Dinner was a bit comradelier than the previous night, as they all had shared experience to go over. They replayed some of the more torturous scenarios they had been through, what mistakes they had made, or what stupendous moves they might have been able to pull off if fate had been slightly different. A few of them had been at the battle at Metzre and had stories to tell about it, but many of them had only just joined.

The Jokamachi woman, whose name Delta learned was Masami, did not mix with them. She stayed apart and ate her food fastidiously. At a pause of conversation Delta got up and squatted next to her.

“Your armor is very impressive”, she said as an opener.

Masami nodded. “It has been in my family for generations.”

“Ah”, said Delta. “I saw a lovely piece of armor in Germarnis, but it would take me generations to be able to afford it. But the design of yours: all the plates are the same, and then strung together. Simplicity. Unity. Strength. I like it.”

Masami nodded again but didn’t engage.

“I have not been to Jokamachi”, said Delta. “But I think it would be interesting to go there.”

Masami snorted. “They always have need of mercenaries there. They do nothing but fight each other.” She glanced over at Delta. “But they would not pay you what you deserve.”

“Useful to know”, said Delta. She looked the woman up and down. There was clearly a lot more behind what she said, but she didn’t seem inclined to share it. Delta decided not to press. “Have a good evening. If she works us this hard tomorrow, we’re going to need the rest.”

But as she got up, a couple of people ran in and started jabbering at friends. Soon word was spreading everywhere. Tomorrow they were to move out. Word was they were off to besiege Germarnis!

Excitement rose to a fever pitch. They were delighted to have a real battle ahead of them. One that was sure to be a great victory. They fantasized about the troops they would vanquish and the civilians they would woo.

“They have no idea”, said Zipper. Even Gwen looked shocked at their reaction.

“Even if we told them, I don’t think they would believe us”, said Delta.

“Well”, said Zipper, “it’s one more thing you were right about.”

“Regretfully”, said Delta. “I’d rather have been wrong about it.”

“I’m just happy to have a Captain that’s right about things as often as you”, said Zipper. “It beats the alternative.” She then pointed at Delta’s bowl. “Are you going to finish your slop?”

Gwen was pulled for night watch, but the others were allowed to sleep the full night. It was not a night for partying. They were roused before dawn, with orders to pack all of the irregular’s equipment into The Wight Wagon. Lieutenant Jamal wanted them out of there as early as possible. They had been down the road most recently and knew it best, although it was a good road and there wasn’t much to know. Their objective was to get to the crossroads ahead of the rest and ensure it wasn’t being held against them. If they had to take all these wagons overland, it was going to slow things down a lot.

So, they set out as the sun was coming up, the troops teaching each other different marching songs from where they came from. At one point in the journey Jamal happened to be marching alongside of Delta. “You do not appear to be as jubilant as the rest at our assignment”, she said.

Delta gave her a side long look, wondering how much to confide in her. “I’ve seen the walls of Germarnis. It’s going to be a long siege.”

“The General does not seem to think so”, said Jamal. “The planning didn’t speak of things in that way.”

“Does he think they will quickly capitulate?” asked Delta.

“I cannot say what The General thinks, only the orders we are given.” She shrugged. “We are ordered to lay siege to the city, but we are not ordered to dig in and start building a classical camp. That says to me we will not be there long.”

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“Maybe it’s a feint”, said Delta. “Although I’m not sure what he would be distracting from.”

It was Jamal’s turn to look sidelong at her. “Always the thinker you are. It is not a bad habit to have. How do you think the siege will go?”

Delta laughed. “I spent an evening well past midnight with the person in charge of strategy in Germarnis trying to answer that exact question”, said Delta.

“My, you are well connected”, said Jamal. “Do you have advice to offer us?”

She shook her head. “My advice would be that it is impossible. You should not do it. And I know that advice is not going to be listened to.”

Jamal nodded. “Probably right. Decisions have been made.” She looked her up and down again. “Even though you think it is hopeless, you have not deserted. Why is that?”

