Delver Magic II: Throne of Vengeance, Jeff Inlo [graded readers .TXT] 📗

this to go unpunished. We must exact justice.”

“There would be no justice in that.”

“So you intend to do nothing about this?” Yave questioned in near disbelief.

“What can be done? Nothing will bring Tun back to us.”

“But something can be done that will show them all that we still honor his memory!” Yave shouted. “It will show every race that the dwarves will not allow their own to be slaughtered and butchered!”

Jon shook his head in despair. “I can not give you what you ask. A war with the algors will accomplish nothing.”

Again, Yave exploded. “And you think you can be king?! I will not allow this! If you don’t do what is right, I will not support you. I won’t step down.”

“You don’t have a choice,” Jon said sadly. “None of us do.”

Yave screamed with vehemence. “Give your orders, post your decrees! And then, see who follows them. You think you can just take over, do you think any one will listen to you?”

Hern, who stood beside Jon, could take the harangue no longer. For the past many days, he had heard the whispers of revolt grow into near shouts. He held his tongue, waiting for Bol to quell the tide of rebellion, an action never taken. Now, with Bol gone and his friend facing the heavy duties of healing Dunop, he would remain silent no longer.

“Enough of this!” Hern demanded. “You are no longer the queen. And you speak to the king with words of treason. I will no longer permit this.”

Yave threw a glance of utter poison toward the minister. “You dare…”

“No, you dare!” Hern cut her off angrily, defiantly. “And you dare too much. As I have said, you are no longer queen. Your service is to the new king. If you can not hold your emotions, then do as Bol. Leave Dunop. Leave now, before we face yet another embarrassment.”

It took great determination, but Yave broke her glare from Hern and turned it with impatience towards Jon. “Is this what you want as well?”

Jon did not know what he wanted at this point, only that he did not want to be king. He could only shrug with a pained expression.

Yave would not accept the response. “I will give you one more chance. Will you restore honor to Tun’s name? Will you attack the algors?”

“I can’t do that.”

“Then leave me. We have nothing left to talk about.”

Jon simply nodded. He turned from Yave and beckoned Hern to follow.

Though the minister found the situation unresolved, the queen’s intentions still unknown, he would not question the king. Hern turned and followed obediently.

As the two exited and turned up a long corridor, their departure was followed by Yave’s angry shouts

“Tun should be taking the throne, not you! Tun should be king! Do you hear me?! Do you hear me?”

Her screams faded behind Jon as he nearly ran down the corridor and away from Yave.

#

Two days after Bol’s departure, it seemed as if little had been accomplished by his leaving. Word had spread of the change in monarchs, but the shouts of the separatists continued to thrive. The growing mobs in the caverns of Dunop seemed as discontent with Jon as they were with his father. Worse, word of the queen’s defiance had also spread. The separatist leaders took this news to heart and rumors of overthrow were now actually being heard in neighboring cities.

Jon made weary but forthright efforts to bring stability back to the palace. He gathered his ministers. He dismissed those who might doubt his leadership and replaced them with dwarves with long allegiance to the Folarok family. He promoted Hern to Chief Adviser and listened well to all his proposals. He left Yave to herself in the palace, hoping she might eventually swallow her bitterness, but he revoked most of her authority by retiring her staff, except for her personal servants.

As for the separatists, he offered a number of proclamations which he felt might pacify them, or at least take the bite out of their contentions. He announced a desire to hire and train dwarves to venture above ground and collect wood from Dark Spruce Forest. Once dwarves were proficient in doing so, he would reduce trade, and thereby contact, with the elves. He also stated his intentions to prevent any humans from mining within the hills over their heads. Without revealing the location or even existence of their underground city, they would discourage any such attempts. Any exploratory mine-shafts begun by the humans would be blocked with reinforced dwarf construction, and any resources the humans might deem valuable would be removed before they could be found.

These decisions were announced with the hope of bringing a greater feeling of independence and security to the dwarves of Dunop. Unfortunately, they fell short of the separatists ultimate desires. These dwarves wanted complete independence from every other race. They believed that only by gaining the grudging respect for their superiority would the elves and humans truly leave them in peace. They did not want to hide from the humans, they wanted the humans to hide from them. They did not want to rely on the elves for anything, they wanted the elves to come begging to them for gems and metals.

None of Jon’s new proposals would accomplish this. Trade with the elves would still be necessary for food. The humans would be tricked into leaving rather than forced into running in fear.

The one aspect, however, that truly allowed the separatists to grow in power was fear, fear of the magic that spilled out of the sphere and now flooded the land. The dwarves could never utilize this power as the other races. Its reappearance was not welcome. The return of the magic truly allowed the separatists to fuel the fears of the other dwarves, and those fears grew despite Jon’s pledge to further Dunop’s independence.

