บท 30: King Of The People
A mountain clan named Son of the Earth had gathered in a large cave, warming themselves within its depths. They numbered thirty-seven and were a budding community that had prospered from the instability of Lysa Tully's reign and the Lannister rebellion. Having raided a small village, they were decently well-off…
However, their fortune ended that night.
Rain…
Urigga, the chieftain, took a deep breath as he observed the pouring rain outside the cave. The clouds were ominously dark, and a deep mist covered the world. He could barely see his own outstretched hand.
"The weather's been shit for days." Garlag, his right-hand man, remarked. "It must be a sign from the Earth God."
A sign, yes… but not from an Earth God.
Lightning suddenly struck, deafening them to the descent of half a dozen men. They drew their swords and impaled the clansmen standing guard. What followed was an absolute slaughter as many of the remaining clansmen were fast asleep when a dozen combatants with the finest castle-forged steel came upon them.
Towards the end, there was something akin to a struggle, but Edric shot most of them down. In the end, only five women/older girls and three boys remained.
"We were taken from our villages, milord… don't hurt us."
"We won't." Edric gave them a reassuring smile. "Our only goal is to bring an end to the unlawful mountain clans. As long as you don't willingly aid them… there is no reason for us to act against you."
"What about the boys?" Sandor Clegane questioned. "What do you want to do with them?"
They all looked between the ages of five and eight and seemed innocent by all accounts. They didn't choose to be born in such an environment. There was a good chance that the cycle of their ancestors could be broken under the right hand. Even though he personally did not care whether they lived or died, it would be rather unsightly for him to abandon or even kill them.
"We will find them a village to be raised in."
Before he left, Edric had them gather up all the weapons before secretly storing them within himself. Even though they were of poor quality, weapons were still weapons. Who knows when they might come in handy?
Edric was the type of person to loot every corpse in an RPG, even if the loot itself was relatively worthless.
~
[Edric's POV]
Despite being mountainous, the Vale of Arryn had surprisingly fertile soil with plenty of rivers and lakes. It was an unforgiving land that was wondrously beautiful in its own way.
Finding a local village was relatively easy, with directions from the Vale Knights and freed women. It was average in size, having about two hundred people. I saw a few burned buildings to the side, meaning they likely were raided recently.
A lot of the males were either boys or elderly men. The same went for the females, from what I could see.
"It's the Knights of the Vale!"
The four knights held their heads high as they rode along with their mules. The villagers seemed quite joyous seeing their honourable protectors show up for once. I led the group with my slightly tattered golden Baratheon cape and stag-horned helmet.
"Be honoured; you are all in the presence of His Grace, King Edric of the House Baratheon." Ser Aren announced with a tone that seemed almost pretentious to me. Who was he trying to impress?
"The King?" An elderly man looked at me with weary eyes. "What can this humble village do to serve?"
"A roof to cover our heads, a fire to keep us warm and some food to fill our bellies," I replied with a slight smile. "In turn, we offer protection from mountain clans and the like."
"Protection..." The man seemed to frown for a moment. "You are more than welcome, Your Grace."
"Is that really the King?" One of the kids looked at me with his wide blue eyes. "Don't they wear big shiny crowns?"
"What are those knights with the white cloaks?"
"Is that a bow of golden... wood?"
Kings did not visit these lands often, it would seem... or rather, they never did. Not in recent memory, at least. This made my entrance seem like a figure out of mythology emerging for the first time in a thousand years.
We settled down relatively comfortably as the villagers offered the finest hospitality they could. The elderly man seemed to be the 'leader' due to his seniority and wisdom. After filling my stomach, I decided to approach him.
"How has this village been in recent times?"
"Well enough... until the Knights of the Vale left us to fend for ourselves, as they tend to do." The elder spoke with a bitter tone. "We are always at the mercy of those outlaws... the beasts who live in the mountains. They kill our men, take our women and anything else they might fancy."
Fend for themselves...
His speech unintentionally made me recall something from my first childhood.
Good ol' Warband...
Turns out that all my looted weapons would have a use.
"... That's why I've chosen to raise arms against every mountain clan myself," I spoke confidently. "So that these tragedies may never happen again."
"Just you and eleven knights?" The elder blinked, almost laughing at me. "You should've brought a proper army."
"So that they could run and hide as they do when Knights of the Vale come riding down? A large army would be unnecessarily costly, slow and notably less efficient than the party of skilled warriors I have with me."
