studiobondurri The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom, Part III: Act 2, Chapter 11
The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom, Part III: Act 2, Chapter 11
The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom, Part III: Act 2, Chapter 11
Chapter 11
A man fled through the tall grass, occasionally stumbling as he made his way west through the boundless grasslands of Iago Lousa’s ranch. Neia and Saye monitored his progress from the shade of a lonely elm close to the top of a nearby ridge.
“He’s running the wrong way,” Saye said. “Can people get lost that easily? The sun is out and everything.”
“It’s more like he’s temporarily lost,” Neia replied. “The Holy Kingdom isn’t huge and everyone knows it. If he runs west for a couple of days, he’ll leave Mister Lousa’s land. If he keeps going for two more days, he’ll end up in one of the fishing villages north of Rimun. Also, it’s not as if he has time to think about where he is while being pursued by light cavalry.”
Normally, if one was lost, one could ask for directions from one of the many villages dotting the landscape. The ranchers’ quarry, however, presumably wouldn’t since they were in ‘enemy territory’. That aside, being converted into a range for cattle meant that the villages on Mister Lousa’s land were abandoned. Nearly everyone in his territory lived in the town-sized camp around the villa.
For obvious reasons, villages in the Holy Kingdom didn’t like standing out so getting one’s bearings using them as landmarks didn’t work very well. The Nobles’ men had basically invaded a place that was grass, rolling hills, and empty villages as far as the eye could see. If it weren’t for all of the villages, they wouldn’t have been able to distinguish where they were from the Abelion Hills.
The man stumbled again. This time, there was a pronounced limp in his gait when he recovered.
“Are we killing him?” Saye asked.
“Stop trying to kill everyone!” Neia answered.Visitt for the latest updates
Four ranchers rode up behind the man with a leisurely air. He flopped to the ground, exhausted, once they surrounded him.
That’s number twenty-four...
After getting a vague idea of what was going on, Neia split up her men to round up the intruders’ ‘scouts’, which she assumed had been dispatched in a wide array to brute force their reconnaissance. Carlos led the northern contingent while Neia went south, combing the land and picking up their enemies along the way. They didn’t even feel like enemies – just people who were confused after losing their bearings and wandering around for half of the day.
“Then where are you going to put them?” Saye asked, “If you plan on keeping them alive, you’ll have to feed them, too.”
“Maybe we can stick them in a village near the kingswood and make them work.”
“I see,” Saye nodded in understanding, “slavery is also an option. It’s not illegal in the Holy Kingdom, right?”
Neia gave the Bard a sour look. Slavery wasn’t illegal in the Holy Kingdom, but it hardly existed outside of the occasional periods of debt bondage when people met with hardship.
The man was added to the line of prisoners bringing up the rear of Neia’s formation. Two sets of four men were assigned to watch over them while the rest swept over the grassland in search of additional intruders. Whenever they located one, they corralled him as they would their cattle, which worked surprisingly well.
Their new prisoner sat down on the grass with his fellows, who consoled him over being caught. One of the ranchers tossed him a spare water flask. Apparently, they hadn’t even prepared that much when they were sent out to scout.
“So, what are they after?”
“Hm?”
“You’re kinda like a detour, right?” Saye said, “They were coming to do something else when you got in the way.”
“That was the debtor thing, wasn’t it?”
“I meant the bigger picture. Stories often characterise aristocrats as being nothing but petty, but they rarely are in reality. They can be kinda dumb, but they usually have a good education, see more of the world, and have the means to do more than the average person. Unless you run up and break their favourite horse’s leg or wiggle your butt in front of them, they don’t really pay any mind to the little things. What they usually do is connected to a lot more than people give their actions credit for.”
“But these aren’t Noble nobles, right?” Neia said, “They’re just scions.”
“Mmh...I guess you have a point. You’re young and you have a decent figure. Maybe they really did just want to watch you crawl around naked.”
“I-I don’t think they’re that petty. I just can’t think of any motives that would turn the people doing business with Mister Lousa against him.”
“Yet, it’s clear that they have,” Saye said. “We can counter their tactics as things stand, but we’ll never figure out their strategy until we understand what their motives are.”
Saye was right about that. The Nobles were effectively unpredictable until someone figured out what they wanted. Until then, Neia could only hope they kept using tactics her company could counter.
“What if Mister Lousa is hiding something from us?” Saye asked.
