Otto was relieved to find Jerald praying in the cloisters. Of all the places he’d expect a spy of the Dark Consul to go to seek guidance, a place of worship for the Goddess was not one of them. In fact, if there was one place where such a fiend wouldn’t go it was here, let alone to pray reverently.
Maybe that’s the point. Maybe he came here to throw me off his scent. He wouldn’t know until he talked to him.
Otto walked down the pews until he came to one behind where Jerald was sitting. He shuffled across and sat down behind him. Jerald was whispering something, his hands clasped together as he looked up at the altar of the Goddess.
Otto waited until Jerald fell silent, and then he said, “We need to talk.”
Jerald nodded but didn’t turn to face him. “I served second to your father for twenty years, Otto—half of my life. And only now that he’s gone do I, again, question my actions.”
“What actions?”
“For years I tried to convince your father to go down into the Underbelly and finish off what our ancestors started. Root out the crime and corruption at the foundation of this realm.” Jerald shook his head. “Your father would always refuse me. He said it would be like kicking a hornet’s nest.”
“So, what? You decided to join them instead?”
“Join them? Do you really think so low of me?” Jerald sighed. “Before you went on your little adventure with the princesses, my ascension to captain of our order was a near certainty. And I swore that, when I was in charge, I would take actions against those that laughed at our order. Take the fight to them.”
Otto frowned. “But you were seen with . . .”
“I was caught scoping the place out then tossed out on my rear-end. I could barely sneak in to see the place.”
“That’s why you were down there?” Otto asked incredulously. “You were searching the place for weaknesses?”
“Some leader, right?” Jerald shook his head. “I try to preempt my own personal war on the corruption in this town, and I can’t even get onto the battlefield.”
Otto stared at the back of Jerald’s chair, wishing he could see through it and into his body, just to see if the old Paladin’s heart was pounding harder in a lie. Nevertheless, if the shame in Jerald’s voice wasn’t genuine, the man was a good actor.
“They said that you were seen with a Riftling . . .” Otto said. “One with the mark of the Dark Order.”
Jerald turned around to stare at him, his amusement visible on his face. “When was the last time you saw a Riftling wearing the mark of the Dark Consul?”
Otto thought back and realized that he hadn’t seen it anywhere for the last decade, other than in books. Maybe he had seen it somewhere in the Midnight Tower, but that would’ve been expected considering it was the base of his power in the present day. Even when he had been creeping to escape the Underbelly, he hadn’t glimpsed a single mark that resembled the Dark Consul.
“You see?” Jerald waved to him. “That’s what I realized when I got thrown out. The thing that I’d been planning for years under your father wasn’t even the war we should’ve been fighting.” He pointed to where sunlight shone in through a stained glass window. “The fight is out there, where you were, where I was too afraid to go!”
Otto shook his head. He remembered the warning Jerald had given him before he had left for the Midnight Tower—about how the glory of going on such a quest wasn’t worth the danger of going on such a suicide mission.
And all of a sudden the reason why Jerald wanted to be the captain of the Paladins became clear to him. Jerald wasn’t hungry for power and control; he was afraid. The captain of the Paladins wasn’t pressured to go on dangerous quests, neither were the second-in-command. Jerald was one of the older Paladins in the order. No wonder he was afraid he wouldn’t be the leader. He was afraid he wouldn’t be second-in-command anymore either, because then he would have to go out again, an old man risking his life.
“I respected your father. I barely ever disagreed with him. The number of times I stood against his decisions I could count on one hand.” Jerald turned back and held up a finger. “One of those disagreements was letting you join the order at such a young age.”
“Why did you?”
Jerald shook his head and lowered it. “Because I thought you were like me. A fearful child trying to impress his elders. I thought you were in over your head.” He laughed. “And now look at you! The Paladin Hero of Crystalia, the one who saved the king’s daughters and brought one back from the dead!”
So much made sense now; this was why Jerald had such a stiff attitude toward Otto, why he always treated him like he didn’t deserve to be a Paladin.
“And . . . soon to be one of the youngest leaders of the Paladins since its founding.” He laughed. “Instead of going out and becoming the greatest hero of the lands, you’ll be stuck in the Castle, safe and sound, giving orders to older men.” He lowered his head. “Such a waste of potential. I never should have stood in your way, but it’s funny how it’s not until it’s too late that I realize what a fool I was.”
