Chapter 32: Rampant Plundering

The low-intensity skirmish in the wilderness had come to an end.

Ron patrolled the perimeter to ensure there was no remaining danger before returning to the battlefield. He raised his sword, prepared to deliver a finishing blow to an enemy soldier who lay on the ground, wounded but still breathing.

Art raised a hand to stop him, ordering, "Ron, there is no need for that. They are still of use. Go tell Bass to occupy the small stone fort and secure the main access to the manor; he is not to worry about the others. It’s taken them forever to capture a tiny manor, and we have wounded men waiting to be brought in for treatment."

Bass and Kazak had been ordered to lead seven or eight soldiers to seize the Winston Manor. Because many of the city guard and serfs had fled back into the manor, it had taken them some time to clear it out.

A short while later, Bass came running to report that the manor had been secured. Art then instructed Odo to transport all the wounded soldiers into the manor.

"Lock these enemy wounded and captives inside the manor, and keep a close watch on that earless fat pig. Send men to secure the surroundings; I must return to Tinetz immediately," Art commanded Bass.

"Ron, bring the horses. You are coming with me to Tinetz to see Lord Pierre." With that, he vaulted onto his horse and galloped away.

***

In the city of Tinetz, Viscount Pierre was loudly berating the captain of the city guard in his office: "What is the point of reporting this to me now? Why on earth didn't you stop that fat pig? Tell me, what are you going to do now?!"

"My Lord, who could have known that Bob was actually leading those men to ambush the border patrol?"

"Enough! Take thirty guardsmen and get to Winston Manor immediately. Pray that those patrolmen haven't already chopped off Bob's pig head!"

"How do you know it is Bob who is being killed?" the captain muttered.

"What do you know? Go!"

Just as the captain was about to leave to assemble his men, a guard reported that the Border Patrol Officer, Art, was requesting an audience.

It had finally come. Pierre thought rapidly, trying to find a way to resolve this messy farce.

Art entered the office and stood before Pierre’s desk without a word. After a long silence, Viscount Pierre spoke: "I know what happened. Is Bob still alive?"

Art reached into his tunic, pulled out half an ear, and placed it on Pierre’s wooden desk.

Pierre glanced at the ear, and his tension eased. "Very well. He needed a lesson, or he would have thought the whole world belonged to him. However, I hope you consider this calmly. After all, the people behind him are not those you or I can afford to provoke. If you kill him, you won't be able to survive in the County of Burgundy."

"My Lord, if I had wanted to kill him, he would not be alive now," Art replied coldly.

"But my soldiers have suffered heavy casualties, and you must give me an explanation! Otherwise, the Minister of Security and Bishop Orlov will not let this go so easily."

The captain of the guard, standing to the side, saw Art’s lack of reverence toward the Viscount and shouted, "Art, who do you think you are? You are standing before a titled noble. And stop bringing up the court and the Bishop; everyone knows what you used to be..."

"Jerry, shut up," Pierre commanded, silencing the captain.

Pierre stood up from his chair, looked at Art and the man behind him, Ron, and sighed. "Fine. Let us discuss how to end this foolish farce."

Art listed his conditions one by one: First, immediately dispatch the physicians and priests from Tinetz to Winston Manor to treat the wounded. Second, Tinetz must pay a ransom for the release of Bob and the city guard soldiers. Third, the owner of Winston Manor, Eot, would be handled by the border patrol at their own discretion.

"Art, I agree to the first condition; I will send physicians to Winston Manor immediately. The second condition can be considered. But I cannot agree to the third, because Winston Manor is land granted to Eot’s father by the Deputy Chancellor of the Court, Count Bernard Capet. Now that Sir Eot the Elder has passed, the manor is theoretically the direct fief of the Deputy Chancellor. If you have designs on Winston Manor, you must consider the fury of the Deputy Chancellor. However, there are some private assets belonging to Eot within the manor; you may discuss those with him..."

Pierre barely refused any of Art’s terms, for three reasons. First, Art was directly under the Minister of Security, and Tinetz County had no authority to deal with him directly. If Art reported the start of this farce to the Minister, Pierre would certainly be questioned by the court. Second, Bob and the guards were all held at the manor. Pierre could ignore the lives of the guard mongrels, but he could not let Bob die in his jurisdiction; he dared not offend the Deputy Chancellor. Third, Pierre was a man who appreciated talent, and he admired this ruthless man of mysterious origins.

Art eventually secured 2,500 pennies in ransom and 5,000 pounds of grain and seed from Viscount Pierre as compensation for the border patrol's war losses. As a condition, Art had to guarantee that Bob and the remaining soldiers, along with their weapons, would be safely returned to Tinetz, and that he would withdraw from Winston Manor by noon the next day, ensuring the manor would not be destroyed or looted.

When Art returned to Winston Manor with Captain Jerry and a few physicians and priests, Odo brought him bad news: shortly after they had left, Eot—who had survived the skirmish—saw the manor had been occupied. In a panic, he led a few guards and serfs in an attempt to retake the estate, killing a sentry before Odo caught him and severed his arm.

