At dawn's first light, every man, woman, and child in Leoria's castle felt an innate pull to gather themselves in the council room.
When all were gathered, without warning the two opposite doors shut themselves, and a blue orb filled with a light mist manifested before them. Out of the orb came the voice of King Zaden III:
"I would welcome you all here, but the circumstances under which we gather are the worst I could have ever imagined. Among you, there are people who would seek to not only undermine my rule, but harm the citizens of Leoria. It is up to us to weed out this evil and protect our kingdom."
Murmurs of assent followed the king's statement, but the orb was not yet done:
"You have all been given names and appearances that will hide who you are, and in doing so, I hope that people's true intentions will be seen without the bias of history blinding the righteous. There are eight council members, myself, and two members of the Regal Guard who will take up the voting that will determine who is executed each night. You must all remain diligent, and sagacious. Trusting, but discerning. Unrelenting, but forgiving. As your king, I want this land to prosper, and its people to be happy. I fear that if we do not stop the usurpers, all hope for our people will be lost. We must fight, and we must win. Council be true!!"
Silenced followed the orb's evaporation, as those paying attention realized that there were thirteen people with their faces disfigured and wearing the blue robes that were supposed to signify them as members of the royal council; according to the king's orb, there should only have been eleven.
After a few moments, it was the head chef who whispered loudly;
"There are two who do not belong, and making it worse, their addition makes the council number thirteen: the forbidden number."
More whispers followed this statement, but the council members feared to say anything, lest in being the first to speak, they put either a target on themselves for the usurpers or cast doubt on themselves for the pending vote.
The castle's servants, no longer feeling the magical pull that led them to the council room, began leaving slowly, milling around, trying to consolidate rumors and combine theories, before returning to their duties.
When it was just the 13 supposed council members staring at each other nervously as a cold wind blew around the hems their robes, the Regal Guard entered the throne room and motioned for them to all be seated.
Without warning, a deep voice resounded from somewhere in the middle of the gathered guards:
"We were expecting there to be twelve of you, the council, the king, the guard members, and the demon. But we also know that the killer known as Rogue escaped the dungeons and was trapped here by our magic."
"You were expecting the demon?" A voice called out. Luckily, all eyes were on the Regal Guard and the shouter went unnoticed and managed not to blush as everyone searched for the culprit.
"The demon and his conjurers wish to take over the kingdom, what better way to do that than systematically remove the governing body of Leoria? They will still have to face the Regal Guard, but without the king, our power will be lessened. If King Zaden and Knight Jamisson die there is little hope for Leoria, if all the council dies, there is none. Remember this as you vote. Do not do so carelessly and without reason. There are nearly a million lives resting on each vote you cast. Take not this task lightly. You have been warned."
More silence.
"You may begin your deliberations, council"
With that, the Regal Guard filed out the room, and the doors closed ominously behind them, leaving the council, and the usurpers looking 'round the room and each other, wondering who would be the first to speak.
Topic: Mafia LV: Mage's Mystery Day One (Read 4889 times)
