6 days left
Uk climbed atop a chair around the table and sat on it the wrong way. Describe location.
“Uk,” Kraz said, “try to show some semblance of respect.”
“Gotcha.” He sat in the chair the correct way.
“I will grab the food,” Luif said.
“Why isn’t my father here?" Avso asked hesitantly.
“We won’t be working with him directly,” Skamtos said.
“Why?”
“He’ll get in the way. If we’re going to kill the Emperor, I won’t have someone breathing down my neck.”
“And besides,” Uk said, “You’re here to tell him everything anyway. So don’t get all sad that he can't be here to hold your hand. You’ll be fine.”
“I don’t care about having my hand held. My father is running this mission, so he should be there.”
Kraz gave him a gentle, amiable smile. “Listen, we all want the same thing. And we’ve agreed with your father that we can work best to achieve our goals by planning separately. It’s more effective this way. No disrespect meant.”
“Don’t worry,” Uk said to Avso. “He’s still partially working on the team.”
“How so?”
“Well, he’s in charge of securing more soldiers. He’s talking to those who might join our side.”
“He’s also helping us contact Wiseman Ohvocdu,” Kraz said. “Ohvocdu will help us find Tesro’s Amulet.”
“Tesro’s Amulet?”
“Your father has good reason to believe that it wasn't lost, and that Ohvocdu knows where it is. It’s crucial to our mission. It’ll dampen the Emperor’s Otu momentarily. We’ll kill him then.”
“Can he not be killed if we don’t use the amulet?”
“He can, but it will be incredibly difficult.”
“I don’t think you’ve seen how powerful the Emperor is,” Uk said. “Trust me, we’ll need the amulet.”
Luif brought the food back and placed it in front of them. The aroma of spiced meats and freshly baked bread soon permeated the room. Avso decided not to eat anything, despite being hungry. He didn’t want to drop anything like last time. And besides, he didn’t like eating in front of others. He was used to eating alone in his room like every day.
“Wine, Skamtos?” Luif asked.
Skamtos hesitated. “Not today.”
Luif nodded and then sat in his seat.
Uk started grabbing food and putting it on his plate. “So, Luif, no wife, no kids?”
“No, not an interest.” Luif shoveled food onto his plate.
“Let’s get along with the plan,” Kraz said. “First, we only have six days until the Emperor’s ritual finishes. He must die before then. We should practice fighting with each other. Avso, you’ll be fighting with us, so you’ll practice too.”
Luif spoke up. “But you don’t have Otu.”
“No—I don’t. But I can fight, and I’ll keep up with all of you.”
“How do we know you won’t hold us back?” Luif asked.
“I’ll make sure not to. I won’t weigh down the team, trust me.”
“Well,” Luif said, “I want—“
“You know, Luif,” Uk interrupted with a smile, “you look like you could be this kid’s dad. I just noticed that.”
“Uk,” Kraz glared, “if you don’t have anything constructive to say, don’t say it.”
“I was just making an observation. I mean, c’mon, they’re both skinny little guys—practically twins.”
“Shut it, Uk,” Luif glared.
Uk shrugged nonchalantly and waved his hand. “As you were.”
Skamtos said, “The first thing is that we should avoid fighting him directly. I’m not sure how well we’d fare.”
“Also,” Luif said, “poison won’t work.”
“I’d play it safe and just behead him,” Uk said. “No reason to try anything else.”
“That’s reasonable,” Kraz said.
“Yeah, I know it’s reasonable. That’s why I said it,” Uk said. “So, what? Do we just walk up behind the Emperor, chop his big head off, and that’s that?”
“It won’t be that simple,” Kraz said. “For one, you won't be able to sneak up on him.”
Avso had an idea but didn’t know if he wanted to say it aloud.
They ate in silence for a bit until Kraz spoke. “We could use the Mud-dawn ceremonies. There are many people there, and the crowd can divert any suspicion. No one would know the Emperor’s dead for a few moments. We could escape in that time.”
“Probably not,” Luif said. “The Emperor’s most likely the center of attention. People will see him. Not to mention, he stands out with his height.”
“And how are we supposed to cut his head off in a crowd full of people?” Uk asked.
“Both are good points,” Kraz said. “We could craft a spell to covertly kill the Emperor.”
