A/N:
Disclaimer: Aslan said in Prince Caspian that Telmar was once un-peopled until those six pirates came and inhabited it. This is that story.
Summary: Aslan said in Prince Caspian that Telmar was once un-peopled until those six pirates came and inhabited it. This is that story.
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History
Chapter 5
Rooms and Dungeons
"6, 7, 8, 9, 10… 14, 15, 16, 17!"
"There are seventeen rooms!" Camille exclaimed. Everyone was done cleaning the downstairs part of the castle which was the throne room, banquet hall, and kitchens. Now everyone had moved on to the second floor and in the west wing, which consisted entirely of bedrooms.
They were giant and luxurious rooms with banners and washrooms and double beds with canopies. Each held a large floor to ceiling wardrobe and vanity. The washrooms had pool like baths and had a fire where the water was heated.
Everyone stood in awe at the dark wood floors and ivory walls. Jerome, who still had the lamp, went around and lit the torches on the walls. Everything was dusty but undisturbed. The beds were made and everything was kept.
"Well, whoever lived in here had great taste in clothes," said Franco who had opened a wardrobe and found men's tunics and robes consisting of a variety of colors.
"I wonder who had lived in here?" Marigold wondered out loud.
"They must have been royalty. No regular person could own something this fine," Smits said.
"Well, this stuff is ours. I call dibs on this room!" exclaimed Lonny.
"Very well Lonny, this is yours and your wife's. Maybe there are some girls clothes in a different room," said King Jerome.
"There's no need. The woman's clothes are in the back. They are fine," Franco said, pulling one out. It was white with lace and gold stitch.
"It's beautiful."
"Lonny, can my wife have this dress?" King Jerome asked. Lonny looked from Marigold to his wife, but then caught glimpse of a purple gown with white and gold trimming.
"Fine, but only if my wife can have that purple dress in there."
"Very well." Queen Marigold beamed and took the dress from Franco. He had wanted that dress for his own wife, but what could he saw against the queen?
"Well, we can change into these new clothes once we are done cleaning. I declare that after the work, we throw ourselves a party in the throne room!" King Jerome declared. Everyone cheered and went to work.
It took the rest of the day to clean out all seventeen rooms in the west wing. Each person called dibs on a room and King Jerome and Queen Marigold were the last to choose. They walked down the lengthy halls until they came upon a large wooden door.
"What's this?" Jerome asked as he tried to read the gold inscription. Their Majesties Quarters.
"This must be our room. We're the new kings and queens of this place," Marigold said.
Jerome nodded and the two went in. The bedroom was fairly larger than the others. The bath was bigger, the beds were bigger, the wardrobe had more space inside, and there were bookshelves and a large desk covered in papers.
"Wow."
That's all either of them could say. The velvet red walls stretched around white stone floors. The bath was outfitted with gold plates on the bottom and the rest was a glass type of material.
"This is our room?" Marigold asked, almost not believing it.
"Yes, it is."
The couple started walking around and looking at everything before finally settling down on the bed. It was very soft. The comfort and the silence quickly put both of them to sleep.
The next morning everyone met in the hall before moving to the east wing. There was a library and stairs that led up or down. Down was to the greenhouse. Up led to the tower. It wasn't that hard to clean but then they moved to the third floor. Training rooms, an armory, and two more doors that led to other towers. The rooms were a bit more difficult to clean because they had to each polish the swords and armor. It was Franco that actually recognized the difficulty in living here.
"I am wondering how are we going to hunt or fight if under attack? We left our guns back on the island."
"That's right," Lonny agreed. A chorus of murmurs followed.
"Well we have plenty of swords and armaments and hanging on the walls are a different variety of bows and quivers of arrows. I guess we will have to use those," said King Jerome.
"Do you know how to fight in armor?" Rummy asked.
"No, but it can't be that hard. Once we get these all polished we could try them out."
"I'll be right back," Queen Marigold said before leaving the room.
"Where's she off to?" Tier asked.
"I don't know."
"Well, let's get back to cleaning," King Jerome declared even though he was wondering where his queen was going also at the time.
In fact, Queen Marigold was heading downstairs to the east wing where the library was. There were so many books and she knew a little bit of reading. She scanned the shelves for one single word when she found it on the top. Combat.
She took it down then rushed back up to the armory. The new Telmarines were done polishing and were now trying to figure out how to fit each other with the armor.
"Jerome, I found this," she said handing him the book. He smiled and started flipping the pages.
