Sir Perinore knocked and entered, accompanied by several other knights. These men all had some blood on their uniforms. They were escorting a captive: a man in commoner clothes with a leg injury—a small but deep wound, clearly pierced by a sword, running right through his thigh.
Kay glanced at King Uther, who was still sound asleep, and decided that holding an interrogation right there was a bad idea. He quickly gave Morgana instructions and led the men out of the King's chamber.
The knights felt a little awkward; if they had known, they wouldn't have come in in the first place. Now they had to step out again—what a hassle.
"Who is he?"
Kay didn't have time to find a proper room, so he asked the question right outside the door.
"He's one of the rebels working for Tauren!" Sir Perinore was an experienced knight who had dealt with rebels plenty of times. He recognized some of their operatives. (Note: The Chinese name 陶伦 (Táolún) is being adapted to the more Western-sounding Tauren, maintaining a slightly distinct feel.)
"Tauren?" Kay hadn't heard that name in ages. Tauren had been declared a traitor over ten years ago. He was very good at stirring up trouble and smoke and mirrors. Though he wasn't a huge threat, he'd been causing problems for King Uther for years, moving throughout Camelot. He was one of the few rebels who had managed to hold out against the King for so long.
However, in recent years, as things in Camelot had improved, Tauren's life had become tougher. Thanks to King Uther's official propaganda, Tauren's reputation among the common folk wasn't good, which severely limited his operating areas. By the time Kay returned, no one in Camelot had heard anything about Tauren for three years. Most people assumed the guy had died in some remote ravine. Kay was surprised to see him pop up again now.
"What were these people doing trying to sneak into the palace? Was anyone hurt?"
Kay was both surprised and unsurprised by this group showing up. Surprised that these guys were still around, but unsurprised that they were trying to cause trouble now that Camelot was a mess. Lately, King Uther had been constantly pulling troops to the front lines, leaving Camelot shorthanded. Plus, to hunt down that Water Beast, the King had even sent out the Royal Guards, which had weakened the palace defenses, giving these rebels their chance.
"They were trying to steal this thing!" As Sir Perinore spoke, he pulled out a white crystal the size of a man's fist and held it out for Kay.
"The Niyaad Crystal!" Kay recognized the object. King Uther had hidden it deep within the palace and forbade anyone from mentioning it. Even Kay, after seeing it once, had never seen it again. King Uther had sacrificed hundreds of knights and thousands of elite soldiers to seize this crystal, so the memory was sharp in Kay's mind.
King Uther didn't actually know what the crystal did, but he knew the sorcerers were incredibly anxious about it. So, he took it at any cost and swore he would never let the sorcerers get their hands on it again.
If the enemy needs it, we must deny it.
King Uther didn't understand magic, but he understood human nature. Since the Niyaad Crystal was so important, he decided he would ensure the sorcerers never had it. Even if the thing was useless to King Uther, as long as it hurt the enemy, he would do it.
---
Kay took the crystal and carefully felt the energy radiating from it. The power was strange—clearly immense, yet Kay couldn't tap into it. It seemed only the Celtic sorcerers knew how to utilize its strength.
Different strokes for different folks, Kay thought, not discouraged.
Kay was more interested in why Tauren wanted this thing. Kay knew Tauren's background well: the guy knew a bit of sorcery but was really just a dabbler. His magical skills weren't great, and he'd spent his whole life studying alchemy—which, as everyone knew, was mostly just tricks and considered low-grade compared to true magic.
Why would a man like that want the Niyaad Crystal? Could he even figure out how to use it?
"Can you tell me why Tauren wants this Niyaad Crystal?" Kay held the crystal and approached the captured man, asking gently. "I really think you should tell me. You see, I haven't slept in three days, and I'm very tired, which means my temper is short. If you cooperate, we can all be happy. But if you don't... I really don't mind showing you what cruel means."
The captured man was clearly one of Tauren's loyalists, or he wouldn't have been trusted with such an important mission. So, despite his injury and capture, he remained stubbornly silent.
Kay didn't expect to get the answer so easily. Like he said, he was genuinely stressed out. First, the war with Cendred, which thankfully wound down. Then Arthur had a problem. Before that was resolved, King Uther overworked himself. He was dealing with a mountain of crises, so he was bound to be a little rougher around the edges. Fortunately, in this world, no one was going to bother him about human rights issues, so a little cruelty wasn't going to raise any eyebrows.
Since the guy wouldn't talk, Kay decided to let the interrogators in the dungeon have a go.
In the feudal era, interrogation wasn't gentle like it might be now—it was as brutal and painful as possible, with no limits whatsoever. The outcome was entirely up to the interrogator's dark imagination.
Being a tough guy in those days was a serious test of endurance. Many people thought they could withstand the torture before they went in, but in reality, very few truly held out against the cruel methods.
This guy was no exception. Kay only managed to catch two hours of sleep before the captive confessed.
"He didn't know much. He only knew that Tauren wanted the crystal as part of a deal with a woman. He didn't know the specifics of the trade," Sir Perinore explained, summarizing the information they had tortured out of the captive. "This Tauren is very cautious. The idiot we caught only knew what Tauren wanted him to know. He knew nothing else. Tauren's camp even moved immediately after he left, so we can't follow the trail back to him."
"Tauren... he's a small-time player, we can worry about him later." Tauren himself wasn't a major threat to Camelot; he was a nuisance, a clown who couldn't cause any real damage. Plus, the fact that he'd survived King Uther's purges for over ten years meant he was clever and hard to pin down. Kay was more concerned about the woman Tauren was dealing with. "Did he have any more information about this woman?"
Sir Perinore shook his head. "He only caught a glimpse of her from a distance. He knows nothing."
"He didn't remember a single distinguishing feature?" For some reason, Kay felt a strange sense of familiarity with this woman, even though the feeling made no sense.
"A feature... he did mention one, but I don't think it's very helpful," Sir Perinore said hesitantly.
"What did he say?" Kay asked curiously.
"Black hair, red dress. That's all the info he had," Sir Perinore shrugged. Those two traits were practically useless; there were countless women outside who fit that description.
But Kay saw it differently, because he had already guessed who wanted the Niyaad Crystal. After all, they had seen her not long ago.