Chapter 2 Chapter Two Condemnation

The boy let out a cry. Borric and Eland looked out from the window of their parents' dormitory, and the master swordsman Ston was making an oppressive attack on Prince Nicholas.When the boy's effective parry turned into a counter thrust, the master was repelled, and the boy shouted happily again. Borric smacked his chest. "Obviously, the kid can run around." The bruise from the morning's boxing class was now black. Elland agreed, "He's got his knives from his father, and except for that bad leg, I'd say he's doing pretty well." When the door opened, the two turned at the same time to see their mother walking in.Anita waved her maids to wait for her in the far corner of the room, where the gossipers began whispering.The Prince's wife of Klondor stepped between the sons and looked out through the glass at the merry Nicholas being seduced by his opponent, momentarily overstretched, off balance, and then knocked off his weapon.

"No, Nicky, you should have seen this trick." Elland shouted, but the glass prevented his words from reaching his brother's ears. Anita smiled, "He's already working hard." Borric shrugged when they turned. "He's done pretty well for a kid. Not too far from what we were." Elland agreed, "The monkey—" Suddenly his mother slapped him.At the same time, the maids in the far corner stopped their whispers and began to stare at their prince's wife with a strange look.Borric eyed his brother, who was as shocked as he was.In nineteen years Anita had not lifted a finger from them.Erland trembled, the slap touched him more than the pain it caused.There was anger and disappointment in Anita's eyes, "Don't call your brother that anymore." There was no excuse in her tone. "Your fools hurt him more than all the nobles whispered about him badly. He was a good boy, and he loved you. But you gave him mockery and pain. Only five minutes after you returned to the palace talk made him cry again."

"Arusha is right. I'm actually doing you a disservice by not allowing you to be strictly disciplined." She turned to leave. Borric tried to remedy his and his brother's embarrassment just now, "Ah, mother, you sent us here, what do you want?" Anita said, "I didn't subpoena you." "it's me." The boys turned around and saw their father standing quietly in front of the small door connecting the dormitory and the study.The boys exchanged glances, their father must have witnessed the whole thing just happened. After a moment of silence in the room, Arusha said, "Is that okay, I want to have a private talk with my son."

Anita nodded in agreement, and instructed her handmaiden to follow her.Soon Arusha and his son were the only ones left in the room. Seeing that the door was closed, he asked, "How are you doing?" Erlander showed the redness and swelling of the affected area. "Yes, we have been fully guided." He pointed out that his injured side has not become more serious. Arusha frowned and couldn't stop shaking his head, "Jimmy didn't tell me what he was thinking." He smiled falsely, "I entrusted him to discipline you, so that you can deepen the serious consequences of not following my request." impression."

Borric nodded.Eland said, "It's not entirely unimaginable. You ordered us to go straight home, and we just played for a while before returning to the palace." "Playing..." Arusha observed his eldest son, "I'm worried that you won't have time to play in the future." He directed his son to follow him into the study.A stone chamber is hidden behind Arusha's large desk.He opened it and took out a parchment bearing the royal arms, and handed it to Borric, "Read the third paragraph of it." Borric started looking at the paper, and suddenly his eyes widened. "This is really bad news."

"What?" Elland asked. "A message about your uncle." Arusha replied. Borric handed the parchment to his younger brother, "The royal physicians and priests have decided that the queen can no longer bear children, and Lilanon has no heir to the throne." Arusha walked to the small door at the back of the bedroom, "Follow me." He opened the door and walked up the stairs, followed by his son.Soon, the three of them stood on the top of the tower near the middle of the palace, from which they could overlook the entire city of Krondor. Arusha ignored whether his son followed, and said, "When I was your age, I often stood on the parapet wall of my father's castle gate tower overlooking the entire town of Keridi. It is a small place, But in my memory it was different."

