Chapter One: News in a Pool

The morning sun broke through the window of Mormegil’s small, hardly furnished bedchamber. He rose from his chair after another sleepless night. Ever since the announcement of his resignation as King, things around the Citadel had been in a uproar. He had been swamped with requests for his reconsideration. Work had been piling up, and he had to finish up while he was still in office. These things could have been left for a steward to take care of, but he preferred to do them himself. He opened the door and entered the long hall that ended with Gilraen’s bedchamber, formerly his own. He started towards the stairs where the head of his servants met him. “Good morning your grace. Did you sleep well?” he asked as he took up step next to the King. “I haven’t slept in days and it’s finally catching up with me. But it’s for the best I suppose.” He rubbed a hand across his face. It felt like a pile of drooping mush. He desperately needed some sleep. They started down the stairs. “Your grace, what should I have your cook prepare for you? Anything in particular? And when should I have him bring the meals? To your solar or will you be dining with the men this morn?” asked the servant. “Coffee, and a lot of it I might add. Whatever else will be plenty sufficient.” He rubbed the hand across his mushy face again. “I’ll have it in my solar. I figure dining with the men will cause nothing but a headache.” The servant bowed his head and left. The rest of the way to his solar, no one dared so much as to glance at the King. It was like he had come down with some horrible affliction, and everyone feared him. But he was glad for it. He was in no mood for disruptions. He entered the somewhat dim solar and took a seat in his armchair. The skylight above was wet with morning dew and only a few beams of light shone through the thick cloud cover. He slouched back and put his feat up on the small table in front of his chair. He was in peace, a silent, dim room for a moment. He started to drift off towards the ever pleasuring sleep world, until the click of leather boots upon stone floor brought him back to reality. Into his solar stepped Huan, the captain of the rangers. “Good morning your grace,” he said as he stopped in front of the slouching Mormegil. “I wish I could say the same to you,” replied Morm as he sat up in the leather chair. “So, what’s the daily report from the city guard?” Huan, noticing the distress of the King, seemed to ignore it totally. “Well if I said things were find your grace, I’d be lying. The populace is still upset with your decision to resign as was expected. But yesterday afternoon they started to riot on the second level and burned down a few buildings and injured some citizens before we were able to suppress them. “We interrogated one of the rioters, who said that he was working as a part of an underground movement who were planning to use terror to try to get you to stay. We asked him who the leader was, but he wouldn’t give that information. We’re looking into it as we speak.” Morm sighed heavily at the news of riots. “Double the guard. I want the assassins to probe the alehouses and brothels to try to find something out.” “Do you think doubling the guard will be wise? I’m not sure, but I think some of the soldiers may be sympathizers. We can’t know for sure.” “Then who am I supposed to trust? This is exactly what they would want. Double the guard, show them that we are not afraid. I hope that you will be true to my cause.” “No doubt about it your grace.” “Good. Then carry out my orders. Only report back if absolutely necessary. I don’t want any distractions today.” Huan bowed and exited the solar, his boots clicking all the way. Morm began to drift back into the hazy sleep again, when the familiar click of boots yet again brought him back. He was ready to scream at Huan, but instead the head of the servants walked in rather briskly, holding some parchment. “Your grace!” he said shakily and out of breath. “I. . .I found this note. It was. . . it was. .” All he could do was hold out the piece of parchment for Morm to look at. Morm snatched the small piece, noting the stains on it. The note was scrawled very messily. If you are reading this, you will know that my assassin was successful. Renounce your resignation and stay as King of Gondor, or this will not be the last. We are everywhere, we can never be weeded out. Stay, or watch your kingdom crumble. Signed, Hob, Lord of the Gophers. He realized now that the stains were that of blood and nothing else. The middle had a large hole through it, presumably an arrow that held the letter in flight. “Where did you find this?” he asked the still trembling servant. “I found. . . I found the arrow in Hob. . . the cook Hob. The note. . . .the note had fallen off and was. . . was laying in a pool of the cook’s blood. . . . and coffee.” “So, this group, the Gophers? That would make sense. Weaving tunnels underneath the city. Elusive and pests. I will weed them out, no matter what. “Give this note to Heron and get him started on his investigation. And also, send for Nienna, tell her to mix me up a sleeping draught. If I’m to battle this out, I need a clear mind.”

After leaving the King’s solar, Huan had to attend to the duties assigned to the captain of the rangers. But first and foremost, he had the King’s orders. The rangers would be due in council in about an hour, so he had some free time. He stepped in Merethrond, the Hall of Feasts, hoping to get some breakfast. He arrived to see the large hall empty and a few guards standing by the entrance to the kitchen. He went to find out what was going on. “Lord Huan!” said the guards snapping a salute. “What’s going on here? This isn’t your post. And why is the hall empty?” “King’s orders, sir.” “Don’t give me that. I’m in charge here.” He pushed the guards aside and entered the cold kitchen, no fires burning in the stoves. He spotted the sprawled out body on the floor, a single arrow stuck in it’s back. He kneeled down to inspect. “Hob, the cook. Who would want to kill him?” he muttered to himself. There were bloody footprints leading out of the kitchen. He stepped over to the guards. “Whose footprints are those?” he asked the guards. “I believe they are the master servant’s sir. He was the one who grabbed us in the hall and told us to stand guard here.” “Where was he headed?” “King’s solar sir. He was all shaky and he had some parchment with him. That’s all I know sir.” Huan considered the two guards, they looked like they were telling the truth, but they could be conspirators. Either way he had to get Hob’s corpse out of there. “Go into the kitchens, take Hob’s corpse to the healers and let them take care of it. That’s an order.” The guards snapped salutes and headed into the kitchen. Huan on the other hand had to get back to the solar to see what was going on. As much as he knew Morm would be upset, this was rather important. He walked briskly through the mazelike corridors of the Citadel, towards the King’s solar. The whole way there he tried to think of some way to make this sound absolutely crucial, as to fend off the rage of the King. He came to the threshold of the solar and took a deep breath. He stepped in to see the King slouched in his armchair asleep. Sitting next to him with a small beaker was Nienna, master of the Healers. “I didn’t think that draught would have such an effect. He must have been more tired that I suspected,” she said with a small chuckle as she packed up her things. “When do you suppose he’ll wake from this sleep?” asked Huan a bit anxiously. “Not until tomorrow morning for sure. That draught could have dropped a balrog.” Huan cursed under his breath. He started to turn away when Nienna stopped him. “Before I knocked him out he said for me to give you this parchment should you come by.” Huan read over the blood stained note and folded it