Mako
Duke Aristides of Helike was looking forward to the competition between his two sons, Leonis and Mako. Both would make suitable successors to him. The two young men were intelligent, bold but not reckless, and had just enough cruelty and cynicism to be successful rulers.
The two young men were only two years apart, with Mako being the younger of the two. As the time for the competition to begin to grow closer, both started planning and gathering allies. Aristides warned both of his sons not to move against their brother until he decreed it was time for the competition. Any such move and he would have the violator executed. He promised both of them that execution would be both slow and painful. If necessary, he would pick a relative as a successor. The two young men believed their father and held off.
Getting allies was difficult. Those who were too closely tied to the loser would have to leave the city or live in danger of assassination or worse. Yet, for those who were ambitious and not risk-averse, it was an opportunity. The winner would be the heir to the duchy and would naturally reward those who helped him.
Dionte and Diamodes were second or third cousins of the Duke. Mako wasn’t sure and didn’t think the exact relationship was meaningful. Both came from families who were ambitious and ruthless. They became close allies to Leonis. Mako knew them both and didn’t trust them. Not just that, they were allied with his brother, who was now his mortal enemy. No, he wouldn’t trust them as allies. He wasn’t sure why, but that was his gut feeling.
Mako found two allies. The first was Fillipus, who was also a distant cousin. He was ambitious and wanted a higher station in life, but as he told Mako, he didn’t think he’d like all the different headaches that went with being a Duke. Skelous was the second ally. His family was also minor nobility who owned land outside the city. It was good farmland and produced a good deal of money each year. Skelous was the second son. As he told Mako, he couldn’t see himself playing second fiddle to his older brother. He’d rather take his chances with his friend Mako. If Mako lived, then he would be better off. If Mako lost, well, he’d leave the city, which he would have done anyway rather than work for his brother.
As soon as Duke Aristides said the competition was to begin, both brothers took extra precautions. Neither went anywhere without their allies with them nor unarmed. Assassins were always a possibility, although Aristides had ruled out using the assassins’ guild. That meant that the assassin would have to be freelance and not nearly as proficient as the guild’s assassins. This meant that if they were employed, they could well fail, and the person hiring them would be out a considerable amount of gold and silver.
Duke Aristides had his office and his study on the first floor of the palace. When looking for a way to kill Mako, Leonis ally Dionte saw that first-floor study as an excellent place to kill Mako. He went down into the basement and found that there was a storeroom almost directly under the study.
He went to Leonis. “I think I found a way to kill your brother. Your father’s study is right above a storeroom in the basement. We fill the storeroom with gunpowder, and when Mako is in the study, we set it off. It will surely kill him.”
Leonis replied. “It would certainly kill him. But the only reason that he’d been in that study is if my father called him in there. That means my father would be there as well. If it killed Mako, then it would kill my father.”
Dionte smiled. “So, you eliminate your brother and become Duke at the same time. What’s so bad about that?”
Leonis laughed. “Nothing, nothing at all. Let’s do it. But we’ll have to be careful.”
Over the next three weeks, the three men worked at night. Each night they brought in one cask of gunpowder and put it in the storeroom. Eventually, they had to move things out. The items that they removed were carefully placed in other storerooms. Luckily, nothing was kept in the storeroom that was used very often. Just to be safe, they put the casks of gunpowder under tarps and put other things on top of them.
When they were done, a short fuse was placed in the casks. Everything was ready. The next day Dionte positioned himself in the basement with a small torch to light the fuse. Diamodes positioned himself where he could see the office and quickly get to the stairs to call down to his cousin to light the fuse.
When his father was in the study, Leonis went up to the study. He saw a servant standing near the door. He turned to the man. “My father wants to see both my brother and me. Please run and find Mako and have him attend my father in his study.”
