Earl Vernice was fat.
Ivan had heard of this swine's legendary voraciousness before but he never expected that those tales were true.
Red plump cheeks, thick fatty arms, oversized belly- Ivan was surprised the Earl could even move.
Earl Vernice had his huge butt glued on his huge chair while eating a huge turkey leg. Juice was dripping from the Earl's mouth. It was disgusting. If Ivan didn't need the Earl's support, he wouldn't be sitting here, watching as the pig devoured his food.
Ivan leaned forward, intertwining fingers on both hands.
"Earl Vernice..."
"You want me to also hoard food. Isn't that right?" The Earl interrupted while chewing the food. He picked pieces of meat from his teeth and continued. "What's in it for me?"
"The honor of serving me" Ivan replied
"So I won't gain anything then? The King's gratitude is a good thing to have but you are no King yet. Not unless I support you"
Ivan wanted to slap those plump cheeks of the earl. He was the king, the rightful one. The earl should be honorable enough to give him what was his. It was the duty of nobles to serve the King.
"That is not the only merit of this Earl Vernice" It was Helios who spoke.
"Oh enlighten me then. Uh... who are you again?"
"My name is not important, just my purpose" Helios said with a hint of smirk "Let me ask you Earl Vernice, what is the difference between landowners and serfs?"
The Earl finished the turkey leg first before opening his mouth.
"Landowners own land while serfs toil lands owned by nobles" He tilted to one side of his chair. "Squire! More wine! And bring me some hot breads"
"What you said was correct Earl Vernice. Landowners own land while serfs don't. Serfs are bound to the nobles they serve. If nobles go to war, serfs follow. They also give half of their harvest to the nobles. In short serfs are beneficial to nobles while landowners are not"
"I guess that's the case. Why are you telling me this old man?"
Helios rose. He walked to the window where flakes of snow were visibly falling from the other side. He smiled before talking.
"But landowners are also serfs don't you think?"
The Earl who was gulping wine stopped and lowered the cup. His eyebrows were raised.
"A confusing statement. But I sense there's more to it. Explain my good man"
"Landowners..." Helios paused. He again gave a smile "They are basically just serfs. But instead of serving nobles, they serve the King directly. Serfs give half their harvest to the nobles. Landowners give a portion of their income to the King as tax. Serfs can be called to war by their lords. But landowners can also be levied by the King. Landowners are serfs to the King."
The Earl chuckled, his belly shook.
"Unique perspective. Juicy, meaty and nice. Tell me more"
"The more landowners there is, the stronger the King becomes. The more serfs, the stronger the nobles."
"And by hoarding food and making an artificial economic crisis we can increase the number of serfs. When the landowners starve, many of them would have no choice but to turn themselves into serfs just to survive. The more serfs the more powerful we nobles get. That's nice" Earl Vernice said with a happy nod.
The first time Ivan heard about this plan, his brows formed into a deep frown and his face flushed red in anger. He is the King and he wasn't willing to empower the nobles at the cost of his own. Nevertheless he shut his mouth. This was the only way to win against Timothy. He continued watching Helios explain to the pig Earl their plans.
"May I ask Earl Vernice, what is the percentage of serfs compared to the overall population?" Helios asked
"I don't know. The last census was years ago and this memory of mine is not sharp. About half perhaps?"
"Too low. Ten years ago I've heard that eight in ten of the Eastern Castonians were serfs. That noble purge by King Leopold had surely reduced the power of you nobles"
"Eh, that old man is as hard as a tack. His stare alone is enough to make me bones shiver. King Timothy is much more scarier. He won't forgive me if I hoard food also. His army is strong" The Earl tightly crossed his arms.
"And stationed in the west" Helios added. He tucked his hands behind "His soldiers can't march. Not during the snow season they won't. We have time on our side"
"Let me ask you then" Earl Vernice leaned forward "How many nobles have supported you so far?"
"More than enough"
"How many I asked. Numbers not description. Ah never mind. Just write me their damn names. Too many ears in the walls you see. Squires! Fetch me some paper and a quill"
"And I think the chicken is done roasting. Bring it here!" he added.
After a few moments two squires entered the room. One of them was carrying a plate with aromatic roasted chicken on top while the other had the quill and the papers.
"Give him the paper and the quill and give me the chicken"
The squires followed and a while after the Earl was holding the leg of the chicken while Helios was holding the quill and paper.
Helios scribbled the names of the nobles and gave the paper to the Earl. The fat pig grabbed the paper with his greasy hands and raised his eyebrows.
"Sixteen Barons and two Earls. Not bad. These people command enough force to threaten King Timothy. Fine I'll join your hoarding game. What else do you need?"
"I need an army" Ivan finally spoke. He was tired of being treated like a statue.
"Oh do you? Heh. Alright I'll command my banner-men and rally the serfs. I am not promising anything though. You know serfs. Fighting only for food and protection. They will be trampled by King Timothy's army in the blink of an eye. Better we hire mercenaries"
"That would be a substantial help Earl Vernice" said Helios "But we also need real Castonian soldiers"
"Ah, you want the city watch. Greedies the lot of you. It's alright I think. There's nothing to watch in the city during snow seasons anyway"
"Thank you Earl Vernice" Ivan said, smiling as he knew that he was getting closer to gaining the throne.
"Don't thank me. I'm merely doing it for profits. Just keep your promise that you'll let us have many serfs when you're the one in charge. Now His Majesty Ivan must be tired. You want to go to your room? We've prepared the best"
"Nothing will please me better, Earl Vernice" Ivan said.
**********
Vernice kept his eyes on the back of Ivan and the old man. After they were gone he threw the bone of the chicken as hard as he could. A frown was formed on his face as he read the names of the traitorous nobles who were hoarding food.
"Degenerates! Foolish traitorous degenerates!" he said while gritting his teeth.
He was surprised at first when the price of food suddenly spiked. Now he realized that it was because of that foolish Prince who would rather have his people starve for the sake of his own interest. That kind of man doesn't deserve the crown.
He could poison Ivan now or just send a cutthroat in the middle of the night. That'll solve this mess. But the main problem is that old man. Vernice sensed that the old man was dangerous. He was the true enemy as he was capable. Also killing Ivan would just give the traitorous nobles a cause to rally under.
He again looked at the paper with the nobles' names written on it. Sixteen Barons and two Earls, he said inwardly. These sixteen Barons and two Earls will soon face execution. He'll just have to cooperate with Ivan for a little while.
He took the quill and grabbed a clean paper. He must inform Timothy of this. The city watch of Anthapis, even when combined with force of the serfs under him, were no match to the armies of the sixteen Barons and two Earls. He needed help.
Vernice wrote the letter and addressed it to Timothy. He ordered his squire to melt some red wax. He then took an iron seal from his pocket and stamped the wax.
The red wax took the shape of the seal. It was the image of a lion inside a teardrop.