The Porfian Princess: The Chronicles of Cornu Book 4

by L J Dalton Jr.

  “I know, and I will be careful. I want to enjoy the years without the Porfians breathing down our throats and dictating every move. I will also be very pleased to watch what happens in Porfia. I expect civil war. I don’t know if Leonades will fall or not. But there will be a lot of noble blood spilled. Bad for them, good for everyone else.”

  Jabaro agreed. They then discussed the trip. Jabaro insisted on one hundred guards going with him. He didn’t want to take any chances. The King didn’t argue with his old friend, although he thought that a hundred guards were a bit excessive.

  The trip would take about eight days over the poor roads in the kingdom. He took his senior wife, Aledina, with him. It wasn’t an easy trip. Given that the weather was good, the roads weren’t that bad. There was no place to stay. The villages were just too poor, and there were no other accommodations. They set up camp each evening.

  As they approached the city, they passed Karken, and the King noticed all the construction going on. He ordered a stop, and he and his wife got out to see what was going on. He saw Markel and Sharon directing a crew constructing something. He and his wife approached them. Markel noticed them first and had a panic attack. The King was approaching him. He didn’t know what to do and just bowed deeply and said, “Your majesty.”

  Sharon saw him out of the corner of her eye and heard what he said. He’d said it loud enough that everyone stopped working. The King saw that and loudly said. “Please continue what you’re doing. You’re doing important work, and I’m here just looking.”

  Sharon took over; she bowed to the King and introduced herself. The King wanted to know what was going on here. Sharon explained it to him. “Your majesty, we are bringing the village up to standards that more closely approximate the standards in the north. Here we’re installing a bathhouse and laying ceramic pipe to bring the wastes out to a holding pond where they can be quickly broken down by the specialized bacteria that are present.”

  The King nodded. “What are bacteria, young lady?”

  “They are organisms so small that they can’t be seen by the naked eye. They’re all around us in the soil and the water. Scientists on the home world have been studying them for decades. My great grandfather Dr. Jorgenson told people about them. These seem to be unique, though.”

  “Dr. Jorgenson, heh? Let me see these pipes if you don’t mind.”

  They went over, and one of the workmen took the King through how they worked. He was very hesitant at first but soon got over it as the King asked questions and was very interested. “Look, Aledina, the pipes have grooves at one end and ridges at the other. They fit together to produce a tight seal. They put this gunk on to help keep the seal tight and then put them together with brass bolts through these flanges. Very ingenious. Who built these?”

  Sharon started to act as the unofficial guide, much to Markel’s relief. “There’s a new brick-making operation in Koronus that’s now owned and operated by Tantulusians. They made these plus the bricks we are using to make prefabricated houses. My husband showed them how to do it. It’s a technique he developed for a new village in Nordia.”

  “Your husband, another Nordian?”

  “Yes, sire, Petor. His mother is Duchess Morinia of Westland. He’s here supervising the construction of a house. Would you like to see?”

  “Very much so, lead the way.” He turned to his wife. “This is wonderful; things are looking up. It will take a long time to have this spread throughout the kingdom, but it’s good to see it started.”

  When they got to where Petor was putting together the houses, he stopped, greeted the King, and answered his questions. Petor explained how each house was the same and that the bricks were made large enough to cut down on the work needed but small enough that they could be handled. They could put together a house in a day.

  The King wanted to know how many houses the brickworks could produce. He was happy to hear that they could do one a week now and build up to two a week. Menounos and his wife then went around and talked to the workers and the villagers. He thanked the workers. To the villagers, he apologized that it took this long to start working on upgrading their living standards, but he would do all in his power to see that it continued.

  As he was heading to his carriage, Sharon mentioned that Nordia would be sending breeding stock for new cattle. Once Akari was safe and a proper area set aside, they’d send the cattle. The King was pleased to hear that and thanked Sharon.

