After having taken an unexpected swim in the river, Kristian is now being pulled up the river bank by two men. A third man has a sword draw and this sword is pointed at Kristian's back. In a few moments, everyone makes it up to a road. On this road, a cart pulls up alongside the men. On this cart there are four men.
One of these men, who is sitting next to the driver of the cart, tosses a chain with metal wrist cuffs down to the men on the ground. "Chain him up!" exclaims this man.
Two of the men on the ground quickly place the chains onto Kristian's wrist. Then Kristian is led to the back of the cart and he is helped up onto the cart. On the back of the cart there are several open barrels of water, along with two men. The two men on the cart pull Kristian in front of one of the barrels. On the edge of this barrel sits a large anvil. One of the two men, on the back of the cart, then takes a chain and ties the anvil to the chain that holds Kristian's wrist. Once this was done, the anvil is pushed into the barrel of water and Kristian's hands are pulled into the water. Now Kristian has to stand bent over the top of this open barrel of water.
Now that Kristian was secured like this, the cart begins to roll back towards the village of Rivers Gorge. As the cart rolls through the village, people can be heard whispering.
"They have captured the monster," says one person.
"It's a fire demon," says another person.
"That thing tried to burn down our village!" exclaims a third.
Other people would peak out of windows or doors. They were too afraid to step out into the open.
Kristian heard and saw nearly everything. Kristian hated to hear these things, and he disliked how people were reacting to his presence. However, Kristian was in no position to do anything about it.
The cart continues to go through the village and soon the cart is pulling into the courtyard of the castle. Once inside the courtyard the cart comes to a stop just in front of the main doors to the castle. Shortly, out of the front doors comes the Duke of Weselton.
"Ah, excellent men!" exclaims the Duke with pleasure. "The King of Weselton will be pleased with the capture of this creature."
Kristian turns his head to look at the Duke. "You! So you're the reason!" exclaims Kristian.
"Silence!" says one of the men standing guard over Kristian. "Don't address the governor unless he addresses you!"
The Duke then walks over to the cart. Then to Kristian, the Duke says, "You have been nothing but misfortune for me, since I met you. However, it was a mistake for you to return from your mountain sanctuary; but since you are now my prisoner, your return to Weselton will indeed help me. For when I turn you over to the king, it will help me to restore my position among the king's royal court."
"I haven't come from my mountain home. I am returning to it," replies Kristian coldly.
"So the witch queen has forced you to walk the entire way here then," replies the Duke. "Well it doesn't matter. You will still be useful to me."
"I wasn't forced to walk! The Queen of Arendelle arranged for a ship to carry me!" exclaims Kristian harshly.
"Impossible!" exclaims the Duke. "Fire and ice are incompatible. She had to have driven you out."
"Queen Elsa has allowed me to stay in Arendelle, and I have proof of her assistance," replies Kristian. "I'm wearing the insignia of Arendelle around my neck, and I have a written decree in my pack as well."
"Show me," exclaims the Duke to one of the guards on the cart. This guard then reaches into Kristian's shirt and pulls on the ribbon that is hidden there. The insignia soon falls out of Kristian's shirt and the guard holds the insignia in his hand for the Duke to see.
"This means nothing," continues the Duke. "You could have stolen it. Besides, do you think that anything from the Kingdom of Arendelle would mean anything to me? Your little paper would be nothing but kindling for my fire."
Then the Duke turns away and walks back towards the castle. Meanwhile, the guard holding the insignia lets it drop. This insignia then dangles from Kristian's neck.
As the Duke nears the castle, he approaches the Captain of the Guards. "Sir, if what he says is true, shouldn't we investigate his claim?" inquires the Captain.
"Arendelle should be considered an enemy to the Kingdom of Weselton, and anyone that is in league with that kingdom should be considered an enemy as well," replies the Duke.
"Even a decree from a hostile kingdom deserves some respect," objects the Captain of the Guards.
