CCC XIII The Death of You and Me

[Mengish]

Hi there!
This is my first ever post on the forum, although I've been following for a few years by now. And it includes a MOC for CCC XIII. Hope you enjoy...

Born as one of the many bastards a King was able to ejaculate into the world, Ganere had spent his childhood within a small clan in the north of Mitgardia. Rejected though, he had his own special character which shone out even in this small clan. When he grew into a young fellow, he had already developed his warrior skills. Yet, there was more in him than just a simple, mighty warrior. He also had the insight to rule. But, there stood a challenge before him: There was nothing and/or no one to rule in this long-forgotten clan in the north of the kingdom, now ruled by one of the legitimate heirs of his father. “He is my brother” he pondered on and on for days. He initially thought of going to the capital and introduce himself to the new King but he forsook. He was a forgotten bastard of a dead King, who had better stay unnoticed.

The idea of introducing himself to the new King beat his sense of logic in the end and he found himself mounted on his horse on the way down to the south, where the fate had some surprises for him in store. Having spent almost his entire life in a remote frozen town in the north, the south embraced him with all the generosity it had. This was a dazzling world for a countryman. He was focused, though. He met some of the men who had visited his town some years ago and collected information about the new King. He had never met him. Nor had he seen any picture of him. He had no idea about his looks or characteristics as a human. But there came the first surprise…

On the third day of his visit to the capital, he stopped by an inn on the outskirts of the city. He was silently sipping his ale at a corner table when a band of troops rushed in with much ado. They checked inside the inn, disarming each and every one there, including our naive warrior. Then, an exquisite odour filled the inn as the new King and his court entered. The King was on his way back to his castle from a hunting party when he decided to stop and have a rest at the inn.

Ganere fell deeper into his chair when he saw the King entering the inn. Could it be? Could there be such a possibility? The King resembled him like a twin, except for the beard he had. Of course, the outfits of the pair were not matching as well, As the first wave of shock wore off, he took another sip from his ale and tried to make a decision on whether to introduce himself to the King or not. But an idea struck his brain like a thunderbolt. He covered his head, turned his back to the court and listened to them carefully. It was nothing important but he caught glimpses of the King’s character and his way of speaking. The King and his court did not stay long and left the inn. But this short and mundane visit to an ordinary inn would have more significant consequences both for him and his bastard brother.

When the night fell, Ganere had already began his journey back to hisremote town. His eyes were shining like a triumphant Caesar. On his return, Ganere immediately assembled four of his most royal men and discussed the details of his plan, which popped in his mind the moment he saw the King.

They had to wait for the spring when tax collectors regularly paid their visit. On the first days of spring, the snow began to melt and the rivers filled with water, which carried the taxmen on their boats. The humble taxmen guarded by another boat of troops were used to collecting the tax without any trouble in this area. They collected the tax without any problem that day and were invited for the dinner. They accepted this offer with delight and postponed their departure to the next day, which they would not see dawning. As glasses of wine were tossed, the attack began in the cramped town hall filled with smoke. The result was the slaughter of all but one troop who was spared to deliver the news of the rebellion to the King.

It took 7 days for the un/fortunate troop to reach the capital and deliver the news about the massacre to the King and his council. The King was much surprised and could not understand why such a small clan would start a rebel. They must have known that they would be crashed easily and without any hassle to the King and his army. After discussing the situation with his council, the King decided to embark on a mid-size military expedition to the north. After all, it was just a small town, far from any other town which might come for help. Indeed, it was not the expedition that was on King’s mind but the tasty deer of the north which were a real joy to hunt.

It all happened within a month: The King marched on with his army and crashed down this rebellious little town and butchered several men in return for his beloved taxmen. But there missed the head of the rebellion. That culprit was nowhere to be seen. He had abandoned the town days before the King’s army arrived. But this was an insignificant detail for the King, who enjoyed a few weeks in the town, around which he hunted the most delicious deer of Mitgardia. He had no idea that he was watched from a distance by four men who had taken refuge in a small cave overlooing the town.

The King was bored with hunting after weeks of hunting. He missed the joys of the castle in the south but did not want to take the journey on horse back. So he decided to return by boat and ordered his noble men to take the army back on foot. Two boats were prepared and the King left the town next day. Ganere and his men, who had been carefully watching the actions down the town, hurriedly rode back to the capital to catch the King and his troops at the outpost they thought the King would use to enter the city. It had a narrow bridge and was small enough for an ambush.

They arrived on their exhaused horses which were left in the woods and headed to the outpost in the dark of the night with almost no sound. The plan was simple. They would pass the swamp at night and open a hole under the outpost. They knew that guards were less careful during night in this peaceful kingdom. And the King never told anyone which outpost he would use to prevent any assassination. Ganere had to rely on his luck on whether the King would use this outpost. But there was one thing he did not leave up to chance. It was his beard. He had grown a beard all winter, which filled the last gap in his resemblence to his noble brother. As they waited for any sign of the King, they heard that familiar sound of the horseshoes. One of his men checked and confirmed that it was the King who had landed and taken the dead body of one of his aides with him. The ambush was about to begin. The original plan had worked out very well until now. It was much easier to ambush a small group of guards than an army. There Ganere had his outfit packed in a bag and the crown in his hand. He would kill his brother and replace him. It was a strange feeling, he thought. He was about to kill his brother and by the time he died, it was going to be the death of himself as well. He would never return to who he once was and pretend his whole life. So one of his men heard him mumbling..”This marks The Death of You and Me, brother…


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[josdu]

Very nice MOC!

[Mengish]

Glad you like it, mate!