up. “Blessings to you.” He whirled away from the solar and out towards his wife’s post. He would let her in on the murder first. She would be out somewhere near the Citadel, atop her horse. She shouldn’t be too hard to find. He exited the Citadel and set out on foot, surveying the area in front. He spotted his lovely wife atop her stallion promenading around the area. He stepped up next to the horse. “Anna, I need to have a word with you.” “Go ahead, nobody will hear. Notice the bubble I create here. They know power when they see it.” She chuckled a bit. “There’s been a murder in the Citadel. Hob the cook. Someone put an arrow in his back. The head of the servants found this note next to his body.” He handed her the note. “Keep your eyes open for anything suspicious.” She scanned over the note. “I’ll keep a look-” Her sentence was cut short as three objects whizzed towards her. In the blink of an eye, she screamed out in pain and her horse whinnied and threw her off backwards. Huan turned around and was just barely able to bring the head of Aeglos up to deflect another missile whizzing for himself. Anna’s horse had run off. “Lordship to whoever catches the shooters!” Huan yelled out. A bunch of peasants sprinted off to catch the shooters. Anna was laying on the ground writhing in pain. She had a small crossbow bolt stuck in her side. He picked her up and started to carry her into the Citadel. He headed directly to Nienna’s quarters. He entered and laid her out on the bed. “Nienna!” he shouted out, summoning the healer. Nienna came up and spotted the ranger and went for her medical supplies. “You’ll be fine, Anna,” he said to try to calm his gorgeous wife. A small piece of parchment was tied around the end of the bolt. He carefully undid it, not to cause Anna any more pain. He unrolled the note and looked over it. Next time we’ll shoot to kill. Drop your investigation, or more pain, both physical and emotional is sure to come to you. Tread lightly Huan, this is your problem. Signed Anna Greenleaf, Lord of the Gophers He pocketed the note. Nienna was withdrawing the bolt from Anna, and judging by the muffled scream she was in a lot of pain. The bolt was pulled free and Nienna placed it aside. Huan picked it up and looked. A serrated arrowhead. He hadn’t seen one of those ever. He put it back down on the bed next to Anna, who had tears pouring down her face as Nienna applied some salves and padding. She gripped the arrow with her hand. “A souvenir I guess,” she said with a laugh that caused her to cringe in pain. “She’ll have to stay here for the rest of the day. I want to keep her under observation,” said Nienna as she finished applying the last pad. “I have to go to council, but I’ll be back when council is over. I promise.” He kissed his wife softly on the cheek and exited to head to council. They had attacked his wife. This was more than an attack on the realm, this was an attack on him, and he would not stand for it.

Light from a single lantern illuminated the dark room. The room was dead silent, except for the noise of bugs and the dripping water from the leaky roof. The leader of the Gophers sat alone is his wooden chair. He was waiting for his scouts to come back. He was rather pleased that the hit on the cook Hob was successful. But he was sure that the ever tired Morm wouldn’t be available and that Huan was probably on the case. He had scrambled three scouts to watch over the Captain of the Rangers. A shadow looming over him told him that his scouts were back. They had come silently, which he very much enjoyed. When he looked up, he spotted only two of the three. “Where is the other?” “We’re sorry m’lord. Huan went to spread the word to his wife. We opened fire, one to just injure his wife, one to the horse, and the other to kill Huan. The first to hits were successful, but the other was deflected. Huan turned the populace against us, promising lordship to whoever caught the shooters. Bran was taken by the mob. We managed to slip away. “The arrow we hit Greenleaf with was marked in standard procedure. The other two carried no message.” The leader of the Gophers shifted in his chair. “Can I be assured that you Brothers of the Black Sun have stiff tongues?” “Yes m’lord. Bran was always one of the hardest. It’ll take more than Huan to break him. I’m sure if you were to ask it, we could rescue him, for a small fee.” “With the money I’m paying you, I could hire enough sellswords to take the city,” complained the Gopher Lord. “Ah yes, but your money is well spent. Our purpose will be achieved. We have never failed an assignment.” “But then again you’ve never had an assignment inside the White City.” Ravos, this leader of the Brothers of the Black Sun nodded his head with a grin, finally speaking up. “That is true, but we can handle this.” His black cloak covered his eyes and cast a long black shadow over the rest of his face. “And you,” continued the Gopher Lord, “You say you will have the King in office in the next three days. So far all you’ve done is start riots and kill peons. That is getting the cause no where.” “But you only know what your spies tell you. Your spies cannot tell you that we have infiltrated the Rangers and turned a few. You cannot know that we have sympathizers in the guard. You cannot know that we have peasants who would fight and die for the cause. “I have a tongue made of silver and a partner made of gold.” He flashed a quick hand single to his partner who preceded to take off his hood. But the him was not he, but she. The other Brother of the Black Sun happened to be a woman, and an extraordinarily beautiful woman. Her dark black hair fell about shoulder length. She had the perfect face, with eyes of such a rarity. Looking into them was a thing in itself, unable to be explained, but could leave the looker paralyzed in a trance. The Gopher Lord had to look away to keep from being ensnared. Ravos spoke up again. “Kirsten is very good at what she does, turning the minds of weak, with such primal pleasures.” “So she’s nothing more than a whore?” Kirsten spoke up, her voice no longer deep and raspy but light and very feminine. “I suppose you could call me that, but no one I turn ever does.” The Gopher Lord kept his hard face on, no hint of him being ever slightly attracted to this assassin. “So what do you plan to do about Huan?” “Nothing,” answered Ravos. “Huan is not to be worried about. He will fear us wherever he goes and will destroy himself.” “We should worry about the Lady Elwing,” Kirsten suggested. “I agree. Elwing is one that cannot be touched by Kirsten’s charms. Nor will any of the female rangers. We must worry about them. Especially the assassins. They will no doubt be on the prowl searching for us.” “But they will fail,” ordered the Gopher Lord. “Of course,” they said in unison. Then Ravos started. “I figure that we should preside over the ranger’s council today to find out some more information.” “Impossible, the ranger’s headquarters is too heavily guarded.” “Shadows cannot be captured. Even if we should be spotted, poisoned blades will keep our cover. We will be fine, I can assure you of that. Then from there we should be able to rescue Bran.” The Gopher Lord again shifted uneasily. “Alright. But if you two are captured, and I find the rangers outside my door, I will personally kill both of you before the King can put you to the block. Am I clear?” “Very clear,” answered Kirsten and slipped her hood back on. “We will be back before nightfall. I suggest changing your meeting place, the guards will soon find this place.” The Brothers of the Black Sun vanished into the shadows as silently as they had come. The Gopher Lord was again alone. Things were going well, or so he perceived. But could they have had insiders in the guard, and even the rangers? He grabbed his weapons and exited his hideout, onto the streets of Minas Tirith, heading out for his daily duties.

