The Prophesy: Book 3 - The Hammer of Atlantis

 

The flotilla, while tiny by Ancients' standard, was huge for the time. It stretched over two miles from the first to the last raft. High above the river, only occasionally visible, were dragons and Pegasuses. The Unicorns ported constantly along both shores, carrying Fairies to ensure the entire fleet was not seen by either orcs or the usurper's troops. Since the weather was relatively clear still, and there were some patrols around, these units were closely monitored. The farms were evacuated as the legions progressed south and east. The combined speed of the raft and the river was around twenty-five miles per hour, but the progression was far from a straight line, adding numerous miles to the trip.

By nightfall, only a quarter of the distance had been covered, and, given the presence of sandbars, mudflats and submerged obstacles rendered navigation of the river risky even during the day, Samson called for dropping anchor. All rafts had three anchors, two in the rear and one in the front. This ensured the raft would not swing crosscurrent during the night. Everyone fed from cold cuts, and received sleeping bags. Half of the men slept on the benches, the other half on the raft floor. The Unicorns split in two groups. One group ported on the extra rafts for half the night, while the other half continued patrolling for orcs. In the sky the Dragons and Pegasuses continued flying, using gliding to relax, while keeping an eye on the Orcs. One group or another was continuously harassing their troop movement during the night. Those confined to the rafts could see an occasional flash of light, indicating that either Harp, Thorsten, Harold, Paschal or Sitar were involved in a battle. The dragons' breath could also be seen as long flames headed for a point, which generally resulted in an immediate forest fire starting. Smoke could be smelled, and the perfume of roasting flesh far outweighed the odour of burning spruce or other trees.

***

At the end of the fourth day, Samson called for an early stop, as the sun, quite low, had not yet dipped below the western mountain range visible in the distance. He ported to each raft, explaining the strategy for the upcoming battle.

"The city is built on a widened section of the river. This means it is shallower. We would probably have trouble bringing all the rafts to bear on the docks, which are also occupied by ships. The objective is to pass in front of the city silently, using a guide light Harp has promised us. The city guards will see it, but since it is cloudy and it's new moon, they will not see anything across the river. As soon as the sun goes down, dragons will dive and mark obstacles for us, a sort of channel to navigate. The light will be weak, red on starboard and green on port. Stay between the two lines of light at all costs! The dragons will try to keep things as straight as possible and make sure any change is gradual. Noise carries far on water, so no drumming, and no rowing! Let the river carry you. Silence is at a premium. Use oars to adjust only. The rafts should all move at the same speed, but just in case, post watchmen at both ends with gaffs. We will lift anchor when I slightly flash my Trident. Since we are hidden from view and the air force informs us there are no human settlements for another mile downriver, we are unlikely to be detected. However, if we are, use arrows to kill, no quarters. We cannot afford to face decked ships! The lifting of anchors is set to midnight. By then the guards will probably be too busy to change shift to worry about anything happening on the water. If you need to cough, for Merlin's sake, do it in your elbow or drown! After we are past the bend that will make us invisible to the city, we must travel a mile to reach an abandoned dock. The dragons will have cleared it of any obstacle to navigation, and of any unwanted residents. We estimate it will take us an hour to get from our position to our destination. This means the last raft should be tied to the others a half hour before lauds. We will disembark immediately, construct a beachhead, and rest. According to our surveillance of the area for the past days, it is never visited, but that doesn't mean some curious unit might not decide to check it. Be ready for it at any time. We do not expect to cross path with any ship since they are already all at anchor due to the falling light. Tomorrow, Sitar has promised fog on the river, which will also keep them still. We will begin advancing on the city at nones, reaching it at dusk, an hour before vespers. We expect the city watchmen to take us for allies since the classic attacks have historically come from the opposite direction. We plan on using this confusion to enter the city without resistance. Once inside, your instructions are simple. Take the strategic points as quietly but as quickly as possible. If there is resistance, kill silently. No long fancy fights! Boys, your youth will serve us! They will not beware of children, so use it to our advantage. Each Centurion will receive the assigned target once we have set up the beachhead. Supper will be served shortly."

***

Viola, which was seated on the outer right side of the raft, on the third bench, could see the raft ahead of him as a darker spot on the slightly luminescent water. His raft was in the middle of the flotilla, hidden by a curve of the river from a direct view of the leading raft. He wondered how the captain would know it was time to weight anchor.

As matins passed, he saw a torch being lighted on the raft ahead of his, to be immediately dunked into the water. A few seconds later, a torch was lighted on the rear of his raft and extinguished immediately. That was the method used, he thought; fast, silent, discreet.

The capstans lifted the anchors, first the front anchor, then the two rear anchors. The capstans were copiously oiled and covered with thick wet cloths, to minimise the grinding sound. Once the anchors were up, silence descended on the raft like a shroud. Far behind his position, Viola heard the rafts further back continue lifting their anchors. Then, suddenly, the silence was total. The only noise was the water rushing on the banks. Since they were still quite far from the city and had to negotiate a bend, the rowing began as quietly as possible, each watching the oarsman in front of him to keep in beat.

As he watched the banks of the river pass by, he saw a red light under water, less then ten feet from him. Apparently, the channel had been marked and they were in it. He heard the rudders turn as the captain flashed a light to the port side of the ship, and the Centaurs leaned on the side the light pointed, bringing the ship to turn slowly to starboard. Then the light flashed on the starboard side and the rudder was pulled back straight.

Ahead of him, Viola saw the river widen, and the raft began its perilous passage in front of the fortified city. The oars were lifted, and the river opened, revealing the city on the right bank, shrouded in darkness except for a few torches that burned weakly along the docks.

