At the foot of the mountains north of Caracas.
In an old dark-gray carriage, Ribas looked at the elderly man opposite him with some displeasure. "Mr. Fernando, what's so urgent that I have to return to Caracas now? I've waited here for half a month, and I'm just about to meet Mr. Kunse."
He had come to Avila Mountain half a month earlier to persuade the Creole herders there to join his Resistance Army. They spent long hours riding after cattle, so with a little training, they could become cavalrymen.
After receiving a substantial grant of 3,000 Pound Sterling from "Fabio," he had recruited some three hundred people into his Resistance Army. Most were infantry, though, and he was desperately short of specialists like cavalrymen. This trip was therefore crucial to him.
But just as he was preparing to meet Kunse, a highly influential herder, Felipe's steward had appeared and told him that Mr. Felipe needed him back in the city at once on important business.
Fernando took out a copy of the Caracas Gazette and handed it to him. "While you were away from Caracas, the King issued an important decree..."
By the time the carriage left the mountain path, shock had replaced Ribas's irritation. "So the uprising is no longer necessary?" "That's right," Fernando said with a nod. "Most restrictions on administration and trade have been lifted. The Governor's Mansion will also adopt a system resembling a parliament."
"My master hopes you'll become an executive, and right now is the critical moment to secure a seat."
Ribas hesitated, then frowned. "What if the King is only deceiving us?"
"My master says that if he were, the King would make an enemy of all New Granada. He has no reason to do that. Besides, the Portuguese army is closing