Hyulik - a village in Rustalia Domain, Krechester Province
Ashta looked down at his hand planted on to the table by an iron grip. Looking at his fingers he sank in disbelief.
He then pulled up his head and saw this sadistic smile on the head guard’s face as if he wanted to see his victim slip up so he could cut. Ashta’s heartbeat began topping 150 beats per minute in fear of what was about to happen. His sight shifted towards the ground in despair.
Despite this these internal struggles, he tried his best to not display any of these emotions on his face. For he knew, once he shows fear, the guards would feed on it like hungry beasts.
“What happened to that insolent tongue you kept wagging a minute ago? Nothing can save your fate except the truth. Keep your attitude in your land. Even the King and his army can’t change my mind once I make it up” taunted the head guard.
Other guards holding Ashta smirked as they felt their superiority in the air.
Meanwhile Ashta’s mind which was on the brink of collapse in fear and anxiety abruptly paused. Only one word creeped up from the abyss that was his mind right now.
Survive.
His survival instinct kicked in. Everything around him seemed to decelerate to a halt.
Thoughts dashed into his mind seemingly at lightspeed, probably due to all the adrenaline in his veins.
The strongest force of any living creature is its will to survive which makes it beat all odds. Being a human with an advanced brain relative to to other species, I have no excuse to succumb to this situation without giving my best way out of this unscathed.
Like a worm wiggling around with haste trying to find any crack or cranny in the ground to squeeze in to save itself from a human trying to squash it for fun, Ashta’s brain started to glance through all the possible information it had, to come up with an escape route. His thought proceeded at such a speed that everything around him seemed to happen in slow motion.
All physical routes are out as it will only worsen any chance I have. I can’t give him the truth about myself as it would sound too ridiculous.
My only chance of coming out of this unharmed is to give him a lie. A lie about my identity and purpose that blends in perfectly with this culture and time period.
Let me analyze the setting here. A village somewhere in Europe of medieval time and culture. That means there must be feudal hierarchy system.
There seems to be monarchy here as the head guard mentioned ‘King and his army’.
So King is the highest authority here. He also mentioned Village chief and him being second in command. So King -> Village chief -> Head guard -> other guards -> Rest of the villagers without a noble birth.
Now for my identity. To guarantee my safety, I need to have higher authority or purpose than the head guard. A person of noble birth or a part of royalty would be a perfect for this.
But I have nothing to prove my family lineage or noble bloodline. My skin and hair colour makes it worse. If I call myself a merchant or of any other profession, I could be caught on my lies as the investigation proceeds.
With their primitive technology, I’m sure they haven’t explored the world yet. That explains why they have never seen a brown skinned, black haired person. Therefore I could claim I’m a Nobleman or a Lord from a far off foreign country.
If I mention being a foreigner, that would mean I have a no leverage in this land unless I have any diplomatic value. Since I have no idea about the governing system or the royalty, I cant bluff about that.
A lone foreigner without money or connections ranks lower than the peasants of this land. There are high chances I could be labeled as a foreign spy. Also an exotic foreigner might go for high value in the slave market which most likely exists here.
He did mention about me being a sorcerer or something. Associating with any dark arts or magic might attract a witch hunt on my ass by the locals. So my Identity has to be of someone local, but higher or equal authority to the Head guard here. Let me come back to my identity after I figure out my purpose.
For purpose. I just popped into existence in that cowshed. Most likely nobody saw me until I spoke to that old lady, except the girl who ratted me to the guards in suspicion.
Wait a second. Spoke? How can I speak so fluently with these people of a different land and culture. I for a fact feel I am speaking a strange new language. But at the same time its coming to me naturally like my mother tongue. Wow. Okay, I can use this to my leverage somewhere along the investigation.
So I was trying to help the old lady recover. This information can be verified by the old lady if the guards think I’m lying. She said she ate in a festival yesterday that caused her diarrhoea. This morning the communal toilets were ‘surprisingly’ crowded.
With this I can safely conclude many of the villagers contracted diarrhoea after eating contaminated food from the festival yesterday. Possibly even the village chief who is the highest authority here, whom the head guard mentioned to be sick this morning. But the guards don’t seem to be affected even a bit. Maybe there are other guards who were affect by this. Or not.
