A Stronghold Divided

The windmill's cumbersome sails slowly spun round in the wind, while nearby the field of the corn swayed calmly. Amidst the corn, Harold walked carrying a crumpled copy of The Ardougne Chronicle with him. The front page was dedicated to reports of violence surrounding the Tree Gnome Village, which seemed worlds away from the peaceful cornfield.

"You're famous now," Harold grinned.

"Rightly so," came the reply, as Augustus waded through the sea of wheat to greet Harold, shaking his hand.

"We're all meeting around here are we not?"

"Yes, that's the message I asked to be passed on."

"Peculiar fellow he was, your messenger, didn't seem to have many words about him."

"A bit mute isn't he?"

"Well, yes."

"I like him to be like that, keeps him precise; I hate hyperbole."

"Hold up! Hold up!" came a voice from across the field.

"Matthew, if you want to carry on working with the rest of us, you're going to need to be faster than that!" Augustus snapped.

Matthew arrived, wheezing like an old mutt, wiping sweat off his forehead and whiskery cheeks.

"I didn't hear you get up to leave! Been dashing round the streets of Ardougne like a madman," came his response.

"Nevermind Matthew, you're here now."

"There's going to be more than this surely? I'd find it rather underwhelming if this was it."

"There'll be more, if they have an ounce of sense in their skulls..."

Awoken by the sound of thuds and splatters, Stanley finally rose from his bed and peered down the ladder leading out of his home. Arthur lay still, snoring heavily with the same hardened frown he wore on his face as a permanent fixture. Looking closer, the waft of an unpleasant smell attacked his nostrils - that of waste.

"What the-" he began, looking closer.

With an abrupt thud something splattered against his face, and as he reeled back in shock to the safety of his home he wiped away what seemed to be the most ancient and rotten tomato he'd ever seen; or smelt.

"Rotten food for rotten people!" came a snidey remark from the perpetrator downstairs, but before Stanley could see the young female gnome running off.

"Dad, wake up, come on! Father!" Stanley snapped, shaking Arthur out of his slumber.

"What? What do you want?" Arthur replied angrily, his eyelids still forcing themselves to stay shut.

"I think someone's took a dislike to us."

Stanley wiped the rest of the pulped vegetable from his face and inspected the rest of the ladder leading up, it was coated in a variety of outdated fruits and vegetables, as well as what could only be Terrorbird dung by the stench. Beginning to climb down, Stanley lost his footing and hit the grassy floor with a thud.

"There goes dignity," he remarked, looking up as he heard the sound of footsteps before him.

"I think you'd best come to the Grand Tree with me, before this all gets blown even further out of proportion," Ronthin ordered, scowling.

"Ronald, isn't it?"

"Ronthin, and luckily for you I know your name, and your father's, unfortunately though, everyone nows knows both of them as well. You're quite the popular ones."

Stanley felt sickened deep within, he had dismissed these negative emotions in his sleep, but now they all flowed back as he clearly recalled every minute detail of his recent actions. Grimacing at himself, he simply nodded at Ronthin and then began in the direction of the Grand Tree. Arthur was too weary to chance peeking down, and decided to not involve himself with the matters.

Veedi Limstrood paced before King Boelryn in fury, constantly reminding herself of Ronthin's comments regarding her father and brother. Of course, it was unquestionable that they had been troublesome in the past, but to assume the same of them immediately in these troubling times? Surely that would simply be a case of pointing fingers with no grounding in reason.

"Your Majesty, it makes no sense!" Veedi exclaimed, her face reddened with anger almost as much as her hair.

"Veedi, you and I both know, innocent until proven guilty is a tried and tested motto, and one by which we shall stick by," Boelryn said reassuringly.

"I can't believe Ronthin, he's always been a brother to me, just like Stanley."

"If not more than Stanley. Now Ms. Limstrood I would hasten to add that firstly, I will by no means take Ronthin's word as confirmation of anything, and secondly - and perhaps more importantly, Ronthin could not, and would not, make such comments on an unfounded basis."

"This is a precarious puzzle with several pieces missing, oh I must hear Stanley and father's side of the story, I need them to tell me this is all a web of lies or mistakes."

"Perhaps my greatest failure to grasp an understanding of, lies with your hopes of redeeming Arthur and Stanley and villifying Ronthin, now out of all the merits and good these three have brought to you, in your shoes, I would be more hopeful to find Ronthin with clean hands!"

"Your Majesty, it's not only that, and I know I've sounded selfish, but I'm also concerned with what this would mean for gnomekind if discovered to be true. This happens to extend much further beyond my family!"

