Chapter 118 Chapter 118 You want to kill me?

"So, you want to kill me?" It felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured on it. "You are the source of the poison that Wallace supplied to the king?" I was sure I was mistaken. He nodded slowly. "Some are, and probably are, the ones you're most against." My heart is cold and hard. "But, Chade, why?" He looked at me with closed lips, and after a moment he said softly, "The king's secret belongs only to the king, and I cannot tell it, whether I think the person who hears it will keep it or not. But if you can like Use your mind as well as I have trained you, and you will know my secrets. I have not kept them from you, and from my secrets you can deduce many of your own."

I turned to stir the fire behind me. "Chade, I'm tired, too tired to play the guessing game. Can't you just tell me?" "Of course, but I'd lose my trust with the King. And it's bad enough I just said that." "You're so picky!" I yelled angrily. "Perhaps, but it's my business," he replied calmly. His strange composure actually irritated me.I shook my head violently, leaving the mystery behind for now. "Why did you summon me tonight?" I asked indifferently. There was a hint of hurt in his calm eyes. "Maybe just to watch you, maybe keep you from doing something stupid or causing permanent harm. I know what's upsetting you, and I promise you I'll share your worries. But for now, we have to keep walking back to our assigned on the way, and with faith. Of course you also believe that Verity will come back by the spring and make things right."

"I don't know." I reluctantly agreed. "I was shocked when he set off on this ridiculous mission. He should have stayed here and continued with his original plan. But now it seems that when he returns, half of the territory will either be barren or It was ceded, if it is handled according to Emperor Zun." Chade looked me straight. "'His' kingdom is still Shrewd's, remember? Perhaps he trusted his father to keep the land intact." "I don't think King Shrewd can keep himself safe, Chade. Have you seen him lately?" Chade pursed his mouth into a straight line. "Yes." He gritted his teeth and said the word, "I saw him when no one else was there, and I can tell you that he is not the weak fool you think."

I shook my head slowly. "If you see him tonight, Chade, you'll know my anxiety." "How are you sure I don't?" Chade exasperated.I didn't mean to irritate the old man, but no matter what I said, it made things worse.I forced myself to be silent for the moment, then took a sip of my wine and watched the fire. "Are the rumors about the Neighboring Islands true?" I finally spoke, regaining my original voice. Chade sighed, rubbing his eyes with his knuckles. "In all rumours, there is always a germ of truth. The robbers may have actually established a base there, we don't know for sure, but we didn't cede the Proximity Islands to them. As you said, once they have the Proximity Islands, they would ravage our coasts in winter and summer."

"But Prince Regal seems to believe that these robbers can be bought, and that all they really want are those islets and parts of the coast of Beanes." The tone is respectful. "Many people think that what they say will come true," Chade said neutrally. "Even if you know it's not the case." He added this sentence with mystery. "What do you think the robbers want?" I asked. He stared at the fire behind me. "Now, it's a real mystery. What do the robbers want? Let's see what we think, Fitz. We think they're attacking us because they want something, but if they really want something, they're going to get it now." A request has been made. Since they know the damage they will cause us, they must also understand that we will at least consider their request. However, they want nothing but to continue to loot."

"It doesn't make sense for them to do that." I cut him off. "Their ways are beyond our comprehension," he corrected me. "But what if our basic assumptions are wrong?" I just stared at him. "What if they want nothing but what they have now? Victims of an entire country. Looting towns, burning villages, abusing people, if that's their whole goal?" "That's crazy," I said slowly. "It's possible. But what if it's true?" "Then nothing can stop them except destroy them." He nodded slowly. "Continue this inference."

"Our ships can't slow them down at all." I thought for a moment. "We all hope that the myth about the ancient spirits is true, because in my opinion, they, or something like them, are our only hope." Chade nodded slowly. "Exactly. So, you now know why I approve of Verity's plan." "Because it's our only hope of survival." We sat down together and watched the fire for a long time in silence.When I finally went to bed that night, I had a horrible nightmare - Verity being attacked and fighting for his life while I stood by and watched.I can't kill any of the attackers because the king didn't say I could.

Twelve days later, the Duke of Plondie of Bearnes came to visit.He advanced along the coastal road with a retinue of retinue, impressive in size but not in a position to pose an overt threat.He wore all the finery and armor a duke could afford, and his daughters rode beside him, except the eldest who stayed at home to help Ferrytown as best she could.I spent most of the afternoon in the stables, then went to the guardhouse to listen to the conversation of his lesser entourage.The Hands behaved well, making sure the stables had enough room and hands to look after their horses; and, as always, our kitchen and barracks made a great place to receive guests.Still, there were harsh words from the people from Bearnes, who spoke out about what they had seen in Ferrytown and how their pleas for help had been ignored.Our soldiers should be ashamed that they can't justify what King Shrewd has apparently done; and when a soldier can't speak for his leader, he can only agree to such criticism, or elsewhere Pick faults to oppose.So the men at Bearns and the soldiers at Buckkeep would fight each other over small differences of opinion, luckily mostly single incidents.But these things don't usually happen in the disciplined Buckkeep, so it's all the more worrisome, and to me, it underscores that our troops are confused too.

I choose my clothes carefully for the dinner, not sure who I might meet or what people might expect of me.I caught a glimpse of Jamin twice that day, and each time slipped away before she noticed me.I thought she might be my dinner party companion and was terrified of that too.At the moment, we can't publicly offend anyone from Bearnes, but I don't want to give her any positive responses either.Actually, I needn't have worried at all, as I found myself seated at the far end of the table with a group of young noblemen of lesser rank.I'm an insignificant bauble in this rough night.There were quite a few girls at the table trying to look flirtatious, and the new experience wasn't to my liking, but it was only then that I realized just how many people flocked to Buckkeep Court this winter.Mostly from the Inner Duchies, they were eager to court Regal, and, as the young women said, would be happy to befriend someone with political influence.I took the trouble to respond politely to their witty banter, barely paying attention to what was going on at the head table.There King Shrewd sat between Princess Kettricken and Prince Regal, with Duke Prondy and his daughter Jemin and Nian sitting closest to them, and the rest of Regal's favourites.Duke Ram of Tirs and his Lady Jingning, and their two sons are most notable.Regal's cousin Ser Mingliang was there too, the young heir to the Duke of Farrow making his first appearance at Buckkeep.