The cold winter air smelled like freedom. Dedrick and his men had been holed up in that stuffy castle for months now. In fact, they hadn’t been allowed to do their thing ever since Corco had become a king, really. Even though their defense of Qarasi Castle had been quite relaxed and beating back that blowhard Pacha had been good fun, his mercenaries really weren’t made for defensive combat or long sieges. They were wolves, not porcupines.

Finally, after months of patience, it was time for his men to attack. He had almost feared he would be stuck in the castle forever. Especially after some idiots under him had made that ridiculous solo-attempt on Corco’s riches. Being the only smart guy in the group was always hard, but he hadn’t expected Nahlen and Mason to lack this much sense. Even if he wanted to take Corco’s money, Dedrick would have never done it in such an idiotic manner. Even if they had taken Saniya, how had they expected to ever get back home with the loot? Did they really think someone like Herak, known for his greedy and vengeful nature, would have just let them leave on his ships if they only groveled enough?

Well, it didn’t matter any more. By now both Mason and Nahlen were dead, and Dedrick hadn’t even needed to dirty his hands himself, so everything was good as far as he was concerned. Once he got his new orders to move out, even the last of his bad mood had been driven away. Finally, he had a chance to prove himself in combat, even if he didn’t expect any serious opposition from Pacha’s leftovers.

Not far in the distance was the encampment Pacha had launched all his previous attacks on Qarasi Castle from. Already, his men had firmly surrounded the walls on three sides. With how few men they had left, Dedrick didn’t expect too long a fight. Still, at least along the south wall, the battle was fierce.

Pacha’s army had built up their little encampment for several months; by now it had become a proper fort. The palisade walls were as high as four men and had gates in their centers and towers on their four corners. Atop the walkways behind the wall crenelations, the few warriors left behind by King Pacha ran back and forth to beat back Dedrick’s men.

Although their cannons were great weapons for siege combat, the enemy was already prepared. The walls were thick enough to make a breakthrough with cannon fire a slow and expensive method of attack. The gate itself had even been cast out of iron. Since they were short on time, the southern army didn’t really have a choice but to fight their way up the wall on ladders and hooks.

Even though they had a massive advantage in terms of firepower and the muskets at the bottom of the wall did their best to suppress the defenders, Pacha’s warriors threw axes, boiling oil, hot water, sticks, stones and whatever they could find to cling on to their position.

As a result of the tenacious defenders, his men had bound the enemy troops, but they had also been forced into a long, drawn-out defense. At least Pacha had brought all of his firearms with him when he brought his army west. Dedrick had seen for himself just how effective those weapons were during a defensive siege.

*Let Corco deal with Pacha’s muskets.*

With a smirk, the mercenary captain observed as his army battled on fiercely. He didn’t really mind the losses they had suffered so far, since the front line attackers were made up of the warriors from the southern lords. Not only were they not his men, weakening the armies of the south would also make things easier for Corco down the line; a win-win.

Still, at this speed, they wouldn’t break through the southern wall before nightfall, which had to be avoided at all cost. Since they needed to be fast if they wanted to support Corco’s campaign in the east, they hadn’t taken much time to prepare their attack on the encampment before they headed out. As a result, they had built no heavy siege equipment and hadn’t even set up their own camp outside. They lacked supplies as well. While their fast attack had caught the defenders by surprise, it would make their offense especially short-lived.

Once his warriors tired and night fell, they would have to camp out in the freezing cold, always under threat of a counterattack from within the encampment. If the situation along every wall looked like it did in the south and they didn’t manage to break through today, they would have to retreat all the way back to Qarasi Castle.

However, Dedrick wasn’t worried. Once he made sure that the south was stable, he marched straight past the most intense struggle on the battlefield, towards the eastern entrance. Here, he found a similar image as before. Southern warriors had taken up ladders, ropes and chains and charged the walls under support of his musketeers.

Although desperate tug of war between defenders and attackers mirrored the one in the south, everyone seemed strangely subdued in their efforts. Shouts were less intense; most projectiles thrown from atop the walls failed to hit the warriors climbing the ladders, and harmlessly landed to the side instead. In short, they were acting.

When Dedrick saw the progress of battle, a grin spread on his face. This was the kind of battle he had been expecting, and this was the reason he had forced his men into this suicidal attack. Everything was going according to the prior agreement. By the time he reached the wall, his men had already ’pushed through’ the resolve of the defenders and taken the eastern gate. Without any cohesion, the defenders pulled back to reorganize their formation. All opposition removed, Dedrick’s mercenaries opened the gate for him to step through.

Inside he was immediately greeted by the man who had made their victory so much simpler, though he could only tell the man’s identity from his friendly attitude. Really, for Dedrick, all of these Medalan nobles looked the same. However, while this one might have worn the same silk and silver as all the other nobles around these parts, there was a crafty twinkle in his eye like the one he would always see from the merchants he had worked for most of his life. Right from the start, Dedrick could tell they would get along.

"Lord Makipura, right?" With a big grin, he marched up to the portly lord. At first, he wanted to shake the man’s hand, but when the guards behind the lord raised their weapons, he remembered that it was an unusual gesture in Medala. He took an awkward step back before he bowed lightly.

"You must be Official Dedrick di Pluritac," the lord smiled, unperturbed by Dedrick’s awkwardness. "Welcome to this lord’s personal estate."

"Yeah, thanks for having me. So how many of the people in this camp are yours?" Rather than waste time on nonsense, he got straight to the point. His men were still fighting in the west and south, and he wanted to call it a day early.

"Most of them. King Pachacutec’s men occupy the southern gate and have a few more troops stationed in the west, but the rest of the camp is already in my hands. King Pachacutec only left behind enough men to keep an eye on me, as he was quite eager to catch your king."

