The Governor of Vitoria

[vovan]

That's some good stuff right there. Yet another proof that new writers keep coming to 'Poly. Keep going, meow, you are doing great.

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Yes its Purrrfect,

[chairmanmeow]

Chapter 10 - Germany (between Stuttgart and Berlin)

To the refugees, pretending to be a worker unit was even more difficult than even being a worker unit. Workers were basically slaves, the lowest rung of society, and were treated terribly. The refugees had to endure not only the mistreatment by the German people, but also the difficulties of carrying worker's tools, and, when being watched, actually doing the work of a worker unit. During all of this, they still had to pass through Germany, and get to their destination.

Soon, an important question was raised: what is their destination? They couldn't stay in Germany. Going east would take them to the coast, and would be a dead end. Going west was the most likely choice: it would take them to Spain. But what could they expect? Spain was overrun, and there may be nothing to go to. Showing up in Valencia just to find the people there speaking English, put down by English horsemen... It made the refugees shiver in fear.

They could go north, but to where? North of Germany was Russia, and north of Russia were the wild lands of Scotland. Overrun with barbarians, not even the brave Russians dared go there. Could Scotland be the salvation of Spain?


During the journey, the governor and Juan began to overcome their differences, and their unity helped to hold the group together. Juan learned that the governor was not as evil as he had once thought, and that the brutality that the governor used was sometimes necessary to keep the group from falling apart. If the group split up, it would most certainly mean death. They were welcome as a worker unit, not as individuals. A Spanish citizen found living in Germany would probably be executed.

On a hot summer day, the group of refugees arrived at the edge of Berlin. Being a foreign 'unit', they were not welcome to enter the city. But the governor decided to enter alone, to find out what was happening in the war. He went to the Spanish embassy in Berlin, and found the Spanish foreign advisor. The foreign adivsor had a little good news, but far more bad news. Valencia had fallen, as had Seville. Isabella literally begged Elizabeth for peace (further reducing Spain's prestige in the process), and was forced to give up all but one city, which was then taken when the evil English once again backstabbed Spain. The only good news was that Isabella had escaped with a settler unit. which built a new capital in Logrono, in northern Scotland, where the English could not reach.

After the governor told the refugees what had happened, a unanimous decision was made. They will take the northern road, and they will go to Logrono, to the new Spain of the north.


edit: fixed spelling of unanimous

[TheGuitarist]

Nice developments, chairman. Anxious to see where this goes.

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Great stuff keep it coming

[chairmanmeow]

I was originally going to make the next two parts as one part, but I haven't had much time to work on it, so I'll post the next chapter now, and add the second half of this part this weekend. By the way, I just noticed my status changed from "Settler" to "Cheiftain"

Chapter 11 - Russia

The refugees of Vitoria continued their tiresome journey toward Logrono, straining under the mass of not only their shovels and picks, but also of the knowledge that their homeland had been destroyed. Vitoria was no more, Madrid and Valencia were captured, and Seville had been burned to the ground. What kept them going was the faint hope that freedom was just over the next hill, that they would soon be starting a new life in New Spain. Juan and the governor led the group together, making mutual decisions that the group followed without question. Everyone knew that the cooperation could not last, but for now that was the least of their worries.
One day, as the group climbed a hill, they spotted on the next hill, a huge group of people wearing orange uniforms. Fear struck the refugees - they knew what orange meant.
"They're English!" Juan told the governor.
"Are you sure? They look Russian to me."
"No, they are wearing the uniforms of an English settler unit. By the looks of it, there is more than one unit here."
"How many could there be?", the shocked governor asked.
"Some of the people I sent over there estimated as many as fifteen thousand Englishmen."
"Fifteen whole units?"
"It's just an estimate. But there are lots of them. And they seem to be unescorted."
"As long as there are no military units with them, we are fine. Don't send anyone near them. We don't want to make a bad situation worse."
The 'worker unit' moved northward, trying to get away from the settlers. However, whether by design or by accident, the settlers followed them, and soon caught up with them. Juan was walking in the back of the group when he spotted someone approaching behind him.
"Hello there. That looks like a Spanish uniform. Don't tell me there are Spanish here..."
Hearing this, Juan turned around to see the English settlers quickly coming up behind him.

[vovan]

A bit on the short side, but pretty good nonetheless. Keep 'em coming.

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Good stuff

[chairmanmeow]

Chapter 12 - Russia

"Halt there! From what country do you hail?" the Englishman demanded.

"Russia. I'm Russian," Juan replied, attempting to mislead the English.

"That's odd. You don't look Russian. You look Spanish to me," the Englishman replied, studying Juan closely.

"No, you must be mistaken. I'm Russian. I live in Moscow," Juan stammered, desperate not to reveal his identity.

"Don't try to fool me. What do you have there, a worker unit?"

Juan saw the opportunity to make the English leave and not bother them again. "No, I have a warrior unit. If you want trouble, my warriors can give you trouble."

"I don't believe you, but we can't waste our time here. We are going to settle the far north and claim it for England!"

With that, the English settlers left, heading northwest, toward Irkutsk. The Vitorians moved northward, toward their destination.


A few days later, the Spaniards arrived at Irkutsk. The English settlers had not yet arrived. Back in Berlin, the governor had been told that Logrono was in the far north, near Irkutsk. However, they needed more specific directions. The governor entered Irkutsk, and went to the Irkutsk governor's mansion. He passed by the guard under the guise of an ambassador. The guard, surprised that a foreign ambassador would show up at a remote outpost such as Irkutsk, quickly waved the former governor of Vitoria through.

