《Will the Real Power Stand Up Please?》
1. The River Styx
No one really knows how the river gained the blessed properties that connected itself to the ruling families. However, today was especially important to the ruling Halheim family. King Sigmund Halheim has just passed on - And at the River Styx that flows through the capital of Stoneford, the populace watches the river as the normally clear waters that nourishes the farmlands downstream glows a colour that symbolizes something.
A few hundred years ago, anyone who had sat on the throne as the Head of the Halheim family in Stoneford watched in amazement as their forebears, upon passing, appeared as a ghostly apparition that walked down the River Styx, dressed in their full regalia. However, what followed behind them was how many viewed their legacy.
Take the Warring King, King Edward Halheim who had waged wars on neighbouring nations till his death, but was wise and just in rule - As his ghostly apparition walked on the River Styx, behind him followed a ghostly army, their eyes unseeing, holding their weapons and marching, as if saluting their onlookers as they eventually vanished in a puff of green smoke as the waters glowed red beneath him.
The Midas-touched King Francis Halheim who had brought a backwater kingdom on the brink of financial collapse to a prospering one - He who had died while holding a quill in his hand as he pored over the financial records.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
King Francis Halheim, who had often dressed in robes with little fanfare to emphasize the importance of frugality appeared in the most luxurious robes that made many other sovereigns copy it while ghostly apparitions of what seemed to be peasants and so on knelt along his path, weeping alongside the many people who watched the proceeding.
Of course, there were the outliers - Those who had nearly brought their own nation to ruin. King Jacob Halheim squandered the fortune made by King Francis, his father and committed suicide as his brother''s rebel army neared the gates. His ghostly apparition appeared as a rotting corpse, barely keeping his head above the surface as it seemed to be washed down the river.
Today, Prince Liam Halheim watched as his father, King Sigmund Halheim walked calmly on the river - The river glowed purple as he arrived riding a ghostly horse, while holding a bow in his hand. As he passed the royal family, Queen Elisa screamed in grief, only held back by a solemn Crown Prince Hubert Halheim.
King Sigmund''s horse trotted on, oblivious to their screams as ghostly courtiers followed behind, pacing slowly behind their king. In a few moments, the horse stopped moving and King Sigmund looked upwards to the sky, as if noticing something and his ghostly lips parted as if he was laughing - Then he and his courtiers, with the horse, vanished in a cloud of purple smoke and the river returned to its clear colours.
With that, Crown Prince Hubert Halheim, became known as King Hubert Halheim - And his first edict was the appointment of the 15 year old Prince Liam Halheim as the Protector of the East, ruler of Validor - Probably the most undeveloped lands of the Halheim Kingdom.
2. Only Gold is Important
Prince Liam Halheim and his entourage moved along the winding, serpentine path towards Validor - Muddy paths and harsh rains tormented the group. Amongst the servants, they whispered, "Oh, poor Prince Liam..."
However, what they didn''t know was that Prince Liam actually was not Prince Liam.
Prince Liam was actually Norbert Halheim, a sage many generations down from the Age of Torment - An era of global destruction due to a massive civil war that prompted the collapse of civilization.
Norbert Halheim, which led the Halheim Consortium of businesses watched on, as he sipped his fruit wine while the heat from the blast erased him and his building. There was a brief, sharp pain amidst a white flash and as Norbert next opened his eyes, the first thing in his eyes was a farmer carrying a bucket of water with pure, clean river water that he had just drawn.
"What?" Norbert/Liam looked around and he saw a few steps back, someone he recognized, not as Norbert, but as Liam - Janine Rivers, a young maid that couldn''t be older than 20. Liam kept quiet and kept walking down the cobbled bridge that connected the farmlands to the capital as he digested his thoughts. Why was he sent back in time to a no-name prince? He had never remembered the name of Liam. Are they even connected despite the similar surname?
Entering the streets of Stoneford, he watched as the peasants hustled and bustled, the markets thriving with people peddling their goods - The aroma of venison being cooked on sticks drifted to his nose. Liam gulped - He hadn''t smelled proper food like this since the Age of Torment began, they only had bars packed with nutrients that were tasteless.