He looked at Borric and Alander, "Our old swordsman Vanno told me that your grandfather did the same thing when he was a boy." Arusha recalled his past with fascination, " When I was your age, it fell to me to be the Commander of the Guard." Both brothers had heard the Rift War told, emphatically the part about their father.But this time the story is different from the original. Arusha turned around and sat on a battlement, "I never wanted to be the prince of Crondor." Elland sat on the battlement next to his father, and he felt that what his father was going to say was more about his brother. "When I was a boy," continued Arusha, "my aspirations were no greater than being a soldier for a border lord."

"It wasn't until I met the former Baron of the High Castle that I knew that childhood fantasies would not continue in adulthood. Things need complex peeling away to see what they are, and we must shed our virginal eyes." He looked towards the horizon. Arusha was a straight man, and he didn't waste a word on what he wanted to say. It was obvious that what he was thinking this time was difficult to say, "Borric, when When you were little, did you want to live your life?" Borric glanced at his brother, then back at his father, his reddish-brown hair brushed against his face by the breeze. "I never thought about them much, Father."

Arusha groaned, "I think I was wrong about your upbringing mistakes. You were naughty when you were little, remember you pissed me off once - it was a Small matter, you knocked over the ink cartridge, but a parchment document was scrapped, which is the result of a day's work by a clerk. So I beat you." Borric couldn't help smiling when recalling the scene at that time.But Arusha didn't return the smile, "Your mother asked me to promise that the scene of that day would never happen again, and I promise not to touch a single finger of you. I think I indulged you and corrupted your life."

Erlander couldn't help feeling annoyed.His father's reprimands had filled his head over the years, but until this morning, there had been no physical punishment. Arusha nodded, very satisfied with what he said, "You and I have experienced the same experience growing up. Your uncle was tortured by the whip many times after being caught by our father. I only I was beaten once as a child. After that, I quickly learned that when my father gives an order, he expects me to follow it without objection." Arusha sighed again.It was the first time the brothers had heard such a doubtful sigh from their father. "We all assumed that Prince Randolph would be king. But he died, and we assumed that King Lyme would have another son. Or that a princess would be born and be the royal heir to Lylanon. But we never To think that you," he pointed at Borric, "will one day be ruler of the nation."

