The Ninth Son

It was a cool summer morning, songbirds embellishing the soft glow of the not-yet-risen sun with their somewhat sporadic melody. In fact, the whole summer had been mild at best, with only a few days of real heat to mark the passing of the season. Arlice woke up with a slight moan, his head somewhat dizzy from the previous night's exploits. As he focused his eyes in the dimly lit room, memories flooded his head.
Arlice, a young man of about nineteen, his flowing black hair enshrouding his lean shoulders, sat at a small table in the Red Falcon Inn. Standing in the corner was a large, burly man. He had the look of one not to be trifled with, and Arlice made it a point to keep his eyes gazing elsewhere. At the table opposite the room from his own there were three men, two with full gray beards, the third a bit younger and clean-shaven. All were thin and lithe in appearance, rangers from the look of them. It was not these who concerned him at present, however. He was faced with a far more menacing opponent, a professional dice thrower. The man was gaunt of face and sat his chair with a noticeable hunch. His hair was oiled and slicked back, the style of the day, it seemed. Arlice scanned the man's eyes for any sign of nervousness, a clear indication of a cheater. When the gambler's hazel eyes failed to stray even in the slightest from their steady gaze, he decided the man was either an honest dice player or an excellent cheater.
The man tossed the dice with a precision flick of his wrist, something like a viper striking an enemy too close to its home. The dice rolled over a countless number of times and came to rest, the first dice displaying a one, and the second a three. Arlice considered, a four meant he would have to get a sum of two or eight to win the hand, or greater than eight to send the play into another round. Anything else and he would lose his bet. Arlice loved to throw dice, and Seaman's Poker was his undisputed favorite dice-tossing game. It was the hardest game to cheat at that he had ever witnessed, so he made sure to play it when he was among gamblers with whom he was not well acquainted. Arlice scooped up the dice in his right hand and, offering up a prayer to Lucianna, goddess of luck, he let loose the dice. They tumbled over and over, only to come to rest at a total of nine. This game had taken longer than anticipated, and already Arlice was becoming antsy to be finished with this strange-looking fellow who now swept up the dice in preparation for his next turn.
Just as Arlice was about to request that the game be ended, the three rangers stood, in perfect unison, and steadily made their way toward him. Arlice instinctively stood and fingered his rapier, for although he was not well acquainted with the weapon, its mere presence had ended many quarrels before words had turned to violence. With these men, however, Arlice was of the impression that this would not be the case. Even still, should they be hostile, the thought of flailing about violently with the sword and having some small chance of survival comforted him, even if only slightly.
He clung to the hope that they were merely going to ask to join the game, but as they approached him, Arlice saw the stern look of battle- hardened men was not softened by their prospects for the future, whatever those may have been. Just as he was about to draw his sword, one of the two older men raised his hand and, together, the three men halted about five paces in front of Arlice. They did not speak at first, and Arlice wondered if perhaps he should begin the conversation. Then the silence was ended as the younger ranger slammed a dagger into the table next to him. He was broader of shoulder than the other two, and his hair was a strange mahogany color. With hair shoulder length, he looked a man to be more than moderately appealing to the average bar wench. The sound of the dagger had enveloped the entire common room of the small building in complete silence. All eyes were upon the youngest ranger who now took three generous strides to stand mere inches from Arlice's nose. "You are to come with us, by mandate of your king. If you resist, you are to be handled in any manner necessary, so I suggest you cooperate to the fullest of your abilities." The ranger flashed his mandate warrant, and Arlice wondered why the three had waited so long to approach him, but more over he was concerned for his safety. What could the king possibly want with him? His mind raced with the possibilities, and before he could force the butterflies from their churning dance within his stomach, the other of the two eldest men came and, along with the youngest, sternly took Arlice by the underarms. They half dragged, half carried him out of the inn, where the bright sun greeted him devilishly. This day had not turned out as he had planned, not in the least. All of these events had seemingly led him here, to the bed in which he now occupied. Drowsily, the young man stood from the surprisingly comfortable bed and set off to assess his surroundings. Through the window, Arlice observed a beautiful garden, it's brightness almost