THE TRASH PRINCE'S SYSTEM

CHAPTER 5: THE CHURCH'S PROBLEMS

A heavy downpour of rain which erupted late in the afternoon had just ended, and has now slowed down to a medium downpour while the cardinals of the Holy Church, Pope Aurelian Blackmoor, Lady Leonora Blackmoor, Crown Prince Alaric Vaelen Blackmoor-Thaloria, and various nobles, ladies, and knights who were either members of House Blackmoor, sworn to House Blackmoor or allies of House Blackmoor and the Holy Church sat in the cushioned chairs around an expensive, elaborately carved table inside the Conclave Cathedral’s Conference Hall while partaking of a rich and lavish meal of shadowbeast venison stew spiced with chillies, finely ground black pepper, finely ground salt, garlic,tomatoes, and onions. There was also roasted shadowbeast boar basted with honey with a side sauce of spiced, aged vinegar which had large chopped chunks of onion, chillies, lime, and tomatoes floating on the spiced vinegar, a preserved vegetable salad consisting of spiced preserved broccoli and cabbage preserves. There are also finely milled wheat loaves of clarity, thick, rich and fat, which are said to enhance the diner’s mind and perception. And last of all is the Wine of Grace served hot and spiced with honey and finely ground black pepper, a rich, sweet grape wine aged in sanctified oak barrels blessed by the Holy Mages, and imbued with holy energies. Tall gas lamps enchanted with Holy Magic to be extra bright in the darkness were lighted to ward off the approaching dusk, and a hot and blazing fire roared in the fireplace to ward off the sudden chill brought by the cold wind, and the late afternoon rain.

“That insolent Second Prince, Prince Theron Valeheart. He had the guts to stand up to us, and ruin our show at the theater earlier, I’ll give him that. “

Crown Prince Alaric laughed while in the midst of spooning spiced shadowbeast venison stew into his mouth. His laughter contained no mirth, and instead hinted of danger, malice, and plots to destabilize the Second Prince. His smile was forced, and barely even reached his eyes.

“Sooner or later, you will have your revenge on that renegade Second Prince, Your Highness. You should unwind, eat and drink. You need your strength. I know the sudden turn of events that happened at the theater earlier took a toll on you. You can’t plot and execute your plots on an empty stomach and an unsettled mind, after all. I was there earlier. I heard and witnessed everything.“

Lady Martha Tudor, a beautiful, youthful, elegant lady in her early 20s, the youngest daughter of Viscount and Viscountess Tudor, of the House of Tudor, sworn bannermen to House Blackmoor replied to the Crown Prince in a steady, feminine but strong and soothing voice.

“This lady right here got a point, Your Highness. You need your strength, and your wits about you if you want to defeat the Second Prince. “

A merchant guild envoy named Madame Fiona Mazzet, a wealthy foreigner merchant, in her early 30s, from the wealthy Guardian Dealers Guild that often did business in Blackmoor Province replied while taking delicate, precise bites out of small-sized portions of roast boar on her plate, and taking small sips of hot spiced wine from her wine goblet.

“ I just had an idea that will surely take the Second Prince unawares, and shift the favor of the citizens of Thaloria back to us, if you all will care to listen. “

Pope Aurelian Blackmoor took out his magical voice amplifier device, and placed it near his mouth, his clear, loud and powerful voice amplifier by the voice amplifier device, cutting through the din of much laughter, conversation, swearing, knives, spoons, and forks clattering on plates and soup bowls, and the clinking of wine glasses.

No sooner than he said it when a white hawk, a bird of prey specifically bred by the Church to carry messages during rainy days, which had a magical holy lightning barrier which made them impervious to rain, can even fly through the worst rainstorms, and flied faster than ravens which are normally used to send messages, opened its beak, screeched, and dropped a sealed waterproofed letter into Lady Blackmoor’s lap, before flying straight into food, grabbing hold of a large chunk of roast boar from a startled knight’s plate with its razor sharp talons, and flying straight to the hawkery of the Conclave Cathedral, to the amusement and laughter of the onlookers who looked at the astonished knight’s face.

Before Lady Leonora Blackmoor could so much as open the letter another hawk flew inside the Conference Hall, dropped another sealed letter into the lap of the Crown Prince, snatched the large uneaten chunk of roast pork on the Crown Prince’s Plate, opened its beak and screeched, as if mocking the Crown Prince and daring the Crown Prince to stop it from stealing the roast pork before flying out of range just in time when the Crown Prince produced a crossbow and missed a shot at the bird amidst much laughter, before flying straight for the hawkery.

“ That damn cursed bird “

The Crown Prince muttered under his breath sourly. He broke the seal and read the letter, his face darkening with anger after he finished reading the letter.

“ Enough of those antics, Crown Prince. What's with the darkened look on your face? Read that letter aloud to us. “

“ Do I look like your humble servant, Uncle? Here, read it if you want to. “

The Crown Prince shot back, handed the letter to Pope Aurelian, stood up, and walked out of the feast without so much as a bye your leave to his uncle and his mother, with clenched fists, a grim expression on his face and eyes blazing with anger.

“ I fear those hawks brought us naught but bad news, my lords and ladies. Prince Alaric has always been wild and hotheaded, despite my efforts and the efforts of our King, and takes after his paternal grandfather. But I think his anger is justified. We must act at once, to remove this insult to our dignity and honor, and to teach that irreverent Second Prince a lesson. “

Lady Leonora broke the seal, read the letter that landed on her lap, gave the letter to her brother the Pope, took a deep breath, and sighed after refilling her wineglass.

Seeing the puzzled and questioning looks of the nobles, merchant guild envoys and knights, Pope Aurelian cleared his throat and said:

“ I know many of you here wondered why our Crown Prince left in a huff. Let me tell you what happened earlier. Yesterday, The third prince wrested control of Winterkeep. At this rate, he might control the entire Frostmark Province in a month if he acts fast. He killed every single Provincial Secretary for that province that I, my sister and the crown prince went into so much trouble with just to get them appointed. You all know the importance of that province, my lords and ladies. It seems we need your help in stopping the Third Prince from gaining full control of the Umbralith ore deposits. The bodies of those Secretaries won't be recovered, since the third prince threw their bodies to the mercy of the shadow beasts near the border with Shadowvale Kingdom to be eaten. I’m sure he’s quickly consolidating his power right now, to make the heretical and evil mages side with him, and bring the rest of the fortified outposts in that province under his sole control. To make matters worse, Holy Mages were suddenly found dead in hidden city alleys, village paths, town streets, City streets and the Kingsroad all over Thaloria in broad daylight, when the people were just waking up, with the words bastard prince and hypocrite holy mages scrawled on the corpses. I’m sure this is the work of the Second Prince and his allies. We need to counter them, my lords and ladies. My sister is right. “

It caused an uproar with men banging on the table, and women shouting at the top of their lungs demanding immediate action, to the satisfaction of Duchess Blackmoor and the Pope.