Summary: Edward, Alphonse and Noah decide to travel into Czechoslovakia to try and find a place with a political situation more friendly to them after deciding Austria had too many public figures that shared sentiments with German nationalists. However the journey will be long since it is now Winter and the three of them have no well paying or long-term jobs to speak off, since Alphonse has no legal documents and Noah is both Romani and female. Long is the Road into the 'Land abundant in Milk and Honey.'
Notes: Samael's Stories return with its second installment. I have since decided that there will be twelve works in this series, which will takes us to the beginning of the Post-War Era. This story will cover the trio's journey towards Prague, which is partly a setup for the next installment, which will abuse that city's association with mysticm, the occult and alchemy until there is nothing left to cover, and an excuse for me to present the audience with political realties that the Elrics will in due time run head-first into, when the Interbellum age begins its descent into the fires of another war.
The combination of lying near the confluence of Isar and Danube rivers, while also being on the path from Passau to Regensburg, allowed Deggendorf to become rich from commerce and trade. It recently grew more with the arrival of the railway line and success in ship building. This may have elicited some interest from Edward and Alphonse, if they had not been required to spend each day there doing hard work for little pay to keep afloat financially.
The shipping industry was not hiring people like them and now that November 1923 was quickly approaching its end the city started to consume more and more coal on a daily basis. The brothers instead found work in the form of accompanying the many horse-drawn carts that delivered coal from the Deggendorf train station to individual houses. Their work was not driving the cart, but rather taking coal from the cart into the place, where it was stored for use by the house.
This delightful task meant that either they would shovel it in through windows opened into the basement, or they would place about fifteen kilos of coal in an open backpack and then carry it inside the homes to dump it wherever the buyers wished. Doing this for a few hours guaranteed that their bodies wound up absolutely knackered by the end. "Ah! Thank you, Noah. That feels so much better," Ed muttered as he got a back massage. "I swear at one point I thought I felt my spine breaking to bits."
"Brother, you can go ahead and try to find another kind of work whenever you want," Al reminded him as he was lying on the floor mattress trying to straighten his back again. "I know," his brother groaned. "But this one pays the best among those we can do. Basically, no one will take on two teenagers with one of them lacking documents. Meanwhile, there is only so much we can hope from other sources." This was a reference to Noah's own line of work. "At least we don't have to pay to heal ourselves."
There were only so many places that accepted Romani girls as workers. Currently, she worked as a part-time dancer at a pub in the Schaching district, which offered her payment in food in return for providing some entertainment for their cliental. "Speaking of, were there any problems today," Alphonse asked her. After she finished up massaging his brother's trapezius muscle, at which Ed moaned as his back finally stopped cramping, she finally answered. "It was not as bad as it was on some of the other days."
"That is not exactly a high bar," Edward noted, and finally sat up on his mattress and put his shirt back on. As much as he appreciated the massage, it was late November and this room was heated up by a small coal heater, which was not exactly powerful enough to justify not wearing a short for too long. "How bad was it?" Noah made a so-so hand gesture. "I got the usual leers..." Ed promptly groaned. "And you still can't punch their faces in, Ed," she added and Al snickered, while his brother pouted.
"I was asked for the usual sorts of dances – mainly once chosen blatantly to appeal to drunken lechers – and they sometimes threw money at me as tips. Admittedly, it was mostly some of the Million Mark notes," she admitted. "So they may as well have been throwing papers covered with doodles, because they have about as much purchasing power," Alphonse noted. "Sometimes you take what you get," Noah explained and showed the clump of notes she had in her pocket. "Better that than being pelted with stuff."
"Ignoring the fact that they basically treat you as a brothel whore, before I actually go and break someone's face in," Edward began with an attempt at a Stoic stone. "I've seen kids play with packets of notes that had higher nominal values than that," he pointed out with a tone of pure annoyance. "At least tell me that the owners themselves gave you something for your services." Noah went into the next room and brought in a small wooden box.
