The Duke`s Chronicles - AAR

Day 337 - Temptation

Sargoth is a strange place. Although it is the capital of the Nord realm, there were no major institutions of importance. Due to the Nord`s low opinion of all sciences there are no academies and the economic heart of the realm is Tihr. But to keep in touch with the political leaders, the Nord merchant guild has decided to move it`s headquarter from Tihr to Sargoth a few years ago. That`s why I`m here.

King Harlaus wanted a trade agreement concerning a huge amount of linen to be signed. Due to my approved trading skills, he sent me to negotiate with the guild masters. It took a few days, but finally we reached an agreement.

When leaving the guild hall, I decided to go to the next tavern for a drink. In front of it I heard a familiar voice.
"Lord de Courtenay. Nice to see you."
"Antor. How come I´m not surprised ?"
"I take it you received my letter."
"Yes. And I was wondering, what the heck you were talking about. What do you want ?"
"Invite you for lunch for the moment. But not here. Come with me."

I did. I was in no hurry and my curiosity to hear what he wanted exceeded my anger about his mysterious behaviour. He lead me to a tavern called `Zendar`s memory`. We ordered a meal and eventually he started to get to the point.
"You`ve come a long way. And now it seems as if you`ve got everything one could long for. But it also seems, as if you`re still unsatisfied. I heard, you had a talk with that foreign scholar in Rivacheg. And I`d love to know, what happened to Sanjar Khan. But rumor has it, you`re held in high esteem at his court since he met you. Whatever, I think you want to achieve more than plain personal success. I think you`re kind of an idealist who strives to change the world."
"Let us assume you`re right. What then ?"
"Then I can make you an offer."

That voice came from the side. It was soft and caring in a suspicious way. A woman came closer and took seat. She must have been in her late twenties and was very attractive. Slim, long red hair, green eyes. A nice smile, a distinctive intellect and a seductive, no, tempting rhetoric. And all she said was tempting in the first place.

Two hours later I was alone again. I leaned back, took some deep breaths and tried to get things straight in my mind. But I always thought about what the Lady had said. And the Lady herself. Isolla. Isolla of Suno.
"What a woman.", I said to myself.
"Yes, she is a temptress. And I bet she promised everything under the sun."

I had been deep in thoughts so I startled when being addressed by the stranger. I guess, he was about 40 years old. I`ve never seen him before, but he had an accent that reminded me of my former home. And somehow he was charismatic with his understanding look.

"Who are you ?", I asked
"Auiver is my name. And you ?"
"Pierre de Courtenay."
"Courtenay ? There is a village with that name near the place I was born. You`re from the east ?"
"Yes."
"Me too. So we are two strangers in town, but you made beautiful friends already. Yes, Lady Isolla is still good-looking and can be very, ehm, convincing."
"Did you listen to our conversation ?"

He laughed.
"No. That`s not necessary. Isolla always tells the same things. About her father, the previous king, who loved her. About the time, he called her his heiress. Well, kind of. About her uncle Harlaus, who betrayed her. And finally, that there were women on the throne during the dark ages. In short, she seeks people to support her claim to the throne."
"Sounds as if you dislike her for that."
"I`m not sure. See, it`s indescribable bitter, when someone defrauds you of your inheritance. You are sad and angry, eager to take revenge on that person. But the danger is, that your wish might turn into an obsession over the time. You must be able to let go when you see, that success is impossible. And that`s what I dislike about Isolla. Yes, she would be the lawful ruler of Swadia, but she can`t win, even if someone would support her. But still she is willing to start a civil war, knowing that she will lose it."

"Why should she lose ? Suppose, she finds enough supporters, then..."
"Do you think, you`re the first one she tries to convince ? There must have been dozens before you. And two of them agreed. Two times a civil war started. Two times she lost. Two times her supporters got executed and their heads exhibited on top of a lance at the market place of Praven."
"Sounds as if you know a lot about her."
"Say, I understand her motivation."
"So you have an advice for me?"
"Rather a hypothetical question. Suppose she wins and becomes Queen of Swadia. What will happen next ? Harlaus or his wife or his son, daughter, brother, niece or his damned cook will show up and claim to be the lawful ruler and the game starts all over again."

