Jason was impressed with how quickly Tyler was able to muster the 100 fighting men to the staging ground. The first time they had prepared for battle, it had been barely controlled chaos. This time, the men lined up in neat rows as soon as they arrived at the location, and squad leaders quickly and efficiently checked their gear and supplies.

Twenty of the men carried the new flintlock muskets that Otto and Jason were so proud of. A spring-loaded hammer held a piece flint, and when fully cocked, could be triggered to spring forward and strike the frizzen, an L-shaped piece of steel. That, in turn, would produce a spark and reveal the black powder priming charge next to the flash hole of the barrel. If all went well, and it usually did, that small explosion would set off the much more substantial amount of black powder seated directly behind the lead ball in the barrel.

It was the fastest game of dominoes anyone had ever played, Jason had remarked to Otto, who just shook his head and ignored the gibberish his lord sometimes spouted.

The twenty men with the flintlocks were able to trigger the shot much more reliably, meaning the gun fired while they were actually pointing at their target. During their practice firing, it had allowed for significantly increased accuracy. Otto’s team had also taken the time to rifle the barrel, further improving the ball’s trajectory. The group wasn’t yet a team of sharpshooters, but with practice, Jason knew they would get there. Some would, at least.

Even the eighty men without the flintlocks carried greatly improved weapons. In the first battle, Jason needed to improvise a way to use the unfinished guns, having two-person teams with one of them triggering the weapon by manually touching a slow-burning match cord to the flash-pan. Now, they had a rudimentary “lock” system, including a hammer that would quickly bring forward the match cord when a trigger was pulled.

In addition to halving the number of men needed to operate the weapons, the improvements finally made the men able to shoot something smaller than the broad side of a barn. The improved matchlocks still didn’t have a frizzen like the flintlocks, so it was impractical for the matchlock-wielders to move with their weapon ready to fire. If they held the gun in any way so that the flash-pan wasn’t horizontal, the powder would fall out and would need re-priming.

I would have preferred to wait until everyone had flintlocks, Jason thought. But if we don’t go now, it sounds like we might not get the chance.

The lord looked at the position of the sun to gauge the time. Our horses and wagons should be able to get us in place before dusk. We might need to halt some distance away from the town so we’re not spotted, and so the men have a chance to rest before the battle. Fortunately, we’ll have a mostly full moon for the night operation. What I wouldn’t give for a pair of night-vision goggles, though.

Jason looked up at the rest of his council members. “Alex, I trust you’ll keep things in order in my absence,” he said. “Otto, I know you have more than enough to do.” The man nodded.

“Sam,” Jason started before the girl interrupted him.

“I’m coming with you,” she said.

“What?” Jason replied, surprised.

“That’s a bad idea, my lord,” Tyler said. “She doesn’t know how to fight.”

She stood in front of Jason, her arms crossed.

“Why?” Jason finally asked her.

“You need an assistant. You are always bouncing ideas off of people. It’s my job to catch those and feed them back to you when you need them. Or give you the information you need to make informed decisions. You are thinking of the battle. I am thinking of the aftermath. A town changing leadership is a recipe for chaos. I want to help you with that.”

“I really wasn’t planning on staying there for long,” Jason started, “but I see your point. If nothing else, you could be a less intimidating face. But I don’t like the idea of risking you in battle.”

“Neither do I,” opined Tyler.

“Doesn’t Alex need you here?” the lord asked Samantha.

“Not really,” Alex said.

“Hey!” Sam exclaimed. “I mean, I agree, you don’t need me as much as Jason will.”

“If I stay close to you,” Sam continued her argument, “I’m really not in any more danger than you, and as our lord and soon-to-be king, if anyone should be in a safe place, it’s you.”

Jason thought about that a bit. “I’m not used to leading from the rear,” he said, “but you’re right in that I shouldn’t be getting into the worst of it. If all goes to plan, you should be just fine if you stick with me.”

Sam smiled at that.

Tyler tried one last time, “My lord, you yourself told us that the first casualty in war…”

“Is the plan,” Jason finished the phrase. “I know. I’m not sure about this myself, but she’s right that she’s going to be useful immediately after. Ultimately, she’s an adult and needs to make this decision on her own. If she wants to come, I will allow it.”

“I do,” she said. “Want to come, that is.”

“Welcome to the army,” Jason said jokingly. “Now, let’s get on the road.”

---

Word spread quickly among the Silver Kingdom’s soldiers that their new commander was less restrictive than the last, and it showed around the town in how they interacted with the townsfolk. Rude comments became the least of the citizen’s worries, and wherever possible, people kept to their houses.

When the sun was low in the sky, several of the soldiers heard one of the local men tell another that he was going to go get a cask “of the good stuff.” One short beating later, the man agreed to give up the location, and soon a very cheerful continent of soldiers headed towards a house on the outskirts of town.

When they arrived at the empty house, the men were delighted to find not one but two casks.

To their disappointment, none of the men had a tap handy, so they hurriedly brought the casks back to where their houses were clustered near the center of town. More soldiers joined the parade by the minute, and by the time they reached their destination, a full thirty men had joined the procession.

The sun had just set when their reveling started, and the families in nearby houses grimaced at the raucous laughter and loud games. Many of the families had been quietly told to stay in their homes that night and assumed that the town leadership had heard plans of a riotous party. The rest of the houses knew the truth of the event, and fathers and husbands sat in waiting with boots on and blades drawn.

---

The moon rose as the sun set, Jason was glad to see, but the sight of clouds rolling in had him worried. If it got too dark, he would have to order the torches and lanterns lit, and that would ruin his element of surprise. If my men die because of lousy weather forecasting, I’m going to be mad, Jason thought. Satellites and weather stations are a ways off, though. He snorted at that, causing the men waiting around him to give him strange looks. Sam was used to Jason’s reactions to his internal monologue, though, and gave him a small smile.

They stood next to one of the two routes leading into the town. Jason and Tyler had split up the men into multiple groups after much discussion, knowing that they were ignoring millennia of advice that claimed it was generally a bad idea. They were counting on the enemy to be mostly scattered and unable to bring a single large, cohesive force against one of their smaller groups.

Jason’s section of the army consisted of fifty of the matchlock fighters, and they were imposingly arrayed across the road leading to Enderton, waiting for the orders to finish their march toward the town.

The second group made up of 30 matchlock wielders snuck around the town to where a bridge crossed the broad river. Their primary job was to deny access to where the road of the far side of the river permitted travel deeper into the unclaimed lands. Secondarily, they blocked the main route out of the valley, but determined escapees would likely simply follow the other side of the river back toward Silver City.

Jason had very briefly considered attempting to surround the town before throwing that idea out as idiotic. His forces would be spread so thin that anything but an immediate surrender of the enemy would be able to break through, putting his people’s lives at risk.

Tyler led the final force of 20 men, and their purpose was more direct. Cole, the town leader, snuck out to meet them. The two men grasped forearms and quietly greeted each other. “Are we ready?” Tyler asked the village head.

“The best we will ever be,” Cole replied. “They opened the poisoned kegs almost a half-hour ago. I do not know how many of them drank, but those we drank the most should be feeling the effects any time now.”

“All right,” Tyler called to the rest of his men. “We’re ready. Remember the plan, and keep your guns pointed away from each other and the villagers. If this goes perfectly, we will not have to fire a shot. If it does not, think on your feet while you follow orders.”

He turned back to Cole. “Lead on,” Tyler said, and the group marched through the twilight.