THE STATE OF THINGS - SECTION 24

 LEGEND OF NEVETSECNUAC - THE STATE OF THINGS - SECTION - 24

05- NEVETS AND FEM FATALE  YENIS

Prefect Micen Do and his assistant Mouro Kerr spent that afternoon overseeing the plan and deliberating on the meticulous steps they would take.  Since Micen felt that Yenis held the key to too many riddles and was the most expendable, Mouro was assigned the gruesome, tiresome task of her interrogation and torture. Knowing that Mouro's personal preference drifted more towards male actors and young man, Micen remained confident of his success.  Mouro would not be so easily swayed or beguiled by her feminine charms to show her any pity and easy going on the torture.

Unreconciled at first to her fate, Yenis had stuck to her story, using everything within her means to seduce Mouro, but she’d failed to sway (affect, move) him.  Where another would have succumbed to her irresistible charms and consequently human frailty, lust Mouro had instead, maintained his stone-cold composure and unyielding, hard (merciless) heart.  Without a trace of compassion, the finger vise and other brutal instruments of torture were repeatedly applied until the truth was literally wrung out of her.  She sobbed out her full confession, which was promptly written up and submitted.

As soon as it reached him, Micen Do poured it over in the comfort of his study. Her story, after all her reticence, was a simple one.

This innocent seeming beauty had, in fact, conspired with her lover, one called Canute Yonn, to dispose of her husband, Senson Luko, and then afterwards ran away with his valuables in order to begin a new life elsewhere.

Yenis had never loved her sadistic husband and, in truth, had wholeheartedly despised him.  Her family had owed Senson a great sum of money and the recent widower had proposed to overlook the debt if they, as he put it, "were to become related".

 In a despicable bargain, despite the vast age difference, her family had forced her to enter into wedlock with Senson Luko.

Headstrong to begin with, she had not reconciled herself to loving Senson as a dutiful wife should and had immediately begun to seek happiness and gratification elsewhere.  Contrary to the wanton adulteress that the testimony of the vindictive Latham and Hacket Luko had made her out to be, circumstances kept Yenis outwardly faithful to her aged husband, though there was no lack of trying on her part.

The recent appearance of the tall, dashingly handsome, charming scholar/ warrior, Canute Yonn, on the scene had fulfilled her latest desire, this void in her heart, and precipitated the consequential, tragic set of events.

Canute with his gentle disposition and fine mannerisms, at their (numerous) secret rendezvous, had entertained her and remained most sensitive (attentive) to her needs and vacillating, oftentimes nitpicky moods until; he had completely won her over.

Believing that he would reciprocate her affections fully and that he would remain true to her, she had consented to his pleas for intimacy on more than one occasion. 

Mouro Kerr had shamelessly extracted the complete details of these sexual encounters and recorded them in their entirety for Micen to drool over.

The killing of her husband had been Canute Yonn's idea, for Yenis would have been quite content with simply running away with her lover, carrying only her jewelry.  Canute had persistently warned her that, unless her vindictive husband was disposed of, Senson would spare no effort to hunt them down and bring her back to suffer ceaseless torments, to punish her for her indiscretion.  Forced to live hiding, they would always be looking over their shoulders, fearing discovery.  They would be robbed of solace and peace of mind regardless of the distance they may put between themselves and Denor City.

Seeing the obvious truth in his claim, Yenis was finally cajoled into accepting Senson's demise.  On that stormy night hence, she had snuck Canute into the compound and, as planned, led him through the interior of the house straight to her husband's bedchamber.  Being rather squeamish, she had wanted to wait outside and keep watch while Canute completed the gruesome task of decapitating Senson. But again, on his insistence she had been forced into being his accomplice.

