The slaughter had been total... The Swabian vanguard and the Württemberg swords were broken, their fleeing remnants scattering into the deep woods, utterly unmade by the sweeping ruin of Konrad’s trap.

Returning to the keep, however, required a careful shaping of the tale. The truth of the Empire meant that total slaughter of a lord’s host by a lesser house, especially using such foul and unknightly weapons, would draw the wrath of the Emperor himself.

Konrad called Captain Eckhard and Master Dieter to him before they reached the gates.

"The tale we tell," Konrad stated, his voice flat and commanding, "will speak of a hard-fought clash at the eastern pass. The Swabian League, moving rashly against our watch, drove a blind charge. They suffered heavy losses from our wheel-locks and a sudden fall of rock from the cliffs."

"A sudden fall of rock, my Lord?" Eckhard frowned, his face twisting. "We blew the mountain apart and buried a thousand men. The survivors will sing a different song."

"The survivors are broken and scattered," Konrad countered smoothly. "Their tales will be cast aside as the wild fears of fleeing cowards. We will speak no word of the powder pots or the poison air. We will say the rock-fall was a chance tumbling of the earth, stirred by the noise of the falconets."

"Ah." Dieter saw the wisdom instantly. "You wish to hide the truth of our fires. If they think God dropped the mountain on them, they might return. If they know we have the power to break the earth, they will send a host ten times the size."

"Just so..." Konrad confirmed. "The secret of our weapons must hold. See that the watch knows the tale. Any man who boasts of the blasting powder will be punished."

...

Uncle Lothar, still held in his cell, had not found his hoped-for rescue. Lady Katarina, having watched the slaughter with her own eyes, had gone straight to her rooms, likely penning a dark and guarded letter to her father in Bavaria.

Konrad went directly to the hall, where Elise waited. She looked spent, but the terror that had held her for days had eased.

"The Swabian League has fled."

"Thank the Saints..." Elise let out a long breath, crossing herself quickly. "The servants whispered they brought thousands of swords."

"They did." Konrad replied, pouring watered wine.

He said no more, and Elise did not press.

Later that evening, after the heat of the battle had cooled, Konrad sat in his study. The quiet of the keep was deep.

He was reading the ledgers, reckoning the weight of brimstone and saltpeter needed to forge new powder pots.

Knock... knock...

A soft, hesitant knock sounded at his door.

"Enter." Konrad commanded, his eyes still on his sums.

The door opened, revealing Lady Isolde of Württemberg.

"..." Konrad paused his reckoning.

Isolde looked nothing like the proud Duchess who had tried to snare him with potions before.

Her rich velvet gown was rumpled, her hair loose, and her face was pale, the dark rings beneath her eyes telling of a deep lack of sleep.

She stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. She stared at him.

"Lady Isolde," Konrad stated. "I had thought you would seek an escort back to Württemberg, seeing as your uncle’s host has been broken."

Isolde flinched at the cold truth of her house’s failure. She took a slow step toward his desk.

"I... I cannot return to Württemberg, Konrad..." Isolde whispered, "My uncle marched on my word. He believed the keep was ripe for the taking. When he learns his vanguard was wiped from the earth... he will blame me."

"A true reckoning." Konrad nodded, "Great houses demand a lamb for the slaughter when wars are lost... Your worth to the Duchy of Württemberg is spent."

Isolde swallowed hard.She moved closer, until she stood directly across the desk from him. "You destroyed them, Konrad," she said, "I watched from my window. I saw the mountain fall. I saw the fire and the smoke. It was... it was glorious."

Konrad frowned slightly. He had looked for anger, or perhaps a desperate plea for shelter. He had not looked for this strange, almost worshipful tone.

"It was a fitting answer to a threat," Konrad corrected, "Nothing more..."

Isolde leaned over the desk, her dark eyes locking onto his. The fear was still there, but it was now entirely swallowed by a desperate obsession!

The brutal might Konrad had wielded had completely shattered her pride. She had built her life on ruling the weak. But faced with a man who could break an army with powder and stone, her cruel nature had flipped.

She had found a power far greater than her own, and her fierce pride had melted into an absolute need to yield.

"I was wrong about you, Konrad..." Isolde breathed, "I thought you were weak... I thought you were a broken, sickly boy..."

She took a shaky breath, her face flushing as the memories of the burning potion and the overwhelming ruin of the gorge explosion flooded her mind.

"I don’t want to go back to Württemberg," Isolde whispered, "I have nothing there... My uncle will kill me, or wed me to some fat, useless baron to seal a petty pact."

She moved around the desk, stopping just inches from his chair. She slowly, deliberately sank to her knees, the rich velvet of her gown pooling on the stone.

Konrad stared at her, genuinely surprised by the dramatic shift... The shock of the failed murder, the lingering fire of the potion, and the overwhelming awe of the recent slaughter had clearly broken her proud spirit.

"Your bearing is highly unlordly, Lady Isolde." Konrad noted, "Speak your aim."

She reached out, her fingers grasping the coarse wool of his tunic. "I don’t want to be a Duchess anymore... I don’t want to play the games of the Swabian League."

She lowered her head, pressing her forehead against his knee, her voice barely a whisper. "Let me stay, Konrad. I will do whatever you ask. I will be your servant. Your spy. Your thrall... Just... don’t cast me out."

Isolde of Württemberg held highly prized knowledge of the Swabian League’s inner workings and their supply lines.

Further, having the niece of the Duke as a completely broken, sworn thrall within his own walls offered a great shield against spies.

"Your plea is strange..." Konrad stated slowly, his hand resting lightly on the arm of his chair, avoiding her touch. "Yet, your knowledge of the Württemberg courts holds great worth."

He looked down at the beautiful, broken woman kneeling before him.

"If you bide here, you will hold no titles or lands." Konrad commanded, "You will answer only to me. You will do my bidding without question, and you will give me true, deep knowledge of your former kin."

"Yes!!" Isolde looked up, a look of desperate devotion in her eyes. "Anything... Just tell me my task!"

"Very well." Konrad decided, turning his eyes back to the ledgers on his desk. "Your first task is to speak. I require a true reckoning of your uncle’s main supply roads and the names of the lords who lived to flee the slaughter at Rothenburg."

Isolde nodded eagerly, remaining on her knees, her eyes fixed on the young lord who had just claimed absolute rule over her life. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Meanwhile, deep in the lower halls of the keep, Uncle Lothar sat in his dark cell, shivering violently.

He had heard the distant thunder of the blasts at Rothenburg, and he had heard the whispers of the guards when they returned.

The Swabian League host had been wiped from the earth!