Chapter 178: Escaping from Vienna

Weeks had passed since the siege of Vienna had begun, and the army of the Bavarians had already breached the city's gates. They were close to accomplishing what Lothar had failed to achieve during his life, and that was to capture the City of Vienna and overthrow the main Habsburg line. Duke Dietger smiled from afar as his battering ram smashed into the gates of the city's castle. Soon enough, he will be the reigning authority in Austria and unite the Austro-Bavarian Kingdom; he would no longer be a mere Duke but a proper King! At least that was his ambition in life, and he was close to seeing it to fruition.

As the battering ram battered open the sturdy gates, the remaining defenders did their best to persist, but eventually, the gate fell. With it, an army of Bavarians charged into the Castle seeking to claim it for themselves and round up the late Duke Wilmar's family so that they could be properly dealt with. The clash of steel resounded throughout the stale air of the castle's walls. Though Duke Dietger was not leading the charge against the invaders himself, the same could not be said for Gautbehrt, who bravely defended his family home until his last dying breath.

The young Duke, who had yet to be appropriately recognized for his title, courageously fought against a Knight of Bavaria, as the two men wielded their swords with excellent skill in a fantastic display of medieval might. Surrounding them were the soldiers of both sides thrashing about in a grand melee, trying to gain the upper hand in the conflict. As their swords bound against one another, Gautbehrt unleashed a vicious backhand with his steel-clad fist, which smacked against the Knight's pig-faced bascinet; Though the damage was not severe; it bought Gautbehrt enough time to redirect his blade into the gaps in the enemy's shoulder, which was not adequately protected by a rondel. As such, the knight staggered from the tempered high carbon steel which founds its way piercing through the mail armor, the gambeson beneath it, and finally his flesh. 

However, at this moment, Gautherbert was struck by the attack of a nearby opponent, which merely glanced off of his mighty steel armor. Despite this, such a blow forced him to redirect his energy to defend against a second opponent; as such, the Knight who had his shoulder pierced was allowed reprieve as another soldier took his place in the front line. Gautbehrt and his allies quickly found themselves on the backstep, slowly receding into the hallway, while their numbers dwindled to the exceptional display of violence. 

While the Bavarians slowly made their way into the castle, the young boy Conrad was hiding in his room, scared witless from the ongoing events. His father had recently perished, and the city had fallen, his family's enemies had come to take their lives, and as a male of the family, his fate was sealed. Though his sisters might be spared and wed off to members of the von Wittelsbach family, he was a threat, and he knew with Duke Dietger's reputation he would for sure be destined to die. However, as the boy started to lose his mind to the sound of the echoing screams in the hall, he felt a hand grab ahold of him and drag him from his hiding spot.  The boy was in no condition to observe his surroundings and quickly began to struggle as he struck the person who had grabbed ahold of him, screaming for his life.

"No! I don't want to die! Please spare me!"

However, the result was not what he was expecting as he felt a dainty and feminine hand slap him across the face, which dragged him to his senses. In front of him, clasping onto his arm, was one of his maids, who went by the name of Elma. She stared at him fiercely, with a degree of determination in which he had not witnessed before. She quickly threw a set of peasant clothing to Conrad and ordered him in a stern voice.

"Get dressed in these! Do it quickly if you want to live!"

Hearing there was hope for survival, the boy quickly stripped himself and got into the clothes; despite the fact that there was a pretty woman in front of him after he was dressed in such clothing, Elma pulled a hood over his head and gave him further orders.

"Come with me!"

She quickly dragged him away by the arm as the two absconded from the Castle into a secret corridor that led into the city below. Conrad, of course, was greatly confused by the sudden changes in events and began to ask the questions on his mind.

"Where are we going?"

However, Elma merely glared at him and gave him further orders

"Don't ask questions, and stay silent."

Conrad may have been an entitled brat and a fool, but he was at least capable of understanding the situation he was in at the moment, and as such, he nodded and obeyed Elma's orders. After the duo exited the secret tunnel, they entered the city below, where they began to act like a pair of peasants stuck in the city. As they slowly navigated the chaotic scene which displayed itself in the town, they were eventually stopped at the City's gates, where they were interrogated by the men at arms who were left to guard the city's entrances and make sure that nobody of significance escaped the town.  Unlike Lothar's army, the Bavarians conducted themselves with some form of dignity. As such, they were not going around looting, raping, and burning the city to the ground, at least not yet. The guard on duty quickly halted. The duo soon noticed the team approaching the gate and bellowed his commands at them.

