After Wacoca and his father had decided their future directions, they had spent the afternoon on schemes. After much deliberation, Rasacopa would continue its cooperation with the southern kingdom. Rather than share all the spoils with others, they would keep more for themselves, and strengthen themselves for all the other colored kings to see.

Thus, once the progress was apparent and the other kings became aware of what they had lost, they would be much easier to convince of the Green King's course. After all, they were pirates in the end. They weren't all that interested in power, and would choose profits over it any day. Maybe the blue king would still try to fight back, but in the end, he was far too weak and didn't have much say in the matter. Without the other kings to back him up, he would be easy to suppress.

However, their decision also meant that Wacoca couldn't savor the air of his home any longer. As a result of their continued cooperation with Corco, Wacoca had to continue on his way, to transport the king's men over to the city whose harbor they had just entered. The green and splintered wooden planks of the port had begun to curl up, even they eager to escape from their dreary home.

In the distance, Wacoca could see the flimsy palisade wall of the city, almost covered by the mud houses that had been stacked on top of one another in a haphazard manner. The view reawakened memories of his first time here, when he had come together with his master Corco. Not much had changed here, though the same couldn't be said for himself, or his companions. As if on cue, a grating voice reminded him of his more recent, less pleasant company.

“That's it? Just another barbarian village.”

When Wacoca turned around, his scowling eyes were blessed with the foul image of the man called Dedrick. For whatever reason, King Corco had deemed the foreign mercenary the best choice to lead his military operation in the west. The foreigner was not happy with his assignment either, and had spent most of his time aboard with bragging, drinking and cursing. It didn't help that Wacoca had decided to get more involved in the operation to strengthen the alliance. Now he would be forced to deal with the braggart even more.

“Commander Dedrick, are we docked yet?” another voice came from behind. The young Paec was one of Saniya's local soldiers, as far as Wacoca had been told. Throughout the training and throughout the last war, he had stood out among his peers and was now the most highly ranked local soldier within Corco's army. At least in his case, Wacoca could understand why the talented young officer would be assigned to this special mission. Though it didn't help Paec's cause that he seemed to idolize the drunkard mercenary next to him.

“Almost there,” Dedrick said and spied down to the planks below the ship. “I hear that the sailors have a nice tradition. They call it shore leave. Whenever they moor in a new town, they spend seven days and seven nights to sample every bar, every casino and every whorehouse in the place. I think that's a suitable way to discover new places and people, something our army should strive to learn from. Let's have a good time once we're on land again.”

His crooked grin was met with enthusiastic clapping from the young officer and with another scowl from Wacoca. Frustrated, the captain listened to more grandstanding from his cargo until the gangway was finally lowered onto the pier and he was allowed to leave the ship. Down on the pier, they were greeted by the local lord's servants.

For now, he and the two leaders of the military expedition would go together to visit Chatra Huemac, Corco's brother-in-law. The rest of their troops would stay behind for now. They needed to at least announce their arrival before they unleashed an armed horde of foreigners onto the city.

One short march through the city later, they arrived at the massive complex of the lord's manor and showed off the southern king's seal at the entrance. Although Wacoca expected to wait at least until their identities would be confirmed by someone inside, they were let through right away, much to his surprise.

Maybe Lord Huemac has told his guards that he has been waiting for us, Wacoca thought, but once more the unexpected happened.

Instead of the Master's mansion, they were led into one of the smaller courtyards off to the north. Even so, Wacoca expected neither a slight nor a trap from the guards who led the way. Since he had already walked these paths, he knew what sort of mansion this was: It was the home of Huemac's concubine, and Master Corco's sister, Lady Yasimi Prima Pluritac.

After a lengthy march through the halls and gardens of her private mansion, they had been brought before their host for the day. The lady awaited them standing in front of a large array of servants, maybe too excessive for their status.

“Prince Wacoca greets Lady Yasimi,” the prince said, and bowed deeply to his teacher's sister.

“Yasimi Prima Pluritac greets the Green Prince,” his host answered, with much more courtesy than a pirate could expect to receive on Chutwa's shores.

