Chapter 52

As Gasper knelt and placed Edgar's head in a small sack that he'd pulled out of his belt, he felt a twist of pain in his stomach. The muscles twitched for a moment, then the pain began spreading to his chest then his limbs. The familiar pain was all over his body by the time he got to his feet. The last memory of this familiar feeling was less painful. He knew that each step forward meant more pain. This was his body telling him that he was ready. He was ready to become a Sky Warrior.

He suppressed the urging feeling in his gut and summoned his patience. Such a feeling was difficult to suppress for long, but he had enough willpower to keep it disciplined for half a day. It felt like a thin, dilapidated dam was holding back a rush of flooding water and waiting to be breached. He was the water, and the dam was the limit.

But he had to wait. The moment the dam broke was a long time of weakness for any Warrior, after which would come more strength. He'd wait until today's events came to an end before letting the dam break.

After a few moments, he heard curses and yells that indicated combat from the north. It didn't take long for him to spot Lucas's men advancing towards him. The former knight was at the head of his soldiers along with his second-in-command. They spotted Gasper a moment after he'd spotted them and began trotting towards him.

Gasper watched Lucas and his lieutenant draw closer. He tied the sack to his belt and raised his gaze to meet them.

"Gasper," Lucas said as he came to a stop.

"Lucas," Gasper nodded.

Lucas glanced at the headless body on the ground. "Who is he?"

"Edgar," Gasper smiled. "The captain of the sellswords."

"His head?" Lucas glanced at the sack hanging on Gasper's waist.

"I took his life," Gasper patted the sack. "The trophy is mine."

"You going to spike it somewhere near your camp?" Lucas eyed him carefully. "I don't remember you having any previous enmity with the sellsword."

"Do I need a previous enmity with a bear to take its head as a trophy?" Gasper snorted.

Lucas didn't answer. A moment passed in silence before Gasper spotted Master Rudolf approaching, but he wasn't coming from the direction of the house. He'd somehow circled around and came from another direction.

Lucas and his lieutenant glanced at the masked old steward as he slowly walked to Gasper's side.

"The others should be reaching here soon as well," Gasper said. He and Lucas might have breached the defense of the mercenaries earlier than the others, but Viper and Harland weren't clawless. They'd easily get past the walls now that the mercenaries were leaderless, if they hadn't breached the defenses earlier already.

Gasper's men also arrived and he had to shout a few loud commands to avoid any unneeded clash between his men and Lucas's in the heat of the charge.

Soon enough, Harland's and Viper's men also arrived. From amidst them emerged the two chiefs.

A silent understanding came upon the four chiefs as they watched each other cautiously. It was time to divide the spoils. The two chiefs that had just arrived didn't even ask about the headless corpse lying around or about the leader of the mercenaries. They just ran their eyes over the camp and any possible places where coin could be stashed.

"I suppose it's time for us to dig up the gold," Viper said.

The three chiefs in front of him, including Gasper, nodded vigorously.

Following the united agreement, a wave of digging and looting pervaded the fortress. Every man began looking for coin. Any significant finds were brought to the middle of the camp to be later divided fairly between the crews. Of course, any less significant finds would disappear in the pouches of the searchers. The chiefs didn't mind it, not that they could do anything about it if they did mind it. It was an unspoken rule among bandits. If you could take it without being seen or caught, then you'd better take it, otherwise you'd be the fool of the tribe.

The search was quicker than expected. It was quite a bit earlier than dusk when every coin in the camp had been found. The mercenaries hadn't buried their coin or put too much effort into hiding it. Most of the gold was found in a single storehouse near Edgar's house. His house itself had a few valuables, but not a single parchment on the obviously ink-stained table. But would bandits care about parchments?

Gasper didn't miss Lucas's dubious glance at the table when they went through the house though.

"14 thousand gold coins," Viper said as he stood with Gasper and the other two chiefs around a mountain of valuables, weapons in good shape, and chests of gold. They were standing in the middle of the camp with their men spread around the area, far enough from them to not hear and see everything happening here but close enough to act if needed.

"That's 3500 for each crew," Harland smirked. Edith had sent her men for reassurance, but her absence meant that her crew couldn't share the hard-earned wealth they had plundered. Her men had even followed Harland's from the rear during the assault, avoiding most of the fighting. Any attempts to barter a share for his sister now would only gain Harland the other chiefs' hostility. "It was worth our time indeed."

"But we don't have much time left," Viper said anxiously. "The Viscount should be alert to what we've done by now. We must move soon."

"Indeed," Gasper nodded. "Let's handle the division of the gold with all due haste."

Viper nodded as well. Their tacit agreement was followed by each chief summoning a few of his trusted men to carry the earned wealth. The gold was hurriedly hauled onto some of the wagons that had been pulled into the fortress after the successful assault.

