------- Riverdale City------
"So, you're saying that you saw Tim Mayers leave with a wagon filled with thousands of pickaxes?
And he didn't tell you why he needed them?" City lord Shannon asked with a cold and intimidating voice.
"Y-y-yes city lord.
We saw him." said one of the young men kneeling on the ground fearfully.
"We don't know why he needed them, my lord." Another one said.
Shannon Lurp drummed his fingers against the table and carefully observed their reactions.
Burum Burum Burum.
'It doesn't look like they're lying,' he thought while sizing them up.
The 4 poor men were shivering under his ice-cold gaze.
They dare not meet his gaze.
Everyone knew that their city lord was a tyrant.
He killed when he felt like it.
In their opinion, it was best not to anger this maniac.
It's just that they couldn't understand what they had done to wanton the city lord's attitude towards them.
3 of them were just common welders, while the other was also just an ordinary merchant.
They didn't even know Tim Mayers well enough.
So why were they treated like this?
Was he a criminal?
Was he wanted in the empire?
Did they accidentally sell goods to a fugitive?
Is that why they were here?
"You all can leave now.
And, it's best that you keep this conversation confidential.
I don't need to remind you all of what I will do to you if this conversation gets out, do I?"
"My lord, I swear on my life that I will never tell another soul."
"I swear too, my lord."
"Go!!!" Shannon Lurp yelled.
They shivered as they stood up and immediately walked away as fast as they could.
In their minds, they had just come out of hell.
They made up their minds that if they saw Tim Mayers again, they would stay as far as possible from him.
.
Once they left, a man came out of the shadows and sat beside Shannon Lurp.
"He knows," The man said.
This man was Baron Rogers, who used to live in Baymard before Landon took over.
Baron Rogers was sent 4 cities away from Baymard by King Barn.
He was sent to the flourishing city of Prisdon.
As soon as he arrived, he realized that his stay there was far worse than when he was at Baymard.
Prisdon was a moderately sized city with over 15 Barons and 1 city lord who controlled and distributed funds for all the nobles.
Part of the money he received from the Capital as a Baron was cutaway by the city lord of Prisdon.
Apparently, he was not the only one.
The city lord of Prisdon requested for the nobles to give him 10% of their monthly wages provided by the empire.
But Baron Rogers needed the money more, so he couldn't accept it.
He requested for his money to be returned to him.
But the city lord never even glanced at him as if looking at a foolish child who didn't know what was good for him.
Baron Rogers was almost angered to death by it all.
For pity's sake!
He needed more money to take care of his knights and keep his household in check.
Back in Baymard, although the land was barren, the money he got from selling those ores was at least 4 times greater than what he received in Prisdon as his monthly upkeep.
The worst part was, ever since his fight with the city lord, everyone isolated him.
Some barons constantly tried to pick fights with him and even tried seizing part of the money as well.
They even tried to buy his knights over, promising to give them more money than what he offered.
How could he take this kind of insult as a man and as a Baron?
.
Living in Baymard for all those years, he had honestly forgotten how nasty and horrible nobles and people in power could be.
His wife and children, who used to be too high up ( they were the ones who bullied and beat up the maids and citizens of Baymard), were now mocked and picked on by the other nobles.
His sons had been constantly bullied in the Knighthood academy of Prisdon, and his wife mocked because she didn't have the latest fashionable clothes.
He felt really low as a man.
Hence he needed money fast so as to secure his position in Prisdon.
Once he thought about the mines in Baymard, he started thinking about Landon's death.
For him, even if all the citizens of Baymard had to die for Landon to die as well, he wouldn't give a damn.
All he wanted was the money.
He couldn't just move his knights, who were 4 towns away, to come over and fight Landon and his 300 knights; everyone in the empire would be suspicious... especially King Barn and that annoying city lord of Prisdon.
That's why he had told and made a deal with city lord Shannon about the mines and the land.
Since Baymard was very close to Riverdale city, city lord Shannon accepted the deal. For him, it was a great way to expand his territory and while making more money at the side.
Because Baron Rogers had to do it discreetly, he decided to leave Prisdon on the excuse of visiting an old friend.
If word got out that he was interested in going to Baymard, people would start wondering if there was any special treasure there in Baymard.
From there on, they would launch a full-scale investigation on Baymard.
If they genuinely discovered the mines, he was sure that king Barn would execute him immediately. (**Off with his head!!)
.
As for Shannon Lurp, he had no intention of informing the king as well.
After all, he too wanted the money made from the mines.
Once and if king Barn found out about the mines, no one would benefit from it other than King Barn himself.
So they decided to find an opportunity to deal with Landon without raising any suspicions discreetly.
If they Suddenly attacked Landon, people would want to know their motives.
This would definitely bring the king's attention to them.
So for now, they decided to play it safe.
"It doesn't matter whether he knows about the mines or not.
Assassination is the only way to get rid of him without raising any suspicions." Shannon Lurp said.
"I agree.
But, If we're going to do it, we need to get 1 of the top 5 assassins in the empire.
I think Dumbo the Butcher would be the best candidate for the job." Baron Rogers said while caressing his mustache.
"Hmmm.
Not a bad choice, since he's the closest one around presently.
I reckon if we send a letter now, he will arrive here in a month and a half."
"But what do we do till then?"
"We wait.
Remember, right now; the capital is in an uproar.
If we pull attention to ourselves, the other Princes would surely seek us out.
Waiting is the only option." Shannon Lurp replied while sipping on a cup of wine.
Baron Rogers thought that what Shannon Lurp said made sense.
.
The fight for power within the royal family was a well-known fact to all the nobles in the empire.
As nobles, they had the option to side with any of the princes in the empire.
But if the prince they choose doesn't win in the fight for the throne, then their days were numbered.
Or, they would be hated and treated like trash by the ruling king.
It was a tough call for most nobles.
"Who do you think will win the fight for the throne?" Baron Rogers asked curiously.
Shannon Lurp leaned on his chair and looked up to the ceiling.
He seemed to have fallen into a deep trance.
The royal Barn family.