FLTL Ch 307. Shenanigans

Join up as the Duke of Tiranat to read 400 pages ahead!

***

A/N: Someone asked me in the comment section of ch-291 about how many other nobles are there in this region of Southern Reslinor and the feasibility of them banding together against Tiranat to loot losuvil if/when the news about its real source gets out, and whether they would even be able to gather enough men to do any real harm to the village. He also wanted to know whether other nobles would even want to risk sending their men away from their own villages to attack a poor barony, especially with the persistent threat of an invasion from Binpaaz, while Kirnos might not even get a messenger from the count to attack Tiranat, without Tiranat allowing them to pass. Another question was that a shortage of guards in their own villages could also give a chance for an uprising against the ruling nobles because of their poor treatment of commoners who don't even have enough to eat, so they shouldn't care about Tiranat. You can read the full question there, but below is the reply I gave. I am copying my answer here since these were good questions, and you all might want to read about some background information about the world given in the answer.

"Firstly, I can't give an exact number at this point, but in general, a duchy in this kingdom will have 3-5 counties under it, each of which will have 5-10 baronies under it, based on how populated that area is. 

Secondly, if Cinran wants Kirnos' support they can also send someone through the sea route - although it will take too long - or they can send someone directly through the forests (which is dangerous, but in an emergency, a few horsemen accompanied by a knight or two can easily travel through the forest to reach Kirnos).

Thirdly, hundreds of troops is not a difficult number to gather at all. When Kivamus arrived, Tiranat had around 12 guards there, while around 6-7 had gone with the previous baron and had died in the ambush. And this has been called the poorest village in the duchy, which can hardly afford to hire enough guards. Based on that you can guess that even a poor village should have 18-20 guards in total (their quality and level of training is a different matter, but that's not the question here). Kirnos has been hinted to have around 30 guards, and is another relatively poor village. Which means a more prosperous barony might have 30-50 guards, based on the village's needs and how populated the area is.  

Assuming each baron keeps around half of the guards to defend his own village, each barony can send 10-30 guards when the Count calls for it. So depending on the number of baronies under Cinran (I am knowingly not giving an exact number here), it can call upon 10 men 5 villages = 50 guards on the lower end, and 30 men 10 villages = 300 guards on the upper end. The real number would be somewhere in between, but a 100 guards responding to the count's call is very much possible. 

Also, this doesn't include Cinran's own guards, who will be higher in numbers and of better quality / better armed than those in the villages of the barons. Knowing that Cinran's population is 8-10 times bigger than Tiranat, their number of guards should be similarly higher, but because of the persistent threat of an invasion from the east, they would likely have even more guards than expected, which will add up to around 200-300 guards at the very least, apart from at least a few dozen knights. While the number of guards might seem high compared to the town's population of 2700 - 3000, you also have to keep in mind that this is a walled city located near the border of the kingdom, and has many farms in the countryside supplying the town with food, whose owners live in the farms and don't add up to the town's population, which allows the town to afford to keep a higher percentage of residents as guards compared to what would be usual in any other similar town. So, even while keeping enough men to defend the town from the usual threats or a sudden attack from the east, they can still send 100-150 men to somewhere away from the town when needed. 

Including 50-300 guards from the barons, that will mean 150+ guards on the lower end, and 450+ guards on the higher end in total which can be sent anywhere on the Count's orders, while still keeping enough guards to keep their own villages and towns safe. Again, the real number would be somewhere in between, but this means a few hundred guards being sent to punish a rogue baron and his village is very much possible. This number doesn't even include any knights who are far better trained and armed then the usual guards.

Fourthly, about the nobles being concerned about another minor barony, there are two reasons.  

> Firstly, as you all may have seen even on earth, when the times are bad and people are starving, the rulers often find a way to distract the people, usually by attacking someone else to gain patriotic fervor, thereby focusing people on another problem. It doesn't always work, but it is a valid reason. 

> Secondly, when there is a bad harvest and people don't have enough food, it also means they usually don't have enough coin to pay as taxes. So any noble will immediately jump at the chance to get a way to make some quick gold. The fact that Tiranat only has a small stock of acelos medicine won't be commonly known, and others will usually assume that they must have enough of it stored for themselves if they can afford to sell it to others, and they likely have the way to make it too. That's why, if they also have the support of their superior (the count - who might have created a plausible reason for this) they are very likely to band together to attack that baron and take his gold and the medicine - for their own use and to sell to others at high prices. 

