As Daemon, Mary, and even Adrian were fond of saying, double the territory also meant double the work, or worse.
Little by little, everyone was realizing that administering a nation finally recognized by its neighbors, with all the paperwork and problems that this entailed, could suck the life out of even the most seasoned of bureaucrats.
With the end of the war many soldiers had been discharged and sent home with bonuses, rewards and in some cases public duties; the remainder had been reassigned to the large cities and other strategic places of Eirinn, ensuring good military coverage throughout the country.
At Solea, at the mouth of the Jovtan Pass, was the headquarters of the Second Corps; its presence had greatly benefited the village, which with the construction of Fort Jovtan and the beginning of trade with Saedonia had grown into a small town.
The fort and the camp outside the city had everything the army needed during its station, including a warehouse and a granary.
And it was precisely the granary that the five intruders who had managed to sneak over the walls around noon were aiming for.
They were dressed simply, even slovenly, perfect for going unnoticed, but each of them carried a large knife and a rifle hidden under his cloak.
"This is the place," said their leader, "That's where the usurper's dogs store supplies for their wars."
Two soldiers stood guard in front of the building, but given the seemingly calm situation and the beautiful day, they were more engaged in conversation than in doing their job.
"Sergeant, are you serious? Your daughter stays up all night making you lunch, and you forget it at home?"
"I'm sorry, it was a bad night for me too. My wife and I had to take turns staying up to look after the little one, so this morning I was so dizzy that I went out without taking the basket."
"Sven and Olsen just became fathers too, you know?"
"The Prime Minister was very generous in allowing soldiers to marry before they were discharged. Between the pay rise and the benefits for starting families, it's obvious that many of them have been eager to get married."
"You're almost discharged too, right? Have you thought about what you'll ask for?"
"I've been in the army all my life, and I'm used to it. I was thinking of asking for a job in the police, or in the courts."
At that moment, the bell in the tower struck noon.
"Okay, I'll go fill out the register. I bet my daughter will be here soon with the basket. I've already warned the boys at the gate to let her pass. If she arrives and I haven't gotten back yet, tell her that I'll bring her a dessert tonight to say thank you."
"No one else spoils his children like you do, Sergeant. What will you do when she brings home her first boyfriend?"
"I have two duelling pistols ready for the occasion."
The Sergeant had been gone only a few minutes when the leader of the intruders came up behind the other soldier, killing him with a single stab and then dragging his body behind some bushes.
At that point, he and his companions went inside, and while two of them stole what they could carry away, the others scattered the ground with oil and wine, spilling all the barrels they found.
"Captain, are you really sure that this is the only solution? Wouldn't it be better to distribute this food to the people?"
"The people are being brainwashed by the usurper's lies. Pushing them to the limit is the only way we can make them open their eyes."
"The captain is right. If we destroy these supplies, the usurper will have no choice but to find more by starving the people. Then everyone will be able to see him for what he really is, and that will be the beginning of the rebellion."
Unfortunately for them, the intruders hadn't thought to leave someone outside to warn them of any unforeseen events; and so it was that while they were still working, the barn door suddenly opened.
"Dad, you really are the worst. I worked until dawn to cook this stew for you, and you..."
The little girl realized what was happening when she had already taken a few steps inside.
"Who are you?"
The closest intruder, perhaps in a panic, didn't think twice, and jumped on her and grabbed her by the neck, pulling out his dagger in the process.
"What are you doing, are you crazy?" his boss stopped him. "We don't hurt children!"
Luckily, that one second was enough for the little girl to free herself and run away.
Her screams set the entire fort on alert before her father, returning from the offices, reached her.
"Alarm! The Warriors of Eirinn! The Warriors of Eirinn are here!"
"Damn! Drop everything, let's run!"
The five intruders had left a ladder dangling from the landings in a hidden corner of the walls; however, only four of them managed to reach it in time, because the fifth was grabbed by the soldiers and promptly abandoned by his companions, who once back down into the street tried to flee.
But by now every bell in the town was ringing, and with the chaos of the market in full swing, the intruders soon found themselves attacked by literally everyone.
Some were shouting to attract attention, some were throwing stones, and even some who were braver than others were trying to stop them and hand them over to the soldiers.