"Janine, can you please get one for me?" The 15 year old Liam pointed at the venison stall and the maid quickly bowed, hurrying up to the stand to purchase one and the maiden, with silken brown hair, large eyes and thin red lips hurried back, her cheeks flushed a slight shade of red, held out the stick of venison meat in her hand.
"Prince Liam, please." She bowed as she held the stick out and Liam took it and greedily took a bite out of it. The juice of the meat poured out into his mouth and he sighed happily.
"Thanks, Janine!" He said cheerfully and this left the maid stunned.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
Prince Liam was not a nasty prince by any measure, but he wasn''t exactly the nicest as well.
Janine smiled and bowed as she quickly backed away, leaving a small distance between herself and Liam under the watchful eyes of the Royal Guards that followed them incognito.
Liam sat down on a bench as he watched the people going by as he processed the information readily available to him. The Halheim Kingdom, with their finances barely struggling onwards, plagued by court politics seemed to be holding everything together through the sheer will of King Sigmund who was, by all measures, an average king with unlimited patience. However, his eagerness to be diplomatic has constantly ended up with compromises that left the royal family and the interests of the nations at a disadvantage.
However, King Sigmund''s health was failing, with concoction after concoction of medication being administered to him every meal just for him to have enough energy for a few conversations and important edicts - He has already handed most of the responsibilities to Crown Prince Hubert, who, almost certainly, will purge Liam once he comes to power.
Liam''s estates were not large by any measures, in fact, he could do much better with what he has.
"Janine, we are returning home. I have things to do." Liam got off the bench and walked towards the mansion in the distance, as his obedient maid hurried behind him.
Once he was home, he summoned all of the servants and maids - Bring every single painting and ornament that he had bought over the years to the central hall.
"Is the Prince okay?"
Liam heard the remarks as they hurried away to carry out his bidding while he enjoyed fresh water at his seat. Janine carried in a painting that could only be described as abstract at best, which Liam, the previous Liam, that is - Had spent a fortune on.
"He had such shitty taste..." Liam muttered under his breath as he smiled.
As everything poured into the room, Liam could only lament the amount of money wasted. He made up his mind - He was going to sell it all for Gold, silver or bronze coins - Something he can use, instead of something that he can only bury with him when he is dead.
"Head Butler, I want you to bring everything to the auction hall and sell it. As much as you can and as soon as you can." Liam said briskly as he looked upon a man with greying hair, scars on his face. The Head Butler was Morgan Vepo, an ex soldier who had retired and was taken into the royal household as a butler, as thanks for saving the life of King Sigmund during a hunt.
Morgan blinked a few times, "Prince Liam? Are you sure? You spent a lot of time and-"
"I''m sure. Do it now." Liam nodded and true to his soldier background, Morgan asked no more and instead swiftly carried out his orders, having the servants empty the hall of the paintings and other weird ornaments such as a golden hairpin.
Retreating into his study, Liam went to the study and picked up a quill, dipping it into the inkpot and beginning a draft of how he would spend his next 6 months in this body.
Of course, he needed money. A lot of it.
3 - Salt
"The young one did what?" King Sigmund said as he coughed, while one of his Royal Guards told him of the spectacle that was Liam selling every of his possession of.
"I can confirm it, the auction hall is very active and happy at the moment to have a big customer."
The King looked at the man who spoke, his friend and long time confidant, Raymond Hicks - Raymond headed the Ministry of the Interior, which specialized in collecting information. Raymond looked every bit the playboy, dashing good looks, charming to the ladies and annoying when it comes to his pursuits of the finer things in life, despite looking a bit on the older side.
"What''s wrong? Last I checked he wasn''t in debt." King Sigmund asked as he frowned and Raymond shrugged as well. There was genuinely no reason for him to get rid of all of his possessions. No debt, continued allowances from the Royal Family (despite the Minister of the Economy''s strong reluctance).
"Perhaps he is liquidating his assets to run away?" Raymond suggested and King Sigmund frowned. Of course, his friend was suggesting that Liam is preparing to take off with the money when the Crown Prince takes over. Sigmund didn''t like to think that this would happen but he can''t help but admit that maybe Raymond will be right.
