The Inquisitor

The Queen had just finished the last lacings on the front of her bodice when a flourish of trumpets sounded through windowlets set high up in the chamber walls. Both the Inquisitor and the Queen looked up at the bright sound, and then back at each other.

"The Outlanders..." hissed the Queen, her eyes dark and brooding as they sky had been, just moments before.

"Yes, my Queen." said He, replacing his new contraption in a large chest. "The Tournamnent is set to begin at the twelfth hour. There is a little time left, if you'd like another session..." He let the question hang there.

The Queen thought a moment and then dismissed it with a wave.

"Nay... There is too much to do, too many moments have been wasted already." said She. "I must go and welcome our... guests."

She turned to go, and then stopped. "I haven't had time to ask you... will you fight in the Tournament?"

"No, my Queen. I haven't the..." he hesitated. "Your tastings of me have diminished my strength. It would not do to have me bested before the entire court. How could I strike terror into the hearts of your subjects after that?"

The Queen's smile grew, as she drank in thoughts of his humiliation. "You are right, tormentor. I cannot have my honor soiled by your own weakness." Her words bit like steel.

"Very well, then." She said, turning once more to go. "Then I shall expect to see you at the Revel. Perhaps you might rebuild your strength there... I look forward to seeing your golden mask among the writhing bodies."

"Tell your young ward I desire her presence on my balcony for the games. I would hate for her to miss her appointment with the Champions."

"Aye, my Queen. She has not forgotten." He said quickly. "I have sent her on an errand for me... a little instruction before she satisfies the winners. But she will be there at the appointed hour."

The Queen's eyebrows raised and she smiled. "Ah... very good then. I can't even imagine what you've got her doing... though I hope it's wet and sticky."

Her smile full of malice and lust, she turned and left him alone in the Chamber of Delights.

- - -

Far below them, the princess tore through the pages before her. She found herself drawn into the King's writings, though she feared she would find nothing of use in time. She delved into the penned narrative once again.

- - -

Dragons, as everyone knows, are creatures of heat and fire. Their scaly skin and armour is thick and strong, and mortal weapons are puny against them. Only a weapon of tremendous power can fell one, and none such device remains in the world. Even if such a weapon could be found, a way to get past the dragon's steely armour must be discovered, a path to their soft underbelly, so protected by gem and scales. But for all their strength and hatred and power, they cannot abide the cold and snow of winter. As the first leaves color and fall, they seek out deep places within the earth. They sleep as sound as death in the rock and stone. They sleep sound, until the spring sun warms the entrance to their lair, and they smell the freshgrass and life renewed. When the sun is warm, they crawl up from their depths, and claw their way skyward in search of meat and flame.

This was the plan Syr Va'ahl proposed for dealing with our dragon. This was the weakness we must exploit if we hoped to succeed.

"We have precious little time." said the old man. "The first heavy snows of winter have already fallen. Soon spring will come across those mountains and all hope will be lost. We must complete our work before the sun warms again, or it will be too late."

"Dragons loathe the snow, and surely ours will have found a way underground. If my guess is right, it lies somewhere deep in the earth below the very walls of your castle. As you've already said, there is no passage below the deepest dungeon level, correct?

Correct indeed. When I left to wage war on the Saracens, there was none deeper than the dungeons and catacombs deep below the keep. There were legends that somewhere deeper than that was a great underground lake, but the deepest well did not even come near it. Syr Va'ahl seemed very pleased by this news.

My warriors and kinsmen had gathered with us as council of war, and we listened to his plan. The sisters joined us as well. In such days, women were never allowed in council, but my old master demanded their inclusion, and I did not need another rock to the head to realize he was correct. Their skill with the deep magick of the earth grew stronger day by day. I felt that the more sorcerers we had, the better off we would be.

So it came to pass, that we all gathered in the great tent, and sat round about the council fire, as Syr Va'ahl laid out his design.

He explained to us that since there were no passages down to the underground lake, a dragon lying below would rely on an existing tunnel or at the very least a system of caves, instead of attempting to claw his way through bare rock and stone. He told us if a dragon found even the smallest tunnel or passage, their strong legs and claws could tear a tunnel large enough for it within a few days. He was most pleased there was no other way for the dragon to get up.

"So," said the old man. "Our beast has found a way under the keep. It must have found a cave big enough for it to crawl inside and dig it's way down from there., as it could not have dug straight down... or at least we hope it did not."