Heron began towards the Citadel for the daily council. She was getting rather tired of the rather boring councils. Being an assassin wasn’t all it was made up to be, there was very little assassinating since Morm had no enemies. Most of the time it was just doing crowd control and citywide events. But being a ranger meant she had to go whether she liked it or not. She started off towards the council room inside the Citadel. She never really liked the place, all formal and too extravagant. She would’ve preferred that they held councils in the HQ, but what could she do? It was Huan’s preference. She ascended to the seventh ring where the huge white palace loomed above her, casting a friendly shadow. The last time she crept in the shadows was so long ago that she was almost forgetting how. So she just walked normally into the Citadel and headed towards the council. Heron entered and noticed that most of the rangers had already arrived. Morrandir sat with spear in hand, Arteris and Robin sat together quietly chatting, Treyan Andune stood looking over some scroll on a table. Elwing stood and was talking with Huan, both having distressed looks on their faces. She sat down with the other assassins. Gwaihir and Thorongil stepped in to finish off the rangers and took there seats. Huan began the council. “Hob the cook. We all know him. Dead. Anna Greenleaf we know her as well. Injured, shot with a small crossbow. The riots yesterday, all have a link in common. A group called the Gophers has started to terrorize Minas Tirith with the intent that if they do enough damage, our King will stay. “We have to put an end to these terrorists. Who knows when they will strike again.” He motioned at the door and two peasants stepped in dragging a black cloaked man by the arms. “This is one of the Gophers. After some short interrogation, which was hard to come by, we have only gained a bit of information. “This one is a Brother of the Black Sun, highly skilled assassins from Rhun.” “Brothers of the Black Sun?” asked Heron. “I’ve heard of them before. They offered to take me into training when I was younger, but I refused them.” She looked up at the Brother. “Bran?” The cloaked man lifted his head to look at Heron, then dropped it back down into his chest. “Bran, how could you?” she asked again. She stood up from her seat. “You were my closest friend. I can’t believe you went off with them.” The Brother spoke up while keeping his gaze set on the floor. “They took care of me. I have learned much. I am glad that I went. I’d rather be in a cell and die a Brother, than be you.” Heron was quite offended and recoiled, taking her seat again. Then Huan started again. “He didn’t give us much. Aside from being a Brother and he was hired by the Gopher lord, we didn’t get much. “But keep your eyes peeled. We do know that there were two other with him, garbed in similar clothes and with similar attitudes. They will stick to the shadows and move silently. Therefore, all of you are to double the watch in your assigned areas. I want men everywhere. “Also, my assassins. The King has order you to investigate further. I want you to search the alehouses and brothels, the sewers and dark alleys. I want you to get as much information as you can. If you spot one of these Brothers, I want him eliminated. Is this clear?” “Yes,” answered Erchamion, the first assassin. “We’ll get right on it.” Heron was delighted to hear that they would finally be getting an assignment. She waited for Erchamion to pass out orders after the council. The peasants threw the Brother to the floor, why, no one was sure. Huan regarded them with nothing more than a glance. The Brother lay on the floor motionless, except for his steady breathing. The room grew dark as the clouds passed over the Citadel again, keeping the sun from coming in through the skylight. Huan went on with other business. He was talking about morale when the sound of swords being drawn snapped his attention to the Brother. He was on his feet and the two peasants were holding longswords. They were already charged at Huan when he turned. They was a quick boing noise and a crossbow bolt whizzed past Robin’s head and stuck to the wall. It had barely missed. Huan brought of Aeglos to block the first of the sword and Jezabelle put an arrow into the second peasant dropping him to the ground. A rain of glass followed as two heavily cloaked and cape figures fell through the skylight. Even though it was a good twenty feet above the ground, the two figures hit the table very softly. They let fire a barrage of darts from small crossbows at their wrists. The needles stuck into several of the rangers, paralyzing them with the venom of the darts. Elwing cut down the peasant that had locked his sword with Huan and they were both caught with the darts. The three Brothers of the Black Sun headed out the door at a fast pace. The rangers were basically useless, all except for Arteris and Heron. They had avoided the barrage of darts. Thus began the pursuit. The ran down the halls after the assassins. “Stop those two!” shouted Arteris to anyone who could here it. A couple of guards stepped forward but were dropped by the poison darts. Heron grabbed her blowgun as they ran and inserted a needle. She kept on running and blew a needle out. It stuck uselessly in the cape of Bran, he old friend. The were closing fast on the doors. “Shut the doors!” Another order from Arteris. The guards were far enough away to get the doors closed. They stood in front of the thick pine gates with pikes in front of them. The three kept on running. Arteris stopped and drew an arrow. He took aim. The Brothers were closing fast on the pikes. Heron was chasing close behind them with her staff in hand. What happened next was a complete surprise. The Brothers of the Black Sun leapt from their running into the air. Two of them stepped off of the heads of the guard. Arteris let his arrow loose and it missed, breaking the stained glass above the gates. That was his downfall. The Brothers jumped from the helmeted heads of the guards and crashed through the window as the third jumped and did a front flip, flying through the open window unscathed. The stained glass was a good fifteen feet above the door. How could they jump like that. The door were firmly barred, there would be no pursuit. They ran back to the council room to check on the status of the rest of the rangers. They entered the room to find the rangers finally regaining use of their muscles. Arteris noticed the bolt in the wall below the slouched over Robin. He helped up his fiancée and pulled the bolt from the wall. A small note was attached as Huan was explaining before the attack. He pulled it off and read it. Killing the lady would have been much to easy. But now you know that we can strike swiftly and anywhere we wish. Keep this in mind, we move quieter than shadows and can cut deeper than swords. Signed, Robin Dunedain, Lord of the Gophers He handed the note to the recovering Huan. “These foes may be beyond us,” he admitted quietly to Arteris. “It’s just a challenge, and we’ve always liked a challenge. The three escaped, you wouldn’t believe how if I told you. They’re back on the streets.” Huan nodded to Arteris. “Alright everyone. Quickly now. You know what power they have. Defend yourselves against it. Double the guard and keep a careful watch. These people are dangerous, but we can and will have victory. Council dismissed.” The rangers scattered from the council room except for the assassins who stayed behind to get orders from Erchamion. “I’ll keep a watch around the Citadel and this ring. Dee, you have the next three rings and Eldarion the bottom three. Heron, you’re too inexperienced for this, so I’m leaving you off the case.” Erchamion finished his orders and the assassins split. “Left out? I think not,” said Heron quietly to herself and ran off to start her sweep of Minas Tirith.