When the man left to find Mako, Leonis turned around and left. When the servant found Mako, he was in his rooms with his two allies. Upon being told that the Duke wanted to see him in his study, Mako rose to go there. He turned to his two friends. “I think you should come with me. It’s very unusual for my father to call me to his study, especially during the competition. Perhaps my brother tripped and broke his neck, and the competition is over. One can only hope.”
When they arrived at the study, Mako left his two allies near the door and went in. Skelous was surprised that Leonis’s two allies weren’t there as well. Then he saw Diamodes hurrying somewhere. He turned to Fillipus. “Something isn’t right. We need to get Mako out of there.”
At that moment, Dionte lit the fuse and ran and hid behind a thick brick wall.
When Mako entered the study, he saw his father sitting at his desk. His father looked up and said. “Mako, what are you doing here?”
“Father, a servant told me that you wanted to see Leonis and me.”
“I didn’t. I have no idea what you are talking about.”
At that point, Skelous opened the door and yelled. “It’s a trap; get out!”
The Duke was shocked and, at first, didn’t move at all. Then he got up from his desk. Mako also hesitated, but Skelous grabbed him and pulled him out. At that moment, the gunpowder blew up, and the whole room went up in a big explosion. Mako was thrown from the room and lay on the floor, severely injured. Skelous had cuts and bruises but quickly got up. “Fillipus, help me get him out of here.”
The two of them picked the unconscious Mako up and carried him out of the palace. They looked for a place to go. They knew that they had to hide, or they would all die. The palace grounds held a stable and other buildings. They quickly carried Mako into the stable and from there into the tack room. Once there, they tried to do something for Mako’s injuries.
Fillipus knew something about healing. Not much, just how to deal with cuts, bruises, and broken bones. But that was what Mako needed. After a bit, Fillipus looked up. “Skelous, I think he’ll make it. But we need to get him somewhere he can heal and that Leonis can’t find him.”
Skelous knew just the place. “There’s a cabin on my parent’s lands. It isn’t used. It’s just a few miles from here. If we can hold out to nightfall, we can get him there.”
Fillipus nodded his agreement. They settled down to wait.
While the two men were getting Mako out of the Palace, the Palace itself was in turmoil. Leonis showed up at his father’s study, and he feigned shock. “What happened? I was here to see my father and brother. This is terrible. Did either of them survive?”
He was told that they had no idea. The guards surrounded him and moved him off to a safe place as he may well be the next Duke.
That night Fillipus and Skelous moved Mako to the cabin. It wasn’t much. It was run-down, but it was out of the way. They didn’t light any candles or lamps. They didn’t want people to come and check on the lights and find them in the cabin.
Skelous brought food from his parent’s estate and also news. Mako was now awake and starting to recover. He wasn’t shocked that his father was dead and that his brother had been proclaimed Duke.
He told his two friends. “That is just temporary. Since I’m still alive, I can challenge him when I return. None of the guards will interfere. It must have been Dionte who came up with this. I don’t think my brother could have. In a way, it was brilliant. If you hadn’t gotten me o
ut when you did, I’d be dead. If Dionte was willing to suggest killing my father and then my brother went through with it, I fear Dionte has higher ambitions than just being my brother's key advisor. I don’t think that either can afford for the other to live for long. I’m sure Dionte knows this. I suspect my brother doesn’t. I wonder how long Dionte will let my brother live.”
Once he was feeling better, he started practicing with the sword. At first, he sparred with Skelous, who was an average swordsman. In the beginning, Skelous was able to beat him consistently. After two weeks, Mako was winning almost all the time. Then he started with Fillipus, who was an excellent swordsman. It took three weeks, but he was winning half the time. He felt that if he could beat Fillipus half the time, he could take his brother.
At a bit over seven weeks since the blast, Mako and his two companions rode through the palace's main gate. To say that people were shocked would be putting it mildly. The guards called the Sergeant of the Guard. He came up and instantly recognized Mako. “Your Grace, you're alive. We thought that you were killed in the blast with your father. Your brother is now Duke.”
