Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Heinrich
Maxis eyed the new general, inspecting him.
"Hello. As the King just said, I am Heinrich Von Vogel of Prussia. A pleasure to meet you, Maxis." The general spoke, his German accent becoming clearer the longer he spoke. He had a goatee and mustache as well as blonde hair and blue eyes. His hair was trimmed very short on the back and sides and the top was grown out a little bit longer than the average man's hair and it was swept back. He wore a green tunic underneath his set of plate armor that resembled Hetfield's but not entirely, some pieces were missing. He had dark circles around his eyes and he had a sort of somber look and aura around him despite his pleasant way of speaking.
"You know me?" Maxis asked.
"Of course I do, King Skinner has told me all about you! I must say, in these past few weeks I've come to be a great admirer of you."
"Is that so? How long have you been here?"
"Oh, about a month maybe. Ever since you retook Mt. Boren anyways."
"I see. And whose behalf are you here on?"
"The people of Middle Tahl. I've been here many times before and I've spent some of my happiest years within its walls."
"And you're of Prussian origin?"
"Yes. I was a Landsknecht, a mercenary there.
"What experience do you offer to us?"
"I fought in the 10th Crusade about a decade ago, under hire of course."
"The 10th?"
"Yes, in the north against the Norse."
"Ah, I had to make sure, sorry."
"No, I understand. One does not arrive in the manner I did without arousing suspicion."
"Well, now that you're acquainted with Heinrich, would you like to speak with me in private about your thoughts on him?" The King asked Maxis.
"Of course." Maxis responded, following the king into a separate room next to the war room.
"So? What do you think of him?"
"He seems…Nice, I guess. I haven't seen him in combat, that's the main factor for me, if a man can fight alongside his men AND command them. Of course I also don't know how he fights, or what he would do in certain situations."
"Give him a chance Max, he'll prove himself, I promise. At least let him take over for you on Mt. Boren."
"Fine. but I'll decide where to position him."
"Alright, that sounds acceptable."
The two then left the room and approached Heinrich who was sitting in a chair at the table in the center of the room.
"Welcome to the Army of Middle Tahl, Sir Heinrich. You'll be positioned on our northern flank and you'll be commanding- How many men should he command, my King?"
"Three hundred foot knights, two hundred-fifty mounted soldiers and two hundred thirty-four foot sergeants are in reserves if I'm not mistaken."
"Very well. You may do as you please with them but it is encouraged to wait for a direct order from the King and his court."
"Thank you, sirs. I will not disappoint." Heinrich said before bowing humbly before the two men.
Almost a month later and still both sides still made no effective moves on anyone, but Heinrich was planning. For a month straight he planned an attack that would be so devastating that it would force the crusaders to either leave Middle Tahl or get more aggressive with their attacks.
In the north, the Hospitallers had set up a temporary headquarters near the pines. Heinrich immediately knew they were planning to attack Fort Broken Shield, the headquarters of the knights of the pines. There were no major cities, no towns with valuable assets, and no strategic points of interest other than the fort.
Heinrich planned for almost a month straight and was confident in his men and in his mind.
It was a cold October morning and he emerged from his tent fully clad in his armor. He of course had shared his plan with his men and they knew today was the day of the attack. He had painted a black stripe across his face that covered his eyes and nose bridge, something he had done for years now as a sort of intimidation tactic.
He gathered his men around and stood in front of them to speak.
"Warriors of Middle Tahl! Today we march on the Hospitallers. They think they can come and take your land, your kingdom, your home! Today, we prove to them that they will not easily do so. No, not without a fight, not without blood!"
Heinrichs men cheered in great enthusiasm, banging their shields with their weapons and howling in fury.
"So march with me, warriors and protectors of Middle Tahl! March with me and we will defeat the rats who dare to stand before us! Knights, foot sergeants, squires, riflemen, bowmen and rangers! Today we march on the invaders, today we fight. Today they die!" The men cheered uproariously and Heinrich led them onward to the north where the Hospitallers were positioned.
The men marched from dawn until nearly sunset. Heinrich was sure to march through the forest to conceal his movement and on top of that he made sure that when the battle started, he came from the west so that the setting sun would further conceal his men and movements.
