Herald of Steel



Alexander spent a lot of his time in March inspecting the fields, watching the farmers not just plow and plant seeds but also perform another critical job, which was de-weeding, i.e.- removing the undesirable plants growing on the field.

A task that was seen being performed by both men and women using small sickles, who primarily worked on the wheat seeds that were just waking up from their winter slumber.

It was a tedious process but also very important, for the level of weed removal would affect the final product, thus the men were hard at work trying to kill off these invasive plants as soon as possible.

Alexander also saw the farmers prune many fruit trees, i.e.- cutting parts of the part to encourage growth, a job that required quite expert skills, as too much removal would damage the tree, but too little would have no result, and be a waste of time.

In this way, the month of March nearly ended for Alexander, until one day around the end of it, he got his first good news.

It was around the mid-afternoon of a bright shiny day, and Alexander was simply lazing around in his garden after having a great meal, when suddenly one of his trusted messengers ran up to him and excitedly said, "My lord, good news from the harbor. Mithras is back!"

Mithras was the man Alexander had put in charge of getting the families of the Thesians, most of them Sycarians into Zanzan, and Alexander was truly relieved to hear them finally arrive.

They were due around late February, or early March, and given that they were a month late, Alexander had truly been worried.

He feared they might have been caught up in a storm and completely destroyed, which was quite possible, or more fearfully, get caught up in the blockade and captured.

That would have been Alexander's worst nightmare for if the enemy got to know that the people on the ships were the family members of a lot of Alexander's retainers and high-level personnel, then the amount of damage they could do to him would be sky-shattering.

The lightest he would have gotten away with was paying an astronomical ransom, while it was also likely there would be an internal coup and Zanzan's city gates would have been opened and Alexander and his family handed over to Djose in exchange for the hostages' lives.

Now, Alexander had taken some precautions against this, for he had sent three ships out into the sea before the blockade, their mission being to look for the fleet and then inform them of the current situation.

But even then Alexander had been worried, as he had no direct way to communicate with the people and warn them of the danger. and furthermore feared the scouts would somehow miss them, causing them all to die.

Thus the messenger's report caused great joy in Alexander who had been relaxing in his garden who flashed a large grin and turned to ask, "Really! Are you sure?"

"Yes, the captain sent the reportedly only after he confirmed it." The man replied confidently, before going on to describe the event.

"It is said that some time ago, many of the fishermen spotted a huge fleet carrying our flag approach Zanzan. They quickly told the guards nearby about this, but before we could send any boats, a messenger soon came in a small boat to confirm it was Mithras."

Alexander's question about the veracity of the report was actually largely reductant because no one wanted to be the one to deliver incorrect news to Alexander, the highest person in the city, and so tried very tried to be as sure as possible.

This was even illustrated in this very case, as when the fishermen's report reaches the leader of the city guards posted near the harbor, which was also the most heavily guarded part of the city, the man personally went near the docks to assess the situation for himself.

After all, the recent blockage still lingered on many's minds, and some feared that those might have returned for a round two.

So, it was only after the captain met Mithra's messenger and talked to him, confirming that the ships were friendly and not enemies, did he send a messenger to Alexander's manor informing him of the good news.

"Good, good, let's go right away," Alexander hence quickly got up from his hammock, put down the wine glass, and summoned his bodyguards to escort him to his destination.

And he soon arrived at the docks through the southern gate and found it to be busy as heck.

The harbor had mostly recovered from its brief occupation, with its roads being replaced with concrete and stone, the wooden wharf being replaced with concrete and the wooden cranes being rebuilt.

But what gave the place its vibrancy was actually the people.

The evidence of this was how along the foot of the southern wall, facing the sea, were every kind of small shop one's heart could desire, selling all kinds of things, ranging from food produce such as freshly caught fish, butchered meat, various fruits, and vegetables, to ordinary and exquisite vases and pottery, to various kinds of colored fabric to many types of metal paraphernalia like nails, hammers, etc.

There were even street touts offering to take people to various red-light establishments.

And people clamored around all these stalls setting the air abuzz around the harbor as the hawkers loudly peddled their wares and the customers fiercely haggled the price.

This was currently probably the most thriving part of the city.

And perhaps right now this was true even more than anytime before, as an enormous crowd had gathered along the road that ran adjacent to the sea, all were clamoring to see why there were so many ships approaching them.

The guards had already promised them these were friendlies and as the ships had Alexander's flag, the crowd did not panic and was not fearful to get close.

Among this sea of people gathered at the port, each carried a varied intent, so much so that it covered all types of goals.

There were honest dock workers looking forward to being hired to unload the cargo these ships undoubtedly carried.

There were curious shoppers who just wanted to see why there was a crowd.

There were expectant merchants hoping to sell food, everyday wears such as sandals, hats, snacks, and a million other things to the disembarking people.

There were even unscrupulous crooks looking to steal coin purses, either from the disembarking men or from the gathered crowd.

And lastly, there were the ever-present beggars, flashing their palms for alms.

Alexander did not have any trouble navigating through the crowd, his heavily armored bodyguards and his personal identity making it possible for him to move about effortlessly.

Wherever Alexander walked, the crowd would part like he was Moses, and they were the red sea, making way for him even if it meant they had to push someone else off the wharf into the sea.

After all, touching a noble, never mind a pasha was unthinkable for them.

Seeing this manic obedience, as the crowd scampered on their hands and feet to make way for him, proved to display the power of a title, Alexander again tasted the sweet, addicting taste of power and status.

'So this is the power of nobility?' He murmured, fully understanding now how nobles were able to become tyrants over time.

It was very easy to see obedient people not as people but as sheep to herd, harvest, and exploit.

But as Alexander approached the first docked ship, such philosophical musings were put at the back of his head for now, for there was Mithras to greet him right around where he had gotten off.

The man was originally talking to a crew member, possibly telling him how to unload the cargo, until he spotted Alexander approaching.

"Alexander! It's great to see you, hahaha!" The lean man ran forward to greet the lord with a giant hug.

Mithras had been away for most of the time Alexander had been pasha, and so he forgot that Alexander was actually noble and hence the calling by name.

Alexander for this part did not mind this, as instead, he was just glad to see the man alive.

Mithras was from Alexander's mercenary group and given he had given him such an important job relating to many of his soldiers and retainers' families and one that entitled so much running away around Thesos, it went on to prove just how much Alexander trusted and believed in the capabilities of this man.

And ont only that, but the man had been a fisherman before he joined the mercenary group due to his village being burned down by another city-state and at many times had proved himself to be a skilled navigator.

"You too! You too!" Thus lxx repeated relieved, before having another look at him and worriedly saying, "You have grown thin! And why are they so late?"

"*Sigh*," First the lean man with a full beard let out a mournful sigh that expressed a thousand emotions, as he only said, "We can talk about that later."

This type of answer worried Alexander, for he understood it had to be bad news, but did not hound the man then and there.

"Okay, okay, whatever it is we can discuss it later. I'm sure we can deal with it later." Alexander thus assured, before tapping the man on the shoulders and saying, "You're tired now. So get some rest."