Descriptions on the Spot: The Might of Grandfather's Sword

Here is my description on the spot. Thank you to @zaebars for this cool shot:

“Grandfather, why do you take this road every day to the market?”
“So I never forget,” said the grizzled old man.

Even now he had arms as thick as old tree trunks. As grandfather held the reigns, they bumped and shuttered on the high mountain road. Giggles sat next to him holding on for dear life. Giggles, of course, was just what grandfather called him. His real name was Thatcher P. Washington, which grandfather thought was far too serious for the boy’s nature. They made a perfect match. Grandfather, tall and strong, in a worn long brown leather jacket, with a bow and worn scabbard strapped to his back. Giggles wore a bright blue shirt, the color of royalty. Despite having spent the weekend with grandfather, his skin was as clean, fresh and pale as a newborn baby. Grandfather had made sure to wash him before returning him to the castle.

“Grandfather…what don’t ya wanna forget?” He asked in his high-pitched, squeaky voice.
“Well Giggles, I guess it’s time you know how your father became King.”

“A long time ago when I was fair-haired like you, men posing as friends came by way of the sea. Our King Tiberius welcomed them as guests. He honored them with feasts and offered fair trade. The men brought wonders, gold and jewels, and we offered them grain and meat in exchange. The men went on their way and all was well. At the end of the next season, the men returned and offered fair trade. This went on for many years.”

“King Tiberius had become the envy of the land, he had many jewels and a golden crown. His wives and daughters where dressed in the finest silks and each wore a diamond bigger than the last. At first his people, the Tereshians, loved him for it, but soon Tiberius’ gluttony for jewels and fine things grew. Instead of using a portion of the trade goods to pay for the grain the men from the sea desired, he began to tax the people. The king’s hunger for gold and taxes grew and grew until people were starving in the streets and he had to send out many soldiers to collect his taxes.”

“Fearful of losing his gold and jewels, the King enslaved those who could not pay their taxes. He forced their sons into the King’s guard and trained them to be fierce warriors. Their daughters were kept as servants of the castle and the servants of the King’s Guard. Those who could not pay the taxes themselves were enslaved and forced to build bigger, stronger and wider walls.”

“The surrounding kingdoms began to fear King Tiberius. They knew of his lust for treasure, but they feared his lust would soon turn to his kingdom. Soon after, I was summoned before a council of kings.”
“Grandfather, I thought no man could summon or order you around.”

The cart continued down the road. Giggles looked over the side as Grandfather focused on safely navigating this rather narrow section. After turning the corner and beginning the descent to Tereshia, the road widened again and grandfather continued.

“Giggles, in those days, I was but a lowly messenger, woodsman and hunter. Your grandmother, father, and I lived in my cabin happily and I made enough means to get by, bringing messages between kingdoms.”

“That’s hard to imagine you as a servant to kings,” giggled Giggles.

“I stood before the council of kings as they blabbered on about the problem of King Tiberius, and how he would soon send his armies out and rob them. In my foolishness, I interrupted them after a few hours and asked why I was summoned.”

“The kings replied as if as one: ‘to show us the way.’”

“I realized quickly what they wanted me to do. They knew that I knew secret paths and hidden roads throughout the nine kingdoms. Once again in foolishness I opened my mouth and said, ‘I will not help you fight a war. King Tiberius will hire the finest assassins and have my head. He has spies everywhere.’ The closest king dressed in red, King Ragin, inquired, ‘How do you know he has assassins and spies?’ I knew they had me and I had been a fool so I just responded honestly. ‘Who do you think carries their messages?’”

“There was an immediate uproar, shouting and whispering then shouting again. Many of the kings wanted me hung. See, the messenger who carries the message of a spy is a spy himself.”

“Well you’re obviously not dead grandfather, I can see you breathing,” said Giggles.

“No, No, I am not,” grandfather continued.

“Eventually, they offered me a choice: lead their armies and circumvent King Tiberius’ defenses or hang. I asked them for three days to decide. They locked me in a tower, so I sat and thought.”

“After two days your grandmother became worried. She knew I carried spy messages for King Tiberius. Not knowing who to trust she told you father, then a lad of fourteen, to go hunting in the woods and not return for 7 days. Your father loved the challenge and left for an adventure. As soon as he was gone, she went to see King Tiberius.”

“Finally, my three days were up. I knew if I led the armies of the nine kingdoms minus one there would be much blood shed. If I did not, it might only be mine. However, I knew how devious King Tiberius was. I believed as the king, he would eventually send his armies out to crush the other kingdoms of the nine.

So, Giggles, I gave them one condition: make me commander of the united armies of the nine minus one. After much debate, they agreed.”

