Chapter 16
A wagon was heading towards the Iron Rose kingdom. It was lead by 2 horses and had 2 guards on horseback on each side of the wagon. 2 other guards were on the wagon itself. Kane sat in the back of the wagon with a hooded cloak that reminded him of a Jedi robe and a new mask. It was a wooded Colombina mask that went well with the rest of his outfit. This gear was for his identity inside the wall of the Iron Rose Kingdom.
He had summoned 4 legionaries as his guards and bought them Ottoman armor and weapons. They made decent guards and looked like they would be protecting a merchant. Kane had but some good on the wagon to make his charge more believable. He had 900 shop points before he summoned the legionnaires and gear. Now he only had 725. he planned to use the rest to invest in his little outpost inside the kingdom.
He looked out the wagon to see the wall in front of them. It was huge and could rival the skyscrapers in his world. It really was impressive. There were serval other wagons, horse riders, carriages in the line that wanted to enter the kingdom. The gate was huge and you could see a lot of farmland behind it. Apparently, it would be all farmland for several acres until they reach the city part of the kingdom. His group garnered a bit of attention due to their unique armor but then after looking for a while the people turned their attention back to the gate.
Kane and his entourage waited in line for several minutes before being allowed to enter the kingdom. It was fairly easy Kane just tipped the guard and he got in without having to show any identification. It took some time but they finally entered the city. It was very medieval-like and was mostly made of stone and wood. There was a big street with shops and street vendors and this seemed like the main area for people to be visiting. Kane decided to set up his shop on a less crowded street. If he really cared about his business then it would be best to have it here in the merchant district but that's not why he was here. "Let's head to an inn," said Kane to his men. They found one for a reasonable price and had dinner before heading to bed. Kane had plenty of money for the time being and was thinking of the things he needed to get tomorrow. He found out that the gold he had was able to get him mostly anything as most people did not use gold in this kingdom as they were not very rich. Kane was thinking of everything until he slowly drifted off to sleep.
"Sir is this our new residence?" asked a legionnaire. "Yes, this will be your base of operations. I want you to make it out like it's a simple weapon shop but the second floor will have the real reason for this building. Make sure to guard it with your life" said Kane. They were outside a rather plain-looking building on a quiet street. It was in good condition but needed to be cleaned. He had plans to make this building a shop on the outside while on the inside he will have a group focused on intelligence and sabotage. After all, he needs a way to get past the Iron Rose Kingdom's famous wall. He knew a bit about the kingdom and king but not much. He wanted to get as much info as he could. He had seen several guard patrols and they had decent gear and skill but seemed to be low on numbers. He knew the current king was a young one as the old king had died recently. He was immature and liked doing whatever he fancied not focusing on the kingdom. The citizens were dissatisfied with the young king but just like any other kingdom that wants this kingdom, they could not do anything. The general who was a very decorated warrior was very loyal to the last king and would also be loyal to the new one even if he was immature. This general was highly respected as a warrior but people wish that he would stop the king from being a failure of a ruler.
The wall was the only thing that this kingdom really had. It traded the food from its farms but was not officially allied with any other kingdoms. The army was not big. Kane thought that if he could get past the wall this kingdom would be his. Then he could turn this coal into a diamond! He wanted to have a group stationed here to be able to open the gate for him so he could get past the wall. He also wanted to weaken the army beforehand. He also planned on taking over the other bandit groups in the forest so that he could grow his forces.
3 hours passed and the store was set up. Kane was on the second floor. He searched through the system shop to see what he should do for this base and the group that was going to pull off this near-impossible operation. It's a good thing Kane excelled in this area back when he was in the special forces. He decided that he would summon special members of the Praetorian Guard known as the Speculatores. They specialized in assassinating, enforcing the law, messengers, and bodyguards. They were more skilled than normal legionnaires so they cost more. He had 725 shop points left and the Speculatores assassins cost 40 shop points each. He decided to buy ten for now. This would leave him with 325 shop points. He summoned the Speculatores. They appeared in front of him kneeling. He was happy with them and set in motion his plan to take the kingdom. He had them gather intelligence while the legionaries would stay at the shop managing and guarding it.
Kane decided that he would leave the work to the troops and go to sleep. Tomorrow he will take the day off and go shopping and maybe even eat at an actual restaurant. He was excited to explore the town and take a break. This was the calm before the storm.