"Here it is! Armor and combat."
"What does it say?" Smits asked.
"It reads:
Armor: the protection of most of the being's body during combat. The basic armor consists of the helm (optional), the mail, the leggings, the breastplate, gloves (in variety), arm plates, boots, and the belt.
The mail (a tunic of chain links) is fitted over the person's tunic and then the breastplate goes over that on the person's chest. Some warriors just prefer the mail and not the breastplate. The dangers of using just mail are greater. Mail can still leave you open in the right spot to a stab in the stomach. The breastplate is much more effective in protection though a deal heavier.
Leggings go over the legs and boots are over the feet. The gloves and arm plates fit over the forearms and hands. Gloves need to be flexible to maneuver the sword with.
The helm fits on the head and some helms can have visors over the face for full protection. The helm does not cover the neck so the neck is a vulnerable point for a slash. The belt goes around the waist and holds the sheath strap for the sword and any other small supplies necessary for a warrior.
Most of the armor is metal like steel while some parts can have the optional leather (belt, gloves, boots, and leggings.) The metal is heavier and slows the body down so it is vital to be smart in what the warrior wears to battle. A warrior wants to be some-what flexible with his stances and maneuvers so leather is good and light but is less protective than metal and can be cut through."
"Is that it?" Franco asked, obviously wanting more.
"That's it for the armor chapter. The next chapter is about stances and maneuvers," King Jerome answered.
"I think that the men should all take a turn in reading that book," said Smits.
Jerome thought about this and stared at the book. He really wanted to read more of it now and not let anyone else touch it. But somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that this idea wasn't kingly and he needed to let the others have a shot if they were ever in battle.
"I agree. Smits, I want you to read it first. Then you can help teach the others. I also want to go and explore the depths of this castle and what is underneath this castle. Who is with me?"
Franco, Rummy, Camille, and Des (Franco's wife) volunteered to go as well. Queen Marigold was going to stay with the other wives, Smits, Lonny, and Tier. King Jerome and the others walked down the marble stairs and down another wood stairs that led to the basement. There was a musty smell about the air.
Jerome shone the torch around and lit up a disgusting sight. Skeletons, many skeletons all scattered around. Some had rusted armor on and were armed with swords, daggers, and spears. The others must have had rags on because their bones were bare and much older.
"It's a dungeon," Des whispered. There were torture devices on the walls and all over the left corner. Some bones were still connected to some of them.
"By all that is good who on earth lived here?" King Jerome asked, appalled. Camille and Des covered their eyes.
"Maybe the women should go back up," Rummy said.
"I agree, take the women up and bring back Lonny and Smits. Tier's a boy and doesn't need to see this," King Jerome said.
Franco was eying the devices carefully. "I can understand why the prisoners died, but why the guards? And there isn't a scratch in their armor or anywhere. They just died."
Jerome looked one and wondered the same thing. Taking a closer look around he found two skeletons hidden in a corner. They were dressed just as royal as the other robes and gowns in the wardrobes upstairs.
"Franco," Jerome hissed and motioned for him to come over with his free arm. Franco came over and squinted in the dim light to see. "I think I found who ruled here," Jerome said sadly.
"And they are just as unmarked as the guard. Those prisoner skeletons are much older and almost dust. These barely had anything happen to them."
By this time Smits and Lonny had come down and saw everything. "This is gross," Smits declared. Franco went over to tell them what Jerome had found, but Jerome was eying something that the dead king had folded in his arms.
Jerome gently moved an arm, but he moved it too hard. The king toppled over and both royals fell apart leaving the dark object lying on the pile of bones. King Jerome picked it up and blew the dust off of it.
It was a big leather book. The cover was old and worn away, but on it had golden inscription that shone in the firelight. The inside was full of parchment pages, but unable to read in the dim lighting.
"Let's all go back up. The smell of this place is getting to me," Lonny suggested. Everyone agreed and walked back up the wood stairs, but not before noticing that Jerome was carrying something.
When they were all back up and in regular lighting it took a while for their eyes to adjust. The women were waiting for any news and wanted to know whether the testimonies of Des and Camille were true.
"What was down there?" Savanna (Lonny's wife) asked.
"It's dungeon. There are dead remains all over. Nothing too dangerous," Smits explained.
"Did you find out anything about them?" Queen Marigold asked, mainly to Jerome who had the book opened and was reading.
"It's the king's journal. Entries about his rule. Maybe it can explain why they are all dead."
"Well, start reading," Franco said.