The Death of Redcreek
The Death of Redcreek is a story known throughout the Empire, though the names and places often differ. In truth, it is the story, and the myth, of many different settlements, unknown, which were crushed underneath the cogs of the imperial bureaucracy, and looked over by the vigilant eyes of Exelnar.
Redcreek was a small hamlet, or so the story goes, which was quiet and quaint, like so many others which dot the imperial countrysides, surrounding the cities and major trading ports. It had only about a few dozen houses, each brimming with farmers, who were not wealthy by any means, but not starving either. The hamlet and its people were content to continue their peaceful existence, harming noone, with no care for the Empire at large.
Then came however, a traitor to their humble homes, the true villain of the tale, who has taken on a myrriad names through the history of the Empire. Though his honeyed words and empty promises fell on largely deaf ears, some of the people of the hamlet were swayed by the stranger, letting them into their homes, and minds. From then on, the town would have looked not much different, and as the years passed, what first looked harmless, became a cancer in their midsts.
After strange occurances and odd happenings in a nearby larger town, the people of that town sent to the Count for an Inquisitor, to come and find the source of this blight. The Inquisitor, whose name and form always changes, helps defend the larger town, and follows the stench of corruption right to its source, Redcreek. The inquisitor then, as is the task of the Inquisition, inquisites, covertly, to find what and where and how, and once he has done so, he sends word back to the Count, and plans on how to procceed.
The discussions always go the same way, there is always a first option. Go through the hamlet, interrogate everyone one by one, to find the corrupted, surround the hamlet with soldiers to make sure nobody escapes, flush out the traitors, clear out all corruption, bring everything back to normal. But this plan has so many points of failure, so much opportunity for the traitors to skip town, and repeat the same thing elsewhere, this time more practiced and trained. And through that proccess, soldiers, inquisitors and defenders would be taken away from the places with many more people, that need them most.
No, the answer is simple, use half the soldiers, and a fraction of the time, to burn it all down. Killing everyone doesn't let the traitors escape, imperial resources don't need to be used longer than nessesary, and everyone can be sure that the cancer won't spread. It is a simple solution, which though brutal, is easy to make when only looking at things from an elevated perspective, which also blinds one to the nuances of the situation. Is Redcreek salvagable, are its people important, do they deserve a second chance ? All pointless questions that will only be asked by those naive enaugh to think their answers matter.
The massacre is absolute, and decimating. After all, what can a panicked mob do against armed soldiers, wielding spears, attacking from every direction. Flaming arrows strike thatch rooves, speartips are burried in the chests of traitors and loyalists alike. Some may even have had no idea this was coming, and woken up to the chaos on a day just like any other. None are to be spared, they will seed chaos and panick wherever they will go, all their lives ended the moment an armored foot fell upon the dirt of Redcreek.
So the Empire grinds on, Redcreek reduced to a small paper on some desk in Exelnar, informing a noble about what happened, never to be read. Some may hear of what happened there, some may even survive, but what is sure is that many innocents have died, and while the blame for it is spread between the corruptors, the calous rulers, and the peasants that became traitors, there will never be a trial to attribute it.
Redcreek was a small hamlet, or so the story goes, which was quiet and quaint, like so many others which dot the imperial countrysides, surrounding the cities and major trading ports. It had only about a few dozen houses, each brimming with farmers, who were not wealthy by any means, but not starving either. The hamlet and its people were content to continue their peaceful existence, harming noone, with no care for the Empire at large.
Then came however, a traitor to their humble homes, the true villain of the tale, who has taken on a myrriad names through the history of the Empire. Though his honeyed words and empty promises fell on largely deaf ears, some of the people of the hamlet were swayed by the stranger, letting them into their homes, and minds. From then on, the town would have looked not much different, and as the years passed, what first looked harmless, became a cancer in their midsts.
"I told them we should have run those people out of town the moment they arrived. Its only been a few weeks and chickens have started to go missing."Things that first seemed normal, turned to things that were odd, to things that were downright frightening. Long foraging trips, excessive hunting for specific animals and animal parts, and strange runic carvings, but nobody to blame, as the stranger had now become one of them, and even if they could find him and run him out, the corruption had already made its way to the heart of Redcreek, and would not be killed so easilly. But if there is one thing that cancer does, it is to spread.
"Would you just relax dad, nothing is wrong, probably some kids playing pranks or something, don't worry yourself so much."-Exchange between two unnamed townsfolk
After strange occurances and odd happenings in a nearby larger town, the people of that town sent to the Count for an Inquisitor, to come and find the source of this blight. The Inquisitor, whose name and form always changes, helps defend the larger town, and follows the stench of corruption right to its source, Redcreek. The inquisitor then, as is the task of the Inquisition, inquisites, covertly, to find what and where and how, and once he has done so, he sends word back to the Count, and plans on how to procceed.
The discussions always go the same way, there is always a first option. Go through the hamlet, interrogate everyone one by one, to find the corrupted, surround the hamlet with soldiers to make sure nobody escapes, flush out the traitors, clear out all corruption, bring everything back to normal. But this plan has so many points of failure, so much opportunity for the traitors to skip town, and repeat the same thing elsewhere, this time more practiced and trained. And through that proccess, soldiers, inquisitors and defenders would be taken away from the places with many more people, that need them most.
I take no pride, no joy, in what I must do here, but I must do it, for to not kill these people would be to doom countless more to an even worse fate. The time to cure this desease is passed, now we must remove the rotten limb before it poisons the entire body.-Unnamed Inquisitor
No, the answer is simple, use half the soldiers, and a fraction of the time, to burn it all down. Killing everyone doesn't let the traitors escape, imperial resources don't need to be used longer than nessesary, and everyone can be sure that the cancer won't spread. It is a simple solution, which though brutal, is easy to make when only looking at things from an elevated perspective, which also blinds one to the nuances of the situation. Is Redcreek salvagable, are its people important, do they deserve a second chance ? All pointless questions that will only be asked by those naive enaugh to think their answers matter.
The massacre is absolute, and decimating. After all, what can a panicked mob do against armed soldiers, wielding spears, attacking from every direction. Flaming arrows strike thatch rooves, speartips are burried in the chests of traitors and loyalists alike. Some may even have had no idea this was coming, and woken up to the chaos on a day just like any other. None are to be spared, they will seed chaos and panick wherever they will go, all their lives ended the moment an armored foot fell upon the dirt of Redcreek.
So the Empire grinds on, Redcreek reduced to a small paper on some desk in Exelnar, informing a noble about what happened, never to be read. Some may hear of what happened there, some may even survive, but what is sure is that many innocents have died, and while the blame for it is spread between the corruptors, the calous rulers, and the peasants that became traitors, there will never be a trial to attribute it.
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