章 15: Silent General
It is almost ten days that Count Uden wanders through the castle corridors all night. The staff has got into the habit of hiding when he sees him go by. The nobleman has taken the bad habit of venting his frustration on the first person he meets. In the last few days five maids have been flogged, two guards put in jail and in addition to the war minister, eleven people have been executed.
The climate of terror, however, does not seem to have surpassed the circle of walls. People in the city do not seem to have suffered the blow. For most people, the battle does not even seem to have happened. There were no damages to the city, only one guard died and no civilian was involved. For almost the entire population of Vanein, the rebels are not bad and perhaps they are even the solution.
Uden Vanein, the first of his name, is a man in his fifties. It was never nice, the huge belly, the sagging cheeks and the double chin have accompanied him since childhood. His family has reigned over this border town for six generations. His grandfather was even dedicated a statue in the center of the city square for the merit of having driven back the army of Luberistan over the mountains.
But he has never been good for combat, let alone in diplomatic relations. Always being confronted with his ancestors led him to hate himself throughout his youth but once he took his father's place at the head of the county, the story has changed.
When he reached maturity, Uden realized that he did not need anyone's admiration. His goal had become much more tangible. He wanted more wealth, more women and more power! If he had focused on the first goal, the other two would have come alone.
His first attempt led him to try to increase the volume of merchandise in his county. But the plan failed. Now disillusioned, he pursued a faster road. Taxes increased. In the beginning the money arrived in great quantities but soon the flow is halved, it is halved again and again.
While enjoying the best woman in a brothel in the capital, the idea appeared clear in front of him. The slave trade. In Olmaria it was forbidden but beyond the border, a few steps from his house, it was lawful and remunerative.
After agreeing with slave traders, the town of Vanein regularly sent people from the suburb across the border. No one has ever suspected anything. But once again fate rowed against the count. The kingdom of Olmaria was about to declare war on its neighbor. What could he do?
The Lord of Vanein came up with one of his most brilliant ideas. With the excuse of the war he had the settlements evacuated along the border. In this way many people were kidnapped and sold. Those who did it to get to the city would only have waited for the next collection.
All still swollen up until now.
"Because of those damn rebels, the capital is sending the Silent General to take care of the matter, since according to them, I'm not able to handle it."
Uden thinks to himself while, called by his butler, he is heading towards the square of the walls to meet the royal troops.
A relatively short man, about fifty too, covered with a very refined armor with golden inserts, waits in the courtyard followed by about eighty horsemen. This is the knightly order of the rose. The man in the head is the famous Silent General, born Sir Drevor Forb, cousin of the king.
Sir Drevor approaches horse Count Uden while one of his men presents him "Our general Sir Drevor, captain of the order of the rose, is here to offer his greetings to Sir Uden Vanein. My lord would like to avoid wasting time, once reunited with the remaining armed force camped out of the city, he will aim directly at the rebel force to annihilate it."
The count trotting to the huge mount "Sir Drevor, not so formal, if you want you can rest, the journey will undoubtedly have been long. I will have you prepare a nice lunch and maybe some healthy entertainment for men. What do you think?"
Suddenly the courtyard area seems to collapse as if crushed by the hand of a giant when the general opens his mouth and cries "It's the fault of this sloppy behavior if all this happened!"
The general 'Rombo' skill has made his voice his most powerful weapon, which is why man carefully avoids speaking in order to avoid activating the skill without realizing it.
The count kneels in pain. The courtyard seems to spin in a circle and the sickness prevents him from getting up.
The attendant of the general shouts "Order of the Rose leaving!"
While the fifty horses come neatly out of the city, Simon hidden in a cloak wrapped in the 'chameleon' rune, observes the scene carefully and silently withdraws to rejoin his friends.
Once out of the yard and entering the house, Simon avoids any questions and after taking a stone enchanted by a series of runes he starts talking "Igor? Igor? Can you hear me?"
"Of course Simon, I was waiting for you to call me."
"I saw the general, he just destroyed the eardrums in the court and is now heading out of town. They want to come to you as soon as possible."
"As we had speculated, the count went completely into a panic. I am convinced that he thought he had more time to finish his business and then tried to hold back the soldier. I had John follow him for security. I'll give you confirmation soon, but I'm sure the count's men will move as soon as possible. The path is far from the rebels but the count will not risk doing business while the royal forces are here."
Selin "Simon?"
"Tell me."
"I confirm that a dozen people have disappeared these days. If the pace is the same as they held this month. Soon they will shift the load."
"Did you hear Igor? Tell Drew. We have to locate the slavers and we must make sure that the order of the rose finds them for us. I recommend a few fast men otherwise it will be a bloodbath. These are not stupid guards, they are the elite armed body of our kingdom."
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Sir Drevor rejoins the large group of knights who await him a few hundred meters from the city. Coming down from the horse the general begins to analyze a map resting on an improvised table at the center of the temporary camp. "Are you able to see? The rebels have escaped in this direction every time they attacked the city these days. I don't understand the reason. If I were, I would hide in this other area. It's like they want to be followed on that road."
The attendant "It is probably a trap designed to put the count's armed forces in difficulty."
"I don't think, as I see it, even my grandchildren could face this count and come out victorious. From my sources, many of the rebels are former soldiers, but the tactics they are using is completely illogical."
Somewhere on the left, a soldier announces "My lord, a letter for you."
Taking the letter "From the baronet Zacharias ..."
'Dear General Devron,
it is with the tumult in the heart that I write these words to you. I would never have thought to act behind my lord who once protected at the cost of my life but my conscience requires me to break my oath. I will hand over to you for the appropriate punishment.
The rebels are all citizens of our kingdom who are rebelling against an already unmanageable situation. My sources assure me that the Count himself is entangled in the slave trade from our kingdom to our enemy Luberistan.
Before you subject me to just punishment, I am asking you to come and pick me up in the valley north of the city of Vanein. You will find a series of signals left by the rebels.
I understand that everything makes believe that this is a trap and unfortunately I do not have the opportunity to deny your fears.
I trust you, I am sure of your intervention.
Sir Zacharias of Vanein '
The attendant "How should we proceed my lord?"
"Well we are Olmaria's most powerful armed force. It will certainly not be a trap of four mountaineers to scare me. We proceed straight towards the valley. If Zacharias has lied, we will find all the rebels waiting for us and it will be easier to face them rather than chasing them in the mountains, if instead he told the truth, the trip will have been really useful if I can beat Uden's ass on the ground without having to apologize king!"
Riding in the saddle " Knights! For the country, for the king and for your honor! Get ready for the battle and follow the call of blood! "
A single cry rises from the camp "Yes sir!" And in less than a few seconds a cloud of dust moves towards the north of the county.
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