"I know Veedi, I know. I wouldn't think of you as selfish for a minute, and yes, we're all scared of what these accusations mean for us if found out to be right."

The heavy and stiffened doors to the base of the Grand Tree were wearily pulled open to reveal Ronthin and Stanley standing before the King and Veedi. The morning light swept in, coating Ronthin in a warm and triumphant glow as he stepped into the Grand Tree, perhaps mirroring his feelings upon finally bringing Stanley forward to answer the many questions which had been posed.

"Stanley Limstrood, I'm not sure whether I'm happy or furious to see you," Veedi said halfheartedly, completely ignoring Ronthin who had firmly fixed his gaze on her.

Arthur paced the upstairs of his home, growing ever tense now. He was well aware of the implications that his and Stanley's acts would have on their prospectives in the Tree Gnome Stronghold. Worst of all however, he feared how Augustus would react to his failure and loss of Stanley's co-operation. Everyone to their own, Arthur thought, and knew that although he would have to face up to the consequences of being caught out, whatever happened to Stanley regarding his "change of heart" was nothing to do with him. Stanley had effectively dug his own grave.

"No good for a man of my age," Arthur grunted regarding the stress he had been through.

Sitting upon his creaking bed, he then heard movement below at the base of the tree. At first he suspected it to be more pestering gnomes who had caught on to the whispers and rumours since yesterday, but when he could then make out the sound of a human grunt, his interest increased and he hurried to see what was going on.

"That's more like it," Arthur grinned, as he found a note pinned to the bottom of the tree trunk.

Descending the ladder, he then quickly scanned the note, learning Augustus was very pleased with Arthur's work and wished him to meet with the rest of the group by tonight, at a location marked on a small map with a not very clear cross. Arthur was able to see it was just to the north of Ardougne, and that it would be most difficult to miss a group of angered humans with what he assumed would now be Khazardian back-up. Arthur was most interested however to learn what "the next stage" of the plan would be, as the note indicated he would get to discover.

"Things are looking up," he smiled.

His chain of thought was unceremoniously snapped however when a strong thud hit the side of his skull near the temple. Holding the side of his head in his hand, he turned round cautiously to be greeted by two angered looking gnomes in tattered clothes and dirtied skin.

"We know about your pragmatic manouveres with the humans, scumbag," sneered one of the gnomes who wore the most furious of glares.

Before Arthur could respond, he was slammed to the ground. Kicked, he curled up into a ball. The vicious assault continued until one of the two gnomes then grabbed him by the neck and looked him straight in the eyes.

"I imagine King Boelryn will want to see you," the gnome spat.

Arthur simply mustered up a nod, deep within a state of shock, for of all the dangerous humans he had associated himself with and the sheer amount of damage they had caused, it was two short-tempered gnomes who Arthur fell victim to. Slowly getting to his feet and stumbling somewhat, he was grappled from both sides and heaved in the direction of the Grand Tree. His note however, still remained safely pinned to the tree trunk, untouched.

The cobwebs lining the corners of the ceiling in the mill owned by Harold gave a good indication of how old the building was and how poorly kept it had been in his hands. They had formed a thick blanket in some places, and homed at least a dozen spiders in each room, luckily no bigger than a finger however. Augustus' group were evenly spread around a splintering wooden table, that Harold had not even gone to the bother of clearing the caked-on dust off of. All eyes were laid eagerly upon the group's leader...

"Know from my own mouth, that we are strong, friends. When I last greeted you all together, but a few days ago I was confident. Now I am ten times more certain than I was then, for today our ranks swell further! Today more men join the good fight! Today, we forge an alliance with some of the finest, most honourable soldiers to grace the Khazardian battlefield," Augustus triumphantly announced, barely able to keep the rare example of a grin off his face.

The mention of the words "Khazardian", "soldiers" and "alliance" sparked murmuring all around the table, while Augustus simply admired the positive reception he was receiving.

"And they'll work alongside us? Help us?" Nelson piped up, rising above the murmurs.

"Yes Nelson, and all we have to do is give them a decision by today," Augustus replied, smugly. "Now, do we agree that they'd be an assett to our group?"

A positive albiet lacklustre response emerged from around the table, with several nods confirming the decision.

"Then we travel, today, to their camp. It is immediately south of Ardougne and we can reach it by nightfall I'm sure."

The decision was made.

"I want to hear the entire truth from both of you, regardless of how immoral it sounds," Boelryn ordered.

King Boelryn was most uncomfortable in such a position, and could no longer look Veedi in the eye for fear it would swing his judgement, not that he needed to look at her, as his stare was too busy flitting between the defeated eyes of Arthur and Stanley. Boelryn's voice was remarkably calm, but this trait would not last for much longer as he feared for the worst answer from both gnomes.

