And, with the intention of finding himself a small cozy room and drinking a goblet of wine, Derek Merkswerd also headed for the palace. But then Gerd – a warrior, master of several falcons, in charge of the correspondence between the king and the magician Andrada – was beside him.
– Your Majesty, my faithful Kit has brought you a letter," Gerd bowed to the king and handed him a small, tightly rolled sheet of yellow parchment, sealed with a blue seal bearing the image of a fox – Andrada's surname.
– Thank you," the king said briefly, and immediately broke the seal and ran a quick glance over his magician's beautiful manuscript.
Neither he nor Andrada had any fear that their letters would fall into the hands of their enemies and be used against them, because both of them wrote in a secret script, familiar only to the two of them. Derek's eyes slowly narrowed as he read the magician's short message.
– Gerd! Find me Bergil! – he quietly ordered the master of the falcons, and the latter, silently bowing, hurried inside the palace.
"God's grace that these demons cannot now read my thoughts! Otherwise, they would have triumphed… Something must be done, today. I will not hesitate and hope for a miracle," Derek thought to himself and tore the message into small pieces and swallowed it, drinking a sip of water from the flask tied to his belt.
Quickly entering the palace, Derek met Bergil walking back to the square and locked himself with him in one of the farthest wings.
– Keep your voice down," the king warned his friend as he closed the elegant but thin golden door behind him.
– Understood. – Bergil stepped up to Derek and fixed an expectant gaze on his face.
– Worse news than I was prepared for," he said quietly.
– What kind of news?
– Andrada wrote that we must destroy Flammehav and not accept peace if it is offered. But I've already given Lamar my word, and I can't go back on it. – Derek put his palm to his eyes tiredly. – The devil! Why have I been in such a hurry?
– Hey, hey, Your Majesty! Can I get you some wine to lift your spirits? – Bergil asked him kindly.
– Wine will not help, my friend!" the king laughed softly and took his palm away from his eyes. He was in no hurry to remove his blood-stained armor. – But the fact that I promised to give the demons peace is not the worst of it.
– Don't drag it out, Your Majesty! – Bergil grumbled unhappily.
– We can't leave Flammehav without those bastards taking revenge on us and invading Kaldwind with another war," Derek explained. – Andrada wrote that she was wrong in her calculations, which means that with her death the magic of the White Talisman will also die
– That's right! – Bergil scratched his beard thoughtfully. – Bad!
– Imagine what would be left of our kingdom and its inhabitants if the demons attacked us and were able to use their devilish magic?
– I don't want to think about that. What do we do, Derek? If you decide to slit the throats of all the demons, down to the last child, I'll be at the forefront," Bergil smirked. – But before you do, give us permission to have some fun, me and the others. Why protect those red-eyed whores? They'll do us some good.
– My friend, you are as bloodthirsty as a hungry wolf. But it won't happen. My conscience won't let me go against my word. You think I care about these demons? Alas, I rushed into it, and I've trampled myself into the mud! – Derek cursed like the last highwayman and stepped back to the large window. He stood there without moving for several minutes, thinking frantically. Finally, when Bergil was about to pull him back, Derek turned to his friend and said, "Bring Rossi here.
