Chapter 19
"You sure this is a good idea?"
"You got any better?"
The armsman looked towards the nearby plaza, where a gaggle of young noblewomen from the Beaumont Faction were gathered within a loose perimeter of hired carriages. Fortunately, they only represented a fraction of the Countess' allies, as most resided in their respective fiefs.
"We could put 'em outside the wall," the armsman said. "Better than bein' stuffed in here, yeah?"
"I'm not sure they'd think the same," Liam replied.
Like Lady Beaumont, the Nobles present were all members of houses that had the means to raise them in Re-Blumrushur. Presumably, this was to keep them as close to the loftiest circles of high society that they could manage, meaning that being corralled into a plaza in the common districts of the city wasn't exactly the lifestyle that they were accustomed to. Mucking around outside of the walls would push them even further from what they considered ideal, though Liam didn't think it was necessarily a bad thing.
"Is there a good place for them out there?" Liam asked.
"Fields aren't sown yet, so any place'd work," the armsman answered. "Guess the copse a kilometre up the highway'd serve."
"How far out from the wall are Undead appearing?"
"They mostly pop up around the pits where corpses get burned. The spot I'm thinkin' of should be safe from all that."
The more he thought about it, the better an idea moving the non-essential Nobles out of the city seemed. With what was due to happen, the prudent thing to do was keep them as far from trouble as possible.
"I'll bring it up with Lady Beaumont," Liam said. "What would we need in terms of men and supplies to set up camp?"
"Uh…depends on how long this thing stretches out for. What they brought with 'em is fine for a day or so. Well, fine to me at least."
Liam nodded and left the plaza, making his way towards the northern gatehouse. Less than an hour had passed since Monfort's men had abandoned their positions in the street, but little had changed beyond that. It was just one street, after all. The citizens were emboldened, but not enough to commit to anything extreme. Montfort's men had raised their levels of vigilance, but they couldn't do anything about the citizens' gains. Forbin's faction was in a position to help Monfort push back, but they were still more focused on the incompetence of Monfort's men than the threat presented by the citizens.
As for House Blumrush, there was no visible indication of what they were up to and Liam wasn't in a position to investigate. All he could do was keep them in their off-balance state until events ultimately toppled them.
Upon arriving at the gatehouse, he found Countess Beaumont in the captain's office accompanied by several of the more 'prominent' members of her faction. They were mostly young men around her age, all of whom had girded themselves in what he assumed they figured was appropriate for a battlefield. It was nine parts appearance, zero parts practicality, and wholly annoying to the eye. One of them had even managed to dig up a tourney helm with a plume of feathers that was half as tall as he was.
Off to the side of the noblemen surrounding the captain's desk, a handful of noblewomen stood, attended by their maids and chatting among themselves. The entire setup was reminiscent of the faction gatherings that occasionally occurred over the winter, except they somehow decided it was a good idea to cram it all into the confined space of the gatehouse office. It took him a moment to figure out how to reach the Countess without crawling over anyone.
"Lady Beaumont."
The young noblewoman turned her attention to him, this time without her usual bright smile. In its place was the mask of composure that seemed to be ubiquitous to aristocrats wherever he went.
"Mister Liam," she replied. "Is something the matter?"
Liam froze. What was he going to say? He glanced at the nearby noblemen, who had stopped whatever they were doing, yet were doing their best to ignore his existence. It wasn't that they had anything against him; it was just that they were trained to treat household staff as if they were invisible unless there was cause to directly interact with them. In a sense, it was no different than how the average citizen treated their fellows as they went about their daily routines.
"Since we have this gathering," Liam said carefully, "I thought it best to inform everyone as to what's actually going on."
His words didn't draw much of a reaction. The Nobles simply looked at Countess Beaumont expectantly. In response, the Countess smoothly rose to her feet, not missing a beat as she began to speak.
"I believe everyone here recalls the function that occurred less than a year ago," she said. "The seemingly aimless one hosted by our…shared acquaintances."
