Wisley presents himself to me relatively cleanly. Not a bruise is on him all thanks to Zeraya handily holding her patience back. This merchant is very courageous. Despite his kin and crewmates being my hostage, he had the courage to make a move behind my back.
It is within expectations as I didn't expect my blackmail to last for a long time. It comes as a surprise though that Wisley's 'backstabbing' is more of an acupuncture that would relieve me of the difficulties ahead.
"What do you want?" At this point, I can only reward him and look at him favorably.
"You have my full cooperation, in exchange, free my crew and my son…"
I sense his fatherly love and his leadership qualities. Such a waste if I let this man go like this. There should be something I can do for him in the future. I smile on my own as I realize I still do have uses for him. It is not so bad either.
"You have my word," I tell him. "I can guarantee you that the days you are free will be soon upon you. The elves cannot last much longer in this war. After putting the Count's head on a pike, we elves will hightail it out of here and go find us another place where we can rebuild."
After that, Wisley and his people will be free as a bird.
My revelation seems to surprise Wisley. Even Kara who is idly reading a book by the window looks over at me. This decisiveness didn't come from cowardness but from awareness. I cannot have the King's army catch on our tomfoolery.
In the very beginning, fighting a Kingdom is an impossibility. Compromising some estates though are still manageable.
"I can guarantee you merchant that I am a keeper of my word… What do you say on marching with us?" I invite him while I relax a bit my shoulders as I project a sense of unbeatable confidence.
"You already have my full cooperation, your majesty… Please take me with you."
The next morning, I, Wisley, and Zeraya mount on our horses to rush to the Jeremy barony. I had Kara return to the Lorekleim Forest. I ignore her insisting on joining us to march. That little lass can use her time better on other projects. By the time we are done razing the two baronies and a county, she should be done already with these other projects.
I feel the heat of the sun on my skin, but I didn't let that bother me. I don't have enough coca leaves to use for the Jeremey barony, so I can only think that the baron would be of sane mind and would prove more challenging than Zaun.
Regardless of the challenges, I strongly believe that we still have an edge over him. We have the initiative, better weapons, and the information.
Varen and his troop must be making their march already since yesterday.
We make haste on our horses and ride with the wind.
From my high perch, Zaun is pretty much easy pickings. I am not just keen on attacking that estate first because of Count Urden's men guarding the dungeon. Moreover, in the chaos of the fight, they might find an opportunity on escaping and miserably informing the Urden County of our presence.
It is different for the Jeremy barony however as I am confident we can zero that place, and ensure no one will be able to escape.
We arrive at our point of destination at nightfall.
In the southern territory of the Jeremy barony, all more than 40 elves gather in a camp. Trudviar has long made preparations for this day. Three personages gather at a table— I, Trudviar, and Varen— and from behind each one of us are our trusted aides. Mine is Zeraya, Trudviar is Kara's and Varen is geezer Yirlung's.
"How are the weapons?"
Trudviar hums positively. "Good. Every elf is outfitted with the steel of their own choosing. Half of the elves will be wielding their crossbows and be responsible for the infantry soldiers with armor, and the other half will be using whatever weapon they find fancy and dealing with the barony citizens. While our crossbowmen… err… crossbow women are busy pinning the Jeremy manor, the others will form two-man cells and deal with the others."
In front of us is the layout of the Jeremy estate. We gather our heads for a plan of mass slaughter. Even the other elves are here to watch. With only the moonlight of the full moon, we exchange our ideas and brainstorm the most efficient method to annihilate the Jeremy barony.
Varen points his finger at a certain building. "I and the elderlies will sneak on the barracks first and assassinate their sleeping soldiers."
As usual, we plan to attack by night, and Varen takes a gander at this with great strides.
I nod in approval at Varen's words. "Meanwhile, I and Zeraya will sneak onto their stable and kill their horses. After that, we'll sneak from the manor's backdoor and start a fire from the inside forcing them outside." I mutter, and from my peripheral vision, I see Trudviar reluctantly nodding at my involvement.
It is not like I have a vendetta against horses, but I cannot risk it. Just one of them surviving and escaping will spell our defeat, and we cannot have that. I try recalling the layout of the Jeremy barony as how Wisley describes it.
"Have our crossbows station at the high vantage points. I want them to memorize the pathways to the manor. Before the chaos starts, take your time to get a lay of the area. Moreover, the elves must take extra caution on their nests. I cannot have one of us dying. Do you all understand?"
The elves nod in synchrony at my untiring warning of not dying.
"Wisley, buy every carriage you find in the barony by morning. I want you to load them all with lumber. Do your best to convince them that you have the horses to carry the goods and that you will be leaving tomorrow. Spend all of your gold if need be."
I don't even need to look at Wisley as I throw another order and glance at Trudviar.
"Trudviar, I want you to lead the other elves in melee combat. However, before that, I want you to have the carriages that Wisley bought to be placed in these pathways especially make sure to gather lots of these carriages by the gate. Make it so that people will find it impossible to cross over the gate.
"Our goal is mass slaughter. Break the carriage's axles after you are done placing them. Make sure the gates' lever mechanism stops working. Don't be shy about using the Molotovs. Burn the carriages by the gate to further proliferate chaos."
I then address our arbalests, the crossbow women.
"Your steel bolts are tough, have weight, and enough momentum to penetrate armor. We have tried it on crude iron and its specs are incredible. If your intuition tells you that someone is behind the wall. There is no need to hesitate to shoot as chances are the steel bolts will even penetrate their walls."
And then I address the melee troops.
"Ensure your safety by looking over your partner. We must not show any mercy to these deplorable creatures. Their child and elderly have no place in our war, thus they must die painlessly.
"Also… there is no need to harm their newborns. Gather those that are one year old and below… I think I have uses for them…"
I almost stutter at my last sentence.
Cruelty is an aspect and was never a method. If I can avoid being 'too cruel', then I must. I can be cruel as avenging comes with cruelty in a package. But too much is always bad. I wrinkle my brows at the sudden softness in my heart.
"Dismiss…"
I end the meeting with a word, and the elves scatter to take on their duties. In the night, the elves war, and in the morning, they rest. The night is still long so many elves decide to train their skills more to calm themselves. Some gather to review the plans. Some just stare into nothingness and meditate on what is to come.
What we are about to partake in is unprecedented. This 'attack' is so much more than the bandit village we occupied. In its very essence, what we are about to do is something people can only define as retaliation.
People will die tomorrow. Even elves could die. But for all I care, it is worth it. I recall my mother who pushes me down by the well. I recall her smile as she inaudibly whispers to me something…
I don't know what it exactly was… The memory is like a stake in my heart, and like a curse, it latches onto me with wicked malice.
"Do we end this with just this barony? Or maybe we should just stop now?"
Maybe we don't have to push ourselves too much. Maybe… This is enough…. Maybe, we end this here… Because if we do cross this barrier, there is no turning back. So, should I end this here? Is this enough?
It was a starless night, yet the moon bares its face to me in all of its glory. The moonlight caress my face reminding me of the coolness of every morning breeze and together with it is the teasing of my mother.
Do I stop now?
No, I don't think so.
Humanity shall know my wrath.