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After the soldiers had been drilled, they were stationed by the gates,
the village, and everywhere around the castle. Gwen was hidden in the hut
of the village healer, an elderly man from Yugz. Duke Raxere was not late
in coming after he was informed by some of his men of the conversation
between Sir Tismyon and Gwen. But the men had left so hastily to inform
Duke Raxere that they did not overhear Sir Tismyon warning Gwen about
Duke Raxere coming to take over Lien. So Duke Raxere stormed in with
only twenty men, expecting to find everyone unprepared. He was beaten
back, although his twenty men fought bravely and well.
The next day, Duke Raxere sent the remaining survivors of his men
to gather up the rest of his army and bring them to Lien. Lord Esper had
a merry feast to celebrate, where everyone drank rather too much wine.
That night, everyone was sleeping soundly, and the guards were asleep at
their posts. Duke Raxere had planned carefully, and he crept in early in the
morning. One of his men accidentally stepped on one of the guards, so
soon the entire castle was alerted with the guard’s cries.
The Realm of Possibilities
47
“Prepare! Ranks one and two, archers! Rows three and four,
swordsmen! Charge!” Lord Esper shouted. Despite Lord Esper’s best
efforts, his army was forced to retreat back into the safety of the castle.
“See, they are fools,” Raxere scoffed, “they celebrate while we plan.”
Lord Esper, like Raxere, did not like to be insulted.
“I will have revenge!” Esper shouted onto the battlements below.
“As if,” Raxere said, rolling his eyes. That night, Lord Esper planned
with extreme caution. He had his men dig great underground tunnels.
Then he sent his army to stay in the tunnels.
“When you hear the sound of hoof beats and Duke Raxere’s men,
stay quiet. When they are near enough, creep out of the tunnel with your
swords and arrows at the ready. We will have the element of surprise this
time. Take prisoners, but do not kill. However, if you encounter Duke
Raxere of Skere, kill him immediately,” Lord Esper told his army.
The next morning all was quiet in Duke Raxere’s camp. Lord Esper
took five of his most trusted knights and went to inspect the camp and
to retrieve his daughter in the village. As they neared the abandoned camp
they became aware of a putrid stench that seemed to arise from the tents.
Finding no valuables, they went to the village to retrieve Gwen.
When Gwen heard that the camp was empty and particularly smelly,
she forced herself to stifle a laugh. Her father inquired about what was
amusing her and Gwen related what had happened the previous day.
I was tired of all those tedious battles and I wanted to defeat Duke
Raxere and his blasted army without a bloody battle. So I dressed in a few
rags and stuck pins with laxative medicine on their tips into a few ripe
melons. I took great care to cover my face and set about selling the
melons to Duke Raxere’s army.
I found another chance to sell my useless medicines when Duke
Raxere appeared at the healer’s door, sword in hand.
“‘Give me a medicine or I’ll crack your skull,’ he threatened. I, dressed
in peddlers’ rags, gave him a jug full of sleeping potion, telling him it was
medicine for diarrhea. He lugged it back to his camp, and he should be
asleep.”
Suddenly the two were disturbed by an excited messenger who burst
into the room. “Greetings, Lord! I bring happy tidings! That vulgar duke
Raxere has been found dead in his tent!” the messenger cried, waving his
sword merrily. “Well, he wasn’t quite dead. But his breathing was ragged,
and we heard him muttering about some girl in a mirror. Funny name it
had too—Mirror of Zeda or something like that. And then his breathing
just stopped!”
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“Gwen! I could let you have the entire village of Lien without
marrying!” Lord Esper cried, dancing a merry jig.
“Wait for a moment,” Gwen said, her brow furrowed. She dashed out
of the castle to Raxere’s camp. There, in Raxere’s tent, was the Mirror of
Zeda.
“Tell me who my true love is,” she murmured to the mirror. And she
saw nobody but herself.
The Realm of Possibilities
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