Chapter Summaries

Victor and Alex discovered that Count Carter had seized merchant warehouses and acquired horses for the Second Legion, suggesting the Duchy was short on supplies. Salos revealed that more horses remained at a lightly guarded transfer station in Haiden City, giving them a possible target for their mission.

• Victor questioned how the Second Legion had rebuilt its cavalry so quickly, and he and Alex suspected Count Carter had taken horses from Alex's trading station.
• At the Haiden City trading station, Alex and Victor learned that Carter had seized merchant warehouses throughout York County in the name of wartime requisitions.
• Victor calmed Alex and reasoned that the seizures showed the Duchy lacked weapons and provisions.
• Salos told Victor and Alex that horses remained at Carter's transfer station in Haiden City and that only one battalion was left to guard the city and station.

Salos got Victor and Alex’s convoy into Haiden City by using his ties to the garrison, then learned that only a little over four hundred soldiers remained there. Victor told Alex they no longer needed to follow their original plan.

• Victor decided the risk of entering Haiden City was worthwhile because his group needed horses to reach Strath County in time.
• Salos used his connection to Squad Leader Mala to persuade the south gate guards to let the convoy into the city during curfew.
• Mala told Salos that Regimental Commander Lassos was away and Captain Evans was handling military affairs, while troops had been sent out to gather grain.
• Salos gave Mala money, and Mala and the gate soldiers discussed how to share it after the convoy passed through.
• Salos confirmed to Victor and Alex that Haiden City had just over four hundred soldiers stationed at its gates and transfer station.
• Victor told Alex that they no longer needed to follow their original plan.

Alex, Victor, and Salos planned to use Salos’s caravan guards and supplies in an operation at Haiden City’s transfer station. Salos bribed Captain Evans to record a batch of undersized horses as requisitioned warhorses, and Evans realized Salos wanted to falsify the station’s inventory.

• Alex objected to Victor’s plan to attack the garrison directly, fearing the caravan guards would be recognized afterward.
• Salos proposed moving the guards to another trading post, and Victor assigned him to establish a new post in Essex County and gather intelligence.
• Salos arrived at Haiden City’s transfer station with wagons and offered Evans eighty gold coins for help.
• Salos asked Evans to enter his supplies and horses in the inventory as goods requisitioned from the trading post.
• Evans recognized that Salos was trying to pass off more than two hundred undersized horses as five hundred valuable warhorses.

Evans let Salos’s caravan unload supplies into the transfer station and joined him for wine with Owen and Goron, unaware that the convoy was carrying out a deception. After the drugged wine incapacitated the officers, Victor killed Evans, leaving the transfer station’s guards vulnerable.

• Salos told Evans that the caravan carried armor and equipment worth two thousand gold, and Evans let his men help unload it.
• Salos invited Evans, Owen, and Goron to drink Tears of the Black Pearl while Victor and Alex exchanged signals outside the tent.
• Salos gave Owen and Goron money pouches, and the three officers drank the wine, which had been laced with Rosemary essential oil.
• Salos revealed that the wine would incapacitate even a lead stallion, and Victor broke Evans’s neck.

Victor and the interception team seized the transfer station in a nighttime surprise attack, then prepared to strike the squads at its north and south gates. Victor led the northern force while Alex took the southern one, and Salos stayed behind to burn the station.

• Victor killed Owen and Goron, then ambushed and killed the two guards who entered Evans’s tent.
• After Victor gave the signal, Alex’s men ambushed the soldiers at the gate while the disguised interception team attacked the troops inside the station.
• Victor used crossbow volleys and a spear charge to break the remaining soldiers’ formation, then ordered the surrendered and wounded guards killed.
• Victor ordered his men to search the station, take horses, and prepare for attacks on the north and south gates.
• Victor and Alex set out with separate forces toward the north and south gates, while Salos prepared to burn the transfer station.
• Victor headed for the north gate, where Made’s exhausted squad was guarding the entrance.

Victor led the Iron Knights in a surprise assault on Haiden City’s north-gate barracks, overwhelming the soldiers and setting the camp ablaze. After killing the last defenders, Victor left the camp in flames.

