LEGEND OF NEVETSECNUAC - THE ASSASSINS - SECTION 12

Asger's (Stark’s) thoughts now flew to Kundrick, the frail boy who had always sat without stirring at the back of the room for the duration of each day's lesson.  From the beginning   Asger had taken a liking to this shy, well-behaved boy who had appeared so serious, so grown up.

01- KUNDRICK DUFO

Asger had frequently pressed on him small toys or rare sweets but each time, after a polite thank you, Kundrick had, with admirable reserve, held on to the item until after the classes had ended and he gained his father's permission to keep the trinket. 

When his father had been taken away in chains the little boy had stood stiffly by, hands clenched at his side, bravely resisting any tears.  Of course, he would remember such a remarkable little boy well.  But then the struggle against Zakhertan Yozdek changed everything.

So, this was what had become of Kundrick! Asger mused, seeing no reason to doubt this segment of Alec’s accounts and presently wondered if his esteemed tutor Sorgun Dufo had lived to see his son's great accomplishments.

"The time has long been ripe for an open confrontation on a major scale to topple this present evil regime, My Lord."  Alec had just then startled Asger from his brief reverie. "Now, when the general assault starts under the leadership of the rightful Prince, other scattered pockets of resistance will join in and swell the ranks of the main army.  With such numbers the insurgent force will become invincible.”

"For this to happen, however, the timely appearance of the prince is a requisite, and of course,” Alec pausing, grinned wryly, "this can only be accomplished with your Lordship's assistance.  You alone, Lord Shonne Gulbrand has told us, know the true Prince's whereabouts."  Alec burrowed his anxious stare into Stark (Asger) and waited with bated breath for his response.

As Asger (Stark) had listened, inwardly he had been burdened with serious quandary. Tempting as all Alec’s accounts were, caution would not allow Asger to take them at face value and lay his total trust in Alec.  Although Alec’s accounts were most elaborate, and precise and some of it had already been verified by his trustworthy contacts over the years; still a good portion of it was unconfirmed. Moreover, despite his claim, Alec and Duan have clearly not achieved this remarkable feat without the benefit of added support.  Somewhere waiting in the wings could be a militia poised to strike on cue.

The absence of any intel from Heaven’s Gate Temple, for an unusual length of time, meanwhile, had been another grave concern for Asger (Stark). Consequently, Asger could not tell with measure of certainty, had no way of knowing how much damaging info had already been (relayed) leaked.

There was only one recourse however, to uncovering this ploy, as dangerous as that may be; but then again, if he were to go along, he would be sending Svein to a certain perilous danger. Is Svein competent enough to overcome it?   If not now, when?  If only he (Asger) had not been burdened by the security and wellbeing of Teuquob and the twins; he would have gladly accompanied Svein on this escapade, till the truth unfolded.

In the end Asger (Stark) decided to proceed, albeit with caution, to the end of this most dangerous game.

Alec’s outward composure and sincerity lapsing (failing) temporarily, he with unease shifted his body; in truth, he was fast losing his patience. What more could he say or do to bring about the desired result? His head throbbed with all that exertion; he felt inexplicably fatigued, yet his stubborn nature would not allow him to yield to the temptation of sleep. Meanwhile, even though Asger had seemingly concurred with Alec's latest arguments concerning   the prince, his eagerly awaited disclosure of the whereabouts, maddeningly so, was not forthcoming.

 “You have claimed that the two of you had acted alone; but usurper’s spies are numerous, how can I be ascertained you were not shadowed, albeit unknowingly, to this region (and to this mountain)?” Asger eventually spoke up after his prolonged consideration, even though he knew what the answer would be.

“Duan was the very best in his profession; he would have flushed them out in no time. As it were, he left a bloody trail in his wake. But that aside,” Alec chewed his upper lip, as he considered, then quickly decided against mentioning   the murder of those two monks. But then he committed another grave error. “There was an incident, I failed to report, my Lord; it may or may not have any pertinence to your respective concern.”

 “Oh?” Asger waited to hear more.

“After our stay at the ‘Heaven’s Gate Temple’, we came under pernicious attack by unspecified group of assassins, Duan wiped them out of course, and I can say with measure of certainty, that there was no such incidence after that.” 

As Alec did not know why the falcons were felled, he’d decided not to touch on that subject.  “It might have been secret messages from Duan’s contacts. Who’s to know; now that the villain was dead?”