A thick silence hung over the room as the assembly digested her words. Whatever else they might be, every Noble present was quite sharp when it came to intrigue and political manoeuvring. The Countess gestured to Liam with a gloved hand.
"The truth is, Mister Liam here is an agent representing the true mastermind behind that event. They are now ready to advance their plans for our region."
That wasn't exactly true, as he didn't work directly for Lady Albedo. He supposed it didn't matter in this case.
"I knew those others were idiots to abandon us," one of the noblemen said.
His statement drew nods from around the room.
"How could they have forgotten who was backing us?"
"Fools who can only see what's in front of their faces."
Countess Beaumont gestured for silence. She prompted Liam with a nod. Liam took a deep breath, feeling himself straighten to address the Nobles. He didn't know why, but while he was perfectly fine speaking casually with nearly anyone, being placed on a stage wasn't very comfortable. That was more his sister's thing.
Maybe I should just act as if I'm Lady Albedo's representative.
"I won't waste my time explaining every little detail," Liam said snootily. "All you need to know is that the city's state will drastically change tonight."
The assembled Nobles exchanged wordless looks. Some audibly swallowed. Lady Beaumont was looking at him with sparkly eyes for some reason. Viscount Ranford hesitantly raised a hand.
"What are we to do while this happens?" He asked.
"At a certain point," Liam answered, "your accommodations will be relocated. Aside from that, nothing should change about what you're currently doing unless I say otherwise. If something unexpected happens, report to me."
He figured that would cover nearly everything that might happen that night. To their credit, the noblemen were already handling their assignments well, which consisted of leading squads of armsmen around as they policed their jurisdiction of the city. Boys tended to like doing things like playing soldier, so it wasn't a surprise that they had taken to it.
Liam frowned as the assembly lingered after his words.
"Why are you still standing here?" He demanded, "You have duties to attend."
The office rapidly depopulated. Mostly. What was left, he considered the more problematic members of the Beaumont Faction. Namely, the noblewomen.
They wouldn't go anywhere without their attendants and were loath to leave what they considered safety. Needless to say, leading men on patrols was out of the question. The worst part about it was that they believed their behaviour to be perfectly normal and expected. Even now, they remained standing in their little cliques as if it were natural for them to do so.
"Lady Beaumont," Liam said, "the faction's camp will be moving outside of the city walls before nightfall. The men already have a location in mind."
"Outside?!" One of the noblewomen blurted out, "Surely it would be safer in the upper city?"
"Organise your allies for the move," Liam told the Countess. "I'll be on the wall if you have any questions."
The row of noblewomen cast shocked expressions upon him as he walked by them without so much as a word. He didn't know what Lady Albedo had in mind for them, but he hoped it was something that would make them stop being so useless. Given the austere nature of the Sorcerous Kingdom's chief administrator, they wouldn't survive for long the way they currently were.
He exchanged a nod with the first armsman he came across on the city wall. Evening was rapidly approaching. With it, they would need to execute the pivotal point of Raul's plans.
"Some of the guys who were out with Raul will be back soon," Liam said. "We're almost done with our work here."
"Great," the armsman said absently, then frowned. "Uh, what was the plan again?"
"Overthrowing House Blumrush and its allies," Liam replied. "In the city, at any rate. Raul's sending a company ahead of his main force to help us push things over the edge."
The armsman looked a bit confused, but he didn't put any of that confusion into words. Liam had purposely kept everyone remaining in the city oblivious to the big picture, so he couldn't exactly complain about the consequences of that decision.
"We'll be moving the Nobles' camp out of the city," he said. "Someone mentioned a good spot for that on the way to the pass. Know anything about that?"
"Probably a dozen spots like that along the highway," The armsman said as he turned his gaze to the distant heights south of the city. "We camped at one of 'em on the way in, yeah?"
"I was thinking of something closer to here," Liam said. "Just far enough away that trouble from the city can't easily reach it."
"A few places come to mind. Speakin' of trouble…"
In a single, smooth motion, the armsman nocked an arrow to his bowstring and loosed it into a Zombie shuffling into view below. There seemed to be no end in sight to the spawning Undead, but at least they didn't seem to be appearing any faster than before. Things were already going to be chaotic enough as it was without adding them to the mix.