She opened it and there was half of a bone-in ham inside it. "They said I deserve a bigger gift than usual on account of an unusually successful day. They bought some ham from the butchers and did not sell as much as they expected," she explained. "Well, at least they actually gave you something," Alphonse said, while Edward started looking closer at the ham. "You don't think so?" "I am honestly expecting this piece to have some sort of issue with it, and they gave it to Noah to get rid of it."
Noah made wagged her head with a tongue click. "I don't care. I am cooking it for dinner anyway. I would rather take the risk than avoid every piece of food, because people were willing to give it to a 'gypsy girl.'" By 'cook' Noah meant placing it into a tin pan that the brothers bought at a flea market and putting that atop the heater, which doubled as a proxy for a stove. The three of them managed to purchase cheap knorks – a combination of knife and fork originally designed for amputees – at that same market and dug into Noah's creation.
"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it," Al noted, and Ed gave a non-committal grunt. It was tougher and chewier than ham would normally be, but the taste seemed good enough and frankly given the sub-par preparation they were lucky it was as good as it was. They caught slices of bread to eat with the ham, on account of that being the only other food they had plenty of. They had some cans stored back for emergencies, and so they avoided them unless it was absolutely necessary.
"I am thinking we should move again," Edward suddenly announced. "We finally have enough money to buy food that will last until we reach another big city, and recently the amount of coal seems to be decreasing by the day." "You think we'll run out of work," his brother asked and took another small bite of the meat. "I don't want to risk staying here too long. Noah's line of work is unstable already, and I would prefer to not be caught in a hard place should our own follow suit."
Noah finished, forcefully biting into her piece of ham. "If you think you can't find another line of work, then I am willing to go. They told me a group of musicians has already offered their services for tomorrow, so I might not get a gig regardless. Are we joining Adriana in following the Danube, or are we going into the Bavarian Forest?" There was a much deeper question there regarding the actual country they would cross the border into. How they wanted to do that without documents for Alphonse had yet to be discussed.
A week ago, Adriana had left the city and followed a group of fellow Romanis that were travelling along the Danube to Vienna on account of finding the current German political climate too oppressive and choosing to go to the Austrian capital instead. Edward was not convinced that was a good idea on her part. Although Austria suffered the least in the peace treaties following the Great War in terms of reparations, there was still a strong Revanchist sentiment and a nationalist mix in their conservatism.
"I think the Bavarian Forest is the better choice," he advised the other two. "The Austrian Chancellor is Ignaz Seipel, and he is a Roman Catholic priest from a party that at minimum has low opinion of the Jews and I doubt their opinions of the 'gypsy menace'," he said with the most mocking tone at that term, "is any better. Besides, I heard they have a thing called the 'Heimwehr,' which is basically a right-wing paramilitary group akin to Hitler's." He took another bite of bread before continuing.
"I won't pretend Czechoslovakia will receive us, and you in particular, better than anywhere else," he continued in Noah's direction, "but their current government and political arrangement seems preferable by a country mile. They have some sort of coalition between socialist and conservative parties, with more emphasis on agrarian politics than the purely nationalist crap those types spout here." "But the language barrier might be an issue," Alphonse argued, and his brother shrugged.
"They have a large German minority along the borders, so I assume there should be some bilingual people around. Apparently their capital city, Prague, has a lot of German speakers too since they have a lot of Jews living there," he replied after taking another very chewy bite of the ham. Now the bone showed in multiple places. "When would we leave," Noah plopped, the most important question. "I would argue for tomorrow shortly after noon unless there is a sudden weather change.
We'll buy all the provisions we can carry and head straight to Regen." "What path do you have in mind, Ed," Al asked as he stood up and retrieved the folding map they had purchased before departing from München. "Regen is roughly twenty kilometres northeast, but the Bavarian Forest has two ranges," he continued as he pointed at the map. "The direct route would take us over these mountains called Breitenauriegel and Einödriegel. Both of them are almost nine hundred metres higher than the Danube."
"Why don't we just follow the railway line," Noah asked and traced her finger north from Deggendorf to a junction directly west of Regen, where a line continued north to Viechtach along the valley of the Schwarzer Regen and east through the plains, between the ranges called the Nearer Bavarian Forest and the Further Bavarian Forest, to arrive at their planned destination. "I asked some of the other labourers," Edward explained.
