Chapter 19 - Triumph

As the whole assembly watched, a silence swept over the courtyard.  Slumbutter stood to his feet and walked over toward Dor-ko, who was no longer smiling.  The two of them watched the king walk over toward the three prisoners.  His footsteps seemed to echo throughout the courtyard, as though an elephant were walking across the stage.  Finally, unable to tolerate the quiet, Slumbutter pointed to the other executioner and yelled,  "Stop him, you dolt!"

"I'll do no such thing," was the reply that emerged from under the other hood.  Cable thought he recognized the voice.  The man peeled back his hood, and who should it be but Kylus!  Kylus then reached under his cloak and pulled out a second sword, which he tossed to Dorian.  "Please forgive me for ever doubting you, old friend!" he declared.

"It's a joy to see you again, Kylus," replied Dorian as he grabbed the sword in midair and slashed it through the air a couple of times.

Despite the surprises, Slumbutter managed to regain his composure.  Speaking in more measured tones, he said, "Maximilian, you know that your reign is over.  You've been searching for the ring, and your search has been foiled.  It rests upon my finger now.  You command nothing!"  Then, turning to the assembly and raising his voice, Slumbutter shouted, "To arms, black knights!  I order you to seize the rebel Maximilian!"

A tentative shout was raised from the black knights.  They stood to attention and drew their swords.  However, despite their great numbers, none of the knights was anxious to charge to the stage.  A great fear seemed to have descended upon them.  They stood still, seemingly awaiting another command.

Slumbutter yelled once more, "I said to seize them!"  His command echoed throughout the castle.  And still, nothing happened.  A nervous quietness once again enveloped the courtyard.

A gentle sound then pierced the silence.  A "whoooo.....whoooo...." was heard from above.  The black knights seemed to shake at the sound.  Slumbutter dropped his sword, then quickly picked it back up.

Maximilian stood tall and erect.  He looked up and to the right, gazing upon the castle ramparts.  An owl stood there, his eyes gazing down upon the entire spectacle.  He then laid down his executioners sword and approached Cable.  Looking into his eyes, he asked, "Do you have the ring, my son?"

At that point, Cable broke down in tears.  His joy in seeing the king had masked the great sense of failure that he'd felt when the ring was pulled from his neck.  But now, the weight of his failure fell upon him.  Just when the king needed him most, he had nothing to offer.  With his eyes misty, he looked up at Maximilian and, in a feeble, cracking voice said, "I'm sorry, sir.  I...I lost it.  I did my best."

Maximilian gave Cable a big hug and then reached into his satchel.  He pulled out the dagger that was still there.  Holding it in his right hand, he walked over toward Slumbutter.  Dor-ko moved over to intervene.  Slumbutter, cowering behind Dor-ko, said, "Do you suppose to take me down with a child's dagger, Maximilian?  You are a bigger fool than I'd thought."

Maximilian replied, "Yes, I do intent to take you down, though not as you might think."  He paused before Dor-ko and switched the dagger into his left hand.  With his right hand, he seemed to unscrew something at the bottom of the dagger's handle.  Finally, a small object tumbled out of the hollow handle and bounced upon the stage.  Without a trace of hurry, Maximilian grabbed the object.

It was a ring--a shiny, golden ring that seemed to shine as bright as the sun.  Maximilian placed it upon his finger.  He pushed a dumbounded Dor-ko to the side and stared at Slumbutter.  "You have failed, my former friend," he said, his voice steady.  "You thought you'd thwarted my return, but you failed.  The boys fulfilled their quest.  They found Dorian, who--as you've known all along--was completely innocent.  And they have returned the ring to its rightful owner."

Slumbutter would not yield so easily.  "You lie!" he bellowed.  Then, turning to the black knights, he shouted still louder, "He lies!"  The assembled knights remained still, unsure of what to do.

Maximilian's calm voice continued.  "You know that the ring--the true ring--bears the name of Romanix.  He gave that ring to me on the day that we conquered Bagowind, and his name remains inscribed on the ring to this very day.  Take your ring and examine it, Slumbutter.  You will see that it is not the ring.  You will see that you have failed."