She also seemed think of this as a punishment or a curse by the spirits as a consequence for screwing up the ceremony to honor their ancestral spirits. Therefore something went wrong in the festival yesterday.
This points to the fact that all villagers here worship other pagan Gods and conduct pagan ceremonies. There doesn’t seem to be a monotheistic authoritarian religion like Christianity of medieval era. Even if there is, its influence doesn’t seem to be strong or domineering, as the the entire village seemed to practice their pagan beliefs.
Now then, I need to be a local of this domain, while explaining my skin, hair, cotton track pants and my t-shirt with a lame pun, sun of a beach. While also having higher authority than the head guard with a solid background story and valid purpose for being here. This seems impossible.
Hold on hold on. Holy crap. Yes! I got it.
All these things fit perfectly into place with this idea. I’m a freaking genius. I cant believe I could tie all my features and actions into a perfect plan.
Human brain is marvellous. Necessity truly is the mother of invention. This must be the cornered animal response. This is my best bet to fight.
There is a small chance this plan can fail, as I do not have sufficient information on these guards and I also need to make room for unknown factors to interfere with this plan. But odds are in my favor.
Moreover if I succeed in this plan, I would not only survive unharmed, I could turn these guards and the villagers towards my side and ensure my survival here. Just knowing this is filling me with positive energy.
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All I need to do is believe in myself that I can pull this off and stand by it till the end of me in this land.
Few villagers have started to gather behind the head guard. This only boosts my chances of succeeding with this plan. Its now or never.
Ashta’s heart filled with confidence based on his faith in the plan. The rewards for succeeding were too good for his confidence to be affected from the small chance of failure which he also considered to be a possible outcome. He considered this to be a low risk high reward scheme.
With a wide smile he lifted his head up to look the head guard in the eye.
Greymouth - a fort in Hiddleton domain, Krechester Province
Two drunk soldiers bickering in the fort’s stables.
“Hey..”
“Heyy..”
“Listen, I want to ask you something.”
“Lothis, stop. I know its something really stupid. We need to start scrubbing the horses right now or we won’t be done with chores by noon.”
“Aye, why you always so stern? There’s nothing new to do here. From past two years its just tending to the horses and patrolling the fort. Day in and day out. You need some more mead. Take some.”
“No no. I’m Already drunk. Anymore and I wont be able to fake being sober when Chief returns.”
“Alright Humfrey. I will have some more ale and you can start scrubbing.”
“Actually you know what, there’s lot of time till noon. Lothis, pass me the ale.”
“Now you’re talking like a real man. In a sense, I’m helping you become better at sober faking. Which is a vital skill in life. You’re lucky to have a friend like me.”
“Trash. You just want a drinking buddy Lothis. Anyways, you wanted to ask something right?”
“Yeah. So I need real answers Humfrey. I’m asking you because you’re the smartest man I know.”
“Your flattery doesn’t affect me Lothis. Still, I will try to answer to my best knowledge.”
“Okay, so look the stallion in front you. Do you think Its hoof would fit in my mouth?”
“What? Hahaha…. I knew it was something like this. You’re really drunk Humfrey. What you will you do when Chief Thaline returns?”
“Simple. I will hide behind the haystack and you tell her I’m taking a crap or something.”
“Not a bad idea. But knowing her, she could even pull you out of the shitters by the neck if her mood is sour. I wouldn’t mess around with her even if I had a perfect plan.”
“Hey hey you’re breaking your word. You said you would answer my question.”
“Seriously? That’s the dumbest question you’ve ever asked me.”
“If its so dumb why don’t you answer it already smart man?”
“Fine. I guess, if you really tried, you could. The stallion in front of me is almost a year old after all.”
“No way. I don’t even think I could fit even half of its hoof in my mouth. I’ll tell you what, If you fit its hoof fully right now in front of me, I will believe you.”
“Has your brain started to turn into mould already? No way in hell I’m gonna do that.”
“Aye, don’t worry I will tell the horse not to kick you till you’re done.”
“I really worry about you sometimes man.”
“Okay then. Take this. If you do this and show me right now, I will clear all your debts with that landlord.”