"They say the best way to get there is to pass through Bischofsmais," he continued and pointed at the name marked about four kilometres east of the mountains Alphonse had brought up. "The train tracks run past small settlements that have little work to offer. If we get stuck because of weather, we have better chances there. Or at least that was their assessment." The other two looked at the map with a grimace. "That is still a very bumpy path. Are you certain we won't get bogged down along the way," Al asked with some concern.
"I think at this time of year the weather won't be any better along any road," Noah argued and Edward nodded in agreement. "The only alternative would be waiting for a random thaw and a warm snap, and I am not optimistic enough for that. If there isn't an obvious snow storm coming tomorrow, I say we hit the road promptly and hope we get to Bischofsmais by sunset." "Okay, but if we run into issues, I reserve the right to moan," his brother agreed.
Eduard Beneš, the Czechoslovak Minister of Foreign Affairs, was reading a memo he just received from the French Consulate, when his secretary knocked on the door. "Mr. Udržal wants to ask your opinion on a matter that potentially overlaps your areas," the woman explained, and Beneš put the memo to the side. "Let him enter, but wait for a moment after he enters." A moustached man in his late fifties entered his office.
"Mr. Beneš," he bowed to his colleague. "Welcome, Mr. Udržal, do you wish to have something to drink while we speak." "Tea would be nice." Eduard made a gesture to his secretary, who gave a small bow and left the room. "Take a seat," he then added and gestured to a chair opposite his work table. "What does your department wish to speak about?" "We have received an unusual request for a visa from a German national named Karl Harrer. I am not sure if you know who that is."
"I am afraid not." "Harrer is a journalist by trade, but after the War he became politically active and initially publicly associated himself with men named Anton Drexler and Gottfried Feder. It was this trio that helped to found the German Workers' Party, which Drexler later added the 'National Socialist' prefix to. He gave up the leadership of the party to that want-to-be-putschist Adolf Hitler, after the man threatened to public cut ties."
"Then why are we even discussing this," Beneš promptly asked. "He almost certainly wants to come here to cause us problems. I bet he wants to meet with Hans Knirsch and Ernst Storch to try and stoke the Sudetenland Germans. They hate that the people are starting to see a potential future inside our nation and our starting to support the German Social Democrats. Bet the moment we let him, he'll start screaming about Ludwig Czech being a 'filthy treasonous Jew' or whatever."
The secretary came in with a cup of tea. "Thank you," Udržal told her as he took the cup. "With pleasure." He then turned back to his government colleague. "Normally we would not bother with such men," Udržal admitted. "However, Harrer left the party in 1920 because he sought to create a decentralised party, directly opposed to Hitler's ideal of a centralised body. As far as we can tell, he has obeyed the law and is at most only responsible for being a member of an odd mystical group called the Thule Society."
"I am still uncomfortable with letting someone like that into the country. We have enough problems with home-grown agitators," Beneš replied curtly. It was not hard to guess what he was referring to. Czechoslovakia had not begun the year on a good note. On the 5 January Alois Rašín, the Minister of Finance, was on the receiving end of a political assassination attempt that was ultimately successful and result in the passage of the Law on the Defence of the Republic in March. The new Minister Theodor Bečka had just recently announced a predicted time of economic growth.
His predecessor Rašín had been a member of the party named the Czechoslovak Nation Democracy, which combined economic liberalism with national conservatism, and as such was an ideal target for an anarchic-communist called Josef Šoupal, who blamed Bečka's predecessor for bringing about a plutocratic government. The Minister of Finance suffered for six weeks before the bullet wounds caused a septic shock that finished him off.
Šoupal was under twenty-one and so avoided a death sentence despite evidence he had planned to also shoot two other politicians – namely Karel Kramář and Beneš himself. Udržal continued and claimed that "There is nothing about him that screams 'agitator' and in fact your assumptions are contrary to the details of his visa request," he explained and took a sip of his tea. "What do you mean?"
