"Hmmm...this 'Nikolai Stryker' rogue is proving to be a major problem... Though I take no great pleasure in this thought, I might have to orchestrate his demise...

Let's see... A well-positioned sharp-shooter could do the job...but it may draw too much attention and an investigation could lead a trail back to me...tensions are already high with L'eau Bleue and the last thing I need is to start a war on another front...plus while he may be a vagabond, he is still technically of royal blood, and thus spilling it in such a way could be seen as blasphemous...

I could have some of my troops capture him in the dark of night and toss him into the sea with an iron weight...but there's always a chance, albeit slim, that he could survive and escape to cause even more problems...but now with the knowledge of my attempted assassination of him to spread across the land. A risk I'm not sure I can afford to take...

Nikolai could be lured into a tavern and slipped a poisoned drink, but again I'd run the risk of someone following a trail, or what if he had an antidote delivered to him in time? Too many moving parts, and in all these scenarios there would be no way for me to confirm his death personally...

Ah...then perhaps an age-honored tradition of these sandstone walls might be in order... If the disgraced Prince could be brought before me either under the cover of dark or by warrant of capital charges, I could have him mummified and buried alive, entombed among the countless others who were condemned to the same fate by my predecessors. The crypt would be easily accessible to myself and myself alone if I ever needed to exhume him for whatever reason...however Nikolai is no ordinary wanderer whom nobody would bat an eye if he disappeared without a trace. As a former Prince on the run he has garnered quite a bit of attention already and some may begin to grow suspicious if he suddenly vanished without a trace...

Well then...that leaves perhaps the most obvious option in hindsight...public hanging in the courtyard. That way his death would reach the ears of all across the land, and if I weave just the right scenario to have him plausibly convicted of a capital crime in my territory I could justify the execution lawfully. He'd still need to be gagged of course. He simply knows too much, which is part of the reason he needs to be eliminated in the first place... A very short rope will need to be used as well to avoid any accidental..."decapitations." Royal blood must not be spilled on land, even if that blood is tainted by treason... Yes. Yes I think this is what shall be done. I should begin formulating my plan and have the gallows ready for the 'final event.'"

---

A commission for of his Espeon OC, King Olaf, silently plotting away in his chambers the most efficient way to "dispose of" the troublesome Dewott Prince, Nikolai Stryker.

While canonically Olaf does "turn back to the Light Side," this was during a time in his life where he was teetering on the edge of villainy due to his paranoia and obsession with stopping even greater threats to Mystoria...at ANY cost.

(Side note: The most challenging part, oddly enough, was trying to pull off that "scratching chin" pose since it occurred to me I've never actually seen a cat scratching its chin like a person would so I kinda had to improvise.)

---

For information about commissions please see my rule sheet: https://www.weasyl.com/~unownace/submissions/1735304/i-do-commissions-paypal-only-redraw