The gathered crowd murmured their assent to this.

"So" he continued. "For now, we will assume it dug it's way in from outside the walls of the castle, and it uses that tunnel as the way in... and out.

"We must find that opening!" he proclaimed. "And we must do it very soon."

We all questioned him as to what we might hope to accomplish by this. He explained that if we could close the dragon's cave opening before the winter passed, the dragon might slumber on. If it felt not the warmth of the sun, he told us, it would sleep forever.

Great cheering, and great skepticism. Many warriors thought we should attack the dragon in its sleep, and I myself thought this a good plan. But Syr Va'ahl would not hear of it.

"No, strong one." said He. "Though the dragon sleeps now, it is still very dangerous. Their sense of smell if very, very keen. If you and your band of warriors tried to slink down it's tunnel, it would smell you coming, and fire and destruction is all you would find deep in the ground."

"No, my friends, you cannot sneak up on a dragon by stealth, even one that is sleeping."

More grumbles and murmurs, to which he held up his hand.

"Do not despair, my brothers. Though a dragon can smell you from very far way... their hearing is as feeble as an old man's. A sleeping dragon will dismiss a great deal of noise. Deep in the earth, the rocks and stone howl and shriek and crack from their own weight, and dragons ignore this completely, especially whilst they slumber for winter.

"So, my brothers... our only chance is to block up it's cave, whilst the snow still lies heavy. If we can block it up, I know of spells and deep bindings we can seal it with... our newest priestesses can help me with that" said he, acknowledging the sisters. "If we succeed, the dragon will most likely slumber beneath the castle for centuries."

Though we did not disbelieve the old man, the gathered company still had a good bit of doubt as we set off in search of the cave. We journeyed for days upon days, seeking shelter from the snows at night where we could. The spirits of my men was exceeding poor, and they quarreled amongst each other. The sisters, Syr Va'ahl and I traveled by horseback, but our mounts sank shank-deep in drifts of snow, and often times we struggled along on foot with the rest of our ragged company.

At last, the snows broke on the same day we discovered the monster's tunnel. The sun wrested free from the cold clouds and warmed our backs. Thankful as we were for the respite, the thought of the approaching spring hurried our steps.

An arm of the mountains far away in the East ran down in low, rolling hills of snow, and at their foot sprang a rocky outcrop of stone. There, beneath it's jagged crags lay the wide mouth of a cave. Syr Va'ahl warily approached the entrance, and from my horse I saw his long white hair blow inward, and back out again, pulled by the breath of a sleeping dragon, somewhere far below.

We set to work, and what a labour it was. The backs of my men groaned against the weight of the massive stones. They sealed the opening, stone by stone, and then the entire company moved two tremendous boulders across the opening by sheer will alone.

Once it was sealed, Syr Va'ahl and the sisters set to work upon the stones. I stood amazed as they wrought magick upon the seal, weaving words and power and metal into ribbons of biding, running through the very stone itself.

As spring crept over the mountains and the freshgrass sprouted all 'round, they sealed the tunnel with spells and incantation, with rune and magick. For nearly a fortnight they embued the great seal, until Syr Va'ahl proclaimed it finished.

We returned to our camp and waited. We waited to see if the beast below would claw its way through the seal. We waited and hoped. We waited, and all fours seasons drifted past. As another winter gave up its ghost, we began to breathe easier, the dragon did not emerge.

In the new spring, we left our mountain camp, and I at last returned to my castle. I must confess it was a sad sight, all in ruin.

But we set to work, my men, peoples of the land. Another year we toiled, until at last my keep had no equal, in this realm or any other. It was doubly strong, and crowned with two great towers at each end. Into one tower, we set a huge clock of metal and wheel, and all along Syr Va'ahl and the sisters wrought their magick bindings into the stones and walls and battlements and towers. The castle was once again glorious, and breathed in its own power.

- - -

Alas, if only I could pen that these happy days were the end of this tale. If only the sun set upon this tragedy with the banners of my keep flying in the breeze.

But alas, t'was only the beginning. T'was only the stillness before the breaking of the rain. And in the end, it was my own foolish greed that was my undoing.

It was in the time after we had sealed the great beast in its lair and were rebuilding the keep that I grew very close to the sisters. They had grown most powerful in the ancient ways of magick, and I hungered to know their craft. So at length, we studied together, I picking up scraps of magick here and there, they harnessing the wind and the rain, the fowls of the air.

