"Finally, we've made it to the capital," Derik thought.

There they arrived at the gates of Dinar. The army skirted the outside of the winding city walls, forming a perimeter around the capital. They set up the ballista around the outskirts of the city and fortified their positions around the castle.

Titus began to draw in his notebook, steady hand sketching out every detail. "This is intricate. On such a large structure too..." Titus took special care in drawing the intricate roofed towers that dotted the walls.

"Are you still doing ok?" Lina asked Titus.

"It's still a sore," he rubbed a faint blue line that ran across his chest. "I've got to head to the physician for my checkup."

"Don't worry about it man," Derik said. "You said it yourself, one man can't hope to beat a giant."

"Yes, you performed admirably," Montag said.

Titus gazed past them into the distance. "Your right," he mumbled as he walked off to the medical tent.

As the soldiers continued to prepare their positions, the group left to survey the outlining village. They had made their way down to the town that surrounded the capital. They checked various houses as they journeyed through the deserted streets, but all the homes were barren of both people and valuables.

"All this place needs now is a tumbleweed," Derik thought.

While Derik was upset that there wasn't any loot left, Lina and Iris seemed content.

"At least everyone got out safely," Iris said as they exited the village.

They maneuvered through the streets, careful not to get too close to the fortress defenses. A large gathering of people waited to greet them as they came back out of the village.

"I guess this is where everyone went," Gonzalez said.

The group of villagers shrunk back at their arrival. A combination of humans and beasts: men, women, and children stood in front of them.

"Why are you out here?" Lina yelled for them to hear.

One man stepped out from the crowd. Dressed in vibrant hues of red and blue, he straightened himself out and approached them with arms stretched forwards.

"Please, we are just villagers," he said.

"Why didn't you get inside the castle?" Lina asked.

The man fidgeted. "They couldn't take us inside. We were left out here. There was an infestation recently, and the fort wouldn't last a month with us in it."

"Wow, they just left you out here to rot," Gonzalez said. "That wasn't very nice of them."

"Please," the man asked. "If you are with Palatine, you need to help us. I'm begging you."

Lina turned back to consult the team. "We have to do something to help these people."

"I agree," Iris said. "It would be wrong in the eyes of the lord in we left them here."

"I feel sorry for them, truly. But we can't just let them leave." Montag said.

"I don't like their tone," Derik said. "but I don't really see a reason not to try."

"I'm just saying that we have to think about our duty to the state and as citizens. Letting them leave could result in up to half a year of our forces are tied up sieging this city," Montag responded.

"That's not a good enough reason to leave them here," Lina said. "They rejected them, which means they probably won't take them back. If we don't allow them to pass, it spells their death. We have to try."

"The garrison could just be leaving them outside temporarily in the hopes that we let them through," Montag replied. "Our charge is to take this castle, and if we let these people leave, it gets that much harder."

"I don't care either way," Gonzalez said. "If we do choose to help them, make sure they know it's Marty Gonzalez who helped them escape."

Lina considered their options and led them back to the army. They arrived back at the fortifications surrounding the city. Lina traveled ahead to give the situation to one of the officers who went to fetch someone. After a time, the man in golden armor exited the siege camp and came out to meet them; Lina talked with him as he came down to address the crowd.

He raised his hand, and men flowed to envelope the crowd.

"Check them," he ordered.

The soldiers roughly checked about half of the people present; an officer ran up to whisper into the ear of the golden statue of a man.

"So, you are just villagers?" he addressed the crowd.

The man in the colorful robes nodded his head.

"Very well," he signaled some people behind him. "Let them pass."

"Thank you, good sir." the village head bowed repeatedly. "A thousand blessings upon you."

He watched the villagers disperse and sallied out to negotiate with the defenders of the city. Lina gave the command for them to follow him.

"We are protecting sir.'who are you?' now?" Gonzalez asked. "Between this disrespectful piece of work and inquisitor cave drake, I've half a mind to just quit this job."

"He is the legate, commander of the entirety of this army," she replied. "We would not want to upset our gracious host."

The group followed the Palatine commander down towards the castle. Derik was shaking. It was unnerving being this close to the walls; he could feel the stares of archers eager to turn him into a human pincushion.

They marched out towards the gate and met with the commander of the garrison.

"Why have you come to parley?" he asked.

The Palatine officer offered the man a paper. It outlined various terms of surrender.

"You should know why we are here," the legate said. "Surrender the castle, and your men walk free. We only demand that you turn over the governor of the city."

The garrison commander laughed. "Good joke. Want to hear one of mine?"

The legate responded with a blank stare.

"Dinar," the garrison commander said.

"Are you insulting me? I don't understand," said the legate.

"Exactly, you don't understand. For all the time you've held this city in the past, you never understood its people." he returned the paper. "We shall not cede this castle to you, Palatine dog. I won't let you take Dinar as long as I live."

The golden Palatinian took back the papers. "Then I shall return, and when I do, it will be asking which set of chains you prefer."

They returned to the incomplete fortifications, unsuccessful.

Montag shook his head, "It's as I feared. It looks like we are in this for the long haul."

The group reentered the camp. Derik walked in to see Tessier out of the corner of his eye. It looked like she was extorting the villagers that had yet to leave, asking for valuables to be allowed to leave. Derik shook his head, too much trouble to get involved.

"Hey, Derik!"

Derik turned to the side to see Lina waving him over. He walked to her.

"I want you to meet my informant." Lina gestured to an empty chair beside her.

"Your information is a chair," Derik faced Lina and said. She merely shifted her head back in the direction of the chair. He turned back towards the chair and was startled to see a man sitting in it. He got up and strode towards Derik, his finely tailored frockcoat flowing behind him.

He extended a hand, "Alaric Suma, at your service."