102 Hope Dies Las (1/2)
”Under the great grace of Pacha, another day of spring has graced this... gracious master in his great undertaking...”
Although the buffoon before them rambled on the same as he had every morning so far, Sawo didn't hear a word. Rather than consider the man's speech, the former lord was far more focused ontheir overseer's body language. With one hand on his hip and the other shouldering a brand-new iron shovel, his smug grin did not leave him for so much as a second while he gleefully spoke of the work he had not lent a singular bead of sweat to. To Sawo's great fortune, Wasikato the architect was as quick to bore as he was vain. Although his daily speeches would begin with great enthusiasm, they never lasted long. Soon after he had begun his inane talk, their overseer sent them out of their camp, into their daily grind.
”The divines have smiled upon us. Our master builder is done talking,” a voice next to Sawo ripped him out of his brooding mood. By his side walked Tawo, Sawo's cousin. Even though he still resented the idiot for letting Iyo open the west gate without a fight, Tawo had stuck around when many others had left him. Thus, it had become easier to forgive his own cousin, no matter how buffoonish his actions had been.
”Words to echo across the marshes. The idiot acts as though he had any part in our work.” With furrowed brows, Sawo grabbed the shovel he had gotten used to calling his own over the past thirty days.
”No matter what you say about the king, at least our equipment is of the finest grade,” Tawo said as he once again inspected the robust shovels with the metallic heads.
”A waste. How many great axes and helmets could have been forged from all this iron.”
Silence crept between them while they marched out of their camp, slotting into the stream of men on their way to today's building site. At least today's march up the hill had been made easier by the stomped dirt path they themselves had created before.
”Waste or not, you cannot deny that the work has been made much, much easier than it would have been otherwise. I mean, we managed to build a road from Saniya all the way here. I checked. Even on top of the hill you can barely see the city anymore.” In response to his cousin's words, Sawo turned and looked towards the north, back to the city which had almost been his. Although they were halfway up the mountainside, he couldn't see a trace of its mighty castle or unscalable walls. Sawp would have to take his cousin's word for it.
”No matter how easy the work is, remember that all men here are still prisoners. Do not forget how that so-called king has treated us!” With a thought back to the day of the king's 'grand proclamation', once again Sawo's blood began to boil. ”He tells us that he will pardon all crimes from before his ascension, and then he says that only treasoners will not be forgiven! How is it a pardon of every crime if he fails to include several thousand men?!”
”Shhh, brother. Did you forget what happened last time you insulted the king?”
Enraged, Sawo thrust his shovel into the ground and leaned on the grip, all the while ignoring Tawo's attempts to sow his brother's mouth shut.
”Do not forget that I was a ruler once. The tricks played by the bastard king are of no secret to me! New laws he says? How very convenient that he is the only man who can read his strange font! Like this, even hanging them up in the city square will not be of use to anyone. Just another attempt at deception, to keep the people of Saniya under his thumb! I shout tyranny, with all my heart!”
Once he had talked himself into a rage, again, he forgot everything around. Sawo knew that ignoring those around himself was a bad habit he had failed to shake throughout his life, but he still succumbed to his own vices and started to ramble. There he stood, halfway up the hill, and cursed at the new king across the horizon. He didn't stop until his shoulder received a dry push from one of the passing workers. Put off balance, Sawo stumbled to the side, digging his fingers into the freshly dug soil by the wayside to catch his fall.
Still in a broad stance, he stared at the shovel which had fallen to the ground, before he looked up to the man who had pushed him. Although he didn't remember the name, Sawo knew that it must have been one of his own, one of the warriors he had sworn to share joy and glory with. Instead, the former lord had taken their freedom. Over his shoulder, the warrior shared a look with his former lord, before he spat on the ground and continued in his path, to the laughter of his friends.
”Brother, you need to stop insulting the new king.” With a worried look, Tawo held Sawo's shovel towards him, handle first. Annoyed, the former lord of Saniya ripped the shovel out of his cousin's hands and marched ahead.
”They should try to remember just who gave them their new chance at life, brought them out of poverty and starvation. Just who was it who taught them their cultivation and initiated them into the world of invisible flow,” Sawo grumbled. The thought back to all those afternoons spent on cultivation training did nothing but further sour his mood.
Unperturbed by his cousin's grumpy attitude, Tawo followed along with his steps, though not with his thoughts. Instead, he played the voice of reason.
”You need to understand the men. In the end, the king's offer is not undesirable to them. Solid, guaranteed work for five years, which includes free food and shelter and even some additional coin to send to their families. Many of the men followed us for the very same reason: Because we promised to feed them.”
”But we are prisoners!” Sawo replied in defiance.
”For many here, it is better to be a prisoner than a beggar. If the king had just let all of them go, what would have happened to them? Four Thousand men in this tiny estate, they would have had no place to work either way. So they would have had to resort to banditry or other dishonest occupations. Many are not very keen on this, not after they have seen what a real army looks like.”
As his persuasion came to a close, Tawo lowered his voice and hinted with his eyes over to the side, where single members of the king's so-called wolf warriors marched along with the trek and made sure that there would be no stragglers or escapees. If nothing else, Sawo had to admit that that the king's troops were indeed of high quality.
Over the past few days, he had found plenty of chances to observe the warriors of King Corcopaca. Soon he had understood that an open contest of strength would have never ended well for his men, even with Saniya's walls for support. Well-trained, disciplined and well-equipped. Many of the officers even spoke Medalan, despite their foreign origin, so it was impossible for prisoners to make any plans without knowledge of their captors. Not that any of them were interested in defiance, not after the preferential treatment they had received.
”So they have lost their courage before their first proper battle, lost it to some good meat and cheap wine,” Sawo snorted. With a sad look, Tawo glanced over to the men around them, who carried themselves so much more humble than the cousins.
”The men are more interested in a quiet life, that is all. In the end, they are no true warriors, merely hungry farmers.”
At last, they had reached the top of the hill, where most men had already congregated to their usual spots. For the third day in a row, they would work on the foundations.