Caesarea: 1314
"My King, the guard is rotating on the walls like your source said. The men are ready."
Jan nodded to Max and looked around. Two dozen men we're laying down on a sand dune overlooking the castle. It was night and Jan could barely make out the figures around him. Dressed in dark robes, the men were all hand-picked. Veterans of the many wars in Outremer, men who fought the Mongols, senior NCO's of the regiments in AoO North, these men were the best the Reich had. All volunteers and all unmarried. Gunther was back at Aleppo with the rest of the army quite unhappy at being left behind. Someone had to command the army though.
A robed figure ran out of the darkness to the King's position. "My King, my men are ready to start a diversion." The man was a newcomer to Jan's retinue. He was a mercenary captain by the name of Azim. Impressed with the King's reputation, Azim sought Jan out in order to join. Bringing Azim with was partly to test his effectiveness and his loyalty. He had brought a band of twenty Turcoman mercenaries from Aleppo. They would stir up trouble at the front gate while Jan and his party would sneak in around the other side at a sewer grate. Jan looked at a map that his contact had given him. He mentally drew a path from the sewer, to where prisoners were kept.
"Alright Azim, get your men ready. We go on your signal."
Day 1420
Days, if the passing time could be called such in this hole, went in a blur now. "Interviews", fever and monotony had taken their toll. Still Matthias kept track of their number. Even in this place there were patterns, patterns that could be discerned if one had time, and of course time was the one thing he did have.
Black bread and soup marked a new day, if the soup had a bit of meat in it, that meant it was the seventh day, the Sabbath. No matter how bad it got, he made the mark on the wall. A thumbnail scratch for each day, a new group for each week. There were patterns.
Nikeforos, however, was hard to predict. His interviews could be months apart when he was out in the field, or only days when he was in the Citadel. Matthias never saw anyone else, the food was pushed in through a slot. Patterns there too, yes, Nikeforos wanted his imprisonment kept secret. That most likely meant he had taken Matthias without sanction from the Basileus. Both Empires, it seemed, had their independent nobility.
Matthias laughed, a manic rasp that rose from a huddled figure on the floor. Matted hair and beard covered an emaciated face. A dirty strip of linen was wound over his right eye. The maggots had been at it, it didn't hurt anymore.
The door opened suddenly, and the man himself walked in holding the new day's meal.
"Do you realize, Matthias, that you were talking to yourself?"
The former Chancellor scampered back to the rear of the cell. Looking up he rasped, "Best conversation I could get."
The Strategos dropped a bowl on the floor. A heel of bread and half the soup spilled onto the dank, fetid straw.
"I suppose I should have altered the feeding times. No matter, you're quite right. The Basileus does not know you're here. Nor does your beloved Empress. They can't be trusted with the information. I serve the Empire, the true interests of the Empire. Some matters are best left in the hands of enlightened subordinates."
Nikeforos coughed, wrinkled his nose and brought a scented cloth to his face. Replacing it he continued speaking.
"At first I kept you for information, then amusement, and finally, I thought I could use you as a bargaining chip. I envisioned influencing events in your Kingdom, but it seems your fellow Germans have self-destructed quite nicely on their own."
Nikeforos looked down at his prisoner.
"The risk of keeping you now outweighs the benefits. Enjoy your meal Matthias, it will be your last."
A knock could be heard at the door, and a muffled voice spoke, "My Lord! There is a disturbance at the front gate and the stables are on fire!"
Nikeforos turned and unleashed a string of profanities in Greek.
"Tell the men to form a bucket brigade and man the walls. Wait! I have to see to this myself, you stay. Guard the prisoner with your life, I wish to send him to hell myself."
Nikeforos exited and the door slammed shut behind him. Matthias could hear the bolt slide home. He stared into space, the new day forgotten.
A scuffle could be heard outside as well as muffled voices speaking what sounded like German. The door opened.
Matthias blinked, a combination of the light pouring into the cell and the sudden appearance of the man before him.
"King Jan, I wasn't expecting you. Have you come to arrest me?"
Jan, obviously appalled at the condition he found his comrade in, answered, "My Lord, what did those monsters do to you?" The King bent down to the Count's aid. "Can you move? We don't have a lot of time."
As men stood guard out in the hallway, Jan and Max lifted Matthias up on his feet. The emaciated condition of the Count made the job far too easy.
Matthias threw off their support, the prospect of escape had given him a last reserve of energy. Pausing he turned to the wall of his cell. Carefully he scraped his thumbnail across it, a mark to join the others. It was Day 1421, and the last.
"Let's go."
The party make their way down the hallway to the manhole cover they arrived in. After a trip through the sewers, the group make it outside the walls without anyone noticing. Azim and his men had done their job well and retreated without casualties. With the stables burnt down, the Byzantine pursuit would take some time to organize.