“Sergeant, do you agree that the competition between myself and my brother is not over?”
“Yes, your grace, I do.”
“Then restrain anyone who attempts to interfere in our settling this between ourselves as is required. Where is my brother now?”
“No one has seen him in several days, your grace. Dionte is acting as his spokesman. He says that your brother is indisposed and in his quarters.”
Hearing that, Mako and his companions headed into the palace and up the stairs towards the Duke’s quarters. Dionte met them on the stairs. “Stop, your brother Leonis is the Duke, and you have no place here.” Turning to the guards, he said. “Arrest these three. They will be executed in the morning.”
The guards didn’t move. Mako shoved past him. As he did so, Dionte drew a knife. He stopped as Fillipus grabbed him and put his knife to his neck. That saved the guards from making a possible enemy. Fillipus was going to kill Dionte if Leonis bested Mako. He and Skelous would be dead anyway. Best to go down fighting.
Mako entered the Duke’s quarters. He looked throughout the quarters and couldn’t find his brother. Upon exiting, he looked at Dionte. “Where is my brother? He isn’t such a coward as to not face me.” He turned to the Sergeant of the Guard. “Search the palace and if you can’t find my brother, arrest this man Dionte and his companion Diamodes. I fear that my brother is not among the living.”
The guards scattered to look. When they couldn’t find Leonis, they arrested Dionte and Diamodes. Under torture, they admitted to killing Leonis and dumping his body in the forest.
Mako was declared Duke of Helike, and both Dionte and Diamodes were staked for killing Leonis.
Koronus Falls
Koronus was the second-largest city in Tantulus and the lone holdout against total Porfian control. It was located in the eastern part of the country near the border with Sudlund. The city was ruled by Duke Sander, a progressive ruler who was attempting to remake his duchy in the image of the northern kingdoms.
He had killed his younger two brothers to become the sole heir and eventually the Duke. This was the norm in Tantulus and several of the other southern kingdoms. He was never close to his brothers, so it didn’t bother him on an emotional level. Intellectually, he was not happy. Having siblings who would support you in running the duchy would be a real benefit. In addition, they could form marriages that provided true allies.
He raised his two sons, Minos and Neritos, to be close. They were like normal brothers; they fought and argued but would unite against a common enemy.
The duchy was relatively prosperous. Koronus conducted trade with the rest of Tantulus and had a thriving business community. The villages produced plenty of food. They weren’t nearly as productive as those in Nordia because they lacked the equipment, seeds, animals, and expertise produced by the research station that Dr. Jorgenson had established. The city was the final jewel in Tantulus, and Porfia wanted it badly.
King Agnemon had retired six months earlier and left for his estate, Peta, in the south. It was a beautiful estate by the sea and a tropical paradise. He’d taken his harem and most loyal guards with him. That left his surviving son, Leonades, as King.
The primary thing that the new King needed to do was to finish the subjugation of Tantulus. The only thing that stood in his way was Duke Sander and his hold on Koronus. Once he was eliminated, Tantalus would be fully under Porfian control, although ostensibly a separate kingdom.
He brought this up at the first meeting he had with his Dukes after his father’s retirement. His father’s spymaster Baron Nester was there along with his protégé Seldin. Seldin was a young, ambitious merchant who seemed to have the skills and personality for the job as a spymaster. Nester intended to retire within the year and had merely stayed on as a bridge between father and son.
Leonades brought up the issue of Koronus. “Right now, we control all of Tantulus except Koronus. If we can take control of that city, we’d have the whole country dancing to our tune. Baron Nester, could you bring us up to date?”
Baron Nester stood up to address the assembled nobles. “Your majesty, my lords, my assistant, Seldin, has been researching this; he can summarize the situation and also detail a possible solution. Seldin, if you will, please.”