“By the divines, do you actually mean it?”
“Yeah, yeah. I have a lot of fortune from my late wife’s side. I have no use for money since my wife died. You can at least save your family from that tyrant landlord and walk as a free man under the sun.”
“I never knew you were so kind. But why something like this in return for clearing my debts? I could do something much meaningful to you than this, like work in your farm for few years without pay or something.”
“No no. I don’t want all that. I want to sate my curiosity. Do this and show me and you have my word.”
“Okay, if you betray me on this I will never speak to you in my life.”
“Aye, I would never betray you. You’re like a brother to me. Now haste. I wanna see.”
Hesitantly Humfrey picked up the stallion’s foot with both of his hands and tried to bury its hoof in his mouth while Lothis held the stallion.
“Humfrey! Humfrey! Humfrey! Go, go, go..” Lothis started cheering.
Right when the horse’s hoof almost made it into the soldier’s mouth, Chief Thaline entered the stable followed by two of her subordinates. She was stupified at the sight.
Lothis turned towards Chief Thaline and said “Can you believe this guy?”
Chief Thaline facepalmed hard.
Noticing her presence Humfrey dropped the foot and rushed towards her attempting to explain the situation.
“I don’t even wanna know whats going on here.”
“If it weren’t for this urgent matter, I would have shoved my foot down both of your throats and hung you both buck naked upside down at the fort entrance.”
“Kindly accept our apologies chief ” vocalized both soldiers bowing their heads down.
“Get the horses ready. We are going for war.”
As soon as Chief Thaline left, Lothis lost balance and passed out on the floor.
Few hours later, trumpets are blown at the fort entrance.
Soldier guarding the gates announced, “ Princess Elyra has arrived. Open the gates.”
Chief Thaline and Count Yarris hurried towards the entrance.
“Princess, why did you come here? You should be heading to another province or at least neighbouring domains asking for protection from the ruling houses there.”
“Count Yarris, thank you for your concern. But I do not plan on abandoning my people in their greatest hour of need” replied Elyra.
“But you are one of the candidates for the throne of Hiddleton and potentially Krechester. The barbaric Kannies would be thirsting for your blood right now. If we lose you, then whom will we rally behind later down the line?” asked Yarris.
“Who said I’m dying? Not only will I protect the people of Hiddleton but also drive away those northern invaders back to their icy hell. “
With tears in her eyes, Thaline spoke “While all your brothers fled, you have stayed back to protect us. If I die in battle in the coming days, I wish to be born in this domain again to serve you my Queen.”
Count Yarris offered his condolence “Sorry for the loss your father. Those Kannies will pay for murdering our King.”
“Our enemies didn’t kill him. He was killed by our Prince Reith Hiddleton. I cannot confirm if he did it with his own hands or not, but he’s at least indirectly murdered our King for sure” Maddox countered.
“Utter Blasphemy! What’s got into you Maddox?” yelled Yarris.
“Calm your core Count Yarris. Let me justify my derivation.”
“Prince Reith who despised the Asterian empire ever since our province became a part of their nation, has a sudden spurt of maturity and sends more than half of our army to fight the empire’s war at the Eastern border. He does this despite the fact that thirty percent of our army is already serving in the empire’s forces as per their minimal contribution policy.”
“Now one could say he succumbed to the political pressure from the empire as they are fighting a war in the eastern border, but sending more than half of the Hiddleton army seemed too out of character for a person like him.”
“He then takes his father, the King for a hunting trip two weeks ago to the Wukshire forest at the northern border with an army unit accompanying them for their protection. This particular unit partially comprised of militia that were staunch supporters of Prince Reith for the throne. The king was cautious enough in this aspect to consolidate the other half of the army of soldiers who didn’t support Prince Reith for the throne.”
“It is common knowledge in our domain that Prince Reith condemned his father ever since he surrendered to the Asterian empire. Since then, the rift between them has only gotten worse due to opposing ideologies. The prince then inviting his father for a hunt to rekindle their relation while there’s only a year left for the throne selection seems suspicious.”
“Furthermore, the Kannies invade the northern border exactly where they went, killing the king and capturing the prince.”