Huan pulled the poison dart from his chest and looked over it. Nothing to spectacular about it, one could buy them anywhere. He threw the thing aside and decided it best to go back to Anna. As much as he wanted to run each of them down, his heart was not with him. He stepped into Nienna’s ‘workshop’ and sat down next to Anna. Her pads were stained red with blood that apparently had not stopped. “How are you feeling?” “I’m quite alright, I feel that I can get back to my duties by tomorrow.” Nienna stepped into the room. “Be that as it may, you’re not going anywhere for awhile. That wound is more serious then I first suspected. There must have been some kind of poison on that bolt, it doesn’t look like the wound is closing up.” “But she’ll be fine in time, right?” Nienna clenched her teeth together. “I can’t be so sure now. If that wound doesn’t close, she may perish from it. If I knew what kind of poison that was I’d be able to mix something up for it.” Anna kind of looked up at the ceiling in deep concentration. She was slowly growing weaker and it could be seen in her eyes. “If you could find out the name of the poison, I can easily fix it.” Huan took his wife’s hand in his. He kissed it and then lay it atop her stomach. “You hold on, I’ll find the name. I won’t let you die.” Anna forced a painful laugh. “Death is so terribly final. I’ll fight it off, I’m stronger than you may think.” Huan stood up from his stooping position beside the bed. “I’ll be back. If she worsens, I want to know about it.” “Yes, yes, I’ll send someone for you if things turn, but she’ll be fine Huan. Now stop worrying about it.” Even though hesitant, Huan left Nienna’s house of healing and realized that he had nothing to do. The city was in a mess, but he had no direct orders. He could spend his time as he wished. And there was only one thing he wanted to do, find out the name of that poison. He exited the Citadel and stood under the shadow of the huge palace. Where to begin? They were everywhere and nowhere at the same time. He was in way over his head. But then it hit him. These assassins would likely come to him, they couldn’t resist. He was a threat to their cause so they had no choice but to come after him. So he did what any spider would do to bring some unsuspecting prey into his web. He took a stroll. Huan walked around the seventh ring of Minas Tirith, stopping to talk with some guards every now and then, give a nod to passersby. Just acting like nothing was wrong at all. But yet they did not come. Probably because he was in crowded areas. He needed to go somewhere where they could get a close shot at him. He stepped over to a small bench and took a seat. It was in the middle of a plaza, which on this day was rather empty. He kept a hand on Aeglos at all times. Who knew when he would need that weapon. He sat and yet they still did not come. They walked on by and looked at him and whispered things to each other. Only one person stopped to talk with him. She was wearing the garb of a low ranking guard. “Captain Huan,” she said and snapped a salute. “Yes, what can I help you with?” “I was walking my rounds this morn and I noticed a commotion in the Citadel. The doors closed rather quickly and then I saw three people break through the stained glass above the doors. I did not chase, for they were too far from me, but I saw in the general direction of where they went.” Huan, now rather interested in this news, forgot about the assassins for a moment and concentrated on what she had to say. “Well, go on, where did they head?” The guard pointed. “Right over there. To the ranger’s housing. I saw them slip into one of the buildings, which it was, I am not sure.” Huan looked over at the ranger’s housing. Which one could it be? Who could be betraying Minas Tirith. Then a sudden movement caught his eye. Her other hand, and a wrist mounted crossbow, assassin! He flipped over on the wooden bench at it went with him. The bolt stuck into the bottom of the chair and Huan scrambled to his feet, grabbing the fallen Aeglos. The woman took off and ran. Huan set to pursue. She was smaller than him, but rather quick. Her sprinting was quick steps, short strides. It was fast, but not fast enough. Huan, hot on her heels, swung the shaft of Aeglos and it took out her legs. She became tangled up and fell, rolling a bit farther. Huan got over her, but was taught his lesson when a small dagger cut his leg, drawing a bit of blood. She nimbly flipped up onto her feet. She was certainly more agile than Huan. Her steps were cat like. Peasants ran screaming from the small skirmish. Huan circled with the woman. He caught sight of a figure approaching rather quickly. He had to keep his eyes on his opponent, but it looked like a woman ranger. The assassin stepped forward and jabbed with the dagger, not even close to Huan. He swung the butt of his spear around again and she bent backwards and ducked under it, an amazing maneuver. She sprung back to the straight up position but it was too late. The figure from the distance had tackled her and had the assassin pinned down to the ground. It was none other than Treyan Andune. She drew a dagger and held it to the woman’s throat. “Wait!” Huan blurted before Trey could slice herself a nice chunk of neck. Trey held the blade still but steadied her hand. The Captain of the Rangers knelt down next to them. “You’re name,” he commanded. She spit in his face and he responded by backhanding her. “Let’s try again, your name.” “Kirsten, the only female Brother of the Black Sun,” said the black haired assassin with pride in her voice. “What’s the name of the poison you shot my wife with?” he said fiercely. Kirsten looked up and smiled. “How should I know? We all have our trademarks. It was not my bolt that put your lady down.” Huan turned his head and cursed under his breath. “Trey, take her back to the Citadel, throw her in a cell and post as many spare guards as you can outside it. Skilled guards, not some newbies.” “Aye,” she said. She hoisted the assassin to her feet and they were off towards the Citadel. Huan dabbed the blood from his leg. “Well, the spider can’t be perfect.”

