The City of Germarnis lay nestled on one end of a large, sandy bay. The land rose steeply behind it to the headland, and that side had been sculpted to a cliff face to provide an even steeper bulwark guarding that side of the city. From where the slope was no longer steep enough to be defensive, walls emerged, girdling the city from the headlands in an arc to the wide sandy beach, and some distance into the water.

There were many high towers along the wall, from which pennants in the city’s colors flew. There were no siege weapons atop these, but there were many arrow slits facing in all directions. They projected out from the line of the wall, so their arc of fire included the space between them. There was no moat, but there was a deep ditch at the base and a sloped talus supporting the wall, to deter rams, ladders, and other means of breaking or scaling the wall.

A grand gate and gatehouse pierced the landward side of the wall, with multiple portcullises and a draw bridge over the ditch. The gatehouse projected outward from the wall, at a lower level, providing a second heavily crenelated platform to bombard enemies with. The two round towers on its corners gave plenty of cover to the approach and were surmounted with large wooden catapults.

“Now that is a castle”, said Zipper.

They had just crested the last ridge before the long slope, meticulously clear of cover, leading down to the city. The sun was setting, seeming to sink into the great lake beyond the city in fiery splendor. The sight was breathtaking.

There was a little halting spot here, specifically for travelers who were late to the city. The gates shut strictly at sundown, and no exceptions were made, they were told. A few cottages were in the area, and locals were quite happy to sell anyone waiting minor necessities and hot food.

They had been on the road a long time and had been looking forward to a roof over their heads, but they had not made the time they had hoped. “One more night under the stars”, said Delta.

“Good”, said Gwen. “You need more practice with star names.” That had been one of their nightly rituals for the last few weeks. Goblins, being largely nocturnal, had quite the vocabulary for aspects of the night sky. Lighting conditions and weather were indicated by which stars were and were not visible. Delta and Zipper, between them, could name a dozen or so of the stars, but Gwen could name at least a hundred. So, the consensus had been to learn the goblin names.

“I’m gonna say it is worth it for that sunset”, said Zipper, watching the light fade with her hands on her hips. “That’s the biggest lake I’ve ever seen. It looks even bigger than the ocean from here.”

They paid the locals to light a fire in the firepit but did not pay them for the overpriced hot meal they offered. Gwen had taken to cooking, since she was picky about her food, and the others weren’t. She still had a stock of spices she had traded for with the goblins but used them sparingly on Delta’s food. She’d come a long way in her spice tolerance, but still wasn’t up to either Zipper or Gwen’s standard.

“One scroll left”, commented Delta, while eating the food. “But this will be the most consequential.”

At this stage, they knew, more or less, what it would say. Although they hadn’t read any of them personally, they had been interrogated by enough nobles who had received them to get the gist.

The Imperialist general was offering to meet the combined might of Avenio in a battle at midsummer to settle the matter formally with as little collateral damage as possible. The nobles, so far, were not entirely enthusiastic about the idea. But they weren’t enthusiastic about being picked off one by one as had been done in the north of the country. So much hinged on the King’s response. If he was up for it, they would send their forces to support him. Delta guessed they would probably send their worst troops and retain the rest for their own defense. But it would still fulfil their pledge of fealty. Several of them had given them their own scrolls to take and deliver on to the King, as they were going that way anyway.

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“Do you think they’ll go for it?” asked Zipper.

Delta shrugged. “Hard to say. They would probably have the numerical advantage, but it was also be legitimizing their effort. If they lost, they would be expected to concede.” She waved her hand towards the city. “On the other hand, the provinces may need the King more than the King needs the provinces. As you said, that’s an impressive castle. Why trot your troops onto the field to fight when you can put them behind walls like that? They’ve got a commerce gate inside the city, and a harbor protected by the walls. It isn’t as generous an offer as it sounds.”

“You tell them that?” asked Gwen. Everyone they had talked to so far asked them all they could about the Imperialists, how they fought, and what they were likely to do.

“Sure”, said Delta. “They won’t listen. They haven’t so far. But they’ll ask anyway.”

“I could nearly answer at this point”, said Zipper. “You’ve got it pretty well rehearsed by now.”

“True”, said Delta.

“Me!” said Gwen, grinning. “I answer!” She sat up straight and adopted a very Delta like expression. “Magic!” she proclaimed, in a mock serious voice. “Magic, magic, magic!”

They all laughed. If nothing else, the extended journey had given them a lot of time together. They had gone from complete strangers, to comrades in arms, and were now fast friends. Even Johnston was comfortable around them. Only the donkeys remained aloof.

Even though they set off early the next day, there was still a line at the gate. Mostly it was merchants and locals bringing food and fodder into the city. This was clearly routine for them, as they all had the appropriate tariffs ready to pay, depending on their point of origin.

Someone more senior had to be summoned to adjudicate the mercenary’s entry. The trade auditors inspected their wagon to make sure all goods were personal and not for resale while the magistrate pondered their sealed scroll and claim that they were messengers charged with delivering it to the King.

Delta played it calm and cool, as she normally did. Answering their questions politely and forthrightly and letting them come to their own conclusions. Not unexpectedly, they demurred at letting Gwen and Johnson in the city walls, but, with well-rehearsed moves, she presented her papers showing she was a cavalry unit attached to Wight’s Brigade.

In the end, they let them in. The concern that they were right and delaying them unduly would impede the King’s business outweighed any doubt they had in their story. A page was assigned, for a modest gratuity, to lead them in the right direction, and provide confirmation to the castle that the city gate had passed them in under this pretext, to avoid them going through the whole question and answer ritual again.

The streets they passed were clean and well cobbled. They garnered a few looks as they passed up and down. Almost as much for the unusual configuration of their conveyance, as for their clear mercenary nature. The “war wagon” had evolved over the trip. It now had a propped-up awning over the rear half, where Gwen camped out during the day and during rain. Cabinets and drawers lined the inside, like a small ship. Even Johnston had his own perch.

The castle received them politely if a bit skeptically. They took them a bit more seriously when they saw the quantity of scrolls they had delivered from a variety of sources. Also, the fact that they didn’t insist on seeing the King themselves or with ultra-urgent haste seemed to lend credence to their story.

An inn was recommended to them and it was suggested they remain ready to attend the King or any councilors at a moment’s notice. They expected it would take some time to digest all of the messages, but if they proved to be from where they purported to be, they had little doubt that someone would want to talk to them.

The inn was quite nice, and rather more expensive than they would normally afford. The staff clearly thought so as well, and were reluctant to take them on, until Delta explained that was fine, it was just a bit inconvenient because this is where the King would be expecting to find them. Reluctantly, they let them quarter their unconventional wagon in their stable and found a room for them. Although they did make them pay in advance.

“I hope this goes on expenses”, said Zipper, bouncing on the bed. “I mean, it’s wonderful and all, but I’d happily put up with less and have more in my paycheck.”

“I don’t know”, said Delta. “We’ll have to see. I’m fine with paying for a night or two. Just as a bonus for the end of a long journey. But if they aren’t going to pick up the tab, I agree that we would all be more comfortable in somewhere more modest.” She looked through the little window the room had onto the inner courtyard. “In the meantime, let’s make use of the facilities. If we do get a summons, it would be good to have the dust of the road washed off us.”