The Unexpected Heir: A Tale of Alus (25 page)

Philip walked through a castle full of movement that also had an air of emergency to it. Though not fully informed of the poisoning of the princesses, the servants could all tell that something was wrong. Too many had been ill not to be at least a little worried though they had been assured by the wizards and healers that this was no plague to fear. Adding the king's agitated presence and his new orders, the tension was palpable.

Already his sensitive sense of smell noted that lessening of the chemical scent in the air. Wizards had used their magic and quickly confirmed his guess. Kept wet in their vases, the various plants had tainted the water as well. A careful search through the gardens certified that the chemicals in the flowers had affected the earth they were set in also.

Immediately, the courtyards were secured against anyone entering or leaving except for those returning the cut flowers to their designated places. Fire might be needed, but the wizards had to make sure that it wouldn't simply spread the poison in a new way. One way or another, the castle gardens would need to be completely cleared of plants and soil before anyone dared return without safety clothing.

To add to their problems, the men sent to the homes of the gardeners which had been missing were returning with even more bad news. The head gardener lived alone and was found dead in his bed from the poison. More of those who worked for him were dead or suffering like the princesses.

Such mass afflictions made them check for any other unusual disappearances. Even those on normal off days were checked just to be certain, while those already poisoned began to receive treatment from the healers called on from the various guilds. It was a disaster and Philip could already see the way that the Brothers of the Blood would try to turn the public against the king and his family.

He found Orlaan in an office. Letters and scrolls had begun to pile up on his desk with the sudden illnesses drawing his attention away from the kingdom. The king was looking through his messages and Philip thought that he looked even gloomier than when he had found the man at his daughter's bedside.

Not even exchanging a word, the king lifted a letter from his desk and offered it to his nephew with a frown. Though he wanted to ask what it was, Philip simply accepted the paper and began to read.

"Earl Carland has died?" he questioned the air in surprise. A man of just twenty-five years, the earl had been as healthy as any of the men related to the king. He was also Philip's nephew through his wife and well known to him, though he hadn't seen him since the boy had taken his place as Lord of Ylden to the east.

"You have the letter," Orlaan replied gruffly. "His horse threw him while hunting. His wizard and the healers at Ylden tried to save him, but he died the day after. This letter arrived two days ago, but I was too distracted by Persimee and the others to read it."

Growling irritably, he continued, "Maybe those damned Brothers of the Blood are correct. Maybe there is a curse growing over my house. First, Amaan's death and now all this?"

Philip sighed as he picked up the king's words, even if it wasn't the man's intent. "We had better have them check your brother's body. This is all happening too close together to be ignored. Maybe Duke Amaan didn't die as naturally as we thought. He had seemed healthy enough before his sudden death, after all."

Giving a grunt and wave of his hand, Orlaan replied, "Fine, send a wizard to check that as well."

"If he was killed, your majesty, then that means the curse is by design and not something the gods have sent. There are too many strange happenings of late. The duke's death, the poison, the burned warehouses and now even the earl's death, are beginning to seem less than incidental, my lord."

"But who would be able to do such things in so many places without leaving a trace?" Orlaan asked sounding tired rather than angry. As a king, death threats almost seemed to be inevitable. People desired power, land and wealth. Orlaan had all three, but who would serve to benefit from all the other deaths? Philip wondered that as well.

"The nations around you are allies, but we could look into that as well. This Brotherhood of the Blood is supposed to be a benevolent organization, but we have already been curious about them." A significant pause set before Philip added the one worry most kings had. "Hopefully there aren't any closer to the throne hoping that a few poisonings could open the way for them as well."

The thought made Orlaan look angrier than before and the king snapped, "That is one thing that shouldn't happen. I have made sure to take care of them all. They have cities to govern and wealth. No one has been ignored as long as they are of age. I can't very well let a child run a city after all, but no one has ever made it evident that they want more than I have given to them either, Philip.

"Can we at least assume that isn't the case?"

Being a pragmatist, Philip knew his suggestion wouldn't be well received. Though he agreed that Malaiy's royal family had all seemed comfortable enough with their positions, it was a rare thing when there wasn't contention surrounding most nations' thrones however.

"We can hope, but not assume, sire. The fact that Earl Carland is in this conversation would make for an unlikely candidate to be from the family at least."

Sighing as his eyes rolled towards the ceiling as if looking for strength from some unseen god, Orlaan asked for his nephew to explain, "And why do you say that after just placing the possibility on them?"

"Well, let's play it out with the worst case scenario," Philip said still holding the letter in his hand. He wanted to reread the contents looking for any other clues that the writer of the note might have left for him. It was sent by the earl's steward since he had no wife or other family in Ylden. He had been appointed earl only recently and hadn't wed, which was a bit of a surprise since the king seemed to prefer making the appointments to married relatives.

"Let's say there was a plan that eliminated the royal family here in the castle."

Orlaan bristled at the idea and his face darkened with rage simply at the idea, but Philip continued, "Removing your part of the line would leave it to Duke Esteran. Carland was his grandson and not even the firstborn, so if someone within that branch was involved, why kill him?"

"You don't think Carland's death could just be an accident?"

"Admittedly it is possible, but I did say that this is the worst case scenario," he reminded the king. "Beyond Marquess Etrine's line is Serafene's and as far as I have ever noticed neither she nor our children have any real desire to rule."

Orlaan chuckled, though it had little humor to it as he added, "You didn't mention yourself."

