141 The Earl (1/2)
Vernice held the neck of the flagon of wine and poured into his mouth. It was a full flagon as a mere bottle can't satisfy his cravings. He put down the flagon and wiped the smeared fluid with the back of his hand. A grunt followed.
He was shaking. It was not of cold nor of age. It was of fear. His earlier encounter with the old man shook his bones.
He must inform Timothy. He knew that he must. And yet his hand stalled, the quill was untouched and the paper remained blank.
He sighed. Not all men are brave, he reasoned. Not everyone had it in them to face the darkness. Even brave men cower when faced with the depths of the abyss. What he saw and what he witnessed were stuff of nightmares. It was a deep secret his ears shouldn't have heard.
Vernice hoped that the old man was just insane. Even if he was the insane one that would be better. Because if the old man was right- then a painful future awaits in the horizon.
”Does the two of you believe in ghosts, demons and monsters?” he asked the two squires who were standing idly near him. They were both young and fit- unlike him. One of them, from what he knew, was a talkative son of a mason. The other was the opposite of the mason's son though. He was shy, silent and would only talk if asked a question.
”I personally don't sire” one of the squires answered. It was the mason's son. He made a small bowing gesture before continuing ”The only ghost I believe in are those of the past and the only demons are those in a person's heart”
The other squire just smiled as if indicating that he was the same.
”So the two of you don't believe in those things huh? Well can't blame you. Young people nowadays think differently. But I do believe in them. They are real and I'm scared”
”Are they powerful sire?” The silent squire asked. Vernice was amused by his rare show of chattiness.
”They are” He said with a bitter smile on his face ”They are” he repeated a second time. It was almost a whisper but more weighty.
”Then how come most people haven't seen these peculiarities?”
”Because they hide”
”And why do they hide?”
Vernice opened his mouth but said nothing. Why are they hiding? The old man did say that they were orchestrating wars all around the globe to weaken humans. If they needed humans to be weak before making their move then that would mean they also acknowledge human strength.
”I don't know” Vernice gave a safe answer. He doesn't really know.
”I tell ya” the talkative squire said with a grin ”Nothing is worse than humans. I hope I didn't trample on your beliefs sire but my father once told me that the most fearsome enemy of a human is another human. We are addicted to power. We lie, we scheme, we take. Some would even kill their family...”
The squire stopped and looked at Vernice. His eyes started to quiver as he said something that he shouldn't.
If he was some other noble, the squire was as good as dead. But Vernice was not like that. He just smiled.
”Like me right? The Earl of Lards? Murderer of the my brother Vin”
The talkative squire was silent. He looked at Vernice with fear on his eyes.
”You didn't murder him sire” the laconic squire said.
”I didn't? But the entire city has been talking about how I stabbed my brother to inherit my current position”
”The entire city are full of blind ignorant men sire. They believe what they wanted to believe. At first I was like them. I believed the rumors too. My brother even warned me against taking the job of being your squire. But now my opinion of you is different. You are a little glutton and hard to please. Sometimes you stink and don't get me started with your lack of humor. But a murderer? No”
Vernice laughed as he just discovered why the Omniscient made this man laconic. If this squire was as talkative as the other one, he would have already been stabbed in a dark alley by men he insulted with his mouth.