Chapter 14 – Snakes In the Grass

It took some time to get used to wake up early in the morning, but as late night entertainment was a rare commodity in this lands, there weren't much to do, at least not while he was with the army and now inside the castle.

That was even more so true for him, as he couldn't even read a simple book to pass time or gain some knowledge. The written language was not translate by the elven necklace, and as the writing of the books still followed its original form, the symbols and their meaning were still a mystery. So reading was completely outside of his grasp for the time being and with that so was his main source of entertainment. Not that he didn't play around with magic now and then, trying things and forcing his limits, within proper restrains of course, but true entertainment, where he could lay back and relax was not to be found nowhere near, for a game addict as he was, that was taking its toll on him.

From the common comforts of modern life, like warm showers, snacks and comfortable clothing, the thing he most longed for was electricity and his electronics. Every time he had to go to bed he remembered his previous life with yearning thoughts that prevented him from sleeping. So to calm down his mind and allow himself to sleep, he got used to look at the stars and feel the night breeze, it was strangely soothing.

Such behavior allowed him a nice talk with the princess Eileen, at least he would have something to do on the afternoon to pass time today, he thought to himself while wondering how long would take him and Maximilian to get some information about his situation.

He remembered Maximilian mentioning he would leave soon to his house near Thanes, there he had more documents and old books that could have some explanation. And since Riou wouldn't be much of a help, it made sense to stay back and learn the lands culture. He was not able to research old books, or books at all anyway. "Perhaps I could learn something from scholars and perhaps mages that studied the world's limits, if there were any" he thought to himself not so confident. The realization that he may never get home again, was present in his mind so it would be wise to at least know the basics of this land.

With those thoughts in mind, he got dressed and was about to once again walk inside the castle, when someone knocked the door.

Riou opened the door, there was a dark haired and dark eyed middle-aged servant woman, dressed in servant dark clothes and white apron, it resembled the maid outfits of his world somehow, he thought, "Probably a Room maid", Riou concluded.

- "Good morning, I'm glad that I got you before you left" Said the maid before continuing

- "The king requested your presence at his Studies room by the next hour" She finished bowing courteously.

- "The king wants to see me?" Asked Riou confirming the invitation, as it was unexpected.

- "Yes, you shall attend to his Studies room in an hour, is there anything else you require before I take my leave?" Politely informed and asked the maid.

Riou thought for a moment before having an idea – "Yes! Where can I wash myself and my clothes?"

- "Once a week a wooden tub is provided to the guest to bath themselves in the room…" Riou didn't even let her finish before interjecting – "No, no! I mean right now, I can't take another day like this…" He said moving his limbs away from his body displaying his uncomfortable grimy state.

The maid thought for a moment before speaking – "Well, I could request the tub to be delivered to your room later on the day…"

- "Yes! Please do so" Said eagerly, almost joyous Riou, already anticipating the moment.

- "Very well, food is being served in the mess hall for all the guests as usual if you are hungry" Bowed elegantly once again the maid, preparing to leave.

- "Just a quick question, can I go directly to the kitchen to get something to eat? I'd like to avoid meeting with the other guests, for personal reasons of course" Questioned Riou trying to convey his discomfort in dealing with the nobles.

- "It's certainly not usual… all guests are served in the mess hall, as there are no tables for guests in the kitchen" replied the maid confused by the question.

- "No need for tables, just a quick grab, just enough to fill me in and I will be on my way… or is it prohibited for guest to go to the kitchen?" – Said Riou cornering the maid to an answer that would compel her to allow him have his ways.

- "It's not, but…" before she could finished he promptly interjected, walking toward her and slightly pushing the maid forward accompanying him, as he started to say with a smile in the face – "It's decided then, show me the way" Without response the maid had to comply.

The kitchen was big with stone walls, it had 4 big metal stoves fueled by wood, in the corner of the kitchen attached to the outmost castle wall, and right outside of it was the gardens that circulated the whole castle inside the walls.

