The Count's Manor quickly sprang into action. Apart from a few necessities, Count Stanwen ordered everything to be left in the manor.
There was not much to take, really. Almost all the servants were dismissed on the spot, and only family members would accompany them. Of course, they had to take the Heavy Guard Knights, but not too many. After all, Count Stanwen had lost his territory and could no longer afford to support so many men. He took only the three hundred most elite Heavy Guard Knights.
The members of the Huiderieman Family posed more of a problem. Many had lived in Stone City for generations and did not want to leave. Count Stanwen could do little about that. Those who wanted to stay could stay, and those who wanted to leave with him could come along. Even if the Black Bat Army reached Stone City, they probably would not slaughter people indiscriminately if they intended to rule it.
The Barbarian tribes, however, were another matter. The fate of those who stayed was hard to predict.
In short, despite all the confusion, a large procession began leaving the Count's Manor and making its way out of Stone City the next day. They were not particularly fast, given their numbers, but there was still some time before the Black Bat Army attacked Stone City, so there was no great urgency.
Merlin sat inside the carriage. The bumpy road made him uncomfortable, and the scene felt all too familiar. When he had first arrived in Blackwater City, had he not fled it in just such a panic with Old Wilson?
He had never expected to face the same predicament again after coming to an entirely new Dimensional World.
"Commander Hanson, how many more days will it take us to reach Sacred