"Twelve men will still not be enough." The elder countered. "Even if you somehow put down most of the mountain clans... more would come in their place over time."
"It might be true that twelve is not enough. If we were surrounded by one of the larger or multiple mountain clans... leaving unscathed would not be likely." I nodded. "So... I have a question for you, elder..."
"Hm?"
"Would you want your village to be at the mercy of mountain clans years after your death, always depending on the will of others to protect these people?"
"What are you saying?" He raised an eyebrow.
"If each capable man here had a sword and knew how to use it, would the mountain clans try their luck?"
"... Not without losing an arm and a leg," I answered him, shaking my head. "I swear I will crush all the mountain clans I can find... however, I cannot end the practice entirely. Not alone. Indeed, in time, new clans might rise where the old fell. When that time comes... would it not be better if the men here could stand for themselves in the absence of Vale Knights?"
"It would." He nodded. "But... the Lords of the Vale refuse to give us weapons to arm ourselves. They say we have no use for swords because of their 'protection'."
"I am no Lord of the Vale." I smiled slightly. 'I am King.'
...
On the morrow, I gathered the villagers for an announcement. Of course, an inspiring speech was due before enacting my plan. A spark that would light the embers in their hearts... or so, that was my intention.
"How many of you have suffered at the hands of raiders, outlaws and mountain clans?"
I questioned, looking across the crowd. There were many nods, and some raised hands.
"Those bastards... they took my wife!"
"They killed my poor sons..."
"My loving husband died fighting them."
Several more testaments followed, where the general disgust for the mountain clans was made very much evident. Just as clear... was their anger. Anger which could turn into action and put swords into men's hands.
"What good is anger, sorrow, disgust... if no change comes from it... if nothing is done about it? If you all continue as you did before, you will be ravaged... again and again and again... until there is nothing left."
"But... you are meant to protect us!"
"That... I will." I nodded. "However, I cannot protect you forever. You have anger... hatred... for the mountain clans, do you not? They've taken your daughters, wives and sisters for themselves; they've killed your sons, brothers, friends and husbands and burned your homes down to the ground!"
"Men of Mistwood... have you no pride... no anger... no strength!?"
"No... we do!"
"Then... fight!" I drew my sword, raising it to the sky. Thunder boomed in the skies at my call. "Fight to protect what is precious to you. Never be trampled by those cowardly dogs ever again!"
There was a wave of triumphant cheers as if they had already won some great battle. However, one man did emerge from the crowd to question me.
"How will we do that? With pitchforks and knives?"
"No... I will give you the very same weapons that they use. Swords, axes, spears, bows and shields. Though I doubt most of you know how to use them properly, that will not be true for long." I turned to my companions. "Some of the greatest and most skilled warriors in the Seven Kingdoms will be teaching you how to fight. Learn from them and treasure every moment."
"Once it is all said and done... those mountain clans would rather piss themselves and run away rather than face any of you!"
...
There were only thirty-seven able-bodied men, including older boys. It used to be more than triple that in the past until the mountain clans began upping their game. Alas, thirty-seven wasn't awful. If they were appropriately taught and prepared to fight... odds were that the smaller mountain clans wouldn't have an easy time at all.
I prepared the looted weapons and put the villagers through rather rigorous training regimes. Of course, they still had work to do, so I made my companions help in that department. Hell, even I did some work on the farm. It was good exercise, if anything.
It started feeling like I was some guy in Bannerlord trying to make my way in the world... except I was King. Imagine if people knew that the prestigious Kingsguard were helping carry buckets around for some random villagers...
I managed to find a family for the boys from the mountain clan and found homes for the kidnapped women to settle down.
After a long day of work, I walked off into the woods to scout alone. It was one of the closest places I could talk with Raiden Shogun without getting claims of schizophrenia. The village itself was pretty cramped, especially the homes. Many of them were just one big room.
"Your way of ruling is far different from mine..." Raiden Shogun remarked.
"Is that a bad thing?" I glanced at her.
"Not at all..." She looked down for a moment. "Where they have lost hope and given in to the darkness, you've given them fire and lit a way forward. Not only have you given them a shield, but you also gave them the will and ability to stand for themselves."
"There was a quote in my world... give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day," I remarked, smiling slightly. "Teach a man how to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime."
