Red ran down Dhule’s face, his hand grasped at his side, it was warm, similar to laying on the sand an hour after sunrise. His dagger was on the floor, blood stained the tip, he had only partially achieved his goal, he’d cut the leader, unfortunately that was all he did. The leader pulled their sword and slashed at Dhule cutting deep into his abdomen causing blood to pour out. Some of the spearmen behind the captain stabbed at Dhule’s head, luckily Dhule fell as he was slashed leaving only his scalp to be pierced and now falling off his head.
The soldiers left Dhule for dead, not wishing to expend any more energy on a target that is fated to die. As Dhule’s vision faded to black the mask from last night’s dream reappeared in front of him,
“Do you now understand my judgment, Dhule Sanyal?” The mask asked.
“I suppose so, Couldn’t even save a pitiful town of nobodies, not like it matters much now though.” Dhule answered.
“Maybe, if that’s what you wish. Do you wish for this to be the end of your story, Dhule Sanyal?”
“No, of course not, I want to become a king but once again, I can’t. I’m dying, bleeding out, it’s a miracle I’m still alive to tell you this.”
“Well then, be on your way, and take my advice to heart Dhule Sanyal.”
“Wait, what do you mean, and who are you? Surely you can tell me!”
“You will find out in time, Dhule Sanyal.” The mask disappeared as it spoke its final words.
- ?? -
The sun beat down on Dhule’s face, he felt a familiar sensation, he was lifted off the ground by his arms. A tall woman stood in front of Dhule, “Hello Mr. …” She waited for Dhule to answer.
“Sanyal.” Dhule said hesitantly, “Haven’t we met before?”
“Of course not Mr. Sanyal, otherwise I wouldn’t have had to ask you for your name. Now do you know why I’m here?”
“Because I touched the monolith.”
“Why yes, Mr. Sanyal, now I have one more question, what did you see when you touched the Obelisk of Kings?”
Dhule explained the events of his previous day in as much detail as he could, making himself out as the hero of the story, a martyr, dying for the sake of the town. He left out any part that would make him seem bad; the disappearance of Veyr, the mask telling him he wasn’t worthy, and the arguing with the image of his father that he created, and even created a fictional ending where while he did die, he took out the entire force, save the commander. “Right before I died the embodiment of the monolith appeared and told me that I would be a good king. That is what the monolith showed me, as you heard I was, I will be your savior.”
“Well, that is quite an interesting story, Mr. Sanyal, however I can’t help but believe you a liar, seeing as you are currently hoisted up by two of my men who have yet to see a sword that hasn’t been drawn in a book, and you looking like a small dog in their arms, I do not think you were able to defeat the platoon given to a warrior, nor do I believe what the Obelisk of Kings ‘told’ you, especially because the Obelisk of Kings has never once embodied itself to speak directly to a king.”
“Are you calling me a liar, Ms. whatever-your-name-is?”
“Majola.” The woman answered .
“Well Ms. Majola, are you calling me a liar, you think I made up a story so that I could rule over your little backwater, middle-of-nowhere town?”
“Yes, and I don't appreciate you insulting the wonderful town of Omhen’s Rest. Guards take him out of the city, don’t let him back in.”
“Wait no, I’m telling the truth, please I know you don’t want or have to believe me, but please at least allow me tonight, I-I I’ll leave first thing tomorrow, I promise! But please, don’t make me sleep in the middle of the desert, not again, please.” Dhule bowed his head in defeat, pleading to the presumed captain of the guards.
“Lock him up, we’ll take him out tomorrow.” Majola took a look at Veyr from the corners of her eyes, “Keep his pony safe.” She commanded the guards.
Dhule was thrown into a jail cell by the two guards. “What you’re just leaving me in this musty cellar, need I remind you I’m the future king of the Khalux Kingdom, and this is how you’re treating me?”
“Guess we could just throw him out if we felt like it.” One of the guards said, “I doubt Commander Majola would care much after he insulted the town.”
“Wait, what?” Dhule questioned.
“Yeah, and I guess he wants to sleep in the sand and outside our protection. Yeah, let's pick im’ up, Kagwa.” The other guard said.
“You got it, Anokosha.”
