“Roan I want you to take half of our men to take the other castle we have scouted out.” Braydon, now inside his newly acquired castle, was already planning what they would do next. As much as he would love to stop and rest in his new abode, that would mean giving his enemies more time to react than they already would have now that he had crossed the border and started laying claim to castles.

“And you, my lord?” Roan asked.

“I will take the other half and make our way north. The next castle to the north is two days from here. There is a town just beyond it too.” The town was what caught Braydon’s eye the most. It would likely have much better supplies to outlast a siege than the nearby castle and a larger garrison to boot. He wanted to cut the town off from the outside as early as possible.

“Are we not stopping by any of the villages on the way?” Roan inquired. It was normal practise for an army to gather provisions from the locals when on campaign since there was no way that they could carry all of the food needed with them.

“I doubt that they are particularly rich anymore given the amount of bandits and peasants seeking refuge came across the border in the initial months of the civil war.” Braydon would have tried to get some of the younger men in the villages to tag along to look more intimidating to his enemies if it had been in normal times. He very much doubted that there were more than a handful of young men left in the border villages.

“Those former bandits should have returned to the fields by now if they do not want to starve. It is not like there are armies fighting within a hundred miles of us. Apart from us. There is simply no chaos to take advantage of or pillaging to maintain an army’s supplies.” The mercenary captain pointed out. Braydon paused to consider his opinion. He was, after all, a veteran of many wars in Ciai. He, of all people, should know what peasants end up doing in prolonged wars.

“They probably won’t have much in the way of food to spare for us even if they have returned to the fields.” Braydon was all for using the extra manpower if he could but that would only mean more mouths to feed.

“Well there is that town you mentioned. I doubt that they lack for food.” The man did have a point. If the town had food shortages then they would have much bigger problems on their hands than Braydon rocking up and laying claim to the place. And that would only make it easier for Braydon even if it were true.

“So I am to meet you outside of the town?” Roan made sure that he had gotten that right since Braydon and the mercenary captain were not exactly making a set in stone plan with what they had said so far.

“That should be the case if we have not found a way to get inside the walls by the time you get there.” Braydon said that but he knew that it was an unrealistic goal. Even if they were to use deceit and trickery to get inside the town walls, it would probably take longer than a day or two to pull it off.

“Hopefully the castle guard I face will be more receptive to me or I might have a short delay.” Roan smirked. Braydon had almost certainly been provocative enough to get a fight out of the guard captain. He would try to be a bit gentler and see if he could actually get the guard of the castle he would attack to leave voluntarily.

“It would have to be one monumental delay to not make it before we find our way into the town walls.” Braydon would have to start doubting Roan’s capabilities if he could not capture a castle with a token garrison and meet up with him before he besieged an entire town and got what he wanted.

“Then I shall head off now so as not to make it one.” Roan saluted to Braydon and nodded to the mercenary captain before turning to leave. The next time Braydon saw him he would have another castle to his name.

“Then shall we also start getting the boys ready to march?” The captain looked to Braydon once Roan had left.

“Let’s let Roan leave first, in the meanwhile I am going to see if the previous owners left anything interesting behind when he went off to war.” Likely a long shot that there would be anything truly valuable but Braydon was hoping for there to at least be some wine to brag to Gerald about when he returned to Cliforge.

“Ahh, so you have done this kind of thing before.” The mercenary captain nodded, completely understanding what Braydon was truly looking for. Every noble worth their salt would have some alcohol somewhere in their castle. It just depended on how much of it was actually worth drinking over giving to whatever pet was on hand.

“Of course. Mapjess was not mine when I started. The guy had a thing for books and fashion over wine and swords though.” Braydon shrugged, he got a butler and a knight out of the ordeal as well as an entire town. He really had no right to complain about that. Especially when he was doing it again.

“Not a lover of reading?”

“Only when it suits me.” Braydon snickered thinking of the letter of the King that he had ‘not read’.