Chapter IV: Terror in the Countryside, Slaughter on the road, and Liberation in the City.

Spring 1102

Slaughter at Maleventum
As Pomerlane's army began to ravage the farms and hamlets outside of Tsunami, his presence was quickly noticed by the Tribunal as being more than just an average band of bandits that crossed the border to raid. Tribune Philippicus reported that from the Walls of Tsunami, it seemed like everything in the distance was burning. Hundreds of farmers fled into the city, telling tales of the horrors they had just experienced. Philippicus concluded that this had to be an invading army, believing it to be a Dragoonian army in his report based on where they came from and what they were reported as wearing.

Enraged by this, Doge Florus Aquilius Corvus sent an envoy to the King of Selenium, demanding an explanation, while also sending an army of 5,000 to track down and destroy these invaders, which he placed under the command of Tribune Julianus, which wasn't the best choice in retrospect. See, Tribune Julianus was a rather impatient and hasty man who acted before he thought things through. He was appointed in part because of this mindset, as the Doge wanted this force to be repelled before any more havoc could be caused. But with all of his haste and impatience, Julianus would deliver himself on a platter to Pomerlane and his army outside the town of Maleventum.

Near this town in the Vesta Valley, Pomerlane's scouts reported the presence of an army coming to intercept him before he could cross the Southern branch of the Vesta River. Curious as the numbers and composition, Pomerlane himself would follow his scouts to see this enemy force. He was shocked to see that the Feesh army had not taken proper scouting measures and seemed more focused on just marching towards where they believed the enemy was rather than finding the enemy and marching towards him. As it turns out, Julianus believed that Pomerlane was not yet in the Vesta Valley and with all haste wanted to cut him off, not at the Southern Branch, but on the Northern Branch. Realizing this was a golden opportunity, Pomerlane rode back, and set an ambush for Julianus near Maleventum. Deploying much his force in a forest and behind a small hill on the main road, he placed a small force on the road itself to draw Julianus in, and once Julianus was commited, the rest of his force would fall on his flanks and destroy the enemy army. Sure enough, this is exactly what happened. Even though it was Dusk and the force ahead of him was small, and despite being advised to have some matter of caution, Julianus threw his entire force at Pomerlane's blocking party. The blocking party slowly gave ground before a horn signaled the entrapment and destruction of Julianus. Bottled up on a road, and exhausted from the forced march, Julianus and his force were annihilated without much loss to Pomerlane's army. Julianus's head was cut off and sent to Atalanta with the message "Submit to Pomerlane or this will be your fate too."

After Maleventum, Pomerlane had decided that now was the time to strike towards Aquileia. He sent forth a message to Grand Mayor Arcanius, asking him if he would be willing to support him and overthrow the Republic. By the time Arcanius had received the letter, Pomerlane had made camp 4 miles from the city itself and lit hundreds of campfires to fool Arcanius into thinking his army was much larger than it actually was. He also would send a detachment of 500 under his capable General Pomupius to raid deep into the western part of the Republic, continuing his plan of showing the Republics weakness before a big battle.

Arcanius was now in a dilemma. He knew Pomerlane and was his friend. He was also no fan of the ruling Plutocrats either, as he had seen how little they cared for the people of his city and the surrounding villages. News of the disaster at Maleventum had caused general fear in the population of the city already, now he was looking at a massive army camped right outside it too! Should he defect, he knew that if defeated Aquileia would be destroyed and he would be executed; but at the same time, should he not defect, there was a real possibility of being dragged out by the citizens of Aquileia and killed. The choice at the end was easy, the next morning he rode out and agreed to Pomerlane's terms.

Soon, Pomerlane rode through the streets of Aquileia being met with blank stares and terrified faces. In the city square, he gave a speech to the populace, declaring himself a liberator and the blood heir of the Kingdom that had been overthrown so long ago. He assured them that no harm would come to those who submitted to him, and that he would be victorious over the Republic. He concluded his speech by stating that he once was a dethroned Prince and that he was looking for a people that he could rule over; asking the people of Aquileia if he could be their prince, to whom they would be treated justly and with kindness by.

As if Pomu herself had came down and sprinkled fairy dust on the crowd, they all erupted into cheers for the former Prince of Greifswald. Those in hiding came out in a great amount of joy, as if all of their concerns had just vanished. Shouts of "HAIL Pomerlane the Liberator, HAIL Pomerlane the Magnificent, HAIL Pomerlane the Restorer" were sung throughout the city. Soon, the new Prince of Aquileia would see his army swell to 14,000 in what seemed overnight. Given a couple weeks of training, Pomerlane expected that the fruition of his plan, the destruction of the Feesh army in battle, could be successful.

To be Continued.