Arusha looked at his other son, gesturing that it was his turn to listen, "What I say won't do much for you. But you are all my sons, and I love you, even though you are constantly testing my strengths." patience." Both sons were made uncomfortable by an enlightening speech from their father.They both love their father, but like him, they don't like to express their feelings openly. "We understand." was Borric's only reply. Looking directly into Borric's eyes, Arusha said, "Understood? Really? You understand that starting today, you are no longer simply my son, Borric. You two are the sons of the kingdom, All of royal blood. Borric, use your brains to realize that one day you will be king. Nothing can stop it except death. From this day on, no father's love Can't shield you from the troubles of life. To be king is to be on the line with the people. One thoughtless action can end their lives." Of Ellander, he said, "Two brothers have put our country at an unprecedented crisis because there is going to be a rivalry. You see the entitlement of being born later. Someone will use your grievance as an excuse to start a war on the enemy." "You two have heard the story that Borric, the first King, had to get rid of his brother, Joan, the pretender. You have also heard that I was with the King, and my brother Martin, in the Hall of the Heir Both of them are entitled to inherit the crown. Martin has performed an extraordinary and noble act, and Rhyme finally wears the crown, and the crisis is resolved without bloodshed." He spread his hands, opened his thumb and Index finger, as a measure of distance, "but we were only so close to the Civil War at the time." Borric said, "Father, why are you telling us this?" Arusha stood there sighing, patting Borric's shoulder with his hand, "Because your childhood is over, Borric. You are no longer a son of Prince Krondor. I have decided, When Rym abdicates, I relinquish the throne, and you shall wear the crown." Borric wanted to oppose his father's decision, but Arusha stopped him, "Rym is a healthy king. If I don't follow in his footsteps , I too am an old man after his death. Better not to have another ruler between him and you. You shall be the next king of Aiur." Looking at Eland, he said, "You will be forever in your brother's shadow. You are only a step away from the throne, but you will never sit on it. You will be searched from time to time for your letters and residence; to be seen as a stepping stone to your brother. Can you accept this fate?" Elland shrugged. "It doesn't look serious enough to be a fate, father. I have the status and the title, and enough sense of responsibility. I'm pretty sure of that." "More, because you have to agree with everything about Borric, even if you want to disagree. You can't express a single thought of yours in public. It has to be. I can't emphasize this enough. In the future You must not openly oppose your brother's wishes." Taking a small step, Arusha turned to look at the two sons, "You don't know anything about the peace of the country. The robbery at the border is trivial to this." Eland said, "Who else is going to fight the border raiders but us. People will die, father." "I'm talking about a country, a dynasty, the destiny of an era. Yes, people will die. But people in this country will live in peace," Arusha said. "Though there were times when we had to fight for it, we fought when the Kesh Empire provoked a monthly border skirmish, when the Queeg warships detained our ships for no reason, when invaders from another world took over Nine years in your grandfather's domain we have not flinched. You will be asked to give up many things, son. You will be asked to marry a lady, but only to strengthen your strength. Few people know that you have many Rights will have to be given up: not being able to sit in an inn and chat with strangers easily, not being able to travel with others to other cities, not being able to combine with the one you want to love, and watching your children grow up carefree." Krondor City, he added, "And at the end of your life, your wife will accompany you to recall the experience of your life, and die in peace." Borric said subduedly, "I think I understand." Eland just nodded. Arusha said, "Okay, in a week you're leaving for the Kesh Empire. And from now on you're the future of the kingdom." He walked up to the stairs, "I wish I could spare you this trip, but I can't .” With that, he left. The two princes sat silently on the top of the city, looking at the port of Crondor.The afternoon sun was heading towards the sea, and a cool breeze was blowing from the Sea of ​​Pain.At the estuary, ships are like small dots, carrying passengers and goods in and out, and several giant merchant ships are moored at the pier.Farther away, the ships sailing to Krondor were only a white blip, and they came from everywhere, from the kingdom of Queeg, from the free city of Abon, or from the empire of Kesh. A smile played on Borric's cheek. "Kash." Eland also smiled, "Yes, to Cash's heart." Both looked forward to new people and cities, to visit the strange and mysterious of the country.And what their father said was gone with the wind. Some customs have been preserved for centuries, some pass by in a hurry, some come silently, and some are vigorous.In