Their first stop when they returned to the Isle of the Crown had been back to the Falcon to get something to eat and Han downed a couple cups of caf, he'd never felt so exhausted as he did now. This day was nothing short of maddening and he still wasn't seeing an end in sight, and even though he couldn't see any way he was going to personally benefit from any of this, he had the strange suspicion he couldn't walk away from it all now.
"Okay, so who here would know the most about what's going on in the castle?" he consulted with Chewie as they gathered their things and left the ship.
The wookiee had a suggestion, and Han didn't like it.
"The guards, oh sure, we'll just head on over there and ask for the Vizier's life story...but..." he thought about it again, "the vizier's marrying the princess, so the guards would be on her payroll, it might be worth trying."
This time when they reached the fork in the road they headed right, and watched in the distance as the castle gradually got bigger and bigger.
"No wonder this vizier guy's getting married, a guy'd be set for life in a place like this," Han commented as he took in the sight of the huge stone building.
They reached the castle grounds and headed on up to the front and were cut off by two guard dogs: literal, humanoid dogs wearing armor and brandishing spears.
"Finally, some more normal looking folks," Han noted.
"Halt, state your business," they warned him.
Han raised his hands amiably, "My name's Han Solo, I'm the captain of the Millennium Falcon, and this is my navigator, Chewbacca. We're trying to get some information about the upcoming wedding."
"The wedding's been closed to the public for the princess's safety," one of the dogs told him.
Han nodded but told them, "Well I'm afraid I'm a stranger here myself, my ship got wrecked during the storm and I haven't been able to get it repaired, who lives here?"
One of the guard dogs answered, "The royal family, resides here, or rather, what is left of the royal family."
"What happened?" Han asked innocently.
"King Caliphim and Queen Allaria were assassinated several months ago during the princess's absence."
Han opened his eyes wide, feigning shock but there was some genuine curiosity as well, "Who would possibly want the royal family dead?"
One of the guard dogs growled at him and told him, "The isles have been feuding with one another for some time, there has been bad blood all around and the possibilities are endless who would wish to see the royal family dead."
"And the man the princess is marrying?" Han inquired, "Is he at risk of assassination as well?"
"Abdul Alhazred has inherited the Crown's enemies, he came to the kingdom 15 years ago, King Caliphim trusted him with the minor problems of daily government, having a wife and young daughter to tend to back then."
Han and Chewbacca exchanged a slight look. Now things were starting to make sense.
"That young daughter, that's the princess he's marrying now?" he asked.
"It is," one of the guard dogs answered curtly.
"When was this decision made?" Han asked.
"The official announcement was only made this morning, but it's been planned for several months now."
"Before...or after, the king and queen were assassinated?" Han inquired.
"I fail to see what business that is of yours," one of the guards said with a snarl.
"Do you like the Vizier?" Han asked.
"We took an oath to serve the Crown."
"Yeah, but...until the wedding actually happens...isn't the princess the Crown?" Han pointed out.
"It is, and as such we must respect her wishes, and that includes to wed the Vizier."
"She told you that herself?" Han asked.
"She's been sequestered in mourning following her parents' deaths, it's a dated tradition and not required, but the Vizier said she insisted out of privacy."
"So you haven't actually seen her for months?" Han asked.
The doors to the castle opened, and another humanoid dog came out. This one was dressed in regular clothes instead of armor, had a scabbard at his side and his hand on the handle of his sword, and had a face like a border collie, though his eyes were hard like a wolf's. He growled at the newcomers as he announced in a deep basso voice, "I am Captain Saladin, what is your business here?"
"Believe me, I'm still trying to figure that out myself," Han answered in earnest. "Are you in charge here?"
"I am in charge of the castle's security, and the castle is closed to the public pending the royal wedding," Saladin answered as he showed his teeth.
"Well I just have a question," Han told him. "Were the representatives of the other isles originally invited to this wedding?"
Saladin growled under his breath and responded, "What's your interest in this?"
"My interest, Captain Saladin," Han said, "Is that I'm a captain too, and I have been a visitor to the Green Isles for less than one day, and in that time I've nearly been drowned, impaled, disembodied, maimed, cursed, set on fire, or run through with a broadsword, because on all five isles, somebody informed all the guards and all the people, that a foreign human assassin was coming, and that's just a little too much coincidence for me to be coincidence."
Saladin's eyes hardened even more and he looked ready to bite as he said, "Your story is impossible, no one has been able to travel to the isles since the ferries were put out of business years ago due to the political unrest between the islands, they've long since suffered dry rot and are beyond repair."