"Arendelle is not a true kingdom," chastises the Duke. "When the ruler of such a place is some kind of monster, how can it be a real kingdom?"
Once the Duke reaches the main doors to the castle, he turns around and gives a command. "Drench him! Then take him to the prepared cell! We will leave first thing in the morning for Weselton, with our prisoner!" Then the Duke walks into the castle.
Back on the cart, the guards take buckets and fill them from the water barrels that are also on the cart. Then these buckets are dumped over Kristian. After a few more bucket dumps, Kristian is once again totally soaked. Then the anvil is hoisted out of the barrel of water, and it is unchained from the shackles that Kristian is in. Once this is done, Kristian is taken down from the cart and he is lead into the castle under heavy guard.
As Kristian is taken into the castle, he is led down to the lowest level of the structure. Here there is nothing but damp stone. It is the dungeon of the castle. Soon Kristian is taken into one of the cells here. The interior of this cell, however, was fitted with a unique system of barrels. Water barrels line the walls and these barrels support a crudely made water tank. This tank would leak and drip water onto the cell floor below.
"You will stay in here until morning, and if you attempt to burn your way out of this cell, the water that sits above you will come down," says one of the guards.
Then Kristian is left alone in the cell, and two guards are left on the outside of the cell door. "It just had to be the Duke of Weselton," says Kristian to himself. "I stood a better chance of getting leniency from the King of Weselton, rather than the Duke. Now the Duke is going to taint anyone's opinion before I even get a chance to speak to them."
With nothing else to do, Kristian focuses his magic powers and raises his outside temperature. In a few moments, steam begins to rise from his body. A few flames also form, but Kristian reduces his powers once this happens. Soon Kristian is dry from his soaking, and he then finds a comfortable place on the floor to lie down. Once Kristian is comfortable, he takes a nap.
Outside the village of Rivers Gorge, Mattias sits on his perch. He has been waiting for Kristian for a few hours now and the sun is beginning to set. Mattias had chosen a spot that was a few miles away from the village. Because of this distance, Mattias was not aroused by the commotion of Kristian's capture. However, now the firebird is beginning to wonder where Kristian is at. So Mattias takes to the air and begins to search the road for Kristian. It only takes a few minutes for the firebird to check out the road, but Mattias finds no sign of Kristian.
With the road out of the town looked over, Mattias continues his search by flying over the village of Rivers Gorge. To check out the village; Mattias climbs high into air, and he scans the village with his keen eyesight. Still Mattias can find no trace of Kristian. However, Mattias does not go unnoticed by people down in the village.
Back in the castle, the Duke is sitting in a small room that is very well furnished. There is a servant with him, and this servant is attending to a fire. "Make sure to get that fire blazing real well," instructs the Duke to the servant.
"Yes sir," replies the servant.
"I may be forced to live in this cold, damp castle; but I refuse to tolerate these conditions if there is any way that I can change them," says the Duke.
Just then the Captain of the Guards walks into the room. "Sir, may I have a word with you?" asks the Captain.
"What is so important that you disturb me in my sanctuary?" asks the Duke with some displeasure.
"The pack of the prisoner was retrieved from the bridge, and I went through the items," replies the Captain. "Sir, I found the written decree from Arendelle. What the prisoner has said was true. The Queen of Arendelle has made him a royal emissary. We need to remove him from that cell and provide him more suitable accommodations. Then we must notify the king on what our next move shall be." The Captain holds out the decree towards the Duke as he speaks.
The Duke reaches out and takes the decree from the Captain. The Duke begins to read it while the Captain stands and waits for him to finish. Then the Duke looks up to the Captain and says, "This piece of paper doesn't mean a thing. That is a dangerous man down in that cell. You saw what he was capable of. I'm not going to allow some piece of paper from an unholy kingdom to persuade me from my task."
"But sir, no damage was done to the village of Rivers Gorge, and no one was harmed," replies the Captain. "I believe that he was trying to flee the village, when we took him prisoner. This young man may be dangerous, but I don't think he is a threat. I think that we should respect that decree and notify the King of Weselton."