"Asshole! How did you arrange the sentries? Are you all blind?" Art was beyond furious; not a single soldier had died in the battle, yet they had been stabbed in the back afterward. "Drag that bastard up here!"

The ashen-faced owner of the manor was dragged up like a dead dog. Ignoring the captain’s protests, the enraged Art drew his sword and decapitated Eot.

Art looked at the captain with bloodshot eyes and said quietly, "Lord Jerry, you may take Lord Bob and his men back to report."

The captain was shaken by Art’s brutality. "Lord Art, I do not mean to criticize you, but I fear it will be difficult to answer to the Deputy Chancellor for the death of Eot."

"Thank you for the warning."

"Odo, see Lord Jerry off. Then send two combat squads to patrol; anyone entering or leaving the manor is to be executed on the spot!"

After the captain left with fat Bob and his soldiers, Art said to Ron, "Ron, find pen and paper. I will write a letter; you are to ride through the night to Lucerne and deliver it personally to Bishop Orlov. Tell him..."

Watching the lone rider with two horses galloping north, Art tightened his left hand on his sword hilt and turned to command, "Odo, requisition all the ox carts and wagons in the manor. Take everything of value, including money and supplies. Distribute all the grain and seeds in the granary that we cannot carry to the serfs. We leave for the south tonight."

"Yes! My Lord, what about Eot’s wife and children?"

"Leave some rations and hand them over to the priests."

"Yes!"

***

Upon hearing the news of Eot’s death, Viscount Pierre arrived at Winston Manor the next morning with thirty soldiers. By the time they arrived, the border patrol, having "swept" the manor clean, was long gone.

Seeing that the manor itself remained intact and there were no further casualties, Pierre breathed a sigh of relief. "At least," he muttered to himself, "Art knows where the line is drawn."

***

Six days later, in the Marquis’s palace in Besançon, the voice of Deputy Chancellor Count Bernard Capet grew louder, almost a roar. "Marquis, this is the kind of man under Lord Baldwin! He dared to openly besiege and occupy my manor, kill the son of one of my knights, and loot the property of my estate. Marquis, I demand justice. Execute that bastard who defies the law."

The Minister of Security, who had been sitting silently on a wooden stool below the Deputy Chancellor, stood up abruptly and retorted, "Deputy Chancellor, you keep saying that my border patrol officer occupied your manor and looted your property without reason, but the report I received is quite different." He pulled a wax-sealed letter from his sleeve and presented it to the Marquis of Ivrea with both hands.

"Marquis, this is a letter delivered yesterday by Bishop Orlov Hannes of Lucerne, who is willing to vouch for its authenticity. Please, take a look."

The Marquis took the parchment, opened it, and read for a moment before looking up at the Deputy Chancellor. "Bernard, where did you get the news that Winston Manor was raided and the owner killed?"

The Deputy Chancellor glanced at the letter in the Marquis’s hand and replied, "It was sent by Bob Skory, the magistrate of Tinetz, by fast horse. He was severely wounded in the battle to rescue the manor..."

The Marquis turned to the elderly Prime Minister, who sat at the head of the table. "Prime Minister, has Pierre reported this to you?"

"Marquis, the court only receives mail from Tinetz every five days. By the timeline, Pierre’s letter should have arrived by now. I will send someone to check."

"Fetch it at once."

A moment later, a court guard delivered a sealed letter to the Marquis. He broke the seal and compared the two letters.

"Hmph. Deputy Chancellor, take a look." The Marquis tossed both letters to the Deputy Chancellor, who was now breaking into a cold sweat.

Before the Deputy Chancellor could finish reading, the Minister of Security spoke again: "Marquis, since this officer named Art took his post last year, he has cleared out two bands of bandits and executed four outlaws, including one who had been rampant in the southern borderlands for years. Moreover, he has trained an elite unit and is currently patrolling the south, suppressing bandits and maintaining order."

The Minister paused, glanced at the Deputy Chancellor, and continued: "And as far as I know, this Tinetz magistrate named Bob, in the year he has held office, has not captured a single bandit. Instead, it is rumored he has been abusing his power and oppressing the good people. Last autumn and winter, when refugees flooded the southern border, the court ordered local officials to suppress the outlaws, yet this magistrate not only failed to catch a single one, he decapitated many civilians to claim false military merit..."

***

The long-simmering conflict between Deputy Chancellor Count Bernard and Minister of Security Count Baldwin had finally been ignited by an incident at a small manor on the southern border of the county.

A day later, the verdict on the Winston Manor incident was announced: Tinetz magistrate Bob Skory was stripped of all titles and recalled to Besançon to await further judgment; his hopes of gaining military merit and being knighted were dashed. The punishment for the southern border patrol officer, Art, was quite mild: he was ordered to return all supplies looted from Winston Manor and was forbidden from ever setting foot on the Winston estate again.