Chapter LXII – His fort is bombarded upon.

45th of Summer, 5859
Outskirts of Casamonu, Casamonu

…and the people who caused the knock on the door were standing outside the walls of Casamonu, ready to knock the entire wall down.

“Let us blow these walls and topple the tyranny of Count Leon!” shouted Sir Baha, on top his horse. His servant Ted was writing his speech down for future generations, while the rest of Baha’s men were long tired of the grandiose speech from their lord. It seemed like the siege would have been already over if not for the speeches before it.

The men breathed a sigh of relief as Sir Baha retreated from his high horse. With the pre-battle cutscene out of the way, the cannons could begin roaring once more, and roar they would at the walls in front of them.

45th of Summer, 5859
City of Casamonu, Casamonu

“What are you saying?!”

“Sir, I said that there is an army-”

“I got that the first time, you idiot!” roared Count Leon. He definitely hadn’t liked what the messenger had said. No messenger had brought him good news in the last month, in fact, and Leon had seriously considered executing all messengers in his realm just so that he could have some peace. “Where is that army?”

“Right outside-” BOOM!

The heavens split in twain once more, causing the room to go quiet. Then, looking out the window, Leon’s trusty servant Hilmi shouted “The walls, sir!” and ended completing the messenger’s sentence without knowing it. The count himself stayed quite on the outside, but he was stirring up a storm in the inside. That one cannon had, while failing to breach the walls, managed to breach his mental defenses. What the hell had happened? Had Sir Korvus joined the rebellion against him? Had the rebels captured the cannons? Were the fugitive slaves sometimes coming for him? Whatever it was, it hadn’t served to improve Leon’s day, and whoever they were had to be destroyed this instant. “Hilmi, get the men on the walls to counter-bombard them. We still have a few cannons in storage, don’t we?”

“Yes, sir.” Hilmi bowed down before rushing out the room. Now the count was all alone, all alone under siege of an enemy unknown…

45th of Summer, 5859
Libertycave, Mount Curry

Night had befallen Gemeinplatz once more, for the march of time was inevitable except for the cases of time being stopped by fancy vampires or elegant maids. The stars were out once more, in their full brightness thanks to a lack of artificial lighting up in the mountains.

John Brown, famously radical abolitionist and part-time pelt maker, had found it hard to sleep that night. His sleep was disturbed for no particular reason, only if such particular reasons as being stuck on a mountain and being stressed about being found out weren’t taken into account. Faith in the Lord, of the guidance of the Holy Spirit, was of upmost import to old Brown yes, but the machinations of Providence were grand and enigmatic. Who knew whether the Lord would grant them success? Brown certainly didn’t, and he could only pray that his death would serve the greater good at the least.

The old man’s eyes were on the stars, shining as brightly and grandly as they had always shone on Earth. Such grand scenery was, to him, a testament in itself placed in the sky by the Maker. Oh, how insignificant mankind’s struggles would seem if he was to look down on the planet from the stars! A realm full of flawed sinners, granted amnesty by His sacrifice and living on thanks to the unending grace and patience of the Heavenly Father. How great God’s grace was that the entirety of the Earth and Gemeinplatz hadn’t been consumed by the earth and sent directly to Hell! Brown pondered on such topics as always; the only thing he felt missing was the Good Book in his hands to read through once more.

Looking at the stars, Brown wondered something else: was Earth somewhere up there? He had no way of knowing, but he hoped that his old home wasn’t too far away. Hopefully Mary Ann, his wife, was doing well. The old man was worried that pro-slavery folk could potentially harass her after his death, though all he could do from so far away was to pray to the Lord that she wouldn’t be hurt. It was weird to think that, potentially, his family had conducted a funeral for him already while he was still marching on over here. Were his dear sons who had died in Harper’s Ferry in a similar situation as well? One side of Brown wished that they had found peace in the afterlife rather than having to continue fighting even more, though another side of him wished that they would continue fighting the good fight.