"I left Countess Beaumont in charge of organising the noblewomen," Liam said. "The noblemen will be staying in the city to lead the men. Work with the Countess to get the new camp ready before tonight."
"You got it, boss."
The armsman nodded before walking towards the gatehouse, leaving Liam to watch over the sun-soaked countryside. With Lord Mare's manipulation of the weather, one would never have been able to tell how miserable the recent winter was. If anything, it now felt like summer had come far too early.
Liam flinched and ducked as something struck the flagstaff behind his head. He concealed his presence and looked over his shoulder to find an arrow stuck in the wooden pole. A peek over the battlements revealed one of Reed's men looking up at him with a gap-toothed grin. With a sigh and a silent shake of his head, Liam made his way to the gate to meet his reinforcements.
"Ya looked bored up there."
"Any problems getting here?" Liam asked.
"Naw, the militia's always been shit anywhere you go. The Nobles' thugs ain't much better."
Reed's men had certainly gained in confidence since they left to cause trouble out in the March. He supposed it wasn't for nothing, even considering their targets had been hopelessly outmatched. They would be dealing with the same calibre of opponent in Re-Blumrushur, after all.
"Did Raul have any additional instructions?" Liam asked.
"He'd just say so if he did, yeah? With that uh, whatever it is."
That was true enough. With the rebels closing on the city, Raul would be spending more time overhead than off somewhere else.
"Alright," Liam said, "let's get started, then. How much do you know about what's going on in here?"
"Something about the people here havin' a little rebellion of their own. Said it'd be better hearin' it from you."
"Alright. Let's go and get set up. Just ask me if you want to know about anything."
They were already involved in one rebellion, so he figured it didn't matter if they joined another against the same enemy. It would all be the same in the end, anyway.
On their way to the eastern part of the city, they passed through the plaza where Countess Beaumont was wrangling the members of her faction. An exaggerated sense of chaos and confusion hung over the group as they simultaneously tried to gather their things and linger about hesitantly at the same time. Through it all, Lady Beaumont somehow sniffed him out and came over. Her gaze briefly took an inventory of her men before falling squarely on him.
"Mister Liam," she said. "How much time do we have?"
"The sooner you get these people out, the better," Liam replied. "Don't attract any attention, though."
"Am I to remain in the city?" The Countess asked.
"It wouldn't look very good if you left," Liam answered. "Not just to your followers, but also if House Blumrush asks after you."
The young noblewoman sighed.
"Perhaps the men were right about wearing armour."
"They might need it since they're out with the patrols," Liam said, "but I doubt any trouble will reach you in the gatehouse. Just be ready to act if something unexpected happens."
"Very well," Lady Beaumont nodded, "please stay safe, Mister Liam."
He knew he shouldn't be overconfident, but he had a hard time imagining himself in personal danger. As it had been for most of his mission, the real risk lay in having the situation in the Azerlisian Marches get out of hand. With his work rapidly reaching its conclusion, he prayed that Re-Blumrushur wouldn't become a sea of flames like Hoburns did. It was easy for him to get things started, but he was pretty much powerless to stop things once they did.
They followed a series of alleyways into the Guild-controlled part of the city, heading towards an area not far behind the main standoff. Before stepping out into the street, Liam paused to alter his appearance. As he did, Reed's men averted their gazes, occasionally stealing glances at him as if he were doing something scandalous.
"I didn't know you were a Wizard," one of them said.
"I'm not a Wizard," Liam replied, "just an Assassin."
"…"
When they went to mingle with the crowd, the citizens barely spared Liam a glance. Reed's men, however, received more than a few suspicious looks. Inevitably, a youth armed with a sanded-down pole – it was probably the unfinished shaft of some farming tool – moved to block their path.
"You're not from around here," he said.
