Ascension (38 page)

When this is all over, I should
visit them.

“
So how have your
journeys been, Croxley?
”
The King asked,
interrupting Croxley
’
s musings.

“
It
’
s nice to be back. Also, the
King of Bastland sends his regards and apologizes for their
temporary lapse in trade.
”

The King
chuckled.
“I
’
m
sure he did.
”
He folded his hands and
leaned forward on the table. His body looked relaxed, but his eyes
were intense.
“
So, what else did you hear
on your travels?
”

“
Not very much,
my lord. There were only a few inns along the way, and most of them
were uneventful. Dreary food, hard beds.
”

“
And the
colonies?
”

Croxley nearly
choked on his bread.
“I
’
m sorry,”
he said, coughing to clear his throat,
“
um, I didn
’
t pass through any on the way
back. Was there something you had wanted me to
do?
”

The King looked
at Croxley for a few moments, and then leaned back in his
chair.
“
No, not quite. Well, now that you
mention it, I do have one message. When you see Erik, tell him I
said hello.
”
And with that, the King
stood up, leaving Croxley with his mouth hanging open, a piece of
bread sitting in his mouth mid-chew.

He
didn
’
t know how
much the King knew of the plan, nor did he know if he had found out
from Lena and Mathelda or from other sources. Either way, the King
definitely knew something was happening. Pretty soon he will know
everything, Croxley thought, aware of the fact that Lena would have
to explain to the King what she knew as soon as he and Lydia left
Stonewall with the prisoners. He shuddered at the thought of how
the King would retaliate. The mild-mannered man he had been scared
Croxley more than the moments when the King was in one of his
rages. It meant that he was thinking, planning,
waiting.

Unable to shake
the foreboding now resting upon him, Croxley finished the rest of
the food without tasting it and hurried to Lena
’
s room. The sooner he got this
over with, the better.

Ξ

He stood before
Lena
’
s door and
knocked a few times. He waited and was about to knock a final time
when Lena opened the door. Once again, he was struck by how
beautiful she was, her dark brown eyes nearly glowing against a
rich green dress, this one leaving more to the imagination than the
purple number the night before. But today he
wouldn
’
t be
trapped under her spell. Instead, he was going to manipulate the
manipulator, outmaneuver her plots to succeed one of his
own.

“
Sir Croxley,
back so soon! What a delight to see you again.
”
She smiled, but didn
’
t invite him
in.

He stood
awkwardly at the doorway for a few moments, and when she failed to
say anything else, he leaned in and whispered close to her,
“
I have the map you needed. I was hoping we
could further discuss things.
”

She stood
stationary for a few moments, peering down the hallway, as if
looking for someone, and then invited Croxley in.
“
Well, I guess that means you should take a
seat. Come in,
”
she motioned. He noticed
that she seemed a little anxious, and he suspected it had nothing
to do with the map he was about to give her. She sat across from
him, smoothing imaginary wrinkles on her dress a few times, and
then tucked her hair behind her ears.
“
Well? What do you have?
”

“
Here is the
map,
”
Croxley said, pulling it out of his
vest. He rolled it out, flattening it out on the table in front of
them.
“
The colony I circled is the one
that Prince Erik is most likely staying in at the moment. We had
planned to start at the top, and then work our way down.
”
He had purposefully circled the one colony he
knew Erik would not be, Fyzen. He had already visited there, and by
now the colony should be evacuated, heading towards Cethin, which
they had agreed early on would be the congregation spot.
“
If you send guards that way immediately, then
you should be able to cut him off before he reaches the next
colony.
”

She
didn
’
t tear her
eyes away from the map.
“
There are so
many colonies,
”
she said, almost to
herself. Croxley wondered what she meant by that, but before he
could reach a conclusion, she stated, louder and obviously for him
to hear this time,
“
I shall inform the
King that you have aided in the capture of the Prince. And of
course I
’
ll
leave out the fact that you were involved in the immediate planning
of the same rebellion we are now working to prevent. I thank you
for your help. Now, if you excuse me,
“

Lena stood up to
escort him out, but before she could push him out the door, Croxley
interjected,
“
Your highness, if you would
give me just a few more moments of your time.
”
He took her silence as agreement and continued on.
“
Due to my recent traveling, I admit that I do
not know the last of the Prince
’
s plans. If any aspects may have
changed, I would like to find out promptly so that we can respond
accordingly. Therefore, I request that you give me written
permission to visit the dungeons and question all the
prisoners.
”

Lena stood there
for a few moments, tapping her heel on the ground. With a sigh, she
nodded and grabbed a piece of paper. She scribbled quickly, signing
her name at the bottom, and handed him the folded note.
“
Here. This should suffice. Now, be on your way.
I will hear from you later,
”
she said,
practically shoving him out the door.

He felt it close behind him, and he
silently thanked whatever it was that had her so distracted.
Getting the note was much easier than it should have been, and it
was because her usual calculating mind was occupied with something
else.

As he left the corridor and entered
the main hallway, he saw the same guard from yesterday, Bentley,
hurrying across the courtyard and up the same corridor Croxley had
just exited. His curiosity ached to find out just what had Bentley
in such a hurry, but he would have to wait. He had a plan of his
own he had to deal with.