Bloodthirsty Micen re-read this part of the confession with added interest:

“I let Canute through the side door and as he crept like a cat to a position behind sleeping Senson, I, as per instructed, silently disrobed, leaving only my undergarments on me, and stood just inside the room. In a most seductive whisper that I can muster, I called out my husband’s name, and then waited with fearful, trembling breath, for Senson to wake.  His eyelids opened, but then hungry, licentious gaze at once burrowing into me, he sat up bolt upright in his bed and, smirking (grinning), beckoned me to come to him. An involutory shudder passed through me, as I felt tormented by the sensation of my skin crawling with million insects, slithering and taking chunks out of my flesh.” Micen interrupted his reading at this moment and dawned a sinister, broad smile, imagining her in that compromised position.

“Just as Senson, delighting at my obvious unease, impatiently opened his mouth to bark his command at me, Canute struck from behind, in one powerful, lightening move he severed the main artery and sliced his throat. I nearly fainted at this gruesome sight, the terrible gurgling sound he made, the gushing blood! Then as if I was outside of myself, watching, observing the practiced way Canute tucked the head of Senson forward to stop the surge of blood. Next, he wielded his sword with practiced force once more, to decapitate him!  As the head rolled onto the floor and the corpse flopped back onto the bed, Canute moved in position to strike the body time and again, as if assuaging his deep-seated ire, his years of pent-up revenge, and mutilated Senson’s corpse with his swift, sure strokes.”

“I could no longer stand the grizzly, horrific scene any longer and so, in panic-stricken-terror I turned, picked up my wrap and fled to outside of the bedroom.  With wobbling legs, I willed myself to hasten to my chambers where I collapsed on the floor vomiting and crying, in a state quite beside myself. Sometime later when he came in, he was able to calm me down and with his assistance, I quickly dressed for the journey and gathered up the valuables to take with me. In my flustered (muddled) state I failed to note that Canute had taken for himself, a jewel- inlaid strong (metal) box, Senson’s prized possession. “

 That night, in the cover of darkness, two cloaked riders, Yenis and her lover, had successfully made their getaway with some valuables, but certainly far less than the amount claimed to have been stolen by the Luko family.

Mouro proved his worth by gathering a detailed list of the stolen items, which verified (attested) that only one quarter of the goods that Luko family had claimed to have gone missing, exposing their mendacity (deceit).

After a long ride, Yenis and her lover had eventually taken refuge at Kuno Temple, mistakenly thinking that they would be safe there. It was also there where, in dust, Canute, invoking prayers, had made the fiery sacrifice, burning hell money and something else, she was not entirely sure what. As for the jewel encrusted metal box, failing to unlock it, he had tried smashing it, and when that also failed, in seething rage he then had thrown it down some deep well, she couldn’t say which one, only that it was somewhere within the temple grounds.

 Despite the severity of torture and all other means employed by Mouro, in order to extract the entire truth, Yenis had stuck to her original claim of ignorance of the box’s contents. Her husband, you see, had never let her see what was within it.

 At one point in her confession, she had even cursed herself for not realizing the obvious change in Canute Yonn’s demeanor, shortly after his fiery sacrifice and later still, his unusual refusal to seduce her, that first night in the Temple.

At the time quite unsuspectingly, she had attributed his indifference to his superstitious beliefs as the ruins had permeated (infused) such an overwhelming eerie aura.

 It was beyond her comprehension that, as she slept that night, her beloved would so heartlessly sneak away with the valuables and horses, leaving her stranded to face a fate far worse than death. It was indeed a wonder that she had maintained her sanity through it all.  Victimized and betrayed in this cruelest fashion, when her tears were all but spent, she had vowed in her bitterness that, if she survived her ordeal she would, from then on, seek vengeance and bring destruction upon all men.

Fradel Rurik Korvald, although not deserving of her wrath, was unfortunate enough to have stumbled into the path of her rage and scorn.

Though he had treated her most solicitously and honorably, she could not soften her heart even a little to forget her bitter disappointment with Canute Yonn.  Consequently, it had been her intention from the first to seduce Fradel Rurik Korvald and make him pay dearly as a kind of atonement for Canute Yonn's sins.  She was luring Fradel, by feeding him false information, away from Denor City with the intention of never letting him go when they were, unexpectedly, apprehended by the authorities.

