Dustin and his company of a thousand successfully left the frigid mountain pass behind and enjoyed the warmer weather of the Arorian plains for about two days' travel. What followed was several days crossing the Innutukian countryside, which only grew more and more unforgiving the farther west they went. Unpleasant as eastern winters could be, nothing could compare to the dangers of the west's unrelenting ice, freezing fogs, and the dark clouds that blocked out the sun for days at a time.

Chilly breezes pierced Dustin and his men down to their very bones, and at times, even breathing became an unpleasant task due to the coldness of the air. Many nights, the soldiers wasted much of their allotted resting time to dig away snow from the spot they intended to sleep. Much as the men clamored to turn aside to a nearby town for shelter instead of sleeping out in the open, Dustin was forced to refuse them. Any delay could seal the fate of the Monteraynians holding the siege effort and cost countless lives.

But at last, after enduring fifteen days of grueling travel, Dustin nudged his horse Consequence forward, and they emerged from a thick fog. Able to gaze miles out rather than just beyond his stallion's fiery red snout, he beheld the stark silhouette of the Innutukian capital on the horizon. A wave of gladness washed over Dustin. He glanced over at Jude, who had just stepped out of the fog.

"Just about an hour, and we should be there." Dustin said, "Are you ready?"

"I'd say so. Are you?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, I suppose. Though with this cold, I feel drained already."

Jude nodded. "I know what you mean."

"Once you get movin', that'll warm you up for sure." Kyle remarked, having appeared on Dustin's other side.

Dustin chuckled. "You do have a point. Let's ride."

So the mounted soldiers trotted across the plain that stood between themselves and the capital. As they drew nearer, Dustin began to make out the forms of the Monteraynian soldiers surrounding the walls, along with their countless horses and tents. Though he'd never seen the original force, he could only deduce they'd lost a great deal of their men, based on how thinly they'd now been spread. At this rate, even a small squad of Innutukian troops would be able to punch a hole in the Monteraynian formation and bring supplies into the capital.

When Dustin had come close enough to see archers perched on the walls of the city, raining death down on the Monteraynians below, he let out a war cry and pushed his horse to a gallop. Consequence's hooves kicked up clumps of snow as they charged into the fray. The frosty wind whipped through Dustin's hair, but his focus remained on providing relief to his struggling countrymen.

After shouting back instructions for his thousand men to disperse among the soldiers already present, Dustin broke off to find Captain Altruz. With the battle being waged between projectile weapons and his main specialty being the sword, he could do little to begin with. And since he planned on taking charge of the operation, it was incumbent on him to familiarize himself with the situation as it stood. No better place to receive an update than the captain himself.

Dustin urged his horse to stop outside the command tent, and after tying a rope from the reins to a wooden stake, he tramped through the snow to find the entrance. He sucked in a deep breath and tugged the tent flap open.

He stepped inside to find Captain Altruz and the officers below him, all decked out in suits of plate armor, and all huddled around a map of the Innutukian capital. The men took turns jabbing fingers at different parts of the drawing while explaining the importance they saw in holding a strong position in that spot. Altruz spoke sparingly, however. He mostly listened to the others' input while visibly weighing it all out in his mind.

Altruz struck Dustin as rather pale, which for him would be cause for concern. Normally, he personified the appearance of a typical Marcocian man, with his great stature, black hair, and tanned skin, but so much time deprived of the sun had given his cheeks an almost sickly pallor.

At any rate, when Dustin stepped far enough into the tent for the others to notice him, they all immediately spread out and bowed. Their armor rendered their movements rigid, but Dustin's attention quickly redirected to more pressing matters.

"I have come to take command of this siege operation." Dustin said simply while gesturing for the men to rise, "With me, I brought a thousand troops, and I understand we have Alcontean and Antapeñan reinforcements forthcoming."

Captain Altruz's palm flattened over his heart. "You arrived just in time, your highness. Our situation, your highness, has become rather dire."

