Treasure Hunt

When he finished laughing Worik turned to the captain again.

"Where did you find it?"

"In Tenaria my lord."

"Tenaria? I thought our intel had indicated that it had been seen in Astraspus." Laurence chimed in from the side.

Tenaria and Astraspus were both large kingdoms on the Parettian Continent, a large landmass which could be reached after a month of constant travel by sea from their own. The continent houses three large kingdoms and several smaller tribes. Some of which have allegiances to the kingdoms and others survive independently.

When they had received word that the item they sought had been sighted in Astraspus they had been ecstatic. Unlike many places ruled by a royal family or a tribal leader of some sort who a high ranking member of a kingdom, such as the Governor, would need to be wary of, Astraspus was a land which was ruled by one thing alone, power. Those who held the most power had the most sway but since this could change anytime, there were no true rulers within the country. The strange structure resulted in many of the countrymen being criminals escaping from their own land and risked defeat in a lawless country than capture in their own.

Tenaria, on the other hand, was a country ruled in a similar fashion to their own, with a royal family and nobility running everything. While this itself would not mean trade would be impossible, their two nations were not on good terms with one another. Their distance between each other and the fact one needs to sail across an ocean to arrive on the others continent meant that the kingdoms were not at a place of full-blown war, but all trade was strictly prohibited by the opposing royals.

"It did sir," said the captain who then continued to explain, "Using the intel provided we arrived in Astraspus and began searching for clues to its whereabouts. After some time we heard the news that a merchant had indeed acquired something matching its description and had been attempting to find a buyer. Unfortunately, of the parties that were interested, none were inclined to pay and preferred to take the prize. Apparently, this caused the merchant to flee with his goods. The trail went cold for a while, but after some bribing, we managed to divulge the location he was headed from some of his known associates, that place was Tenaria."

"So you managed to catch up with the merchant and purchase the item?" Worik excitedly asked. As before, before the captain was able to answer one question, another soon followed. "were the funds I provided sufficient?"

"The simplest answer to both of your questions my lord would be no."

"What do you mean?"

"While we did manage to catch up to the merchant, by the time we had done so he had managed to find a buyer for his merchandise. One who was willing to pay the desired amount in full. He told us that the person he sold it to was none other than the Right Prime Minister of Tenaria."

The fact that they managed to retrieve the buyer's name may come as a shock for some, as most merchants keep to a strict code of non-disclosure. This works to protect their reputation and business as well as that of their buyers. If a normal merchant had been found to have disclosed the name of their client, they would be blacklisted from all reputable dealings in the future, especially for nobles who valued discretion. The distinct difference, in this case, is that these merchants had come from Astraspus where the only code was "sell it if you have it, buy it if you don't, take it if you can." In other words, the only thing that matters is money and anything can be bought for a price. Luckily for Captain Burgus, as one of Governor Worik's employees sent on a mission by the man himself, money was something he had plenty of, so retrieving the needed information was not difficult. What would have been difficult, however, was finding a way to retrieve the desired item from one of the most powerful men in the kingdom. A fact which Laurence also was quick to pick up on.

"so," he said, "how did you manage to convince the Right Prime Minister to sell to you?"

As the two kingdoms were not on friendly terms it was hard to believe that the man would be inclined to agree to do business.

"Ah, yes, about that" The captain began to speak again in a more pensive manner. "That is why the answer to your lordships question about if the funds provided would also be no."

"What do you mean," asked Laurence, noticing the man's change in tone

"well, you see, the King of the Astraspus Kingdom has recently fallen ill and it has caused the question of an heir to be considered more deeply."

The Astraspian King was well known for his love of women. With three legal wives who share the title and duties of Queen, over thirty concubines and countless other official and unofficial mistresses. Despite this, he had surprisingly few children in comparison and even fewer who would be in a position to take the crown. Of his fifteen children, seven were female, which in their patriarchal society meant they were automatically excluded. Of the remaining males, three were under the age of twelve, when one could be considered for a position, and two were born from mistresses. This meant that only three of the king's sons were currently eligible for the position of crown prince.

Prince Hampton was the eldest at 32 and had been fighting in the army and building a reputation as a warrior since he was 13. He was the son of a lower concubine but his abilities in war and age made him a desirable candidate.

