Chapter 18: The Commissioner

I was un blindfolded looking straight at a hooded man wearing a yellow cloak, the same cloak of king Cladis's secret guards. I was in a tent, sun light filtered in through the light gray tent canopy. The man in the yellow cloak had his hood up, and his cloak was lined with intricate designs of lines and curls on the seams of sleeves and around the dress part of the cloak. The man sat at a bench made of old battered boards. He fingered my sword and placed it upon the bench and stood up.

"Stealing a sword is an offense in that of itself." I heard a chuckle come out of his hood, as his face was hidden from sight, " But now that Cladis is the Emperor, we can finally take this one step further and torture you to find your relationship with Ethar, a murder and enemy of Menthila."

I was pale, cold sweat dripped down my forehead , I went to stand up and tell him I would never do it again and even face hard labor... but I realized I was bound to a wooden chair and my voice died in my throat. I knew what torture from The Secret Guards meant, it was a horrible pain, if it did not kill you, you would wish it had.

The man continued, "We got this off of the wizard." He withdrew a rolled up piece of parchment from his cloak and placed it on the table, not even bothering to look at it or open it. "Stealing, spying, and aiding an enemy of the Empire." His voice was very mono tone and suddenly he yelled and drew my (stolen) sword. He pointed the tip at my throat.

"You see this blade!!!!!! IT is not yours! Your people's sweat built it as a gift for Master Cladis's efforts in keeping us in the Menthila empire! And you steal it?! Why!? ANSWER ME!!!!!!"

He began to slowly bring the point of the sword closer to my throat and I tried to be defiant and at least die an honest man. It was over and I was ready to give up. I would not let him know that I feared him.

I cleared my throat, " If it is the price to endure tyranny from you and your bastard king then I do not want to be part of Menthila."

The man's voice became mono tone again and he removed the point of the blade and held it with one hand in front of his face.

"As you might know by now, that this blade glows when in the presence of an enemy," he said as he ran his hand down the blade it's color changed from the gold color back to its original color of dark red, "And you David, are my enemy."

The sword began to glow yellow, but not the yellow that it had been when I had it, it was almost a ghoulish green.

"Seeing as Emperor Drogon is dead.... and Master Cladis will surely take rule, I see no problem in killing you, as I have Master Cladis's permission."

It was over, no visiting Visith, no fighting at Albion, it was done. We were not able to stop Drogon's death, and now it was too late. The sword was leveled at my throat and the man grunted as he delivered the death blow but then gasped as a huge hand stopped his wrist.

"I am sorry Master Commissioner, but Governor Cladis is not in rule, and you are only sent for your services in recording troop movements and supplies, not vigilante justice. Now seeing as you are incompetent, I will be taking David and his companions to Gorgon with me to have a fair trial."

The man in yellow sniveled and raised the sword at the huge man that grasped his wrist. "Jake, you may be Captain of the Knights of Gorgon but I will not let you do this. He is a menace to what Master Cladis has accomplished! I will take your life Jake, do not think for one second that I will hesitate in killing you. You are a fool Jake! A bloody fool!!!!!!"

The man named Jake was about six foot five with white hair, a chiseled body, covered in silver plate mail armor dawned with a golden helm atop his aged face. He had to be at least fifty but had the body of a giant.

He gave the commissioner a side long glance then chuckled and let go of the commissioner's wrist. "Do it and I will have all my knights in hear at the snap of my fingers.... and that is if I just decide to have you arrested for threats.... I could snap you like a twig right now."

The big man named Jake bent down and his huge hands unbound me from the chair, pretending like the commissioner wasn't even there. He had a cleanly cut beard that was as white as his hair, and his eyes where a crystal blue. He had a rather thin face for such a large man. When Jake finished unbinding me, he cuffed my hands with chains and went over to the commissioner's bench and opened the makeshift drawers, pulling out parcels of my clothing, armor and other things I had had on me. He put them in a large back that he hoisted over his shoulder. The commissioner just stood back, I could imagine his mouth open with shock under that hood, his fists clenched tight, he still was holding the sword, and it's ghoulish green got brighter and brighter.

Jake must have assumed I was not going anywhere, and he was right, I was not going to run and risk having my friends beheaded because I decided to run away. He stood at least a head over the commissioner, and he ordered softly,

"Commissioner, if you would be so kind as to give up the sword..."

The commissioner interrupted him, " It is Property of Master, and King of Gile, Cladis, Otis XI."

"Yes but we need evidence of the sword theft now don't we?"

The commissioner reluctantly gave it up with a snarl and Jake took me by my collar forcefully and pulled (not dragged) me out to the camp. From what I managed to see of the camp as I was pulled along was impressive. Banners waved, blue with an eagle, but most where that of the standard Menthila army, a white flag with a yellow sun with beams coming off of it. Tents of different colors lined the dirt path, and the spring sky was blue, but off towards the West dark clouds loomed over the lone mountain in the distance. Ice Wolf Mountain. My home. Grief struck me as I realized with the emperor dead, Vlad Black Heart would have already been on his way to strike Gile down.

I jerked away from Jake, but his vice grip on my collar ripped the prison garments I had on, and he turned around and looked at me. I shouted at him, "I will say nothing until you know the truth, in that back there is a piece of parchment, if you wish me to speak of information concerning my crimes you must meet my demands."

He stopped and sighed, then rummaged through the bag and came up empty and shrugged his shoulders, "There seems to be nothing even resembling that piece of parchment. Now if you would please cooperate with me, before I use force."

"That commissioner fellow, he took it then, from the wizard, I swear on my life it is in his custody, I swear it."

"Well, I don't trust that fellow as far as I can throw him, so I guess we might as well go back and ask him... kindly. Come along now, can't have you escaping on me."

Jake pulled me back into the commissioner's tent, where the commissioner was bent over on the dirt floor looking at something. The commissioner flinched and turned, quickly fumbling with a piece of parchment, and went to rip it up but Jake darted over at alarming speed for such a big man and twisted the commissioner's arm until he dropped piece of parchment. Then , with a swift kick in the back the commissioner fell face first into the dirt floor.

Jake read over the paper and looked puzzled, but this time he was watching the commissioner out of the corner of his eye. The commissioner was silent for a change, as I figured he knew the jig was up and that he would be found out.

Jake broke the silence, "hmm... easily could be a forgery, but it should be taken with head, The Dark Disciples could be a new resistance group or something, Mr. Commissioner, why would you hide such a thing from me? Especially something concerning possible assassination, and it is concerning Cladis."

The Commissioner growled, " A forgery, I didn't want a pin head like yourself causing a panic over nothing."

"Better safe then sorry. Sorry for the kick but I can't have you shredding valuable intelligence. I must be off, I have to get the prisoners off to Gorgon and don't worry, I will despatch thirty of my finest knights to Gile." Jake smiled mockingly, and turned his back again on the commissioner again.

Jake tucked the piece of parchment in his belt and hoisted the sack of my items over his shoulder, and in his other hand he pulled me along by the collar. Suddenly I heard the clanging of a sword unsheathing and the high pitched bird like laugh of the commissioner.