He’d been close to settling down by the fire for the night, his only concern having to listen to The Baron’s prattle. Instead, Wade stood with his hands on his hips. “What, in Gehenna, is this?”

  Two sorry looking individuals had arrived at the night camp. Wade’s son Eden, knowing he was in all sorts of trouble, said nothing. It was Christoph who answered.

  “Femke noticed he was missing. I found his tracks following yours and went after him. But by the time I caught him, we were deep into the borderlands. It was safer carrying on.”

  “You did right, Christoph. Thank you. As for you.” Wade stared at his son. Stupid boy. He wanted to wring his neck. “What were you thinking?”

  “I didn’t want you going off alone,” the boy said miserably.

  Wade wasn’t sure if that was the truth, or just a weaselly way for the lad to get himself off the hook. “I’m not alone though, am I? I have The Baron and Smoke for company.”

  “But you always said you’d never trust The Baron as far as you could throw him.”

  “No offence taken,” said The Baron. Both he and Smoke were smirking at the interaction.

  “Yes, well. People say all kinds of things they don’t mean. And what in Gehenna did you think you were going to do if I got in trouble?”

  “I don’t know,” said the boy glumly.

  “Get me in even deeper, that’s what.” Wade sighed. He’d given the boy a telling off in front of the others. That was enough. Now he had to work out what to do about the situation. There weren’t a lot of options. He turned to The Baron. “Looks like there are five of us now.”

  The Baron spread his arms. “Of course,” he said, as if he was the most generous individual in all of Gal’azu.

  Wade was starting to wish he’d never agreed to take part in this mission. Next day, things only got worse.

  They hadn’t been walking for long when Smoke suddenly stopped.

  “Saw something. Over there, behind that rock on the rise.”

  Wade looked at the rise. He couldn’t see anything, but their route passed right by it, making it a good place for an ambush.

  “Saw something like what?” Wade asked.

  “Movement. Not sure what exactly.”

  Christoph was looking around. “If we climb up there,” he said, pointing to a slope on their right, “looks like we’ll get more or less level, and be able to see what it is.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  It was a good job Smoke was paying attention, and a good job The Bowman was thinking straight. Half a dozen goblins were waiting for them. They emerged from behind the rock, apparently ready to risk an engagement. Six versus five was far from safe odds on their part, especially with their cover blown. They had a desperate air about them, and Wade assumed they were remnants of the goblin army that had attacked last year.

  Christoph waited for them to get within range. His shot was well aimed, taking 9 hit points from the lead goblin. It was enough to change their minds. All six turned and ran, and the Apples let them go.

  “Glad you ended up coming with us, chommie,” Smoke commented, and they continued on their way.

  One could argue every settlement in Gal’azu was new; apart from Avolo, none had existed ten years ago.

  But Jiezhou was especially new. The Kuthenians had established it last year. It had been laid out in the standard Kuthenian design: the imperial palace complex was in the centre; separate sectors for housing, commerce and industry. Work had begun on the canals and bridges.

  The population was already in the thousands, making it smaller only than Avolo when compared to the western settlements. It seemed to Wade that the people had been imported to the city just like the building materials. They all seemed to have their roles assigned: labourers, farmers, grocers, craftsmen, soldiers, and so on. He wondered if any of them had volunteered to come to this continent, never mind this city. Maybe it didn’t matter. But he couldn’t help thinking it did.

  They were escorted from the outer gates through to the palace. Here the wooden buildings were brightly painted, with upturned eaves and roof tiles. Stairs took them up to the Inner Court. They were taken inside a red building, where they were passed on from the male soldiers to female attendants. These attendants soon had the five of them seated in a secluded space, partitioned from the rest of the building with lightweight wooden frames. They were served hot tea as a refreshment.

  Wade observed Eden staring at it all wide-eyed, and smiled. Maybe it was no bad thing that his son was experiencing this. Femke’s farm is safe; but a laddie needs to see a wee bit of the world.

  The Baron stood. “General Fei,” he said, at the approach of their host, bowing in greeting.

  Wade and the others quickly got up and did the same.

  The general was short and wiry. Clean shaven, with straight black hair and dark eyes, he wore a curved sword at his belt. He bowed in return, then held out a hand. “Please, sit.” He joined them at the table. “Thank you for coming, Baron,” he said, shaking The Baron by the hand. “May I welcome you all to Jiezhou. Have your needs been met by our maids?”

  “Yes, thank you. May I introduce Trent, Odafe, Christoph, and Eden. When I spoke with Mr Foberoy, he said only that you needed agents with our talents for an urgent task.”

  The general looked the group over with a blank expression, making it impossible for Wade to tell whether he was satisfied or disappointed with the mercs he had been sent. He seemed to pause, as if unsure how much to tell them. “I am in trouble,” he said bluntly. “I have been successful since arriving in Gal’azu. I pushed north with my units, taking much new land for the empire. I founded Pengshui, east of here. Then I came here, winning a campaign against the kingdom of the Never Defeated Goblins.”

  “Those were the goblins who invaded our lands?” Wade asked him.

  “Indeed. It was I who defeated them and forced them to leave. Jiezhou is built over their old capital. Unfortunately, my successes made me vulnerable. Rivals whisper about me at the imperial court. I have learned that the emperor has turned against me. I am due to meet the Governor General in three days’ time. He will arrest me and take me to Fuyang. There I will be tried by imperial officials, found guilty, and executed. My family will be left in shame, and all the lands and fortune I have won for them, taken from me by my enemies.”

  “I see,” said The Baron. He sounded a little taken aback, which was exactly how Wade felt. Why were a bunch of thieves getting involved in Kuthenian high politics? “May I ask,” The Baron enquired politely, “what exactly is it you require of us?”

  Fei’s eyebrows rose. “Baron, isn’t it obvious? I need you to save me.”

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