“’Kings, we must begin assembling the army now.’ King Ragin responded again, ‘look outside.’”
“I beheld the greatest army ever gathered in our land, eighty thousand men, ready to be crushed against the walls of King Tiberius’ castle.”

“Over the next two days, I discussed plans with the generals of the nine minus one. Eventually, they agreed upon a simple plan of attack from the front and to keep attacking. I would then lead the bravest hundred men on the high road and attack from the lightly guarded and fortified flank.”

“We marched and setup camp before the great castle. King Tiberius sent a messenger. He had found out I had betrayed him and was leading the army. He asked for our immediate surrender. He also sent me a message in code. I could decipher it since I was the messenger of his spies. It read simply:

‘lead the army to defeat or your wife will die.’”

“I knew blood would be shed everywhere, your grandmother among them.”

“I could not abide by the bloodshed, but I knew Tiberius must be stopped. I worked with the generals and I ordered the men to build siege towers and catapults. We would attack in two days. The battle would be bloody and tens of thousands would die.”

“Grandfather?”

“Yes, Giggles?”

“I have never heard of any big battle.”

“Well Giggles, that’s because on the night before the big battle, I snuck out of the siege camp. Alone I ran. I took this very road we are traveling on today. I did not take a horse so I could pass through silently.”

“I snuck into the castle, through the hidden passage kept open for King Tiberius’ spies. I went into his private drawing room where he waited at night for his spies to bring him word.”

“Guards were outside the door; I knew I had to act quickly once I exited the secret passage. I swiftly stepped out, drew my arrow, and as the king recognized me and began to yell, I cut him off with an arrow to his throat.”

“When his men came in, I thought they would quickly dispatch me to the after life. Instead, they celebrated. They called the captain of the king’s watch who came, removed the king’s crown, and placed it on my head. They despised King Tiberius as much as anyone else. I quickly sent word to the siege camp and the men rejoiced. There would be no death in the morning.”

“All was not well, though. I asked about your grandmother and for her to be brought to me. King Tiberius had killed her already, the day he heard of my betrayal. I wept through the evening and had the men King Tiberius ordered to kill her hung over the walls by their necks.”

Giggles’ eyes went wide, “Grandfather, I thought you were a kind man.”

“Giggles, haven’t you ever wondered why your father has ruled so many years when I am not yet dead, and still able? I gave him the crown after my bloody deeds were done.”

“The eight remaining kings of the nine came the next day to the camp to see the progress of the war. When the men told them what I had done and how I was now king in Tiberius’ place, the King’s ordered the men back to line. The kings were afraid, they did not want anyone ruling from the Tereshian’s castle.”

Giggles said, “But Daddy rules all the kingdoms of the nine.”

“Yes, Giggles. The men in the army of the nine minus one knew I went in expecting death, and that I did it to save them. So they captured the kings. The generals called out a headsmen and made me king of all.”

“So much blood had been spilled because of me and I wallowed in despair. The kingdoms planned a great coronation, festival and feast. Your father had returned from his trip shortly after the armies had dispersed. I saw him a wise young man, and I knew I could guide him. So when it came time for the coronation, I sent him to be crowned in my stead and no man dared challenge my word.”

“I went back to my cabin, where I hunt and fish and wait for you, Giggles, to come and visit.”

“Umm…Grandfather? So why do you take this road, the long road?”
“O, yes of course, your question. I take this road, Giggles, because it reminds of what I did and why I try to spend all my days at my cabin in peace.”

“Why do you wear a sword then?”
“So your father doesn’t have to. See Giggles, King Tiberius was not just a wealthy man, but also a fierce man. Men feared him and now they fear me. Your father they love, but all the men of the kingdom still fear me and my sword.”

“But, I thought you shot him with an arrow?”
“I did.”
“Then why do you carry a sword?”

“Well, Giggles, it’s rusted in its scabbard and I have no idea how to use it, but no one but you and I know that. King Tiberius’ commanders and guards have died of old age thanks to me, and the commander chopped the king’s head off to make sure he was dead. Everyone just assumed that’s how I killed him. The commander and his men were so grateful to me for removing the tyrant that they never told a soul.”

“ I am not fierce. I have killed one man, who was drinking wine and sitting in a chair. Legends grow, and men fear my sword, the one I have never drawn. The kingdom is at peace and all of its people love your father.”

“Giggles?”
“Yes, Grandfather?”
“Will you be a king who is loved or who is feared?”

“I think I will be a king like you, Grandfather.”
“And how is that, Giggles?”
“I will be a king of peace.”

Grandfather smiled and the cart continued on down the long winding dusty road.