In the north, Limousin’s castle was quickly surrounded following the rout of Jaume by the force led by Michels de Montesquiou, Duke of Poitou. The skeleton garrison left by the departing Bourbon duke had little will to resist the overpowering punitive expedition. A negotiated surrender saw all of the rebel troops spared from execution and the city rejoiced in its deliverance.
Michels now turned his army to the birthplace of the rebellion, the Bourbon demesne itself. Looking upon the charts and reports in his tent, he could easily discern that it would only be a matter of weeks now before the last embers of this insurrection were drowned. The Bourbon forces (red) were gathered together in place, but their numbers and quality stood no match against the loyalists (black). A reckoning would be soon in coming for the betrayal of months before.
Even with victory over the Bourbon’s in sight, the situation was dire for many in the Aquitanian heartland. The scars of conflict were easy to spot across the width and breadth of the realm. Understaffed farms struggled to harvest their yields, quays held rotting fishing vessels, roads fell into disrepair for want of men to work in the labor gangs and trade in the cities seemed to stagnant. War and rebellion were draining Aquitania of the prosperity she had enjoyed so far in her independence.
The suffering of the Aquitanian populace was not lost on its monarch, truly he did empathize with those that suffered from the conflict. On battlefields aplenty he had gazed pityingly upon the heaped dead or wounded, caught up in events beyond their control and forced to pay for it with their lives. Yet it was a needed series of sacrifices, he told himself, needed to see the security of all the kingdom brought to being and the freedom of all Christians from heathen control. An icy wind cutting across one of Navarre’s few plateaus and into his pavilion brought King Zavie’s attention back to the matters at hand.
The reports had been right in saying that the Badajozian goal was Jaca. There was no doubt now that the main parts of their army (red) were en route to that mountain fastness. So to were his battalions making their way toward that province, making good time through the passes of Navarre (black). The Duke of Gascony had a significant force (green) himself already there and prepared for defense, and it was Zavie’s hope that he would be able to resist any attacks before the reinforcements arrived. It was September already and winter would soon make any attack up the passes an impossible endeavor.
During a meeting focused on thinking of ways to delay or inconvenience the approaching Muslim armies, one of his Spanish operatives had voiced an option. Discontented Christians from the Badajozian province of Rioja, directly in the line of march to the Aquitanian possessions of Viscaya and Jaca, might be armed and induced to revolt. Such a distraction would no doubt tie up a number of regiments and could even lead to the liberation of the province should it be successful enough.
Intrigued, Zavie asked for the particulars of the plan. The operative admitted that the carrying out of the proposal would be expensive and not guaranteed to work. Weapons would have to be diverted directly from the army due to time constraints. Considering the options one last time, King Zavie decided against the measure, thinking it too risky for the cost involved and the high potential for failure.
Only a few days later, news arrived as the army ranged across the final stretches of territory separating Navarre and Jaca. The Duke of Gascony had met a substantial Badajozian force in battle in on of the main passes linking Rioja and Jaca. Cursing the roads that slowed his army’s progress and fearing the worst, Zavie urged the messenger to deliver his news quickly.
Skirmishing had begun with the Aquitanians with the advantage of height and preparedness. Coming up the inclined path, the Muslims were dreadfully exposed to fire. Missiles and insults were flung at the invading host until a surprisingly ferocious charge had met the Aquitanian’s first line of defense. Leading it had been Muhammad, marshal of the Badajoz Emir and famous conqueror of several Christian cities during the Muslim expansion of a decade past. Known as a valiant and chivalric figure in Islamic circles, he had a record of civilized behavior and was a noted poet as well.
It was at Jaca that the luck and skill of Muhammad were cut short. A nameless Aquitanian pikeman skewered the marshal’s horse and sent the man flying behind his enemy’s lines. Dazed by the fall, he nevertheless defended himself against a company of swordsmen, falling back quickly against their blows. Finally overcome by numbers, Muhammad sank into death with a dozen wounds over his body. The fight had gone out of the Badajoz force with the demise of their famous leader and it quickly slunk away. The Duke of Gascony had released the opposing commander’s body to envoys later that day.
Glad at the news, King Zavie gave orders to ensure the pace of the march was not let up. Even with this victory, Zavie was still eager to join his army to the Gascon Duke’s so that future attacks might be thwarted with the same success.
From the north, news of the final confrontation with the Bourbon rebellion was brought to light. The battle had almost not been worth the name, with the loyalist fielding nearly five times the number of the dying insurrection. With not enough room in the castle to sustain the troops he still had, Jaume Duke of Bourbon had decided on one last battle to do what he could against the approaching northern lords. Even this was mostly denied him when his army disintegrated on first impact, hundreds throwing down their weapons and surrendering.
Flying with the few retainers that stayed loyal, Jaume wondered caustically where he would spend his exile and scoured his mind for the reasoning behind his initial act of rebellion. The French agent had disappeared shortly after the Duke’s declaration, to organize the aid the Capet’s were sending or so he had said. Lies, Jaume knew now, lies designed to encourage his rash act. Lies designed to make him a puppet of the French throne. Lies designed to make him lose everything he once held.
With every gallop, Jaume was leaving behind the life he had known bound for an unknown future in some distant court, an outcast from his own land and a traitor to his liege. At least, he told himself, he would be spared whatever Zavie would have done to his person.
At least there was that.
Zavie entered Jaca’s boundaries at the head of his army and in excellent spirits. The last reports from the north had described the crushing of the Bourbon revolt in satisfying detail, yet he was disappointed that Jaume had managed to escape. Contrary to what some of his vassals and councilors had suggested, he would not have killed the young fool. Instead he had been looking forward to having the Duke beg for his mercy before a packed court, only to have it granted in a display of magnanimous grace. He had to work to upkeep his profile as a pious and fair ruler after all. After that, it would have been exile to somewhere Jaume could have reflected long and hard about the choices he had made.
Meeting with Raolf Duke of Gascony and expressing satisfaction with the way the man had handled the liberation of Jaca and it’s defense, King Zavie oversaw the integration of the two armies. A united Aquitanian army would now face any invader of Jaca.