The Duke stands up, and then he angrily replies, "The king will be notified of this unholy creation, and I will be rewarded for it. As for this paper, it can help to warm up my room."
The Duke then walks over to the fire and tosses the parchment into the fire. However, as he does this, the door bursts open and a guard comes into the room. The sudden burst of air into the room causes the parchment to flip and land at the corner of the fire place where it smolders.
The guard that came into the room speaks up with a frantic voice. "Sirs, there is something monstrous up in the evening sky!"
"What is it?" asks the Captain.
"I don't know what it is, sir," replies the guard. "It is some kind of fire in the sky!"
"A fire!" exclaims the Duke. "Is the prisoner secure?"
"Yes sir. The prisoner is secured in his cell," replies the guard.
"We need to investigate this new danger," says the Duke as he walks towards the door. As he nears the door, the Duke turns to the servant and says, "Bring me my spyglass!"
The Duke then leaves the room, and he is followed by the guard and his servant with the spyglass. Now the Captain of the Guards is left alone in the room. However, before the Captain follows the others out of the room, he heads over to the fireplace and picks up what is left of the decree. The Captain places it in his pocket, and then he follows the others to examine this new threat.
Outside on the castle stone yard, the Duke and the Captain can see a fire moving through the evening sky. The Duke takes his spyglass and uses it to look at this fire. "It's a bird, and it is totally made of fire!" exclaims the Duke. "It has to do something with Goran's companion." Then then Duke turns to the Captain of the Guards and says, "Take me to the prisoner. I need to demand from him an explanation."
The Captain of the Guards leads the Duke down to the cell that contains Kristian. Once these men reach the cell, the door is unlocked; and the Duke and the Captain of the Guards enter the cell. Kristian, who was resting peacefully, sits up when he hears the door of his cell open. Then Kristian watches the two men enter the room.
"What do you want, Duke?" asks Kristian harshly.
"You're in no position to be talking to me like that," replies the Duke. "Your life is literally in my hands. You should be conciliatory to me if you wish to regain your freedom."
"I choose who I subjugate myself to, and it is certainly not you," rebuffs Kristian as he gets to his feet. "I wonder how the people you rule over would feel about how you tried to kill the Queen of Arendelle, twice."
"The king already knows about those attempts, and the people's opinion here matters little," counters the Duke. "It is because of my failures in Arendelle that the king has relegated me to this unimportant village. However, when I bring you before his majesty, I should be able to regain some of my former prestige."
"I doubt that you ever had any prestige, and Rivers Gorge deserves someone better than yourself as their governor," mocks Kristian.
"Enough of your insolence!" exclaims the Duke. "What I want from you concerns a bird that has been flying over the village!"
"Birds fly all over the place. What is so special about this one?" asks Kristian with indifference.
"What is special about this bird is that it seems to be completely made of fire," replies an insulted Duke.
"That doesn't surprise me," replies Kristian with a slight smile.
"Stop being coy about this! Do you have anything to do with this flaming nuisance?" asks an angry Duke.
"I doubt Mattias has been a nuisance," replies Kristian. "And yes, I do have something to do with that bird. I created him some time ago."
"That bird has come to turn the village to ashes!" exclaims the Duke. "We must prepare to destroy this fire beast at once!"
"Mattias won't even get near the village!" exclaims Kristian. "He knows better than that. Once the sun sets he will stop his search, and Mattias will find a spot to rest."
"A search? What is that bird searching for?" asks a puzzled Duke.
"What do you think he is searching for?" replies Kristian. "I'm overdue and Mattias is looking for me."
"This is not good at all," says the Duke. Then turning to the Captain of the Guards, the Duke asks, "What should we do about this flaming bird then, Captain?"
"I suggest that we do nothing," replies the Captain. "It is almost near sunset and this bird will be giving up his search soon."
