Chương 128: All for redemption

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POV of Lothar von Ruppin eleventh moon 285 AC

The days passed since I defeated the Dothraki, and their presence began to fade as their migration is seasonal. Supposedly, according to what Tiberios said, they now tend to attack lands to the south. Therefore, everything had come to an end during this year.

Our resistance was excellent; almost all the losses in this campaign came from the mercenaries of Essos, who fulfilled their mission as flesh shields against the Dothraki. Meanwhile, my men only suffered casualties that did not exceed fifty, but quite a few were injured by arrows.

During this time, I managed to recruit another six thousand young men for our infantry. Thanks to Antti being wiser and more intelligent, we recruited another three thousand Dothraki who had now abandoned their pagan practices, converting to the one true faith.

The best part was that the Dothraki almost didn't need training. The only problem was their disorganized charges, forcing them to wear armor, and the most challenging part, making them stop shouting like condemned when charging against their enemies. But everything else was perfect; they didn't need training to lose fear or to use swords or bows, as they knew what to do since childhood.

Something that had to be sent immediately to the king was the report on how the siphons had performed. Although we only used them once, they showed a considerable increase in range. I regret only using them in isolation and using enhancers, not measuring their destructive potential.

The city of Myr sent soldiers to officially take over my defenses since my contract was expiring, and they wanted to change my role to fight against Tyrosh and Lys. They also want to make a spectacle of us because, for these pathetic pagans, defeating the Dothraki was something worth celebrating with days of festivities.

Although I wanted to leave for Myr as soon as possible, I had to stay an extra day to put those damn captains in their place who were fighting over their payment. They thought that when everything ended, they should stop fearing me; they were completely wrong. The two usual captains obeyed immediately, although the rest of the new captains demanded much more than what was due to them by contract. The rest I had to threaten again to make them accept what was rightfully theirs.

After settling the payment conflict, we organized everything we had in our baggage and prepared for the march back to Myr. The problem I am facing now is the life of a mercenary. Normally, only soldiers marched since we could rely on all the industrial support of the Prussian state. But currently, we are alone since we have received almost no help from the Vaterland, except for the armor we managed to buy in Ashford. Due to that, I have to have a considerable group of artisans following us, as well as their families, whom we enslaved in my campaign for Lys. But now the families of the Dothraki who recently joined us have also joined.

This was not a problem before because everyone who accompanied me to Essos had no families and didn't mind leaving them behind. Now, this entourage, which is almost five thousand strong, will slow us down considerably.

We took ten days to reach Myr, and it had changed quite a bit since the day we left. The farms surrounding the city used to not extend much beyond it, but this time, we found cultivated lands that were being worked on, demonstrating that they were recently expanded due to the Dothraki threat having diminished for the moment.

Poor Myr doesn't know that they truly stirred up the hornet's nest. Antti discovered why the Dothraki became so violent when they observed me; it was because they considered me a great warrior, and the man who defeated me would have the brightest star in the sky, second only to other khals. When the story spreads, most likely, all the khalsars will come looking for me, but I probably won't be here or won't be here to fight against the Dothraki, as they may be barbarians and not use armor, but their determination makes them formidable enemies that I would prefer not to fight if I had the option.

When we entered the city, there were many celebrations that the leaders of Myr had prepared for the occasion. For several hours, I had to tolerate that pagan scum using me as their political tool in front of the common people to gain some popularity and benefits when they have to make their choices among themselves. As much as I wanted to break their faces with punches, I had to resist; I was still under contract, and I wouldn't break it for my personal desires.

When I finally freed myself from those vultures, I returned to the place that was most comfortable for me: the tavern that hosted us when we first arrived. It wasn't in the best part of the city; many of the city's scum gathered there.

The moment they saw me approaching with my men, many ran away. I paid no attention and entered the tavern.

"EVERYONE OUT, NOW!" I shouted as soon as I entered the tavern, pointing to the exit for everyone inside.

In a matter of minutes, the tavern was empty, and the innkeeper seemed very happy to see me; he was smiling almost from ear to ear.

I took out a bag with about a hundred gold coins and handed it to the innkeeper so that if one of my men wanted to lose consciousness by drinking, they could do it for free since they truly earned it by fighting skirmishes for months against the Dothraki.

"Give me..." I tried to say.

"A large plate of ham, cheese, and many olives accompanied by the strongest you have," said the innkeeper, smiling and counting the gold coins.

I nodded to his words and sat down to wait for Antti, who had to arrive with information.

I ate and drank for a few minutes until Antti arrived laden with papers and sat at my table, handing me all the paperwork.

"Give me a summary" I said, looking at the Finn.

"We have offers from all sides, Lothar. Our gamble worked; we are the most famous mercenaries in Essos. We have contract offers from all the Free Cities; Norvos, Pentos, and Qohor want us to defend them against the Dothraki. Braavos offered us a contract just to stay stationed on their border; they will pay us for doing nothing. We also have contract offers for fighting in the disputed lands," said Antti, showing me the contracts they sent us.

"How is the situation in the disputed lands?" I asked Antti.

"Myr and Tyrosh took advantage of the political chaos in Lys, but they only managed to take territories from the border. Although Tyrosh managed to take some minor coastal cities, everything returned to how it was two years ago, where no one dominated the battlefield. They all sent their respective contracts, and Tyrosh sent you a very personal proposal to go talk to the Archon of the city," said Antti.

