Chapter 15
Their journey home was about half way over. The ride so far had been uneventful. Wagons got stuck here and there, but they were able to get them moving again fairly quickly, and any parts that were broken were swiftly fixed. The Baron was bored and staring through the window of his carriage blankly as he fiddled with his ring. Since he was one of the richest people in the Empire, possibly the richest person in the Empire, he could afford to travel in a lavish and comfortable fashion.
Something about the situation felt wrong to him though. He felt uneasy as he stared at the changing scenery through the glass of his carriage. He wasn’t quite sure why, but the whole situation made him feel uneasy. His leg was bouncing wildly, and he was messing with his ring a bit frantically, spinning it around his finger and moving it up and down quickly.
His feelings of unease were exacerbated as they swiftly entered the deep forest of the Dunkwald, named for its extremely thick canopy which blocks all sunlight deeper in the forest. During the day, it was hard to see until your eyes adjusted. At night, it was pitch black. Any attempt to light the forest would just result in you becoming a glowing beacon to the things that lurk in the dark.
“Perfect place for an ambush…”
His voice was dry and hoarse, and it came out as more of a whisper than anything else.
“Truly a melancholic place. At least any bandits that have made this forest home will hesitate to attack an armed caravan.”
Helmut commented dryly.
The Baron looked over at him briefly before returning his gaze to the window. He had almost forgotten that Helmut decided to sit in the Baron’s carriage. There was only room enough for two people in the Baron’s carriage, Hans and Udo had elected to have their own carts, while Ludwin and Fergus decided to share a cart instead of having their own personal ones, as did Helmut.
That’s quite possibly the safest place to be during an ambush, the Baron mused dryly.
As the caravan ventured deeper into the Dunkwald, and the darkness around him grew, so too did his anxiety. He kept taking his ring off and putting it back on, and he could feel his eyes widenening slowly as he watched the trees pass by. As time went on, the Baron found himself struggling to breathe, eventually being just barely able to draw in enough air with each raspy pant to keep himself conscious. His heart beat fast, far too fast for his liking. It pounded hard, picking up the pace with each and every second they strayed further into the darkness of this accursed canopy.
“Baron? Are you ok? Your face is all red, and you're breathing heavily.”
The Baron looked over at Helmut, who had scooted over to the Baron and placed his hand on the Baron’s shoulder.
“Yea…Yeaa.…”
The Baron tried to respond, to assure Helmut that he was alright, but all that came out was a rough rasping noise. His heart had begun to hurt. His breathing was becoming even less steady, and his vision was beginning to blur. Helmut roughly layed the Baron down across his seat and stood up.
“Sir, try to calm down. I will go find Ludwin, he may know how to help you.”
Helmut’s voice was monotone and ice cold, but the Baron could pick up on a note of panic developing in it, which did nothing to make the Baron feel any better. The Baron stared at the ceiling of his carriage, trying to steady his breathing.
He couldn’t figure out why this was happening, and that lack of understanding greatly exacerbated his malady. After a short moment, Ludwin’s face appeared in the Baron’s blurring view.
“Baron! Baron what’s wrong!?”
Ludwin turned away from the Baron and started yelling.
“Helmut! What in the name of Frau Abhilfe happened?!”
Helmut jumped in the carriage as he answered the question, his deadpan voice still carried with it a subtle note of fear.
“I have no idea. When we entered the Dunkwald proper he just started breathing heavily, and his face turned red.”
Ludwin wiped the strands of hair out of the Baron’s face and put their foreheads together. After a short delay he moved his ear to the Baron’s chest.
“He doesn’t have a fever but his heart is beating way too fast.”
Ludwin looked back up at Helmut.
“You said he started showing these symptoms when we entered the forest, did it happen immediately, or as we got deeper?”
“Well, at the outskirts of the forest he looked a bit uneasy, and as we got deeper he began to breathe heavily.”
Ludwin looked the Baron in the eyes and tapped his cheek to get his attention.
“Baron, we’re going to try something here, just bear with me. I need you to sit up and identify five things surrounding you.”
The Baron sat up and quietly found five different things surrounding him
“Have you found them? Tell me what they are.”
“Uh...there’s a seat.”
“Yes, yes! A seat. What’s on the seat?”
The Baron rubbed his eyes briefly, his vision was blurred very heavily.
“My...my pistol is sitting on it...next to it is my saber…”
“Yes, perfect! What else do you see?”
