The Kingdom of Dawn

Chapter 3: The Promised Price

Alone on the water, the small rowboat glided smoothly out of the bay. The passenger was a cautious man and wished to reach his destination before the first of the day's trade vessels arrived. He was a small, slim man. He was hardly older than a boy, yet his superior training and natural talent made him the absolute best of his trade that money could hire. He had done his job well, and it was time for him to receive his pay.

His destination was the island of  Blackwall, a well-secured fortress about a mile from the shore,   which was home to the royal garrison. This was the perfect place to meet the high commander and collect his pay, 300 silver cordallians in the currency of the Empire of Night.

"Your majesty, the royal ferry is here to return you to the castle. Will you leave now, my Liege?"

"Nay Sir Charles,  send my baggage, but I shall eat one last dinner at my old post."

"As your Majesty wishes" The tall, stringy knight turned aside from the king, bowing as he did so. He turned to his squire, and together they began to load the king's belongings into the ship.

His tall, Chestnut battle horse was loaded first, and after securing it in the hold, they began loading the rest of his possessions. His weapons and armor came next, after which came to his maps and charts. Setting these down they went back for the last items, two great chests containing the trophies of 2 decades of battles fought in the service of his lord.

The island of Blackwall was well guarded, but the shadow, as he was known, knew exactly how to get in.

His access would be through the underwater tunnel which served as a drain for the latrine block, whisking the waste out to sea.

Docking the boat by the side of the island, he searched the side of the rocks for the mark he had left and then dove into the water.

The tunnel was not long, but it was a tight fit, leaving him drenched and out of breath when he surfaced in the middle of the bathing pool. Quickly catching his breath, he pulled a spare set of clothes, wrapped in oilcloth, out of his leather satchel.  After rapidly changing, he put the wet clothes inside the satchel and went on his way to meet his employer.

When Reuben saw the assassin slip out of the latrine block, he was surprised, for he had given no orders to let him in. Quickly quelling his surprise, however, he excused himself from his delicious roast lamb. Leading the assassin into his room, he waited to hear what he had to say.

"The King and queen are dead, as you wished."

These first words out of the young man's mouth were exactly what Reuben wished to hear. "You know this for yourself." The news would have surely reached the high general by this time, verifying the assassin's claim. 

"And the princess?" The assassin had been promised extra if he dealt with the princess as well, but she was not a specific part of his job.

"She is gone. I know not where. All I know is this,  that she left the capital in the company of one of the royal guard. They were heading west when I saw them"

"She cannot harm our plans right now. You have done your job well, and will be rewarded. Take your pay, and return to your home."

Waving his hand, he summoned two guards. "Take this visitor to his boat, and make sure he leaves the island" Turning, they followed his orders.

"Jonah, come here." King Reuben's personal servant hurried up behind him, taking the proffered scroll, and bowed to his master.

"Take this to my father." He turned on his heels to board the royal ferry, which had returned to take him to his new home.

"Tell him that Dawn is his if he can put an assault force around the capital city. I cannot give it up without reason, and this will give me one."

The king stepped off of the gangplank and onto the gilded deck of the ferry, which was a well-built boat with fine lines, gilded trim, and green sides and sails. Jonah turned and bowed once more, then took his horse and a boat and headed for the shore.  He had a long way to go to reach the royal capital of the Empire of Night, but his orders would take him even further than that, they would take him to Edmund himself in order to deliver his son's message. The sun was setting as he reached the shore, and as he galloped westward, rain began to fall.

The new king of Dawn smiled as he watched the sun set across the western frontier. The old ruler was dead, he ruled in his place, and now only Tiberius stood between his father and the shipyards of Dawn. Though Tiberius was not an exceptionally large kingdom, it was well defended, and no large army could march through without the will of its king.

Small armies could march around Tiberius, passing through the dagger tooth mountains and the desert of fire before assaulting Dawn from the north. The sea to the south was also an option, but neither of these was viable. Sending such an army to the north would simply mean that half of them would die along the way, and the navy of Dawn would rip an armada to shreds before it even got near the shore. No, a large attacking force would have to go through Tiberius, and Tiberius would not allow that. Before Dawn could be conquered and the final assault launched on Emperor Daniel, Tiberius must fall.