"Halt!" he called out, his men stopping in their tracks. He looked around and finally saw the Hospitaller headquarters in the distance from the treeline where they were marching. It was in a field just out in the open. He could see black tents with white and red crosses on them, he took out his map and checked it to be sure. He traced his finger along the route he and his men had taken and then looked at where he estimated the headquarters would be based on his scouts' information. He looked back up and eyed the encampment again, making sure everything was correct.
He rolled his map up and placed it in his satchel again.
He readied his shield, The Hellcat of Prussia, and unsheathed his sword, Der Schiedsrichter. The Arbiter.
He called out for his horse and he mounted it. With a great cry of war, he ordered his men to make their way forward to the headquarters.
He and his men trotted and walked quickly at first but the closer they got, the more speed they built up. Heinrich had positioned his cavalry at the north and south of the Hospitallers flanks so that the only way they could run was east, away from Middle Tahl. It wasn't long before the Hospitallers realized they were being attacked, but it was futile, as many of the knights were but half dressed and had no armor on when Heinrichs men came charging towards their headquarters.
The commander in charge quickly took action and ordered all men who were battle ready to guard the flanks while the rest of the Hospitallers tried to get their armor and weapons prepared in time. Heinrichs men came crashing into the Hospitaller ranks.
Heinrich and his infantry broke through the Hospitaller lines with ease, slaughtering men as they tried to get their armor on in their tents. As Heinrichs men started to make their way into the encampment, the cavalry came charging out of the surrounding treeline and smashing into the Hospitaller flanks. The Hospitaller commander was starting to worry about the outcome of the battle and he mounted a horse in an attempt to escape.
The Hospitaller commander was intercepted by a group of mounted knights of the pines and tried his best to outride them, however this attempt was in vain and he was stabbed through the back by a knight's lance.
With their commander dead and their numbers dwindling, the Hospitallers tried to retreat but it was no use. They were surrounded on all sides by the green and brown clad knights.
Horses whinied and reared up as Hospitallers tried to deter them by thrusting spears towards them. A few were lucky enough to get a horse to buck off its rider and send him crashing to the ground where he would then be hacked and poked at by desperate crusaders.
Heinrich ordered the fighting to cease. All that was left was a handful of maybe twenty of the black clad knights, all in a circle with their shields raised.
"You have all fought bravely, worthy adversaries of Middle Tahl. But I am afraid this fight is over. Surrender now, and your lives will be spared. Otherwise we shall have to kill you." Heinrich declared, his voice booming from the back of his mens ranks as he walked forward and stood in front of his men.
The remaining Hospitallers looked at each other, seemingly all agreeing to surrender. They dropped their weapons and raised their hands up. Heinrich spoke to his lieutenant. "David, get a small group of men and take the new prisoners to the treeline and watch them. We'll look around and see if there's anything useful here."
"Of course." David responded. "I need ten men! Ten men come with me!" He shouted out and walked away.
Heinrich's men looted the camp and took all things of value. Weapons, armor, tools, money, and food.
As the men were rooting through the tents, they found a surviving Hospitaller. He was a frail looking man with a snobbish sort of voice. He was in a fetal position and quivering with fear as Heinrichs men forced him to his feet and marched him out of the tent.
"Let go! Please, please don't kill me!" He screamed out, resisting the two knights who were restraining him.
"Heathen bastards! You'll all drown in lakes of blood!" He continued. The two knights approached Heinrich and forced the Hospitaller to his knees.
"Found a weasel in one of the tents, General." One of the knights said. Heinrich looked down at the man. "What's your occupation?" He asked.
"I'm the quartermaster." He responded.
"You're in charge of the arms and payroll I assume?"
"Yes."
"Excellent! Then you'll know when me and my men here will be getting paid."
"Whatever do you mean, heretic?"
"As quartermaster, you know when shipments are coming to you, so you must know when the next one is, correct?"
"Yes…"
"Wonderful! Now, when would this be?"
"You won't get a word out of me! That gold is for soldiers of Christ, not for the heathenous dogs of Middle Tahl!"
"I see. We'll need to fix that mindset of yours, after all, mindset is everything. Don't think of it as us stealing that shipment, instead, try to view it as my men here, slimming the chances of your fellow christians straying down the path of temptation and greed. What would you do with all that gold anyways, hm? Obtain the affections of a woman for a mere night's pleasure? Drink your problems away? Such things are sinful, correct? If you are following what Jesus wanted, this war wouldn't even be happening now. Gold is only the pathway to greed, so why would you need more of it?"
