Under his care, Tortu began quickly declining. Jax had every single citizen of Tortu enslaved. If they were too old to work, they were killed. If they were too young to work, they were brought to Frithe to train as assassins. Jax had a plan to increase his funds, but he was so selfish he refused to realize his people were really struggling.
The price of food had skyrocketed in the region. This was all fine with Jax, because it meant more people would join his army, but the numbers were beginning to rapidly slow. He was getting thousands and thousands of recruits each week, but now he was only get about ten new recruits each week, and they were malnourished men and women who could barely hold a sword.
With the increase in prices, less families could afford the taxes, so Jax put a new tax on food so he was getting his money either way. He didn't care how it impacted his people. Many were wanting to run away to Gerak, but the situation in Gerak wasn't much better. And if they ran away to Tortu, they would eventually be round up as slaves. The world was no longer a safe place.
Jax's advisors were begging him to reduce the taxes and lift the blockade. The people who still had enough money in Frithe were now spending almost all their money on food. And to make matters worse, bread was almost the only food they could buy.
As he believed the blockade was saving him, it was actually hurting him. The royal family started to grow wealthier, but at what cost? He was losing the respect of his army. He was losing the respect of his people. He never paid attention to the approval ratings. He said they could be faked. But people were seriously considering overthrowing him and having the next in line give it a go. But they didn't know it could be worse. The experts of the royal family warned the commoners that it would be worse if Jax was killed, but no one believed them.
Jax would never wake up. He lived under this delusion that everyone in his kingdom respected him. He was one of history's worst kings as far as approval ratings, and he refused to change his habits. He was starting to become richer as the profits from the mines came in, but it wouldn't last for long.
The slaves in Tortu were beginning to become hungry, and they revolted. Jax no longer had precious gems flowing into the royal family of Frithe. But he wasn't concerned about that, he would find more people to exploit for free labor until they dropped.
The revolt resulted in a slaughter. Emaciated slaves without weapons were trying to kill military men with rocks. They stood no chance, and they were all killed. But this made Jax think. He was considering making his army members mine for raw materials, but he would make sure they were well fed. He sent shiploads of food to his men, and he had them mining for gold, but he didn't realize this made them angry. They were military, not miners.
He was getting rich, and his family saw the benefit, so none tried to stop him. A few more months would pass, and a lot of his army that was being utilized as miners started to grow weary. There was talk of defecting to Gerak. They didn't know if the conditions were better, but many wanted to make the leap.
The riff between the men created a restless feeling about camp. Those who wished to leave left in the middle of the night. They were too many to stop, and they got on a war ship and sailed to the capital of Gerak. Two thousand men abandoned the Frithe army for better lives. And they made even more people think once the word was out.
Infuriated by the news, King Jax realized he was making a mistake. But the amount of wealth he was accruing made him think if it was worth stopping. He had a chat with his advisors, and he finally ended the blockade. His war ships came home, and he told his army they could stop mining. He was humbled, but he had to erase the damage he'd done to his kingdom.
Ruling as an arrogant man was the issue. He would adopt a new style to his rule, but the objective remained the same. He was forced to really grow up. He hadn't even been in charge for a year, and he'd already had a massive amount of his military defect. He was still mad at the traitors, and he put bounties on their heads— at least of the known defectors. He couldn't possibly remember them all. As most of his army didn't even need to sign papers to enlist. He just accepted them into his army, gave them ten silver pieces, and started training them. Most of them were almost invisible.
