“The Kingdom has no reason to punish the city of Zeska as a whole. Surrender now and you have my word that only the real traitors will be punished.”
Lith made sure that his voice echoed throughout the city, planting the seed of discord as well. No matter how valiant, there would always be people more interested in their own survival rather than a noble cause.
He had offered the commoners a way out and even the opportunity to get rid of the upper echelons of Zeska. Without the support of the commoners, the city would fall without a fight.
“I can’t surrender just based on a few words and a conspiracy theory. We are not alone in this fight. Many other cities stood up against the Kingdom with us. I won’t turn my back on them nor on Ranger Quaron without solid proof.
“We have helped each other for years through thick and thin. I won’t let fear destroy our mutual trust.” Captain Eman said.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Lith replied, flabbergasting everyone present. “It means that you and your soldiers didn’t act out of petty gain but because you believed to be doing your people’s best interest.
“Let’s assume that your rebellion succeeds. How do you think you lot can survive without Warp Gates, without the help of the army, or of the Association? Do you really believe that monsters and natural disasters will just leave you alone?” Lith asked.
“Of course not. Ranger Quaron will be by our side and will protect us as he always did.” Eman replied.
“Let’s put your theory to the test, shall we? Consider my army as a monster wave. I will give you three days to call upon your hero and for him to come here. If Quaron bests me in a one on one fight, the Kingdom will recognize the free country of Nestrar and stipulate fair trade agreements with you.
“If he loses or simply refuses to fight, I’ll have no choice but to retake Zeska by any means necessary.” Lith said.
“Why should we accept those terms and why should we believe that the moment he comes here you won’t arrest him on the spot?” The Commander asked.
“Because it’s the best deal you’ll ever get. Check the Royal Decree. I have the authority to do as I promised. As for your hero, if Quaron stands you up here it means that he would have done the same the moment a real threat appeared and that he has never been honest with you.
“Do you think that a monster tribe or an invading army would give you the leisure of three days to prepare for a fight? If Quaron can’t hold his ground against a single Archmage, your rebellion has already failed.” Lith replied.
His enhanced hearing could hear the whispers of the soldiers on the walls and even a few of the people beyond that.
“Verhen has no need to lie to us. He could have killed us all with that monstrous spell if he wanted. I say we surrender before the Royals change their mind.” A woman said.
“No, that’s exactly the scenario that Quaron predicted.” A man replied. “The arrays keep them from entering the city so they are trying to scare us into letting them in. If Verhen destroyed the city gates we would have destroyed the food supplies.”
“He’s right.” A feminine voice chimed in. “It wasn’t an act of mercy but a calculated move. Without that food, the Kingdom will have no choice but either become dependent on the other countries or let the north starve.”
“You are both idiots!” Another male voice said.
“If we touch the food supplies the Kingdom will have no reason to keep us alive anymore. Besides, Verhen is right. If your beloved Quaron isn’t at least as powerful as he is, there’s no way that the city guard alone can protect us.”
The arguments quickly degenerated into quarrels and then into brawls, forcing the guards to leave the walls in order to stop the infighting.
“There’s merit in your words.” Eman said after realizing how brittle their convictions were. “If you promise me that you will not arrest nor follow our messenger, then we have a deal.”
“Deal.” Lith extended his hand, conjuring a replica made of light that appeared in front of the Commander who shook it while a cold shiver ran down his spine.
‘Good gods. He could have killed me where I stand if instead of my hand this thing grabbed my neck or if it simply threw me off the wall.’ He thought.
When the hard-light construct disappeared, Lith had already returned among his ranks.
“With all due respect, I think that you had a great start and then you gave away most of your advantage, sir.” Captain Estar, Lith’s second in command, said.
“How so?” Lith replied with an expression akin to a stone mask.
“If I were you, I would have taken down the walls with…” The officer failed to find the words to describe the tier Tower spell. “Whatever that thing was and have us raid the city.
“This way, the people guarding the food supplies wouldn’t have had enough time to destroy them all and we would have accomplished the mission. Now, instead, you gave them a lot without getting anything in return.”
“What if somehow Quaron bests you?” Pelan chimed in, eager to rub salt in Lith’s alleged bad choices. “Even if the Royals really gave you the authority to allow the Nestrar country to be established, they will skin you alive when they hear what you promised!”
“I can’t believe that I fooled you as well. Are you stupid or what?” Lith replied with a sneer. “Our orders are to leave the walls intact, or we won’t be able to hold the city against any enemy.
“Our orders are not to harm the people and to keep the food supplies safe. If we just march in, we’d have to pave our road with corpses. As soon as word of the massacre spreads, any chance of negotiating with the other cities would disappear and they would fight us tooth and nail.
“On top of that, if I were in Quaron’s shoes, I would have booby-trapped the granaries so that the moment the assault begins a pulse of darkness magic would make everything rot.”
“You are right but still, giving them so much time and such favorable conditions was too much.” Estar replied.
“I just gave us the time we need and them the rope they need to hang Quaron in our stead.” Lith replied. “I said that I wouldn’t arrest nor follow the messenger because I expect one of you to do it.
“Right from the start, my purpose was to find the real traitors and to put an end to the rebellion without shedding a single drop of blood. The moment we find Quaron, we’ll surround and kill him like a dog without anyone knowing.
“This way, after the three days deadline passes, what the people of the Nestrar region will know is that he is a coward and that he betrayed their trust, running away with the stolen money.”