The quartermaster looked up at Heinrich in disbelief.
"You conniving heathen! You seek to use my faith against me?!" The quartermaster shouted, his voice cracking and his face burning red with anger.
Heinrich rolled his eyes in irritation, trying to show some restraint by not killing the weasley christian.
He sighed as he walked away while the quartermaster continued spewing insults at him.
"General, what do we do with him?" One of the knights asked.
"Bring him here." Heinrich responded, walking over to the treeline where the prisoners were being held.
The prisoners were lined up and on their knees while a detachment of riflemen monitored them.
"Captain." Heinrich said. "May I inspect your sidearm?" He asked.
The rifleman captain unholstered a five shot revolver and handed it to the general.
"Hellsing company, huh?" Heinrich said as he inspected the gun. The general stepped forward, standing behind an unsuspecting Hospitaller prisoner. He pulled the hammer back and fired a round into the back of the soldier's head, killing him.
The quartermaster jumped at the sound of the gunshot. "NOOO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" He screamed, pulling at the two knights restraining him. The other prisoners began praying and weeping at the sight of their comrade's execution.
"Now, quartermaster, how about that shipment? Feel like telling us?" Heinrich said, turning around to look at the quartermaster.
"I-I won't talk!" He declared, spitting at the general.
"Suit yourself." Heinrich said, pulling the hammer of the revolver back once more, stepping behind another prisoner and putting the barrel right behind the soldier's head and with no hesitation, killing him.
"I could do this all day, you know. Blowing brains out is easy." Heinrich said. The Hospitaller quartermaster kept silent, not uttering a word during the executions.
Heinrich killed three more prisoners and was then out of bullets.
He pointed the revolver at another prisoner and pulled the trigger.
Click
"Dammit."
He held the gun by the barrel and bashed the soldier in the head with the grip, knocking him out. He tossed the revolver to the captain and then unsheathed his sword, beheading the next soldier.
"For the love of Christ, stop!" The quartermaster cried out.
"TALK, GODDAMMIT." Heinrich yelled, approaching the quartermaster with his sword in hand.
"The shipment is coming in a week, it'll be from Arnestown! That's all I know, please!"
Heinrich wiped his blade clean and sheathed it.
"Finally." He uttered. "Captain, you know what to do." He said. The captain ordered the prisoners to stand up. The riflemen then positioned themselves behind the prisoners and executed most of them with a single volley. The quartermaster jumped in fear and screamed in anger.
A few stray Hospitallers attempted to flee but it proved useless as their hands were bound and their vision was obscured by blindfolds. After the rangers reloaded their rifles, the survivors were promptly executed.
"Thank you for your help, good sir. Unfortunately, you are no longer needed." Heinrich said to the quartermaster before taking out his sword, gutting the Hospitaller, and shoving him to the ground.
Heinrich sighed as he wiped his blade clean again and sheathed The Arbiter.
"Burn the bodies." Heinrich ordered as he walked off to oversee his men. He walked past burning tents and dead bodies as he searched for his lieutenant, Sir David The Pure, to inform him of the new information regarding the quartermaster's shipment. He found the noble sitting in a chair, drinking from a canteen filled with water and watching as the knights under Heinrich's command looted the chests and crates of the Hospitallers.
"What have you found?" Heinrich asked as he approached David.
"Lots of gold and weapons, supply routes too. What did you get out of that quartermaster Gerard and Mikael sent your way?" David asked, shifting over to look at Heinrich.
"He was stubborn at first, refusing to talk and so on but after I executed a few of his friends, he talked." Heinrich said, sitting down on the ground next to David's chair.
"Yeah, I heard the gunshots, did you execute all of them?" David asked.
"Not at first, only after he told me what I wanted to know." Heinrich replied.
"Damn. Brutal." David said, taking a drink from his canteen.
The knights of the pines loaded up the wagons in the Hospitaller camp with crates filled with loot and began to make their way back to Fort Broken Shield.
"So, when are we raiding this shipment?" David asked, driving his horse closer to the general.
"The quartermaster said it would be in Arnestown in a week, we should start planning immediately."
"Absolutely. Did he say what exactly this shipment would be carrying?"
"No, but I have no doubt it'll have no shortage of gold, food, arms, and armor."
"How many men are traveling with it?"
