12. Spending Spree

The King of Moru was king Khalid, he had prepared 20,000 soldiers for an invasion of Peria, his troops were to take the city of Nova and advance up the Kingdom of Peria in a conquest that would put the Church of Light in a completely dominant position. That morning while he ate pomegranates and planned his invasion, the city of Fes was being infiltrated by two merchants of the God of Trade. They bribed the peasantry, they bribed the guards, they paid for a mercenary band of 2000 with 2000 gold coins, and they continuously freed the slave markets.

“These are fine slaves from the south, they work hard, and they are not affected by the sun see,” the slaver said.

“When we take Moru down completely, we must allow retribution against these curs,” Salutius said, “they are despicable.”

“I know, but for know play it cool,” Mercurius warned his friend.

They spent another 2000 gold coins, buying an army of slaves who were dispersed into the city of Fes. Again some were shown the miracles of Hiru, and the power of the three gods grew. Flour was given to mills, peasants on the peripheries were given coin in exchange for loyalty. The mercenary captains were given a tour and again the God of Trade was enthralled by the results.

“THIS IS AMAZING. THIS IS FANTASTIC. LOOK AT MY POWER GROW. TALK TO MARDONIUS, GET THEM TO HAVE MY STATUES.”

Mercurius smiled wide eyed, Salutius was in awe at the voice in his head; Mercurius instead employed the local blacksmiths and stone workers, getting them to produce statues to the new deities. Fes and Ethrib slowly had more and more of these idol objects popping up. Large statues to the Goddess of Agriculture. Local villages and towns in-between the two cities were targeted. There in an alleyway in Fes, the two merchants talked.

“Aren’t there still three more important cities we haven’t even stepped foot in?” Salutius said.

“Patience, we will have them all soon enough.”

A priest to the Church of Light began prowling, burning a statue to the Goddess of Water.

“Blasphemy!” The priest screamed, “who put this blasphemy here!”

Mercurius contacted the local street gangs of Fes.

“Worship the Gods’ of Agriculture, Water and Trade, and we’ll make it worth your while,” Mercurius whispered to them.

“Are you the ones doing strange movements within the city?” The hoodlum said.

“We’ll make it worth your time, we’ll give you a tour first, but here’s some 100 gold coins to sweeten the deal.”

Again Mercurius showed the hoodlum the splendour of Hiru. He bought the loyalty of several gangs this way, promising them a better deal in the new Moru that was to come. They became his sleeper agents too. He freed another 3000 slaves, splurging almost his entire gold reserves in doing so. Especially the feeding and clothing and housing that came afterwards. Again both merchants went to trade in far away lands. It was late afternoon, and their preparations in Fes were approximately 20% complete. There were mercenaries who were not bought, masses of people in the north of the city who regularly attended the Church of Light ceremonies and where loyalty to Moru would be strong. Wood and hemp was sold in ever increasing quantities in Hitara, varying the currencies used was wise for their operations. They drank coffee in Fes before purchasing 2000 more mercenaries in the north of the city. Again spies were alerted to the suspicious movements.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Sir someone has bought 4000 mercenaries, this is most unusual. The slave markets are empty, strange statues are sprouting everywhere.”

“You are right to tell your superior, but we are just as confused as you are. The guards at the entrances of the city are not saying anything,” the spy chief said.

A simple office made of stone, covered in carpets and cushions, it was befitting for a spy headquarters for the city.

“Sir some of our informants have gone dark, we are losing our eyes and ears in the city, is someone in the army planning a coup?”

Meanwhile in Hiru, the takeover of Moru was being planned meticulously.

“You have 4000 mercenaries in Fes, 2000 in Ethrib, you have sympathisers in the peasantry and recently freed slaves,” Mardonius ran through the numbers, “you even bought hoodlums to our side?”

“They are useful for intelligence gathering, we still have absolutely no presence in Halab,” Salutius said.

“That city is a staging point of the invasion of Peria,” a former slave said, “it has a large slave population, much larger than Ethrib or Fes, the docks there are a fertile ground.”

“We need to sleep Salutius.”

Salutius made more trades, putting their gold back up to a comfortable 3500. They both slept comfortably waiting for the morning.

Mercurius and Salutius took the town of Halab by storm, buying all the slaves. 8000 available slaves on the market meant the process was slow. They bought 3000, and then proceeded to trade on the global markets again. Hemp was a staple trade good that was popular everywhere, acquiring 3000 gold from the Raja states that was immediately invested in purchasing slaves, feeding them and giving them tours. Hiru became fabulously wealthy, the wealth flowing to these other cities that Mercurius was plotting in. 5000 mercenaries had already been purchased by the general in charge of subjugating Peria. Nonetheless gangsters, farmers, shopkeepers, mill owners and of course the ever free slaves became a fifth column inside the city. A population centre of 40,000, it had 20,000 slaves, the ones on sale were bought, some even armed, but most were simply armed with statues to the God of Agriculture and with the knowledge that slavery was going to be abolished. Coastal villages in the periphery were sold hemp, their slaves purchased and likewise being propagandised with the new religion. The two evangels of the Trade God kept splurging money and then endlessly selling goods to make up for it. By late morning Halab had 8000 freed slaves, as well as peasantry whose loyalty had been turned.

“You can’t rush this,” Salutius said, “we need more preparation, buy more loyalty. Make sure the spy networks are useless and military command will not be enough to stop us.”

“You are right this is going to take a while,” Mercurius whispered, I can’t rush this. Moru will soon fall. I can’t be too hasty.

Halab and its environs were bribed relentlessly, food flooded dry markets. Farmers were propped up, peasants were given the idols of the new religion, and the priestly class of the Church of Light were avoided. The 8000 slaves, and 5000 urban poor, and 4000 peasants, meant the God of Agriculture and God of Water could afford two more evangels. Hiru became a production centre dedicated to spamming goods to fulfil the ambitions of toppling Moru. Everything was about to change. Patience was needed.