In the end only Leumina and two others of the small group stayed with us. The rest I sent back home with Eld'tide. They would receive training at the hands of Uzzana although I really hoped that this whole mess would be over before any of them would have to put that training to use. Well, actually I hoped they would not have to see war, and the misery that came with it, again any time soon if at all but that was probably too much to ask for. The best I could do was to make sure they would be well prepared.

I was still at a bit of a loss regarding how to integrate the young human woman and her two comrades into my banner or the army as a whole. They knew hoe to ride, they even brought their own horses, but they were no knights. They weren't exactly seasoned fighters either. In general they were more familiar with a bow, as they all had experience hunting various game and monstrous creatures, than with a sword or a lance. In the end I had asked Tora'pheer to direct some of the recruits she would turn down for the Four horned Lancers my way.

Maybe I would be able to form a small unit of mounted archers that way. Then I would only have to find out how to make them work together with the lancers. Or maybe I could delegate that to Tora? Yes, that probably was for the better. She knew more about cavalry and cavalry tactics than me after all. First I would have to see about getting them all equipped in a way that would allow me to use them as a cohesive unit. Bows and good arrows were easy to get around here but procuring some decent armor was proving a little more difficult.

So far Leumina, her comrades and the women sent my way by Tora mostly wore soft leathers, which weren't really something I would consider armor, or padded cloth armor of various sorts. The latter was decent enough but I had not yet given up on getting them some chain mail and, possibly more important, good helmets. I needed to make them recognizable as part of my banner as well but that was only a minor concern in comparison. In times of turmoil appropriately colored plumage for helmets and armbands had been enough in the past after all.

Before I could spend any more time worrying about these things, something else caught my attention. An armed group, some of the men and women on guard duty, were approaching, flanking a familiar figure. Well she was familiar, as she had been one of the first giants I had gotten to know up close and personal. I wouldn't easily forget her fiery hair either. Even among the few giants of the Wall Breakers none, not even Yath'zur, had hair quite like that. It was Gash'zur, the giantess from the royal treasury.

I jumped at this chance to distract myself a little. I rose to greet the giantess as the group reached my tent, e genuine smile gracing my lips. “Welcome, Gash'zur, I was hoping to receive news from the treasury soon. I have to admit though that I did not expect a personal visit from such an esteemed representative.” I couldn't help but notice that she was carrying a few small but obviously heavy, metal reinforced strong chests in addition to her sturdy backpack while using a war hammer with a long shaft almost like a walking stick.

She smiled as well as she returned my greeting. Her smile was a little wistful though. “Lady Zoth, I'm not here as a representative of the treasury, although I bear some of the coin you are due after the battle at the gap.” She let the wooden frame she had used to safely carry the chests as well as her pack, slide from her shoulder. It hit the ground with a solid thump, speaking of its weight. “I quit my job at the treasury, hoping I could join your banner, or one of the companies in your service, for the campaign against Gothol'gathrak.”

That was quite the shocking revelation. I waved the guards who had accompanied her away so we could talk in private, even if privacy was a very relative term here in the camp. “What … what were you thinking? Why would you quit your job at the treasury?” My mind was racing but I did not manage to put any more thoughts into words. I was simply left speechless.

The giantess simply shrugged. “I love working with metal. My position at the treasury was pretty good in that regard. But a chance to get, eventually, a good look at dwarven forges and smelters … that is a once in a lifetime chance. No, it probably is a chance I would not get again in ten or more lifetimes. I simply can't miss this opportunity!” She caught herself at this point, as she had gotten pretty worked up. She shifted her weight self consciously, looking down at the ground in between us while blushing.

I still had trouble finding words but finally I managed. “Still, you could have become minister of the treasury. What will lady Undur think of your decision? She has been grooming you as her successor, you know. Is this chance to get a look at those dwarven forges really worth throwing away all of that?”

She nodded. “Lady Undur knows my reasoning and she approves. If anything, returning to the treasury with dwarven secrets will only serve to improve my chances to inherit her position.” She chuckled. “Ha, she would have come herself if it weren't for her age. Old metal grows brittle, even if it is living metal.” She chuckled again. “You should have heard her cursing her age and the passage of time in general, when she heard of the king's plan to take the fight to these bearded, greedy, little bastards.”

I chuckled and took a deep breath to steady myself. “Still, are you sure about this? We have to take that dwarven fortress city first after all. There are probably a thousand things that could still go wrong. What if we don't manage to breach their defenses? What if we are forced to retreat and return with empty hands?” I would rather be damned than accept a fate like that but I couldn't, in good conscience, ignore the possibility. Thus I felt obliged to question the giantess and her resolve one last time.

She simply waved away my concerns though. “I'm well aware and I'm willing to take the risk.” She paused briefly to clear her throat. “If you don't want me in your own banner I will sign on with my little brother's company, although I'm pretty sure he will have to deal with a whole lot of candidates soon. There will be others, especially among my people, who think like me. I was just the first to get here.”

I took her hand to shake it. “You are more than welcome to join my banner. I just wanted to make sure you would not regret this choice.” Only then did the other little bit of information she had let slip really register. “Wait, your brother … Yath'zur?” Oh, I felt so silly now. Of course the two were related. Giant communities were usually small and close knit, each consisting of only a few loosely related families at most.

I couldn't help but blush before I managed to catch myself. “But anyway, it is good to hear that there will be more coming, we will certainly need them.” My mood grew more somber again. “I just hope we will not cost your people your future with this endeavor.” The idea that I could be responsible for the end of the giants as a people, if things went wrong in a bad way, did not sit well with me. I had to swallow hard.

Gash'zur just shook her head and patted me on the shoulder. “Don't worry about things like that. My people might be few and far in between but we are not that few. You just never see most of us. Even if the Crone were to claim all of us who sign up with you, my people would still recover eventually.”

Well, that was good to know and it steered the topic away from her brother as well. I patted the iron reinforced chests she had brought. “What about these? To be honest I was expecting to wait at least a few more days before we would hear back from the treasury.” I wasn't the only one turning in the spoils from the battlefield after all and the capital was quite a ways away.

The giantess shrugged. “The king passed along orders to prioritize anything brought in in your name. Probably to make sure you can start your new campaign as soon as possible. And since I was already heading here I thought I could bring along a first part of your share. Most of it will arrive by caravan but it will take a little longer. This amounts to about five thousand crowns. I think it should tide you over nicely until the rest arrives.”

I nodded. She was right. I had been burning through my reserves like a hot knife through butter. “I appreciate it but you didn't have to go out of your way to do it. How did you get here so fast anyway?”

I moved to pick up the first chest to carry it into my tent but she stopped me. “Careful, those are heavy.” She grabbed the other side of the chest and we moved it together in the end. As we moved the strong chests one after another she explained along the way. “I left early, as soon as these chests were filled and sealed and used just about every shortcut I knew. It helped as well that we giants have not only strong backs but long legs as well.”