  He and Aledina got into their carriage and headed on towards Koronus. Menounos was inordinately pleased. Not only was he going to live long enough to see the Porfians thrown out of his realm, but his realm would also start to prosper. That was sweet revenge. The King was smart enough to realize that if Tantulus started to act more like the northern realms and the living standard went up, that would put pressure on Porfia. Seeing the living standards in Tantulus getting better than those they enjoyed would be a constant issue in the Kingdom. There would already be significant pressure on them with the coming loss of Tantulus.

  When they got to the city, the King examined it critically. He was pleased that there had been no fighting in the city, and it had escaped damage. As they went through the city, he noted the combined guard patrols. This looked promising as well. The King had feared that there would be more trouble from the Porfians than there apparently had been. He had to remind himself that there was still time for them to cause trouble.

  At the Palace, he was greeted by Duke Harlold and Noria. Behind Harlold were Prince Arken, Elizabeth, and Princes Alla. His wives were there as well as both the delegations from Nordia and Sudlund. The King greeted Duke Harlold warmly. “You do look like your late father. You seem to take after him in more ways than just looks. You seem to be doing a good job. I saw what was going on in the village you are making over. It was impressive.”

  Harlold thanked the King and introduced him to Noria and then to the rest of the waiting dignitaries. They greeted each other warmly and then went into the Palace to clean up from the trip.

  Wedding Preparations and Plots

  Catrina, Marvin’s wives, Illaria, and her mothers went into wedding planning mode. The wedding would be in five months. More than enough time for Christiana, Roddrick, and Brandt to return from Koronus. Mike wondered what Brandt would make of this. He was having trouble adjusting to it himself in one respect.

  On the other hand, he was looking forward to it. Neither Catrina nor Illaria worried about it. They both were sure that once they got settled, Mike would quickly adjust.

  Bjorn heard about the coming marriage and saw it as another impediment to him succeeding his uncle. Illaria came from a well-respected family in Centralia. Princess Catrina showed herself to be a competent administrator and was personable and well-liked by the populace. Mike’s iron and steel project was coming along. It had already started to produce small amounts of pig iron. These were just tests, but the results showed that it would produce a lot of high-quality iron more economically and easier than the current methods. That made the business community quite happy.

  The businessmen who had invested were looking to make a good profit from their investments. Those who were concerned about the project and didn’t invest were saying that they wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. The next project Mike came up with, they would line up to invest in it. Other businessmen saw the possibilities of what iron production would mean to the city. More economic activity. They weren’t sure what the steel production would mean, but they believed Mike that they would find very good uses for it.

  Bjorn needed to get rid of the two of them, soon to be three of them. He was casting around for ideas. One day he was having lunch with a few of his associates when one of them mentioned Mike’s ‘SWAT Team.’ This fellow told the others at the table about how they became aware of a gambling operation. The authorities waited until it was in full swing one night, and they brought the SWAT Team in, and they broke up the game without anyone getting hurt. Before this, the authorities had
done these raids while there was still light out. They weren’t that effective as people could see them coming.

  One of the other men asked what SWAT meant. The storyteller didn’t know; all he knew was that it was a term Mike had coined. They guessed it was a term from the home world.

  They all agreed that this put a big dent in Cedric’s operations. Most people knew that Cedric ran most of the illegal activity in Centralia. The authorities knew it as well. The problem was that they could never get any proof. With the ability to call in the SWAT team for difficult situations, the authorities were making a concerted effort to put Cedric out of business.

  That gave Bjorn an idea. Cedric was a nasty piece of work. People in the underworld who crossed him disappeared. Gambling would get people fined and perhaps banished for a year or so. Most could survive that. Much longer terms were essentially death sentences. Other crimes would result in hanging or beheading. It was clear that the authorities, no doubt with Catrina and Mike encouraging them, were squeezing Cedric’s operation. He wondered if he could do something that would cause Cedric to try and take out the two of them. If he killed Princess Catrina, then the way would be open for him to succeed his uncle. Bjorn was oblivious to the fact that Duke Marvon and King Fredricke had no intention of letting that happen. Catrina and Mike’s presence in Centralia was proof of that.