“I can assure you Duan, with his conceit, felt no need for any backup; he tolerated my presence only just, perhaps it amused him to have me tag along. Even so, I sensed that he planned to do away with me no sooner than he’d accomplished his task. Furthermore, I venture a guess, the subterranean tunnel in all these years has been an effective deterrent, has it not? So yes, I can say with measure of certainty, that there has not been any breach (violation) to your respective security.” 

Unaware of his grave blunder Alec again stressed.  “I would like nothing better than to spend couple days recovering my Lord, but my conscience would not permit me. Time has come for the swift, effective action, as we are finally in position to do so now.  I again wish to remind you, my Lord, of the urgency of our situation and the serious consequences should Zakhertan  Yozdek's men reach the Prince first!”

Asger (Stark), bearing a strange expression, turned his sharp eyes to Alec and dourly asked, "So, that is your most immediate desire is it, to learn of the prince’s whereabouts?"

"May I trouble you to do so, my Lord?” Alec replied anxiously with a nod and then cast a quick glance at Svein who had his head down and seemingly was lost in deep contemplation.

By his reluctance, he is confirming my suspicions to be true; but how could this be?  After all, was not this youth by his own admission at the tavern, a good four-year senior to the lost Prince?

 Upon a second reflection, a wry smile registered on his lips. Fool the truth has been staring at you in the face all along, only you were too blinded to see it.

Despite his arrogance, a failing of his, he had to concede, the ingested potions had dulled his senses somewhat. Unbidden, anger gripped his heart, and he further admonished himself, thinking he could have spared himself all this affront difficulty and debasing.

Alec again snuck appraising glances at Svein as if seeing him for the very first time. But then, I would have missed out on this golden opportunity of meeting Lord Asger.  He then consoled himself.

He knows yet insists on playing this farce to the end. Asger was suddenly overcome with fatigue.  He had his own Demons to conquer. Blasted medicines…I wish I had not taken them earlier; no anecdote would wipe away the adverse effects till morrow.

“It is rather late, how about we retire for the night, and tomorrow at first light we can continue where we’d left off.” Asger, for the time being putting aside his misgivings, outwardly proposed.

Svein absently nodded, as he was sorting things out in his head.

Alec bit his lip to constrain his outburst. Stubborn old fox what further proof can I furnish to win your trust; oh, have it your way, I do feel rather exhausted, and a brief respite will do me good.  

Alec, on the outset appearing most agreeable, bid his good night to the two and watched them close the barn door securely behind them.

He had every intention of, after a brief rest, doing some reconnaissance; but no sooner that he reclined (tilted back) his body in his makeshift bed on the floor, than against his will, he immediately fell into deep, deep slumber.

                                                               ~

 

 

(END OF SECTION 12)

 

LEGEND OF NEVETSECNUAC - THE ASSASSINS - SECTION 11

 LEGEND OF NEVETSECNUAC  

THE ASSASSINS - SECTION 11

Lord Wutenzar Thuxur Marrog Zhon, true to his word, in the ensuing months had spared no expense in the effort of exonerating Sorgun Dufo.

Before long the news reached them that Lord Wutenzar’s able men, through their persistence and prodding, through bribes dispensed covertly, and despite the fact that Lord Wutenzar Thuxur Marrog Zhon had no jurisdiction or influence in Fukken province, had brought down the barriers of stiff opposition to finally uncover the hidden facts (evidence) pertaining to this case.  What's more they had managed to procure irrefutable proof of Sorgun's innocence and used this to force the local authorities to reopen the investigation.

It so happened that Sorgun's father, Kerek, in his shame, had indeed forced his daughter-in-law Linnsar to commit suicide then, after writing a letter of confession and begging forgiveness from Sorgun which he left in his study to be discovered, had taken his own life with one cut to the throat.

 Fortunately for Sorgun the trusted Steward Alec, who had discovered the bodies when Minakos came to call the next day, managed through his quick wit and sharp eye, to sneak a peek at the contents of the letter over Minakos’s shoulder as latter broke the seal and read it.

The Steward Alec had been constrained however, perhaps out of fear, to keep his tongue when Minakos with his false exclamation (shriek), declared that the content had pertained to him and that it had only been about an insignificant, trivial matter- then crumbled it and cast it into the fire. 

01- ESQUIRE MINAKOS VIDART

The ambitious Minakos, seizing this rare, golden opportunity, from then on had conspired to buttress an ironclad case against his own nephew Sorgun, who had disappeared, to convict him of many grievous crimes, foremost being patricide.

 With his suspicious nature Minakos had kept the steward in line with his close scrutiny and insinuated threats as he spread damaging rumors (hearsay) and bogus accusations same time planted incriminating evidence to support his fabricated version of the events leading up to the now perceived case of multiple murders and abduction.

