The Fun Begins

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.

"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 bribing and some well-placed threats, 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. "How much did you end up paying? 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 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 home from Astraspus where the only code was "sell it if you have it, buy it if you don't or 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 send 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 prime minister to sell to you?"

As the two kingdoms were not on friendly terms it was hard to believe that the prime minister 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 mans 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.

The next was Prince Marcus. He was 27 years old and the son of the second Queen. His grandfather was the Minister of Finance 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 even pick up a sword. These flaws made him a poor choice in ruler but he was easy to manipulate, meaning a number of ministers were interested in him taking power so they could get a share.

Finally, there was Prince Aron. He was the youngest of the three, at 23 years of age but he was also the most dangerous. Unlike his eldest brother