Dealing with the remains of the bandit camp had taken the rest of the day, in part due to injuries, in part due to the volume of loot compared to what they usually found, and the lack of surrender from the remaining bandits. The survivors in the cave had for the most part been wounded, but they still managed to move enough crates to make a barricade. Unfortunately for them, the cave walls were soft enough that Korra and Bolin could easily make a new route with earthbending. The shock was enough to let the two easily knock them out with nothing more than minor scrapes.
Although it was a total victory, it also came with loss. While the deaths were spread out and there was no clear indication of which group took more, injuries was another matter. The center that had gone into the melee came out with almost every spearman wounded. Jeremus' skills as a surgeon and the availability of waterbending healing had paid off as he treated the survivors and other than two who had lost a hand or foot to axe wounds, all the wounded would recover. It still stood out to Korra that most of her casualties were in melee, usually due to a lack of protection as most had a gambeson or worse for body armor, not mail with add ons like Lezalit's brigandine or Firentis' coat of plates.
Despite that, splitting the loot turned out to be easier than Korra had anticipated at first with how much there was. Part of it was the quantity of trade goods that the bandits had; most of it was not something that interested the fighting members of the warband as anything other than a way to raise money. Given that, it was easier to just sell it as a lot and then split the money rather than divide it now. The food was split with stuff that would spoil soon being prioritized to be eaten first. Weaponry and other scraps were gathered, though by this point some scraps like wooden clubs were being ignored or left out. The various spears proved popular to replace broken ones, but Korra found herself wishing that these bandits had more shields. That was what they really needed if mail couldn't be found.
They still took their time clearing the camp, securing their three dozen captives with earthbending and ropes so they could get everything prepared for the trip to Dhirim. With Swadia's armies still focusing east and already being a significant part of the way over from Suno or Uxkhal, it was easier just to go to Dhirim even if it was with several of their horses pulling salvaged carts of the bandit's ill gotten gains. Korra was starting to appreciate the sheer logistics involved in an army, and this was just for one haul of loot to further fund it!
By the time they had secured everything, though, it was late enough that they decided to just stay in the bandit's camp. They had spent some of the afternoon training, mostly focusing on more advanced techniques for the benders to start branching them into that properly, which Lezalit had watched attentively as the non-benders were given leave from training due to how many of the spearmen had been injured. The training was not very intense, and since it was advanced techniques most of them were eager to learn, but as night fell they eased off with a big dinner to go through the food that would spoil soon and followed it with good night's sleep.
Refreshed from that, and another hearty meal that used up most of the soon to spoil food, they were on the move again, heading east to Dhirim. The company was high in spirits from the victory, the bandits in tow and tied up under escort. Mako had interrogated the bandits, but what he had found wasn't much.
"Hundun is good at hiding his trail," Korra said as she was in the front of the group with Asami, Mako, Jinora, and Bayar, discussing their thoughts after an hour or so of marching to mull over the information they had gleaned.
"Going to your pawn rather than the other way around is usually the best way to use a catspaw," Mako elaborated. "Still, he was arming them and had them become more of a problem before we showed up."
"Maybe he was using this as bait?" Bayar offered. "You know, he needs time to try and get the Triads to make decent benders out of the local criminals, he can't do that if you're right on his trail."
"Maybe," Korra admitted as she led Naga forward on foot. "but we still don't have a lead on him."
"What about those sea raiders?" Asami asked. "One of the bandits mentioned that there's rumors that the Vaegirs aren't responding to the supposed Swadian provocation because there's rumors of a big raid being organized. Maybe they're involved?"
"Or it's just chance. Not everything is some conspiracy," Mako warned. "I'd be more suspicious about the provocations."
"That trail's probably cold though, I doubt they stuck around," Bayar retorted as he shook his head. "I guess it's a question of do we want to sit around and wait for the next thing to happen, or do we want to try and hunt something down?"
"I'd rather hunt something down," Korra answered as she looked at Jinora. "I don't suppose you've had any spiritual guidance on this, have you?"
"Not really," she admitted. "But maybe I could visit some of the places with spirits."
"Good call… wait," Korra paused as she saw banners sticking up from behind the hill ahead that the road went up.
"Probably a lord's retinue," Asami said before stopping as troops made their way over the crest of the hill.
"Hold on, those are Nords…" Korra said as she noticed the sheer number of round shields and metal helmets in the ranks. Most of them were shield bearing infantry, with archers up front and a group of maybe a dozen cavalrymen on the right flank. From there, a Nordic horn sounded and the infantry halted, archers moving a few more paces ahead of the others.
Lezalit quickly strode up as they halted. "Orders, captain?" he asked.