"The Crown Prince will do no such thing." Sigmund retorted and coughed once more, this time more violently and it took a while before it stopped.
"If you insist." Raymond replied as he sipped his wine and waited for his friend to stop coughing.
Sigmund wished he had a few more years to set everything in order. Just a few more. The Empire of Freiden was causing trouble again at the border, the Free States of Nasser was raising prices for salt again - He just wanted to hand the nation over in a more prosperous state.
"You know, if you don''t sort out the family affairs now - There will be a bloodbath in Halheim, just so you know."
"Raymond, for goodness sake, what do you want me to do? I can''t defang the Crown Prince nor arm the other one!"
Raymond leaned forward and whispered, "By the way, the Minister of Economy wants to see you after this in private."
"Grant it to him. That stingy fox might not see me for much longer anyway."
After a week, the maids and butlers were noticing a change in Prince Liam - He had brought back the 500 gold coins he had earned from the auction hall, forbade new spendings on furnitures and the likes and chased back with the help of the rather indimidating Head Butler, debts from other nobles in the city that amounted to another 150 gold coins.
Not only that, he had asked the Head Butler to bring him the daily news reports made by the Court Scribe. Aside from this, the biggest change was that Liam had started saying "thank you" and "sorry" - The more religious among them had approached a witch who had confirmed that he was not possessed.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Suddenly, Prince Liam who never left the luxuries of large cities, had formed a small group of guards and maids to tour the barren coastal town of Validor and he had told the other maids and servants that he won''t be back for at least a few months and to find his older brother, the Crown Prince for anything that needed his attention.
However, what people didn''t know was that Liam had brought his entire wealth with him to Validor - And the month long journey that was hard and arduous was something that would pay off many times more.
The tavern they were staying in was packed to the brim - The entire royal entourage crammed into the poorly lit and damp rooms but Liam was pleased. A backwater that could develop into something much more
"Morgan, I want you to hire as many people with hands as possible, men, women or even children. I have some work I want them to do." Liam said to his butler who was dressed as a traveller. Liam had insisted that the party travel as incognito as possible.
Validor was one of the poorest regions in the Kingdom, with a rocky, hilly terrain that made it hard to grow crops reliably or sustainably on. Aside from that, frequent raids by mountain bandits found trouble for the population consistently. However, there was something here that Liam wanted to control - The sea salt. If he could use it just to increase his personal wealth, he could at least abscond with more wealth and realistically, even bribe his way to a position here where he could live out the rest of his days.
Morgan had outfitted the Royal Guards knights which numbered a dozen without the usual insignia or sigils upon their armour and shields while the maids were dressed with peasant clothings and he himself favoured the robes of a traveller, with a thin layer of leather underneath the cloth. At Morgan''s insistence, a chainmail was worn under Liam''s slightly finer clothes.
They had taken up room in the local (or rather, only) inn known as The Hanging Fish. The proprietor, a burly man who introduced himself as Fitch, got all starry eyed at the prospect of a single gold coin, let alone two. He had roused his wife, his daughters and his sons to prepare food for the sudden merchant entourage.
Liam, now sitting at the bar counter, ate the smoked fish that Fitch had personally prepared. In fact, it was delicious - Something that people thousands of years after in the Age of Torment could only salivate about.
"You know, it has been a long time since we had this much life in Validor." Fitch beamed as his booming voice rung out from behind the counter and Liam smiled, "I''m sure there will be more life here soon."
Fitch poured more water for Liam and asked, "What are you lot doing here though? Fancy pants over there with suit of armour won''t even drink anything while he is standing guard." The proprietor nodded at a Royal Knight who is leaning against the wall, eyeing the conversation.
"We''re here to setup a business. Call it a gamble, if you will. Tell me, can you tell me about the things here in detail?" Liam asked and Fitch, eager to please this whale of a merchant, began his tale.
"I came here about 15 years ago - This place used to have more fishermen but the pirates that were fleeing the Free States wound up in the mountains here. The local knight rallied the militias and fought them off a few times but he died and everything just fell apart."
"The army never really tried to get rid of the bandits - I think too much trouble and there''s nothing here."
"Then how are you guys still alive?" Liam asked and Fitch could only offer a weary smile.