"He wants to travel to Prague itself and not to the borderlands. His request speaks of an ongoing research he is conducting into the history of science and associated fields at the Habsburg court." "Oh, I see," Beneš said and tapped his table. "This Thule Society is trying to look into the secrets of Emperor Rudolf II and his court mages, isn't it?" Udržal nodded. "He did specifically note his research includes alchemy and the occult and mystical. He even mentioned Edward Kelly by name.
The Thule Society's chairwoman Dietlinde Eckhart has recently died, and her successor Walter Neuhaus has redirected many of their efforts and resources into research rather than direct political involvement after the disaster of the recent coup attempt." Beneš hummed and tapped the table briefly as he thought. "Do you have enough resources to track him," he asked Udržal as he looked up.
"Excuse me," his government colleague responded with an offended tone, but before he could continue expressing his disapproval of such a tone, Beneš interrupted him. "Mr. Udržal, I remember your requests for funding during my Premiership," he said in reference to his brief stint as Czechoslovakia's Prime Minister before the office passed to its current holder and the men's nominal superior Antonín Švehla. "Do you or do you not have sufficient resources to track this man's every move if he enters Czechoslovakia." "Yes," the man said with an annoyed tone.
"Then I give my condition approval. If your men discover that this man found anything interesting or acted in an unexpected manner, then I want to immediately receive any such news. We will, however, speak with Prime Minister Švehla and President Masaryk before I fully give this the green light," Beneš said as he picked up the phone. "The office of the President of the Republic, please. This is the Minister of Foreign Affairs," he requested from the exchange.
"Is there an issue, Eduard," asked an older male voice after a moment. "Not an immediate problem, Tomáš, though I will have a conversation with you and Švehla about some memos that we just received from Raymond Poincaré. But Mr. Udržal just brought a matter potentially concerning national security to my attention. Do you have a spot open in your schedule to receive us?" There was some rustling of paper on the other end of the line. "Can you meet me just before six; I have an open spot then?"
"Very well. In the meantime I'll speak with Švehla about it and if necessary we will come together. See you then." "Have a nice day," President Masaryk answered, and Beneš put down the phone. "We'll meet at the front gate to the castle at six. Is there anything else you wish to speak of, Mr. Udržal?" The man wagged his head and began leaving since he had finished his tea cup. "That is all, Mr. Beneš. My office will await your decision. Goodbye for today," he bowed to the man and exited the office and then the building of the Ministry.
Eduard Beneš then took out the aforementioned memos he had received from Raymond Poincaré, who had been French President during the war and was currently both Prime Minister and Beneš's French counterpart, akin to how Eduard had shared both positions before Švehla replace him. Although he himself had not served as President yet, since that post had been held by his friend Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk since the formation of Czechoslovakia.
Later at six he met with Udržal at the front gate of the Prague Castle to be received into the Presidential suite. Masaryk, though now in his seventies, was still an energetic man and gave them a warm reception with firm handshakes. "What is the matter you wished to bring to my and Švehla's attention, gentlemen," he asked as they sat down in his private room rather than the main office. "We will be giving a visa to a German national that has potential links with the far-right," Udržal swiftly began.
As he received a very concerned frown from the President, he swiftly continued with, "The man seems to have split from his former comrades and his work seems to be mostly concerned with research into history and science rather than any nefarious actions against the state." Masaryk looked to Beneš for additional information, since he had more trust in the man. "I gave my conditional agreement, Tomáš. I know we are both still recovering from the whole ordeal with Rašín, but Udržal promised to have his men keep an eye out."
"If Švehla agreed, you may proceed, but under the condition I get regular updates on this matter. We have been lax before, and it cost us a good man, Eduard. I trust you two will keep an eye out, but make sure not to become lax due to temporary passivity. We thought issues with Communists had abated after they had publicly disavowed assassination, and then we had a man dying in agony for over a month and a half," Masaryk told them and they nodded.