"He didn't say. He claimed that's all he knew, that the shipment would be from Arnestown and that it would arrive at their little camp a week from now."
"Surely we can't believe him, he's one of them. I don't think he would give that information up so easily."
"Maybe, I'll request reinforcements from King Skinner."
Heinrich and David rode side by side while the sun set. Most of the day had been spent looting and marching rather than fighting. The sun was setting further now and the men marched wearily down the pebble and dirt covered path through the fortress where they could finally rest and drink the night away as a reward for their victory against the christian invaders.
Upon arriving at the fort's gates, Heinrich dismounted his horse along with David. He smiled as he led his men through the gates and his men cheered in celebration. He turned around to face his soldiers and address them.
"Knights of the Pines!" He said loudly.
"You have all done wonderfully today. We have yet another victory against the crusaders and we have evened the score. More battles like this and we'll win the war in no time!"
Heinrich was met by cheers of joy from the knights and they all headed for their tents where they changed into casual clothes and cleaned their weapons and armor. The men began carrying kegs of beer and crates filled with wine bottles out of the fort's main keep and started to light up fires and set up chairs and tables.
David sent out a party of six to go hunting while Heinrich began writing a letter to King Skinner requesting reinforcements and informing him of the recent victory and the plan to raid the supply train.
"Hey, Heinrich, come out here with us!" David said as he walked into the general's tent. "Just a minute, i'm finishing this letter to the king." Heinrich replied, keeping his focus on his writing.
"Aw, come onnn. Hurry up already, the men want a proper celebration with their general." David replied, walking over to Heinrich and tugging his shoulder.
"Fine." Heinrich replied as he ended his letter, folded it and stamped it and then headed out with David.
Heinrich approached a soldier and handed him the letter. "Here, soldier. I need you to deliver this to the king. Take ten others with you and don't tarry." He said, walking away. He and David went up to a long wooden table positioned within the courtyard of the fort. On the table there were roasted legs of goats, strips of bacon, loaves of bread, bowls filled with apples and berries, and copious amounts of alcohol for the men to indulge in.
The two men, David and Heinrich, took their seats at the table in the fort's courtyard. The six men sent out to hunt had finally returned after an hour and brought back turkeys, deer, fowls, rabbits and squirrels to cook on the open fires in and around the fort. This, of course, was not enough to feed the whole army and they were sent out yet again by Sir David.
A knight approached the general with a keg of beer and filled up his mug.
"Your planning was brilliant today, general Heinrich!" the soldier proclaimed, smiling at him. Heinrich laughed and thanked him. "Well, thank you, but it wouldn't be possible without you bastards!" Heinrich said with a laugh, drinking from his mug after.
"Ahhh…" Heinrich sighed in refreshment as he wiped his upper lip and mustache clean of the beer. Just then, his head perked up a bit and he began sniffing the air. "Smell that?" He asked David, leaning back into his chair. "Yep." His lieutenant responded. "What are they cooking over there?" Heinrich asked, taking a gulp of beer from his mug. "Rabbit maybe. I saw a deer and some turkeys with them as well, squirrels too I think." David responded, pouring himself a mug of beer.
"Ohhh, that sounds gooooodd." Heinrich sighed as he gulped down the rest of his beer. David smirked and shook his head at Heinrich, sipping from his mug. After an hour or so of drinking, the six men finally came back with more food. They carried with them three more deer carcasses, six turkeys, a few dozen rabbits and squirrels, two wild boars and some buckets filled with berries and other fruits and vegetables found in the forest.
The fort cheered as the hunters brought forth their bounty inside the ancient walls of the fort. The hunters presented the animals to the butchers and they began to skin the carcasses and cut up the meat. The hunters presented the buckets of berries to Heinrich and his lieutenant.
"What have you brought us?" Heinrich asked.
"Blueberries, blackberries, and some apples from the woods." A hunter replied.
"Ahh, excellent! Go take a rest, men, you've deserved it." Heinrich said cheerfully, taking a blackberry out of the bucket and eating it, savoring the slightly bitter taste of the fruit.
Hours went by as the men drank and sang deep into the night. Heinrich drunkenly walked through the entrance to his tent, trying not to stumble over his feet. He groaned as he sat down on his cot, feeling dizzy and almost sick from all the food and drink.
"Ughh… Scheisse…" He groaned as he laid down on his cot and closed his eyes.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
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