Zealot
Page 22
Tiberius responded hesitantly, “And if I don't?”
Salius held up his hands as he answered honestly, “Well, I can't exactly allow someone like you the opportunity to fight against me, now can I?”
“I suppose not.”
Another moment passed before Salius again spoke, “Well Tiberius, I say the Empire's time has come, will you join me, or not?”
Tiberius stroked his beard twice before responding, “I retain my current command and autonomy, serving directly under his majesty; I will not take orders from any other lord or military commander.”
“Done.”
“I choose my own recruits with permission from the crown, and my commission is for two years, at the end of which I am free to either go my own way or renew said contract at your discretion. Should I choose to go my own way I will relinquish command of all soldiers which belong to the crown, but those who currently serve me, along with any others that are selected and financed by my own name, will remain under my command. Is this satisfactory to your majesty?”
With a smile, Salius answered, “It sounds like we have an accord, Legatus," Salius stopped for a moment before going on, “I have a feeling we will work well together, and, with time, we shall discover whether or not the Tiburon Empire truly is, indestructible.”
At that Tiberius simply replied, with a smile of his own, “Indeed we shall.”
Chapter 26
Day 31
It wasn't the darkness or the dampness; nor was it the constant screams, or the moans of the tortured which disgusted Talius the most as he ventured through the deep dungeons below Five Spires. No, it was the smell. Here, the air was filled with a myriad of different foul and distasteful scents which not only included the rotten smell of human excrement, but worse things, such as the smell of rotting bodies; some odors came from those still barely alive, but the other more powerful scents came from those that lie dead and rotting in their cells.
Deeper and deeper into the mountain, Talius followed the dungeon master, as the stout man lead him through the maze with only lantern light to lead the way. On his way through the long dark halls, Talius passed by prison cell after prison cell, most of them barred shut with thick wooden doors; doors commonly built with a feeding port closed up by a wooden flap.
It surprised Talius to learn that most of the prison cells in the vast dungeon were actually filled with occupants, so much so that some cells even contained two prisoners at a time.
The dungeon master spoke as he half turned, still moving forward with his lantern raised, “You look surprised to witness firsthand the fate of those who oppose the crown commander. Does it not please you?”
Talius replied with a mildly harsh tone, keeping his own lantern raised as he moved closely behind the large unhealthy looking man, “Nonsense, it pleases me greatly.”
“Forgive me commander, it wasn't meant as an accusation,” said the man in a breathy, gruff voice, pausing before going on, “You know I bet you would be surprised to hear that there are quite a few important people here in these cells. People like Nelice the sword master who attempted to assassinate Emperor Maximilian the lesser. Guess she wasn't as good as she thought, eh? Then, there's Claudius II of Haaren, who defied the current emperor over that matter about national politics; in fact I believe we just passed by his cell a few minutes ago. And, due to Justinian's part in Tiberius' assassination of Salinius Brasitus, old Claudius will soon, no doubt, end up right beside his grandson; I mean, when will that family ever learn, right?”
Talius refused to respond to the talkative prison guard, considering the man's chatter nothing but an unwanted annoyance. He simply desired to do what he came here to do as soon as possible, so that he could depart from this horrid filthy place. Talius, not wanting to be here a second longer than he had to be, simply pushed on, ignoring the overweight man as he continued to babble on incessantly.
It hadn't taken long for the dungeon master to, upon noticing Talius' lack of reply, get the hint, and therefore most of the rest of their journey was to be completed in relative silence.
Some time had passed before the man informed Talius that they were nearing his destination.
“Here it is commander,” said the glorified prison guard as he took out his keys and fiddled with the door's locks.
Upon the door's opening, Talius spoke, “Thank you, now wait for me, I will be done in a moment, and if I find out that you overheard any part of my following conversation, then be assured that I will slowly cut out the same tongue which you clearly prize so much. Are we clear?”
“Yes, Commander.”
“Good,” replied Talius, as he entered the dark room.
It was a larger cell than most, and as he looked about he identified its single occupant sitting in a corner, leaning against the wall.
The woman spoke first, “Ah light... its amazing how wonderful something so common and so often taken for granted is when one is deprived of such a gift for so long.”
“I imagine that is true,” responded Talius.
The woman went on with smile, and honeyed tone, “So what can I do for you, handsome?”
Studying the seemingly young woman's appearance, Talius replied cryptically while he considered that were she cleaned up proper, the woman would be rather sightly; easy on the eyes to be sure, “What is your standing position concerning the emperor?”
The woman's expression quickly changed, turning from her previously pleasant posture, and, unless his eyes were mistaken, Talius believed he witnessed her hair change color, turning quickly to bright red as she spit toward the ground; indicative of her feelings on the subject. Talius then saw the woman's hair quickly change back to the same golden color it had been before, seemingly due to her regaining composure.
Following the woman's brief outburst of rage, Talius spoke, “Good, then you would have no problem in helping me give back to you what was rightfully yours?”
The woman paused for a moment as if questioning whether or not Talius was serious before she replied after a short outburst of laughter, “Oh? And why would you not simply take the power for yourself were I to lend you that which you clearly want; that which is up here?”
After the woman finished pointing up at her head, Talius responded, “Because I want freedom, not power. And, because someone needs to pay the price for breaking his word; for deceiving a man, a man who had been forced to lie to, steal from, and kill those who were more deserving. A man who, in return, had been promised the priceless gift of freedom, even though it was never intended to be payed out.”
“I see... then you are a slave, yes?”
“Yes.”
“Then why not simply flee; you clearly have certain power and authority, or else you would not have access to this wretched place?”
Talius waited a moment before giving his answer, “I want true freedom, being fugitivus is not the same as being free.”
The woman then sighed before speaking with a bored expression, “I find this dream so common, vomitously so, but alas I have found myself desiring a similar state of being for... How long has it been dear?”
“Over Five hundred years.”
The woman after a subtle expression indicating perhaps a hint of surprise, then whispered to herself before becoming silent.
A few long moments passed before, growing impatient, Talius spoke, “Well Mara, I'm out of time, your answer?”
Mara after a few more moments of silence answered, “Yes, I will help you in this.”
“Then we have an accord; your throne, for my freedom.”
Talius being finished, turned to walk toward the door, but he paused near the exit as Mara spoke with slight hesitancy, “Before you go, tell me about my son; is he alive?”
“The Supplanter disappeared hundreds of years ago, no one has seen or heard from him since,” replied Talius without turning to face the woman.
As Talius continued to exit he overheard the woman whisper something in reference to his reply before the
dungeon master closed the door behind him. She whispered, “Then there is hope.”