The secret she discovered

"Wait." Her hands push against your chest desperately trying to create some space between the two of you. "Wait! I'll tell you. I'll tell you what I know!" As much as you were looking forward to spending your last moments in Athenapolis introducing this proud noblewoman to the joys of sex, you are more curious about what she has discovered. Stepping back, you give Lady Relia a little space and a chance to gather her thoughts. If this important news of hers turns out to be drake shit, you can always refuse to take her to the United Armies and let her renegotiate the terms for you flying her to safety.

"I've learned of a coup to take over the leadership of the United Armies and break the siege." When she sees the skepticism in your eyes Lady Relia reaches under her robes and produces a folded square of heavy rag paper. This was given to me by a representative of the High Council," she explains as she hands it to you. "It is an offer for Prince Anochises of Apollopol to break the siege of Athenapolis in exchange for the Kingship of the city."

"They put that in writing?" You snort, this must be the stupidest noblewoman in the whole city. "It's a clumsy attempt to divide the factions of the United Armies, no one will believe this, least of all the Lord Marshal."

"I'm not stupid, Rider Korban." It is almost like Relia read your mind. "The message was magically hidden, and it was only by accident that I discovered it." She pulls the letter out of your hand and carries it to an oil lamp, "Come see what I mean." In spite of your initial doubts, you move to her side to see what she is doing. As she holds the parchment over the open flame the script on the page darkens and becomes sharper.

"I was, as you can imagine," the Athenian noblewoman continues once she sees that she has your complete attention, "suspicious when I was approached by this representative, but once he left, I carefully pried off the seal on the letter as I'm sure they expected me to." There is clearly more to Lady Kiriakolis than you had first assumed.

"The actual correspondence," she explains, "is an insipid note that makes no mention of the perilous siege of the city, I have that too if you want to read it, but this is the important part." She hands you back the note. "I accidently left the envelope leaning against a lamp, and when I went to reseal the letter, I found the hidden writing on it. It took a while, but I was able to heat the parchment enough for complete text to appear." It might still be a trap, but Lady Relia's story is starting to feel pretty solid. The language of the hidden letter only adds to its validity.

To His Most Noble Highness, Crown Prince Anochises of the City of Apollo,

Whereas, your city and ours have always shared a special relationship. The closeness of Athena and Apollo themselves is reflected in the mortal world as has been evidenced for over three hundred years and through multiple partnerships over the years. It is our understanding that you value this divine connection and refused to join your august personage in the illegal and exercise of personal vengeance perpetrated by the High Priestess of Heliopolis and the weak-willed King of her minor city.

Whereas, it is the belief of the undersigned that one of the main reasons that our city has been so maliciously set upon is our lack of a true King to lead our city and to deal with the slander and jealousy of those who inspired this great wrong.

Whereas, you have been grievously wronged by that same Priestess of Helios who has spoken of you words that we will not repeat. It is our belief that such heinous lies grow with each repetition, and we will not be part of her slander; know however that no matter how you are moved when you read this invitation that we will never believe that a Prince of your august personage could ever be so lacking in character. We too have been the victims of her serpentine tongue and will give no more credence to the claims of your cowardice than we do to the false rumors that have been circulated about out great city.

Whereas, A prince of your stature, much like the gods themselves, has within him the ability to change the outcome of worldly events when he sees a wrong such as that being committed at this very moment.

And Whereas, a man like you should not languish in the shadow of his father, but should have his own city to govern without having to wait for the eventual **** of his king and is the opinion of the High Council that these injustices can - indeed must - be resolved in a way pleasing to all concerned and the gods themselves by offering you the Kingship of our city with all the privileges and rights granted to you and your heirs for all time. Upon receipt of this message (or multiple copies as we sent several messengers with the same offer) we recommend that you summon your personal guard and ride immediately to liberate your besieged city.

You of course, as a military general with no equal, know better than us what strategy to best accomplish this task. However, it is our thought that you not make public your new status until you have reached the so-called United Army's camp outside our walls. There speak with those Captains from your city that you can trust to do what is right and inform them of the change in your situation. Once inside the guard of the thrice-cursed union of city's army it will be well within your power to end once and for all the bloodshed, destruction and enslavement of your grateful peoples.

We the citizens of Athenapolis long for the day when your highness resides in the royal palace and the light of your divine spirit rules over us like the light of the Sun God himself. All that we have is yours, and we long to serve you in whatever way we can. It is a small token of the love, admiration and respect that the people of Athenapolis have for you that all the unmarried daughters of the city have pledged themselves to serve you in whatsoever manner that pleases their new king. Such is the fame of your divine visage, chiseled figure, gracious nature and manly virility that every maid in the city (even the Regent's own daughter) has begged to be allowed to serve you in your bedchambers.

Your humble servants, ....

The letter is signed by six of the nine members of the High Council, notable for its absence was the signature of Lord Aegricion, Regent of Athenapolis. In all likelihood, the man who had ruled Athenapolis as its king for the past fifteen years was not even aware of the offer that would depose him if successful. The paragraph offering Prince Anochises his pick of the virgins of the city including even the Regent's own daughter as his personal playthings was typical for the powerful families of Athenapolis. If you have any doubt about if this is truly what the offer entails the final postscript makes their intentions perfectly clear.

Postscript: Your Majesty, we have selected as couriers six of the loveliest flowers of our city; if you find them pleasing, feel free to make what use of them you may, either for your own pleasure or for your men to sample the delights of your new city. If on the other hand they displease you in any way, strip them of their robes and throw them naked to the lepers and vagabonds outside your city's gates for they have failed in their duty to city and goddess.

You can only imagine how Lady Relia must have reacted when she first read the hidden message, especially the final paragraph which more or less **** her hand. It is clearer now why she is willing to risk capture and enslavement by the forces arrayed against her home city instead of the alternative. For a heartbeat or two, you consider the fate of the other five messengers. Were some or all of them already serving the prince and his cronies in a new role that they most certainly did not volunteer for.

"I believe you." You tell the noblewoman who is studying you carefully and see her let out a soft sigh of relief. "The question is will Lord Raxius believe you, because if he doesn't-" you make sure she is looking you in the eye, "- then you're headed for the **** pens, and I'll lose Swiftwing and maybe even my life." You turn away from her as you think, this isn't your fight, but on the other hand...

"Rider," Relia must sense your indecision. "I'll make it worth the risk."