The raft, apart from an occasional crack from the wood, was more silent then a tomb. Red light after red light passed beside the raft, reassuring the passengers by their presence. There were occasional adjustments of trajectory, produced by either a brief call to the oarsmen or by the rudders, probably to prevent the raft from turning or drifting too close to one side of the channel or the other.

Finally, ahead of the raft loomed the shores of the river as it began to narrow into its bed. The passage was tricky, and required a sustained turn left into a sharp bend, followed by a cross to the right before the raft was out of sight of the city walls. The right rowers, including Viola, pulled hard at the last minute to force the raft to turn almost perpendicularly to its original direction, as the oarsmen of the left pushed hard on theirs to increase the rotation even more. It was done quietly but rapidly. Then the oarsmen began forcing the crossing to the right of the river.

Everyone held his breath as the raft slowly turned to engage in the narrow channel, coming perilously close to the red markers before turning into the proper direction. As it emerged from the bend, the Centaurs rotated the rudders a full one hundred and eighty degrees, forcing the raft to head right sharply. The raft passed a few inches from the markers, barely making the turn. Then, the captain guided the raft across the river using a slant that would have made a crab envious. Finally, the middle of the river was marked and the raft made for it. They were out of trouble!

As the raft emerged from the bend into another straight stretch, the captain had the oars dropped, and used them to gain a finer control over the raft as it neared the dock. He aligned his raft parallel to the rafts that had already docked, brought the raft within oar length of the floating dock created by the previous and now emptying rafts, and had the oars on the right side raised, while ordering the rudders turned so the raft quickly slammed into the already tied up rafts. The sudden collision was noisy to the ears of the legionnaires, but the result was as expected. The raft came to a stop as its cables were caught by legionnaires on the fixed rafts. The legionnaires pulled the raft into its final position, at the extreme downriver side of the reconstructing floating dock, tied the ropes to the anchor capstans of the raft to the right side and tightened them. Immediately after that the oars were dismounted, stored on the floor, the benches were lowered over them, thus making the raft's side passable for the horses and the cavalrymen.

"Brace!" ordered the captain, just as the next raft butted Viola's, shaking the entire structure.

"Evacuate! Lead the horse by the bridle!"

The evacuation of the raft went rapidly as each rider took care of his horse. Less then five minutes after the order had been given, there was not a soul left on the raft. Meanwhile the longshoremen were bringing a third raft into the fold, and the floating dock shook when the raft collided first with the dock then with the raft ahead of it. Viola noted there were ten rafts per row, with eight rows completed already. That meant at least eighty rafts had made it safely so far, and if he counted the three in the partially completed row, the total was eighty-three. Just as he was climbing a ramp leading to the concrete dock, he felt another shudder. Another raft had made it.

His unit was regrouping ahead of him and he joined them. They were brought to a space, told to remove the saddle, bridles and bits, and take care of their mount for the night. Viola got busy, as more and more units joined them. The last four rafts, carrying their tents and other necessities, were the last to dock, and the legionnaires quickly created chains to bring the stock on the docks. Everyone contributed, from the officers to the intendance staff. Tents went up in lines, in the best military fashion, and an hour after docking, everyone except the guards was sent to bed.

Viola had inherited the first guard shift for his part of camp and patrolled it religiously, making sure to never lose sight of at least two other legionnaires. He had learned his lesson during Harp's taking of the camp north of Riverside! He also never established a pattern, knowing that this could be observed and used to infiltrate.

Things went well, until he felt a presence in the dark, behind him. He quickly pulled his sword and crouched, ready to strike.

"I see you learned your lesson, Viola," whispered Harp. "I do spot checks on the guards to make sure they are on their toes. We had a Centurion sleep on duty while in charge of a shift once. We learned that we are better served by doing things ourselves. Keep the good work, Viola. Remember we are in hostile territory."

Viola nodded and resumed his patrol, which was nearing its end anyway.

***

Morning came early for everyone. The thick cotton that blanketed the river confirmed that the royals had kept their promise. There was not a breath of wind, and on the floating docks, people couldn't see their nose. Everyone understood it was not a good idea to venture on the rafts in those conditions.

The horses were inspected, fed, watered, and Harold fixed any loose horseshoe, much to Viola's amazement. Skin burns, frequent from wearing saddles too long, were healed by Harp. At sext, the Centurions received their objectives and a map telling them how to reach it, what were the obstacles, and how much resistance could be expected from each target. Lunch was lively, as everyone was now rested; the last flying units operating around the target had finished porting the farmers and their stock to Thebes, while others had spent time cleaning an orc column that had formed in the forest west of the target. It was out of the question to get distracted and caught on two fronts. Infiltration units were progressing, removing farmsteads that were hidden from view of the city but too close to risk flying to them. Still, estimates placed the number of farms left at over two hundred and fifty. This was really the grain shed of the kingdom.

An hour before departure, set at nones, camp was lifted, horses saddled, and units formed in marching order. The legionnaires would be in the lead, so as to hide the nature of the other units until the last moment. The idea was to take the south door as quickly as possible, then to take the south wall. This was the task of the foot soldiers, which would be ahead of the cavalry, as it was a rarity in the kingdom. The presence of the cavalry would be the first sign of something amiss according to Viola, since there were at most ten centuries in the entire kingdom that rode horses. The rest were on foot.

This time, since a bugle might have been heard along the gorge leading to the city, hand signs were used to trigger the departure. The centuries left the docks spaced the standard twenty steps apart, in perfect order. Then the cavalry began walking behind the centuries. Behind them came the Elves, well hidden by the advancing horses, followed by the Dwarfs, the Trolls, and, difficult to miss in the procession, the Centaurs, Unicorns and Canines, that closed the column. Again, Harold had decided to keep the Dragons, Pegasuses and Fairies as trump cards. They were flying high in the sky out of view.