Too much about what Jerald was saying now explained his actions. Otto couldn’t imagine he was saying it to trick him. But if he was telling the truth, why did the seneschal try to make Otto suspicious of Jerald? What did the seneschal get out of it but a rift between him and the second?
“I think you’re right,” Otto finally said.
Jerald frowned over his shoulder.
“I’m not ready to give up my adventures just yet.” He smiled and patted the second on the shoulder. “Why let my heroic career end with just saving a few princesses when the Dark Consul is still out there to be defeated . . . and the Midnight Queen?”
Otto thought of his failure to bring back Princess Amethyst. Until he returned her to her family, he had no right to hang up his sword.
“But you might win the election.” Jerald sounded baffled.
“I’ll pull out . . .” Otto looked up at the high ceiling in thought and smiled as an idea hit. “On one condition.”
“Name it.”
“You make Willis your second. If there is one person I trust to balance out your organizational skills with the open adventurer’s spirit, I say he has the best attitude for that.”
Jerald shook Otto’s hand. “Consider it done.”
Otto started walking away to leave the new captain of the Paladins to finish his praying.
“Otto,” Jerald called.
Otto stopped and looked over his shoulder.
“Thank you.”
Otto shrugged. “Just don’t make me regret it.”
He moved off, thinking of how he was going to announce the withdrawal from the running to those who supported him. He’d best break the news to everyone at once in the meeting itself.
That gave him a few hours to go find the seneschal and get to the bottom of these rumors. If the spy was spreading lies, or—worse—framing Jerald, Otto needed to find out. And if the seneschal wasn’t lying, or if there was any chance Otto was wrong about Jerald, he needed to find out before he stepped down.
He made his way to the king’s office, where the seneschal usually could be found handling the king’s paperwork and spreading word of his royal decisions. The office was empty.
He had a few hours still before the meeting, so he decided to go and see if the king was able to talk to him. Considering that the king had been the one responsible for his candidacy, he thought it would be right to share with him the reasons for turning down the honor. And it was possible the seneschal was there talking with the king already.
He would also need to tell Claire of his desire to continue questing and that their settling down would have to wait. It wasn’t something he was looking forward to telling her, so he decided to leave it until later. This was his decision, and he couldn’t lie to her. Leaving the office, Otto made the climb to the royal chambers. Maids and butlers passed him on the stairs, each one giving him strange looks. When he came to the top of the corridor, he was surprised to find that the door to the king’s room was open. He knocked on the door and caught the eyes of one of his daughters, Princess Ruby, who was sitting with him.
The king was still in bed, but he was sitting up and awake.
“Who’s that?” the king asked.
“It’s Otto, Father. The Paladin.”
“Ah, Otto my boy. Come in.”
His voice sounded thin and wheezy, and as he walked into the king’s chambers, Otto was shocked to see how much he had shrunk from the last time he had seen him.
“Your majesty. I just wanted to come and thank you for your vote in this election,” Otto said as he came before the bed and knelt.
“None of that, none of that,” the king interrupted, then broke into a fit of coughing. “If I can’t even stand, I can’t expect you to kneel.”
Hearing this, Otto’s mind suddenly diverted from his original path. “I don’t understand. You were fine just a few days ago.”
The king nodded. “Blasted illness. I can’t seem to shake the thing.”
Princess Ruby shook her head. “It’s more than that, I’m afraid.”
“What do you mean, Princess?”
She sighed. “Remember when we were in the Midnight Tower and I healed you all with the Light of the Goddess.”
It wasn’t like Otto could forget. After all, it was one of the main reasons they had gotten out of there alive. He nodded.
“Well, I’ve been trying to use it on my father, but its effects on him are only momentary.” She gestured to his smiling and upright form. “He was looking a lot worse before I came here, and even the night before. It’s like no matter what I do, his health just keeps getting worse.”
“And his illness shares traits similar to someone who has been poisoned.”
Otto turned at the unfamiliar voice and saw a balding old man wearing a white mask and coat move up beside them.
“Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to locate any source,” he said and shook his head. “If it is a poison, it’s one we haven’t dealt with, as it is near untraceable by our knowledge. The servants are currently preparing a litter to take His Majesty down to the Well of Weal.”
Otto swallowed his dread at the possibility. “Wait, if you think there’s a poison involved, surely you also think there is a poisoner. Someone who has access to these chambers, right? Are there any guards stationed here?”
The old doctor nodded. “There are. Someone with an untraceable poison would need to get past them in order to apply it directly and frequently. Indeed, they would need to be in physical contact with the king or his food.”