“Hold on Maddox. I see some problems with this. Firstly the King was accompanied by his best bodyguard, ‘Red Demon’ of the Royal Elite Squad. That 8 foot beast of a man, who has never lost a fight would have protected the king with all his might. At least giving the king enough time to flee.”
“Secondly, the empire’s border patrol force in that forest would have intervened in case of a fight giving the king enough time to escape at least. In case the Kannies massacred them, the empire’s spies residing in the villages towards the border on the Kannies’ side would have reported to our capital on the Kannies’ army movement towards our northern border before the border forces were killed, which didn’t happen” countered Count Yarris.
“Good counters. I was going to address that in my explanation though.”
“For your first point, you are partially correct. The Red Demon has no match in terms of strength. Not even ten men could take him down when he’s fully armed. That is why he is part of the Royal Elite Squad and the King’s best bodyguard.”
“His weakness lies in poison, the poison of the mind. A toxic idea.”
“He too likes the ideology of the prince. An aggressive and expansive state, very proud and protective of its culture and resources. As he was a part of the Royal Elite Squad, the RES, the best of the best warriors committed to protecting the royalty. He could never voice his opinion to the king and had to follow all of the king’s orders.”
“Then came this poisonous idea in his head. The idea that the king would slowly minimize Prince Reith’s influence in the province, let alone pick him for the throne. Maybe because he spent so much time with the king he came to this conclusion. I got a glimpse into his head when I read one of his letters to his wife which my subordinates intercepted a year ago.”
“Therefore most likely, he too was in this conspiracy with Prince Reith.”
“For your second point, what the king wasn’t aware of was that there was an army unit that was sent to the northern border forest a few days before the king and the prince left for the hunt, which was meant to strengthen the border defenses as the king would be coming there for a hunt.”
“Now this army unit was completely filled with soldiers who would follow Prince Reith to hell with a smile. So they might have disposed of the empire’s border forces as this unit outnumbered the border forces at that location.”
“This leads to only one conclusion. Prince Reith conspired with the Kannies and murdered the king as it was evident he wouldn’t rule this land and his ideology would be driven to extinction with a more peace loving and culturally tolerant King.”
“In the end, Prince Reith and his followers including the Red Demon of the RES are the enemies of the state for committing treason and murdering our king” explained Maddox.
“And, this is why he is my right hand man” bragged Princess Elyra.
“Wow, is there anything you do not know Maddox?” jested Yarris.
“Actually, there are two mysteries I still cannot figure out about Prince Reith.”
“First. Prince Reith ordered production of a lot armour and weapons eight months ago. This equipment was of very low quality meaning he focused on speed of production and kept the costs low.”
“Knowing him, he would never let our army use equipment of even a slightly lower quality. When the princess confronted him about this, he gave questionable reasons for it every time. In the end our army never used it and the matter was forgotten.”
“Second. There were a few villages and towns which swore their loyalty to Prince Reith and backed him to succeed the throne. Most of these villagers left their villages and towns day by day in last month alone to the neighbouring province.”
“Upon asking the remaining residents, they said Prince Reith promised better jobs and lands in the neighbouring province to the ones who left. But when I tried to track them down in the neighbouring province, I was blocked by the local authority in that domain.”
“These two actions of the prince still remain a mystery to me” replied Maddox.
“Is it true that the Kannies have managed to tame the mountain tiger and include it in their army?” asked Chief Thaline.
“Its Worse actually. They have armoured mountain tigers in their invasion army. Upto twenty percent of their invading army is comprised of those tigers.”
“Apparently, they discovered a mix of herbs that could drug the mighty mountain tigers into thinking those humans as their cubs to be protected. As they are 6 feet tall standing on all four limbs, they would break the opposing army’s morale even before attacking” answered Maddox.
Right then a soldier emerged from the central tower of the fort dashing towards the courtyard where the princess was standing with her subjects.
“A messenger pigeon has arrived bringing the news from the battle at castle Rosewater” he announced.
After getting a nod from the princess he began “General Elliot and his Army have been utterly defeated by the Kannies. While the general was killed In battle, many of our men fled the battlefield. The Kannies army filled with tigers is heading to this fort, fort greymouth with the intention of slaying Princess Elyra.”