"We will keep your Office informed, Mr. President. Have no worry about this," Udržal promised. "If anything goes awry with this individual, I want you to both report directly to both me and Prime Minister Švehla and immediately take steps necessary to either arrest the man or at least limit his influence. I don't want Bečka's promise of a successful end to the year marred by strife and death." "Neither do we wish to see such a thing," Beneš agreed, and Udržal gave a firm nod.
"Then this matter is finished. Mr. Udržal, Mr. Beneš will now speak with me about diplomatic correspondence with France. If you wish to remain, I will allow it, however I believe this does not currently intersect with your area of work." "I will take my leave, Mr. President." Udržal rose and took a bow. Masaryk did likewise and shook his hand. "Make certain my secretary understands the importance of your messages." "I will. Goodbye, Your Excellency."
Since the end of the war, France has supported Czechoslovakia and had held an interest in the post-war development of Central and Eastern Europe following the collapse of the Russian and Austro-Hungarian monarchies. The nation gave generous external support to the Little Entente strategic alliance that Czechoslovakia had with the Kingdoms of Romania and of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
The three nations had gained territory from the Kingdom of Hungary after the Treaty of Trianon and the Hungarians had reacted with even more nationalism and revanchist rhetoric than Germany. Romania and Czechoslovakia had been in armed conflicts with the regency of Miklós Horthy, who had declared nominal loyalty to the Habsburgs, but ousted and outmanoeuvred the dethroned Emperor Charles, when he had demanded to be restored. The man died a year ago in exile on Madeira.
"Kid, what the hell are you expecting to find in a corner shop in late November," the shopkeeper asked in an impatient tone. "In some years we would have already had our first snow, and you are looking for perishables." "Look, I don't care what sort of food you got. If it is still edible, I am offering to buy," Edward responded with a similar tone. He was well aware this was not the best time to look for some travel supplies.
"I've only got canned food if you are interested in filling your stomach under any circumstances. But they are not exactly cheap for someone of your stature," the man added and walked into the backroom to bring out a selection. Ed bit his tongue to not argue back. His and Alphonse's suits had not seen the light of day in two weeks, and they wore less expensive and heavily torn clothes. The man's comment about stature was definitely referring to the coal dust they were covered in.
Canned food still lived in infamy caused by the Great War. It had initially been considered a great choice to supply the frontline with. Unfortunately, the choice to use lead in their creation caused serious health problems. Both brothers were relieved to see that this shop sold newer tin cans, but the prices were steep. Although the new Rentenmark had entered circulation on the 15th, they were still paid in the old paper Marks.
The inflation was getting better, but being paid in Milliard Marks was still ridiculous. They had even seen a Five Billion Mark note once. "We'll take the pork jelly aspic," Ed started listing off, and the shop keep moved those cans from one pile to another. "And also the fruit one... I think besides that we'll take crackers, biscuits or whatever item you have in that ballpark." "I've got some salty crackers." "Give us roughly 100 Milliards worth of them."
Alphonse walked off and started looking at some of the shelves. By this point, the shop had very little food and mostly sold utensils and kitchen supplies that were in the category of tools. There were some lovely looking bottles of preserved fruits, but they were oversized for their briefcases and had absurdly high price tags. His brother started sorting through the dozen notes they had. Al took a small can of strawberries and several cans that claimed to be either pasta or beans.
The final purchase came to almost 1 Billion Marks on its own. This was an almost week wage for them in the work that they just left earlier today. Their nominal boss had declared he understood and agreed with Edward's assessment that a tough week or two were approaching, and they would be better off switching to another line of work. They met with Noah near the pub she worked at, just outside Schaching's church of Saint John.
"They gave me this as a parting gift," she explained, and showed them a small jar of preserved red currant. "Well, at least it's something," Alphonse said and added it to his briefcase that had slightly more room than the other two. "Right, so are we heading off," he asked and the two nodded. They briefly walked along the Bogenbach River before they reached a large road bridge. This was the beginning of the Ruselbergstrecke.
The road followed a smaller ridge of the Bavarian Forest and then entered a valley before Bischofsmais to follow the stream that became the Schlossauer Ohe, which lead straight into Regen. The entire time they walked, Edward was nervously scanning the horizon for any sign of inclement weather. Just after a settlement named Maxhofen they diverged from the main road and instead followed a path through the woods to Tattenberg and Greising.