  Bjorn knew that one of Cedric’s sources of income was meeting the deviant sexual needs of certain citizens in the city. This involved involuntary sexual activity, as well as people, being well under the age at which society felt that they could engage in such activity. The penalty for that was harsh. If found out, the sentence would either be death or banishment to the north for a good long time. That was just another way to die. It wasn’t so much the sexual deviancy that was the crime; it was the involuntary nature of it. Plus, the people who Cedric had for those purposes usually were acquired by kidnapping or other highly illegal means. Kidnapping was usually a capital crime in and of itself.

  If Cedric was looking at facing such a sentence, he might just strikeout. Bjorn thought that was an idea that he should follow up on and see how it turns out. There were always rumors about various people in the city. Some of them not true, some true, and some sort of true. One rumor he’d heard was that there was a particular businessman, Nortrom, who made use of Cedric’s services for deviant sex on more than one occasion. He usually did it to celebrate a successful business venture.

  Most people didn’t give much credence to it, but his sisters did. They thought the man gave off a creepy vibe. They were much more astute about those kinds of things than he was. This was one possible avenue. It had the added benefit that it took out someone who was occasionally a business rival. You can’t complain when you kill two birds with one stone.

  He needed to find out where these things took place. He didn’t think that the businessman in question would ever do it in his own house. It had to be done somewhere else. It was highly unlikely that his spouses would countenance such behavior, and it was unlikely that they wouldn’t know if it was done in their house.

  One of his employees had a young son. Bjorn had the young man follow Nortrom home each night. He explained that Nortrom was a competitor and was up to something. Bjorn needed to know what it was. He expected that he would go someplace unusual, and that would be the key. The boy and his parents bought the story. It meant some pocket money for the boy, and it further cemented their ties to the business.

  While this was going on, Illaria was starting to integrate into the family even more. Now she joined Catrina on her walks through the city, meeting the people and talking to them. Jack was content to be carried in a front-facing baby sling. He watched everything very carefully. At first, Illaria was a bit unsure of herself. However, as they met the various merchants and businessmen she’d known for most of her life, that hesitancy quickly faded. They talked to the two women about the state of the economy, how their business was going, and things in general. This allowed them to pick up valuable information. All of this just confirmed in Catrina’s mind that she’d made a wise choice in a co-wife.

  In the evenings, they would discuss what they’d learned from those trips. Mike found it very illuminating. It was a good look into the economic activity in the city. He was getting more and more comfortable with Illaria being part of the marriage. The only thing that was still a worry was the more intimate parts of marriage. Neither woman had any concerns about that at all.

  Meanwhile, Bjorn finally got a break from Nortrom’s activities. He occasionally had dinner with business associates at various taverns or at home. This time he did something entirely different. He visited a tavern in a more working-class part of town called Beck’s Inn. He stayed a little under three hours. This was unusual, to say the least.

  Bjorn walked past Beck’s during the day, and it looked like a working-class establishment. It wasn’t fancy, and it wasn’t run down. He decided that he would visit it just after work one day and see what was going on. When he walked in and ordered an Ale, he could feel that he was being evaluated. He said to the bartender. “Do you have any food to go with this Ale? I’m famished. I’ve had business in this part of town today, and I didn’t know where to go. I just chose your establishment by chance. I hope your food is good. This Ale isn’t bad.”

  That seemed to put the bartender at ease, and he produced a lamb stew for Bjorn. It wasn’t bad. Just like the establishment, it was acceptable. He mentioned to his sons-in-law that he’d eaten there. They told him that the word on the street was that Cedric owned the place and that you could gamble in the backroom and that there was another entertainment of a less desirable sort available as well. That was all Bjorn needed. He decided that the next time Nortrom went to Beck’s, he’d notify the guard. That would bring in the SWAT Team.