"I gathered as much. What happened?"

"That wretched sorcerer Tanuk attacked us with his battalion." one of the other commanders volunteered. "With his magic, he ripped apart our defenses, breached our formation, and secured entry into the city for himself and his men. The defenders of the wall have only swelled in number since his men added to their ranks, and ours have only dwindled."

Dustin scratched his chin. "You have no siege engines at your disposal?"

"We did, your highness," Altruz said, "but Tanuk dismantled them. With time, your highness, they may be repaired, but until you arrived, that seemed to be a resource we'd depleted."

"My men should be able to help us hold position while we devise a new strategy. I'm told our objective is to force the emperor to return east with us for peace talks, so what if we were to send men inside to capture him?"

"That, your highness, is an idea we already considered doomed to fail."

"We've completely lost the element of surprise." a commander agreed, "By now, he must have ensconced himself in some bunker or another, and besides, we hardly have sufficient forces to maintain a siege and launch an assault at the same time."

Altruz cleared his throat. "Suppose, Commander, that we don't. If we abandon the siege effort entirely and dedicate the entire force to breaching the city and capturing the emperor, our numbers are more than sufficient."

"A valid point, but without a siege, we have no guarantee he won't escape in the opposite direction."

Dustin sighed. "Your assessment is sound. We've expended too much effort into this operation to lose the emperor now. We're absolutely certain he's inside?"

"Yes. When we first arrived, we sent spies ahead to confirm, and not a soul has left the city since we surrounded it. Furthermore, several times, messengers have appeared on the walls to deliver messages from the emperor's mouth."

"So we have the emperor where we want him. We need only hold our place here until he capitulates."

"And pray the sorcerer doesn't attack us again. He's inside the city too, your highness."

Dustin groaned. "That introduces a state of affairs I cannot abide. At any time, he may emerge, introduce chaos, and make an opening for the emperor to escape through."

"All the same, your highness," Altruz said, "there's little we can do to remedy that without an assault."

"I hope our reinforcements arrive soon. It's becoming increasingly clear to me this operation will come to naught if we can't take action to accelerate the emperor's surrender."

"Agreed, your highness. We seem to be running out of time."

Just then, a lanky youth sprung into the tent, and despite the coldness outside, his forehead glistened with a mighty sweat. He stiffly bowed upon spotting Dustin, and then he cast an anxious glance over the commanders.

"There's a huge company of Innutukian soldiers coming in from the south!" the boy spat out, "They'll be here in a matter of minutes."

Altruz crossed his arms. "How many, my boy, are there?"

"I couldn't count, sir. They were so many!"

Dustin cupped the youth's shoulder in his palm. "Show me, lad."

So the boy led Dustin outside, and they waded through thick snow until they reached a spot where the land southward stretched out as an open expanse. Sure enough, a company of mounted warriors approached, though the youth had inflated their numbers. If he couldn't count them all, he needed a lesson with Serena, he mused.

"No more than fifty." Dustin said, patting the boy on the back, "Make haste and find me sixteen archers, one of them being Jude Holt."

"How will I know when I see him?"

"Tell him Dustin Rickland needs him, and see how quickly his one eye lights up. He'll be dressed like a noble but moving as powerfully as any warrior."

"It will be done, your highness."

"Call for Kyle Korynn as well. He'll be the darkest man here, no doubt, with the curly hair. Instruct him to have Princess Cassandra take shelter in the command tent until further notice. Can you remember all that?"

"I can. Your will be done, Prince Dustin."

With that, the boy shuffled off, leaving Dustin to stand alone and face the incoming Innutukian company. As snow began to fall again, he slid his sword from its scabbard and twirled it around in his hand a few times to loosen up his joints. The elegant blade whistled through the freezing air, perfectly counterbalanced by the wooden pommel fashioned into the shape of a bear's head. He'd make sure the approaching Innutukians had no chance at compromising Monterayne's final assault on her capital.