Town Occupation

Most of the town had surrendered by midnight. The residents had been focusing on stopping the fire, and once Estrild promised clemency to all but the most evil people, almost all adventurers surrendered, and were now being kept disarmed in buildings. Only the keep, commanded by a Guild Director, remained defiant. It was quickly blockaded from both sides.

The Witch didn’t get an hour of sleep that night. She had occupied the largest artefact shop remaining in town to use as her base of operations and office. An amazing amount of artefacts stolen from Cerne were arrayed in the lavish business, from goblin bronzes and Cerneish gold to a suit of armour from the Witch-King’s reign which she thought about taking for herself.

She had already grabbed the best and most magical jewellery, an ancient steel sword made with a forgotten technique, and a few sets of nice clothes. The leader got the first picks the looting, which the rest of the army had been doing plenty of (though Estrild had made sure they weren't hurting the people themselves, since that would betray the peace she had offered).

Now she sat at a plain table in the middle of the shop, dealing with administrating a newly conquered town. She chewed on tough bread. She’d just brought in the late Farvus’s apprentice, Zan, to promote him to chief engineer, a job he didn’t think himself capable of, but which Estrild didn’t have a better person to do.

She had been thinking about Gruffudd for a while. He would have been a valuable person to have with her right now. She could imagine him eating beside her, but of course he was gone. Some of the warriors thought Estrild had been heartless last night, almost ignoring the death of her friend.

Estrild had been deeply affected. She just couldn't cry, even as she had sat by his body in the early morning, talking to him as if he was still here. He had been an intelligent, brave and tolerant man, and the witch had planned for him to be her prime minister when she conquered the world. 

She had made sure to send a magical letter through the aether to King Celyn, but he had yet to reply. He was probably grieving.

The witch wearily looked up as her goblin guards brought in a new supplicant. This one was a man of about thirty with a head of long, scruffy dark hair and a big beard. He wore a buttoned shirt and tailored trousers, albeit both very damaged and old, so he was a town person, not a peasant. A disgraced merchant, maybe, or a town craftsman who’d decided to adventure. The man looked her in the eyes, and she saw a drive in them similar only to her own.

“Speak”, Estrild commanded.

“Nice to meet you, Lady Estrild”, the man said. “I’m not a polite speaker, so I hope you’ll excuse me getting to the point. I’d like to work for you.”

“And who are you? An adventurer, or what?”

The man shook his head. “No, I’m not here out of choice. My name is Robert Leigh. I’m a political exile.”

Estrild raised an eyebrow. “I think I’ve heard of you. They call you a social stirrer and a threat to society. You lead a failed urban rebellion in a southern Earldom a couple of years ago. I’ve also heard you described as an inventor and a visionary.”

“I will deny none of those titles, my Lady. I am entirely against the economic basis of the Thervian regime, and I wish to return the land to the republican form of government.”

Estrild replied, “I’m no republican. Right now I’m just some warlord in a nation at the fringe of the world. Why do you think I’m going to institute your programme?”

Robert smiled, though his eyes remained scarily serious. “I’ve heard what you plan on doing, and I think it’s the best chance the world has right now. If you can do things like make the population literate, end slavery, and reform feudalism, you will have re-started history. That would make you progressive in the grand scale of time.”

The Witch nodded, liking his answer. “We both share that historical aim. However, I think you don’t care for the Elves, while I am working for the very purpose of bringing them back.”

Robert shrugged. “I don’t really care about what your end goal is, because I think that’s irrelevant right now. What you are promising will bring forward a new age regardless of your religious beliefs.”

He continued, “The end of serfdom is one thing, but if everyone is educated, we will be able to use magic in ways I can only speculate on, like using it to power boilers. It will be a complete transformation of society, and that isn’t even accounting for how immortality will become the norm…”

As he spoke, the stairs at the back of the shop, and someone crept downstairs. Mel pushed open the stairwell door and looked relieved to see Estrild. The bee was wearing a nice white dress (punctured to allow for her body parts to fit through).

Estrild said cheerily: “Oh, Robert – This is Mel. And Mel, this is Robert Leigh. You must have had a good night’s sleep!”

“My legs hurt”, Mel groaned. “I’m assuming we won.”

“Indeed we did. Come, sit with me at the table. You too, Robert.”

Mel came and sat on a stool, while the man did the same with a chair. She found the jug of water and poured herself a beaker, and took the rest of the bread to eat. Once she had scoffed it down, Estrild found her hand and held it, which startled Mel a little.

“I saw you last night. You did amazingly”, said the witch. “You killed an inquisitor, you know? He was a powerful magician.”

Robert looked surprised. “Did you really?”

Mel looked only a little proud of her feat, and that was only because Estrild was holding her hand.

“Oh, Mel. Was it all the killing? I’m sorry if you feel uncomfortable with taking a life, but it was in self-defence; you had no choice.”

Mel sighed. “I’ve already killed before, you know. It wasn’t that crazy knight, it’s all those people who died for no reason. Farvus. He was a kind of stupid person, but also not an unpleasant one.”

“Oh, come here…” Estrild suddenly leaned over the table and held Mel in a hug for a good few seconds.

Robert cleared his throat. “Let’s return to business.”

Estrild nodded, turning back to him. “Robert Leigh, I can tell you aren’t lying, and so you are a sincere ally. I worried it would be rare to find people who agree with me on a genuine ideological level, rather than being made to comply through force. Your military and technological skills, as well as your support base, make you invaluable. I will make you a commander.”

“Then the first thing I will do in your employ is give you some advice on how to handle this settlement”, said Robert.

