Chapter 6

Long Winter Ahead

Unfortunately, as more towns heard of us the more people who decided to join us. We now had numbers in the high hundreds, close to a thousand men, women, and children. All of them believing in this exodus to take them away from this horrible land of Albion.

We've passed through a dozen towns already in the last few weeks and the air has started to get rather cold due to the late autumn climate. I knew that heading south was suicide so I kept my heading north to ensure that we would not run into serious problems. With a majority of their forces concentrated in the south to engage Tristain and Germania, Albion's northern patrols were practically non existent.

Winter climate is the most difficult environment you can ever find yourself in, especially in these times. Alaska is considered the true testing ground for soldiers and equipment alike. If it can survive there then there isn't a land on Earth that it can't survive.

Armed with this knowledge, I knew that we would need to find a place capable of housing close to 1,000 people until the Winter is over. It would put us at risk of an attack from Albion's troops but I'm not exaggerating when I say that winter is more dangerous than guns and swords. It wasn't the Soviets that beat the Germans in World War 2, it was the Russian winter that did them in.

There are some things in life you never do if you value the lives of your men. Don't attack America is a good one but the most important thing to remember is... Don't invade Russia in the winter.

"That Military outpost would do nicely for us until the Winter is over." I said while overlooking said outpost from a small cliff about 1,000 Meters south of it. "It's even in the shape of a pentagon... how fitting." I said ironically.

The design of the fort was pretty simple, a large pentagon shaped wall with diamond shaped walls extending along the points. Inside is an inner wall with the same basic shape. These type of forts are arranged in a way to prevent enemy bombardment from damaging too many resources at once. The barracks and Command centers are focussed in the inner ring, along with medical tents and food storages. Weapons, supplies, and other important resources are between the inner and outer walls, spread throughout the fort so it would lessen the crippling of supplies. It's a design that is very hard to siege and even harder to hold. I'd say it would support at least 2,000 soldiers, maybe more if needed.

"It looks like it's controlled by a skeleton crew, around 500 men just to keep it in working order." Johnathon said next to me.

"Who are they?" I asked.

"Mercenaries mainly. Veterans from the previous wars. No doubt many Mercenaries have been conscripted back into the Army, these are most likely the crippled and elderly." Johnathon said. "Forts like these normally have 1 or 2 Nobles commanding them, either old veterans or young officers looking for experience."

Mercenaries were common outside of the modern French Legion and Gurka's. In the old days of melee warfare, during times of peace knights and soldiers became mercenaries to maintain law and order when the Government could no longer support the Military. Before Teddy Roosevelt the US shared this same system of conscripted armies and out of work soldiers.

"Think we can take them?" Johnathon asked.

"I'd rather not." I replied. "Even taking that fort would be a hassle, we'd be killed before we even reached the walls." I grabbed my chin in thought. "The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without a fight." I mumbled to myself.

"What?" Johnathon asked.

"Gather the men, I have an idea." I said cryptically.

With all the men gathered I began explaining the outline of my hastily rushed plan. Ideally I wish I had at least a few weeks to prepare but with such a time constraint I would have to make due.

"To win a battle we must use deception and tricks to confuse the enemy. When a bear is caught fighting another animal he will stand up, making himself look bigger than he really is." I explained.

"How do metaphors help us to take over a Fort?" A man asked.

"Simple, we take a page out of the Art of War... and see just how far we can bullshit." I said. "The plan works in 2 stages...

1: We sneak into the open field just south of the Fort at night, when we are concealed by the shadows of the night. Both moons will be blackened out because of the New moon cycle so we should be able to move around in complete darkness. We'll set up as many fire pits as we possible can and light them when I give the signal.

2: Under the pretense of parley, I will go to the front gate and introduce myself to the Commander of the fort. When I do everyone will light their fire pits. In the darkness of the night we'll be able to make it appear that we have a much larger force than we do now. I will then explain to the Commander that we allied ourselves with Germania to escape Albion and that they are planning to overtake the fort if the Mercenaries do not surrender "honorably"."

