And The World Shall Tremble: A Class War in a LitRPG World

The village below the castle was not a large place, from what they had seen of it, and its people did not seem like fighters. But they lived below the castle, and they doubtlessly suffered the cruelty of Lord Erthwing and his soldiers. And Alex knew for certain that they suffered because of the stupid, foolish feud between two inbred pricks who had power because their ancestors were murderous imperialists and treachour compradors.

Alex was confident they would be willing to fight against their oppressors.

They slipped out of the castle, noting an increased presence of guards. There was a group of four at the staircase, and another at the entrance to the keep. Both sets had gear that made Alex think of magic, torches that glowed with the yellow of sunlight and shields painted with eyes that seemed to follow them. Was it because Lord Erthwing feared the unrest of his servants? Did he anticipate an attack? They knew he had launched a raid of some kind, in retaliation for the assasination attempt against his daughter, but they didn't know what would come next. The closest they had ever been to such a horrible, blood-soaked feud was a half-remembered reading of Romeo and Juliet (one they had been made to act as Romeo for, a nightmarish part of the whole horrible experience that had been high school).

They stepped past the guards, for none of the brawny men with hard eyes barred their path. The most Alex received was a nod of acknowledgement as they stepped into the courtyard.

Here there was a busy scene. A few wagons stood in a loose semi-circle in the grassy space. Off to one side, a mix of horses, donkeys, oxen, and stranger creatures were grazing, watched over by a green-eyed man cheerfully playing a flute. Among the wagons stood loud, happy peddlers, making offers to buy and sell, while a richly-dressed merchant was off to one side, negotiating with an equally well-dressed man who Alex had seen standing by Lord Erthwing a number of times.

But what had Alex's attention was the many smaller trades going on. Villagers were gathered by the dozen, and the castle's artisans as well, all making deals and bargains of every description with the merchants. It was a perfect opportunity to speak with the villagers without arousing suspicious, a chance to learn more...

With a smile, they plunged into the fray.

The first thing they learned was what the village produced. They had a number of crops they grew. Some were simple foodstuffs that mostly vanished into the granaries of Lord Erthwing - he took a tenth of their produce as tax, and charged them for the use of mills, ovens, and granaries - while others were used to make clothing - in what seemed like a long and very involved process - but they also had some magical corps. These required special care, and Alex got their ear talked off by a number of farmers eager to bemoan all the time and effort they had to put into keeping their crops healthy, growing, and uneaten by wild animals. These were also heavily taxed, and then sold to wandering merchants like this one, assuming the crops weren't lost to bad weather or beasts or the ravages of the feud.

And of course they had a number of small activities - there were some shepherds and hunters, a village witch who made medicines and talismans, and a coterie of foul-smelling charcoal burners. All of these professions had to tithe parts of their produce to Lord Erthwing, and many were subject to strict limits as well - much of the forest was off-limits to the hunters, for the sake of Lord Erthwing's pleasure and to their displeasure.

The castle artisans mostly worked to support Lord Erthwing, the garrison, the castle, and the villagers, in that order of priority, taking apprentices from the spare children of the village and the castle. If one of those spare children couldn't get an apprenticeship or inherit a farm, they could try and set up on one of the many abandoned plots of land in between the two houses, or else had to go into the city or join a caravan.

Many who left were never heard from again.

The understanding was valuable on its own, and Alex consoled themself with that knowledge, for they had little success in recruiting. There were complaints, plenty of them, about taxes that only rose and help that only grew rarer, but they were always phrased as the fault of circumstance, and not Lord Erthwing.

The unhappiness of these people ws evident, as was their oppression, but Alex was a stranger to them, one that all knew was favored by Lord Erthwing - they received much praise for their role in saving the life of Lady Eliza. And no one was quite willing to make that leap of trust.

Eventually, Lady Eliza came out, escorted not just by a pair of maids but also by a half-dozen heavily-armed guards and the young wizard Alex had briefly met before. Her presence proved quite the distraction, as every merchant present sought her patronage and the villagers and tradesmen knelt before her.

It gave Alex an opportunity to slip away from the crowd and think for a moment. Their days had been busy, and it was a relief to simply breathe, but soon enough fresh matters came to mind. Like how they were going to try and forge at least the beginnings of an alliance with these people. They bit their lip and eyed the sun, trying to judge the time. The meeting would not begin for some hours yet, so they could make the most of this opportunity.

It might be smart to give up on the villagers for now. They would be nearby tomorrow, when the guards wouldn't be on such high alert. Instead, Alex could approach the traders, and seek insights from them. The guards and craftsmen would also be possibilities, albeit riskier ones - they had positions that were somewhat exalted, even if they suspected both had many gripes as well.

Maybe Alex could share the fate of the two imprisoned maids, and how wrathful this had made Lord Erthwing's servants. Such arbitrary behavior that could not be excused by the circumstances was likely to provoke their anger, and it would take advantage of any ties between village worker and castle worker, ties that would be essential for solidarity.

Or perhaps Alex could draw upon one of their skills, and reveal that they could find ways to ease their labors, and create a more personal and self-interest-based connection.

[] The merchants. Alex will forgo additional conversation with the villagers today in favor of taking advantage of the unexpected opportunity to try and make inroads among wandering traders.

[] The craftsmen and guards. Alex will instead try to draw upon bonds of solidarity and familiarity to recruit craftsmen and guards to their cause.

[] The prisoners. Alex will play upon sympathies for the imprisoned maids and grievances caused by the arbitrary arrogance of Lord Erthwing to secure support among the peasants.

[] The skill. Instead of directly recruiting villagers, Alex will instead try to make a favorable impression on them through the use of their skill to ease their daily labors.