“I see...a stained glass window...it depicts the first settlers of Bickenstadt making a home for themselves. Not sure why I had that commissioned that, makes it a pain to see through.”
“You’re doing perfect! Find one more thing and describe it for me!”
The Baron weakly reached into his pocket and pulled out a coin.
“A coin. It...it depicts a boat docking at a...harbor…”
Ludwin smiled and held the Baron’s hand
“Perfect! Ok! Now, breathe with me. In for four, out for four. Through your nose, then through your mouth. Ready?”
They performed Ludwin’s breathing technique together for a while. After a bit of breathing in and out slowly, the Baron realized his breathing had been brought under control, and his heartbeat had slowed down and ceased to hurt. It was still far too high, but he didn’t feel in imminent danger. He sat up straighter in his seat and just continued to breathe for a while.
“Do you feel better now, Baron?”
The Baron looked to Helmut and smiled weakly.
“Yes, much better. I am sorry, I don’t know what came over me.”
Ludwin patted the Baron’s shoulder and smiled.
“I believe you had a panic attack. I've seen this happen to particularly nervous merchants on their first trade mission from time to time. I used some techniques my family taught me to keep me calm and composed while trading in an unfamiliar foreign land.”
“A panic attack? But, what would have caused a panic attack?”
Ludwin stroked his bare chin in thought.
“Well, Helmut told me that your symptoms started as we entered the Dunkwald...so something about this place must have triggered it. Even without all of your memories, your subconscious could still remember your past and your body could still react to past trauma you have no memory of.”
The Baron’s face scrunched up.
“Strange…”
As the Baron was trying to recall what caused his panic attack, one of his men came to his carriage.
“Sir! Have you recovered from whatever has taken hold of you?”
The Baron nodded, standing up and walking out of his carriage. He still felt a little unsteady, but he had enough practice looking completely unfazed in dangerous situations to let that show to his men.
“Everyone! I have recovered from my sudden malady! It was nothing to be concerned about, as you can see I am still quite healthy! Just a result of aging, I believe! It passed, and I did not! We will continue to march! Let us be home to our families in a timely fashion!”
The men cheered and the caravan started moving again.
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Finally, after nearly a year on campaign, from the 4th of May, 1659, to the 4th of February, 1660, the Klarwasser Mercenary Company had finally made it back home to Bickenstadt. All that was left was for them to offload what they had brought home, perform a headcount, audit what riches they had attained on campaign, and pay the men what they were owed.
The men were welcomed back to Bickenstadt with full honors. Nearly the whole city had come out to watch the victorious men return home. Stalls lined the faded red brick streets, vendors sold food, money changers changed currencies, commerce was flourishing.
The Baron’s column was joined by his honor guard, the Bickenstadt Homeguard, mostly used just for parades and other ceremonies. Each man was selected not for his martial prowess, but for his height and attractiveness. There was a height requirement of at least six feet, and every man must dedicate their lives to being a perfect physical specimen. The Bickenstadt Homeguard were decked out in gold plated ceremonial armor to celebrate the return of the Baron. He recalled that he was popular in his hometown, on account of being a kind man who treated his people well, but the people had turned his arrival into a festival.
The men were soaking in the celebration, all smiling, waving to the crowd, generally being amicable to the raucous atmosphere. The Baron himself seemed to get caught up in the fun, throwing coins to people and attempting to be as charming as possible. The Baron turned to Ludwin as he rode.
“The men should enjoy the festivities, when we get back to Castle Bickenstadt, tell the men to leave everything in the courtyard and head back into town, I’ll distribute their payments as quickly as I can so they may properly enjoy themselves.”
“Fantastic idea, sir!”
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The Baron was greeted at Castle Bickenstadt by a man who looked very similar to himself, though with far fewer gray hairs, a clean shaven face, dirty blonde hair, and with a less muscular build.
Blonde? You can be blonde if your parents have dark hair, right? If they have the gene for it? I should’ve paid attention in school…
“Father! It is good to finally see you again! We’ve been apart for almost a year now with almost no correspondence! I was beginning to get worried you had forgotten about us! And especially your paperwork!”
The man was his son, Wolfgang von Bickenstadt.
“Wolfgang! You have no idea how much I missed you!”
The Baron both meant and didn’t mean that. Wolfgang was functionally a stranger to the Baron at the moment, as his memories of Wolfgang were mostly missing, but the emotions he felt toward his son remained strong as ever.