Later
Matthias sat in front of the camp fire. He had washed and changed, but he could still feel the lice on his scalp. The hair and beard would have to go, he began hacking at them with a dagger, a small looking glass in front of him.
While the Count methodically chopped through four year's of growth, he spoke to the King seated next to him.
"Nikeforos told me that Tancred sacked Constantinople, is that true?"
Jan grimaced, "I'm afraid so. Becker caught up with Peter and he surrendered without a struggle. But it looks like he was just a diversion for Tancred."
Matthias sighed and dropped a tangled length of hair into the fire. Lice sizzled and popped in the flames. The smell was terrible.
"So we're at war?"
"The Kaiser is trying to hold things together. Don't know how long that will last though. He just authorized me to retake Aleppo. The Byzantines left it nearly empty and it fell easy. Looks like he is preparing for the peace to end. This raid to get you won't help matters much either."
Matthias grunted, "Would you believe me if I told you that's not what I wanted? Peter and Tancred are fools, I wanted unification ended without violence, without losing the alliance."
Jan sighed, "I know Matthias, I know. I saw what you went through in order to fill out two terms as Chancellor. I know this isn't what you wanted."
The Count unbound the dirty linen over his right eye to get at the hair underneath. It was still somewhat intact, but the scar tissue and trauma ensured he would never see out of it again. The linen went into the flames as well. Matthias turned his blind eye to Jan.
"How goes the Reich? I heard a few rumours but I couldn't believe them."
Jan took a swig from his mug before replying, "First off, Dassel marches on Durazzo as we speak. It might even be over by now. News from Europe is getting more sporadic and hard to come by. That mad man is going to get us excommunicated. The whole thing is coming undone. Cities are rebelling. Soldiers are deserting. Nobles are going their own way. The Dukes are trying to restore some order in their area but their job is only going to get harder."
Matthias bowed his head. His face and scalp were cut close now. He sharpened his blade a few times before dipping it into a crock of soapy water. He began shaving, running the edge along scalp and cheek.
"It's all falling apart. I should have died four years ago rather than come back to this. Greed, hubris, envy, ignorance and all the other petty sins of man are unleashed on the Reich. If only Siegfried had known what he was letting loose when he called for reunification, when he opened Pandora's box."
Jan shook his head, "You can't put all of this on Kaiser Siegfried. A whole lot of people took advantage of the situation. Maybe we were naive to think political and religious unification could happen, but we never could have anticipated this."
Matthias scowled. He was completely shaved now. With the hair and beard gone and the emaciation of his imprisonment, the flickering fire game him the appearance of a Death's head.
"What of Outremer, King Jan? What of your Kingdom?"
Jan only shrugged, "Mine? It never was mine. All I have ever done is serve the Charter and the Kaiser. Even as a count. I have devoted my life to this place. And I will continue that work no matter the circumstances. Because it is out here that we can do some good. This is where we can serve God. And this is where we can earn the Reich salvation. It was why Mandorf, Henry, Otto, and the others brought us here in the first place. Sure I didn't want Outremer to be given away, but if we could have continued their legacy without it, then that was good enough."
Shaking his head, Matthias responded, "I tried to stop the exchange. It was stupid of me, and I paid for it. I was a fool, but I am in good company."
"Yeah, I think I've had my head in the clouds for too long. I wanted religious unification so bad I didn't think of the cost. Or how hard it would be to ask millions of people to suddenly accept a change to the core values of their belief system. Now I just want to do what I can to fix it."
Taking a fresh strip of linen, Matthias wound it around his head, shielding his blind eye. He spoke grimly, "I wasn't referring to you specifically. We've all made a hash of it. There's not much left. I am in your debt, but I must ask another favor. The man who took me, Nikeforos Argyrus, I must kill him, and I'll need an army. Maybe not today, but if God grants it, I will have my vengeance. 'You shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.'"
The King grimaced at the Lord's book being used to justify such a thing, "That isn't what the Lord meant. But I don't blame you for feeling the way you do. What I saw in your cell disgusted me. You don't owe me anything though. I did what I thought was right. Like I always have. I'm not always right but it has served me pretty well so far. Quite simply, we need you. Dieter left to take the bribe Ansehelm offered. You, me, and the Kaiser are all that is left out here. I know we have our differences but I trust you to do what you think is right. Right now, I need someone like that even if we don't always agree. Army of Outremer South is yours to command if you want it."
Matthias stared into the flames, "Thank you, King Jan, I will do my part to rally the remaining Crusaders, but these are dark times. 'I shall give thanks for the hardships we bear, for they serve to purify the soul.' I don't know if the Reich can recover, but I will try. We have much to do."
The King held out his hand, "It's good to have you aboard Count Matthias, there is indeed much to do."
Matthias nodded and shook Jan's hand.
"God save the Reich."
Re: Stories thread - King of the Romans PBM
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