As he looked down the hill, onto the torch-lit tents, Fadelio did his best to suppress a frown. Although he would have loved to continue their march all throughout the night, the commoners were in no state to continue. Most of them would lie asleep right now, too tired to continue, or would lie awake, too afraid to find rest. This really wasn't going how he thought it would.

“Hey, Fadi.” Under fleet steps, Brym rushed his portly figure up the hill and towards Fadelio's command tent.

“Brym. How is everyone looking?”

“The ghost warriors are fine, for the most part. We have secured the perimeter, but we only have two dozen people. For now it should be barely enough to keep the commoners under control. But this will turn into a problem as soon as we encounter any problems beyond what we've faced so far.”

While the kid was talking, he followed Fadelio into the tent. Inside, the warrior offered a seat to the merchant, who was glad to take a short rest.

“As for the commoners themselves: They are terrified. Many believe that they are doing something illegal, and a few have talked about turning back. Also-”

“Idiots!” Out of view of the people, Fadelio paced around the tent. “Don't they understand that the law is with us? There is no precedent for a lord to hold his craftsmen inside his territory! They're free folk, they can move wherever they please! And they're from Arguna! Arguna isn't part of Pacha's territory in the first place! If we get attacked, it's Pacha breaking the law, not us!”

“Fadi, there's-”

“Plus, weren't they all ear when we offered them gold and knowledge? That's why they're here, aren't they? To work with us? Well, if they want to learn the new knowledge and get even richer, we'll have to get them through the southern border until the war starts. Why complain about that now!? So what if they're craftsmen. If they're real men, they'll tough it out a bit. Not even the peacock king would be dumb enough to go through with his threats! He wouldn't want to lose control over his own craftsmen, would he?”

“Official Fadelio!” Brym shouted. At last the warrior woke up from his anger, and looked back over to his young friend.

“I'm sorry. What did you want?” he asked, his voice already much calmer than before.

“...There is a messenger from Pacha outside of our camp. I am here to announce him. He has been waiting here for a while now as well.”

For a while, Fadelio stared at the kid, with what could only be a dumb look on his face. Soon though he regained his presence of mind. He was responsible now, so he couldn't show any weakness. A few deep breaths and he had adjusted. This wasn't something to be pushed off. Best deal with this now.

“Bring him in.”

Minutes later, Fadelio sat opposite a man in silver armor. Not only the ornate breastplate was fancy, but the white cape and gem-encrusted axe was as well. With all the money Pacha could drain from the Pluritac territories in the empire's center, he had afforded himself an especially grandiose guard. To fit with his own self-image, King Pacha's men were as gaudy as they were fierce. After all, they had been recruited from the capital's sipyi, the most elite warriors in all of Medala.

“You're the southern king's official, Fadelio?” the rude warrior asked. Ever since they had met, the messenger hadn't spared the attendant of the Triumvirate Meeting more than a glance.

“Who wants to know?” Rather than answer, the man sneered and threw a scroll into Fadelio's lap.

“Read this, southern dog, and weep.”

Rather than engage the rude warrior and forget his good manners, Fadelio looked back over to Brym. Silent like a servant, the kid stood at the entrance to the tent, ready to support the negotiations whenever necessary.

“Warrior Caelio is here with a message from King Pachacutec,” the kid said. “This should be the message in question.”

“And what are you? I don't need a foreigner to deal with my business,” Caelio snapped in Brym's direction. Even now he hadn't looked at either of them.

“Of course you do not, sire. This mortal will go and make some tea for our esteemed guest. Please excuse me.” Clever as always, Brym did his best to take some heat out of the meeting, before he cleared the air in the room. Satisfied with his fierce aura, the foppish warrior snorted through his nose and looked back over to Fadelio, who had since started to read the letter from King Pacha. After a few moments, he looked back up, and saw the sneer in the warrior's face.

“You can't be serious.” Fadelio said in a dry voice. The letter flew across the tent and landed in front of Caelio's feet.

“The king's orders are quite clear, so even a simpleton should be able to understand them.” Caelio's eyes narrowed. “At once, change course and return all the servants you have taken from the king's lands unlawfully. Although our kingdoms are engaged in war at the moment, there is no reason to involve the commoners as well. However, this aggression from Official Fadelio goes beyond the common customs. If these actions do not cease right away, not even the civilians will be safe from retaliation. Stop now, and repent, and beg for the king's mercy! Defy the orders, and feel the king's wrath!”

“What orders, you dumb fuck!?” Fadelio shouted, as his eyes widened. “He's not my king, you get that, right? Fuck me, 'his commoners'? The craftsmen are freefolk. Not only that, they are from Arguna, you moron! That's not even part of your 'king's' administration. Why would I send craftsmen to your king who up until now were ruled by the Ancestral Hall in Arguna, and have come on their own accord? How dumb do you think I am?”

Despite Fadelio's very calm and reasonable argument, Caelio still held on to his sneer.