“He’s not that kind of person,” Neia answered. “He’s a good man that wouldn’t knowingly do something like that. Besides, we’re taking care of cattle. I don’t know about other places, but the Holy Kingdom isn’t somewhere you’d find sinister plots that revolve around cows.”
At least she thought that it wasn’t. So much had changed since Jaldabaoth’s invasion that she couldn’t be sure anymore.
Five ‘scouts’ later, a set of riders approached from the north. Two were from Carlos’ contingent while the other was the rancher she had sent to update Mister Lousa on their first encounter with the Nobles’ men.
“Good work out there,” Neia said as they brought their mounts in front of hers. “What was Mister Lousa’s response?”
“He asked us to approach the Nobles and tell them that he’d like to negotiate the debts of the people that crossed over.”
Was the resolution that simple? The man they confronted seemed like he only wanted to start trouble. Or did he act the way he did because Neia had tried speaking to him? Would things have gone more smoothly if Carlos had addressed him instead? His demeaning conduct and the resulting escalation wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t stepped up.
They want nothing more than to put me in chains, now, so at least I won’t have a chance to screw things up even more.
“How are things going on Carlos’ end?” Neia asked.
“Not as fun as we expected it to be. We corralled a dozen men before we stopped comin’ across them. Carlos ordered a few of us to follow their trails back to wherever they came from.”
“Did they find anything?”
“Yeah. Looks like they’ve divided themselves between three abandoned villages on the fringes of the territory. Our side.”
“I’ll go and speak with Carlos. With what our prisoners said, I can’t be the one talking to those guys.”
“You were actually considering that?” Saye asked.
“The alternative is to let things fly out of control,” Neia answered. “Someone might even die. Our people are already suffering enough and I won’t do anything to make things worse.”
Violence had to be the last resort. Things were already so tenuous that a new conflict would surely be fatal for the north.
She returned with the riders to Carlos’ position, though he was so far away that it took until evening to reach him. The veteran rancher rose from his campfire and walked over with a bowl of stew in hand.
“If we’re gonna keep these men,” he gestured to his prisoners, “we’ll need more supplies.”
“We’re not,” Neia replied.
Cries of distress rose from the captives, which grew even more so when Neia turned her gaze upon them.
“Mister Lousa wants to arrange a negotiation with the intruders,” she said. “You’ll be able to open a dialogue by ransoming these men. I have three dozen more on my side to get them to the table with Mister Lousa.”
Neia frowned as sighs of relief came in the wake of her words. What did they think she was going to do with them?
“Will it work?” Carlos asked.
“It will,” Neia nodded. “Nobles are creatures of law. They don’t just follow the rules: the rules are a part of who they are.”
“You’re assuming that they even know the rules,” Saye said. “They’re filling their retinues with any spares that they can find – who’s to say that they don’t have clueless spares leading the clueless spares?”
Was there such a thing as an uneducated scion? Even the poorest Nobles in the Holy Kingdom could afford to educate their families – boy or girl; heir or spare. It was pretty much mandatory since military service was mandatory and a house could lose its heir apparent to a Demihuman raid at any time.
“We won’t know until we speak to them,” Neia said. “I won’t turn my back on an opportunity for a peaceful resolution without investigating it first.”
“Alright,” Carlos nodded. “What do I need to do?”
“I’ll unscruffify him while you go through the dialogue options,” Saye told her.
“Unwhat?” The rancher frowned.
“Go sit down on that rock,” Saye pointed.
“She wants to fix up your appearance to improve your chances,” Neia told him.
“I ain’t propositionin’ no Noble brat,” Carlos said.
Carlos’ horse jerked and whinnied as Saye grabbed the rancher by his boot and yanked him off of his saddle. Then, she chased him to the rock with her hairbrush. She really was as strong as she seemed.
“Did our scouts note any banners or livery around the villages that the Nobles occupied?” Neia asked.
“Yeah,” Carlos nodded. “Each village is under a different banner. There’s that damn green apple from the other day, a ship on red and blue stripes, and another ship on blue and white waves.”
She wasn’t familiar with any of the heraldry described.
“Did any one of them look more important than the others?”
“Mmh...the blue and red banner was over the village between the other two. Aside from that, they’re split even...what?”
Saye leaned back and rubbed her nose.
“You smell like a cow,” she said.
“Ya think?”
The Bard went back to her mount and pulled a white towel out of her saddlebags. Carlos looked like he was getting ready to run.
“Hey now, what are ya doin’ with that?”
“Cleaning you,” Saye answered.