Heron wondered what the urgent message from the Citadel was about. The guards had come and seized her while she sat in a sleazy ale house trying to pick up some information. She hadn’t found out much though. Earlier that day she was tracking an apothecary, one of the best she heard from the word on the street. These assassins would need their poisons from somewhere. She followed him without him noticing her. The apothecary stepped down into an alleyway and was dealing with a cloaked man. Same dark cloaks and all. She broke that up. He staff put down the apothecary quite easily and the buyer was a bit tougher. She realized though, that it could not have been one of the brothers, he was very unskilled. She sent for some guards and now both were sitting in a dungeon. The rest of the day she mainly followed suspicious acting people, but they never really turned up anything worthwhile. Most of them slipped into their dwellings where she dare not snoop. The guards had come in with urgent news from Captain Huan so she left, what choice did she have? She entered the large white halls of the familiar Citadel and inquired further where she was going. “Captain Huan says that he has captured a Brother. He said he wanted you there, for what reason I am not sure,” answered the guard she was walking with. Heron entered the first of the double doors to the interrogation room. Her escort left her there and closed the door behind her. She took a deep breath, still wondering why Huan needed her there. She opened the door to the interrogation room, and could not believe what she saw. Huan, and the Brother, more appropriately Sister, on the table. The were kissing each other, with a lot of vigor too. Huan had her wrists pinned down to the table and he was all over her. Heron wondered for a split second where things would be if she arrived a few minutes later. “Huan!” she said half surprised and the other half horrified. He was caught off guard and rolled off of the table grabbing Aeglos. The Brother held a small crossbow now. “You forgot that you called the bitch,” said the Brother to Huan. She pointed it directly at Heron’s chest. Huan also stood with the point of Aeglos pointed at her. “Yes, I suppose I did, we got carried away, didn’t we?” The Brother smiled and licked her lips. “Now what to do with you Heron?” “I say that we should kill her. It would be the only sensible thing to do. She saw something that she shouldn’t have.” The Brother studied Heron up and down. “Ah, but such a pretty girl. It would be such a waste to just execute her.” “I agree, and I have no mind to kill my own rangers,” he laughed a bit, “plus they could be turned, with the right charms.” Heron stood frozen, not daring to move. Huan a traitor? What had that witch done to him. Ah yes, the kissing. She was a beautiful girl, probably lured in Huan. But he had a wife, a wife he loves very much, what happened here? “What do you think we should do with you Heron?” “Force me to work for you.” That was a solution that she would be able to work with. “I suppose we could, but how could I be sure of your loyalty?” “The same way the witch is certain of yours,” she answered with her words of ice. Huan took a few steps forward and lifted the point of the spear to her throat. “Oh how I would like to kill you though Heron. You never were my favorite.” “Then kill me. It could only have been two people, you or the Brother there. And they would wonder how she was able to kill me and escape you. You are the most powerful of the rangers, aren’t you Huan?” That remark earned her a punch to the stomach and she doubled over. He hit her in the back with the but of his spear and she fell to the floor. “Perhaps we should just let her go. If we find out she has opened her mouth, we come back for her. My Brothers would make short work of this one. Invoke fear into your enemies, it’s better than any poison.” Huan considered the proposition. “That is a good idea. I think we shall do that.” He kicked Heron with the toe of his boots. “Get up, and get out of here. But mind your tongue, or you’ll wake up and find it gone.” Heron stood up slowly and gave Huan a look. If looks could kill, that one would have done it. The Brother just kept on smiling. Herons started to walk towards the door and she overheard Huan. “I’ll escort you out of here. I’ll meet you later at your headquarters. There I’m sure that we-” Was the last thing she heard as she stepped out of the interrogation room. She stepped back out into the hall and Narsil Anduril stopped her. “What were you doing in there?” “Huan needed me to help him interrogate a prisoner. He said that she might seduce him and he didn’t trust himself.” “That doesn’t sound like Huan at all. With Anna and all, especially as she is now. I figured his will would be iron cast, but times are rough I guess. I have to get to my patrol, I’ll see you later Heron.” Narsil walked away, probably heading to her quarters to change. What a position to be in. Knowing that the captain of the rangers was corrupt and not being able to tell anyone. Arteris was standing up against a pillar near the interrogation room. “Heron,” he called and she went over to him. “What’s going on in there? It usually doesn’t take this long.” “Huan’s really pressing that Brother he caught for information. I guess he’s working really hard. He sent me out after I couldn’t get anything out of her.” Arteris rubbed the rough stubble on his face. “Something’s a miss, I’m going to check on them.” “Oh good,” thought Heron. “Arteris will discover them.” She watched him walk to the door, before he got there, it swung open and the Brother walked out with the crossbow in hand. She almost walked into the point of the Arteris’s arrow. “Throw down, you’ve got Huan behind you and Heron in front of you. Even if you kill me, they’ll take you down.” The woman in black tossed the crossbow aside. “I’m unarmed Arteris.” She stepped towards him and pushed his bow down. She stepped up close to him. “A reward for your excellence.” She motioned forward to kiss him. There was a soft ‘plunk’ and the brother staggered back with an arrow stuck in her thigh. “Don’t touch me with that kiss of death.” A swarm of guards tackled her and dragged her away to the dungeons. And Huan just walked out, like nothing had happened.