• Tim recognized the approaching cavalry as the Iron Knights and warned Kurt that enemies were attacking.
• Victor hurled a flaming torch at Kurt, rode into the barracks camp, and led his cavalry in charges against the unprepared soldiers.
• Made questioned Tim about the attack, and Tim identified the Iron Knights of Baron Colt.
• Victor’s troops fired flaming arrows into the tents, setting the camp ablaze.
• Made rushed out of his wooden house and was killed by arrows shot by Victor.

Victor set fire to Haiden City to erase his unit’s trail and divert the Second Legion’s pursuers while advancing the mission to intercept a secret pact. He and Alex left west for Strath County with 113 men, while Salos led a decoy force toward Derby County.

• Victor’s riders killed the twenty guards at Haiden City’s gate, then Victor led his cavalry through the city, setting houses alight and killing residents who tried to call for help.
• At the south gate, Alex questioned the destruction, and Victor explained that the chaos would confuse Count Carter’s forces and force the Second Legion to divert troops.
• Salos volunteered to lead the merchant caravan guards toward Derby County, leaving traces of a large force to draw pursuers away from Victor and Alex.
• Victor and Alex estimated that the Second Legion could send at most 1,200 men after them and that only about 300 might remain by the time they caught up.
• Victor and Alex parted from Salos outside Haiden City and led the 113 remaining men west toward Strath County.

Enlek’s cavalry force restored order in Haiden City after a mysterious enemy set fires and attacked its garrison. Sodak convinced Enlek that the enemy planned to disrupt the duchy’s supply lines and lure the Second Legion into a disastrous northern campaign.

• Enlek sent his cavalry into Haiden City, where they suppressed the rioters and helped workshop workers contain the fires.
• Enlek asked Sodak to identify the enemy’s objective, and Sodak argued that the force had attacked Haiden City to disrupt logistics.
• Sodak reasoned that the enemy had at least three hundred elite soldiers, had used inside cooperation to capture the city, and had seized supplies from the transfer station.
• Sodak concluded that the enemy would head for Milan County to attack supply lines and provoke the Grand Duke into sending the Second Legion north.
• Enlek praised Sodak’s analysis, and the two officers laughed together.

Victor’s interception force entered Strath County and reached a hidden valley near Woven Fern Territory, where it rested while preparing to intercept the team carrying the secret treaty. Meanwhile, Two Rivers Territory mobilized its troops in response to Victor’s order, with preparations expected to finish that afternoon.

• Alex used the map and his knowledge of the grand duchy to locate the force near Woven Fern Territory and explained the barony’s history and loyalty to Grand Duke Mora.
• Victor and Alex concluded that the secret treaty’s escort would likely rest at Woven Fern Territory before choosing a route to Silver Maple City.
• Victor led the exhausted interception force to a secluded valley, established a guarded camp, and arranged hot food and rotating rest shifts.
• After receiving Victor’s written order, the staff headquarters in Two Rivers Territory began mobilizing supplies and troops at Wood Fort Town.
• James and Santos coordinated their assigned units, and the territory expected to complete preparations and depart by the afternoon of the fourteenth.

Saruman and the Two Rivers Territory General Staff prepared the troop deployment plan for approval by the Military and Political Joint Conference presidium. The presidium approved the plan and set departure times for forces heading to Stream Territory and the Black Pine Viscountcy.

• Saruman coordinated deployment preparations while serving as acting head of the General Staff and compiled the required supply lists.
• The Military and Political Joint Conference presidium met on the fourteenth to review troop numbers, supplies, and the deployment plan.
• The presidium approved the plan and scheduled James's force to depart for Stream Territory at three in the afternoon on the fourteenth.
• The territory reinforced James's force with two ballista companies, one trebuchet company, and a logistics brigade equipped with two hundred modified war wagons.
• The presidium scheduled Santos's force to depart for the Black Pine Viscountcy at eight in the morning on the fifteenth aboard the territory's fleet.

Marvin presented a military expansion plan to strengthen Two Rivers Territory and establish a regiment in Golden Sunflower Territory. After Orlando outlined Black Pine Territory’s weakness, Santos argued that war was unlikely but that the expansion should still proceed without delay.

