Tarnished

1 The Rogue

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Wandering the city that was once proud of its independence, has become tarnished and abandoned all pride for submission. The people unaware of its once rich history of being the stronghold of the 8 realms of Terra. The buildings small and anchored down as I trudged by.

This city has become so disjointed and all its glory has been nearly stripped away by the realm of Pythagoras. They had broken into this stronghold of the 8 realms and slew the King at the time. It happened over 22 springs ago, yet no one questions what has become of this once-stable country.

I saw what the people and the current government refuse to acknowledge, our country was no more. Our country was now under the control of Pythagoras. But what is worse, that people are being taken and enslaved while the government makes no move against it. In knowing this first hand, I was no heroic soldier. I wouldn't even serve the Gods nor the corrupter of men's hearts. I was here to veer the course that Pythagoras had set our country on.

I saw the once royal palace before my eyes as it sat bleakly making no statement. Its alabaster stone bricks empty of their luster and the towers stood in silence. It used to be majestic and a symbol of a once unified kingdom, but now it has been forgotten as the failed stronghold. There was no king to rule it and no one who'd challenge the government's counsel.

Until now, of course.

I walked cautiously down the street with a written message for the government hidden within my puny satchel at my right hip. My message as it were, was to strike a sense of dread to what I will do when I come to collect what they owed me. I was their envoy from hell to put it in a better light. I saw a guard post up ahead, the front gates of the drawbridge to the palace. It was never open to the public, so sneaking in was about as difficult as they'll see you climbing up the wall. However, there was a hidden route I discovered when I first got back to the capital city. I got in and out without any guards spotting me and left my calling cards behind, so they knew it was me.

I turned right and blended in with the large crowd of citizens wandering through the streets of Erstonia. Weaving smoothly through, I found an abandoned well that had lichen and moss growing over the old stones. It was dried up as there was a worn-out rope dangling on the mechanism to wheel up a wooden pail. I got close to the wall of the well and dug through my satchel to pull out a hook with a sturdy rope tied to it. I latched it in place on the side, then pulled it to check for a chance it might slip, and then I took the rope in hand and lowered myself into the well.

Damp and dark as it was, I could ease myself down to the bottom. Once I was at the bottom, I looked for the one stone that I left a deep mark on. It was just a normal scratch that people could mistake for normal. I found it on my left and loosened the rock to pull it out. It came out and I saw the small latch clad in hardening dirt. I pulled it down and a passage opened in response off in the direction of the palace. It was small and cramped as I went into the underground tunnel.

I later found out this used to be an escape route for sieges and other private uses. Many of the government members were unaware of it, it wasn't all that surprising since they never took the time to read through scriptures or books. Those old fossils were relics that needed to be overthrown. They let another country dictate all their decisions and lawmaking. It made some citizens into collateral for Pythagoras' unjustified activities. Our country has been doomed since the hostile take-over.

I heard no breeze whistling by which meant it had closed behind me. I continued as I put my focus on getting into the palace. The rough rocky walls were rigid looking from the stones used to build this passage. I felt a slight gust of wind ahead and knew I was closing in on enemy territory.