The Gopher Lord sat in the new HQ for his underground operations. Ravos was right, the last HQ was raided right after he left. Apparently Dee had snooped around enough to find it. The word was that Erchamion was caught working with the other side and stripped of his rank, so now Dee was leading the assassins, and she was more thorough than her previous. So he sat in the lively alehouse, at a table in the middle of the pub, with everyone looking at him. He was plain clothes, and he was sure that the Brothers of the Black Sun would come dressed plainly as well. The door to the pub swung open and in walked Ravos, with Bran, and Kirsten. The Gopher Lord knew she had been captured, but how had she escaped? He was sure that it was done cleverly. The sat down and ordered some drinks. They all ended up drinking the moderately aged merlot, the most coveted of all Gondorian liquors. “So, what news of your progress?” Ravos took a drink and began his report. “Well, we rescued Bran in the morning. Broke into the Ranger’s council and darted all of them.” “I knew about that,” answered the Gopher Lord. “Well, then after that, Bran and I went to snoop around the Citadel some more. We made a hit on the head of the servants. The King should wake up to the sight of his dead servant across his legs when he wakes. “I sent Kirsten to follow Huan. Somehow,” he gave her a disappointed look, “Huan managed to take her captive.” Kirsten picked up the story now. “He took me in for interrogation. I used my charms on him. He was weaker than most that I’ve turned. I didn’t even have to get undressed,” she bragged. The Gopher Lord seemed a bit amused and motioned for her to go on. “I would have walked out right then, but Heron stepped in. We dealt with her. She shouldn’t be a problem. Then I would have left, but Arteris stepped in. He put an arrow into my leg. It was a superficial wound. “They threw me in the dungeons and posted to female rangers to guard my cell. It was such a shame that they were already a part of our cause. So I sneaked out of my cell and found Ravos. Then I was done for the day.” “Yes, but Bran and I still had some work to do,” followed Ravos. “We talked with Huan. He inquired about the poison that we used on his wife. We told him.” “Why would you tell him?” the Gopher Lord asked angrily. “That would have been spectacular leverage!” “I trust his loyalty,” answered Ravos. “Anyhow, Bran went to start another riot. The peasants started some fire and looted a few stores before the guard came in and put and end to it. But every day we gather another fighter. I believe we are finally ready.” The Gopher Lord leaned back in his chair and took a drink of the wine. Ready? Could the city actually be ready to take up arms against each other. Had Ravos rallied enough men to take the City and force the King’s hand. He had his doubts. “I assure that we are ready, m’lord. In a battle they would match us two to one, but we’ve turned half of the rangers and the peasants we have are strong fighters. Plus the three of us could take them indefinitely. Plus you m’lord. They would step aside in fear of you.” The Gopher Lord ran over the details in his mind. He calculated the possible outcomes. Only one major figure came to his mind. Massive losses, on both sides. But it was unavoidable. He had to do it. “Very well. If you say that the time is right, I shall trust your word. We’ll strike on the morrow, but at night. The night will give us a great advantage. They won’t be as prepared and it will be confusing for them as well as us.” “But how would we know one side from the other?” asked Bran “I’ve given everyone that we have turned a pink sash that they are to tie around their arms. They should be easy enough to spot when we get into battle.” Ravos had thought of these things in advance, he was a smart person. “Excellent. We’ll see how the day runs out, then at night we shall strike. Avoid the rangers during the day. Try to recruit anyone else you can. Then, once they sun sets, we will have the Citadel. The four shook hands and finished their drinks. They left the small pub, and scattered to wherever. Tomorrow would be their day. The Tumultuous Day.

Dreams of women filled the heads of Mormegil as he slept. Gilraen, Elwing, Nienna, Jezabelle, Dee, Narsil, Gwaihir, Heron. They danced around him in thin wisps of silk, moving ever so gracefully. They exotic dance was wonderful. But his eyes felt otherwise and began to open, and the vision of the Gondorian ladies swirled away into a spiral of nothingness. He felt his mind jar back into consciousness and knew that it was over. He opened his eyes slowly, but they ended up shooting wide open. The head of the servants was lying on his lap, with a dagger stuck through his throat. There was blood everywhere. He sat for a moment in shock before tossing the corpse off him. “Guards!” he shouted and two soldiers stepped in brandishing their pikes. They spotted the body on the floor and then looked at Morm to see the look of anger in his face. “How the hell did he get in here!” he asked infuriated. The guards exchanged looks and couldn’t seem to find their voices. Morm took his feet and looked at the pool of blood on his solar floor. “Damn it!” He stormed out of the solar, leaving the guards to clean up the mess. He was very very upset with the proceedings. He spotted a servant walking down the hall. “Servant!” he yelled, his voice still flaring. The servant walked over. “You’re the new head of my servants. Now go fetch me Huan, and quickly.” The newly instated head of the servants ran off to fetch Huan. Morm headed to the gardens to relax. He was just waking up and things were amiss. These Gophers were quite a nuisance. He stepped into the garden that was now bathed in moonlight. He had slept the whole day. He sat down and waited for Huan to show up with the head of the servants. The captain of the rangers entered and spotting the King, gave a quick smirk that Morm did not see. “Yes your grace?” “Go fetch me Dee,” he said to the servant. Then to Huan, “What news?” Huan went over the story of Anna and the first capture and that Brother’s escape, then of the second capture and that escape, leaving out the details of him and Kirsten for sure. He also put in the report of more unrest in the town and another riot. The King was not pleased and sent him away without new orders. Shortly after Huan left, the servant head, whose name Morm didn’t even bother to get, came up with Dee. “You summoned me your grace?” He motioned for her to sit with him on the grass of the garden. Nearby the mist from the fountain cooled his skin. “What have you found out about these Brothers of the Black Sun?” “My two associates haven’t found anything worthwhile. They say that these Brothers are intrackable. And for the most part that is true. I’ve had a hard time finding them myself. “But instead I tracked an informant that said he saw one of them earlier. I followed him all day. He went into an alehouse and I entered. I spotted a ranger in there. They looked a bit suspicious, sitting alone. “I couldn’t make out who it was, at the moment I had to attend to subduing the riot. I lost the trail on the ranger. I think that one of the rangers may be the Gopher Lord that is vexing us. But which one I am not sure.” “That doesn’t help very much Dee,” the King said in a half depressed tone. “Should I detain all the rangers to cut of his or her correspondence with these Brothers?” “I don’t think that would be effective, or wise. These Brothers of the Black Sun can operate on their own should the need arise. Plus the rangers are needed to help hold down the city. Detaining them would be a fault.” Morm rubbed his chin with his fingers. “I suppose you’re right. Keep on the trail, report to me if you find anything outstanding.” Dee stood up and bowed. She left the gardens and Morm was alone yet again. He laid down in the grass and let the atmosphere of a summer evening take him over. He was about to drift off into sleep again when he felt cold steel at his throat. He opened his eyes to see a cloaked figure hanging above him. “Kill me,” he said, assuming the figure was a Brother. “No,” came the answer, feminine, very light. “I’ve come to warn you, Mormegil.” The woman threw back her hood. “I’m Kirsten, a Brother of the Black Sun. If my brothers find me here they will kill me.” “Then hurry.” “Tomorrow evening will be a horrible night. The Gopher Lord has set the wheels in motion. The Gophers, they will rise up and try to take the city. There will be two strikes, one on the lower rings, the second actually. That will be a diversion, they will try to draw away your forces. “The second strike will come later, at the Citadel. They will surround it and besiege you. You must not allow that. They will try to force you hand. Understood?” Morm was taken off guard. “Why are you helping me?” She bent forward and kissed the king. “Love makes people do crazy things.” She threw her hook up against the garden wall and scaled it, and was gone as quickly and silently as she had come. Morm sat back, wondering why, and much more how. “Lucky me,” he said to himself and headed to his throne room.

