After his conversation with Sumaci, Corco returned back into the blinding winter sunlight. Although the weather had been getting warmer these days, it still wasn't enough to melt the snow cover, so he had to push through an ankle-deep mass of the stuff to reach his goal. At least the guards he had left outside of Sumaci's shack joined him again and forged a path for their master, so he soon reached an area within the village surrounded by warriors. Since their arrival, all their prisoners had been placed somewhere in here here. After all, these prisoners of war were quite valuable and the position was easier to defend than the camp outside.

According to Medala's usual rules of war, every warrior would have to be bought back by his estate for a hefty sum. If his uncle were to play by the rules for once and all the warriors were exchanged for silver, it would be a nice little boost for Saniya's economy. Even if they had covered the worst of their financial demands for now, one could never have enough money. While the ransom from the warriors alone would be a massive gain, they had even managed to catch two of the retreating lords. By themselves, just these two would bring enough income to rival all the warriors combined.

Fulcinius had been leading his men on the forefront of battle when Rupilo's right flank collapsed, so it was no wonder he had been caught. Together with his warriors, he was held in a group of tents in the middle of this building group. Wedged in between the shacks, they were easier to monitor and keep inside.

Although they were hardly luxurious, the tents of the prisoners weren't too shabby. They were built of thick cloth and were each equipped with thick quilts and braziers. Since they were valuable assets, their accommodations would at least guarantee their basic needs. However, while Lord Fulcinius had been stationed with his warriors, the second lord they had caught received special treatment, Corco had made sure of that. Thus, the king stepped into a small but solid hut some ways away from the tents of the prisoners. The warriors stationed all around the walls betrayed the importance of the guest. It was a fitting environment for Rupilo, the commander of Pacha's southern army.

Lord Rupilo had been tracked and found by his ghosts half a day after the end of the battle. Once they had reached the village, Corco had made sure to place him in this little hut, a luxury not even most of the king's own men could enjoy.

“Hello, Lord Rupilo. How do you like your accommodations so far?” Corco put on a business smile as soon as he entered.

“It is... adequate.” Confused, the lord looked at his clean, private room, at the smoke rising from the mulled wine he had just received from his guards and at the warm bed with a feather blanket. The room had a small table and chair to eat on and even a few books to pass the time.

“Even though you, King Corcopaca, acted quite tough before our battle, it seems you still understand the power and influence of King Pachacutec. Dwelling on old grudges will only cloud your vision and bring you nothing but trouble. Compromise in how you treat the lords of Medala is truly wise. After all, you will always be judged by how you treat your foes, rather than by how you treat your friends.”

For a bit, Corco blank-stared the self-righteous lord trying to teach governance, before he broke out into uproarious laughter. Rupilo got more and more confused as Corco moved forward. As the king came closer, his prisoner backed off and scooched over on his bed to restore the distance. Once he ran out of bed to retreat to, he got up and stepped behind his table to get something between him and the southern king. While the lord stood in the corner of the room with an awkward look on his face, Corco took his previous position on the bed as his laugh fizzled out.

“Is that how you justified the nice treatment in your head? That's creative. Would it help if I told you that Fulcinius isn't treated nearly as well as you are? In fact, he has been stuffed into a tent with his warriors.”

“In that case, this lord assumes King Corcopaca would have a special demand of this lord?”

“That's a bingo.” Corco grinned. In response, Rupilo's face scrunched up as he tried to fathom either Corco's plans or strange choice of words.

“Then what is it King Corcopaca wants? This lord is already under your control! Do you intend to shame me for the rest of my life? Give me hope to take it away? Or take your time with torture? House Rupilo will not forgive you, and neither will the other lords of Sinchya! King Corcopaca, you might be the winner of our battle, and as the winner you may kill me! However, you will alienate the lords and will never make them follow you, not even the barbarians in the south. Even if you believe yourself to stand above the lords of Medala, the truth is that the kings are only the first among equals. You do not stand a chance against the combined might of Medala's nobility. Not even your father could stand against the lords, and you are not your father.”

All throughout Rupilo's rambling, Corco held his smile, while he observed the lord squirm behind his safety table. This guy was really coming up with all kinds of stories to save his hide, he even somehow managed to call all the lords of Medala to his defense. However, Corco wasn't willing to play along with his political games. He would have his revenge on the coward, and there would be no negative consequences for his actions either. He had already planned out how it would go, but doing things slowly was much more fun. For a while, he just looked at the lord while he relished the panic he saw in his eyes.

“What then!?” Rupilo shouted with a cracked voice. As the lord became more and more erratic, Corco's guards stepped between them. “If you wish to kill me, do it, you coward!”

