In a matter of seconds Markus became a pilgrim in a land he had once called home. He witnessed with his own eyes the turning of the tide in a war that had been raging for centuries. Markus and others like him thought the war was finally coming to an end. Victory had been on the tip of everyone’s tongue. Alas plans do not always follow their own paths.
Markus and a few choice others were part of a secret that had been steering the course of the war for the past 20 years. Markus Stormraiser was the guardian and unofficial right hand man of the royal family. Officially he was merely an advisor to the King on matters of finance, politics, and business along with a few others. In reality Markus was the leader of a group of spies sent to destroy the kingdom from within. His compatriots were not the typical infiltrators one would expect. Markus had no man working the arms smithy; building defects into armor and blades. There was no saboteur working the farms preparing to mix slow acting poisons into the food supply. He didn’t even have someone copying the royal correspondence that came and went day in and day out. Markus didn’t need to because his team, the group of spies he was in charge of was the royal family itself. The King and Queen; his second and third in command, the two sons and daughter, experts in espionage and together the finest team Markus could have ever worked with. The war they had been waging wasn’t fought on distant or near battlefields with countless men marching to their deaths. In fact this war was being fought to avoid those pointless skirmishes hopefully forever. The war Markus and his team were fighting was a political one and they had nearly achieved their objective.
Years ago the past King of these lands lay on his death bed with no successor. This was because the opposition had carefully orchestrated the death of each member cutting the bloodline line. One man came forward claiming to be a distant cousin of his late wife, and willing to take up the throne if need be. Of course he wasn’t taken at his word. What person in their right mind would? Inquiry was made as expected. All forged documents were presented as planned. Within a day the King’s advisors all gave their approval to this foreign noble. The King didn’t have much choice, his end was in sight and if he didn’t approve of this passing of the crown by law the Kingdom would go under control of a neighboring Royal Family. Not wanting this the King ordered the ceremony be performed without a moment to loose. It was quick and witnessed by only the remaining court. Like that the tide of the shadow war had changed course and with it history. Or so they hoped.
Markus was brought back to the present with a forceful pull as he was literally pulled to his knees by the collar of his robes. Desimos, the rival Kingdom’s pet hound, yanked Markus to his feet and marched him over to the gallows.
“You almost got away with it. I’ll admit when I fully realized the enormity of this plan I was in awe you know. Don’t think I won’t spare you, this is merely a professional courtesy. It was a masterful act, performed by a cast the likes of which these lands have ever seen. Destroying a Kingdom using a spied in its own court! Oh it has been done before; but never has the spy been the ENTIRE royal family! Bravo Markus, Bravo. If I hadn’t been the lucky one you would have pulled it off. I want you to think of that, when you’re about to drop. If it had not been for me, you would have won.”
Markus was silent the whole way. Defeated, both physically and mentally he walked in silence towards the rope. Desimos was still carrying on exuberantly, but at this point Markus no longer among the living. His body carried on, but his spirit crumbled. A plan 20 years in the making destroyed by chance. Markus ascended the hangman’s stairway to meet his fate. A head clad in black baring only eyes met him at the top. The hangman beckoned Markus over and secured the noose around his neck. It was time to move on and see his family again. This comforted him in the moment even with Deismos raging with laughter, the bastard. A holy woman that had been silently waiting walked over to prepare him for his passage to the next stage. Markus waved her off and nodded to the hangman wanting to get this over with. The priest and hangman exchanged surprised looks and preceded. The man’s hand grasped the lever, the holy woman prayed silently. Markus was falling to his family, time slowed and a sickening snap was all anyone heard as an arrow sliced through the rope just as his full weight was applied.