Without thinking twice, a carter placed his wagon across the main road, blocking the path of two of the four intruders, who were reached and saved by the soldiers before the people could beat them to death.
The Captain and the only surviving member tried to save themselves by splitting up, but the latter preferred to surrender rather than be lynched, while the former, after getting lost, found himself in a dead end, with the wall of a courtyard in front of him and dozens of rifles pointed at his back.
"You're trapped! Raise your hands and surrender!"
He growled like a caged beast, glaring at his enemies as if he wasn't going down without a fight.
And the soldiers were right not to get too close, because in a moment the fellow lifted his cloak to reveal six grenades hanging from his belt, one of which had a cord attached to the flint.
"Look out! Everyone get out of here!"
"For the glory of Eirinn!"
Fire.
Around him, everything was an ocean of flames.
He felt the heat peeling off his skin, burning his hair; it was as if the whole world was burning before his eyes.
He wanted to run away, to try to save himself.
But he couldn't. He was stuck. A pile of rocks and wood held him down, forcing him to watch helplessly as his friends' bodies turned to ash all around him.
He called out their names, each one, feeling his heart explode as he watched them disappear. But most of all, he called out to her.
She was there too; he could almost feel her, feel her hair brushing his fingertips, and it was as if through them he could sense the light of her life fading more and more.
A terrifying roar, worthy of Gaia's own war horn, heralded a new, very powerful explosion, and a moment later he saw the building collapse definitively on him, burying him in that burning ocean.
"Abel, are you okay? ... I mean, are you okay, sir?"
Cnut sat up in the cot, feeling the skin on his face and arms tighten in agony from the sudden movement.
Anyone else would have screamed in pain, but he simply hid with one hand the traces of blood that appeared almost immediately on the bandages of his face, panting to try to calm himself and ignore that sort of garment of nails that cut his flesh in every part.
"Are you all right, Cnut?" Mark, his second in command and longtime friend, asked again. "I heard you muttering in your sleep."
"It's nothing. I'm fine now," he replied coldly. "Are the others here?"
"They're waiting for us to arrive."
After rising and putting on a tunic, thus covering the hideous scars that disfigured his back, Cnut followed Mark into the adjoining room, the only one in all the catacombs large enough to accommodate all those who took part in the meetings.
Or rather, it was so until a few months ago, since by now with the remaining leaders it was barely possible to occupy all the seats at the table.
"Mendel, Albert, and Goran fell last week along with all their subordinates," said Helmut, the other second in command of the group along with Mark.
"They knew the risks of acting in the field," Cnut cut in. "They fought and sacrificed for the cause."
"From what I hear, Daemon Haselwort and Minister Longinus are getting better and better at extracting information," Kiel said. "Are we certain that the location of our headquarters hasn't leaked?"
"That's impossible!" Lyndon, the newcomer, replied vehemently. "A leader would rather end his own life than fall into the hands of traitors! I am sure that noble Mendel and the others followed the Warriors' code of honor to the last!"
Like others there, Lyndon had been elevated to the rank more in an attempt to remedy the ongoing bloodletting at all levels of the organization than by any real merit, but his dedication to the cause had quickly earned him the respect of many of his comrades.
"Their sacrifice will not be forgotten. We will make the usurper pay for this too."
"The problem is, with the destruction of those three groups, we have almost completely lost our ability to operate in the west," said Mark, whose loyalty to Cnut and the cause did not prevent him from being objective. "Besides, we have been having more and more trouble gathering new followers for some time now."
"The people are blinded by Daemon Haselworth's lies," said Lyndon. "We just have to show them the truth."
"Or maybe we're the ones who are wrong," Kate, the only girl in the group, dared to say.
"You're not giving in to that tyrant's charms, are you, Kate?"
"Let's face the facts, Helmut. Our goal was to free Eirinn from its conquerors and return it to its rightful rulers. Even if we pretend not to see the good that Daemon Haselworth has done for our people, Lady Montgomery now leads the nation."
"The Grand Duchess is also a traitor," Cnut replied. "First she entered Faria as a General of the Empire, then in order to obtain power she did not hesitate to bow her head before the usurper."