Shrugging, Philip answered, "No spouse is likely to benefit unless there is no heir apparent. The law states that only the blood of your line is in the line of heirs. Other noble blood lines would be more likely to benefit than I."

"I doubt that Itan would have any more desire for the crown than your wife," Orlaan said getting back to the line following him to the throne. "So that would leave Pherena's branch of the family."

Philip nodded. "Though again it would seem unlikely, your sister and her children do hold control over southwest Malaiy. Their cities are a buffer to Tseult, but were they to decide to concentrate power; I suppose that territory would be a good start. A rebellion wouldn't be needed if something happened to the rest of you, but the duchess does control a significant portion of your armed forces."

"They've been a deterrent to Tseult in our past, but have been more for show since my father ruled. I suppose in this scenario that would be a possible danger."

"Admittedly this all seems unlikely, but we should make sure to keep our eyes on all possibilities. The other noble houses have never seemed strong enough to change anything and seem content as well, but someone appears ready to shake things up," Philip finished his thought.

"For now it would seem best to find out where the source of this poison came from," Orlaan stated seeing where his nephew's logic led. "If we can figure out where it came from, then we are more likely to also figure out who would be behind such a plot."

"Will you give this to Lord Denefar or the commander of the watch maybe?" Philip asked hoping to step back from the investigation. If members of the family were being targeted, he didn't like the idea of leaving Serafene and Alicia alone even if they had guards for protection. Alexander was no longer under his roof and Annalicia was probably as safe as anyone while she remained outside the country, he supposed. Her return was still weeks away, so his vision remained on those he could help protect.

"It will likely take a combination of their resources. I would like you to see what help you can provide as well, Philip. Like you said earlier, you have little to gain, but more to lose if this should turn into an attack on the family. Keep Serafene and your children safe, but continue to look into the brothers and follow whatever leads the others can provide you."

Wanting to sigh, Philip nodded instead and replied, "Of course, your majesty, I will do what I can."

The houses found along the street were remarkably unremarkable, Philip thought as he neared the home of one of those on his list. It was less than a mile from the castle, but it was easy to see that the wealth of a king didn't flow out through the whole of Yalan. The city had wealth and trade, but not everyone shared equally. It was seeing places like this that made him wonder if there wasn't more that he could do for the people of his chosen country.

Traffic was modest here as well. It was still midday and many would be far from home working to make enough to keep these simple roofs over their heads. Philip understood what it took even if he didn't struggle in the same way. Serafene's family had some wealth when he had arrived, but the half-elf had worked on a lot of ships brokering his knowledge and abilities into a business that rivaled her family by then. Combining the two had made it easy to form a shipping empire that rivaled the wealthiest he knew.

It had been a long while since Philip had struggled, but he hadn't forgotten his early days completely.

Children played behind low walls or fences, the markers of land worked for by their owners. The yards with small gardens helped keep the houses from feeling consumed by the truth that they were in a city that spanned many miles in all directions. Horses were seldom seen in the street unless they were pulling a cart to another location. Few merchants bothered to come to the poor, so they would have to walk to them in other parts of the city.

That was the way it was here among houses that were one step above being slums.

Narden walked with him and another guardsman named Baras. They were his more obvious companions, but two more roamed nearby within sight but at a distance. Two guards walking with the lord already made too many eyes look at them, so he was glad when they found the address given and pushed open the gate to step towards the house.

A young girl sat playing with a doll on the porch before looking up thanks to the creak of hinges on the gate. She looked sad, but stoic as well. Hers was a face that had seen pain, but the girl was already doing what she could to push past it. A mother had died here another victim of the poison found in the gardens.

"Excuse me, little one; is there someone I can talk to about your mother?"

Never saying a word, the little girl got up and went inside pushing through a screened door. The mesh was rough and not of the grade he was used to, but in a warm land where insects could become numerous, even cheap mesh was worth its weight in gold when allowing in the sea breezes that could push far inland to relieve the heat.

A woman in her mid twenties appeared with an older girl at her side.

"Yes, can I help you?" she asked before her eyes suddenly went wide. "Oh, my lord, I am sorry. I didn't realize..."

Patting the air before him, Philip eased her saying, "Don't worry about it. I am only a lord through marriage after all."

He chuckled at the joke which might be stronger amongst his peers at a banquet in the king's castle. The woman and girl merely smiled while their eyes held a question of worry in them.

"Is there something that I can do for you, sir?"

It was difficult to be subtle about the topics he had come to investigate, but he returned her question with one of his own. "I came to check in on the family of Needaly. Are you related to her?"

"Needaly is... was my older sister," the young woman replied sadly.

Still speaking through the screen of the door, Philip gestured with his hand towards the obstruction causing her to jump and quickly ask if he would like to come inside. Narden joined him, but Baras remained outside while the first little girl returned to her place barely glancing at the large man.

The interior of the house was as modest as the exterior, the lord thought.

"How is the rest of her family faring?" he asked with genuine caring. These hardly looked like the faces of terrorists or assassins.

Looking a bit sadder as she glanced at the older girl who remained close by, the woman replied, "As well as can be expected with their mother dying."

"Did she have a husband?" Philip asked noting no mention of wife but only a mother.

"He left a long time ago and never returned. Mordin was a sailor, but his ship went missing five years ago," the woman stated looking unhappy to be reminded of the fact. "He was never a great provider; but without him, Needaly had to find a way. She went to the castle and earned enough to keep the girls fed and a roof over them, though occasionally we needed to help her out."