The Crown Conspiracy полностью

“But, it was mentioned a few times in a scroll and once in a parchment. On the parchment, however, the name Esrahaddon was altered to prisoner and Gutaria was listed as Imperial Prison.”

“Maribor’s beard!” Hadrian exclaimed looking at the monk in awe. “You really did memorize the whole library, didn’t you?”

“Why Imperial Prison?” Royce asked. “Arista said it was an ecclesiastical prison.”

Myron shrugged. “I supposed because in imperial times the Church of Nyphron and the Empire were linked. Nyphron is the ancient term for Emperor derived from the name of the first Emperor, Novron. So, the Church of Nyphron is the worshipers of the Emperor and anything associated with the Empire could also be considered part of the Church.”

“That’s why members of the Nyphron Church are so intent on finding the heir,” Royce added. “He would be their god, so to speak, and not merely a political leader.”

“There were several very interesting books on the heir to the Empire,” Myron said excitedly, “and speculation as to what happened to him—”

“What about the prison?” Royce asked.

“Well, that is a subject which isn’t mentioned much at all. The only direct reference was in a very rare scroll called The Accumulated Letters of Dioylion. The original copy came here one night about twenty years ago. I was only fifteen at the time, but I was already the library assistant when a priest, wounded and near death, brought it. It was raining then, much as it is now. They took him to the healing rooms and told me to watch after his things. I took his satchel, which was soaked, and inside I found all sorts of scrolls. I was afraid the water might damage them so I opened them up to dry. While they lay open, I couldn’t resist reading them. I usually can’t resist reading anything.

“Although he didn’t look much better two days later, the priest left and took his scrolls. No one could convince him to stay. He seemed frightened. The scrolls themselves were several correspondences made by Archbishop Venlin, the head of the Nyphron Church at the time of the breaking of the Empire. One of them was a post-imperial edict for the construction of the prison, which is why I thought the document was so important historically. It revealed the Church exercised governmental control immediately following the disappearance of the Emperor. I found it quite fascinating. It was also curious that the building of a prison had such high priority, considering the turmoil of that period. I now realize it was a very rare scroll, but of course, I didn’t know that back then.”

“Wait a minute,” Alric interrupted, “so this prison was built what—nine hundred years ago and exists in my kingdom and I don’t know anything about it?”

“Well, based on the date of the scroll, it would have been started—nine hundred and ninety-six years, two hundred and fifty-four days ago. The prison was a massive undertaking. One letter in particular spoke of recruiting skilled artisans from around the world to design and build it. The greatest minds and the most advanced engineering went into its creation. They carved the prison out of solid rock from the face of the mountains just north of the lake. They sealed it not only with metal, stone, and wood, but also with ancient and powerful enchantments. In the end, when it was finished, it was believed to be the most secure prison in the world.”

“They must have had some really nasty criminals back then to go to so much trouble,” Hadrian said.

“No,” Myron replied matter-of-factly, “just one.”

“One?” Alric asked. “An entire prison designed to hold just one man?”

“His name was Esrahaddon.”

Hadrian, Royce and Alric shared looks of surprise.

“What in the world did he do?” Hadrian asked.

“According to everything I read, he was responsible for the destruction of the Empire. The prison was specifically designed to hold him.”

They looked incredulously at the monk.

“And exactly how is he responsible for wiping out the most powerful Empire the world has ever known?” Alric asked.

“Esrahaddon was once a trusted advisor to the Emperor, but he betrayed him, killing the entire imperial family, except of course the one son who managed to miraculously escape; there are even stories that he destroyed the capital city of Percepliquis. The Empire fell into chaos and civil war after the Emperor’s death. Esrahaddon was captured, tried, and imprisoned.”

“Why not just execute him?” Alric asked, generating icy glares from the thieves.

“Is execution your answer to every problem?” Royce sneered.

“Sometimes it is the best solution,” Alric replied.

Myron retrieved the pots from outside and combined the water into one. He added the potatoes and placed the pot over the fire to cook.

“Then Arista has sent us to bring her brother to see a prisoner who is over a thousand years old. Does anyone else see a problem with that?” Hadrian asked.