This was his kin, as well as the only reason he was able to go on adventures and start his mercenary company. That much he remembered. He was an extremely dependable young man, intelligent and wise beyond his years. He may be no match for the Baron when it came to warfare, but he was far better at administrative work.
I feel almost…proud? Looking at this man. He is my greatest achievement!
“We have so much to talk about! I can’t believe the Empress gave you ownership of Holenstadt! We will have to discuss what that means for us going forward after you have settled down a bit.”
The Baron jumped down from his horse and walked over to Wolfgang, briefly embracing him.
“I have decided that the men shall be able to partake in our festivities. We are going to leave everything in the castle’s courtyard and put everything away tomorrow. We need to quickly pay our men so that they may celebrate to their heart’s content.”
The Baron pulled out a large book and handed it to his son.
“This ledger contains the amounts each man is owed, we need to pay out the proper amounts as soon as possible.”
“Fantastic, let’s get started immediately.”
The Baron’s smile faded slightly, and his son raised an eyebrow.
“Wolfgang, I am sorry to do this, but I have business in the town. Important business. Extremely important. I will be changing into something less...conspicuous. If you know what I mean.”
Wolfgang looked down at his feet for a moment.
“Of course....”
The Baron patted Wolfgang's shoulder and he walked past him.
“Don’t worry, after this business is finished, we will be able to spend time together. I'll tell you everything that happened to me during the rebellion. You’ve waited nine months now, I’m sure you can manage one more day.”
Wolfgang looked over his shoulder and smiled slightly.
“Yeah...I’ll just have to get this done quickly so I can properly prepare for our time together. See you tomorrow, dad.”
The Baron smiled brightly and hurried inside the castle, leaving Wolfgang to read through the ledger and hand out rewards.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
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A figure stalked through the backstreets and alleyways of the capital city of Bickenstadt province, also called Bickenstadt. He wore a simple gray cloak which covered his entire body. The coat itself covered him completely from his shoulders to his ankles, and he wore a hood to conceal his face. If he was hoping to be inconspicuous, he was failing hard.
He completely stood out from the people around him. Everyone else, even the poorest of the poor, were wearing the bright orange and blue which Bickenstadt was known for. The only thing he had going for him was that no one could tell his identity by virtue of his attire lacking and hiding any distinguishing features.
People could, however, figure out vaguely who he was by virtue of his size. There really aren’t that many people who are 6’5”. Even the Bickenstadt Homeguard averaged at around 6’1”. It was possible the number of men as large as him in Bickenstadt city could be counted on two hands. And, since the Homeguard were parading around, it would stand to reason that this is the Baron von Bickenstadt, as he was suspiciously missing from his own return ceremony. The only thing that prevented people from noticing him was the celebrations going on for the return of the Klarwasser Mercenary Company.
He walked through back alleys for a while, seemingly changing direction and turning corners at random until, after a good amount of cardio, he arrived at his destination. The sign of the shop depicted an angry man chopping a fish in half. Underneath read the words “Der Angepisste Fischhändler”. He pushed in the door and was greeted by the horrifying smell of hundreds of fish all in the same place. The man behind the counter, a mountain of a man whose face was vaguely fish-like, looked at this potential customer with undisguised disgust.
“Welcome to Der Angepisste Fischhändler. What you want?”
The disguised man pulled back his hood to reveal his eyepatch and slicked back salt and pepper hair.
“I would like to speak to Johan.”
The shopkeeper smiled, or at least tried to, and threw the Baron a bit of dried salmon.
“Of course! E’s right in the back! Go on through the double doors and take a right! E’s been waiting for ya a couple a’ months now!”
The Baron thanked the shopkeep and followed his directions, chewing on the salmon jerky as he went. The Baron turned right as he walked through the aforementioned double doors and was greeted with a meat locker. The Baron opened the large steel door and walked through the various hanging meats, both from land and sea animals, pushing them out of the way as he waded through the gore. After reaching the end of the locker he found a giant side of beef laying on the floor.
“That’s a little too obvious...do they need more funding or something?”
The Baron muttered to himself as he grabbed a hook that was hanging from the ceiling. He stuck the side of beef and pulled it to the side, revealing a trap door. The Baron opened the trap door and descended down the stairs, eventually finding himself in the Bickenstadt sewers.
After following the different fish symbols carved into the walls, he found a door guarded by two sewerjacks, one skinny and tall, and the other short and wide. The wide one unhooked the club from his belt and began slapping his palm with it.
“Well, well, well. What do we ‘ave ‘ere?”
