This was it.

The armies of Crosshares and some rebellious Villainians marched across the farmlands of Emberald, their target straight ahead. The shining city of Cimerald sat at the top of a large hill, forests on the other side of it, the spires of Yukon's castle standing tall above the hovels the burghers of the city called home. Inferno and Samurai stopped their horses, dismounting to speak with the former Rowj commanders, who were standing on a small hill overlooking the city.

"What's the plan?" Inferno asked.

"We march up to the gates and tell him to surrender." Nitesco responded, strangely cheerful.

"Hold on," said Samurai. "This is Yukon 'the Wolf' we're talking about here. Do we realistically expect him to do that?"

The five of them turned to look at the city. Yukon surely already knew they had arrived and he had likely already decided how to respond. "There's really no point," said Samurai. "You can do it if you wish. But in the end, we're going to have to blow this city to smithereens."

"Will his reinforcements arrive in time?" Gwydion inquired. He coughed a little and glanced around at the soldiers, making a mental estimate of their number.

"I doubt it. But we must be merciless in our assault. The sooner this is over, the sooner we can get Inferno and his men back to Crosshares to defend the capital. And we can't risk reinforcements arriving and disrupting the plan."

Nitesco shifted uncomfortably. "Do we have to kill civilians?"

"If it saves us time, then we will." Nitesco nodded sadly and looked away.

Inferno nodded slowly. "What is the plan?"

Gwydion spoke up. "No doubt his spies or scouts saw us coming. He probably has some legions hidden in the woods beyond. Inferno, Samurai. You will keep most of your legions and stay outside the walls. Use your artillery to make some openings in the defenses and if the Emberaldians attack, keep them from flanking us in the city. Understood?"

Samurai nodded. "And what will you three be doing?"

"We'll lead the charge into the city," Nitesco said. "If you can spare a few legions, it would be greatly appreciated. The Villainians in our employ are fierce but few, and even a few battalions could bolster our attack significantly."

"Nitesco will lead the charge into the economic district," Gwydion continued, "and Austin will take the residential area. I'll take the rest of the men and mop up behind them. We'll converge on Yukon's palace and, if luck serves us, take him down."

"We must move quickly, Gwydion." Austin warned. "This entire assault is pointless if we don't eliminate Yukon. We must use every possible advantage to win this. I'll go and grab the files Frasian gave us on Celtic's Council and read up on him. You four, go to the gates and make your demands known."

As Austin walked back to his tent to retrieve and skim Yukon's files, the other four commanders walked down the main path to the castle. The air itself seemed heavy, thick with tension and the late summer heat. At last, they arrived in front of the portcullis. A priest, decorated in ornate black-and-green robes, appeared on the walkway above them.

"Are you a representative of Yukon 'the Wolf'?" Inferno inquired, his voice booming powerfully.

"I am. Say your piece, traitor!" The priest practically spat out the words, disgust morphing his expression.

"We have come to take this city. Surrender, and you will be treated fairly!" Nitesco strained to project his voice as Inferno did so regally.

"And if we do not yield to your pathetic incursion?" The priest crossed his arms apprehensively.

Gwydion fired back. "Then we take it by force!"

The clergyman laughed imperiously. "Yukon has informed us that we are to defend this city to our last breaths! You will never conquer this city. Begone, you pathetic pretenders!"

At once, several archers lined up their shots and fired a wave of arrows at the four commanders. Instinctively, the four of them raised their shields, blocking most of the arrows that came their way. They walked backwards as quickly as they could as their men began bustling about, preparing to attack.

The four reached Inferno's tent. Samurai grabbed a small cloth and softly dabbed it on his side, where an arrow had skimmed him.

Austin emerged, sword at the ready.

"Did they surrender?" He asked sarcastically.

"What do you think, wiseass?" Samurai shot back. "Our soldiers will blow a hole in the walls soon enough. Then you'll have your opportunity to strike the head off of that smug snake."

A loud crack echoed out as a cannonball sailed over the plains and knocked out a large section of the walls. The bricks came thundering down, accompanied by a large cloud of dust and dirt. Gwydion sighed. "Looks like it's time to move, my friends. Good luck, and twenty ducats to the man who takes the head of 'the Wolf.'

"You're on!" Nitesco said, a bit of sadistic glee creeping into his voice. "Come, men! To arms! Down with Yukon! Down with the tyrant!" He leapt onto his horse and waved his sword around in the air before pointing it at the city, leading his men into a righteous fervor as they sprinted across the plains into the city.

The breach in the city's walls had grown larger by the time Nitesco arrived there with his men, large enough that his men could stream in with little to no delay. The merchant's stalls were abandoned, and the market square was filled equally with panicking civilians and Emberaldian soldiers.

