Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 23: Heading for the Capital

Burning houses, land corrupted by the elemental power, terrifying giants walking out of the fog of chaos, friends and relatives who died tragically in the midst of all these events—they were like nightmares as they haunted the survivors. Even after they had already found safety in Tanzan Town, even with knights and soldiers protecting them, their fear had never subsided for even a moment.

Because even among the soldiers donned in armor, few could actually sleep soundly at night.

Many of them had to turn to alcohol to numb themselves. Those poor people who could not even afford to get drunk would have no choice but to endure the torment. Moreover, as refugees who had wandered to another territory in this day and age, it was certain that a good life would not await them. Thus, the situation seemed even worse.

Knight Philip could hardly muster the ability in getting the soldiers to report regularly everyday, let alone being able to keep order among the refugees.

Fortunately, the Lord had returned safely and even brought with her a strong pillar of support.

Outside Tanzan Town, Rebecca looked at the people of Cecil territory gathered before her. These people were dressed in shabby clothing and looked haggard. Although Viscount Andrew did provide basic necessities of accommodation and food, Rebecca could not ask for more seeing as he was already far more charitable than the typical aristocrats in this day and age who would give alms only very sparingly to the people.

For the people who had escaped from Cecil territory, seeing their Lord was a shot in the arm.

The civilians of this age were not very wise and were psychologically weak. They did not have much loyalty toward the Lord. Though Rebecca could be regarded as a compassionate and friendly lord (the main reason for this was that the young lady was not very smart, so she did not learn the cunning and greedy ways of her aristocratic peers) But after all, she had not been in this position for even a year. In fact, with the poor flow of information, many people did not even know what their lord looked like.

But their lord’s appearance still served as a form of encouragement. As long as someone stood up and announced that they would continue to protect these pitiful, anxiety-stricken people, it was already enough. It would not matter to them who their lord was or how they looked like. The feudal system that lasted hundreds of years had crippled the people’s ability to think, but it had also made them easily satisfied. In Gawain’s perspective, this was cohesiveness built upon stupidity and ignorance—but it was effective.

There were only a small fraction of the people who had come to see them off as even more had stayed in Tanzan Town to attend to their belongings or work to pay for everyone’s food. Looking at these people, Rebecca wanted to say a few words, but she really did not know what to say. So she looked to Knight Philip. “These people will still have to rely on you, Knight Philip. Before we come back, try not to lose a single one of them.”

“I swear!” Philip straightened his chest. “I will protect every one of Cecil’s citizens and assets!”

“Don’t forget what I told you to do,” Gawain said. “Viscount Andrew will provide the necessary help. You only need to send out those who are good on their feet and in their brains. Don’t be stingy with the money. The things they have to accomplish is more important than money.”

“Yes!” The young knight replied loudly, but he could still hardly conceal his bewilderment. As someone living in an unenlightened age and being specialized in combat, it was difficult for him to keep up with Gawain’s thinking. “But are those things really that important?”

“Of course it’s important,” Gawain laughed. “You can call it gossip or public opinion effect. But don’t underestimate these invisible forces. Once everyone starts talking about the same thing, even the king will not be able to sit easy. ”

After making some arrangements, Gawain and Rebecca boarded the carriage provided by Viscount Andrew. Accompanying them was Betty, the maidservant, the loyal Knight Byron, Amber, the super strong bandit, and twelve of the clan’s soldiers. These soldiers were not the cream of the crop because they had less than twenty soldiers in total, counting those that broke out along with Knight Philip and the two who came out with Gawain. To come up with twelve fully equipped soldiers could be said to be the last remaining ‘face’ that the Cecil Clan could muster.

The mature Heidi stayed behind to keep a rein on the situation back in Tanzan Town. But ‘Aunt Heidi’ was apparently quite worried about her niece’s upcoming trip to the capital. She stood by the carriage, grabbed Rebecca’s hand, and urged her, “Don’t forget your status and don’t bring disgrace to the Cecils, but also don’t get into conflicts with the capital’s aristocrats. Be respectful when you see the king. Don’t break the rules. Don’t throw fireballs at people. The capital is not like our home. If you find something you don’t understand, don’t rush to answer. Go to your ancestor or Knight Byron to discuss it first because people will read into every word you say. The very most important thing is to listen to Ancestor especially when dealing with the aristocrats. You’re not good at this, but Ancestor is a Grand Duke, he knows…”

Upon hearing Heidi’s instructions, he had a brooding feeling because he really did not know…

Not only did he not know, but the real Gawain Cecil did not know as well. When that founding hero died, Anzu was still led by a bunch of peasants. The court’s practice back in the day basically revolved around drinking and having heated arguments with the king as a way to make advancements on issues. Thinking back on it, after more than 700 years, things should probably have changed…

But in order to not drive the already overly neurotic nth great granddaughter into complete madness, he laid his hand on Heidi’s shoulder, and gave her an assuring look. “Rest assured, I know.”

