Hunter's Bounty (Veller) (36 page)

“I will be dead soon.” Saybela replied. “I finally paid for my sins.”

“Your sins? What sins sir? What is this all about? Who is Ravenshadow.”

“Ravenshadow, is that what he’s calling himself?”

“You know of him then?”
She asked a she crouched down beside the old man.

“Yes… I knew him… He was my student after all.”

***

“Windfoil.” Folkstaff announced as they rode up the road to a rather impressive old castle high
up on the hill, its tall battlements casting them in shadows from the setting sun.

“I’ve never heard that name before.” Daniel remarked as he stared up at the walls feeling incredibly small.

“Seldom used but by the old.” Folkstaff replied. “In the days of lore it was believed that the walls upon this hill were so tall that it would divide the northern winds, forcing them to blow both east and west, thus earning it the title of the wind’s foil. Its original purpose was to protect the southern provinces from the men of the north and to serve as a seat for the High Kings. Now it is no more than a summer home to them, as they have moved the court to the city of Azintar.”

“Never talk history around Folkstaff unless you want a very long, drawn out, detailed lesson.”
Erin said as she pushed passed them and made her way to the gates. Grey said nothing as he followed up the rear.

The front gates were open as they passed under the arch
and were met by castle guards dressed in the King’s colors.

“What business do you have here?” One of the guards asked. He was a tall, broad man with graying hair and leathery face. He was also the only guard without a helmet which meant he was probably the one in charge.
Erin dismounted.

“
The name is Erin Silvia of the Hunter’s guild, I have been tracking someone for several days now and I believe she may be on her way here.”

“Here and gone.” The captain
said, and he didn’t look too pleased about it. He turned to a young blond haired man on his left and whispered something behind his hand. The guard nodded and started off toward the inner gate. The captain then turned his attention back to the Hunters.

“The one you seek was here two nights past.
She spoke with the High King and then left.”

“She spoke with the King.” Daniel exclaimed, sliding off his horse.

“What did they talk about? What did they say?” Erin asked.

“That is not for me to know.” The
captain replied and waited as the young blonde haired guard returned, they exchanged a glance, nothing was said but the second man returned to his post.

“His majesty has been expecting you
.” The captain said as he turned. “Please, follow me.”

“Interesting.” Folkstaff commented as he looked at
Erin. “Odd that we should be expected since we were not expecting to come here.”

“Odd or not, I’m starting to get
used to it.” Erin remarked and she handed off her reins to one of the guards before following the captain through the inner gate.

They didn’t go up to the main keep, but took a side path through the grounds and arrived
at a small garden surrounded by flowers and trees. A stone bench sat in the center and upon it sat a man who seemed to be preoccupied. He was tall, slim with a neatly trimmed beard wearing an old tunic and staring down at something he was holding in his hands. He looked up only when the guard made his announcement.

“Your majesty, they are here.”

“See that Denir is brought here then leave us.” The King commanded.

The guard appeared reluctant to actually leave and looked at each of the Hunters carefully as if committing their faces to memory should they do anything that warrants their arrest.
He then turned in true military style and marched off.

“Please, be seated.” The King said, waving at the stone benches that sounded him.

“Your majesty…” Erin began, but was stopped as he held up his hand.

“Roland. I’m not in the mood for formalities today.” He said as he set what looked like
a dog’s collar on the bench beside him.

“Roland.”
Erin corrected herself, and it just didn’t feel right to be calling the High King of Aru by his first name.

“Let me help you out. I know why you are here. I figured you’d show up soon enough.”

“You know why we’re here your majesty?” Folkstaff asked.

“You are after on
e Kile Veller, are you not?”

“
Then she was here?” Grey shouted, probably too loud, as a few of the guards on the wall made gestures that they would shoot him if he did it again. “Are you alright your majesty, did she harm you? I cannot believe she would attempt an assassination of the High King.”

Roland looked up at Grey.
The look on the King’s face was clear to read, he thought the man a simpleton.

“If you think that, then we are not speaking of the same person.”

“She is a fugitive your majesty and is wanted by the guild, by the tower and by the crown.”

“She is no longer wanted by the crown.” Roland said, holding his hand
up again, this time to cut off Grey’s protests. “I have since revoked that as of yesterday.”

“But your majesty, you can’t be serious.” Grey exclaimed.

“I am.” Roland replied. “The girl that I met last night would not harm me, nor do I think she would harm anyone.”

“Perhaps she didn’t have the opportunity.”

“Oh, she had the opportunity, instead she sat with me and my dog through the night, at least until the guards came, only then did she leave.”

“
Your dog?” Daniel asked, looking around.

“
Tyler. He passed away yesterday morning.” Roland said as he placed his hand upon the collar that sat on the bench beside him. “I was grateful that she was here that night. She helped me understand a few things.”

“That sounds like the Kile Veller I know.” Daniel added
and shot a look at Grey who just rolled his eyes.

“You can’t be serious.”
He said again.

Roland looked up at the Hunter
. He had taken an instant dislike to this man.

“If you would excuse my honesty, it is my belief that the Hunter’s guild has acted rashly on the persecution of one of their own. Only through their evidence did I believe that their case was valid. I see now that this is more a game of political opportunity
than a need to see justice served, and I will not be a pawn on someone else’s board.”

“You presume much sir.” Grey
remarked rather harshly, and then thought better of challenging the High King in his court and remained silent.

