REUBEN. [IV]

We made our way towards the inn we were currently lodging with the abbot in tow. He had suggested to take two of his disciples along with him and I didn’t really care to disapprove. It was not like anything much would change if a few of his cohorts tagged along.

We soon reached our said destination and the moment he got off the carriage, a myriad of chaos spread along the street like wildfire. The people who saw him unconsciously scampered away from him in fright, as if they were beasts in a flood scurrying for their lives. The prior unruffled atmosphere suddenly got churned into a hushed upheaval; the people around, acting like they were seeing the devil incarnate himself. All of this happened at such a scale that it was not something that could go unnoticed even if one were to wear blindfolds.

“Oh my, the people around seem to respect you quite a bit, doesn’t it?” I said with a smile.

“Ah! Yes yes, they are too formal. I have told them to treat me as one of their own countless of times now, but it seems it was to no avail. Ahahaha…” The abbot said with a smile returned, not a crack in his composure, as though he was oblivious to my underlying meaning.

I didn’t mind his splendid act of ignorance, it only made things much more interesting. I only beamed lightly at his act for I was in no hurry to smash that hypocritical mask of his. I’d say it was rather amusing to watch this monkey jumping all over the place, if I had more time in my hands, I would have liked to indulge more into his act. But alas, time was of the essence.

We took him and his minions to the quarters where our sick knights were being nursed.

When he saw the haggard conditions of our ladies, he let out a dejected sigh and said, “My Lord, these young knights have long been past any help of mine. I can only help them when they have finally taken their last breaths. I’m really sorry about my incompetence.”

“You’re saying you have no way of curing them of their ailment? But they have been afflicted with the disease hardly a day ago.” Gilbert frowned in grimness.            

“As I have said earlier, I am but just a humble abbot. I have no way of curing the sick from their ailment. I can only truly help them after they had departed this mundane world.” The abbot said with a shake of his head.

“…..Is there really no other way?” I asked with a brow raised. I had clearly noticed how eager he was to come and see my knights. If he really didn’t have any other agenda behind his actions, if he really did not have any way of curing them, why was he so eager to come visit them?

I arched a brow to that. Something smelled really fishy here.

“…..There might be another way. But I’m not so certain about if I should say it out loud.” He spoke with his eyes downcasted, his head bowed low, as though he didn’t dare to say any unnecessary words.

(Chuckle) Here it was. His real agenda behind coming all the way here.

“Speak.” I urged with a word.

“Before I say more, I would like to appeal for the Lord’s forgiveness as what I am about to say next might come off as an insolent statement.” And I insisted him to continue with a go-ahead cue. “Long ago, when this malady first manifested on the face of this land, I had heard a rumour that the nectar of an exotic magical flower called ‘The sprite of ardor’ could be the remedy for this dreadful illness. But coming by a flower like that is very well near an impossibility, not to mention the fact that such a mystical flower only blooms in the lands beyond the cliff of Arcadia. And I do not know the exact location where the plant takes root either. To urge My Lord to go to such a treacherous place is……” I did not need to hear anymore of his insincere nonsense.  

“Cliff of Arcadia!?” Gilbert exclaimed in anger, “No one has ever returned alive from beyond the cliff of Arcadia. Are you telling us to venture into our deaths?”

“This humble one does not dare, this humble one does not dare!” The abbot shook his head frantically from side to side.

“Enough!” I stopped Gilbert from directly slashing the throats of these ingrates in front of us and said, “From what I heard about the symptoms of this disease, a person cannot live past a week after being infected. Even if we were to go look for the mystical flower, there is no assurance that our knights will live past a week and we are not confident enough to guarantee our return in just a short week.”

“Yes My Lord, that is precisely the reason why I had not suggested this wild goose chase of the remedy to any of the other people who came to me for help. Because I was sure that they would not be able to undertake such a dangerous task of venturing into the land beyond the Cliff of Arcadia. But it is different when it concerns My lords for they are far more experienced and veterans when it comes to dangers such as this. Actually, though I am not able to cure a person of the disease, I am able to prolong the infected person’s lifespan beyond just a week.” He muttered in a modest demeanour.

“Oh? How long?” I asked with an arched brow.

“Almost a month. But it was of no use to speak of it to all the other common people who had come to me before as they would not only not be able to succeed in such a precarious task, they would also not be able to come back with their lives intact.” He said.

“I see.” I nodded with a simper.

I did not know who this abbot was or with whom he was in cahoots with, but I did know one thing, and that was that he wanted our lives. It was that simple.  

“Then I shall leave the rest in your capable hands.” The abbot bowed once and then turned to his heels to leave with his disciples behind his trails.

“Sire, are we going to let him leave just like that?” Gilbert bellyached in displeasure as he glared at the backs at the abbot and his cronies.

“Of course, otherwise how are we going to save the lives of our knights.” I said with a smile.

“Sire, you can’t be thinking of going to venture into the lands beyond the Cliff of Arcadia!” Gilbert exclaimed in shock.