Just outside the latter village, they stopped at a small spring to rest. They each took a piece of bread and applied the thinnest layer of jam that would still make a meaningful difference. "Here's where we have to make a choice," Edward announced after taking a gulp of spring water. "We can either go north to take a ridge of higher ground into Bischofsmais, which is five kilometres as the crow flies without any stop, or we go east to Rusel, which will mean taking a large detour to avoid the bumpy terrain."
"We have been lucky with the weather so far. Maybe we should not take the risk of getting caught in dense woodland," Noah argued, and Alphonse gave an approving nod. "I am surprised that is even a debate. We have enough food to last us even past Regen if we go directly. I reckon we could even just pass through and go straight onto Zwiesel." "It is almost four," Edward told them. "Bischofmais has an inn, the other villages do not."
"So it's a conflict between potentially being stuck outside after sunset or risking a wilder path," Noah asked for conformation and received a nod from Ed. Alphonse sighed and looked around at the skyline. There were some hints of clouds on the horizon. "If we are taking the short but difficult path, then we have to go now. I am willing to take it if necessary." "So am I," Noah agreed. "Then we need to break up camp now," Edward declared, and off they went.
The forest trail proved much harder to navigate than they would have liked due to recent rains, making it an absolute horror for any traveller, let alone one carrying their personal luggage with them. They started with an over hundred-metre climb to reach a small indent in the ridge of the Nearer Bavarian Forest and started heading north between the hills. The trio dragged their feet as the sun started to quickly set.
Clouds were coming in from the east, promising snow, but they were tired. It was already a miracle that they reached Hermannsried village, and now their goal was both close at hand and so bloody far. On the left, they could see the tower of the Church of Saint Bartholomew between the trees. This Sankt Hermann pilgrimage spot had allowed the location to flourish before winter sports gained popularity among the urban workers. The road was entirely deserted even here, as everyone had wisely decided to head inside and brace for a potential storm.
With great relief, the trio passed across the bridge over the Hermannsbach stream and approached the village green as the first snowflakes started to fall down on them. Just opposite the parish Church of Saint Jacob was an inn designed partly for pilgrims coming to the location and also for the many devotes of winter sports that sought out the heights of the Nearer Bavarian Forest, like the closer Hermannschopf and the more distant but higher and more popular Geisskopf.
"Welcome gentlemen, what can we offer you," the man at the front desk announced with a smile as they enter looking dishevelled and the smile then notably dipped as he glanced over at Noah. He quickly gave a little cough and resumed a more strained version of his previous look. "Give us the cheapest possible room for three," Ed managed to say, despite starting to slightly shiver. "We'll be paying upfront," Alphonse added, and his brother gave a nod. "Fifty Milliard Paper Marks or an equivalent," the man requested, and as Ed obliged, he received a key from the man.
"Last room on the left on the first floor," he added and gestured towards the stairs. "Do note that breakfast is not provided with this service." The three nodded their understanding and went upstairs, after which the man let go of his forced smile and frowned slightly. He hoped they would not cause issues with his establishment. Regardless of his personal opinions, it was true that a place, which allowed gypsies in, suffered if there were competitors in the area on account of local sentiments.
The teens did not know about the man's opinion, nor did they have the ability to care with their limited energy. They all sat atop their glorified mattresses with relief. "Finally we get actual beds for once," Alphonse noted and was almost not heard by the others as the gale outside increased and the chimney filled the room with a screech. Noah knelt down and opened the small heater. "We'll have to set a fire going ourselves," she said, and started to try and get a flame going with wood and some scraps of paper.
"At least the time we don't have to bring the coal," Edward muttered and turned to lie on his back. "I might just fall asleep with dinner at this point." "Go ahead, we won't complain," Al informed him, and started helping Noah with providing some heat for them. "I doubt I'll get much in me before I fall under, either." Indeed, they made only a small dent in their supplies before sleep took them all. The hotel did not provide light outside a small oil lamp, and none of them had need of it for much.