The Fox

He had not yet laid his pen down on the desk to call it a day or a messenger barged through the door into his office.
“Sir, Stadtholder Julius has been killed, The Nail has been taken over by an angry mob lead by general Pierce!” The messenger visibly struggled to catch his breath as he stood bend over, resting his hands on his knees.
“How many casualties?” Asked Justus, surprised but composed.
“Unknown Sir, but there have been reports of guards slaughtering a ship full of travelers that arrived a day earlier, looking for an audience with the Stadtholder.” The messenger straightened himself and continued, “general Pierce seems to have the support of the citizens and the nobles. He named himself the new Fifteenth Stadtholder of The Nail.”
“Send out word to all the Stadtholders of The Arch, that a council has to be held as soon as possible.” Justus ordered.
“Does that mean we need to send a messenger to..” Justus interrupted the messenger. “He’d probably come either way. It would be better not to antagonize him for the time being.”
“Yes Sir!” The messenger saluted the Stadtholder and turned around to relay the order.
—
Justus sat down into the large wooden chair that stood in the corner of his bedroom after he had poured himself a glass of whiskey. He sighed before taking a sip and noticed the liquid burning in the back of his throat.
“What is wrong dear?” His wive took a seat in the chair opposite of his and looked at him with concern as she had noticed his melancholic demeanor.
“I never liked Pierce, but I never expected him to do something this bold and betray his master like this. I’m unsure of how to handle the situation as we cannot risk the stability of the realm, nor can we accept treason of this level to stay unpunished.” Justus took another sip of his drink.
“Well, you don’t have to handle it on your own. That is why you called the council. So you can listen to what the other Stadtholders think the right course of action would be.” she laid her hand on his.
“I know, but I’m not sure if inviting Pierce was the right decision. I mean, I can’t think of a better alternative, but he has already shown himself as a reckless leader. Inviting him could cause more problems than we can possibly resolve.” Justus sighed again and looked his wife in the eyes.
“Theresa, do you think I made the right decision?” She nodded her head and said to her husband. “I trust in you to always make a decision to the best of your ability as a leader of Cape Harbor and one of the Stadtholders of The Arch.” She kissed him and wished him good night as she went to bed.
—
“Justus! Good to see you again.” Famus stood at the sturdy round table in the middle of the room with his arms spread out ready to hug the Stadtholder of Cape Harbor.
“Hello Famus, how are things at Nortop?” Justus, slightly uncomfortable, ignored the gesture for a hug, but acknowledge the Stadtholder of Nortop with a firm tap on the shoulder.
Famus was a bit shorter than Justus and his posture showed that he was a keen admirer of all kinds of food and ale.
“Things go as well as they can, although it does get lonely up there in the North. When the seas get rough and the wind gets cold, I can at least trust in my cooks to make a dinner that instantly makes me forget all the harsh realities of the lands.” Famus ended with a boistering laugh for which he was famous in noble circles. Never did he fail to make someone feel a bit more cheerful when talking to the former battle commander.
“I see everyone arrived early, Austus, Parvus.” acknowledging the oldest Stadtholder of the five of them from Watersmeet and the Stadtholder of Stetin, a small city just East of Cape Harbor.
“Now all we have to do is wait for the reckless dog that’s causing all the ruckus.” said Famus.
With a loud slam the oak-wooden door sealing the entrance of the room opened.
“Who are you calling a dog, you gluttonous excuse for a man?” Pierce stepped into the room.
“Watch it you traitor, or I will cut you down here where we stand, right now!” Famus glared at Pierce, eyes burning with anger.
Pierce drew his sword slowly, brandishing its decorated blade and grinned. “Well then, let’s find out if you can back up those words, shall we?”
“Gentlemen! Shall we not kill each other before dinner has been served?” Austus, the old man sitting calmly at the right side of the table grinned, as he held up his hand to calm down both men.
“You keep out of it old man.” Famus sneered. “This traitor doesn’t deserve any form of hospitality.”
“I do not disagree with you Famus, but killing him would leave The Nail without a Stadtholder and with a population that will seek revenge.” replied Austus.
“Would everyone please sit down, so we can try and find a solution without bloodshed?” said Justus giving example by sitting down in the chair at the head of the table.
Both men sheathed their weapons and sat down as their mugs were being filled with ale and the first course of the meal was served.
—
After hours of heated debate and several threats from both sides, Justus was finally able to get some peace. He looked out of the small window that provided the only light and air for the small room that he got appointed to spend the night.
He sat down on the edge of the bed and took a small portrait out of his pocket, showing his wife as he had known her when they both were a decade younger. He smiled and thought to himself how times had been more peaceful before they first heard about the Maelstrom and how it would eventually end all of civilization over the next few centuries, if they didn’t find a way to stop it.
His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. He put away the portrait and opened the door.
“Hello Sir Justus, Stadtholder Pierce would like to offer you this pitcher of wine, as he recognizes that he might have been out of line and too aggressive during the meeting earlier. He’d like to make this gesture to mend differences and seek a peaceful solution for stability of the realm.”