"That depends. Do you think they're here to attack us?" Korra asked. The Nords were in a formation that she suspected could easily adjust to a shield wall - but why would they be in such?
"If they were, they would be advancing as we speak," he answered as he shook his head. "Still, a battle here would foolish. Our own foot won't last seconds against that many - they must have a hundred and fifty men in that host."
"If it's a fight, what about shock?" Mako suggested as he held a hand over his forehead to keep the glare out of his eyes. "Same as we've done before."
"They don't look like irregulars," Asami pointed out.
"Yeah, so let's not start a fight," Korra decided as she looked between the two groups and the disparity made itself clear. "Besides, maybe they're just on maneuvers or something, stay here unless they start attacking."
As she climbed up onto Naga's saddle, Korra saw a Nord riding forward with two more flanking him. Probably their commander, she decided as she rode forward. The Nord leader was raising his hand open-palmed as she approached. As they got closer, Korra realized that the horses the Nords were riding were far too small for war.
"I am Jarl Aeric, rightful lord of Kelderan Castle by King Ragnar's grant," the leading Nord declared as they stopped ten feet from each other. "Do you accept my offer of parlay, Korra?"
"Yes," she answered as she wondered how he knew her name. "What can I do for you?"
"I am here to answer your challenge to my father-in-law's brother, Jarl Olaf, by breaking from your bondage as a thrall captured in war."
A cold pit formed in Korra's stomach as she realized that their past adventurers were coming back to haunt them. Maybe we should've gotten that King's Peace from Ragnar, she realized before shoving that aside. The past was in the past; she had to focus on what she could do now.
"So how do you want to answer it?" she asked. "A personal duel to defend your family's honor?"
"I will not sully my house or that of my fair wife's by giving one who hides behind bending in war such a duel. You will answer for your actions in some form."
"In some form?" she found herself perking up at the diplomatic out. "What do you mean?"
"I noticed that you have quite a few outlaws held prisoner. I'll take them off of your hands - I get the income from selling them, and the quarrel between the two of us is settled so you might pass through my lands. Sound fair?"
"I usually hand my prisoners over to the authorities," Korra pointed out.
"If any of the prisoners are needed for a bounty I can always take fifty per prisoner you don't hand over."
There's the out, she thought as she nodded. "Alright, I need a few minutes to figure out the details."
"Very well, you have ten minutes."
Korra nodded and they went back to their respective sides. Lezalit had finished barking his orders, leaving him and the others she had been talking with at the head of the warband.
"So what did he say?" Asami asked as Korra slid off of Naga's back.
"This 'Jarl Aeric' wants our prisoners to sell as slaves, or fifty denars a man. We have enough, right?"
Asami inhaled sharply, taking a step back. "Almost, but if we pay them off we're not going to be able to pay everyone tomorrow unless we make it to Dhirim quickly and either sell the salvage or find Delinard to get paid."
"It's a risk we can take, besides I don't think we'll have any problems with selling the salvage…"
"Captain," Lezalit interjected, "I must disagree. We have enough funds to start fixing some of our problems if we just hand the prisoners over. It's not like we sell them anyways, and the standing bounties are always paltry."
"I know, but I don't want to contribute to the slave trade by handing them over to this Jarl," Korra retorted.
"But handing them over to mayors and guild masters is different?" Jinora cut in, everyone stopping to look at her.
"What are you saying?" Korra finally demanded, wondering if this would be another lecture.
"You never asked what the towns were doing with the prisoners, did you?" Jinora continued as she folded her arms. "You just handed them over and didn't bother looking at some of the prisoner trains that left while we were resting between trips."
Korra paused, glancing over towards where Bolin was keeping the prisoners in check as everyone waited, then looked at Lezalit. "You know anything about this, Sergeant?"
"It's not the norm," Lezalit admitted, "but most lords I've worked for are happy to sell a few brigands into slavery if they were handed over by travellers, if they didn't want to hang them as proof of justice."
"And you didn't think this was worth mentioning?" Asami asked as she stared at him.
He shrugged. "You said yourself that you wanted to hand them over to the guild masters and authorities. I thought you knew what they might do."
"I said that, but this man is…" Korra stopped herself as she realized that the argument about saying it or not sounded bad even in her head.
"Blatant about it?" Bayar offered. "Actually, I think I respect that more than pretending to be about justice and really caring for the money…"
"So why didn't you say anything, Jinora?" Mako asked, folding his arms. "You've been making a lot of remarks about what we've been doing…"
"I know, but I realized that some things we can't fix from the outside," the young airbender admitted. "But we can at least make a choice knowing what'll happen, instead of washing our hands of the matter."
