Midday. Snow fell on the carriage roof, barely making any sound. The scenery outside was white.
The whole city might have been in a state of turmoil. But the case was different in the central regions. Nevertheless, the streets were empty. The higher nobles still had a fear against the guerrilla tactics of the Rebellion.
During the last revolt, when the commoners united and stood up against the Imperial rule for the first time in the Empire's history, the nobles were by no ways prepared to fight against the unconventional rebels.
They thought their regular skills, tactics and strategies, the ones they used against the Confederation or the stampede would work against those lowly plebeians. But they were wrong, fatally so.
The commoners were among them- their servants, their maids, their coachmen and even the guards they trusted their lives with. Not to mention, their works heavily relied on the labours of the lower class.
Tens of lower nobles were assassinated by their own guards on the first day alone, before the others could necessary steps to prevent them. Even some higher nobles were poisoned to death. The trades in the entire country stopped. Farmers stopped producing food. The little that they produced were used to supply the rebel forces.
Blacksmiths stopped smithing for the nobles. They armed their fellow brethren instead. The noble faction constantly got weaker while the Rebellion only got stronger.
But this did nothing but to decrease the massive gap between the two factions just by a bit. If they decided to go against those skilled, well trained, well armed and organised forces of the aristocracy, there would be only one result- absolute defeat.
So, the leaders decided to use their brains instead of brawn. There were commoners everywhere, in every nook and crannies of the nation. The three major factions- the nobility, the underworld, and the church- everyone of them relied heavily on the commoners. Hence, the Rebellion was the most well informed faction out of all.
They knew almost everything about their enemies. But the nobles knew nothing of their newly formed opponents. Their secret based lied in every cities, towns and villages.
The entire nation stopped running. The Rebellion got victories after victories in their assaults while the nobles got on the back foot. Seeing no ways out, the Imperial family decided to strike out a deal with the Church.
They gave Church a valuable treasure while the Church gave something valuable in return- the main base of the Rebellion.
Wasting no time, the High Table itself dispatched themselves along with the entire Imperial Sentry. A battle took place a few miles away from the capital of Uropolis- a battle that shook the whole continent.
Two generals of the Imperial Sentry died, the strongest of the Pioneers was killed, a member of the High Table was severely injured. And thousands of people died- both from the sides of the commoners and the nobles- especially the Rebellion.
Witnessing the devastating losses, both sides decided to take a step back. The nobility promised the better treatment of the commoners, while the Rebellion stated they would only punish the wrongdoers.
The nobility learned their lessons and began to treat the commoners who served them better, especially the guards. But things did not get much better for the commoners who did not serve the aristocracy.
Everyone thought it was over.
Who knew that just in a span of fifteen years, another civil war would start. The higher nobles, who had yet to recover from their traumas from the last revolt, sent away all their servants, workers, maids away- keeping only the most trusted of guards with them. Only a tenth of the prior residents now remained at the central districts.
Hence, the streets were empty. But a few came into sight every couple of hundred meters or so.
The carriage drove through the snow covered streets. Eustace was sitting just before Adrian, his eyes down on the floor.
"He is quite eager to meet me, isn't he?" Adrian smiled.
"Yes. He cancelled everything he had on his schedule and booked the room at the midday slot. The only reason he scheduled it this late was because he considered the distance between you and the castle."
"You made a good decision- asking money from him."
The brown haired youth forced a smile. "I just made a guess. I thought he became an ally of yours, and decided to roll the dice. And I was fortunate, he funded the whole project- secretively of course."
Soon, the carriage reached its destination. Adrian put on his hood and exited the carriage.
The Dreamscapes Castle was just ahead. The look was different from what it was at night. The sunlight reflected on the golden walls, making it look even grander.
He walked into the establishment. An employee led him to the designated room. Adrian stepped inside while Eustace remained behind.
Adrian sat just opposite to the handsome middle aged man and removed his hood. "We meet again."
"Indeed." The man took a bottle of red wine and poured it on a chalice and pushed it to Adrian.
Adrian took the crystalline cup, twirled it and took a sip. "You have been quite busy I see."
"I was always a busy man." The man took his own glass and sipped. "It's just that a certain even increased my workload threefold." He gave Adrian a look.
"But can you complain?" Adrian smirked. "You seem to enjoy this a lot."
The man put the glass on the table and sighed. "You did not have to do this to Christina. She was a good girl."
"This is how the world works, Mister Denok." Adrian whirled the wine. "Tell me, what wrong did your wife do to deserve such fate?"
He took back the glass with another sigh. He poured all the contents of the chalice into his mouth, gulping it down. "But you have yet to keep your end of the deal. This result of this war will be the same- a truce."
Adrian rested his back and smiled.
"Oh, trust me. The outcome this time will be a lot more fun."
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