“Wait, no. Don’t throw me out, Majola would be mad, I’m her special guest, it would be wrong to just throw me out, right guys?” Dhule tried to backpedal his way from being thrown out from the only respite he had.
“Then ya best stop complaining, damn bastard.” The first guard, Kagwa, muttered under his breath.
Dhule curled up into the corner of the jail cell, his head held in between his arms and legs. “How did it end up this way?” Dhule thought to himself, “I was destined to rule, I was bound to become one of the most powerful people in the Central Wastes, in Mabura as a whole, and now I’m spending the night in a jail cell in this backwoods town.”
As Dhule wallowed in his misery he reflected on his vision and his conversation with the woman. If the monolith had never appeared to anyone before then what was that mask in his “dream”, or does she not know what she’s talking about and the mask appears only to true kings, or does the mask only appear to those who have no chance of becoming kings? “No, no-no-no I am a king, it can’t be that, I’m a king, I am, I am, I’m a king.” Dhule tried to convince himself that he was a king even though he knew that he wasn’t. Dhule tried to convince himself of this lie until he eventually fell asleep.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
- ?? -
CLANK CLANK CLANK. Dhule woke up to the sound of someone striking at the bars of his jail cell. “Get up ya lazy bum. It’s the mornin’, time to leave.” Dhule’s eyes still hadn’t fully opened when he was lifted from under his arms, by the same two guards as yesterday.
“Wait, wait, wait, wait. I can walk on my own, I don’t need you two nobodies to carry me in such a vulnerable position. Carry me well, or let me walk on my own.”
The two guards looked at each other and shrugged. The next thing Dhule knew he was lying face down on the ground after the guards dropped him. He stood up brushing the dirt and dust that collected on him during the night off.
“Very well, lead me to Veyr and we will be on our way. Thank you very much.” Reluctantly the guards took Dhule to the stable Veyr stayed the night in. The first thing that Dhule noticed was the vastly different conditions that he and Veyr slept in, where Dhule slept on the cold, stone floor of a jail cell, Veyr had a bed of hay that they were even still lying down on, Dhule had nothing to eat in his prison while Veyr had someone waiting on their every need. “Veyr, you slept here.” He turned around to the other guards, “Why wasn’t I given this same respect?” He asked.
“You’re not a horse.” Kagwa snarkily responded.
“And we don’t like you.” Anokosha, the second guard replied.
“Well Veyr, are you ready to leave?”
Veyr stood up and grabbed an apple from a handler before kicking a door open to leave.
“Can I get an apple?” Dhule asked one of the guards.
“Five Kai Ro(?).” Anokosha said.
“Damn you, one Star(?) for an apple.” Dhule muttered underneath his breath, handing the star-shaped coin over and taking the apple with far more force than necessary. The apple was sickeningly sweet when compared to the situation Dhule was in the night prior. Dhule mounted Veyr with a groan. His hand still held his side, blood no longer spilled from it however he could still feel the sword from that Viri captain slicing into him. “This is robbery.”
“I know, now come on,” Anokosha said, “Can’t stay here forever.”
“I get it, I’m leaving.” Dhule spat out. He pat Veyr’s on their neck and the two started trotting towards the entrance to the town. The two guards followed Dhule as he walked through the town. The people who would normally be asleep were crowding the streets, whispering to each other and pointing at Dhule, assumedly making fun of Dhule and condemning him for touching the Obelisk of Kings.
Dhule sat on Veyr’s back chewing on the overpriced apple looking back at the town of Ohmen’s Rest. Veyr snorted as they walked into the desert, the sun had just started to rise and brighten the skies. Dhule was lost in thought musing over his options, “What do I do? Do I travel back to Khalux? No, I was kicked out for a reason, I would just be sent back. Do I… What else can I do? Lay down and die? Find a new home and just live out the rest of my days there? No, both of these options are bad, I’m a king, I can’t just die in the middle of the desert, I can’t live as a civilian. I will become the most powerful man in all of Mabura.” Dhule kept walking after thinking about his choices.