With that, Seldin rose. “Thank you, Baron. Your Majesty, my Lords. I have been studying the situation most carefully. Koronus is much more challenging than the other cities. Duke Sander is a canny ruler and watched what happened in both Gortyn and with the capital. He has not made the same mistakes. He models his rule on the northern kingdoms and Sudlund.
That means that his two sons will not fight to the death to replace him. He has raised them like they do in the northern kingdoms. His eldest son will replace him, and his brother will support him. “
At that point, he was interrupted by someone shouting. “Blasphemy, blasphemy. How can this work? The Gods should decide who is fit to rule when the sons fight for that right.” There were murmurs of assent.
Seldin held up his hand. “Yes, it is blasphemy, but this is what he is doing.” He didn’t bother to mention that the Northern Kingdoms didn’t seem to have a problem with the sons not fighting to the death. Also, that they had female rulers, which was anathema in a kingdom such as Porfia, he went on.
“What this means for us is that it is difficult to cause a problem with the succession. We’d have to kill both his sons. That would be very difficult to pull off. That takes one avenue out of play.”
Once again, he was interrupted by a minor noble interjecting. “Send in the assassins’ guild, they’ll eliminate the two sons, and then that problem is solved.”
Seldin continued. “I considered that and rejected that course of action. Remember that King Demetrius retaliated against us for using the assassins’’ guild when we sent assassins to kill him and his father. Duke Sander took that to heart and had the gold and silver along with the contacts to do the same. He has quietly let people know that he will do the same as Demetrius. I don’t think that we can risk that.”
King Leonades nodded his head and signaled for Seldin to go on. He was well aware that he was on the throne and not his brother because of that attack. And that he would be the target of the assassins’ guild, and that was not something that was conducive to a long reign.
Seldin gave the king a slight bow and continued. “We had infiltrated merchants and others into Gortyn before we seized power. Duke Sander does not allow Porfian merchants to come in and compete with the local people. We tried cutting off trade with the other cities, and that didn’t work. He opened up a very profitable trade with Sudlund. That just brought more foreign ideas into the duchy.
It also precludes us from using economic power as a lever to force what we want. Or even get our people into positions of influence. I have managed to buy a few minor merchants, but that does nothing for us
except providing information.
Duke Sander has also expanded his Guard. He has between fifteen hundred and eighteen hundred men in it. They are well-armed, well trained, and loyal to the Duke and his family. Directly attacking him would cause massive casualties and could bring the Northern Kingdoms down on us. They are not happy about our hold on Tantulus, but we haven’t absorbed it or started a war. We need to keep it that way.”
King Leonades spoke. “This is all fascinating, Seldin. Most of our past stratagems aren’t going to work. Are you here to tell us that we just have to put up with this Duke Sander and not have Koronus under our control?”
“No, your majesty, I’m not saying that. We have to come up with a plan, and it must allow us to take control with the minimum of bloodshed.”
The King looked at Seldin. “Are you telling me that you have a plan?”
“Yes, your majesty, I am. The plan requires a large number of our Guard to succeed.”
Once again, he was interrupted. “Seldin, you’ve already told us that attacking Koronus with our Guard was not going to work.”
Seldin smiled. “The idea is to draw a large number of the Guard out of the city. That would leave a small contingent that we would be able to use subterfuge to overcome. Let me explain.
We put a large number of Guards and dress them as bandits threatening the villages either at harvest time or planting time. We put a sufficient number, say three to four hundred both north and south of the city. Now we are not going to do any damage to the crops; we’ll need them when we take the city.
Duke Sander would probably even suspect it’s Porfians in disguise, but we would be forcing his hand. He would have no choice; he’d have to send strong contingents of his Guard to forestall us ravaging the villages and threatening the crops.”
He looked around and saw that the King and the Dukes were following him closely. He continued. “At that point, the Guard at the Palace will be the primary protection for the Duke and his family. I expect that it will be only twenty or so men.
The Porfian Princess: The Chronicles of Cornu Book 4 Page 3