So with Heidi’s relaxed smile, the clueless Rebecca and the seemingly all-knowing Gawain, embarked on a journey to the capital.

At the same time, Knight Philip dispatched some people as Gawain had instructed before departing.

Those were people from Cecil territory selected for their quicker wits and people quick on their legs and tongues employed from Tanzan Town. There were even some hoodlums who would do it for a few copper coins. Dealing with these people was particularly uncomfortable for the young knight, and the task they were set out to do left the knight even more baffled. The only thing they had to do was to scatter in all directions to places where there were crowds, the taverns, the black market, and the shacks in the slums, where they would spread the word.

It would be best if they could find bards along the way and spread the word to them.

Thus, these events were seen happening in many places within the southern district. Haggard strangers from foreign lands went to crowded areas and spoke in weird accents. Looking mysterious yet earnest, they spoke of similar things.

“Hey, have you heard? Something happened to the Cecil Clan in the south! Their territory was destroyed by monsters and dragons! I heard that it even disturbed the departed souls underground. The legendary ancestor of Cecil was awoken and rose from his coffin… Yes! It’s that legendary Gawain Cecil. He awakened from his long slumber! He must have risen to destroy those monsters…”

“Sigh! Why would I lie to you! People in the south are all talking about this. You can just go to Tanzan Town or Woods Town to ask around about this. And do you see my clothes? I’m one of those who escaped from the south. I tell you, I saw it with my own eyes when Cecils’ ancestor was resurrected!”

Almost everyone talked about the same thing, and at the end they would all earnestly swear that they had witnessed those strange things themselves. Even the people, who were not recruited by Knight Philip, would manage to keep at least eighty percent of the original message when they continued to spread the rumor.

If any one were to gather all the rumors, they would be surprised to find that at least one thousand people were standing in the tomb and watching when the Cecils’ ancestor was resurrected, and there would be also 10000 of them outside looking in…

However, in this era, anyone capable of doing this would not pay attention to these rumors among the peasants in the streets. Those people who believed and spread the news… they would not be too discerning about it.

In the carriage heading towards the city of St. Soniel, Gawain gazed out disinterestedly at the scenery as he pondered about how he should face His Majesty, the King, who sat high atop the Silver Castle in St. Soniel.

He did not know how much effect would come out of the task he had instructed of Knight Philip. In fact, he did not even have thirty percent of confidence in it. This was a world filled with ignorance and was quite at odds with itself. The existence of magic had made many things much more convenient, to such an exceedingly advanced state, as they were being used to enhance production in various ways. However, things like magical powers and other supernatural powers were only controlled in the hands of a few while commoners did not possess them. Or perhaps they did not need it, so those who lacked this power fell unimaginably far behind.

Shouting was their means of communication, walking their means of travel. Rumors could spread quickly in towns because gossip was a form of entertainment for the peasants after a day of hard work. However, it was ten times harder to spread the news from one city to another because the unchecked wilderness had become a huge obstacle that impeded travel. Moreover, each clan had controls in place on who entered and left their territories. Without first obtaining permission of their lords, they had to risk being hanged if they were only intending to visit the neighboring territory’s village to buy a chicken!

The agreement on freedom of movement signed between the Cecil Clan and the Leslie Clan (Viscount Andrew’s clan) could address the problem of the flow of people, but it could not address other difficulties.

But it was at least better than doing nothing.

Gawain’s objective was very simple. It was to spread the story of ‘The resurrection of Cecils’ ancestor’ as far as possible. The wider it spread, the better. It must not only be a secret known within the aristocratic circles but also among the commoners and even among the poor. If possible, it should even spread to the extent of becoming like supernatural and horror stories. In fact, this was the direction some of those rumors were evolving into.

In the process of dissemination of this information, more and more would be added to the message. Those superstitious and ignorant medieval people would add a lot of details to it according to their own understanding. Gawain did not care about the details at all. He only wanted the news to continue spreading.

Then everyone would know that Cecils’ ancestor had been resurrected, and that it was during the middle of the monsters’ attack on the kingdom that the legendary founding pioneer woke up…