  Bjorn found one of the city guards that he knew. “I’ve heard rumors that Cedric, the thief, owns beck’s Inn. I’ve also heard that there are illicit sexual activities that happen there at certain times.”

  The guard looked at Bjorn. “We’d love to catch Cedric with the goods. But he’s a crafty one. What makes you think that these activities, as you call them, go on there.”

  “There is a certain businessman, who I won’t name, who is rumored to have certain tastes that are out of the norm. When he has a successful business deal, he’s been known to frequent Beck’s. What would a prosperous businessman be doing in Beck’s, especially when he has something to celebrate?”

  This caused the guard to think. After a minute, he said. “You may be on to something, Baron. The next time this happens, let me know. Myself and a few of the lads will visit Beck’s and see what’s going on. If he’s not in the backroom gambling, then he’d be upstairs doing something.”

  It took a couple of weeks, but Nortrom made his way to Beck’s. He was both excited and a bit nervous. He’d just had concluded a successful business deal, and he was going to celebrate. He knew that his sexual proclivities would at best get him ostracized by society. More likely, he would be banished. The problem was that he couldn’t help himself. He enjoyed laying with his wives, but this was something special. He’d rationalized it to himself, but he realized how out of touch with societal norms it was even with the rationalizations.

  The young boy saw him go into Beck’s and, following Bjorn’s instructions, went right to the Guard. He went to the Guard that Bjorn knew and just told him that Nortrom was in Beck’s. That was all he needed. He got a group of the Guard together and called for the SWAT Team. If it was gambling, then he didn’t necessarily need SWAT, but it wouldn’t hurt. If it was what Bjorn suspected, then SWAT would be needed. Gambling would get fines and maybe a year of banishment. The toughs who worked for Cedric could survive that. The other possibility might lead to the hangman or a long banishment. Survival was definitely not in the cards if that happened.

  The Guard went into Beck’s fast with the SWAT Team leading the way. They went right to the backroom. There was a card game g
oing on, and they weren’t able to get the money off the table in time. But Nortrom wasn’t there. With that, they headed up the stairs. Up there, they did find Nortrom. They were shocked at what they saw, and Nortrom was not treated gently. By the time he got to the jail, he had more than a few bruises. The Guard cut the ropes holding the young boy he was abusing and called for a medic.

  They then went downstairs and grabbed the bartender. They wanted to know where Cedric was. From the look on their faces, the bartender didn’t argue at all; he quickly told them Cedric’s address. The SWAT Team headed there at the run.

  As soon as the Guard came into the tavern, one man saw them heading in and went right to Cedric’s house. He knocked on the door, and finally, Cedric answered. The man told him that the Guard had broken into Beck’s. Cedric knew what that would mean. He’d arranged for the special entertainment that Nortrom liked. He didn’t doubt that the Guard now knew what it was and now had Nortrom in custody.

  He needed to leave and leave fast. He had a bag packed for just such an occasion. He also had a money belt with plenty of gold as well as jewels sewn into clothing. He grabbed those and headed out the back door into an alley. He ran down the alley and then headed over a couple of blocks to the stable, where he kept his horse. He woke the stableboy up and had him get his horse ready.

  As this was going on, the SWAT Team had reached Cedric’s house. On the outside, it wasn’t much to look at. It was in a poorer neighborhood, and it looked like it could use a coat of paint and some other minor repairs outside. They knocked, and when Cedric didn’t answer, they use the battering ram to take the door down. It took a few swings as the door was much sturdier than it looked.

  Once inside, they searched for Cedric and realized that he wasn’t there. On the inside, the house was like one that a successful merchant would have. The Guard realized that he’d fled when they went up to his bedroom and found the closet was a mess; he’d obviously left in a hurry. They then went out. They knew that there were two stables nearby. If he was trying to flee, he’d be at one of them. Maybe they could catch him.