<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 200%; line-height: 116%;"><span style="color: #FF4000">Archibald the Puppet Master</span></span></div><br/><br/>It was with an admirable affection that the dark archmage looked upon the young king as he ate the spread that was before him, knowing that once his highness finished the meal that he would quickly get to the matter at hand for which the two of them were meeting. The king was not one to make with small talk and got straight to the point, a trait that Archibald liked in him that many others lacked, usually resulting in their untimely death due to annoyance as the court wizard himself was not one for small talk as well. This gave him a patient demeanor as he waited for the king to finish his meal, choosing to opt out of lunch himself as lack of eating is part of maintaining his power of the undead as well as other magics. When he does eat, which is rare, he only eats of the finest breads, meats, vegetables, etc., eating only enough to sustain himself physically but not too much to muck up the flow of his energy and anything less than the most exquisite of meals would a hindrance to him. This makes living among royalty most advantageous for him, as can be expected.<br/><br/>Besides, it was not lunch with the king that he was brought here for, that was for certain and confirmed as such when Damien began to speak about a plot being formed against him. The brow on the darkmage's head furled as he listens closely to the words that were spoken.<span style="color: #FF4000"><span style="font-style: italic">Someone is plotting against the king,</span></span>he thought to himself as the expression on his face showed of genuinely being appalled by such a thing. Of course, it was not that the wizard was concerned for the life of his king. He was bothered by the idea that someone other than him was planning to take the power. This could also mean that whoever it was, if these allegations are found to be true, may attempt to overthrow the archmage as well, something Archibald will not tolerate.<span style="color: #FF4000"> <span style="font-style: italic">Who could it be,</span></span>he wondered as he thought on who would dare plot such a thing.<br/><br/>It hit like a jolt by lightning, the shock of the accusation of this plot being carried out by the good general. He would have thought the very idea inconceivable on the part of Francis. Sure the general was not far from treated with respect by the king, but was that truly enough for him to plot something like overthrowing the throne? Was he looking for something else? Power? No, Francis was a good general, in the sense of his ability to command vast numbers of living souls, and certainly seemed to be content with that. At least, that's what Archibald thought before being handed the scroll with the logged events of the accused. With great care he read through the document, noting the many times that the general had indeed either been late or completely missed meetings, gave orders to his troops without first getting permission from the king, even so much as to disobey direct orders at times in favor of his own.<br/><br/>Though, of all the discrepensies, the one that stood out the most was one that happened several months earlier. Francis had been spotted by one of the castle guards leaving the grounds to enter the town, during a time when it had been commanded that all high ranking personnel stay within the walls as the king and archmage were concerned that a spy was among them. They had, of course, discovered the suspect and dealt with him  swiftly but that was long after the general had left the castle grounds to return several hours later. Unfortunately for Francis, the guard that spotted him was not of his loyal members and ended up following the general to a questionable location where a mysterious figure was met and talked to before heading back. The guard then reported the incident to one of the king's royal record officers, who was then executed for disobeying the command to not leave the castle walls, though not before the incident was properly recorded and varified through magical means. The memory of the then dead guard was itself recorded, through magical means, on the very document that Archibald now held in his hard gripped hands.<br/><br/>The archmage could not but help feel anger swelling up inside him as his magical mind read the memory, seeing the image of the general meeting with the very man who was found to be the spy.<span style="color: #FF4000">"Why was this not brought to my attention earlier?"</span>Archibald spoke with a stern and cold voice, fighting hard to keep his anger from this revelation seeping out with his words. He was quite intolerant of anyone who looks to get in the way of his yearning for power and the general was now branded in his mind as an enemy that must be dealt with right away.<span style="color: #FF4000"><span style="font-style: italic">Sure,</span></span>he thought to himself, trying to keep himself rational about the situation,<span style="color: #FF4000"><span style="font-style: italic">it could always be a coincidence, but not one that I can afford to grow into anything else if I wish to one day hold the reigns of my own kingdom.</span></span><br/><br/>Before the mage could speak any more on the issue, a familiar voice broke through his thoughts, delivering the message that both he and the king were waiting for. Cestaline, the druidic queen that had been sent to the kingdom of Scarborough three years earlier to attempt to infiltrate and keep account of the enemy, was now announcing herself to him. The sound of the woman's voice made the hair on his neck stand as he could not tolerate the wench, having had a special place in his heart that he held against her, knowing that the queen was a powerful user of magic as well as King Damien's love, thus making her a great obstacle in his path to power. He would love nothing more than to bring the enchantress under his control but for now dealt with her as he did with the king.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF4000">"I understand, your majesty,"</span>he mentally replied back to the queen at the completed delivery of her message,<span style="color: #FF4000">"but I do not know if that can be accomplished so soon. There is something that must be dealt with here first. Would you be able to stall for some more time? The troops aren't nearly ready and this needs to be done with great precision."</span>