“Okay . . . so?” Otto asked. “Who’s had access to the king’s chamber of late?”
Princess Ruby frowned up in thought. “Until recently, it’s been his servants, my sisters, and the seneschal . . .”
The king coughed and shook his head. “All people who I trust implicitly. There must be someone else behind all this.”
After everything suspicious that had occurred around him lately, Otto wasn’t so sure he trusted the seneschal so much. The man had led him on with the misinformation about Jerald, had insisted that he be a candidate for the leadership election, and had prevented Aelyph from coming into the Castle. Then there was that strange thing the troll had said when the seneschal had run past, “How did you get out of your cage?” The monster had acted like he was surprised the seneschal wasn’t locked up somewhere.
Otto shook his head. There was very little time left before the next election, but he decided to find the seneschal and confront him before it took place. Maybe, like Jerald, there was a simple explanation for his actions, but he wouldn’t find out until he brought them up with the man.
Otto’s jaw set and he turned to face Princess Ruby. “Be careful, Princess. Right now, I wouldn’t let him eat or drink anything unless you inspect it yourself. I suggest you acquire a taster for him.”
Princess Ruby smiled. “Will do. I’ll take good care of him.”
Otto straightened and turned to leave.
“Otto, my lad, if anything were to happen to me . . .” The king trailed off.
Otto turned and bowed again. “Don’t worry, Your Majesty. Nothing will happen so long as the Paladins are here to protect you.”
Saying this, he dashed out of the king’s chambers. Before he could even reach the first set of stairs, he ran into someone he really didn’t want to confront just yet.
Sister Claire was once again hiding the sore on her lip with a tissue as she approached him. Otto slowed, confused as to why a Sister of Light was this high up in the Castle.
“Are you here to take the king to the Well of Weal?” he asked.
“Why, I was just . . .”
Otto shook his head. The meeting would be underway in a matter of hours. He didn’t have the time to dally with her now.
“Claire, have you seen the seneschal about? I must find him.”
Sister Claire’s eyes seemed to harden. “You don’t have time to be searching the Castle for him now, Otto. The election is soon. If you don’t make it in time, it could be called off and then the announcement of your captaincy will be delayed.”
Otto’s breath shot out of him at the desperate tone in her voice. “I will not be announced as the new captain of the Paladins, Claire. After talking with Jerald, I’ve decided to withdraw from the election altogether.”
Claire’s brow furrowed. “What? But after all I’ve . . .” She stopped and cleared her throat. “But you said you wanted to be the captain so you wouldn’t have to go on dangerous quests. Then we can be together.”
Again, Otto was taken aback by her forwardness in this subject. Until recently, she had never spoken to him so directly on the subject. “I’ve decided that’s not what I want.”
“What do you mean?” Her voice became shrill. “You don’t have feelings for me anymore, Otto?”
“No, I . . . I do . . . it’s just that after what you said, and what Jerald said, I don’t think it really matters if he’s the leader. If I am the leader, then I might feel trapped in this Castle. I need to be able to go on quests, Claire. It’s who I am, and the captain of the Paladins can’t do that.”
“Then what of us? What of our life together?” Claire asked. “And what of Jerald? Are you quite all right to have someone in charge of your order who could be a spy for the Dark Consul?”
Otto shook his head. This was completely different to what she was saying before. “I’m pretty sure that is not the case. So far what the seneschal has told me of him has been exaggerated and . . .” He stopped, realizing he had been held up by their conversation. “Never mind that!” He took off again. “I need to find the seneschal!”
“Oh, well, I know where he is!” Claire shouted a few moments later.
Otto turned to see she had dropped her tissue but had not turned to face him. “Where?”
“He had something to do at the other end of the Castle. Near the royal crypt, I believe. That’s why he asked me to report the results of the next election to him”
Otto frowned. “Why would he be near the crypt?”
“Paying his respects?” Claire shrugged. “Who knows why that old goat does what he does.”
Otto shook his head. Old goat? He had never heard her talk so disrespectfully before. Claire was really taking this election personally. He was torn between wanting to make her understand, regretting ever having said anything about becoming the captain, and his duty to find the seneschal as soon as possible. The latter won. He didn’t have time to question her anymore. “Okay . . . the crypt. Thanks.”
With that he bounded down the stairs in his rush to reach the crypt before the hour of the election would pass. He had to make it.