The Sage of Einar

On the outskirts of the town of Daburg in the Duchy of Westphalia, two guards were talking when they heard cries for help coming from the forest.

The two men looked at each other and one of them quickly took his spear, while the other ran into the village to ask for help.

Well, being far from the border with the barbarians, those screams could mean that there was a group of bandits nearby for which he had to be prepared.

Because quite possibly the people who were being attacked by the bandits would end up running towards the town, so a confrontation with their pursuers would be imminent.

The head of the village, a haggard-looking person who was slightly older, listened with some disagreement about what the young man in front of him had said.

"Quickly inform all the people of the town to prepare their weapons and that the children need to be hidden because possibly today we will face a group of bandits and due to the war it is very likely that the Duke's troops will not arrive in time to support us.

Also, remember that all those who brought misfortune to this town need to be arrested because when we finished everything we will take care of giving them the punishment they deserve. "

Chaplain Amis and one of the soldiers carrying duke Dean began running through the trees.

"Run faster stupid soldier because if those damn wolves are reaching us, and only you, me, and the Duke are left but if he dies.

We can both be considered dead, and I did not leave that damn cave, nor did I survive the brief captivity of those bandits to die for a bloody pack of wolves.

If we hurry, we can get to the town that is near this place, I am sure that that slave that we managed to free from the hands of those bandits did not deceive us because doing so would only harm him. "

The chaplain and the soldier at that moment left the forest after crossing a group of trees. The first thing they could see was a group of farmers who were armed with hoes and different agricultural instruments.

But although they did not seem happy, the chaplain and the Soldier kept running towards them because it was much easier to explain their situation to that group of people who try to reason with an entire pack of hungry wolves.

Although unfortunately for the chaplain and the soldier at his side at the moment they approached, they were quickly subdued and the Duke who was on the soldier's back was thrown to the ground.

Where the pain ended up waking up and gave a great scream.

"Damn soldier, what the hell is wrong with you? You know that if something happens to me, the bishop will take revenge on your family ..."

One of the many peasants who was nearby given a kick to the Duke who was on the ground to prevent him from continuing to speak this obviously achieved its mission as Dean immediately fell silent.

Because the last time she spoke too much, the bandits ended up completely breaking another of her feet in retaliation for not keeping silent.

When the place was silent, the peasants then looked at the forest from where a group of ferocious wolves came out, which seem to be emaciated because the winter seemed to see them treated badly.

When the wolves saw that their prey had already reached an area with more humans, they only howled for a few moments and reluctantly returned to the forest because they knew that in a confrontation they would only end up dead.

After seeing the wolves return to the forest, the peasants reluctantly led the three men to the village because they had to ask them what the hell the forest was doing.

When they were finally left in the cold snow, one of the peasants removed the gag that he had attached to the chaplain.

"Who the hell are you and what were they doing in the woods?"

The chaplain reluctantly but instead had a forehead to later look at the Duke "I am the chaplain in charge of the main church of the Duchy of Dithmarschen and that young man on the floor is the new Duke.

We came to this place as we are seeking the help of Duke Hippolyte as he is duke Dean's uncle.

If you really want to know more, then you should be prepared as we will tell the Duke about the rude treatment his people have given us.

But if you can provide us with food and security so that we can save the city of Soest, I will see to it that how friendly the people here are. "

The village chief who knew he had insulted important people scratched his beard and looked warily at the chaplain.

"How can I believe that you are a chaplain and that the young man who has a bloody mouth and looks badly hurt is the Duke of Dithmarschen?

If you just talk like that, you don't sound like more than a simple beggar posing as nobles. "

Amis frowns due to the words that the village chief gave him. So with his gaze, he saw the leather bag on his body.

"In this leather bag, you will find documents personally written by the bishop, which contain information that even I do not know and that only the duke can see.

That is all I can tell you, but if something happens to us or that information does not reach the Duke's hands, you must be prepared because guilty parties will be sought.

Although perhaps he would simply murder everyone near the border with the duchy of Dithmarschen, as he would avenge his nephew. "

The village chief who had kept his serious face started to laugh at what the chaplain said, and then all the people laughed.

"I suppose you have not heard the news right. Let me tell you that the Duke of Hippolyte was deposed yesterday by orders of the emperor.

According to the little information that reached us from the city of Soest in the morning, some nobles revealed themselves due to the siege that is in the duchy of Dithmarschen.

So in a preventive way, the emperor gave the order to his general to depose Duke Hippolyte for high treason.

I don't know what you have done, but I can tell you that you were too late and that we will hand you over to the emperor's troops.

In when we will end up being the true heroes of this noble fight. "

Dean who was on the cold snowy ground could only look up at the sky and regret having wasted so much time in those damn caves.

Well, if he had only arrived a day earlier, he might have prevented the death of his uncle.

Because all hopes were lost, the three men cooperated with the inhabitants of that place because they knew that trying to escape would be stupid since they would be killed.

This because their heads were worth more dead than alive.

In the afternoon, when the sun was about to set, numerous armed knights and conventional cavalry began to arrive in the town.

Which are escorting a large iron cage that was on a black painted carriage.

To the surprise of everyone in the village, the knight who was leading all the soldiers removed his helmet, revealing a woman's face.

Adelaide looked at the peasants without showing any sentiment since the only person she greeted in a respectful way was the village chief.

To whom she once saw, she handed a leather bag containing silver coins.

"This is the emperor's reward for his services to the empire, also in the course of the days, some carriages will be arriving with materials and food so that the town can grow.

Now I would like to see the so-called duke and chaplain mentioned by your messenger. "

The village chief handed the leather bag with the silver coins to his wife and began to lead the way to the stable where his prisoners were.

Adelaide looked curiously at the village chief "How did you manage to catch the Duke and his chaplain, but more importantly why not inform Duke Hippolyte?"

"It was not difficult to catch them since I only told them a very elaborate lie with the first thing I could invent.

But the most important thing was to always stay serious, I learned to do all that in a theater when I was a child.

We also obtained from them a few scrolls that I do not dare to open because being something important to the empire, I should not read it.

As for why I did not inform the duke, it is because he betrayed us a long time ago by leaving our village without any help.

I have long fooled my people into believing that the duke cares about our people, but the reality is that he simply abandoned us.

We will never receive any support, and only we can defend ourselves against wild animals and bandits.

The only good thing is that due to the home where we are, there are not too many bandits with which the town has managed to survive long enough.

But with the empire's siege of the duchy of Dithmarschen, it is likely that bandit groups may form.

So in the end I chose the option that would allow my people to survive, which was to trust you and I think I was not disappointed. "

Adelaide smiled and nodded "The empire will never forget the action they did when we clean the treacherous garbage from these lands.

Perhaps the emperor will give his town the status of a city, although the final decision will only depend on you as you must maintain loyalty in this time of betrayal. "