"So you are saying that supporting a claimant is useless."
"I`m saying, that there will always be an Isolla or Dustum Khan. And I`m saying, that you should ask yourself, if your potential gain is worth a civil war that destabilizes the country and leaves it vulnerable to it`s enemies. Be it as it may. I wish you luck."
He stood up and went to the door.
"One moment, what is your interest in claimant`s affairs ?"
"Too long a story. I`ll tell you the next time we meet."
And off he went.

I kept sitting there for a while, watching the other guests. A group of pick-pockets were gambling. A beggar trying to get a free drink. Two whores waiting for clients. Several ordinary citizens hanging around, drinking and chatting. A swadian Lord thinking about what to do next. And then, all of a sudden, I had an inspiration.

I hurried outside. Heading for the town gates, I met Baldur.
"Baldur, where is the rest of the gang ?"
"Well, Sir, I guess spread across all taverns and brothels in town."
"Find them ! All men have to report back at the camp as soon as possible. We`ll leave today."
"But Sir, it`s getting dark soon."
"I don`t care. We have to get back to Swadia at once."
"One could think it`s a matter of life and death, Sir."
"You`ve got it."

to be continued (please post in the "Making of"-Thread)

Day 365 - Adventure ahead

The last weeks had been busy. Always moving around, recruiting more men, train them as good as possible. And, most important, keeping up a secret correspondence with King Harlaus. None of my men, even Matheld, had an idea what was going on. All they knew was, that the size of our company had risen to about 90 men. There were lots of rumors and finally I held a war council with Matheld, Jeremus and Ferris.

"Alright, my friends. Here is the plan. Tomorrow I`ll send a letter to Harlaus, telling him that I want to be released from my oath."
Silence. Ferris looked surprised, Jeremus sceptical and Matheld shocked.
"No questions ? Wonderful. Next. We`ll move to Ichamur, where Lord Kastor of Veluca has been seen lately. We`ll join and support him in his struggle to become King of the Rhodoks."
Silence again. Then Ferris began to speak.
"And would you please enlighten us, how exactly we`ll perform the miracle to bring Graveth to his knees, Sir."

"Easy. First we have to gain some support among the Rhodok Lords. Therefore we have to explain our motivation. And our motivation is justice. The last election didn`t proceed according to he regulations. If it did, Lord Kastor had been elected to be King. We`ll tell this story each and every Lord we meet. Especially Lord Reland and Lord Gutlans, the rulers of Yalen and Culmarr Castle, must be convinced. Whe need these two locations to succeed."
"I think, we`ll have to seize all castles and towns in order to win the war.", Ferris said.
"No, we don`t.", I replied.
"Well, I don`t understand our strategy then."
"I do.", Jeremus said, "We don`t want Kastor to win but Graveth to lose the war."
"Ah, yes, that surely explains everything.", Ferris rolled his eyes.

"Jeremus is right. Our strategy is to weaken the Rhodok. While we gain support among the Rhodok nobles, we`ll concentrate our force in the north around Yalen. Graveth will have to face this threat and send troops. Thus, most of the Rhodok troops will be in the north. That will leave the south wide open for a combined offensive of Swadian and Khergit armies with the intent to take Jelkala and Veluca. If everything goes as planned, next year the Rhodok realm is either reduced to a small region to the north or completely destroyed."
"This whole thing is a fake ? Heavens !", Ferris sounded not amused, but impressed.
"Now we have to brief our men. Since we have to win the minds and hearts of all Rhodok people I want everyone at his best behaviour. And from tomorrow we`ll write history. Further questions ? No ? Dismissed !"

Ferris and Jeremus left the tent, while Matheld stayed inside. She hadn`t said anything and she looked displeased.
"Ready for our next adventure, Mylady ?"
"No. Absolutely not."
"How come ? May it be that our warrior queen is anxious ?"
I feigned surprise to cheer her up, but she became angry immediately.