They were silent for a moment as Lezalit stared at Jinora, leaving Korra in her thoughts. Have I been handing people over to slavery with a fancy pretense? She wondered as her mind wandered back to the Rhodok mountains and warm blood splattering onto her as she took justice into her own hands.
"So what are you suggesting we do?" Korra asked, breaking the silence.
Jinora shrugged. "Avoid this fight. It's pointless and a lot of men would die for nothing, but what this Jarl is asking is nothing we haven't already done."
"Besides," Lezalit added as he turned to face her, "those bandits are going to hang anyways. If you're hesitant because of your distaste for the slave trade, Captain, look at the troops."
Korra frowned, but looked. She could make out the faces she knew - particularly the ones who stood out like Firentis in his full armor or Bolin as he was policing the prisoners. The other two chi blockers were on one side next to Ymira, waiting for orders. Jeremus was busy checking his medical bag, looking up regularly. She saw Mauci and the other Khergits keeping their horses steady, ready to unhinge them from the carts and mount up to fight.
"You can't be afraid to spend your men," Lezalit continued, "but those fighters are worth far more to us alive than those bandits ever will be. And we can keep them alive if we have the resources to properly outfit them. As Captain, it is your responsibility to decide how to spend them best, and when it's time to spend some outlaws who'll be hanged anyways."
"I'm still not comfortable with the idea of selling people into slavery to save our own skins," Asami added as she shook her head. "But I guess it's that or we all get killed or worse, isn't it?"
"It is," Korra admitted. "Alright, I'll tell the Jarl that we'll take his terms, but going forward we really should reconsider what we're doing with the prisoners."
Nodding to the others, she turned towards the Nord host and strode over, Naga following close behind. But as she stepped forward, her gut remained tight. Is this just the best of bad options, or is this something else? She wondered. She had no right to ask those following her to fight and die just to spare some outlaws who had tried to kill them the other day when they would be going to a similar fate anyways. But did that make it right?
Aeric smiled as she approached, dismounting from his horse. "So, you accept my terms?" he asked, cutting off her musings.
"Yes," Korra answered as she looked at him. "You can have the prisoners."
Aeric bowed his head. "I will send my slave hunters to take custody of your prisoners. Once they are safely back, you will have your passage through my lands on my honor and that of my family." He walked up and offered a hand towards her.
"If you break your word, I will kill you personally even if it's the last thing that I do," Korra warned as she grudgingly shook on it.
"I would expect nothing less of a warrior, even if she uses bending."
Half an hour later they were well on their way with the Jarl sending one of his Huscarls as proof of their promised safe passage in case another Nord Jarl challenged them. The Huscarl made his distaste for the bender-heavy army and his intent to head back as soon as they were through his liege's conquered land, but swore to uphold the promise to the last. Korra wasn't sure whether to be relieved at the man's conviction or disgusted at the price she had paid to have that.
XXXXX
"So, the Khergits and Rhodoks are fighting now."
"What?" Hundun demanded, turning sharply from where he had been standing. Ghazan looked over from watching the Triads' progress as Klethi strode into the center of camp.
"Apparently once the Swadians got serious some Khergit boys decided to try raiding the Rhodoks instead. Since they aren't fighting elsewhere, the Rhodoks gathered a host, declared war, and are besieging Unuzdaq Castle right now in retaliation."
"For one village being raided?" Ming-Hua asked as she tilted her head.
"Not even that, it was just some farmers going to market."
They fell silent as the disproportionality of the response set in on them. Borcha was first to recover, going back to checking his set of arrows.
"Well, that should help, right?" Ming-Hua asked as she finally broke the silence. "More confusion for us to work in."
"Yes…" Hundun finally admitted, "But this is still is a flimsy excuse for war between kings. Between petty lords I would not be surprised, but proper kings…" he shook his head.
"So… do we do anything about it?" Ghazan asked.
"No, let them fight. We'll simply continue to pick up deserters from both armies to add to our ranks. For now however, we need something else to distract the Avatar. Something that is not as simple as scattering one loosely organized band of brigands."
"There is assassinating some of the kings," Ming-Hua offered. "It's a power vacuum, and the Avatar's bound to go flying towards that."
Hundun smiled. "A wise course of action. But who to kill, and how?"
"A few of us attacking when one of them is travelling could do it," Ghazan offered. "Or even during one of the battles if we happen to find one."
"Why not just slip some poison into their food?" Klethi offered. "Much simpler."
"If we had more time I might agree, but with these realms constantly in conflict the kings will be wary to such a plot," Hundun retorted as he shook his head. "No matter how we go about it, killing one of the kings will be reliant on finding an opportunity to do so."
"A battle might be best," Borcha suggested. "They'll all be out there, and it's not uncommon for them to get knocked out in the confusion. Only problem is, well, getting that close."