A few minutes past after Dhule had concocted his plan a cart saddled up beside him. “Hey there stranger.” The man sitting in the front of the cart greeted Dhule. He was an older man in Dhule’s eyes, maybe late 40s early 50s, he had tanned skin sitting on a tall and broad frame, long dark brown hair barring a few red and grey strands speckled about pulled into a low ponytail, his eyes were a warm brown with crows feet at the corners and a faint scar over his left eye. He wore a thin scarf that covered the vast majority of his face while still allowing his face to be seen and light colored robes, a not all too uncommon outfit for travelers in the Central Wastes, he also wore a silver band around his left ring finger, and a pendant of a bronze sunburst around his neck. “Heading anywhere in particular?” He asked.
“No.” Dhule replied “Just wandering.” Dhule’s responses were cold and to the point.
“Well, you wanna travel with us? Not very safe to be traveling the desert with no end goal.”
“I’d rather not, I prefer to be alone.”
“Then you should at least pick somewhere to travel to, so you’re just not walking to nowhere. You know what, we’ll stay with ya, feel bad if we left someone in need, ya’ know?” The man insisted.
“Truly, I’m fine, I know where I’m going. I won’t die and if I do I won’t haunt you. Promise.”
“Well I guess I could leave, long as you can tell me where you’re goin’.” The man insisted once again.
“I’m heading to…” Dhule tried to think of a location, “Xurolan.”
“That’s quite a ways away,.” The man responded, “You’re sure you can get there with only the supplies on your back, and not only you but your horse.”
Dhule kept quiet, recounting exactly what he was carrying, it wasn’t much, just the clothes on his back really.
“We’ll be happy to share with another traveler, however we’re not going to Xurolan if you’re okay with that.”
Dhule had realized that he would not have nearly enough resources to reach any of the cities or kingdoms near him. “What would your end location have to do with sharing meals? Could you not just hand me a few rations and we could both be on our way?” Dhule asked.
“We could give you some of our food however the food we carry is all fresh. In our travels we come upon many good deals, the latest of which is a chest that keeps food fresh, a relic of The Ancient World, real nifty.”
“You bought an ice box that requires no ice, mind my suspicion but that does seem quite far fetched.” Dhule was wary, the last few people he met had tried to kill him, could these people be the same? “Not only that such an item would exist but also that a traveling group could spare the expenses to buy such a thing.”
“I agree, we didn’t believe the vendor either when he told us of its powers, but lo and behold the meat that we have has kept for days on end.”
“And this vendor just sold this item to you, once again mind my suspicion but that seems quite helpful, especially in the Central Wastes.”
“Oh, well you see we didn’t buy this item here, we bought our chest up on the Capital Plains, not sure if you’ve visited or read about it but it's much cooler there than here. If you haven’t y-”
“Fine.” Dhule cut the man off mid sentence, “I’ll travel with you, but don’t expect me to be overly friendly.”
“That’s fine, strength in numbers as you know.”
Dhule scoffed.
“The names Yerentai, we’re headed to Carsioli, if you wish to know.”
“Carsioli.” Dhule mumbled to himself, he had heard of the town before but only in passing. It was a relatively large hub for merchants in Viri territory just outside the wastes. It was not exactly where Dhule had planned to visit but at this point he had not planned anything. “Very well.”
Yerentai attempted to make small talk with Dhule for the hours they traveled together, however Dhule met him with nothing but grunts and silence. As the sun started setting, Yerentai stopped his cart, “I think we’ll be stopping here for the night.” He said.
“Why the sun is still above the horizon?” Dhule asked.
“Well I suppose you are still young, but me and my family are tired and would like to get a good night's rest if you don’t mind.”
“Fine, we can stop here but we leave as soon as the sun’s rays are visible.”
“Look son I like your hustle, but I’m sure whatever you’re hustling towards can wait for a family of traders whose livelihoods rely on them getting places. We’ll stop here, we’ll leave tomorrow, and you’ll be okay, ya got it?”
“…” Dhule stopped, he didn’t know why he was in a rush, he didn’t know why he was so rude to this man, he didn't even know where he was going really. “I’m sorry, we can wait, I’m sorry.”
“There’s no need for you to be sorry son, I’m just telling you what’s going on. You’re traveling with us so I’d like it if you'd travel with us.” Yerentai tried to console Dhule.
“Okay, we can stop here, I’ll-I’ll help you set up.” Dhule said, looking down at the floor.
“Thank you, just this way.”