"Yes, yes, the night will bring an end to this flaming creature's presence, but what about tomorrow morning? It will most likely return, and it will then see us moving our prisoner," responds the Duke.
"Then there is only one answer for that," says the Captain. "We must move this gentleman during the night. Once we are away from Rivers Gorge, the firebird will not find us as easy to locate."
"Travel at night?" questions the Duke. "Do you know how difficult it is for me to sleep in my carriage?"
"Then do you want to risk moving our guest during the daytime and risk running into his firebird," asks the Captain.
"No, I have had my fill of magic beings already," replies the Duke. "Fine then, let's make preparations to move once the firebird is gone. Besides the sooner we get moving the sooner the king will reward me for my accomplishment." When the Duke finishes speaking, he turns and walks out of the cell to start making preparations for the journey.
As the Captain of the Guards was about to follow the Duke of Weselton out of the cell, Kristian speaks up. "Captain! May I have a word with you?"
The Captain turns back towards Kristian and asks, "Yes, what is it that you want?"
"I am very aware of what you have just done here," replies Kristian. "Waiting for dark and leaving was not your only option. For what you are doing, I just want to say thanks."
"No real damage has been done so far; and if I did any sort of action, I cannot guarantee a similar outcome. So what I suggested was the safest course to take," states the Captain.
"At least you are more reasonable than the Duke," says Kristian. "I have even noticed the respect that you have been showing me, even though I am like this." Kristian lifts up his shackled hands as he finishes speaking.
"Normally, I would agree with the Duke, except for one thing. You were wearing that insignia," says the Captain as he points to the Arendelle insignia around Kristian's neck.
I wouldn't think this thing would have any value here in Weselton," replies Kristian as he lifts up the insignia to look at it.
"To most people, it has little value," replies the Captain. "However, I have served directly under the king during many important meetings with visiting dignitaries. I understand the importance of the royal symbols. While I disagree with how the Duke is handling this affair, he is the top authority in this region. So his word is the law, until the king decides otherwise."
"So what does this mean then, are you going to argue my position in front of the king then?" asks Kristian.
"I have no opinion on what the king should do, but the king does need to know all the information that can be obtained," replies the Captain. "His majesty may side with the Duke on this matter, or he may not. I will not be deciding this affair. However, I suggest that you keep that insignia hidden from the Duke until you are in front of his majesty. The Duke might want to take that away from you to conceal who you are, from the king."
With that last statement, the Captain of the Guards leaves the cell and the cell door is locked. Meanwhile, Kristian looks at the insignia of Arendelle for a while, and then he places this object back under his shirt. There isn't much that Kristian can do now, so Kristian's finds a spot to lie down and wait. "Maybe the king will let me go," thinks Kristian. "After all, he did demote the Duke of Weselton."
During the rest of the day, the Duke of Weselton was making preparations to leave for the village of Weselton. The Duke was getting his private carriage ready, and he was making sure that it was well stocked with fine wines and excellent food. Meanwhile, the Captain of the Guards was preparing a cart to carry Kristian. Once again, several water barrels are placed on the cart along with an anvil. However, besides these items, the Captain had also placed Kristian's pack on the cart as well.
It took a little time, but everything was finally prepared. Now they just had to wait for Mattias to stop searching for Kristian. It took a while, but eventually Mattias called an end to his search. So the firebird flies away from the village; and he finds a place to nestle down, out of sight of anyone watching.
Once Mattias was out of sight, the Duke gave orders. "Get the prisoner! Drench him and load him onto the cart!"
Down in the cell, Kristian had been resting when the cell door opens. Just as Kristian was sitting up, a bucket of water is thrown at him. Just as the shock of the first bucket of water was wearing off, a second bucket of water is thrown. With Kristian once again drenched, two men come and lifted Kristian up and begin to move Kristian out of the cell. Soon Kristian is being escorted through the castle by men with swords and other men with buckets of water.