The people nearby crowded in, putting on grim expressions in support of the youth's challenge. In any other situation, Liam would have questioned the sanity of someone who confronted so many armed men while watching the inevitable result. Now, however, his mind raced, searching for a way to keep things from turning ugly. Before he could get a word in, however, a boy from Reed's group spoke.
"We're from around Monfort," he said. "Heard you're fightin' here too."
"Too?"
"Yeah," the boy nodded with a grim look. "You didn't hear? That bastard sent his guys out to kill people all over the countryside! We wouldn't take that sittin' down."
"Then what are you doing here?" One of the citizens asked.
"'Cause we're done beatin' their asses out there," the boy answered. "Now we've come to make the big guy answer for what he's done. Ain't just us either: there's a whole lotta angry people on their way to the city."
The crowd stirred with renewed energy, a chorus of excited voices rising upon hearing that they would soon be joined by people who harboured a common grievance. At least that's how they seemed to be seeing it.
"Steve's pretty good, eh?" One of the incognito armsmen said.
"Did Raul ask him to do that?" Liam asked.
"Uh, no? I guess he did say something about not letting on about the rebels comin' in from Laval. Monfort's the other direction, yeah?"
"I guess," Liam replied absently.
His eye was drawn past the gathering citizens to a man in an artisan's leather apron trying too hard to look inconspicuous as he ducked into a nearby alley. Liam let Steve continue to do the talking, taking the chance to slip through the crowd to shadow his mark. Just going by the man's gait as he rushed to wherever he was going, Liam could tell that he was as his garb suggested. Despite initially making an active effort to sneak away, he made no effort to scan his surroundings or even look over his shoulder.
Eventually, the man came out onto a street closer to the inner city. He was nearly speared by a nervous armsman as he did.
"Wait!" The man shrieked, holding out his hands as if they could stop the iron point, "I have information!"
The armsman looked askance at the artisan before looking for instruction from the closest picket. It took a moment before someone took notice and informed the blonde-haired Knight overseeing the post. Rather than ride over to speak, however, the Knight motioned for the armsman to bring the informant to him. Liam scrambled to the rooftops, rushing over to the eaves overhanging the Knight's position.
"That's complete nonsense," the Knight sneered. "My lord's territories are perfectly secure."
"It's what they said, Sir Maurice! I'm only saying what they said."
"What did they look like? Sir Maurice asked.
"What did they look like? Eh…they were roughs from the country. Woodsmen maybe. Had big bows, too."
Sir Maurice stroked his thick moustache as he peered at the citizens' barricade down the street. A full minute passed before he wordlessly gestured for his men to send the artisan away.
"W-Wait!" The man said, "It's Farrier, sir! Farrier, you hear! Make sure my yard's left alone when it's all said and done. Farrier's the name!"
The armsmen gave Mister Farrier one last shove before he left of his own volition. Liam lingered overhead, waiting to see if Sir Maurice would voice his thoughts concerning the man's account.
"What should we do, Sir Maurice?" An armsman asked.
"You heard all of that?" The Knight asked back.
"Yes, sir."
"Run back to the upper city and inform Lord Monfort," Sir Maurice said. "The tale is suspect, but the Guild might have hired some brigands lurking in the area to bolster their forces. Also, ask why that damned Reginald hasn't opened the castle armoury to us. We'd have had this mess cleaned up hours ago if not for his indecisiveness!"
Liam frowned, pondering the uncharacteristic vigilance of the Nobles' forces. They were usually prone to grandstanding when confronted with threats and generally disparaging of those outside of their establishment. Now, there was a semblance of professionalism to their conduct. Was it just this particular Knight and his squad?
Adversity breeds strength.
Paraphrased, it was one of the things that the Scriptures taught anyone who read them. In day-to-day life, it was taken as a missive to the faithful: to challenge themselves regardless of vocation in their lifelong quest for the sort of self-improvement sought to strengthen society as a whole. It only now occurred to him that it might also apply to those who had challenges forced upon them.
In other words, push the wrong way and one might eventually end up with an adversary that outclassed them. In the types of jobs he was finding himself in, keeping the target parties oblivious and complacent was best. This approach was in line with how Ijaniya trained its operatives, which was a product of generations of experience and refinement as an organisation.
