The next morning came all too soon and it was back to business as usual for us. The people who had come from further away to see the spectacle left again with sunrise as well after spending a night at one of the local farms, either with the families or in a barn. My warriors were busy breaking camp as well. The cooking fires were busy while others were feeding draft animals or taking down tents.

Gash'zur's smithy was one of the last places that would be packed back up. The giantess still had an important task to perform after all. I had gotten up early as well, to oversee the procedure, although my body protested, demanding more sleep. I couldn't give in though as this was something I could not entirely entrust to others. That damned crown had to be properly taken care off after all.

The pale kings crown was retrieved from the still hot ashes with long tongs. And although everyone moved fast, the ground was still hot after all, great care was taken as well. The lead was already bubbling at the forge when the crown arrived, still hot itself but otherwise utterly untouched by a fire that had burned hot enough to even reduced bones to ash.

The first thing the mistress of the forge did, was to pour plenty of water over the crown in hopes of cooling it down. While it was still hot the lead might not properly solidify around it otherwise. It was alarming to watch the water turn into a blackish sludge as it dripped off the cursed crown. It did cool down but the spot where the water, or rather the sludge it became, stained the ground probably would remain poisoned and barren for years if not worse.

The rest of the procedure went as planned though. There were no more unpleasant surprises. It took a while for the lead in the mold to solidify around the crown but in the end we had a solid, heavy block of lead that should negate the worst of the crowns effects. We quickly locked it into the iron strong chest Gash'zur had prepared soon after and sent it on its way to the capital together with those wounded to severely to continue on. I dispatched a decent sized guard, drafted from Tora'pheer's cavalry, to accompany the convoy as well and sent them on their way with a silent prayer to the Maidens.

The ashes of our own dead were gathered into urns and buried. The ashes of our enemies though would be plowed into the ground by the locals, once we were on our way. Hopefully that would have no ill effects. In theory that plot should become one of the most fertile fields in the years to come but with the Devourers machinations in mind I suggested they let grass grow over it first and only plant anything later on if it didn't turn out bad. Hopefully it would be enough.

Maybe I could look after these people again on the way back, once we were done with that war? Well, that was still far in the future. First things first. Our next target would be Gothol'uin. Either they would surrender or we would besiege the town, putting our new siege engines and the additional men and women Yath'zur had hired for the Wall Breakers to the test. I really wanted to properly test those, yet I still hoped to settle that part of our campaign without bloodshed.

I feared that we might loose more or our own as well if we had to put siege to the city. Even with additional reinforcements on the way and arriving piecemeal with the supply caravans I couldn't exactly afford heavy losses. Sure, my mercenaries were well compensated for those but if they mounted they could in theory sever their contract. They didn't have an obligation to fight to the bitter end after all. I had won a lot of favor and trust with them so far but a few strokes of bad luck could cost me much of that in the blink of an eye.

My thoughts kept returning to this problem every once in a while as we made our way northeast, towards the city, along one of the less traveled roads. Usually I would have kept myself busy running up and down the column to take my mind of the issue but I was still recovering. Thus I let the harpy messengers do the running while I stayed at the front of the marching column.

It was just past noon when I learned that things would not go exactly as planned. We had mashed ashroot with a little butter, precooked in the morning, and reheated on a small, smokeless fire at the roadside when one Quu'za came towards me at a dead run. Although her appearance probably meant bad news she was still a sight to behold. She was growing into her position as leader of my harpy mercenaries. She had taken to wearing plenty of ribbons even if said ribbons were mostly earthy greens and browns. The choice of colors was probably inspired by Tortho's rangers.

She came to a full stop only a few strides from me, kicking up a small cloud of dirt as she dug her claws into the ground. She wanted to make her report right away but she was obviously out of breath, sucking in air in big gulps. Finally, and after nibbling on a piece of hard bread for a moment or two, she caught herself enough to make her report. “Enemy army. Coming in from Gothol'uin. Cavalry and Infantry. About three times our number. At the current pace we'll meet them sometime tomorrow.”

We would face them on the open field after all. Well, as open as any field around her was anyway. Thick hedges and small woods among other things broke up the landscape quite a bit after all. The stone walls and fences separating fields and paddies were often sturdy enough to hamper cavalry as well. Considering everything I was confident that we could take them on easily unless they somehow managed to catch us unaware. And while our scouts had suffered I doubted that it had been that bad.

“Have the scouts found us a good spot to meet them yet?” Picking the right battlefield was the most important thing right now. “Some place with dense growth or some other natural feature to protect out flanks? Maybe soft ground to hamper their cavalry charges?”

She nodded enthusiastically. “Yes. Mostly. Regarding the cover for our flanks at least. No soft ground to be had around here though. We will have to set up field fortifications to break their charges. I'll lead you!”

I nodded and handed my empty bowl back to the kitchen crew. “Keep cooking. I want everyone well fed. Post some more sentries just in case.”

The rest of my banner got to its feet as well, quickly emptying their bowls if they hadn't already. As they made room the next company moved in to quickly eat their meal.

By the time everyone was ready Quu'za was already jumping in place, clearly ready to get going again. The bread she had been nibbling had completely disappeared as well. I chuckled. “Calm down a little and match our pace. Not everyone can run like you.”

She pouted a little but complied with my request anyway. Gash'zur, who was staying at my side and leaving the transport of her field forge to her apprentice, frowned as we got going. “We are kicking a lot more dust moving like this. They'll know we are here like that soon as well.”

I acknowledged her concern with a nod although I wasn't really concerned. “Just as well. We wouldn't want them to miss us now that they have come all the way to great us. I wouldn't want them to come back around later when it would be more inconvenient.”

Then I focused on keeping the harpy's pace. She had slowed down for us but she was still going quite fast. Could it be that she was anxious? Or was it me? Sure, things were not exactly going to plan but things hardly ever did. Meeting the remains of Gothol'uin's army on the field was a contingency we had planned for. And once we were done with them there would be one less obstacle in between us and our goal.

Decisively defeating that army here and now would improve our chances to take the city itself without much of a fight as well. A grin started spreading across my face as we followed our feathered guide off the road onto a wide open meadow framed by thick forests not much later. Some of Tortho's scouts and rangers, as well as more of Quu'za's harpies were already waiting for us.

We met near the other end of the meadow, where thick underbrush and taller trees framed the place on three sides. I pulled one of the scouts over. “We will make our camp here. Start setting up some traps a little deeper in the woods. Spiked pits and things like that.”

Next I grabbed Gash'zur. “Start marking out a circle around here. It has to be large enough for all our carts. Make a wagon fort. Tents and fires at its center. Make plenty of fires. I want it to look as if we are feeling right at home.” She nodded but I wasn't quite done yet. “Once we have all those assembled here we will dig light field fortifications on the open side facing the road. A ditch, an earthen wall and some wooden spikes. Nothing too fancy though. Make it look like an invitation. Make sure not all the long grass gets trampled though, so you can hide more spikes in it.”

My final orders were for Quu'za and her harpies. “Guide the rest of the column in along the edge of the forest over there to keep the field mostly pristine.”

A round of shouted confirmations were my only answer. I didn't need more. As I clapped my hands once everyone went to work to carry out my orders.