"I`m anxious, because I recognize a stupid plan when I see one."
"What are you talking about ? The plan is simple and almost nothing can go wrong."
"Almost. The Rhodok Lords maybe won`t support us. Graveth maybe won`t send troops to the north. The Khergit or Harlaus maybe screw up. And maybe Kastor understands that we`re playing a double game, so our days are numbered."
"Of course it`s kind of risky. Everything we`ve done the last months was. But this time there is a chance for a real change."
"Change ! Ha ! These wars are going on for decades now without result. But now you show up and within a year a complete realm disappears ? Either you`re naive or megalomanic."
"Maybe I`m just tired of these endless wars ! Maybe I`m just trying to see, if Uzara`s design is true or not !"
"You will try, fail and lose your head !"

"So be it. But I need to know it ! I need to !"
"No, you just want to flatter your vanity ! All you need to know is, that I need a living father for our child !"

Her eyes were getting wet.
I had to take seat.

to be continued (please post in the "Making of"-Thread)

Jeirbe Castle, December 1302

Thus the story ended, with a planned adventure being replaced by a even larger one. And so I could end these notes. But to satisfy both the reader`s curiosity and my talkativeness of old age, I`ll briefly describe how things proceeded.

Some things can change your life. Your first love. The first time you stare into the eyes of a man you killed. Or looking at the crying woman you love when she tells you she expects your child. Needless to say that all plans concerning the Rhodoks were cancelled. Instead Matheld and I married shortly after. I did my very best to be a loving husband and caring father. But sometimes there were days, when she was sad from homesickness. Being married to a Swadian Lord, it was impossible to return home even to visit her family. But I want to believe, that she had a good live and that she took pride in the fact, that our children became strong-willed and independent.

Then, in 1283, the pest came to Calradia and put out the light of my life. It was due to my good relations and several favors to the local officials that we could arrange a traditional Nord funeral. A few days after, a single drake with Matheld in it left Wercheg harbor. A group of archers set it afire and it burned down and sank in the distance.

Others had no luck too. A few years after the marriage, Ibelin joined a large caravan headed for Geroia. It was last seen when passing Culmarr Castle. Since then, nobody has heard any news about its whereabouts. I keep hoping, that Ibelin survived and settled down somewhere. But with advancing age I realized, that only fools do hope.

But not everything went wrong. Jeremus finally made his peace with the academies. Three years ago he died of infirmity, being the most famous and beloved doctor in Calradian history.

Ferris quit his duty a year after the marriage. He went to Praven and opened a tavern. Well, rather a brothel with a bar. I think he found peace of mind in doing that. Since he passed the business to his children some time ago, he spends his days strolling around the streets, chatting with strangers or friends (a most welcome reason for me to travel to Praven) or telling stories to his grandchildren about the times, when their grandfather was young and wandering around.

Calradia itself didn`t change. It`s been war and peace with no nameable results during the last decades. And time after time I asked myself, if the reason for this is, that our world is unalterable as Uzara supposed, or that the world changes at such a slow pace, that a human life is too short a period to notice it.

And de Courtenay ? What happened to the young man, his high hopes and great plans ? In a certain way everything stayed the same. Campaigns, tasks and battles took turns. But over the years, my desire to change the world, as all passions, diminished as the number of grey hairs on my head increased. Eventually I understood, that the will and deeds of a single man are not sufficient to change a world that drifts on an ocean of blood and violence. And it`s up to you, my dear reader, to decide, it that`s the truth or just a poor justification of an old man to excuse his unability to change things when he was young.

Be it as it may. The next generations are waiting for their chance. Harlaus died ten years ago and his son, also named Harlaus, rules the realm with great determination. Since he knew me for such a long time being a friend to his father and to honor my loyal service, he made me his chancellor and granted me a hereditary title.

Being occupied with the political affairs of the realm, my kids deal with the administration of our demain and the bloody business linked to it. And I`m pleased to see, that they fulfil their duties as courageous and humble as I taught them to. And right yesterday my oldest granddaughter Gisela told me that, as soon as she reaches adulthood next year, she wants to fight and crush the Rhodok realm. Then she asked me, if I could imagine a proper plan for that.

"We`ll see.", I said.

not to be continued (please post in the "Making of"-Thread nevertheless)