Book 4: Chapter 40 (1/2)
Thomas bowed at the Herald of the Apocalypse. “I’ve come up with a detailed plan,” he said and held out a few papers. “In it, I’ve outlined who we should defeat to succeed in our uprising.”
Tafel grabbed the papers. She glanced at the words and realized she didn’t understand a single word of it. “How about a map?” she asked and raised her eyebrows, putting down the papers. “A map of where we are and where we should go should be sufficient enough.”
Thomas straightened his body. “Who was your previous informant?” he asked with a frown. “The Herald of the Apocalypse might be almighty, but even she can use some information. If she doesn’t know who the ones to exterminate are, how is she supposed to carry out the will of God?”
Tafel’s expression darkened, but she shook her head instead of expressing her displeasure. “Or, you can tell me what I have to do.” Quite frankly, the peasants that she had been leading weren’t that informed. They had issues with the church and aristocracy, but they didn’t understand the underlying issues and reasons for their oppression. All she could do was travel from town to town and handle whoever had an issue with her. With Thomas Müntzer’s understanding of the inner workings of the church, she’d finish her uprising much earlier than expected. Tafel’s brow furrowed, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had forgotten something.
Thomas nodded. “It seems to me like you were traveling from town to town, following the roads,” he said. “While that may have been effective, it’s not the most efficient way to reveal your existence to everyone. What you have to do is remove the Swabian League.”
Tafel waited, but it didn’t seem like the eccentric priest was going to say anything else. “The Swabian League?” she asked. “Is it a group of individuals holding ownership over these lands?”
Thomas nodded. “That’s correct,” he said. “These lands that we’re in, they aren’t the best lands. They don’t have access to the sea, and expansion is near impossible. The people who rule these lands, they belong to the lesser royal members. They’re princes and dukes and margraves who couldn’t take the thrones in their respective households. Their armies are greatly outnumbered by the peasants following us, but they are well-equipped and not to be underestimated. They’ve united and agreed to rule together, forming the Swabian League.”
“What does the church have to do with this league?” Tafel asked.
“Along with the Holy Roman Emperor, the archbishop of the church greatly supports the Swabian League,” Thomas said. “The league is the enforcers in the region. If we remove the leaders of the league, then there will be a power vacuum within these lands. You’ll fill in the vacuum with the peasants, and we’ll form a country. From there, we’ll annihilate all who oppose our new world order, paving a way for everyone to experience everything God has intended them to.”
Tafel nodded. It did seem like eliminating this Swabian League would solve her issues of the church and nobility abusing their powers. And if she established a country, it’d be much easier to search for Vur and the rest of her companions. Despite making such a great ruckus, she still hadn’t found anyone. Since that was the case, then her companions must’ve been so far away that they hadn’t received any word of her actions. It’d probably take her own country to muster the man power to find them.
There was a knock on the door, causing Tafel and Thomas to turn their heads. “Excuse me,” a peasant said and walked inside. “Tafel, our great leader, the Herald of the Apocalypse, there’s a group of women who wish to meet with you.” The man paused and furrowed his brow. “They claim to be … witches.”
Tafel’s eyes lit up. This whole thing started with witches and trying to find Helena a place to stay. After going through a few towns, the real witches finally showed their faces. “Let them in,” she said. After all this time, she expected witches didn’t really exist, but who knew they’d appear now? “How many of them are there?”