The Prinz and the Provencal
Chapter Three: The Genoan Trap
Part Two
It was almost nightfall when the Prinz' exhausted army crested the final rise and looked down upon the city of Genoa, wherein the traitor Lothar Zirn was hidden.
Agents among the Genoese had informed Leopold that the Count planned an escape by sea, so the army of Osterreich quickly circled the city and deployed between it and the port, in order to cut off the escape path and confound Zirn's efforts to flee.
In short order the camp was set and the Prinz rode out to the plain to observe the city as it prepared for bed. The setting sun behind him, he could see the torches being lit along the city wall and observed the gates being closed for the night.
Soon enough a delegation from the city council arrived at the Prinz' camp, eager to assure him of their loyalty to Kaiser, Reich and Prinz but equally unwilling to use what little garrison they had within the walls to forcibly eject the traitor.
The Prinz, sensitive to their plight, released them from that obligation, safe in the knowledge that with the final rat run blocked, Zirn would have to come to him.
Soon enough he would catch the Lion.
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