Chapter 5: Interlude in Brenham

King Harold of Brenham wasn't happy as he went over the events of the past few days.

First of all, that so-called priest, Father George, had evaded the guards who were supposed to hold him after he refused to acknowledge the right of Harold over the Supreme One. Without him to speak the words that Harold wanted, he lost his hold on the faithful flock of Brenham.

Then, the Portal was damaged by some unknown means, and so his hold over the travelling of people through this world was removed The news that a portal was activated in Lake Town meant that he'd have to control that one. So he'd sent some men along with Commander Wilhelm to take over the portal at Lake Town.

There had been the attack on the castle by some unknown wizard, who had stolen the armour of King John and somehow locked the gates before running through the walls. Harold hated wizards of all types, mainly because he couldn't cast a single spell to save his life.

Then, the night had been disrupted by the appearance of a Banshee on the battlements, but Harold had faced it and driven it away, only to have doors in another tower begin to slam open and close until all doors had been locked securely.

After that there was the fire in the kitchens, which depleted the stock of food for the castle, forcing the staff there to forage in the town to get provisions, only to find that there was little to be gathered.

The breakfast was a dismal affair, for even the eggs had been damaged by the unknown visitors, and everyone was tired from lack of sleep. Then the wide-eyed solider had dashed into the castle, without any trouble with the gates.

He reported that the church had vanished, and indeed, when they arrived at the plain, the land where the church had stood was clean as if nothing had been there at all!

This was magic of such high power that Harold had to keep this secret from everyone. He posted guards around the plain where the church had stood, thus depleting the number of guards available to protect him.

Harold shook his head; it was supposed to be so different! He'd studied the text from other worlds and had followed how other great leaders had succeeded. Why was it so difficult? He focused on his new venture. (Well, it was part of the old venture actually, just a different direction.)

In the dungeons, he looked into a cell where an elderly woman had been shackled against the wall. She was soaking wet, as guards had thrown water over her; it was supposed to break down her resistance after being nearly burnt to death a few hours before. All she had to do was to tell them where her granddaughter was, and everything would stop, including the food she was fed — or force-fed. That information was vital. The brat should have been taken with the crone, but somehow word had gotten out, and she'd escaped.

The interrogator was now shouting at the crone. "Where is she? What instructions did you give to her?"

The crone looked towards the door and smiled. "She is where you least expect her to be. When the time is right she will appear and you will dread that day. Oh King." She fell silent again

Harold was shaken. He knew she couldn't see anything; she was known to have been blind since birth. There were rumours that she was a witch able to foretell the future, but that had to be complete nonsense. Nobody could do that ... but what if she could? Should he take notice of her ramblings? What harm could a ten-year-old bitch do to him, the King?

Returning to his dining room, he found that the food was still not available to his satisfaction, and when he sent his men out, they returned with hardly anything edible. He would be forced to trade with nearby towns for food.

Harold grimaced; this wasn't right. The fools should be falling over their feet to provide him and his men with food. They should be grateful that he wasn't sending raiding parties to take the food.

He needed more men, but the weaklings in Brenham were of no use. His only recourse would be to hire mercenaries from the several bandit groups that were normally hunted down by the various Dukedoms and Kingdoms — Something that Harold wanted to abolish, he wanted to be the king of the whole world.

Harold retired to the library that his father had constructed. It was full of books with inventions from other lands beyond the portals. In one of these books, he'd found the secret of the poisons that he'd administered to his brother and sister. That was how he'd defeated the doctors from the other worlds — they only knew of the poisons from their own worlds.

Now he was looking at weapons, easy to create in this backwards world. He looked with envy at the metal machines that men rode on in battles, firing something to destroy whole villages with one shot ... but they were beyond the abilities of his workers, and without the use of a portal, it was impossible to get the machinery to create them.

It all came back to the portal. Without it, he was at the mercy of his enemies, whoever they might be. He knew that his sister Susan would recover from the concoction he'd created for her; they had experts on the other side that would be able to administer the antidotes.

He had to consolidate his position. That was why Wilhelm's mission was vital to him.

His demand for a priest of any type was obeyed, and soon a snivelling wretch in brother's clothing was brought before him.

"Where is that traitorous priest, George? Where are you hiding him? I've been directed by the Supreme One to find him and to show him what happens to those who blaspheme against their god and King." Harold ranted at the shaking man.

"I ... I have been sent by the Abbot to ask what has happened with Father George. We have not heard from him for the past few days, and he is getting worried," The worthy finally was able to stammer.

"And what are you? Some high personage within the Abbey? Sent with full authority from the Abbot to deal with me?" Harold sneered at the man.

"Me? ... Me, Your Majesty? I'm just a brother in the Abbey. I've been told that when I find Father George, I'm to study under him. I've only been a brother for two years." The last word was almost a yelp as Harold grabbed hold of the man by his jacket.

"So, you've been sent by the Abbot to replace Father George. He knew how unstable that man was, and you've been sent to be guided by me," Harold said, a calculating look on his face as he realised that this was his way to control the townspeople.

"Oh, no, Your Majesty, I'm not able to -" The man's eyes were wide with fear.

Harold interrupted, setting the man down. "You will do as I tell you, or you won't be doing anything again. Now, my priest, what is your name?"