"That would be our best opportunity though," Ghazan explained as he put a hand on his chin and thought it through. "They'll almost certainly be on the edges directing the battle, so if we're quick…"
"You would still need to deal with heavily armed and vigilant retainers," Hundun warned. "But it is possible with the right team to do so. Ghazan, Ming-Hua, I'd like you two to be the core of this since I believe assassinating such rulers was something you planned to do?"
With Zaheer and P'li, Ghazan silently added before nodding. "Yes, and with so few benders it may be possible for just the two of us to do it. We'd need a guide though… Borcha?"
"You're not expecting me to fight Knights, are you?" The tracker asked.
"No, just to find them."
He nodded. "That I can do, boss."
Ghazan frowned. "No need to call me boss, Borcha."
"Habit, if you're leading the outfit."
"You might as well," Ming-Hua pointed out before Ghazan could say anything. "Take the lead, that is."
"Alright, but I want you to speak up if you think I'm making a mistake."
XXXXXX
"So, do you still want to try this open order idea for our spearmen?" Lezalit asked. "As it stands, I believe my initial objections were correct.
Korra nodded as she could see what he meant. The last three days, after they had gotten their payment from the Swadians and offloaded as much of the salvage as they could in Dhirim, had been spent trying out something different. Attrition had eaten at their non-bending spearmen too much, and with the mail Korra had hoped that with a little more training the non-benders would be able to fight in an open order as well, with the mail providing them much needed protection.
The theory had seemed sound: an armored fist to knock down up anything that got too close and stayed mobile to avoid being bogged down in a meatgrinder. But as Korra watched the drill in progress it became quickly obvious to her why Lezalit had been so opposed, even if he had agreed to at least try it. Their spearmen, particularly the four remaining Nordic fighters, had become capable in single combat. The problem was that without the shield wall they also had to contend with their flanks while also dealing with the opponent out front, and had nothing to fall back on if they were attacked by from the sides. It was less skill, more just the difficulties of communication… something armor actually hindered.
"You were right," she admitted. "It's not really going to work."
"It is not a bad idea to at least have them training for fighting multiple opponents at once," Lezalit added as he looked them over, "but that is an area for specialists like the chi blockers, or the military elite like Firentis." He nodded over to where Bayar had managed to flank one of their Nordic warriors and had knocked him down while he was busy trying to deal with Raynold.
"Still, it's about half a week wasted," Korra grumbled as Asami's warning about making sure they had enough income to pay for their expenses came back. She had taken a job to help the Guild Master at Dhirim deal with a few night bandits, but it wasn't nearly enough for the time they had spent if they didn't move on soon.
"Time spent training is never wasted, and combined with their experience they might actually stand a chance against a regular one to one now," the Geroian warned. "Still, if we must rely on skirmishers, we should leave it to those we intend to be focused in the art, and use the rest as a rally point. We don't have enough spearmen otherwise, even if we threw the new recruits at it."
"And I don't like the idea of throwing people into something they can't handle."
"Now that we can agree on, as long as we have the time to... hold on. Captain," he gestured behind her and Korra turned to see a man riding up towards her, a large saddlebag at his side.
"I take it you're the woman leading this free company?" the rider asked as he looked at her.
"I am," Korra answered. "Can I help you?"
"A message from my liege," he explained as he dismounted, opening the saddle bag. Korra approached and took the rolled up message he gave her.
"You need to water your horse? There's a stream just over that hill."
"Much appreciated," he nodded, leading the horse onwards as Korra opened the letter and read it through, frowning.
"What is it?" Lezalit asked as he looked up.
"It turns out that the Nords declared war on the Swadians, and King Harlaus is looking to hire us as short term mercenaries to interdict Nord raiders," she explained as she handed the letter to him.
"Interesting," he said. "Usually for a company this size they ask for general service. Yet here he is being specific about defending villages on the border with the Kingdom of Nords, nothing about also dealing with the Khergits. Someone is swallowing their pride..."
"What do you mean?"
"When a mercenary takes on service to a kingdom, common practice is that they swear an oath to make their employer's enemies theirs, for the duration of the contract. A contract usually defined in terms of time or until a mutual termination is agreed upon. The King is doing none of that."
So he does listen, she mused as she caught onto the implications. "Still… even if we're fighting under a Swadian banner, that's just going to make the Nords hate me even more. We've already ran into one group taking advantage of me being fair game…"
"All the more reason to take this," Lezalit countered, shaking his head, "since by fighting under a royal contract you'll be covered by whatever peace treaty arises from this."
