143 Gaining support
I wanted to thank you all, today I realized that I am in the top 20 fanfic with the most stones.
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If you want there to be a chapter tomorrow, the condition is simple, twenty comments on what you would like to see or what you liked or disliked about the story (each person has one valid comment, multiple comments will only be counted as one).or reach the 825 power stones
Within eight hours after the chapter is uploaded to allow time for editing and translation of the next chapter
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If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
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-Pov of Antti second moon 286 AC
"Alright, so here's the situation... Over the past few months, I've taken over the role of supplier for many of the local magisters... The previous guy, let's just say he broke his neck, and all his direct relatives broke theirs when they fell off the city streets... So be careful when you're walking around the streets... This position has allowed me to gain entry into the mansions of some magisters to sell them their fresh supplies, and I've frequently investigated their mansion defenses and guard movements on the days I enter, as well as conducting intensive nighttime reconnaissance."
"Furthermore, I've managed to exploit the innocence of the younger maids and the lust of the older ones in their work... You know, the usual... I promise you that once I gather enough, we'll run away and start a happy family... And the fools believed it... They opened their legs without even thinking about the true monster they let in, and after that, it was easy for me to steer conversations towards what they've seen about security, obviously without raising suspicions."
"With that information and what Lothar had provided us, we know exactly where to strike the magisters to get the keys... But we're not fools, stealing them would raise too many suspicions... That's why in the last few nights, I've been traveling from mansion to mansion memorizing the shape of the keys the magisters have... Since Lothar knew the pattern and who the owners were, we just had to forge our own keys."
"In fact, just yesterday I got the last key we needed... It was one of the strangest infiltration missions I've had... Almost all the mansions were built the same way, only differing in the number of guards... This one was much more difficult, not because the guards were skilled... I was practically running through the halls using the technique they teach us as children to make no noise while running, and with pieces of fabric and cotton made to dampen sounds, I didn't make the slightest noise as I moved through the mansion, dodging guards and maids in total silence."
"When I reached the entrance, I focused on listening to what was happening on the other side, and the old man was having a good time with his slaves. I thought I'd have to retreat, but he was about to leave immediately, and I had to climb a column that, luckily, due to the lighting and my black clothes, couldn't see me unless they were looking for me. For three hours, slaves entered and exited that room... I had to stay on that damn column clinging for hours until finally the slaves stopped coming in, and I went down to listen at the door, and he was snoring."
"The door wasn't locked, but just in case, I greased the hinges to make no noise and entered. The smell of incense hit me in the room, and I saw how the old degenerate was sleeping with three slaves... I moved agilely without making the slightest noise, only the snores of the old man could be heard, and checking his furniture, I found what I was looking for: the key that opened the vault... I memorized it immediately and with some putty, I made a quick mold of the key and my mission was completed. I left the mansion just as I entered it, eluding all the guards, and they never realized that I had entered or that I could have cut all their throats in that mansion."
"And here is the beauty that was missing: we have the twelve keys that open the vault where the most valuable things in this city are kept," I finished telling my story to the man who was covering his entire body with a habit and showed him my trophy.
"Aha! Good story... but I still don't understand why you need my fleet... At best, it's just five hundred kilograms of 'that metal'. You only need one ship to get it out of the city if you manage to steal it..." said the man looking around, searching for anyone who might be watching and trying not to see my face.
"Calm down... this place is safe... All the customers and the bartender are my undercover men... You can see our faces without fear of us killing you... Karl," I said to the nervous Prussian.
"You should have started with that, you damn idiot. I thought you were going to kill me for your tradition of secrecy," said the Prussian admiral.
"Thanks for coming... The place is safe. Porras, shout that we're going to rob the vault and no one who cares would listen," I said confidently.
"Alright, now would you kindly explain why you need the entire Prussian fleet under my command to move just five hundred kilograms of Valyrian steel?... You only need one ship and you'd have plenty of space for it," said Karl, pointing out the very obvious.
"Well, we also discovered something... When I went to collect Lothar's payment in gold to maintain his new fiefdom, they use the same keys to open the vault where they keep the gold and silver they collect or where they store what they borrowed before using it for their war... I managed to see how they placed nine of the twelve keys, so it's a great possibility that we can steal the vault with all those valuable metals. I suppose you know that will be a lot of weight... Furthermore, after the robbery, we'll need to get all the men out of the city for a while, as a witch hunt will begin to find the Valyrian steel," I said, staring firmly at the Prussian.
"Of course, Father, I didn't raise an idiot... I suppose so... But what do I gain from all this?" said Karl, leaning his back against the chair's backrest and looking at me with a serious face.
"Serving the king's interests. Can one ask for more than fulfilling the desires of the god's representative on earth?" I responded confidently.
"That will suffice with the majority of brainless Prussians, who obey without thinking... But not with me... Your idea entails many risks for me... If it's discovered that the Prussian navy intervened in this robbery, it would leave the king in a very bad position and he would have to do something... Like declaring me a traitor... Demanding my head... Since I acted on my own without orders, aiding a traitor... So I need compensation commensurate with the risk I'm taking," Karl replied with a big smile.
