At the foot of the hill, a crag split the lands north to south, like a giant had drawn it with a shaky hand. On the hills around Cashan, the great troops of the region had come to meet and plan the future. On the crag's right sat the troops of Pahuac Villca, back from their mountain homes to welcome their king. On the left sat the bandits of Uchu Villca, here to take revenge for their leader.

Behind the hill sat the king's armies, a giant troop of red, silver and purple. Together the three armies formed an arrow, aimed at Cashan's walls in their south. There, the last of the Villca heirs would be hiding.

At the moment, Corco waited on the hill in the center, and relished the view. Or he would have loved to, at least.

“King Corco, I really do have to protest. I have far too much work back home, so why would I be forced to come along on a military expedition?” Ronnie moaned besides him. His mood ruined, the king turned back to his friend.

“And you only thought about this now? We've been on the march for a week already!” Corco asked. In truth, they could have made it faster, but the southern lords had insisted on constant celebrations and shows of force whenever they came across another city. The vanity of Medalan nobility had really slowed them down.

“Yes, but there has been no time for a talk.” Ronnie said. A poor excuse, no doubt.

“Is that really the only reason you're here? You know we need someone who can handle the black powder, and I really don't trust Mason with that, or with anything important. Not after what he did in Port Ulta. Plus, we'll need a proper doctor once the fighting starts. More than one, actually, but it's a start.”

“I'm still not a doctor! I never was one!” Ronnie shouted. At last, Corco's attendant stepped between his master and the fake doctor.

“This is no way to speak to your king! How dare you, foreigner!” Quato shouted, a dark frown on his face.

“Quato, can you give us a second?” As soon as he heard his king's command, the ghost warrior's head shot around. Only a moment and he nodded his head, before he left with a scoff. A sigh on his lips, Corco stared after the warrior. At least Quato listened to him, even if he made sure to show his displeasure with some decisions.

“You can't do that anymore.” Corco said at last.

“Do what?” Ronnie asked.

“Don't play dumb with me.” The king turned to face the chemist, one brow raised. “I know you're not an idiot, and you're not petty either. You're not here to complain about your job. Back in Saniya, you can do that whenever you want. You wanna talk privately, and this is the only time I'm not surrounded by nobles,” Corco surmised. In response, Ronnie's ears turned red.

“It's important, so I had no choice. Maybe I might have overdone things, slightly,” Ronnie mumbled.

“You think?” A smirk played around the king's lips. “This isn't Arcavia, and I'm not a merchant anymore. Don't forget that. My position as king means that I can't be lenient with behavior like this. For now, I'll need the reputation with the local lords. At least when others are around, you will always have to show respect. If you overdo it, I might have to send you away for a while until the heat dies down.”

Although Ronnie showed an ever-deeper frown, he didn't back down.

“Even so, I found it prudent to speak on this occasion.”

“What could possibly be this important, to make that kind of trouble for us?”

Ronnie looked over his shoulder and lowered his voice. “You said it yourself before, King Corco: There is an issue with Mason. Nahlen as well.”

At last Corco understood. All throughout their march, Corco had been surrounded not only by lords, but also by Nahlen's mercenaries. No wonder, as most of his high-ranking officers were part of the wolf mercenaries. Only now, when he would meet with other Medalan nobles outside of his army, had he decided on a purely Medalan guard. Ronnie had taken the chance to tag along, and get some time to talk alone.

“Okay, very clever.” Corco raised his hands. “So now you got me by myself. What do you wanna talk about?”

“Master Nahlen lacks basic respect for the office of king,” the rude chemist said.

“That's no surprise. All of you Arcavians do,” Corco grinned. “Not that I mind too much. The office means nothing if it is held by the wrong man.

“No, that was not my meaning. There is much more to it than simple difference in culture. During our census at the start of the year, I noticed his problematic behavior already, and have since taken a closer look. Over the year, Nahlen has done his best to reshuffle the wolf mercenaries. By now, many of the important positions are taken up by his own people, rather than Sir Dedrick's. Ever since, rumors have spread that you don't intend to pay your debts to the mercenaries, and use your new local armies to drive them out once they are no longer needed. He has also had reduced contact with his captain. There seems to have been a disagreement. I am afraid that Nahlen intends a defection, or at least intends to blackmail King Corco at the most crucial moment.”

Although Ronnie's machine gun mouth worked overtime, Corco only had a tired sigh to offer in reply.