Once inside the Irkutsk governor's office, he looked at the governor's copy of the map of the known world. Fifty miles north of Irkutsk, a small town was identified on the map, but not labeled. He could find no other cities in the far north, so he decided that that town was Logrono.

The governor of Vitoria left the Irkutsk governor's mansion, and returned to his group, informing them that Logrono was 50 miles north of their current position.

[Centauri18]

Pretty good so far.

[ChrisiusMaximus]

[chairmanmeow]

Chapter 13 - The Far North

Winter was bearing down on the Vitorians, as a blizzard froze the far north. This was somewhat disappointing to the refugees, as they knew that with Logrono even further north than they already were, it would be even colder there. Juan and the governor did their best to keep the group intact, but they still lost several people to the freezing cold. One particularly cold day, the eldest citizen of Vitoria was claimed by the cold. The Vitorians wanted to stop, and give him a decent burial, but Juan and the governor knew this was not possible.

"The ground is frozen solid! We couldn't bury him even if we had time to stop!," insisted Juan. "We must keep going. We can't stop for anything."

The refugees slowly pulled themselves through the blinding blizzard, and on the day that the blizzard finally left up, a city became visible. It was situated on grasslands, which were somewhat rare this far north. The hope of the refugees suddenly rose, as they saw the city rise in the distance. However, Juan saw that something wasn't right about the city. The architecture wasn't familiar, and the people did not appear to be Spanish.

Upon arriving at the border checkpoint outside the city, Juan's suspicions were confirmed. They had arrived not at Logrono, but at Smolensk, Russia!

Juan became very angry at the governor for leading them so far out of the way. "How could you have done this? You led us to the wrong city! Did you look at Russia's territory map instead of the world map? Then you should have known that the territory map only shows their cities!"

"I was just basing what I told you on the information I had. I can't help it if the Russians don't keep their maps up to date!," the governor snapped back at Juan.

"Well, where are we going to go now? Smolensk is near the coast, and there aren't any other cities to the north. We could explore to the southeast...," Juan said.

"No, we are going back to Irkutsk," the governor said, "and my decision is final."

"I've had enough of you always trying to be in charge. I am going southeast, and anyone who wants to come with me can. If you want to go with the governor, then go with him."

Thus, half the group went with Juan, and the other half went south with the governor. As the governor's group moved southward, they soon came across a unit wearing orange uniforms. The governor continued past, assuming the English settlers must have been following them. However, as they passed by, it became clear that the governor's group was in trouble, as the English warriors surrounded them.

[ChrisiusMaximus]

is there no hope for the Spaniards oh well serves them right

[chairmanmeow]

I'm posting another map, which shows the location of Logrono, and the path that the people from Vitoria followed. This is going to be the last chapter of the story.


Chapter 14 - Scottish Highlands

The group of people from Vitoria was now split in half, and Juan's group headed southeast. They were moving through a hilly area known as the Scottish Highlands. Juan did not know how it got that name, since there were no settlements in the area, and there was not "Scottish" civ, so Juan just tried not to think about it, and led his people on. He did not know where the governor's group had gone, and he did not care, either. He had hated the governor back in Vitoria, and he hated the governor now. Any goodwill toward the governor had long since passed. As they continued to the southeast, spring began to overtake the frozen scene, and the snow that had tortured them earlier was now melting.

On a warm day, after most of the snow had melted, Juan's wish came true. He saw a group of people wearing the distinctive light blue uniforms of a Spanish worker unit. The worker unit's uniforms appeared to be brand new - a stark contrast to the shabby shape of the Vitorians' worker uniforms. The long journey had been extremely difficult for them, and many of the people who had fled Vitoria did not survive the journey. Juan was overjoyed to finally see a sign that they were nearing their destination. He immediately approached the workers, and asked them questions about the state of Spain.

"How is the republic doing?" Juan asked one worker.

"Do you expect me to know?" the bewildered worker replied, "I am a simple worker. I am never told of such things. Besides, why do you need to know how the republic is doing? Are you a spy?"

"No, I am a citizen of Vitoria!"

"Oh, sure, and I'm the King of the Celts!" the worker replied sarcastically.

"You do not believe me?"

"Of course not! Am I to believe that anyone could magically escape from the holocaust that occurred there, and then make such a long journey on foot in a ragged worker outfit, carrying worker tools?"

"It doesn't matter whether you believe me or not, what I tell you is true," Juan said. "I have three thousand people who all escaped from Vitoria, and we are going to Logrono. All I want you to do is to tell me how to get there."

"All right, if you'll let me get back to my work. Just go about twenty miles east of here. It's on a high hill in eastern Scotland. It's not hard too miss. It's the only town for miles."

Juan followed the worker's instructions, and found Logrono, just as the worker described. It was on a high hill, and was surrounded by other hills. It was somewhat disappointing. This was Spain. Outside of Logrono Spain did not exist. And, because of its position, the town would never be able to grow large enough to build a settler unit to settle elsewhere. Thus, Spain was limited to one city.

Juan, however, knew that he was home.

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Ah home sweet home! A nice story this, well written and very different from most others.

I would of liked to see how things turned out later but no matter still well worth the read. Perhaps a sequel might be in the pipeline hint hint.