Just like he remembered, Yasimi was a tall woman, her posture and conduct impeccable and her dress elegant. However, there were many more changes than similarities that he had noted along the way.

“Lady Pluritac, it appears your home has become far more homely since the last time we met.”

Indeed, during his last visit, Yasimi's mansion had been left bare, without any decorations. Even for the more austere senses of the Chutwa, it had appeared sparse. The empty, dim halls of stone had spoken of Huemac's neglect for his concubine, as had the few old and useless servants.

Now however, the halls were illuminated by bright lights of warm coals and wooden fires. Carpets and plants had been spread along the walls and floors and brightened the atmosphere just as much as the new servants which busied themselves throughout the halls. Now that they had said their greetings, Yasimi herself led Wacoca and the two warriors to an expensive set of ornate wooden furniture to take a seat, while said servants began to set the table with dried fruit, tea and rice wine for the guests. At the same time, Yasimi explained her change in fortune.

“As it turns out, a wife's treatment improves if she can prove valuable to her husband.” A small smile formed around her mouth, not in the least bit cynical. Rather, she seemed amused by her own joke. “Since my brother last left Hueatlan, I have become the linchpin for the very lucrative cooperation between the southern kingdom and my husband. And once he took a closer look, my husband also realized my talents in other areas of business. I have been handling my dowry since my arrival here, and have fared quite well with my initial investments. Of course he would treat me well after all of this. His future wealth depends on it.”

“Yet now the wealth is threatened by others, isn't that right?” Dedrick tried to steer the conversation towards the goal of their journey. While he sounded serious for once, he still took the rice wine in his front and downed in one go. Though of course, the controlled Yasimi ignored the mercenary's lack of propriety and followed the flow of conversation anyways.

“That would be correct. Not too long ago, we only needed to deal with the Flowing Water Sect. They alone are not a large threat, to be honest. With just them as our opponents, we could hold out behind the city's palisades for months. With the weapons brother has sent us, we could hold for even longer, even defeat them in open combat.”

Reminded of Huemac's new weapons, Wacoca smiled. As the king's manufactories continued to mass-produce more and more of his new flintlock rifles, the old matchlock guns had been replaced bit by bit. Since they had many more guns than soldiers, the obsolete models had been sent over to the Chutwa, to aid in their defense of the city. The green prince wondered what the lady would think if she knew that her brother had only given her second-hand goods.

“Since you called us here, I assume that is no longer the case then? You can't defend any more” Dedrick asked in a straight-forward manner.

“Correct again, my foreign friend,” Yasimi said. “Around the end of the year, there was a large battle between the forces, which ended in a grand victory for our troops. Ever since the end of the year then, the Flowing Water Sect has drawn back from its incessant attacks. Rather than try to fight us by themselves in formal combat, they have resorted to raids on the surrounding villages. With sowing season upon us, these raids will affect our harvest for the year if we do not act soon. At the same time, their sect master Ectnare managed to convince the other sects and bandit groups within the Xallisco county to form a grand alliance and suppress Chatra Huemac, the government official. Even their old foes, the sunburst sect, has joined their cause. After all, they have reigned over their little plots of land with great freedom so far, so the resurgent power of Hueatlan is a threat to all of them. Thus, they want to threaten our finances by ruining land trade and harvests until we are forced into a war.”

“So what sort of army do they have?” Dedrick asked, now with a piece of paper and a coal pen in his hands. Wacoca had seen these objects spread throughout Corco's inner circle. First only the mysterious Lady Tamaya had used them, but now they were everywhere. Maybe it would be a good idea to get them for himself.

“Their 'army' can hardly be called as such,” Yasimi replied Dedrick. “In the end, they are only bandits and thieves. They do not possess any modern weaponry. No rockets, cannons or flame-spewers like the Chutwa Empire's armies, and no modern firearms like Medala - and now Hueatlan - either. Most of them are close-range warriors to boot. The few who use bows or throwing weapons trained only to fight individuals and not in formation. They are bandits and duelists of various sects after all, so they will not have much coordination as an army. Though we have heard that they have ridden elephants in some of their village raids, so caution is still necessary. We do not know the exact numbers, but it could not have been too many. With the sparsity of food along the east coast, they could not possibly find enough fodder to feed more than ten of them through the winter.”

