back of the crowd
The king surrounded by Sigel Knights he was shocked to see the scene, blood was all over the place, only a few of the king's soldiers had their armour and weaponry intact, most were brutally murder, having everything stolen
He bit down on his mouth in frustration, he took a moment and spoke
"Take everybody home, roaming the streets will be forbidden until further notice" he said walking out
The streets empty and silent, people stood nervous while held in their assigned homes, the goods of the merchants spoiled with time, no attention was put onto them
Torden sat with his father and brother at home
"So, they wish not to start a civil war, but one that involves the Varish, no wonder they chose not to escape way before" said Fraymon
"This is much worse then expected, they are threatening the crown if he does not comply to their requests, they were already hard enough to deal with when unarmed, now they got knight level equipment" said Torden
"But it is still a stupid idea" said Kailer, their father and the lord of house Waster "In the end internal conflicts won't pull another nation to war, no matter how bad they are"
"But they are threatening the crown, won't he fear for his own life and follow their requests?" asked Fraymon
"If he does, he will lose the support of the houses, you must know by now that we are no befriends with the crown, all that ties us is a mere political play, with any chance to most houses will change sides" said Torden
"What your brother said is true" said lord Kailer "And with how intense it is inside the capital at the moment, I don't know if we might be able to flee it"
"Worry not" said the knight from the other day, "As long as I stand, none of you shall be harmed" he was coming down the chimney
"Where were you at?" said Fraymon
"I just checked the scene, turns out they used the same trick, although I couldn't find where they went," he said removing dust and coal remains off his body "When the smoke cleared, none of them was their"
"This is just getting more complicated" said Fraymon as he sighed backing the wall
"For now, stay away from the king and his offspring, we can't be having any stronger connections until we decide," said Kailer
"Decide what?" said Torden
Lord Kailer took a deep breath in and out and spoke saying "Until we decide the side that benefits us the most"
The reader of the Varish was still under investigation, although the torture level went down by allot after the recent incident, seeing that he might not have a full hand in
THUD!
THUD!
Drip…drip…
"Who handed you those slaves!" yelled a guard at him
With purple cheeks and Bruise all over his face he forced some words out
"I… I don't know, I don't remember" he said
"Lier!"
THUD!
The sound was heard from the outside, Prince Rafam sat on a chair by the metal door, his father was nowhere to be seen
He was leaning forward, his mind wasn't focused on whatever happened behind him, he stared blankly at the remains of the ball, not moving his sight out, looking at the threads that used to keep it intact
In the dark office his father king Gerdon sat on the chair, he two was out of this world, his finger tapped the table one time after another
Tap!
Tap!
Tap!
The youngest daughter of the king was staring out the window nervously, she kept scraping the back of her hand over and over, drops of blood fell as her eyes continued to scan the empty streets
Knock… knock…
She rushed to her door with a big smile, her eyes tired, she saw a maid standing in front of her
She said looking to the sides of the hallways
"Is it Fraymon?! Did he come to meet me!" she seemed disparate
"I am sorry my lady but Fraymon is held back by his father and brother" said the maid "I just came here to hand you some food, I noticed you not coming down to eat" she gave her the plat and walked away
Honaya, that poor little girl stared the food down, going towards her bed she ate the plate clean and took the remains, she used the bones and whatever was left on the ground
She placed them in an intentional order, after finishing, it looked like half the face of Fraymon, but it did not look exactly the same
"When are you coming back so I can finish it" she said with cold eyes staring it down
In another room, her older sister Rembya, Torden's fiancé was handed some food as well
She looked exhausted, walking back inside she simply tasted a bit of it; she went to the trash cane by the side, full of plates that had their food barley touched, most were rotten, the passing time was visible upon them
Before putting the rest to the side and sitting by the mirror, brushing her hair over and over again, a strand was torn out as a little drop of blood followed after it
She washed her face with soap and water over and over; she used oils of all kinds on her hair she was paranoid about her looks
In the darkness a punch hit the Viking that threw the spear earlier
The armless commander was the one who punched him
"You disobeyed my orders" said the armless
"You're welcome, because of me you are holding that new shield of yours "replied the man, his nose dropping blood
"I would've tolerated it, but you spoke up, you gave them what they want, information" replied the commander
"Wish was worth it—" said the man but he was cut once more
"No, it was not! Your reckless act is making them bond together," he leaned down to him and said coldly" Do such things once more, and I shall skin you"
He stood up and nodded to the two big Vikings to hold him up as he fought back, "For now" he said "You will lose some teeth as a price"
The rest watched from the dark, equipped but not daring to step up, the lost palm of the commander was replaced with a hook, it reached into the mouth that was forced open, and took its price with it