"Well your Majesty, Ronthin has had it in for us as soon as we arrived - " Arthur quickly spluttered, before Stanley cut him off.

"No dad. There's no point lying, the notes you've been exchanging with the enemy have been discovered. There's evidence," Stanley said.

Arthur sunk back into the shadows of the base of the Grand Tree, as if he was a wounded animal. Boelryn said nothing, simply observing Arthur's uncomfortable shuffling movements.

"I take it, your Majesty, you're familiar with Augustus Theobald, the human," Stanley continued.

"Yes, yes I am. Am I to understand he's the human that leads these attacks?" Boelryn asked, slowly turning to face the younger gnome.

"Yes! And he's the one who kidnapped me!" Veedi snapped, unable to hold her tongue any longer.

"Quiet you, you're going to jeapordise the King's decision," Ronthin hissed, desperate to see justice delivered to the two.

"Don't you think you've made enough observations for one day?" Veedi retorted sharply.

"If I can continue, yes, your Majesty, Augustus Theobald is effectively the humans' leader," Stanley replied.

"And from what Ronthin has told me, you have both been involved with him? Now am I right to understand this relationship of sorts played a part in the Tree Gnome Village incident?" Boelryn asked.

"Well, yes, it was the main cause. If it wasn't for Augustus' orders we wouldn't have done it."

"Now, Stanley, what hasn't been made clear, is how did the both of you become involved with Augustus?"

"Chance, I suppose. Wrong place at the wrong time. He came across us, told us of his encounter with my sister, and threatened to do worse. He demanded we sabotague certain crops of the Village, and we did it."

"Stanley, did it not ever occur to you or your father that you should alert King Bolren or any other figures of authority?"

"You saw what them humans did to the Village, and what if he'd done worse to Veedi? We weren't to know she was tucked up safe and sound in here!" Arthur interrupted, his temper wearing thin.

"You should have tried though," Ronthin snapped, "you shouldn't have let him walk all over the pair of you."

"Easier said than done, boy," Arthur replied through gritted teeth.

"Stanley, tell King Boelryn that the attacks were not of yours' or father's making, please," Veedi demanded, the whole process making her more and more uncomfortable.

"The truth is, Veedi, your Majesty, everybody, that everything Ronthin heard is true. There's no point denying it, father's notes give enough away of our involvement."

There was silence throughout the Grand Tree. Veedi's heart sank, she was so numbed by what she had just heard that the world stopped turning for the next few moments.

"It got to a stage where the Village would be destroyed whether we co-operated or not. We only did so in exchange for enough money to live by and freedom. We were scared, and probably greedy. Look at us, we were never made to be martyrs exactly, were we?"

"What choice do I have? What real choice do I have, as King? Hmmm? My people, who I'm supposed to protect and serve, are calling for your executions, and at the very least your banishments to some faraway land. There is evidence pushing me towards such decisions as well!" Boelryn's well-known caring and understanding approach was shattering before his subjects.

"Mistakes have been made - " Arthur began, stepping forward, desperately trying to muster up a remorseful voice.

"Mistakes? Is that what you call exterminating the population of the Tree Gnome Village? A mistake?!" Boelryn paused, trying to compose himself again. "I've met fiends in my time, make no mistake; traitors, fiends, assassins, more than the gnomic population were ever made aware of, but you two. You two. Well, it is beyond any concept on this world how you two share the same blood of your sister, and I'm only being lenient here for her sake, because she doesn't deserve family like the pair of you!"

Ronthin had held his tongue for long enough now, and knowing the distress this was causing Veedi, and Boelryn as well, he stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, I wish to speak," he began.

"Very well Ronthin, I have but a few things left to say on this matter," Boelryn replied, calmer.

"While I'm sure there's villainy afoot here, and the main cause is right in front of us, I believe some of this punishment is unfair. Your Majesty, forgive Stanley."

Murmurs began to spread amongst the other subjects and officials gathered beside Boelryn, Veedi, Ronthin, Arthur and Stanley. Boelryn was only too happy that Bolren was with Paula and unable to hear this, as it was disrespectful to both the Tree Gnome Village and both the monarchs' reputations.

"Forgive him?" Boelryn asked.

"Ronthin, what in the world are you doing?" Veedi hissed, knowing even she would find it near-impossible now to support her father and brother's case.

"Perhaps, perhaps we should hear what the King has to say," interrupted a gnome from the judicial hierachy of the Stronghold.

"I do beg your pardon, yes," Veedi said, trying to regain some favour.

