Mercenary
An excerpt from a weathered manuscript of unknown origin detailing a brief history of Lodovico, the Lion Duke of Arbolestro.
Thus it was in the days leading up to the sacking of the Great City that our esteemed Duke - Lodovico of the humble village of Monteforta - found himself commissioned as a sergeant in that most illustrious of regiments: the famed Crossbowmen of Arbolestro. Word of a terrible slaughter regarding a doomed company of the King’s Spears (of which it is well known there is no reliable account of the infamous incident) had traveled to that most magnificent metropolis, and the mercenary bowmen were immediately deployed to the field to play their part in defense of the realm.
Alas, their expedition would be for naught.
The City was already a smoldering and crumbling husk by the time the troop from Arbolestro arrived. How such widespread and devastating ruination could have been achieved so rapidly has been the subject of no small amount of spirited debate and controversy over the years. It was with much sorrow and consternation that the future Duke Lodovico and his fellows scoured the wreckage in a futile hunt for survivors, yet their search left them empty-handed; without so much as an inkling of the ghastly fate that could have befallen the High King and his subjects.
Save, of course, for our beloved Duke’s finding of The Mask; as well as the recovery amongst the dilapidated castle towers of a questionable and farfetched account. The tattered parchment was written in an uneven hand by one who could only have been a hysterical madman: a certain Froderick, son of Froderick. Flummoxed by their discoveries, and having fulfilled their orders to the best of their capabilities, the captains determined their best course of action was to make haste for Arbolestro. It was on that return journey the seeds of mighty Lodovico’s grand rise to power would be planted.
Two days into the march the mercenary company was suddenly beset upon by a mysterious troop of horsemen. They had not the time to fortify their ranks with their famous, nigh impregnable wall of pavise shields, and their battle lines were splintered apart from one another as they were slaughtered wholesale, yet the brave Duke (The Mask upon his fair head, of course) managed to rally his squad and break free from the massacre. He alone seemed untouchable and unassailable in that desperate melee, even as his countrymen succumbed to death on all sides.
He had departed majestic Arbolestro a mere sergeant among illustrious thousands, yet he returned as commander of the entire regiment of famed Crossbowmen - though barely four score survived their encounter with the phantom cavalry force. The ebullient Lodovico’s rapid ascension to the ducal throne upon his return is well documented; from his nomination to the Council of Elders, to his revolt and overthrow of the selfsame ruling body.
He alone has reigned over Arbolestro these last many decades with a firm, occasionally harsh, guiding hand. The Mask has since sat upon our lordly Duke’s once arresting visage without fail; except in recent days, when it seems to have vanished. In his boundless wisdom he has ascertained that it was stolen from him, and many of his ever loyal subjects have been arrested and tortured to determine its whereabouts. He appears quite frantic and unmoored without its guidance.
I do not think he will find it, for it has come into my possession quite unexpectedly. The Mask whispers to me its secrets and ancient, forbidden knowledge. I write this account for the sake of posterity, and out of a begrudging respect for Duke Lodovico (though I am assured his days bearing that noble title are coming to an end) and his many fabled exploits.
When the time comes my name, too, shall be eternally bound to his.
Author’s Note: I have once again been inspired to contribute a brief tale to
’s Substack-wide community writing project, The Ynysfall Codex.If you enjoyed reading my Thoughts™, consider showing your appreciation by helping to make my dream of quitting my day job a reality.
Tell me more of this mask.
very nice