Chapter 6 Section 6 Exploring the Abyss of Betrayal

"Hello!" I tried to speak, "I didn't expect to meet you here." I said dryly.I remember being sick, but the details are blurred. "Where else?" He looked at me sadly. "The more you sleep, the more listless you become. Please lie down, Your Majesty. I can make you more comfortable." He straightened my pillow almost critically, but I waved he is gone.This is very wrong because he has never been so polite to me.Although we were friends, his succinct words felt like half-baked fruit.This sudden kindness seemed to express pity, but I didn't want to accept it at all.

I glanced down at the embroidered nightgown and ornate bedspread.They looked weird, but my fatigue and weakness made me wonder why. "What are you doing here?" I asked. He drew a breath, then sighed: "I was looking after you, while you were asleep. You know I'm stupid, but I'm a stupid jester after all. You know I'm stupid, and every I woke up the next time and asked me the same question. Let me offer a wiser advice: Please, Your Majesty, let me send for another physician." I leaned back on my sweat-soaked pillow, knowing that the Fool would replace it if I opened my mouth, but it didn't mean much that I would sweat and wet the new clean pillow.I grabbed the comforter with my gnarled fingers and asked point-blank, "Why are you here?"

He held my hand and patted it softly: "Your Majesty, I am puzzled by this sudden weakness. This doctor can't help you at all. I'm afraid his knowledge is far less than his insights." "Burrich?" I was full of doubts. "Burrich? It would be good if he was here, Your Majesty! He may be just a stable master, but I dare say he is better than this Wallace who gives you medicine and makes you sweat." "Wallace? Burrich isn't here?" The Fool's face darkened even more. "He's not here, Your Majesty. He's in the mountains, you know."

"Your Majesty the King..." I burst out laughing as I spoke, "You mock me so much!" "No, Your Majesty." He said gently, "No." His gentleness baffles me.The roundabouts, the riddles, the quirky invectives and puns, the sly insults were nothing like the Fools I knew.I suddenly feel like an overstretched and frayed rope, but I'm still trying to figure it out. "So, I'm at Buckkeep?" He nodded slowly: "Of course." His mouth was tightly closed with worry.I was silent, exploring the abyss of betrayal.I hadn't quite figured out what was going on, and I was back at Buckkeep, and Burrich wasn't with me.

"I'll get you something to eat," the Fool begged me. "You're always better when you're full." Then he got up. "I brought this over a few hours ago to keep warm by the fire." I looked at him with tired eyes.He crouched by the great hearth and removed a covered bowl from the fire.I smelled the rich aroma of goulash as he lifted the lid, and watched him scoop the goulash into his bowl.I haven't eaten beef for months, and in the mountains I can only eat game, mutton, and goat.I looked around the room with tired eyes, and saw heavy tapestry, thick wooden chairs, large fireplace stones, and intricate curtains.I know this place.This is the king's chamber at Buckkeep, but why am I in the king's bed now?I tried to ask the Fool, but said, "I know too much, Fool. I can't keep myself in the dark anymore. Sometimes it feels like another person controls my will, pushing my mind out of the way." In the direction I don't want to go. All the walls I built collapsed, like a tidal wave." I took a deep breath, but I couldn't avoid the impact.There was a bleak sting at first, and then I felt as if I was soaking in rushing cold water. "The tide is rising," I said out of breath. "There are a few ships sailing. They are ships with red keels..."

The Fool opened his eyes wide with vigilance: "In this season, Your Majesty? Of course not! Not in winter!" My breath was constricted in my chest, and it was very difficult to speak. "It's been a mild winter, with no storms and no barriers. Look, look there, over the water, see? Here they come, come out of the mist." I pointed with my arm, and the Fool hurried over and stood beside me, stooping to look in the direction I pointed, but I knew he couldn't see.Still, faithfully but hesitantly, he put his hand on my thin shoulders, his eyes widened, as if to remove all the obstacles between his and my vision, and I hoped, like him, not to see this scene.I squeezed the long, pale hand on my shoulder, and looked down at my gaunt hand, bony fingers with royal rings, but swollen knuckles.Then, I barely raised my head and stared into the distance.

I pointed to a peaceful harbor, then sat up with an effort to get a better look.The gray town gradually unfolded before my eyes, the houses and roads collaged into a vivid picture, and the fog in the port was so thick that I thought the sky would change.There was something chilling in the air that cooled my sweat and made me shiver.Although it was dark and foggy, I could clearly see every plant and tree.I told myself it was Skill Gaze, then wondered, since my Spirit powers were never stable. However, the sight of two ships breaking through the fog into the sleepy harbor made me forget my lack of spiritual abilities.There are two black boats in the moonlight, but I know the keels of the boats are red. These are the red boat robbers from the outer islands.These boats cut through the waves like knives, advanced boldly through the fog, and entered the harbor like razor-thin knives into the belly of a pig.The oars moved silently in perfect harmony, the oar locks were wrapped in rags, and in a short while the hull slid into the dock like a loyal businessman negotiating business.One sailor jumped lightly from the first boat to the shore, tied the rope in his hand to the pile foundation on the shore, and the other oarsman held the hull until the stern rope was tied. So calmly and openly; and the second ship came in the same way.The dreaded Red Ship came to town as boldly as a seagull, and anchored at the victim's home wharf.

No sentries shouted, no guards blew their horns, or threw torches on the pitch to light a signal.I searched for these people, and immediately found them standing there with their heads pressed to their chests, their delicate gray handmade sweaters stained red with blood from their throats cut.The robbers landed quietly, and knew the location of every sentry, and eliminated every watchman, so that no one warned the sleeping town of the enemy's invasion. There are not many sentry posts in the town.It is really difficult to find this unremarkable town on the map, and the residents also think that the place is too simple to attract robbers to invade.Good wool and wool are produced here, the smoked salmon made by the townspeople is delicious, the petite apples are sweet and fragrant, and can be brewed into delicious cider, and there is a beautiful clam beach on the west of the town. These are the treasures of Muddy Cove, small enough to be treasured by those who make a living here.Of course, the enemy does not have to use torches and sharp knives to rob these, and ordinary people cannot imagine that robbers will go to such troubles for a small barrel of cider, or a rack of salmon.