The Union

"Enough indeed" Vedur said under the hood of his cloak. Yave agreed with nods.

"Tell me" He turned to the Servus "Are you one of those corrupt officials?"

"Me?" Yave laughed anxiously "No, Magistrate. Straight as an arrow I am. I have never stolen from the treasury and have never accepted dark bribes. Never"

He wasn"t lying. Yave may be stupid as a donkey but he was an honest man, true to his duty to the Republic.

Vedur trudged towards his house, hauling Servus Yave from behind. The orators were all over the city- preaching about the Republic"s stinks. The crowds they gathered were quite a lot. And the people- they are listening. At first they only clapped. But now the Inkish are joining in condemning the corrupt Servuses.

This was all the Union"s doing. They were not preaching for Yea. Instead they were preaching for people to not vote Nay. They are using hatred bottled by several decades of decadence and corruption to sway the Inkish into their side. The worst part is that it could very well work. Already, he could hear people address the monarchs as His Majesty and Her Majesty.

"The city watch are being trained everyday Magistrate" Yave informed him all of a sudden "I"ve heard from a friend in the Magistrate of War"s faction. They are preparing but I don"t think they would be able to win against the Castonian legions"

"We have bigger problems than that" Vedur limited his answer.

"They could take Haubern if we don"t reinforce it enough Magistrate. I can"t see a problem bigger than that. Haubern is the center of the Republic"

And they could take the whole of Inkit without b.l.o.o.d.ying their hands, Vedur thought. They could and he couldn"t do anything about it. The monarchs were not aiming to conquer the city, they were aiming for the whole Inkit- without a single spill of blood. The preaching for the Nay vote had stalled. He, Herberk and Bouvin were doing everything but Devik seemed unconcerned. The Magistrate of coins refused to give them enough funds for the campaign.

"Prepare a carriage for tonight" He told Yave "We are to speak with the monarchs"

"Speak?" Yave raised his brows.

"Yes, speak. The chance is great that we would lose to Yea. We need to make a compromise of sorts. We need to strike a bargain"

**********

Those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds are everywhere. He could hear their shrill tones and mocking voices. Bouvin clenched his fingers. Vedur was a fool. Devik was also a fool. They are all fools and they would lead the Republic into ruin. He must act. It was his duty to do something.

Opening the door to the warehouse, he immediately saw the others. Herberk and some of his Servuses were also among the people. The smell inside was not great. The warehouse used to store dried fish after all.

"Greetings Magistrate.."

He interrupted the Servus with raised palm. He wasn"t fond of greetings.

"How many do we have?"

"Two thousand heads" Answered one Servus.

"Not enough"

"Magistrate... We have many times their number. I say we hit them hard"

"And I say you are thinking from your b.u.t.t. Let"s say we attack them. We surprise their a.s.ses but after that? What? They hold long and hold strong. They are royal guards dammit! We can"t just waddle in and kill them. And even if we foolishly do, we need to do it fast before the army outside catches wind of what is happening. Two thousand heads will not be enough for a quick and effective a.s.sault"

"Maybe we should just do nothing. They won"t win the plebiscite. Although the voters are slowly swaying to the Yea, most still support the Republic" said Herberk.

"Do nothing" Bouvin nodded "Talk of a coward. You"ve been out there Herberk! You"ve heard those orators chattering endlessly about how the Republic has fallen to corruption. You"ve seen how the citizens yell for the blood of the Servuses. You knew and you still advise to do nothing?"

"Fine, fine. We should do something. Woe to the monarchs, I get it. But what can we do? We don"t have money. Devik h.o.a.rds the treasury like a crazed gremlin. We need more men? We need bribes. Bribes cost money. We don"t have money"

"Oh we have money alright" Bouvin eyed every single one of the Servuses "You all caused this. Some of you may be clean but most are rotten. It is time to give back what you owe the Republic"

"Magistrate" a Servus attempted to act shocked "We are not like that. We are true to our oaths of office. Nonsense. I tell you Magistrate, all those news about corruption are..."