The lanky sewer jack grabbed the torch on the wall and waved it at the Baron as he retrieved his own club.
“What a suspicious character we ‘ave ‘ere! We’ll ‘ave ta report this to the boss!”
The short one laughed an ugly laugh.
"After we're done beatin' ya ‘alf to death!"
The Baron rolled his eyes and moved into the light of the torch.
“It's me you dullards.”
The sewer jacks stiffened when they realized who he was.
“Ah! Of course! Sorry boss!”
The lanky one quickly pulled open the door and bowed to the Baron as he gestured for him to enter.
“I hear you ‘ave business with that faffy rich kid that showed up ‘ere months ago! The boys ‘ave been treatin’ ‘im well, as per your orders!”
The Baron nodded as he passed and flipped a few coins at the two sewer jacks.
“Keep up the good work gentlemen.”
He paid them no mind as they scrambled for the coins that he had given them, heading through the open door with his head held high. Past the door the Baron was greeted with a massive cavern that opened into the ocean. There were a few buildings and a decently sized dock set up near the mouth of the cavern. The Baron made his way to the building with a giant sign that said ‘Tavern’ on it.
“This place is dead. The men must be out on assignment.”
The Baron was currently in Bickenstadt’s state run black market town. This was where the Baron went to do business with his privateer company, and where his pirates and other ne’er-do-wells did their illicit business. A massive trading hub and port city like Bickenstadt was bound to have a criminal underbelly, so the Baron decided to simply make it work for him.
If there was going to be illegal trading of illicit goods, he might as well turn that trade into taxable revenue. The only stipulation is that they can’t transport or sell slaves of any kind and had to free any they came across, a rule that was followed very consistently after the privateers saw what happened to the last guy the Baron caught. The Baron walked up to the innkeeper, a man with a flat, square face, broken nose that was never set properly, short brown hair, glasses, and massive scar across his throat, and handed him a single Reiksgeld.
“I’m here to see a faffy rich kid.”
The innkeeper looked up from his book and pointed to a number on a board using a stick carved to look like a finger. The Baron chuckled slightly and handed him another coin.
“Spending your money wisely I see. Next time I come here you better have a whole hand.”
The innkeeper smiled slightly and went back to his book. The Baron went to the room the innkeeper pointed to and knocked on the door lightly.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Johan!”
The door swung open, revealing the young and attractive face of (former) Prince Wilhelm Hauptmann Reikspal.
“Baron! Where have you been?”
“I’ve been fixing up Holensburg. Your sister gave explicit orders to destroy as much infrastructure as possible when she sent a couple of companies to put down the rebellion you caused.”
The prince pulled out a bottle of Elven brandy and two glasses.
“Yes, I had a feeling she would pull something like that. She read some works that the otherworlders brought over and discussed them with me a few years ago. She seemed especially interested in the concept that destroying infrastructure could bring prosperity, because the spending that would take place to repair said destroyed infrastructure would make the economy flourish.”
The Baron froze in place as he reached over to grab his glass.
“...Are you serious? Is that why she ordered Holensburg to be destroyed but Leibensburg to be unharmed? For an experiment?”
Wilhelm shrugged.
“My sister always has ulterior motives, she’s a schemer. Always has been. It’s what makes her a good Empress, I suppose. She most likely wanted to cow the population of Holenstadt as well, though I imagine her efforts only galvanized their will to leave the Empire. My sister may be able to read people's minds, but she is utterly hopeless when it comes to reading hearts. Oh, she cannot literally read minds, it was just a turn of phrase.”
The Baron chuckled slightly and took a sip of his brandy.
My God that is alcoholic.
“The ruling families of Holensburg are itching to rebel again, they showed open contempt for me when we first met, and only worked with me begrudgingly after I promised them I would help preserve their culture.”
The prince smiled and walked over to a small box sitting on a shelf, opening it to retrieve an orange.
“These magical ice boxes are amazing! Fresh fruit to add to my cocktails no matter the time of year! Absolutely splendid!”
“Yes, my privateers sometimes return with them. Quite handy if you ask me! Fresh fruit, vegetables, and meat all year round!”
The Baron walked over and retrieved an orange to juice into his bandy. Wilhelm sat at the table and suddenly looked ponderous.
“Well…did it work?
The Baron set his glass on the table and began to juice the orange.
“Well…I can’t say it didn’t work. Things are certainly better than before. More traders coming and going than before, though that could just be temporary. The amount of taxes collected in the city is steadily increasing, however, that could just be because things are stable enough to collect taxes now.”
