The Dreamer's Fall

Chapter 61 - Poe of Hussan

A horn blew ahead, signaling the marching column of soldiers to halt. Stopping his mount, Arthur scratched under his chainmail coif and glanced at Jeren. "Have we reached Piltash already?"

"We should have, lord." Jeren replied as he gazed ahead. "But they don't seem to be calling to set up camp, so something must have happened."

"The city's probably been abandoned just like the last one, Harran or whatever it was called." Foster added as he stretched atop his mount.

"The last Bernish city was called Arran. Harran was the first city we besieged after defeating the Bernish-Agelian army." Jeren corrected him. "But it's not entirely unlikely for it to be abandoned like Arran. It would certainly be a stroke of luck if it was."

Arthur didn't necessarily agree with that sentiment. When they arrived at Arran a few weeks ago, the city was a ghost town with less than a thousand people remaining. Ideally, the army could take Piltash without a siege, but if it was abandoned, that would bring about its own problems.

If there weren't any people to rule over, there was hardly any reason for him to be there. Not to mention, it would slow down his plans considerably if he didn't have a labor force to tax.

"Some of the men are saying that the reason Arran was abandoned was due to you, young master." Foster said, his voice full of fervor.

Arthur laughed, feeling satisfied that his attempts to win over the hearts and minds of the soldiers were paying off. "And how is it my fault the city was abandoned?"

"They said it was because you took the city of Nosin so quickly that it caused the people of Bern to flee from your path in fear." Foster explained proudly.

Of course, Foster's words were all blatant flattery. It was clear to everyone by now that something strange was going on with Bern and Agelia, so Arthur simply accepted the praise. He couldn't help but laugh and nod to the true benefactor that caused Nosin to fall so quickly.

Kyren had discovered the hidden escape tunnel when he was scouting the city. Apparently, when the lord of Nosin fled to Agelia, he didn't take all of his servants with him, and Kyren overheard them plotting their escape once the city was surrounded. Unfortunately for the servants, and fortunately for Arthur, the exit to the tunnel wasn't far from where the Ollerinian camp was stationed.

Thus, all he had to do was be near the tunnel's exit when the servants came out and pretend it was all a happy coincidence. Once the servants were captured, the city of Nosin soon followed.

Of course, most wrote it off as simple luck, but the soldiers were common men, simple and superstitious. Because of Arthur's 'luck', they were one step closer to returning safely to their families, so it didn't matter how Arthur did it. To them, all that mattered was that he had prevented a long, drawn-out battle that might've resulted in their deaths.

"There's no call to be at the ready, so there shouldn't be any danger." Arthur declared as he whipped Aithon's reins. "Let's go see what the hold-up is."

Along the way, soldiers happily greeted him here and there, to which Arthur returned the gesture with a nod and a benevolent smile. Once he arrived at the head of the column, he found his uncle Garren beside Baron Iken. The pair stared off into the distance, exchanging some words between them.

Arthur pulled up beside them and followed their eyes. "What's going on?"

Garren ignored him entirely as if he didn't exist. It was how his uncle had treated him for the past few months after their little verbal spat. However, Arthur much preferred the current silent treatment compared to the constant quips of the past, so he had no complaints.