Tyranny of Steel

While the Brigand Act was ongoing in the southern counties of Austria, Berengar began to make a move against the rebellious Counts and their villainous vassals. At the moment, Liutbert was sitting on the seat of his power in Innsbruck, reading a letter. The letter was addressed to him by his devious little sister, who just so happened to be the lover of Count Berengar.

The contents of the letters were a villainous plot devised to eliminate the potential enemies of Berengar while securing the legitimacy needed to ascend to the position of Duke. Liutbert held a unique position in the feudal hierarchy of Austria; with the main Habsburg line destroyed, he was the closest living male heir to the title of Duke. As such, he presented a unique obstacle in Berengar's rise to power.

Liutbert was deathly afraid of Berengar; after all, he had witnessed the impeccable might of the man's army and knew he had no chance contending for the Ducal Throne. On top of that, he was pretty confident his sister would poison him if he dared to act rebelliously against the upstart from Kufstein. Thus he had taken a largely obedient position in regards to Berengar and his rule over Tyrol.

The hope was that the man could gain some benefits for himself and his family by being loyal. So far, it had proven to be a lucrative course of action with Innsbruck becoming the second industrial city of Tyrol; the wealth generated from such a massive business essentially went into his pocket. In contrast, the remainder was paid in tax to Berengar..

Not only that, but the man had been appointed as Chancellor, essentially making him the second ruler over the region, at least in theory. Most of his work was just being delegated tasks Berengar felt he was capable of performing competently. Considering all of these things, Liutbert let out a large sigh before voicing his concerns aloud.

"This is going to be exceptionally difficult to pull off."

After reading his sister's letter, he lit it aflame by using a candle; after doing so, he blew the candle out before getting to work on the task he had been instructed with. Liutbert immediately began to write letters to the noblemen of Austria who were more likely to rebel against Berengar; this included the ones in Tyrol who were upset with Berengar's reforms.

The letters were a request for a meeting in Innsbruck to discuss the future of the realm. These letters contained sensitive information leaked to the Liutbert by his sister Linde to persuade the disgruntled noblemen to appear in the city.

The letter asserted Berengar was a murderer and a usurper who conspired to seize the Ducal Throne of Austria and that with Conrad's passing, Liutbert was the legitimate successor. For the other noblemen, especially the ones upset by Berengar's rapid rise to power and his political reforms, which limited their feudal powers, Liutbert was a far better alternative for the position of Duke.

After sending out the letters, Liutbert waited for the response, and within a matter of weeks, a date was settled for a meeting of the disgruntled noblemen, where they would arrive in Innsbruck. During this time, Berengar's armies successfully occupied the rebellious regions with his armies under the guise of the Brigand Act.

Thus preventing them from rising in rebellion, their only path forward to war would be gathering in Innsbruck and using the forces seemingly designated to the Chancellor's control to resist Berengar's Tyranny. In reality, these were just mercenaries that Liutbert had purchased with Berengar's backing. The actual Garrison of the region would never dare to fight against Berengar's rule as they had been thoroughly indoctrinated by the time they graduated from basic training.

As the weeks passed, the extraordinary meeting was held within Innsbruck, and Liutbert was sitting in his great hall surrounded by the lords and ladies who were naturally resilient to Berengar's ascension and the reforms that came with it. Most of the noblemen and women were of the older generation, as the young Lords and Ladies of Austria were more inclined to believe in Berengar's reforms.

An elderly Count who presided over the County of Kustenland was the first to voice his concerns. He was obese, bald, and had a puffy white beard. He instantly began to speak as he strutted around the great hall floor with a cane in his hand.

"If the news is accurate, and Conrad is dead, then that means that Berengar has already stationed his troops in our lands to prevent a rebellion! Such a devious plot could only be devised by such a low-born member of the nobility.

What is worse, he has seized control of the land on my coastal regions so that he may begin the construction of his shipyards! Does he seek to challenge the Venetians and Genoans at sea? Bah, he is merely asking for trouble.

It has become increasingly apparent that if we do not stand against Berengar now when his armies are stretched thin, then we will never have a chance to remove him from power! I do not know about all of you, but I refuse to go quietly into the night! There must be war!"

Hearing the old count's speech, many other noblemen nodded their heads in agreement; Berengar was a threat to their power. If Conrad was genuinely dead, and the man was making a ploy to become Duke, it was better to fight against him now before he indeed secured his reign.

Liutbert played the part of a puppet perfectly and began to stoke the ire of noblemen and divert attention away from his loyalties.

"Berengar has seized my rightful position as Count of Tyrol; in doing so, he has enacted many reforms throughout the region which have consistently eaten away at the powers and rights of the nobility. If left unchecked, who is to say when there is nothing to distinguish our noble bloodlines from the filthy commoners!

I have been given authority over the forces here in Innsbruck; Berengar has foolishly placed his trust in me, believing myself to be a whipped dog at his command. We will use these forces to march on Kufstein, and in doing so, force his armies that occupy your lands to withdraw, allowing us to raise our forces in rebellion further! The question is, who here will pledge their loyalty to me and take up arms against Berengar the Usurper?"

With this said, the hall immediately resounded in uproar as the rebellious nobleman stumbled over one another to proclaim their loyalty to the man they considered the rightful Duke of Austria. The old fat man was the loudest of the noblemen who were gathered.

"I, Count Berhtolf von Trieste, hereby declare my support and loyalty to the one true Duke of Austria, Liutbert von Habsburg!"

What followed were the cries of several other essential noblemen.

"I Count Edelstein von Klagenfurt hereby pledge my life and loyalty to Liutbert von Habsburg, the Duke of Austria!"

"I Count Fridebraht von Laibach hereby offer my support to the Duke of Austria, Liutbert von Habsburg!"

With the three Counts of the south declaring their open support for Liutbert, the other Lords who had gathered quickly pledged their loyalty to Liutbert and his rebellion. In doing so, they had sealed their fates, for they never expected that this gathering was nothing more than a ruse set up by Berengar and his lover to gather his political rivals into one location.

After the Lords gathered in Innsbruck declared their loyalty to Liutbert and their intent to rebel against Berengar and his regency. Liutbert made a proclomation.

"I accept all of your loyalty, and upon my honor, I promise to lead a force together with the rest of you onto Kufstein! We will strike while Berengar the Usurper is unprepared and quickly put an end to his illegitimate reign!"'

With this said, cheers began to erupt in the crowd. The nobles who had gathered swore that they would follow Liutbert into battle, with the forces stationed in Innsbruck, they felt that they would be fully capable of deposing Berengar and his tyranny, utterly unaware that they were walking into a trap.

As such, the following days were spent preparing for war, with Innsbruck's industrial output focused to a small degree on creating arms and armor for the nobles who had gathered, considering they were unable to bring their equipment with them.

Of course, they were delighted with the advanced designs of the full plate armor that Innsbruck's factories were capable of producing, and while equipped with such fierce armor, felt as if they were invincible in their quest to overthrow a tyrant.

Thus all of the plans were in place for a decisive showdown that would eliminate Berengar's enemies and make it appear as if the transfer of power was legitimate. Soon enough, the two armies would clash in the fields outside Kufstein, the result of which was yet to be seen.