“There’s the mercenary code”, mused Delta. “We’ve taken payment. There’s the fact we’re surrounded by troops.”

“But that is not why”, said Jamal.

“No, it is not”, said Delta. “So far you have done easy things. Now you choose to do something hard. I cannot see how you can win. But I have seen that you are quite resourceful. You badly need this to be a victory, to justify their enthusiasm. So, I think you will find a way to make it a victory.”

“I hope you are right”, said Jamal.

The crossroads had not been taken. There was only the inn, and some rather surprised staff. With permission, Delta took the innkeeper aside and explained the situation to him. He did not want to believe her, but Delta said that he didn’t have to believe her for very long. Within an hour he would see the troops on the horizon. Her calm lack of bravado convinced him in the end. He agreed that neither him or any of his staff would make any attempt to send word or an alarm. She assured him that the Imperials would pay a fair price for any supply they felt fit to requisition, albeit probably in promissory brass. He was not delighted, but he was also not despondent.

True enough, the long line of carts was seen on the horizon. Major Kanni had ridden ahead to work out the logistics of where to put people. She was quite pleased that the innkeeper had ready suggestions as to which fields around the crossroads were currently fallow and did not have crops to trample. She made some quick decisions and, with Lieutenant Jamal, dispatched different elements of the irregulars to direct traffic to appropriate places.

The lumber carts and supply wagons came in. Right after them marched troops. Many troops. It was more than they had seen so far. Delta reckoned it was their entire army. Plus, levies from Montihouse, Metzre, and whatever other nobles had come to their cause. A number of the mercenary brigades they had seen were also in the column. It went on for quite some time until there were nearly a thousand, all told.

“You don’t feint with your full force”, said Delta later to Zipper. “But it isn’t a bad selection to mount a siege with. He’s got a lot more than his regulars here. But they’ve never fought together before. If it was a field battle it would be worse than at Cleres. But for just sitting around and keeping the King pinned down, they are perfect. Maybe he really is going to besiege them.”

“What? For the practice?” asked Zipper.

“I did say that a lot of this seems to be training exercises”, said Delta. “This could just be one more.”

The three of them walked the camp after dinner. There were many faces they recognized, and plenty more they did not. But they declined drinking matches with the mercenaries or dice games with the other troops. Officers came out before long and called an early curfew. They were to leave by dawn. It was going to be an effort to get everyone down the road and in place the following day.

They were not in the lead this time. And, so, the speed of the people in front of them frequently gated their own progress. It took some effort and wrangling to get everyone moving smoothly. It was a long day, and it was well after dark before they crested the last rise before Germarnis. An advance party had made it there before them. The General was amongst them, as were all the senior officers. They had delivered their response to the King’s request and said they would happily dine with him after the city had fallen to them. The King was amused and had a number of crates delivered to them, containing fresh fish, caught that day from the lake, as well as dates and other preserved luxury goods that had recently come through the trade gate. He said he was worried that in the length of the siege they would have to maintain their men would suffer from an unvaried diet. Fortunately, the company cooks were also sent ahead and by the time the regular troops had arrived they had the mess tent up with quite a fine meal prepared from the King’s largess.

They were stationed in a long arc, starting at the little way station for latecomers, where the officers had set up, and reaching around in a circle around the castle, all the way down to the beach. The tents had not arrived, so most had to either sleep rough, or wait as the supply and baggage trains came in over the course of the evening. They were allowed fires, and several of them had brought along firewood.

Their own company was lucky, as they had all their gear in the wagon. They were able to get their own tents up quickly and set in for the night. The day had not been tiring, but it had been tedious, which drains you in a different way.

The three mercenaries watched the line of fires through the flap in the awning over the wagon, and figured they made quite a site from the wall. “I bet anyone watching is going to be terribly surprised”, said Delta.

“The Imperialists have gone from being a distant rumor to being on their doorstep”, said Zipper. “They had no idea.”

“King got his tea party”, said Gwen.