has suffered an unexplainable malady.”

  “How so?” asked the prince.

  “Not everyone is dead. Those that remain are weak and are struck dumb with something I cannot define. They are awake and aware but there’s little behind their eyes. Something sinister and potent has set upon them.”

  “Where’s Siouxsie?” asked Morell.

  “I was getting to that.” Ignatius nodded. “We’ve found the king and his court. They are alive but each of them still lays firm in the clutches of this….sickness of the mind. Siouxsie is with him now in the keep. She’s managed to get him to take water from a cup so we’re confident that some part of his mind remains. The paths and corridors are otherwise empty, Hoxley. I believe it’s safe for the rest of you to join us in the throne room.”

  “Then that’s it.” She replied. “To the keep, move quickly everyone!” The party picked up the pace to follow Hoxley’s gallop. Through the marketplace they traveled, past the dead and afflicted who lay where they fell. It was as they passed a small cemetery that Loxo made a horrific discovery.

  “Look! Look there!” he pointed

  “What? The dug graves?” asked the prince.

  “No, the upturned ones!” Everyone looked to see that Loxo’s observation rang true. Hoxley stopped to take a closer look. The numerous graves were not merely holes that had been dug for internment, but upon closer inspection were disturbed plots that had been disturbed from the inside out. The tip of her spear pulled at the end of a funeral shroud covered in dried ichor and dirt. It had been scratched and torn open from the inside out like a morbid caterpillar’s chrysalis.

  “What in the name of goodness…” she gasped, letting the shroud fall before she stepped away. “Ignatius?”

  “Evil acts have taken place here. It’s best not to linger. Come on.” The companions hurried on to enter the castle and the keep within. It didn’t take long before Robert pushed open a huge door that gave way to the throne room. Lords, ladies, nobles, guards lay sprawled in every part of the room. They groaned and wailed the pained language of the unintelligible. The king lay on the floor, his crown and unmoving queen beside him.

  “Has anything changed?” Ignatius asked his sister.

  “No.” she said sadly. “I’ve managed to get him and the queen to take some water, but they speak only in grunts of pain. Something has stolen their vitality and reason.” The companions gathered close around her. “Many of the others are alive as well but I don’t think I have enough water.”

  “Then we’ll see what we can do.” Said Ignatius. “Spread out, everyone. Work in teams. Gather some of these cushions and pillows. Open your canteens, let us see if we can provide some comfort to these souls.” The others did as they were told and attempted to aid as many as they could. Hoxley and Ignatius were strong enough to handle one each, but the smaller members had to double up to move the fallen. Once Loxo closed the shutters to cover the room in darkness, the shadow girl emerged and was able to use her shadowy strength to aid the prince. Some of the lords were bigger in the waist size so Robert and Morell had to fight to get them sitting upright to take water. Once Robert had a man propped up against him in his lap, Morell tried to get the man to take a sip. The man’s eyes rolled in his head and he flailed dumbly, almost knocking the canteen from his grasp.

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  “Stop fighting me.” Said Morell. I’m trying to help you.”

  “Huuurrrrgguuunnnuurrrppphhhh.” The man gurgled and groaned “Shirrmmuunnaggreethh.”

  “He’s lost his head with madness.” Said Robert, wrapping his arms around the man to keep the arms from flailing again. “Has he been poisoned?”

  “No, I don’t think so.” Said Morell. “I’ve studied poisons of all kinds. This doesn’t seem similar to me.”

  “You study poisons?”

  “I’ve had to out of necessity. To understand which mushrooms and fungi one can eat, you have to understand which ones you can’t.”

  “That makes sense, Morell. You’re pretty smart.” Said Robert

  “I don’t know a lot about everything, but I know what I know. I mean, look at these people. The way they roll and groan, one would think that they’ve eaten Ogurnus Matacis.”

  “Is that lethal?” asked the witch.

  “It can be. If taken in small doses, it can make one sick, but in large doses it can induce a sickness similar to the brain fog of old people.”

  “Brain fog.” Said Robert. “I’ve never heard of that before. Is there a cure for brain fog?”

  “Very possible. A few of the fungi I collect have properties that can possibly boost intellect.”

  “Morell, if you discover what it is I know a certain prince that could benefit from a feast of intellect.”

  “A feast of intellect…” Morell said to himself, mulling the words over. “I wonder if such a thing could be true.”

  “None of us have the same knowledge of fungi as you. I don’t think we’ll know unless you’re the one to concoct such a remedy. Perhaps that’s your reason for being here.”

  “W-was that a compliment?” Morell asked, surprised. The two exchanged an unblinking glance before Robert finally lowered the brim of his hat to hide his eyes.

  “No.” said the witch. Morell waited until he’d looked away to let half a smile creep onto his lips.

  Perhaps the brooding twin isn’t completely sour all the way to the bones after all. Morell thought.

  Once all the members of the court were a hair further from death, the companions huddled them together and covered them for warmth. The king and queen were taken to their chambers with Hoxley bearing both on her strong back as she walked the stone halls. As they moved, Morell and the witches craned their necks to take in the sights, pointing and gawking in wonder.

  “Have none of you ever been in a castle before?” asked Loxo.

  “No.” they replied together.

  “Have you? Asked Siouxsie

  “But of course, I have! I’ve been in every king and lords’ hall from every territory in the land!” he boasted.

  “I’ve never seen you in my father’s court.” The prince remarked.

  “Then we must have narrowly missed one another!” smiled the pirate. “I don’t tend to stay in one place very long as I have much business to conduct in a large number of places, I’m sure you understand.”

  “Yes, I’m sure you do.” The prince rolled his eyes. “And what kind of business do you conduct, may I ask?”

  “Appraisals of fine artifacts and precious metals of course!” he said with pride “Why that was the exact business I was conducting in Woodford when we met!”

  “You had been arrested for attempted thievery.”

  “It was all a grave misunderstanding.” Loxo said, dismissing the comment with a wave and a snort. “It wasn’t very courteous of them to lock me in stocks and threaten me with hanging for such a minor offense, but you know how it is with non-royals and such.”

  “You’re a royal?” Prince Damron asked with some suspicion.

  “But of course, I am!” Loxo made a sidestep into a type of formal dance step and twirled. “Do I not speak and act in the manner of someone well educated and lessoned in the finer aspects of royaldom? Just like you, I’m well versed in art and poetry and song and dance. One must be well rounded for all formal and stately occasions, you know.” With a second twirl he brushed off a bit of dust from his filthy yellow vest and preened the lace ends of his undershirt which had been stained and wrinkled to ruin.

  “But to be a royal, one must come from royal blood.” Said the prince.

  “Ah, right you are! My father is royalty, you know? King of the sky pirates he is! And I, being his oldest son, makes me next in line to his place as head of the sky sweepers, the rowdiest band of sky pirates found anywhere in all the land!”

  “The sky sweepers don’t exist.” said Prince Damron. “They’re a fairy tale told to children to make them fear heading out too far to sea and drowning. My father told me that story himself.”

  “Oh?” asked Loxo. “Then your father must have been misinformed. We’re very real.”

  “Is that so?” asked the prince. “Then how come I’ve never seen one of your ships?”

  “We’re a very sneaky group, we are.” Loxo said, casually pretending to inspect his nails and cuticles. “Why, we could slip down from the sky in a moment’s notice and attack an entire kingdom in our flying ships and raid an entire palace if we chose to.”

  “If you’re so powerful then why haven’t you?” the prince asked in a matter-of-fact stance.