Hern recognized this with increasing alarm. Had Bol made these proclamations, they might have sufficed. They might have actually ended the separatist movement. But Bol had left, ran away without dignity, and this was the dagger strike to the heart of the throne. Jon was looked upon as a weak king or not a king at all. The spreading word of Yave’s own defiance did much to encourage the scorn heaped upon the new monarch.

Worse yet, Hern was now receiving intelligence that Yave was actually courting the allegiance of the separatist leaders. Mother of the king or not, this could not be tolerated. It had to be stopped, even if it meant her execution. Hern addressed Jon with respect and care over such a delicate matter, but with no less resolve.

They spoke in a small chamber away from guards and other ministers.

“We have a problem,” Hern said gravely.

Jon slouched as if another weight was cast upon his shoulders. “What is it now?” His voice carried the fatigue of the past few days.

“I am receiving news involving Yave.” The adviser chose his next words very carefully. “Word has already spread of her unwillingness to accept you as king.”

“It doesn’t matter what she accepts,” Jon interrupted. His tone made it clear he did not wish to discuss the situation with his mother. Hern, however, persisted.

“I’m afraid that’s not the problem.” Hern spoke faster now, trying to speak the full point of his concerns before Jon stopped him again. “The fact is that she does not accept your authority, and others now follow her lead. There is even talk of an alliance between Yave and the separatist leaders. Such an alliance could have only one purpose, to remove you from the throne.”

At first, Jon wondered if such a prospect was truly such a misfortune. However, he bit back his desire to escape his new responsibilities and attempted to focus on the validity of Hern’s distress.

“How much of this is rumor and how much is truth?”

“My sources are reliable.”

Jon rubbed his wide wrinkled forehead. “What is the extent of the alliance, how far has it progressed?”

“As of now, not very far. I doubt they’ve even met. To my knowledge, Yave has not left the palace. Contact must have been made through couriers, possibly one of her servants.”

“We could question them, dismiss them without telling her.” Jon offered as an easy solution.

“She’d know, and it wouldn’t stop her,” Hern replied stoically. “It would just make her that much more determined to advance the alliance. And it wouldn’t stop the efforts of the separatists to use her against you.”

“Then what should we do?” Jon questioned in near exasperation.

“The only way to stop this and bring authority back to the throne is to have her acknowledge your right to rule.”

“She won’t do that.”

“Then you will have to force her.”

Jon’s face filled with horror. “I can’t do that.”

“Then banish her from Dunop.”

“I can’t do that, either.”

“You’re not leaving us with any other options.”

“There must be something else we could do.”

As he had done many times before this meeting, Hern contemplated the problem and searched for clear solutions. He spoke openly to his king of his own interpretations. “We face two threats. The first is Yave’s unwillingness to accept your authority. The second is a possible move of the separatists using your mother as the means to remove you from the throne. You are obviously against dealing with Yave to rectify the first problem. The second, however, can not be as easily ignored. I would have preferred that you would have addressed both, but it is as you will. If we are to stop the separatists, and the anarchy that would follow, we must keep Yave from making any deals with them. I can only suggest that you have Yave watched and her servants followed. If we round up those that show involvement in this conspiracy, we might yet end this rebellion without forcing a showdown with Yave.”

As if to immediately oppose this proposition, a shrill scream echoed through the halls. Groans erupted, foreshadowed with the clash of steel. Shuffling footsteps broke softly beneath the wooden door which separated Hern and Jon from the palace corridors. Hern moved for his axe, but he was not a warrior. He fumbled with the handle just as the source of the conflict exploded into the chamber.

The door crashed open. A handful of dwarves broke into the dimly lit room with weapons drawn. Blood stained more than one of the razor sharp axe heads. They took hold of Hern roughly and relieved him of his weapon.

“It seems she has moved quicker than I could have guessed.” Hern grunted.

The rebels shook him and demanded silence.

Initially, Jon watched as if he was but nothing more than some distant spectator. His demeanor changed drastically, however, as four rebel dwarves surrounded him with axe and mace drawn. The new king stood his ground. He stood firm; angry. The burdens of responsibility which burdened his shoulders dissolved with a sneer of his own fury. He glared with defiance, and for the first time since Bol left, he stood with the aura of authority. Finally, he appeared as a king.

He folded his hands across his chest, making no move for his own weapon. His head turned upon his neck as his feet remained firm, cemented in place by concrete will. He looked to each dwarf that confronted him. His tongue was silent as his eyes dared any of them to commit the crime of regicide. Finally, he grew impatient. He wished not to dignify the event by addressing these pawns, but he wished to move this encounter to its conclusion.

“Well?”

The rebels hesitated. They looked among themselves. None answered.

Jon grunted with disgust. “I am going to the throne room. I assume one of