Good Cop, Bad Cop
Not going to lie, I was eager to hear of Litoc’s adventures and misadventures. It did not take long for me to realize that Tukru was leaving a ton of details out. The Guild, for one, was never mentioned, and all the stories were usually about mundane things. The old man delighted in them anyway, even interrupting Tukru to ask questions.
As I found their conversation less and less interesting, my thoughts briefly turned towards one uncomfortable, unlikely, but possible scenario that I’ve been going back and forth with in my head since that morning. What if the monarchs died of natural causes? Regardless of how they died, it would follow that the next in line should be informed immediately. We didn’t know what happened or what the cause was. It was curious that they died the same night, but it wasn’t impossible. Given the situation, did we just overreact? I would find no answers until details come to light, and since we were already at the castle, I found the whole exercise pointless. I turned my attention towards the food instead.
We had roast. A proper-looking one, served in a long tray. Considering that it was barely an hour since we arrived, I pondered just how long it had been roasting. The taste was unremarkable. The meat was fatty and tasted somewhat like beef but for food served in a castle, presumably for the prince, it was bland. Nothing a pinch of salt or some vinegar, or both, couldn’t fix.
There was none of those on the table. There was a stew though and dunking the roasted meat on the sauce fixed it a bit. There was an assortment of breads, pies, and something mashed with bits of meat in it. There was a long platter of fruit too. Jibel liked it. I suspect it had something to do with the neat arrangement of different colored slices.
None impressed me more than the wine. Back in good old earth, I was a cheapskate. I’ve never tasted any of those fancy vintage wines. I’ve tasted all kinds of off-the-shelf wine I could find and they all tasted the same to me. Not this one. It actually tasted sweet. It still had that bit that reminded you it had alcohol but there markedly very little dryness to it after drinking. Thankfully, the attendant remembered that there was a child in the group and so there was a metal pitcher with watered down ale in it.
When Hanni finally joined us, taking the opposite side of the table, I turned my thoughts into the layout of Bariststal, mostly because of Hanni’s apparent curiosity of the hall we were in. We entered what seemed to be the left side of castle compound, then went to the back. There were at least three levels to the castle and we’ve passed through all the four rooms in its rear.
The hall being a right, ninety degree turn from the last one, and there being windows on the left wall instead of an opening or door to another part of the stal told me the kitchen was either opposite the wall to the right, or somewhere nearer to the front of the palace. That did not make sense to me. Kitchens are not supposed to be in front of any building and halls are supposed to be the most easily accessible place from any point as it served as a multipurpose room. This one, being at right side of the compound with only two openings leading in and out, didn’t fit that purpose.
What’s in the center of this place?
While on my second plate, two guards and a woman in white entered from the same opening the servants came from. They looked around nervously and looked like they planned to present themselves before the seneschal when the soldiers standing at the center of the hall stopped them. Forget the woman, not even the guards could standstill. From their anxious manners, they could only be the unfortunate people that found the royal couple dead.
Fortunately for them, they didn’t have to wait long. Jakeli and Litoc soon made their entrance, this time leading the soldiers instead of following. Litoc ordered the soldiers to guard the opening then directly approached Juwen, exchanging pleasantries and small talk. They spoke as if the old man’s near unravelling never occurred. Jakeli looked around, as if waiting to be served. Whether he realized it by the soldiers standing guard at the center of the hall or he lost to his hunger, I couldn’t tell.
He didn’t seem to be in a bad mood. There was no clattering when he picked up a plate and utensils. There were no sudden or irritated actions as he filled it. He didn’t dump the plate on the table to make a noise. Jakeli didn’t even give two thoughts about sitting next to Jibel who, apparently, also didn’t care that a prince was sitting next to him.
“… haha I miss ye too ye basterd.” Litoc’s voice rose, “Let’s get this done then. Sa, are those the people?”
The soldiers didn’t know how to address the person with shabby clothes who was being chummy with a high official so they just replied with a yes.
“Let them through.”
He waited until they were near before directing them to sit across us. Hanni glared at him for having to move but otherwise said nothing.
“Well then, let’s start.” Litoc said, while taking a plate and handing them to each one over the table. “Go on, there’s plenty in ‘ere fer just us.”
They reluctantly obliged, taking only small portions for their plates. Litoc carved a huge piece of the roast and plopped it onto his then covered it in stew. He started asking questions after taking a loaf of bread. Surprisingly, he didn’t start his questions at the discovery of the royal’s deaths but about how each of their days started.
Jakeli started asking his questions when the topic steered towards the after the monarchs’ activities the entire day. Juwen answered the questions as best as he could. He tended to repeat words which drove the conversation into a slower pace.
The soldiers and the woman, initially skittish and answering in a hurry, fell into Juwen’s pace and were observably calmer thereafter when time came for asking the specifics after the monarch’s retired.
I wasn’t at all surprised to hear that they retired separately. Juwen’s description of their activities that day hinted at the fact that most of it was routine and that they absolutely spent no time together unless it was necessary for appearances. Still, for the sake of security I guess, their chambers were beside each other’s.
“So, I followed her in, as I usually do, and helped Queen Kerig out of her garments and into her night clothes. The-”
“Did ye notice anythin’ amiss when ye got in? Or spot somethin’ out o’ place? Feel somethin’ off, anything at all?” Litoc interrupted.
“No… lord. Everything was as it should be.” The woman answered.
Jakeli asked about the King at point and this time, it was the soldiers who answered. I was surprised to hear he suffered no attendants. Perhaps in defiance to his advanced age, the King insisted he dress, or undress himself, only requiring that his fabrics be ready by the time he needed it. Anything else he needed, he called for the guards outside the door.
“Then what?”
“I made sure the Queen had all she needed – wine, fruits, bread, and basin of water, then I asked if she required anything else. She shook her head and dismissed me.”
“Anythin’ about ‘er struck ye as odd?”
“No Lord. Just the same as every other night.”
Jakeli asked about how certain the woman was that nothing was amiss to which the woman replied that she personally saw to the tidying of the room twice a day. The first one in the morning and the second in the afternoon, after the Queen was done with her midday rest.