"Oh?" Han asked. "Lord Azure on top of the Sacred Mountain, received word from the Crown to dispose of any intruders who solved their cliffs and made it to the top. Now, how long ago do you suppose they were given that message?"
The canine captain made a low growling hum in his throat as he considered this and shifted the angle of his head as he looked at Han.
"The Druids on the Isle of the Mist, a very short while ago, tried to fricassee me over a bonfire, because the Vizier informed them of a foreign assassin. How do you suppose he got word to them about that when no one can travel between the isles?" Han wanted to know.
"That would've had to have been the Vizier's genie, Shamir Shamazel, he's the only one with the power to transport between the isles without the use of a ship," Saladin answered.
Han turned to Chewie and mentioned, "Well that would certainly make it easier for him to keep an eye on what all the isles are doing...and if any strangers paid them a visit." He turned back to Saladin and asked, "Do you trust the Vizier?"
"My loyalty is to the Crown, of which the Vizier Alhazred will become after the wedding, he was a loyal friend to King Caliphim for 15 years, do not question my loyalty again," Saladin sharply advised the smuggler, raising his sword a couple inches out of the scabbard in silent warning. "Your business is finished here, be gone and don't come back."
Chewbacca snarled and took a step forward but Han raised a hand for him to stay back. He told the humanoid dog, "Captain Saladin, I don't know you but I have a tremendous amount of respect for you, I was a captain myself in the Imperial Navy, I know the responsibility you carry on your shoulders, I know what it's like to do your job because you believe in the cause and you put your neck on the line to do what you are convinced is the right thing...and I know what it's like to be burned and discharged because your superior pulled a fast one on you that you never saw coming, and when they put you in the hot seat for unbecoming conduct, nobody's in your corner, suddenly the men you served with, alongside, and even commanded over, they never knew you, you get the axe and you take it alone and you're the solitary disgrace to the service. You know what the truth is but it doesn't matter because nobody else believes it. I don't know this kingdom, the princess, or much of anything that's going on here, but I just hope the Vizier doesn't hold you personally responsible for anything that happens to the princess now or after the wedding, because it's already been established that she was not present when her parents were murdered...but where was he during all this?" Han gave an earnest salute and concluded, "Good day, Captain."
Chewbacca rumbled questioningly as they walked away from the castle grounds.
"Those guys know something ain't right," Han said, "I don't think they trust this vizier anymore than they can throw him, but none of them wants to be the one to stand against him. He's been there 15 years and he's engaged to the princess, who would've just been a little kid when he first met her, so...she'd hardly be an adult now, and he was already an advisor to the king 15 years ago so that would make him...bleah," the smuggler grimaced as he thought about the age difference there. "The guards said the ferries have been out of service for years due to the islands fighting with one another, so he's had this plan in action for a long time...I wonder just how far back it first started?" He thought as they walked. "So this guy gets the islands fighting with one another, cuts off access for people to travel from one to the other...for what purpose?"
Chewie had a thought on the subject.
"Yeah, everybody seems to know about the Vizier, and the princess, and the upcoming wedding...so probably before they started feuding with one another they all would've been invited out...meaning there's a great love for the Crown and its members here...must be nice," Han drifted in his thoughts. He was knocked back to the here and now by Chewbacca knocking him on the shoulder. "Anyway...so, what's he planning to do with the princess? I don't get the impression she's one of these sedate maidens who'll just sit back and let this guy do whatever he wants...and if so, it'd be in his best interest to kill her, but if he did that, somebody would likely catch on...hmmm..." Han shrugged helplessly, "doesn't add up either way."
An idea hit Han and he stopped in his tracks and told his friend, "Hang on, Chewie, I think I'm getting something...I need a minute to think."
They sat on the ground as Han mulled over everything they'd learned from the inhabitants of the different isles that day.
"The beast said the Druids stole his coat of arms, the Druids said that the winged ones stole their oak tree, the winged ones said the queens on the Isle of Wonder had stolen their golden fleece...and the chess guards on the Isle of Wonder, said that the beast had stolen their singing stone." He wrung his hands together as he chewed on what this meant. "So what if...the Druids met with the chess queens? There can't be any bad blood there, can there?"
The wookiee grunted in answer.
"Or what if the beast met with the winged people?" Han asked. "That might be the real reason the ferries were dismantled, to keep them from meeting up and finding out what's going on." He jumped to his feet and told Chewbacca, "Come on, we need to get back to the beach, I have an idea."
Chewbacca roared something in response, to which Han replied, "What do you mean 'That's a dangerous sentiment'?"