“Official Fadelio, it seems like you misunderstand the severity of your own position. The way King Pachacutec sees matters, you have kidnapped the craftsmen of the central kingdom and taken them to become slaves to the King of the South. Official fadelio should be aware that-”

“Bullshit!” Fadelio jumped up, the chair cracked under the force. “That's your plan!? What, having slaves is illegal, and since they're all slaves, we're at fault? What, you're punishing us, officials from another king, by death? Because we've 'enslaved' commoners not even within your administration? I mean, we even have fucking contracts with these people! How would you prove any of this?”

“Fakes,” the warrior smiled, as the massive Fadelio towered above him. “In fact, all of these men were slated to enter King Pacha's administration very soon. That was the reason they were enslaved by Official Fadelio in the first place, was it not? In the end, Official Fadelio also needs to prove that his contracts are legitimate.”

“Right, so what is it King Pacha wants? Because he's clearly not interested in a few commoner craftsmen. You don't have any more realistic offers to make, some we can actually talk about? This just reeks of pettiness, and nothing else.”

At last the warrior also rose from his seat, and looked right into Fadelio's eyes.

“Official should understand that King Pacha is very concerned about proper tradition. He is displeased that the southern king would exploit holes in the ancient customs. Holes that only exist because so far no man has been shameless enough to exploit them. King Pacha will punish all those who dare involve outsiders, and all those who dare trample tradition. No matter how much you squeal and speak of negotiation, your only choice is submission.”

Now Caelio began to grin again, though it was tinged in darkness.

“That's your excuse, is it? And from the guy who's working with foreigners more than any of the kings? Good luck getting those policies through the Triumvirate, by the way. I'm sure King Amautu would be glad to hear that Pacha is now the arbiter of justice in these parts. Go tell your peacock king to fuck off until he's grown a brain, retard,” Fadelio cursed. At last warrior Caelio's smile broke, while a dangerous glint entered his eye.

“You still seem confused about your position, southern dog. While Arguna might not be part of King Pacha's kingdom, right now, we are not in Arguna. We are in Orzuna, part of the Central Kingdom under rule of the great King Pachacutec. And as part of this kingdom, what King Pachacutec says, goes. Triumvirate Meeting? Politics don't mean a thing outside of Arguna. All that counts here is might. We have thirty thousand warriors ready and willing to fight for the central king. All around you there are scouting parties, to guarantee you will never escape. Once you are dead, and the commoners are in King Pacha's lands to stand witness to your despicable acts, who can say otherwise?”

Again Pacha's men proved their shamelessness. While Fadelio's muscles tightened, he tried his hardest to not knock his guest. Even with a clear threat in his face, Caelio still continued.

“In the end, you are not much. Just like your father, you are a lowly dog, raised by a weak ruler to do the grunt work. And just like that so-called Great General Atoc, you are incompetent. You fail to understand when and where the rules apply, and it has led you into a dead end. So if I were you, I would relent, and stand down as soon as possible. Otherwise you might very soon find yourself on the wrong side of history. Corpses tell no tales.”

His last words spoken, the warrior turned, and flung his cape into Fadelio's face, ready to leave. For the official, it was the last drop to spill the water. Back when they had last met, Fadelio had disappointed Corco, even though he knew it had been the right thing.

This mission had been his chance to redeem himself, to himself as much as to anyone. He had done everything to fulfill his goals, but now this fop had shown up and just destroyed all of his plans, all of his work, based on some shady excuse? And now he thought he could simply run back? Leave with his head held high, the foppish fuck?

“Hey, how dare you!” Caelio screamed.

Before Fadelio knew what he had done, he had held the silver warrior's white cape in his hands, and dragged the man back.

“Let go at once, you bastard, or feel the wrath of the great King Pacha!”

While the warrior turned,his cape entangled itself even more around his face, and Fadelio was willing to play along.

“As opposed to what?” he sneered, and wrapped the cape ever tighter around the man's head. By now the warrior had realized his plight, and reached for his axe to the side, but Fadelio was faster than his blinded enemy. On silent feet, the giant stepped around his enemy's body and held the axe in its sling with his right. His left drew the strangulating cape ever tighter.

As he understood what happened, the warrior grew desperate. He rushed back, and forced Fadelio all the way to the walls of the tent, but a tent wall would never have enough force to even hurt. Neither did the warrior's laughable attempts at elbows. Instead, as soon as Caelio let go of his holstered axe, Fadelio took the chance to draw it himself, and throw it across the room.

Too clunky at this distance.

Rather than use the weapon, Fadelio now had both arms freed, and tightened them around the silver warrior's neck. Blinded and choked, the man struggled even harder. As his legs thrashed about, he threw the furniture around the room. However, the warrior Fadelio was only concerned with his kill, nothing else. If they couldn't avoid a confrontation with Pacha's army, he would make sure to at least take the fop with him. It would be one less enemy to overcome later. One last twitch of his legs, and Caelio lay dead. Even so, the warrior kept his arms in place for a few extra seconds, just to make sure. He wasn't a big fan of nasty surprises, and he had already gone through one too many today.

Only a loud clatter from the entrance made Fadelio look back up again. There stood Brym, broken tea set at his feet, as hot tea soaked into his soles.

“What did you do?” the kid whispered.

“Tell all the ghosts, and all the commoners: King Pacha has come to murder them, and there's no escape. It's time to break up the tents. We'll have to run through the night.”