• Santos’s force received additional Bed Crossbows, catapults, and an engineering company for its expedition to Black Pine Territory.
• Marvin proposed expanding the military by about 3,200 troops, forming new detachments for his Third Regiment, Ron’s First Regiment, and Santos’s Second Regiment.
• Weber objected that the territory should wait until its suppression forces returned, while Marvin argued that a prolonged conflict could require more troops.
• Powell asked Santos to assess the chance of fighting, and Santos requested that Orlando explain Black Pine Territory’s situation.
• Orlando reported that Black Pine Territory had about 1,600 troops and little threat from nearby tribes; Santos said his force would have a decisive advantage.
• Santos told Weber that war was unlikely and would probably end quickly if it began, but the military expansion should not be delayed.

Santos persuaded Powell to begin expanding the Two Rivers Territory's army immediately, while Bob outlined armor production needs and Powell planned to increase factory staffing and sell weapons to other nobles. In Silver Maple City, Viscount Borey prepared his son Rasul to receive the Raine Kingdom delegation and described a plan to help him earn military merit and become an independent noble.

• Santos argued that the territory had only half a year to prepare its army for war, and Powell agreed to begin expansion despite Weber's concerns about the harvest and budget.
• Bob reported that the Arms Factory could produce plate armor quickly but needed more workers for chainmail and rubberized iron armor, and Powell promised to provide them.
• Powell ordered Bob to expand production, repair replaced equipment, and take on 1,500 newly freed Freemen for the Arms Factory and Steelworks.
• Powell said the territory could profit by selling arms as nobles across the Three Counties of the Northern Frontier expanded their armies, then ended the meeting and ordered the plan carried out.
• Viscount Borey told Rasul to receive the Raine Kingdom delegation properly and promised to help him earn merit toward becoming an independent noble.
• Borey explained that he and Count Kimberly would support each other's sons, with Sodak set to become commander of the Imperial Guard Legion's light cavalry.

Rasul received Viscount Borey’s support and left Silver Maple City with the Heavy Cavalry Regiment’s First Battalion to escort the Raine delegation and recover a secret agreement. Iron Birch Territory learned of his departure, while Victor reconnoitered Woven Fern Territory ahead of the delegation’s arrival.

• Viscount Borey described the Grand Duchy’s legions and independent nobles, then authorized Rasul to take the First Battalion and recruit willing soldiers for the Fifth Legion.
• Rasul left Silver Maple City with three hundred cavalrymen, and an Imperial Guard Legion officer sold news of their departure to a bartender.
• The intelligence traveled from Silver Maple City to Iron Birch Territory and was relayed to the interception team in Ent County.
• After learning that the Raine delegation would arrive the next afternoon, Victor went to Woven Fern Territory disguised as a mercenary to scout it.
• Victor found that Woven Fern Territory relied on tolls, had roughly two hundred private soldiers, and appeared vulnerable to the interception team.

Victor and Alex planned to intercept the Western Nobles of the Raine Kingdom after their delegation left the Woven Fern Territory. An urgent message from a trading post arrived that night, and Alex told Victor the plan had to change.

• Victor returned to the unnamed valley and praised Alex's trading-post network, which Alex had developed into a source of intelligence and logistical support.
• Victor proposed intercepting the delegation on the road through Strath County after it rested at the Woven Fern Territory's castle, and Alex agreed.
• Victor and his guards maintained their weapons at the Temporary Camp while the group prepared to rest for two more days before the mission.
• A trading-post messenger brought Alex an urgent intelligence report, and after reading it, Alex hurried to Victor and said the plan had to change.

Alex and Victor learned that an elite Imperial Guard heavy cavalry battalion would join the envoy carrying the secret pact, forcing them to abandon their original plan. Victor proposed attacking Woven Fern Territory’s poorly defended castle during a narrow overnight window, and Alex agreed to help prepare supplies.

• Alex gave Victor intelligence that a battalion from the Imperial Guard Legion’s Heavy Cavalry Regiment was approaching, possibly its elite First Battalion.
• Alex explained that the Imperial Guard Legion and its heavy cavalry were exceptionally well-funded, equipped, and formidable.
• Victor and Alex determined the cavalry would meet the envoy in Woven Fern Territory, leaving them only a short window to act.
• Victor proposed a nighttime assault on Woven Fern Territory’s castle, citing its low walls, dry moat, and limited defenses.
• Alex questioned whether Victor’s small force could take the castle in time, but agreed to notify the merchant guild and prepare supplies.