The stoves had thick metallic panes, at least two fingers thick, it was very large in size, a man could easily lay on top of it and be comfortable inside its margins, one of the stoves had six pans of various sizes on top of it, the bigger one would take two persons just to move it around, while the smaller resembled a small frying pan, a palm wide. The metal pane above the fire had six round holes on it, covered by a two layered lid, they were removable, making the fire beneath accessible to the cook and also was able to fit the pans of all sizes, for increased heat one would remove the lid, putting the pan directly on top of the fire, bigger pans would remove both layers for increased area and fire. Only two stoves were in use that moment, probably because the guests quantity in the castle.

There was many cutting and mix tables in the middle of the kitchen, able to hold several people to prepare at once to prepare the food before getting them to the stoves, there were about 20 people working there, but it could easily accommodate twice that number. There were an adjacent room with stairs to a basement, probably used as a warehouse and a wine cellar as the lesser temperature would be beneficial for storing and conserving food. The Biggest knives, spoons and forks were hanged hooks in the walls near the tables and stoves for easy access, near the stoves on top a balcony around 20 big jars, almost 2 palms tall and 1 palm wide, aligned probably filled seasonings of all kinds, there were also other less used utensils were on top a table in the corner.

The serving dishes already filled with food were in a counter near the door for the servants to take to the mess hall, the breakfast consisted on some freshly baked, fist sized breads, stacked in serving dishes. Dried meat neatly displayed in pieces around a big sliced darker bread on others servings, each slice was thick as a thumb and almost a palm wide, a few fruits that resembled apples, pears and peaches were also in the menu.

Everyone in the kitchen stopped whatever they were doing as soon as they noticed Riou, they never seen a guest in the kitchen and a mixture of uncertainty and apprehension could be seen in their faces. Noticing the atmosphere Riou smiled and waved, grabbed what looked like an apple and bit it, right after he signaled it was a good apple with his eyes and nodding his head. The people slowly got back to their work afterwards as seemed the boy didn't want anything with them and was just passing by.

The apple tasted strange, it was rather small, had its characteristic red color, but it was crumbly and had almost no juice, finished it in a couple of bites, he proceeded to grab the pear… same thing and almost the same strange taste. "The land is probably overused... they probably don't have any rotation system in place" Riou thought to himself opting to forget about the fruits, he went for the black bread and dried meat instead.

He made a sandwich folding a slice of the bread in half and putting the dried meat on it. It was soft, very different from the stone hard he experimented with the army. As he bit it, it tasted a strong flavor of rye, the meat was very salty and tough. The breakfast was very different from the feast, which now seemed to be a boast of luxury compared with the plain breakfast.

Sated, Riou went to the Study Room, it was on a higher level of the castle and on a separated wing. He went up about 3 flight of stairs from the bottom level near the kitchen and walked towards the royal wing, where only the royal family was authorized to enter, guarding its entrance were 2 guards with metal armor and lances, and they promptly open way for Riou as he was expected.

The door to the study room was open, and the king was sat on a writing desk away but facing the door, across the room after the board and chairs. The king gesticulate for him to come in.

Riou approached the king who seemed busy writing with ink and a holed wood straw. Seemed like that the wooden straw was able to hold the ink as it was rubbed in the parchment. Curiously it was a smaller and lighter colored parchment, seemed of a better quality than the ones he had seen so far, probably writing a decree or a requisition to some of the nobles, Riou thought while waited the king to finish…

Didn't take long, once finished the king put aside the strange pen he was using, and wrapped the parchment and sealed it with wax, putting his ring on it giving the shape of the lions with flags.

- "Young man…" – Said the king while finishing up and putting aside the wrapped document. – "Fear not, that what brought you here were not the yesterday events, I was informed that all the misunderstandings were already solved" Said the king in an imposing manner, no room for questioning or doubt was left. And so he continued

– "You are here because Maximilian suggested it. He also implied that I'd like to hear your opinion on several matters… he seems to be confident on your knowledge of the world despite claiming you know nothing of it…" said the king intentionally stopping there and waiting for Riou's comment;

The king was showing his craftiness, he had put Riou in a trap, a position where he had to explain himself to defend the Magus opinion and image, and in doing so he'd be giving out more information than intended. Which was precisely the kings objective, to gather all the intelligence he could with the least effort, as he was used to do.