Rumors fanned by Minakos' hirelings spread quickly far and wide, that Sorgun in a jealous rage, had killed them both and kidnapped his own son, legitimate next beneficiary, as a hostage to be used if he was threatened.

At the corrupted inquest Minakos' testimony directing all blame towards Sorgun was corroborated by others who he had surreptitiously bribed or intimidated.  As they dragged Sorgun's name through the mud he quickly became the most hated, despised criminal in the history of the Fukken province.

 Leaving nothing to chance, Minakos bribed many of the key officials to exert influence on the Magistrate Kokos to pronounce the appropriate guilty verdict despite the absence of the accused. 

02- MAGISTRATE KEKOS

Aside from covertly hiring a number of experienced thugs to comb the province and assassinate his nephew, Minakos Vidart so far as to lavish rare gifts on the provincial Governor Toku, under the pretext of asking, as the future head of the Dufo clan, his invaluable help in quickly putting an end to this shameful, scandalous episode.

 The underlying motives of this request had positively confirmed the Governor's suspicions about this case, but he pretended to consider the matter further to extract more benefit from Minakos.  In fact, Toku had carefully weighed the untold rewards he could reap from granting the incumbent Esquire his wish against the unlikely repercussions of enacting such an irregular procedure.

 In the end, when he deemed, he had wrung enough out of Minakos, he had reluctantly agreed to turn a blind eye to justice and pressured Magistrate Kokos to forgo the normal procedures and expeditiously wrap up the case.

The indignant steward Alec, having served the clan practically all his days, out of fear for his life and with nowhere else to go had swallowed this great injustice done to the rightful heir of Esquire Kerek Dufo and, painful as it was, maintained his silence.

03 -STEWARD ALEC

 At the inquest Alec was further   constrained to mechanically parrot the slanderous, erroneous accounts leading up to multiple murders, as dictated to him by Minakos.  He'd sporadically choked on the words but delivered them just the same, then Minakos Vidart on to serving his new, shrewd master, who had readily seized all power and had assumed the title of Esquire even before the case was settled.

 The steward's fear of Minakos was so great that it took a great deal of persuading and reasoning   by Lord Wutenzar Thuxur Marrog Zhon's agents to get at the truth.  When Sorgun surrendered and was placed in custody, Alec had retracted his former testimony at the retrial under Magistrate Kokos and moreover confessing to his impropriety (misconduct), revealed the true contents of the letter Minakos had destroyed.

This, however, instead of clearing Sorgun, was quickly overturned as it had been the case with other submitted irrefutable evidence as dubious dispositions. Esquire Minakos' supporters arguing the case successfully had the steward's testimony thrown out, discredited as hearsay from a presumably deranged mind, overwrought as he was proclaimed to have been by the tragic loss of his former master.

 On top of that, Alec was accused of now maligning   his present master because of his recent chastisement over a rather despicable, of course fabricated, incident.  The Magistrate, however, had seemingly shown leniency in view of the steward's insanity and passed a sentence of only ninety hard strokes for Alec’s false deposition in court and had him sent away.  Shortly afterwards, the steward's sudden, suicidal death was pronounced as a matter-of-factly at court as just recrimination.

Meanwhile, Lord Wutenzar Thuxur Marrog Zhon on his way to the Capital Channing, was apprised of the developments in Fukken province through his fast couriers and able spies.  Reaching the Capital, the Lord's first initiative had been to directly petition the Metropolitan Censorate to appoint an independent commission to oversee Sorgun Dufo's case, pointing out the irregularities and the gross miscarriages of justice in its handling.  Being bogged down with more pressing issues, however, the Censorate underestimated the depth of the corruption, summarily ordered the Provincial Governor Toku Neron, to investigate the case once more.

04- PROVINCIAL GOVERNOR TOKU NERON

 The Governor Toku Neron, who had pressed for the previous judgment even in the absence of the accused, simply went through the motions instructing the Yeko Prefecture to conduct a new investigation.  On the sly, Toku lost no time in informing Esquire Minakos of the pesky interference of Lord Wutenzar Thuxur Marrog Zhon and demanded the Esquire use his ample resources and part of the vast fortune now at his disposal to do a more thorough job on the (conspiracy) cover-up.  Meanwhile, in view of the petition and newly presented evidence, the death sentence on Sorgun was temporarily postponed until the successful conclusion of this third judicial inquiry.