recent years, later in the sixth day of the week, apprentices and servicemen of various trades have practiced.Now people also try to close all transactions at noon on the sixth day, while the seventh day is used for thinking and praying. Another tradition has sprung up in the past two decades.The winter is over, and from the sixth day after the vernal equinox, people begin to prepare for the snowmelt day. This festival allows people to forget about the harsh weather and enjoy six weeks of joyful celebration. It is also the beginning of the annual football match. Once known as "Ball in the Bucket," this game has been played since childhood, involving kicking a rag ball into a bucket.Twenty years ago, the young Prince of Arusha instructed his chancellor to formulate rules for the game to protect the young squires and apprentices from playing the game fairly and not let the game go to a violent extreme.Now this sport has become a custom in the hearts of the people. When spring comes, football begins. There are many levels of the sport, from teenage public performances to city-to-city leagues, with various unions, chambers of commerce, or a fanatical rich aristocracy funding their respective teams.Competitors run up and down the field trying to kick the ball into a net. When the blue team quickly broke through the opponent's line of defense, the audience shouted in admiration.The blue team quickly dribbled the ball towards the red team's net goal, and the red team's net guard lowered his body slightly, ready to pounce on the ball.The blue team made a nice feint that knocked the red team's net defender off balance, and the ball went in from his other side.The net protector stood up with his hand on his butt in frustration, while the players on the other side surrounded the scorer to celebrate. "Ah, he should have seen it," commented Locklear. "That feint was so obvious, I could see it from here." James laughed, "Then why don't you step down and replace that guy?" Borric and Eland shared James' glee, "Yeah, Uncle Rocky, we've heard hundreds of times about how you and Uncle Jimmy invented this game." Locklear shook his head, "That's not the same as this." He observed the arena, which was built by a businessman with a heart a few years ago, and then the stands were continuously expanded, and now it can hold 4,000 people, "We are used to Put a bucket on both ends, and you can't stand in front of the bucket. The net and the net guard and all the rules your father made—" The two brothers finished for him very tacitly, "Let it no longer be a sport." "It's true," Locklear said. Erlander interjected, "Not bloody enough." "No broken arms, no gouged out eyes," Borric said with a smile. Both brothers grimaced at the same time, for they had heard of the time when Locklear was attacked from behind with an iron hidden by a horseshoeed apprentice.It was a gag, and the two barons debated whether the rules facilitated or hindered the game. Lacking further interest in the subject of James, Borric turned and continued watching the game.James, on the other hand, did not focus on the game, but on a man who sat in the row behind the two Barons near the rear, also behind the Prince.The status and status made the sons of the two princes of Krondor fawn on, and got the two best seats in the entire arena, in the center of the entire stand. James said, "Rocky, are you cold?" Locklear wiped the sweat off his forehead, "You're kidding, it's only been a month before midsummer, and I feel like I'm being roasted by fire." James pointed his thumb at the man, "Then why does our friend wear such a heavy coat?" Locklear followed his partner's fingers and saw the man sitting on the bench, wrapped in a coat, "Maybe he's a priest." "I didn't know any of them were interested in football." When the man turned to James, he quickly looked away, "Look at him over my shoulder, but don't let him see that you're listening to me. What is he doing?" "nothing." Then the horn sounded and the game was over.The blue team consisting of the Millers' Union and the Iron Merchants defeated the red team consisting of the nobles.Both teams have high prestige, and the audience gave enthusiastic praise for the result of the game. As the audience began to exit, the man also stood up.Locklear watched with wide eyes. "He's getting something out of his sleeve." James turned just in time to see the man aiming a tube to his lips in the Prince's direction.Without hesitation, he pushed the two princes, and the three of them fell to the next row of stands.A short voice came from the man towards the place where Elland stayed just now.One of the man's hands went up to his neck, but it wasn't a closing gesture, as a dagger pierced his throat.The man collapsed to the ground. Locklear was only slightly slower than James, drawing his sword and leaping at another robed and hooded figure as James and the two princes struggled over the heads of the angry audience. "Guards," he called.There is a garrison station just below the stands. The sound of boots running on the wooden floor answered the Baron's call.The prince's guards immediately set about arresting the fleeing murderer.Regardless of whether they would hurt others, the soldiers violently pushed away the watching crowd and ran towards the target, and the