"Now he’s your king too," Dedrick smirked, which was mirrored by the lord.

"I suppose he is."

Dedrick nodded and turned to one of the mercenaries around him.

"Hey, tell the guys to get through the gate. Form up here and then take over the southern and western gates from the inside. West first, you’re leading the charge. And tell the men who are still attacking the walls outside to let up on the attack for a bit. We’re already in, so there’s no more reason to lose men and powder for a distraction. Even if those stone-throwing bastards realize what happened to them now, there’s nothing more they can do. I want the Narrows to be ours within an hour. And don’t interrupt me while I talk with our guest of honor here."

"Yes, sire." Well-trained as all of his subordinates were, the man saluted and then rushed off to relay the orders. While Dedrick watched his troop movements, Lord Makipura brought himself back into the conversation.

"Really, I was quite surprised when I received the letter from King Corcopaca. I though it would be another threat from King Pachacutec instead." His voice sounded relieved.

"He prefers Corco, actually." Dedrick glanced to the man beside him. "He keeps scolding people who call him by his full name, or anyone who’s too formal."

"Is that so? This lord thanks Official Dedrick for his advice."

The lord’s deep bow, together with his strained tone, made it clear that he had a long way to go if he wanted to be as uncultured as his new king. Dedrick just waved Makipura’s thanks away.

"Don’t mention it. Plus, I’m not an ’official’ anything. If you have to give me a title, like you people seem so eager to do, just call me commander or something."

"I will take it to heart."

For a while longer, they listened in silence as the sounds of battle ceased in the west. Now, only the southern wall stood strong.

"Honestly, it was a bit of a surprise when you agreed to our offer so quickly." Dedrick had only tried to make casual conversation, but for some reason, Makipura took it as an excuse to open up his heart.

"In fact, I was quite offended when I first read King Corco’s letter. House Makipura does not raise turncoats, I thought. However, over the following days, the true extent of the damage done to my lands by King Pachacutec and his men became apparent. I have also seen the attitude of the king’s men who remained here. Even though they were in the minority, they treated my lands like their own. Backed by a king’s authority, they would take whatever they wanted and had no care for the honor of our estate. They would not even respect me, the nominal lord of the land, though I have done so much for their master over the past months."

"Uh-huh," Dedrick muttered to shorten the conversation, but somehow, the lord was still going.

"Even more, I predicted King Corco’s victory a long time ago. You may not be aware of all the infighting within King Pachacutec’s side, but I was present for all of it. They are stories of remarkable pettiness, vanity and greed. The repeated defeats of the central army also did much to convince me that it was time to switch sides. In the end, it was the king’s disrespectful behavior towards his own lords that was the deciding factor."

"Must have sucked, huh?" Dedrick wanted to leave it at that, but decided to add a bit, lest the lord continue talking. "Well, if there’s one thing Corco is good at, it’s making his allies feel good about themselves, so you won’t have to worry about disrespect, I don’t think."

"So long as the king keeps to his promises, I will have no complaints. Remember, I will retain full autonomy of my estate, and be granted the exact same treatment his southern lords have received. I simply want to become another lord under administration of the southern kingdom, with all the rights entailed in the status. That includes access to the rumored new miracle fodder that made your grains grow like weeds. I also require some additional support on grain and finances to get my lands back in order after this war’s devastation, and the king has to promise that he won’t recruit any more of my commoners into his own territory. I will not let those mighty kings bleed off any more of my workforce."

"Done, done," an exacerbated Dedrick replied. Just like his new king, this guy was haggling like a merchant. They would make for a good pair in the future. "Really, don’t worry about it. You will get everything you asked for once the war is over. It will only take a few more days anyways, so you won’t have to wait for long."

"You better keep your word." All this time, the lord had appeared friendly and harmless. Yet from one moment to another, his voice took on a dark, threatening tone. "Even weakened, House Makipura is not to be trifled with. If King Corco fails to fulfill his commitments, we will go down in a blaze of glory and leave only ashes behind. If he dares cross me, your king will get nothing out of his deal."

"Sheesh, looks like Pacha’s been pretty harsh on you, huh?" Dedrick smirked. He really didn’t care what this lord thought about his new master. "I’ll tell Corco to be extra serious... and he’ll tell me about the benefit of harmonious long-term economic relations again."

Even though he was just unimpressed before, now the mercenary’s face looked as if he had bitten into a lemon. "On second thought, you should tell him yourself. He’s probably gonna host another fifty banquets and festivals this year, so there’s plenty of chances for you to get lectured."

While they were talking, the sounds of battle all around the camp had died down bit by bit. By now, the entire encampment was purged of Pacha’s troops. With this, Dedrick had part one of his orders done. Now, he just had to lead this army west and reinforce Corco’s efforts on the front line.

However, just as he was about to excuse himself from the paranoid Lord Makipura to count up their casualties and plan their future route, one of his messengers marched towards him.

"Boss, I know we shouldn’t interrupt..."

"Then why are you doing it?" He grinned in response to the shocked reaction from his messenger. "It’s a joke. Lighten up. What do you have for me?"

"An emergency message came from the north."

A frowning Dedrick snatched the held-out letter and unfolded it. He was greeted by Corco’s strange-looking characters. Although he didn’t really understand what the point of these new symbols was, at least they didn’t have to use a special code for military messages. No one besides their own people would be able to read the letters even if they were intercepted. Thus, he could read the words without any trouble, though the content didn’t fill him with joy.

"Well, damn. Seems like we’ll have to make a little detour before we join up with Corco."

"Where are we going, boss?"

historical

"We’re hunting for mountain giants!" he grinned as he ripped up the paper in his hands.