"Ronthin, the same person who has effectively prosecuted the pair of you, has just saved your lives," Boelryn began, turning to Arthur and Stanley. "Yes, perhaps greed did play a part in your co-operation, but the circumstances are in both your favour. Now, I don't need to hear the rest of the events in the Tree Gnome Village, and I doubt I'd want to, but Stanley, I think you have presented yourself well before me today."

"Thank you," Stanley uttered, puzzled at what would happen next.

Veedi was looking through teary eyes at her brother, terrified of what the final decision would be. He could still be imprisoned or exiled or put on further trial; his fate would still be an unpleasant one, and what of her father's? He had certainly not presented himself with much credibility before King Boelryn. He had spun an even bigger web of lies in the trunk of the Grand Tree today!

"Stanley," Boelryn began. "You are to forfiet your place of residence, but providing you find a place to stay, you are welcome within the Stronghold."

Stanley welcomed the feeling of relief which swept over him, while Veedi couldn't help but form a brief smile on her lips.

"As for you Arthur, I see your involvement has extended further. You have tried to build bridges with Khazardian soldiers, and that is an opening for a far greater evil that would threaten the entire species. Now, I'm a sane man, and I know you cannot go unpunished. Normally I would have you imprisoned, but for your own safety, and to keep your influence as far away from Stanley and Veedi as possible, I have no choice but to exile you."

This was met with a look of horror on Arthur's face. His mouth dry, he only managed to utter:

"Forgive me, please."

"Mr. Limstrood, you have not shown a shadow of the remorse your son has, Ronthin has already made that very clear. You have until sunset to gather your belongings and depart, but know this; you play a very dangerous game, Arthur. This game is one even you may find is too much to partake in."

While Arthur absorbed the latest decision, Boelryn wearily made his way out of the room, pursued by several subjects out into the afternoon air.

"Did you really do all that, to help me?" Veedi asked Stanley, going over to him.

"Well, that and a large portion of idiocy, yes," he replied.

"Safe to say today has been a shock for all, but you're still my brother, and you're welcome to stay with me."

"Do you really think he did it for you? You're more stupid than I thought, both of you, and to think you're my own flesh and blood!" Arthur sneered, still infuriated at the ruling against him.

"I think it's best you gather your things, Mr. Limstrood, or I'll see to it his Majesty loses his sympathy and has you put to death," snapped Ronthin, grabbing Arthur by the shoulder.

As the sun descended on the horizon, Augustus, Nelson and Matthew ventured towards a set of ruins, not too far south of Ardougne. The cold air made Matthew grumble, but he was soon silenced by the sight of a dozen Khazardian soldiers sat beside the ruins with a fire burning.

"Captain Ranstom?" Augustus asked, offering a hand to a figure slumped against the stone ruins.

"Glad you could make it," grinned the moustached soldier with a low rasping voice, that of a man who had emersed himself in endless combat for several years.

"I'll bet the Stronghold will be saying exactly that very soon," Arthur chuckled, which Ranstom responded to in similar fashion.

"Where's base?"

"A mill, just north of Ardougne."

"Right then," Ranstom said, getting to his feet, "you men, I'll take half a dozen of you with me tonight, the rest of you, keep up the good work here. Six of you, stand forward; we're off to strike the gnomes where it hurts..."

Night had fallen on the Grand Tree. With Arthur long gone, Boelryn was finally able to settle with a cocktail glass of pineapple punch, savouring the rich citric tastes on his tongue. Bolren on the other hand stared out in the direction of human civilization, all of which was far away and now shrouded in the blanket of night.

"It's all out there, isn't it?" Bolren asked.

Boelryn put down his glass and turned to face the near-ancient monarch.

"What is?" Boelryn asked.

"The rest of the world."

"Yes, it's a pity in these recent times we forget the world extends beyond our own gates."

"If only there was a way, to bring forth the humans and somehow keep them close - their militaries overshadow our best defences several times over!"

"I know, I know. How though? That's the question. Do we invite bewildered humans from the woodland into our homes?"

"No, no. Not so forced. We need to welcome in the humans, give them a reason to be with us. Perhaps a banquet, to celebrate a new direction, to work towards a unison with the Kandarinian capitals. It could save us all."

"The feast of King Bolren, to be held in the Grand Tree for humankind. Yes, perhaps it's just what we..."

Boelryn trailled off, his stomach turned as an ethereal figure caught his eye outside. The Seer stood completely still, but the King still felt the spirit acknowledge him.

"Boelryn, you were saying?" asked Bolren.

"The feast of Bolren, maybe it's just what we need," Boelryn replied, his voice less confident now.

The Seer lowered his head in despair, for the day was almost upon the Stronghold, the day of the feast which would in his all-seeing eyes, change everything...