***

As the sun was setting behind the mountains, the first centurie of legionnaires walked into view of the arch that framed the southern doors of the city. The sudden appearance of the important column stopped the closing of the doors, and by the time the first soldiers were at the base of the fortifications, the doors were wide open. The units walked in and continued along the grand boulevard for about five hundred feet, until they were out of view of the guards, which were too fascinated by the long column's passage to keep track of what was going on with the first units.

As soon as the order to take their objective was given by their Centurion, the centurie split in two, walked on a perpendicular street, and took to a run to head back to the fortifications. The first step was taking the door's closing mechanism, and two decades each side charged the steps leading to the turrets where the mechanisms were housed. The five men manning each pulley were overwhelmed without fuss. The door had fallen.

The rest of the centurie climbed the stairs leading to the wall's walkway and took control of it rapidly. As more and more centuries joined them, the southern wall fell silently into the Atlanteans' hands. A few clashes occurred, but the boys quickly dispatched to an ever-lasting rest the stubborn ones, disarmed the others, collected the strays, and brought them into confining rooms.

The arrival of the cavalry went unreported to the duke, as he had yet to even learn his southern door had fallen to a hostile force. The cavalry progressed rapidly toward the castle, reached the plaza in the middle of which the building rose, and walked around, splitting in two columns to reach the entrance, located on the northern face of the fort. This design had been made so the elite troops could rush out and come in support of the regular defence of the northern wall.

This time, the arrival of the cavalry was detected, and since it was acting as if nothing was wrong and the alarm had not been rung, the drawbridge was dropped immediately. The duke, surprised, left his dinner to meet with the incoming Centurion, as he thought this was a single centurie. No one had bothered counting the units, and inform him of the huge forces now walking toward his doorsteps! The observers were probably too shocked to think straight.

The first cavalry centurie progressed rapidly to the drawbridge, and the foot soldiers that walked in right behind did not delay in dispersing to take control of it. By the time the duke made it to the outer courtyard, he had lost control of his castle and did not even know it yet. The cavalry spread in a tight line across the yard, effectively blocking the duke's view of his entrance and hiding from him the ever-increasing number of legionnaires taking position on his upper fortifications. The game was played by the time the first Elvin units walked in.

Harold rode on his warhorse, hammer strapped on his right hip, shield of Thor in plain view, and blade in its scabbard on the left hip, war axe on the right hip, a series of quite menacing knives visible on his belt, with his bow across the saddle, quiver of arrows visible, strapped on his back with the tips of the arrows sticking over his left shoulder blade. He wore a blood-red cape that was open in the front, tied by a gold clasp at the neck, revealing his superb mithril chainmail that shone blindingly red in the weaning sun, leather cavalry pants and dark-red boots that showed orichalque tips and gave the casual observer the feeling he had walked in an ocean of blood. The headgear was an aquincum²¹²¹ ("Aquincum: A Roman Empire military headgear, dating from the first century A.D.") with long red feathers that gave the impression Harold was two feet taller then he was, not that he needed its added effect as he sat impassively on his giant mount.

The duke looked at the man in front of the steps leading to his porch with a bit of apprehension. However hard he tried to place the figure, he could not remember ever seeing him at the court. He eyed the man, trying to gather as much information from his perusal as he could, without becoming insulting. Harold kept silent, watching the duke as a hawk watches a mouse, jaws as firm as stone. The duke, growing ever more uncomfortable as the silence lasted, finally broke protocol and descended the steps leading into the courtyard.

This was what Harp and the boys had been waiting for; they took discreet position behind the duke, who, too busy keeping watch on Harold, completely missed the move. Duke and king continued to eye each other suspiciously in silence. More and more of Harold's men took control of the castle, as the children found their way into every room, disarmed the soldiers taken by surprise, and progressed further, to be replaced by elves and dwarfs. It took ten minutes for Ian to receive the report that the castle was now in their hands from the basements to the roofers in the attics. By then the duke was almost wetting himself!

«We have control, dad.»

«Good work. What have they found?»

«There were a few prisoners. The dungeon contained five, all political. The underground contained another twenty, common criminals. A mental examination revealed there were ten murderers; five tax evaders, a deserter, and four petty crocks. We executed the murderers on the spot. The others are now in Thebes, getting enrolled in the army; they were all given the choice: the rope or the army, and they all chose the army.»

«Ah, conscripts! The meat on the bones of the army! What did you do with the political detainees?»

«They are in Thebes as well, and have joined their growing number forming court to the legitimate ruler of this crap yard. We keep an eye on them, as we all know how court mice are.»

«Ok, what about the duke's units?»

«All are in custody. He lost a hundred men, mostly officers and bootlickers. His administrative personnel surrendered without a fight, except for a few higher ranking ones that considered they had too much to lose, and lost everything in the bargain.»

«Good, let's get this show on the road! I think the duke is about ready to crap his pants!»

"Dismount!" thundered the Sergeant at Arms as he got a very discreet hand sign by Harold.

The perfect, synchronised move from the cavalry took the duke by surprise, and he effectively peed in his pants from shock! That's what happens when you drink too much beer at a meal and cannot run to the bathroom to relieve your bladder. The widening dark circle at the duke's crotch did not go unnoticed and brought a flicker of a smile to Harold's still dark face.

Harold dismounted in turn, and the cavalry horses slammed their right hoof hard on the pavement, completing the duke's traumatisation. It also shook Viola to the core, as he felt the ground under him vibrate, the noise deafening him for several seconds as it echoed in the courtyard. Like the duke, he had never seen the ritual, and was awed by it.

