Knowledge

Two days after the event which had been hosted by marquess Blackwell in Landow, it was finally the day of the execution of the female bandit leader who had survived the battle.

The time and place were selected to be at the largest public square in the city, which was located in the business district; the execution was scheduled to take place two hours after noon.

Generally speaking, events like these, such as public executions, were considered a form of entertainment by the people. So it was not a surprise that William could see a large crowd already gathered in the square from his balcony in the castle, even though there was still some time before noon.

William had just finished his morning routine and was relaxing a bit in his room, with a book in his hands; he had decided to skip today's nap for a quick read to try to squeeze more knowledge into his brain, or at least try to trigger any memories that still eluded him until lunchtime.

Between his hands, he held a book about the overall geography of the Kingdom, which he specifically chose so as to better understand the topography of the kingdom he had found himself in.

So far he had found the geography of the kellor kingdom to be most intriguing; from the first glance; it seemed to be a self-contained kingdom that could easily attain self-sufficiency in all basic resources.

The kingdom could be divided into five zones or regions, each under the jurisdiction of one of the four dukes and the royal family. The first and most important region concerning William's location was the south-western region in which was Landow that the Blackwells called home.

This region was known for its flourishing trade because of its large navigable rivers that ran through it, as well as its distance from the kingdom's capital, which afforded the lords in the region some more independence than what their counterparts would have closer to the royal seat of power.

The Dragontooth mountains to the northwest, that went on to encircle most of the kingdom, as well as the lonely mountains to the south, allowed the lords in the region to produce enough Or to satiate their needs, and though these aforementioned mountains lack very rare and valuable mineral deposits, they were sufficient for the day to day activities of the local populations.

The region itself held about two million people, though this was mostly an estimation as there were no reliable means to exactly document with a certain degree of certainty the number of people, considering that the vast majority of the population lived away from the cities and in villages that were spread around all over the place.

The region was very defendable from external threats, the same as the kingdom overall, with the Hardwall fortress to the west guarding the only large enough land route to allow entry for large armies or trade to be exchanged with the neighboring kingdom to the west.

William went on reading for a bit more, getting a much clearer idea of the land in and around the marquisate until lunch-time, at which; he put the book down and made his way to the dining hall.

Upon reaching it, he found that he was the first to arrive, so he took his seat and waited, a few minutes later; Marek made his entrance, then their father shortly after.

They were quickly done with the usual greetings after each had taken their seat and moved on to the main topic at hand.

"So today is the big day huh!" William stated.

"Indeed, it's about time the people witnessed the consequences of taking up arms against the nobility," Marek commented.

"It should make for a good statement indeed. Especially to whoever is moving the strings from the shadows." Lord Ulric expressed.

William nodded in agreement; public executions were considered a big nono in modern times back on Earth, but society here was very different, so he found himself to be totally okay with it. He did not think he could actually kill someone or even give the order for someone to do it though, since that would be pushing it a bit too much for his taste.

"Speaking of puppeteers, is there any news about Night father?" William asked.

"Nothing as of now, my men are still in pursuit, following every trail they could find." The marquis answered.

Hearing this, Marek's expression turned gloomy, he really hated the fact that one of the masterminds had gotten away.

"I should have gone after him as well," Marek said.

William and Lord Ulric both looked at Marek with expressions that stated, 'and what makes you qualified to track and pursue him", though the marques had far better control over his facial expression than William and therefore did not give much.

"Marek, your intentions may be good, but sometimes you must delegate the right task to the right people, the three of us here have little experience in tracking so we will not be much help. Don't worry I have some of my best men on this and soon they should have something for us." The marquess expressed in a... diplomatic way.

This helped somewhat assuage Marek.

The trio continued their conversation until the end of their meal, after which Marek and William left for the square.

The marquess had instructed his eldest son Marek to preside over the execution, while William was to go with him. This was an attempt to expose the brothers more to the public, give them some taste of what duty they may one day have to take, as well as share some of the responsibility, and free some time for the marques that he could be spending on something more important.

The duo left the castle district half an hour before the time of the execution escorted by about thirty guards, as they dragged the prisoner in chains towards her final destination.

As they exited the gates and marched through the main road spitting the city in two that led to all the districts and therefore their destination. They were met with many people who looked at the prisoner and cursed, laughed, or sometimes were even brave enough to throw something at her.

The soldiers did not intervene as long as the object that was thrown was not too dangerous like a big rock or a weapon; otherwise, she would die long before she reaches the stage in the main city square.

As they got closer to their destination, the concentration of people grew, and so were the crowds, to the point that once they neared, many soldiers had to go to the front so as to open a path for the rest of the procession.

Eventually, they made it through and got to the stage; the prisoner was brought to the stage and secured with chains; then Marek got up as well to say a few words to the people, while William opted to stay near it as it was surrounded by the guards making for a secure location while also not drawing too much attention.

The people cheered wildly once Marek went up the stage, since it signified that the main event was about to begin.

William looked at his brother and thought, "Well, I hope you don't have stage fright, Marek."