Meeting of the Ministers

Manor at the edge of Xidorville

April 13, 1290.

Minister Orangeflower, stunned by the news, sat up so suddenly that his chair toppled over backwards.  “The Indomitable, here in Xidorville? That renowned assassin who roams the underworld, slitting the throats of illustrious merchants and criminals such as Greko the Pirate? That Indomitable?"

"Yes, that Indomitable, he should be here shortly." Cherryblossom pointed to mansion’s door, the silver stained glass part featured the image of a golden mole. "The prince has already met him many times for his lowly duties and made him a proposal which he accepted. , It’s even said that they are excellent friends."

 The Indomitable opened the door and entered the room with a muffled step.

The aristocrats looked at him in amazement. A black bandage covered his eye, highlighting his other gray eye. His face was as young as an adolescent arbolarbre; he looked between 15 and 35 years old. The assassin hid his body under a long black hooded suit with deep pockets.

He approached the aristocrats, then bowed to them. "At your service."

Minister Cherryblossom placed his cross on the table.

He informed the Indomitable. "King Xidor Cèdre enters and leaves his palace twice a day.  Once early in the morning to inspect the barracks, just to make sure his generals are keeping an eye out. Then, once at noon to go to the farm outside the city where he chooses a pig for his daily meal.

The minister slid a large purse across the table in front of everyone. The Indomitable looked at it greedily.

"Kill him when he travels between these two places. This purse will be your reward."

Minister Cherryblossom abruptly picked up his purse, a gesture that Indomitable followed without taking his eyes off it. "Okay, it's already 11:00. Give me a horse." Said the assasin.

Minister Cherryblossom got up and headed for the stables; the Indomitable followed him closely. The assassin took the opportunity to examine the manor’s layout with his eyes, its shadowy areas, its blind spots, its entry and exit points.

Minister Cherryblossom didn't even notice; the assassin had never stopped during this short trip and had followed him outside without any problem.

 Under a bright sun, The aristocrat led the Indomitable to to a stable next to the manor house.  He entered the stable and stopped in front of a stall with a horse as black as ebony. The horse shone brightly under the sunrays, confering him a royal appareance.  The minister opened the stall and grabbed the horse by the bridle.

"A thoroughbred," exclaimed the Indomitable, in admiration.

"His name is Etalone. He belongs to my family since many years." replied Minister Cherryblossom, a proud smile spreading across his face.

"What a beautiful animal." said the Indomitable as he pulled himself up on the

horse.

"Take good care of it," said Cherryblossom just before the Indomitable galloped off in the direction of Xidor's farm, located on the edge of town.

The Indomitable made a final comment without turning around. "I promise."

Then he disappeared, crossing the vast forest plains that surrounded the capital.

Arriving halfway near a small dirt road, he got off his horse and left him alone in the middle of the road.

"Don't worry, I won't be far" said the Indomitable to the horse.

The assassin hid himself into the blueberry and raspberry bushes that ran along the road.  A delicious fruity smell penetrated his nostrils. There he waited for Xidor.

A few moments passed. A caravan pulled by two horses stopped in front of Etalone. A treeman of about fifty years got out. "Coachman, this is a beautiful horse.  He’d look great in my herd or under my tooth.”

The Indomitable stealthily approached as the man walked toward the horse. The assassin slipped his dagger under his neck, but Bang! He received a blow to the back of the head and fell unconscious.

A treeman with green eyes and hair as sharp as a cactus tied him up and threw him unceremoniously into the back of the caravan. The caravan left and headed for a log house located in a forest outside Xidorville.

The man with the cactus hair took the Indomitable inside.

The Indomitable came to his senses. His hands were tied to a chair in a small room of 500 square meters with red walls littered with tools of torture. An empty chair lay before him.

The Indomitable felt a presence behind him and struggled in his chair,  trying to tear off his bonds. "Who are you, why this?"

Karel snapped the steel clamps he held in his hands. "Hush, I ask the questions, Indomitable. Who hired you? Certainly a man who only shines by his wealth. Minister Cherryblossom?"

The Indomitable said nothing, trying to turn his head to look at who had kidnapped him.

The torturer sat in the unoccupied chair in front of him. "You’ve attempted to assassinate King Xidor. You will perish here unless you tell us the name of your employer and promise to eliminate him. Become our man, work for us."

Who is this man? I've seen him somewhere before...

The Indomitable leaned forward, his lips parting slightly. "My services are very expensive."

