The wooden bridge over the Green Fork had endured the elements for years without maintenance. Time had worn the planks into a pitted, uneven surface.
With more than eighty wagons loaded with grain, Olivier finally spotted the familiar Black Lion banner at the bridgehead. His tense nerves abruptly loosened, and he nearly fell from his horse.
Covered in dust and looking haggard, he galloped straight to Suleiman. "My lord, we almost didn't make it back! We brought all the grain, but House Vypren's men are right behind us!"
Suleiman looked past him at the dust rising in the distance. His voice remained calm and even.
"What happened? What do they want?"
"Why are they chasing you?"
Olivier gasped for breath and hurried to explain. "My lord, we paid them all the Gold Dragons."
"But less than a day after we left their castle, a knight caught up with us and demanded we unload the grain right there. He wouldn't explain anything, only said they were canceling the deal!"
Rosso Brune gave a cold snort from beside them. "They've got the Gold Dragons, and now they want the grain back?"
"What kind of sense does that make?"
Before he had even finished speaking, a force appeared on the distant horizon. A green banner bearing a black toad fluttered in the wind—the sigil of House Vypren.
Suleiman looked up and estimated they had more than four hundred men. Most were poorly equipped peasants, but the knights at their head were fully armored and looked ready for a fight.
He reined in his horse and looked at Olivier. "Olivier, take your men and the grain back to Crossroads Town at once. I'll handle things here."
Olivier glanced anxiously at the approaching force. But when Suleiman gave him a slight, reassuring nod, he could