“I'm aware of this. After all, I'm the one with the spy network. You're right too, as usual. But what do you want me to do about it right now? Even if we rush the rest of the distance, our army will probably reach Qarasi Castle after Pacha does. If we don't wanna lose the Narrows, we can't take any more delays, or any more infighting. The lords have already slowed us down too much with their constant need for validation.”

He thought back to the row of palanquins, as they slowly hobbled along the unpaved roads of the south. Just the same, he was reminded of all the tournaments and duels he had seen on their journey. Of course the lords would notice that Corco was intent on taking over control of their armies. As a result, they put as many petty obstacles in his way as they could, just enough so no one could accuse them of treachery. All the lords wanted was for Corco to slip up to ruin his prestige. He wouldn't play along.

“For now, we'll have to believe that Nahlen's greed will beat out his disloyalty. I will deal with him and his men... in due time.”

By now, Ronnie's frown had jumped onto Corco's face as well. They were really facing too many problems all at once.

“King Corco, they are here,” he heard a ghost call from the side.

While they had talked, the occupants of the right and left armies had marched up the central hill, to begin this official meeting. Soon after, before the king stood in front of Guachimine Villca and his brother Uchu. Since their last meeting, Guachi still looked the same, a small man who hid in his brother's shadow. Uchu however seemed much changed. Armed with a cane, his cloudy face showed a kind of grit that hadn't been present before. Before, he had seemed foolhardy, but now he appeared like an injured animal. Though of course, he was.

“Uchu Villca greets King Corcopaca,” Uchu said.

“It's good to see you recovered well,” Corco smiled, as he pressed the guilt back down. In this area he had gained a lot of experience over the last year.

“Yeah, soon I'll make the bastard who did this-”

Interrupted by a dog's bark from the right, Uchu's body stood straight as he shot around to face the intruder. When the giant black beast rushed over, Uchu's two guards stepped ahead to cover their master, just like Guachimine did.

“Argau! Down!” a voice bellowed over the hill's crest. Seconds later, the giant figure a Medalan warrior clad in crimson full-body armor appeared. Called off by his master, the dog let off his prey and returned to his master's feet.

“Good boy,” the warrior said, and pet the beast with his gloved hand. With his recognizable features, Corco knew right away who stood before him. Even so, he waited for the last of the Villca heirs to introduce himself.

“Pahuac Villca greets King Corcopaca. Say, is it true you almost killed Pachacutec?” almost as rude as Ronnie, the Villca heir stood straight without a hint of a bow, his right on his axe hilt.

“Well, killing him during the duel would have done more harm than good. So I'd say he was never in any mortal danger.” Corco smiled. A bellowing laughter returned from the giant warrior.

“You say that, but what are we doing here then? If you killed Pacha back in Arguna, he couldn't lead an army down south.”

Although Corco was convinced that Pacha's death would only mean a more united central kingdom under Divitius Ichilia, he wouldn't argue with a potential ally.

“Yes, and we would never have the chance to beat them back,” he said instead. “His brash attack will lead his men right at our doorstep. Soon enough we will destroy them and prove that the south can fight the north on equal terms.. Believe me that.”

“Ahaha, A man after my own heart,” Pahuac's heavy hand left his axe and landed on the king's shoulder. “Yeah, let's beat them back and show them what the southern men are made of!”

Although his shoulder would probably bruise from the monster's hit, Corco held on to his smile. For now, he was just glad the madman wouldn't challenge him to a duel.

“Since the southern men are so great, they might as well help me deal with my pest problem before they march off to their glory,” Uchu's sour voice sounded, as it's owner took a look over Corco's shoulder, back to his ancestral home of Cashan.

“You're not asking an outsider for help, are you!?” Pahuac bellowed, while Argau growled at his feet. In response, Uchu turned to his brother and lowered his stance, ready to pounce.

“Why not? They're right here. All we need is a bit of support and we can take the city in a single day. That'll show that little shit not to mess with me,” the bandit growled back. At the same time, he ignored Guachimine persistent tug on his back.

“You have no idea what you're talking about! How could an outsider get involved with the private matters of House Villca! I'm gonna take Epu down myself, how can I let someone else have all that fun?” For a moment, Corco had thought Pahuac was the more reasonable of the Villca sons. Even though the southern lords were annoying, at least they were somewhat predictable. Exasperated by the lack of propriety from the others, he just about managed to stifle a sigh. Atau wold have been much better for this mission. After all, he had dealt with these Villca weirdos all his time. However, for now Atau had a much more important meeting to attend to.