Before Carlos could escape, a wave of magic washed over him. Neia’s eyes widened.
“You have a Clean item?” She asked.
“Yeah,” Saye answered. “It’s a Trooper’s Towel from the Empire. Everyone in the Imperial Army has at least one.”
Neia’s vague sense of admiration for the Empire increased three–no, fivefold. Back during her time as a Squire, she had to beg the Priests for Clean spells when they ran long-range patrols. The men never asked for them, however, so those patrols were an especially miserable experience during the summer.
“We’ll approach the central village, then,” Neia said. “All you have to do is ride up to them with a flag of parley raised.”
“We should give him a crony,” Saye said.
“I’m gettin’ a crony?”
“If they see that people answer to him,” the Bard reasoned, “they’ll assume he’s important enough to talk to.”
“I am Lord Eduardo Cohen,” the nobleman in the middle said, “son of Count Antonio Cohen.”
“Captain Carlos.”
“My man here will check on Sir Torres’ condition while we speak.”
Carlos nodded, and the man with the botiquín dismounted. He walked over to where the Knight was inspecting his charger.
“What are your demands?” Lord Eduardo asked.
“In the interests of keeping things civil,” Carlos said, “Mister Lousa would like to negotiate the matter of the debtors taking refuge on his land. As a gesture of our genuine intent, we’ll be releasing these twelve scouts we found snoopin’ around today.”
Ah, his speech is slipping...
“After the negotiations are concluded,” Carlos continued, “we’ll release thirty-six more of your men regardless of the outcome.”
Neia couldn’t tell what Lord Eduardo was thinking at all, but he felt far more dangerous than Sir Torres despite only being lightly armed.
The man with the botiquín returned and remounted, leaning in to whisper something into Lord Eduardo’s ear. The nobleman slowly nodded a few times before turning his attention back to Carlos.
“You didn’t mention Sir Torres,” he said.
“Ah, he was an unexpected bonus. It’ll be the usual for him.”
Lord Eduardo pulled a small pouch from his belt. After a moment’s pause, he produced another pouch and moved two silver coins to the first. He handed the first pouch to the man on his right, who walked over to hand it to Carlos. The pouch clinked as the rancher hefted it in the palm of his glove. He turned his head and nodded to Sir Torres, who walked his mount over to Lord Eduardo’s side.
“What were those two extra coins for?” A rancher asked in a low voice.
“Compensation for healing Sir Torres,” Neia replied. “It looks like they’re going by temple rates.”
“They’re damn straight-laced for a bunch of crooks.”
“Now,” Lord Eduardo said, “As for–”
Lord Eduardo’s gaze went past Carlos’ shoulder and over the heads of the ranchers behind him. Gomez came out of the sunset, his horse whipped into a lather.
“The villa’s under attack!” He shouted before he reached them.
“What!”
The newcomer stopped his mount on the other side of Neia’s line.
“Smoke’s comin’ outta the north,” he said. “Went to the ridge to get a better look and the camp around the villa was on fire!”
“Maybe it’s just an accident?” Saye offered.
“No,” Gomez shook his head. “The fire’s in a dozen different places. That’s no accident.”
“You bastard!” Carlos spat before wheeling his horse around and galloping up the hill.
“I assure you, we–”
They left Lord Eduardo with his empty words, sprinting their horses up the slope. The aforementioned smoke could be seen as they neared the ridge, but they would need to make the next ridge before gaining a direct vantage on the villa. They switched to the first of their spare horses at the bottom of the valley, dashing up the next hill with a growing sense of urgency.
It’s too far. The attack could be over by the time we get there!
Their ascent revealed the villa on the hill, the camps below it ablaze in dozens of places.
“The villa itself isn’t on fire,” Neia said. “We might be able to make it on time to help.”
They switched to the last of their spare mounts halfway to the hill. People rushed about, many with pails of water drawn from the creek on the western side of the camp. The fires at the base of the hill were extinguished, but they still raged on in the tents above.
“What the hell is going on?!” Carlos shouted as they approached a watchful sentry at the edge of the camp.
“We’re being attacked!” The sentry answered, “But we can’t find the attacker!”
“Hah? Make some sense!”
“We found the first dead guy an hour ago. There was no trace of his attacker. More and more people keep showin’ up dead!”
Assassin!
An icy chill went down Neia’s spine. She had only heard about them in tales, but even those tales were already enough to give her nightmares. Assassins were even worse than Rogues. They were cruel, evil people who took lives for money and no one could stop them.