I had loved them both from the beginning, since I first brought them out of captivity. But in our time together, I grew to love them even more. And so it came to pass that their beauty proved too much for me, and I at long last took them as lovers. I took them both into my bed, and we loved each other all.

Ah, what joyous times, as my castle returned to life. The sisters proved very skilled in the ways of lust, and pleasured me in countless ways.

And so, I loved them both, and they in turn loved me with all their hearts. But I was a much younger man, and a fool! In the fullness of time, my heart grew fonder of the younger sister. Though I still loved the elder fiercely, the heart of the younger more closely matched my own. Therefore, in the spring, under the Full Moon, I took the younger Chrysanthemum as my bride, and the elder Belladonna as my consort.

Alas, had I only known the sorrow my choice would cause, I would have left them both in the charge of the priestesses, and forsaken love altogether. But the heart keeps its own counsel.

- - -

The name, penned in the looping scrawl of the King, struck the princess like a slap in the face. Chrysanthemum... her own dear love; how could this be? She looked again at the volume, the pages yellowed with age. The book itself seemed far older than the princess and her maid put together. And the words described events passed long ago. But there it lay, the word... the name of her lost maid Chrysanthemum.

As she sat amongst the books of the dragon hold, she remembered the words of her maid, how she had once been a noblewoman, but was cast down. In truth, she was once the Queen!

The Queen! The princess knew she had remained in the library within the dragon-hold for far too long, and that at the noon hour, she was to join the evil queen for the Games. But as she sat within the still and silent chamber, she knew she had not found what she sought. But as she read on, the words of the King's narrative began to fit together, and a plan formed in her mind.

- - -

And so it was, that the younger sister and I were joined, and the elder hated her for it. Though I knew it not then, I am only too aware now. In those days, all seemed well. I loved them both, and they in return loved me.

Many times they both came into my bed, and beguiled me with pleasures from daybreak until moonrise. I knew of no enmity between them, nor do I think even now that my dearest Chrysanthemum knew the depth of her sister's loathing. In our bed, they loved together, touch and caress, kisses and fondlings. What a fool I was, to think jealousy would not breed amongst us.

T'was in the summer, that I learned both my bride and my consort were with child. I was overjoyed and the entire realm rejoiced with us. Citizens and courtiers from all around came to pay respects and honour.

And so it was, that in the way these events go, I was delivered two sons. I held them aloft from the balcony, and the entire realm hailed the young princes. I was most proud, and thence decided to name the offspring of my consort Belladonna as mine heir. I thought it only just, as I choose her sister over her to be my bride. Chrysanthemum was most pleased by my choice, and held no ill will over it.

- - -

My sight fails, and I see that my hand grows very shaky. The curse has nearly taken me, but I must finish the tale, while I still have the strength. Perchance these words may still find fertile soil after I am consumed.

- - -

And so peace reigned throughout my realm. The fields replenished and life returned once again to my land. I lived in love, my wife and my consort together, and we joyed in our sons. One I named Tarquinne, son of Chrysanthemum, and the other named I Thornbow, son of Belladona. To Thornbow, I would one day bestow my crown and title, to his brother would I give the eastern lands and seas as his domain.

But news reached my kingdom of invaders to the south and east. Once again, the infidel Saracen marched 'neath his crescent banner into the outlands of my realm. War was upon us, and we were ill prepared.

Campaigns are fought with the blade of those loyal, but are won by the treasure-hold. This simple fact was the downfall of my rule. My treasure-stores were all but depleted by the dragon of old, and there was only so much tax I could wrest from my subjects before they revolted and took my head.

And so it was, that I confided in my consort Belladonna one night in our bed. I told her of the nvading hordes, and we discussed stratagems long into the night. For all of Chrysanthemum's sweetness and beauty, her sister far exceeded her in cunning and design. It was then that she proposed a plan... a plan to regain my lost riches.

My greed, my foolish greed. If only I had the chance again, I would let the invading hordes rampage across my lands to their heart's content. But I was willful and foolish and angry, and would suffer no armed force to have free reign upon my own realm.

My consort, the beautiful and cunning Belladonna, told me of an ancient magick. She told me of a way she might commune with the beast which slumbered below us, and somehow trick my gold away from it. So blinded by greed, I gave her leave to try.

Such a fool was I... had I known the evil I unleashed... but alas, as my sight and strength fail me now, I see now that every step of her plan was floored by deception.