With a blood-curdling cry, Nitesco charged straight into the marketplace, a catapult projectile narrowly missing him and striking a large fountain instead.

The young commander swung his blade wildly, taking down as many soldiers as he could, all the while being careful not to strike a civilian. His men, hardened and vengeful as they were, were much more indiscriminate, swinging at anyone not wearing their colors.

Nitesco felt his horse stumble and shake beneath him shortly before its legs gave out and it tumbled to the ground, rider and all. The commander grasped his sword and stood up, noticing an Emberaldian lancer whose spear was covered in his horse's blood. Without hesitation, Nitesco sliced off the tip of his opponent's weapon and embedded the tip of his blade in the lancer's gut. "No mercy!" He cried again, even though his men could not hear him. He wrenched his blade out of his opponent's stomach and followed his men through the burning city.

The city of Cimerald was almost completely demolished. Fire swept through the city, devouring everything in sight. The streets were slick with blood, and occasionally a stray trebuchet shot would whistle overhead and strike a random spot. Gwydion silently thanked whatever deity or deities existed that he was assigned to clean-up duty.

Most of the city's defenders were slain, surrounded by the bodies of Crosshares soldiers or Villainian rebels. He and the men with him walked through almost completely unmolested, save for a few stragglers that tried to ambush them from the rooftops or the alleyways. All the better, for he had few men to spare.

Finally, he found Austin and Nitesco, who were standing in the street opposite the castle approach, talking, giving orders to their men and planning the final push of their offensive. Nitesco looked up, breathed a sigh of relief and waved him over.

"Thank the Goddesses you're alive," he said. "We weren't sure if you would make it through. Yukon is a crafty bastard, I'll give him that."

"It's great that Gwydion's alive, but we must get down to business," Austin said hoarsely. "Most of the soldiers seem to be hunkered down in the castle. The road up the hill is seemingly undefended."

Gwydion furrowed his brow. "Meaning…?"

"I don't know. It could be that they're actually making their last stand in there. It could be that he's baiting us into a last, desperate trap. I don't know. But we must press on. And quickly too, before the fire traps us in the city." Austin coughed loudly, a bit of blood escaping as he did so.

"Very well. Shall we finish this?"

"Yes," Nitesco said, his face molding into a determined expression. "Let's make this tyrant pay."

The three beckoned for their soldiers to follow, and they began the ascent up the castle road. Unlike the neat, smoothly paved roads in the city, mosaics of vicious battle scenes graced the path, depicting Emberaldian heroes defeating their enemies in brutal ways. Nitesco had to admit, it made him somewhat uneasy.

The portcullis and the doors to the main keep laid in a pile of rubble, apparently demolished by a trebuchet shot. Not that it mattered to the commanders, they had to press on.

Emberaldian soldiers rushed about, manning positions on the castle walls and behind makeshift barricades of rubble and tables dragged out of the dining room. Yukon stood on the roof over the entrance to the great hall, scrutinizing his enemies.

"I must say, I never expected you to make it this far." He seemed calm, disturbingly so. His voice was loud but uninflected, and despite the clamor of battle around them, the three could hear him without straining.

"But you have done nothing if not defy my expectations. I never expected anybody to make it out of Bumblebee alive. I never expected that four common whelps could end up in the employ of General Kuchen Jaeger. I never expected that your resistance would amount to much. I never expected you would escape your friend's betrayal and the fall of Guns N' Roses. And I most certainly never expected you to lay siege to my capital, and yet, here we are."

"Save it, Yukon!" Nitesco cried. "Enough of your games! Let's finish this like men! To arms!"

Yukon laughed snidely, but beneath his dismissive demeanor, Austin detected hints of anger, confusion, perhaps even regret.

"Very well. Men! Do away with these nuisances!"

A rain of arrows fell upon the massing soldiers, bringing down about a dozen as Gwydion and Nitesco grabbed their shields and tried to protect both themselves and Austin. The soldiers behind the barricades funneled out and charged them.

The Crosshares soldiers and their commanders pressed the offensive; Nitesco eagerly darted between enemy soldiers, taking them by surprise and dispatching them. Austin kept up a steady assault and wore down his opponents while Gwydion found openings to exploit. The Emberaldians fought fiercely, but as Crosshares soldiers filed in to aid their fellows, the soldiers' resolve weakened. Some fled back into the castle, other preferred to stay and fight. The co-commanders led a few men past the barricades into the castle as most of their troops stayed outside to clear out the remaining Emberaldians.

The great hall was almost empty, stripped bare of most of its furniture to make the barricades in the courtyard. A few soldiers and warrior-priests stayed inside in a vain attempt to slow the invaders down. They provided little resistance.