“I'll tell you why you're treated this well,” Corco said. “Unlike Fulcinius, I still need something from you. So, I'll treat you in a manner any lord of Medala deserves. In return, your family will pay a reasonable ransom and, before you are freed, you will sign this document.”

Corco pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and placed it on the table between the two men.

“It's nothing sinister,” he stated, as Rupilo began to read the contract critically. “It's simple, really. Just gives people from my estate permission to do trade within your territory free from tariffs or interference.”

“This is...” To Rupilo, the offer must have seemed too good to be true, and it was reflected in the blank stare on his face. Even though the lord had some reservations towards Corco, he should know that the lords in the north had been competing for a chance to receive Saniya's new wares like soap and clear glass. Many of them were exclusive luxury products which had spread among Medala's high society ever since Corco introduced them during the succession war. Whoever could supply them first had an easy way to expand his influence among the lords of the north.

“Is that all?” Rupilo asked with a stare as empty as his head.

“You're right, torture wouldn't do me any good, and neither would killing you. So I came up with this as an alternate solution. This way, I get a nice foothold in Pacha's land. He can't do anything about it since it's your land and you don't directly profit from the trade since you don't get to raise any tariffs. I would've asked Fulcinius, but his land is too far south. I need something in Pacha's heartland, and something closer to the capital.”

Of course, there were many other benefits besides tariffs Rupilo could gain from this sort of deal. Without a further word, the lord pulled a seal from his sleeve and stamped the document with his family sigil. In his haste, he smeared ink all over the paper, no doubt afraid that Corco would go back on the amazing offer.

“Good, good.” The king rubbed his hands and pulled the piece of paper back into the safety of his robes. “Now that that's done, I'll send a letter to your family and ask them for your ransom. I think a stone of silver should be plenty. What do you think?”

“A stone? Is that truly enough? Such an amount would barely be enough to ransom a warrior, let alone a lord.” Rupilo looked confused at first, but then his eyes widened. Corco grinned as he watched the lord's face slowly go pale in realization.

“Yeah, that's the plan,” he said and sat back down on the bed.

“Plan?”

“As I've said before: I'll have my revenge. But don't worry, I won't kill you. That's much too easy for you.” Corco shook his head.

“Then what? Torture?” This time, the lord sounded defiant. Maybe he thought Corco was bluffing, now that they had entered into a trade relationship. The king however remained confident.

“No, nothing so simple. Here's what I'll do: I will let you go.” The king spread his arms at the grand revelation.

“I do not understand.”

“Then I'll explain it in more detail, for the slow people. I love doing that. So, this is your itinerary for the near future: I will have to hold you here for a while, since you are a prisoner of war. I will treat you like my guest of honor, bring you good food and wine. I'll even have some of my servants come visit you as much as possible, all within view of the other prisoners. I'll keep doing that until your family buys your freedom for a pittance, and then one of my officials will open a merchant's shop right in your capital, to your benefit. What do you think the vengeful, paranoid Pacha will think about that? What about all the other lords? Will anyone be willing to cooperate with you again? After all, you have clearly switched sides yet again and are now working for the southern king after only a few days in captivity. What will it do to your reputation, your legacy, your connections?”

As Corco had been talking, all color drained from Rupilo's face, until it took on the same hue as the snow outside the door. This was far worse than a simple death.

“You... you cannot do that! I will be shunned by the community of lords! No one would believe a word I say! It would ruin my house!” Now that he was forced into a corner, even the cowardly Rupilo had found his courage. He tried to charge at Corco to regain and destroy the contract, but both his table and Corco's guards were in the way. Though even without them, the weak lord wouldn't have been able to do much.

“That's the idea. You can always go back on our deal, but then you'd be an oath breaker on top of everything else.” Corco stood up and turned to the door. “You see, I don't need to torture you to ruin your life. I'll just use your own poor reputation to destroy you, just like a coward would deserve. Goodbye Lord Rupilo, may we never meet again.”

Once Corco had taken care of Rupilo, he returned to the command center of the army's temporary camp outside the village. For the rest of the day, he oversaw the resupply of his troops, before he left for the east on the following morning. Since the injured soldiers would slow them down, they left them behind, as well as half the Chutwa doctors to take care of them.

Of course, they wouldn't be abandoned. Instead, they would leave together with Sumaci's fleet once Corco's troops had moved on. Although the king wanted to guarantee the safety of all his people, he was limited by his abilities and needed to focus on the issues at hand.

On the morning of their departure, Corco and his officer's staff put together all the topographical information their scouts had collected and picked the best place to make a stand and halt Pacha's advance. Soon, a suitable position was found and Corco's troops were on their way to set up their defenses.