Riou caught on the trap the king set before him, the open ended assertive that would cause most of people to enter a preoccupied and apologetic state, even more if young as one could assume he was, they would not be able to hold on information and that was the king's plan. Riou smiled and answered

– "Well, seems like he thinks too highly of me" Said Riou nonchalantly, obviously avoiding a response.

The king knew the boy had some strategy knowledge showed in the game, but being this young and this cunning and calm when talking to a king, was indeed strange and the king knew it.

- "Very well then…" Said the king clearly upset his scheme had failed.

- "Tell me, what you think of what you saw so far here? What was your impression?" Asked the king also nonchalantly.

Riou pondered for a moment, and as if talking to himself he started

– "It's a good city, the masonry used seems sturdy and provide good thermal insulation, it's streets are full of people the majority of them seems very nice and happy, also the commerce seems abundant which indicates a stabilized economy. Probably mostly if not all based on the crops results and services that derivative from it, like food and drinks. Taken the size of the city all crops are consumed within it. I didn't see any goods for exportation and metalworking is basic at most. Banditry and burglary are a serious problem at night… castle is well positioned against army's attack, but vulnerable to magic casters as they can somewhat easily reach the rear walls, as they less guarded a surprise attack could prove effective." Riou pause a moment to recall the lands

– "The lands… well they seem poorly utilized, taking by what I saw in the city and tasted today, I doubt you use any crop rotation system or irrigation, probably pests are a common issue as well…. But I couldn't see much actually, I've been here roughly 2 days now…" he finished the report and looked at the king.

The king was clearly confused and surprised, he could not understand everything the boy said, and he doubt even his administrative counselors would, but he could not be certain that it really meant something, perhaps the boy was only playing around inventing words to impress, it didn't seemed so, but it was easier to think that than to admit that a boy so young would know so much.

The king dismissed the thought and quickly tried another topic.

– "What do you think about the war that is going on to the south east." Inquired curiously the king, as Max was certain the boy was versed in the art of war as well.

Riou played a lot of war simulators and strategy games, his knowledge was certainly good, but since he did not know the details of it, like reasons and who was on war, and for what reasons, there were too many questions to give a solid theory.

- "I can't say much actually, can you fill me in with the details? How the land, why they are at war? What resources they have at their disposal?" asked Riou as a scholar that only needed but a little information to formulate its thesis.

The king got confused as he did not expect the boy to be so unaware of it, he began to question the refugee story, but complied with the request… He went to a cabinet near the wall and from a drawer pulled up a wrapped leather, promptly opening it on top of the desk, carved on the leather was a well detailed map of the explored region.

http%3a%2f%2fs11.postimg.org%2f9b3ixux03%2fMap_Unp.jpg

Pointing to the map he showed the Endher forest where Riou was found, it was located to the west of Allard capital, roughly a palm away in the leather map. Allard capital was the city of Longart where they were. It was a castle marked in the leather near the upper part of the land near some mountains and rivers, which symbolized a capital city. The land was full of rivers, plains and mountains, very diverse and probably fertile soil all around the rivers.

He pointed next to the north capital, Thanes, it was about 4 palms away from Allard capital, explained it was ruled by Ephil Torwald father of Hanna his wife, which meant they had a good relationship between them. It was under snow most parts of the year and surrounded by a chain of mountains, main source of food was the sea and cold weather fishes.

Directly south of Allard inside of what appeared to be a very long gulf, or a lagoon of some sort that crossed the map and divided Allard and the North from the southern lands, and inside this lagoon was a big island, there the king explained was the magic academy location which was intended to teach young mages to develop their initial magic knowledge. It was supported by Allard mostly and some help of the North kingdom. But everyone rich enough could enter to learn the basics.

South west of it was the Elven Lands, where no foreigner entered without an elven convoy since only they were able to walk through its woods freely. The Elven forest was full of magical beings and beasts and was extremely dangerous, it was thick and roughly explored so the elven capital was only known to the elves themselves. Their leader was called Felaern Llewellenar and it's said to be thousands of years old.