“What a wretched fool!  Women are such weaklings.” With a contemptuous snort, Micen put her confession aside and then sent for Mouro.  Upon his assistant's prompt response, Micen relayed his orders with a stern visage, "You must dispatch the search parties at once for the apprehension of the one called Canute Yonn, now that his complete description has been secured from the woman."

"Yes, you’re Honor; that has already been taken care of.  Begging for your pardon sir, but, since there was little time to be spared, I took the liberty of sending out every available guard we have to scour the Prefecture in force for the culprit.  Wanted posters, offering the customary reward for the criminal's capture, are being posted at every junction as we speak.  I'm presently awaiting news of his capture."

Looking pleased, Micen acknowledged, "In this instance your perfunctory response was most appropriate.  You may now return to your other duties.  You are to inform me the very minute you learn of his capture; Dismissed!"

The second after Mouro's back was turned, Micen's face blackened with annoyance.

“What audacity!  What gall he has to act without first consulting with me!  Next thing you know, he'll be presiding over my court.  He's efficient, yes, but far too clever, too overbearing and too ambitious.  I must watch him carefully and never let my guard down for a moment where he's concerned.  I may have further need of him for now, but I had better look towards finding his replacement long before he becomes a real threat to me.”

                                                                                   ~

 

(END OF SECTION 24)

THE ASSASSINS - SECTION 11

 LEGEND OF NEVETSECNUAC - THE ASSASSINS - SECTION 11

Lord Wutenzar Thuxur Marrog Zhon, true to his word, in the ensuing months had spared no expense in the effort of exonerating Sorgun Dufo.

Before long the news reached them that Lord Wutenzar’s able men, through their persistence and prodding, through bribes dispensed covertly, and despite the fact that Lord Wutenzar Thuxur Marrog Zhon had no jurisdiction or influence in Fukken province, had brought down the barriers of stiff opposition to finally uncover the hidden facts (evidence) pertaining to this case.  What's more they had managed to procure irrefutable proof of Sorgun's innocence and used this to force the local authorities to reopen the investigation.

It so happened that Sorgun's father, Kerek, in his shame, had indeed forced his daughter-in-law Linnsar to commit suicide then, after writing a letter of confession and begging forgiveness from Sorgun which he left in his study to be discovered, had taken his own life with one cut to the throat.

 Fortunately for Sorgun the trusted Steward Alec, who had discovered the bodies when Minakos came to call the next day, managed through his quick wit and sharp eye, to sneak a peek at the contents of the letter over Minakos’s shoulder as latter broke the seal and read it.

The Steward Alec had been constrained however, perhaps out of fear, to keep his tongue when Minakos with his false exclamation (shriek), declared that the content had pertained to him and that it had only been about an insignificant, trivial matter- then crumbled it and cast it into the fire. 

The ambitious Minakos, seizing this rare, golden opportunity, from then on had conspired to buttress an ironclad case against his own nephew Sorgun, who had disappeared, to convict him of many grievous crimes, foremost being patricide.

 With his suspicious nature Minakos had kept the steward in line with his close scrutiny and insinuated threats as he spread damaging rumors (hearsay) and bogus accusations same time planted incriminating evidence to support his fabricated version of the events leading up to the now perceived case of multiple murders and abduction.

Rumors fanned by Minakos' hirelings spread quickly far and wide, that Sorgun in a jealous rage, had killed them both and kidnapped his own son, legitimate next beneficiary, as a hostage to be used if he was threatened.

At the corrupted inquest Minakos' testimony directing all blame towards Sorgun was corroborated by others who he had surreptitiously bribed or intimidated.  As they dragged Sorgun's name through the mud he quickly became the most hated, despised criminal in the history of the Fukken province.

 Leaving nothing to chance, Minakos bribed many of the key officials to exert influence on the Magistrate Kokos to pronounce the appropriate guilty verdict despite the absence of the accused. 