My plan was pretty simple, yet effective. Most men looked completely convinced while others looked skeptical. I couldn't blame them to be honest, it was a long shot.

"That's the craziest plan I have ever heard." Johnathon sad. "I like it." He laughed and so did everyone else.

"We'll carry it out tonight, we'll need all hands on deck for this one. Woman and Children included, though we'll keep them in the back incase this does go south." I said.

"Why would we go south?" A man asked.

"It's a figure of speech." I said dryly.

I'll admit, trying to stay on the road in pitch black was somewhat difficult. Only the small glow of the fort gave me enough indication that I was going the correct way. I had no weapons and only had a white flag to show my neutrality. Contrary to media, a white flag did not always mean surrendering. It's a sign of cease fire and means I'm open to negotiations.

The guards saw me immediately and raised the gate to allow me in. They were unconventional compared to the uniformity of the Army, most were in their 30s or 40s and had different kinds of armors and weapons, too numerous to describe in detail.

"State your name." A guard said.

"George Q. Sherman, requesting to speak with your Commanding Officer." I said. Many me gasped and began whispering to themselves. I was used to this considering that everywhere I went people heard about how I, a Commoner, defeated 1,000 Nobles. All lies obviously.

They told me to wait while they got their Commanding Officer. With the winter air coming up everything was getting much colder than I'd like. When I was young I would often wear animal skins which did a great job insulating heat. Even though most Natives wear normal clothing some decide to stick to traditional roots and my mother was one of them.

"Follow us." A guard said as he lead me to the center of the Fort.

The center was very well maintained and decorated, no doubt showing the inflated pride of the Nobles who ran this place.

As I entered the center tent I was greeted by a young Noble, around 18 years of age, and an older one who looks similar to him, no doubt a close relative. The only distinct difference between them is the round belly of the older man that is very common for older men. He was not obese and maintained a good physique but his age has caused him to slow down and gave him a port belly.

Despite my experience thus far, this Noble carried himself with a kind smile and a light hearted attitude. His son seemed a bit cocky in how he walked but it was not to the point of over confidence or arrogance. You could tell he was simply proud of himself and elevated in the eyes of the person walking beside him. It's much in the same way a son would feel great pride in the blessings and respect of his father.

"So... what is a Commoner doing in our center tent?" The older man said though somehow managed to keep his lighthearted tone, even if his remark did sound somewhat intolerant. Then again, maybe I just grew up in a pussified America so anything sounds intolerant.

"You see sir..." I began with a somewhat intimidating tone. "My name is George Sherman and I am a fleeing Commoner, along with many others who are trying to flee the country." So far so good. Star with a bit of truth and then hit him with a believable lie.

"Yes, we have been getting reports down south of a small band of escaping Commoners. Have you lot decided to turn yourselves in?" The old man asked.

"Actually, we would appreciate taking the Fort, if it's ok with you." I said as if I was about to take a piece of bread that had been left alone from the main meal. As expected everyone began to laugh.

"Are you mad Mr. Sherman?" He laughed. "In order to make demands you must be in a position of strength. No matter what small force a rag tag band of Commoners made, there is no chance that you could wrestle control of this Fort." He said.

"Oh no, we wouldn't be doing that." I said with a con mans smirk.

"What do you mean?" The Noble asked, his laughter halting slightly.

"We just asked a passing patrol of Germanian Nobles intelligence and information on the surrounding area in exchange for a ticket off this rock. They just couldn't resist a nice little Fort like this." I gave him a bastard smile.

As expected, he ran outside to see what, in my opinion, was a beautiful and devilish sight. His face was stern, no doubt from is years of warfare, but the color from the young Nobles face drained from his inexperience in such situations.

"100 Nobles with an additional 900 Commoners; all ready to bust down your walls." I smiled.

The ground outside of the wall was covered in dots of orange glowing fires. It was just far enough to conceal the group in shadows but close enough to give them a good scope of the impending invasion.

"When did they break through our lines, unless they somehow managed to flank to the north." The Noble whispered to himself. After much thought he turned to me and said with a clear voice... "So be it Mr. Sherman. The Fort belongs to Germania for this cunning flank. I will not waste lives to fight a fruitless battle." And like that the battle has been won. The pen is mightier than the sword after all.