people also realized that something happened in the stands with restraint, and then the audience began to run away in a panic.People in other stands stopped to watch the commotion in this stand. Seeing that he and the guards were only separated by a few spectators who didn't know what to do, the robed man put his hand on the railing of the aisle and jumped down.It was about a dozen feet above the ground. When Locklear rushed to the railing, he heard the sound of an object falling to the ground, followed by screams. The two townspeople lay on their backs, and the fellow lay beside them, as if unable to move.One with hands, one with crawling, both citizens try to stay away from this dangerous figure.Locklear also jumped down from the stands, and as soon as his feet touched the ground, he raised his sword and pointed it at the man in robes.The robed man rolled over on the ground, jumped up and rushed towards the baron. To his surprise, the man broke through Locklear's defense.The robed man's weapon hit Locklear's waist, knocking his back against the pillars of the stands.Locklear's lungs looked like they were going to explode, but he hit the robed man hard on the side of the ear with the hilt of his sword.The man staggered back, escape was more important than fight now, but the shouts showed that more guards were approaching.The robed man turned and punched Locklear, who was on the side of the ear as the baron tried to regain his breath. Pain and confusion overwhelmed Locklear as the attacker took refuge in the darkness under the stands.The Baron shook his head to bring it back to his senses, and followed the man closely. Under the pitch-black stands, that person could hide anywhere. "Below here," cried the baron.In reply to this order, a few seconds later six soldiers came running and stood behind him. "Expand, pay attention to call the police at any time." The man dived under the very front of the stands, which was only 4 feet high, forcing him to duck as his pursuers slowly searched under the stands.A soldier walked alone, stabbing into the darkness with his sword constantly, watching out for his opponent to lie on the ground and hide.Overhead was the sound of thousands of citizens moving about, but after a while, the noise became much quieter. Suddenly there was the sound of fighting ahead, and Locklear and his men rushed forward.In the dark, two people caught a person.Before he could see who was who, Locklear slammed his shoulder into the nearest body, and the other two were knocked to the ground, and he was on top of them.More soldiers rushed to pile on top, immobilizing the weight of those below.The fighting of the three men was stopped in this way, and the soldiers quickly got up from the pile of people.Locklear grinned when he saw James and Borric among the three.He saw the robed man lying on the ground and ordered his soldiers, "Drag him into the light." Then he asked James, "Is he dead?" "He'll be fine before you jump on him and break his neck, hell, you nearly broke my back." "Where is Eland?" Locklear asked. "I'm here." Elland's voice came from the darkness. "I'm covering their flank," he said, pointing to James and Borric. "You mean to take care of your precious shoulder," Borric replied with a smile. "Maybe." Eland hesitated. They followed the soldiers out of the lower part of the stands and saw that other soldiers had set up a cordon. "Let's see the result." Locklear took off the man's hood, revealing a pale face, "He's dead." James quickly knelt down, opened the mouth of the deceased, and after smelling it, he said, "He committed suicide by taking poison." "Who is he?" Borric asked. "And why did he want to kill you, Uncle Jimmy?" Elland asked. "Not me, you idiot," James replied bluntly, telling Borric, "He's trying to kill your brother." A guard came over, "Sir, the man who was stabbed with the dagger is dead, he was mortally wounded." Borric smiled with a mournful face, "Why would someone kill me?" Elland reluctantly made a joke, "A furious husband." "It's not you, Borric Kang Dongyin." James looked at the crowd and checked whether there were other assassins. "Someone tried to assassinate the future King Al." Locklear unbuttoned the assassin's robe, revealing a black coat, "Look at this, James." James stared at the dead man, who was dark, even darker than Gordon.This proves that he has Keshi's blood.But people of this blood also lived in the kingdom, and even all classes of society in Krondor were filled with them.But the man's costly dress and black silk slippers were like nothing the princes had ever seen. James inspected the dead man's hands and noticed that he was wearing a ring with a black gemstone.Then he checked his neck to see if he had a necklace, but found none. "what are you doing?" "An old rule," James replied. "He's not a 'Nighthawk,'" he said, referring to the famous killer group, "but worse than that." "What's wrong?" Locklear asked, recalling the group's failed assassination attempt on Arusha twenty years ago. "He's from Cash." Locklear leaned over to examine the ring, his face pale. "And worse, he's from the Cash Royal family." It was very quiet in the room.Everyone sitting around is very careful.Only Borric was constantly making the creaking sounds of leather on wood, the rustling of clothes, and