Counsel to the King

Aurei gets mad at King Haroldris for his hesitance in action.

30.

Counsel to the King

 

It was late into the night before the King’s companions sat together in exhaustion in the main cabin of the Autumn Maid.   Though they all were fully spent, their minds could not flee from the signs of destruction and pain they’d witnessed.

“I’m certain that Southgate is even worse.”   Haroldris said somberly, “Yet our help must be split between three cities, all equally as needy.”

Eleazar sat on a long couch with Aurei half asleep slumped against his shoulder, “Your Majesty?”

“Yes?”

“It occurs to me that tomorrow, most likely, the Imperial Legion will again pass through Southgate.   They have probably 38,000 men; why don’t we put those who plundered the city to work restoring it?”

The King considered the idea for a moment, “Well, that is a good plan, but there are a few problems.   First, they are probably rather frustrated at having to retreat without their weapons and plunder and I’m not sure if even their officers could keep discipline among the lot of them to do such a task.”  

“Second, they are soldiers and will certainly resent the work, as they leave the crafting of items and the building of their camps to craftsmen and slaves.”  

“Third, I’m sure the people of Southgate won’t want their enemies to rebuild the homes they destroyed.   How would a man who had a daughter raped by one of those legionnaires, be able to stand by and allow them to rebuild his town?”

 

“Fourth, even if these other difficulties were worked out, we’d still have the problem of enough food for the citizens of Southgate and 38,000 soldiers.”

Eleazar nodded bleakly, “I see your concerns, but it still seems so unfair that the good people of these cities have to go through so much hardship and those who caused the harm just get to go home with only shame to haunt them.”

 

Zeatt looked up suddenly, as if an idea had come to her mind, “You know, perhaps we could appeal to the Imperial Senate.   With the emperor dead, there will be a power vacuum for a while until they either appoint a new emperor or take charge of the armies as a Senate.”

“If we could bring the Imperial Senate to Southgate to see the destruction their armies did to a loyal client nation of the Southern Empire, perhaps they would send a civilian force with supplies to aid in its reconstruction.   It would be diplomatically sound, as it would help restore a gravely strained relationship between Northmarch and the Empire by an act of mercy and remorse for the vile deeds.”

 

The King stretched back in his chair, “Well, that also seems like a good idea, but convincing them to come might pose a problem.   There are about 50 Senators and I doubt they’ll agree to a sight-seeing tour that reveals the atrocities of their soldiers.”

“Perhaps if we expressed the blame laid solely upon Soric Potollis, they would not feel so incriminated and would be more willing to offer aid?”   Eleazar asked.

“But getting them all to come here will pose a problem.”

 

“I say we don’t ask them to come here, we bring them here.” Aurei spoke up from her perch against Eleazar’s shoulder.

 

“You mean abduct them?!”  Haroldris asked in alarm.

“Absolutely!   You know, I’m really getting tired of ‘playing nice’ all the time.   Look around, Your Majesty, at your Kingdom.   Did they follow the ‘rules of war’ when they invaded Northmarch?   You saw what they did in Aegoppa; were women and children spared?”

 

“Certainly it was the will of Soric Potollis that drove them, but I seriously doubt that neither he, nor his Vampire counselor could have stopped 40,000 men from refusing to do something.”

“As far as Seveus’ claim that the Guild would have killed his family if he and the other officers failed to comply, all I can say is that if they’d fought against him and hunted down the Necromancer’s Guild years ago, this whole terrible war wouldn’t have happened!”

“All I know is that I have seen a number of people that I deeply cared for killed due to people too scared to do the right thing.   Brother Darv, Brolen, Vinth, Neal, and, Yesh have mercy, even Saint Kinis, Lady Kinzer and Archmage Drake!”

“For the love of God, King Haroldris, are we not justified to use an iron hand against the great empire that for years has collected taxes and tithes and then turned around and allowed the pathetic worm of an Emperor to lead an army against their loyal client Kingdom and kill children, rape women and tear down walls!?”