Bouvin stopped the Servus" mewling with his fist. The man"s mouth became b.l.o.o.d.y.

"We are willing to forgive your crimes" Bouvin snarled "Just contribute to this effort! Consider this, if the monarchs gets what they want, your heads will roll"

The Servuses looked at each other. These corrupt men had been the bane of the Republic for too long. But the Republic would end without their help. A compromise was needed.

"I can donate a small sum" Said the same Servus, now with a b.l.o.o.d.y nose.

"It"s not from corruption or anything like that but I can also provide some coins" said another.

One by one, the Servuses agreed. Bouvin looked at Herberk. It was time to cut the two heads of the snake.

**********

It was past sunset when Avery returned. She decided that she would quit her job. Being a corrupt official wasn"t her thing.

"Mechi told me that you ran all of a sudden" Vex said from his table.

"She did. Strange girl you are Avery. Youngsters like you are strange"

"It"s a phase I suppose" Vex shrugged

"I would like to leave" Avery finally said

Vex stared at her for a long time. His eyelids flinched many times.

"So you"ve heard huh? Gossips travel fast. Who told you? Which Servus?"

"What?"

"The news"

"What news?"

"You know...how we are to donate everything we have. b.a.s.t.a.r.d Magistrate Bouvin demanded all the our earnings. They have just taken three hundred gold coins from me. It was pure robbery I tell you. Golden age of being an a.s.sistant is gone. I"m back to being poor"

"They took your corruption money?"

"Oi girl. Be careful with the words. It"s not corruption money, it"s opportunistic gains. But yes. Those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. I do understand. The monarchs needed to die anyway so I"m willing to forgive their robbery"

"Monarchs? Die? They are going to attack the monarchs?"

"Apparently so" Vex smiled bitterly "Tonight they say with a huge chunk of the city watch. I do hope they succeed though"

"Insane. This is beyond insane. This... attacking them would break the promise of safe haven. We...they can"t die here. We offered them the hospitality of Haubern!"

"Hospitality doesn"t matter much now. The monarchs" fault for foolishly going inside this city. Me and Mechi couldn"t care less. Let them croak"

Avery"s feet moved. She ran away.

"Oi! Running again? What"s with you and running!?"

She paid no heed to those two. She needed to warn them. A difference of opinion regarding the Republic is alright. But trying to kill guests is too much. Inkit would be ruined if something happens to the King or the Queen. Magistrate Bouvin is a madman.

A couple thousand of steps and a pant, she was outside the house of Magistrate Chen. The moon was waning above. The night was dark amidst the raging summer.

"Get back girl" barked one of the royal guards at the gate.

"Alert the others! They will come soon. The monarchs are in danger. Please! I beg of you"

The royal guards maintained their stern looks. When Avery trudged to the gate, the royal guard pushed he back with a single swath.

"Believe me! We don"t have much time. The factions of the Magistrate of War and the Magistrate of Infrastructure..."

She heard the thin rolling sound of wheels against paved road. A carriage stopped in front of the gate and soon, two men in togas stepped out.

Avery recognized the two of course. One was Magistrate Vedur, the Magistrate of Diplomacy while the other was Yave, a Servus.

"We request for a meeting with the monarchs" Said Magistrate Vedur to the royal guard. With a single glance provided to Avery, the Magistrate added "Silence is a virtue girl. Keep it shut. You didn"t see us here tonight"

"Now is not a good time" said the royal guard.

"Why?" Servus Yave asked with a chuckle "They having coitus or something?"

The royal guard"s already grim face turned more grim. "I will punch all of your teeth inside that filth hole. Talk some more. I dare you. Talk some more! Don"t test me perfumed b.a.s.t.a.r.d"

Magistrate Vedur glared at the Servus and then turned to the royal guard.

"Apologies for the reckless mouth of my companion. But we do need to see them. We have important matters to discuss, important. And in secret preferably"

"Now is not a good time Magistrate, truly not a good time" The royal guard looked at Avery " You should return tomorrow. We knew already and blood is going to flow tonight"