Victor scouted a quiet river route into Woven Fern Territory, then prepared the troops and horses for a nighttime attack on its castle. After arranging supplies, rest, and a check on the secret-pact delegation, he led the unit west toward the territory.

• Alex trusted Victor's supply list and went to the trading post to gather the supplies.
• Victor and several guards followed the river through Woven Fern Territory at night, marking a route that avoided villages and sentry posts.
• Victor returned to camp at dawn and revised the map, then told Alex how they could wrap the horses' legs to protect them from the river water.
• Alex brought supplies and more than fifty packhorses, and Victor ordered him to confirm that the secret-pact delegation entered the castle.
• Alex prepared a hearty dinner, and the unit covered its tracks before preparing for a quiet march.
• Victor ordered the armed unit to move out toward Woven Fern Territory.

Victor led Iron Birch Territory’s force through the Great Fish River to avoid detection, cleared the dock, and prepared a stealth assault on Woven Fern Territory’s castle. As Alex’s men slaughtered the packhorses to create a diversion, Victor crossed the moat with the first warriors and began climbing the unpatrolled city wall.

• Victor led the force along the river embankment, keeping the men and horses quiet as they approached the dock.
• Victor’s teams silently attacked the dock houses and killed all thirteen people there without casualties.
• Victor ordered fifty men to change into heavier armor and build six hooked ladders while the force advanced toward the castle.
• Victor led the ladder team across the dry moat as Alex’s men killed the packhorses to spread the smell of blood.
• Victor rushed to the unpatrolled wall with the warriors who had crossed and began climbing the ladders.

Victor and his soldiers climbed the castle wall, defeated the guards who confronted them, and seized the watchtower to keep the garrison from tracking the raiders. From the tower, Victor saw thirty or forty defenders approaching and spotted a sloped water channel leading from the gate to open ground inside the castle.

• Victor climbed onto the wall and, with two soldiers, used short spears and swords to defeat the guards who attacked them.
• Victor returned to the scaling point and helped three more soldiers climb onto the wall.
• Victor led two soldiers into the watchtower, where they killed the two guards on the stairs and took the tower.
• Victor surveyed the castle and saw thirty or forty defenders charging toward the raiders' climbing point.
• Victor noticed that the water channel beneath the gate sloped gently toward open ground inside the castle.

Victor’s signal confirmed that the water gate led into Woven Fern Territory’s castle, and Alex led the Cavalry through it to attack the defenders from behind. The defenders surrendered after Alex’s charge and Victor’s forces trapped them in a pincer attack.

• Victor used a blue-green torch signal to tell Alex that the water gate could be used to enter the castle.
• Alex’s men built a ramp of packhorse carcasses across the moat, and Alex forced the reluctant warhorses down it.
• Alex and the soldiers broke through the water gate, then led the Cavalry into the city through the channel.
• Victor’s wall-scaling force fought the defenders on the slope and came under fire from enemy archers.
• Alex’s Cavalry struck the defenders from behind, and the combined attack caused them to collapse and surrender.

After capturing the castle, Victor and Alex assessed their losses and confirmed that Baron Mosley Woven Fern and his son Winter had been killed while trying to escape. The envoy group remained barricaded inside, and Victor ordered the castle threatened with fire to prevent the secret pact from reaching Silver Maple City.

• Alex reported that his troops had lost three men, while Victor's force had suffered fourteen dead, six critically wounded, and nine lightly wounded.
• Alex told Victor that the envoy group was trapped on the castle's second floor and that the Baron of Woven Fern had been killed near the water gate.
• Victor and Alex questioned prisoners, who identified the bodies as Mosley Woven Fern and his son, Winter Woven Fern.
• Alex explained that Mosley's daughter had married into another family, leaving Woven Fern Territory without an heir.
• Victor ordered prisoners to call everyone in the castle out and warned that the castle would be set on fire if they refused.