“Dun dun dun!” Alsani said, interrupting the Cardinal. Everyone looked at him perturbed while the Cardinal muttered something about rudeness. “What do y’all suddenly like Durazzo now? We should celebrate the assassination.”
“Well,” started Jan
“Don’t,” warned Wenzel.
“But that’s great!” said Sigismund. “That means we’ll go back to a welcoming Hungary. Let’s go-”
“I am nearly only at the halfway mark of my story.”
“What? What else could’ve happened?”
“When Bishop Horvat got back to Croatia, he must’ve told his brother, Ban Ivan Horvat about the assassination. But nothing came of it yet…”
The next few days, the civilians would not know of the assassination of their new king as the Horvats wanted to be careful about the stability of the Kingdom. But Ivan would have arguments with Acuto about his contract with Durazzo and against each other’s personalities. Eventually, Signore Bernarbo Visconti, the ruler of Milan was called in and since he sided with Horvat. So Acuto would lose several estates in Milan. Karmically, Bernarbo would be killed by his nephew, Gian Galeazzo Visconti, at the end of the year. For now, Sir John Acuto “Hawkwood” left this party to work for Florence. Italy’s greatest terrorist leaves cooly. The Durazzo League of Croats would agree that Ladislao, the 7 year old son of Carlo, to be the next inheritor of Hungary over Maria. But he was still in Durres. The 7 knights would remain to support him.
“Well, we have to go visit. None of my contacts are making contact back to me,” Dowager Queen Elizabta said.
“Same for me, the Horvats may be killing them. We’ve not even heard regular news from Croatia,” Palatine Garai said.
They were walking down the hallway at a brisk pace. She replied, “basically we have our own rebellious Mazovia.”
“Queen, should we also continue to keep this quiet? The Cardinal feels we are damning ourselves.”
“And yet Jesus will still save us. It will be late news but we’ll announce it soon. It’s not like the nobles would respond to another Diet summon so soon after the last one.”
“I guess so. I’ll be back from Croatia sooon-”
“No? Why bring your army? It just needs to be an inspection. We can go with ourselves. Bring the kids too.”
“Truly? Is that the best?”
“And we’ll go in a peasant’s wagon, disguised like a Trojan Horse. And we don’t have to talk to anyone but just see the scene. Maria should at least watch it.”
“I see. I’ll do this for you.”
“Aw,” she hugged him tightly and he responded in kind. “You have been very nice Miklos, a very nice friend.”
So they bought a shabby looking carriage in Pest and then left for Croatia. Before leaving, Elizabeta left Hedwig in the care of the Cardinal, just in case. They dressed as plague doctors. Maria met Miklos jr and Janos, the children of Garai. Miklos was 16 years old, same as Sigismund, and Janos was 13, the same as Maria ironically.
“A girl, be nonchalant,” Janos told his elder brother. They were both fidgeting with their hands. Junior had a sharp smile and sandy brown hair in a mop. His brother’s was the same except brighter.
“Hello.”
The Princess said HELLO! They simply opened their mouths and hands as if they were talking but they weren’t. Maria narrowed her eyes thinking, weirdos.
As of now, the Cardinal did not know who assassinated Durazzo as Elizabeta lied about it. He was told Elizabeta was going to try to be diplomatic with Croatia about the issue. The Cardinal said, “Be very careful you two. I don’t know why you have to go yourself. This is such an infernal plan.”
“What do you mean when you say something like that? You’re supposed to bless us,” Elizabeta said.
“I am between every breath. Elizabeta, you never asked what I found when I contemplated with God.”
“I was never ever interested. Did you want to tell me right now for some reason?”
“It is in favor of Sigismund-”
“I don’t want to hear anything else. I will still leave in my good mood.”
“Bye Maria! Bye mommy! Bye Garais,” Hedwig screamed.
“Oh honey, please always keep your cheery spirit,” Elizabeta commanded. The girl nodded wildly tossing her hair everywhere.
“Mask up, let’s go,” said Garai.
So they went walking as creepy as plague doctors do. Then they met their carriage in town and left for Zagreb. The Palatine commanded the driver to follow the Danube south as they would enter Croatia via Gorjani, his hometown that he rules over aside from being Palatine. There was a small market there. It should be safest here as he forewarned his troops to be on guard. Then they ventured west toward Zagreb. Outside of Gorjani, there were thick woods on either side of the road. Suddenly, 9 horsemen jumped out, each blasting the carriage with Flammo from every angle, completely obliterating it. But the Palatine burst from the flames carrying his family and the girls. The driver was indeed incinerated. In town, the Garai troops spotted rising smoke and rushed over although they were on foot. The Palatine threw his group behind him and took a protective stance against the attackers. His costume was mostly burned up and he threw off the mask. “Nemesis! How did you know we were here?”
Standing before him were the 7 Knights of the Ship, Ban Horvat, and Ban Palizna. Palizna said, “because I am Ban of Croatia.”
“All it takes is a few double agents to be placed in your army, Palatine,” said Horvat. “To be more accurate.”
