All aboard the mischief train

Nadia and Sharif attempt to board a boat and meet trouble. King Alexandre goes on the search for the two

King Alexander arrived to Nadia’s home around the time that Nadia and Sharif had retrieved their horse. One of his two guards opened the door to the carriage and stepped to the side while the King walked down the stairs with power. He had to stop himself from stepping further. He hadn’t remembered that he had completely burned down the entire house. He walked onto the scorched part of the grass that once held her home. He even saw the burnt trees that were left from the sides of the house where the fire spread. However he saw that a few trees down from them the fresh green leaves so he knew the fire was contained. For a moment he closed his eyes and imagined her there with him in her room. For a moment he saw the two of them happy and smiling and he even pictured a child she held. It was a picture of perfect happiness, but he couldn’t decide if it was happiness or his fathers vision of what he should be. The King remembered during dinner what Nadia mentioned about the lake and told his guards to find it. They took off on there horses an came back moments later having found the lake. The carriage road North West and came upon the small lake. The summer sun didn’t do the lake much justice and when the King reached down to touch the water it was warm. He couldn’t resist himself he had to be where she once was and he submerged his entire body into the lake fully clothed. King Alexander swam the river for what seemed like half the day in fact only a number of hours.

            King Alexander removed his garments after coming up from the water and forced the guard he had pushed out of the carriage to wear his wet clothes and he put on the chainmail and got in the carriage. He told the driver of his carriage to take him to Drerry’s home. The driver sent a whip to both of the horses and they took off galloping away from Nadia’s home to the town of Nodmez. It didn’t take long for the horses to reach Drerry’s home the guards were aware of the location and the combination of whips at there backs made them hurry even more. The king usually would mind the multiple bumps he felt on his hind in the carriage and would punish his driver for doing so, but then today was the exception. He couldn’t shake the power it seemed she had over him it was almost as if he was drawn to her and blinded by her. He tried to shake her from the thoughts by peering through the curtain that hid the blinding sun from the carriage. He reached over to pull the curtain on the left side of him since it was closest to his seat and used his index finger and thumb to take a peak. He watched as they passed by the many villagers and shacks. The villagers in this town all seemed to be dirt poor by the look of there holy, dirty clothing. The look of their yards and the homes all seemed like shacks even if they could build a decent home they couldn’t afford to maintain it. The shacks resembled log cabins or wood panels that seemed to be rotting. The king didn’t look at the people with sympathy in fact he thought it was what they deserved. The king believed that everyone was beneath him, but he still put on a show for the villagers. Every now and again he would give them bread or flour to make there own and they would love him for it. So even now as he peered through his window the poor villagers were seen throwing flowers at it and yelling that they loved their king. The king just closed the curtain and leaned back all he could think of is wanting silence and for them to move out the way so he could be on his way.

            King Alexander rode in his carriage impatiently for another two hours before finally reaching Drerry’s home. Drerry the writer is what they called him. More like Drerry the treasonous snake, the king thought.

            “We’ve arrived, sir”, one of the guards said from the outside of the carriage. Finally, the king thought he couldn’t stand more talking from all these people outside the carriage. A guard opened the door and stood to the side while the king exited the carriage and then closed the door behind him. When King Alexander emerged there were crowds of people standing around to see the king. The king did his usual and just waved to the crowds as he prepared to enter the grounds with unit six following closely behind.

            Drerry’s home was unlike the other shacks of homes in this village that the king saw on the way in. First of all it was the first home that was bigger than the size of two bedrooms close together and it was two stories high. Someone knew how to build a home made of flat wood and built this place for Drerry, maybe even Drerry himself. The king seemed astonished that someone could do this and he wasn’t aware of it. All he had to do was barely bump the front door and it came swinging open. He walked through to find the place in complete disarray. Shelves were lying across the floor with packets of papers strewn about the ground all over. He was careful not to step on any papers, not that he cared about the works, he just didn’t want to step on anything in here. He looked toward the walls taking in the whole essence of the room. The walls were a nice color brown and wood seemed to be in good shape holding steady and not rotting. He began to walk toward Drerry’s office to see if he could find any information about Nadia and Sharif. The guards followed close behind taking in the scene to make sure there were no traps around.