Slumbutter refused to touch the ring.  He replied, "If that is the case, then only Romanix can truly discern which is the true ring.  And since he's not here, it is just your word against mine."  Then, raising his voice and again turning to the black knights, he declared, "I defy you, Maximilian!  Black knights, I order you, seize the rebel king!"

The assembled knights reluctantly moved forward.  Maximilian, not the least bit intimidated by the approaching warriors, reached into his cloak and pulled out a horn.  "If you seek Romanix, then Romanix you shall have," he said.  Then he blew upon the horn.

The sound of the horn reverberated around the castle and through the hills beyond.  The knights stopped in their tracks.  The courtyard again grew silent. 

Then a great shout was heard in reply, from beyond the castle walls.  The shout, which didn't stop but just grew in intensity, was followed by the rolling thunder of drums.  The sound of a marching army seemed to shake the ground on which they stood.  It was now Maximilian's turn to address the black knights.  "An army is approaching," he said.  "Go out and protect your leader!"

The black knights, who had ignored Slumbutter's commands throughout the entire episode, suddenly decided that obedience wasn't such a bad idea.  The drawbridge was opened, and the knights prepared to charge out of the castle. 

However, none of them actually bothered to leave the castle.  For, standing outside the gates, was Romanix and an army of citizens.  They had no armor, yet they were all armed with various weapons of their own devising--bows, arrows, homemade spears, and even slingshots.  There was not a trace of fear on their faces as they stared down the black knights.

Maximilian walked toward the drawbridge, followed by Kylus, Dorian, Cable and Andres.  The black knights instinctively stood to the side as Maximilian walked through their midst.  For some reason, it never occurred to any of them to strike out at Maximilian.  Rather, they seemed overwhelmed with awe as he moved amongst them.  Finally, he and the others emerged from the gaggle of black knights and crossed the drawbridge.  Maximilian ran up to Romanix and threw his arms around him.  "You've come back for me!" he declared to Romanix.

Romanix quickly bent the knee before him.  "No, my lord," he replied.  "You have come back for me."

When the army of citizens saw Romanix bow before the king, they all did the same.  The entire landscape was silent for a few moments.  Then a lone shout was heard--"Long live King Maximilian!"  At the sound of that cry, the entire army rose to their feet.  Waving their weapons in the air and shouting with great joy in their hearts, they all spoke as one--"Long live King Maximilian!  Long live King Maximilian!"  Once again, the ground seemed to quake with the cheers.  It was as though the very earth itself rejoiced at the restoration of the true King of Aberdeen.

As the throng chanted and cheered the return of the king, Andres turned to Cable and asked, yelling at the top of his lungs, "Where did all these people come from?" 

"You ought to know," Cable replied, attempting to raise his voice above the roar.

"What you you mean, 'You've got to row?'" asked Andres in reply, with a puzzled look on his face.  "We're not even in the canoe!  In fact, I wouldn't care if I never saw a canoe again!"

"No, that's not what I said!" yelled Cable.

"I know you're not dead!" bellowed Andres in reply.

At this point, Cable knew that it would be futile to continue their discussion where they stood.  So he motioned to Andres, and they moved away from the king a short distance, where they could have a better chance of hearing one another.  Cable put his mouth to Andres' ear and said, "Don't you remember when we were floating down the stream on our way to the castle, and you asked me if I felt like we were being watched?  Well, I think the answer was that we were being watched--by hundreds of people, all of whom were just waiting for the king to return.  They were cheering us on, even though they didn't say a word.  They must have somehow followed us all the way to the castle!"

As the noise started to subside, King Maximilian raised his arm.  The people gradually quieted and fixed their attention on the king.  The black knights remained at the gate of the castle, unwilling to leave the castle and too scared to attack.  Finally, the king turned to the knights and said, "Black knights, servants of Slumbutter, listen!  I hold you no ill will.  If you wish, you may remain peacefully in my kingdom.  My only demand is that you remove your armor, lay down your arms and come join the people.  For those who do not wish to stay, you may leave and depart for the western wastelands with your lives intact.  But your weapons must stay."