No more expensive than Admiral Seaweed's, Karel thought.

 Karel pulled out a sheet of paper and a quill. "Money? Wife? Fame? You'll get everything you want."

The Indomitable replied without displaying any emotion. “Twenty thousand floraux and a castle on the edge of Xidorville."

Xidor's henchman scribbled the Indomitable's requests on the sheet of paper so he wouldn't forget."All right. Now tell me who sent you."

"Minister Cherryblossom along with other aristocrats and ministers. They planned together to assassinate the king." lied the Indomitable.

The henchman smiled broadly, satisfied with the news. "Just as I thought, the Prime Minister himself bites the hand that feeds him. Free him from the cares and pains of everyday life... then bring us his body. Even dead, Alder will know how to interrogate him."

"The dagger will be generous."

The torturer slipped a small purse into the Indomitable's pockets. "Glad to hear it. I'll give you half the sum in advance to seal our deal."

Finally, a deal worth having....

The cactus-haired man released the hitman.

They left the little house.

Xidor and the caravan had disappeared, leaving two horses to serve as mounts. The two men set off for the farm.

They passed many animals, the Indomitable marveling at nature’s beauty while the cactus-haired man licked his lips.

The journey continued for a few hours until they arrived at an imposing estate of several hundred acres.

Dozens of wild boars were grazing in the tall grass, devouring the wheat and oats.

A tree man in his fifties with green leafy hair filled with tree cones came to greet them. "Hello, Karel, you brought us a visitor."

Karel bowed, and said in a sincere voice. "My king, this man is the assassin who put his dagger on your neck. Forgive him his insolence; he revealed to me the name of his employer:Minister Cherryblossom and the other ministers.”

“But?” half questionned Xidor.

“But now the Indomitable works for us." Replied Karel.

King Xidor stared at Karel, trying to discover if he was hiding something from him; if he was telling the truth. "How much did you pay him? Only two things make a man obey, fear and money. And the Indomitable is a man who does not tremble before death, but announces its arrival..."

The Indomitable stared at him, muted as a grave,  his face impassive.

Xidor shook like a leaf and reflexively put a hand on his throat to protect himself, breathing rapidly.

It was close, yesterday. His dagger was stone cold, just like his eyes.

Karel answered Xidor's question, laughing in his beard; Xidor was such a coward.

"10,000 floraux for now, but he'll get the other 10,000 when the work is completed."

Xidor did his best to hide the anguish that oozed from his bark. He held his breath and forced himself to smile.  "Excellent. When will you execute your contract? I'll give you carte blanche as long as it can't be traced back to me."

The Indomitable broke the silence and smiled happily, an expression that his eyes belied as they showed deep pain... " Tomorrow evening; I need to shop around. First, give me Etalone. Animals deserve to be treated well, never forget that."

Xidor guided him to a paddock outside. The horse was grazing freely in the meadow.

"The horse is yours."

The Indomitable made a final bow to Xidor and climbed onto horseback; he galloped off to the capital’s gates. He dismounted the horse once arrived and handed him an apple to reward him for his efforts.

The horse devoured it greedily.

I won't let Xidor hurt you, thought the assassin, looking tenderly at the animal.

The Indomitable went to capital’s market once the horse was full and well rested. He held Etalone by the bridle, this one trotting quietly.

 Several kiosks had been set up in the street. Arranged clothes, cutlery and food laid on the tables. The assassin noticed a parentless child near one of them. The orphan dressed in modest clothes was selling some goods spread out on a small table of rough wood.

Another orphan.... Why are you doing this to us, you bitch of a life?

You too are forced to sell the last possessions of your family....

The Indomitable approached the orphan with a heavy heart. He greeted him and smiled. The assassin's smile warmed the orphan’s heart whose sad face lit up.

"That's a nice outfit you have there" he said pointing to a long hooded coat and deep pocketed pants.

"Thank you, it belonged to my father" replied the orphan with the innocence of a child.

"I'll buy it with the two mime masks.” He said, pointing to the creamy white masks.

The youngster glanced at the ground. "The two masks?  They are already reserved for a customer..."

The Indomitable approached the toddler and asked. "What did this customer look like?"

"It was an old man with a cane, he was accompanied by two masked men."

"Did he threaten you?" worried the Indomitable.

The toddler's voice shaked. "Yes. He said he would cut off my finger if I sold those masks to anyone else."