Other valuables and equipment were also split between the chiefs and loaded onto their wagons. It was early before dusk when every crew had assembled near the gate of the fortress in preparation to depart.

Every crew except Lucas's.

The former knight's men were still spread around the fortress, and some of them were apparently taking walks on the walls.

Gasper watched them suspiciously and glanced at Viper. The chiefs and their lieutenants had gathered near the gate for departure. Harland would return to the west on his own, while Gasper, Viper, and Lucas were supposed to ride through the east together.

"Why are your men not assembled, Lucas?" Viper asked after receiving Gasper's questioning glance. "We need to leave right away. There is no time to waste."

"I'm not leaving."

The words fell on them like thunder. No. They fell on Gasper like thunder. It was the second unexpected event today. The first was the absence of Edith, but this was different. Lucas was apparently planning to stay in the fortress. Gasper could see it now. The former knight's men were spread around the fortress as if they were its new inhabitants. Some were checking the tents and cabins, while others patrolled the walls and checked its condition. Gasper had noticed their behavior from before, but he hadn't thought of it the way he did now. He'd just seen it as Lucas being overly cautious.

"What do you mean?" Viper frowned. "We have to leave. All of us."

"All of you," Lucas gestured towards them. "My crew will be staying here. I don't intend to return to my camp."

"What about the rest of your men who you left in the camp?" Viper asked.

"You don't need to worry too much," Lucas snorted. "If you want my territory, it's yours."

Viper actually looked enticed for a moment. Gasper could see the glimmer in his eyes. But he couldn't let this happen. It would ruin everything. If Lucas stayed, it would be two loose ends instead of one. And one of the loose ends would be rooted in a fortress and capable of mounting a considerable defense.

Lucas's men hadn't suffered as many losses as everyone else. Gasper had lost more than a hundred men if not two hundred, and the other two chiefs hadn't fared much better. But lucas had hardly lost two dozen men and less than 50 others of his men were wounded. His crew was actually intact. Prying Lucas out of the fortress would be another Luwin-battle for the Viscount.

"You can't stay here," Gasper said, his tone unconsciously hostile. He didn't notice it until the words were out. Even Master Rudolf glanced at him as if reminding him to not lose his bearing.

"Why can't I, I wonder?" Lucas cocked his head with a smirk as he eyed him.

Gasper gulped. "We'll be easy pickings for the Viscount if we're spread out." The words just came out as soon as the thoughts did. He was actually surprised that he said something so reasonable when he was actually struggling to make up the words. "We can't fulfill the pact if each one of us is in a different corner of the basin."

Lucas looked at him thoughtfully while Viper nodded on the side.

The former knight eventually shook his head with a smile that Gasper could swear was a gloating one. "My crew isn't leaving. I don't care about pacts or anything else as long as I can have this fortress."

"Will you break the pact then?" Gasper asked.

"I don't intend to," Lucas said. "But you make it seem like I won't be able to come to your aid if I stay here. Whether I can aid you or not won't change my decision though. I'm staying in this fortress."

"We didn't agree on this," Gasper clawed at any possible reason to argue with. "We didn't decide who would have the fortress. If it's going to belong to us, then it shouldn't just be yours. You can't take what is not yours alone."

"Oh?" Lucas raised his brows, apparently amused. "Will you stay here with me then?" He ran his eyes over Gasper and the two other chiefs.

Harland was visibly reluctant in front of the idea, while Viper slowly shook his head. Lucas's gaze fell on Gasper at last.

"No," Gasper said. "But—"

"But nothing," Lucas interrupted. "This fortress will be mine whether you agree or not. If you can't accept that, you're welcome to try taking it from me. But you don't seem to have any need for it from what I can see. Which makes me wonder." The former knight stepped closer to Gasper, and Master Rudolf stepped forward, alert. "I just wonder why you, specially you, are so adamant on me leaving." Lucas's eyes spoke the answer as they gazed into Gasper's.

It was a warning. A warning that Gasper understood very well. If he didn't shut up, Lucas would share his doubts with the other two chiefs. The doubts that were clear in his eyes, and were likely being ascertained at this very moment.

Gasper did shut up. He had nothing more to say.

The cloudy sky riled and a faint sound of thunder descended upon them. A few drops of water soon landed on their heads, shortly followed by sudden, intense rain.

"Fucking hell," Harland stretched his hand out, touching the drops of water. He gazed at the sky with a grimace. "Summer rain never bodes well."

Gasper pressed his lips. It wasn't supposed to rain in the summer, not in the subcontinent. Neither was Lucas supposed to be staying here, nor was Edith supposed to be absent. But it was all happening, and it was out of his hands.