Medieval: Kingdom Come: Deliverance

Chapter 143 Sukhdor

6 month 20 day.

Henry, Goodwin, Jessica, Catherine, Michael, Hurt and his party were slowed down along the way because they had no horses to change, and they encountered some trouble when passing through the territory of Senitz, which made them a few days late.

Father Goodwin left the group halfway there. He had been asked by Radzi and Hans to find Henry and Hans. Now that Hans had been captured by von Polgów, he had to return to Ratländer to report to the two lords.

Henry and Jessica then arrived at Sukhdor Castle, west of Kutenberg. The terrain here was flat, with vast fields of farmland, producing wheat, peas, and various vegetables. Near the castle was an adjoining village with a population of over five hundred.

This castle is neither grand nor large. In fact, there are dozens of similar castles of varying sizes throughout the Kutenberg region. This is entirely due to the silver mining and development of Kutenberg, which allowed more and more wealthy citizens to climb the social ladder, join the ranks of the nobility, and purchase land to build castles. Kutenberg is surrounded by plains, so these castles sprang up like mushrooms after rain within a mere century.

Henry and his party rode through the undefended outer castle, its gates wide open, crossed the moat, and entered the inner castle, where they met Sir Peter Pisek, the castle's owner, in the courtyard.

Sir Pisek, in his sixties, wore a noble yellow silk robe, a long sword at his waist, and had a long, horse-like face, but a kind expression. He had once been the Royal Mint of Kutenberg, a man of great renown. But everything changed after Sigismund arrived.

He was taken aback when he saw the group of people entering, but with a very aristocratic air, he instructed the groom to take care of everyone's horses.

"Welcome to my castle. Is there anything I can do for you, stranger?"

Whether out of confidence in his own abilities or a lack of vigilance, Sir Pisek personally confronted seven or eight strangers who arrived on horseback, without even greeting a single castle guard.

"Sir Pisek, may our Lord Jesus Christ protect you."

Jan Jessica led the group forward to bow. "I am Jan Jessica of Tronov. I previously received a letter from Sir Sokol, who said that he and Heinicke Kustadt were guests at your castle. If I come to Kutenberg, I can meet them here."

"You're the Jan Jessica that Sokol and the drunkard were talking about? What proof do you have?"

Sir Pisek asked with a scrutinizing look.

"What proof do we need? Why don't you just ask them both to come out and see for yourselves?" Jessica said, somewhat puzzled, then suddenly realized, "Could it be that they're no longer here?"

Before Pisek could answer, a rather magnetic voice came from the main building of the castle, "Wow, wow, isn't this Captain Jessica and young Henry? My dear friend Sir Pisek, I know them."

Everyone looked up and saw a man in his fifties, wearing a blue silk noble robe with a red and white checkered eagle emblem on the back and a duke's golden crown, appear on the stairs.

"The Marquis of Jobuste!"

Everyone bowed in respect. After all, this man was already the highest-ranking and most powerful pillar within their royalist party.

"I prefer you call me Duke," Yobst corrected. "Ever since I defeated my foolish brother who stole the title, I should have been recognized as the Duke of Moravia by the Council of Nobles."

Although that didn't happen in reality.

Jobust descended the stairs, gestured for them to dispense with formalities, and then explained, "I'm afraid your friends are no longer here. That stubborn goat Sokol left Kutenberg for Znoimo on the Austrian border several days ago. And the drunkard Heinicke, I've heard, has been captured by the troops left behind by my cousin Sigismund."

"What? Sir Sokol left? Why didn't he inform me?" Jessica asked anxiously. "Hynick was arrested? When did that happen?"

"I'm afraid you'll have to investigate that yourself. I'm just curious, Captain Jessica, how did you end up with my messenger Henry?" Yobst circled around them, somewhat curious, even scoffing, "And look at you two, covered in dust and looking disheveled, you don't look like you've won a battle."

"Your Grace, this is a long story..."

'

Henry was about to explain when Yobst interrupted him.

"I have other matters to attend to. You should stay here and rest for today, take a bath, and we'll discuss things further tomorrow." Yobst didn't give them a chance to refuse, turning to Sir Pisek and saying, "Pisek, take good care of my guests."

Sir Pisek immediately bowed and said, "Yes, sir."

Yobst quickly mounted his horse and, escorted by a group of fully armed cavalry, charged out of the castle to attend a noble gathering in Labosch. This also explained to Jessica and the others why the castle gates had been wide open earlier.

Left with no other choice, the group was invited by Sir Pisek to enter the banquet hall on the second floor. There they enjoyed freshly baked bread and stewed peas. The group, who had been eating dry rations all the way, ate heartily.

Sir Pisek served them.

During the meal, Henry quietly asked Catherine beside him, "What do you think of this Lord Peter?"

Catherine rolled her eyes at him and said, "While he can't compare to the young, red-haired Lord Peter, this old Peter is just as good a man, noble and cultured. Hopefully, his hearing has declined with age."

"Why?" Henry asked, bewildered.

Catherine sighed, as if scolding her own disobedient child, "You should be ashamed of yourself for talking about him when he's right next to us. Hopefully, his hearing isn't failing him and he didn't hear your disrespectful words."

Henry:

Catherine remained as sharp-tongued and accurate as ever, yet unexpectedly, she gave Henry a sense of warmth and familiarity, like that of a mother.

Jessica noticed their whispers and wondered when they had become so close. But he had more important things to attend to.

"What did the drunkard do?"

Worried about his friend's safety, Jessica couldn't help but ask, "I know his abilities; he's not someone who's so easy to catch!"

"What else can he do? Wage war, plunder civilians, and burn villages. His band of thugs has raided villages five times this month alone, attacked three Sigismund supply convoys, and a Kuman patrol." Pisek shook his head. "Of course, Sigismund's army isn't any better. Because the king doesn't pay his army, such a large force has to go out and plunder on its own, and we have to pay them protection money."

"That's disgusting."

Catherine expressed her contempt for the drunkard and the army's actions. She had always disliked the Moravian chivalry of Žižka and the drunkard, and was even more disgusted by the brutality of the Hungarian army. After witnessing the Red Griffin's acts of compassion for the people, her aversion to such acts of harming civilians grew even stronger.

"Yobst stopped him, demanding that he cease such actions because they conflicted with his plans."

Although Pisek provided a base for the royalists, he did not want his castle to become a den of bandits. "Unfortunately, Heinicke and Jöbst had a big fight and couldn't stand each other. Then Heinicke and his gang left the castle and were soon besieged by the Hungarian army, suffering heavy casualties. He himself was also captured."

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