8.11

Zyrdicia returned from the Elemental Plane of Fire with King Tronin. She was not sure what to expect when she returned. Dirk had been extremely irritated by her sudden departure following the awkward interruption of their almost-kiss. The experience, combined with another encounter with Azriok in her dreamworld, left her rather shaken.

She had left the prince with his brother and Portia. Hopefully the report of the better-than-expected windfall from the slave sale would pacify him. Portia's decision to take Geoffrey along to witness the money transfer had been clever.

King Tronin writhed weakly in Zyrdicia's grasp. Taking him to the Plane of Fire was necessary to cleanse him of any Death Spores which might be clinging to his hair or his clothing. The experience terrified him. He thought she had taken him to Hell. He was still screaming in terror when they materialized in Blackpool's tent.

"Whatever did you do to him?!" the prince asked, staring in disgust at the king.

"Absolutely nothing," Zyrdicia answered. "I think his confinement rattled his brain."

A flash of light near them signalled an unexpected magical arrival. Vector emerged a moment later. The Wizard smiled cordially. "Good evening."

"Hi." Dirk looked genuinely surprised. "Where have you been?"

The Wizard's smile became smug. "I was ...on holiday."

The prince's brow furrowed in puzzlement, "I hardly even noticed you were gone." The smug smile vanished from Vector's face. Dirk's expression changed as he regarded the Wizard, "Perhaps we should arrange a permanent 'holiday', my dear Vector. It's quite amazing what I was able to accomplish in your absence. You are just in time to see King Tronin sign the surrender documents."

"Ah. How...wonderful. Congratulations, my lord," Vector said, his expression somewhat pained. It was inconceivable to the Wizard that such a feat had been accomplished without him, and that the prince had failed to even notice the absence of his sage advice and great magical talents. Vector was accustomed to threats and slights from the haughty monarch, but he had rarely felt quite so unappreciated.

Vector had discovered a number of very powerful spells at the Magic Guild in Lyr which he hoped would offset the energy he lost through the monocle's theft. He now pondered how delightful it would be to put them into use against the foolish prince who dared to underestimate his power and failed to appreciate his value.

When King Tronin calmed down sufficiently to communicate, he was subjected to a barrage of telepathic assaults, threats and physical abuse. He was already dehydrated and mentally exhausted from his stay in the magical dungeon. Breaking his will was a minor thing, hardly requiring any torture at all.

The most effective motivation of all seemed to be Dirk's threat of letting Zyrdicia take him back to "Hell." The king had an irrational fear of the place that she found terribly funny. Dirk glanced at her, wondering whether she saw the irony of laughing at such a fear.

In the end, the weak king signed over all his lands to the northern Crown. He accepted every term of surrender. Though surrender officially bought him his life, Dirk fully intended to kill him eventually, when he could find a way to make it look accidental. For now, they transferred the former-king to his new home in the dungeon of Castle Blackpool.

By the time the sun rose, the Kingdom of Tronin officially belonged to Dirk Blackpool.