"Tell me your opinion," I told Antti.

"Most of the contracts against the Dothraki won't have much support like this time, and even Myr wants to put a leash on you, so I doubt we can use the Essosi again as a flesh shield. We will probably be the flesh shields ourselves since I doubt we'll have a pawn like Tybero who keeps his head down when orders are given. Myr is still winning in the disputed lands, so they are not desperate. I would recommend Lys or Tyrosh, which are in bad conditions. Also, that special request from Tyrosh caught my attention; none of my spies know what it's about," said Antti, lifting part of his mask and starting to drink and eat.

"So, back to the Archon, huh? We'll have to be more aggressive this time in our search because we've only gotten a little over twenty kilos of that metal, and we've been searching for over a year. If we continue at this rate, it will take us more than a century to get the king's pardon," I said as I began to copy Antti's actions.

We stayed in the city for several days preparing everything. We would return by sea, using the ships we had at our disposal, although it would take several stages, and the Dothraki were horrified by the idea of moving over poisoned water. Nevertheless, they obeyed when I ordered them, though not willingly.

The journey took eight days, but we arrived in Tyrosh in one piece, while the rest of my men would disembark on the continent, as the leaders of Tyrosh were afraid to have such a large army within their walls.

With nothing else to do, I went to where the politicians of Tyrosh gathered, as I wanted to hear the offer from the Archon. I still had time to go to Lys before the military campaign began.

The slave guards let me in immediately, recognizing me. However, as we advanced to the room where the council with the Archon was, they asked Antti to stay behind, and I had to go alone.

This time, they didn't keep me waiting and let me in immediately to find myself once again surrounded by Pagister and the Archon, who looked at me with a smile.

"Lothar, it's a pleasure to have you again before us. We've heard your stories of what happened in Myr, how you defeated a great Dothraki khalasar, especially your feats in killing dozens of Dothraki in your final battle," said the Archon with a friendly tone.

'Well, you're going to ask me for something.'

I crossed my arms and continued looking at the Archon.

"He..he, your noble person must be wondering why you were invited here so specially," said the Archon.

"Avoid the formalities and get straight to the point. I hate political courtesies," I responded with a serious tone.

"Of course, of course. The city of Tyrosh wants to hire your services and your company permanently," replied the Archon, then looking at all his political companions.

"I don't like long contracts, and you have the gold?. The last time, you refused to give me a raise," I said seriously.

"We have the gold. This year has been very good for trade, in addition to the large influx of slaves that arrived at the beginning of the year. But here's the special part: we will give you control of a city with thirty thousand inhabitants on the border with Lys, and we will give you a huge payment in gold. But, in addition to your services, we want marriages. You will marry and take as concubines the daughters of the most respected members of the city, and the children of that marriage will belong to the city," said the Archon, pointing to his political friends.

"Haha, you're not the first, and you won't be the last to covet the blessings of my lord the Almighty. But I have no interest in your gold. Myr filled my pockets," I responded to the Archon, who lost composure in his face.

"We recognize you as noble here; you will have a special status... Only you... We can give you the payment in slaves, those that you seek to train... We can give you another city if you wish... Tell us what you want," said the Archon, somewhat nervous, seeing that I rejected everything he offered.

'Let's try our luck.'

"Valyrian steel," I said tersely.

"How much?" asked the Archon seriously.

"A lot," I replied.

The Archon asked me to withdraw to discuss something with his companions. I waited patiently for ten minutes until they let me in.

"Lothar, swear by your god that you won't say anything about what you'll see today," said the Archon seriously.

'Nothing compels me to keep an oath to pagans.'

"I swear," he said, raising his hand.

The Archon and the Magisters led me to a vault hidden in the building, and with several keys, they opened the vault. Slaves began to light fires to see.

When the light filled the vault, I noticed there were five armors with runes made of Valyrian steel and dozens of spears, swords, and axes made of precious metal.

'Well, it seems it won't be a century. Here must be a little more than half of what I need for my pardon.'

"One armor and ten swords. That's what we offer you. But consider that you could get more if you give the city strong offspring," said the Archon, smiling.

"Can't it be more?" I looked at the Archon and the Magisters.

"They are relics of the city when we were a military colony. We are giving you the legacy of our ancestors, Lothar. I cannot give you more at the moment," said the Archon with a hint of anger.

"Fine, I accept the deal, but I want that special noble status. When are the marriages?" I said, approaching the largest Valyrian steel armor.

"Done. Considering that we are close to the military campaigns, for the eighth month of the following year. This way, you'll have time to organize your city and prepare for war against Lys," said the Archon.

I signed the contract while all the Magisters smiled like idiots. They handed me the payment for the Valyrian steel when the marriages happened.

When I came out, I found Antti waiting for me.

"Take me to a place where we won't be heard," I told Antti.

Antti guided me through the entire city until we reached a house that was somewhat hidden, and Antti stared at me.

"There's an enormous amount of Valyrian steel under the building where the politicians gather. We must do something to get it all," I said, looking at Antti, who was smiling.

"The formidable General Lothar using intrigue... Aleksanteri will be proud," said Antti.