"Spread out! Sweep the castle for survivors!" Gwydion bellowed directions to the men who elected to follow him into the citadel as they swarmed throughout the castle.

The trio sprinted throughout the fortress, becoming slightly disoriented by the strange layout, no doubt meant to deter intruders. At last, they found a staircase up to the roof.

Yukon was still standing up there, calm and collected, yet a cold rage emanated from him. At his side was a page, who looked utterly terrified.

"Edward Nyberg!" Austin cried. Yukon visibly flinched at the mention of his name. His page turned to look at him, recognizing the name as that of a criminal, a revolutionary from long ago.

"It looks as if my time has come," he said wearily, and he threw back his hood. The High Priest undid the leather strap on the back of his head and handed it to the page. Upon seeing his face, the servant jumped a little.

"Take that to Celtic." He turned to Austin, Nitesco and Gwydion, allowing them to see the full extent of the damage to his face. Strange runes crisscrossed his flesh, from the start of his hairline down to the bottom of his chin.

"Allow, if you will, my squire to leave. I'd like Celtic to have a memento of me."

Nitesco acquiesced and stepped aside, allowing the squire to flee down the stairs and out of the castle.

"Give up, Yukon," Gwydion said. "Surrender, call off your men, and you will be spared."

Yukon laughed, a deep, unhinged bellow escaping from his diaphragm before his false smile disappeared and a harsh expression replaced it.

"You think that after all that I've said, that I've done, that I've sacrificed, that I'll just surrender? That I'll allow you parade me down the streets of your cities like a trophy? No. No! If I am to die, it will be here, on my terms."

"Please, Yukon. Don't do this." Nitesco attempted to reason with him. "There is no more need for death today."

"And what fate would await me if I cast down my arms and came with you? Death, all the same. But it would be in a cold cell somewhere remote, or at the gallows like a common criminal. I will die to those who are worthy to take my life, surrounded by everything I worked so hard to achieve, not rotting in a prison in a foreign land, not to the hemp of rope in an executioner's hand."

"Save it, Nitesco." Austin grumbled, ready to fight. "Let's finish this tyrant once and for all!"

Yukon began chuckling again; a bubbly, childish, deranged laugher overcame him.

"I am a tyrant," said Yukon. "I am a murderer. I am a drunkard, and a sadist and a deceiver. Hell, I don't even believe in my people's religion! But I am nothing if not a patriot. I am nothing if not a believer in the cause. It may be that I will die this day, but I will not go to the grave alone! Now, come, traitors! We dance with the reaper today!"

He unraveled his flail from his belt, swinging it in a wide circle and bringing it down onto the ground. Austin narrowly tackled Nitesco out of its path while Gwydion rolled away, attempting to flank the High Priest.

The blacksmith's blade rocketed forwards, about to pierce Yukon's side. Yukon was quick to block the attempted riposte with his shield, and he began to ravel his flail around his arm to strike back. Nitesco and Austin pressed the attack, but they were swiftly repelled. The battle commenced; the tired three tried to gain an advantage as they waltzed across the surprisingly spacious roof. Every time they thought they had the upper hand, Yukon would pull some trick out of his sleeve—a swift kick to the gut, a strike to the side from his shield, a slice from the backup dagger he had in his belt—and regained the upper hand.

Austin tried to knock Yukon's shield out of his hand, but was pushed back, unsuccessful. Seeing an opportunity, Nitesco tried to attack from behind, but another dirty kick to the groin sent him stumbling backwards. Gwydion stood up from his previous position on the ground and readied his weapon in a defensive stance, but Yukon wrapped the exceptionally long chain of his flail around it and prepared to yank it from his hand.

Austin seized the opportunity. With a single motion, he severed the chain of the flail and left Yukon momentarily defenseless. It was at that moment that fate chose to intervene: a stray trebuchet spot flew through the air and struck the castle below them. Nitesco, who had just stood back up, felt the brick beneath him crumble and give way, and he barely had time to clutch a stable outcropping to stop himself from falling into the great hall below, which was now in flames.

"Nitesco!" Austin cried out, but was swiftly silenced by Yukon's shield. He collapsed to the ground, motionless.

Gwydion howled, a deep, bellowing war cry, and charged. The High Priest attempted to block his swing, but the blow knocked his shield from his hand and sliced his stomach. Enraged, he unsheathed his dagger and plunged it into Gwydion's gut, watching with sadistic satisfaction as he collapsed to the ground. "And it seems that I have won after all," he laughed sadistically. Yukon picked up Gwydion's blade and turned his attention to Nitesco, who was struggling to bring himself back onto the roof.