«Are there any more such rituals, Pokawonka?»

«I thought you were a legionnaire?»

«That is new to me. From the smell whiffing from the duke, I'm not the only one taken by surprise!»

«That is true; I've never understood why you guys kept your refuses! Are you expected to grow roses there?»

«No, chrysanthemums for the funeral wreaths of our enemies!» replied Viola.

The exchange had reached many horses and legionnaires that were standing beside Viola, and brought a smile to many faces in the centurie.

"You better learn to focus on your partner when you use telepathy Viola," whispered his legionnaire friend. "Half of the centurie heard the exchange!"

"Harp promised to begin my training shortly."

"Good, a powerful untrained mage is a danger to all."

Meanwhile Harold looked at the duke in the eyes. He then took a breath, and moved to within five feet of the man.

"Duke..."

"Err..."

"Did I mistake your title?"

"No, I just don't know who you are? I do not think I ever met you before?"

"No, we never met."

"But then, who are you?"

"Raise the colours!" ordered Harold, in the silent courtyard.

"Raise the colours!" thundered the Sergeant at Arms.

Immediately, the colours of Atlantis, its different vassals and units appeared. The duke's colours were pulled down from the castle's flagpoles and replaced by the Atlanteans'. In the gathering darkness, the duke missed the change, but he could not miss the rising sun and the wolf flag on the right and the oak flag on the left, flapping gently at his face in the evening breeze; nor could he miss the crown on the wolf. This was a royal flag if ever there was one. The duke had travelled in his youth and he recognized the Elvin flag, but he could not place the other two; all he could understand was that the Elvin flag and the Wolf flag were vassal to the Sun rising one, therefore indicating their respective hierarchy. Further on the left side he could barely discern a roaring horse with a crown, and further on the right, he saw another flag, which was difficult to see. As he tried to see further, he could only count the flags, and came to an astounding number: Ten kingdoms were vassal to the Sun flag. As he come to this conclusion, the clasp that held Harold's cape in place shone in the last rays of the setting sun and caught his attention. It was a perfect gold reproduction of the sun visible on the flag! The man standing in front of him was the ultimate leader of this army. The duke was no idiot. He understood his position and needed no incentive to understand he had all advantages to get on the good side of the man in front of him and his life to lose otherwise. Yet the duke did not have an answer to his burning question.

"This does not answer my fundamental question: Who are you?"

"I am power!"

"That, I have surmised; and I recognize, from my youth, the flag of the Elves, and that it is vassal to the Sun flag. Yet, it only tells me you have submitted the Elves and all the others, not who you are."

«Dad, stop playing with the fish and hook him! He already smells bad enough with all the refuse, the fear, and the unwashed body as it is!» asked Ian.

«All right, son. I admit I have a hard time not pinching my nose.»

"We are Harold Thor Horus Pharaoh of Atlantis, King of kings, Liege Lord of the Wolves, the Equines, the Trolls, the Elves, the Dwarfs, the Fairies, the Centaurs, the Unicorns, the Pegasuses and the Dragons."

"I have only heard of the Elves, but some of the flags and pennants I give credence to your statement. Why are you here?"

"To remove an usurper, one that has dared assail the rightful Royal family of this kingdom and decimated its members."

"By whom will you replace him? To my knowledge, the royal family was killed to the last member."

"This is not the case, the youngest son of your late king was held hostage by his granduncle. As to why he did not dispose of the boy, we have no idea. We speculate he held him to control elements of the kingdom that might otherwise take offence at his sitting his rear on the throne of this kingdom. But this is mere speculations."

The duke missed the past tense. One might attribute this fact to his growing discomfort in his pants, as things began seeping down along his legs into his boots. "He will get killed the moment the news spreads of your arrival."

"This is very unlikely, since we rescued the prince, and destroyed the castle in which he was held prisoner. No stone remains of the construction. The usurper may not even know of the events. We move fast, with deadly results."

It finally rose to the duke's consciousness that the man in front of him was talking of the prince using past tense. As he quickly reviewed things, he needed to confirm his understanding of the situation.

"Can I surmise the prince is now free?"

"You can surmise."

"Far from me to be disrespectful, but I would like to see for myself the veracity of this assertion, your Highness."

"A reasonable demand that will be satisfied shortly."

"What do you expect of me?"

"Surrender."

"But I have not even been presented with conditions!"

"What conditions? You are the only one not yet in chains. We killed a hundred and twenty-five of your men taking this place silently. Those killed resisted or were shown to have abused their position to physically harm civilians or others. Another five hundred are already being forcibly incorporated in our army as conscripts for petty crimes, such as robbery, extortion, and other petty offences. The others are in detention, until such time we judge it appropriate to either dispose of them with an axe, or incorporate them in our army. You, and only you are free, still."

"What about my family?"

"It is confined to the ducal quarters, under strict watch by the elite guards assigned to our own family protection detail, and which will be present for the duration of our stay here. No one was hurt, albeit your eldest tried to fight one of our boys and found himself disarmed and stripped in less time then it takes to blink. He was bared so he could not hide any weapons under his clothes. Had he even managed to draw blood, he would be dead. You own your life to the fact that neither your political prisoners nor your common criminals showed signs of abuse. Had any shown such, your head would be adorning the plaza outside of this castle right now."

"And what about the civilians of this city?"

"That you even asks the question tells us you are potentially a person of value. The civilians are being sussed out, the criminal elements are being extracted and converted into conscripts, the worse cases were killed on the spot; the rest are being taken care of."

"Why conscripts?"

