3.08: Messiah

The sun had climbed high by the time we left our home.

Warm, bright light poured over us as we came out into the massive courtyard. The memories of poison, betrayal and unfinished justice arrived with it, dampening the good mood of our reunion.

Aprilia sensed the change in me immediately. Her fingers tightened around mine.

Theo and Ethan, who had been guarding the door, straightened and saluted.

Helad and Benno arrived, crossbows in hand.

“What are you two doing here?”

“General’s orders,” Helad said in his deep voice.

“I only keep two guards at a time. We don’t have the manpower to spare.”

His eyes shifted in unease. “He told us to double your guard.”

I felt the urge to contradict his order, but resisted it.

On one hand, I wasn’t immune to arrows, but on the other, I didn’t want any of these young men to be hit in my stead. I would survive and recover from a non-lethal shot. They might not. Poor Wenik could no longer go on adventures with us because of one arrow.

I looked at them.

Their eyes were steady. Young they might be, but they were adults. Who had seen battle. They knew the risks of their jobs.

“Alright. How was your homecoming?”

Theo hesitated. “Fine, sire.”

“We’ll have another feast to celebrate our return. This time without poison.”

Nobody smiled.

“Tough crowd,” I muttered, as we began walking towards the Military HQ, which was the bastion to the right of the gatehouse.

The ring of chisels breaking stone and grunts of men working on the wall echoed from the other side of the palisade. As we crossed the courtyard, workers stopped what they were doing and bowed, with more deference than before. Their gazes lingered on me.

The news of what had happened last night must have spread.

At the center of the courtyard stood a massive cage. A turbulent sea of yellow fluff sloshed inside, as hundreds of chicks ran around and over each other. Their shrill chirps and the heavy smell of their droppings filled the air as we approached.

Aprilia wrinkled her cute nose.

“We would have appreciated a warning. We spent many sleepless nights making sure nothing ate those chicks until that thing was built.”

“Sorry,” I said, squeezing her hand. “I grabbed whatever opportunity I could without planning. Couldn’t send a ship just for a message.”

“It’s fine. I’m just venting.” Her voice softened. “People are very thankful for what you’ve done for us all.”

I adjusted my tunic for the tenth time.

Her eyes narrowed.

“Why do you keep doing that?”

“You did a number on my back. The scratches sting.”

My guards struggled to not laugh, while she turned scarlet, mumbling about some ointment.

The soldiers at the Military HQ saluted and opened the doors for us.

Inside, the common room was already occupied.

The Elders sat on rough benches.

The moment we entered, they rose as if shocked.

Meyer looked even more frazzled than before, his eyes bloodshot.

They bowed as one.

“Forgive our mistakes, Messiah,” Eliard said in a quivering voice.

“Please, Elder,” I said, stepping closer. “You don’t need to call me that. I am not a Cha.”

He raised his head slowly.

“Our scriptures never said that the Messiah had to be one of us.” His eyes held uncomfortable conviction. “They did say he would deliver us from certain death and bear God’s favor. You fit the description.”

I side stepped the issue for now.

“It’s time we discussed the events of last night.”

Meyer collapsed to his knees.

“I am ashamed, my lord! I am a fool who sinned against you!”

My voice came out flat. “What did you do, Elder?”

“I—I helped the people who wanted to kill you.”

“Who?”

“Hyde’s followers.”

The room went silent.

“I thought they had been captured.”

“Not all of them,” Lothar replied, coming out of his office.

Two guards emerged from a different door, dragging a bound woman between them.

She was a pitiful sight; hair disheveled and eyes rimmed red. Her lips twisted in a snarl as her eyes found me.

“Yara. Wife of Hersh,” Lothar explained. “He’s one of Hyde’s supporters that we have locked up. We found the missing herbs crushed in her tent. Emma and Matilda confirmed she had produced a powerful poison from them.”

I turned to the woman.

“Why did you try to kill me?”

“Ye’re destroyin’ our people!” Her accent thickened with anger. “Bringin’ in the same folk who threw us out of our homes and then havin’ us build mansions fer them! We’ll not be slaves, their or yours!”

“I only brought three hundred, and only because I had no choice. None of us know how to build or sail ships.”

“Your words mean nothin’, Nanoan!” she said, then spat at my feet.

I exhaled, then pronounced, “So be it. Take her back to her cell. She’ll be tried along with the rest.”

The guards dragged her away.

“She was the one who put the poison in my plate?” I asked.

“We’re… not sure,” Lothar said, looking down. “Nobody in the kitchens remembers seeing her.”

My stomach unsettled.

“So there could be an accomplice roaming free as we speak.”

He nodded silently.

Shit.

“From now on, no food will be given to others without me tasting it first,” I said, looking him in the eyes.

He inclined his head.

Then I pointed to the silver-haired man, still on his knees. “Where does he fit in?”