outshining the sun and its nine lesser suns. Those lesser suns often caused problems for Arlice. Sometimes he would look up and a dull throb would enshroud his mind; once he had even lost control of himself and ended up in a jail cell, oblivious to the actions that had led him there. That, however, was thought for another time. Now, he needed to find a way out of the room he occupied. As he neared the door to test the handle, the hinges abruptly creaked with the door's inward swinging motion. A large, burly man, dressed in highly polished armor and a fine tunic of scarlet stood at the door, accompanied by a keep boy. The young page, about thirteen from the look of him, made it clear that Arlice was to follow him. With a calculating glance at the large guard, Arlice deemed it best to follow the boy. After rounding several corridors and winding their way through a seemingly endless mass of interconnecting hallways, they arrived at a large, gaudy double-door. The dark cherry-stained wood of the door was almost outshone by the intricate carvings of great scholars and teachers. Woven among them were detailed vines, all seeming to stem from one point at the center of each of the double-doors. The small page motioned that Arlice should wait at the door until such time as he received bidding from whoever resided within. After several minutes of waiting, the doors swung open, somewhat furiously, as two men - nobles from the look of their dress - stormed out of the room indignantly. The guard nodded his head and Arlice timidly entered the room. The room was very large, and more beautiful than any he had ever witnessed. Velvet tapestries, hanging from the ceiling, lined the walls, their gold trimmings sparkling in the sunlight, which was allowed access through a wall of windows, opposite the double-doors. The walls themselves were constructed of granite and along the bottom they were lined with a cherry- colored wood, much like the large door the guard was now closing. In all his awe over the beauty of the room, Arlice failed to notice the man seated at the large desk toward the back of the room. The man eyed him calmly, his posture perfect as he sat a large wooden chair, likely constructed of oak. The desk at which he was seated was laden with parchment and all the necessary tools with which to construct letters. Arlice suspected the man would not be overly subject to formalities, judging by the manner in which the paper and utensils were strewn about the desk, with no care for organization. "Come, have a seat," was all he said, returning his attention to the unruly stack of papers. Arlice hesitated a moment then made his way to one of the chairs on either side of the desk. As he pulled the chair around, he noticed it was very squat, as if sized for some hefty halfling. He gave the quiet man a sidelong glance and proceeded to sit down. Immediately he realized why the chair was so short. As he looked to the face of the man behind the desk, he felt as though he were looking up at some huge monstrosity. The feeling of meekness did not sit well with Arlice, though he supposed he had little choice in the matter. After ten or fifteen minutes, Arlice's mind wandering, he was suddenly awakened from his revelry by the sound of a throat being cleared. He blinked and shot his gaze to the man before him. Feeling somewhat foolish for having been so startled, Arlice felt the heat rise in his cheeks and fought back the sudden surge of embarrassment. The man smiled reassuringly, a dimple on the left side of his face showing clearly. "I should think that you are quite confused at this point." The man stood, still smiling, if only slightly, and motioned that Arlice should do the same. He stood and followed the man toward the door. "I am called Sully. I receive all letters incoming to the king and respond to the less demanding ones." Sully held open the double-doors for Arlice, and they exited the room. "I was told by a very well-trusted informant, that you may be a thing of interest, not just to this kingdom, but to the entire continent of Kindsdor." At this, Arlice began to chuckle. Sully, with a concerned look on his face, eyed Arlice, trying to understand his thought patterns. "Me? A danger to the kingdom? Why, that's utterly preposterous!" At this, the chuckle developed into a full-fledged laugh. Sully worriedly make a quick search of the hallway with his eyes, to see if any witnessed the strange outburst, then said in hushed tones, "This is no laughing matter, if you value your head, I suggest you cease this fanatical disposition and compose yourself, immediately." Arlice did as he was told, the laughter ceasing and the corners of his mouth slowly receding, his mouth coming to rest in a slight frown. Suddenly, awareness dawned on him. This man was completely serious; someone truly thought him a danger. Though he knew himself to be nothing more than cleaning boy at one of the local inns as well as a small-time swindler, there were those who would have him hanged at the very thought of his being a threat to the kingdom. Arlice allowed himself an unhindered gulp and followed Sully down the hallway.