Building a Viking Empire with Modern Industry-Chapter 151: Guild

Weeks had passed since the siege of Nottingham had begun, and the army of the West Saxons had already breached the city’s gates.

They were close to accomplishing what Ealdorman Aethelred had failed to achieve during his life, and that was to capture the capital of Mercia and overthrow the remaining Guildmasters.

King Aethelwulf smiled from afar as his battering ram smashed into the gates of the Mining Guildhall.

Soon enough, he would be the reigning authority in the Midlands and unite the Saxon kingdoms; he would no longer be a mere King of Wessex but the Bretwalda!

At least that was his ambition in life, and he was close to seeing it to fruition.

As the battering ram battered open the sturdy oak gates, the remaining "Security Contractors" did their best to persist, but eventually, the gate fell.

With it, an army of West Saxons charged into the Guildhall seeking to claim it for themselves and round up the Guildmasters so that they could be properly "renegotiated" with.

The clash of steel resounded throughout the dusty air of the Guildhall’s corridors.

Though King Aethelwulf was not leading the charge against the miners himself, the same could not be said for Thane Beorhtwulf, a local Mercian noble who bravely defended his investment until his last dying breath.

The young Thane, who had yet to be appropriately recognized for his stock options, courageously fought against a Huscarl of Wessex, as the two men wielded their axes with excellent skill in a fantastic display of medieval might.

Surrounding them were the soldiers of both sides thrashing about in a grand melee, trying to gain the upper hand in the conflict.

As their axes hooked against one another, Beorhtwulf unleashed a vicious backhand with his Directorate-issue gauntlet, which smacked against the Huscarl’s nasal helm.

Though the damage was not severe, it bought Beorhtwulf enough time to redirect his axe into the gaps in the enemy’s shoulder, which was not adequately protected by mail.

As such, the Huscarl staggered from the tempered steel which found its way piercing through the mail armor, the gambeson beneath it, and finally his flesh.

However, at this moment, Beorhtwulf was struck by the attack of a nearby opponent, which merely glanced off of his mighty Directorate breastplate.

Despite this, such a blow forced him to redirect his energy to defend against a second opponent; as such, the Huscarl who had his shoulder pierced was allowed reprieve as another soldier took his place in the front line.

Beorhtwulf and his contractors quickly found themselves on the backstep, slowly receding into the hallway, while their numbers dwindled to the exceptional display of violence.

While the West Saxons slowly made their way into the Guildhall, the young Guildmaster Eadwig was hiding in his office, scared witless from the ongoing events.

His father had recently retired, and the city had fallen.

His family’s competitors had come to seize their assets, and as the head of the guild, his fate was sealed.

Though his sisters might be spared and married off to West Saxon Thanes, he was a threat to the monopoly, and he knew with King Aethelwulf’s reputation he would for sure be destined to die.

However, as Eadwig started to lose his mind to the sound of the echoing screams in the hall, he felt a hand grab ahold of him and drag him from his hiding spot under the desk.

The young man was in no condition to observe his surroundings and quickly began to struggle as he struck the person who had grabbed ahold of him, screaming for his life.

"No! I don’t want to be nationalized! Please spare me!"

However, the result was not what he was expecting as he felt a dainty and feminine hand slap him across the face, which dragged him to his senses.

In front of him, clasping onto his arm, was one of his clerks, who went by the name of Hilda.

She stared at him fiercely, with a degree of determination in which he had not witnessed before. She quickly threw a set of miner’s clothing to Eadwig and ordered him in a stern voice.

"Get dressed in these! Do it quickly if you want to keep your pension!"

Hearing there was hope for survival, the young man quickly stripped himself of his velvet robes and got into the soot-stained clothes; despite the fact that there was a pretty woman in front of him, after he was dressed in such clothing, Hilda pulled a hood over his head and gave him further orders.

"Come with me! The shift change is our cover!"

She quickly dragged him away by the arm as the two absconded from the Guildhall into a secret ventilation shaft that led into the mines below.

Eadwig, of course, was greatly confused by the sudden changes in events and began to ask the questions on his mind.

"Where are we going? The mines are dangerous!"

However, Hilda merely glared at him and gave him further orders.

"Don’t ask questions, and stay silent. Unless you want Aethelwulf to audit your neck."

Eadwig may have been an entitled guild scion and a fool, but he was at least capable of understanding the situation he was in at the moment, and as such, he nodded and obeyed Hilda’s orders.

After the duo exited the secret shaft, they entered the city’s lower districts, where they began to act like a pair of miners stuck in the city.

As they slowly navigated the chaotic scene which displayed itself in the town, they were eventually stopped at the City’s northern gate, where they were interrogated by the West Saxon men-at-arms who were left to guard the city’s entrances and make sure that nobody of significance escaped the town.