Liam lingered for a few minutes longer, but the Knight was tight-lipped. Nothing changed about the disposition of his squad, but Liam couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to what he was seeing. His misgivings accompanied him back to the citizens' lines, where Steve was riling up the crowd with accounts of the Nobles' atrocities in the countryside.
"Somethin' wrong?" One of the armsmen asked.
"House Monfort knows we're here," Liam answered. "Well, they know that someone's come to support the citizens. One of the shop owners informed them."
"Uh…that's no good. Want a few of us to go and string the guy up?"
"We don't have the time for that," Liam replied. "It'd be counterproductive anyways. Something's off about the way the Nobles' forces are acting. They're sharper…or something. We should get ready to move."
"Alright. Where do you want us?"
"Before that, we should–"
『We have movement in the castle. Blumrush's men are assembling in the yard. That crowd down there needs to get ready for whatever's coming.』
Liam grimaced as all of Lady Beaumont's armsmen simultaneously froze at the sound of Raul's voice. The citizens definitely noticed the strange pause. Steve's face was a wordless question as he looked to Liam for direction. Liam rushed towards him, pushing his way through the crowd.
"We've got trouble!" Liam said breathlessly, "The Nobles are up to no good!"
"What did you see?" Steve asked.
"They're gatherin' for somethin'," Liam answered. "Comin' here, maybe."
A tinge of worry cut through the anger Steve had been stoking. The boy wouldn't let his audience go so easily, however.
"We already beat 'em," he raised his hands along with his voice. "If we can beat 'em in their fiefs, then we can beat 'em here! It's not like they'll leave us be anyway."
"He's right," a man in a leather apron said. "They'll kill us and take everything we've worked so hard for!"
"They'll take our wives and daughters!"
"They've done it already; they'll do it again!"
The citizens' precarious position was far worse than what rural denizens might face. Even if they took what they could and fled the city, they had no place to go. In Re-Estize, the population of a city represented what its surrounding territories could support. There were simply no resources to spare for extras from elsewhere, and the local Guilds would be outright hostile towards outsiders who threatened the livelihoods of their members.
The crowd dispersed, returning to man their barricades with renewed resolution. Liam retreated to the nearest alley, where Reed's men gradually made their way to him.
"Steve's way better at that than Reed," one of them said.
"Reed's been speaking to the people out there?" Liam asked.
"Uh…kinda? He's the gods' messenger, at any rate."
What's that supposed to mean?
"What should we do now?" Another armsman asked.
"I'm not sure," Liam answered. "All we can do is be ready for whatever Raul has in mind."
"I think we should stick to how we've been doin' it so far," Steve said.
"I don't know what that means," Liam said.
"Basically, the big guy up there can speak to us. He tries not to with anyone else, so we kinda spread out and nudge things around based on what he wants."
That seemed like a good idea. Better than what he could come up with, at any rate.
"Has everyone here been doing that?" Liam asked.
"Yeah," Steve nodded. "It's not always talkin'. Sometimes, all it takes is an arrow in the right guy to get people goin'. Any special whatevers we need to know here?"
Liam considered Steve's question, reviewing what he had seen of the Nobles' forces.
"Lord Reginald's been keeping the castle armoury to himself," he said. "He's been keeping his men in the upper city, too. The Nobles policing the lower city aren't properly equipped. If House Blumrush is coming out, the citizens will be facing a far deadlier opponent than they have been so far. We're going to have to make up for the difference."
"We've got the skills for that," an armsman said, "but how will they come at us? We can't exactly ambush 'em as they're leavin' the gate."
"Why not?" Another asked.
It was a good question. He pulled a Message scroll from his bandolier, looking around before using it to contact Raul.