Next, there was Prince Aron. Very little is publically known about him, other than the fact that he was 25 and born from one of the kings concubines. She had been known to be the most beautiful woman of the kingdom and was highly favored by the King. However, she had no real backing, hence her position as a concubine rather than a legal wife. Unfortunately, she passed away shortly after the prince's birth. It is said that the prince had inherited his mother's looks but this has never been confirmed. After his mother's death, he confined himself to his palace and so, few people have seen his face.

Finally, there was Prince Marcus. Though the youngest of the three as 22 years old, he had the most solid backing as the son of the second Queen whose father was the Left Prime Minister and had a great deal of sway in political matters. His Grandmother came from a long line of prosperous business owners so their family was also one of the wealthiest in the kingdom. Prince Marcus took after his father in his love of women, with more than ten concubines already and a legal wife. Unlike his father, Marcus cared about little else, unless you were to count alcohol or food. He would much rather pick of a drink than a book and could probably not pick up a sword if he tried. These flaws made him a poor choice in ruler but he was easy to manipulate, meaning a number of ministers were interested in supporting him taking power so they could get a share.

Captain Burgus continued to explain that the Prime Minister had been against the trade at first, but this was before he discovered who Burgus worked for. As might be expected, the left and right prime ministers did not get along. The Right Prime Minister feared that the balance of power within the court would be completely lost if the grandson of his enemy were to take the throne, as such he needed to find ways to make sure one of the other princes took over.

The item Worik was so happy to receive was a rare find, thought to be lost forever. Despite this, there were some people, like Worik, who strongly believed in its existence and would stop at nothing to possess it. One of the reasons it was so coveted was the many myths and legends associated with it. It is said that the item has the power to mesmerize anyone who looks at it and if one possesses it, they have the ability to control life and death. Legend says that the rarity of this item was due to the fear it brought. People feared the dangers of such power in the hands of their enemy so would choose to destroy the danger at the root if it would not submit to their own will.

Hearing that a merchant had acquired such an item, and being familiar with the legend, the Right Prime Minister decided to purchase it. However, he was skeptical that such myths could be true and, upon discovering Burgus's employer he decided to sell on one condition: apart from the upfront fee, Governor Worik must agree to give financial backing to the Right Prime Minister. While the minister did not necessarily believe in some mythic power, he did believe in the power of money. Even though the Left Prime Minister and himself were equal in standing and influence, he was unable to contend with the man's wealth. As such, he saw this as an opportunity to level the playing field.

"And you agreed!" Laurence yelled, indignant

"Yes, sir." The Captain said. Upon seeing the growing darkness of Laurence's face he hurried to defend his actions, "If I had not I feared he may have changed his mind or sold to someone else. I knew the level that the Lord wanted the item so I agreed to the demand." He had been hesitant to divulge this information at first because he was well aware of the Governor's character and feared his reaction. While he wanted the object in question he also loved his money, and supporting a royal successor would not be cheap.

"How dare you make such a deal without the consent of the lord" Laurance roared at the man

"Enough!" yelled Worik, causing both men to turn and look at him, one expectant and the other fearful

"What difference does it make?"

this drew confused looks from both Laurence and Captain Burgus

"What amount of money could possibly compare with such a treasure? Forget backing one Minister to put some brat on a throne, I would willingly trade my fortune and entier collection if it meant possessing it."

Confusion turned to complete shock as the men listened to these words. Worik's greed was no secret to them and they knew about his obsession, but the extent it reached was far beyond their expectations.

"Anyway, this has taken far to long and I wish to eat." Worik had not eaten since the morning as he had been too distracted waiting for his ship to dock after news of it being sighted. "Laurence, have the item brought to the room I had prepared and make sure you take extream care, don't let any of the slaves near it, they are good enough for decoration and to take care of the rest of my collection, but not for this. When I finish eating I will go a have look at my treasure in its new home. Captain, you may dine with me today as an added reward for your efforts.

"Yes my Lord"

"Thank you my Lord"

replied the two

After giving his orders Worik turned to leave and in his eyes were a strong hunger, but a hunger very different than what someone feels for food.