Herald of Steel



Alexander's greed of wanting to use Laibak to spy back on Amenheraft was really something else, especially given the very public way he had caught the spies.

Though not every Tom, Dick, and Harry in the city knew about this, most high-ranking people were aware of the massive catch.

So what Alexander was proposing to pull off seemed very, very unlikely

"....." 

And that was why Laibak was silent when asked about it as if he was trying to think of a way to gently decline Alexander.

But as he thought about the problem, and played around with the details, suddenly he began to feel it might not be actually possible,

Granted it would not be easy, but the chances of it being possible could not be immediately dismissed.

The key point was the times they lived in, where it took very, very long for information to travel.

So given only a short time had passed, and the other side was nary aware, setting up a cover-up story might just be possible.

It would need a lot of padding up, and whether it would hold up to scrutiny was another question, but if given the proper resources by Alexander, Laibak felt he could try and attempt to make something up.

  He was not very optimistic about his chances, but he at least could try.

And so he said,

"I could try doing something. But I would need a lot of things to go right for me."

"First and most importantly of all, I will need to somehow explain all the deaths, especially Lord Kazak's."

"Then I will need to find a way to explain how me and my wife survived."

"I will also need all my neighbors to verify everything I say."

"It would not work if I came up with the best convincing story, but the neighbors living around went around telling everyone how the city guards raided that one inn next to them that one night."

"If that happened, the other men sent by the Matbar (Marquiss) will easily figure that something was up."

"So everyone living around the inn must collaborate on whatever I say happened."

"And lastly, a lot of people, with some of the officers know about our capture. That needs to change."

Laibak showed himself to be quite quick-witted as he was able to make such a detailed list so quickly, and then finished with the caveat, 

"If all that can be successfully pulled off …then I can maybe form a spy network that thinks works for the Matbar (Marquis)…whereas in reality…." 

Laibak smirked, not needing to explain further.

While Alexander, hearing all of Laibak's requests found them to be quite reasonable.

And if he could fulfill them, he would really be able to strike a gold mine of information, able to both deceive the enemy and also pick up on their chatter, as the order Laibak would receive might be indicative of the plans his 'masters' are planning.

It would be like striking two birds with one stone.

So the question now arose was how to fulfill those requests Laibak made so that this could happen. 

And Alexander addressed the last concern first.

"The ones who know about your capture are not many."

"You do not have to worry too much about them revealing anything."

"But since you asked, over the next few days, we will fake the capture of several more spies."

"This will help muddy the narrative so that even if our some smart man comes across the arrest, he will not know which ones the people are talking about."

"At best, he will think your comrades' deaths and the spy capture were a coincidence."

Alexander proposed this plan based on the fact that in this age most people did not use exact dates to refer to things.

Instead, they commonly used the names of the days of the week.

Dates were only really used by nobles and merchants due to book-keeping conveniences. 

As for the average Joe, well, most were illiterate to know which day it was.

But more importantly, this did not really matter to them. 

Ninety percent of the population were peasants who really cared what season it was rather than knowing the exact day of the month.

And this meant that if people were asked about any previous events, they would answer like, 'it was a week ago, or a month ago, or a few months ago.'

So by doing what Alexander was proposing, anyone trying to investigate would get all his days mixed up since the events would have happened quite close together when viewed from a year or even a few months from now.

"Tha…that's great. Yes! That can work! Definitely work!" And Laibak seemed to quite like it.

With that decision made, there remained only for the three other conditions to be solved.

And Alexander decided to go sequentially, starting with the first one.

"How about a burglary? A couple of thugs break into the inn, gets spotted, a fight breaks out, and all of a sudden five people are dead?" Alexander proposed how to make the five deaths seem natural.

"Hmmm…. thieves do not usually kill. Not five grown men at least."

"And when they are spotted, they always prefer to run."

"Thieves that break in at night are normally not killers."

"And also… thieves prefer to go after individual houses, not huge inns with so many people, perhaps even one or two guards." 

The scenario is unlikely."

Alexander had been somewhat proud of his plan, but seeing Laibak so effortlessly tear it to shreds, exposing so many holes that it looked like a porcupine had gone through it that, Alexander was momentarily even a bit shamed. 

Then he went to go back to the drawing board.

And after a while came up with this.

"Then how about it happening outside? The men are walking in the market. They suddenly get into a scuffle:

"Within a blink of an eye, it escalates into a brawl. And before anyone can understand what's happening five people are all dead on the streets!"

Alexander was pretty pleased with this one, feeling he had managed to think outside the box.

After all, where those men died did not really matter, just that they did.

"Hmmmm," And even Laibak had to give credit to this plan had some good points.

But then pointed, "Lord Kazak rarely went outside. And when he did, he carried an expert entourage of very good fighters with him."

"In fact, if those men were not drunk and unarmed when your bodyguards found them, my lord, it would not have been such an easy fight."

"So to think some street ruffians would kill them in the streets….one or two of them might be possible if they got jumped … but five of them is too much."

Laibak pointed out the devil in the details, further informing, 

"Besides, most ruffians like to act tough but can only bully the weak. Show them a bit of armor and shining steel, and they will pee their pants."

"So if I gave this excuse, many will probably think the ruffians were disguised assassins. And then everything will get too complicated."

Thus it seemed that even this relatively good idea got shot down.

"Then what do you suggest?" 

Finally, out of ideas, Alexander asked Laibak to think of a solution himself, the tone in his voice a bit annoyed.

"Ummm…." And after a bit of hesitation, Laibak gave this idea, "How about a fire?"

  "Fire?" Hearing so Alexander furrowed with brows.

He did not get it.

Where would fire come here?

And besides, anything that had to do with fire was problematic, especially in a city that was made basically out of wood.

And it seemed Laibak also knew this which was also he said with such hesitation.

But Alexander did not immediately shoot down the idea.

Since Laibak bought it up, he must have a good reason.

So Alexander signaled with his eyes for Laibak to continue.

So the man gathered his thoughts and proposed the plan he had been thinking about for some time. 

"I was thinking something of a story like this-" He began,

"One of the nearby houses at night catches fire and slowly then spreads to the inn."

"But everyone in the inn is drunk or asleep …so they could simply fail to wake up in time." 

"So they burn to death!"

Laibak's proposal seemed very short and easily plausible.

And it became even more realistic as he added the following details, which seemed to conveniently address the second point too.

"As for how I and Naimir survived…well since it was a Wednesday, I could say I saw sleeping in a brothel. And I had taken Naimir with me."

"And then if I was to be asked why I was sleeping with a whore when I have a wife?"

"Well, I could say because my wife and the kids were staying with my father-in-law."

"And this is not anything uncommon."

"Every year she takes the kids and stays at her father's house for three days and three nights." 

"So I could say she was away and I was with a whore. This is also something I sometimes do when I'm lonely."

"It all fits perfectly!" 

"And better yet, with this story, I can also very easily explain how my wife and kids lived."

"What do you think my lord?" Laibak looked for Alexander's approval.

'What do I think my lord! I think I would have kissed you if you were a girl!' And this was Alexander's internal praise!