"Well, if it's true, you'd be taking a considerable risk, but they won't act with Prussian flags, that would be asking for your head. I just ask that on the night we carry out our heist with black sails, you arrive at the port where we will have previously killed all the guards. No one should see you, and we'll have several hours to work moving the material... So your sailors will be very helpful in moving everything, as I only have a thousand of my men in the city," I replied seriously.
"Oh... tell me, which fleets of considerable size are so close to Tyrosh?... Exactly, mine. Where do you think they'll point their finger if they notice that all the valuable stuff in their vaults disappeared by sea?" Karl responded.
'Damn, this Prussian is tough. I knew it wouldn't be easy because he's someone odd.'
"We have our scapegoat ready. One of the magisters of Tyrosh fell from grace recently and had his vault key taken away. He knew the secret, and my spies in Lys and Myr will deliver the information on behalf of that magister. We'll do it in a coordinated manner so that the magisters of Tyrosh receive the information about a possible robbery the day after we attack... That way, they'll blame each other, and no one will point fingers at us. A perfect plan," I maintained my seriousness as I continued negotiating with the Prussian admiral.
"Not so perfect... How do you get the gold out of the city without my fleet, eh?" Karl said, smiling.
"What do you want, Karl? What's your price?" I said, staring at him intently.
"I want a tenth part of all the Valyrian steel you take out of the city," Karl replied without flinching.
"Damn... Fifty kilograms of steel? Are you insane?... All Valyrian steel that comes into our possession is automatically property of the king... Are you planning on committing treason?" I questioned the Prussian officer.
"Good luck with your plan," said Karl, getting up from his chair.
"Sit down, Karl, or you won't leave here alive," I said in a grim tone to the Prussian officer.
"You won't do it... If you didn't when I arrived, you won't do it now," Karl responded.
"I offer you two Valyrian steel swords for your services," I said through gritted teeth.
"Now you're speaking my language, Finnish," said Karl, sitting back down.
"Why do you want the Valyrian steel? I warn you, it won't end well for you to try to possess it without the king's authorization... You're stealing his property," I warned the Prussian.
"The king's wedding is approaching, and I want to make the best gift that can be given to his majesty so that when the time comes to give gifts for the wedding, everyone looks at my gifts with envy and remembers my father's surname... When everyone talks about the greatest marriage of the century, remember that it was the von Rugen family that delivered the best gift of all... Thus the king will honor my father and his chest will swell with pride for me, and it will never cross his mind that I am not a worthy son... My father will be proud," said Karl with a barely perceptible twitch in his right eye.
"You have a terrible inferiority complex, Karl... Besides, it will be very obvious if an entire armory from Tyrosh disappears and you start giving weapons to the king," I said, looking seriously at the Prussian officer.
"That's none of your concern, so I want ten percent of the steel. I don't give a damn about gold or silver... You forget that we have blacksmiths who know how to melt steel, so you can give the king some Valyrian steel ingots that you manage to obtain because my job is in a privileged position regarding trade," said Karl, looking at me seriously.
"My offer is two swords, Karl," I stood my ground.
"Two swords, an axe, and a mace, and a marriage," said Karl with a smile again.
"Ruppin?" I said, thinking about the count's lineage.
"Ruppin... or rather the promise of a marriage in the future... I know Lothar has no children, all dead... But he can always have more... So if Lothar's next offspring is male, he will marry into my dynasty in the future and we'll adopt him as a Rugen. If it's a woman, a regular marriage," said Karl, smiling.
"I can't promise that, it depends entirely on Lothar... But I accept about the weapons," I said to Karl.
"Alright... it's a start... Talk to Lothar, he'll probably agree to this to get my help in this... Where and when should I be?" Karl finished, folding his arms.
"You need to prepare your fleet, change the sails of your ships, and make sure that no one speaks a single word in German or in the common tongue. As I said, I already have some men in the port. Killing the guards will be easy, so you'll simply disembark in the area, and I'll make sure that the guards patrolling the streets to your destination are dead. That way, we can move around the city without any problems," I explained his duty in this plan.
"Alright, what's your plan to get everything... and in case of failure, how will you let me know?" Karl asked.
"We're considering two plans: a night infiltration and silently killing the guards to enter the vaults and take everything, hoping for your men... It should all be finished in a couple of hours, by the time people are waking up with the first rays of the sun, you should be on your way to your island. And the other plan is that we have men digging from our safe houses to the vaults. If our calculations are correct, the tunnels will leave us inside the buildings and we'll just have to eliminate the few guards who move around the area and move everything through the tunnels... It all depends on timing. We have to do this soon before the ideal conditions for the robbery disappear," I told the Prussian officer.
"Alright... count me in and talk to Lothar... I'll have my men on high alert for when you decide to make the move. Do everything possible to make this work. I'm risking my brilliant military career for this," said Karl, pulling up his hood and leaving the bar where we had met.
"Should we make that admiral have an accident, Antti?" one of my subordinates said.
"He's got issues... but he's loyal to the king... thinks outside the box and is competent, so no... he might be useful in the future... any other Prussian officer would have rejected this outright, so he serves our interests," I said as I prepared to continue maintaining my false identity.
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If you want there to be a chapter tomorrow, the condition is simple, twenty comments on what you would like to see or what you liked or disliked about the story (each person has one valid comment, multiple comments will only be counted as one).or reach the 825 power stones
Within eight hours after the chapter is uploaded to allow time for editing and translation of the next chapter