"The Atlanteans believe honour can be bought back by acts of bravery. Those criminals we killed today in your jail we esteemed unable to redeem past actions honourably. Had they killed to protect either themselves or others, they would have been graced; they killed for their own profit or personal satisfaction, so they forfeited their life. The conscripts are the meat of our campaigns. They are first in line, and sustain most of the losses. Yet, most rise above their condition given half a chance, and gradually rebuild their identity around a nucleus of pride and value in tasks accomplished and well done."

"I see. What else is happening in the city as we speak?"

"The members of the Diviners chapter here are being hunted down and killed on the spot. We cannot, will not, tolerate child slavers and molesters. Also all those that have condoned this activity wilfully are joining them in the river to fatten the fishes."

"Good riddance; I always wanted to dispose of them, but I met with systematic opposition from the Orders, the Guilds, and the other trade unions."

"The trade unions will be dealt a blow they will not come standing from. We have a war to run, and they have been accomplices to way too many criminal acts to expect to self-regulate themselves any time soon. In our kingdom, these organizations get their patent from the Throne, are under constant surveillance by the Throne, and are accountable of their action to the Throne. We learned the hard way that self-regulated trade unions generally are complacent with their own members, forgetting they are there to insure the quality of work of their members, their constant improvement, and to train apprentices properly. Buying a charge gets both the buyer and the seller beheaded."

"There must be a considerable number of litigations!"

"Oh, not that many. One of our vassals instituted a policy we copied: the losing lawyer in litigation gets truncated as well as the losing party. The number of days per year we have had to spend on the royal bench rendering justice can be counted on the fingers of a single hand."

The duke, however uncomfortable he was getting in his pants, couldn't help but whistle in admiration and laugh.

"Can I join your people? I have been wanting to clean up this place for years, but there was always a certain number of spies from the crown waiting for me to make waves in order to get me under the executioner's axe."

"I gather you surrender?"

"Hell, yes! I have no choice, do I? And you are doing in a few hours what I have failed to do in a lifetime! I would be ill advised to risk your ire."

"Then your surrender is accepted. Duke, return to your quarters, take a bath and change. You stink! We will be dealing with the cleanup of this city. We figure you were also eating. Return to your family and finish your dinner. We will send for you if the need arises."

The duke understood he had been dismissed, and turned around, finally realising he had more in his pants then when he started the day. So red his ears shone in the darkening light, he moved quickly to his apartments, as the Atlanteans took over the Grand Hall to set up their occupation of the city.

***

The duke wobbled to his apartments to be met by his wife and children. His wife winced at his smell, and began to bugger him on the events.

"Later wife! I have to clean up, I feel I have been bathing in a pig pen!"

The duke then proceeded to his chambers, ordered hot water brought to his bath, stripped, and threw everything out the window, not bothering to ask the soiled clothes cleansed. He finally noticed an unknown boy, the same that had taken his order for hot water and wearing colours that did not match his house, watching him with keen if polite eyes. Standing nude, shivering while he waited for the hot water, he simply asked:

"Can you make sure the clothes and boots get incinerated? I do not wish to ever wear them again. They would remind me of my shame each time I saw them."

The young boy slapped his heels together, hollered, and a giant canine, a wolf thought the duke, walked in. He would have to ask later. After a few seconds, the wolf turned and left, as the boy returned to his attentive at rest position. The duke did not understand the exchange but he was sure there had been one. As he was pondering the question, three huge furry bipeds brought in buckets of steaming water. They dumped the water unceremoniously in the bath and left.

"There will be more shortly," the boy informed the duke, as one of the bipeds looked at the boy. Again no signs of any exchange occurred, and the duke was even more dumbfounded than with the canine. As announced, three more furry bipeds came in the bathroom and added six more buckets of steamy water to the now three-quarter full bathtub. The duke began dipping his toes in the hot water, trying to adjust his body to the hot temperature. He was not used to taking his bath alone; usually, he had a page to do the washing, and he realised too late he had forgotten to get a washrag and soap. Just as he was about to get out of the bath and freeze over to get the missing things, the washcloth appeared from out of nowhere on the side of the bathtub; then as miraculously, the water was perfumed, the soapsuds filling the tub to the brim and then some! The duke fell in his bath from shock and took a cup of water before sputtering and coughing as soap spilled from his nostrils, creating cute little bubbles.

"The soap is destined to wash your outside, not your inside," commented, wryly, the boy.

The duke looked at the boy as he washed up. As he was getting ready to use the bathwater to wash his hair, a bucket of hot water doused him from nowhere. The duke, too shocked now to care, tried to grab a soap bar but found his left hand holding a bottle of liquid soap. He emptied half the bottle in his hair and began rubbing vigorously. He noticed the suds disappear rapidly, and a second bucket of hot water rinsed his hair.

"Use the rest of the shampoo, duke; your hair was so oily the suds melted away."

The duke obediently followed the instructions, and this time, the suds survived his hair. Once he had again rubbed his scalp vigorously, he expected another bucket of hot water and was not disappointed when it did appear to rinse his rather long hair. As he cleared his eyes of the soap, he noticed another bottle hovering right in front of him and he grabbed it, wondering what it was. As if the boy could read his mind, he got his answer.

"Your hair is tangled, duke. This is hair conditioner and will ease the brushing while improving their lustre. You have long hair and it requires more care then the military cut standard in my lord's army."

As he rubbed the hair with the conditioner, a powerful green apple smell invaded the room, and it took a few seconds for the duke to understand the odour was coming from what the boy called a conditioner. Finally satisfied, he looked questioningly at the boy, who obliged by dumping several buckets of water on the duke's head. By then the bath was overflowing and each bucket produced a cascade of water on the floor.

