The Ear archer 2

CHAPTER 2

     The prince spent the remainder of the evening and even the entire night interacting with each inhabitant of the palace.
     When it was Gob's turn, he was ushered into the royal chambers of the king now inherited by the prince.
     Gob walked into the expensively furnished space. The prince was clad in black leather. Most interestingly was the fact that he donned a  red mask over his face. Gob was intrigued. Nevertheless, took a seat as the already seated prince went through a  piece of Parchment containing his basic information.
     "Verlain" the prince stated in a bit of surprise.
"We have been at odds with the people of Verlain for centuries. Tell me,what brings a citizen of Verlain so far from home"
    Gib shrugged " I followed the bird's call".
If the prince face expressed anything, it was safely masked by the red mask that hovered over his face.
      "Reason matters not". The prince continued
" What matters is we need all the men we can get".
   "Am sorry your highness but am afraid am done fighting, I just want to spend the remainder of my days living quietly".
    The masked figure stared at Gob intently.
    " The evil we face isn't backing down, if you hide from it now, after it destroys Xan it will come for the rest of the world. Then, there would be no place to hide"
    "Well that's the rest of the world's problem" Gob retorted unfazed.
    If the prince was displeased by the ear Archer's words, the mask did a tremendous job of masking it. The prince produced a pouch containing a substantial amount of gold.
    "This is what I pay everyman who rides with me".
" Like I said" Gob cut in
"Let me finish. ride with me, find out what we are up against. If you still refuse to fight alongside us, you may return the gold".
    Gob considered the offer for a bit.
   "That sounds fair".
The prince acknowledged this with a nod.
   Gob stood and as expected bowed to the prince in standard military fashion.
     As he was about to walk out the door, the princes voice rang.
   "Yart tells me you played a big role in Xan's defense. For that, I thank you".

   The night had lost its youth when the prince accompanied by his cheif commander made their way to the palace dungeons.
    The unnamed sat in a lotus position his eyes seemingly closed. The prince approached the unnamed's cell. As if on cue, the unnamed opened his eyes.
    Both stared each other down for a while before the princes motioned to Persus.
     Persus in turn unlocked the unnamed's cell..
   "Finally," the unnamed began, "the hour of my execution has come. Tell me how shall I be killed?".
      Again, the prince motioned to Persus. from the cheif commanders shirt, he produced a piece of Parchment which he passed to the prince.
      "Do you recognize this?" The prince asked holding the piece of Parchment to the unnamed's gaze.
     "Your father scribbled on that just before he died". Was the reply
   The prince flung the piece of Parchment into the cell through the bars.
   The unnamed reached for the Parchment, unfolded it and began to read it. As he read, Shock was clearly evident on his face...