Aside from covertly hiring a number of experienced thugs to comb the province and assassinate his nephew, Minakos Vidart so far as to lavish rare gifts on the provincial Governor Toku, under the pretext of asking, as the future head of the Dufo clan, his invaluable help in quickly putting an end to this shameful, scandalous episode.

 The underlying motives of this request had positively confirmed the Governor's suspicions about this case, but he pretended to consider the matter further to extract more benefit from Minakos.  In fact, Toku had carefully weighed the untold rewards he could reap from granting the incumbent Esquire his wish against the unlikely repercussions of enacting such an irregular procedure.

 In the end, when he deemed, he had wrung enough out of Minakos, he had reluctantly agreed to turn a blind eye to justice and pressured Magistrate Kokos to forgo the normal procedures and expeditiously wrap up the case.

The indignant steward Alec, having served the clan practically all his days, out of fear for his life and with nowhere else to go had swallowed this great injustice done to the rightful heir of Esquire Kerek Dufo and, painful as it was, maintained his silence.

 At the inquest Alec was further   constrained to mechanically parrot the slanderous, erroneous accounts leading up to multiple murders, as dictated to him by Minakos.  He'd sporadically choked on the words but delivered them just the same, then Minakos Vidart on to serving his new, shrewd master, who had readily seized all power and had assumed the title of Esquire even before the case was settled.

 The steward's fear of Minakos was so great that it took a great deal of persuading and reasoning   by Lord Wutenzar Thuxur Marrog Zhon's agents to get at the truth.  When Sorgun surrendered and was placed in custody, Alec had retracted his former testimony at the retrial under Magistrate Kokos and moreover confessing to his impropriety (misconduct), revealed the true contents of the letter Minakos had destroyed.

This, however, instead of clearing Sorgun, was quickly overturned as it had been the case with other submitted irrefutable evidence as dubious dispositions. Esquire Minakos' supporters arguing the case successfully had the steward's testimony thrown out, discredited as hearsay from a presumably deranged mind, overwrought as he was proclaimed to have been by the tragic loss of his former master.

 On top of that, Alec was accused of now maligning   his present master because of his recent chastisement over a rather despicable, of course fabricated, incident.  The Magistrate, however, had seemingly shown leniency in view of the steward's insanity and passed a sentence of only ninety hard strokes for Alec’s false deposition in court and had him sent away.  Shortly afterwards, the steward's sudden, suicidal death was pronounced as a matter-of-factly at court as just recrimination.

Meanwhile, Lord Wutenzar Thuxur Marrog Zhon on his way to the Capital Channing, was apprised of the developments in Fukken province through his fast couriers and able spies.  Reaching the Capital, the Lord's first initiative had been to directly petition the Metropolitan Censorate to appoint an independent commission to oversee Sorgun Dufo's case, pointing out the irregularities and the gross miscarriages of justice in its handling.  Being bogged down with more pressing issues, however, the Censorate underestimated the depth of the corruption, summarily ordered the Provincial Governor Toku Neron, to investigate the case once more.

 The Governor Toku Neron, who had pressed for the previous judgment even in the absence of the accused, simply went through the motions instructing the Yeko Prefecture to conduct a new investigation.  On the sly, Toku lost no time in informing Esquire Minakos of the pesky interference of Lord Wutenzar Thuxur Marrog Zhon and demanded the Esquire use his ample resources and part of the vast fortune now at his disposal to do a more thorough job on the (conspiracy) cover-up.  Meanwhile, in view of the petition and newly presented evidence, the death sentence on Sorgun was temporarily postponed until the successful conclusion of this third judicial inquiry.

Esquire Minakos' sources in (Imperial Capital) Channing had all independently confirmed these dangerous developments; furthermore, they had unilaterally reported the Lord's unyielding persistence and his relentless stand on this issue.  Every avenue had been exhausted, they claimed, but Lord Wutenzar Thuxur Marrog Zhon could neither be bribed nor intimidated. 