We had all of the Mercenaries place their weapons in the armor and stand outside the walls of the Fort in single file. The 3 Nobles had their hands bound and wands stripped from them.

Yes, I said 3. As it turns out the man had a young Daughter who was visiting him, a beautiful young girl who had strawberry blond hair and looked no older than 14 or 16. She carried herself with dignity but was also afraid of what may happen. Her father and brother would comfort her since it was customary for victorious Nobles to show mercy to the defeated. Most of the time they were either released if they had no distinguished Military history or held until after the war was over in relative comfort.

Commoners were not so lucky. Raped, tortured, held in rat infested prisons and forced to sit in their own excrement, being a Commoner POW was worst than dying. It was one reason Commoners would always fight to the death while Nobles would surrender easily. To be captured was worst than dying a slow death due to a punctured stomach. Of course, if the Nobles surrendered so to must the Commoners, or they would end up in Purgatory.

I absolutely loved the look of shock and anger on the Nobles face. I bet he was expecting a massive Army with weapons and armor yet all he got was a bunch of men, women, and children dressed for a farm.

Almost all of the Mercenaries knew of us by now, the Commoners who defied the Nobles. They put aside their loyalty for the Nobles and decided to join us, putting our numbers at 1,500. I sighed in annoyance, I had to reach the coast before this little exodus got too large. It was already to the point where I wasn't sure if we could fit people on enough ships to get to the mainland. Large naval vessels consisted of a crew of 200, it would not be easy to steal that many ships.

After most of them had been escorted into the Fort, a couple dozen men stayed with us around the 3 Nobles. Some of the men looked at the young girl with perverted expressions.

"Try to whip us now Nobles!" One man yelled, throwing an apples at the older Nobleman.

"You're bastard of a Military took my boy from me!" Another man yelled, throwing a rock but it missed its target. The Nobleman was angry, scared only for the safety of his children. The kids on the other hand were not holding so well. The son, filled with young pride cursed the Commoners to damnation, while the young girl was praying with he face scrunched up in fear.

I stood between them and gathered everyones attention.

"We can not let these Aristocrats go, otherwise they may leak our position to another Albion patrol, at which point we'd be in deep shit." I laughed to myself, as did everyone else. "In our society, it is the victim that can choose to press charges or to drop them. So I leave their fate to you, the victims." The men all smiled, anticipating their chance to release their pent up rage against their oppressors.

I moved aside and allowed them to go after the Nobles. The men all swarmed the like a bad 90s Zombie movie. The older Noble broke down, his brave attitude changed to one of pleading for the safety of his children, offering his own life for their freedom.

I grabbed a bottle of 30 year old wine and decided to enjoy the show as they were carried off into the Fort, their fate decided as soon as the doors slammed shut.

I followed the mad parade, looking like a scene out of a French Revolution documentary. The daughter would probably be raped, the father and son tortured and killed, but personally I did not care. After seeing the brutality that these Nobles dished out on these poor Commoners I decided to let mob justice decide their fate.

The daughter had her wrists tied to some large nails, the kind to hammer large wooden beams together. The nails were then hammered into the ground, forcing her into the spread eagle position. I sat on a barrel facing away from the scene. not really interested in something like this.

I'll admit, a part of me felt bad about what was about to happen, but hey, these are Nobles right? All the evils and oppressive things they did to these people, they deserve what is about to happen to them. The girl would have grown up to be an evil spoiled monster that would have had her house maid disfigured for looking more beautiful than her.

The girl screamed bloody murder as the sound of tearing clothes began to fill the morning air. She begged and pleaded for mercy, saying something about deflowering or chastity or something like that. I could hear the father and son pleading for their family, promising death to anyone that dared o touch her.

What's that old saying? Payback is a bitch? something like that.

In a moment I was turned around roughly and looked into the angry eyes of Johnathan.

"Why are you just standing there, aren't you going to do something?" He yelled with his voice cracking in fury.