"I'm still not convinced I should be a soldier of fortune," Korra pointed out. But the amount of pay was tempting - five hundred on signing and then ten denars per soldier each week - but if paired with salvage from any raiding parties they defeated…
… and if we manage to beat some Nord troops with mail, we could use that for ourselves… she realized as the possibilities of the opportunity came to her. Fight alongside the Swadians in defending their homes, stop raiders like Jarl Olaf from their predation, and on top of that the pay from it would allow them to really shift their focus towards strengthening the warband for when they found out more about Hundun and whatever he was building.
"It's a good deal, Captain, one that we really should not spite," Lezalit added, prodding her from her thoughts. "Besides, the Swadians hold domain over the center of Calradia. Having them as allies them can only be good for us in the long run. If we have to run around one of the largest chunks of Calradia…"
"True," Korra admitted. "It is a good offer, but I want to get the others' input first."
"What, Sergeant Jinora's?" He snorted. "I think we both know what she would say."
"I wouldn't be too sure," she answered. Jinora and Furry-Foot had gone off to visit the various spiritual locations in Calradia like Kedelke in hopes of learning more about Hundun while they were training. And while Korra knew that Jinora would object to picking a side in the war… would she object to an offer that more or less gave them legitimacy in the eyes of Calradia's rulers to protect innocents?
But even as Korra thought it through, the Geroian shrugged. "I'll sort out the drill here while you get the others, Captain."
It took about a half hour to do so, but by this point Lezalit had joined them and the troops drilling took a break.
"Still not really comfortable with this," Bolin said as Korra finished explaining, "Mostly because I don't think money is a reason to fight a war…"
"Why not?" Lezalit asked. "What is different from being a soldier for your liege as a way of earning money, and doing so for a foreign king as long as you are not fighting someone you have oath to?"
Bolin paused, then fidgeted side to side. "I dunno, I guess… well, do we really have a stake in this?"
"Not really, but this isn't any different than hiring some extra security," Asami pointed out as she put a hand on her chin, "and we're being hired specifically for defense, not to attack. If he was hiring us to help in raids I'd say no, but as it is? We could really use the money…"
"Pretty surprising how fast we're turning over what we earn," Mako admitted as he shook his head. "But she's right."
"And if that Olaf guy raids again, we'll have some help to beat him, right?" Bolin added.
"Jarl Olaf, sergeant, but yes," Lezalit nodded firmly. "All in all, the only thing about this contract I fear is our ability to fight a shield wall directly, and that we can mitigate."
"This wasn't what we planned to do when we started this," Korra admitted as she folded her arms, "but I'm having a hard time seeing a reason why not. Unless Jinora comes back with news we have to go after immediately, what else would we be doing with our time?"
"Still a bit uneasy about fighting guys who'll just be doing their jobs," Bolin pointed out.
"That's war," Lezalit retorted. "Besides you've all seen how fighters consider a share of the loot as part of their due. It doesn't matter the true reason you're fighting, plunder is always part of it. Especially for those sent on a raiding party..."
"I get it," Mako cut him off before looking to Korra. "But if you're looking for an objection… the only one I can think of is the Nords in our ranks. We really should check with them first."
"Or everyone," Asami added. "I mean, we did recruit them saying that we had no intention of getting involved in these wars, remember?"
Korra nodded as the implication nagged at her. "Yeah, we should ask first, but if they're not interested we can sort that out."
"It's a royal contract and a chance to get the loot you only can get in war," Lezalit added as he looked between them. "Didn't you say that you had a lot of potential recruits turn you down despite offering more than is common because you weren't planning on fighting in the wars?"
"And?" Mako asked.
"Then I doubt you'll have problems. And if you do, I'll make sure the problems stop."
That really does not reassure me, Korra thought as the others were rolling their eyes or shaking their heads at the Geroian's declaration.
XXXXXXXXXXX
"Bring the herd to a halt!" Halsten barked at the Swadian peasants they had caught from Tahlberl as they tried to make it to market. When presented the choice of being killed or being forced to bring their cattle to Knudarr Castle with a promise to let them go after, they quickly chose to give up the cows… at least once Halsten had killed the older man who was leading them to make a point.
The fifty man war party had kept the peasants moving, from the edges to make sure none tried to escape, but now they took refuge at the base of the lone mountain north of Tahlberl. It was late in the evening and by camping they could keep everything secure for the march to Knudarr Castle in the morning to rejoin the main Nord army. The Swadians had swiftly moved on Kelderan Castle to retake it, surprising the Nords as they gathered. The Nords had the Swadians in position for a decisive field battle, but their marshal Jarl Turya wanted to have full supplies before the main army committed, and had tasked Halsten's band of mercenaries to find cattle to bring to the army.
