Tyranny of Steel

Linde sat near her infant child, who was currently sleeping in his crib. Though she had no way of knowing what kind of man her child would eventually grow into, she truly showed unconditional love to the child, so clearly, he would turn out well, would he not? Despite being an infant, the child was born with a full head of strawberry blonde hair like his mother, and his eyes were sapphire like his father's.

Linde knew that one day her child would grow to be a great and powerful man like his father, but the extent to which he would accomplish remained unknown, for mankind did not possess the power to see the future. As Linde watched over her child, she received a trio of letters; one was addressed from Berengar, one composed by her half-sister Adelheid, and the final letter was written by her father, Count Lothar.

She read over the contents of each letter with a smile on her face. Berengar's letter contained information that he was laying siege to Schwaz after surviving an ambush from the local Regent's levies. This shift in plans was not important to her as Berengar would most likely have to wipe out the Viscount's son after seizing Innsbruck anyways as the young man was sure to rebel against Berengar.

As for the letter from Adelheid expressed a plan the girl had hatched to allow Berengar to seize the Castle without laying siege to it. Adelheid was greatly concerned about the possibility of the walls being brought down and her defenses with it. After all, Linde had communicated to her half-sister the effectiveness of Berengar's cannons. The plan was actually brilliant, and as such, Linde would later write a letter to Berengar informing him of her sister's plot so that he could take the Castle at Innsbruck with ease. Thus allowing him the benefit of having fully functional walls while he waited for the enemy to make their move.

As for the letter by her father contained information regarding the army he was sent to seize Kufstein and how Theodoric was leading it; immediately upon reading that name, Linde's smile turned into a frown. She could not help but voice her concerns.

"When that lecherous old fool comes to Kufstein, I will make sure he is the first to die from the cannons' bombardment!"

She was all too aware of Theodoric's proclivities; he was a lecherous man particularly attracted to young women and girls. The old man also had a pension for sacking every city he laid siege to. Undoubtedly if Linde were actually to let Theodoric into her lover's city, the man would ransack the city and potentially attempt to force himself upon her. As such, she wanted the garrison to target their explosive shells on his position when his army arrived. After all, it was a common practice to wear a tabard with one's coat of arms emblazoned upon it during this time; he would be easy to scout from among the enemy's forces.

Thus Linde spent some time drafting letters to Berengar to relay the information she had received from bothering her sister and father. Once finished, the letter was dispatched with a messenger to ride towards Berengar's encampment outside of Schwaz, where it would be delivered to him, hopefully before the might of his guns completely brought the city down.

After finishing with her letters and spending time watching over her sleeping son Linde got to work, gathering several intelligence operatives beneath her command. These hands were the best among her saboteurs and assassins; they were equipped with a revolving flintlock pistol based on the collier pattern design from Berengar's previous life. These weapons were best used outside of the battlefield as the cylinder had to be manually cycled, and the reloading speed was atrocious. However, they were excellent for personal defense and had been specially constructed for use among Berengar's operatives.

Linde had begun to address the operatives known as hands as they were gathered before her in secret.

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"I have a task for you all to fulfill, I won't lie, it will be dangerous, but with advancements in technology over the last six months, particularly in the field of chemistry, you have a much higher chance of returning with your lives!"

One of the head operatives who, like his comrades, were currently shrouded by a hooded cloak spoke up from among their ranks.

"What is it that you require of us listener?"

Linde smirked as she heard her shadowy title before giving her decrees to the well-trained agents of Berengar's spy network.

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"I need you to infiltrate the various Baronies and Viscounties throughout Tyrol. Your objective is assassination and sabotage. Take out high-profile targets, sabotage the food stores of the cities, as well as strategic positions such as key defensive structures. With the use of TNT, you will have a much greater chance of destroying enemy fortifications. The purpose of these actions is to provoke the enemy Lords into marching upon Kufstein, or Innsbruck where Berengar will have seized soon enough. I want them so infuriated that they will feel that they have no choice to end their misery unless they personally take action against our Liege! Thus allowing Berengar to trap them with his armies."

The same agent who had spoken up before nodded his head while answering Linde's assignment with the affirmative.

"It will be done!"

With that, the qualified agents of Berengar's growing spy network were set to the task, as for the remainder of the Viscount's operatives, they would be assigned to counter-espionage operations within Berengar's lands.

As such, the war of intrigue that was waged behind the scenes of the war for Tyrol had begun. The other Lords and Ladies of the realm were no longer safe in their own castles against the shadowy agents of Berengar's vast spy network, as they would soon come to find out. Linde felt it was necessary to take action on her man's half; while Berengar was off at war as the valiant commander, Linde would handle the dirty work within the shadows. Thus to couple expertly complemented one another when it came to matters of war and intrigue. Soon enough, all of Germany would be caught in their collective web.