Suddenly the bath water emptied, and the duke, who had been standing in the bath with water to slightly below his armpits, suddenly found himself in cold air! But it did not last long, as several buckets of clean water were dumped on him rinsing his body of any soap and making sure his body was warm once again.

"Why did you bother to have the first buckets brought up if you could do that?"

"I figured you had enough shocks already and decided to grade them. Since you did not faint at the sight of the Trolls, I figured you were made of a tougher hide then you seemed."

As the duke finished rinsing, the water disappeared again to be replaced by a hot bath towel that the duke rubbed on his body vigorously to dry up. Another towel appeared to replace the soaked one when it was time to dry his hair, and then a hairbrush and a mirror. This was the first time in his life the duke ever had to comb his hair himself! He managed to get the hair straightened out, and as he looked at his shaggy hair, he suddenly saw, to his horror, the unruly hair get cut cleanly by an invisible pair of scissors! Then his hair got braided in a flash and a hair tie appeared. Wide-eyed, he noticed his beard getting trimmed and brushed by invisible hands as well.

He finally noticed that the floor of his bathroom which had been copiously flooded during the hair-rinsing episode, was dry and, strangely, feeling warm underfoot!

The duke walked out of bathroom to find a full and finely pressed uniform of his stature and status. He again dressed alone, an unusual thing for him as he had a dresser usually. As he buttoned the top vest, the boy halted him, and in a quiet whisk of his right hand, re-buttoned the vest from top to bottom.

"You missed the topmost button, duke, and would have ended up with an empty eye at the bottom. Since you seem unable to dress yourself, let me finish the task. You will have to learn these things, duke. Dressers are unknown in our kingdom. Autonomy is the rule."

The boy again did a quick hand move, and the duke was clothed from head to foot, with shiny boots that he didn't know he had! As he looked questioningly at the boy, he got another unexpected answer.

"Your boots were one size too small and must have hurt you day in day out, duke. Furthermore, your left foot is longer then your right foot, and a wee bit wider. I adjusted the boots accordingly. To complicate matters, you have calluses that required the proper adjustments to the inner soles while distributing your weight more evenly. You will feel a lot more comfortable."

The duke walked a bit with his new boots and, indeed, he felt no pain whatsoever. The rigidity of the boots at his ankles surprised him, and again, an explanation followed.

"You have repeatedly twisted your ankles, weakening their tendons; I reinforced the material of the boots so they will help you gain and maintain a straighter stance."

The duke remembered all too vividly the number of falls and painful aftermaths to doubt the young boy's comments. He nodded and went for his sword and belt. He immediately noticed the scabbard was clean, the sword guard shiny, and the handle clean and well placed, for once. He pulled the sword halfway out, to find the blade shone like a new one, the dents on the cutting edges gone.

"It's not new. It's your blade of function, duke, and I saw to it that it got cleansed, sharpened and that the scabbard got properly oiled. The guy that took care of your stuff will be facing a serious dress-down from her Majesty the Queen; pray he falls on the King; he is less difficult to deal with. Straighten that belt, duke, and pull it one notch tighter, otherwise it sags."

The duke did as asked and looked at the boy, getting more amazed by the minute. How come he obeyed the toddler? What kind of authority did that mere child exercise daily to be able to order him around and get him to abide without even raising his voice?

"Let's go, you are finally presentable." The boy opened the duke's bedroom door and led the way to the family living room as if he had always been living there.

***

The arrival of the duke, accompanied by the boy, took his family by surprise. His children, used to seeing the rather neglected appearance of the duke, almost fell on the ground in shock. His wife, looking at the duke suspiciously, said the first thing that came to her mind.

"Who is she?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The last time I saw you look so smart was before my wedding night! After that, you were a pig! I am surprised the fleas haven't eaten you alive! I had to threaten you of no sex for you to dip a big toe in a bath!"

Some of the boys snickered, but their mother turned on them!

"You piglets better keep your mouth shut! You take after your father! I have to wonder why girls even bother to look at you! They must be trying to get pregnant for alimony!"

Now it was the turn of the girls to snigger.

The duke had heard enough.

"Girls, you better keep quiet; your behaviour makes you look like whores! Yes, you perfume, a lot! But I wonder if it is not to hide your crass! As far as I know, you aren't more in favour of baths then your brothers! Don't look at me like I did not know what I was talking about! The consumption of hot water in this castle is limited to tea for the most part!"

"How dare you call your girls whores?" screeched the duchess, outraged.

"Because it is who they are, bitch! They sneak into the barracks to get laid by the soldiers, not even limiting themselves to the officers or waiting for nightfall! I have had echoes of their activities, which were not always nocturnal or discreet. At least one of them was found drunk in the arms of a mariner, and not the oldest! They probably lost their virginity before their first pubic hair sprouted!"

"How dare you!" said the duchess as the girls turned ginger! "And why shouldn't they? Your sons have been trying to fathom the depth of every girl in town! And some boys as well, come to think of it!"

The venomous exchange continued unabated, the Atlantean boy standing in the back totally forgotten. He was learning a lot about the workings of this household! At some point, an exchange piqued his curiosity. It was the duchess that brought the topic on the floor.

"When I think I accepted to marry you at the insistence of my brother! I should have stabbed the bastard when he was drunk! The old geezer would be better feeding the sewer rats then sitting on the throne, playing king with his soft boy tool! I would be queen!"

"This is seditious, wife! I could have your head for this!"

"And lose yours in the process, idiot! The only witnesses to this exchange are our children, and they wouldn't testify against me, if they know what is good for them!"

