Page 112 of The Oracle of Dusk

“Boreas needs their high priestess. A blasphemer king cannot take precedence over the needs of the people.”

“Yes, I agree. A pity the people of Boreas are in such dire straits. Why, just the other day, during the height of the plague, my room, nestled safely within your guest palace, was visited by an angry spirit.”

He could have heard a pin drop in the silence that followed. He’d all but accused her of shirking her sacred duties as a monarch to pacify the spirits of the land. He’d all but pointed his finger at her for causing the plague through negligence. Except that he’d only relayed a simple truth.

In her stunned silence, he pressed his advantage.

“Such a thing has never occurred in the Aurean royal palace. If you like, I would be more than happy to share some basic rituals for the protection of your domicile.”

There were a few gasps at his offer. Not only had he called her incompetent, he’d suggested she was incapable of performing her duties better than even a child. Flora’s face reddened with embarrassment and rage.

“And yet none of it protected your brother, Tisander, when a plague tookhim,” she retorted.

Theron’s magic exploded from him as he advanced on her throne, overtaken by unparalleled rage.

“Keep his name off your tongue. You’re not worthy to speak it.”

Her eyes flashed with glee as her guards barred his way with spears. He’d fallen into this imbecile’s trap and it took all his willpower to keep himself from murdering the bitch where she sat.

“Such a temper. One wonders if you really were overcome with divine madness when you slaughtered Viridian soldiers on Viridian soil.”

“The avatar can vouch for me,” he ground out.

“And where is he? I don’t believe he’s here to corroborate your claims.”

“I suspect he is busy purifying the city so that the monstrosities that appeared in the guest palace don’t return. After all, Boreas has suffered so much recently,” he retorted, regaining his composure.

Stupid fool. He never should have let her goad him.

“The bounty of Viridis thanks you for your concern,” she replied with venom. “But enough of pleasantries. I have summoned you to make restitution for your crimes.” She snapped her fingers and one of her closest toadies took out a large piece of parchment. “Read the treaty.”

Theron waited impatiently to find out just how outrageous she’d become in the interim. Would she demand Aureum’s royal palace this time?

“For the undisputed crimes of murdering a dozen Viridian soldiers on Viridian soil, and conspiring with a worshipper of the sinister goddesses to attack the Viridian royal palace, the blasphemer King Theron of Aureum will cede the entirety of the Dragon’s Flank from The Colonnades Of The Colossus to the Dragon’s Talon port, as well as Aureum’s territory in the Dragon’s Spine Mountains, to Viridis as compensation. By signing this document, both Queen Flora and King Theron agree to these facts as true and these terms as just and fair.”

Gasps filled the gathered crowd as Flora eyed him with a smirk.

It seemed she’d learned to count since last they met, but she’d slipped further into madness. What fresh nonsense was this about conspiring with sinister goddesses? What game was she playing at? Before he could ask, his paladin escort stepped forward.

“Greetings to the bounty of Viridis. I am Itonus, paladin of Justice,” he announced, bowing deeply.

“The bounty of Viridis acknowledges you.”

“Your Majesty, you claim the King of Aureum is conspiring with a worshipper of the sinister goddesses. If you believed this, why have you waited until now to announce it? According to the law, such crimes must be reported the moment they are suspected.”

“I am reporting it now, young paladin. Did you think you were the only ones launching an investigation into the appearance of monstrosities in my guest palace? In the days leading up to the attack, a woman was threatening that the monstrosities would appear, and even indicated the day and time. Naturally, my attendants thought she was mad. Preferring to be compassionate rather than suspicious, my attendants cared for her all the same. Many who heard her claims are either dead or recovering, and one of the survivors informed me of her threats this very day. I could only conclude that King Theron had conspired with her, an agent of chaos, to bring the monstrosities here, as she is his paramour, and he was overheard threatening the arrival of monstrosities, the same as she. Given the magnitude of His Majesty’s crimes, I thought the compensation I’ve requested to be eminently reasonable. What the temples wish to do with him and his agent of chaos affiliate once he’s faced the political consequences of his actions is entirely up to the judgement of the goddesses.”

This was bad. Very bad. The best he could do was to stall for time. The paladins would now be split between investigating Flora’s house of horrors and his supposed turn to evil. It might mean dragging out both for longer than he’d like, but he was confident that the truth would come out. Though if it did, that would present further problems. To prove her innocence, Aurora would have to demonstrate her ability to foresee the future. And once she did, it would take a minor miracle to get her out of Flora’s clutches. As much as he hated it, he needed to involve a woman he hated to ensure Aurora’s safety in the meantime.

“I proclaim my innocence, and demand an investigation into your baseless, slanderous claims,” Theron announced. “And I would also like to proclaim the innocence of High Priestess Orithyia.”

That caught the bitch off guard.

“High Priestess Orithyia has done no wrong. It is you who have conspired with agents of chaos.”

“I agree that High Priestess Orithyia has done no wrong here. After all, the woman you accuse of being an agent of chaos was an honoured guest of the high priestess. And it was the high priestess, vouching for her identity, which allowed the woman in question to enter the royal palace as a guest here. I fully believe in High Priestess Orithyia’s judgement of the woman’s good character.”

Flora was clearly vexed by his maneuvering. That boded well. It made it much more likely that Orithyia had been unaware of Flora’s newest machination to devour his kingdom. Now that he’d tied Aurora’s character to Orithyia’s judgement, the old crone would either have to defend Aurora or admit to ignorance. And ignorance in the high priestess of Knowledge was shameful at best.

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