Chapter 406: A night cleansing.

The whispers had been eating away in the city all day. Word of the poisoning traveled like mice from one house to another. Nobody dared to say it out loud, but it was all everyone wanted to know about. Some nobles tried to access the royal castle for information, but it was sealed off tightly, no one in or out.

At night, the city gates were closed, the bells did not ring. In silence, a cleansing began. Cloaked figures, dashed through alleys or soared through the skies on broom sticks, spreading containment runes.

The hidden mages inside the city that felt the magic did not dare to come out of their houses or rooms. Unless they were forced out of hiding, they would not show their faces.

In the north of the city stood the house that housed the headquarters of the Horse keepers. Their daring attempt to harm the Empress with poison had brought consequences. Not only had it failed but Sir Gerrin had given up all the information he knew about the secret society.

The investigation had been quiet and swift. Unexpected help had come from King Raff who was very agitated to hear that they had dared to extend their claws to the royal family. Roland’s reign had only begun, this was seen as a challenge to his authority.

King Raff had always known where the real headquarters were. He had also always known that the society was the child of house Benwick. He did not know who took over after Lord Benwick’s death.

At 3:00 a.m., mages dropped from the sky, six dozen of them lined in formation and carrying potions and powders and wands. They spelled or poisoned the knights that guarded the manor and then blocked off every exit. Without a single sound being made, they entered the premises to begin the hunt for the Horse keepers.

Within the manor, forty nine knights sat around a round table in uneasy silence. The whispers of their failure and compromise had reached their ears and they had gathered to discuss how to proceed. Accusations and tempers had long flared. Blame had been assigned. Now, they were in need of solutions.

was

serving the Emperor and Empress entered, wearing cloaks that had sigils of the royal house. The Lord mage was the leader,

all to

his hand and waved his wand, casting a spell. The swords turned into candy and the knights

Arrests began.

in the heart. Dead or alive, they were all put in handcuffs and taken out

book shelf. Inside was the holy grail of information. Scrolls with names of all their clients, encrypted in two

The hunt widened.

keepers were arrested and they were many. Nobles, exiled royals, merchants, scholars, doctors, teachers, mistresses, dwarfs,

of crimes was extensive. From nobles poisoning each other’s children to get out of marriage pacts to exiled royals seeking to harm kings and queens. Secondary wives looking to become main wives, maids

arrests were made and prison cells filled up. By midday, ninety three arrests had been made, lawyers had been called and the empire trembled under the weight of what it learned: that its protectors, the knights themselves had sold their services for a fee. If the knights had lose virtues, could they be trusted? Their only saving grace was the

up on the railing. The wind was rustling through her hair which was running free. She had a smile on her face. This cleansing had allowed her to get rid off all the servants in the royal castle

encrypted scroll which had details of where the Horse Keepers kept their ill

with a smile. "I thought she was simply not worth remembering but

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