141 Opening a Path (1/2)

At the foot of the hill, a crag split the lands north to south, like a giant had drawn it with a shaky hand. On the hills around Cashan, the great troops of the region had come to meet and plan the future. On the crag's right sat the troops of Pahuac Villca, back from their mountain homes to welcome their king. On the left sat the bandits of Uchu Villca, here to take revenge for their leader.

Behind the hill sat the king's armies, a giant troop of red, silver and purple. Together the three armies formed an arrow, aimed at Cashan's walls in their south. There, the last of the Villca heirs would be hiding.

At the moment, Corco waited on the hill in the center, and relished the view. Or he would have loved to, at least.

”King Corco, I really do have to protest. I have far too much work back home, so why would I be forced to come along on a military expedition?” Ronnie moaned besides him. His mood ruined, the king turned back to his friend.

”And you only thought about this now? We've been on the march for a week already!” Corco asked. In truth, they could have made it faster, but the southern lords had insisted on constant celebrations and shows of force whenever they came across another city. The vanity of Medalan nobility had really slowed them down.

”Yes, but there has been no time for a talk.” Ronnie said. A poor excuse, no doubt.

”Is that really the only reason you're here? You know we need someone who can handle the black powder, and I really don't trust Mason with that, or with anything important. Not after what he did in Port Ulta. Plus, we'll need a proper doctor once the fighting starts. More than one, actually, but it's a start.”

”I'm still not a doctor! I never was one!” Ronnie shouted. At last, Corco's attendant stepped between his master and the fake doctor.

”This is no way to speak to your king! How dare you, foreigner!” Quato shouted, a dark frown on his face.

”Quato, can you give us a second?” As soon as he heard his king's command, the ghost warrior's head shot around. Only a moment and he nodded his head, before he left with a scoff. A sigh on his lips, Corco stared after the warrior. At least Quato listened to him, even if he made sure to show his displeasure with some decisions.

”You can't do that anymore.” Corco said at last.

”Do what?” Ronnie asked.

”Don't play dumb with me.” The king turned to face the chemist, one brow raised. ”I know you're not an idiot, and you're not petty either. You're not here to complain about your job. Back in Saniya, you can do that whenever you want. You wanna talk privately, and this is the only time I'm not surrounded by nobles,” Corco surmised. In response, Ronnie's ears turned red.

”It's important, so I had no choice. Maybe I might have overdone things, slightly,” Ronnie mumbled.

”You think?” A smirk played around the king's lips. ”This isn't Arcavia, and I'm not a merchant anymore. Don't forget that. My position as king means that I can't be lenient with behavior like this. For now, I'll need the reputation with the local lords. At least when others are around, you will always have to show respect. If you overdo it, I might have to send you away for a while until the heat dies down.”

Although Ronnie showed an ever-deeper frown, he didn't back down.

”Even so, I found it prudent to speak on this occasion.”

”What could possibly be this important, to make that kind of trouble for us?”

Ronnie looked over his shoulder and lowered his voice. ”You said it yourself before, King Corco: There is an issue with Mason. Nahlen as well.”

At last Corco understood. All throughout their march, Corco had been surrounded not only by lords, but also by Nahlen's mercenaries. No wonder, as most of his high-ranking officers were part of the wolf mercenaries. Only now, when he would meet with other Medalan nobles outside of his army, had he decided on a purely Medalan guard. Ronnie had taken the chance to tag along, and get some time to talk alone.

”Okay, very clever.” Corco raised his hands. ”So now you got me by myself. What do you wanna talk about?”

”Master Nahlen lacks basic respect for the office of king,” the rude chemist said.

”That's no surprise. All of you Arcavians do,” Corco grinned. ”Not that I mind too much. The office means nothing if it is held by the wrong man.

”No, that was not my meaning. There is much more to it than simple difference in culture. During our census at the start of the year, I noticed his problematic behavior already, and have since taken a closer look. Over the year, Nahlen has done his best to reshuffle the wolf mercenaries. By now, many of the important positions are taken up by his own people, rather than Sir Dedrick's. Ever since, rumors have spread that you don't intend to pay your debts to the mercenaries, and use your new local armies to drive them out once they are no longer needed. He has also had reduced contact with his captain. There seems to have been a disagreement. I am afraid that Nahlen intends a defection, or at least intends to blackmail King Corco at the most crucial moment.”

Although Ronnie's machine gun mouth worked overtime, Corco only had a tired sigh to offer in reply.

”I'm aware of this. After all, I'm the one with the spy network. You're right too, as usual. But what do you want me to do about it right now? Even if we rush the rest of the distance, our army will probably reach Qarasi Castle after Pacha does. If we don't wanna lose the Narrows, we can't take any more delays, or any more infighting. The lords have already slowed us down too much with their constant need for validation.”

He thought back to the row of palanquins, as they slowly hobbled along the unpaved roads of the south. Just the same, he was reminded of all the tournaments and duels he had seen on their journey. Of course the lords would notice that Corco was intent on taking over control of their armies. As a result, they put as many petty obstacles in his way as they could, just enough so no one could accuse them of treachery. All the lords wanted was for Corco to slip up to ruin his prestige. He wouldn't play along.

”For now, we'll have to believe that Nahlen's greed will beat out his disloyalty. I will deal with him and his men... in due time.”

By now, Ronnie's frown had jumped onto Corco's face as well. They were really facing too many problems all at once.

”King Corco, they are here,” he heard a ghost call from the side.

While they had talked, the occupants of the right and left armies had marched up the central hill, to begin this official meeting. Soon after, before the king stood in front of Guachimine Villca and his brother Uchu. Since their last meeting, Guachi still looked the same, a small man who hid in his brother's shadow. Uchu however seemed much changed. Armed with a cane, his cloudy face showed a kind of grit that hadn't been present before. Before, he had seemed foolhardy, but now he appeared like an injured animal. Though of course, he was.

”Uchu Villca greets King Corcopaca,” Uchu said.

”It's good to see you recovered well,” Corco smiled, as he pressed the guilt back down. In this area he had gained a lot of experience over the last year.

”Yeah, soon I'll make the bastard who did this-”