No matter what had happened, Brown was quite alone. Even in Kansas he had his sons to accompany him. Now there was only Brown that John Brown knew of, and that one Brown was very alone indeed. Stuck in a completely foreign land, with a foreign culture and foreign people… There was only General Tubman to accompany him, yet she herself was as busy as Brown. So alone was the old man, that he could do nothing but let his tears water the grass beneath him.

Old Brown honestly missed the United States, his home, his wife, his children… and union with them wouldn’t come ‘till he finally made it to the afterlife himself. Would he stop fighting and give up? Definitely not, but that determination alone didn’t stop the pain of such a great separation.

“Old man? Are you okay?” The voice coming from behind belonged to one Ayomide, the first ever person Brown had met in Gemeinplatz.

Brown let out a great sniff, the sort of noise only old men can muster, to try and calm himself down. “Ah… Ahem. Excuse me, young lady, for you having seen me in such a sorry state.”

Ayomide was barely visible in the dark, except for her eyes shining brightly in the dark. “I’ve seen states that are much more sorry, old man. What’s the matter?”

“Not much, young lady. It’s just a bit of homesickness.” Brown was busy with wiping his tears while talking. Such a scene was definitely the opposite of what Ayomide saw most of the time.

“Homesickness? Now that’s something I can’t relate to.” Ayomide found a spot next to Brown. “Most of the folk here don’t have the luxury of having that problem.”

“I’d hope that Libertycave will become a home for all.” Brown turned back to look at the settlement, completely in the dark to not attract any suspicion. “Even if we do have a long way to go from those mud huts.”

“We’re at least firing bricks now.”

“That we are doing… I believe that, with the exceptional effort shown by the freemen, we’ll be having a civilized arrangement of living soon enough.”

Silence reigned for a while. Being stuck in a mountain didn’t leave muchspace for interesting conversation topics. Brown and Ayomide gazed at the stars smiling to them from above.

“…How is it like having a family?” asked Ayomide, breaking the long silence.

Brown wasn’t expecting to be hit with such a hard question, especially at such a late hour. The old man didn’t budge for another while, thinking of an answer. “That… that… hmm…” How was he to answer such a vague question? Old John Brown decided to wing it with an answer. “You have a group of people who care about each other, care for each other, and love each other.”

“Hm? Interesting. I thought it’d be something deeper.” Ayomide’s voice showed clear disappointment.

“I’d say all those are pretty deep and important matters, young lady. I did my best to be the best father that my family needed, and I pray that they were content with me.”

“I’m sure they were.” replied Ayomide, in one of the rare times where she wasn’t being sarcastic. She thought Brown may have had a few screws loose with the whole Holy Spirit thing and whatnot. Nonetheless, Ayomide still respected old Brown greatly, for having saved her life and for having slain her former captor. “The people do care about each other, and care for each other here. Love… I’m not sure I love everyone, but I wouldn’t say I hate any of them. Does that make us a family?”

Brown hadn’t exactly thought of matters in that perspective. “Hmm… I’d say so, young lady, all of mankind is one big family under the Lord.”

Okay, maybe not that far… I don’t want to be in a family that includes Jacob. Plus, it’d be pretty gross if I was in the same family as Shinasi… Still, Ayomide didn’t feel so lonely at that moment. “Then, can I give you a hug?”

“Huh? Excuse me, young lady?” Brown was definitely not ready for that question.

“You really look like you need one after all that crying.” Ayomide opened her arms. “Come on, I won’t bite.”

Of course, due to a great difference in size between the two individuals, Ayomide was the one who ended up being embraced. “Old man you’re suffocating m-” Another problem for Ayomide was the fact that her shoulders felt wet, and John Brown was wailing right next to her ears now. “O-Old man, why are you crying?”

“Excuse me, young lady- It’s, it’s just that I was reminded of my daughters when they were little… It’s been a while…”

Thus Brown cried and wailed for a while, letting his emotions flow in the form of tears. The Lord had given him a new family, and by the Lord he’d protect them all to the death.