Also, when the nobles aren't getting enough tax gold, they will be unable to pay their guards well - like you said. That's why attacking a neighbouring (and supposedly poorly defended) village is a good way to distract their guards, with a promise that they will be given a share of the loot, which will also pacify the guards for the moment.

Lastly, while something like an uprising is far from impossible, and would certainly have happened in certain places in this world, in general, nobles are far better protected than the usual villagers. Even in Tiranat, which didn't have a wall to surround the village, the previous baron had still built a wall to secure his own manor from any bandits (or such an uprising). Also, in this world where the commoners are always shown that their lives are valued far below the nobles, they have to know that while they may be able to take revenge and kill their Lord if they get a chance (assuming he hasn't just gone with his guards to attack the neighbouring village), eventually a higher noble will still send enough men to punish and kill the perpetrators and hang their families to make an example of what happens when a commoner dares to kill a noble. Also, another noble would soon be appointed as the new baron (assuming the heirs of the previous one were also killed), who would be far more cruel to the people in anticipation of such an uprising in the future.

That's why Tiranat has good reason to fear other nobles, especially if/when they find out that this poor, undefended village has suddenly gotten a source to become (relatively) rich and is ripe for plunder. Feroy, who was a mercenary, would have known about the strength of other barons' villages in the region, and so would Duvas, who has lived here for two decades, apart from another decade in Cinran's temple, which is why they are so concerned about it."

I hope that gives you some background insight into this world of Eranityn. Now let's get back to today's chapter! Enjoy!

***

"I think you'll like what I have to say," the young man began, "but I want mercy in return for saying anything."

Kivamus frowned. "Why would you need to ask for mercy? You have helped to timely catch an assassin in the manor, and have probably saved my life. I don't see anything to forgive you for."

"Trust me, milord, you'll likely change your mind after you hear everything I have to say. So I'm not opening my mouth until you agree to it."

"How can we agree to anything like that without knowing what you've done!" Hudan growled. 

The young man grimaced. "I know that the information I have will be helpful enough for you that I can ask you to trade it for my life. Put me in jail or send me to the mines if you want, but just don't kill me. I can be very useful to you in the future!"

"We'll see about that..." Kivamus muttered, "but I'm not making any promises about forgiving you. Now start speaking." 

The bearded young man shook his head. "Then at least give me your word that you'll hear me to the end before deciding what to do with me instead of making a rash decision." 

Kivamus exhaled. "You are asking for a lot and I don't even know what you want to talk about." He gave a nod. "Fine. I agree not to have you executed immediately after listening to you, but if what you've done is bad enough, I'll still hold a hearing with my advisors later on, and you'll get the judgement your actions deserve. I can't do any more for you."

"That..." the man sighed. "I guess that's the best I'm going to get." He looked around at the people remaining in the hall, his eyes stopping at Tesyb and Duvas for a moment. "Are you sure you can trust these people completely? If any of them blabs about what I'm telling you, you are going to have a lot of problems in the future." 

"Is that a threat?" Hudan barked as he took a step ahead.

The man defensively put his hands in front of himself. "No, no! You'll understand after you hear me out."

Kivamus tilted his head. "I trust everyone who is present or they wouldn't be here right now. Now speak! My patience is running thin..."

The young man nodded. "I'll start from the beginning. I was born as the first and the only son of the man who was meant to become the Count of Cinran, which means I was also supposed to inherit the domain of Cinran in the future, but my destiny was stolen from me by Lord Ebirtas, who is the younger brother of my father - my uncle."

"I call bullshit on this!" Hudan spat. 

"Boy, are you still drunk or something?" Duvas asked with pity. "I know Sir Tuilas went to the alehouse last night with his guards. Maybe that's where you had a vivid dream where you thought of this incredible story?"

"No! I'm not lying!"

Tesyb put a brawny hand on the young man's shoulder. "Do you want me to throw him out, milord?"

Kivamus raised a hand to stop the others. "Let's hear him out first." An ordinary guard turning out to be a noble in hiding? This did seem interesting, even if it turned out to be a sham later on. "Go on."

The bearded man nodded with relief. "My father was supposed to become the Count around two decades ago, but he was murdered by my uncle Ebirtas when they had gone horse riding together to celebrate my father becoming the next count after my grandfather died." He clenched his fists. "However, while my father was known as an excellent rider, somehow, he was thrown over by the horse and broke his neck, which meant Ebirtas became the Count instead of my father. I've been told that officially it was classified as just an accident, but I know it wasn't! Nobody speaks anything about it anymore to prevent making the count angry at them, so I can't give you any proof about it, but everything I've said is true!"