It was not glorious work, but it was honest raiding for the cousins of Calradia's Nords. And at least this way they did not lose any profit from buying the cattle. One night where they would need to keep alert, then they could make their way back to the main army for the hopeful encirclement of the Swadian siege force to catch them between hammer and anvil, defeating and dispersing the army, leaving the kingdom vulnerable to attack until the lords regrouped their armies and found replacements or paid ransoms.
"Hey boss," called one of the lookouts, Einar, as camp was set on a wide foothill, "you may want to see this."
"What is it?" Halsten asked as the lookout pointed his spear towards the sky where he saw something moving. "A huge bird?"
"I'm not sure, no bird I've ever seen," he explained as it turned away, towards the south.
Halsten's gut tightened. He had no idea what it was, but it felt like an ill omen. Calradia had lots of strange folk abroad, but he had heard the rumors of even stranger things starting to show up in the last four months. Strange people from some unknown land, a number of them able benders, some of whom were already beginning to ply their skills in the employ of various individuals. But this seemed to be something else entirely. Since when could men fly, after all?
"I don't know," Halsten finally said, "but take no chances. We'll increase the watch for tonight by another three, should be enough to spot anything. And if something does show up, wake me immediately."
"Aye, captain."
Nodding, Halsten turned his attention back to sorting out their camp for the night, eventually going to sleep as nothing happened as the sun had set and the half moon was starting to rise.
The first thing he was aware of as he woke up suddenly was a sound like a whistle.
The second was several small explosions and cries of pain.
By the third thing he was already grabbing his axe and shield and getting up to see what was going on. The lookouts had come under fire suddenly from the edge of the foothill they had encamped on and with the light from those initial fireballs he could see more enemies moving up, and what confused him was how lightly equipped most of them seemed to be.
At least until another fireball shot past him and he raised his shield to cover himself. "Benders," he muttered as he glanced to his scrambling party. "No time to organize!" he barked, "find the nearest bender and charge!" Surely if they focused on such witchcraft they would be vulnerable to close quarters, right?
He kept his shield up as the benders continued to attack. No horsemen seemed to be attacking, but he knew that they may have just left them elsewhere for the purposes of stealth. Not that he had much more time to consider as he quickly closed in on a firebender in a white aketon with a falchion in hand. The firebender tried a wave of fire that finally managed to take hold on the hide covering the wooden shield and singed his body, but Halsten ignored that and charged into the firebender, who quickly moved to the side. Halsten followed and swung his axe, catching him in the flank.
Before Halsten could finish him, he felt the ground beneath him push up and fell forward, landing on his shield arm and turning to see a Rhodok peasant behind him. The jutting chunk of earth that had been forced up suddenly came out as the Rhodok lifted his arms, the rock hovering above him. Forcing the strap of his shield loose Halsten rolled to the side before he was crushed, the rock landing on the outside of the shield and broke it as the cheese glue holding the shield together began to break from the boulder. He had also lost a grip on his axe.
"Come on!" the bender snarled as Halsten tackled him, forcing the bender to the ground and then grabbed a knife, shoving it into the peasant's exposed throat and pulling it out quickly, rising again to see the next attacker he had to face, and a better weapon.
"Elia!" a woman shouted and Halsten felt his insides loosening as he realized who it was. The blue armor and wolf helmet was already a clear indication, but the fire she used and leaping forward using a springboard from the ground to come at him made it unmistakable.
Shit I need a weapon! Halsten thought as he ducked. The woman flew over him, but a gust of wind caught him in the back and forced him to the ground, next to the Swadian firebender he had injured who was still groaning on the ground. He saw the man's falchion and grabbed it, pushing himself up as the woman charged him…
And the last thing he saw before blacking out was a fist coming for his jawline.
XXXXXXXXX
The dust settled soon after, and as Asami and Jinora made their way through the battleground the warband was picking through the Nord casualties, securing their opponents who had survived but were unable to flee, and tending to their own wounded. The two had been with Firentis and most of their riders who had gone around the flanks to secure the farmers that the Nords had captured, and taking the long way to avoid being spotted and using their speed to get in between the Nords and the captives. By the time they were ready to swing in though, it was over and with darkness falling chasing the Nords that escaped would be far too difficult.
"I'll admit," Jinora finally said, "I wasn't confident when Korra told me what she had agreed to when we came back."
"But now?" Asami asked.
"I still don't like it, but at this point the only thing I really have to ask is why Korra didn't wait for me to get back first. If the spirits actually knew something we hadn't already figured out…"
Asami nodded as she saw Lydia stripping one of the Nord casualties of his mail. "Korra saw it as a chance to get ready for him, and at this point I think she's right."
"Maybe. Still, if we're to be aggressive I want no part of it."