Lothar’s expression hardened. “He arranged for Yara to be away from the hospital for a day.” He stepped forward and bowed. “My apologies, Sire.”

“For what?”

“I… I let Yara meet her husband. She wouldn’t stop pestering me. I also let Meyer meet with Hyde and others. They must have planned this together.”

I sighed. “No unsupervised meetings from now on.”

He nodded silently, then his eyes flickered to the old man on the ground. “What happens now?”

“Justice.”

“Meaning?”

“What is the usual punishment for attempting murder?”

Everyone held their breath, waiting for the word that they dare not utter.

Lothar said with finality, “Death.”

Meyer fell on all fours and began blabbering, while clutching my leg.

“Why did you do it, Elder?” I asked.

“He… he promised me! He said that the moment you pass away, Lothar would fall in line and Judran would be free!”

My eyes narrowed. “So you knew that you were aiding them in a plot to assassinate me. That makes things easy.”

“Please, oh Messiah! Punish me as you see fit, but have mercy and spare my grandson!”

“And do what? Let the man who tried to kidnap a woman and kill a man go free?”

“Both of them are safe!”

“Only because the General arrived in time. If he had been late or hadn’t been a capable warrior, then what?”

His grip tightened.

“I beg you! Spare his life!”

I turned away from his pitiful face and scanned other faces.

“Your opinions?”

Nobody spoke.

Aprilia’s eyes were downcast. She was clearly struggling with something.

“What is it?” I asked.

She shook her head.

Pulling my leg free from Meyer’s pitiful grasp, I stepped closer to her. “What’s bothering you?”

“Nothing.”

“You’re lying.”

Her eyes flicked to the old man crawling towards me.

I took her by the arm to a corner.

She tried to resist. Weakly.

When I turned her to face me, she wouldn’t look me in the eyes.

Putting fingers under her chin, I forced it up until her eyes were level with mine.

“I’m asking as your leader,” I said quietly. “Tell me the truth.”

“He…” she gulped, then whispered, “Judran’s not a good man, Jack. When he bound me, his eyes…”

My other hand tightened around her arm.

That’s why she was so tense when we hugged. And she hid it just to not bother me.

She winced.

I loosened my grip, then massaged the spot.

“You know him?” I asked.

She looked up at me.

“You know his name.”

“He was trying to court me before I met you. I rebuffed him.”

I exhaled slowly, and pulled her in for a hug.

“I get it. You don’t need to say anything,” I said, while rubbing her back.

Any pity I felt for Meyer vanished.

All that was left was justice.

We went back to the others.

Meyer was still lying on the ground. His pitiful state no longer moved me.

What to do?

The sensible thing to do was to convene a public trial to properly establish the People’s Council and rule-of-law, but we would give the fools a chance to convince the rest of the Cha that they were right.

Or we could just get rid of them in private.

I looked at the other occupants.

They still had their heads lowered. Bowed.

Not in fear, but reverence.

Submission.

An uneasy feeling welled up inside me.

I didn’t want abuse their trust in me being some sort of Messiah, but opportunities like this didn’t come often.

You didn’t get poisoned and survived it everyday.

A public trial would set a precedent. A foundation for a better system.

“We will hold a public trial,” I declared.

The Elders nodded.

“General, take Elder Meyer into custody.”

Soldiers stepped forward.

“Sire!” Meyer wailed, getting up.

I turned and left the building.

Aprilia and my bodyguards followed.

Erickson jogged after us.

“Sire, there is the matter of the Council.”

“Let’s discuss it at lunch. I want to see the progress made in the industrial district first.”

He nodded.

“How is the weapon production going?”

“Well.” His eyes lit up. “Hundreds of crossbows have already been built. I still can’t believe the amount of steel we produce and turn into weapons in a week. The industrial district is… I’ve never seen anything like those machines they’ve built there. Does Nobart possess them?”

“No.”

His expression changed.

“So you truly… many called you the Messiah when you first woke up all those months ago. I never believed them. I was a fool.”

I turned to face the man. “Elder, I don’t like this sort of treatment. While I cannot argue with your beliefs, I would appreciate if you treated me like how you did before.”

He looked embarrassed before inclining his head.

“What you are seeing there is just the prelude to what is coming,” I added.

“I suspected,” he said, smiling. “If the machines that your Duckling have made work as they described, we will soon be living like nobles. The loom alone…”

I raised a finger. “Security first. Our repeating crossbows aren’t going to be enough going forward.”

He nodded. “I understand. I had already made up my choice after seeing that weapon and those machines. I failed to convince the others.” He hesitated. “Sire, is it really necessary to expand the Council?”

“Yes.” I put a hand on his shoulder. “Let’s talk after I’ve visited the district. Where are the men I brought with me?”

“They’ve been housed in one of the spare towers.” He pointed to one. Guards stood outside the door.

I turned.

It was time to see what the Cha had built in my absence.