“Fighting has broken out on the second ring!” a guard said to Huan holding an arrow wound in his chest. “The peasants, they have taken up weapons. They caught my men off guard. It was a slaughter. My men, traitors. They turned their weapons against each other. It was madness.” So it had finally begun. Huan had attended a meeting last night where the Gopher Lord had gone over his plans for attack. Huan had the most important part. He was to capture the King and hold him until the Brothers of the Black Sun could arrive. Huan turned to Jezabelle. After the King had been warned of the attacks, he made sure the rangers would be assembled. They stood together at the foot of the Citadel stairs. “Take a battalion of archers down there. I want them held off. Kill them if you must, but try to be merciful.” Jezabelle nodded and gathered up some archers and headed down to the second ring. “Trey. Also take some swords down there, you lead them. I want that rebellion stopped.” Trey nodded and mounted up and lead a group of infantry down to the lower levels. The rest of the rangers waited for the second attack. They could here screams and see smoke rising from the second ring mostly, although fighting had broken out on the other rings, save the seventh. The only light was that of the torches around them. Huan peered down from this vantage point. Judging by the smoke, the rebellion was failing, no new fires had been spotted. After a time that was less than an hour, Trey returned with her bladesmen. The came up and she stopped before Huan. Trey and whatever men she had left were wearing the pink sash, friends. “Captain, the rebellion is over, Gophers crushed on the second level.” “Excellent,” said Huan as he tied a sash around his own arm. “Now, just to clean up around here.” He nodded to Trey and she rushed forward into the flanks of the rangers, cutting down anyone that didn’t wear the sash. Her bladesmen rushed forward and engaged the rangers. Caught completely by surprise and surrounded, the rangers loyal to Morm stood with weapons in hand, not having much of a chance. Huan stepped into the circle. “Yield,” he said bluntly, with a smirk on his face. He looked around at his allies, Arteris, Trey, Robin, Gwaihir. They stood with the sash around their left arms. Jezabelle would be rallying the Gophers on the lower level and eventually bring them up. Elwing stepped forward. “You want me to yield to you? You’re not a man, you’re less than that.” He took a swing at her with the butt of Aeglos, which she block with Caldabog. “You never were better than me Huan. I’ll never yield to you.” Huan laughed as he saw the others throw down their weapons. Thorongil, Heron, Dee, Eldarion, Narsil, Morrandir, Elenwen, Aerlin. “You should go with the crowd. They are ever so much smarter than you.” Elwing stood her ground with her sword in one hand and the whip Starspray in the other. “Then make me yield. You’ll have to kill me.” Huan snapped his fingers and the circle closed in on Elwing. The bladesman cut and poked at her. And she fought them off, only for a while. In the end they cut her legs out from under her, painful gashes and she could no longer stand. Huan kicked her weapons away from her. “Well, well. You have no choice but to yield now. You are unarmed and off your feet.” “Never,” she struggled, spitting out blood from a wound she took to her face. “Very well, leave her here. Let her bleed to death.” “No,” came a voice. “Pick her up, carry her into the Citadel with us. Throw her at Morm’s feet and demand that he yields.” Up next to Huan stepped Arteris, fixing an open faced helm shaped like a Gopher’s head. “Very good plan indeed,” added Trey. “Our Gopher Lord is right Huan. Throw her down in front of Morm, that will settle this easily.” “Otherwise he will yield as easily as Elwing did,” added Arteris, Lord of the Gophers. Two guards wearing the pink sash picked up Elwing and bound her hands to a spear and placed it behind her head, almost like a cross. The two guards grabbed the ends of the spear and carried it into the Citadel, leading the vanguard. Her feet dragged uselessly across the floor, the pain in her legs was too much her to even attempt to walk. Guards stepped up to try to stop them and were cut down by Arteris and Robin’s arrows before they got close enough. After that they would throw down their weapons as the procession moved towards the throne room. They entered and spotted Morm, alone, on his throne. He rose from the seat as he spotted Elwing bound to the shaft. “My King! Do throw down Gurthang and this will be over fast,” said Arteris as they forced Elwing to her knees in front of the King. She was a bloody mess. He looked over the van of Gophers. So many of his men, turned. “Huan,” he said with a sigh. “I expected you to fall last.” The captain of the rangers shrugged and smiled. “They have the right in the matter. It’s for a good cause, and if men have to die for it, then so be it.” “And you Arteris, I should have out you to the block after the Pink Brigade. How many more revolutions will you lead before you finish?” “As many as I need. This one is at least a justified cause and I have many supporters,” he said as he pointed out the van behind him. Silently, three black shadows slipped in next to Arteris. His Brothers of the Black Sun. Ravos stepped up and bowed to his Gopher Lord. “The battle on the second ring was a success once Huan sent in our reinforcements. Jezabelle is headed up right now.” “Excellent, this was well planned.” “I’d tell them to watch out on the fifth ring,” muttered Mormegil. “What?” asked Arteris, barely catching the remark from Morm. “I said they should avoid the fifth ring,” he chuckled, “oh wait, that’s impossible.” “What are you talking about?” Arteris demanded. “Answer me!” “Well what did you expect? If I knew the attacks were coming, why not prepare for them? I had a feeling some of my rangers had turned against me. I knew about the attack on the second ring. All a ruse. I left it unguarded. I sent all my strength to the fifth ring. I figure that once Jezabelle rides up, she’ll think it’s a group of friend sitting on the walls with bows in hand. But I think she’ll be pleasantly surprised.” Arteris looked over at Huan and his Brothers. “Did you know this?” “I swear we did not m’lord,” answered Ravos solemnly. “As for me,” continued the King, “I never sit alone at night.” The doors to Merethrond the Hall of Feasts were thrown open and leagues of soliders, fully armored and brandishing pikes and swords and bows and axes alike. They outnumbered the Gophers two to one. “Now, Lord of the Gophers, throw down your weapons and this will end.” “Ha! I’m sure there are Gophers infesting your trap.” He looked around at the ranks of soldiers that had come in. Not a single pink sash. “You’d be surprised at how fast knights can arrive from Rohan. A land untouched by Gophers.” Among the ranks were Remy, Helm, Ara, and even Lorelei and Eo. “They’re on the fifth ring too. You won’t have any help. So, throw down. I’ve weeded you out, you’re done.” Anna Greenleaf stood with the Rohan knights and Huan took a look at her. “I see that the name of that poison was quite correct,” he said to Ravos, seconds before hurling Aeglos at the Brother. The spear stuck in his chest and the leader of the Brothers fell back, dead. “Huan!” exclaimed Arteris as the captain of the rangers retrieved a sword from his wife. “I’m sorry