"Are you threatening us, mom?" asked the eldest of the boys. "If you do, be ready to deliver, because I, for one, prefer my head on my shoulders then your head on yours!"

"Given the situation I found you in, dickhead, all tied up, nude and hanging upside down like a sausage, I would keep my mouth shut!" replied the duchess. "Anyway, you seemed to take after your dad! You were harder then a steel rod, and looked like you appreciated the situation for its kinky erotic value!"

"Given what I have found lying under the conjugal bed, woman, I would not talk about kinky. You could give lessons to the city whores!" replied the duke. "I do happen to look for my boots some mornings!"

"You only need to follow your nose! I swear you could make a skunk envious!"

"It's between your legs the skunk resides, woman! I wonder why my lance doesn't fall off!"

"I only wish! I would finally be rid of your incessant advances!"

"As if you don't like it! We got twelve children to prove you are no virgin! You didn't keep your legs crossed when we did them! And let's add the numerous other times we shook the conjugal bed with our activity! In our youth, the only place we didn't do it was in the pigpen! We were damn lucky you never carried before our wedding, because the barn owl probably learned a lot about human sexuality from watching us, not counting the farm boys! Complain all you want about marrying me, but I think your brother got us married because he knew no one would want a ravaged passage! The only things that haven't used you are stallions, probably because you have not figured out how! And you certainly did not bleed at the first legal lay! Luckily, I had planned ahead and brought a gourd of blood from the last beef we butchered for the wedding feast! It came in handy to redden the linen to save your honour! Maybe I should have kept the bale of hay on which you did lose that blood instead! Even your rear door wouldn't have supplied the requisite blood, since you long ago lost that as well! Come to think of it, I kind of remember you told me it was preferable that way when you were hot between the thighs to prevent unwanted packages! I still remember the wide eyes of one of the young grooms as you bucked and hollered like a mare in heat, on all fours, and banging the floor with your fists in enjoyment! In hindsight, I guess you were giving the poor sods a show! And don't dare raise your nose on some of our boys if they like it too! They have some damn good reasons to like it, given who is their mother!"

***

The duchess' eyes flashed as she looked around on the table, alerting the forgotten observer that something was going to happen. She charged the duke, grabbing a butchering knife used to carve the evening's turkey on her way to reach the duke. She had barely cleared the table, when she felt herself propelled across the room, the knife flying to a wall away from the opponents. She landed heavily on a table whose legs opened under her weight; the table crashed to the floor bringing the duchess down at the same level. Bells ringing in her ears, the duchess looked up to see a sword applied to her neck, the young boy eyeing her with a hint of derision.

"Duchess, you better stay civil, or I will put a term to the debate on the respective morality of your husband, your children and you. Now stand up and stop acting like a five year old deprived of candy!"

The duchess eyed the boy, the blade at her neck, and the carving knife that lay, lost, on the ground and out of her reach.

"I would consider my options carefully if I were you. You never saw me move to intercept, you went flying right across the room, lost your weapon of choice even before you could take a good hold on it."

"Who are you?" she said, contemptuously.

"You might live to hear the answer, if you behave."

The duke's children were stunned by their parents' acrimonious exchange, and even more by the situation they were now looking at. The eldest pulled his blade from its scabbard only to realise he was nude, blue from head to foot, dripping and shivering uncontrollably.

"We have many ways to cool off hot heads, duke. It is his second attempt today at attacking one of us. He is running out of tokens; the next time, you will find your family has been reduced by one boy."

The duke looked at his son, noticing that not only was he wet, blue, sputtering and shivering uncontrollably, but that his family jewels were trying hard to return inside his body for some warmth. From the boy's eyes, he had seen something to put the fear of the Devil in him.

"I wonder what he saw?"

"A Megalodon. I ported him in Atlanticus, or, as the Ancients named it, the Atlantic, less then twenty yards from the open maw of one giant one hundred and fifty foot shark. I think the fish was having a meal of giant octopus."

"I have heard stories but I've never met one."

"You would meet one only once. And you would not live to tell about it."

The duchess, seeing the boy distracted, tried to throw a small knife at him, but the boy caught the flash of light on the blade and used his sword to deflect it far from anyone. He then dutifully inserted his sword under the woman's chin and said, very coldly, "You have forfeited your life. Die." With that the sword slowly cut through her trachea and sectioned the spinal cord at the second inter-vertebrae space. She did not even spasm as the clinical precision of the blade did its work. The open, horror-filled eyes of the duchess told the final chapter of her biography.

The boy then decapitated the head, and disposed of the body. The head then disappeared as well.

"Her head now resides on a spike outside the fort, duke. Let this serve as a lesson to all which try to assail us. As for you girls and boys, I have no interest in your turpitude. Your father has surrendered. Behave accordingly if you want to keep your head where it is. "

With a flick of the wrist, the little bloodstain that had escaped the duchess during her delicate beheading disappeared. The duke wondered why it was so, until he smelled the odour of burned flesh.

"You guessed right, duke. I cauterized the blood vessels as I cut her head off. It was not particularly pleasant for her, but I was in no mood to be gentle. This stopped the blood loss. You better eat, the turkey is still hot, I kept it warm while you had this little family feud."

The duke looked at the carving knife and the small one the duchess had tried to use on the boy.

"I will replace the carving knife, duke. I understand your reticence at handling a knife intended for your guts by... your wife. If I were you, I would not touch that small blade with a ten-foot pole. It is dripping with curare, a neurological toxin. In fact, I will dispose of it in the nearest volcano; no use endangering animals with its coating. Even the orcs deserve a fair chance!"

The blade disappeared and a thick layer of salt appeared on the carpet where it had come to rest.

