Midnight at Baraway’s autumn residence, and Seskone can see why the place gets its name.

Sunburst leaves crunch under his feet as he treads toward the pile of skulls. Stone benches surround the macabre cairn. His mercenaries and dearest friends are arrayed atop them.

“I never liked this practice,” Seskone says. “Dining in front of the skulls of your dead friends? What honor is there in this?”

“The honor of seeing blood on your hands,” says Toben Rimshaw, the mercenary captain whose men comprised most of the force attacking Baraway’s residence. Most of the skulls in the cairn in front of him belong to his men.

Seskone shudders, feeling full well the reminder in front of him. Their collective weight presses on him harder than the cold mountain air. Around him leer the eyes of Toben’s men, some with unspoken questions, others with doubt.

The top of the cairn has been arranged so that it lays flat. Atop it, Seskone places a map.

“It’s going to be one bloody battle,” Seskone murmurs to the assembled people. “But there’s no better time to attack while Crystalline sends its forces here. We can go around them, entering Crystalline directly.”

Atop the cairn lies a map Seskone had commissioned. On its southern edge is the Baraway residence, high in the region’s forested mountains. Directly north below the mountains lies Crystalline, the target of their next assault.

“‘Entering?’” asks Toben. “Your words are so light for such a heavy task, Vagrant King.” The captain folds his arms. “The dead want the specifics.”

Seskone looks down to the pile of eye sockets and bones. It seems even when they face away they are looking straight at him.

Most of the men gathered in the circle are loyal to Toben Rimshaw first, and so Seskone has no choice but to appease the man. “Alright,” he says, and points at the north side of Crystalline. “I propose we go the long way.”

“That will keep us right in the open,” one of Toben’s officers pipes up.

The mention may as well have come from Toben himself, since the captain nods in agreement of it.

“I see where the Vagrant King is going,” says Quoreflux, seemingly Seskone’s only ally in the discussion. “The passages on the northern side of Crystalline are numerous. There are many ways in, meaning we won’t be bottlenecked as easily.”

Seskone nods at Quoreflux's words, grateful for the support but keenly aware that the others remain unconvinced. He knows he must address their doubts head-on if they are to stand any chance against Crystalline.

"The open ground is a risk, yes," Seskone admits, his voice steady. "But it's a calculated one. Once Crystalline sees our forces here at the autumn residence, it will be irresistible not to pounce on us.”

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Toben catches the unspoken assignments. “So then, Vagrant King, if you are to go to the north, who is to go with you. More importantly, who will stay?”

Seskone tries not to look at the mercenary captain, choosing instead to stare into the skulls holding up the map. Those deaths were his doing, and the deaths to come will be his as well.

He finally lifts his gaze. “Quoreflux and I will take the northern route,” he begins, his tone leaving no room for doubt, “along with a contingent of our strongest men. We’ll need a smaller, faster force to navigate the passages and strike quickly.” He summons the confidence to peer into the eyes of Toben’s men. “The rest of you will hold the line here.”

A murmur ripples through the assembled men, and Seskone can see the mix of reactions—some relieved, others wary, a few openly questioning the wisdom of splitting their forces.

Toben’s expression, first unreadable, forms into a large smile as his eyes sharpen. “We’ll be outnumbered, Vagrant King.”

Seskone doesn’t flinch. He’s already thought through the possibilities, the risks. “The residence is fortified. You’ll have the advantage of elevation. Your job is to draw them in Crystalline’s forces and make them overcommit. Once they’re engaged, we’ll strike from the north, hitting them where they least expect it. We’re counting on their arrogance—Crystalline won’t anticipate us attacking on two fronts.”

“What’s to say they won’t send a small contingent after you?” asks Toben.

“They’ll need more than a ‘small contingent’ to stop us,” Quoreflux adds. “Believe me, Rimshaw, you have not seen us fight.”

“I have seen enough potsouls hunt like dogs for their masters to know they can’t take an assembled band of Hodshells.”

The Hodshells—the elite assassins that already killed Seskone’s loyalists all throughout Crystalline. Seskone has never fought one. He hopes he won’t need to.

Toben narrows his eyes, weighing Seskone’s words. “It’s a dangerous game you’re playing, Vagrant King. If you fail, it’s not just your life on the line—it’s all of ours.” He looks to his men, and then smiles. “Well, maybe not ours.”

Quoreflux’s head turns to Rimshaw just as Seskone understands the words. “You would betray us?”

Toben coughs. “I think I speak for us all when I say that we would much rather turn ourselves over to Crystalline than die at their hands.”

“You would be imprisoned,” Quoreflux counters.

“Not if we tell them where you’re going.” Toben nods. “So don’t let us down, Vagrant King. Strike hard and fast.”

A cold knot forms in Seskone’s stomach, the realization of Toben’s words bubbling and curdling there. It is a stark reminder that loyalty among mercenaries can be bought and sold like any other commodity.

Seskone forces calm inside himself. He looks at the skulls again, their hollow gazes reminding him of what’s at stake. "Then we won’t fail," he says, his voice firm, despite the doubt gnawing at the edges of his resolve. "We will rip straight into Crystalline’s heart like mongooses. Once we have their leaders, we have the city."

A surge of rage seeps into Seskone, stoking the fire in Toben’s men as well. They have the easy part—they can turn and save their skins if things get tough. But Seskone, in the thick of it, will need to act swiftly and with absolute certainty.

No hesitating, unlike his lazing outside Crystalline’s walls.

As the last of the mercenaries vanish into the night, Seskone can’t shake the feeling that the real battle has already begun—not just against Crystalline but against the very men he must depend on to survive.