 

Aurei, fully fired up, jumped to her feet, her red eyes glowing angrily as she fumed, “Don’t you see?   You have them bluffed, Your Majesty!  You forced 40,000 soldiers to surrender and leave with a well-played bluff!   Aeropolis is probably just now receiving news about their army’s rout and the slaying of the Emperor and his minions.”

“Right now they are terrified and you could probably claim the Imperial throne without much opposition if you desired it.   But most certainly they will listen to your demands.   You are the big dog in the yard right now; bare your teeth, Sire!”   If you have the means to ease the suffering of the people in Southgate and don’t act on their behalf, you are no better than Fendoris!”

Aurei spun on her heels and stormed out of the cabin onto the deck, leaving a room of stunned people glancing at the dumbstruck King.  

No-one said anything for a moment and Haroldris stood, then walked toward the deck.   Eleazar started to get up, but Queen Eioldth gently touched his arm and with a soft look in her eyes shook her head.   He trusted that she knew her husband best.

 

***

 

The spring winds were warm and blowing across the deck with enthusiasm as Aurei leaned against the airship’s railing and looked down at the town below.  

She had never been to Aegoppa before today, but she found it not much different than Westmark and certainly the face of suffering is universal.  

She heard the King join her on the deck and he didn’t say anything but just leaned on the rail next to her, staring out into the dark for a long time without speaking.

 

“I guess I’m supposed to say I’m sorry for my rudeness.”  Aurei finally said with a deep sigh, “But I’m not going to do that, Your Majesty, because you were stupid enough to give me a bogus title that perhaps I’m taking too seriously, but I don’t feel like playing court etiquette games with you.”

“We’ve all been through hell these past few months and by the grace of Yesh we have survived amazingly well.   But we don’t have the resources to help the people of three cities to rebuild and I can’t help but feel that it is an injustice to not force the mighty Southern Empire to pay for the destruction that their demagogue caused.”

 

The King chuckled, “You know, Aurei, when I told my barons that I had named you as Duchess of Westmark, they quite frankly had a fit."

"‘A Drow barmaid!’ they exclaimed over and over, ‘What council can she give, and how in the world would she know how to lead?’   To be honest, I wasn’t at all certain myself, but I had a feeling that I hadn’t been stupid giving you the title.”

“Today, I see most clearly that my decision was indeed correct.   You’ve never been afraid to speak your mind, Aurei, and believe me, that is rare among the nobles that I’ve encountered.   Moreover, you have a genuine concern for the common people and for justice and that is just what a King needs.   So I must tell you that you are right; but now I must ask you, how in the world will we get the Imperial senate here?”

 

Aurei now turned to look at the King, “Well, Sophia certainly knows Aeropolis since she was raised there, so she should have no problem teleporting us there.   I say we pay a little visit to at least a handful of the senators and bring them here to see firsthand what their legions have done.”

“Perhaps we could grab Seveus first and bring him with us to show the Senators that we have the upper hand.    I suspect they will be so unnerved by our ability to abduct them and bring them here that they will readily agree to rebuild the city.  The Autumn Maid can head toward Southgate and will probably arrive by the time all the Senators are abducted.”

 

Haroldris sighed, “Well, it will certainly be a bold move.”

“You are the King of Northmarch; be bold for the orphans and widows of your Kingdom, Your Majesty.”

 

Her words moved him and he smiled while shaking his head, “My father warned me about getting involved with Elven women.”

Aurei shrugged and followed the King back into the cabin of the Autumn Maid to make plans.

 

Reviews

[Elina]

This is a great chapter. I enjoyed "seeing" Aurei get fired up, and her conversation with King Haroldris.

[Eddie Davis]

Thanks, Elina, she is not afraid to speak her mind.

[Elina]

Haha! No, indeed; she is not.