When they entered Drerry’s office he realized the desk and chair were both flipped over and papers scattered about so he knew he would not find information down here. As he was leaving through the door on of his guard tripped. Thump. The king turned his attention to his guard and rolled his eyes and began walking out.

“Sir”, the guard yelled to get the kings attention. The king turned around and the guard pointed to the chair leg that he lost his balance on.

“Give me that”, the king said taking the chair leg from the guard he picked it up from the ground. After inspecting the chair leg for a moment the king spoke up “a hidden compartment”, was all he said and then he walked out to the back of the main store to investigate Drerry’s home on the top floor. Before he walked up the steps to get to the top floor he turned to his guards. “Search every piece of paper on the ground. That chair leg had something hidden in it, which means they were here. I want to know if they have my scroll.” The guards had already began searching before the king was finished talking, they knew he meant business. The king clenched his his hand tight over the wood rail as he began his descent to the upper floor.

The stair case was pretty steady, but the king still didn’t trust it much and held on tightly as he walked up. The walls were pretty much the same up as they were downstairs. The stairway took him right into the one room home. As he walked from the stairs he noticed there only one window directly above the bed that seemed to be in the opposite direction of the sun. He walked toward the bed and sat down because he was curious on the comfort ability of it. He felt like he sunk in for a moment and then found the hard surface which made him rise pretty quickly. The upstairs held nothing of importance for the king. There was a small fireplace that had a round metal hook hanging from it and seeing a pot to the left of that with a round hole on the top the king knew it was for cooking. There was a large bucket that held water on the right corner. The king decided to lift the bed to see if there was anything under there, but it wasn’t. He was furious over not getting any answers and over the possibility that Nadia and Sharif were in possession of his scroll got the best of him. The king flipped the small bed onto it’s side and proceeded to kick the pots that were on the ground. He then went over and knocked the bucket of water onto the ground and it got his shoes wet. That really upset him and he began walking down the stairs. His guards were still reading when he told him to burn it all.

            The men begin to march outside following the king as he goes to talk to the people. The villagers had heard the ruckus going on inside and started asking the king what the matter was when he emerged from the residence into there view.

            “Hey, what’s going on?” A villager would say while another would yell.

            “Can I help?”

            “Is everything alright?” The villagers would keep saying over and over. The king motioned for one of his guards to get control of the crowd while the other men went to grab oil from a market down the road that only carried oil. The guard held up his hands and the villagers got quiet and formed a small crown in front of the men. The king took it as his queue.

            “Listen, I know you are all worried about the business we have conducted here. We got word that a poison was here and we came to find it before it could harm any of you.” The king paused for a moment and he could here the sounds of gasps of fear and the pulling of loved ones closer together. “We were unable to find the poison so we fear it could still be around here somewhere. We are going to burn the home, but don’t worry the fire will not spread.” The villagers took the king at his word and seeing that he was finished hurried off to there homes in fear. The king watch with glee as the villagers scattered about trying to find more loved ones and rushing to there homes while closing up small shops. The men came back with the oil and sticks. The king watched as they each wrapped a small cloth around the end of a stick and dipped it in oil and then lit a flame and tossed it onto the house. One by one they fell through and the home and the smoke began to rise. The king walked back to his carriage while a guard rushed to grab the door. “Half of you stay and put it out once it burns to the ground, the other half with me. Then find out where Sharif is at and tell me. I’ll be at the castle.” The king said and shut the door the men did not argue only those who were confused at the sight of what was happening followed the king in his carriage. The men who were eager stayed to watch the home burn to the ground with joy in their hearts.

            The king sat down in his carriage thinking about what he had just done. Okay he thought to himself I feel better for the moment. The horses started galloping west to take back to the castle. The king didn’t like the bumping of his carriage and instructed his driver to slow down. The man did as he was told and the rest of the ride was uneventful, but comfortable for the both of them and even the horses who didn’t get whipped as many times in their backs.