"You can always stick around to cover the camp. If we keep growing we're going to need some people to stay there just to keep everything in order and run this. We're pushing it rotating who does the 'fun' stuff that doesn't get mentioned in stories."
"Why didn't you tell Korra?" Jinora asked as she tilted her head.
"I did, but we figured that while we were staying small and ultimately not doing too much we could handle it. Now?" Asami glanced at one of the hostile Nords being tied up. "Well, that might really depend on what we do with the prisoners…"
Jinora simply nodded as the two made their way over to where Korra was talking with Lezalit and Mako.
"At least we know ambushes work," Mako was saying as he was pushing another dent out of his helmet, or trying to. "But these guys probably weren't the best example of how we can handle ourselves in a full fight."
"Not too much different then the bandits we faced so far," Korra nodded as she slid her wrist guards off to check a slash mark on them. "Just a lot more shields."
"The problem with loose order fighting," Lezalit explained. "It's not how the formation feels, it's how each man feels. We were just more used to it, but even then I saw Ivan pulling back…"
"To avoid getting cut open with an axe. I got him off his back, then he turned around and helped Aleks."
"But that's not the big problem here, is it?" Jinora cut in, pointing her staff towards where the captured were being collected. "What're we going to do with them?"
Korra paused, glancing towards them and folding her arms. "I'm not sure, actually. I'd say hand them over to the villagers, but I don't think they'd be able to hold them."
"They'd just end up with Count Despin since as I recall he holds fief in Tahlberl," Lezalit remarked. "That is, if they are not simply lynched."
"Let's not hand people over for mob justice," Jinora added.
"We could just drag them to Suno," Mako suggested. "That's where the villagers were going anyways, might as well escort them there and drop the prisoners off as well."
"I thought we wanted to avoid just washing our hands of what we do with prisoners," Asami asked as she frowned. "Though we can't really hold onto them in the long run without dedicating some people to keeping an eye on them. And as we're getting into bigger fights…"
"We could just release them," Jinora pointed out. "Firentis mentioned that that's considered the chivalrous thing to do here…"
"... for nobles yes, and that's if not holding them for ransom. Chivalry says little about the common footsoldier," Lezalit pointed out. "And do you really trust them to keep any word about withdrawing from this war if released?"
"Not at all," Korra answered, frowning and looking down. "But I'm not comfortable with just washing our hands of this by handing them off at Suno... but let's escort the villagers there for now and figure out what to do when we get there."
That's just delaying it, Asami knew, but she kept it to herself. They all knew that, but no one seemed to have an idea that was a good option. They had danced around the issue, but now it was even more complicated by war.
"There is some mail though," Asami added, jerking a thumb towards the rest of the warband. "I saw Lydia pulling some off. May want to sort that out now before someone gets an idea."
"Good call," Korra said as she glanced around. "Asami, could you make sure the rest of the loot gets handed out fairly? I might have to handle some arguments."
"No problem."
Sorting that out took a bit of time, particularly since the loot was more valuable than it had been in the past, but once they sorted out who would get an upgrade to their armor or a new weapon the rest was easily sorted down into 'sell, split the money'.
I probably should get some people to focus on helping with this, Asami mused as she finished gathering the rest of it in the sacks they had picked up on the way and gathered them together. It wasn't that she had no help - Bolin, Korra, and a few soldiers all helped at various points before having to go elsewhere, but Asami did find herself wondering if maybe she really did need to insist that they have some dedicated support staff rather than having everyone pull double duty. Rotating or not, the more they fought the more the fighters would need down time. The two wounded who had stuck on were a great help, but they would need more soon.
Could probably pull Ymira without anyone complaining too much, Asami considered as she nodded as the last of the salvage was stowed away.
"Asami?"
She turned and saw Korra walking up. "Something wrong?"
"Not really, just thinking. What would you do with the prisoners?"
"I'm not sure," she admitted. "I mean from a business standpoint that idea of ransom would make the most sense, especially if we took their gear first. But I also know that if we do that, we'll just have to deal with them again."
"And that's almost as good as selling them into slavery if we use those ransom brokers, which I don't want to do."
"It's going to cost us to hold onto them," Asami pointed out. "Maybe we should just hand them over to the Swadians, and accept that it's out of our hands?"
"Maybe," Korra admitted as she shrugged and glanced to the side. "But Jinora made a good point last week. We hadn't looked too closely at what happened to the prisoners we brought over. Now we really should."
"Unless you've found some little hideout with a prison we can use, we're not holding more than a couple prisoners for long…" Asami paused. "Though, I kinda want to see just how much the ransom brokers pay."
"What?" Korra turned sharply to face her.
