[Critique Group 1] Cleora's submission for 7/31/19

[sitting.duck at springmail.com]

1814 words
Part Thirteen
Castle of Sir Fly, The Halfling ruler of Farius Kingdom of Silent Enigma

Sir Fly paced in a circle around the table in his command center. The events of the recent meeting in the king's conference room replayed over and over in his mind. He now regretted supporting Almero for monarch. He felt they needed to accept the peace offer from Hades Legions and end this war, but Almero kept insisting they could get a surrender. When Almero had arrived in the kingdom a few months ago, it was clear from the way his province was run that he knew how to rule. When Almero started boasting of his leadership experience, and his many allies, Fly, weary of being monarch, asked him if he would take the job. Almero acted reluctant saying he didn't know if he wanted the additional responsibility. Fly and the other rulers encouraged him, and at last he accepted. Fly now suspected the reluctance had been a ruse, and that Almero had wanted to take over the monarchy from the start. It turned out the allies were other provinces Almero could call on to gang up on another kingdom in order to force a surrender. Fly disapproved of that tactic. But how many of the other rulers agreed with it? The others were clearly cowed when Almero made his not so veiled threat. He really didn't want the monarchy back, but things were getting out of control. Almero's actions were troubling. They might get away with bullying another kingdom into surrender this time, but he knew there were strong, honorable alliances in Legendary Worlds that would eventually step in to bring down groups that acted dishonorably. He didn't want that to happen to Silent Enigma. 

But, what about the other rulers? Did they agree with the king's method? 
As he walked past his chair for the tenth time, he glanced down. His eyes fell on the Crystal Ball news report for Hades Legions he had been studying before the meeting. He sat down and began reading it again. 

May 2nd, YR2 Gotar of Silent Enigma attempted an attack on The Crystal Pond. 

“The Crystal Pond,” he said thoughtfully. According to intelligence, a duck had wondered onto the province shortly after its former ruler, Sir Hound of War, disappeared following a serious defeat in battle. Hades Legions had elected this hapless avian monarch. Surely, this was because no one wanted to be king knowing they would receive the same crippling assaults the past two monarchs had suffered. Silent Enigma had rejoiced at this news, confident that this was the first step toward the kingdom's surrender. Rumor had it that the duck had no experience as a ruler or a fighter. She would undoubtedly rush to surrender as soon as she saw they sent a dragon to torch her new home. She hadn't. Somehow, she had dispatched the dragon with all haste, and invited the other rulers to come celebrate with her. He and others in Silent Enigma had sent thieves to steal the leftover dragon meat and most of her resources. Then, curiously, she had flown away. 

His gaze fell on the goose quill pen on his notepad. He saw his list: 

1. Review the news from Hades Legions. 

He returned his attention to the scroll. 

May 2nd, YR2 Gotar of Silent Enigma attempted an attack on The Crystal Pond. 
May 2nd, YR2 Halla Suyop of Silent Enigma invaded 3. 
 May 3rd, YR2 Sworn to Neutralize has sent an aid shipment to The Crystal Pond. 
 May 3rd, YR2 Sworn to LuvRei has sent an aid shipment to The Crystal Pond. 
 May 3rd, YR2 Hamburger Hill has sent an aid shipment to The Crystal Pond 
 May 3rd, YR2 Sworn to Neutralize has sent an aid shipment to The Crystal Pond. 

The next day, five provinces had sent aid to The Crystal Pond. Didn’t they know the duck was gone? Or, were they trying to cover it up? Were the reports wrong? A bird's caw broke into his thoughts. He rose and went to look out the window. He saw his steward talking with a man in the courtyard. The man handed something long and slender to the steward, and then walked away toward the barracks. Fly remembered the report and returned to his desk. He read, May 3rd, YR2, one of Hades Legion's had made an attack outside the war. Then another of the provinces sent it aid. Followed by another province sending aid to The Crystal Pond on May 4th. Then, the outside province that was attacked retaliated the one that made the outside attack. Fly read further trying to get a handle on things. It appeared the rulers in Hades Legions were supporting their new monarch, but the different rulers, for the most part, were acting on their own as if they were not part of a kingdom. That supported Almero's conviction that it was only a matter of time before Hades Legions surrendered. But, they had been there before. Each time they just elected a new monarch, and did not surrender. If the duck didn't want to fight, why run away? Why not just surrender? Is the duck afraid of the other rulers? he wondered as he picked up the news for the previous month. Before May, Hades Legions had been more active and there had been more outside attacks. Whoever Almero's allies were, they seemed to be making fewer attacks. It looked like the king’s plan might be falling apart. But could he be sure? What about Taran of Spielburg? Taran was a strong ruler. Fly felt he would be a good monarch, but he had shown no interest when Fly expressed a desire to step down. There was also the fact that Sir Taran's province was half again the size of his and two to four times the size of any of the others in Silent Enigma. If offended, he could be a dangerous enemy. But, he hadn't flinched when Almero made his not so veiled threats. “Taran isn't afraid of Almero,” Fly reasoned aloud, but that didn't mean he didn't support his tactic. Fly got up and began to pace again. As he passed the window, he noticed a patrol of thieves returning from a mission. He wondered if they brought anything useful back.

