The Crusade Against Darkness by John Defilippis

Author:John Defilippis [Defilippis, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy
ISBN: 9781941408117
Google: fpQirgEACAAJ
Amazon: 1941408117
Publisher: Crossroad Press
Published: 2014-12-25T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

As Ignatus sat at his table pondering his discussion with Solitus, there was a knock at the door. He thought the young man may have returned to speak with him, for Ignatus felt uneasy about how they had parted ways. He wondered what caused Solitus to collapse the way that he did, and why he walked away from him without saying a word. Ignatus was now quite worried about the youth, and he hoped their previous conversation wouldn’t be the last time the two of them spoke.

When Ignatus answered the door, he saw that it was Aramus. The tribune was clearly agitated, and he walked in before Ignatus could even extend the invitation to do so. “What is wrong?” Ignatus asked.

“You are not going to believe what has happened,” Aramus said.

“What now?” Ignatus asked.

“I just received word that Cidivus has sentenced Dismus and Gestus to death!”

Ignatus was horrified to hear the news. “What?” he uttered in total disbelief.

“Do you see what I mean?” Aramus said. “Do you understand why I had to do what I did? This is nothing short of insanity. If this is how Cidivus plans to govern, then we may as well say farewell to our kingdom. Removing him from the throne by force is the only option we have left.”

“But again, how can you possibly succeed in such a task?” Ignatus asked. “Cidivus has the backing of Sicarius’ army, at least as far as I can tell. The people cannot win if they revolt against him. They will die, Aramus, every single one of them.”

“Even if we do not act, we will die,” Aramus replied. “Our faith will die, our morals will die, and our society, which has been built upon faith and morals as its foundation, will die. Better to die knowing we tried to save Mavinor, than to live regretting that we didn’t. I am pushing for the revolt to take place tomorrow, before the boys can be executed. I have been in contact with Jobus, and right now it seems as if the majority of the people will support it. Sentencing Dismus and Gestus to death was the final straw.”

“How do you intend to carry this out?” Ignatus asked.

“The plan is to storm the Praetorium and overwhelm Sicarius’ men with sheer numbers,” Aramus answered. “You know that the general only assigns a limited number of troops for trials and executions. If we can beat them back, then we can capture Cidivus and depose him.”

“And what happens when the rest of Sicarius’ men learn about the revolt? They will surely come after all of you, Aramus. What will you do then?” Ignatus asked.

“We will have Cidivus as a bargaining chip,” Aramus replied. “I think we can negotiate with Sicarius, for I can’t imagine the army will want to continue supporting a king who the people despise.”

“It is too risky,” Ignatus said.

“But it is a risk worth taking, because it is our last hope,” Aramus said. “Will you help us, Ignatus?”

“Solitus came by to see me earlier,” Ignatus said.

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