"Halt! Nobody is allowed to leave the city; you must return to your homes!"

Elma had already prepared an excuse beforehand and held onto forged identification papers to allow her access through the city's gates. As such, she quickly reached into her cloak and received a letter, which contained the seal of Count Siegmund of Bavaria; the letter notified that she was a spy set in place by the Bavarian Count at the request of Duke Dietger, and she had urgent business to report to her liege, it appeared to have the proper mark of Count Siegmund, and as such, the Guard accepted it as appropriate identification. He had no way of knowing that it was a counterfeit made by Berengar after his spies intercepted one of Count Siegmund's letters. They had largely replicated the Count's handwriting and seal through great effort, at least so much so that someone who was not overly familiar with such a thing would believe it. However, the guard was concerned about the young boy who was beside the woman claiming to be a spy, and as such, he quickly interrogated her about his identity.

"Who is the boy? Why is he with you?"

Elma looked over at Conrad with a glance that said "play along" before putting on a flirtatious smile and began to approach the guard in a seduction attempt.

"Who this? This is just my slow little brother; he does not know how to speak. He was sent with me as part of my cover. He is not important. However, I would greatly appreciate it if you allowed us to pass; after all, my Liege is expecting me. Since we are both in service to Duke Dietger to some extent, I am sure we will cross paths in the future, and when we do, I would owe you one..."

Elma was a relatively attractive woman in her late twenties, and as such, the man quickly bought into her charms before giving the order to his troops to let her pass.

"Open the gates; these two work for Count Siegmund; they have proper authorization!"

After the gates were fully opened, allowing the duo to pass, Elma put on a sultry facade and kissed the man on his cheek, which was on full display from his open face bascinet. 

"Until we meet again..."

With that said, Elma and Conrad escaped outside of the confines of the city, and when they were far enough away, they changed directions from the main road where they entered the nearby woods. Luckily for Elma, she had long since prepared an escape route, as were her orders from Linde, and she would be meeting with another agent of Berengar's Department of Intelligence, who would be waiting outside the city gates with a wagon to carry the group off to the borders of Kufstein.  As such, Elma and Conrad quickly regrouped with the other Agent of Berengar's vast spy network, where he was sitting on a wagon which was seated for two people, the back of the wagon was filled with straw, and Elma quickly gave Conrad another demand.

"Hide in the straw, we will be safe when we get to our destination!"

However, at this moment, Conrad could no longer contain his curiosity, and of course, his concerns for his safety. As such, he ripped his hand away from the woman's grasp and began to shout at her.

"Not until I get some information! For example, Who are you people, and why are you helping me?"

Elma sighed as she witnessed the fit in which Conrad was throwing, they did not have time for this, but she knew with the way Conrad was acting, he was liable to flee in the other direction and get himself killed if she did not tell the truth, as such she quickly explained her reasoning for her actions. 

"We are going to Kufstein, Count Berengar has asked us to escort you to his realm so that you may be safe."

Conrad was shocked by this news, he thought for sure he had thoroughly outraged Berengar at Adela's birthday celebration, and yet the man had gone through the trouble to escort him to safety. He was beginning to reevaluate the man who his father had praised so much in the past. Then again, his father was also wary of Berengar's rise to power and had frequently spoken about the man with caution in his voice. Conrad did not know how to act at this moment. However, another thought quickly appeared in his mind, and he could not help but ask.

"What about my siblings?"

Elma quickly shook her head as she urged Conrad to get into the back of the wagon and hide in the straw.

"We don't have time for this, quickly do what I say, the Duke could realize you are missing at every minute, and if he sends out a search for us, we will be caught. If you care about your own life, you will do as I say and get in the straw!"

Though Conrad was confused and slightly concerned about Berengar's objectives, ultimately, he was more concerned about his safety than that of his siblings and did what he was instructed, jumping into the back of the Caravan where he hid in the straw. With that, the group escaped from the city of Vienna during the cover of darkness, entirely without Duke Dietger or his army realizing that the late Duke Wilmar's youngest son was missing.