Uk snorted. “Do I look like Nubo to you, Kraz? No one here knows how to create a spell.”
“I do,” Kraz said. “As does Wascofi.”
“Eh,” Uk said. “Who would’ve guessed? Still, I doubt you’ll be able to create a spell good enough to kill the Emperor. Someone would have thought of it already.”
“We could sneak into his chamber and kill him there,” Luif said.
“He sleeps in the sacred chambers,” Skamtos said. No blood could be spilled in the sacred chambers, otherwise, Murok would destroy those who killed.
“What if we just get him to sleep somewhere else?” Uk asked.
“He would sense us walking up,” Skamtos said.
“Well,” Uk said, “Why don't we have Luif make us invisible? You can do that, right?”
“That's not how it works. It's easy to do on myself, but you can still see me when I move. If I have to do it on multiple people, we'll all be more visible.”
"Can't you disguise our Otu auras?" Kraz asked. "So he can't sense us?"
"Yes … I could do that."
Uk smiled. “Easy. You just hide our Otu signatures; we sneak up on the Emperor and then assassinate him.”
“That could work,” Kraz said.
“And then, if we fight, Luif will draw back and keep us half-invisible. This way, we’ll have the advantage over the Emperor because he can’t see us.”
Luif nodded. “I could do that.”
Avso had an idea. But he didn’t want to say it. It would get him killed. It was suicide. It was stupid. He kept his mouth shut. The conversation continued, and Avso wanted to say his plan. It would work, but it would also make him the key piece.
But that was good, right? If he were the key piece, his father would surely see his power and importance.
“I also have a plan,” Avso blurted out.
“What?” Skamtos sounded impatient.
“I can convince the Emperor.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that I can convince him to do something. He trusts me. I can use that.”
“How do you know he trusts you?”
“He calls upon me sometimes and asks for advice.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Uk said, staring at Avso. “You’re personally offering advice to the Emperor. Why?”
“Well,” Avso swallowed, feeling the eyes on him. “Because of my blessing.”
“But why would he trust someone as young as you? You’re—what—twelve?”
“No!” Avso’s voice was harsh. “I’m fourteen. How would I have been honored at last night’s ceremony if I were twelve?”
Uk snickered.
Kraz smiled. “That could be used, but it’s risky. How often does he call on you?”
“About twice a year, maybe.”
“That’s not enough,” Skamtos said. “It won’t work, and we have a better plan.”
“I understand." Avso's chest twinged with disappointment. But there was no use in feeling that way. He sat taller. "But … I could convince him to go somewhere, and then we ambush him there.”
“It’s too risky. And besides, I’m not putting the plan’s fate in Frauza’s child’s hands.”
Avso felt indignation stir at that. “I can do it well. He trusts me. I’m trustworthy.”
“Listen, it’s not happening—end of discussion.”
Avso nodded.
“So, what do you talk about with the Emperor?” Uk said.
Avso looked at him and cooled his anger. “Not much. He once called on me the night before he became Emperor.”
“And what’d you tell him?”
“Just that he shouldn’t worry; he’d make a great Emperor.”
Uk snickered. “Oh, so you’re the reason he’s the Emperor?”
“No … I mean … He just came to me for advice.”
“Let’s finalize the plan,” Kraz said. “On the sixth day, we’ll sneak into his chambers. We’ll use Luif to hide us all. We’ll have more soldiers from Frauza with us. When we’re in the Emperor’s proximity, we’ll activate Tesro's Amulet. Then, we’ll all attack. Someone will behead the Emperor.”
"And then what happens?" Uk asked.
"We will deal with that as it comes," Kraz said.
"My father …" Avso said, "he stated that he would become Emperor afterward. He can help explain why the Emperor died."
Uk snickered. "Who says he's gonna be Emperor?"
"What? He—You had a deal."
"We'll deal with that as the time comes," Skamtos said. "For now, we focus on this."
"But—"
"Listen," Skamtos cut in, "Your father can think what he wants. But that doesn't mean it'll happen."
Avso shut his mouth. They couldn't do that to his father. He had to tell him. He pondered the plan. It seemed easy, but they were trying to kill the Emperor. How could the plan be easy? Something was going to go wrong, and Avso knew it.