"The commander is right," Mark said. "Anyone with a modicum of intelligence can see that the Grand Duchess's power is only an illusion. She is there only to legitimize Haselworth."
"Why don't we talk about the supposed liberties that the usurper and his followers claim to have brought?" Kiel said. "There have been twenty-five death sentences in the last month alone. Although the revolutionary courts have been suppressed, the new civil courts are more ruthless than they are. One can end up on the gallows for any kind of crime."
"I think this is going too far," said another newcomer, Irving. "Unless the crimes are really serious, everyone sentenced to death still has a chance of avoiding the sentence if they repent and agree to serve in the army for ten years. True, the courts are inflexible, but they apply the law without bias or free interpretation."
"These are just the tricks that the damned man uses to ensure he always gets new recruits to send to the slaughter in one of his infernal battles," Helmut replied. "More soldiers died in the battle of Solea than in the entire war between Eirinn and the Free State last year. One of them was my cousin!"
"Unfortunately, perhaps even we have underestimated the power of Daemon Haselworth's charisma," Cnut acknowledged ruefully. "We have tried unsuccessfully to push him into repressive action in an attempt to thwart us, but it is obvious that as long as the people are prepared to believe his every word, this strategy will never work."
"So what do we do?"
Cnut took a moment to think: "Our goal is to restore freedom to the people of Eirinn. We are rebels. And a rebel may arouse sympathy among the people over time, but he has painted us as... what is the word he used?"
"Terrorists," said Kiel
"That's right. According to him, we are nothing more than criminals who attack the peace and prosperity of the state."
"And the people believe this nonsense," Lyndon said. "They don't understand that we act only for them and for the good of Eirinn."
"If that's the case, we must make them understand. When is the execution of our comrades scheduled?"
"In six days, in the square of Faria," said Mark, "all those who have been taken alive so far will be there."
"An action in full view. Sensational and indisputable. That's what we need. A criminal would never risk his freedom and his life to save the life of a comrade. If the people of Eirinn see with their own eyes that we are ready to die for each other, they will no longer be able to see us as simple criminals."
"You're thinking of releasing them during the execution!?" Kate exclaimed, her shock rising before anyone else. "Have you lost your mind!?"
"I'm afraid she's right," said Helmut. "The place is bound to be full of soldiers, and we've been unable to operate in Faria for weeks now."
"No defense is impenetrable. Believe me, I learned that the hard way."
Nevertheless, it was difficult not to call it a suicide mission, especially given the small number of followers the Warriors could now count on.
"It would take an army to do something like that," Helmut said. "Even if we summoned all our available comrades, how do you think you could pull off such a feat?"
"Each of us here tonight has a long history of war. Soldiers who served in the war against the Free State, former mercenaries, and even thieves and spies who once served the late Grand Duke. We will join forces. It will be the greatest feat our group has ever attempted. If we succeed, we will not only deal a crushing blow to Daemon Haselworth's propaganda, but we will once again be able to count on the help of our comrades to continue the fight. One way or another, the resistance will prevail, and Eirinn will finally be free of the usurper."
When Daemon spoke of universal equality, few would have expected him to apply it to the way justice worked.
Since the beginning of time, the rule had been the same in almost every nation of Erthea: beheading for nobles, and nooses for all others.
Claiming that all those condemned to capital punishment had the right to a quick and painless death, he had built a simple machine that could decapitate with a single blow even the thickest and most resistant neck, whether bare or covered with scales or fur.
At the time, only one existed, and so once a month all those condemned to death in the country converged on Faria to receive their punishment.
But Eirinn's justice, while inflexible, was not merciless, and almost everyone was granted the chance to save themselves.
There were, however, crimes for which there was no forgiveness, and the terrorism in which Eirinn's Warriors repeatedly participated was certainly among them.
Also for this reason, when the word spread in the city that all twelve condemned were indeed all the Warriors captured or arrested up to that moment, a large crowd had gathered in the central square to witness their execution.
In the times when Eirinn was still divided, the Warriors were seen on both sides of the border as heroes who fought for reunification and against the influence of Saedonia.
Now it seemed as if the people had gathered there to witness the death of a serial killer, so great was the rage with which they clamored for the blood of the condemned.
