Chapter 98 Chapter 98 Who will be the next victim

"The autumn storm is coming, my queen, and some of the vines in your garden are frosted. The first cold snap will be followed by the storm, and then there will be peace." "Peace? Huh." She snorted in disbelief. "Is it peace to lie awake and think about who will be the next victim, or where the enemy will attack next year? That is not peace, but torture. There must be some way to end the disaster of the Red Ship, and I will find a way." Her words sounded like threats. Their bones came from rock, the shiny, textured stone of the mountains.Their flesh is the white salt that shines on the earth, but their hearts are the hearts of the wise.

They came from far and far lands, and sacrificed their weary lives without hesitation, ended their lives for eternity, left flesh and blood behind, laid down their arms, and rose on the wings of rebirth .They are ancient spirits. When the king finally summoned me, I went to see him.As I had promised myself, I hadn't taken the initiative to visit him since that afternoon.Though the anguish he and the Duke of Prondi had caused over Jamin's and my marriage arrangements still gnawed at me, and though the anger still churned within me, the king's summons was irresistible. He received me one autumn morning, at least two months since I had last seen him.When I had met the Fool earlier, it had been easy enough to ignore the hurt look he had projected at me, or to change the subject when Verity occasionally asked me why I hadn't called on King Shrewd.Wallace still guarded his door like a snake on a hearth, and it was no secret that the king was infirmly infirm, and no one was allowed into his chambers before noon, so I told myself that this morning's meeting meant Something important is about to happen.

I had thought this morning would be all to myself.Two days of violent, premature autumn winds raged, with strong winds blowing relentlessly and accompanying downpours guaranteed to keep anyone in an uncovered boat scrambling to bail out the water.I had toasted the storm the night before in the tavern with the rest of the Luresh crew, hoping that the Red Ship would be flooded with torrential rain.Then I went back to Buckkeep drenched and went to my room and fell asleep, sure that I could sleep till any time next morning.However, a determined page kept knocking on the door until I woke up, and then told me that the king had officially summoned me.

I combed and shaved, combed my hair back into a smooth braid, and changed into clean clothes.Determined not to show my pent-up anger, I didn't leave the room until I was in full control of my emotions.I came to the door of the king's room, expecting Wallace's blank stare and neglect, but this morning he unexpectedly opened the door immediately after I knocked on the door, and although his expression was still displeased, he immediately led me to the king . Shrewd sat in an upholstered chair in front of the fireplace.Even though I still had resentment against him inside, my heart sank when I saw how thin he had become.His skin looked like transparent thin parchment, scrawny, sunken face, the once strong skin was now loose, and his deep eyes were completely sunken.He rested his hands on his lap in a familiar position to me, and I clasped my hands to hide the trembling I felt sometimes.There was a censer on the little end table at his elbow, from which smoke curled up in puffs of smoke and formed a blue mist over the rafters, while the Fool slumped sadly in the King's chair. feet.

"Fitz's cavalry has arrived, Your Majesty the King." Wallace announced my presence. The king was stunned for a moment as if he had been poked by something, and then turned his gaze to me, and I also moved to stand in front of him. "Fitz Horseman." The king greeted me. His tone was powerless, as if he didn't exist at all.My heart still hurts, but it can't overcome the sadness I feel seeing him like this, after all, he is still a king. "Your Majesty, I have come to see you as you ordered." I said cautiously, trying to remain indifferent. He looked at me tiredly, turned away and coughed on his shoulder. "I see. Good." He stared at me for a moment, sucking air deeply into his lungs, making a murmur-like inhalation. "A messenger from the Duke of Prondi of Bearnes came to visit last night with reports of the harvest and similar news, most of which were new information that Regal needed. However, Jamin, daughter of Prondi, also sent This scroll is for you."

He reached out and handed me the scroll.It was a small scroll bound with yellow ribbon and sealed with a drop of green wax.I reluctantly stepped forward to take it. "Plondi's emissary will be back in Bearns this afternoon, and I'm sure you'll be able to reply decently before then." His tone made it sound like a request.Then he coughed again.And all the conflicting emotions I had about him stirred each other and continued to ferment in my stomach. "Please allow me to see the contents of the scroll first." I asked, but the king did not object.So I poked the seal on the scroll and untied the ribbon, and unrolled it to find another scroll inside.I glanced briefly at the first scroll, and saw Jie Min's neat handwriting, then unfolded the second scroll for a closer look, and when I raised my head, I saw Shrewd was staring at me, and I looked back blankly. "She wrote some words of blessing to me, and then sent a copy of the scroll she found in the library of Ripple Castle. Or rather, a partial copy of the scroll whose writing was still legible. Judging by the cloth wrapping the scroll, she I believe this is a scroll belonging to the Elderlings. She found me interested in these when I visited Ripple Castle, and it seemed to me that the writing on it looked like philosophy, maybe poetry."

I presented the scrolls back to Shrewd, and after a while he took them, pulled the first scroll away and held it at an arm's length, frowned and stared for a while, then put the scrolls on his lap. "My vision is blurry, sometimes in the morning," he said.He then carefully rewound the two scrolls together in what appeared to be a difficult task.