"Nah, the men made their intentions clear." I stated simply, taking a large gulp of wine and wincing as it burned my throat and chest on the way down. The heat from the alcohol settled in my stomach.

"What, to deflower a defenseless girl?" He said angrily.

"Are these not the same people who tried to kill your daughter?" I asked in my defense.

"This is the Buckingham family, they have been one of the largest supporters of Commoner treatments in all of Halkeginia. No fewer than 15 laws have been put in effect protecting Commoners from abuse thanks to their efforts." He said.

"And...?" I said. "I agreed to get you out of here, what you mud rats do in the meantime is your own damn business." I said.

In the next moment I was laying on my back from a massive right hook from Johnathan. My head was dizzy, partly from being buzzed and it helped to numb the impact a bit.

"You are truly the most despicable man I ever met. I have had the honor to serve with good Nobles in the Military, not all of them are swine like Alistair. And it seems, that not all Commoners are noble knights."

He ran over to the young girl who was now nearly entirely nude, her privates just barely concealed by her underwear that reached down to her knees. It was that older type that was more like pants than modern panties.

Johnathan fought his way through the crowd of men, going as far as to hit some of them. As a man got on top of the girl he grabbed him and threw him off of her, kicking him for good measure. The girl was now a mess of tears, her make up streaking from the salty drops. Johnathan pulled out a knife and with delicate care he cut off the ropes that bound her.

The girl was in shcok, unable to move as Johnathan put his own coat around her to cover her exposed body, which by the way only her calves and arms were showing from the old underwear.

Everyone stood in shock, not daring to move as Johnathan ordered the men holding the remaining 2 Nobles to release all of them.

"We can't do that." I said, ordering them not to release them. Everything was now deafly silent.

"And why can we not? What use are they to us?" Johnathan asked, hoping to save the Nobles from their fate.

"They could leak our position and if we let other Nobles know what almost happened here we'd be screwed." I said logically.

"They do not deserve such a fate, they have always fought for Commoner rights and defended Commoners from cruel treatment. If anything they deserve our thanks and mercy." He said.

"You want me to show Mercy?" I asked and pulled out a flintlock pistol. "How about this?" I said and pointed it at the young Nobleman.

He shut his eyes as a bright flash obscured my vision of him, and then... nothing, he was fine. I looked at the gun and saw that the powder in the pan went off but not in the barrel. It's actually a common problem for Flintlocks, happens at least 1 out of 5 shots.

The young man breathed a sigh of relief at his luck, glad that he is still alive a moment longer. His sister is still to much in shock to say anything.

Johnathan closed the distance and grabbed my hand, preventing me from taking out anything else. Our eyes locked, a battle of wills, neither of us backing down.

"You really are a monster, al of you." Johnathan said. He pushed me aside and stood at the center of the crowd. "From now on!" He addressed everyone. "Anyone who tries to harm another person in such a manner will be executed on the spot, by my own hand if need be. That includes you Sherman." He turned to me, his eyes filled with rage.

"I did nothing, you fellow Commoners did that all on their own." I defended.

"You did nothing, that is your crime." Johnathan replied.

"I gave these me their retribution, what they do from there is their own damn choice." I said. "Do you think these rich bastards give a damn about anyone here? They'd sooner see us in chains and a rope around our neck than free to make our own choices. You want to defend those who tried to rape your wife?!" I yelled.

Once again Johnathan took a swing and hit me hard on my cheek. My head was spinning and I did not have the emotional strength to get back up.

"For a man with such a light purse, you have the same soul as one with a vault of riches." He said cryptically again. "I will keep them in the cell for now, when we leave for the shore they will be released, by then they will pose no danger to us." And with that everyone began to leave the area and go to other places in the fort.

I sat up and took another huge swig of my wine, the numbness of the drunken high decreasing the rush of emotions that I felt on the situation. I just decided that I'll think about the situation tomorrow and just enjoy a good bit of booze in my hand for the moment. After about halfway down the bottle I began to loose memory of the day, I forgot just how much more powerful Medieval wine was to modern one, my kidneys would be dead within a year.

Please review. Reviews help to motivate me to put out more chapters. I'd also like to apologize for my long absence.