In a few moments, Kristian is outside the castle and he is being loaded onto the cart. Once again, Kristian is chained to the anvil; but this time Kristian is allowed to sit down with his back against one of the water barrels. Other barrels surround him on both sides, and two men with swords are on the back of the cart as well.
Once everything and everyone is situated, the group begins to move out of the castle walls under the cover of darkness. The Duke's carriage leads the way. The curtains on the carriage are drawn; and the Duke is trying to get comfortable, with little success. Behind the Duke's carriage is the cart that is carrying Kristian, and behind this cart is six men on horses. Among these men on horses is the Captain of the Guards.
This group steadily moves down the road to Weselton during the entire night. No one bothers to make a sound except for the Duke. He constantly groans about not being comfortable on the journey when he is trying to sleep. Everyone else takes the journey in stride, including Kristian. However, Kristian is fairing better than most. Just a few hours earlier, Kristian was able to take a few naps. While the others were fully awake doing their normal daily duties. Also despite being wet, Kristian was comfortable in the cool night air. Kristian's magic was generating enough heat to elevate the temperature of the air around him.
Finally, this group stops in the morning at a hamlet on the road. This is because the Duke wants to sit down and have a proper meal. As the Duke of Weselton climbs out of his carriage, he calls out, "Drench the prisoner! Then we can all get something to eat!"
The guards on the cart obey the Duke's orders, and they dump a few pails over the top of Kristian. Kristian is getting tired of getting wet like this, but he doesn't have much of a choice. Now with Kristian thoroughly soaked, the Duke heads to one of the buildings with most of the men following him. Only the Captain of the Guards and the two guards on the cart remain.
As everyone else leave the Captain rides up to the cart and says to the two guards on the cart, "You two can go and eat. I will watch our guest."
"Are you sure, sir?" asks one of the guards. "He is a dangerous man."
"The Duke has overblown the potential danger," replies the Captain. "Besides, don't you think that the gentleman here would have done something last night, if he was a real threat?"
"Very well sir," responds one of the guards. "We'll take our leave, but we will make sure to bring something for you as well to eat."
"If you do, make sure to bring something back for our guest as well, preferably a warm meal. I prefer to make our gentleman as comfortable as possible, instead of what the Duke wants," says the Captain as the two men leave to join the others.
The Captain of the Guards then gets off his horse and climbs onto the back of the cart and sits down in front of Kristian. As the Captain sits down, Kristian says, "I guess that I should thank you for what little hospitality that I am getting on this journey."
"There is not much to thank me for," replies the Captain. "I wouldn't call a hot meal much of a hospitality."
"It is more than the Duke would have given me," replies Kristian. "He would have just given me stale bread and water."
"Well if it was up to me, you would be riding in the carriage with the Duke instead of on the back of this cart," says the Captain.
"Truthfully, I prefer being on the back of this cart than with the Duke," replies Kristian "That man has always annoyed me."
"You seem to know the Duke from the past. How did you first come across him?" asks the Captain out of curiosity.
"It was earlier this year," replies Kristian. "The Duke came to my mountain home early in the spring. He wanted to hire my companion Goran to kill, what he called, a monstrous being capable of freezing everything. I just happen to travel with Goran to aid him in this task."
"So you are one of the two men responsible for the attempt against Arendelle's queen," says the Captain. "So how did you manage to become a royal emissary for Arendelle?"
"Well basically, I sided with the queen against my former companion. After that, she allowed me to stay in Arendelle; and we became good friends then," replies Kristian. "As for becoming an emissary, Queen Elsa wanted to try and provide me some protection on my journey. So far it hasn't done much for me, but then I never really thought that it would."
If I know the King of Weselton, I think that insignia of yours might help you more than you realize," says the Captain.
"Speaking of the king, how long will it take us to get to Weselton?" asks Kristian.
"With a good horse, a person could get to Weselton in a full day's ride," replies the Captain. "However, we are heading there by horse drawn cart. It should take a little over two days to get into the village of Weselton."