Arteris, but I was only in it to help Anna.” Morm spoke again and drew Gurthang, the black sword. “Now Arteris, throw down or be thrown down.” “Kill them, kill the rangers!” The riders swept forward and crashed into the perimeter of the Gophers. Sparks danced off the blades as they smashed together. The rangers on the inside of the circle were able to kick and punch their way out, avoided blades, well almost avoided all the blades. A few were cut, nothing serious. Heron, having retrieved a sword from a corpse, scanned the room for Bran, he old childhood friend. The black cloaked man cut down a soldier from Rohan. “Bran!” she shouted above the clamor of battle. He whirled and spotted her. She held her sword in both hands and glided over towards him. They crossed swords and locked together. She stood inches from his face. “Now we will see who took the right path,” he said and kicked her back with a leathered boot. She stumbled but regained her balance as he came in on attack. She parried his blows, one, two, three, then took a cut for herself. It caught him, or his cloaks at least. They were so thick she wondered if she would be able to kill him. She took a step back to gain some space. They rang swords again and she found herself at a disadvantage as her sword cracked midway down. She tossed the useless thing aside and drew a dagger. “Daggers will we?” said Bran as he tossed his sword aside and produced two daggers with green blades, heavily poisoned. He spun towards her like a cyclone, the blades a green blur as they flew past in every rotation. She took a few more steps back, avoiding the tornado of blades. Then the idea came to her, so easy. He was spinning so fast she wasn’t sure that he could even see her. She grabbed to throwing stars from her belt and flung them at him. She heard the metal on metal contact, one had been blocked, but the twister came to a stop and fell as dead weight against the floor. The other, the lucky star, had caught the Brother of the Black Sun in the throat. Blood fountained out of the wound and covered his face in it’s deep red color. She looked over and spotted Morm with a sword locked with Arteris. The silver blade of Mitak bounced off of the black Gurtang. They were fighting at an unbelievable pace. She could hardly track the blades as they flew past. Arteris lost another step as Morm closed in twirling that black sword. He parried another and tried a move, very risky. He turned his back to Morm and thrust the sword under his right arm, a stabbing blow. He felt the blade catch something and pulled it back and turned. And there it was, the black sword came down across his chest, leaving a diagonal gash in his chest from shoulder to hip. Arteris fell back as blood seeped out of the wound. Mitak flew from his hand and he lay, sprawled out on his back. Morm put a foot across his chest, the leather of his boots digging into the wound. “Yield,” “Throw down!” he shouted out, a rough task, considering his chest was split open. Robin, his ex heard the command and relayed it. “Throw down! All Gophers throw down!” The stopped for a second and turned to see Morm with the point of Gurthang at Arteris’s throat. Their leader had been defeated. The dropped their weapons and put their hands on their heads. “It’s over,” said Morm as he sheathed Gurthand and left the room with the King and Queen of Rohan.

Mormegil stepped up to the podium that was laid out at the foot of the steps of the Citadel. The whole city was invited for Morm’s speech, although invited would be an improper word, more like encouraged. “My lords and ladies of Minas Tirith, I welcome you to the Citadel. What I have to say will not take long. In light of the recent events, I am both angered, and honored.” The crowd was taken aback at the word ‘honored’. “For a city to rise up, against it’s own brothers, to spill the blood of it’s countrymen for a cause that is indeed well founded is a very awesome feeling. But,” and the ‘but’ lingered a moment, a major change of tone and inflection. “But killing your brother is an unjustifiable thing. Was it necessary to litter the ground with the bodies of your neighbors? I’m sure our neighbors from Rohan are much disgraced, having to kill their allies in a slaughter on the fifth ring. I told them, don’t use deadly force, but mistakes are made and deaths were aplenty.” He turned around and pointed at the rangers involved with the Gophers, with nooses hung around their necks, standing on their small stools, waiting to die. “These five rangers,” he rattled off their names, “Arteris, Treyan Andune, Jezabelle, Robin, Gwaihir. These five were major instruments in this plot. It is treason! And treason is the most serious of all crimes.” He nodded his head and five guards, dressed all in black, kicked the stools out from under them and let them hang. Some kicked and fought, but Arteris hung motionless, his eyes closed and hands clasped at his waist. “They will pay for their mistakes!” he boomed to the crowd, held silent as the five rangers were dying slowly. Mormegil stepped down from the podium and over to the gallow. He drew Gurthang and one by one, cut the rangers down and helped them to their feet. The struggled for air and the guards removed the nooses. He stepped back up to the podium. “But death is not the way.” The crowd was completely silent and wide-eyed, staring attentively at their king. “Instead, they will attend the funeral, of every single man and woman who paid for their mistakes. Every peasant, knight, lord who fought for my cause and was killed. They will oversee the funerals of every single one, and beg forgiveness for their wrongs. This is what I judge of them. “After this, and only after this, I will pardon the crimes of each one and allow them to return to my service, but no sooner. This is my judgement.” The crowd was silent still. Then one woman broke the silence and shouted out, “Bless you King Mormegil, noblest of all of Gondor!” The rest of the throng followed up with shouts of approval. And Mormegil smiled. “As for my final words here today, I have one small announcement. In light of the recent events, I have made a decision. I, Mormegil, will stay, as your King of Gondor.” When he thought the roar could go no louder, it blew him away with the cheers at his announcement. They smallfolk all took a knee and the sweeping motion of his subjects flowed to the back rows. Only the elderly still stood, although even some of those, hunched over with their walking sticks lowered themselves ever so slowly to the ground beneath. One especially large man dressed in light green roughspun spoke for the crowd. “We pledge our everlasting allegiance to you my King, until the end of our days, we will serve you. We have never been more blessed than at this moment.” “Rise,” he commanded and the throng rose and cheered once again. He nodded and hosted his banner, the white tree and it’s seven stars high above him and they cheered. He passed it off to a servant and turned away towards Arteris. Arteris dropped to a knee. “I am most grateful for mercy, your Grace.” “Get up, I hope we can put this all past us in a few days. Now get going, funerals will be starting soon and you better be there.” “Yes your Grace. But one last thing. Does this not mean that the Gophers had succeeded in their purpose?” Mormegil smiled. “Yes, I suppose it does.” And with that, he turned and headed towards his throne room.