The Fires of Esus - Ranger's Apprentice

Chapter 7: Lies

The doors of the Great Hall slammed shut behind him, and Will followed the King of Celtica down the long room to the chairs and benches. But the King passed them all by, walking up the steps and finally sat down on the top of the stairs. His blue robes bunched underneath him, giving him the appearance of a shimmering blue mushroom.

Will raised both eyebrows at this strange sight. "Your Majesty, would you like a chair - "

The King waved his hand, yet again, and cut him off. That seemed to be one of his favorite things to do, silencing people with a wave of his fingers. "Please, Ranger, call me King Carr, and I'm close enough to the ground standing that it's more comfortable for me to sit on the steps or the floor than those ridiculously high chairs. Please, join me."

Will nodded and sat down a few steps below him close enough to hear him speak but not close enough to be touched by him. Will was completely certain, no matter if this king proved to be good or bad, that he did not want this tiny strange old man with the croaky voice touching him. "So what would you like to know about the fire in Stamford, King Carr?"

As Will suspected he would, the King cut straight to the chase with his beady little eyes and folded hands and fingers, just a little too big for his small body. "Who did you see in the fire? What did they look like?"

Will averted his eyes as he tried to remember clearly, out of discomfort and uncertainty. This man really rubbed Will the wrong way. "I'm sorry, but I inhaled a lot of smoke at that point. I can't promise that anything I saw is real. I'm almost convinced it wasn't."

The King only laughed, somewhere between a menacing cackle and a broken chuckle. "If the fire was started by who I think it is, then what you saw was real. Well, mostly real."

Will sat bolt upright. "You know who started the fire?"

King Carr nodded. "Well, of course I do. But before I tell you that, you need to confirm my suspicions by describing what you saw."

Will's eyes unfocused as he remembered the strange figure in the smoke. "It was a figure, a person wearing long white flowing clothes. They had their hand out, like they were reaching for me. I think they had long hair but I can't be sure."

The King's smile widened. "Where were they standing?"

"They stood in the flames in the corner of the room, except they weren't being burned. They weren't concerned about the fire, they just looked at me until I left."

"Ranger Will," the King leaned down over his knee, peering into Will's eyes with his unnerving stare. "What do you know about the druids?"

Will leaned away from him and shook his head. "Druids? Nothing, I've never heard of them."

"They are religious leaders and scholars, citizens of Celtica. They study and uphold the ancient religion that my country was built upon. They form tribes along our shared border and worship our gods, appeasing them and keeping balance in the world."

Will nodded slowly. It's probably best if I let this King tell me his little story. It must lead somewhere towards who's committing the arsons, right?

King Carr continued. "Our religion is simple: we care for nature and the spirits that live among us, while worshipping gods through rituals. Each individual tribe commits itself to worship a different god. And each tribe participates in specific rituals required by that god. Do you follow me so far?"

"Yes," Will said carefully. "I trust you're getting to the part that involves the arsons?" Sitting down underneath this strange king's stare, on the hard stone steps beneath him, was unsettling in more ways than one.