The king stopped speaking.  All eyes were on the black knights.  For several minutes, no one moved.  Finally, one knight stepped out onto the drawbridge.  He took off his armor and threw it into the moat.  Then he declared, "It is indeed hard to kick against the goads.  I've had enough."  Then, bowing before King Maximilian, he said, "If you're willing to take me, I'm willing to follow."

Maximilian took the man's hand and raised him to his feet.  "You may join us, friend," he said.  And then the throng erupted in cheer again.

Perhaps a hundred black knights ended up discarding their armor and joining the people.  The rest remained in place, as though paralyzed.  The king then spoke again and said, "To the rest of you, I order you to come out of the castle, lay down your arms, and head away to the Jagged Mountains.  My patience has nearly come to an end.  If you are not gone within the next ten minutes, I will unleash the people on you.  I want no bloodshed, but I cannot restrain my people for much longer.  Now go!"

At that word, the black knights came streaming out of the castle.  Rather than simply laying down their arms, they cast them away as though they were on fire.  And they ran pell-mell toward the mountains, with wings of fear lending them speed that most had never experienced before.

The last two men out of the castle were Slumbutter and Dor-ko.  Slumbutter stopped and face the king as he came out.  "Here are your arms," he sneered as he laid down his sword at Maximilian's feet.  "We shall meet again, you know."

"We once shared great triumphs together, Slumbutter," replied the king.  "It pains me to see my good friend overcome by such bitterness.  Lay aside your ambition, Slumbutter, and join us."

Slumbutter spit in the king's face and turned to walk away.  Romanix drew his sword and charged at Slumbutter.  "I will relieve your spineless back of the wasteful weight of your brainless head!" he yelled.

But King Maximilian intervened.  "Peace, Romanix," he declared.  "He's had his chance.  His judgment will come soon enough.  Let him go."  And Romanix relented.

Finally, Dor-ko walked up to the king.  He took his sword, snapped it over his knee, and tossed the pieces at the feet of the king.  "If I can't have it, then neither can you," he said.  And he walked away and followed Slumbutter.

When the last of the rebels disappeared from view, the throng broke out in cheers once again.  This time, the cheers lasted for nearly an hour.  During that time, Andres and Cable ran around and tried to figure out what had just happened.  First, they went up to Romanix.  To their great surprise, Devlin was not far behind him!  As it had turned out, the owl had appeared to Romanix shortly after Andres and Cable had left the great cave.  Romanix didn't feel right about leaving Devlin with Brandonio, so he took Devlin and followed the owl.  The owl led them to a path that had recently been cut through the woods, and then he disappeared.  Romanix and Devlin followed the path, which led them past dozens of small villages that were tucked away throughout the forest.  In every village, people grabbed their weapons and silently followed Romanix.  It was as though a great calling had overcome them--as though they knew their long-awaited king was coming.  Some of them had witnessed Andres and Cable floating down the river just the night before.  They followed Romanix all the way to the castle gates.  The owl finally reappeared to Romanix from atop the castle ramparts, confirming that their journey was complete.

After speaking with Romanix, Andres and Cable dashed over to speak with Kylus.  He explained that just last night, a hooded visitor had come to his cave.  Kylus felt obliged to let him in.  When the guest was seated inside, he pulled off his hood.  To Kylus' great amazement, it was the king!  After eating a meal and catching a few hours of rest, the king suggested that they follow the great underground tunnel back into the castle.  When they emerged from the tunnel, they found themselves in an empty room, and they heard footsteps heading toward the courtyard.  They rushed out of the room and into the hallway, only to encounter two executioners.  The king and Kylus quickly overpowered the two rogues, knocking them senseless, stripping them of their garments, and locking them in a room.  Then they put the executioners garments on themselves and assumed their position on the stage.

"But how did the king know about the ring?" Cable asked.  The question had been gnawing at him for a long time.

Kylus smiled.  "Oh yes, I never told you about that.  When I first dragged you into my cave, I saw the ring around Cable's neck.  I was worried sick about it--it just seemed too visible!  So I took it off your neck and inserted it into the dagger's hollow handle.  Then I replaced it with a fake gold ring that my sister Krystara used to play with when she was a little girl.  It sure fooled Slumbutter!"