"Hear how they scream." said a shocked Kate.
"Don't hesitate," warned Helmut. "That's what the usurper and his henchmen want."
"How can we fight for these people, if they are so violently demanding our deaths?"
Kate wasn't the only one who thought so; all the younger and more inexperienced Warriors hidden in the crowd were asking themselves the same question.
Witnessing from afar the anger and revulsion of the people they claimed to be fighting for was one thing, but when faced with such hatred it was difficult to continue repeating the story that it was all Daemon Haselworth's fault and the way he had brainwashed the people.
"Today things will change." said Cnut, who had kept his promise to be personally present at the feat. "Today everyone will see that we are not what everyone thinks of us."
The plan had been thought out in great detail.
Just before the execution, two followers allegedly started a brawl in the northwest corner of the square to distract the guards; thirty seconds later, a fruit cart with bombs and a fuse hidden inside it caused a very loud but not very dangerous explosion.
Then, with the guards distracted and the general chaos, all the Warriors scattered in strategic points of the square would have stormed the stage and freed the prisoners, supported by their companions on the roofs who would also take care of throwing them weapons.
All of this would have happened without any casualties except for the soldiers, the executioner, and above all the authorities present on the stage of honor, starting with the Head of Government Longinus, who had contributed more than anyone else to decimating the Warriors in recent months with his repressive activities and his Shrouded.
Some people secretly hoped to take advantage of the opportunity to aim even higher, and so the disappointment among the fanatics was great when it was realized that the most coveted target was not among those who had taken their places in the seats of authority.
"Haselworth is not here," said Lyndon.
"Don't aspire so high," Mark replied. "We're not here to kill today."
At least those who knew them happily thought that meant that the Yeti and the Dragon, by far the most dangerous guard dogs the usurper was used to surrounding himself with, were also absent. With the two of them around, any action would certainly have resulted in suicide.
The roar of the crowd preceded the arrival in the square of the two carts carrying the condemned to death, all tied up and dressed in the same white shirt. The guards escorting them had to form a cordon to prevent the most agitated spectators from laying hands on them, but this did not stop countless others from pelting them with fruit, eggs and mud.
Faced with such a thing, once again the less convinced among the Warriors hesitated; what was the point of fighting and risking their lives for a people who wanted to see them dead? How could the action they were about to perform rehabilitate their image?
Even foreseeing such a situation, Cnut had made sure to keep the most reticent as far apart as possible, placing a staunch supporter of the cause in each group to keep the others in line and remind them that this was the only thing to do.
The carts stopped at the foot of the platform, but contrary to what usually happened, the condemned were made to climb up all together, so that the whole square could see them.
The executioner arranged them in line, and then Owen Smith, one of the nation's most brilliant lawyers, who had recently been appointed presiding judge of the civil court of Faria, also stepped onto the platform.
Owen and Adrian exchanged a nod, and then the judge unrolled the parchment, calling for silence.
"All the men now assembled on this dais are members of the infamous terrorist group known as the Warriors of Eirinn! They have been accused, tried and found guilty of the crimes of theft, assault, terrorism and conspiracy against the state! And therefore, in the name of the people of Eirinn, they have been sentenced to death, without commutation!"
The crowd responded with shouts of approval, but the judge signaled them to calm down again.
"Although the guilt of all the defendants has been recognized as serious and incontrovertible, the investigations conducted by the diligent police officers have ascertained that none of them has been responsible for bloody deeds. Therefore, using the powers granted to them by law, Her Excellency the Grand Duchess Montgomery and Citizen Daemon Haselworth, Prime Minister of Eirinn, have resolved as follows. All twelve of the convicted are hereby officially pardoned for their crimes, and are hereby readmitted to civil society in full!"
Author's Note
Hi everyone!
With this chapter we officially enter the "Prelude Saga", Second Saga of the Third Arc, the "First Coalition Arc".
For the next twelve chapters we will witness a series of events that will lead to the most serious political upheaval that Erthea has ever seen. It follows that as anticipated in the notes of the previous chapter, from here on Daemon and many of his companions will pass slightly into the background in favor of characters until now secondary, but whose actions will have a decisive weight in defining what is about to happen.
See you soon!^_^
CJ Spencer