"I just want to see what they're paying," Asami added as she held her hands up. "I mean they're glorified slavers, but it wouldn't hurt to have a reference if we try our own thing."
"Oh, yeah… actually that's not a bad idea." She paused. "Though maybe we should hold onto them."
"Why?"
"Well, if we can't get to a village in time, we can always trade these guys to get anyone enslaved back."
"That's a big 'if'. And wouldn't that just encourage them to try it whenever we get a bunch of captives?" It wasn't a bad idea, but Asami knew that things were often more complex than it seemed.
"Maybe, but… huh."
"What?"
"Think I understand why ransoms are common in Calradia now - it's incentive not to just kill your captives. I mean, they're a drain otherwise, right?"
"Very true, Captain," another voice cut in and the two turned to see Firentis leading his horse nearby. "And it is why the great families of this land have such prominent heraldry - so that our foes know not to kill us out of hand if we fall."
"But it's not just limited to them, right? I mean, a ransom broker asked me about doing business when all we had done was beat up some thugs."
He nodded. "Yes, they are far too eager to help outlaws find their way home for a fee, but their service is still valuable. After all, not many men have rubbed shoulders in different courts regularly. They are the intermediary between kingdoms when sorting out ransom. If our force manages to capture a Nord Jarl, we will be visited by one seeking his release."
"So, it gets them home sooner…" Asami put a hand on her chin as she did some quick math in her head. "You know, that actually might be a good way to handle it, given that we're a little short on what we need to hold them long term."
"Well, if we find a ransom broker in Suno go ahead and learn something. I'll admit I'm getting curious too, but I don't want to wash our hands of it by just handing them over. And it still feels like we're letting them get away with it."
"Ransoms are no mere bribe, Captain, but a time honored tradition of Calradia. If such was not common, I doubt I would be here now but instead be lying in some Rhodok hole after an ambush."
Asami felt a faint chill in her spine. Bandits was one thing, but these are prisoners of war, she thought. Korra glanced towards the south as well.
"Point taken," she said as she looked up, "but there has to be a better way to do it."
"If you dislike ransom, then hold onto them until the conflict ends. They'll be released then, and will not be a threat until such a time. And a fitting punishment for their raid too, I doubt their contract covers paying them for time spent prisoner."
Asami nodded. "Well, there is that. But if we're going to hold onto them, I'm going to need some people to keep them in line. We can't leave them unguarded."
"I'll see if I can't find someone who'd be fine with guarding them. How many do you need?"
"A couple, since we don't have a cell to stick them in."
Korra winced, but nodded. "Alright. Let me know what you need, I'll sort out who to put on it, Probably need to get some others to keep up with the maintenance too…"
"Camp followers, at least wholesome ones who are following their kin into war or looking for honest work, are an unsung part of war," Firentis remarked. "Something to consider, even for this size of warband."
"And that means more mouths to feed, more money we need to make each week to pay everyone, and a whole lot more people to keep track of…" Korra trailed off, looking down as her eyes started to widen.
"Korra?" Asami asked as she took a step forward. "Something wrong?"
"... I'm starting to really think like a warlord," Korra finally answered, her voice faint as she continued to stare towards the ground.
"A captain, you do not ravage the lands after all," Firentis offered.
Small difference for someone who sees herself as the Avatar first, Asami silently remarked.
XXXXXXXXX
End Chapter
Author's Notes:
- Apologies for the multiple month delay; a very important semester of school and other projects kept this busy, and after it was over a bit of Total War: Warhammer (Murderkitties - love 'em but they probably need a slight nerf)... The story is not dead, just delayed, as well as some realizations that needed to be sorted out (Crowheart in his reviews actually touched on a few) which slowed the progress.
- To the guest reviewer Crowheart who has put up quite a few, I apologize for not being able to respond directly but Guest Reviews can't be responded to. I don't mind the criticism - you actually raised some good points. If I'm doing something that you feel is wrong, I should know. It might simply be a disagreement of how as authors each of us would do it, or it could be something that I really need to know to avoid in the future. The only thing I really dislike is driveby trolling and blatantly ignoring parts of the fic just to leave a rude review, but you Crowheart have not done that. If you make an account again and review, I'd be able to respond to your points in more detail. To other guest reviewers, feel free to leave feedback. Just remember that if you review as a guest reviewer that I use moderation (mostly to vet for obvious spam), but more importantly if you review as such I won't be able to respond directly to it. I still read the feedback either way, but it is extremely difficult to answer points raised by guest reviewers.
- As to Korra shifting to the pseudo-merc work… I'll admit, I originally did not intend this to happen so soon. However I did want to do something with the Nords and tie up some loose ends to go full throttle on the Hundun plot. I hope that it at least made sense though.