Sweet Dreams Ch. 05: Due South

But travel, my son, watch and see, learn, change, but do not overstrain your people. Not all of them can see over the borders of the kingdom and their daily lives as you do.

I closed the book, put it back into my saddlebag and followed Mandrak riding before me on his horse for some hours in silence. In the distance we could already see Jugoah. Ladar stopped our trail and announced, "We will be in Jugoah in an hour. The sun will be down by that time. The duke of Lambaragh will immediately visit the mayor where everything is prepared for him. Government personnel will escort him. Military personnel will follow me to the garrison, where we will change our luggage for our journey through the Haldur. Tomorrow we will start as soon as the sun is up. We will try reach the low pass the day after tomorrow. There are not many good places to camp before that."

Not an hour later riders coming from Jugoah escorted me, Mandrak, Tangara and her men to the city hall of Jugoah, where riders from the Ministry for Trade and from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs had the legal documents prepared, I intended to sign this evening.

The mayor waited for us when we arrived at the city hall. He started to fall on his knees when he saw me.

"Do not fall on your knees, your trousers will get wet. And you will be embarrassed to fall on your knees in front of a mere duke," I said to him. He seemed to understand.

When we were in his official rooms, he finally got what he wanted and bowed before me and kissed the ring on my hand, "Your Majesty, everything is prepared."

"Thank you, I will read the documents before I sign them -- this will need some time." I saw the piles of paper on the table.

"All papers are here in duplicate, so it is not that much."

"Good. Mayor, would you be so kind to let us use your study. Mandrak, my valet, and Tangara will help me going through these papers. Could you please look after our physical well-being?"

"Of course, Your Majesty. We have already prepared something to eat and to drink."

I went through the papers with Tangara and Mandrak. The drafts from the trade ministry were for a law of amnesty for all those with trading relations with the south, for a law about trading relations with foreign partners during a phase of reconstruction, and for establishing a new department in the Ministry for trade with territories along the channel. They were all very sophisticated and well thought out. I was able to promulgate these without change.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs had sent a draft book. It contained templates for peace agreements, drafts for agreements about territories becoming part of the empire or part of the kingdom, some raw drafts for defensive alliances against single cities in case they did not want to join the empire or kingdom together. On the last few pages, it even contained marriage agreements. We could go through these on our way south.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs had sent just one law I had to sign. It would allow to legally cross the kingdom's southern border again after fifty years of separation.

We drank and ate while we read and discussed. Two hours later, we were ready. I asked the mayor to come in and watch me signing the documents.

"One copy of each law stays here. One copy is to be sent to Rallagoah as fast as possible. The laws are effective immediately. Proclaim these laws in Jugoah tomorrow at ten in the morning, have copies made and send these copies to the north, the east and the west, to be proclaimed there, especially in Agdulmek. The draftbook I will take with me."

The mayor bowed his head and gave the signed copies for Rallagoah to a rider. "The copies will be in Rallagoah the day after tomorrow."

There were rooms prepared for us in the city hall. We went to bed as soon as we finished. On the way to our rooms Mandrak asked me: "Are you afraid, Haruk?"

"Maybe. I am a bit afraid, that we come too late. But I am not afraid for me. The gods are with us, Mandrak. Nothing bad will happen in the end to those, who do good."

"It's the end I am afraid of. I don't want it to come yet."

"This you told me every time we went to battle in the northeast, my friend, and nothing ever happened."

"One day it will. But maybe this day has not come yet."

"Sleep, Mandrak, we will need all our strength in the next few days."

I went to my room, undressed, and fell asleep immediately. I slept dreamless, at least I cannot remember any dreams. It always was this way when I was about to reach enemy territory.

Tangara woke me up next morning. I felt awake and alert within the second.

"Mandrak has already prepared your horse, we will start in twenty minutes."

"Thank you Tangara." When I looked out the window, I could see the crystal-clear sky and the first signs of sunlight in the east. It still did not rain up north, perfect conditions for reaching the low pass.

Coffee and something to eat was prepared in my room. Even warm water to wash. I made my morning routine and was ready to leave fifteen minutes later. Mandrak, Tangara and her men were standing in front of the city hall.

"Ladar has asked the mayor to stay away this morning. We want to leave in silence. At ten everyone will know that you have been in the city this night, by then we will be far away already."

We left for the garrison and found our military escort in front of the main building.

"Good morning, Ladar. I hope your night was as productive and restful as ours."

"Thank you, Haruk. It was productive. We heard much news from our military scouts. We can talk about it on our way up the pass. From what I heard there is no time to lose."

Then he turned his horse around and looked over his men. Ten military people in our escort, ten scouts and fifteen messengers, Tangara and her three men, Mandrak and me. The scouts would take the lead and sometimes we would not see them for days. The messengers would stay with us.

Our ascent started slow, and the way ran through a beautiful landscape. It led over some hills, before it would meet with the river Jildak again. Then it followed the river upwards to its origin. There was a small plain. On the other side of this plain the river Falir rose, which we would then follow southwards. We hoped to reach this plain tomorrow morning.