And, now, they were here. The royalists had hired Assassins. Their activities at the border were just a distraction to let them slip through.
“Where’s Mister Lousa?” Neia asked.
“He formed a party to sweep the camps,” the sentry replied. “If you follow the fires, you should run into him.”
“Help out with the fires!” Neia told her men, “I’m going to look for Mister Lousa.”
Neia dismounted and wove through the chaotic throng. Mister Lousa was strong, but she wasn’t sure if he could win against an Assassin. She had to help.
Another fire started near the villa. Neia stopped and changed direction, dashing up the hill.
“What’s the plan?” Saye’s voice came from behind her.
“I-I don’t know!” Neia panted, “This...I don’t think the Nobles have it in them to do this. Do you think it’s the work of an Assassin?”
“An Assassin?”
“You know,” she lowered her voice. “Like one from that infamous group, Ijaniya.”
“Uh...”
The terrifying name seemed to give even the cavalier Bard pause. Neia drew courage from her presence anyway. If someone from Ijaniya showed up, surely they could do something about them.
As they continued running through the camp, they came up on a pair of armed ranchers scrutinising the tents along their path.
“Where’s Mister Lousa?” She stopped to address them, “What do you know about this attacker?”
“He went to the villa,” one of them replied. “As for who is attackin’ us, we don’t know. But they’re brutal. Men and women were found ripped to shreds!”
Her stomach churned at his answer.
“Who have they killed?”
“All of the...the leaders, I guess. People leading camp circles. Organisers. Company officers on their time off. Since they’re doin’ what they’re doin’, Mister Lousa figures they’ll eventually go for the office. He’s setting up an ambush for ‘em in the courtyard.”
...the Nobles will find a way to gut him.
She shouldn’t have dismissed Saye’s warning so thoughtlessly. They weren’t just after Mister Lousa: they were trying to tear down everything that he and his people had built and bury it in ashes.
Shouts rose above the chaos from the direction of the villa. The two ranchers exchanged a look before running up the slope.
“Let’s go!” Neia called out to Saye.
A blood-curdling scream raised gooseflesh all over Neia’s body. She pulled two arrows from her quiver and nocked one to her bow as they charged across the perimeter of the villa. They burst into the central courtyard, ready to join the fight, then stopped. Neia’s mouth fell open.
No...
Pieces of dead men were scattered all over the place. Even the ones lying in ambush in the buildings around them hung from the windows, their dismembered bodies dripping blood onto their severed heads lying on the pavement below. Neia pivoted frantically, trying to figure out where the attacker had gone. She scanned the shadows of the buildings, then looked up at the rooftops. Then, her gaze crossed the central fountain.
No!
The shredded bodies dumped into the pool had filled it with blood. Mister Lousa’s head was impaled upon the fountainhead.
“No!” She cried.
Neia dropped her bow and ran forward, tears blurring her vision. She climbed atop the pile of bodies and gently retrieved Mister Lousa’s head. The creases created by his kindhearted smile still remained on his face despite his lifeless expression.
Why would anyone do this? How could the Nobles order this?
She left the fountain and placed Mister Lousa’s head on the ground, removing her mantle to shroud it. It was only then that she realised that others had arrived, drawn by the sounds of battle. Many were armed. Everyone looked horrified. Horrified and lost. Powerless.
So these are the wages of sin. The price of weakness.
They had paid that price time and time again, but they never learned. Yet, she couldn’t speak to them as she usually might. It was all so hollow; so feeble compared to the carnage surrounding her.
...and, above all else, all she could feel was rage. Rage at the shadow of injustice that had fallen upon her home.
With tears rolling down her cheeks, Neia looked down at the hands covered in the blood of her benefactor. Their benefactor.
“Justice for Santiago,” she said.
The growing crowd stared at her in silence.
“Justice for Santiago!” Neia shouted.
“Justice for Santiago!” A few men and women took up her call.
“Justice for Santiago!” Neia punched her blood-soaked fist into the air, “Justice for the north!”
“Justice for Santiago! Justice for the north!”
“Justice for Santiago! Justice for the north!”
“Justice for Santiago! Justice for the north!”
Their voices swelled into a roar that echoed over the hills. The brutal, unprovoked assault made it clear that cowering in fear only meant being crushed one at a time. In the wake of Jaldabaoth’s invasion, a new kind of Fiend had appeared to assail them with a new kind of evil. If that evil went unanswered, there would be no future for their people.