Justus took the pitcher from the young man’s hands and set it on the desk. “Did all Stadtholders receive the same gift?” Justus asked.
“Yes Sir, it is not a ploy to gain only your favor or anyone else’s.” The servant replied.
“Thank you and tell your master that the gift was well received.” With that Justus closed the door.
He took a mug from the wooden platform above the desk and poured the wine in it. He walked to his bed again and sat down on the same spot.
“I hope I can find a solution for this mess Theresa.” and he took a big gulp of the bitter tasting liquid.
After finishing the cup he lay down on the bed and looked at the ceiling, when a sudden pain tore through his chest. He felt his heart throbbing wildly and every breath was getting harder to draw. He dropped out of the bed on the wooden floor. The wine, it was the wine! “That bastard!” Justus coughed up blood, before going limp and uttering his last words. “I’m sorry Theresa.”
—
“Have all the bodies been recovered?” asked Pierce.
“Yes Sir, they have all been brought to the cellar, to keep them cool before transport.” replied the servant.
“It is such a tragedy, for them all to be poisoned by outsiders, seeking revenge for the bandits that we dealt with back at The Nail.” Pierce feigned a sigh of disbelieve.
“Good thing I went to bed before drinking the wine.” he took the pitcher of his desk and threw it on the floor, shattering it to pieces spilling the red liquid over the stone tiles of his bedroom.
“Yes Stadtholder, sir. The faith of The Arch rests on your shoulders now, we wouldn’t know what to do if you had died as well.” The servant bowed to the former general.
“I don’t want to think about that yet, boy. I first have to mourn the death of these honorable leaders that served our realm. You can leave now.” Pierce stood at the door and closed it after the servant left the room. A grin appeared on Pierce’s face and his eyes sparkled with a cunning joy.
“You almost had me there Pierce.” Pierce froze in place and his grin soon made place for a look of horror on his face. He turned around and on the side of his bed sat a hooded figure.
The intruder took down his hood, revealing his identity to the startled Stadtholder.
“You’re supposed to be dead!” murmured Pierce in disbelief.
“I almost was, luckily I’m old and experienced enough to take precautions for just about any situation. They don’t call me ‘The Fox’ for nothing.” said Austus as he stood up from the bed.
As Austus stepped forward, Pierce leaped back, hitting the the edge of the desk. He grabbed a letter-opener that lay on the desk and took a defensive stance.
“Oh don’t you worry, Pierce. We won’t kill each other here. It would be hard for you to explain why you would have killed a man that is already believed to be dead and laying downstairs and I really do not want to explain why I would be the only to survive this council and draw any unjustified suspicion.” Said Austus as he took a few more slow paced steps towards Pierce.
“It must be magic, you used magic to safe yourself!” yelled the still frightened Stadtholder.
“That is correct.” Replied the old man.
“But using magic as a Stadtholder is forbidden.” Pierce stared at Austus with a puzzled expression.
“I don’t recall assassinating Stadtholders to be lawful.” Austus stopped moving and started grinning. “Guess we both take laws more as guidelines, don’t we?”
Pierce sunk to the ground, still visibly frightened by the whole ordeal.
“I came here to make you a promise Pierce. You’ll go back to your city, as a Stadtholder for now, but you’ll not seek to take over leadership of the other cities. I will also promise you, that soon you will regret your actions here tonight, as I will end your ambitions.” Austus jumped backwards onto the bed again and saluted Pierce, before leaping out of the window with a smile on his face.
Pierce grabbed a mug of the desk and threw it against the wall in rage.
—
Austus climbed through the window of the cellar and hurried back to the table where his ‘dead’ body was supposed to be left. Wiping a few drops of sweat from his forehead. He had acted confident in front of Pierce, but he wasn’t sure that he felt that way on the inside. He barely survived the assassination attempt and was just lucky that he was still warded against poison as he had forgotten that he ever had arranged the magic as a protection decades ago. If Pierce was audacious enough to try it again in the near future, the outcome might not be so lucky. Better hope that my performance helped to put some fear into him, to keep him at bay for now.
The old man put the white cotton sheet over his body and head again and laid still, waiting for the servant that he had paid, to return and find out that Stadtholder Austus was not dead yet.
—
Austus took a sip from his warm cup of tea as servants hurried around him to make arrangements for his recovery. Not that he really needed it, but he would have to play along for now.
As he thought about his next step, of filling the void left by the now deceased Stadtholders. Especially the dead of Justus would be a danger to the stability of The Arch, as he had been the natural leader of the council for the last decade and its moral compass. Thinking about having to tell Theresa of the fait that befell her husband pained him deeply.
One of the servants sat down next to him and shoved a crumbled piece of paper into his hand before getting up again and disappear in the chaos. Austus unfolded the paper and read the message.
“We’ve found the location, we know where he is.”
Thank you for reading. This is a follow up story to The rebellion, which you can read here: https://medium.com/@StevenHonders/the-rebellion-1b411e8083d5
The story is edited by my wonderful girlfriend Debby Wolters.
Feedback is appreciated, let me know what you think!