To the East in the southern part of the lands was divided into two kingdoms, to the north near the gulf was the Beastman plains, ruled by the Beastman as the name suggested, its capital was called Khargaz, and ruled by Oyran Goyvar, the lands were very vast and mostly fertile plains with low vegetation and sparse trees.

Directly south of it and as vast was Argos, capital was to the extreme south east and called Skaralt Acre, ruled by Harmon Skaralt, its land was barren and infertile due to his proximity to the vast desert of Kaanth to the south, they invaded some of the lands to the west which are more fertile. The war started there, as the Beastman took it by invasion of the plains and Argos state it is their right to rule the lands above the Kaanth.

He nodded while looked to the map, and asked – "What are the religion, or beliefs each kingdom have?" Inquired further Riou.

The king sat down calmly and began to explain quickly as if impatient by the boy's unawareness of the world common knowledge

– "Allard and the North believe in the four gods of element which can shape the land to their will and provide greater magical capabilities to its followers, Fire, Water, Air and Earth. Ragnis Is the Fire Lord of Destruction, Brine is the Water Mother, Gale is the Mischievous Wind and Granius the Immovable Mountain. There are their subordinates lesser gods like Hayle, which borrows Gale and Brine power to commands Ice and snow…" - Paused for a moment before continuing

– "The Beastman only believe in the Vitae goddess of nature, who by the way is subordinate of Granis and Brine, but they refuse to accept it… The elves revere what they call their creator, who died to give them life, so now their god lives through them or so I was told, and lastly there is Argos" – The king paused… - "Argos pray and follow the teaching of Kror Mhot who they believe to be the lord of death itself…"

Riou pondered for some moments while looking at the map before him…

- "By the way you described it, Argos is formed by zealots who follow the teachings of death, who told them they should rule the lands north of the desert… the only ones battling them are the Beastman, while the elves could care less what happens, you have a pretty good thing going on with the North and don't want to get involved with the war…" The king was amazed, Riou was spot on his idea, he could care less what happened to the beasts and Argos, "let them fight and kill each other…"

Riou then commented something that made kings have goosebumps….

– "So, your plan is to wait out until Argos defeats or be defeated by the Beastman, you plan then rally your ally to join forces to go to war with a weakened Argos right? Since they probably would be recovering from the war with the Beastman… I agree that is what would be expected but don't you think it's too dangerous?" Said Riou to the king who looked to him asking him to elaborate

– "Because if Argos have a minimum of intelligence they would see this plan of yours and counter it by dragging the war with the Beastman out and infiltrate spy's in both of your kingdoms to undermine you both at the same time, making you less prepared and weakened by internal strife, leaving you unprepared for the incoming war that would suddenly knock at your door…" Riou kept pondering for another moment while walking around the room with hand is his chin and the other holding his elbow

– "Perhaps they could even brake the alliance between you two, with a big scheme and some pressure on the right places. They would wait and prepare every single piece of the puzzle together, operating as a well-oiled machine until everything is set… striking them all ends with might… at least that would be what I'd do… It would take several years to put all this in motion, perhaps a few decades as well to be able to insert spies deeply enough within the unaware enemy ranks to break them completely from within…" concluded the boy leaving the king speechless… Riou didn't think much of it, it's pretty straight forward actually, he seen it countless times over and over again in many stories and game plots, but to the king it was an amazing feat to think that far away.

Suddenly Riou asked - "How long the war is going on?" Curiously

Took a while for the king be able to respond, he seemed very preoccupied – "Over 110 years now…"

- "And they don't do much to each other right? Few skirmishes now and then with few casualties, mostly that Argos instigate, and when the Beastman pushes an attack they are repelled with might and have to retreat right?" – Asked once more Riou to the now worried king…

- "Yes…" Said the monotone the king realizing what kind of deep trouble he'd be if what the boy was saying was true…

- "I thought so…" Said the boy asserting his thoughts to be true, then in a serious tone continued

– "Be careful around so called friends and be ever watchful of the ones you hold dear… as you may very well already have snakes in the grass" - Implying the possibility of spies amongst him.