『You win yet?』
『Shut up. What's happening on your end?』
『Reed's men are going with how they've worked with you so far. You think we can push into the city before Lord Reginald's men can leave the inner gate? I don't like how responsive they've suddenly gotten.』
『Hmm…maybe. But I need bodies to occupy the space we take. These Nobles will push if they see a numbers advantage.』
『The citizens know they're dead if they lose. Reed's guys said something about knowing how to push people in the right direction based on your commands.』
『Yeah, they sorta figured that out on their own. It's pretty annoying when there isn't someone on the ground to communicate with. Alright, I think we can do this. Lord Reginald is still mustering his armsmen. We'll start our push on the high street.』
『I think you mean Wharf Street. Re-Blumrushur's high street goes from the south gate to the east gate.』
It was an understandable mistake. A good chunk of the city's logistics came through the harbour, so the road leading to it was quite wide. Raul was a farm kid, too.
『Right. Wharf Street. It looks like most of the citizens are there, so we'll use that to our advantage.』
『Got it. I'll get our people moving. Give us a few minutes to get in position.』
Reed's men looked at him expectantly as he lowered his hand from his ear.
"Raul says it can be done," he said. "We'll be using the citizens defending Wharf Street to take up space. I'm not sure how well they'll hold against an attack, so we'll have to do our best to keep the Nobles at bay."
"Should we put men anywhere else?" Steve asked.
"How did it work out there?"
"We went as one giant mob," the boy answered. "We were out in the country, too, so it was easy to see what was goin' on around us. They're all split up across the blocks here."
"Let's just stick with the main advance for now," Liam said. "This isn't the country, but it doesn't take long to get from one block to another."
Since they were already on Wharf Street, it didn't take long for the woodsmen to spread throughout the crowd. Many of them found cover behind the barricade, while a handful made their way to the rooftops with Liam. Unlike the standoff he had disrupted earlier that day, the opposing lines on Wharf Street were unchanged since the citizens ousted House Monfort from their neighbourhood.
In terms of their locations, at least. Upon closer inspection, the toll that the unexpected, long shifts had taken on the Nobles' forces was clear. Nearly half of the visible armsmen were slumped and yawning, and the occasional efforts to rouse them by their Knights and Sergeants had a temporary effect, at best. The citizens, on the other hand, were so numerous that some tired individuals wouldn't make much of an impact on their numbers.
I hope we get this thing started soon. Those armsmen from the castle won't be so easy to overrun…
Beyond being far better rested due to their relatively light duties in the inner city, Castle Blumrush's forces were better armed, trained, and more familiar with the city relative to their counterparts from the countryside. The longer he thought about it, the more he didn't like the idea of letting them run amok in the streets. The citizens' determination was fuelled almost entirely by their fury, but emotions were a fickle thing.
『I hope everyone's ready to go. Lord Reginald's men are still forming up, but their Knights are looking restless. Start dispatching those armsmen from the street level: do just enough for the citizens to take over. Men on the rooftops, keep an eye out for threats.』
As soon as Raul stopped speaking, one of Reed's men popped up from behind one of the barricade's wagons and loosed an arrow at the Monfort line. It streaked up the street, catching an armsman mid-yawn in the stomach.
The rowdy mob immediately hushed. Both sides stared as the armsman crumpled to the cobblestones.
A second arrow flew out from the barricade, burying itself in another armsman's thigh. A cheer rose from the mob.
"Serves 'em right!"
"Get another one!"
"Three copper on the asshole with the bald spot!"
That wasn't supposed to happen.
Montfort's men didn't wait around to see if someone would take up the offer. The Knight called for his men to stand their ground, but an arrow to the rump of his mount dumped him unceremoniously to the street. Steve jumped up onto the bed of one of the barricade's wagons to point at the fallen man.
"Get 'im!" The boy shouted.
A dozen or so youths scrambled over the barricade, rushing House Monfort's vacated position with reckless abandon. About three dozen more trailed after them at a far less hurried pace. The remaining citizens watched to see what would happen. Once the youths reached their objective – the Knight had run off long before they reached him – the rest of the crowd finally decided it was safe to move forward, jovially chatting amongst themselves as they did.
Liam let out an annoyed sigh, exchanging a wordless look with the armsmen nearby. It wasn't remotely the result they were looking for, but at least it was a start.