Chapter 505 - Drag Them Out

"Love, hope, fear, faith — these make humanity; These are its sign and note and character."

-        Robert Browning

There was a little rain later that night. 

The roads are already screwed up before hand due to the sheer amount of people, hooves and wheels going on top of it everyday for the past year, turning it from a solid pathway built on the foundation of the ancient pagan Roman roads to become this kind of ill qualitied mud path that is literally unusable during this rain. The situation forced Antonius to halt the progress of his army right outside the city of Kastoria, in the village that he has just paraded past an hour earlier. 

He sent a message to the city of Kastoria, carrying a letter and the helmet of Semseddin telling them that their commander has already been captured requesting them to surrender in order to save their lives. Antonius did not expect too much from the letter but still, it is a common rule of war that is being respected throughout Europe, and to Antonius he feels like this is just to tell the people inside the city to flee for their lives before the trebuchets start bombarding their houses. 

The thousands of troops started pitching tents in the sides of the muddy road forming a temporary encampment to spend the early night. Antonius on the other hand refused to accept his guards' request to lay down and rest in his own tent, instead he wanted to spend a night on a wooden cart with straws laid on top because he felt like his ankles are giving him troubles when he is sleeping on the mattress placed directly on the icy cold ground. The Caesar's decision created a widespread worrisome among the guards, as they know that if the Caesar is to have some illness confronting the rain water and winter wind on a cart, they would definitely be dealt with severely. 

After some discussion, a guard came back with the information that there are some troopers still at the back inside the village decided to chase the local villagers out of their houses and occupy them to spend their night enjoying the protection of solid walls and straw ceilings. Their commander approved their actions in the process of taking several houses for their own. This decision is pretty understandable in this era, as the soldiers are definitely much higher in social means than these farmers, the nation has spent hundreds of silver ducats in total feeding and training one soldier over the years, and this is the moment whereby they are the most needed for combat. So, the commander's number one priority is of course operational readiness of their unit which would be decreased if their troopers fall ill.

The villagers? Who cares? They can have the straws and trees as their shelter. 

The guards definitely would not care about the feelings of the villagers, nor the disciplinary issues displayed here by these troopers. They are not the military police, for their sole responsibility is to care for the Caesar only. Thus, after some discussions, the guards hopped onto their horses rushing to the village to find the biggest and best designed house there, chase the owners out into the darkness and get the Caesar there. 

Antonius could not believe his ears when he is shaken awake by his guards, who came reporting that there is a villager who voluntarily lent his house to the Caesar in order to appreciate his thanks and gratitude for saving him from the oppression of the former Ottoman masters. Both Anna and Antonius felt that there is something fishy over here, but after being urged repeatedly Antonius still decided to go over and take a look. 

The guards have indeed found a pretty decent house for the Caesar when comparing it with the other houses in the village. It is the only house that has two levels, with the lower level used as a storage and shop, and the upper level used as a residence. The guards removed everything in the lower level hiding them behind the house with a thin cloth, cleaned the furniture and finally brough their Caesar into it.

"Nice, nice, nice." Antonius nodded satisfactorily as he stepped into this house with Anna. "Cerberus, I must thank you for finding such a wonderful place to save the pain of my ankle and knees. I must admit that age is getting onto me after so much time spent on the decks and horseback, it is really starting to hurt in rainy seasons and winter… Ah look! There is a furnace! How charming!" 

The leader of the guards, named Cerberus, quickly tilted his head around gesturing the men in the surrounding to go lit that furnace up, and replied to his master with a glee. "Of course, your majesty, your health and well being is of the utmost importance to us, we still want to follow you everywhere for the next a hundred years!" 

"You little war monger." Antonius laughed. "A hundred years? No, trust me, I shall make a border secure enough to end all wars after the next twenty years! And after that war shall be entirely a thing in the past, what remains for our future generations shall only be peace and prosperity… I got to reward the owner of this house, for his generous deeds and patriotism, Cerberus, where are they?"

Cerberus' face is still donned with a cheerful glee when he is behind the Caesar hearing the first sentence. But immediately after the Caesar asked for the location of the house owners that smile disappeared from his face, what replaced it is non other than panic and worry, his head spined fast to think of an excuse or something to get him out, but sadly he is a war fighter waving blades, not a scholar waving quills, thus he is stuck there staggering in his words, and is totally unable to make up a reason to smoke the Caesar's question over. 

Antonius sensed the unusual inconfidence from his guard, he turned back from the furnace looking at the face of Cerberus, and immediately he understood what is going on just simply through judging and assumption. He made a stare at his loyal guard commander, and then left the house banging through the door leaving behind nothing but only a cold humph, and a bunch of anxious guards. 

This house is located at the corner of the village that judging by the name plate on the walls one can know that it used to belong to someone prestigious in the region, most likely the village elder or the village chief. Antonius felt increasingly irritated as he realised this, he was just thinking about how to overturn the rivalry he has with the population of Epirus and make them believe that he is here to help them not to oppress them unlike their former masters, and now his own soldiers made a blow on his back by deepening the misunderstandings and distrust between him and his people. 

What are the people of this village going to think him as after this event? Another tyrant marching his army pass the poor villagers bragging about his power and prestige? Another oppressor coming here to take their homes away leaving them with only cold and death of the winter? Another warlord who knows nothing except to rob other people's things with brute force? If he does not solve this accident in a proper manner, his wicked name can be spread across the entire Epirus in a year's time and by then everyone shall know that he, Antonius De'Ricci, is a war monger, a bloody tyrant and another slave master!

"Guards! Sentries! Prowlers! Where are you! I order you to come out and gather before me!" 

The furious roars of the Caesar replaced the sound of rain droplets hitting against the environment and the snoring of the soldiers who have already went into their dreams on the warm beds of the villagers. A few minutes later all the sentries, prowlers and every other guard personnel gathered before the Caesar, panting up and down, waiting for the Caesar's command thinking that the Ottomans must have dared to launch an attack on them using the night and the rain as an advantage.

But instead, the Caesar sent them out to seek for people. 

"Drag every single of our men out of those houses and make them kneel on this road right now! Yes! I know that it is full of mud! Make them kneel here! Then invite all of the villagers, especially those whose houses got taken away, usher them to the shelters nearby!" 

"What if our men resist! Use your baton! Is that baton hanging by the side of you merely a decoration? Do you remember what is the use of it? I do not care whether they are naked or not, get them over here!" 

Everyone here knows that the Caesar is angry, even though they are unable to have a clear view of his face in the darkness.