"So basically we should be arriving sometime tomorrow morning then," questions Kristian.
"If we maintain our pace, yes," replies the Captain.
In a few more minutes; the two guards that were riding on the cart return with two hot meals for the Captain and Kristian. Both Kristian and the Captain thank the men for the meals, and then they both consume their meals. Just as these men were finishing up their meals, the Duke of Weselton comes outside and heads towards his carriage.
"This is a most distasteful place for someone like me to stop and eat," complains the Duke. "It is more suited for commoners than someone of my position. The sooner we get moving the better." Then the Duke turns to the guards that are nearing their horses, and he says, "Let's get a move on men! The King of Weselton will want to see our prisoner! Drench the prisoner and let's get on our way!"
The Captain takes the food plate away from Kristain and hands the plates down to a villager. The next thing that happens is when one of the guards dumps a pail of water over Kristian. However, this time it was only one pail of water. The respect that the Captain of the Guards has shown to Kristian has shown up in the two guards that are traveling on the cart.
As the group continues to move down the road, the Captain of the Guards has decided to remain on the cart. The Captain's horse is tied to the back of the cart, and the Captain himself has decided to take a nap. With the Captain being relaxed, the other men begin to relax as well.
Their journey progresses without any serious incident. However, every time this party would stop, Kristian would get another bucket of water dumped over him. The guards, however, would only use one bucket of water now. Finally after a full day's journey, the party of men reaches a small village. This village is the last one before the village of Weselton. Everyone has been traveling for nearly 24 hours straight, and nearly everyone is feeling tired. These men have managed to get two days of travel into one day.
As the Duke climbs out of his carriage, he exclaims, "We'll stop here for the night! I seriously need to get a proper nights rest! You men! Guard the prisoner and make your own arrangements!"
When the Duke finishes giving his orders, he heads into the local inn and takes one of the better rooms for the night. Meanwhile, the men grumble among themselves over the callous regard the Duke has for their tired state.
"Go on men! Find a place to sleep! I've been resting during the day to be ready for tonight's guard duty," says the Captain of the Guards.
All the men are relieved, and many of them head into the inn to find cheap accommodations. However, one man stays behind. "Sir, I will be able to relieve you tonight," says this man.
"Are you sure you will be able too?" asks the Captain. "You may not get enough sleep after our full day."
"You are not the only one who has managed to rest during the day, sir," replies this man. "I will be sufficiently rested to relieve you later tonight."
"Very well then, get some sleep and I will see you later tonight," says the Captain.
"Yes sir," says that man as he leaves to find a place to sleep.
"You certainly do take care of your men," says Kristian as he watches the interactions of the Captain with his men.
"A good leader always understands the needs of his men," replies the Captain as he walks over to the cart with Kristian on it. "And sometimes it means making sacrifices on your own part to make sure that they are well cared for."
"It is a shame that you can't show me some of the same consideration. Still, you have managed to improve the deplorable treatment that I have been receiving under the Duke," says Kristain as he tries to make himself comfortable on the cart.
"There isn't a lot that I can do," replies the Captain. "However, I think that I can make your night a little more comfortable."
The Captain starts to walk over to the Duke's carriage. Then when the Captain reaches the carriage, he reaches into the carriage and pulls out a cushion and then he pulls down one of the curtains. Then the Captain carries these items over to Kristian and hands them to Kristian. "Here, they're not much, but they should improve the hard bed of that cart," says the Captain.
"Thanks, but I think the Duke is going to be upset with you in the morning," says Kristian with a smirk.
"Let him be upset," replies the Captain. "He hasn't impressed me much as a governor."
With the cushion and curtain in hand, Kristian sets about to make a better sleeping area on the cart. With his wrists chained together and with an anvil sitting in the center of the cart, it was not the most comfortable of sleeping arrangements. Still after a long rough day on a cart, Kristian falls asleep relatively easily.