Sardaa reclined on a plush pile of cushions with her consort, a thin soft featured man of slight build. At a nearby table sat two of her closest friends, the Duke and Duchess of Ardan, one of the largest cities in her kingdom. They were all drinking wine and eating cheese when her chancellor stepped into the room and motioned that he needed to speak to her.
"Please excuse me, my friends, but the affairs of state insist on interrupting any entertainment I may have." She stood and gathered her informal robe around her, more to hide her partial nudity than to keep warm.
As the queen approached, the court chancellor tried not to speculate what means of entertainment four half nude adults would undertake in the privacy of the queen's chambers. "Please forgive the interruption, your majesty, but word has arrived of the political renegades from Lord Blackheart's message."
The queen's face grew dark. "Fear not, Lord Chancellor," she said, "this is information that concerns me greatly. What is the news?"
"The royal intelligence network reports that a ship has recently docked in the township of Bordain under Count Junifas. The ship came two days ago under the disguise of a visiting noblewoman, her court and a few slaves. It was a good ploy and we would not have detected them had their ship's captain been a man.”
“As it was,” he went on, “the ship, the Westward Cutter, is owned and operated by a dwarf. As per your orders concerning non-human personnel, he has been under heavy surveillance. It was due to this surveillance that we detected them. They are fewer than we were initially told, but they do fit the description."
The queen looked very thoughtful for a moment. "Blackheart said they were coming for the Oracle. Its location is no mystery." After a moment, she smiled. "Send two companies of soldiers to the gate of the Oracle," she said. "No one had gained entrance to that place in over three hundred years. Chances are that our soldiers will find them there staring at a closed door. If so, I want them all brought back here, alive if possible or dead if needs be."
"And, if they have gained entrance, your Majesty?"
"If they gain entrance, have the soldiers return here." With that the queen turned and headed back to her friends. "No one ever returns from the Oracle of the Twilight Dragon," she said.
The chancellor watched for a moment then turned to leave. Just as he passed through the heavy privacy curtain, he heard the unmistakable sounds of lust behind him.
No comments:
Post a Comment