20. Cut off


    After two days, Gharb revolted, the citizenry arrested the garrison and took the city over. The tricolour replaced Poltu’s red flags with golden flames, replacing it with the green, blue and yellow of the Republic. Yerek took over the city in a triumphant roar, the ex slaves and poor taking to the streets and seizing the governor’s palace. Karim who had been besieging Mina would find out about the loss of his seat of power subsequently, but many of his agents were too busy being imprisoned.


    “That’s the one, that’s a member of the secret police!” A poor man said, clubbing the man to death.


    Poltu had a security service whose goal it was to root out disorder and imprison dissidents. Of course useful, but also despised by many. Mercurius and Salutius wanted to commit proper trials but the urban poor simply killed them. Many of course fled eastwards toward Polt, the capital of the Poltu state. In-between were many village and town oases, rural people who could be swayed one way or the other. Mercurius and Salutius would work on them, but they were interrupted by news of a new evangel to the God of Trade. A man named Nichomacus, a trader from Peria who had been inspired by events in the nascent Republic and decided to join the faith and cause. He had dark hair, and dark eyes and darker skin too, explaining himself as having ancestors from beyond Moru. Nichomacus joined Mardonius in persuading more tribes further south to be friendly to Yerek, he was successful, some coin, but a lot of food and water persuaded one particular chieftain without even much persuasion.


    “Our clan had to flee from the south due to drought, I will aid Yerek, and will be thankful to them for the rest of my life, what is it you need of us?”


    Mardonius and Nichomacus looked at each other cautiously.


    “One of our city’s is under siege,” Mardonius explained, “we need cavalry to harass the besieging army’s supplies, maybe even attack them directly. Of course the loot belongs to you.”


    “How generous,” the tribal leader said, “is that it?”


    “We have tasked others to do the same job,” Mardonius explained, “we can always give you more supplies if you need them.”


    “Thank you,” the tribal leader said, “we greatly appreciate the gesture.”


    5000 cavalry rode straight for Karim’s rear but he had no idea.


    Mardonius and Nichomacus did not stop in the night, Karim found out about disrupted supply lines, and immediately broke into a fury.


    “What do you mean the city fell?” He said, “how in the name?” He screamed.


    It was pitch black, and the city of Mina was fully prepared for war, readying the reserves to attack the besieging army. 2000 camel riders and 3000 horse appeared behind Karim’s army, Mardonius told the garrison of the proximity of the tribal cavalry and sallied out. Karim was in his camp, he had watchtowers and sentries, but the crossbowmen began shooting at them.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    “We are under attack!” One of the soldier’s screamed.


    It was not immediate, but the army got ready, crossbowmen shot at the camped army, killing the guards up top, Church of Light priests shot fireballs into the dark night, hitting some but often hitting mere ground. In the next few moments camels and horses charged in through the southern and western entrances, Karim attempted to halt the rot but crossbowmen charged the northern and western entrances. The mercenaries opened the gates, drawing blade and spear, assisted by crossbowmen who shot at the beleaguered defenders. Besiegers became besieged, as 5000 cavalry smashed inside, assisted by 2000 mercenary melee units and 10,000 crossbowmen. The Church of Light priests successfully turned some people into cinders, but they were quickly targeted and eliminated. Karim who had banked on his campaign becoming some kind of expansion of his power was sorely disappointed, looking at the situation with the stark realisation that he might die.


    “Kill them all!” He said attempting to rally his men.


    Crossbow bolts whizzed by, grazing his cheek and he hid behind a few of his men’s shields. They gathered around trying to defend a beleaguered position, but camel riders stabbed shrieking men, the momentum having people rush into tents that collapsed, being pierced like pigs. The crossbowmen stopped shooting, trying to not hit their own, only the best shots taking shots at the small clumps of Poltu soldiers who mounted a resistance. Karim hitched a horse and ran off the battlefield; he had a worse fate than the common soldier who died.


    “Your commander is fleeing!” Became a chant repeated by mercenaries at first and the rest of the Yerek army.


    The Church of Light priests were vengefully shot by crossbowmen, the army began clattering weapons down. Some 500 crossbowmen had been killed, mainly by flames, 4000 Poltu soldiers lay dead and 11,000 were captured. The tribesmen began looting the baggage trains, the militia were informed and backed off, the mercenaries receiving bribes in gold coins by Mardonius to not be too upset.


    Zelra noted the construction of all temples in the major cities bar Gharb which had yet to begin construction of any temples to the new religion. Food and water flowed to all the cities, wood flowed to foreign markets. Mercurius and Salutius going on a selling spree in the realm of Lir. Mercurius thought of the Balnan’s once again. Thinking of his vengeance he would perpetrate on them. He teleported to the mountains of Balna, looking at the sight before him, before he then he went back to Gharb.


    “What were you doing? Where were you?” Salutius asked.


    “Balna,” Mercurius answered honestly, “I was thinking of repaying some debts.”


    “Balna will pay,” Salutius said resolutely, “but don’t do anything stupid, we should deal with Poltu first, they have still have two very important cities.”


    “Polt and Wersh are important sure, but our old business is not something we should forget,” Mercurius said.


    Salutius began freeing slaves in Polt, a city of some 200,000, while Mercurius began focusing on the peripheries of Gharb. A temple in Gharb immediately began constructionas well as arming the populace for the inevitable counter attack. Forts nearby were taken by the mercenary army and the tribesmen, slowly peeling them off one by one. Villages were bribed, slaves were freed, and peasants were given massive donations of food and supplies in order to buy their loyalty. Slavers once again ran away, and local Church of Light sympathisers despaired at the sight of another important city under the control of some pagan entity. Some forts along the Yerek Poltu border were abandoned at the news of the taking of Gharb and the defeat of Karim. Karim rode as hard as he could to Poltu, but now he was nothing, he had no fief, no soldiers, no money and of course most importantly for him no women. Karim tried to raise rural retinues, but news travelled fast.


    “These lands belong to Ahmed now,” the local chief of the village said, “you gambled and lost.”


    Karim was silently angry, he was angrier that the chief was right. He had gambled and lost, Gharb now belonged to Yerek. Poltu trembled, the news of the fall of the city terrifying nobility and the Church of Light to no end. A true war would soon begin.