Ladar took the lead for the first hour, then he came back to me. I was in the middle of our trail.

"We will reach the pass tomorrow. The conditions are very good. The weather seems to hold, and our scouts said that it stopped raining in the south. Tonight, we will camp at a place with some sheds, so we will not need to sleep in tents.

Further down the south not many buildings stayed intact. Faltara is mostly destroyed with the exception of a temple in the middle of the town. The Haldur seems to have worked as buffer between us and the earthquake. They said what they saw down south is beyond imagination.

Dagrala is awaiting our arrival. Most of the free cities seem to have been hit hard, except Nuret. They did not join the others asking for our help, so we should inform the fleet to keep away from Nuret when sailing down south with relief supplies.

The other cities will not hold it against you if you decide to attack Nuret. They will not help their defence, since Nuret did nothing to help them."

"Mandrak, can you write a letter for one of our messengers?"

"Yes, just give me some minutes."

"Thank you, Ladar, I will inform our fleet immediately. What would you say, one military escort ship for every three or four ships with relief goods? It should keep the Nuretans away for now. But we will prepare an invasion fleet. We must use this chance. My father tried to conquer Nuret for twenty years and the only thing that kept him from success was the help of the other free cities."

"Won't this undermine the trust we try to build with them?" Tangara asked.

"Definitely. But more importantly it will show the free cities, that we did not come to hand out first aid, relief supplies and everything necessary for reconstruction for free. We come in a position of power, and I intend to use this power to shape this region after my will and for the good of the kingdom."

"I am ready for writing," Mandrak announced.

"Good. First a letter to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Ministry for Trade:

Send relief ships to the free cities. Ignore Nuret. It is not destroyed and not friendly. Escort the relief ships with one military ship for three cargo ships. Prepare a strong invasion fleet for Nuret now. Starting in Agdulmek. Do not wait for my return.

Secondly a letter for the fleet command in Agdulmek:

Escort relief ships to the free cities three to one. Ignore Nuret with the relief ships. Prepare an invasion fleet for Nuret. Coordinate with Rallagoah. Do not wait for my return.

A copy of this letter has to go to Rallagoah too, to the Ministry of Defence."

I signed the letters and Mandrak handed them over to messenger.

"The letter to Rallagoah will be there tomorrow evening, the letter to Agdulmek will need four or five days."

Ladar seemed to think this over for some time, "Relief ships are being prepared now, the ships stationed in Agdulmek are always ready to depart, so the first relief ships should reach Dagrala in twelve to sixteen days."

"By that time, we will already be in Dagrala. Any relief ship present will enforce our position," Tangara added.

"Ladar, what more did our scouts tell?"

"In Dagrala the present doge was from the Faya family. He was killed during the earthquake, as were most men of the leading families. They celebrated in the city hall after a council session. The city hall collapsed during the earthquake and everyone inside was killed.

The doge's wife, the dogaressa, has taken the lead in the city. It is the first time a woman holds a position of power in one of the free cities. She tries to save and rescue whatever remains there are. Similar things seemed to have happened in some of the other free cities. We speculate that the council sessions were about a coordinated raid.

The remaining men in the cities seem to accept the female rule for now, but tensions are high, and we do not know how long they can hold their position.

Dagrala's port was destroyed by a landslide after the earthquake. It will be difficult for big ships to drop anchor in Dagrala. They sent their own messengers to the other cities. They have not yet heard anything from Tharos.

Nuret, as I already told, did not suffer much damage. The rest are destroyed or damaged in varied degrees. They cannot help themselves. Most of the grain stores collapsed too and it was raining during the earthquake and the following days.

Most of the cities' ships remain intact, but many of the sailors died during the earthquake. A good course of action for us would be to acquire these ships, when our relief fleet arrives."

"Does Nuret have the resources to attack and occupy some of the other cities?"

"From what we heard they will maybe go for Kalron, but they have to deal with some damage themselves. They will not support the other cities in case they want to get closer to the kingdom, but they won't be able to fight against it.

There are not many buildings left intact on our way, but scouts and military from Dagrala are preparing tents, shelter and even proviant along our way for the 'royal expedition' as they call it."

"Thank you Ladar. I hope we gather more information along the way due south."

Ladar again took the lead position of our trail. I stayed back with Tangara and Mandrak. As the sun rose high on the winter sky, I took the opportunity to watch the landscape. The mountains were beautiful and threatening at the same time.

All the mountain slopes were forested and the river Jildak rushed past us. The only sign of civilisation was the road heading south. The wars with the free cities seemed to have taken their toll here. The combined valleys of the Jildak in the north and the Falir in the south were once a thriving trading route. For fifty years trade was at a halt, and probably everyone living here, had either moved away or died poor and lonely.

This would change, once the free cities were back on their feet. The Low Pass over the Haldur would once more become an important transport route and people would again start living in the mountains.

"Tangara, I have not been in the southern part of the kingdom very often. Are all valleys in the Haldur this lonely and beautiful?"