"Tribute. Someone needs to cook for them, you know. And once in awhile, they come out of their hidey holes for women. You know how it is."
"I see." Liam replied simply and finished his smoked fish and setting down his mug. As his eyes glanced at the platemails of the heavily armed and armoured knights, he grinned.
The blood had to start spilling somewhere - It may as well be here.
4 - Burn
The leader of the unruly bandits were pirates that had escaped the massacre that the Free States had started - They were extremely wealthy nation states that depended on trade and when piracy became too big an issue, they would come together and form what was called an armada - A massive fleet of warships that would even put empires to shame.
Liam Halheim on the other hand, though he was no armada fleet commander, nor the commander of an army, had the privilege of simply being born into a position where he had to be protected.
If the nearby garrison commanders heard that the prince was under attack by bandits, they would immediately drop everything they were doing and rush to where he was.
Even if the bandits attacked him right now, his Royal Guards, with their sturdy plate armour would be able to fend off the attack.
In his room, Liam called out, "Is anyone out there? I have an order to be carried out."
In a heartbeat, there was a knock on the door and the knight who was earlier watching the conversation between him and Fitch entered. His armour shone dull but that was the point of travelling incognito - A group of heavily armed men in plate armour already drew enough questions, let alone if their equipment had the insignia of the Royal Guards.
"At your command, Prince Liam." The knight bowed deeply and Liam waved his hand.
"Forget the formalities. Let me ask you - You were listening to the conversation between me and the barkeep. If I want you to kill all the bandits, can we do it with the manpower we have right now?"
The knight, Captain Orfus was stunned but a question was a question.
Captain Orfus scratched his chin, his gaze wandering around the room for a moment before he answered slowly, "I do not believe it is possible unless we fight them in an open field."
Before Liam could open his mouth, he continued, "I genuinely think that the moment they run for the hills and assuming we do pursue them, they could probably rout us."Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
"What we need to do is to surround the hill and slowly move our way in like a ring fence so that no one can escape but we don''t have enough manpower."
Liam nodded, which confused Captain Orfus - They barely brought 50 men, excluding the servants, surely he must already know that?
"Captain, what if we just burned the whole hill down? Wouldn''t that force them out? We just need to check the caves later on but I think that should solve your problems, no?"
"But Prince Liam, the locals... Isn''t it too drastic a move?"
Prince Liam raised his hand, signaling for him to stop.
"Do as I command. I want it done tonight while the bandits are already probably watching us. Just leave a few people here as a guard. I want the corpses of the bandits hanging from this town''s gate by noon."
Captain Orfus saluted and walked out, his hand on his sword, already in a business-like manner.
"What is that smell?" Fitch who was washing the plates from the meals of the guards that came with that weird little kid detected the faint smell of something burning.
As he popped his head out the window, he could see that there were flickers of fire in the distance from the hill where the bandits were. Campfires? No - Too small.
"Did those bastards go mad?" Fitch muttered as he shut the window, wrinkling his nose at the smell.
By the time Fitch was done cleaning the dishes, the smell of the burning was so intense that he got annoyed and opened the window again, just to curse at the bandit bastards from afar.
However, his eyes widened as he took in the sea of red on the hill and in the distance, the shining glint of the plate armour of the soldiers who stood by casually watching the flames. He could barely make out the silouehette of someone stumbling out of the fire, severely burned.
As the bandit saw the knight standing there, he seemed to kneel and started to cry out about something but one of the knights wordlessly drew his sword and in a single slash, cut him down.
"Which mad son of a bitch burns a hill to get rid of a group of bandits?" Fitch cursed.
Fitch could not sleep that night - Not just Fitch, actually. The whole town watched the hills burn.
At dawn, a group of knights that had come the day before as part of the entourage, dragged a few bodies, if you could even call charcoal that, and strung them on the top of the rickety wooden gate that the town had.
The head knight, whose face was covered in soot and blood, spoke loudly to the crowd gathered - "By command of Prince Liam Halheim, the Protector of the East, ruler of Validor, the bandits that have plagued this land has been dealt with. Let it be remembered that crime is not tolerated under His wise rule! Glory to Halheim!"