The royal family's treasury, granaries, and stores were raided by mercenaries and royal guards loyal to Prince Angelus in the night. The attack extended to the councilmen and the rich, influential families in Werthingham City.
They took the stockpile of grains, food, and all the gold, silver, and bronze that they found. They confiscated everything and took them to Cassiel's manor.
The pirate fleet seized control of all trading routes and stopped ships from making a dock in the city. They killed off anyone who defied their orders and kept the shores of Werthingham Sea bare of any ships.
Half of the mercenaries were dispatched to head over to the mountains and valleys surrounding the city. They cut off the rivers flowing into the city by blocking their paths with boulders.
The water supply to the city slowly drained as the river lanes started running dry towards the sunrise. The mercenaries camped out and guarded the boulders with their life. They killed off any person that came close to their camp.
Once the goods from the palace had been delivered, the royal guards drained all the wells in the city of water.
By daylight, a great panic ensued in the hearts of the subjects of Werthingham City. There was no water as the wells were dry and the lines from the river were desiccant and drained.
The traders raced to the docks at dawn to get their goods, only to be met by a rude shock of an empty shore. No ship landed at the shores of the city.
The people were parched and hungry. The supply of food in the open market had thinned in a matter of the wee hours of the morning.
Reports reached the palace of the panic in the city. King Edmund ordered the royal granary to be opened to send out some grain to the people, his heart nearly stopped beating when he found it empty.
Every inch of the castle was wiped clean of food, water, and gold. He was surprised to learn that the royal lake was the only source of water in the whole city. Unfortunately, it was cut off from the main source and was slowly becoming droughty by the passing hours.
"How did this happen?" He asked his guards. The castle was raided and no one sounded the warning bell.
"It wasn't the castle alone that was raided," his royal advisor approached him. He gave him a list of complaints from the subjects of Werthingham city. The list was long and unending, which caused him more worry.
One night, someone turned the city upside down and put the city in dire circumstances. King Edmund went through the list; one by one, he read through the damage done to the heart of his kingdom.
"Sweet lord!" He exclaimed in horror.
No one in history has ever damaged his city in a day the way his new enemy did. The person went after their food and water, the basic needs of every man.
"I must applaud this enemy. They attacked every aspect of the city," the royal adviser let out. "The rich merchants have no stock to sell to the retail sellers in the city. No goods arrived at the docks so I suppose they have seized our sea trading routes. Blocked all trading routes on land and the water supply."
The king felt a headache coming on. Listening to his royal adviser summarize the depths of the attack left him speechless.
"Has anyone claimed responsibility for this? Do we know who we are dealing with?"
"No, my king," General Zard barged into the throne room. "I sent ten of my men up the mountain to assess the situation concerning the water," he informed the king.
"What were the findings?" King Edmund raised his head and gave General Zard his undivided attention.
"Come in!" General Zard ordered.
The next second, four of his guards marched into the room, each holding one end of the four-cornered huge surfaced wooden board.
King Edmund rose from his throne at the horror of the sight of the soldiers laid on the board. Some were chopped into pieces and arranged neatly on the board, while others were turned inside out, with their internal organs scattered all over the board and only their heads left in one piece for recognition.
General Zard clenched his fists in anger. The cruelty his men faced in the mountains at the hands of their enemies left bitterness in his heart.
"We are dealing with a monster. Unless we get to the bottom of this, I'm afraid this person will kill, grind, and maim all the subjects of Werthingham city," General Zard pressed with urgency.
The king's councilmen walked into the room with complaints for the king. The sight of the decapitated soldiers forced them to swallow their complaints.
"The city is under attack. We must find the perpetrators before it's too late," the royal advisor spoke out.
King Edmund pictured his daughter Elveryn and his favorite son, Augustus on that board. His heart shattered into pieces. He didn't know the agenda his new enemy had for attacking his city and why they were so brutal but he had to do something to stop them.
"What do we know about the situation by the docks?" He inquired.
"The infamous Snow-shod pirates have taken control of the trade routes, and they are killing off anything that approaches their ships," the harbor master gave an account to the king.
"I don't understand how someone took control of my city overnight," King Edmund murmured to himself. "I want all the royal guards interrogated until we find out who the inside man is. Someone helped the thieves in and out of the palace undetected," he ordered.
The royal adviser noted his every word down. King Edmund paced up and down the throne room." They stole masses of goods from the palace and other houses in the city. They had to have stored it somewhere, they couldn't move all of it out of the city in the night. Find it," he commanded.
"What do we do about the rebels up the mountain?" General Zard asked.
"They have killed your men. You can do with them as you please," King Edmund let out, understanding the pain Zard was feeling over the loss of his men.
"I wish we knew who was behind this," General Zard said.
"It would certainly help to contain the situation and avoid more damage to the city and the people," the king expressed.
King Edmund took a seat and massaged his temples to wade off the headache. He perused the list of damage his city took over a night. He had a feeling that the worst was yet to come.