"The salt is to neutralise the toxin. Once the salt has dried, I will remove it from the carpet, thus removing any trace of the poison. Finish your meal; that process will be done when you are finished."

"Is it dangerous if ingested?"

"No, the acidity of the stomach breaks it down. It is only dangerous if it enters the blood flow through a cut or a hole produced by a knife or an arrow."

"You seem knowledgeable in the art of poisons, young man," commented the duke.

"It is part of our training to know how to use them, prepare them, detect them, diagnose their use, and neutralize them. We are at war, and the orcs or the crocodile priests have been known users of a wide variety of toxins."

The meal continued after the eldest boy returned from drying his body and hair.

"I hope I will not have to do another bloody example to make clear we are not to be taken lightly," said the Atlantean boy as he eyed the returning ducal son. "Learn to control your temper, you have little chance of blowing up and surviving."

The boy exchanged a glance with his dad, but wisely choose to say nothing.

The duke took the remaining time of the meal to explain to his brood what had transpired in the front courtyard of the fort. He explained everything he had seen, and what he had deduced from them. He then admitted he had effectively surrendered, given the overwhelming odds against him. As things came to light, the children gasped, eyes widening, and took turns to look at the boy standing some distance away from their table, silent as a tomb.

Then the duke described what had transpired in his bathroom and bedroom, to shocked and, sometimes, doubtful looks. The children had seen the huge canines, but nowhere in their worse nightmares had they associated them with wolves! They had to concur with their dad's speculations as they eyed the canines. The huge teeth were not the typical dentition of the dogs. The boy standing at the door did not confirm or infirm the conclusion. They had not seen the Trolls, as they had been ported just beyond the duke's bathroom door, out of his sight. The appearing and vanishing buckets of hot water, the washcloth, the soap, the shampoo and conditioner, and finally the two drying hot towels were met with avowed scepticism. The clothing was a bit harder to dismiss, and the sword's pristine condition was undeniable. Frustrated at the repeated snickers of his children, as if they doubted the mental fitness of their dad, this brought the duke to a decision. He turned to the boy, and catching his eye, waved him over.

"Sir, can you make something appear to convince the sceptics?"

"Certainly. But I would have thought that their mother's body disappearing and their oldest brother's visit to an enterprising Megalodon would have done so already?"

"Apparently not. They think it's all illusion and magic tricks."

"Even your eldest?"

The boy bleached, and stuttered an almost unheard "N... No! No!"

The others looked at their sibling with contempt.

"I see. When was the last time you had hot chocolate fudge on ice cream sprinkled with pecans?"

The dumb look of the ducal family convinced they never had it before.

"Never?"

"Never," replied the duke.

"So be it, then. Thirteen crystal dessert cups of vanilla ice cream doused with hot fudge and sprinkled with pecans coming up, along with the appropriate cutlery, namely an eighteen carat gold spoon. I will also get one for me, since I've not had dessert yet either."

The leftovers of the meal vanished, a tablecloth of fine lace replaced the rough cotton one that had been on the table, a pair of seven branch candelabrums appeared in the centre, replacing the meagre lighting offered by the four candles that had been there previously with a much brighter light. The cups appeared in front of each seat, including at the end, facing the duke, a fourteenth one for the boy. Gold spoons sitting on napkins folded like roses appeared on their right side. On the left side, slightly ahead of the cup, appeared a crystal glass containing an amber-looking liquid.

"Ok, the glasses contain a fruity wine that goes with the dessert, which is very rich. I suspect everyone is right handed, so I placed the spoon so you could reach it easily. The wine, on the other hand, is within easy reach of your left hand. The spoons are currently ensconced in a napkin, which you will have to unfold to reach the spoon. This is to ensure that the cutlery stays clean until it is used. Use the napkin first to protect your clothes as this dessert has a tendency to be messy to eat, and use them when you are done, to wipe your lips and then your hands of any residue. Notice, right in front of the dessert cup, a tiny bowl with water and a slice of lemon. This is not to drink! This is so you can rinse your fingers once you are done. It is good manners to wipe your lips before taking a sip from the glass of wine to reduce the marking on the glass. This is particularly important with this dessert as it tends to cover your lips with the fudge and melting ice cream."

Everyone was looking at the table suspiciously. The boy watched their faces, amused.

"Dig in!" he said, with a wide grin.

The boy unwrapped his utensil effectively revealing that the gold extended from the tip of the handle to the cup of the spoon. He then placed his napkin on his lap, bringing a corner to his collar, covering the front of his clothes. The boy then took the spoon and delicately took a bit of the dessert cup's contents and apparently savoured it slowly, letting it melt in his mouth, before wiping his lips and taking a sip of the wine.

Reassured that the boy had not fallen dead from his first bite, the duke took his courage and gingerly imitated him. His eyes widened in shock at the rich, velvety taste of the dessert.

"This is delicious!" the duke exclaimed.

The children slowly took the plunge and did as they had seen the boy, then their dad, do. Exclamations of ecstasy exploded around the table.

The duke then took a sip of the wine, and his eyes widened even more. This was certainly the best wine he had ever tasted in his life, and it complemented the dessert to perfection.

"Sir, this dessert is worthy of the Royal table!" he exclaimed, "and this wine! What can I say? It's more then perfect, just the right taste to balance the richness of the dessert!"

"It is the dessert served to the legions tonight. I just ported them from the mess hall of the third centurie, that had a surplus, due to some soldiers being on patrol."

"And what did the legions have for supper?" asked the duke.

"Chicken breasts stuffed with cheddar and Portobello mushrooms accompanied by a sparkling white wine."

"That meal is fit for a king!"

"It is also what the king ate."

The answer stunned everyone to silence.