"Whoever said that must have been wise." She nodded. "Even so, won't this independence undermine the value of your Vale Lords and Knights?"
"It's not my fault they suck at their duties." I shrugged. "If the nobles can't protect them adequately, then they should be taught to be able to defend themselves."
"Long-term sustainability." She remarked.
"Ideally, the boys will one day be holding it down for the village when they become men."
"Unless the village is burnt down by an even greater force."
"There won't be any once I'm done here," I replied.
Though this act was mainly to gain experience, I found it strangely... satisfying. I couldn't quite put my finger on why, however. It may have had something to do with all the hundreds of hours I had poured into Bannerlord... and seeing it come to life.
It may have something to do with me going out and exploring lands I wouldn't have even dreamt of before...
Riding with skilled companions like some knight, aiding those who had encountered misfortune and putting down outlaws...
I chuckled.
Whatever the case, part of me still was a child... living his old dream.
"Don't all lies have a little truth to them, Raiden?" I questioned.
"A believable lie would. Why would you ask that, however?"
"Are good deeds done for selfish intentions still good?" I asked another question.
"It truly depends on the intentions..." She replied, tilting her head. "Yet... a good deed will always be seen as commendable and remembered in that light."
"I suppose wanting to prevent an apocalypse can be seen as good either way." I smiled slightly.
I went on to look for signs of any mountain clan activity nearby, finding nothing recent. Though my little journey was mostly fruitless, I did catch a few smaller animals for food.
~
Three weeks went by as I sharpened my skills, oversaw the training of the villagers and building of fresh defences (namely a palisade), and established a stronger connection with the people. They grew to admire me, especially the youths. It seemed like each and every one of them sought to be a great warrior who could protect their family and village.
After a day of work, I sat by a tree and watched the villagers go about their evening.
Even I grew fond of the village itself... a little.
This sense of community... where everyone works to help each other, was heartwarming in a way. You would rarely see it in a modern society, advanced as it was. As soon as it came to paying for the misfortunes of another, many would turn away...
The Hound was by my side, his expression not quite as stern and vexed as usual. He had been one of the better workers in my group, partially due to his physicals... but he was also willing to do more as well. He reminded me of myself, a little.
"So this is what happens when a bastard becomes King." He remarked. "Never thought the Kingsguard would be picking some Vale peasant's shit."
"Heh..." I chuckled. "Suppose so. Do you see it as wrong?"
"The Kingsguard are doing as their King commands." He replied simply. "Their pretty white cloaks will not look any prettier but... they will know how it is to be a more simple man. A good lesson for some of them."
"I'm not so sure Flowerboy likes it, however..." I remarked.
"He hasn't had Renly's cock up his arse in almost two moons, that's why." Sandor scoffed.
I chuckled. "Never change, Hound... just don't say it to his face."
Right as I was about to leave, a blonde-haired girl approached me. She had been one of the girls who I had rescued previously. Her blue eyes sized me up, briefly glancing at the Hound before turning right back to me. He wasn't the prettiest sight.
She seemed to hesitate for some reason... though I suspected why.
"Uhm... milord - Your Grace..."
I raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"
"I was wondering... if you... would want to spend some time together? I know you're always busy doing something..."
"Bugger off." The Hound waved his hand. "The King is promised to a nasty little wolf lady already."
"Little wolf lady?" She blinked.
"Yes, and she will come and eat you in the night, limb by limb if you pester him any longer." The Hound sounded almost serious.
She seemed to believe him and ran off rather quickly.
"You're a rude dog," I smiled slightly.
"Saved you the time of kindly explaining why the King can't fall for a peasant girl that was raped by a mountain clan and has one of their babies inside of her."
"True enough..."
I decided to get a nice, long sleep tonight before leaving the village the following morning...
...
Bing... Bing... Bing...
"Your Grace... Your Grace!"
I felt a strong arm pushing my shoulder back and forth. I slowly opened my eyes, and the alarm bell made me realise exactly what had happened.
"We're under attack?" I questioned, looking up at Arthur.
"Yes... there are dozens and dozens of clansmen... perhaps even more than a hundred!"
"Go out and help the villagers defend themselves; I'll arm myself and join the fighting."
He nodded, turning away. I heard the distinguished draw of Nightfall, the valyrian steel blade singing for blood.
'This is what it all comes down to...'
It was time to complete the 'quest' and see if the villagers had learned anything...
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