Esquire Minakos' tentacles reached far and wide, right into the very jail in which Sorgun languished.  Still, he could do very little to harm the scholar, let alone stage another suicide, as Sorgun had been, from the first, closely guarded by the Lord's competent men.  Neither could Minakos, despite his best efforts, reach the child Kundrick to inflict injury or kidnap him to hold as hostage to break Sorgun's defiant will.

Esquire MInakos did the next best thing and, by once more underhandedly dispensing generous bribes, had gotten Nuer of Yeko prefecture to collude with the Magistrate Kokos.  They both simultaneously submitted another detailed report stating that no injustice had been done; in fact, there were no irregularities whatsoever in the case under review.  Furthermore, pretending that it had just been obtained, they had furnished their report with more indisputable proof and had asked that, without any further delay, the Magistrate to be allowed to mete out justice to the guilty party.

When word reached the Lord through a good friend that the Censorate was now considering overturning   the Lord's protests, Lord Lord Wutenzar Thuxur Marrog Zhon at once wielded his power and influence to secure an audience with, and promptly memorialized, the Throne. 

This time, armed with all the proof exposing the most recent dirty dealings of Esquire Minakos, the Governor General, Provincial Governor Toku, Prefect Nuer and Magistrate Kokos and the whole host of others, he proposed that the Board of Punishments intervene directly.  His proposal was accepted.

Chinzo Doken, the Minister of Punishments, took personal charge of this most grievous matter.  After reviewing all the documents and submitted pertinent evidence, old and new, Chinzo Doken became duly concerned at the apparent widespread corruption in Fukken Province.

 It so happened that the central government had been for some time considering the appointment of a Commission to expose the bad elements which were sapping, crippling the strength of the nation. 

The courtiers advocating change jumped at the opportunity to exploit this case and pushed for more severe measures and tighter controls to make the border provinces more accountable to the central government.

 All involved were, without exception, summoned to the Imperial Capital to be interrogated at length by the Grand Council with the cooperation of the Board of Punishments.

Since murder was at the root of this matter, it was decided that, in order to get at the true facts, the only alternative was an autopsy on the deceased. 

So, after an internment of nearly four years, the corpses of Esquire Kerek Dufo and his daughter-in-law Linnsar Dufo were exhumed and brought to Capital Channing for a second, more thorough, examination.

Fortunately, due to the arid, cold climate of Fukken Province, the bodies were remarkably well preserved.

The autopsy was conducted under the watchful gaze of Minister Chinzo Doken and his competent assistants.  A careful, rather fastidious examination by the coroners took into consideration the angle of the cuts as well as the previously overlooked minor lacerations, bruises and internal injuries.  Their findings tallied perfectly with the facts as related by Sorgun.  Their report concluded that Esquire Kerek Dufo and his daughter-in-law Linnsar Dufo's deaths were both due to self-inflicted wounds, therefore a suicide.  Sorgun's innocence was established once and for all.

When the Grand Council and the officials on the Board of Punishments cross examined Esquire Minakos Dufo, Governor Toku, Prefect Nuer, Magistrate Kokos and the rest they all, after being subjected to torture and interrogated at length, one by one pleaded guilty and confessed to their part in this grievous conspiracy. 

All were severely punished, jailed for life, demoted, stripped of office or exiled after confiscation of their property according to the degree of their involvement in the crime.  This, in one stroke, rooted out (purged, eradicated) the long existing corruption in Fukken Province.

Minakos, for tampering with evidence, and murder of the steward Alec as well as his purposeful manipulation and misdirecting of the facts, perjury, intimidation, extortion, bribery and corruption of government officers among a host of charges, received extreme due punishment.

In the public square of Fukken Province he was quartered by four oxen.  His immediate family, consisting of his wife, Dijek, daughter Mirek aged seven, and son Enkaz aged three years were stripped of all wealth and power, given the tattoo of the criminal on their left cheek, then, with only the clothes on their back and a bag of dry grain, were driven out of Fukken Province then Wenjenkun forever.

Soon after being entirely exonerated, Sorgun was re- installed in his rightful position in Fukken Province.

                                                                                  ~

 

(END OF SECTION 11)