“Otherwise? You have any other way of saving the knights?” I asked with a raised brow.

“Your Majesty!” Gilbert cried anxiously. “What are you saying! Only death awaits us beyond those Cliffs. You can’t be blind enough to see that this cursed abbot is pushing us to death’s mouth.”

“Of course I can see that.” I nodded, smilingly.

“Then…..?” Gilbert frowned, puzzled.

“How can I let such a well-laid up trap of the abbot go to waste.” I said and Gilbert looked all the more perplexed.

“Whatever do you mean Sire?”                 

“What I mean to say is, you can either meet the challenge with grace and a brave soul… or you can do the opposite.” I muttered with a light smile hanging onto my lips, “Since the abbot wants so much to push us to our deaths, why don’t we give him what he wants, to lure the rats out of their hiding, you have to make sure they have their guards down.”

“Sire, you mean to say, the abbot is not the mastermind behind all of this debacle?” Gilbert’s expression got graver as he spoke.

“We have never met this man, nor have we had any dealings with him. So why would a stranger have grudges against us to want us dead? Obviously because he is under orders from someone superior to him. A person who did not even revealed his origins to anyone else and had so strictly guarded against his pedigrees, had so easily revealed to us where he had come from. Don’t you think its utterly suspicious that he was willing to divulge such information to strangers like us who he had met for the very first time? It is either, he blatantly is lying to our face or he wants to look genuine enough to gain our trust so that we do his bidding. According to my speculations, I’d bet on the later.”

“So, we pretend that we are to go beyond the Cliff of Arcadia but then hide our real whereabouts and stay laying low till it’s the right time to strike back?” Gilbert asked.

“Of course not, we are going beyond the Cliff of Arcadia.” I shook my head and said.

“What! Sire! What are you saying?” Gilbert exclaimed in surprise.

“My dear Gilbert, do you think the abbot has not known that we suspect all of his words? That we are onto him?” I said with a smile.

“Sire, you mean…..” Gilbert had an incredulous expression on.

“(Chuckle) of course he knows we are not stupid enough to believe all of his words. But he also knows that we are left with no other choice but to take him for his words. We must go to the lands beyond the Cliff of Arcadia in search for this mystical flower as the lives of our knights are hanging onto that thin thread of ‘perhaps’. He knows that we have no choice in this matter, and we can’t make a move against him as he holds their lives in his hands. Such a sly nifty man, do you think that he wouldn’t know if we were to try and fool him into thinking that we have gone beyond the Cliff of Arcadia while we hide behind his back just to scrutinize his movements? No. Without making sure that we really have gone into the lands beyond the cliff, he will never dare to make any suspicious moves. He will only show his hand after he was sure that we really have gone off to our deaths.” I said.

“Then…. What do we do Sire?” Gilbert pondered in dismay.

“We do as he says. Go to the lands beyond the cliff of Arcadia.”

“Sire! You can’t be serious.” Gilbert raged out in a flurry.

“Why? I have always wondered what’s there beyond that cliff that made all men under these Heavens shudder in outright fear.” I said with a faint grin.

“This is no time to be jesting My Liege. You are the ruler of this land. How can you so blatantly put your life on the line without a care of the world?” Gilbert garbled with a grimace. 

“Ah! Dear Gilbert, when did I say that I will be accompanying you on this undertaking?” I tilted my head to the side as I spoke with a pretty smile. 

“Wha-What do you mean?” Gilbert in turn, looked at me skeptically.

“I said, I have always been curious what’s beyond the Cliff of Arcadia. Never did I say that I would like to go and see it for myself, did I?” I grinned wryly, and Gilbert seemed to have gone a bit pale in the face. “I want you, my most trusted aide to go venture into those lands and bring me a perfect report of what lies beyond that cliff.”

“SIRE!!!(Cry~)”

TO BE CONTINUED………     

~ ••••••••••••••••• ~

THE AUTHOR HAS SOMETHING TO SAY:-

Author Victoric: “My darling Reuben, this mama of yours is in a dire situation where she wants people to vote and encourage this book more. So, she has gotta do whatever is necessary to bring in those votes, hmm?”

Reuben: (Frowns in dubious silence) “……. Whatever do you mean?”             

Author Victoric: (Bites her lips in slight anxiety) How about you undress and show a little of those glorious abbs for all to admire, hmm?”

Reuben: …….. (Stares at Victoric with a look of ‘You’re courting Death I see’)

Author Victoric: (Starts sweating under Reuben’s disdainful death glare) Ahahahaha…. How about this… I will let you do Shy Shy things with Fake Lizzy if you do my bidding, okay? Hmm? It that alright?....”

Reuben: (Still with his disdainful glare… slowly starts unbuttoning his shirt)

An Author who had succeeded in selling out the Female lead’s chastity: ……… ‘Nice, now let’s see who will dare not vote for the next coming chapters.’