Wilhelm nodded solemnly.
“That makes sense. It does hurt my heart to know that my actions caused so much death and destruction, however, war is hell. Especially civil war. The Holenstadters were itching to rebel, and while they may temporarily be cowed, I imagine they will only get angrier.”
“Oh, while we’re on the subject of rebellion, I haven’t told the Holenstadters about us, all I told them was to bide their time. I hope they take my advice, because we will not prevail without them.”
“Yes, we will require their manpower to stand up to the Grand Imperial Army, let alone the other forces loyal to the Empress. Even if they are only 250,000 strong, the Empress likes to keep her men in fighting shape. Each man is a true warrior in his own right, she’s made sure of that. As far as I know, no army has been as successful as that of the Empress. No single country can match their strength.“
Wilhelm closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“And beyond their manpower, they will hire many mercenary companies and call upon their allies. We may need close to double their number to challenge them, and gaining so many men is not quiet business. My sister will notice long before we have enough manpower. So, what do you suggest we do about that? I believe we should discuss the practicality of our plan before we discuss the particulars or aftermath.”
The Baron sat back in his chair and stroked his beard.
“I believe we can pull it off. There are plenty of political dissidents within the Empire, it has gotten so bad that your sister offered to split it with me. She is squabbling with her own spymaster, a story I have been told by Spymaster Brusilov himself. She is hated by the denizens of Holenstadt and Waffenstadt, and my people love me more than they fear her.”
“But, is that truly enough? My sister is a schemer, and a military genius who has created an inner circle of fellow military geniuses. Even though many of her subordinates are famously incompetent, I do not believe we can win without a significant advantage. Especially since we can see what she has gotten done with subpar tools.”
The Baron smirked slightly and leaned forward.
“Then, perhaps we receive the help of the Elves? Or the Dwarves? Anything that could give us an advantage would be appreciated, no?”
The prince looked slightly taken aback.
“The Elves? How do you plan on getting their support? They hate the Empire more than anything. Their word for us literally translates into ‘One who commits genocide’ because of the atrocities we have committed against them.”
“But, you had Elves working for you, did you not?”
“Well, yes, but they were not helping men of the Empire, they were helping me. I had helped those men personally in the past, so they owed me a favor. Simple as that.”
“Do you not think that the Elves would help us destroy the Empire? If they hate it so much, shouldn't they want it gone?”
Wilhelm bit his thumb nail in thought.
“That may be true, but there is almost no way you could open negotiations with them. If they so much as suspect that a ship has Empiresmen on it they will send it down to the bottom of the ocean.”
“Trust me, no matter how good your security is, people will slip through the cracks if given enough time. Even the most carefully laid plans will be rent asunder should there be enough will. We will contact the Elves, and they will help us. Also, I have an elf working for me, so that should help.”
“...You should have just opened with that.”
The Baron gave him a dumb grin and sipped his brandy, lifting up and resting his legs on the table.
“I enjoy nothing more than hearing the sound of my own voice. Now, should we discuss the particulars of what we wish to turn the Empire into?”
“But of course! Firstly, from our last conversation I gather you are quite well versed in the otherworlder’s history, is that accurate?”
In the Baron’s previous life he was a history professor at a prestigious university. After his tour of duty he retreated into academia, learning became his coping mechanism. He had even been one of the contributors to an updated highschool AP World History textbook which was adopted in a few states. The Baron nodded and the Prince continued.
“I wish to create a system similar to the Roman Republic, with a senate that represents the people. But unlike the Roman Republic, our people will directly vote for senators and other public officials who govern things that affect their lives.”
Wilhelm sighed.
“As much as I believe in the capacity of the common man, a parliamentary style democracy with political parties and such, like the Elven system, would not work for us in such a short time frame. Our literacy rate is only about 70%, and though we have come a long way since our feudal days, our people are still largely ignorant of all matters beyond what they do for work and whatever propaganda my sister shoves down their gaping maws.”
The Baron frowned slightly and shook his head.
“I am unsure about that supposition. The Elves transitioned directly from a feudal state with illiterate serfs and divine monarchs to an enlightened democratic society with an industry and military possibly powerful enough to rival our own. I believe that if we could figure out what they did to achieve such a feat and implement it here, we could have a properly egalitarian society in just a couple of generations just as the Elves did.”
Wilhelm frowned.