Unlike the Mercians, the West Saxons conducted themselves with some form of discipline. As such, they were not going around looting and burning the industrial district to the ground, at least not yet.

The guard on duty quickly halted the duo as they approached the gate and bellowed his commands at them.

"Halt! Nobody is allowed to leave the city; you must return to your shifts!"

Hilda had already prepared an excuse beforehand and held onto forged identification papers to allow her access through the city’s gates.

As such, she quickly reached into her cloak and retrieved a letter, which contained the seal of Thane Leofric; the letter notified that she was a courier sent by the Thane to inspect the northern rail lines, and she had urgent business to report to her liege.

It appeared to have the proper mark of the Thane, and as such, the Guard accepted it as appropriate identification.

He had no way of knowing that it was a counterfeit made by Ragnar’s Department of Human Resources after his agents intercepted one of Leofric’s supply manifests.

They had largely replicated the Thane’s handwriting and seal through great effort... or rather, through the new printing press Ragnar had "invented."

However, the guard was concerned about the young man who was beside the woman claiming to be a courier, and as such, he quickly interrogated her about his identity.

"Who is the boy? Why is he with you?"

Hilda looked over at Eadwig with a glance that said "play along" before putting on a weary, overworked expression and began to approach the guard with a sigh.

"Him? This is just my apprentice; he barely knows which end of the pickaxe to hold. He was sent with me to carry the samples. He is not important. However, I would greatly appreciate it if you allowed us to pass; after all, the Thane is expecting his report.

Since we are both in service to the new administration to some extent, I am sure we will cross paths in the future, and when we do, I can put in a good word for you with the payroll department..."

Hilda was a relatively competent-looking woman in her late twenties, and as such, the man quickly bought into her bureaucratic authority before giving the order to his troops to let her pass.

"Open the gates; these two work for the Thane; they have proper authorization!"

After the gates were fully opened, allowing the duo to pass, Hilda nodded curtly to the man.

"Efficiency is victory," she muttered, using the Directorate motto out of habit, which confused the Saxon guard but sounded impressive enough.

With that said, Hilda and Eadwig escaped outside of the confines of the city, and when they were far enough away, they changed directions from the main road where they entered the nearby woods.

Luckily for Hilda, she had long since prepared an escape route, as were her orders from Elfwynn, and she would be meeting with another agent of Ragnar’s Department of Security, who would be waiting outside the city gates with a steam carriage to carry the group off to the borders of the Directorate.

As such, Hilda and Eadwig quickly regrouped with the other Agent of Ragnar’s vast network, Leif the Lesser, where he was waiting with the handcar.

The back of the cart was covered with a tarp, and Hilda quickly gave Eadwig another demand.

"Get under the tarp. We will be safe when we get to City Titan!"

However, at this moment, Eadwig could no longer contain his curiosity, and of course, his concerns for his stock options.

As such, he ripped his hand away from the woman’s grasp and began to shout at her.

"Not until I get some information! For example, who are you people, and why are you helping me?"

Hilda sighed as she witnessed the fit in which Eadwig was throwing.

They did not have time for this, but she knew with the way Eadwig was acting, he was liable to flee in the other direction and get himself liquidated if she did not tell the truth. As such she quickly explained her reasoning for her actions.

"We are going to the Directorate. Director Ragnar has asked us to escort you to his headquarters so that you may be... restructured."

Eadwig was shocked by this news. He thought for sure he had thoroughly outraged Ragnar by refusing to sell him the coal rights last year, and yet the man had gone through the trouble to escort him to safety.

He was beginning to reevaluate the man who his father had called a "Viking shark" in the past.

Then again, his father was also wary of Ragnar’s rise to power and had frequently spoken about the man with caution in his voice. Eadwig did not know how to act at this moment.

However, another thought quickly appeared in his mind, and he could not help but ask.

"What about the other Guildmasters?"

Hilda quickly shook her head as she urged Eadwig to get onto the handcar.

"We don’t have time for this. Quickly do what I say! King Aethelwulf could realize you are missing at any minute, and if he sends out a search for us, we will be caught.

If you care about your own life you will do as I say and get under the tarp!"

Though Eadwig was confused and slightly concerned about Ragnar’s objectives, ultimately, he was more concerned about his safety than that of his competitors and did what he was instructed, jumping onto the back of the handcar where he hid under the canvas.

With that, the group escaped from the city of Nottingham during the cover of darkness, entirely without King Aethelwulf or his army realizing that the head of the Coal Guild was missing.

And with him went the legitimate claim to the mines... a claim Ragnar intended to leverage in the next board meeting.