227 The Reques

The moat around Haubern was eighty feet across. The water was murky and Timothy knew it was mixed with urine, feces, garbage and other nasty things. The stone wall below, the parts closest to the moat, was blackened by whatever was in the moat. The smell doesn't bring joy to anyone's nose. There were no flies though. Omniscient be praised there were no flies.

But as defiled as the moat was, it worked. Somehow, at least. Not many cities have moats. Castles and forts have moats. But cities? No. Nirvana, probably the most well-defended city Timothy knew of, doesn't have a moat.

The most upfront challenge of building a moat around a city is the cost. A city is large. The amount of work needed to dig a moat around a city would have been astronomical. The expenses would also bust the King's pockets. And the maintenance- nobody in charge of the maintenance would have a good night's rest.

Another challenge would be the growth of the city itself. Cities grow. Cities prosper. Slums and new areas spawn like weeds. A moat would confine the city into a limit. One would argue that the same thing could be said about walls. But walls had been proven effective many times. Moats, on the other hand, had little to no effect to the defense of a city. The moat around Haubern for example, would become useless in less than a week if Timothy blocks the Long River from feeding it and drains the existing water elsewhere. It would only take a few thousand men with spades. The Magistrates of Inkit had expended so much for this moat only for it to fall within days.

He wasn't betting for that to happen though. The moat of Haubern would be safe and the walls would remain clean of blood. There were other ways to enter the city.

Timothy turned his head towards Magistrate Chen beside him. He, Lucia and the Magistrate were standing just a stone-throw from the moat. They were not under the range of the ballistae, he made sure of that. They were, however, under the threat of dying from the heat. It was summer with the sun cast high above. The wind was sticky. And yet they had been standing here since morning.

The white flag was fluttering, everybody could see. But someone who wanted to ignore is someone blind. The Misgtrates of Inkit must either be blind or too foolish to reject the call for diplomacy.

"Midday" Timothy said to Magistrate Chen "They have until midday to show their faces"

There was a bitter look on the Magistrate's face. "They will show. I know they will"

"And what makes you certain?"

"Vedur, the Magistrate of Diplomacy, is a prideful and petty man. He is dallying because he wants to at least give you an insult"

Timothy slid his hand onto Lucia's waist and let her head lean on his shoulder. She was tired, he knew. Her legs must be aching. Unfortunately bringing a seat or a tent before a parley was decided would be seen as bad form. The one asking for a parley must be willing to wait for an answer from the other side even if it would take sweat and exhaustion.

"Magistrate Vedur must be stupid then. He better not push his luck or I'll shove his head into this disgusting moat of yours. Who built this anyway? Such an ill-maintained thing"

There was a soft giggle from Lucia and Timothy's aches vanished for a while.

"My father did" Magistrate Chen said "He was the Magistrate of Infrastructure then. It is a waste of resources, I know"

"Also poorly built" Timothy said "The edge of the moat is too close to the wall. That might have been alright if you have rocky soild soil but the land is soft here. I bet portion of the wall crumbles from time to time"

"And imagine the pestilence. Rats and other nasty things lurks in the moat. That would lead to diseases" Lucia shrugged "Moats are alright but a poorly maintained moat turns into a cesspool"

The drawbridge lowered just before midday. Armored men from the other side waved five white flags on both hands. It indicated that both parties must meet at the middle of the bridge with just five guards.

Magistrate Chen was about to step forward when Timothy held him back. It wasn't fair and he would be a fool if he accepted that. Five soldiers were not enough to ensure both his safety and Lucia's.

"Ten flags" Timothy told one of his men. The soldier nodded and did what he ordered. It was met with a red flag from the Inkish side. They didn't agree.

Timothy's grin was big as he shook his head. They think they could negotiate and dictate terms. He turned around and raised his fist in the air. In an instant, a boom of warcries sounded from the Castonians. It was firm and pure. Their shouts shook the wind. It showed a virility unmatched.

Satisfied, Timothy again turned towards the city. The Inkish soldiers on the wall were looking at each other. The curiosity on their faces was replaced with frowns. Some were wiping sweats from their foreheads.

Yes, Timothy thought, you don't have a choice in the matter. We will parley with our conditions or my Castonians would pulverize every brick of this city.

The Inkish's response was a green flag. Timothy of course chose Abraham and Bear as two of ten guards. The eight were his most trusted and veteran guards.

The person who met them was a man in a white toga. His face was clear-shaven. His cheekbones were sharp. His nose was thin but hooked. His eyes were brown just like Magistrate Chen's. Flanking him were soldiers in full plates. They were small though, and shaking as they stared at Abraham riding Bear with a huge axe.

"Chen" Magistrate Vedur said, nodding to Chen and then transferring the look towards Timothy and Lucia beside him "You did not attack Sweetvine?"

"It fell on its own. They were afraid. They surrendered" Responded Timothy "Riversalt is still resisting though"

"What are you doing here then?"

Timothy grinned and gestured towards Lucia "Queen Lucia Vanadis. You've heard about her, beauty unmatched, mind of gold, sweet as a dove's feathers"

The Magistrate shifted his eyes towards Lucia for a bit and then back at Timothy "So what are you doing here?"

"Taking my lovely wife for a stroll" He put both hands on his waist and looked around "Such a beautiful land. The people are smart. The ones we captured are also tamed. More tamed than Wismarines I tell you"

An ugly frown formed on Magistrate Vedur's forehead "You will not capture Haubern. We are Inkit. Our forefathers have defended our lands for generations since we overthrew the tyrants. We are a strong people. We will not bow down to you. Tyranny has no place here"

"Monarchy" Lucia corrected "We are monarchs, not tyrants. I was hoping a Magistrate would know the difference"

"Monarchs are tyrants" Magistrate Vedur said, pronouncing every word with care "Power corrupts. Monarchy is a mistake. The people must be empowered. This talk brings us nothing. We will not surrender if that's what you want. We will wield our spears high and strong until the last man drops. But let us at least make a deal. You have Magistrate Chen. We need him back. Name your price for his release and we will give it as long as it is reasonable"

"Magistrate Chen is not our prisoner. He was but now he is an ally" Timothy said. His words were followed by Chen waving his hands free of chains.

It was the truth. Chen had sinned against them in the past. But Lucia told him that the Magistrate can be trusted now. Timothy was doubtful at first but if Lucia says so, then it must be true.

Magistrate Vedur scowled "Ally? Keep dreaming Castonian. I may have quarreled many times with Magistrate Chen before. We do not see eye to eye in many matters" He looked at Chen "But he is the only person I know that takes equality more seriously than myself. You monarchs are the banes of equality"

"Stop it Vedur" Chen said "His Majesty Timothy..."

"His Majesty?" Vedur shook his head. His expression had disgust in it.

"His Majesty, yes. And Her Majesty Lucia" Chen said in a flawless tone.

"Tell me this is a jest. Tell me you are merely jesting. They are monarchs Chen. Our forefathers, the great founding fathers of the Republic, the ones that freed us from the tyranny, they will spit upon us if we clink cups with tyrants" Vedur clenched his fist "I will hear none of this. If you are not their prisoner, then good for you. I don't see our talk bearing fruit. We will not surrender. The Republic is prepared to defend"

Vedur swiped his toga and turned his back towards them. With one last sneer he walked back.

"We demand a plebiscite Vedur!" Chen shouted.

Those words halted Vedur on his tracks.