"You are nothing," he hissed as he limped over to Nitesco, clutching the sword. "You think that you're doing something good for the world, but you're not. You're not special. You're not heroes. I see you for what you really are: runaways, castoffs and outcasts who dream of being something more. But you cannot stop us. Change is inevitable, and we are the force of change. You should have died at Guns N' Roses, like the rest of the pathetic people you failed to protect!" He raised his blade to strike, and Nitesco closed his eye, accepting his fate.

Gwydion intervened. He pulled Yukon's dagger out of the chainmail he wore under his robes and with one monumental effort, threw it into the High Priest's back.

The tyrant cried out and fell in, but grabbed Nitesco's foot on the way down. Nitesco yelped as the sudden added weight nearly pulled him in.

Yukon cried out: "If I burn, you burn with me!"

"NO!" Austin, having woken up, grabbed his sword and ran over to the edge of the hole. With one single, fluid motion, he plunged the tip of the blade into Yukon's heart.

Yukon's eyes widened, and the life drained from them. His grip weakened, and the tyrant fell silently into the raging inferno below.

Austin pulled Nitesco up, and Gwydion stood, holding the area where Yukon stabbed him.

"Guys, are you alright?" Austin asked. Nitesco silently nodded.

"We won't be if we don't get out of here," Gwydion said. "Come on, we have to leave!" Austin and Nitesco felt the structure weaken beneath them, and they took Gwydion's advice. They ran down the stairs, through a back exit, and through the burning city until they found a group of Crosshares soldiers.

From the hills outside the city, Inferno had a pleasant view of the retreating Emberaldians. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a division of his soldiers bringing Austin, Nitesco and Gwydion up to the camp. They were badly bruised and battered.

"My friends!" He cried out happily, fighting the urge to embrace them. "Did you do it? Is he dead?"

Gwydion nodded silently. A wide grin crossed Inferno's face, and Samurai walked up next to him.

"Good riddance to him. Samurai! My friend, we must celebrate this victory."

"I hate to be a downer," Samurai said. "But we really must get back to Crosshares. This victory means nothing if we lose the capital, and it's a two weeks' march."

Inferno sighed. "Very well, no celebrations." He turned to the injured co-commanders.

"But I would be remiss not to congratulate you for this. How about a glass of wine in my tent?"

"That sounds fantastic," Austin said. "And by the way, I'm twenty ducats richer."

Nitesco groaned. "Shit. I forgot about that. Can we deal with that later?"

Austin smiled. "Yes, my friend. Let's put that behind us for now and recuperate. We'll need our strength."

They entered Inferno's tent, and they laughed and celebrated until dusk.

Vulpix nervously walked through the halls of the castle, summoned by Celtic. How strange it was that here, his estate in Nuts and Dolts, he was not the superior, but rather the subordinate. It mattered little; if Celtic was angered, he had to be placated before he lashed out at his men, or worse, his lieutenants.

He pushed open the doors to the council room and was greeted by five equally concerned faces. Celtic sat at the opposite end, pensive and grim-faced. Even Jokey, who stood at his master's side, was unnerved. Vulpix took a seat.

"Now that Vulpix has arrived, my liege, why have you called us here?" Greatness asked, blunt as usual.

"Have we displeased you in some way?" Nachbar inquired. Celtic, in response, pulled out a medium-sized box. Maker and Nachbar, further from Celtic's chair, had to lean in to see it. He opened it, revealing a pristine wolf skull.

"Emberald has fallen. Yukon is dead."

Maker and Vulpix gasped simultaneously. Greatness closed his eyes and forcefully exhaled, while Jokey turned away, preferring not to look upon the mask. Nachbar sat up and looked about the room anxiously.

A great silence was ushered in as the councilman's eyes drifted over to the empty seat between Vulpix and Maker. They sat quietly for what seemed like an eternity.

"Now what?" Nachbar croaked.

Celtic's composure weakened, but he retained control and stood up.

"We have lost one of our members today. Our ally. Our friend. But we must not be weakened or demoralized. We must press on." Celtic paused and took a breath.

"We will avenge him on Inferno. We will exact retribution on his people. We will wipe his entire nation off the map." His voice cracked.

"Maker, I want you to make the toxin you are creating lethal. And excruciating."

She nodded. "It will be done, my liege."

"Greatness, Vulpix, gather the men. We strike at Crosshares immediately."

Greatness nodded. "Yes, my liege."

"Nachbar, use your informants to weaken Crosshares' defenses. I want casualties to be minimized."

"As you decree," the spymaster reluctantly responded.

"Yukon may be dead, but the cause is not. Prepare for war, my friends. Vengeance will be ours soon enough."