At the Wockharts'

Kane repeated his encounter with Mordant that morning. The trio decided to stay the night at the Wockhart’s but Sati and Mr. Wockhart thought it best to leave the three alone. Sayan took them upstairs to his old rooms. “It has never been the same after the flares last year.” Sayan moaned.

A ravager gave a low howl from the outside. Sayan sniggered and sat down rubbing his hands together. A stifling heat was issuing from the cealing above.

Kane pulled the two closer and said, “Mordant came to visit me today”

“What?” Indrani screamed.

“Wicked!” Sayan said with his mouth hanging open.

“Turn on your weather conditioners and I’ll tell you what happened”

Indrani pulled out her comm, pressed some buttons and with a soft chime her special weather conditioner whirred somewhere above their heads. The room instantly cooled down. Indrani slumped on an armchair with Kane and Sayan on either side.

“Tell me about it!”

Kane told them about his trip to Effie’s home and peacekeeper Robert Debransky’s report on the Parson’s fire. He explained how he thought the fountain maker could give him a clue about the chest of Pridewen, deliberately missing the part where Mordant named her as an approver for the changed design.

“That son of a raveger! I wish I was there. I could have been your double for real”

Kane grunted!

“I’ve not been recording for the radio for three weeks now. It’s like I just can joke any more. My audience need new skits every week. I think I’m exhausted. ‘When the Wockhart’s Wink’ eh? ”

“It’s the best radio show their is” Kane patted Sayan’s back.

“Focus Kane” Indrani said, “did you find out anything about the chest?”

“I hoped you’d help me there.” He said to Indrani.

“Yeah! What is all this about?” Sayan said, rooling his eyes.

Indrani took a deep breath and in a monotonous voice said, “The dwarfs enjoyed a superior position after the fall of the Vulcans, the rulers of the ancient’s in the 3100’s. After the ‘Kritakash Landing’…”

Sayan raised his eyebrow at Indrani and she added kindly, “When the humans first set foot on the planet on their vessel Kritakash. Anyways, the dwarfs had close ties with the ruling class of the eleven kingdoms of Canneti. Evidence suggested that among the eight tribes of the dwarfs, King Aethelwulf the bold, from the house of Wessex, unified the eleven kingdoms and established their tribe as the rulers of the realm. For two centuries, the dwarf’s ruled the men and aliens and developed a social structure that had the Royals of Wessex as the Monarchs, the Warriors, the Healers and the workers.

After Edward the Confessor, the eighth king of the dwarfs died childless the council appointed an alien, Nennius Ambrosius who claimed descent from Sturgis the Great, as the ruler. The dwarfs rebelled but were soon overpowered by the aliens. Once the most powerful creatures, the dwarfs across the planet were massacred, mercilessly. The humans (or earthlings as we know them today) realized they would be killed too and asked help from an exceptional human commander of the Canneti army, William the Conqueror who killed the second Alien king Harold Godwinson and established his reign"

"Wait, what happened to Nennius?" Sayan interjected.

"Dead! Killed by his commander-in-cheif" Kane said dryly.

"There were riots all across the planet and the Aliens were dragged out from their homes, burnt alive and murdered. The aliens went into hiding on the island of the dead alongside the dwarfs. The one who left behind, married with the humans to save themselves from the massacre, “the demiliens’. Most of the aliens went extinct probably because they considered sex a taboo.”

Kane said in a deep voice, “They would have disappeared anyway, intermingling with humans was the only choice of survival”

“The source of William the conqueror is a topic of intense debate. Humans believe it was sheer machismo and celebrate him as Saint Luso” said Sayan.

Indrani nodded, “some believe it was the wand of Sturgis that gave Willian the Conquerer power over the Aliens and the dwarfs.” 

They sat in silence for a minute in which Sayan and Indrani snuggled closer and Kane fidgeted with a copy of the Canneti Dwan.

There on the first page was the picture of the Power Plant Engineer and his stacks of stoners being loaded in a peacekeepers truck. Kane suddenly felt for his pocket and jumped.

“What is it?” screeched Indrani.

Kane looked at her and said nothing. He rummaged in his coat pocket deeper. His butcher’s knife was missing.