“Don’t correct me. What I said was cooler,” Palizna stated.
“Stop arguing, we are here to kill them,” said Loys.
Marzano noted, “how honorable. He was able to armor the others although not himself.”
“Father, thank you. Let’s fight,” said Junior standing to his right while Janos stood to his left.
“Begone,” commanded Bozzuto. Montalto and Tomacelli fired Malleo at the sons, blasting them far off in the distance.
The Palatine’s face fell and his eyes widened.
“Don’t look so nervous,” said Bozzuto, quickly swinging his sword across the Palatine’s chest. The Palatine fell to the ground.
Maria looked stressed but held back her screams. Elizabeta equipped her wand and fired Congelo at Palizna. The man easily blocked it with Protego saying, “your mana wouldn’t even be enough to freeze me.”
“So let me,” she fired a Lucem followed by Flammo.
Protogiudice noticed the trick and blocked the first spell while Palizna blocked the second.
The Palatine rose equipping a glaive and commanded, “Queen, Princess, run away! Do not even turn back to distract them! I have this.”
“Miklos…”
“GO!”
Marzano, “go ahead and honor his bravery, ladies!”
“What the hell man?” asked Horvat.
Elizabeta teared but blasted Malleo at the ground, blasting herself and Maria in the air. Maria activated Levo for them.
“And what’re we ought to do here, Palatin-”
Miklos slashed through all of their horses in one quick motion. They missed out on his drinking of a speed potion. He then ran past the tree line and fired Lucem at them to blind them. They chased on foot through the thick woods. Roots were growing everywhere along with bunnies and deer running alongside them as if interested in the battle. Soon, Garai’s troops followed into the forest and they attacked the villains from behind. Now Garai turned around, killing Protogiudice in one cleave. Guindazzo reached him and blasted him with a point-blank Flammo. The Palatine ignited but then simply turned around and cut off the man’s hands. Then he slashed up against his chest and stabbed through Guindazzo’s neck with his glaive poking into the tree. Suddenly, Palizna came flying, kicking Garai into a clearing. He landed next to the Palatine. The rest of the troops kept pressure on Horvat and the others.
Miklos splashed himself and then laid there for a moment. Palizna said, “you’ll need another potion or something”. He took off his red robe and removed his chestplate showing last year’s wound under some bandages. “The Voivode may truly be the strongest man in Hungary for making me suffer like this.” Then he equipped a halberd and took a fighting stance. “But you are levels below me!”
Miklos finally rose and called upon his glaive. He took his own fighting stance saying, “you know nothing of your former neighbor.”
The two slowly inched closer and closer, keeping their feet wide, until they touched tips. Then they hesitated heavily before suddenly swinging in a loud clash. The spears clashed back and forth as they danced across the clearing. Some of the animals stopped running away to look on. They seemed equally matched until Palizna scored a lucky shot at the back of Miklos’ ankle. The Palatine stumbled and Palizna turned back around to chop him like a tree. Miklos stood his glaive straight up blocking this and then rolled back. Quickly, Palizna flanked into his blindspot and then swung again successfully, chopping off his head. Junior saw this in the bushes and nearly screamed if he didn’t cover his mouth. The Palatine’s body collapsed and all of his weapons, potions, money, and grimoire suddenly spawned next to him. Palizna quickly flipped through the pages of the grimoire but it turned to ash and dust within the minute. “Nothing good anyway,” and he looted the rest of Miklos’ things. He left only the glaive, quickly burying it with Miklos. Then he reapplied his bandages, armor, and robe and joined the others in fighting the Gorjani troops.
That was the death of Palatine Miklos Garai! Junior quickly unburied the body to cry over his dead body…his father. Later, he retrieved the glaive.
The 300 men guarding this village would be harshly defeated by these 7 warriors. The difference between those who could use magic and those stuck with rudimentary tools. As they recollected in the road, King Tvrtko approached them on his own horse. He was holding a sleeping Maria and Elizabeta in each arm. They were induced by a sleeping potion he transformed into smoke. “Boys! I captured who you were comfortable with letting go.”
“We just got distracted by a whole army,” said Montalto.
“Why didn’t you kill them?” asked Loys.
“Do we have to?” he replied.
“What did we come here to do?” asked Palizna. “To clear the throne.”
Then Horvat spoke up, “this may actually be good. Basically, only us here and them two know about Carlo’s assassination. If they suddenly die as well, the civilians will feel too uneasy. We hold them hostage for some time and then bring Ladislao here. Then a trial can be had, killing them.”
“As long as they die,” Palizna said. “Maria will try to seize governmental power like her father and us nobles can’t have that.”
“I agree,” said Tvrtko somberly. “Now go procure horses from the village, none of you are riding with me!” And they all cackled. The group would return to Zagreb and among the Croatian nobles there, they had a private trial condemning Elizabeta to death. The Croatian judge also forced Elizabeta to send a letter to Orleans, the annul the proposal which Frankopan had just received. Otherwise, Horvat’s party was still killing messenger pigeons leaving Hungary.
tdwriter 