A Guide to Kingdom Building

Sarda, Year of Severus, 18, I.R., the 83rd day of Spring, Broken Spring

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Nullus attempted to chase the panicking woman into the end of the forest, but Squeakers insisted he joined him to the town. With her suspicious behavior bubbling in the surface, he has more questions in-lined to her for later. At the moment, he has to follow to the kid back.

As they reach the town, he noticed the people and the aelderman waiting anxiously outside the gate watching at the sea of Lucresian knights marching towards them. It was clear how apprehensive and restless they were seeing the black swarm of armored men approaching them.

The aelderman saw him approaching and called him out, asking Nullus to stand right next to him. Nullus immediately went into his side and stood in with him.

"Where is Midea?" The aelderman asked.

Nullus thought for his answer for a second. He was between telling the old man how suspicious Midea has become or just telling him a good alibi. He looked at him and sighed.

"She said she has to go." Nullus answered.

"Go?" The aelderman was surprised. "Go where?"

Nullus tried his best to think of a better alibi than what he just told the old man.

"She left and ran to the other side of the forest." Squeakers interjected.

"Damn this kid!" Nullus said to himself while making an effort to stop himself from slapping the boy.

If aelderman Hostea finds out Midea's secret first, Nullus wouldn't be able to know her well-kept agenda. Most likely, the old man would surrender her to the knights for a quick sentencing. After all, no matter how much the aelderman loves his people, he was still an astute follower of the Principalian law.

He has to think fast before the old man could ask again.

"Yes, she went into the forest." Nullus said. "I told her where to find the watermelon seedlings I found…" He sighed.

"Alright, but why are you sighing." The aelderman asked.

"Truth be told, aelderman Hostea. I think she was just using that question as a cover." Nullus scratched his head.

"Cover for what?" The aelderman got more curious.

Nullus put his mouth closer to the old man's ear and whispered some uncomfortable lies that he could think of.

"Oh my!" The aelderman exclaimed. "I really never saw her going into the…"

"You were spying her?" Nullus immediately asked.

The aelderman looked at him, confused and ashamed. "W—what do you mean?!" His eyes wide open. "Of course not!" He added.

Nullus bit his lip, trying to stop himself from laughing out loud. He glared at Squeakers who was about to say something at that moment. The boy immediately ran away to the back.

We stood there silently as the sound of trumpets and hoofs became more audible. The grounds started to shake as the sea of knights came closing in. Their dark armor along with their red cloak made them looked more formidable than they usually were. Nullus could hear the people behind him whisper about how the knights were called, a walking sea of blood.

The knights came in closer to their town. The footmen marched in their most stoic faces, never fazed from the heat of the sun nor the distance of their travel. They had hard faces, battle-ready and lusting to cut some flesh on the opposite side.

The footmen stopped half an ildwyrm away from the town and stood looking over the people standing on the town's gate. The townspeople became anxious as the knights stood still in front of them. 

"Are they trying to invade us?" One of the townsfolk asked.

"No, you idiot! We are already part of the empire!" Another one answered.

Nullus stood there unfazed. He knew that the knights were just trying to look intimidating to the people. In reality, the knights just wanted the people to be afraid of them so they could get some favors done more easily.

The knights were taking their time and stood in front of the time for almost half a day. Nullus and the rest of the townspeople went back inside town trying to understand their current situation. As some of them panicked and wanted to escape, the aelderman did his best to calm them down and just wait for their next move. However, Nullus have a different idea.

"I think it would be best if we go to them and offer some hospitality." Nullus said.

"Hospitality?! With what Nullus? We have nothing to give them!" A townsfolk shouted.

"Would you rather give them a reason to pillage our town?" Nullus uttered back. "It's very clear that what they're doing is just one of those intimidation tactics to squeeze us." He explained.

No one answered him back. Most of the townspeople whispered with each other as they try to understand the sticky situation they were in. Alederman Hostea looked at him and calmly address the crowd.

"I think Nullus is right." He began. "I have lived long enough to know how these knights would get what they want. This is not my first time seeing knights in front of our town. It happened to me when I was younger. They would ask for provisions, then men and then our women but who are we decline? They would say that it's a small price to pay from the protection they gave to us."

The people sighed and silently looked at each other.

"The more we stand here and wait the more extravagant things they would ask from us!" The aelderman said.

"But what do we offer them? Abled men? There are only a few of us left. Our children had already been conscripted!" A town folk blurted.

"How about our women?!" Another townsmen shouted.

"Who would fuck old women and children?!" One of the ladies tending to the fields blurted from the back. "These are gentlemen knights! I won't dare give our ladies to them. We are not worthy for them!"

Nullus shook his head while cringing at the statement. If only she knew how opposite those knights were to the image, she was projecting them. The people started getting restless as the knights began banging their shields against their scabbards. Their thumping echoes sounded like a heart about to explode from the pressure.

As the people panic, Aelderman Hostea shouted and tried to calm them down. Nullus thought of something quickly to calm the chaotic crowd.

"How about our wine?!" Nullus shouted. "Let's offer them our wine!"

The townsfolk finally calmed down and looked at him briming with hope.

"Yes, we could give them those jars of wine!" One townsfolk shouted. "If we give it all to them for free, then that should do the trick! They should leave us be!" He added.

"For free?!" Nullus raised his eyebrows. "Of course not! We are selling it to them! We shall only give them a free sample, just a bottle." He said.

"Are you out of your mind?!" The townsfolk shouted in unison.

Before they could become violent with him, Aelderman Hostea immediately demanded everyone to listen to him and calmed them down for the third time. As their voices faded out into silence, the old man leaned over to Nullus and whispered in his ear.

"Do you have a plan?" He asked.

"Of course, I do!" Nullus confidently said.

"You better damn do something about it now." The old man desperately. "Or I won't be able to hold them back." He added.

"Good." Nullus confidently said. "Give me a jar and goddamn cart. We'll go ahead and greet them.." He smiled.