"If they are this beautiful, I do not know. But no, most of them are not this lonely. When your fa... ahhhm, when king Rakkar built the Garrison in Jugoah it became more difficult to reach the valley without legal complications. So, most inhabitants decided to move to other places in the southern part of the kingdom, mostly to Jugoah and Jilmanu."

"When the free cities are rebuilt, it will thrive again -- it once was an important transport route."

"I think it will thrive even before that. Many workers from the kingdom, who will be needed in the south, will come over the Low Pass. They will need shelter and something to eat. Since it is legal to cross the border now, the garrison in Jugoah is no problem anymore for those who want to live in the valley."

At noon we made a short stop and ate. In the afternoon we rode in silence. The road became more difficult, and our horses were tired. We reached our night quarters before the sun went down. We needed the rest. The Low pass was the easiest way over the Haldur, but it was still a mountain path and the road had been neglected over the past decades.

We would reach the pass tomorrow before noon and cross the border. On the pass was a temple for Lavak, the god of travellers and merchants. We would stop there, before we went further. The scouts mentioned the temple not being destroyed but having suffered some damage.

It once was a big temple with many priests and since many people would cross the pass in the near future, I would order the garrison in Jugoah to repair the building. Maybe it would even be for the best to ask the High Priest of Lavak to send some priests here to be stationed permanently.

I took my bags of my horse and went to the shed, that was prepared for Mandrak and me. I wanted to read a bit in my father's book. Maybe there was some more useful information about the south.

On the book's last pages was a table of contents. I found a chapter named "Travel through the channel" and opened the book there.

When I was king for two years I decided to see the channel for myself. I took a ship and sailed down south through the bay to Agdulmek, which was not yet a part of the kingdom back then, but an important trading partner for us. From Agdulmek our ship went to Nuret to enter the channel.

Tensions were high with Nuret back then, so we did not stop there. Our first station was Kalron. I travelled as Haruk, duke of Lambaragh. It was the first time in centuries a king entered the free cities, but they never knew. I was not recognized.

Seeing the wonders of the channel was eye opening. The channel is dangerous and treacherous for ships. In some places it's shallow and narrow, especially between Dagrala and Dagrahir, where ships usually need a local pilot to avoid rocks and reefs. We came as far as Tharos and saw caravans from further south entering the city with goods from places I have never even heard of.

I was on the ship for three months, before we came back to Rallagoah. Then I knew we would never be able to conquer the south if the free cities stayed free.

Our route was: Agdulmek, Kalron, Almurs, Rivani, Dagrala, Nefatil, Sintela, Sorajim, Tharos, then back to Sintela, Dagrahir, Almurs and directly to Agdulmek and from there to Rallagoah.

I will try to describe the cities as I remember them. When I write this, my journey lays 20 years in the past and some memories may be replaced by tales told by diplomats and refugees.

Kalron is a small city, about as big as Ashtagoah. It is built around a natural port and reaches high up to mountain slopes. Outside the city they grow wine and fruits. The city's territory reaches up the Haldur. Their next neighbours are Nuret in the east and Rivani in the west. On the southern side of the channel is Almurs. North of Kalron is the dukedom of Halduril.

The wealthier inhabitants are merchants. They are represented in the city council. They elect a leader for five years, his title is Lurak. But the position is more representative. The day-to-day business is being handled by government officials and all decisions are made by the council.

Most inhabitants are slaves, servants or foreigners who live there just for some time. Many houses are taverns, inns, brothels, and warehouses. The wealthy families live in palaces in the city and bigger houses in the countryside around the city. The poor live cramped in small city houses, on ships and in shelters and tents.

The main god in Kalron is Lavak, or as they call him here, Lavuk. They know nothing of the revelation and do not pray to Isanna and Naletha. But they do not seem to take even Lavuk very seriously. The regular festivities were of a more ceremonial nature. The temple in the middle of the city is well kept and big enough for those, who want to participate in the services.

When they start a new sailing season in spring, they offer three bulls to Lavuk. The bulls' blood is spread over the ships, the meat and the bones are burned on bonfires and the intestines are chopped up and thrown into the sea.

The oarsmen on their ships are usually slaves, men who often owe a lot of money to powerful families. They try to repay it with their work, but they die early. When they die on the ship, they are thrown into the sea without ceremony. When they die on land, they are fed to the dogs. A slave will not be buried in Kalron.

I did not see many women in Kalron. They are mostly kept in the house and often used to sweeten a deal between merchants. Either they spend one or more nights with a trading partner, or they are part of the goods or the payment. They are not allowed to read or write. Three times a woman was offered to me, either as payment or as an addition to a room in the inn we were staying. I politely declined every time.

We stayed in Kalron for six days. I saw all the important sights in the city and around. The merchants on our ship did their business. They knew who I was, so they seemed to avoid anything too illegal. But I was no idiot -- I knew that profit was only possible when one did not take the kingdom's laws too seriously.

After six days we left for Almurs. The journey there took 3 days.

I stopped reading here. My eyes were tired, and I smelled food being prepared outside on a bonfire. I went outside and ate my stew with Mandrak, Tangara and her men. After that I went to bed and fell asleep immediately.