30. Gathering


    Spendius arose the next morning and bothered the village he just raided. The citizenry were cautious, but Spendius was crazy.


    “The God of Trade has come and will not be denied! The era of the Church of Light has ended!” He said.


    The usual subtleties of Mercurius were not followed, local Uruq guards attempted to arrest him, and he threw knives into their faces. When they charged him, a clattering of bells heard he disappeared and slowly assassinated the guards would be captors. He looted the armour and weapons and sold them in the puppet regime of Byz. They did not know what he was, simply eyeing him with a nod. Albeit the blood on the armour was suspicious. He returned to the village and entered the tavern.


    “Mendek will overthrow Balna! It will overthrow all kingdoms that are enemies to the God of Trade.”


    When a man threw a knife at Spendius he appeared in front and punched him in the stomach. Perhaps that was a fateful mercy, for this man was a mercenary.


    “Right?” The man said coughing, “are you from Yerek?”


    “Mendek!” Spendius shouted, “I am forming my own country!”


    “Your own country?” Others’ whispered in consternation.


    The wooden bar had creaky planks of wood and had a lot of stale ale.


    “Where is the outlaw?” A soldier said as he came in.


    The barman pointed into the empty air, as Spendius stabbed the three soldiers dead. Again he stripped the soldiers of their armour and weaponry, this time selling it to the Hunur. In the steppe he made the same bold and loud proclamations of his faith. Some laughed, thinking he was a lunatic, but a Church of Light priest shot fireballs at him and demanded some people arrest him. Spendius teleported and gutted the Church of Light priest before uttering:


    “Accept my coin and be mercenaries in my employ, or face his fate!” He said.


    One chose to fight him, charging forwards before a knife hit him square in the face, collapsing immediately.


    “Is this what Yerek sends, you are like a criminal?”


    “I want revenge,” Spendius said, “I am founding my own nation of Mendek, and I need mercenaries.”


    “Your own mercenaries?” The notable said, “well you can fight I grant you that. But you are not a king.”Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Spendius retreated, instead locating the northern Balnan nobles who had burnt the temple all that time ago. There in the square of a small town he proclaimed the truth of the God of Trade. Again soldiers tried to arrest him, and again he murdered them, quite efficiently. He had already plundered some 50 gold coins, allowing him to hire 20 crossbowmen from the local tavern.


    “A nation?” They repeated, “well whatever, thank you for the gold.”


    Spendius was extremely serious, again he preached, and again he waited for the inevitable consequences of his preaching. Church of Light priests shot fireballs and he gutted them, for all to see.


    “The God of Trade is true, and Mendek will rule here. The nation of Mendek will be born in Balna, it shall conquer!” He shouted.


    When someone shot an arrow he blipped to behind the archer, smacking the bow to the floor. The count organised his retinue but the count was immediately beset with a furious Spendius.


    “That is the rogue! The one with the wild eyes and crazy spiky hair, the nose that comes straight down from his forehead! That is the rogue!”


    “Did you destroy the temple?”


    “‘The’ temple, ah this is a pagan too! That damn cult,” the count said.


    “Answer me!” Spendius said, full in fury.


    “I did pagan, what are you going to do about it?”


    Spendius threw a knife into the man’s head, stabbed him through the chest, before returning back to the vantage he was at before. Again people tried to kill Spendius he bested them. The retinue tried to avenge their lord, but Spendius personally hunted them down. 100 soldiers of the count were defeated. Such grisly killing made Spendius the de facto lord. A rebel lord who had not earned the loyalty of the governed at all. He consulted a local fabric maker for a flag. A golden flag with a black weighing scale, a sword on one side, and coins on the other, a complex design but nonetheless iconic. Spendius took his loot and sold it in Hunur markets, coming back with silver and gold.


    “The God of Trade needs a temple!” He proclaimed to huddled crowds, a little bit terrified of him, “Yerek merely wants peace, Mendek will drive the Church of Light out from Balna, it will take the whole continent. Uruq will fall. Nothing will stand in our way now!”


    He hired 20 spearmen, confused as to the nature of the new system, providing them with looted coin before heading to the next village.


    “Come on!” He shouted.


    He found royal guards of Balna and his defiance of their authority astounded them.


    “The God of Trade rules here now!” He said openly and defiantly.


    “What is this blasphemy! Who the fuck are you?”


    Spendius was chased by the cavalry, but he killed them, teleporting around finishing the lot of them off.


    “Evangel Spendius, aren’t you a little too crazy with your spending of God Power. Get more followers soon. Or I will revoke your privileges.”


    “Of course god,” he said aloud.


    He sold the armour and swords, and horses to various Hunur and Byz merchants, even some Perian merchants. Coming back with 400 gold. He took a neighbouring village without a fight, intimidated by his flag and his spearmen. He took fort after fort, hiring local mercenaries that guarded his new domain. A small town, and a few villages and a fort. He added something to the God of Trade’s God Power, taking small villages and alerting all three polities of this rogue presence.


    It would be evening, when a small detachment of 200 soldiers sent from nearby lords came to investigate the strange rumours. Strange yellow flags with weighing scales fluttered over local forts. Spendius had the small town of Othar under his control. Soldiers came searching for him from the central authorities, and again he confronted them. His crossbowmen were too few to contain the threat, but Spendius killed the commander and his retinue of 20 horsemen, the infantry running away in fright. Selling the horses and armour, and pocketing their gold. A looter had been born. Some 200 gold coins, the nation of Mendek had funds for other operations.