“Baron, I doubt that things would go as smoothly for us. I believe that their ability to do this in just two or three generations has a lot to do with their longevity. Do remember that Elves can live for a thousand years. Two generations for Elves would be about 300 years. They had a very long time to educate their population, and their society does not have nearly as bad a problem of transferring information without losing or changing any aspect of it than we do.”
Wilhelm took a sip of his brandy.
“In 100 years an idea perpetrated by humans could be lost or perverted into something else because the concept had passed through so many different people and had gone through the filter of their own ideas and biases, but with Elves 100 years is essentially the blink of an eye. In that time frame the creator of that Idea could still be young and spreading their ideas personally. Do you understand what I am getting at?”
The Baron nodded.
“I do understand your point. However, I believe that there is a flaw in your logic.”
The prince smiled smugly and inspected his glass as he spoke.
“Oh? Do tell.”
“The idea of Elves being able to maintain ideological purity easier may be true, however, I believe that our short memories may even be a benefit at times. It means that true believers of the Empress’s racist propaganda will die out far faster than their monarchists, and with less effort depending on how we go about things. If we can gain power and begin to educate and propagandize to people about the merits of democracy and racial equality, we could possibly change the minds of millions of Empiresmen in just one to two generations.”
I’m glad I did my thesis on radicalization in Nazi Germany. Never thought I’d have to use that knowledge like this.
“You have read on the Nazis of the other world, haven’t you? They did a similar thing to what the Empress is doing and what I am proposing. Intensely propagandizing to a population over time can change how people think even if they’re somewhat resistant to it. The people who came before them were the most progressive people in Europe at the time. And over time they either became true believers, or became apathetic enough about the Jews that the state was allowed to do as it pleased.”
Wilhelm nodded, impressed.
“My! It seems that your education on the matter is more advanced than mine.”
The Baron waved his hand dismissively.
“Well, I’ve got thirty years on you. In conclusion, I wish to do as the Nazis did, just in the opposite direction. Bombard people with messages of racial equality and democracy until they believe or stop caring.”
“I do admit, your idea is somewhat compelling. I do think that we would need to get people properly used to the idea of voting for individuals before they could really grasp voting and forming for political parties.”
The Baron sipped his brandy before speaking.
“I think I agree with you on that. I have been thinking for a while now that I should form some sort of Bickenstadt people’s council and give them legal authority. Voting for local representatives may be a good way to help them transition to voting nationally. Maybe it'll feel more natural that way.”
“I believe that would work very well. The earlier we get people used to democracy the better.”
“Can’t agree with you more.”
The two men clinked their glasses together before downing the glass. As the Baron began to pour more brandy he had an idea.
“Say, will we want to keep the Empire together? Not as the Empire obviously, but keep the same general provinces?”
“I plan on keeping the Empire’s people together. They will choose representatives and they will have the right to self determination, but they will be staying in our republic. Otherwise, what is stopping them from joining in our revolution and then going off to create an even more oppressive system than the Empire?”
“I suppose that’s reasonable enough. Do you have anything written down? Some sort of a constitution? An outline for our new government? It would need to be incredibly thorough, leaving no room for misinterpretation and written clearly enough for the average person to understand?”
“I have an extremely rough draft. I would need much more time, and possibly much more manpower, to come up with something acceptable. In the meantime, I believe that we should focus on making allies. And by we I mean you. I suggest you begin with slowly convincing your lieutenants, they may be loyal to you, but they will most likely balk a bit at a revolution. After you have convinced or replaced your inner circle, then move on to making allies of other powerful men.”
“That sounds like a fantastic plan. As much as I enjoy talking to you, I do believe we should wrap this up. I will find people to help you figure out the specifics of wording and iron out the details of how every little thing will function. I hope you enjoy this place, because you are going to be living in Bickenstadt’s black market town for the foreseeable future. I’ll think about creating more opulent lodging for you in the future, if you wish. For now you’ll just have to be content with the never ending supply of booze and exotic goods.”
The prince downed the rest of his brandy and stood up to shake hands with the Baron.
“I look forward to our continued partnership. And to whatever goods your privateers bring in!”
“Oh course! My men are of the utmost quality! I’ll make sure they bring you something shiny soon enough!”
The Baron stood up and left the prince alone, arm still extended for a handshake.
“Did he seriously just ignore my handshake? And he barely touched his newly poured glass!”
The prince leaned over and grabbed his cup, downing it in a single gulp.
“Does he have any idea how expensive this stuff is? Well, I guess they are just stealing it, aren't they?”