“What nonsense is that?!” Uchu spat on the ground before Pahuac, and turned to face his nominal king. “You want to get your food through my land? Do you, king? In that case, I want your help in reclaiming Cashan. It's a disgrace that Epunamo that bastard is still holed up in there after all this time! I'll make him pay for the hole in my hip!”

“...and then I will trust you to do the right thing and support me, is that it?” Again Corco's eyebrow raised. He really didn't have the time to deal with a family squabble. His own family was enough work already.

“Why not?”

“Because it doesn't work for me.” Corco rubbed his face, before he stared Uchu right in his eyes. “Look, bandit. Here's how things work with the big boys: If I start to get involved with the internal politics of House Villca, all the other lords are gonna start hating me. What will they think, 'if my brother wants my land he can always strike a deal with the king'? That's terrible, how can the lords ever trust me then? How about you just let your little brother there explain the details to you?” Corco pointed over to the red giant.

“Plus, I'm about to fight a war, and we're rushing to defend the south. The entire south, which includes the land you consider yours. Your own fucking city is right beyond my castle, so how about you start being a little bit grateful, rather than trying to blackmail me? I know you're only starting out, but you're pretty bad at this.”

For a moment Uchu's narrowed eyes focused on the king, as the tension rose.

“So what do you want?” he asked.

“Ah, it's really simple. Me and my men get free passage through your territory, and you'll support us with supplies and let our convoys pass. And then, once the war is over, I have more than enough reason to support whoever was the greatest help during the war to me. How does that sound? Isn't that a great idea?” Corco grinned. Of course he knew that this would pit the brothers against each other, but he knew they didn't have a choice, even if they understood his plans.

“In that case, I'll get you half a company of my best men. You have the free passage already. Atau talked to me on his way to Port Ulta, so you're all good there,” Pahuac's loud voice boomed over the hill.

“My men are willing to support the king,” Uchu sneered. “We can move your supplies over the rivers and through the Narrow Sea. I'll also get some extra people to help out. Once you get into a real fight, you'll see that they are the greatest fighters on the twin isles. So you best be careful king, cross me and my men will aim their weapons at you instead.” With his last threat spoken, Uchu turned and left the hill. Meanwhile, Guachimine stayed behind, rather than follow his older brother.

“Well then, this was a lot of fun,” Pahuac said and pat his dog's head again. “I'll enjoy watching you lead this army. Let's see what the young hero Pachacutec has to offer.”

“Wait, you're gonna join the king's war?” Guachimine's eyes opened wide.

“HAHAHA! Of course. Or should I stay in the mountains while you guys fight to the death up there? I want some of that fun for myself, so I'll just take a slice.” The red giant's grin turned sharp, before he turned to leave. However, even after his brothers had left, Guachimine still stood across the king.

“King Corcopaca,” he said. “please excuse my brother's uncouth behavior. He is not used to the stiffness of the courts.”

“It's fine,” Corco waved off. “Just tell him he won't get his revenge on Epunamo until he's helped me defend the south.”

“Indeed. This servant also wishes to make King Corco understand something: Although my brother might be new to the courts, I have been entrenched in noble etiquette for all my life. I understand 'qui bono'. After we had escaped the assassination attempt in Saniya, I began to ask myself who stood to gain the most from our current circumstances.”

For the first time since he had come south, Corco's chest tightened. Even so, he tried his hardest to retain a poker face. Although he was the weakest and quietest among the Villca brothers, all of a sudden the rat seemed the most dangerous.

“Never forget this, King Corco: There are many clever men in this world. For now, this arrangement is to our mutual benefit, as it is to Uchu's. However, our relationship is not as one-sided as King might wish to believe. Do remember this.”

And with those final words, the rat turned and left the hill, to return to the shadow's behind his new master. His frown still retained, the king looked beyond the small hills, to the massive mountains in the north. Beyond the horizon, alongside the Sallqata mountains, Pacha's army would already close in on Qarasi Castle. For now, he had dealt with the small picture stuff. His men could pass through the entire south, and all possible rebellions were suppressed for the moment. Soon, he would have to deal with the bigger picture: His first genuine outside threat.