The Indomitable reached into his purse and pulled out a large handful of coins. He gently slipped them into the Arbolarbre toddler’s hands; his green leafy hair hadn't even finished growing... " No one will hurt you... Take this money and run away to St.Cèdre. Ask to speak to Prince Atord, say Treeblade sent you."

The toddler's cheeks flushed, the brown bark taking on a red-brown appearance. "Thank you..." he replied, his voice breaking.

The Indomitable put a hand on his shoulder in a fatherly gesture. "If anyone wants to hurt you, they'll have to deal with me.

The child was moved. He raised his head and stammered these words. "Treeblade..."

The Indomitable removed his hand from the orphan's shoulder and waved goodbye... " Yes, remember it and remember my name.”

The assassin went to a remote alley  while the toddler prepared to leave the city. He discretely put on the clothes and the mask.

Anyone who knew the Indomitable by reputation would have been amazed at the humanity of the assassin who was also known as "The Grave". But he had to keep his reputation as a bloodthirsty assassin intact to protect himself. That's why he hid his face permanently either under a long hood, or under a mask, or under both.

He then went to a blacksmith shop to buy the tools needed for his work. "Hello, dear customer, what can I do for you?" said the  blacksmith as he greeted the Indomitable.

"Three horseshoes and a dagger shaped like a horseshoe. Blade hidden inside."

The blacksmith looked him over from head to toe, trying to guess his identity. "In whose name?"

"Mimar, the third mask.”

The blacksmith hid a faint smile at the mention of the made-up name. "Mimar... come back to see me in two hours."

Then the Indomitable cavorted through Xidorville’s streets, toward the dilapitated houses neighborhoo. He tied Etalone outside and entered a house.

A tree man stood behind a counter. Sausages and hams hung from the ceiling. Most butchers worked in the shadows before Xidor’s speech, buying pigs on the black market and catering to a clientele of bandits, pirates and smugglers.

The assassin approached the counter. "Butcher, two bags of artificial sap."

The butcher looked at him curiously. "And who will this artificial sap be for?"

"Mimar, the third mask."

The butcher gave two bags of artificial sap to the killer. He hid them in his hooded suit.  He left the butcher's shop, walked through the streets and found a beggar. He greeted him, holding a mime mask in his other hand.

"Wear this mask and parade through the streets everyday saying "José is dead." I’ll give you 40 floraux a day."

The assassin handed him the mask and a light purse containing a few gold coins.

The beggar hugged the Indomitable. "Thank you, you’re a saint. No one ever talks to me, but you treat me like a friend.

The Indomitable patted him on the shoulder. "I trust you.”

The Indomitable left the beggar, who put on the mask and began to wander the streets proclaiming loudly "José is dead”

The Indomitable returned to the smithy, collecting his dagger.

As he left the smithy, the sun had begun to recede behind the clouds.

The killer hid in a little-frequented alley and checked on each side; there was no one there. Reassured, he removed his hooded suit, grabbed the sap pockets and sprayed his shirt. He put his hooded suit back on and turned left onto a cobblestone street that led to a large white-walled mansion.

He slipped his mask between his shirt and his chest, hiding it against his skin.

The killer walked through the courtyard filled with ancient trees. He knocked when he reached the door.

An elderly tree-man came to open the door. "Indomitable, how nice to see you again."

"I killed Xidor Cèdre, I bring you a gift to celebrate."

The guest showed four horseshoes to his interlocutor.

Minister Cherryblossom put a small piece of wood under the door, to prevent it from closing. . "Very pleasant, come in. I'll go relieve myself."

Cherryblossom disappeared leaving the Indomitable alone.

The Indomitable stepped through the doorway into a large room with a table; many tree men were sitting discussing politics. "Come and sit down." Said an aristocrat dressed in a straw hat.

"No, I'd rather go to the stables. Tell Minister Cherryblossom to meet me there."

The Indomitable disappeared outside. Several minutes passed.

Worried about Minister Cherryblossom's prolonged absence, one of the aristocrats went to the bathroom door. He knocked a few times.

No answer.

"Minister Cherryblossom? May I come in?" No answer.

The tree man entered. The room had a toilet and a bath with a curtain  in front of a window. The Arbolarbre with the straw hat pulled the curtain.

Minister Cherryblossom lay inert in the bath with his throat cut. He held a quill bathed in ink and a creamy white mime mask covered his face."

The tre-man let out a shrill cry and went to inform the others.

Who had killed Minister Cherryblossom?