Ξ

He met with Lydia
back in his room. She edited Lena
’
s note, carefully copying her
handwriting. After she was finished, she handed it back to Croxley,
which he put in in his vest. Lydia had to return to the
servants
’
quarters, leaving Croxley alone to prepare everything.
Finally, he left his room and headed towards the dungeon. The sun
was just setting, leaving a gap in time before the moon would rise.
Lydia said she would wait at the entrance and watch for the guards,
where she would distract them and lead them to the garden while
Croxley helped the girls out of the castle.

Croxley stopped
at the entrance to the dungeon. Checking his boots, he ensured that
the daggers weren
’
t visible. He felt for the long blade hidden under his
vest, slung against his waist. After adjusting his jacket to make
sure the weapon was concealed, he pulled out his note from Lena and
approached the entrance.

The dungeon was
heavily guarded, for no reason other than the King had many
enemies, and wanted to make sure that none of them ever had the
chance to see the light of day again after doing him wrong. The
further down into the dungeon you descended, the more criminal the
prisoners were. At the very bottom were the murderers, the
traitors, the King
’
s worst enemies. Near the middle were the war hostages and
innocent travelers kept for ransom, should the King ever need to
deal with surrounding countries. Near the top were the petty street
thieves and the protestors who spoke out against the King. He hoped
that the girls would be on one of the top stories, not wanting to
delve too far deep into the dungeon.

Each story was
like a maze, and it spiraled around and around, with multiple
guards on each floor. Croxley had only been there once before, and
that was when he and Erik, young, bored, and mischievous, decided
they wanted a thrill and snuck in to the dungeon to see a recently
arrested war hostage. He was said to be one of the greatest
generals of all time. He was captured during a great skirmish on
Ahrenia
’
s
southern border, only surrendering after all of his men had been
taken down and he found himself surrounded by
Ahrenia
’
s
troops. Croxley and Erik were eager to see him, hoping to find some
kind of mighty barbarian, with tattoos, piercings, wild hair, or
other foreign embellishments.

Upon entering the dungeon, Croxley
and Erik were hit with the smell of eternally wet stones, mildew,
bodily fluids, and fear. The smell made them gag, so they plugged
their noses and continued on, their boyish sense of adventure
overriding all warning signals.

However, once
they reached the general
’
s jail cell, they instantly
wanted to leave. The once mighty general sat in the corner, a
bloodied, beaten pulp of a man, shivering and muttering to himself
like a madman. He clutched his wrist against his body, rocking back
and forth, and the two boys fought to tear their eyes away from
him. His cell was decorated with blood and vomit. Erik retched,
only adding to the collection, and the general looked up at them.
His eyes were dark red, one nearly swollen shut, while the other
was so wide in contrast it looked like it might fall out. His
expression was a combination of fear and grief, and it hovered
around him, the aura nearly overwhelming. Suddenly, he let out a
deep inhuman moan, which sent the boys running as fast as they
could out of the cell room and back to the safety of the castle.
Neither of them ever mentioned it again.

This memory came flooding back to
Croxley, and he was shamed to admit that, even as a grown man, it
still gave him goose bumps.

He walked to the door, where a guard
stood with a sword at his side. Croxley showed him the note, and
the guard nodded, standing aside and opening the door. Croxley
stepped inside and was immediately overcome by a wave of moldy,
damp air that was heavy laden with years of suffering. He wrinkled
his nose and walked down the stairs, the stairway dimly lit by
lanterns on the walls. At one point, he nearly slipped down the
mildewed steps. Cursing loudly, he caught his balance on a light
mounted on the wall. Muttering to himself, he pulled the lantern
out of its holder and carried it in front of him, treading more
carefully now.

He finally
reached the first platform, where two guards were talking quietly
to each other. Croxley announced his arrival with an
“Oy”
and walked up to the two. They looked at him
suspiciously for a few moments until one of them graciously
asked,

“
What the
‘
ell you doin
’
down here?
”

“
I was sent here
by the Princess Lena. She wants me to question the prisoners
brought in from the servants
’
quarters. She also asks that you meet her in the
garden so as not to threaten the prisoners from
answering.
”

“
She does now,
does she? I don
’
t think I believe you.
”
The guard
who spoke had a gristly beard and foul breath, which crossed the
short distance between his and Croxley
’
s face, and Croxley tried not to
grimace. The other just stood at his side, his arms crossed and his
left eye drooping.

Croxley showed
the two the letter, wondering for a few moments if they could even
read, and eventually the droop-eyed guard nodded and said to the
other,
“Let ‘im pass.”

The other scowled as he stepped
aside, spitting into one of the cells before he turned and went up
the stairs. As Croxley continued down the next maze of tunnels, he
peered into the cells of the prisoners. Most had chamber pots in
the corners, and the prisoners either slept on the hard ground or
were sitting against the wall. Croxley passed by a cell in which
the prisoner was singing quietly, and as he got closer, he could
just make out the words.

I once was a jester, a King of the
court

Making a laugh was my favorite
sport

But I told a bad joke, and before
you know