Knock, knock.
Knock, knock.
The door opened, and his steward poked his head in. “My liege?”

Fly jumped slightly and turned around. “Oh, steward, I'm glad you're here. I see the patrol has returned. Do you have their report?”

The steward stepped in. “Yes, Sire. They sent a runner ahead. I have the report here.” He walked over and handed the scroll to Fly.

Fly unrolled the parchment and scanned it thoughtfully. Their attempt to raid The Crystal Pond had failed miserably. Several thieves had been captured in the attempt. Being the lowest class of people. Fly knew they likely ratted on who sent them.

“Have you had a chance to look at the scrolls I brought you yesterday?” asked the steward.

Fly thought for a moment. He looked over at the table and saw the scrolls he had been studying earlier. “Oh, yes, I did. There don't seem to be as many outside attacks this month as in the previous month. The Crystal Pond is strong. There were no successful attacks”

“Is there anything you need me to do?” asked the steward.

Fly tried to focus his mind. What had he been considering? He glanced around the table. There was his notepad, but there weren't any notes on it. He hadn't written down what he was thinking. He cursed his stupidity. Then, turning to the steward, “No, not right now. I haven't decided what course to take.”

“Would you like the wizards to see what they can do, Sire?”

“No, not at this time,” said Fly. “You may go. I'll let you know when I've decided.”

The steward bowed slightly, turned and left, quietly closing the door behind him.

Fly sat down in the chair and buried his face in his hands. It was so frustrating. Finally, he picked up the scrolls and reviewed them again. Now he remembered. He was wondering if Taran was on the side of the king. He reached for the notepad and scribbled a note. He looked at it for a long time, and then at the closed door. He glanced around the room for a place to hide it and finally decided to tuck it under his breast plate.

Now what? How could he find out if Taran was thinking along the same lines? He reached for the IM button on the CBM. Then, pulled his hand back. He picked up the scrolls again. Taran hadn’t been active in any way he knew of during this war. But, he had said at the start he was going to explore for a while. He knew from his own province that the thieves and wizards in Hades Legions were very active. Taran had mentioned in the meeting that he was having trouble getting ready for war because they were stealing his resources. But what did that mean? Was he working toward getting ready for war, or was he using that as a convenient excuse not to start attacking? Well, he reasoned with himself, he wasn’t going to find out this way. He reached out and stroked the base of the Crystal Ball. “Message to Taran of Spielburg,” he said.

“What would you like to say to Taran of Spielburg?” asked the Crystal Ball.

“Taran, are you there?”

The crystal ball repeated the message. “Are you ready to send?”

“Send what? Oh, yes.”

“Message sent.”

Fly waited a few minutes, but there was no reply. “Darn,” he said. Then he spotted a feather on the floor. “I wonder where this came from?” he said as he reached down and picked it up. On impulse he stroked the CBM “Send a message to The Crystal Pond in Hades Legions.”

“What do you want to say to The Crystal Pond in Hades Legions ?”

“Are you there?”

The crystal ball repeated the message. “Are you ready to send?”

“Yes.”

“Message sent.”

While he waited, his mind began thinking about what he could do about the situation. He stared at his Crystal Ball. She's either not there, or afraid to answer, he thought. He snorted. “Well,” he said. “Send a message.”

“Who do you want to send a message to?”

“The Crystal Pond in Hades Legions,” he said testily.

“What do you want to say to The Crystal Pond in Hades Legions?”

“You have seen what happened to the previous monarchs. I'm instructing my wizards to cast hail, storms, and drought on your province. Surrender now before you are destroyed like your predecessors.”

The CBM repeated the message. “Are you ready to send?”

“Yes.”

“Message sent.”
to be continued...