“I know you think that the adventurers are a despicable bunch, but I wouldn’t expel them right away. They are mostly people at the fringe of society, and already distrust the Kingdom. If you let me, I could try organising some of them into a force.”

“But they’re slavers and robbers”, interjected Mel.

“They were, and I will not defend their actions. What I’m saying is some of them might have social incentives that make them align with us.”

Estrild thought for a moment, resting her chin on the palm of her hand. She sighed.

She said, “I don’t think I’d be able to trust them, and most of them will flee when we open the gates back up. But, Robert, if you think you are able to organise any of them, I will let you try.”

Mel frowned, but she had already said her opinion.

“Thank you. You see, the future of warfare is in guns. We might not have powder for explosive firearms, but that is not the only type of gun. There is also the magical handgun."

“What’s that?”, asked Mel.

“It’s an ancient principle, and its re-introduction is the reason for my first stay in prison”, explained Robert. “Copper, and a lot of metals really, conduct magic. When it does so, a slight force is applied to other metals in its surroundings.”

“It’s true, and such conductive metal can also shock people”, Estrild said. “It’s why a mage can’t use a titanium sword, since that metal doesn’t conduct.”

“Well, titanium doesn’t make for good weapons or armour, other than its resistance to magic and low weight. It is only liked because it is made in the ancient forges”, said Robert.

“Anyway, copper is great at exerting this magic force. The ancients theorised it was similar to the force which dictates the movement of the moons and planets, that which they called gravity. The magical force is usually not useful, but it can be made so if the conductive metal is flattened into a wire and twisted into a coil. Then, the force is exerted all in the same direction.”

“I think I see where you’re going”, Estrild said thoughtfully. “You put this coil beside – or around – the barrel of a handgun, and then a magic user can send raw energy through it to fire a copper or iron bullet.”

Robert nodded. “That’s exactly what it is. I can make such magical guns in bulk if I’m given a team. They are cheaper to make than regular handguns since they aren’t required to resist such great forces.”

“But monsters won’t be able to use them, and neither will most humans…”, Mel said.

Estrild yawned. “It wouldn’t require much training to learn how to pour raw energy through some copper filament, but it would still be beyond most people. A lot of adventurers will have the skills to do it, though. Robert, if you think they are so easy to make, I will let my chief engineer Zan know, and you can work together on it.”

“Great”, said Robert. “That’s one thing, the other is organising the settlers. There are more efficient methods of farming than their smallholding, and the feudal system as well…”

Before he could finish speaking, a Cerneish warrior with red hair by the name of Tristan, who Estrild had put in charge of besieging the keep, rushed in.

“My Lady! The castle has surrendered; all the remaining defenders have walked out. The fires we started underground smoked them out”, he said excitedly.

“Amazing. I’ll come at once”, Estrild said, standing immediately. “Robert, I’d like to hear your thoughts on the settlers later, though it is my opinion they will have to be sent away. You have permission to work on the adventurers.”

Mel strode outside. “Was the Director with them?”

“I’m afraid he escaped through the help of a wizard, who flew him over the walls…”, Tristan was saying.

Mel was left alone with Robert. She looked at him suspiciously, while there was something in his gaze. His brow was furrowed.

“You think I’m disgusting. I’m just some soulless monster, right?”, Mel said.

Robert sighed, and suddenly his demeanour shifted. He didn’t look like a bad person, just a driven one. “Sorry for giving you that look. I don’t believe in the soul, since I am an atheist. My prejudice is cultural, and is something I am trying to overcome. Please forgive me.”

“The only human I’ve met who thinks I am beautiful is Estrild. Everyone else just sees… this”, Mel sighed, pinching the hard shell which covered her arms. “And then I’m too humanoid for the other monsters.”

Robert spoke, “I think many would agree with her, if not for the culture they are brought up in. They are taught by the temple to see you as the same as a bug. But that’s only cultural and economic, since monsters are slaves. So to most humans you can’t be more than an insect, or they will feel too guilty to live. In the future such prejudice will cease to be.”

Mel was silent, and looked at the water she was drinking. It had been purified by magic. She took another sip.

“I have a question, if you don’t mind me asking”, asked Robert, slowly. “What exactly is your relation to Estrild? Who is she to you? I only ask because you seem like you are to be an important person in the coming revolution.”

Mel felt cornered by the question, and looked away. “I’m just some slave she rescued. I’m not really anyone.”

“Ok, but I mean…”

Mel cut him off, turning back to look at him. “I want to know what you want to do with the settlers. The Cerneish will want them gone. Me too. They can go die in the sea for all I care.”

Robert laughed slightly at his question being brushed off. “I understand why. I just don’t think that’ll be a good idea. Our army will need food if we are to invade Thervia. Supplies will have to come from someone. I want to centralise production into one big farm.”

“Like a latifundia?”, Mel shot suspiciously.

“No, not at all. They’ll be paid, not for their produce, but for their time working. Anyway, I’m not sure such a pure system would be possible here. We’d probably have to just run things in a completely state-controlled way”, Robert explained.

Before Mel could ask more, Estrild stormed back into the room. Her face was red with excitement.

She said: “I just got a message from the King’s wizard. He’s coming down with an army to reinforce us, but wants to meet first at the ancient king-making site of Dintagel, to have a funeral for Gruffudd.”

“I wasn’t planning on walking anywhere today…”, groaned Mel.

“You won’t be walking, you’ll be riding with me. It won’t be a difficult trip either, since we’ll be as going as slow as the wagon which Gruffudd will have all to himself. And the King won’t be there for another two days, so we can leave tomorrow”, said Estrild. 

“Oh, and Robert, you’ll be under the Hierarch while I’m away. In the mean time, let’s get to business.”