“No idea what that's supposed to be, please speak a language I can understand,” Dedrick complained, even though Yasimi had been speaking in Yakua all this time out of courtesy. “Is that 'elephant' some new Chutwa weapon?”

Wacoca laughed at the man's ignorance, and even Yasimi couldn't quite hide a small giggle. Still, she did her best to explain herself to her guest from afar, and even managed to hide any condescension.

“An elephant is an animal, as large as a house. They inhabit the warmer climates of the eastern lands, so Commander Dedrick would not be aware of them. The Chutwa and Verdant Folk ride them and use their great strength for many purposes. Among those, war is the most intimidating. The great command teams of war elephants are one of the greatest trump cards the Immortal Palace of Chutwa can field.”

“So it's just an animal. No reason to be so worried then. Never in recorded history has an animal played a crucial role in an Arcavian war. Why would that change now?” Dedrick sneered. However, Wacoca was worried enough for the two of them instead. He knew elephants from his home, and knew of their great power. Not even a row of armored cultivators could stand up to an elephant's charge.

“Do not underestimate them,” he cautioned. “I understand that on your battlefields, the cultivators might have been the absolute masters, but if you do not respect the power of the elephants, it could spell our ends.”

“I doubt Commander Dedrick will misjudge their strength,” Yasimi chimed in. “Not after he has seen one for himself.”

“Rather than some beasts,” Dedrick changed topics, clearly unconvinced. “I'm much more interested in the organization of their army, or lack thereof. If we want to win the war, it'd be in our best interest to attack them sooner rather than later. The more time we give them, the more time they have to consolidate their forces, and to train in formation. That sounds like a hassle and I wanna get back home, so we better get a move on.”

“Forcing an engagement should not be too difficult,” Yasimi replied in a more cautious tone. “From what we can gleam in the reports of our scouts, it seems like the enemy army also has an interest in an early confrontation.”

“Why would they?” Wacoca asked. “Don't they hold the advantage so long as they control the countryside? They can train themselves as they starve us out.”

“Their size doesn't only give them advantages,” Dedrick guessed, something Lady Yasimi was eager to confirm.

“Correct again, commander. It seems like my brother made the right choice when he appointed you. The size of their troops is a problem for them. After all, sects and bandit groups do not usually start wars, and are thus unequipped to lead one. They may have taken some supplies from the surrounding villages, but the land around Hueatlan is unsuitable for agriculture to begin with, and it is the first season of the year, so there is little to take. At this point, they will starve out much sooner than us, since we are backed by the city's granary. They will be aiming for a swift resolution of the war, and then for one-sided negotiations where my husband will give up his power in all but name, together with the food to feed them.”

After Yasimi looked up into the serious faces around her, she offered them a calming smile.

“Though even in the worst of circumstances, you will always be able to surrender and return home with all but your pride intact. After all, these bandits would not dare truly take over our town and risk involvement from the Immortal Palace. True imperial troops would clean that rabble up as soon as they arrived. No matter what, Huemac is still an appointed chatra of the court, so his death would be a slight towards the emperor himself.”

“Speaking of your husband, wouldn't he be the nominal leader of our troops? Where is he?” Dedrick looked around, even though he should have known that there was no one in the room but them and a few servants.

“My husband is not in the city,” Yasimi replied. “After all, the little trade we are doing with the southern kingdom right now is still not legalized by the palace. For now, husband has traveled to the capital to uphold his part of the bargain and gain an official tributary status for King Corco's made-up kingdom of 'Britain'.”

And conveniently, he'll be away when the war happens, so he will be safe no matter what happens to his people or his new wife, Wacoca added in his head.

However, Lady Yasimi would be well aware of her husband's motives. If he noted them in front of her, he would only show off his rudeness and achieve nothing more.

“Then I hope he will find success soon.” he said instead. There was no reason to worry about others anyways. The war was close, and they had much work to do.