Kivamus frowned. "This does sound hard to believe... What's your name anyway? Maybe that will jog my memory."

The bearded man flinched. "Let's leave that for the end."

"Fine," Kivamus shrugged, "but how do I even believe that you are the son of the man who was supposed to become the count, and not just some random servant without any noble blood in him who has heard the story and created a good narrative around it to help himself?"

The young man glared at him. "How can anyone prove that they are the son of a person? I hadn't been born then, so I haven't seen my father even once, but I know it's true! Just... Just look at any old portrait of my father in the Count's mansion, and you'll see how much I look like him! I've been in that mansion so many times and Ebirtas has already removed any good paintings of my father, but there are still a couple of them from when both of them were younger and had had a painting drawn of the family along with my grandfather. You can easily compare it to me."

Kivamus nodded slowly, noticing that Duvas seemed to be lost in thoughts. Without access to technology like DNA testing, it wasn't possible to know anything for sure, so a family resemblance would be all that could be used to prove something like this. "If what you are saying is true, why hasn't the count killed you by now? From what I know, he also has a son. Even though that boy is known as a wastrel, he's the only heir your uncle has, which means you pose a threat to him inheriting Cinran from Ebirtas in the future. That's a very good reason for the count to prevent you from breathing any longer."

The man snorted. "He can't kill me if he doesn't know I'm alive! I told you that I hadn't even been born when my father was murdered. My mother was pregnant with me at the time, and she died of shock after the news came that my father had passed away during that horse riding accident." He grimaced. "Perhaps it was uncle Ebirtas who had her murdered, but I can't prove it. Either way, while she died at the time, somehow I was saved, and I've been living as a servant in the Count's mansion since then. As far as my uncle knows, nobody from my father's bloodline has survived."

Kivamus nodded. "That does make sense if it's true, but there's a hole in your story. If you were just an infant when all this happened, and nobody talks about it anymore - for good reason, I'd say - then how would you have known about all this, with both your father and mother already dead and no siblings either to tell you the story."

The young man grimaced. "That bastard Zoricus! Who else? He was the one to tell me all this, including the fact that he had saved my life when my mother died. That's why I have been working for him all my life behind the scenes, even though technically I am employed as a servant for the count."

Kivamus steepled his hands, thinking about it. "It's very much possible that Zoricus had just picked up an infant - you - from somewhere and created this story so you'd think that you were the true heir of Cinran, so he'd get a good pawn in his hands to use against Ebirtas in the future." 

"I told you that you can easily see in that portrait that I look just like my father when he was young!" The man protested. "I've seen that portrait myself! I am not lying!"

Kivamus looked at the majordomo. "What are you thinking about? You know anything about this?"

Duvas scratched his short white beard. "It's been a long time, and my memory is hazy about it, but I do remember that there was a short power struggle in Cinran, soon after Tiranat was founded around two decades ago. Well, it wasn't much of a power struggle - but more like a power grab. When I moved here after Tiranat was founded, the previous count - the father of Lord Ebirtas - had just died after living for a very long time, and his older son was the heir - who was in his forties already. From what I remember, the older son didn't have any children by then, but it's still possible that his wife was pregnant with a son at the time. I have no idea if the older son was a good rider or not, but everyone had heard that he died in an accident when he supposedly fell from his horse, so Lord Ebirtas became the count instead of him."

"See?" The young man pointed out with relief. "I told you it wasn't an accident! Ebirtas must have done something to the saddle straps to make them too loose or easy to break! There's no way my father just fell to his death!"

Duvas shook his head. "It really might have been an accident. Nobody can say for sure at this point."

Kivamus nodded, looking at the majordomo. "Certainly, but it might not have been Ebirtas behind this at all. After hearing that Zoricus had secretly saved the infant son of the older brother who was supposed to become the count, it sounds like he had a lot to do with this incident. So it may have been him who caused all this to happen and the real heir to die - assuming it wasn't just an accident." 

He shrugged. "Still, this elaborate plan to save the child of the real heir makes sense if Zoricus wants to use him to basically take over Cinran in the future by using this kid as a puppet while he rules the town from the background. But knowing how rich he is, why couldn't Zoricus have just worked with the older brother? There was no point in taking this much risk."

***

***

Next chapter: FLTL Ch 308. Confession