the clanging of jewels. It could be seen that he was fidgeting now. Duke Gorton kept touching the bridge of his nose, "It doesn't make sense. What made Kesh assassinate a member of your family? Could it be that they want to start a war?" Arland continued, "The Queen of Cash is also trying to make peace, or at least all the papers say so. Why did she want to kill Borric? Who—" Borric interrupted him, "Who the hell wants to start a war between Kesh and the kingdom." Locklear nodded, "This is a low-level scam. Such an obvious assassination makes it impossible to believe it is real." "And..." Arusha mused, "What would an assassin's failure entail? A fraud. It would cause me to refuse to send my emissaries and keep my sons at my side." Gorton also nodded and said, "I offended Kesh because of it." Leaning against the wall behind Arusha, James said, "We've taken care of a good job from the Cash royal family. He's a distant clan, but he's a real Cash man." Gorton touching his nose again, his frustrated behavior, 'So what am I going to say to Ambassador Cash?' Oh, we found this guy, he's one of your royals. We didn't know he was coming Krondor. And we're sorry to tell you he's dead. Aha, by the way, he tried to murder Prince Borric.'" Arusha leaned on the back of his chair, folded his hands in front of him, curled his fingers absently, and everyone in the room knew the meaning of the gesture.Finally he set his sights on James. "We can take out the trash," James replied. Gordon asked, "What are you talking about?" "Carry the body to the bay and throw it down." James said in one breath. Eland laughed, "Treat the royals of Cash in a rough way, do you mean that?" "Why?" Arusha asked. James sat next to Arusha, as always, the Prince so close for advice or family talk. "He's not an official official visit, we pretend we don't know he's here. Others don't know he's here, only the Kesh who know he's here know why he's here. I also doubt they care about his safety. Now He was a forgotten man until we said we saw where he was." Borric added, "And his condition." "We'll say he tried to murder Borric," James admitted, "but all we have is a dead body, a blowgun, and a few poisonous needles." "And a dead employer," Gorton added. "A merchant's death is a regular occurrence, my lord," James pointed out. "I say we keep his ring, and throw him into the bay, and let the man who sent him worry about it." Arusha said nothing, after a while he nodded in agreement.James pointed to Locklear, sat down in a salute, and told him to use the royal guards to complete the matter.The Baron hurried out of the room, talked for a while with Lieutenant William outside the door, and sat back in his chair. Arusha sighed and looked at James, "Kash, is there anything else about it?" James shrugged. "Insinuations and rumors. This new ambassador is a—strange choice. He's what they call 'true blood', but he's not from the royal family.—The assassin choice seems a little more logical ...this ambassador was a political appointment only. Rumor has it that he was actually more influential in the court of Cash than some royals. I don't have any obvious reason why he was given such a great honor. But he may be a compromise choice to alleviate the current situation in Cash Palace." Arusha nodded, "There is no obvious direction to the whole thing, we have to adapt to its rules in this game." He paused for a while, no one spoke while he was gathering his thoughts, "To our people in Kesh Word is that I want them to do what they can before my son arrives. If anyone wants to start a war, attacking the king's nephew is a natural choice. You go with the prince to Kesh. I can't trust others in this confusing mystery .” Locklear said, "My lord, my mission?" Looking at the young baron, Arusha said, "You set off with James. You are the ceremonial officer and foreign minister of this mission, and you are also the terminator to stop stupid things from happening. The highest power in Cash is dominated by women. , and finally we will discover the role of the most evil Locklear's charm. Waudis will replace you as the commander of the Knights during this period, and William will also lead you to command the royal guard for a while." Arusha said in Flicking his fingers on the table, "I want you," he said to James, "without all official and diplomatic action on this trip. Your title is only guardianship. And you can come and go as you please. James began to understand Arusha's mood at this time.Arusha's thinking is as deep and dense as a chess player, and he planned everything that might happen during this trip. James motioned to the two princes and Locklear to follow him.Standing in the hall, he said, "We're leaving early tomorrow morning." "We're not fit to go for three days," Borric said. James said, "It's business. If your Cash friends have other countrymen here, I'd prefer they don't know what we're planning." He turned to Locklear. "A small team, all on horseback, twenty There are two guards, we dress up as mercenaries. The horse needs to be fast, and send a message to Shamet that we need to change horses and supplies for 200 guards." Locklear said, "When we get to Shamet, we'll—" James interrupted him, "We're not going to Shamet, we want them to think we're going there, we're going to Starport."