Chapter 281: Egbert’s Arrival
People in every street and alley were filled with anger. They stood on the dirt roads of Scone, gathering near the walls of the houses and the stalls of the local market.
"Did you hear? Giric mac Dúngail, the leader of the northern villages, was murdered by two nobles. Not only did they rape his daughter, but they also killed his entire family!"
"How cruel and barbaric! But why did they kill that poor girl’s family too?"
"They slaughtered him! Giric and his whole bloodline! And for what? So the King’s fat lords can steal our wheat?"
"Those damned nobles, they have no regard for human life whatsoever!"
"They all deserve hell!"
When the information arrived in the capital city, it caused a massive disruption among the laboring class.
Giric mac Dúngail was a man of great honor and courage, acting as the most respected ruler among the northern Scottish villages.
He owned large areas of farming land, where his workers grew wheat and raised sheep. He protected his people from thieves by employing local guards who carried iron spears.
The commoners loved him deeply because he did not take their food by force, and he allowed them to keep the majority of the wheat they harvested from the fields.
He also sat on a bench in the center of his village every week to listen to the complaints of the farmers, resolving their disputes over land and livestock with fairness.
The commoners knew that the two nobles traveled to his wooden house during the night, forced their way inside through the door, and committed these actions to eliminate his entire bloodline.
While this anger spread through the streets, a completely different conversation occurred inside the palace.
"As expected." King Donald said, sitting on a chair and looking at the man standing in front of him.
"This matter has blown up so much." The Duke said, pleased with himself, maintaining a happy expression on his face as he stood in the room.
Those who killed Giric mac Dúngail were nobles entirely loyal to Donald. Donald had secretly ordered them to carry out the murder because Giric was the first regional leader to openly rebel against the crown.
Why did Giric rebel? Because Donald’s tax laws stipulated that he take 70% of all the estates.
This meant that if a farmer harvested ten sacks of wheat after months of hard labor in the fields, the king’s tax collectors would arrive with armed guards holding iron spears and take seven of those sacks.
This left the farmer and his family with barely enough food to survive the cold winter months, causing starvation and anger among the working people.
Even the most respected and honorable of all the rulers of Scotland, Giric Mac Dúngail, was killed by Donald to enforce this specific economic law.
And so, Donald wasn’t satisfied with simply eliminating one honorable leader. He intended to use this fabricated crisis to completely crush any remaining resistance in the northern territories and seize the highly valuable land for himself.
He sent his army of 7,000 infantry into the rebellious northern regions. These 7,000 men required massive amounts of food, clean water, and camping supplies to march across the country.
They carried iron swords, round wooden shields reinforced with iron bands, and long wooden spears. They marched in tight formations across the hills, following the commands of their officers who rode on horses.
When they arrived in the north, they wreaked havoc among the villages. The infantry soldiers took food by force from the local farmers, broke down wooden doors, and burned wooden houses to the ground.
This destruction was executed to ensure that no other tribal leader would have the courage to question the 70% tax law or attempt to raise an army against the king.
...
A month passed.
King Donald’s infantry successfully secured the northern lands, and the resulting taxes were collected and placed into heavy chests. While the Scottish kingdom engaged in this internal suppression, the young man who had purchased the strong piece of metal continued his journey southward.
Now, he was wearing a thick leather cloak over his shoulders. Furthermore, he was holding a long lance made of wood with a sharp iron tip.
He was riding a brown horse directly behind the knight.
The knight, who was an experienced soldier, recognized the young man’s intelligence and his ability to identify valuable materials. The knight taught the young man how to hold the lance properly, instructing him to keep his arm straight, hold the wooden shaft firmly against his side, and use the forward momentum of the horse to deliver a deadly strike against an enemy.
He also taught him how to balance his weight on the leather saddle, pressing his knees against the horse to avoid falling off during rapid movements and sudden turns.
In return for this martial training, the young man used his keen eyes to spot safe paths through the forests and identify good camping spots near clean water sources.
"We’re almost there! Look at these paved roads! My goodness!" The young man said, pointing his hand toward the ground beneath their horses.
And so, after traveling for many weeks across the long dirt paths and the new paved stone roads of the land, the young man named Egbert and the armored knight named Gutta finally arrived at the outer boundary of City Titan.
They had spent the previous two months riding their horses through thick forests and sleeping on the hard ground. They had eaten dried meat and hard bread every day, and they had taken turns staying awake during the night to protect their horses and their silver coins from thieves who hid in the dark trees.
"Get out of my sight!" shouted a merchant, surrounded by many guards.
He was shouting at a poor farmer who had accidentally moved his cart too close to the merchant’s horses.
"Don’t push!" said the young man after glancing at the knight.
Egbert stepped forward and placed his body between the angry merchant and the scared farmer.
"Huh? Who are you?" asked the merchant.