Chapter 18

In the meantime, Cecilia was growing ever more paranoid and fearful of Marion. Her army mostly refused to leave their barracks since they had suffered enough losses at Marion’s hands and didn’t want anything more to do with her. When they went out, they stayed very close to town and out of the forest. Even Cecilia’s assassins had failed. She had sent them out to kill Marion; instead, 20 of them had been killed, including their leader. This caused the rest of them to scatter in the wind; they were assassins, not soldiers. They quickly learned that hunting Marion was a fool’s errand and a surefire way to meet God. It took a while for Cecilia to get this news because Marion rarely left any survivors to tell what happened.

Cecilia had a most important visitor the day after she had sent her assassins off. He was a legendary mercenary commander with a knack for hunting down rebel groups and eliminating them. He had heard of Cecilia’s problems in Paris and thought he might get an outstanding job offer because his army consisted of almost one thousand seasoned troops. These were very experienced and highly motivated men. Unlike English armies of the period, this army was a balanced force of infantry, cavalry, and missile troops. The missile troops all carried crossbows, and they were deadly with them.

At first, Cecilia balked at the general’s terms, but she had no choice after Marion had routed her regular army. She hoped her assassins would finish the job but had doubts and needed a backup plan. Cecilia made it to where she wouldn’t have to pay most of the cost until the general had proven that he had been successful. After seeing everything her sister could do, Cecilia doubted the continental general could do any better. She told him as such, and that was when he agreed to terms that favored Cecilia. He couldn’t stand this woman doubting his ability or courage.

The visiting general wasn’t French but German. His name was General Kleist, and he came from the Saxon-controlled area of Europe in what would eventually become central Germany. He was almost 50 years old and had never lost a fight. Since before he needed to shave, he had been a soldier and had commanded his first army when he was 18. He had fought all over Europe and had a brutal reputation when it came to rebel groups. Against regular troops, he fought with honor, but that completely disappeared when he fought rebels. Most of his men were German, but he had men from all over Europe, including England. These were the men he would rely on most for this contract.

The general spent a week interviewing the surviving men of Cecilia’s previous expedition to discover what had happened. What he learned shocked him. Marion’s group was extremely ingenious and ruthless but could also show extreme mercy. Furthermore, Marion didn’t strike at the nobles’ morale; she struck at the common soldiers’ morale by convincing them that the fight was worthless and that they would only die if they continued. This made the largest part of the army useless to its commanders and left the nobles vulnerable to ambushes. General Kleist didn’t share the common misconception that the elites were invulnerable in a battle, having seen this notion get crushed numerous times. They did have their roles to play, but they had to have the protection of the regular infantry.

The day before the general left to fetch the rest of his men, Cecilia heard that a small patrol had disappeared. This patrol hadn’t even been patrolling in an area that Marion had attacked, causing Cecilia to lose sleep. Was Marion expanding her operations? Was there another group that was rising against her? Nobody knew because nobody could find the bodies. This sounded like one of Marion’s tricks, and she forbade the general from leaving. He would have to send a messenger for his men; she needed him now. Kleist would have to force Cecilia’s army into the field. He knew that as a fighting force, the army was worthless as tits on a bull, and he told Cecilia as much. She then did something he wasn’t expecting; she gave him free rein over her army.