At the outermost edge of the Shatterrock Knights' camp, two knights in ill-fitting leather armor huddled in the shadow of a grain wagon, sharing a piece of hard, dry black bread.
They were the two minor lords who had been forcibly conscripted.
"Kane, do you think... Baron Ola can win?" asked one of them, a thin knight named Moll, his voice troubled.
Kane, the lord of Creek Valley Village whom Ola had extorted protection money from just days earlier, chewed his bread bitterly and shook his head.
"I don't know, Moll. Honestly, I have mixed feelings."
He paused, his voice heavy with resignation.
"Of course I hope he wins. If he does, we won't have to take the field ourselves and face those... monsters. Maybe our generous baron will even throw us a few scraps."
Moll nodded in firm agreement, but then an even deeper worry crossed his face.
"But, Kane, have you thought about... what happens if he wins?"
Kane fell silent.
Of course he had.
If Ora Stonebeard made a fortune this time, what would someone like him do?
He would recruit more knights and forge better weapons. His Shatterrock Knights would become an even more terrifying force.
Then life would only grow harder for minor lords like them, too far from heaven and too close to Stone Salt Town.
Ten Gold Suns today might become twenty tomorrow.
"He'll bleed us completely dry," Moll said, voicing the dreadful future for him.
The two looked at each other in silence, the same humiliation and helplessness in their eyes.
They were like chips beside a gambling table. No matter which side won, they would lose.
Just then, Moll caught a movement out of the corner of his eye.
"Hey, Kane, look over there!"
He pointed at the dirt road behind