13. Closing in


    The Church of Light had no idea what was hitting them. Mercurius and Salutius went to work that morning and were stopped by Gaia and Ur and the new evangels.


    “You need to create a new God of Trade evangel, a priest, as the town of Hiru needs someone dedicated to its welfare.”


    While they were talking and without consulting Mercurius at all, Mardonius appeared and disappeared.


    “I will look after Hiru,” Mardonius promised, “my brothers will deal with the more pressing issues.”


    “May the God of Trade protect you,” Mercurius said.


    Moru city itself was now beginning to be targeted, there were 10,000 mercenaries for hire, but Mercurius decided it was unwise to purchase them until the day of the operation, instead opting to free slaves.


    “20,000 slaves for sale,” Salutius said in awe, “the city size is 150,000.”


    The two of them sold teas and spices to the rich in the city allowing them to free 2000 or so. Again the process of revealing the plans for liberation were told to them. Trade was furious, hemp sold to the Halab navy enough to buy another 2000 slaves. The day got stiflingly hot, but the two merchants did not let up. Emptying slave market after slave market, giving free flour to mills, giving large bags of flour to peasants, bread to the urban poor, coin in a hand at a time. With each new convert Hiru’s economic power grew, bread, corn, fruits were given to the hungry masses. Blacksmith’s were patronised with thousands of orders of bronze and iron statues. Wood was sold to Uruq to lessen suspicion of the coins being distributed. Church of Light priests were noticing the idolatry everywhere, burning a few unlucky people, they were nonetheless beset upon by a bunch of angry poor people, breaking them apart on the stone alleyways, as Salutius and Mercurius slowly bribed the citizenry and residents to their side. Lir coins from the far east were given a thousand a time to local gangs who quickly switched allegiances of whole neighbourhoods. Amoreb, Lir and Hitara were sold thousands of tonnes of wood, the gold financing a crawling take over of Moru. Rather than hire mercenaries straight away they targeted the city of Mina next to the Poltu border, it was a small city of 20,000, but nonetheless strategic. 2000 slaves were freed, and the urban poor and peasantry were bribed in exactly the same way. Food stocks of the Trade God were given in massive quantities to various segments of the city like everywhere else. 2000 mercenaries hired from the periphery who were delighted at the sight of so much gold and of work.


    “I hear Jira also needs wood, if we supply them wood, our little revolution, becomes just that little bit more likely.”


    “Aren’t we going to cause inflation like this,” Salutius said.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    “It’s a good thing we have the God of Farming and Water on our side,” Mercurius whispered, “they can bribe the citizenry with food as well as money.”


    Mina went a step further than other cities. Their spies were outright colluding with the rebellion.


    “As far as we know, the central government will not attack Mina, you have bribed most of the city, Mina will fall practically without a fight, the governor is currently in the next door nation of Poltu, he won’t know what hit him.”


    “But he might bring a bunch of angry Church of Light soldiers to attack us.”


    “Mina is right next to the border, so that is a concern yes,” the spy admitted.


    “Well we are about to topple the Moru government, the other Church of Light polities will of course get involved,” Salutius said, “it’s only a matter of time, even if we organise our coup flawlessly, they will raise their levies and then proceed to attack us.”


    The spy was nervous, sweat forming on his brow. Shrugging a little, and readjusting his face covering.


    “There are still a lot of isolated border forts in the desert, they harbour garrisons which can be mobilised against you if you take too long.”


    “Bribing them might be a little bit too obvious,” Mercurius admitted, “look we are going to go back to our activities, write and inform us of any activities by the authorities, I’m sure you have channels.”


    “Of course,” the spy said.


    Mercurius got to freeing more and more of the slave population in Moru. He brought food, he sold wood again in various markets to acquire various coin to not arouse too much suspicion but the spies were going crazy. Diving into the palace chambers to give their reports, irritating the monarch to no end.


    “King Khalid, I don’t know what’s going on, slaves are being purchased all across the empire, the coin is enormous, but-” that was the messenger’s one and only mistake, by focusing on how much coin was made the important message was buried underneath good news.


    “More gold for the treasury, how is the drought?”


    “Sir someone is distributing food,” the spy said.


    “Really?”


    “Like I said sir, I think it’s sedition,” the spy said, but he didn’t quite convince the king.


    Commerce is good and people are being fed is sedition? What on earth is this spy talking about?


    The spy couldn’t get his words in, but other spies began flooding the royal chambers, all scrambling to get a word in edgewise. The royal hall was splendid, golden chandeliers, sapphire trinkets, he was not a poor king by any measure, but Khalid had gotten his position through hereditary birthright; a overly top heavy bureaucracy which was more interested in collecting funding for the armies than necessarily public welfare. The Church of Light did in fairness care for the needs of the poor, but they were also busy raising troops.


    “Squadrons of light have accompanied the general in Halab, the invasion of Peria should go smoothly milord,” the clergyman said.


    “Have you noticed anything strange clergyman? My spies say odd things are happening,” Khalid said.


    “Idols are popping up in the streets milord, our agents tried to burn the people responsible, but I fear the streets are dangerous and unruly.”


    “Have the guards do more patrols!” Khalid said, “you are allowed to try people for heresy and heathenry. See to it!” The King said with much ire.


    The increased security did not stop slaves being freed. With every slave being freed, the God of Agriculture and Water grew stronger. Wood was continuously sold for profits that were invested in freeing the large slave population. 22,000 slaves were freed by the end of a day. More than officially on sale, approaching some owners of slaves for purchases and offering the money right away. Mercurius and Salutius hemp and wood sales extended into the night in Zhong and the Raja states before they both collapsed onto their beds in Hiru. Moru was on precarious ground.