A Bencian tale continues

[Kaiser Mors IV]

Shyriath looks out over the bustling streets of Port Benacia from the windows of his offices. His eyes, normally glittering and blue, have dulled to a pale bluish-gray; and they are half-lidded, struggling to stay open after very little sleep. The byways he looks upon are busy, loud, and to all appearances thoroughly prosperous and normal.But now he knows it not to be true.He sighs, and slumps into his chair. The half-dragon looks to his advisor, a tall, thin man with black hair and a moustache, and penetrating green eyes. “How long has this been going on, Kantir?”Kantir bows, and replies, “We’re not sure, my lord. But it’s likely that the merchants have been preparing their move for a few weeks at least.”Shyriath bows his head. Of course; it all makes sense now. Last week, a newly formed political organization representing merchants’ interests had made a very sudden, very visible, and very large demonstration in the main thoroughfare of the port; and he, acting on the Kaisers’ ban on such groups, had been forced to have them rounded up. Hundreds of militiamen had been needed to subdue the troublesome protesters; it had been done as peacefully as possible, but there had been some injuries, and one death. Many had witnessed it, and commented on the harshness of the response. And since then, leaflets had been left out all over the city, describing the incident as “the brutality of foreign domination”.Clever. Horribly clever. The population of the Port was starting to view Count Shyriath with suspicion now, as an outsider rather than the good Benacian he had tried to present himself as. And now, with this new report, that some merchants had been seeking out weapons and military support even before then, it is clear why.There is about to be violence, violence on the part of the local magnates. And they’re trying to whip up public support.“What do they have in the way of allies?”Kantir consults a clipboard. “Apparently, very little. Some others in Tenra, but other than that, they seem to be relying on a popular uprising.”“And the outlying villages? The traditionalists we’ve had problems with?”Kantir sniffs, as if the very thought was laughable. “To them, the merchants are bigger corruptors than the Shirerithian government ever was... besides which, they don’t have the resources. I imagine they’ll stay out of this.”Shyriath nods, and stands up, a look of resolve crystallizing in his face. “Do we know where the merchants are hiding their weapons?”“They appear to have been gathered in a series of warehouses on the south side of the harbor.”“Good. Then we’ll hit them tonight, before they have a chance to strike.” Shyriath makes a sweeping motion with his arm, towards the warehouses. “The local police will go after as many of the big fish behind this as possible; arrest them all at once, so they don’t have a chance to warn each other. Meanwhile, the militia will go into the warehouses and seize the weapons caches. With the weapons as proof, the people will see that the merchants were behind the unrest, and they will trust us again.”Kantir bows. “A bold and decisive move, my lord. Shall I notify the commander?”“Yes, yes. Thank you, Kantir.”Shyriath paces before the window, but tries to put himself at ease.Tonight. Tonight, this will be dealt with, and he will be able to sleep again.-----CLANG! SLASH! Captain Toran unsheathes his sword from the body of the mercenary. Sliding it into his scabbard, he pulls out his pistol and runs to join his men, who have the other guards pinned down just outside the warehouse. The mercenaries had already been overturning the vehicles for use as a barricade when Toran’s militia unit had arrived.“No doubt about it, sir!” yells one of the militiamen over the noise of the firefight. “They were tipped off! Air support picked off some snipers from the roof!”“B’caw-dammit,” mutters the captain. “Are we getting at those mercs in front of the door?”“Negative, sir! We can’t get close enough!”The captain sighs, pulls out his walkie-talkie. “This is Toran. Air support, get over here and smoke out the guards. We’ll move in and capture the weapons.”A few minutes later, the helicopter whirrs in, men inside taking shots at the mercs from above. Their cover suddenly useless, the guards scatter, futilely trying to escape both the aerial and ground attacks. “Split off and pursue them!” yells Captain Toran. “We’ll get inside and secure the building!”Toran and his men blow the lock off the warehouse door. Opening it a crack, one of the men looks in, sees no signs of movement. The men open the door wider. The captain pokes in his head briefly, but before pulling it back, can only stare at what he sees.Empty. The whole building is a big, empty space!-----Rynnu, self-styled future King of the Benacians, reads the report with satisfaction.A tall, cloaked figure approaches him in his quarters. “Good news, I assume?”Rynnu laughs, “Indeed. Your contacts did their job perfectly. The demon Count went for the bait. He thought he could nip a potential revolt in the bud, but he couldn’t find the weapons... and now he has no evidence to keep the merchants he arrested in jail. Now those are freed, the people are angry at a seeming act of purposeless revenge against the merchants, and the rebel leaders and their weapons are safely tucked away in their safehouse.”The cloaked figure’s smile is not visible beneath his hood, but a blind man could tell it was there. “Lackeys of the Kaiser are easily led around, my lord. He operates on good information; trying to hide the fact that the weapons were being brought to that warehouse would’ve been impossible. So, we allowed him to find the warehosue; and thanks to the hidden tunnel, the arms were all smuggled away to the safehouse as soon as they arrived there. The Count had no way of knowing that the arms hadn’t stayed in the building.”Rynnu glances at him sharply. “About that tunnel...”“It was collapsed before the militia even arrived. All the weapons, as well as the major merchant leaders, are at the safehouse.”“Excellent.” Rynnu sips his brandy. “Now the Count has been brought down in the eyes of the people. They will see his acts as baseless oppression, and they will sympathize with the merchants. The city folk will become restive, and the Count will be distracted by them; he will ignore our activities.” He glances at the cloaked figure. “My friend, I must admit that when you first came to me, I was skeptical. I had no interest in revolution then. But your words convinced my heart; and now, the success of your plans is convincing my mind.”The cloaked figure bows. “I am but a heartfelt patriot, Lord. When Benacia is free and you are its master, that will be my reward.”“Ahhhh, but not all your reward,” replies Rynnu magnanimously. “For your invaluable aid and that of your agents, you will have your pick of territories and wealth to manage in my name. You will have a bright future, my friend.”The cloaked man bows again. Sounding satisfied, he replies, “My thanks, Lord.”

[Unknown]

(This post is missing and can not be restored)