“Please, your majesty, if you could tell us what happened. How did she get in to see you and how did she out? What did she come for? What happened that night?”

“How she entered Windfoil and how she left it, we still do not know, though I wish we did. It is rather unsettling to have someone come and go with such ease, as to what happened that night… what those dogs did, it amazed even me.” He said with a hint of a smile, but then shook his head. “But now is not the time. You came here seeking answers, and I have found someone with those answers.”

Two guards arrived escorting a tall, slender, older man. He looked bent and broken with his head cast down
and wouldn’t even look at Roland.

“This is Samuel Denir, up until yesterday he was my advisor.” Roland said as he stared at the man. “
After Kile left, I questioned him and he has told me a story that I think you will find very interesting.”

“But your majesty.” The old man whispered.

“Tell them Samuel, from the start.”

“Very well.” He said as he sat down on one of the benches. “What you have to understand is we did what we thought was right.”

“On with is Denir.”

“As you wish
your majesty. It begins in the summer of 1252, when High King Jusen Waltair II was badly wounded in a hunting accident. His horse was startled by a wild boar and he was thrown. It was believed that he would not survive his injuries and as custom dictates, his eldest son, Prince Jonland Waltair III took the throne in his absence. He was only eighteen at the time, still young and not ready. We tried to aide him the best we could, but power does… strange things to people. He did not heed our advice, nor did he hear our concerns…” Denir looked over at Roland as if he feared the truth of the tale would hurt the young King, but Roland was staring at the dog’s collar that he was now turning over in his hands. It was obvious that he did not like the story any better the second time around.

“What you have to understand.” Denir continued. “Prince Jonland was not very well… accepted.”

“What my advisor is trying to say so diplomatically was that my brother was hated. Jonland had a dark side. He could be cruel and manipulative, even to me. I was only eight years old when my brother became king, if but for a short period of time. I did not understand what he did back then, probably because it did not affect me personal, but I could tell he was not very well liked.”

“The people feared Prince Jonland
.” Denir continued. “They feared what he could become should he take the throne and during the King’s absence, that fear came to fruition. He denied King Jusen the aide he needed, it is my belief that once Prince Jonland tasted power, he desired nothing else, and he was loathe to relinquish it.

“A small group of us petitioned the Tower for aid behind Prince Jonland’s back, and it was granted in the hands of
a healer. The mystic was able to save the King’s life, bringing him back from the very edge of death. Upon King Jusen’s return, Prince Jonland was forced to step down, but the King was never completely healed. We had seen how close he had come to dying and knew that it was only a matter of time before he was beyond the aide of even the mystics, so we formed what we called the Dark Conspiracy and we set our plan in motion. Please believe me when I say that this was the only way would could see to save the Kingdom. Should Prince Jonland become King, the Kingdom would have torn itself apart from the inside out, and it would have been a war the likes of which none of us had ever seen.”

“So you had him assassinated?”
Erin asked.

“
No.” Denir said shaking his head.

“But everyone knows that Prince Jonland was assassinated on the eve of
the winter’s feast back in 1254.” Folkstaff added.

“Nobody died that night.” Denir
said. “We could not bring ourselves to cross that line, and so we had Prince Jonland arrested for his own murder.”

“So what you’re saying is that the assassin that was arrested for Prince
Jonland’s murder, was Prince Jonland, and that no crime was actually committed?” Folkstaff replied.

“That is correct. We could not bring ourselves to actually commit the heinous crime of regicide, and so we simply had him arrested, tried and taken to Blackmoore prison… for the rest of his life.
With Prince Jonland out of the way, that left the line to the throne clear for Prince Roland. I will not apologize for what I’ve done, for I did it in the best interest of the Kingdom.”

“Who was involved in this conspiracy?”
Erin asked.

“There were seven of us all together. Besides myself there was Rothe
rshire, Prince Jonland’s bodyguard who was the one that actually arrested Prince Jonland on that night. Elmer Saybela identified the body because no one would question the Prince’s own tutor who had taught the prince for the last sixteen years. The magistrate that presided over the hearing was David Draw, Brian Tally was the clerk that made out the proper certificates and Arthur Linny was the warden that admitted Prince Jonland into Blackmoore. Once the Prince was in Blackmoore, nobody questioned the proceedings. I’m not sure if it was because they believed the story that we spun, or that they didn’t care.”

“You said
there were seven, you only mentioned six.” Folkstaff said.

“There was the young hunter that we hired to escort the Prince to Blackmoore, we couldn’t do it ourselves
. It would have raised too much suspicion. He knew who the prince was and questioned us about it, once we explained what had happened and what we had decided to do, it was easy to convince him to look the other way. He was even rewarded by the King for his part, although the King never knew what we had done. His name was Garret Boraro.

***~~~***

20

“Boraro, as in Master Boraro of the Hunter’s Academy.” Kile exclaimed.

“I should think… it the same man.” Saybela replied although his breathing was getting shallow.

“Then Ravenshadow isn’t the assassin that killed Prince Jonland since Prince Jonland was never assassinated. Ravenshadow is Prince Jonland. That’s what he meant by justice. He is punishing everyone that had a hand in his imprisonment for a crime that was never committed.That meant that the poison that Scarlet used on me was supposed to be for Master Boraro, Scarlet is going after Master Boraro.” She said as she got to her feet and started to pace the bedroom floor.