When Triot collapsed, Dagover (or whatever his name was) would attack his own countrymen as they attempted to flee. The group of refugees that Lord Eickstedt belonged to had met that fate. In the encounter, his mother was killed, and his one-year-old had been literally kicked to death.
Eickstedt’s wife had been captured by Dagover’s men as well. When she was found, she tried to tell her rescuers what had befallen her but instead collapsed to the ground in tears. They never heard of her fate, but it wasn’t hard to imagine that it hadn’t been anything good. I was just listening, and even I had been lost for words.
His father, the count, had been at the palace when Triot fell. He probably hadn’t made it out alive either.
He had become a bandit so that they would lower their guard around him. Then, once he came across Dagover, the plan was to get him wasted and stab him to death. Lord Eickstedt wasn’t particularly strong, so that was the only method he could come up with. Had the people I cared about met similar fates, I’d set my mind on revenge too. I couldn’t blame him.
After recounting all that, he addressed me with tears rimming his eyes, “I am prepared to be executed, but I want Dagover to go first. I want to see him die before it’s my turn.” As such, I had decided to let him be the one to execute Dagover. That was probably the main factor behind my decision to execute them all by decapitation. By the way, Seghers, the leader of Lord Eickstedt’s gang, had been turned into a porcupine by our crossbows, so I had executed another bandit in his place.
“Considering that you decided to build your base on that hill, I have something to ask of you.”
“I will answer anything.”
“If you’re going to die anyway, will you lend us a hand?”
He didn’t quite seem to know what to make of my words. It was only natural, considering he had been told that I showed bandits no mercy. Still, I was lacking knowledge when it came to the matter at hand. I needed more allies, and he seemed perfect for the job.
“I don’t think I need to spell it out for you, but it was the Demon army who destroyed Triot. You could consider them responsible for what happened to you.”
“I…I suppose I could.”
“Don’t you want to get revenge on them too?”
Lord Eickstedt was silent for a moment. Then, he shot me a curious stare. “What is it that you plan to do?”
“You want to know my plan? For now…” I took a deep breath. It hurt, but I couldn’t just keep my plan to myself. “We invade Triot.”