Esquire Minakos' sources in (Imperial Capital) Channing had all independently confirmed these dangerous developments; furthermore, they had unilaterally reported the Lord's unyielding persistence and his relentless stand on this issue.  Every avenue had been exhausted, they claimed, but Lord Wutenzar Thuxur Marrog Zhon could neither be bribed nor intimidated. 

Esquire Minakos' tentacles reached far and wide, right into the very jail in which Sorgun languished.  Still, he could do very little to harm the scholar, let alone stage another suicide, as Sorgun had been, from the first, closely guarded by the Lord's competent men.  Neither could Minakos, despite his best efforts, reach the child Kundrick to inflict injury or kidnap him to hold as hostage to break Sorgun's defiant will.

Esquire MInakos did the next best thing and, by once more underhandedly dispensing generous bribes, had gotten Nuer of Yeko prefecture to collude with the Magistrate Kokos.  They both simultaneously submitted another detailed report stating that no injustice had been done; in fact, there were no irregularities whatsoever in the case under review.  Furthermore, pretending that it had just been obtained, they had furnished their report with more indisputable proof and had asked that, without any further delay, the Magistrate to be allowed to mete out justice to the guilty party.

When word reached the Lord through a good friend that the Censorate was now considering overturning   the Lord's protests, Lord Lord Wutenzar Thuxur Marrog Zhon at once wielded his power and influence to secure an audience with, and promptly memorialized, the Throne. 

This time, armed with all the proof exposing the most recent dirty dealings of Esquire Minakos, the Governor General, Provincial Governor Toku, Prefect Nuer and Magistrate Kokos and the whole host of others, he proposed that the Board of Punishments intervene directly.  His proposal was accepted.

Chinzo Doken, the Minister of Punishments, took personal charge of this most grievous matter.  After reviewing all the documents and submitted pertinent evidence, old and new, Chinzo Doken became duly concerned at the apparent widespread corruption in Fukken Province.

 It so happened that the central government had been for some time considering the appointment of a Commission to expose the bad elements which were sapping, crippling the strength of the nation. 

The courtiers advocating change jumped at the opportunity to exploit this case and pushed for more severe measures and tighter controls to make the border provinces more accountable to the central government.

 All involved were, without exception, summoned to the Imperial Capital to be interrogated at length by the Grand Council with the cooperation of the Board of Punishments.

Since murder was at the root of this matter, it was decided that, in order to get at the true facts, the only alternative was an autopsy on the deceased. 

So, after an internment of nearly four years, the corpses of Esquire Kerek Dufo and his daughter-in-law Linnsar Dufo were exhumed and brought to Capital Channing for a second, more thorough, examination.

Fortunately, due to the arid, cold climate of Fukken Province, the bodies were remarkably well preserved.

05- MINISTER OF PUNISHMENT, CHINZO DOKEN

The autopsy was conducted under the watchful gaze of Minister Chinzo Doken and his competent assistants.  A careful, rather fastidious examination by the coroners took into consideration the angle of the cuts as well as the previously overlooked minor lacerations, bruises and internal injuries.  Their findings tallied perfectly with the facts as related by Sorgun.  Their report concluded that Esquire Kerek Dufo and his daughter-in-law Linnsar Dufo's deaths were both due to self-inflicted wounds, therefore a suicide.  Sorgun's innocence was established once and for all.

When the Grand Council and the officials on the Board of Punishments cross examined Esquire Minakos Dufo, Governor Toku, Prefect Nuer, Magistrate Kokos and the rest they all, after being subjected to torture and interrogated at length, one by one pleaded guilty and confessed to their part in this grievous conspiracy. 

All were severely punished, jailed for life, demoted, stripped of office or exiled after confiscation of their property according to the degree of their involvement in the crime.  This, in one stroke, rooted out (purged, eradicated) the long existing corruption in Fukken Province.

Minakos, for tampering with evidence, and murder of the steward Alec as well as his purposeful manipulation and misdirecting of the facts, perjury, intimidation, extortion, bribery and corruption of government officers among a host of charges, received extreme due punishment.

In the public square of Fukken Province he was quartered by four oxen.  His immediate family, consisting of his wife, Dijek, daughter Mirek aged seven, and son Enkaz aged three years were stripped of all wealth and power, given the tattoo of the criminal on their left cheek, then, with only the clothes on their back and a bag of dry grain, were driven out of Fukken Province then Wenjenkun forever.

Soon after being entirely exonerated, Sorgun was re- installed in his rightful position in Fukken Province.

                                                                                  ~

 

(END OF SECTION 11)